Hailie Deegan will make her first career NASCAR national series start Oct. 17 at Kansas Speedway, it was announced Wednesday.
The 19-year-old from California is set to drive the No. 17 Ford for DGR-Crosley in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. Deegan currently drives full time for the organization in the ARCA Menards Series, steering the No. 4 entry, where she’s currently ranked third in the standings with four top-five and 16 top-10 finishes in 19 races.
Deegan has yet to win in the ARCA Menards Series, but does hold three victories from 2018-19 in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West — now known as the ARCA Menards Series West.
DGR-Crosley fields one full-time Gander Trucks team — the No. 15 of Tanner Gray. The No. 17 truck is a part-time option for multiple drivers, such as Deegan.
The Clean Harbors 200 is set for 4 p.m. ET next Saturday (FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It’ll be a 134-lap event around the 1.5-mile track in Kansas City.
Denny Hamlin won the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The lineup was determined using NASCAR’s competition-based formula, which is a total number based on the previous event: 15% of a fastest lap time position, 25% of the driver’s final race finish position, 25% of the owner’s final race position and 35% of the owner points position.
The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver will be joined by Chase Elliott on the front row in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
In the majority of national series events since NASCAR’s May return, starting lineups have been set by random draws. The new structure draws on performance from both individual races and season-long results, rather than leaving a range of starting spots up to chance.
See the full starting lineup for Sunday’s race below.
Alex Bowman’s favorite Batman villain — crew chief Greg Ives — has earned his distinctive nickname, one that offers a nod toward his sometimes cryptic messages over in-car communications. That handle will stick for a fourth consecutive year, as Ives will make the shift with Bowman from Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 88 Chevrolet to its No. 48 ride in 2021.
“They just keep hitting me with riddles,” Bowman said with a grin, “so the Riddler is back.”
The continued pairing ensures Bowman will start another season with Ives, who has helped his driver assemble one of his strongest playoff bids to date. Bowman acknowledged some ebbs that have gone with the flows during their three years together, most notably a sluggish start to last season and a midsummer swoon this year. But Bowman has also noted their growth, which has cemented their driver-crew chief chemistry in sometimes unconventional ways.
“Regardless of if things were going well or not, I feel like our team has stayed strong together, and Greg and I have done a really good job of communicating,” Bowman said. “To continue to work with Greg, it’s awesome. He’s a great person; a little bit awkward and goofy. He’s like a 9 on the awkward scale, and I’m like a 7, so you know we balance each other out really well.”
The phrase “good job of communicating” comes with a caveat, which is where the Riddler nickname — first brought to public light in 2018 — comes in. Bowman hinted he may need to keep a translation dictionary handy to decipher his crew chief’s radio messages, which are sometimes delivered in code due to his ultra-secretive nature.
“I mean, he just likes to be discreet on the radio and not say obvious things, I guess, and try to keep information to ourselves,” Bowman said. “So he will literally talk in riddles, and it gets really confusing. I’m like, ‘Man, I’m trying to drive. Just tell me what’s going on.’ He’s always looking for that little edge and trying to fool people a little bit. He just tends to talk in riddles a little bit, so we just started calling him the Riddler.”
Ives’ credentials go beyond the nickname, and he has history and familiarity with the No. 48’s pedigree. The 41-year-old crew chief was the No. 48 team engineer from 2006-12 during Johnson’s run of five consecutive Cup Series championships. His transition to a crew chief role helped guide JR Motorsports and Chase Elliott to an Xfinity Series title in 2014.
That history set the foundation for him to take over Hendrick’s No. 88 Chevy as its crew chief, where he has scored five Cup Series wins — three with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and two in his time with Bowman. His latest move represents a type of homecoming.
“It’s pretty special to be able to represent a number that gave me a lot of success early on in my career, and actually built my career, allowed me great opportunities to become crew chief and opened doors for me that probably would never have opened,” Ives said. “My goal is to honor the number by continuing on the great heritage that it has — winning races, championships and being a great team in the sport. Jimmie was able to build that with his character on and off the race track.”
Johnson has seen Ives’ impact up close but also seen his recent development in his partnership with Bowman — one that has been based on mutual trust.
“We all have our own unique style on how we communicate, how we work together, and the success that that yields,” Johnson said. “To watch Greg and Alex really connect and be able to say so little but get so much across. I can only say that because I see them behind the scenes and the way they interact at the shop and understand how they talk in the race, the progression or their setups, their cars and where they go. I mean, Alex has so much trust in Greg. It lets Greg be the creative mad scientist he needs to be to build a fast race car, and then Greg trusts Alex just to jump in there and wheel it and make it happen. So to see that bond between them grow and the trust between the two of them on those levels has really produced the success, and I know it will continue to do so in the future.”
Filling one ride at Hendrick Motorsports has created a vacancy for another. Tuesday’s news break indicated plans for the No. 88 Chevrolet and for Cliff Daniels — the No. 48 team’s current crew chief — would be announced at a later date. Daniels joined Johnson for the final 15 races last year and 2020 has marked his first full season atop the pit box.
“Cliff’s done an amazing job, and to be able to win a championship with him as an engineer and races with him as an engineer and to see him grow into this crew chief role, he has a really bright future,” Johnson said. “And I look forward to seeing what happens for him in 2021.”
For the rest of this season, Bowman and Ives have more goals to achieve as they finish out their term in Hendrick’s No. 88 Chevy. Bowman, who landed his second career victory earlier this season at Auto Club Speedway, now sits 22 points on the plus side of the cutoff line in the playoff picture, heading to Sunday’s Round of 12 finale (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
Four drivers will be eliminated from title contention after the Charlotte Roval event. Avoiding that cut and making the Round of 8 would mark the furthest the Bowman-Ives combo has advanced in the playoffs during the 27-year-old driver’s Cup Series career. It would also continue the team’s comeback from its midseason blues.
“The summer was really rough on us, but I think it showed how strong we can continue to work together,” Bowman said. “The whole team did such a great job staying positive and continuing to work hard and not letting those hard months kind of beat us down. We weren’t running how we wanted to be, but everybody still stuck together. That was really cool to see, and now to see that paying off here over the last couple weeks and to be running well through the playoffs when it counts is really cool.”
The organization announced Tuesday afternoon that Alex Bowman would supplant Jimmie Johnson in the team’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet in 2021, ending months of speculation.
Some eagle-eyed folks on Twitter noticed that Hendrick … technically had dropped hints about the news throughout the day. Reminds us of when the team hid photos of the brand-new Ally paint scheme back in 2019.
If you read the first word of every Hendrick Motorsports tweet from throughout the day, it delivers a hidden message. We’ve embedded them below, starting with the earliest. Again, read the first word in each tweet.
Alex Bowman’s average finish at the @CLTMotorSpdwy roval leads the field with 3.0! 😎
When Alex Bowman joined Hendrick Motorsports for the 2018 season, he played along with the mistaken impression that he was a promising Cup Series rookie — even though already he had two-plus years of experience in NASCAR’s top division. Bowman was in on the joke, if only because his actual rookie season was forgettable; he scratched the top 20 just once for heavy underdog BK Racing and finished 35th in the 2014 driver standings.
Bowman was about as far away on the grid as he could be from Jimmie Johnson, who had just sealed the sixth of his seven championships the year before. But Johnson often made it a point to check in with the series’ newer faces during pre-race ceremonies, and his uplifting words helped sustain Bowman as he raced hard in relative obscurity.
“I was talking about the race that had taken place the week before at just how hard I saw him driving the car,” Johnson recalled. “He was totally sideways, I could see his left-front tire and how active he was behind the wheel, just trying to hang onto it and still going forward. I remember approaching him and being like, ‘Man, I can’t believe you held onto that car and were able to save it and drive it.’ He’s definitely grown up running on the dirt, and I could tell that day when I saw him wheeling the car.”
Somewhat improbably, the two drivers became Hendrick Motorsports teammates four years later and Tuesday, Bowman was introduced as Johnson’s successor in the No. 48 Chevrolet. But their bonds developed into a friendship that was a source of motivation during Bowman’s times of career uncertainty.
“He was the first guy to come up to me and be like, ‘Hey, man. You’re doing a really good job with what you have to work with,’ at a time when I was really unsure of my career and didn’t know how things were going to go, wasn’t really having a whole lot of fun,” Bowman says. “That encouragement kept me going for quite a while, so to be able to take over a car from him is really special.”
Bowman said the two drivers chatted earlier this week to discuss the impending news and how his move to a new team and new sponsor might play out. “More than anything, I just wanted him to know that I’m here,” Johnson said, indicating he would remain close to the No. 48 team next year, even as he leaves full-time Cup Series competition after this season.
Bowman will have some continuity as his pairing with crew chief Greg Ives will remain in place, but he’ll again be a new figure following in famous footsteps. Three years ago, Bowman replaced Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Hendrick No. 88; next season, he’ll take the reins of the No. 48 Chevrolet that Johnson carried to Hall of Fame heights in his illustrious career.
“To watch his growth over the last few years, to drive after Dale Jr. in the 88 car and the pressure that comes with that, I feel like that was a big hurdle to accomplish when he first started, and he checked that box very well and moved on,” Johnson said. “Then the performance started to come, and the next thing is, can you elevate the consistency and have that there week-in and week-out. Then can you win and continue to win consistently, and he just keeps climbing the ladder with all those things in mind and handling all of this very, very well and delivering great results on a consistent level.”
Though 2021’s early story lines will likely focus on whether Bowman can add to the stellar history of the No. 48, Johnson insists he’s eager to see Bowman forge his own identity with the team — much as he has the last three seasons.
It’s just the latest form of encouragement from one driver to another, tracing back to a shared pre-race moment from 2014.
“As we all know, it’ll be a story for a while and then he’s going to make that car his, and he’ll have an opportunity to write his own story,” Johnson says. “So, I’m excited for him, and I can’t wait to see what that story is.”
Hendrick Motorsports announced Tuesday that Alex Bowman will replace Jimmie Johnson next season, shifting to the organization’s No. 48 Chevrolet for the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021.
Bowman is in his third season with the Rick Hendrick-owned team, having joined the organization full time in 2018 as the successor to Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet. Now on the heels of following the 15-time winner of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver Award, the 27-year-old Bowman has become the next in line for the ride made famous by a seven-time series champion.
“We just got done with the ‘what’s it like to take over Dale Jr.’s race car’ question, so now we’re following it up with the Jimmie Johnson’s race car questions. To me, it’s really special, for sure,” Bowman told NASCAR.com. “Both of them have had so much to do with my career. Obviously, I wouldn’t be driving for Hendrick Motorsports at all without Dale’s help, and since then, Jimmie’s been a huge part of it.
“It’s tough to take over from the most popular of all time, and then three years later to follow that up with arguably the greatest of all time. But it means a lot to me that everybody at Hendrick Motorsports has faith in me, and Ally has faith in me to do a good job and make the 48 car proud.”
The Hendrick organization also announced crew chief Greg Ives will make the move with Bowman to the No. 48 team next season, keeping their pairing intact for a fourth consecutive year. Hendrick officials indicated plans for Bowman’s replacement with the No. 88 team, plus the future for Cliff Daniels — Johnson’s current crew chief with the No. 48 — would be announced at a later date.
Johnson, 45, announced last November that the 2020 season would mark his final full-time campaign in NASCAR’s top series. He hedged at calling his transition a full-fledged retirement, saying he still had a list of goals to experience — both in NASCAR and other forms of motorsports.
But Johnson’s move created a high-profile vacancy in the Cup Series garage in what’s been one of the most active free-agency seasons to date. Tuesday, the organization revealed the position would be filled internally by Bowman, ending nearly a year of rumors and conjecture.
“I think the world’s been eagerly awaiting, and obviously a big day for all of us,” Johnson said. “Very happy for Alex, very proud of Alex. When I look at his journey to climb the ladder and to get to where he is today, that guy has had to work his guts out for his opportunity, time and time again. Every time he’s had the opportunity, he’s made the most of it and has earned that next ride. Really proud of him. He’s going to be a great replacement in the 48 car. Then also to have Greg Ives coming over, it’s really special for Greg, too, with the history that he has on the 48 car.”
I’ve had 19 mind blowing seasons in the 48, now it’s your turn @alexbowman88. I know I’m leaving her in great hands brother. #DoItRightpic.twitter.com/Rv4YFWbJhT
Bowman is set to become just the second full-time driver to wheel the No. 48 under the Hendrick Motorsports banner, just as he was only the second driver to make a full-time campaign with Hendrick’s No. 88, a number the organization first fielded with Earnhardt’s arrival in 2008.
The magnitude of inheriting rides, car numbers and in some ways the team legacies from two future NASCAR Hall of Famers has not been lost on Bowman, who says he’s merely strived to carve out his own place in the sport — all while being mindful of the legacies left by the drivers who came before him.
“I’m not Dale by any means, and never wanted to be or tried to be. I just tried to be myself,” Bowman said. “So hopefully some of the 88 fans that stuck around will go with us to the 48, and the 48 fans and Jimmie fans will cheer for us. My biggest thing is, I just want to give everybody something to cheer for on the race track and do the best job I can trying to win races. I think that’s the most important thing for me, and that’s what I want to do — make the fans happy.
“So it is bittersweet to leave the 88. It’s been a big part of my career, obviously. Got it a couple wins and some more opportunities to win some races coming up, but to have kind of started in a fill-in role in that car and then transition to driving it full-time, the number definitely means a lot to me, but also is an honor to drive the 48 car.”
The transition also will take an adjustment for Johnson, who has accumulated all 681 starts and 83 wins while driving the No. 48 since his Cup Series debut in 2001.
“It’s going to be different to see the car on track,” Johnson says. “I’ve been at one place my entire career and was there to start this 48 car and help create its history, so I’ll have great pride in watching it week in and week out. I’m sure the first few races that I see the car on track will be slightly uncomfortable and a lot of emotions will come with it, but I’m the biggest fan of that 48 car and want nothing but the best for it.”
Bowman’s story has already been an intriguing one. After toiling for two seasons in underpowered equipment (for BK Racing in 2014, then Tommy Baldwin Racing the next year), his Cup Series career was placed on hold. Bowman scraped together a part-time ride with Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports team in 2016, but the year also brought him back to the Cup level under difficult circumstances as a 10-race fill-in while Earnhardt was sidelined with a concussion.
Stacy Revere | Getty Images
Bowman’s return yielded his first career pole position, but also earned the trust of Hendrick, who kept him on as a key figure in the organization’s simulator program. With some assistance from Earnhardt’s vote of confidence, HMS hired Bowman full time for the No. 88 in 2018 — a partnership that has produced two wins and playoff appearances in three consecutive seasons.
That performance, plus a strong bond with Hendrick through their shared love of cars, helped make Bowman’s most recent career move an easier one.
“We have tremendous faith in this team,” said Rick Hendrick. “Every season, Alex gets better. Not only do we see it in the statistics, but his confidence and leadership have truly blossomed. Today he’s a proven winner and playoff contender, and his best years are ahead. Greg has won championships and races, and he brings the No. 48 pedigree that’s invaluable. When you add in the amazing enthusiasm and support from Ally, it’s quite a combination. Their partnership makes it all possible, and we look forward to celebrating many successes together in the future.”
“Being able to share that with Mr. H has been really cool,” Bowman said of their mutual passion for cars, “and the conversation was pretty cut and dried and simple, like, ‘hey, this is what’s going on, we’re all excited for you, we all have faith in you,’ and that means a lot coming from Mr. H to pick me to do that. It was an easy conversation and it was just, what can we do to make it a seamless transition and give you everything you need to succeed. That’s the best part about HMS — they’re always willing to do whatever it takes and give you all the tools you need to succeed.”
That apparently goes for Johnson as well. Bowman’s predecessor has indicated that he’ll give IndyCar racing a try on a part-time basis next year, but Johnson also said this week that he intends to remain close with the No. 48 camp to lend a hand where needed as he enters semi-retirement.
“I’m here for Hendrick Motorsports and for Alex and anything that 48 car needs,” Johnson said. “I spent my entire career in the company, in that race car, and I want nothing but the best for them. As I look at things differently in my racing career and scale things down a bit, I’m still going to be here. Anything those guys need from me, I’m around and would be glad to help.”
Bowman’s shift to the No. 48 team qualifies as major news, but his return to Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 has been a settled deal for months. The Arizona native announced May 16 that he had signed a one-year contract extension with the organization.
His primary sponsor’s footing is also secure as Ally Financial agreed to a three-year extension with Hendrick Motorsports in October 2019, keeping the banking brand on as a full-season backer through the 2023 season. Bowman says he’s gotten a head-start on building relationships with Ally’s people, participating in a preliminary photo shoot and Zoom meetings to get better acquainted with their marketing style.
“Alex is absolutely the right driver to carry on the legacy of the No. 48 – and he deserves a sponsor as committed as he is,” said Andrea Brimmer, chief marketing and public relations officer for Ally. “He’s young, hungry to win and ready to give it all he has. We’re eager to make the most of his energy and dedication to build more momentum for racing, find new ways to disrupt the sport and help broaden NASCAR’s reach even further.”
Said Bowman: “It’s been really refreshing to get to work with them and learn about everybody at the company and kind of learn what they’re all about. Obviously, I’m new to the team and still learning, but it’s been really cool. They definitely like to be disruptive and like to do it right, and that’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m really looking forward to working with them.”
One day last year, when Shawn Labelle was at a NASCAR Pinty’s Series race with his family, he brought up an idea to his two sons.
“I kind of asked my kids a stupid question. ‘Would you ever want to watch dad race?‘” Labelle said. “And they said, ‘Yep!”
Racing NASCAR has been a lifelong dream for Labelle, but the 42-year-old didn‘t finally jump at the chance to get into a car until this season. Six months after watching that first race, he and his family moved more than two hours from Calgary in Alberta, Canada, to Wetaskiwin, Alberta, so Labelle could finally live out his racing dreams at Edmonton International Raceway.
Labelle‘s new home is about three minutes from Edmonton International, a quarter-mile, semi-banked asphalt oval that is Western Canada‘s only NASCAR-sanctioned race track. He bought a shop and a car, compiled a crew, and competed in the track‘s super stocks division this season.
His only previous driving experience came years ago when Labelle worked for Grand Touring Automobiles in Toronto. His job would often send him to California where he would race new Jaguars and Aston Martins, giving him limited experience driving high-powered vehicles on controlled courses. Other than that, the only time he‘d been in a race car was a few practices here and there more than a decade ago.
But despite his very limited experience, Labelle podiumed two races this season, led 13 of 15 laps in a heat race, and finished fourth in points on his way to a Rookie of the Year win in Edmonton‘s Division I super stocks class.
“My initial goals were to just kind of stick with the pack but I ended up being in the top two in qualifying the last race of the year,” Labelle said.
Labelle grew up in Barrie, Ontario, near Sunset Speedway, which did not have NASCAR racing at the time. It wasn‘t until he was in his mid-to-late 20s when the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series — now the Pinty’s Series — was started.
“Once I saw those I was like, ‘That‘s what I want to do,‘” he said
“I just fell in love with racing and I just knew there would come a day when I could do it.”
It ended up that he was better at the sport than even he expected. He surprised a fellow Edmonton driver with how well he did in his first practice.
“When I went out practicing and I was turning like mid-14s on my first day, and having the former runner-up and former rookie of the year for NASCAR being at my practice and telling me, ‘Shawn, those are qualifying laps. If you‘re in a class of 10 to 15 cars you‘re qualifying in the middle of the pack, and this is your first time in the car.‘
“For him to tell me that I was a natural lifted so much weight off my shoulders because my biggest fear was going out there my first race and getting lapped. And that never happened.”
Labelle said the biggest learning curve was the terminology. At his first practice he heard a lot of new words like staggers and crossweight. Admittedly, he is not a car junkie and had never really tinkered around in a garage.
“I had no idea what they were talking about,” he said. “I tried to take that comment made in Days of Thunder, ‘I race cars, I don‘t need to know how to fix them.‘ Well that only goes so far and then when your car‘s not reacting properly you need to be able to come and tell your crew what‘s wrong with it.”
Thankfully, a lot of Labelle‘s success came from a handful of people and competitors who took the time to help his learn.
Saying he had huge support at the track is an understatement, he said. Track owners Ron and Loretta Thiering helped him get ready, and track officials would explain his car to him while it was on the scales and going through inspection, telling him what needed to be done to make it faster.
Labelle also said that with the season shorted from 11 to seven races due to the coronavirus pandemic a lot of his education was “hurry up and learn.”
“I‘d make some adjustments, I‘d go over to the track, I‘d try to figure it out myself and then I would make calls to the other racers and say, ‘Hey, I‘m practicing right now, my car is doing this, what do you suggest?‘” he said.
“In no time at all I started learning. I think by the the fourth race I started to tell my crew what adjustments I needed to make.”
While Labelle was learning the ins and outs of racing, his sons were as well. His oldest son, 13, was part of the action, talking on the radio, working on tires, and helping Labelle get strapped into his car. Labelle said it was amazing having him part of the team.
His youngest son, 11, had a flag with Labelle Motorsports he would wave from the stands.
“They absolutely love it,” he said. “I‘m allowing my kids to live my dreams through me because some of the things that I‘m trying to teach them is, ‘Hey, it doesn‘t matter how old you are, or even how young you are, don‘t ever let your dreams slip by you.‘ You can‘t rush dreams.”
Labelle Motorsports will grow by two cars next year. The youngest Labelle will race mini cups and Labelle’s older son will race in Edmonton‘s NASCAR feature stocks division.
Seeing his kids fall in love with the sport coupled with the success he himself had secured to Labelle that he made the right decision chasing his dream. It also secured he was definitely going to race a second year.
“I knew I was going to race this year, but, I don‘t know, there was a chance I wasn’t even going to like it. I would have been shocked if I didn‘t like it, but there was still that chance,” he said. “This year, with the support and the success I had, I‘m already dreading the season is over and it just ended last Saturday.
“I have to wait all the way until May next year to race again and it‘s just killing me.”
Fellow competitors at Edmonton have told Labelle he could be a force to be reckoned with in his second season. That‘s quite a jump from his initial fear of looking too much like a rookie. He wanted to be seen as a driver just like the rest of them, and that‘s exactly how he was treated.
Next year, Labelle hopes to continue to impress, and pass, his competitors.
“It was a successful season, but I think next year I want to go for a championship,” he said.
“I just turned 42 in March, and I‘m living out my childhood dream. So it‘s pretty cool.”
It’s not as easy as just having to show up, but the math favors Justin Bonsignore wrapping up his second NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship on Sunday.
The 32-year-old from Holtsville, New York, enters the Sunoco World Series 150 with a 27-point lead over six-time champion Doug Coby. Bonsignore has to finish 23rd or better to clinch the championship regardless of what Coby does.
There are tickets available to see this race in person, and the race will also be streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Gold.
Bonsignore will be looking for his fourth World Series win in the last five seasons, and has finished no worse than fifth in eight races this season — a performance that has pushed him to the brink of the Whelen Modified Tour crown.
In his 2016 title season, Bonsignore won eight of 16 races and tallied 12 top fives. He won six more times last year, including the finale at Thompson, but came up eight points short of Coby.
This year, he won the first two races and has held the points lead the entire shortened-season.
Coby needs to finish at least eighth to have a shot (or sixth and lead the most laps).
Bonsignore, though, may not be the driver carrying the most momentum into Thompson. That would be Ron Silk, who has won two of the last three races — including the Sept. 3 race at Thompson. It was Silk’s fifth win at the .625-mile oval, second only to Bonsignore and Coby in wins among active drivers.
Jon McKennedy, who was third at Thompson in September, leads Craig Lutz by 16 points for third place in the standings, while Silk has moved into the top five despite missing a race.
CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Thompson 150 is limited to 36, including provisional positions. The field will be set by qualifying (1-30) and provisional process per the entry blank (31-36) for the Thompson 150. In the event that qualifying as stated on this entry blank does not take place for any unforeseen circumstance, the field will be set in accordance with the 2020 NASCAR Touring Series Rule Book.
QUALIFYING: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. Vehicles will be impounded after qualifying. Vehicle must qualify on race set up.
The Thompson 150 will be 150 laps (93.75 miles) and is to be run in one (1) segments. The tire change rule is three (3) tires, any position. To utilize the third change tire, teams will designate a practice tire purchased at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park to be the third change tire.
The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: Four (4) for qualifying and to start the race, plus an additional four (4) for a total of eight (8) tires.
Trevor Bayne is set to drive the No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet in the final four races of the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season.
Bayne made his Gander Trucks debut at Darlington Raceway in September in the No. 40 Niece Motorsports truck, switching to the No. 45 in his past three events at Richmond Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway – his first four career starts in the series.
In claiming a second-place finish at the 2.66-mile Alabama oval, Bayne nearly took away a victory before the caution came out on the final lap to seal the win for Kyle Busch Motorsports rookie driver Raphael Lessard.
“Five, six weeks ago, I thought I’d never run another NASCAR race,” Bayne said. “So, to have a shot to come (to Talladega) and win, to be competitive at Bristol, it’s been a lot of fun and I’m really thankful to be back.”
The 29-year-old driver last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, appearing in 21 of the 36 points-paying events in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. His last race was at Texas Motor Speedway in the fall of that year.
Since then, Bayne and his wife, Ashton, have spent much of their time in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, kick-starting his coffee business, Mahalo Coffee Roasters. Along with that, he’s earned quality family time with his three children.
Trevor Bayne races in the No. 45 Niece Motorsports truck at Richmond Raceway. Credit: Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
“We’ve enjoyed our family time, but it’s still in my blood,” Bayne said. “When this all came up, I was in the middle of building a race car to go racing for fun. So, if I can (do this) as a job again, if you can call it a job. Now that I’ve worked in the real world, I don’t know if you can. Coming back and racing is a blast. If I can do it full time, competitively, run for championships, I would love to do that.”
The 2011 Daytona 500 champion isn’t ready to hang up his helmet, noting he never wanted to leave the sport. Bayne has relied heavily on his faith to point him in the right direction on what the next step in his career should be, believing competitive years are still left ahead.
“I’m 29 years old, kind of headed toward the peak of what I feel like could be my career in your 30s, and He pulled us out of it,” Bayne said. “I feel like it’s really given me a ton of perspective and I’m really grateful to be here. If He pulled me straight out of the 6 Cup car and threw me in a truck, I’m not ungrateful and appreciative for runs like this, but even at Richmond and Darlington when our trucks were broke, I still tried to enjoy every lap. That’s the perspective I want to bring back. I want to come back just to be thankful to be here. But I want to win and run well.”
While it’s been an up-and-down ride with three finishes of 27th or worse since his return, Talladega offered more confidence in the direction the team is heading with the veteran driver at the wheel. With his racing schedule next year uncertain, Bayne is making the most of his unexpected seat time.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far,” Bayne said. “It hasn’t gone the smoothest, but we’ve been fast when the truck’s going. I’m thankful (team owner) Al Niece and (crew chief) Cody Efaw called me to come and do this and try to get their team back on the rails. They did a great job last year with Ross Chastain and contended for a championship. I wanted to have the right opportunity.
“Driving race cars and finishing 20th isn’t that fun, so if you have a shot to win a race and run up front, then it’s a great opportunity and that’s what they’ve given me. We’ll see what happens for next year.”
Kyle Larson released an essay on his personal website Sunday evening, taking accountability for his use of a racial slur nearly six months ago and illustrating the steps he has taken to become more educated about civil-rights issues.
The essay, titled “Kyle Larson: My Lessons Learned,” is among his first public comments since his indefinite suspension from NASCAR and his dismissal by Chip Ganassi Racing. He also spoke to The Associated Press on Aug. 19 about his efforts to heal the damage caused by his use of the slur over a public communications channel in an April 12 iRacing event.
“Anger came at me from all angles,” Larson wrote. “Being labeled a racist has hurt the most, but I brought that on myself. What I didn’t expect, though, were all the people who, despite their disappointment in what I did, made the choice to not give up on me. It motivates me to repay their faith by working harder, not giving up on myself, and making sure something positive comes from the harm I caused.”
Larson has not been reinstated by NASCAR officials, who have required him to complete sensitivity training as a condition for his return to competition.
In his essay, Larson said he had worked with former pro soccer standout Tony Sanneh and Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee to learn about the mission of their foundations within the Black community. He said he also traveled to Minneapolis with Sanneh to see the impact of racial injustice in the area surrounding the memorial for George Floyd. Larson also said he had hired a diversity coach, Doug Harris of The Kaleidoscope Group, who has raised his awareness about racial inequality with an approach lacking in sugar-coating.
In the racing community, Larson said he also connected with Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s lone Black driver in the Cup Series, drag-racer J.R. Todd and former sports-car great Willy T. Ribbs to have conversations about their experience as minority drivers who navigated their way into big-time motorsports. Those also included no-nonsense conversations with Mike Metcalf, an African-American athlete who has been a key member of Ganassi’s close-knit pit crew.
“I’ve received a lot of straight talk from Mike and others since April,” Larson wrote. “But what gives me hope and humbles me is how so many people have opened their doors to lift up someone who probably doesn’t deserve it and to share perspectives I should’ve sought on my own a long time ago.”
Larson closed his essay by saying an important part of his journey forward will be about healing and making his family proud of him, acknowledging what he does will be more crucial than what he says.
“I want them to know that words do matter. Apologizing for your mistakes matters. Accountability matters. Forgiveness matters. Treating others with respect matters,” Larson wrote. “I will not stop listening and learning, but for me now, it’s about action – doing the right things, being a part of the solution and writing a new chapter that my children will be proud to read.”
In his 2016 title season, Bonsignore won eight of 16 races and tallied 12 top fives. He won six more times last year, including the finale at Thompson, but came up eight points short of Coby.
