Posted on by Staff Report

As with most statistical analyses during the NASCAR season stoppage, the qualification here is that it’s early. Just four Cup Series races are in the books and the points standings are still in the formative stages before the 2020 season’s story is full told.

The standings remain static as well, and some of the names jumbled outside the top 10 are striking with some postseason best bets among them. The balance of a 36-race season means plenty of time to rebound, but for this year’s favorites, it’s still an unlikely early perch.

MORE: 2020 Cup Series standings

NASCAR.com’s Terrin Waack and Zack Albert offer their observations for the driver who stands as the biggest surprise outside the Cup Series top 10 thus far.

WAACK: Big fan of addressing the elephant in the room. So, elephant, meet Kyle Busch, the reigning champion who’s ranked 12th in the standings. At this point last year, Busch already had a winner’s sticker on his car.

A less-than-deal start to the 2020 season has put the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in a hole. Despite leading 14 laps, Busch finished 34th in the opening Daytona 500 thanks to engine issues. That put him 25th in the standings. Then, a 15th-place run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was better but still knocked him two spots.

It wasn’t until Auto Club Speedway that NASCAR saw a much more familiar “Rowdy.” Though he didn’t win, Busch did finish second and jumped to 19th. Busch followed that performance up with a third-place showing at Phoenix Raceway, which brought him to his current 12th holding slot.

OK, it wouldn’t be fair to not address the other elephant. Look at Busch’s 2015 record, when he missed the first 11 races due to injuries yet went on to win his first title. He was ranked 41st when he returned to competition. If anyone can overcome a points deficit, the “Candy Man” can.

H2H: Which driver is the biggest surprise in the top 10 of the standings?

ALBERT: With a knowing nod to Kyle Busch (and teammate Martin Truex Jr., for that matter), another sizable head-scratcher sits a bit further down the stack. No. 24 in your program, 22 on the age clock and 19th in the series standings: William Byron.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver became a trendy preseason breakthrough pick based on his steady 2019 season, an experience-builder where he began to click with veteran crew chief Chad Knaus. The start to the 2020 campaign has been far less steady, starting with an early crash in the season-opening Daytona 500 and a last-place finish that mired him at a significant points deficit.

Results since then haven’t been much better. Byron lined up second for the final restart at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but contact and a tire rub sank him to a 22nd-place finish. He registered his only lap in the lead at Auto Club Speedway, but managed no better than 15th. He survived a wall scrape at Phoenix Raceway to squeak out his only top 10 — a 10th.

On the positive side, Byron’s roughly mid-pack stature is based on a small sample size of races. Reasons also abound for optimism: The strong performance of his teammates and what’s so far been a modest resurgence for Hendrick Motorsports, easily the season’s most improved organization so far, suggest Byron won’t be down for long.

Posted on by Holly Cain

Like so many in the world right now, NASCAR champion Joey Logano is spending his downtime from racing figuring out ways to make a positive difference in his community.

While home waiting out the COVID-19 pandemic, Logano has kept busy playing with his two-year-old son Hudson and spending time with his expectant wife Brittany. A two-time race winner in the season’s first four NASCAR Cup Series races on track, he also participated in the inaugural eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational virtual race two weeks ago.

All the while, Logano said he has been trying to figure out what he could do to help – to provide a positive impact during a time of uncertainty, fear and need. A big picture kind of boost.

RELATED: How industry is lending a hand 

So on Tuesday afternoon, Logano, 29, took his quest to help to a new level – announcing that the Joey Logano Foundation partnered with Elevation Outreach to establish a $1 Million COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund.

This partnership will contribute that seven-digit money toward educational equity and access, medical supplies, food distribution and financial shortages throughout the greater Charlotte area and communities across the United States.

The racer known for his big smile and positive personality will be providing plenty for people across the country.

“I’ve been blessed to have the ability to help others with our platform and for the past few weeks, the Joey Logano Foundation has been able to help in multiple ways on a local level, however Brittany and I knew we could do more and felt a huge calling to give on a larger capacity at a statewide and national level,” Logano said.

This effort was a natural progression of thought. Since the sport’s on-track activity ceased three weeks ago, Logano immediately tried to reach out and help – from offering free meals from Bobbee O’s Barbeque to school children in the Charlotte area to posting homemade videos about proper hand-washing technique featuring his young son, to even providing black-and-white photos of his No. 22 Team Penske Ford to be copied for kids to color and decorate.

And on a lighter note, Logano retweeted a tongue-in-cheek reminder about social distancing in which Charlotte Motor Speedway took video of a cardboard standup of the driver in an empty race track grandstand.

“I’ve been trying to do whatever I can to help our sport in any possible way, to stay connected whether on social media or doing interviews,” Logano said. “And trying to make a charitable impact where we can. Honestly, I’m just as busy as I was, I’ve just really shifted my focus.

“I don’t know how to sit still. That’s the thing. I just find the next thing I need to work on to stay busy and still make an impact whether it’s for our sport or our community. Or just being a dad is keeping me plenty busy.

“I have not slowed down a bit, I can honestly say.”

And that’s saying a lot for someone who has already won half of the season’s races, owns the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series championship, the 2015 Daytona 500 trophy and has hoisted at least one trophy in each of the last nine consecutive seasons.

His outreach also includes a high-profile partnership with Feeding America through the Wheels Up organization. The idea is to donate at least 10 million meals and Logano joins an A-list of supporters from Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife Ciara to Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. Even Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez have donated money and raised the profile for the effort. (Donations accepted through feedingamerica.org/mealsup).

It is all indicative of what NASCAR competitors – drivers, crewmen, team members, team owners – have immediately and whole-heartedly undertaken during this time of national crisis.

“I watched a sermon at our church, Elevation Church, and our pastor was talking about how people say, ‘We’re all in the same boat; we’re all in this together,’ and our pastor said, ‘No we’re not, we are not all in the same boat’,” Logano explained, the emotion evident in his voice.

“And I thought about that. He’s right. This virus is impacting everyone in a different way. Yes, we are all in this together but is it impacting all of us? Yes. But some of us can weather the storm better than others. Some of us are more prepared than others or been in a fortunate position for a while that has put us in a good spot.

“Everyone’s situation is a little different. And I think it’s important for us to realize that and try to understand where we can help because what’s going on in our community right now is so many businesses are getting shut down, so many people getting laid off, all these kids out of school that relied on meals. It’s making a huge impact on families and not in the best of ways. It’s important for us to realize that.”

RELATED: A letter to NASCAR fans from President Steve Phelps

Certainly, the greater NASCAR community has responded during this uncertain and unprecedented time.

The iconic Wood Brothers race team is raising money to purchase tablets for seniors – an effort to help keep the seniors in touch with family that may not be allowed to visit in their nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Logano’s own Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation partnered with local groups to provide meals to healthcare workers. And his Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing company is helping produce face shields so desperately needed by healthcare workers.

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is raising money for the Center for Disaster Philanthropy Inc., which will get the funds to groups helping in the fight against COVID-19. The effort is accepting $25 donations from fans, with each donation entering that person for a chance to win Johnson’s autographed race-worn shoes. This effort goes through April 6.

And of course, Denny Hamlin made big news with his eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational inaugural win at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway two weeks ago. He pledged to donate $100 for every lap he led, plus $5,000 for winning the race, to an effort headed by The NASCAR Foundation and Feed the Children working in the South Florida area. In all, Hamlin contributed $6,400 to the effort and his sponsor Coca-Cola matched the money, as did the Kevin Harvick Foundation.

And these are just a handful of the doing-good efforts by NASCAR stars and teams. The concern and generosity is real.

“There’s so much opportunity in front of us to help people and make a difference,” Logano said.

Posted on by Staff Report

Dwfjdsgvaamppt6Rev Racing will appoint Matthew Bucher as the Director of Competition. Matt Bucher will replace his predecessor, Jefferson Hodges, who has served as the teams General Manager and Director of Competition under the direction of Max Siegel for the last nine years. Beginning mid-January 2019, Hodges will become the NASCAR Team Manager for Team Penske.

As Rev Racing remains the competition arm of NASCAR‘s Drive for Diversity Program, and serves as the NASCAR-supported race team charged with developing female and minority drivers and pit crew members in the NASCAR development series for future competition at NASCAR‘s highest levels, its main focus continues to be development and training. The program not only focuses on its crew members and drivers, but also prepares and trains its leaders for growth in the industry as well.

“Rev Racing has seen great accomplishment under the direction of Hodges,” said Max Siegel, owner of Rev Racing. “This is a perfect example of what our program stands for in regards to development. We are consistently focused on the future, grooming the next generation for advancement. We have a lot of faith in the foundation that we have built and know Matt Bucher is ready to lead this charge.”

Bucher has been a Rev Racing employee since 2014, successfully crew chiefing some of the top performing cars over the years. One of the biggest accomplishments he has brought to the team was his season finale win with rookie driver, Collin Cabre, at Dover International Raceway.

“Each year I have become more involved with both the competition and operational side of this race team,” said Bucher. “Working alongside the crew and leadership team over the last several years, I have never felt more ready to continue the successful culture we‘ve established. I really appreciate the fact that leadership has put its faith in me leading the effort. Jefferson has been instrumental in the growth and stability of this organization and wish him nothing but success in his new role within the sport.”

With Hodges departure, long-time Rev Racing employees Phil Horton, Director of Athletic Performance and Mark Green, Director of Driver Development, will also assume expanded responsibilities in the organization.

“I‘m very excited for the future of both organizations,” said Hodges. “I have been so fortunate to work with such great leaders and partners through the years that have been constant influencers in my development. I am thankful to Rev Racing and Max Siegel for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of something very meaningful in this sport. I have witnessed the growth and impact of this program first hand. I know the organization is in great hands as I prepare for this next step in my career.”

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener is set for February 10th at New Symrna Speedway. Rev Racing will field two cars the in 175 lap race with drivers, Chase Cabre and Ruben Garcia Jr.

Posted on by Staff Report

NEW SMYRNA, Fla. — It was a packed house at New Smyrna Speedway to kick off the 2019 season with the newly revamped Red Eye 50-50.

An impressive field of 25 Super Late Models took the green flag for their 50 lap race with Ryan Moore on the pole position. He had fast qualifier Daniel Keene Jr. on his outside, but it was Moore who got the jump early. The race was plagued with many caution flags early on, including a hard crash by Travis Cope on the front stretch. On lap nine another yellow involving Todd Stone and Colin Allman brought a premature end to the evening for two more contenders.

As the field went back green, Ryan Moore and Anthony Sergi established themselves as the cars to beat, breaking away from the field. As the field began to thin out, Brad May, who started 17th was able to get around Sergi and mount a challenge for the lead. Ryan Moore proved to be too much however, and was able to hold off locals Brad May and Anthony Sergi for his first Red Eye victory. Moore said this gives his team a ton of confidence going into the World Series in February.

The second half of the Red eye 50-50 saw 13 Pro Late Models take the green after a few cars were unable to make it through practice. The Gunslinger, Mike Skinner, set fast time in qualifying and had a mirror full of rookie Sammy Smith for much of the first half of the event. Another Rookie driver, Daniel Dye looked strong early on as well until he got a piece of the wall off turn four while chasing this leaders.

Skinner had been able to hold off a fierce challenge by Sammy Smith all race long, until Smith’s night went south on a late race restart. He and Todd Stone made contact, with Stone spinning into the outside wall. Both cars would continue with minor damage. Both cars charged back up through the field until Smith again made contact with Chance Jewels, ending Smith’s impressive Debut. This set up a battle between veterans Mike Skinner and Brad May for the win. On the ensuing restart, May was able to get his nose inside Skinner in turn three with a couple laps to go, the two made contact but Skinner was able to hold on and hold off the final charge from Brad May. The two come off turn 4 to take the checkers side by side with Skinner edging May by half a car to take the Pro Late Red Eye 50.

Wayne Parker picked up the victory in the Modified division, while defending American Auto Sportsman champion Patrick Thomas won the first feature of the season for that class. Michael Trocki won the Super Stocks feature.

Many of the drivers who ran well during the Red Eye and many others will come together for nine straight nights of racing trying to take home the World Series championship. The 2019 World Series kicks off February 8th, and all the information you need to know for this one of a kind racing spectacle can be found at newsmyrnaspeedway.org.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

Richard Petty Motorsports put out the message: “Calling all Mario Kart racers!” And it wasn’t joking around.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pause all on-track action within the NASCAR industry, the No. 43 team of Bubba Wallace has opted to host what it dubs the 43 Crew Challenge presented by the U.S. Air Force. It’s a tournament-style Mario Kart 8 competition in which Wallace and five of his crew members compete against fans on the Nintendo Switch online game. The shtick started on Twitter.

“We have been playing religiously just about every weekend,” Wallace said on a teleconference Tuesday. “We’ve actually gotten super competitive, almost unhealthy the way we play, but we decided to make it fun. We’ve always kind of had this idea in the back of our head, but it’s always kind of tough throughout the regular work week before all this coronavirus stuff happened. It’s something to get fans involved.”

RELATED: Path to the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series

Brackets read: 43 Crew vs. Team Fans. The first tournament was last Thursday, and the 43 Crew won.

“We feel like we’re pretty good,” Wallace said. “We definitely give each other a run for our money, so it’s tough for us to become teammates because all we want to do is just talk crap to each other.”

The event was available to watch on Twitch. Wallace later reported the live stream drew in more than 1,700 viewers last week. Round 2 will be this Thursday, and Wallace hopes to get the competing fans in on the chat rooms so their voices can also be heard.

RELATED: @nascarcasm, Luvender rank the best racing video games of yore

In addition to the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, this Mario Kart gig is just another type of virtual racing Wallace has gotten involved in to keep his mental driving skills fresh since NASCAR won’t return to actual racing until after May 3, which is subject to change as the scope of the outbreak develops.

“You definitely learn a lot,” Wallace said. “It’s funny. It’s like OK, who are we racing against this week? And you’ll see them take a shortcut that’s like whoa-whoa-whoa, where did that come from? Or they’ll somehow get to that corner better than you. So, for me, I’m always analyzing people that I’m racing around: How are they doing this, how are they doing that? Where are they drifting? When are they using their mushrooms or red shells? You’re always analyzing.

“It’s almost unhealthy how much we’re taking a game like Mario Kart into consideration of how to be better at. But hey, I’m a competitor. I want to win at everything. I don’t care if it’s Mario Kart, iRacing or real life. It’s a racing game I have a huge passion for.”

Posted on by Staff Report

It was one of those instances where the race more than lived up to the hype.

Billed as the longest race in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour history and offering the biggest purse, held on the biggest stage for Modifieds, the inaugural Musket 250 in September of 2018 had everybody talking heading into the weekend.

The racing certainly delivered: 30 lead changes and just five cautions, as the Whelen Modified Tour drivers skillfully sliced and diced around and around the 1.058-mile oval.

Justin Bonsignore led nine times for a race-high 77 laps and was on point heading into Turn 3 on the white flag lap. But then he went to block Ryan Preece as they entered the turn, the two wound up locked together and sliding into the wall. That opened the door for third-place Patrick Emerling.

RACING-REFERENCE: Musket 250 Race Results

But Chase Dowling was more ambitious, diving under Emerling, and emerging out of Turn 4 with the lead. Dowling crossed the finish line ahead of Emerling by 0.056 seconds.

“It‘s in me, it just doesn‘t really sink in yet,” said Dowling in Victory Lane. “I‘m through the roof. It was a pretty crazy race overall. I think it was just one of those things where I was waiting for it to happen. It finally happened.”

It was the first career Whelen Modified Tour win for the 20-year-old Dowling, in his 55th career start. It also allowed Dowling to narrow Bonsignore’s points lead to 74 with two races remaining, after Bonsignore was credited with a seventh-place finish at New Hampshire.

RACING-REFERENCE: Chase Dowling Career Stats | Justin Bonsingore Career Stats

Bonsignore finished 12th the following race at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway, but it was enough for the 30-year-old from Holtsville, New York, to lock up his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship. He followed up with six wins in 2019 and finished second in the title race.

It hasn’t been as smooth sailing for Dowling.

The Roxbury, Connecticut, parted ways though with Rob Fuller’s No. 15 team after 2018. Dowling started 2019 in the No. 99 S and S Pontiac for Jamie and Cheryl Tomaino, leading 74 laps in the Spring Sizzler at Stafford before mechanical issues took him out of contention. He ran six races for the Tomainos, and three in the No. 82 for Danny Watts Jr.

Dowling announced in January 2020 he was running the full Whelen Modified Tour season for Watts, in addition returning full time to the SK Modified Division at Stafford.

RACEDAYCT.com: Busy: Dowling Ready With Full-Time Mod Tour, SK Mod Rides For 2020 Season

LOUDON NH - September 22 2018: The Visit New Hampshire 100 of the NASCAR Pinty

Posted on by Alex Weaver

The playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway in 2014 saw more than just bumps on the race track. The AAA Texas 500 was the eighth of 10 races in what was then known as the Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series championship. Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon were both seeking a spot in the coveted Championship 4.

Contested over 334 laps on the 1.5-mile oval, that Sunday’s race had Matt Kenseth starting on the pole. Throughout the race, it was really a battle among Gordon, Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson as to who had the fastest car.

RELATED: Full race results | Catch up on more Classic Race Replays 

Gordon had seized the lead from Johnson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, on a restart with nine laps remaining and seemed headed toward his second victory at Texas. But a caution for debris set up a green-white-checkered finish, and Gordon lost the lead to Johnson after choosing the outside lane for the restart.

The No. 2 of Keselowski then collided with Gordon as he tried to split the middle between the No. 24 and Johnson. Gordon spun with a flat tire, falling a lap down and finishing 29th. It was a huge blow to his championship chances.

In the moments after the race, Gordon tracked Keselowski down on pit road after the race to exchange words. He stopped his car next to Keselowski’s, climbed out and moved over to have a chat. A few more words were exchanged between Keselowski and Gordon and then — after Keselowski got a nudge from behind from Kevin Harvick — both crews got involved, which led to punches being thrown.

The post-race brawl left both Gordon and Keselowski with cuts on their lips, while Johnson was in Victory Lane.

Check out how Jimmie Johnson, who was eliminated in the previous round for the championship that year, won for a record fourth time at Texas Motor Speedway in this Classic Race Replay of the 2014 AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

As part of free access to racing fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold is featuring nearly 50 long-form documentaries for your viewing pleasure. Throughout the week, we’ll preview one documentary each day that looks back on some of NASCAR’s biggest stars, venues and stories from the past.

RELATED: Get free access to all nine channels

After viewing some highlights from NASCAR Decades: The 90s, TrackPass goes back in time more by sharing interesting stories from the sport in the 1980s. In a time where mullets were the must-have style, NASCAR Decades: The 80s takes a look back at Tim Richmond, a.k.a. Mr. Hollywood, his rough-and-tough racing with Dale Earnhardt at Martinsville Speedway and much more.

Other available content includes full-event replays of all races since TrackPass launched in December 2019. Condensed replays of every American Flat Track, IMSA WeatherTech, K&N and Modified race from the 2019 season will also be made available shortly.

Free access to TrackPass runs through May 1. Fans can learn more about the streaming service here.

RELATED: FAQs on product

Posted on by Staff Report

FOX, NBC and NASCAR Productions together received eight Sports Emmy Award nominations for NASCAR broadcasts and related programming, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) announced in a release.

NASCAR Productions was nominated for Outstanding Post-Produced Audio/Sound for its work on Radioactive: The Championship Race, which aired on FS1 following the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway. NASCAR Productions also earned a nomination in the Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement category for the popular FS1 documentary, UNRIVALED: Earnhardt vs. Gordon.

FOX was nominated for its coverage of the 61st Daytona 500 and received two nominations for the George Wensel Technical Achievement Award (Broadcast Analytics and Virtual Set). After winning the award last year, FS1 was again nominated for its production of the daily afternoon show, NASCAR Race Hub.

Both FOX and NBC were nominated in the Outstanding Live Event Audio/Sound category for the networks’ live coverage of NASCAR Cup Series races in 2019.

The 41st annual Sports Emmy Awards ceremony, originally scheduled for April 28 in New York, has been postponed until later this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.