Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

Editor’s Note: NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Day is June 9. The announcement of the Class of 2021 will be made on Tuesday, June 16 on NBCSN’s NASCAR America at 5 p.m. ET. 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 7, 2020) — NASCAR today announced the 15 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021, introducing the Modern Era and Pioneer Ballots for the first time.

The list includes five first-time NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees – three on the Modern Era Ballot and two on the Pioneer Ballot.

Jeff Burton (21-time Cup Series winner), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (15-time Most Popular Driver) and Carl Edwards (28-time Cup winner) join seven previous nominees on the Modern Era Ballot. Three-time Cup champion crew chief Jake Elder and renowned car builder Banjo Matthews join three previous nominees on the Pioneer Ballot, designed to honor those whose careers began more than 60 years ago (prior to 1961 for the Class of 2021).

The NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2021 will consist of two inductees from the list of Modern Era nominees and one from the list of Pioneer nominees – for a total of three new inductees in 2021.

RELATED: Learn more about the new nominees | Photos of the nominees

Janet Guthrie returns as a Landmark Award nominee, rejoining Alvin Hawkins, Mike Helton, Dr. Joseph Mattioli and Ralph Seagraves. Potential Landmark Award recipients include competitors or those working in the sport as a member of a racing organization, track facility, race team, sponsor, media partner or being a general ambassador for the sport through a professional or non-professional role. Award winners remain eligible for NHOF enshrinement.

The Modern Era Ballot and Landmark Award nominees were selected by the Nomination Committee, which consists of representatives from NASCAR and the NASCAR Hall of Fame, track owners from major facilities and historic short tracks. The new Honors Committee, largely comprised of all living Hall of Famers, Landmark Award winners and Squier-Hall Award winners, selected the Pioneer Ballot. Both committees’ votes were tabulated by accounting firm EY.

Following are the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2021 nominees and Landmark Award nominees:

Modern Era Ballot

Neil Bonnett, won 18 times in the NASCAR Cup Series, including consecutive Coca-Cola 600 victories 

Jeff Burton, won 21 times in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the Southern 500 and two Coca-Cola 600s

Dale Earnhardt Jr., 15-time NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver and two-time Xfinity Series champion

Carl Edwards, winner of 28 NASCAR Cup Series races and 2007 Xfinity Series champion

Harry Gant, winner of 18 NASCAR Cup Series races, including two Southern 500 victories

Harry Hyde, 1970 NASCAR Cup Series championship crew chief

Larry Phillips, first five-time NASCAR weekly series national champion

Ricky Rudd, won 23 times in NASCAR Cup Series, including the 1997 Brickyard 400

Kirk Shelmerdine, four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief

Mike Stefanik, winner of record-tying nine NASCAR championships

Pioneer Ballot

Jake Elder, three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief

Red Farmer, three-time NASCAR Late Model Sportsman champion; 1956 Modified champion

Banjo Matthews, built cars that won more than 250 NASCAR Cup Series races and three championships

Hershel McGriff, 1986 NASCAR West Series champion 

Ralph Moody, two-time NASCAR Cup Series owner champion as mechanical genius of Holman-Moody

Landmark Award

Janet Guthrie, the first female driver to compete in a NASCAR Cup Series superspeedway race

Alvin Hawkins, NASCAR’s first flagman; established NASCAR racing at Bowman Gray Stadium with Bill France Sr.

Mike Helton, named third president of NASCAR in 2000; career included track operator roles at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway 

Dr. Joseph Mattioli, founder of Pocono Raceway

Ralph Seagraves, formed groundbreaking Winston-NASCAR partnership as executive with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

MORE: Photos of current Hall of Fame members

Posted on by Staff Report

The starting lineup for Wednesday’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) has been set.

Ryan Blaney will start from the pole position, with Aric Almirola joining him on the front row to lead the field to green for the 500-lap, 263-mile race.

The lineup for the race was determined by a random draw, with results airing on FS1’s “Race Hub.” The parameters for the draw were as follows:

  • Positions 1-12 determined by a random draw from charter teams in those positions in team owner points
  • Positions 13-24: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points
  • Positions 25-36: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points
  • Positions 37-40 will be filled out by open, non-chartered teams in order of owner points

Here is a look at the full lineup:

Starting spot Driver Car # Team
1 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
2 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
3 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
4 Clint Bowyer 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
5 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
6 Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske
7 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
8 Alex Bowman 88 Hendrick Motorsports
9 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
10 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
11 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
12 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
13 Erik Jones 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
14 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
15 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
16 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
18 John Hunter Nemechek 38 Front Row Motorsports
19 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
20 Matt Kenseth 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
21 Jimmie Johnson 48 Hendrick Motorsports
22 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
23 Bubba Wallace 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
24 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
25 Corey LaJoie 32 Go Fas Racing
26 JJ Yeley 27 Rick Ware Racing
27 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
28 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
29 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
30 Ty Dillon 13 Germain Racing
31 Brennan Poole 15 Premium Motorsports
32 Christopher Bell 95 Leavine Family Racing
33 David Starr 53 Rick Ware Racing
34 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
35 Garrett Smithley 77 Spire Motorsports
36 Joey Gase 51 Petty Ware Racing
37 Daniel Suarez 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing
38 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management
39 Reed Sorenson 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Mack Trucks partnered with Martinsville Speedway to pay tribute to healthcare workers in the area before Wednesday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the .526-mile Virginia short track.

A fleet of Mack Trucks, including the NASCAR Cup Series hauler, took off from Charlotte, North Carolina, at 10:30 a.m. ET on Monday and made a pit stop at Mack headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina, to pick up donated items as gifts for frontline workers at Sovah Health Hospital in Martinsville.

The stop also launched Mack’s “Thank a Trucker” campaign to promote optimism in the trucking and logistics industry during this unprecedented time.

The fleet then headed to Martinsville where it made a loop around Sovah Health Hospital to salute healthcare workers for their tireless efforts during the COVID-19 global pandemic. NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, a Blue-Emu spokesperson, led the parade in a Ford Shelby Mustang that will pace the field in Wednesday night’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).

Wallace, Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell and the CEO of Sovah Health Hospital were on hand to speak with members of the media, while Blue-Emu donated Blue-Emu Pain Relief Cream to the hospital and served healthcare workers dinner as another thank-you for their hard work.

Posted on by Data Skrive

Tanner Gray finished 11th in the Vet Tix Camping World 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Gray’s result added 26 points to his season total.

Gray started in 21st position. The second-year driver has one top-10 finish in his career.

The Mooresville, North Carolina native began the race four spots behind his career mark of 16.7, but finished seven places ahead of his career average of 17.5.

Gray’s 11th-place finish was against 40 other drivers. The race endured six cautions and 28 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 14 lead changes.

Grant Enfinger earned the victory in the race, and Austin Hill took second. Christian Eckes placed third, Todd Gilliland brought home fourth, and Zane Smith finished off the top five.

Kyle Busch got off to a strong start in the race, winning Stages 1 and 2, but couldn’t hold on to end up in Victory Lane.

Tanner Gray Driver Page | Get Gray Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Brett Moffitt finished eighth in the Vet Tix Camping World 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.

The top 10 finish for Moffitt added 34 points to his season total.

Moffitt started in third position. The sixth-year driver has piled up 11 career victories, with 30 top-five finishes and 37 results inside the top 10.

Victory Lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway is a familiar place for Moffitt, who has one career win at the track. He has also compiled two top-five finishes at Atlanta and his eighth-place result marks the second top 10.

The Grimes, Iowa native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting eight spots higher than his career mark of 11 and completing the race three places ahead of his 11.2 career average finish.

Moffitt competed with 40 other drivers on the way to his eighth-place finish. The race endured six cautions and 28 caution laps. There were 14 lead changes.

Grant Enfinger brought home the win in the race, and Austin Hill took second. Christian Eckes crossed the finish line third, Todd Gilliland brought home fourth, and Zane Smith closed out the top five.

Kyle Busch got off to a great start in the race, winning the first two stages, but couldn’t hang on to secure the race victory.

Brett Moffitt Driver Page | Get Moffitt Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Derek Kraus finished seventh in the Vet Tix Camping World 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.

The top 10 finish for Kraus added 38 points to his season total.

Kraus started in 11th position. The third-year driver has picked up one top-five and three top-10 finishes in his career.

The Stratford, Wisconsin native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting three spots higher than his career mark of 14.4 and completing the race seven places ahead of his 14.3 career average finish.

Kraus raced against a field of 40 drivers on the way to his seventh-place finish. The race endured six cautions and 28 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 14 lead changes.

Grant Enfinger secured the win in the race, and Austin Hill followed in second. Christian Eckes crossed the finish line third, Todd Gilliland brought home fourth, and Zane Smith closed out the top five.

Kyle Busch got off to a strong start in the race, winning Stages 1 and 2, but couldn’t hold on to end up in Victory Lane.

Derek Kraus Driver Page | Get Kraus Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin all finished in the top five in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which could be a sign of things to come for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Normally a heavy favorite to be leading when the green-white-checkered flag falls, Truex finally earned his first two stage victories of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season in the 325-lap event at the 1.54-mile Georgia oval, leading 65 laps in the process.

The No. 19 Toyota was at the front throughout much of the race, but faded to third behind race winner Kevin Harvick and teammate Busch in the closing laps.

RELATED: Official race results | Martin Truex Jr. sweeps Atlanta stages

“I’ve been happy with our cars,” Truex said after the race. “I felt like we had a shot at winning the Southern 500, the Coke 600, a chance to win here. We’ve been knocking on the door, we’ve just been ‑ it just feels like it hasn’t been our season yet, but we’re right there.  The guys are doing a great job, and our cars are fast, and we just ‑ we’ve got to put it all together one of these days coming soon.”

Busch was hot on Truex’s tail, finishing second in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2 before earning a second-place result. Both Busch and Truex have yet to break into Victory Lane this season, while Hamlin has two victories to his credit so far this year — the Daytona 500 and the rain-shortened second race at Darlington Raceway.

But while it seems like Joe Gibbs Racing may be turning a corner that could leave the competition sweating in the coming weeks, Busch feels there is still more room for improvement if they want to reach their dominant ways again.

“Atlanta is kind of its own beast,” Busch said. “Well, Atlanta and Homestead are pretty significant high downforce tracks, and we tend to run well here. Truex definitely tends to run well here. He did last year, and I think Denny has won here a couple times, so it’s a place that we should have good results at, and it’s nice to come out of here with a good solid run, run up front all day long and have a good outing. Hopefully, we can keep that momentum rolling.”

Erik Jones appeared to have the car to compete for a top-10 finish when a tire issue forced him to bring the No. 20 Toyota down pit road unscheduled stop in the final stage.

The series heads to Martinsville Speedway for a Wednesday night showdown under the lights for the first time at the .526-mile short track (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where the four drivers have a combined eight victories, led by Virginia native Hamlin with five triumphs.

Posted on by Data Skrive

Zane Smith finished fifth in the Vet Tix Camping World 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Smith’s top five finish added 39 points to his season total.

Smith started in seventh position and led five laps in the race. The second-year driver has earned two top-five and three top-10 finishes in his career.

The Huntington Beach, California native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting five spots higher than his career mark of 12.2 and completing the race one place ahead of his 5.8 career average finish.

Smith’s fifth-place finish came against 40 other drivers. The race endured six cautions and 28 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 14 lead changes.

Grant Enfinger finished out front in the race, and Austin Hill finished second. Christian Eckes placed third, with Todd Gilliland taking fourth place. Smith rounded out the top five.

Kyle Busch got off to a strong start in the race, winning the first two stages, but couldn’t hold on to secure the race victory.

Zane Smith Driver Page | Get Smith Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Todd Gilliland finished fourth in the Vet Tix Camping World 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Gilliland’s top five finish added 40 points to his season total.

Gilliland started in 12th position. The fourth-year driver has one career victory, with 12 top-five finishes and 27 results inside the top 10.

Saturday’s race was the first of Gilliland’s career at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The Sherrills Ford, North Carolina native began the race one spot behind his career mark of 10.6, but finished 10 places ahead of his career average of 13.6.

Gilliland’s fourth-place finish was against 40 other drivers. The race endured six cautions and 28 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 14 lead changes.

Grant Enfinger brought home the win in the race, followed by Austin Hill in second place and Christian Eckes in third. Gilliland secured fourth in front of Zane Smith’s fifth-place finish.

Kyle Busch got off to a strong start in the race, winning both of the first two stages, but couldn’t hold on to secure the race victory.

Todd Gilliland Driver Page | Get Gilliland Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Jeremy Clements finished 13th in the EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Clements’ result added 24 points to his season total.

Clements started in 20th position. The 15th-year driver has one career victory, with three top-five finishes and 21 results inside the top 10.

Saturday marked Clements’ 10th career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Though he’s completed eight of those races, he has not earned a top-10 finish at the track.

The Spartanburg, South Carolina native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting five spots higher than his career mark of 25.3 and completing the race 11 places ahead of his 23.7 career average finish.

Clements’ 13th-place finish was against a field of 37 drivers. The race endured six cautions and 28 caution laps. There were 10 lead changes.

AJ Allmendinger secured the win in the race, and Noah Gragson finished second. Justin Haley crossed the finish line third, Daniel Hemric brought home fourth, and Harrison Burton closed out the top five.

Austin Cindric got off to a great start in the race, winning both of the first two stages, but couldn’t hold on to secure the race victory.

Jeremy Clements Driver Page | Get Clements Gear | Race Center