NASCAR requires Hailie Deegan to take sensitivity training

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Staff Report

NASCAR officials will require driver Hailie Deegan to take sensitivity training before the 2021 season after her use of an offensive word during an online racing stream Sunday.

Deegan apologized Sunday night after using a term that disparages those with intellectual disabilities during an iRacing event. The stream — since deleted — was the first from her personal account on Twitch.

Earlier tonight I used an insensitive word during an online race being broadcast on twitch. It was inappropriate slang and a stupid thing to do. I apologize to everyone who was offended by it. There's no excuse for it, and I know I have to do better for my sponsors and my fans.

— Hailie Deegan (@HailieDeegan) January 11, 2021

The 19-year-old driver is set for her first season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this year with David Gilliland Racing. She made her series debut with the team last October at Kansas Speedway.

Deegan is a three-time winner in what is now called the ARCA Menards Series West.

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Staff Report

NASCAR will hold its first Next Gen test of 2021 on Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kurt Busch will be back behind the wheel in a test that will validate some adjustments that have been made to components of the Next Gen car. Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion, currently drives for Chip Ganassi Racing.

The Next Gen car was most recently on the track last month at Daytona International Speedway with Roush Fenway Racing driver Chris Buescher logging the prototype’s first laps on a superspeedway. Busch and Martin Truex Jr. took part in two days of testing in November on the Roval and oval layouts of Charlotte Motor Speedway. That session marked the first time that two prototypes were on the track at the same time.

John Probst, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Racing Innovation, indicated after the Daytona test that another session at Charlotte was potentially in the cards.

“I think some of the stuff we found in the car is very promising for some of the other tracks we’re going to take it to,” Probst said. “So if anything, we may try to get on a local track up in the Charlotte area for a couple hours to verify what we found here translates to some other track types.”

The Next Gen car is scheduled for its competition debut in 2022.

Posted on January 11, 2021January 11, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

The 2021 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals at the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma will be broadcast live on FloRacing and MAVTV Motorsports Network. Kyle Larson looks to defend his first Chili Bowl victory last year, while Christopher Bell will be battling for his fourth Nationals crown. See the full TV schedule and live streaming channel breakdown below.

What channel is the Chili Bowl on?

TV channel: MAVTV Motorsports Network
Live stream: FloRacing

A live stream of the 2021 Chili Bowl Nationals will be available on FloRacing.com for the preliminary qualifying events and alphabet soup qualifiers from Monday through Saturday evening. The broadcast switches to MAVTV for Saturday night’s opening ceremonies and final features.

FloRacing is an online sports subscription streaming service. The FloSports service provides unlimited access to live events across more than 25 sports, which also includes original programming of news, expert commentary, documentaries, films and more.

Owned and operated by Lucas Oil Products, MAVTV Motorsports Network is a motorsports and automotive cable and satellite channel. The channel provides exclusive coverage of events such as the Chili Bowl Nationals, AMA Pro Motocross series, Lucas Oil Challenge Cup and more. The channel is available on many nationwide television providers, including Spectrum, AT&T U-verse, YouTubeTV, DirecTV and more.

Chili Bowl 2021 TV schedule

The opening ceremonies and final features for the 2021 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals will be broadcast live on MAVTV Motorsports Network on Jan. 16 beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET. The three-hour broadcasting window includes C-Mains, B-Mains and the final A-Main events. The broadcast will air again following the checkered flag on Saturday night. The TV channel will also re-air the event on Jan. 17 at 3 p.m. ET.

Chili Bowl 2021 live streaming

Preliminary and alphabet soup qualifying events for the 2021 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals will be live streamed on FloRacing.com from Jan. 11-16. Below is a full chart of the live streaming and TV channel schedule.

Date	Time	Network
Mon., Jan. 11: Cummins, Inc. Qualifying Night	6 p.m. ET	FloRacing
Tues., Jan. 12: Warren Cat Qualifying Night plus the VIROC	5 p.m. ET	FloRacing
Wed., Jan. 13: Circle City Raceway Qualifying Night	5 p.m. ET	FloRacing
Thurs., Jan. 14: John Christner Trucking Qualifying Night	5 p.m. ET	FloRacing
Fri., Jan. 15: Driven2SaveLives Qualifying Night	5 p.m. ET	FloRacing
Sat., Jan. 16: Lucas Oil Championship Feature Events	11 a.m. ET/8:30 p.m. ET	FloRacing/MAVTV

NASCAR drivers in competition

Below are current and former NASCAR drivers who will be competing in the 2021 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, along with their respective qualifying nights:

Rico Abreu (Wednesday)
Justin Allgaier (Friday)
Chase Briscoe (Monday)
Christopher Bell (Thursday)
Chase Elliott (Wednesday)
Ryan Ellis (Thursday)
Kasey Kahne (Friday)
Kyle Larson (Tuesday)
Brett Moffitt (Wednesday)
Ryan Newman (Wednesday)
Garrett Smithley (Thursday)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Friday)
JJ Yeley (Friday)

Posted on January 10, 2021 by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Tuesday, January 12
On MRN
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Wednesday, January 13
8 a.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics: 2007 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
11 a.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics: 2009 Aaron’s 499 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
2 p.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics: 2013 Auto Club 400 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: 2020 Sights and Sounds (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive, Part 1 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
9 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive, Part 2 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
10 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Jimmie Johnson Tribute (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
11 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Features, Part 1 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App

Thursday, January 14
Midnight, NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Features, Part 2 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
1 a.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics: 2020 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
4 a.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics: 2020 All-Star Race (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App

Posted on January 8, 2021January 10, 2021 by PJ Walsh

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

The new year is finally here, and while that means football season is coming to a close, it’s also a reminder that NASCAR’s season-opening race, the Daytona 500 (Feb. 14 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX), is right around the corner.

Daytona 500 odds are available at most sportsbooks, so it’s time to turn our attention toward motorsports and start building betting cards for NASCAR’s biggest race.

With this in mind, here are three drivers I’m locking in right now for the Daytona 500.

Daytona 500 Picks

*Odds as of Jan. 8 at 10 a.m. ET

Denny Hamlin (+800)

In an event that can be very random, Hamlin has found a way to dominate the Great American Race in recent years.

The Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver has won back-to-back 500s and three of the last five. That’s pretty good.

And it’s not just Daytona that fits Denny’s superspeedway eye as of late, evidenced by finishes of fourth and first at Talladega last year as well. In fact, here were Hamlin’s finishes at the four superspeedway races last season: first, fourth, third and first, for an insane 2.3 average finish.

I’m typically in very little rush to bet Daytona 500 favorites this early, but I can’t find any reason to wait on Hamlin at 8-1 odds right now.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+2000)

I just can’t quit you at superspeedways, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Stenhouse is the ultimate checkers-or-wreckers driver, a characteristic that often results in wadded-up race cars. Still, I’m not overly concerned about where he finishes because, as a bettor, if he ain’t first, he’s last.

Ricky’s two Cup Series victories came at Talladega at Daytona (both in 2017), and he’s shown the speed to win there throughout this career, including last season after switching from Roush Fenway Racing to JTG-Daugherty Racing.

Stenhouse won the pole and led the third-most laps in the 2020 Daytona 500, then followed it up with a runner-up at Talladega in June in which he crossed the finish line .007 seconds behind winner Ryan Blaney in a crazy finish.

At 20-1, this is a worthy price to add one of the series’ top superspeedway drivers, especially one who will not settle for anything less than a win.

Chris Buescher (+4000)

Part of being a successful bettor is understanding your flaws, especially the ones that bleed profit throughout the season. My New Year’s NASCAR betting resolution is to stop taking so many longshots at superspeedway races, especially the Daytona 500. Sure, anything can happen in these races and that’s what can be seductive with longshot prices, but the deep sleepers rarely ever take the checkered flag.

As a result, I’ll be looking more toward props for my favorite sleepers — follow me on Twitter (@PJWalsh24) for my Daytona 500 props — while avoiding them (hopefully) to win outright.

With that said, I’m taking a shot, and a fairly big one, on Chris Buescher at 40-1 odds.

Here are the top 10 drivers (sorted by driver rating at the four superspeedway races last season) and corresponding 2021 Daytona 500 betting odds via BetMGM.

Joey Logano (98.4 driver rating): +1000
Denny Hamlin (98.3): +800
Ryan Blaney (95.1): +1000
Brad Keselowski (89.3): +1400
William Byron (88.5): +1400
Chris Buescher (88.1): +4000
Alex Bowman (85.1): +1600
Chase Elliott (84.6): +1000
Kurt Busch (82.0): +2000
Erik Jones (80.2): +6600

The list above includes the six drivers with the best odds to win the Daytona 500 and seven drivers at 16-1 or shorter. Kurt Busch, the 2017 winner is next at 20-1, leaving just Buescher (40-1) and Jones (66-1) as the outliers. For those wondering, Jones, who was around 28-1 to win this race last year, switched from powerhouse team JGR to Richard Petty Motorsports in the offseason, explaining the significant drop in price.

That list alone illustrates why I’m willing to take a flier on Buescher, but looking at average finish makes this bet even more appetizing. Hamlin and Blaney were the only current Cup Series regulars who finished with better average finishes than Buescher at superspeedways in 2020.

In Buescher we’re getting a driver …

In very fast Roush Fenway Racing superspeedway equipment.
Who finished with the sixth-best driver rating at superspeedways in 2020.
Who had the third-best average finish at superspeedways (among current full-time drivers) in 2020.

Additionally, savvy bettors can get Buescher at an even better price by shopping the market and locking him in right now at William Hill at the unbeatable price of 50-1.

Posted on January 8, 2021January 8, 2021 by Staff Report

As teams and fans get ready for a new season, eight NASCAR Cup Series races will be conducted with practice and qualifying in 2021.

RELATED: 2021 Cup Series schedule

A majority of NASCAR national series races last season were held without any on-track pre-race sessions after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March, a measure taken to streamline events and limit the disease’s spread. Following last year’s racing pause, only one race had qualifying — the Coca-Cola 600.

Here are the eight Cup Series events for the upcoming season — a mix of high-profile races and events at new venues — for practice and qualifying to be held:

• Feb. 14: Daytona 500
• March 28: Bristol Motor Speedway dirt
• May 23: Circuit of the Americas
• May 30: Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte Motor Speedway
• June 20: Nashville Superspeedway
• July 4: Road America
• Aug. 15: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
• Nov. 7: Phoenix Raceway

Official weekend schedules — including details on qualifying format and the amount of practice time — have not been released, and the 2021 schedule remains subject to change. Plans to potentially include practice and/or qualifying at NASCAR Xfinity Series or NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events will be determined at a later date.

Last season, starting lineups for events without qualifying were determined first by a random draw among groups in national series standings. That format was replaced by a performance-metrics formula that blended season-long performance with the previous week’s results to establish the starting lineup. Officials indicated the format for setting starting lineups at 2021 events without qualifying will be announced later.

Posted on January 8, 2021January 21, 2021 by Staff Report

You could call 2020 a year of redemption for Dave Sapienza.

In 2019, Sapienza suffered a serious back injury in a last lap crash at Wall Stadium last May and was forced to sit out 10 races while he recovered.

While he did get his first Tour victory as an owner when Bobby Santos drove his car to a Musket 250 win, it was still bittersweet for Sapienza to miss out on a full-time effort.

He returned with a vengeance in 2020. Sapienza ran all nine races on the 2020 Tour schedule, and had arguably his best season yet. He set career-highs both for average starting and finishing positions and scored four top-10s, after just one in six starts in 2019. The highlight of 2020 for Sapienza was an impressive second-place effort in the fourth race of the season at Jennerstown, driving a car he called “the best I‘ve ever driven in my career,” where he came oh-so-close to that first Tour victory as a driver.

As an owner, Sapienza once again brought Santos aboard at New Hampshire, where the 2010 Tour champion went to Victory Lane for the second straight year.

Perhaps the biggest factor in Sapienza‘s improvement as a driver comes in his ability to get the car to the end of the race. 2020 saw Sapienza fail to finish only one race, the first time in his career he‘s been able to avoid multiple DNFs. More recently, Sapienza has made it a priority to be more patient behind the wheel, working more methodically. Thanks to help from Santos, Sapienza‘s efforts are paying dividends.

“I bounce things off Bobby, because to me, he‘s invincible,” Sapienza said. “I don‘t want to be known as ‘that guy,‘ or a hack… I don‘t want to lose a friendship over racing.”

Sapienza thought back to that second-place run at Jennerstown, when he had the opportunity to send eventual race winner Craig Lutz up the track late in the going, but chose not to. Even though he lost the race, Sapienza earned plenty of respect from a lot of people throughout the Modified community.

“A lot of people called me and said: ‘you probably could‘ve dumped him or moved him,‘ and you‘ll gain a lot more respect,” Sapienza said.

“They are rubbin’ rails.”#NWMT | @jtownspeedway pic.twitter.com/RSEDSUvJEA

— NASCAR Roots (@NASCARRoots) August 23, 2020

As the calendar turns to 2021, Sapienza sees more improvement on the horizon for the No. 36 team. Throughout the offseason he’s already put plenty of stock in improving his equipment, having bought a new LFR car from Rob Fuller.

“It‘s probably going to be the highlight of my life this year,” Sapienza said.

And when the Tour goes to a track where there isn‘t a notebook for teams to work off of, Sapienza typically does well. Of the five events the Tour held in 2020 that were not on the planned schedule, Sapienza finished inside the top-15 in each of them. There are four events on the 2021 schedule that much of the Tour field has never raced at, at least not for many years. That has Sapienza excited, too.

“I like going in uncharted waters,” he said. “I don‘t know what it is, but I just seem to gel. That‘s happened to us numerous times.”

At 55, Sapienza knows he won‘t be on the Tour forever. But he hopes that in the years he has left, the best of his career is yet to come. Getting a Whelen Modified Tour victory is at the absolute top of his bucket list as a racer.

“The Tour is such a prestigious series. You‘ve had hundreds and hundreds of drivers over the years try to get a win, or even a top-three or a top-five. I‘ve been close. My goal would definitely be a win before I retire.

“If I don‘t win, that will kill me. I‘ll beat myself to death thinking about that every day for the rest of my life.”

Posted on January 7, 2021January 7, 2021 by Team Release

LEXINGTON, N.C. (January 7, 2021) – Kaulig Racing has announced it is anticipating a limited NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) schedule for the upcoming 2021 season.

While it is no secret the team intends to expand to a full-time NCS team in its future, Kaulig Racing plans to get its feet wet with select races in 2021, including road course and superspeedway events, in addition to the 63rd annual Daytona 500.

“Kaulig Racing is always building toward the future and I believe this is the next step in that process,” said team owner, Matt Kaulig. “We have the ultimate goal of becoming a powerhouse team in the Cup Series, and we are excited to continue our team’s growth.”

Following a stellar 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) season, including a Championship 4 race appearance and the team’s fifth consecutive playoff berth, Kaulig Racing has its sights set on the next level.

“From where we started in a go-kart shop to a now championship-contending team, I have seen the growth of Kaulig Racing first-hand over the last five years,” said team president, Chris Rice. “It has been a privilege to be able to have Matt Kaulig’s trust in establishing ourselves as a competitive team in one of NASCAR’s top series, and I am confident we are ready to take that next step as an organization.”

As the team actively seeks partnership opportunities for the 2021 NCS season, Kaulig Racing expects further announcements regarding drivers and potential events to come at a later date.

Posted on January 7, 2021January 7, 2021 by Team Release

Four new teams will join the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series for 2021, as McLaren Esports, Elliott Sadler Esports, Spacestation Gaming and XSET join the championship for its 12th season. The series will also see an increased prize pool, with a record $330,000 on the line for drivers and teams as part of this year’s campaign and $100,000 once again going to the driver’s champion.

The new entries represent some of the biggest names in both real-world racing and gaming, and all four are well established in the esports world. McLaren is one of the most successful Formula 1 teams in history, with 12 drivers’ championships and eight constructors’ titles. Sadler is a veteran of more than 400 NASCAR Cup Series starts and one of just a select few drivers with wins in all three national NASCAR series. Spacestation Gaming and XSET each boast premier teams in some of the world’s leading MMO games.

MORE ESPORTS: eNASCAR.com

The 2020 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season was the first with new title sponsor Coca-Cola and featured the previous largest prize pool in series history, as well as a bevy of new teams. When the 20-race season concluded, it was one of those new teams taking the title, as William Byron eSports driver Nick Ottinger topped all Championship 4 drivers in the final race to score his first series championship. Ottinger leads a refreshed field for 2021 that will feature nearly a dozen rookie drivers.

The full 20-team lineup for the 2021 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series is as follows:

Clint Bowyer Racing
Denny Hamlin Racing
Elliott Sadler Esports
Jim Beaver eSports
Joe Gibbs Racing
JR Motorsports
JTG Daugherty Racing
Kligerman Sport
Letarte Esports
McLaren Esports
Mode Motorsports
Richmond Raceway Esports
Roush Fenway Racing
Spacestation Gaming
Stewart-Haas Racing
Team Dillon eSports
William Byron eSports
Williams Esports
Wood Brothers Racing
XSET

The series will now enter a five-day free agency period where the 40 qualified drivers will sign with their teams for the season. The free agency period ends Monday at midnight.

Stay tuned to NASCAR and iRacing social-media channels for free agency updates leading up to the start of the season at Daytona International Speedway in February. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.

Posted on January 7, 2021January 7, 2021 by Pat DeCola

Last year’s Championship 4 showdown at Phoenix Raceway featured Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano … but neither Kyle Busch nor Martin Truex Jr.

It was the first time since 2014, the first instance of the playoff elimination format, that neither driver had a shot at the championship on the final Sunday of the year.

Truex was a near-miss, eliminated after a 22nd-place run at Martinsville (a race he won a year earlier) sealed the fate of his 2020 outcome.

Rowdy? He didn’t even make the Round of 8 after arguably the most frustrating season of his career — one in which he did not win a race until after he was eliminated from the playoffs.

Combined, the two superstar drivers netted just two race victories while Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin enjoyed a career year with seven trips to Victory Lane and a pristine 9.3 average finish.

So, what exactly happened, how is the 2021 season shaping up for each of them, and which one has a better shot to return to form? NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola and RJ Kraft discuss.

DeCOLA: Considering these two drivers combined for 12 race wins in 2019 and 45 total from 2016-19, it was obviously surprising to see both of these champions come back down to earth a bit in 2020.

Perhaps the more puzzling of the two, Busch’s rut came in defense of his ’19 NASCAR Cup Series championship in the midst of the most dominant stretch of his career. After enjoying two titles and 28 race wins since joining forces with crew chief Adam Stevens in 2015, the pairing couldn’t get things to click consistently in 2020. Given the unprecedented nature of the past season and all-but-nonexistent practice time, it’s conceivable the team could’ve just chalked it up to that, shrugged it off as an anomaly and proceeded business as usual in 2021.

Instead, the team opted to break up arguably the strongest driver/crew chief pairing in the sport and insert Ben Beshore (with just three Cup Series races under his belt, though all with Busch in ’17) into the mix atop the No. 18 pit box. That strikes me as a situation in which JGR identified the issues ailing the team — and let’s be clear here, a win and 20 top-10 finishes is only an “underperformance” based on the high bar Busch had previously set — and made a bold decision in an attempt to right the ship.

Coach Joe Gibbs is a pragmatic leader who simply wouldn’t have made such a stark decision if he thought keeping the Busch/Stevens pairing intact would produce the best possible outcome for ’21.

Busch is also commonly thought of as among — if not the — most supremely talented drivers in NASCAR, so that alone makes me think a bounce-back season is not only likely, but a guaran-damn-tee.

KRAFT: Can I agree that Kyle Busch will bounce back, but believe that Martin Truex Jr. will bounce back with more wins? Because that’s my position. There’s no way these two drivers combine for two wins in a single season in 2021. I just don’t see it. But I do see Truex having the better 2021 for several reasons.

More experience atop the box should be helpful to Truex in 2020. James Small was in his first season as a crew chief and it was far from your typical season, due to the lack of practice time once the season resumed after the COVID-19 stoppage — time that would have served a new pairing well (and that same lack of practice could be an early hindrance to Busch with his new crew chief). The strategy and the calls of when to bring his driver down pit road were all new to him and there were some bumps in the road. The duo found their footing by the summer — notching a win at Martinsville and a late-summer run of eight straight top-four finishes. Truex had one of the best cars in the latter half of the season but couldn’t quite grab another win.

Keeping Truex and Small together makes me think that Coach Gibbs sees things similarly — that this duo is knocking on the door of a big season especially with the speed there in spades with a rules package that will be the same as 2020. The schedule also sets up nicely for Truex with seven road courses on the slate. While Chase Elliott has been the man to beat of late at that type of venue, Truex is far from a pushover at road racing with four wins at Sonoma and Watkins Glen (he was also runner-up to Elliott’s two Watkins Glen wins in 2018-19) and I feel confident in saying that Truex will nab 1-2 wins on road courses in addition to grabbing a few elsewhere.

You know how many wins Truex had with his eventual title-winning crew chief Cole Pearn in their first year together in 2015? The same as he had with Small — one. From there, Truex won four, eight, four and seven races with Pearn in the next four seasons.