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.

Posted on by Staff Report

With classic race replays airing every weekday, drivers engaging on our Instagram channel for live interviews and an eNASCAR preview show for the weekend ahead, there is plenty of racing content for NASCAR fans to consume.

This week’s viewing guide for NASCAR.com and NASCAR social media platforms is below.

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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

First up is NASCAR Decades: The 90s, remembering some of the most thrilling and unique moments of the sport during that span. From Kyle Petty’s entertaining visor slap at Daytona International Speedway to when the NASCAR Cup Series took Japan by storm with exhibition races at Twin Ring Motegi and Suzuka Circuit from 1996-98, Trackpass delivers with this walk down memory lane.

Other available content includes full-event replays of all races since TrackPass launched in December 2019 and nearly 50 long-form documentaries on NASCAR’s biggest stars, venues and stories. 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

The schedule said there were three races on the docket, but the talk throughout New England leading up to race weekend was on ‘the big one.’

The Musket 250.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway has been the big stage for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour since Mike McLaughlin went to Victory Lane in the inaugural Sunoco Winston 125 on Sunday, Sept. 2, 1990.

Sixty-eight Whelen Modified Tour had been held at the “Magic Mile” prior to the Musket 250, but arguably none was bigger than what was on deck for Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018.

In the first year since the fall NASCAR Cup Series date was moved to Las Vegas, New Hampshire put on its inaugural Fall Full Throttle Weekend. The Whelen Modified Tour shared the bill with the penultimate races of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East seasons.

PIT BOX: Whelen Mods Hit Big Stage With Inaugural Musket 250 at NHMS

The Musket 250 set up as the longest race in the history of the Whelen Modified Tour, and one that would have championship implications.

Justin Bonsignore entered the event with seven wins in 13 races as he chased his first tour championship. He held a 79-point lead over Chase Dowling and 105-point cushion on Timmy Solomito. Doug Coby sat in fourth, 115 points out, as his chase for a fifth straight title was rapidly running out of time.

And Ryan Preece made the drive up from Richmond, where he was running in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Friday, to jump in the No. 77.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

Chase Elliott’s 2014 rookie season in the Xfinity Series doubled as his first full-time season in NASCAR overall, and it took him just six Xfinity races to make it to Victory Lane.

Driving JR Motorsports’ No. 9 Chevrolet, Elliott began the spring race at Texas Motor Speedway sixth. The 40-car O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 field was stacked with Cup Series full-timers, such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick, who started on the pole.

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

Elliott, who was 18 years old, led four times for 38 laps throughout the 200-lap event. Harvick was in control for a race-high 101 laps and held the No. 1 spot on Lap 184 until Elliott took over with a late-race pass. Elliott stayed out front for the final 16 circuits around the 1.5-mile track and ultimately beat Busch to the checkered flag by 2.666 seconds.

Larson, Harvick and Earnhardt rounded out the top five, while Kenseth finished sixth.

Elliott went on to win two more races that season, earned Rookie of the Year honors and ended up being crowned the 2014 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.

Relive Chase Elliott’s first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win in this Classic Race Replay of the 2014 O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.