Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. got their first taste of the Next Gen stock car for the 2022 Cup Series on Monday, as a two-day test session opened at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The two former NASCAR Cup Series champions are on hand for the next step in the 2022 model’s development, including the first time that two prototypes of the new model are scheduled to be on track at the same time.
The two Next Gen tests are scheduled Monday and Wednesday at the Concord, North Carolina track. Monday’s test will be on the 2.32-mile oval/road course layout while Wednesday’s session will be held on the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval. Officials will use the Tuesday in between tests to change track configurations.
The sessions will mark the sixth and seventh on-track shakedowns for the proposed 2022 model. The most recent test was a two-day session at Dover International Speedway in August, when Sunoco Rookie of the Year Cole Custer took his first laps in the “P3” prototype, the third model built by Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR’s Research & Development team as a collaboration.
The Dover test was intended to test the model’s durability and adjustability, plus putting miles on some of the car’s final-production parts. Each test so far has been held using a single prototype.
Monday’s test marks the first official NASCAR test of the Next Gen model on a road course. IMSA team Action Express Racing held its own track day with a Next Gen car in August at the Daytona International Speedway road course.
Stafford Speedway management has released the official 2021 race schedule for the Stafford Springs, CT half-mile. The 24-race schedule offers a blend of Stafford‘s classic weekly racing events and special events. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is set to return to Stafford Speedway for 3 events in 2021.
“Another season is on the horizon,” explained Stafford Speedway CEO Mark Arute. “2020 was a challenge but with the support of the race teams, race fans, and Team Stafford, we were able to get through it. For 2021 we look to continue to build on our strong weekly program and special events. We‘ve added a few twists and turns in the schedule to keep things interesting but our approach continues to be schedule consistency, we think that is important for the sport.”
The season kicks-off with the 49th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzleru00ae Weekend Saturday, April 24th and Sunday, April 25th. New for the 2021 Spring Sizzleru00ae Saturday and Sunday will be two separate tickets with the Granite State Pro Stock Series joining the SK Modifiedsu00ae, Late Models, Limited Late Models and Street Stocks on Saturday. Spring Sizzleru00ae Sunday will see the SK Modifiedsu00ae return for their 2nd race of the weekend along with the SK Light Modified division, the Vintage All-Stars, and finally the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour competing in the 150-lap NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzleru00ae.
“We had multiple Friday and Saturday events this season due to Covid,” continued Arute. “With capacity restriction as the big unknown entering 2021 we took a look at what we could do to ensure that even if we are at a reduced capacity we‘d be able to run our entire schedule. This included making the 2021 NAPA Spring Sizzler Weekend a two day, two ticket event. The NASCAR Modified Tour will headline the weekend and we‘ve added the Granite State Pro Stocks and the SK Modifiedu00ae teams will run both Saturday and Sunday.”
Weekly Friday night racing at Stafford will commence Friday, May 7th after 1 off week following the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzleru00ae and will continue weekly through the fall. Headlined by Stafford‘s SK Modifiedu00ae division, Stafford‘s 5 weekly divisions will compete at each Friday night event through the season. New for 2021, race teams will have their worst finish of the season dropped from their final championship point total allowing for an off week, if necessary. More information on this rule will be included in the 2021 general rules to be released in the near future.
The fan favorite Open Modifieds take to the Stafford half-mile 4 times in 2021, Friday, May 14th for the Modified Open 80, Friday, June 11th for the Twisted Tea 80, Friday, July 9th for the Bud Light 80, and Friday, August 20th for the Lincoln Tech 80. The 2020 season featured 4 different winners including Marcello Rufrano, Keith Rocco, Ronnie Williams, and Woody Pitkat.
Each of Stafford‘s 5 weekly divisions have at least 1 extra distance race scheduled in 2021. Extra distance races for the full fendered divisions kicks off with 25 laps for the Limited Late Models on Friday, June 18th, the Street Stock Firecracker 30 is slated for Friday, July 2nd, and the traditional Late Model 50 returns to the schedule on Friday, September 3rd. Three extra distance races for Stafford‘s weekly Modified divisions are scheduled, the 8th Annual NAPA Auto Parts SK 5K on Friday, June 25th, Dunleavy‘s Modifiedz Night for the SK Light Modifieds on Friday, July 23rd, and the Senators Cup for the SK Modifiedu00ae division on Friday, August 13th. The SK Modifiedu00ae division will also compete in the 4th Annual TC 13 SK Modifiedu00ae Shootout on Friday, September 10th.
New for 2021 the season will be extended 1 week beyond NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final Weekend with the addition of NAPA Auto Parts Championship night on Friday, October 1st.
“We were forced to extend beyond the NAPA Fall Final this season due to Covid,” continued Arute. “The fans and drivers liked the NAPA Champions night format so we will continue that in 2021. Running our weekly divisions as the final night of the season gives our champions their own night in the spotlight.”
Season tickets for the 2021 season are now on sale at staffordspeedway.com/store. Early bird discount pricing is in effect until December 16th when prices increase. Season pass holders saved over 60% in 2020 when compared to purchasing a ticket every week.
For more information, visit www.staffordspeedway.com, checkout Stafford Speedway on Facebook or Twitter, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
NASCAR became one of the first sports leagues to resume following the COVID-19 pause, and the sport soon began to shift its attention to another problem well beyond the race track: racial inequality.
As the death of George Floyd and countless other acts of racial injustice sparked cultural change around the country, Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s lone Black driver, led the sport through the national conversation about racial justice and inclusion.
In “We Stand United,” Episode 2 of MotorTrend’s docuseries “NASCAR 2020: Under Pressure,” Wallace shares his thoughts on the journey to take a stand against racism while trying to perform at his best in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet. The episode shares new perspectives on an emotional few weeks over the summer, a movement that sparked NASCAR’s ban on the Confederate flag as drivers and crew members rallied around Wallace in a monumental moment at Talladega Superspeedway.
Come back every Saturday, from Nov. 7 to Dec. 12, to see an all-new episode of “NASCAR 2020: Under Pressure,” an inside look at the unforgettable 2020 NASCAR season.
Plus, with your free trial to the MotorTrend App you will also get access to over 3,600 hours of automotive entertainment, including shows from MotorTrend, Discovery Channel, live events and more. Start watching “Under Pressure” today.
NASCAR officials announced Tuesday that they have issued an indefinite suspension to Josh Reaume, a driver and team owner in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.
Reaume was indefinitely barred for violating Sections 12.1 and 12.8.1.e in the NASCAR Rule Book. NASCAR officials confirmed that the behavioral penalty stemmed from a recent post Reaume made on social media, without revealing the specific nature of its content.
The Rule Book’s Section 12.1 involves general disciplinary action, while 12.8.1.e concerns specific items regarding NASCAR member conduct. Those conduct guidelines include details for violations through “public statement and/or communication that criticizes, ridicules, or otherwise disparages another person based upon that person’s race, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, or handicapping condition.”
The Reaume Brother Racing team fielded at least two entries in every Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series event this season. Josh Reaume made 12 Gander Trucks starts as a driver-owner and added two spot starts in the Xfinity Series this year.
NASCAR officials issued penalties for post-race lug-nut violations to three teams in the Xfinity Series after that tour’s season finale last Saturday at Phoenix Raceway.
The infractions were found in a post-race check after Saturday’s Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at the 1-mile track. The violations of Section 10.9.10.4 in the NASCAR Rule Book resulted in $5,000 fines for the crew chiefs of the following teams:
No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (crew chief Jason Burdett)
No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (crew chief Taylor Moyer)
No. 22 Team Penske Ford (crew chief Brian Wilson)
Austin Cindric drove Penske’s No. 22 Ford to victory in the season finale, sealing his first series championship. Justin Allgaier wound up second in the final standings after driving the No. 7 JRM Chevy to fifth place. Daniel Hemric, part-time pilot this year for the No. 8 JRM entry, placed 25th.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 10, 2020) – During Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, NBC Sports announced that the 2020 NASCAR Awards Show will be broadcast on Wednesday, Nov. 18th at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
The 90-minute broadcast special will celebrate and feature appearances from NASCAR’s 2020 champions in the NASCAR Cup Series – Chase Elliott, NASCAR Xfinity Series – Austin Cindric and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series – Sheldon Creed. NBC Sports’ Kelli Stavast and Marty Snider will co-host the presentation.
The show will also feature an opening performance by award-winning musician Chris Stapleton with the television debut of his song, Arkansas, from his highly anticipated new album Starting Over, and a tribute to seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson, who completed his final full-time season.
In addition, the show will reveal the Bill France Award of Excellence recipient, crown the 2020 Most Popular Drivers, highlight this year’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award finalists, honor the Sunoco Rookie of the Year in each series and recognize additional award winners.
Sunday’s NASCAR season finale culminated with a first Cup Series title for newly crowned Chase Elliott, but Phoenix Raceway also cheered another historic first — its debut as host track for the sport’s championship weekend.
The 1-mile track in Avondale, Arizona, minted three new national series champs last weekend: Chase Elliott (Cup Series), Austin Cindric (Xfinity Series) and Sheldon Creed (Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series). The events were a generally well-received success, though the protocols necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 restricted attendance for each race of the tripleheader. Socially distanced fans sold out the limited allotment of grandstand seating, and portions of the infield and camping areas were also opened up.
Last weekend was meant to be a showcase event for the recently renovated track, which received a $178 million face-lift that included a reconfiguration of the layout and the addition of many fan-friendly amenities. Though the limits on attendance may have dampened a bit of the race-day pop, NASCAR President Steve Phelps praised track president Julie Giese and the work of state and local leaders to create a buzz around the season-ending events.
“The facility looks fantastic. It’s just unfortunate that everyone can’t experience it,” Phelps said. “It’s a bit bittersweet, but I do think this market has responded incredibly strongly to us coming here. Visually when you go around the city, you know that our championship is here. That’s heartwarming.”
Phoenix was installed as the 2020 season’s closer after an 18-year run at Homestead-Miami Speedway in south Florida. The shift moved the final weekend from an intermediate-sized circuit to a venue with a short-track feel to it. “In general, I think NASCAR was built on the smaller tracks and the championship being awarded on them feels right to me,” said Brad Keselowski, who wrapped the year as the Cup Series runner-up.
Phoenix appears in the same time slot on the 2021 schedule, a move that was applauded by other members of this year’s Championship 4, though some suggested a rotation system for the final weekend.
NASCAR’s All-Star Race has slowly begun to break away from its long-standing home at Charlotte Motor Speedway, being run at Bristol last summer and shifting to Texas next year. Why not the championship?
“I think that I’m good with it moving around. I’m good with it staying here for a little bit,” said Denny Hamlin, a two-time winner at Phoenix. “I certainly think that Phoenix Raceway invested money into the fan experience, and any track that does that deserves to have a big race. To me, facilities is a big hitter in my mind for the fan experience, and they invested money in it.
“The city is a sports town. A lot of stuff goes on in this city beyond racing, other sports. We always have had great crowds here no matter what’s gone on, whether we’ve raced two races a year here. If it was a playoff race or not, it was a packed crowd. This place deserves the race that it got.”
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt everyday life in the United States. Even with a vaccine in the works, there are still so many unknowns when it comes to the virus that flipped the world upside down back in March.
Yet, Sunday night saw NASCAR complete its 36th and final race of the 2020 Cup Series season, right on schedule.
“If you can get through a year like this and you’re NASCAR, it certainly bodes well,” said Brad Keselowski, 2020’s runner-up in the final driver standings. “The only thing left was an asteroid strike.
“No, I thought it was really amazing what the sport was able to achieve, that we were able to get all the races in. To be here today and have a great race for a championship, I think that’s really impressive. And NASCAR maybe doesn’t get enough credit for being able to pull that off, considering the landscape.”
NASCAR crowned three brand-new champions this past weekend at Phoenix Raceway. For starters, Sheldon Creed scored his first-ever Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series title Friday. Austin Cindric followed up with his first Xfinity Series championship Saturday. And Chase Elliott capped off the action Sunday, hoisting the ultimate Bill France Cup for the first time in his career.
The entire industry should have collectively released a sigh of relief when that final checkered flag waved and welcomed the offseason.
Despite a nine-week pause just four weeks into the season, NASCAR managed to execute a 2020 schedule that ultimately required 85 revisions due to the ever-changing status of local and state COVID-19 restrictions. Of the 91 events across all three national series, 84 were impacted by the coronavirus, even if dates and locations didn’t change.
“If you think about it, it’s been an awesome year of good racing, and I think our sport has probably done as well as or better than any other sport,” Hendrick Motorsports championship team owner Rick Hendrick said. “We got them all in. Hopefully we’ll get a vaccine and have fans back.”
As normal as the actual racing appeared, race day itself was anything but.
NASCAR prohibited full occupancy at all tracks after the COVID-19 shutdown. Spectators were limited, if allowed at all. Teams couldn’t invite sponsors or partners. Even drivers’ families did not travel until the finale. It was truly essential personnel only.
Weekend events turned into one-day shows, as practice and qualifying sessions were scratched from itineraries in part as a means to limit potential exposure. NASCAR then made up for lost time with doubleheaders and midweek shows.
“The biggest thing we can all take away from this is that we can be more open-minded to change and know that as different as things feel, eventually it becomes a new normal,” third-place finisher Joey Logano said. “I think that was a big challenge for everybody. Change isn’t easy.”
No one knows what 2021 will look like. Sure, the schedule is out. But 2020 proved nothing is set in stone.
And that’s OK.
While it may seem too crazy to believe right now, the 2020 season is indeed officially over. There wasn’t a single race in April, normally an action-packed month, and the schedule still concluded as planned in November.
Think about all the sport overcame. Clearly, anything is possible.
“I applaud NASCAR for what they did,” Hendrick said. “Because if they hadn’t, we wouldn’t have had a season.”
Chase Elliott was just shy of 8 years old when the photo was taken, but it’s etched in his memory.
In the picture, his 48-year-old father — NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott — had just prevailed at Rockingham Speedway for what wound up being the last of his 44 big-league victories. At the other end of career spectrums, 31-year-old Matt Kenseth was celebrating a first, having accumulated enough points to clinch the 2003 Cup Series championship.
The two careers were already intertwined in a way, with Kenseth making his Cup debut in 1998 as a fill-in for Elliott, who withdrew from Dover’s race weekend after the death of his father. Kenseth drove the car to an impressive sixth-place finish. Five years later, game recognized game at Rockingham as Kenseth and the elder Elliott high-fived from their cars after the checkered flag.
That photo sat in Bill Elliott’s office for years, leaving a memory that his son hoped to one day re-enact. Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, with longtime teammate Jimmie Johnson celebrating the end of his full-time run in NASCAR, Chase Elliott got his chance.
“I saw Jimmie kind of taking his victory lap up there and that picture flashed in my head,” Elliott said Sunday, one day shy of the photo’s 17th anniversary. “And I was like, damn, that would be super, super cool to recreate that moment. Yeah, we did. I really hope somebody took that picture because that was really cool. I hope somebody got it.”
Christian Petersen | Getty Images
Chase Elliott now has his own picture, his own championship and all the symbolism that goes with the image after his victory in Sunday’s Season Finale 500. Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet will be inherited by Alex Bowman next season, but the more direct passing of the baton — for both Hendrick Motorsports and the series in general — came Sunday from a past seven-time champion to the sport’s newest champ.
The moment came with unintelligible screaming from their cars, a euphoric outpouring of mutual joy with one career ending and another just beginning to soar. “Can you believe it?!” Johnson recalled Elliott saying through the noise.
“Just so happy for him,” Johnson said. “I’m sure I was saying something along those lines, just how happy I am for him. I saw him on track and left a big donut on the side of his car. I was able to get a high‑five as he was coming around to do burnouts. And I was waving good‑bye. So certainly a couple cool moments.”
The bond for the two drivers runs through Rick Hendrick, the venerable team owner who took a chance on both. It was Hendrick who rolled the dice on Johnson’s Cup Series career, which stemmed from a foundation in off-roading and a moderately successful Xfinity Series tenure. He took his cues from Jeff Gordon and was rewarded with seven championships. More than that, his investment helped produce a driver whose impact and stature as an ambassador for stock-car racing created — with Gordon — another bedrock pillar for his organization.
It was also Hendrick who made a speculative gamble on signing Chase Elliott as a 14-year-old prospect. Those scouting cues came from fellow owner James Finch, who happened to mention, have you seen Chase Elliott drive? … Man, he’s whipping all these guys on dirt. The conversation led him seek out videos of Elliott’s earliest races and to reach out to the teenager’s parents. He was rewarded 10 years later with NASCAR’s newest title winner, an heir to the Most Popular Driver crown and a driver with a career of possibilities ahead of him.
Sunday’s image made the connection between both careers a straight line.
“Jimmie is really special to us, like part of our family,” Hendrick said. “Chase is the new kid coming along ‑‑ not a kid, but… He’s a champion now. It was a special moment to see those two guys embrace.” Hendrick then paused, and his reflex as a fiscally responsible team owner temporarily kicked in. “I think they tore the cars up running into each other out there a little bit,” he added, “but it was a special time and a special place.”
Johnson’s memories run deep as well. He recalled his long-established friendship with the Elliotts, snowboarding with Bill in Colorado years ago as Chase, a quiet grade-schooler on skis, tagged along. His father’s racing career was winding down, but Johnson was already watching his son grow.
Elliott’s eventual rise to NASCAR’s top tour created another lasting image with Johnson. After Elliott’s first Cup Series victory at Watkins Glen in 2018, his No. 9 Chevrolet sputtered out of fuel on the cool-down lap. Ever the helpful teammate, Johnson offered a push back to pit road.
Johnson’s helpful nature delivered again on Sunday with a final word of encouragement. After two failed trips through pre-race inspection, Elliott’s car was forced to drop to the rear of the field for the start — an unexpected hurdle for his title quest. Upon hearing the development, Johnson reminded Elliott that his record-tying seventh championship in 2016 came under similar circumstances, a start at the back of the pack that still resulted in a clinching race victory.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
“I shared that with him, and he smiled and he said, I hope that’s how it goes today. And it did,” Johnson said. “We didn’t think of it as a passing of the torch, but I tried to share some of my experience with him before the race.
“He doesn’t need my help. He’s plenty good on his own. I’m glad it worked out for him.”
The day also worked out for Johnson with an inspiring fifth-place finish — best in class among the non-title-eligible drivers. When nudged by crew chief Cliff Daniels to join Elliott in a celebratory dual burnout, Johnson demurred. “Those donuts are for Chase,” he radioed back.
It didn’t stop the two from sharing one last moment as teammates, creating an image that may one day compete for wall space with the 2003 picture in Bill Elliott’s office.
“Today I feel like symbolized a lot of great things, and I feel like there’s a lot of things from today I’ll look back on in a week or a month or a year, and I’ll be like, dang, that was really cool. That being one of them for sure,” Chase Elliott said. “Jimmie and I have shared some really cool moments on track, and they’ve been in really big moments of my career. The moment we shared after Watkins Glen, the road to that first win. And then for the greatest of all time to be kind of hanging it up today and to win a championship on that day, I mean, that’s just a really cool thing.
“As a fan of his, number one, and as a person that’s looked up to Jimmie in many ways over the years, I’m not sure I could have dreamt that any better.”
