Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will return to Martinsville Speedway in May. Ryan Preece and Kevin Harvick used Tuesday as an opportunity to get a little test in before the big race.

Preece and Harvick tested the Modified that Preece will drive in May’s race. Preece, along with Ryan Newman, is one of two NASCAR Cup Series regulars expected to compete in the race, which will take place on a Friday night with the Cup Series race scheduled for Saturday, May 9.

Martinsville Speedway | Calendar

For Harvick, it was a chance to get his first taste of driving a Modified.

Harvick was driving a modified for the first time. He said Tuesday the test had been in the works with Preece for “two years probably.” He said he made the three-hour drive up from Charlotte because he has built a great relationship with Preece and Stafford Motor Speedway, a NASCAR-sanctioned track in Connecticut, and he felt safe and comfortable in Preece’s car knowing the amount of work Preece has put into it.

Other than a go-kart, Harvick said Tuesday was his first time in a race car since the Cup Series finale at Homestead-Miami in November.

Kevin Harvick

“It’s his fault, that’s what I tell my wife, that all this happened today,” Harvick said with a laugh while pointing a Preece during a media session with the drivers. “We’ve been talking about just coming and seeing what driving one was like. So for me it was a great experience. Obviously it put a smile on my face. To get back in the car and to hear that power and see the tires moving and all the things that were so much different from my weekly view. It’s always fun to do something different.”

Stafford Motor Speedway

While Harvick has driven thousands of laps around Martinsville, it took him some adjusting to get used to the modified. The biggest difference, he said, was being able to see the front tire and driving it further into the corners than he would a Cup car.

Harvick said Preece’s advice was just to remember it was still a race car, and to just go out and drive.

“He told me that before I got in it,” Harvick said. “I think as I’ve gone through the years it’s just been a long time since I’ve gone and driven anything else that wasn’t at the Cup race or at the track. Even I haven’t even driven trucks in a number of years. It’s been a long time since. I’ve done something outside of my weekly racing routine. I like that because I think when you can challenge yourself and think about things that you don’t think about on a weekly basis, because for the most part I can get in a car on a Cup weekend and I can say, ‘Do this, this, and this.’ I’ve been to these track a million times, so you get into this and you go, ‘Okay, where do I start it? How do I put it into gear?’”

The good thing about Martinsville Speedway, Harvick said, was it is asphalt. It’s the dirt tracks where he’s felt the most discomfort in the past.

“That’s when I think I stepped out of bounds,” he said. “When they told me to push the clutch in to make the car go on the dirt tracks I was really confused and it did not go that well. So as long as it’s not on dirt I think I’m okay.”

Ryan Preece

With so much extra time for the offseason, Preece has put in more work to his modified to make sure it’s ready for May. He admits his last three races in a modified “weren’t very good,” but come May 8 he’ll be chasing another grandfather clock for his collection.

“With this car there was a slot of time I put into the shop to make sure it was right,” said Preece, who won the tour race at Martinsville in 2008. “Obviously having the time being the offseason right now, having that extra bit of time helps with preparation.”

Preece joked with Harvick that maybe one day he’ll be able to get his fellow Cup Series driver to actually run a race in the modified.

That jokes may not be too far off. While Harvick said during the season he likes being able to focus on his one car and be there as much as possible to be hands-on with the team, and also have time to spend with his family, he certainly has plans for other races in the future.

“I wouldn’t drive it if I didn’t want to race it,” Harvick said with a smile. “Let’s just make that clear.

“And we’ve talked about that. It was something that will definitely be on my bucket list to go do and I think I’d have fun. After driving it today. That really takes a little bit of pressure off of me mentally thinking, ‘Can you drive it? What’s it like? What’s it feel like?’ So there’s a lot of those things that just kind of check that box today and just say ‘O.K., I can do that.’”

Max McLaughlin, the son of the former NASCAR Xfinity Series and Whelen Modified Tour winner Mike McLaughlin, tested Gary Putnam’s No. 77 that Newman will drive in May’s race. Max McLaughlin, who raced in the East Series last year, is expected to make a handful of starts on the Whelen Modified Tour this season.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour campaign will kick off on March 21 for the WhosYourDriver.org 150 at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway. The day will also feature NASCAR Late Model Twin 75s. The season opener at South Boston and the modifieds race at Martinsville Speedway are the two stops in the south on the modifieds tour schedule for 2020.

The MAXPRO Window Films 200 at Martinsville will be the first track’s first tour Modified race since 2010. It will be the 36th NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race, and 117th modifieds race, the track has hosted in its more than 70 year history.

Posted on by Staff Report

By the time championship night rolled around at Berlin Raceway, the track’s Model Coverall Modifieds division was pretty much wrapped up. Driver Ben Welch ended up winning the division by 156 points after picking up eight wins with an additional five top-5 finishes.

Ben Welch

But while the season seemed to go pretty swimmingly – “We didn’t really get caught up in any wrecks. It went pretty smooth,” he said. – the end results made it seem like Welch had the track title in hand the entire season. It wasn’t always that way.

Welch started 2019 off great, but he faced health issues a couple of months into the season and didn’t know if he would be able to race the rest of the year. Luckily, when the issues happened there were four weeks between modifieds races at Berlin Raceway, a NASCAR Weekly Racing Series sanctioned 0.4375-mile oval asphalt in Marne, Michigan. After that month-long break there was an additional rain out, giving Welch an extra week to recuperate and be ready to get back racing in the second half of the season.

“It happened to all be perfect timing,” Welch said. “The first week I was able to go back racing was the first weekend that the modifieds raced again. So it went from starting off really good to thinking I was not going to be able to race the rest of the year, and then all of a sudden I was cleared and could race the rest of the year.”

Berlin Raceway | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Welch finished eighth in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Division IV national points standings, and had more wins than any other driver in the top 10.

Nate Walton won the track’s Division I Budweiser Late Models, while Joe Moody (Engine Pro Super Stocks), Austin Hull (Coors Light Sportsman), Corey Holtzlander (Four Cylinders), Ethan Hoekstra (Good Humor Mini Wedge 6-9), Elliott Davis Good Humor Mini Wedge 10-14) and Tom Boorsma (Vingate Modified) took home track crowns.

Holtzlander won the Division IV national title, and Tom Thomas edged Walton for the Division I Michigan championship.

RELATED: Sentimental Car Brings Sentimental Title for NWAAS Division IV National Champion Corey Holtzlander

This was Welch’s seventh season racing at Berlin, and his third in a modified. He previously raced a super late model for three years, and a street stock car for one.

Welch began racing go-karts when he was about five or six years old, during the same time his dad raced. When he was old enough, Welch moved to a dirt track car, and was offered a ride in a modified when he was 14, the same year he started racing at Berlin.

“Just the excitement and the adrenaline of it, I think once it’s in your blood it’s hard to get out. We just love it,” Welch said.

While this modifieds championship was the second of Welch’s career, this one felt a bit different. During his championship three years ago he was racing for another team and owner. This year was his first with a modified he built himself.

“How the seasons went was about the same. Consistent finishes and always running up front, so the seasons felt the same but it was different being my own car,” Welch said.

Ben Welch

Welch got it done on the track thanks to a close knit crew that includes his two friends from high school who help with all things relating to tires on race night, and provide assistance in the race shop during the week.

“They’re into motorsports and like cars, so they started helping a couple years ago,” Welch said.

Another cousin helps at the track and also takes all his photos and videos during races. Welch also has a friend, Butch Van Dorn, who helps with set-up and testing and getting the car fast week after week.

The final member of Welch’s team is the one who got the young racer into the sport to begin with. Welch’s dad helps with making changes to the car during practices, and serves as his spotter during the races, making race night more special.

“It’s cool that he got me into it and is helping,” Welch said of his dad. “Especially because he’s a spotter, he can keep me calm at times.”

Berlin Raceway Final Points Standings | NASCAR Whelen All-American Series DIV Points Standings

Welch’s race career started at Berlin, a track he said is “right in my backyard,” less than 20 minutes from his home.

Ben Welch

But next year he’ll have to try something new. The Michigan track will be eliminating the modifieds division for the 2020 season, meaning, for now, Welch will be the track’s final champion in the division.

It also means he’ll have to race at a new track for the first time in his young career. His plan is to travel around the midwest and race in big shows next year.

“I’ve never raced anywhere else in a modified,” Welch said. “It’ll be interesting. We’ll see how it goes.”

Thankfully for him, Welch has a wealth of success to build off of as he continues his career in a new place.

“It was a championship season. Everything just kind of came together when it needed to. Everything just fell in place,” he said. “It means a lot… It was an emotional year but it was a good year.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

The Ryan Blaney Family Foundation raised $650,000 for Alzheimer’s Disease research and care last weekend with the sale of a custom 1974 Ford Bronco at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Blaney’s foundation said that the gavel price marked a world record for Ford Bronco auctions. All proceeds from the Saturday sale will go to the Alzheimer’s Association.

WATCH: Blaney offers a Bronco tour at Darlington

Blaney commissioned Gateway Bronco, an Illinois-based shop specializing in classic Ford SUVs, for the custom build. The truck featured special tributes to Blaney’s grandfather, Lou, who passed away in 2009 after a bout with Alzheimer’s.

Blaney, who is set for his fifth full-time Cup Series season in 2020, was on hand in Scottsdale to watch the Bronco cross the auction block.

Other NASCAR tie-ins highlighted the annual Barrett-Jackson auction:

• Team owner Rick Hendrick closed the highest-priced sale of the weekend, with the first 2020 Corvette Stingray ever built hammering away for a $3 million sale. The car — with a vehicle identification number ending in 001 — is the first mid-engine Corvette and joins Hendrick’s vast collection. Four-time champion Jeff Gordon and actor Cuba Gooding Jr. were alongside Hendrick when the gavel dropped. The charity sale benefits the Detroit Children’s Fund.

• A 1997 No. 24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo raced by Jeff Gordon to his first road course win sold for $250,000, with proceeds benefiting the Arizona Animal Welfare League.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

There’s no reason to not set the bar as high as possible for William Byron in 2020.

Besides, even if Byron were to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship in just his third full-time season, he wouldn’t be the first driver to pull off such a feat. He’d actually be, fittingly enough, the third to do so since the circuit’s modern era began in 1972.

RELATED: Byron’s 2019 season review | Other Year 3 breakouts

Jeff Gordon earned his first title in 1995 after two years of competition. Brad Keselowski then did the same in 2012. The only champion crowned in a quicker amount of time was Dale Earnhardt, finishing atop the 1980 standings in his second season.

Pull back here, though. Byron still needs his first win. These other three drivers had at least one victory – Keselowski had four, Gordon had two and Earnhardt had one – before their championship season.

In his 72 starts in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet so far, Byron has five top-five and 17 top-10 showings. His highlights consist of runner-up performances in 2019 at Daytona International Speedway and Martinsville Speedway. He averaged a 14.9 finish in 2019, much improved from the 22.1 average in 2018.

After not making the NASCAR Playoffs in his rookie season, Byron made it through to the Round of 12 as a sophomore, bumping his rankings from 23rd to 11th in the final standings.

RELATED: All of Byron’s national wins | Debate: Byron or Elliott in 2020?

Really, all of Byron’s marks were better from Year 1 to 2.

Category 2018 2019
Poles 0 5
Top fives 0 5
Top 10s 4 13
Laps Led 61 233
Avg. Start 17.1 12.4
Avg. Finish 22.1 14.9
Rank 23 11

RELATED: Byron through the years

Byron’s poles last season were impressive, too. He started from the No. 1 spot in three of the four crown-jewel events: Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500. His other two poles were at Pocono Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval.

Anyway, back to the lack of wins.

In Byron’s defense, there are multiple notable drivers who secured their first checkered flag in their third full season on track. Chase Elliott and Bobby Labonte both won three times, Rusty Wallace did twice, and Kyle Larson and Alan Kulwicki had one each. Elliott and Larson are still active. Labonte, Wallace and Kulwicki all went on to win at least one championship and eventually land in the Hall of Fame.

Those eventual champions aren’t the only titleholders winless in their first 72 starts – not necessarily full-time seasons. Bill Elliott, Cale Yarborough and Dale Jarrett also fall under that umbrella.

Driver Starts Wins Top 5s Top 10s Avg. Finish Titles
Byron 72 0 5 17 18.486 N/A
Elliott 72 0 4 25 18.278 1988
Yarborough 72 0 6 22 16.722 1976-78
Kulwicki 72 0 7 17 18.097 1992
Labonte 72 0 4 12 20.528 2000
Jarrett 72 0 0 5 24.167 1999

Sure, these comparisons could amount to absolutely nothing. But the fact Byron has continued to improve since he joined NASCAR’s premier league in 2018 cannot be disputed. So, that means there’s a good chance he could yet again have some form of newfound success in 2020.

Posted on by George Winkler

Chase Elliott and William Byron are both beacons of light when it comes to the future of Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. Both drivers have had success on the national series level at a young age and are potentially primed for a deep playoff run in 2020.

However, despite both making the playoffs last season, neither one advanced to the Championship 4. For Byron, it was his first foray into the playoffs and came on the heels of a season in which he racked up five Busch Pole Awards with crew chief Chad Knaus. For Elliott, it was the third straight time he fell short of the ultimate goal.

RELATED: NASCAR Cup Series 2020 schedule

This all begs the question: Which young HMS star will take his respective ride deepest into the playoffs during the 2020 campaign? NASCAR.com’s Jonathan Merryman and George Winkler are here to pick sides.

Winkler: Chase Elliott. After a dramatic comeback win at the Charlotte Road Course, Elliott’s championship chances fizzled out by the Round of 8 in 2019. It was the third straight season in which he couldn’t quite break through for a chance to race for a championship.

However, I think Elliott will come into the 2020 season motivated to get back on track toward the Championship 4. He has some statistical factors in his favor: 1. Four of his six career Cup wins have come on current playoff tracks, 2. His pit crew posted the third-best times during the playoffs last season, so a repeat performance would ensure he’s getting set up for success. Throw in some good luck from the mechanical side of things, and Elliott should be well on his way.

Also, when compared to Byron, Elliott has an edge in experience and that includes winning experience, as Byron has yet to get to Victory Lane in his young career while Elliott has been there six times. The ability to finish off a win could come in handy during the win-and-advance playoffs to make up for a misstep earlier in a playoff round. I would not be surprised to see Elliott put it all together and make it to the Championship 4 this season and win the whole thing.

Merryman: William Byron. The difference this year for William Byron is between the ears. The future of Hendrick Motorsports enters his second year with crew chief Chad Knaus after two full seasons of learning in the NASCAR Cup Series. Bottom line, this all equates to confidence.

Byron is known to be a quick study winning early and often in every level of stock-car racing. NASCAR’s highest level proved to be more of a challenge for Byron in Year 1, but in 2019 we saw a leap in performance. He scored five top-five finishes, 13 top 10s and five poles. I think that progression continues this year as the Byron/Knaus duo continues its quest for a win in the Cup Series.

In the end, it comes down to a simple formula. Knaus has never failed to make the playoffs as a crew chief and has won the Cup Series title seven times. Byron has a ton of raw talent, and more importantly he is willing to listen. Couple that with a third year behind the wheel and I believe Byron and Knaus will up the ante in the Hendrick camp this year and may prove to be a dark horse in Phoenix racing for the championship.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Editor’s note: Today begins NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the NASCAR Cup Series season, ranked in order of best finish in last year’s owner standings. We’ll kick off with teams that finished outside the top 30 in team owner points in 2019 (listed alphabetically).

MORE: Changes to know for the 2020 season

***

BEARD MOTORSPORTS

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Engine: ECR Engines

Driver: Brendan Gaughan

2019 stats: 4 starts, 1 top 10, average finish of 19.2.

Racing Insights Numbers to Know: 12 career starts — all the Superspeedways the last three years with driver Brendan Gaughan. Gaughan has announced that he will run the superspeedways in 2020 but plans to retire from NASCAR after the season. Gaughan finished seventh in the 2017 July Daytona race and eighth in the April 2019 Talladega race for the team.

Outlook: Gaughan said in a December appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that he plans to enter the four superspeedway events (both Daytona and Talladega races) in 2020, then retire from NASCAR competition. The 44-year-old driver showed some spark in his four-race stint last year, occasionally mixing it up with the front-runners in the No. 62 Chevrolet and bagging team owner Mark Beard’s second-ever top 10.

GAUNT BROTHERS RACING

Manufacturer: Toyota

Engine: Triad/Toyota Racing Development

Driver: Daniel Suarez

2019 stats: 15 starts, average finish of 26.7.

Racing Insights Numbers to Know: The No. 96 car clocked the fastest lap in all of 2019 at Talladega in October with a 205.803 mph and hopes to build on that speed in 2020.

Outlook: One of the biggest questions throughout much of the offseason remains where Daniel Suarez might land, and Marty Gaunt’s No. 96 was the answer, giving the team a talented and experienced driver. Parker Kligerman entered 14 races for GBR last year, but told NBC Sports he would not return to the team in 2020. Suarez gives the organization a chance to punch above its weight.

MBM MOTORSPORTS

Manufacturer: Toyota

Engine: MBM Motorsports

Driver: Timmy Hill

2019 stats: 16 starts, average finish of 35.8.

Racing Insights Numbers to Know: The team has run at least 12 races in each of the last three seasons.

Outlook: Carl Long’s organization competed in a part-time schedule last season, with Joey Gase (10 races) and Timmy Hill (six) splitting time in the No. 66 ride. This year, it appears Hill will do the majority of the driving duties, with Gase moving to Rick Ware Racing for 2020. MBM is reported to be dialing back its Xfinity Series operation to a two-car fleet in order to focus more on the Cup Series this year.

PREMIUM MOTORSPORTS

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Engine: ECR Engines

Driver: Brennan Poole

2019 stats: 62 starts among six drivers in the Nos. 15 and 27 (Ross Chastain, Quin Houff, Joe Nemechek, Ryan Sieg, Garrett Smithley, Reed Sorenson); one top 10, average finish of 29.5.

Racing Insights Numbers to Know: Brennan Poole is making his Cup debut in the Daytona 500. Both of the team’s top-10 finishes, came in the Daytona 500 (2017 and 2019).

Outlook: Though Premium’s cars fought to find headway against powerhouse competition, the 2019 season did produce a modest gain with the organization’s best average finish since Jay Robinson joined the team owner ranks six years ago. Brennan Poole, who drove part-time in the Gander Trucks tour last year, was tapped in December for his first Cup Series season in Premium’s No. 15 ride. Plans for a potential second car have not yet been announced.

SPIRE MOTORSPORTS

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Engine: Hendrick Motorsports

Driver: Ross Chastain, TBA.

2019 stats: 36 starts among eight drivers (Justin Haley, Timmy Hill, Quin Houff, Blake Jones, DJ Kennington, Jamie McMurray, Garrett Smithley, Reed Sorenson); 1 win, average finish of 32.6.

The Action Network Best Bet: Ross Chastain will run two races for Spire Motorsports this season — the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 — with support from Chip Ganassi Racing. The alliance with CGR will offer significant upside in both of these races, making Chastain a savvy target for NASCAR bettors. — PJ Walsh.

Racing Insights Numbers to Know: Justin Haley won the race at Daytona last July, in his third career start. Ross Chastain will run the Daytona 500 for the team in 2020 in a co-op with Chip Ganassi Racing (Jamie McMurray did the same thing in the 2019 Daytona 500).

Outlook: Spire played strategy to perfection with Justin Haley at Daytona last summer, making it the only team outside the top 30 to visit Victory Lane in 2019. The start-up team is back for year two, expecting to field a chartered car for a rotating cast of drivers — including the always savvy Ross Chastain for at least the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600. A technical alliance with Premium Motorsports remains intact for 2020.

STARCOM RACING

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Engine: ECR Engines

Driver: Quin Houff

2019 stats: 36 starts, average finish of 29.3.

Racing Insights Numbers to Know: Enters its third full-time season in 2020 with new driver Quin Houff, who has 27 NASCAR national series starts (10 Xfinity, 17 Cup). Landon Cassill ran the entire 2019 Cup season in the No. 00 and earned the team’s best finish of 11th at Daytona in July.

Outlook: The No. 00 team — managed by veteran Derrike Cope — is back for a third full season but with a change behind the wheel. Quin Houff takes over driving duties with a two-year deal, replacing Landon Cassill. The organization said in November that it intends to honor its commitment to Cassill in 2020, but those plans have not been revealed as Daytona nears.

RICK WARE RACING

Manufacturer: Chevrolet/Ford

Engine: TBA, Roush Yates Engines.

Drivers: Joey Gase, JJ Yeley, David Ragan (Daytona 500 only)

2019 stats: 91 starts among 14 drivers for four teams (Stanton Barrett, Josh Bilicki, Spencer Boyd, Jeb Burton, Bayley Currey, Joey Gase, Gray Gaulding, B.J. McLeod, Andy Seuss, Garrett Smithley, Austin Theriault, Cody Ware, Kyle Weatherman, JJ Yeley); average finish of 32.5.

Racing Insights Numbers to Know: 14 different drivers competed for this team in 2019, most of all teams.

Outlook: No single driver entered more than half of the races for RWR in 2019 (B.J. McLeod topped the list with 18 starts), but this year’s plans include full-time rides for both Gase and Yeley. The continuity should help, and so should the support from Front Row Motorsports for a Daytona 500 one-off with David Ragan driving.

NASCAR.com 2020 team previews schedule 

Jan. 20: Teams outside the top 30
Jan. 21: Go Fas Racing
Jan. 22: Front Row Motorsports
Jan. 23: Richard Petty Motorsports
Jan. 24: Germain Racing
Jan. 27: Leavine Family Racing
Jan. 28: Richard Childress Racing
Jan. 29: JTG Daugherty Racing
Jan. 30: Wood Brothers Racing
Jan. 31: Roush Fenway Racing
Feb. 3: Hendrick Motorsports
Feb. 4: Chip Ganassi Racing
Feb. 5: Team Penske
Feb. 6: Stewart-Haas Racing
Feb. 7: Joe Gibbs Racing

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Tuesday, Jan. 21
On MRN
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Saturday, Jan. 25
1:30 p.m., IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, NBC/NBC Sports App
2:30 p.m., IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
11 p.m., IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Sunday, Jan. 26
6 a.m., IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
Noon, IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, NBC/NBC Sports App

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Former UFC Featherweight and Lightweight champion Conor McGregor made his long-awaited return in grand fashion on Saturday night in Las Vegas, stopping Cowboy Cerrone 40 seconds into Round 1 by TKO when the referee halted the match.

Cerrone (36-14, one no-contest) is the UFC’s all-time winner and a client of NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick’s KHI Management team. Harvick and Cerrone go back years, and the UFC fighter was Havick’s first client when he launched the full-service sports and celebrity marketing agency.

It was a fight between two of UFC’s most electric and outspoken figures, and one that firmly thrust Harvick into the spotlight as a businessman.

RELATED: Kevin Harvick’s career highlights

KHI was on the ground in Vegas all week, following along as the moments unfold between Cerrone and McGregor. Harvick and wife DeLana, an invaluable resource in KHI’s business management, expected to host 140 people and 11 sponsors at the event this weekend.

“He’s actually our original client,” Harvick told NASCAR.com earlier in the week. “And really the reason that KHI Management started was because of Donald Cerrone and him asking the question ‘Why couldn’t you represent me?’ That’s really what started our company, just drinking a beer beside the bus at Texas Motor Speedway. It’s evolved from that into what it is today; he’s responsible for the management company even starting.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Larson said he couldn’t make a mistake in his quest to unseat three-time Chili Bowl winner Christopher Bell at the most prestigious dirt Midget race of the year. On Saturday night, Larson was perfect when it mattered most.

A flawless restart on Lap 39 of the 55-lap event that included a precise, bold dart up the track — one that the daring Larson also is known for in the NASCAR Cup Series — allowed the 27-year-old to slip by Bell, and he made the lead hold.

There would be no repeat of 2019, when Larson made a mental error on the final lap, giving up the lead and win to Bell in the final corner.

On this night, Kyle Larson was Chili Bowl champion.

RELATED: Best pictures from Chili Bowl

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7f4rK4FqkO/?igshid=va3vw6d6ails

Bell finished second, ending one of the most remarkable streaks in the history of the fabled race. The Leavine Family Racing driver, who will be a rookie in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020, started the 55-lap main event second, took the lead out of the opening lap and appeared to be sailing away to his fourth consecutive win. A series of late cautions bunched the field back up, setting the stage for Larson’s heroics.

Bell was attempting to become the second driver in Chili Bowl history to win four straight, which Kevin Swindell did from 2010-13. But Bell’s heartache was jubilation for Larson, who won for the first time in his 13 attempts at Chili Bowl fame.

Cannon McIntosh finished third, followed by Logan Seavey and Rico Abreu, who was a menace in the final laps and drove up to second place before dropping back late.

The Chili Bowl is an annual dirt Midget race that has been held since 1987 and always draws interest from some of auto racing’s most talented drivers. Preliminary heat races began Monday and lasted through Saturday. Each day included a series of heat races and qualifiers, followed by a 25-lap feature event. The top-two finishers in each qualifying night feature event locked themselves into the 24-car A-Feature event on Saturday night.

Larson locked in his spot Tuesday by winning the A-Feature event and an automatic spot in Saturday’s showdown. The talented Abreu, who has 26 career Gander Trucks starts on his resume, joined him in the finale with an A-Feature win the following night. Bell already was locked into the finale, but won his A-Feature on Thursday anyway.

With 10 spots locked in, drivers spent the entirety of Saturday attempting to qualify through a prolonged series of races known as “Alphabet Soup” as drivers who had not previously qualified for the championship race had to drive their way in through a series of transfers, starting with two O-Feature races. The top six finishers advanced upward to the corresponding N-Feature races., in which there were already several drivers who had qualified based off their performance earlier in the week. Then the top six finishers from each N-Feature race advanced into the M-Feature races, where other drivers were also waiting.

RELATED: Recap entire week

The format was used all the way up to the A-Main finale, although the number of drivers advancing upward dropped to five starting at the G-Feature, then jumped to seven for the B-Feature races.

Justin Allgaier, who started Saturday in the first of two B-Feature races, finished third in that event to claim a transfer spot into the championship race. He finished 21st in the big show.

Sammy Swindell, the all-time leader with five Chili Bowl wins, took 13th.

RELATED: GoPro footage of Allgaier

Finishes for notable drivers included:

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. started his day in the E-Feature, finishing third, and then passed two cars on the final lap of the ensuing D-Feature race to claim the final transfer spot into the C-Feature, where he started last based off his previous finishing position. He made up some ground, but not enough, finishing 17th and ending his night.

The Cup Series driver and two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion is a talented and well-respected dirt driver and a consistent entrant in the Chili Bowl. Stenhouse will drive for JTG Daugherty Racing in its flagship No. 47 Chevrolet this year.

• Ryan Newman won his E-Feature race, where he started the day, to advance to the D-Feature. He finished seventh and did not advance any further. Still, it’s considered an impressive showing for the Cup Series veteran. He hadn’t raced a dirt Midget car since 2000 prior to a tune-up race at Gateway earlier in the month. Prior to Saturday, the 42-year-old was in the A-Feature of his Wednesday qualifying race before being involved in a five-car incident just five laps in, forcing him to attempt and drive his way into the main event on Saturday.

• Chase Briscoe fell short of the championship A-Feature in agonizing fashion. The full-time Stewart-Haas Racing driver figures to be in the championship picture of the NASCAR Xfinity Series this year, and throughout the week he looked like he’d be a factor in the main event. He nearly was. A third-place finish in one of the C-Feature races advanced Briscoe to the B-Features, but his eighth-place finish — after starting 17th — was one spot short of a transfer.

• Dillon Welch, a NASCAR reporter and lifetime racer who excels every time he gets in the seat, also fell a heartbreaking one spot shy of advancing to the A-Feature. Starting fourth in the second B-Feature, a pair of late cautions bunched up the field, leaving Welch one spot outside the transfer line. A ridiculous last lap with a near-successful slide job wasn’t quite enough.

• Alex Bowman started Saturday in one of the two C-Feature races and finished second to cleanly advance. He couldn’t duplicate the feat, finishing 12th in the following B-Feature. Bowman, who drives the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the Cup Series, earned his first career win at NASCAR’s top level in 2019. He’s an avid Midget racer who often tweets his progress on building the latest cars. Driver C.J. Leary gave Bowman a rooting interest in the A-Feature, as he drives Bowman’s equipment.

• Longtime veteran racer J.J. Yeley, who has had a number of memorable Chili Bowl moments over the years, couldn’t quite pull off another one. Yeley finished fifth a C-Feature race, where he began Saturday, to advance upward with the final transfer position. A 10th-place finish in the ensuing race was impressive considering his 20th-place start — last in the field — but three spots short of making the A-Feature.

• Karsyn Elledge  finished 17th in the E-Feature, bettering her run from last year by two full races.

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Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

The 2020 Chili Bowl Nationals are underway from the Tulsa Expo Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. See how NASCAR drivers and others fared in their respective qualifying nights leading up to Saturday night’s 55-lap A-Feature event, and check back throughout the week for the latest updates.

RELATED: Guide to Chili Bowl Nationals: Can Bell four-peat?

Friday, Jan. 17

In a thriller all the way down to the final laps, Tanner Thorson put on a show on his way to winning Friday night’s final preliminary qualifying night at the Chili Bowl Nationals.

After seven lead changes among four drivers, Thorson took the lead away from Ryan Bernal with just five laps remaining. Bernal was able to hold off Chris Windom, Tucker Klaasmeyer and NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Justin Allgaier at the end to earn the second of two transfer spots into Saturday night’s 55-lap A-Feature finale. Allgaier held on to finish fourth.

PHOTOS: See the scenes from the Chili Bowl Nationals

In what started as a great night turned sour for NASCAR Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the A-Feature. Stenhouse Jr. won his respective heat race and finished second in his Team Toyota qualifier after starting fifth, earning enough passing points to start third in the A-Feature. The No. 17bc Clauson-Marshall Racing driver took the lead from Chris Windom on Lap 4 and held on until he lost the lead to Thorson after a Lap 14 restart.

But that’s when things went south for Stenhouse after making heavy contact with the Turn 4 cushion while Thorson was making the pass. The contact damaged the bottom nerf bar on Stenhouse’s midget, rubbing on the left-rear tire. After a short caution period, Stenhouse was forced to go to the pit area with 13 laps to go due to a flat tire. Stenhouse finished 23rd.

Allgaier and Stenhouse will now have to rely on Saturday’s last-chance qualifying rounds if they want to make it into Saturday night’s grand finale. Other NASCAR drivers, including Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Ellis and J.J. Yeley, will also have a busy Saturday trying to race their way into transfer spots.

RELATED: Lineups for Championship Saturday at the Chili Bowl

Below are drivers who have clinched spots so far for Saturday night’s 55-lap main event:

  • Cannon McIntosh
  • Tyler Courtney
  • Christopher Bell
  • Kyle Larson
  • Jonathan Beason
  • Rico Abreu
  • Colby Copeland
  • Thomas Meseraull
  • Tanner Thorson
  • Ryan Bernal

Thursday, Jan. 16

NASCAR Cup Series rookie Christopher Bell took the checkered flag during Thursday’s John Christner Trucking Qualifying Night.

Bell worked his way into the 30-lap preliminary A-Feature by winning the seventh heat and the fourth Team Toyota qualifier to start sixth in the main event of the night. Bell made quick work of the competition on his way to the front, passing Thomas Meseraull for the lead on Lap 11 in the No. 84x Tucker-Boat Motorsports midget.

But the night wasn’t as smooth toward the end as Bell had to fend off a hard charge by Buddy Kofoid in the closing laps and contact with a slower car on the final lap, but neither slowed him down, capturing his fifth consecutive preliminary qualifying night victory and sixth in Chili Bowl Nationals history.

The defending and three-time Chili Bowl champion is locked into his seventh straight main event, while Meseraull was able to hang on for second to earn the final transfer spot of the night for Saturday night’s 55-lap grand finale.

Other notables included CJ Leary, driving for NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman, who finished seventh in the A-Feature. Leary was set to start second, but he was penalized for jumping the start in his respective Team Toyota qualifier, forcing the No. 55v Alex Bowman Racing machine back to 12th for the green flag.

After finishing sixth in his heat, former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Cale Conley finished first in the first of two C-Main events, but the B-Main wasn’t as pretty, exiting early after a front axle failed on the No. 11 midget to end his night.

Both Conley and Leary will revert to the last-chance qualifying round on Saturday before the main event to try to earn a spot in the A-Feature.

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Justin Allgaier and NASCAR Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be in action for Friday night’s final preliminary round of qualifying.

Wednesday, Jan. 15

Rico Abreu took victory in Wednesday night’s Hard Rock Casino Qualifying Night to advance to Saturday night’s A-Feature main event.

After starting second, Abreu never looked back after taking the lead from 2019 World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet around the halfway point of the 30-lap preliminary event. Sweet dropped back afterward but made a big effort to get back to the front, running third before contact with Blake Hahn with four laps to go sent Sweet for a tumble.

Colby Copeland finished second to Abreu, which also locked him into the main event.

NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Newman, making his maiden voyage in the Chili Bowl Nationals, finished third in the seventh heat to advance to the A-Feature. But Newman’s night didn’t pan out after getting caught up in an incident with Giovanni Scelzi, Tyler Thomas, Robby Josett and Chase Jones just five laps into the event. Newman finished 21st and will need to go through the last-chance qualifying rounds Saturday to have a chance at a spot in Saturday’s feature.

World of Outlaw driver and 2019 Knoxville Nationals champion David Gravel finished seventh after starting in the sixth spot. Gravel is set to make six NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series starts throughout the 2020 season with GMS Racing in the No. 24 truck sponsored by Axalta. He’ll also compete in the ARCA Menards Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway with GMS Racing’s alliance team, KBR Development.

Karsyn Elledge, niece of Dale Earnhardt Jr., worked her way into the A-Feature after finishing third in the second B-Feature of the night. After starting 22nd, Elledge was holding her own until she spun with 10 laps to go to bring out the fifth of seven total cautions.

Starting 23rd, J.J. Yeley finished 11th in the A-Feature after overcoming a flat left-rear tire. Yeley paid a visit to the work area and quickly returned to the track to make up time.

Tuesday, Jan. 14

NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson was perfect in Tuesday night’s Warren CAT Qualifying Night, winning his heat, qualifier and the 30-lap A-Feature preliminary race to earn a spot in Saturday night’s 55-lap finale. NASCAR Cup Series rookie Christopher Bell also earned a victory in the Invitational Race of Champions event in what serves as an all-star race featuring the Chili Bowl’s most talented drivers in history.

But perhaps the most surprising and impactful turn of events occurred after racing action was over. Groundskeeper Brad “Gravel” Chandler didn’t like how the track’s multiple grooves looked from the naked eye following Tuesday night’s action, according to Autoweek. Chandler knew something was off with the dimensions of the track, and reached out to iRacing to verify his notion after checking their digital laser scan of the track from 2018.

After iRacing provided Chandler with the exact dimensions of the corners from its data, Chandler and the grounds crew worked until around 4 a.m. to recut the track based on iRacing’s measurements. The berm at the bottom of the track was moved lower, while the cushion above the top grooved was pushed in.

Kevin Iannarelli, an associate producer at iRacing, spearheads all the scanning work for the racing simulation company. He spent a few hours last night analyzing the track data from the 2018 scan, giving Chandler and his team the radiuses of the corners, banking, height of the berm and basic dimensions of the clay surface.

The result? The racing world and the racing simulation world working together to produce a top-notch product at one of the biggest races of the year.

“I take a lot of pride in building relationships with the people responsible for the tracks when I go and collect the data we need to build our virtual tracks,” Iannarelli told NASCAR.com. “As a company, we are always looking for ways to not only improve our product but also help our partners when we have the tools and technology to do so. With the data we have someone could exactly replicate the Chili Bowl in their backyard, so it is pretty gratifying that we could help Steve and his team out by using our expertise to improve their on-track product. I doubt there are many examples of a software developer helping to change a race track overnight before.”

Monday, Jan. 13

Keith Kunz Motorsports driver Cannon McIntosh earned victory in the preliminary A-Feature during Monday night’s Cummins Qualifying Night. With two automatic spots to Saturday night’s A-Feature event during each qualifying night, McIntosh and second-place driver Tyler Courtney have earned the first pair of positions for the grand finale.

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Chase Briscoe finished second in the second heat race of the night, rallying from the seventh starting position to earn enough passing points for a spot in the night’s preliminary qualifying race. After starting fourth, Briscoe dropped back to collect a ninth-place finish in the A-Feature, but he’ll have a chance to race his way into the finale through last-chance qualifying races Saturday.

Ryan Ellis, former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver and public relations representative for Go Fas Racing, finished last in the fourth heat race of the night. Starting fifth in the C-Feature, Ellis was unable to advance his position, finishing fifth and just missed one of the top-four transfer spots in an effort to advance to the B-Feature. Ellis will have another opportunity to race his way into the A-Feature finale, but it will be a tall task through Saturday’s multiple rounds of last-chance qualifying events.

Next up is Tuesday’s Warren CAT Qualifying Night, where NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman will have their chance to transfer into the A-Feature for Saturday night.