Denny Hamlin and longtime primary sponsor FedEx have agreed to multiyear extensions with Joe Gibbs Racing, the organization announced Monday. The terms of the deals were not disclosed.
“I’m so fortunate to have the support of FedEx behind me throughout my career,” said Hamlin in a team release. “I take a tremendous amount of pride in having the opportunity to represent them not only on the racetrack, but also in the community through the countless programs they have supported for the better part of these past two decades.”
.@JoeGibbsRacing, @FedEx and I have shared a lot of big wins and special moments together throughout our 16 years together. And we’re nowhere near done. Still have a lot of racing and winning to do for a coach and all the FedEx team members. Let’s go! https://t.co/tpIYQ7Z4FM
Entering his 16th full-time NASCAR Cup Series season in 2021, the No. 11 Toyota driver has earned 44 career victories, 179 top-five finishes and 280 top 10s in 542 career starts. The Chesterfield, Virginia, native is a three-time Daytona 500 champion and will try to become the first driver to win three consecutive Daytona 500s when the season kicks off on Feb. 14 at Daytona International Speedway.
“The relationship between FedEx and our organization has been a tremendous success story in so many ways and we’re excited that FedEx will continue to support Denny and our No. 11 team,” said Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “Denny continues to perform at the top of our sport, and our goal is to continue to position him and FedEx to win a championship.”
Hamlin has reached the Championship 4 the past two seasons, finishing fourth in the standings on both occasions. The 40-year-old has earned 13 wins in that span, which is tied for the most in the NASCAR Cup Series during that time with Kevin Harvick.
“FedEx has remained the primary sponsor of the No. 11 car and Denny Hamlin for over fifteen years, and together we have celebrated many successes on and off the track, including three Daytona 500 wins,” said Jenny Robertson, Senior Vice President, FedEx Integrated and Marketing Communications. “The FedEx Racing relationship with Joe Gibbs Racing has continued to provide meaningful opportunities for us to engage our customers, team members, and fans, as well as make a positive impact in the community. We are honored to extend this relationship with the Joe Gibbs Racing organization for multiple years and continue the drive for a NASCAR Cup Series championship.”
Bubba Wallace probably didn’t have NFL Pro Bowler on his 2021 to-do list, but here we are.
Wallace traded his fire suit for a football jersey Sunday evening, helping the NFC roll to a 32-12 victory in the 2021 Pro Bowl, held virtually through Madden 21 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wallace, set for his first season with 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series this year, joined Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams and former NFL star Marshawn Lynch on the winning side. The participants rotated control of the players, and Murray — who helped call plays to get Wallace more involved — was named the game’s MVP. The AFC team was controlled by Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson, NFL analyst Keyshawn Johnson, Tennessee Titans rusher Derrick Henry and Snoop Dogg.
Wallace had set low expectations for himself entering the game, but he was key to a first-half offensive outburst for the NFC, scoring three second-quarter touchdowns and reveling in the playful (we think) trash talk on the live stream. Snoop Dogg was among those crying foul for the AFC, claiming that Wallace and his teammates had undersold his actual Madden skill.
“Ya’ll got a ringer over there,” Snoop Dogg lamented. “Y’all didn’t tell us Bubba knew how to play.”
“I was just taking it all in and enjoying it and then hearing some of the stories and conversations, it was just, it was almost like, ‘Man, am I really sitting here talking to these guys,'” Wallace told ESPN. “I’m just a race car driver that has no business being in the room with these people but, hey, here we are, being here playing with Snoop Dogg, that was cool.”
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway today announced the criteria for eligibility for NASCAR Cup Series drivers to compete in one of the most unique and anticipated events in all of motorsports — the historic 2021 Busch Clash At DAYTONA on the iconic DAYTONA Road Course.
Set for Tuesday, Feb. 9, under the lights, the 2021 Busch Clash At DAYTONA will mark the first time in history the traditional exhibition-style event will tackle the track’s 14-turn, 3.61-mile road course, which was introduced for the first time ever to NASCAR’s top three national series this past August. The 43rd Annual Busch Clash At DAYTONA, which kicks off DAYTONA Speedweeks Presented By AdventHealth, will be held on the same course (with the lone addition a NASCAR fourth-turn chicane) as the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA and the DAYTONA 200, North America’s premier races for sports cars and motorcycles, respectively.
Due to the pandemic, NASCAR adjusted the format for setting the field for a majority of its races in 2020. As such, the eligibility for next season’s Busch Clash At DAYTONA — which has long been tied to Busch Pole Award wins in the previous season — will have a new look. The eligibility requirements for the 2021 edition are:
2020 Busch Pole Award winners
Past Busch Clash winners who competed full-time in 2020
DAYTONA 500 champions who competed full-time in 2020
Former DAYTONA 500 Busch Pole winners who competed full-time in 2020
2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers
2020 NASCAR Cup Series race winners
2020 NASCAR Cup Series stage winners
In contrast to the tightly packed competition on the Speedway’s famed 2.5-mile high-banked-tri-oval, the reimagined Busch Clash, which was held for the first time in 1979 at Daytona, will utilize approximately three-quarters of the tri-oval along with the challenging infield portion of the road course. That translates into 14 turns instead of the usual four.
“The excitement by both the drivers and our fans leading up to the 2021 Busch Clash At DAYTONA is unprecedented,” said Speedway President Chip Wile. “NASCAR’s initial visit to the DAYTONA Road Course in August delivered big time, with incredible competition, adding to the legacy of the famed road course made famous with sports cars and motorcycles.
“Having the Busch Clash At DAYTONA on Tuesday night also adds to the anticipation of an action-packed Speedweeks calendar. With the talent level in the field, the race will now clearly have its own look and feel during DAYTONA Speedweeks Presented By AdventHealth in 2021 and beyond.”
There are 24 drivers eligible to compete in the ’21 Busch Clash, and they include:
Aric Almirola
Ryan Blaney
Alex Bowman
Clint Bowyer
Chris Buescher
Kurt Busch
Kyle Busch
William Byron
Cole Custer
Matt DiBenedetto
Austin Dillon
Ty Dillon
Chase Elliott
Denny Hamlin
Kevin Harvick
Jimmie Johnson
Erik Jones
Matt Kenseth
Brad Keselowski
Joey Logano
Ryan Newman
Tyler Reddick
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Martin Truex, Jr.
Here is the bulk of the schedule for Speedweeks Presented by Advent Health. For a more complete schedule, click here:
Tuesday, Feb. 9: 43rd Annual Busch Clash At DAYTONA (DAYTONA Road Course under the lights)
Wednesday, Feb. 10: DAYTONA 500 Qualifying Presented By Kroger
Thursday, Feb. 11: Duel At DAYTONA qualifying races
Friday, Feb. 12: NextEra Energy 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race
Saturday, Feb. 13: Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. 300 (NASCAR Xfinity Series) and Lucas Oil 200 Driven By General Tire (ARCA Menards) doubleheader
Sunday, Feb. 14: DAYTONA 500, The Great American Race.
As Cameron Bolin was leaving Greenville-Pickens Speedway on the final race of the 2019 season, he turned to this dad and said it would be “dang cool” if he could finish 2020 as track champion.
Three wins and 15 top-five finishes later, Bolin’s premonition came true, and he was able to put his name on the wall of champions at the South Carolina track where he’s been racing for three years.
At 15 years old on championship night, Bolin is the youngest late model track champion in the history of Greenville-Pickens, a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series sanctioned half-mile paved track in Easley, South Carolina.
“It‘s really surreal,” Bolin said. “I‘d never thought about it that way until someone did mention that I was the youngest name on the wall at Greenville at 15. That‘s cool within itself. Your name is there for good with the Wall of Fame.”
Bolin was able to share his track championship with the people who helped him get his start in racing. Most nights in the race shop there are three generations of Bolins working on the car – Cameron, his dad, Brad, and his grandfather, Roddey.
Roddey Bolin raced dirt late models all around North and South Carolina for nearly 30 years. When Cameron started getting into the sport, Roddey backed off his own driving to be the youngest Bolin’s crew chief.
Brad Bolin never drove himself, but he was also a crew member on Roddey’s team.
The three started working as a trio when Cameron was five years old. He moved up to racing bandoleros at tracks near his home in York, South Carolina, eventually branching out to races across the country.
Cameron won a national championship in bandoleros in 2017 when he was 12 years old.
The next year they gave late models a try at Greenville. While the first race went without a hitch – he finished second – the second race he was caught up in a crash and totaled the car.
“Here we are in May of 2018 and we had to take a step away running on the limited budget that we do. We had to save the money up to buy a new car,” Cameron said.
The team was only able to race one more time that year at the end of September.
The next year was Cameron’s first full season, and he learned a lot that he took into 2020. The start of his championship run wasn’t smooth sailing, though.
“We got off to a slow start. Our first night out we qualified decent but just didn‘t really have the speed we needed to have in the races and stuff like that,” he said. “We couldn‘t put a whole night together. We finally hit on something about the fifth race and we really started putting some solid runs together.”
Cameron’s first win came in August when he finished a race third, but was given the victory after the top two finishers were both disqualified.
A week later he got his first on-track win.
“We took a lot of notes. Taking what we did learn in 2019 and building on it and what we learned at the start of 2020 through struggles and through challenges,” Cameron said. “I think we took every week as another page and once we got to about August when we won our first race we had it down to a T, so that was really big.”
Through the struggles and triumphs, the Bolins stuck together and kept the team a family. Cameron’s two best friends come to help every weekend, and he has uncles and cousins who also pitch in.
Roddey’s cousin, Scott, who helped the eldest Bolin start the race team in 1978, started helping again in 2019, and served as crew chief for Cameron while Roddey was spotter for one race in 2020.
“That was cool getting to see them rekindle their old times through my racing,” Cameron said.
Cameron said he loves that his team is a family, and he has his grandfather to go to for help.
“I bank on my pawpaw a lot just for advice and just through all his years of what he‘s seen and stuff like that,” he said. “It‘s really cool that we can talk about how I need to be better in some ways and how I can slow down in others. But it‘s really special because he is my role model and here we are ultimately living out the same dream in a way.”
It’s possible Cameron will try to repeat his track title at Greenville this upcoming season, but the Bolins also plan to travel around to try to make a run at the South Carolina championship. He finished second in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series South Carolina title race in 2020 by 42 points. He’s also always wanted to race at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina, so the hope is to run a few races there, as well.
Cameron may be just 16 years old, but he already knows racing is what he wants to do for a long time.
“I‘m ate up with it, honestly. It‘s an addiction,” he said.
“There‘s a picture of me and my grandpa in Victory Lane and I‘m six months old. Racing is all I know. I can‘t get through a conversation without relating it to racing. It‘s all I want to do.”
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Filipe Albuquerque suspected something was amiss with his closest competitor near the end of the race. He was right.
Albuquerque watched in his mirrors and heard his team’s reaction over the radio Sunday when Renger van der Zande was forced to pit with a flat right rear tire with seven minutes and 50 seconds left in the race, allowing Albuquerque to sail to victory in the 59th Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. The historic race opened the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
Albuquerque drove the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 DPi to the finish line 4.704 seconds ahead of the No. 48 Action Express Racing/Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R driven by Kamui Kobayashi. It was Albuquerque’s second Rolex victory in the past four years and the third consecutive Rolex victory for Wayne Taylor Racing.
WTR joined Chip Ganassi Racing as the only teams to score three consecutive overall victories in the Rolex 24. The Ganassi team went back-to-back-to-back from 2006-08.
As van der Zande filled his mirrors during their battle late in the 24-hour race, Albuquerque noticed him charging hard and occasionally getting his tires off track, especially in the Bus Stop, a left-right-left chicane that breaks up a portion of the backstretch on the Daytona oval, much of which is used on the 3.56-mile road course.
“I was always looking in the mirrors,” Albuquerque said. “He was fast. He was faster than me, obviously. But I thought there must be tire trouble. Physics tells you that. When you push too hard, something happens. When you go off track as well, something goes bad. I was not expecting that to happen, obviously, but I was expecting some trouble with (van der Zande’s) performance.”
The No. 10’s victory, shared with co-drivers Helio Castroneves, Ricky Taylor and Alexander Rossi, was the first in the Rolex 24 for Acura, which moved from Team Penske to WTR and Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian during the offseason.
It also was the fifth overall Rolex 24 victory for Wayne Taylor Racing, which previously won in 2005, 2017, 2019 and 2020.
This one, though, was made more gratifying by the effort that went into it. During a short offseason, WTR changed manufacturers – moving from Cadillac to Acura – and revamped its driver lineup.
“So much went into this,” said Ricky Taylor, who scored the second overall Rolex victory of his career. “It was definitely a test of trust and a testament to preparation and sticking to a plan. … We skipped all of the offseason testing because the guys needed time to do everything properly. They know how to win this race. I feel like we were all lucky to be a part of it.”
Van der Zande – who drove and won the Rolex 24 for WTR the past two years – was pressuring Albuquerque and at times closing in sharply during the final minutes of the race before the cut right-rear tire on his No. 01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R in the last of 12 turns on the Daytona road course.
“He nearly passed me, but then he was kind of steady for four of five laps,” Albuquerque said. “He was not really getting in there. I was just counting. ‘One more lap. One more lap in the lead.’ When he blew, we were lucky. But there is nobody who has ever won Daytona or any championship without luck.”
Following Kobayashi (who was also chasing a third straight Rolex 24 win) and the No. 48 Cadillac co-driven with Jimmie Johnson, Simon Pagenaud and Mike Rockenfeller was the No. 55 Mazda Motorsports Mazda RT24-P shared by Oliver Jarvis, Harry Tincknell and Jonathan Bomarito.
The Ganassi crew replaced the tire on the No. 01 car, but – without time to catch the field – van der Zande and his teammates had to settle for a fifth-place finish.
In the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class, Paul-Loup Chatin put the finishing touches on a 19.513-second victory by the No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07 over the No. 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA co-driven by John Farano, Gabriel Aubry, Tim Buret and Matthieu Vaxiviere.
Chatin co-drove the No. 18 with Ryan Dalziel, Dwight Merriman and Kyle Tilley.
“It’s amazing,” Merriman said. “I’m really proud of the team. It really is a team effort to win in endurance racing, especially when you get to these super-long ones. It’s just so hard to win, even if you’re good. It requires all aspects of the program to be good.”
Spencer Pigot drove the final stint of a three-lap victory in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class by the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320 he shared with Gar Robinson, Scott Andrews and Oliver Askew. LMP3 was making its WeatherTech Championship debut, and the cars were racing for 24 hours for the first time.
“It was a pretty smooth race, to be honest,” Pigot said. “We kind of stayed out of trouble and did our own thing. That was our plan all along. Nobody knew how reliable these LMP3 cars would be. I don’t think they’d ever run a race this long. One thing we knew is that we’d have the best-prepared car in the paddock, and I think we showed that today.”
The No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier co-driven by Joao Barbosa, Lance Willsey, Wayne Boyd and Yann Clairay finished second in the LMP3 class, followed by the No. 6 Muehlner Motorsports America Duqueine D08 shared by Moritz Kranz, Laurents Hoerr and Kenton Koch.
The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura in DPi, the No. 8 Tower Motorsport entry in LMP2 and the No. 74 Riley Motorsports LMP3 scored the most points in IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup competition, which pays points at regular junctures of the WeatherTech championship’s four endurance races: the Rolex 24, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, and Motul Petit Le Mans.
The WeatherTech Championship season resumes March 17-20 with the Sebring 12 Hours at Sebring International Raceway.
Editor’s Note: Today’s Chip Ganassi Racing preview continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, ranked in reverse order of best finish in last year’s owner standings.
CHIP GANASSI RACING
Manufacturer: Chevrolet Engine: Hendrick Motorsports Driver-crew chief pairings: Kurt Busch-Matt McCall (No. 1), Ross Chastain-Phil Surgen (No. 42)
What’s new: After the midstream departure of Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing needed a talented driver to fill the No. 42 seat full-time in 2021. Enter the ‘Watermelon Man’ — Ross Chastain. The 28-year-old NASCAR veteran joins the Chevrolet stable with scattered Cup Series experience, checking in with eight premier series starts a year ago for Spire Motorsports after season-long stints with Premium Motorsports in 2018-19.
Team outlook: Combining the elder Busch’s two decades of veteran experience with the dauntless driving ability of Chastain makes Chip Ganassi Racing an exciting team to watch in 2021. Based on recent history, Busch is almost a lock to make another playoff appearance in his 21st full-time season. The challenge will be bringing the No. 42 team back to race-winning form after last year’s shakeup.
Racing Insights stats break: Kurt Busch enters 2021 hoping to extend both his seven-season streak with at least one win and his seven-season streak of making the playoffs. Chastain will be aiming for his first Cup Series top 10 since the 2019 Daytona 500. As for the team, Chip Ganassi Racing has the opportunity to do in 2021 what it has never done before — win a race in three consecutive seasons.
Kurt Busch, No. 1 Chevrolet
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Experience: 21st full-time season in NASCAR Cup Series 2020 stats: 10th in the final standings; 1 win, 7 top fives, 19 top 10s 2020 final Fantasy Live ranking: 10th 2021 championship odds: 35-1
Outlook: Busch has been a model of consistency since joining the team in 2019 but will be looking to make a deeper playoff push this year, as many speculate this may be his final full year in the Cup Series with his contract ending at the end of the season. In the 2020 Round of 12, the wheelman silenced retirement chatter with an electrifying hometown victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He has made it clear that there is a lot left in the tank — expect him to bring the same energy in 2021.
Ross Chastain, No. 42 Chevrolet
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Experience: Third full-time season in NASCAR Cup Series (2018, 2019) 2020 stats: 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s (8 starts in NCS); 0 wins, 15 top fives, 27 top 10s (NXS) 2020 final Fantasy Live ranking: 37th 2021 championship odds: 50-1
Outlook: This will be Chastain’s third full season in the Cup Series, joining perhaps one of the most competitive teams of his racing career. An almost blank slate of premier-series stats allows the ‘Melon Man’ to set a new personal bar right out of the gate. Expect the pairing with an established winner in Kurt Busch to be beneficial throughout the year, as the No. 42 team should be able to routinely compete inside the top 15.
Today’s preview of non-chartered ‘open’ teams, part-time teams plus those that finished outside the top 30 in 2020 continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Manufacturer: Chevrolet Engine: ECR Engines Driver-crew chief pairings: Quin Houff-George Church (No. 00)
2020 final Fantasy Live rankings: 34th 2021 championship odds: 1,000-1
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
What’s new: No significant changes will alter the core of the StarCom Racing group as Quin Houff returns for the second season of his two-year contract with the No. 00 team, paired again with George Church as crew chief. One twist: StarCom team manager Derrike Cope is set to make his first Cup Series start since 2018, making a final run at notching his second Daytona 500 crown in a Rick Ware Racing one-off.
Team/driver outlook: Houff’s 2020 season was marked by a bright career high (a rugged 13th place at Talladega Superspeedway in October) and a nonsensical low (a lapse in judgment that triggered a crash at Texas Motor Speedway in July and a subsequent questioning of his racing cred by his rivals). The 23-year-old Virginian has plenty of room to grow, and some planned upgrades in the team’s equipment may help achieve some of those modest goals, but cleaning up the unforced errors will be a must.
GAUNT BROTHERS RACING
Manufacturer: Toyota Engine: Toyota Racing Development Driver-crew chief pairings: Ty Dillon-Dave Winston (No. 96)
2020 final Fantasy Live rankings: 26th 2021 championship odds: 500-1
What’s new: The driver, for one. Ty Dillon landed a spot with the Marty Gaunt-owned team for the Daytona 500. The organization shifts from last year’s full-time campaign to a partial schedule this season, with a primary focus on superspeedways and road courses.
Team/driver outlook: Plenty is riding on The Great American Race as an open team hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s wrenching failure to qualify. The potential driver roster and part-time slate for the No. 96 entry isn’t set beyond the season opener. A Daytona 500 starting berth and an underdog finish would go a long way toward keeping Dillon in consideration for future races.
2020 final Fantasy Live rankings: Yeley (33rd), Gase (36th), Smithley (39th), Bilicki (40th), Davison (45th), Ware (49h) 2021 championship odds: Gase, Davison, Bilicki, Yeley (1,000-1)
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
What’s new: Cody Ware and Josh Bilicki move to full-time roles this season after competing in partial schedules on the Cup Series side in recent seasons. Most of last year’s rotating cast of drivers will return, cycling through in the Nos. 15 and 53 entries. The team will continue to use both Chevrolets and Fords in its four-car stable.
Team/driver outlook: The billing as “the biggest little team in motorsports” seems to fit, as Rick Ware Racing has expanded its partnerships into sports-car racing and IndyCar ventures. With its NASCAR operations at the four-team max, there’s some strength in the numbers, but RWR’s best hopes remain at the superspeedways, which yielded the organization its first-ever pair of top-10 finishes in 2020.
2020 final Fantasy Live rankings: Grala (48th) 2021 championship odds: none
What’s new: Most everything. Matt Kaulig’s creation has grown to three full-time Xfinity Series teams for 2021, and the expansion vibe also stretches to the Cup Series side of things. Kaulig Racing has just one premier-series appearance — Justin Haley’s 13th-place effort in last year’s Daytona 500 — but that number is expected to increase this year as the team zeroes in on a full-time Cup effort in the future.
Team/driver outlook: Start-up Cup Series teams often struggle to find footing, but Kaulig’s calculated approach of establishing its Xfinity Series performance before setting sail for NASCAR’s major leagues has merit. Still plenty of puzzle pieces remain to place (including drivers and dates for the rest of its 2021 schedule), but its lineup for the opening two weeks in Daytona has the potential to surprise with Kaz Grala (Daytona 500) and AJ Allmendinger (road course) well-positioned in their sweet spots.
2020 final Fantasy Live rankings: Hill (35th), Finchum (51st) 2021 championship odds: Hill (1,000-1)
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
What’s new: Little fundamental change is afoot for the Carl Long-owned team, save for the addition of Mark Hillman as crew chief for its part-time No. 13 entry, which shifts car numbers from the No. 49 used last year. The team will field Fords in the Daytona 500, then run a blend of Toyotas and Fords the rest of the way. Timmy Hill will again be the team’s workhorse in its flagship No. 66, intended for a full Cup Series effort, though he’s set to earn championship points in the Xfinity Series.
Team/driver outlook: Hill has demonstrated a knack for getting the most out of his equipment, especially on the equalizing superspeedways. Last year, he enjoyed a bit of a star turn with the advent of the iRacing Pro Invitational Series, earning plenty of air time by taking on all challengers with his simulator-racing skills. A victory at virtual Texas Motor Speedway was later rewarded with real-life Lone Star State trimmings. The iRacing circuit’s return this season could attract more attention and sponsors for Hill and MBM’s real-world racing efforts.
2020 final Fantasy Live rankings: none 2021 championship odds: none
What’s new: The driver, but not the hometown. Noah Gragson steps in as the part-time team’s driver in its attempt for a Daytona 500 berth, which would mean a Cup Series debut for the Xfinity regular. The 22-year-old driver replaces fellow Las Vegas native Brendan Gaughan, who retired after the 2020 season and helped to select his successor in the No. 62 Chevy.
Team/driver outlook: Mark Beard’s operation has primarily focused on a schedule limited to races at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, a strategy that has suited the team well in recent years. Gaughan relished his recurring role as a superspeedway spoiler, occasionally snatching away top-10 finishes from his better-funded competitors. Expect that to continue with Gragson, who has rounded into a proficient racer at that track type.
The 2021 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season will welcome multiple new tracks to its 2021 schedule. Unveiled Friday, the new calendar will feature 18 events, led by the traditional season opener at Daytona International Speedway in February and capped off with a championship race at Texas Motor Speedway on October 12. The series’ 40 drivers and 20 teams will chase a $330,000 prize pool, with $100,000 of that going to the driver’s champion.
A majority of races will remain on the series’ traditional Tuesday night, but both season-opening races at Daytona will run on Mondays. The non-points Clash on February 1 will be fans’ first opportunity to see the new 2021 series roster in action, while the points-paying championship itself kicks off a week later. New tracks to the series include Circuit of the Americas (May 18) and Road America (June 29), two marquee road courses that will each host the real-world NASCAR Cup Series for the first time this season.
All races can be seen live on eNASCAR.com/live and iRacing.com/live, as well as the NASCAR and iRacing Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube channels. All race streams will kick off at 9 p.m. ET.
The full 2021 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series schedule is as follows:
After a red-hot finish to the 2019 Whelen Modified Tour season, Matt Swanson was pumped up.
The season had started slow for Swanson and the BRE Racing No. 3 team, with just one top-10 in the first five races. Then, Swanson and the No. 3 team returned to form, finishing outside the top-10 just three times the rest of the season. During the run, Swanson vaulted himself from 12th to 5th in the standings by season’s end.
“That was the first time I went a whole offseason and I never stopped thinking about [2020],” Swanson says. “From the second the checkered flag flew at Thompson, I was already thinking about the first race of 2020. And that was kind of the first time that I’ve ever had that fire under my ass, to just get going.”
But then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and the season-opener was both moved and rescheduled. It threw things for a massive loop.
“I was honestly a little bit worried going to Jennerstown for that first race because I had been out of a car for so long,” Swanson says. “Everyone can say that an offseason doesn’t really affect them, but when you get back into a racecar after a hiatus of that long… It takes some time to get back used to it.”
The extended offseason didn’t slow Swanson down, however. Driving iconic “Ole Blue”, Swanson racked up three top-10 finishes in the first four races, and a total of six for the season.
As the team enters 2021, they are arguably readier than ever to return to Victory Lane on the Tour for the first time since the 2017 Icebreaker 150, when Rowan Pennink was behind the wheel.
“It’s gonna be one big celebration when we finally get this [number] 3 car in Victory Lane,” Swanson says. “It would mean the world to me, but it would mean more to my guys. I can’t say it enough, how hard those guys work. Those guys work their butts off to make sure those cars go as good as they do.”
2017 was also a year in which the team returned to vintage form as true championship contenders, eventually finishing fourth in the final standings.
The Swanson-BRE Racing partnership wasn’t exactly planned from the outset.
The team had Pennink tabbed as the driver of the car until August of the 2018 season, when he shocked the Modified community by announcing his retirement due to concerns with back injuries. Swanson, who had filled in for Pennink earlier in the season at Thompson, was tabbed for the job.
While the team failed to finish three of the final five races that season, the two races they did finish resulted in top-10s. Swanson was back for 2019, impressed the team with a fifth-place points finish, and continued the partnership.
Swanson is adamant about it: BRE Racing simply does not possess the resources that bigger teams do. What they lack in money, however, is made up for by the brainpower of its crew members. It’s a big motivational chip for the team.
“[Other teams] have different crew chiefs, but they all have the same chassis, so they can all bounce ideas off each other,” Swanson says. “Us out there being the oddball, so to say, it adds fuel to the fire to make us want to be better… I have the best crew, in my opinion, in the whole garage, just based on how hard they work.”
Despite having Modified greats like Ted Christopher and Ryan Preece driving, BRE Racing hasn’t won a Tour championship since Tony Hirschman went back-to-back in 1995 and 1996. 2021 may very well be the year Ole Blue returns to the promised land.
Matt Swanson, driver of the #3 USNE / SYP / All Phases Chevrolet, drives through the garage before the NAPA Auto Parts 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Stafford Motor Speedway on September 26, 2020. (Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
