The NASCAR charter system began in 2016, and teams that own charters are allowed to compete in every NASCAR Cup Series points-paying race (and thus are guaranteed to earn a portion of the purse). There are 36 charters that are owned by teams. Teams may sell their charters to other owners or transfer them to another team for a set amount of time.
With the NASCAR field set at 40 cars for Cup Series races, this means 36 charter teams are joined by a maximum of four open teams that must qualify to compete in any given race.
Who has NASCAR charters for the 2021 season? Check out our chart below:
Today’s Team Penske 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.
Manufacturer: Ford Engine: Roush Yates Engines Driver-crew chief pairings: Brad Keselowski-Jeremy Bullins (No. 2); Ryan Blaney-Todd Gordon (No. 12); Joey Logano-Paul Wolfe (No. 22)
What’s new: For 2021, Penske will field a fourth car for reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric in a select number of events with the first being an attempt to make the Daytona 500. The limited schedule in the No. 33 Ford will help Cindric prepare for his move to the Cup Series full-time in 2022, driving for Wood Brothers Racing.
Team outlook: Team Penske’s shuffling of crew chiefs to start 2020 netted great results with all three drivers making the playoffs, including Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski reaching the Championship 4. The team collectively put eight wins up on the board, up from six the previous season. With one year under their belts to establish a notebook, the trio of drivers and crew chiefs will look to continue to build their relationships with an eye on the championship they came close to winning last season.
Racing Insights’ stats break: Major crew chief swaps in 2020 paid off with all three drivers winning and making the playoffs. Both Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski made it to the Championship 4 but neither driver left as the champion. Logano (three) and Keselowski (five) enter 2021 with long multi-win season streaks while Ryan Blaney hopes to join them by winning multiple races in 2021 for the first time in his Cup career.
Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford
Experience: 12th full season in NASCAR Cup Series 2020 stats: Second in final standings; 4 wins, 13 top fives, 24 top 10s 2020 final Fantasy Live ranking: 4th 2021 championship odds: 8-1
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Outlook: Keselowski is coming off his best finish in the standings, second, since capturing the title in 2012. Keselowski’s strength in 2020 came at the oval tracks with the 750 horsepower, low-downforce package with three of his four wins coming in those races. This season will see two additional oval tracks get that package at Darlington Raceway and for the Cup Series debut at Nashville Superspeedway — places where Keselowski has already visited Victory Lane (Xfinity Series at Nashville). Along with another championship, Keselowski has made it clear he wants to add a Daytona 500 win and a victory in his home state at Michigan International Speedway to his resume.
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Experience: Sixth full season in NASCAR Cup Series 2020 stats: Ninth in final standings; 1 win, 11 top fives, 17 top 10s 2020 final Fantasy Live ranking: 7th 2021 championship odds: 14-1
Outlook: While Blaney’s last two wins over the course of the last two seasons have come at Talladega Superspeedway, he’s shown strength at all types of tracks. With the increase in road course events to seven in 2021, that is one area that Blaney has excelled at as a member of Team Penske. Dating back to his win in 2018 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, he’s posted five top 10s in the six-race span. Last year, Blaney led the series with a 6.8 average finish in the 11 races at 1.5-mile tracks and posted two runner-up finishes at the Martinsville short track. This could be the year Blaney posts his first multiple-win season.
Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
Experience: 13th full season in NASCAR Cup Series 2020 stats: Third in final standings; 3 wins, 12 top fives, 21 top 10s 2020 final Fantasy Live ranking: 6th 2021 championship odds: 8-1
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Outlook: Logano and Wolfe got off to a great start in 2020 with wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway before the COVID-19 shutdown. With the loss of practice when racing resumed, it took the team time to jell, and it wasn’t until the second visit to certain tracks that things started to click. Logano returned to Victory Lane in race No. 33 at Kansas Speedway. However, like his teammate, Keselowski, Logano was strong all year with the 750-horsepower package, posting a series-best 6.4 average finish in the 10 races at oval tracks it was used. Logano also captured two top 10s last season in the two road-course races. Along with his teammate Blaney, Logano is one of eight active full-time drivers with a road course win (Watkins Glen, 2015).
The time is near. The entire short track community has been waiting since December.
Friday will mark the first day of racing for the 55th Annual World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna. The nine-day short track racing spectacular runs through Saturday, February 13.
Drivers, teams, and fans travel to Florida from all across the country to kick off the 2021 short track racing season at the half-mile asphalt oval.
Fans unable to attend can watch the World Series play out on Trackpass on NBC Sports Gold every night, beginning at 7:30.
Last year’s World Series saw “Big Money” Matt Hirschman dominate the week, finishing no worse than third while capping off his points title with a win in the Richie Evans Memorial 100 at the end of the week.
The entry list for the Tour Modifieds is nothing short of stacked 44 cars that are headed to Florida, including many of the biggest names in Modified racing.
Matt Hirschman, winner of last year’s World Series points title and two in the last three years, makes his return to New Smyrna for PeeDee Racing in the No. 60. Joining Hirschman will be Chuck Hossfeld, the 2019 track champion. Hossfeld also won the title in 2012. Ron Silk is another World Series champion (2014) who will be running for another.
And Ryan Preece will be back in a ground-pounder, splitting time between the World Series and Daytona International Speedway 10 miles away, where he’ll be preparing to qualify for his third career Daytona 500. While he’s not running for the points title at the World Series this year, Preece is a three-time champion in his own right, having won three in a row from 2015 to 2017, and is also the 2013 Whelen Modified Tour champion.
Preece won’t be the only Tour champ in the division. Six-time Tour champion Doug Coby is set to compete as well, driving his own Doug Coby Racing No. 10 Modified.
With the same cast of contenders back from years prior, along with an entry list that continues to grow bigger and bigger, fans are in for a real treat when the Tour Modifieds run their first feature Monday night.
Super Late Models
The longest running division of the World Series, Super Late Models have been clicking off laps at New Smyrna since 1968.
The division is named in honor of David Rogers, a longtime New Smyrna racer and 1994 national champion who passed away last year.
Seven races are on the schedule for the SLMs, who wrap up their points title run with the Orange Blossom 100.
Not to be outdone by the Tour Modifieds, the entry list is all-star caliber in its own right.
Defending champion Derek Griffith is back in the World Series, behind the wheel of the No. 12. Also set to compete are Bubba Pollard, the 2019 champion, along with Brad May, who won a pair of races in last year’s World Series.
We welcome last years Super Late Model World Series champion Derek Griffith to the 2021 World Series! Derek had his breakthrough season last year and will be back to defend his crown! Join us Feb 5th-13th for some great racing action! #NSSWorldSeries#Nascar#GetHypedpic.twitter.com/BFFnAF8uUa
Two new names on the entry list are anything but new to SLM success. Jacob Goede and Peyton Sellers are both NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champions (Sellers 2005, Goede 2019). Sellers also finished second in 2020 to Josh Berry.
One race that will be up for grabs is the Orange Blossom 100. The defending winner of that race, Ty Majeski, is not entered in the World Series this year.
There are always fireworks after a World Series SLM race. The 2021 running shows no signs of being any different.
Hold onto your hats
While the Tour Modifieds and SLMs are the crown jewel divisions of the World Series, there’s going to be plenty more racing going on throughout the week.
Pro Late Models run six times, finishing up with a 100-lap feature on February 12. Other divisions racing include the Florida Modified, Sportsmans, Bombers, E-Mods, eBay Motors 603 Modifieds, Pro Trucks and LKQ Super Stocks. Florida Modifieds will also run six nights, ending with an extra-distance 75-lap feature on Tuesday, Feb. 9 – while Sportsman will run the first two nights; eBay Motors 602 Modifieds will race Sunday, Feb. 7-Tuesday, Feb. 9; Pro Truck will run the final two nights; and the LKQ Super Stock will run a 50-lap open race on Saturday, Feb. 13.
And of course, the World Series will also be the site of the season-opener for the ARCA Menards Series East, as they run the JEEP Beach 175 on February 8.
Hang in there, short track fans. The wait is almost over.
The 2021 NASCAR Safety and Operations Summit powered by Verizon was held virtually, on BlueJeans by Verizon, as the NASCAR departments (medical, track services, security, operations and track operations) responsible for putting on a safe and orderly show at NASCAR tracks across the country, Mexico and Canada looked back on 2020 and prepared for the upcoming season.
This group faced unprecedented challenges during the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic but was largely responsible for a safe return to racing while NASCAR worked closely with federal, state and local officials to ensure that guidelines were followed.
This year’s summit featured keynote speaker Joseph McCormack from the BRIEF Lab based in Southern Pines, North Carolina, and talks from NASCAR leaders, including NASCAR President Steve Phelps, Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell and Vice President of Racing Operations John Bobo.
Vickie Lonker, Vice President of Public Sector Solutions from Verizon, the sponsor for this year’s summit, welcomed the group and thanked the first responders for their work during a particularly challenging season.
John Patalak, NASCAR senior director of safety and engineering, gave a review in safety protocols, and then each department head provided important updates to all attendees.
The awards presentation capped the summit by highlighting some of the standout performances from the 2020 season. Here’s the full list of awards:
Teamwork Award: The medical liaison team recognized Daytona International Speedway for its work with Ryan Newman at the Daytona 500.
Award of Excellence: The medical liaison team recognized Darlington Raceway for a seamless return to racing after the pause for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Award of Excellence: The medical liaison team recognized Texas Motor Speedway for its safe hosting of a rain-delayed weekend event that stretched to Wednesday of the next week.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Jerry Petty. His unwavering commitment to the sport leaves a lasting legacy within the medical community and drivers alike.
Teamwork Award: The track services team recognized Darlington Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway for helping NASCAR have a safe return to racing.
Mission Award: The track services team recognized Daytona International Speedway for its actions during the 2020 Daytona 500 and Speedweeks.
Outstanding Service Award: The NASCAR security team recognized Michael Allen Lentz, who was one of the original NASCAR security team members and retired at the end of 2020.
The Commitment to Public Health Award went to AMR, a dedicated partner of NASCAR since 2017 with its primary focus being the safety and wellbeing of the drivers, crews and other competitors on the track.
The Commitment to Safe Work Environment Award went to Clean Harbor, which ensured every square inch of space and every piece of equipment was sanitized, cleaned and spotless before and after each race.
Congratulations to all of this year’s award winners.
Team officials for 23XI Racing confirmed Wednesday that Ty Dillon will drive the team’s No. 23 Toyota in next week’s Busch Clash preliminary event at Daytona International Speedway’s road course.
23XI, a joint venture between NBA legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR star Denny Hamlin, is set for its first NASCAR Cup Series season with Bubba Wallace to be the team’s full-time driver. But Wallace is ineligible for the exhibition event, leading the organization to turn to the 28-year-old Dillon, who qualified for the race by scoring a stage win during the 2020 season.
Root Insurance, one of the team’s founding partners, will sponsor the No. 23 Toyota for the Busch Clash. The 23XI effort in the event will allow the team a chance to get in the flow of competition before its full-fledged launch.
Dillon is set for a Daytona 500 bid this year with Gaunt Brothers Racing. He’s also signed on for part-time duty with Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Not only does Bubba Wallace want to capture his first career NASCAR Cup Series win in 2021, he’s doubling down and shooting for two victories.
This is in a brand-new ride, too. Wallace piloted the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet for three full seasons and four part-time starts since joining the sport’s top level in 2017. Now, he’s introducing the No. 23 Toyota to the league with 23XI Racing’s debut.
“I feel like people are writing 23XI, two wins; if we don’t get that, we need to close up our shop,” Wallace said Tuesday during a virtual Media Day on Zoom. “That’s not the case at all. That’s a personal goal for me. Knowing the success of Toyota and the success with JGR, there is a lot more opportunity than I’ve had in recent years to go out and compete.”
JGR comes into play because 23XI has a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, meaning the Toyota stalwart will share resources with the new organization. JGR is a Cup Series powerhouse, boasting five championships over three decades of competition. Its winningest driver in 2020, Denny Hamlin, is actually a co-owner of 23XI, paired with NBA legend Michael Jordan.
Hamlin will still race his No. 11 JGR Toyota in 2021, and surely years to follow after a recent extension, as he’s still chasing that elusive championship title after 16 years of full-time effort. He won seven races last season and finished fourth in the final standings.
Wallace, meanwhile, ended up with one top-five finish, five top-10 runs and 22nd-place in the final standings.
“I’m all ears,” Wallace said. “Got the notebook ready to see what there is to offer.”
So, even though Wallace and Hamlin will be competing against each other this year, they also have a working driver-owner relationship.
“Denny told me at the beginning of this deal that if something isn’t right, don’t hesitate to go to him no matter the circumstances,” Wallace said. “I’ll make sure to have that lifeline in my back pocket if things aren’t necessarily going to plan for whatever reason. But I don’t expect that to happen. I think we have the right people in the right place to make our program a success from the front office to our guys in the shop, then our road crew to our pit crew.”
Wallace doesn’t expect to hop in his new car and immediately knock out wins. From prior experience, he knows better than to put that kind of pressure on himself – he did drive for Richard Petty, “The King” after all. Instead, Wallace is going to go out there and simply race the best he can in each event, starting with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM).
Though, it is worth noting the closest Wallace has ever come to taking a checkered flag was at Daytona International Speedway. He was .26 seconds short of winning the 2018 season opener. Hamlin, who won the next two Daytona 500s back to back, was behind him in third, proving the two really will battle for position on track.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity,” Wallace said. “I don’t know if I’ve said it enough. This is what I’ve been wanting for so long: to go out and try to prove a point.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Eight talented young drivers from various backgrounds were selected to the newest class of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program, NASCAR and Rev Racing announced Wednesday.
The 2021 roster for the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program includes returning veterans, a rising iRacer, two FB y BOHN Mikel’s Trucks drivers and the 2020 World Series Dirt Nationals champion.
Nick Sanchez, Rajah Caruth, Isabella Robusto, Lavar Scott and Regina Sirvent are Rev Racing veterans returning to the program in 2021. This season will mark the first year of NASCAR Drive for Diversity participation for drivers Justin Campbell, Andres Perez de Lara and Jaiden Reyna.
Sanchez will race full-time in the ARCA Menards Series after a successful rookie season in the ARCA Menards Series East. Caruth, a prominent iRacer who made his transition to the race track in 2019, is advancing to compete in the ARCA Menards Series East while also continuing to race in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series in 2021.
Scott and Sirvent are advancing to join Caruth in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series after racing Legend cars in the 2020 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Youth Driver Development Program for Rev Racing. Robusto will also compete in the Late Model division. Newcomers Campbell, Perez de Lara and Reyna will race U.S. Legend cars.
“We are thrilled to welcome these accomplished drivers to our successful development program,” said Jusan Hamilton, NASCAR Director, Racing Operations and Event Management. “We’re enthusiastic about their future and look forward to working with each driver as they advance their racing careers.”
Traditionally, drivers are selected after participating in a two-day NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Combine sponsored by Honda Generators that includes on-track assessments. The 2020 combine was canceled due to the impact of COVID-19, so candidates were evaluated based on applications, references, historical success and previous on-track performance by a panel comprised of NASCAR industry members. To apply, interested drivers submitted a racing resume and video highlights to NASCAR and Rev Racing.
The NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program was created in 2004 to develop and train ethnically diverse and female drivers both on and off the track. NASCAR Cup Series drivers Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suárez and Kyle Larson are alumni of this program, which is operated by Rev Racing in Concord, N.C.
“We could not be more pleased with the 2021 class selection,” said Max Siegel, Rev Racing Owner. “Each year the competition in the sport continues to rise and so does the talent of our applicant pool. We feel very confident in our ability to be competitive and look forward to a successful season.”
Wallace debuted in the NASCAR Cup Series full-time in 2018 and finished second in the Daytona 500 that season. He also has six wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, where he became the first African American driver since Hall of Famer Wendell Scott to win a NASCAR race. This season, Wallace will make his debut with the 23XI Racing team owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin.
Suárez won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in 2016 and became the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR national series championship. This season Suárez will debut with Trackhouse Racing, a team co-owned by music icon Pitbull. Kyle Larson is a six-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner and has qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs four times. This month at Daytona International Speedway, Larson will begin his first season driving for Hendrick Motorsports.
The 2021 class features the following drivers:
Nick Sanchez – ARCA Menards Series: The 19-year-old driver from Miami, Fla., had a fourth-place finish during his ARCA Menards debut in 2020. He finished third in the 2020 ARCA Menards Series East point standings with two top fives and three top 10s.
Rajah Caruth – ARCA Menards Series East and NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series: The 18-year-old driver returns to Rev Racing and will compete in the ARCA Menards Series East. The Washington, D.C., native won once at Greenville Pickens Speedway in a Late Model stock car in 2020. Caruth also finished sixth in points at the Charlotte Summer Shootout racing in the Semi-Pro Division.
Isabella Robusto – NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series: The Fort Mill, S.C., native, 16, returns to Rev Racing after finishing third at Hickory Motor Speedway in 2020. She also won the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Young Racer Award for the second time.
Lavar Scott – NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series: Scott secured two podium finishes at the 1/5 Mile Trophy Dash at Charlotte Motor Speedway in a Legend car and won back-to-back races in a 600 Micro Sprint. The 17-year-old from Carney’s Pointe, N.J., also won the World Series Dirt Nationals.
Regina Sirvent – NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series: The State of Mexico, Mexico native competed in the FB y BOHN Mikel’s Truck Mexico Series, winning twice. The 17-year-old driver had a third-place finish at the Charlotte Summer Shootout with three top fives and five top 10s.
Justin Campbell – U.S. Legend Car: The 15-year-old from Griffin, Ga., earned a top-10 finish in the standings at the 2020 Thursday Thunder Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In 2018, he competed in a Bandolero with two top-10 finishes and a win.
Andres Perez de Lara – U.S. Legend Car: The Mexico City, Mexico native competed in Formula 4 and won four races. The 15-year-old driver also competed in the FB y BOHN Mikel’s Truck México Series and had one win. Perez De Lara was 2020’s youngest winner in Latin American Formula 4.
Jaiden Reyna – U.S. Legend Car: Reyna earned two first place finishes at Lincoln Speedway in the Young Lion Division. The 14-year-old from Cornelius, N.C., also had ten firsts, one second and one third-place finish at the 2020 Charlotte Summer Shootout in the Young Lion Division.
Today’s Joe Gibbs 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.
Manufacturer: Toyota Engine: Toyota Racing Development Driver-crew chief pairings: Denny Hamlin-Chris Gabehart (No. 11), Kyle Busch-Ben Beshore (No. 18), Martin Truex Jr.-James Small (No. 19), Christopher Bell-Adam Stevens (No. 20)
What’s new: Goodbye, Erik Jones. Hello, Christopher Bell. The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has a new pilot for 2021. Bell spent his rookie season with Leavine Family Racing but was picked up after the fellow Toyota organization announced its sale back in August; LFR ceased operations at the conclusions of the 2020 season. (Jones, meanwhile, moved to Richard Petty Motorsports.) And to add to the newness of the No. 20 team, Adam Stevens will be atop the pit box rather than Chris Gayle, who previously worked with Jones. Yes, that means the two-time Cup Series championship duo of Stevens and driver Kyle Busch split up after six seasons and 28 wins together. Ben Beshore will now call the shots as the No. 18 crew chief, moving up from the Xfinity Series to the Cup Series with JGR.
Team outlook: Denny Hamlin was the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver to make it into the Championship 4 last season. Compare that to 2019 when three out of the four title contenders were from the JGR camp. Placing more than one car in that final battle would be a step back in the right direction, or just having more than one driver with a multi-win season again.
Racing Insights’ stats break: The 2020 season was, by Joe Gibbs Racing standards, a letdown. After winning a modern-era record 19 times in 2019, the team won only nine times in 2020. Of the teams nine wins, Denny Hamlin accounted for seven and still failed to win the championship.
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Experience: 16th full-time season in NASCAR Cup Series 2020 stats: 4th in final standings; seven wins, 18 top fives and 21 top 10s 2020 final Fantasy Live ranking: 2nd 2021 championship odds: 8-1
Outlook: Last season was definitely not Denny Hamlin’s worst, far from it. He was the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver to win more than once, tallying a total of seven victories, and qualify for the Championship 4. Though he had a career-best 9.3 average finish, his career high in wins remains the eight in 2010 when he finished runner-up overall. So, there’s still room for improvement, especially given the fact Hamlin has yet to win a championship. That’s really all he has left to accomplish, unless he wants to hit double digits in the season win column. This will be his third year with crew chief Chris Gabehart, and so far, they’ve finished fourth together twice in the final standings. Also, as a reminder, Hamlin has his own Cup Series team in the running with 23XI Racing and driver Bubba Wallace.
Experience: 17th full-time season in NASCAR Cup Series 2020 stats: 8th in final standings; 1 win, 14 top fives and 20 top 10s 2020 final Fantasy Live ranking: 8th 2021 championship odds: 7-1
Outlook: Well, Kyle Busch extended his streak of consecutive seasons with a win to 16. That’s basically the only highlight from 2020. The reigning champion managed to win only one race, and the victory didn’t come until the 34th event of the 36-race schedule – Texas Motor Speedway in the postseason. Busch was already eliminated from the playoff picture at that point, too. He and long-time crew chief Adam Stevens separated at the end of the frustrating season, and now Ben Beshore is set to climb atop Busch’s pit box in 2021. Busch and Beshore have worked together briefly in the past – three Cup Series races in 2017 and seven Xfinity Series races in 2019 with four wins – so Beshore won’t be a completely foreign voice in Busch’s ear. (Beshore spent last season with the Xfinity Series’ four-win Rookie of the Year, Harrison Burton, another Joe Gibbs Racing driver.) Ah, and one more thing: Last time Busch didn’t have a multi-win season was 2014, and in 2015, he came back to win the championship, even after missing 11 races due to injury.
Experience: 16th full-time season in NASCAR Cup Series 2020 stats: 7th in final standings; 1 win, 14 top fives and 23 top 10s 2020 final Fantasy Live ranking: 5th 2021 championship odds: 8-1
Outlook: Martin Truex Jr. visited Victory Lane only once in 2020 – Martinsville Speedway during the regular season. That’s a major drop from the seven wins recorded in 2019. This past year, though, was his first without crew chief Cole Pearn since 2015, a timespan that included Truex’s sole title in 2017. James Small took over pit-box responsibilities after Pearn retired with the 2019 schedule’s conclusion. So now Truex and Small at least have a year’s worth of experience together. Much like the Kyle Busch catch, last time Truex didn’t make the Championship 4 was 2016 (finished 11th in final standings), and then the next year he won the whole dang thing as already noted.
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Experience: Second full-time season in NASCAR Cup Series 2020 stats: 20th in final standings; 0 wins, 2 top fives and seven top 10s 2020 final Fantasy Live ranking: 19th 2021 championship odds: 50-1
Outlook: Christopher Bell enters his sophomore season with a different team in Joe Gibbs Racing, and he just so happens to also gain a crew chief with an impressive resume. Adam Stevens won two championships at JGR with Kyle Busch and has navigated through the Cup Series field to 28 victories since 2015 – the same year Bell made his first-ever NASCAR start in the Camping World Truck Series. There will surely be a relationship-building period, but the combination of Bell’s youth and Stevens’ experience may be just what the No. 20 needs to return to Victory Lane and the NASCAR Playoffs, both of which would be firsts for Bell.
Ryan Newman says he has no memories of his severe crash at the end of last year’s Daytona 500.
In some ways, that’s good. He’s spared the trauma of reliving the experience of his No. 6 car’s multiple impacts and its prolonged, sparking skid on its roof.
In other ways, that’s bad. As he attempted to dissect and learn from replays of the wreck, he scoured video footage for as many viewpoints as he could find, studying the physics of how his car reacted to the forces pressing against it and observing the emergency response. There’s one key perspective he lacks.
“I’ve watched every angle that I could possibly watch. The biggest problem is, I don’t have any memory of my own angle, which is the ultimate angle,” Newman said Tuesday in a preseason video conference with reporters. “And that’s gone, and that’ll always be gone, and no matter how many times I watch a replay or a different variation of that memory, it doesn’t change my personal memory because it just doesn’t exist.”
One year later, the memories still linger for the NASCAR garage, which held its collective breath after the conclusion of the 2020 edition of The Great American Race. Newman was whisked to a nearby hospital as fears spiked, and he miraculously walked out two days later under his own power — memories still blurry, but in relatively fine health after suffering a brain bruise and losing consciousness in the melee.
Steve Newmark | Roush Fenway Racing
The experience never broke Newman’s resolve to return to the driver’s seat, and the 43-year-old veteran will be back for his 20th Cup Series season in an effort to place his name on the Harley J. Earl Trophy a second time in the Daytona 500 (Feb. 14, 2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The experience also kept Newman’s eye on contributions to NASCAR’s safety dialogue and his own larger approach to life, one that was altered in the wake of near-tragedy.
“People have asked me have you changed, and I continually say I haven’t changed, but what happens … it’s a magnifier,” Newman said. “The things that you love, you love more because you were potentially taken or a part of you was taken for even a little bit of time, even. Yeah, it’s opened my eyes and made me more appreciative of a lot of things in life, and probably a little bit more positive and I guess jolly, you could say, in respect to some of the other things that don’t go so well. I feel like it has magnified my personality for all the positive things, and therefore decreased some of the negative things.
“I don’t think that’s considered a change, to me, that’s just an adjustment.”
The crash sparked an investigation by NASCAR officials, working in conjunction with Newman’s Roush Fenway Racing team, into the car’s behavior, data analysis and the safety response. Competition officials updated the rules to further slow the cars at superspeedways and to add two roll bars to further stabilize the cockpit, among further safety measures.
Meanwhile, Newman was already planning his return. He was back at the track as an invested spectator just three weeks after the wreck, rejoining the team at Phoenix Raceway while Ross Chastain handled interim driving duties of the No. 6 Ford. Once NASCAR resumed its schedule in mid-May after the COVID-19 outbreak, Newman was cleared for competition and finished out the year — making a point to personally thank Daytona’s safety team for its efforts when the Cup Series returned there in August.
Though his career is in twilight, Newman came back undaunted, even at the large, high-banked ovals where the potential for peril has a higher peak. Having no memory of his year-ago trauma has helped that motivation. For now, he says, retirement can wait.
“God works in mysterious ways, and one of those mysterious ways that I can’t answer is the deletion of that chapter, that part of my hard drive that was that day, so that I can’t remember the potential tragedy that wasn’t,” said Newman, an 18-time winner in NASCAR’s top division. “So I don’t have any fear because I don’t have any memory, and that was the same analogy I used. If you’ve ever been in a car accident or you know somebody that’s been in a car accident and they were conscious the whole time, they will always carry that fear with them. And I have no memory, so therefore, I have no fear.
“But it’s also my passion and my love and what I enjoy doing. It’s a paid hobby. It’s the most amazing job you could ever have, and that’s where my focus is. I’m just doing my best to continue and become a Cup champion. That’s the way I feel is I still have another opportunity and God’s given me that opportunity and I’ll enjoy it with my two beautiful girls and our team together.”
The lasting legacy of Daytona 2020 may be the testament to ongoing advancements in NASCAR’s safety initiative, one that was captured in the powerful image of Newman walking from Halifax Medical Center two days with daughters Brooklyn and Ashlyn by his side. His children watched him race in person for the first time since the accident at the Chili Bowl Nationals last month in Tulsa, and they’ve embraced the chance for him to be back at Daytona to potentially add to the 500 crown he first won in 2008 — and to add another lasting memory to his hard drive.
“It would be even more special to come back a year later and to really, in all reality, just to have an opportunity to come as close as we did last year would be amazing as well,” Newman says. “I’ve been around the sport long enough to know there’s drivers that have never even gotten a top 10, let alone a top five — or in my case, a top 10 on their roof — let alone have a shot at the Daytona 500 the way I did last year. So just being in the hunt again will be an amazing feeling, hopefully, and all the things that go along with it.”
For Big Machine Label Group president and CEO Scott Borchetta, racing at a younger age, Super Truck titles and influence from championship-winning crew chief Ray Evernham were just few pit stops en route to NASCAR ownership.
It was announced in January that Borchetta’s Big Machine Records company would start its own NASCAR Xfinity Series team for the 2021 season. The team will be called the Big Machine Racing Team with Jade Buford behind the wheel of the new No. 48 Chevrolet.
But it’s what happened years before that sculpted Borchetta’s desire to take on this new endeavor.
Borchetta attended his first major league race in 1970 when IndyCar made its inaugural appearance at Ontario Motor Speedway for the California 500. While playing for several different rock bands, the Burbank, California, native also raced motocross and quarter-midget events in Southern California.
In 1978, when Borchetta was 16, his father moved the family to Nashville to begin his own independent record promotion company after years of working for Los Angeles-based labels. Although he took a hiatus from racing, Borchetta returned to run legends cars in 1995 when country music duo Brooks & Dunn began the Summer Legends Shootout Series at what was then the Nashville Motor Speedway. From there, Borchetta moved up to the NASCAR SuperTrucks Series in 1999, rattling off three consecutive SuperTrucks championships from 2003-05.
“It’s always been part of my DNA,” Borchetta told NASCAR.com. “It’s always been part of my culture. To me, the music business and racing business are very similar. It’s like, give me that open lane and I’ll find a way to beat you. There’s a lot of similarities because it’s about talent and providing that talent with the best possible opportunity to do their best work. There are a lot of parallels for me.”
Borchetta’s most recent racing journey involves Evernham, former crew chief for NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon. Evernham noticed how talented Borchetta was in a race car during an episode of his television show “AmeriCarna” in 2014 while taking Marty Robbins’ 1964 Belvedere for a spin.
Evernham later invited him for a track day on dirt, which Borchetta had never raced on before. Once again, Evernham was impressed with Borchetta’s car control, inviting him to race 1972 Corvettes in the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association, an opportunity he finally took after careful consideration.
“My hero wants me to come race with him, are you out of your mind?” Borchetta said. “When I got home, I talked to my wife Sandy and she said how can you not do this? This guy has been one of your idols, now he’s become a friend. Go do this.”
As he takes on what is sure to be one of his most difficult tasks to date with an ownership role, Borchetta refers back to the leadership of Evernham, which helped shape the mold for how he envisions his team.
“I always joke with my team … read the rulebook and then read it again,” Borchetta said. “It’s telling you how to win. So many people look at it and say, OK well, it’s telling me how to lose. No, it’s telling you how to win. It’s showing you where the line is. And then there’s the unwritten (rules), now go write the unwritten. Ray wrote the unwritten. The way that he led that team and the way that he and Jeff took the sport by storm. He was going to win, he was going to find new ways to win.”
Buford drives the No. 07 Chevrolet in the rain during the Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Roval. Credit: Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Aside from his own driving, Borchetta now shifts his focus to providing the tools necessary for Buford to succeed. In 2020, the 32-year-old ran four Xfinity Series road-course races with backing from Big Machine Distillery and Big Machine Hand Sanitizer. Buford’s best finish was eighth at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
Not approved for the Daytona oval, the 32-year-old Brentwood, Tennessee, native will make his first full-time start in the second race of the season at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. While Borchetta could have picked up an 18-year-old driver, which is the normal trend for owners these days, what did he see in an older driver like Buford?
Overall, Borchetta thinks Buford has “got the goods.”
“(Buford) lives to race, races to live,” Borchetta said. “He’s so technical about his approach and has this extraordinary humbling confidence. And it’s like, you know what, this guy deserves a shot. He’s not the youngest guy on the grid, but I think he’s going to show everybody … I mean it’s going to take a minute and I don’t have any false expectations. We have a lot to learn and build the team out.”
What stuck out to Borchetta the most was a track day at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, which serves as a new stop for the NASCAR circuit in 2021. Buford took Borchetta for a ride-along where he taught his future car owner how to improve his lap times around the road course. That lesson resulted in Borchetta decreasing his lap time by roughly a second. That was when Borchetta knew he found his future driver.
“If you are going to understand how to verbalize how to go faster, that means you have a very deep understanding of how to go faster,” Borchetta said. “Anytime you can verbalize and teach somebody, your brain is working in a different way.”
Borchetta’s decision was reaffirmed when Buford made his first laps on an oval in a Mike Skinner-owned race car recently, where Buford out-qualified Skinner.
“Skinner called me up and said, ‘your guy’s got talent,’ ” Borchetta said. “Some guy like Skinner … he’s not going to say that. He doesn’t care. That’s a hard-nosed racer for life. If he (Jade) wasn’t any good, he (Skinner) would have said he’s not any good or he wouldn’t have said anything.”
Buford was one of the reasons why Borchetta felt the 2021 season was the perfect time to start his journey as a NASCAR team owner, taking over Ryan Sieg’s second Xfinity Series team. The No. 48 Big Machine Racing squad will also be led by former NASCAR Cup Series crew chief Patrick Donahue.
“A lot of great things came together,” Borchetta said. “Last year with Jade and the road races we did, I learned a lot more about the inside of running that series. What it takes to do it, what it takes to do it right.”
Borchetta credits his efforts of gaining respect from those in the NASCAR garage, which includes Evernham and NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton, for being provided this ownership opportunity today. Not only does he have eyes on making his team a threat on the race track, but he also sees new opportunities with his record label and vodka brands in the sport like his entitlement sponsorship of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 2017.
“It’s just nice to be recognized by the best of the best of having some talent,” Borchetta said. “I think that’s very satisfying for me because I always want to improve. Every time I get in the car, it’s about getting better. I take it very seriously. I love doing it so much. … I certainly had the desire to do it (at a younger age) but didn’t have the means to do it. I think that’s part of why I love to help young drivers.
“We’re only starting at zero because it’s a new team, but we’re bringing decades worth of experience to starting this team. … I’m very blessed to be able to help other race drivers in a sport that I love so much.”
