Posted on by Track Release

LAS VEGAS – Two-time and reigning NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Busch will make his return to The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Feb. 20 to compete in the Star Nursery 100 Super Late Model Open Comp.

Busch, a Las Vegas native and Durango High School graduate who developed his skills on the 3/8-mile Bullring track, will compete in the 100-lap race, which will be followed by the Star Nursery 150 ARCA Menards Series West race.

Busch compiled more than 50 wins on LVMS property between 1999 and 2003, as well as a U.S. Legends-Pro season points championship in 2000. He last competed at the Bullring in 2007 in the Fall Classic.

“It’s going to be great to get back to where it all began,” Busch said. “My family and I spent many Friday and Saturday nights racing at the Bullring, and it will always hold a special place for me. I’m really looking forward to racing against a few guys I raced against back in the day as well as some of the new drivers who are cutting their teeth coming up through the ranks.”

Busch has accumulated 208 career wins across all three NASCAR national series including 56 in the NASCAR Cup Series. His 96 NASCAR Xfinity Series wins and 56 NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoor Truck Series wins rank him first all time for both series.

RELATED: Kyle Busch 2019 season review

Busch, along with all other drivers in both the super late model and ARCA races, will take part in a pre-race autograph session from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on race day. The Super Late Models race begins at 7 p.m. followed by the Star Nursery 150 at 8 p.m. Tickets for the doubleheader can be purchased here.

The full 2020 NASCAR weekend schedule can be viewed here.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wears many hats in the NASCAR world. Driver. Commentator. Team owner. Historian of the sport. Curator. The latest hat comes as he chose the theme and the 18 cars for the fourth generation of Glory Road at the NASCAR Hall of Fame that is now open and will run for three years: “Dale Jr.: Glory Road Champions.”

“It was a real honor to be asked,” Earnhardt Jr. said of his participation in the exhibit. “To have any involvement with anything that goes on at the Hall of Fame — this is where you learn about our sport. This is where you can really understand and grow the sport. This is where you learn everything you need to know about NASCAR right here.”

PHOTOS: See the cars that are on display

Executive Director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Winston Kelley said a guest curator project was a concept he and his team had kicked around quite a bit and there was one standout reason to have Dale Jr. be the first to do it.

“One of the things we pride ourselves on is being authentic,” Kelley said. “We’ve talked about this concept for a long time and candidly, Dale Jr. was the first one we wanted to work with because of his authentic passion for the sport.”

Earnhardt Jr. indicated that while the theme was a no brainer to represent the “best of the best,” the process of getting down to 18 cars was a bit tougher. Two on the initial list of 18 (Dale Jarrett’s 1999 Ford Taurus and Bobby Labonte’s 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix) were committed elsewhere. The 15-time NMPA Most Popular Driver Award winner is proud of the selections and to have the actual cars in one place.

BUY TICKETS: Explore the NASCAR Hall of Fame

“These aren’t remakes. These aren’t cars that someone else drove or painted it like Rusty Wallace’s car,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “That’s the car that he competed in in that particular year. That to me means the most. When the fans come here and they look at that exhibit, they know in their heart and they know in their mind, that car was out on the race track and getting the job done. There’s no better representation of the history of the sport than the real stuff.”

One of the cars – the 1980 Blue and Yellow Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by his father, Dale Earnhardt, kicks off the exhibit and is Dale Jr.’s favorite in the display. The NASCAR history buff was involved in restoring part of the vehicle himself and the car has a special meaning to him.

RELATED: See the paint scheme for Dale Jr.’s lone 2020 start

“Dad drove that car at Ontario in the final race of the season,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “He asked (car owner) Rod (Osterlund) to let him have it. That car came to the shop that’s next to Martha’s (Dale Jr.’s grandmother) house in Kannapolis and sat on jack stands around the shop for probably three years. Stripped down, no motor. And me and Tony (Eury) Jr. would run circles around that car and pick Bondo off of it. Dad hit the right side a little bit so the car’s got a ton of Bondo on it. I tried to go to that shop all the time with dad because I loved hanging out there.”

Daleearnhardtcar Main
Zack Albert | NASCAR Digital Media

“He sent it to a guy in Kannapolis around 1984 and got it restored and then it went directly to the (International Motorsports) Hall of Fame in Alabama. And it had been there ever since and then they gave it to me in 2017. Through the 80’s, 90’s, anytime I would be in Alabama, I’d go look at that car because I knew its history. Once I got the car, I wanted to decal it just the way it raced in Ontario when it came off the race track after he won his championship.”

Earnhardt Jr. did a lot of research on the car and learned even more about the car than he could have imagined. It turns out that car won at Atlanta and Charlotte in 1980 and David Pearson won with it at Darlington in 1979.

“My quest to learn more about history is unfulfilled and experiences like this add to it and improve my knowledge,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Anytime you get included in the conversation about history, it is an opportunity to learn and I certainly jumped at the chance to do this.”

The exhibit’s theme of champions covers 18 cars with 15 drivers – each of the three seven-time champion’s in the sport (Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson) have two cars on display — from their first and seventh championships. The 15 drivers represented account for 46 of the 71 NASCAR Cup Series championships, 1,076 race wins and 14 of those drivers are in the NASCAR Hall of Fame – Johnson remains active and is not eligible for induction yet.

The full list of cars on display:

Year Champion Driver Car Model
1951 Herb Thomas Hudson Hornet
1957 Buck Baker Chevrolet 150
1964 Richard Petty Plymouth Belvedere
1968 David Pearson Ford Torino
1973 Benny Parsons Chevrolet Chevelle
1978 Cale Yarborough Oldsmobile Cutlass 442
1979 Richard Petty Oldsmobile Cutlass 442
1980 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Monte Carlo
1981 Darrell Waltrip Buick Regal
1983 Bobby Allison Buick Regal
1988 Bill Elliott Ford Thunderbird
1989 Rusty Wallace Pontiac Grand Prix
1992 Alan Kulwicki Ford Thunderbird
1994 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Lumina
1997 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2002 Tony Stewart Pontiac Grand Prix
2006 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2016 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet SS
Posted on by Zack Albert

Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced Wednesday that its NASCAR Xfinity Series race scheduled on July 4 will be held on the facility’s road-course layout.

New track owner Roger Penske and IMS president Doug Boles made the announcement during a press conference at the historic track, where NASCAR’s annual doubleheader will occupy a new calendar slot on Independence Day weekend in 2020.

Matt DiBenedetto is scheduled to be at the track next Wednesday to test on the road-racing layout. The track has used a 2.439-mile circuit for its GMR Grand Prix since 2014, using part of the oval connected by infield sections in a clockwise configuration.

The Xfinity Series race is the top preliminary to the NASCAR Cup Series race, which is set for July 5. The Xfinity Series’ event scheduled the previous day will mark the first time stock cars have run on an IMS layout other than the 2.5-mile oval. Indy has hosted the Xfinity Series since 2012.

“As we’ve seen in recent years, road-course racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series provides some of the most thrilling action of the entire season, and we are excited to bring it to an iconic venue like Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR managing director of racing operations and international development. “Roger, Doug and the entire IMS team have been tremendous partners in growing the Brickyard weekend, and we’re looking forward to what promises to be a must-see event during July 4th weekend.”

The Xfinity Series will now contest five of its 33 races this season on road courses. The IMS layout joins Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (May 30), Road America (Aug. 8), Watkins Glen International (Aug. 15) and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (Oct. 10) as road races on the 2020 schedule. The Cup Series is scheduled for three road-course races this season, and the Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series has one.

Indianapolis used a 2.605-mile oval-road course layout for Formula One’s United States Grand Prix from 2000-07 and a 2.621-mile counterclockwise circuit for MotoGP events from 2008-15. Next week’s test will help determine any layout modifications for July’s stock-car debut.

Other NASCAR weekend bonuses announced Wednesday at the Brickyard:

• TV coverage of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race will shift to the main NBC network.
• Florida Georgia Line will perform in concert before Sunday’s 400-miler.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season will see a plethora of changes on the schedule come to life.

Some of those changes include: Martinsville Speedway’s first night race in May and a national tripleheader in November, the Pocono Raceway doubleheader in June, Indianapolis Motor Speedway moving back to July, Daytona International Speedway’s second date shifting to the playoff cutoff race in August, Darlington Raceway’s throwback weekend kicking off the NASCAR Playoffs and Bristol Motor Speedway’s night race in the postseason.

With all the highly anticipated new race dates coming up, which one will provide the most impact? NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola and Chase Wilhelm debate.

RELATED: 2020 schedule | Daytona Speedweeks schedule

DECOLA: Lots of the changes coming in 2020 rank high on the uniqueness/intriguing scale — Daytona as the playoffs cutoff, Pocono’s doubleheader, etc. — but to me, the most impactful change is where the championship will be decided: Phoenix Raceway.

After several years of Homestead-Miami Speedway putting on thrilling finale after thrilling finale, the bar will be set high out in Arizona. It’s one I think will be cleared handily, however, particularly after Tuesday’s announcement of a reduced-downforce package for short tracks and road courses specifically designed to enhance competition.

Considering exactly half of the tracks in the 2020 playoffs will be affected by this new rules package, I anticipate some seriously wild races as the season winds down, all culminating with the duel in the desert for the Championship 4. Just think of the story lines and rivalries that will emerge from Bristol and Richmond Raceway under the lights back-to-back weeks and then Martinsville and Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval functioning as round cutoffs.

It seems pretty likely the series won’t be running low on vendettas by the time we head west. Putting a championship trophy on the line while all of those feuds get resolved only adds to the intensity.

WILHELM: Without question, the most notable change, in my opinion, is Daytona’s second date moving to the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season. The major unknowns a superspeedway race has to offer is the highest spectacle to set the stage for who will make up the 16-driver playoff field.

Every weekend we say anything can, and usually does, happen, but this statement holds a substantial amount of weight for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Anyone has a chance to win at Daytona. It doesn’t matter if a driver has dominated the season or hasn’t produced the results the team had hoped, he still has a chance to make the postseason.

There’s only one way to eliminate the stress and worry of this race: win in the first 25 races that come before it. But if not, drivers will make any aggressive move possible to make the playoffs on the 2.5-mile high banks. You want edge-of-your-seat, hold-your-breath drama? Well, there we are guaranteed to have it.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

Racing in his own equipment for the first time at the Chili Bowl, NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson had a perfect night en route to the preliminary A-Feature victory during Tuesday’s Warren CAT Qualifying Night at the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Larson won the second heat of the night, as well as the second Team Toyota qualifier, setting him up to start second for the 30-lap preliminary main event. It didn’t take Larson long to find the front of the field shortly after the green flag dropped, wheeling the No. 01 midget to earn a spot in Saturday night’s A-Feature finale. Pole sitter Jonathan Beason finished second, also guaranteeing his spot in the big dance.

RELATED: Full results from Day 2

Though not in action for Tuesday’s qualifying, NASCAR Cup Series rookie Christopher Bell still found Victory Lane in the Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions (VIROC), which essentially serves as an all-star race within the race week. Bell, racing for Tucker-Boat Motorsports for the first time in the Chili Bowl, flexed his muscle by beating Rico Abreu by over four seconds after starting second. Larson also competed in the event, finishing fourth after an eighth-place start.

NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman also competed in the second qualifying round of the week, racing in his own midget under the Alex Bowman Racing umbrella. Bowman finished fourth in the fifth heat, but only managed an eighth-place finish in the fourth qualifier while fighting a tight setup throughout the night.

Forced to go through the B-Feature to make the A-Feature, Bowman fought from a seventh starting spot to finish second. After starting 19th in the A-Feature, Bowman finish 10th to round out the night, which means he’ll have to resort to Saturday’s last-chance qualifying rounds to qualify for Saturday night’s grand finale.

MORE: Full Chili Bowl roundup

NBC Sports pit reporter Dillon Welch was also in competition, finishing fourth in the final heat of the night. After starting 16th in the A-Feature, Welch made an impressive run to the front, finishing fourth, just short of the top-two transfer spots. Like Bowman, Welch also will have a second opportunity on Saturday to advance.

Next up on track is Wednesday’s Hard Rock Casino Qualifying Night where NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Newman, J.J. Yeley and Rico Abreu will be in competition.

Posted on by Jonathan Merryman

Bobby Labonte had a big year in 1995. In just his third full-time NASCAR Cup Series season, he switched from racing for Bill Davis to driving for coach Joe Gibbs.

In Labonte’s first two years, he had a lone top-five finish and only eight top 10s. The 1995 season, however, would prove to be a much different story.

RELATED: Bobby Labonte through the years

Paired with crew chief Jimmy Makar, Labonte scored three top-five finishes and one pole through the first 10 races of the year. Then, on Week 11, he broke through and scored his first win in the 1995 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The victory didn’t come without a bit of drama when late in the race Labonte made contact with Dale Earnhardt and upset Richard Childress, the owner of the No. 3 car, who commented on the race broadcast, “He had him sideways on the straightaway, then he turned him sideways on the backstretch. I can see a guy rubbin’ you in the corner but hitting you on the straightaway? You know, maybe he can’t see over the steering wheel, I don’t know!”

In the end, Labonte was able to secure the checkered flag, finishing 1-2 with his brother, Terry, in NASCAR’s longest race.

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Jan. 14, 2020) – Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Hellmann’s have a long history together, one dating back to 2009 and one that will continue in 2020, JR Motorsports confirmed Tuesday. The 15-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver and owner of JRM will add another chapter to the partnership when the 43-year-old star will compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (March 21) in the No. 8 Hellmann’s Chevrolet.

The confirmation comes as part of an extension between parent company Unilever and JRM that carries the partnership into a 12th season, distinguishing Unilever as JRM’s longest-tenured partner and one of the longest-running active sponsors in the NXS. For 2020, JRM will also carry Unilever sponsorship in five races with its No. 7 team and driver Justin Allgaier.

RELATED: Shop Dale Jr. gear

“In our sport, partnerships are everything,” said Kelley Earnhardt Miller, JRM general manager. “We don’t throw the words ‘cornerstone partner’ around a lot, but when we do, Unilever exemplifies its meaning.”

The history between Unilever and JRM began in 2009, when Earnhardt Jr. raced a Hellmann’s-sponsored Chevrolet in the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. Earnhardt Jr. finished seventh that day, but it was the first of more than 110 races in which Unilever’s huge collection of brands would grace the hood and quarterpanels of JRM’s racing cars.

A number of current or former Unilever brands have been aboard a JRM machine since 2009, and three of them—Hellmann’s, Ragu and Dove Men+Care—have gone to Victory Lane with the team. Regan Smith won at Daytona in February 2014 driving a Ragu-backed Camaro, while Kasey Kahne nailed down the sweep at Daytona in July with Hellmann’s and Justin Allgaier claimed a thrilling win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2018. Perhaps the most celebrated Unilever/JRM triumph came in 2016, when Earnhardt Jr. dominated the fall race at Richmond Raceway in a Hellmann’s Camaro.

RELATED: Dale Jr. joins Deegan podcast

That victory truly exemplified the nature of the partnership between JRM, Earnhardt Jr. and Hellmann’s, as it was the well-known “Banana-Mayo Sandwich” race, which leveraged Earnhardt Jr.’s affinity for Hellmann’s and sliced banana on white bread into more than $153,000 for Blessings in a Backpack, a leader in the movement to end childhood hunger by making sure as many at-risk children as possible do not go hungry over the weekends while away from school.

That’s what partnerships, like the one between Unilever and JR Motorsports, have done and will continue to do as the company moves toward its goal of making sustainable living commonplace.

Posted on by Staff Report

Two-time Most Popular Driver Chase Elliott will have a new paint scheme for the season-opening Busch Clash exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway.

Elliott will drive the No. 9 Mountain Dew Zero Sugar Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

Chase Elliott Busch Clash Paint Scheme

The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has started on the Busch Pole for three of his eight career NASCAR Cup Series starts at the 2.5-mile track.

RELATED: Drivers eligible for Clash

Elliott has finished seventh in two of his three career starts in the 75-lap Busch Clash.

Elliott, along with his teammates, will attempt to give Hendrick Motorsports its second consecutive Busch Clash win. Jimmie Johnson won the rain-shortened race last year.

RELATED: Shop Chase Elliott gear

Posted on by Staff Report

With Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and William Byron each securing their positions in the 2019 NASCAR Playoffs, Jimmie Johnson was forced to watch his teammates contend for the title — an unfamiliar view for the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.

Struggling to end its winless drought along with an unexpected crew chief change during the year (plus the one in the offseason), the No. 48 team struggled to match the pace set by neighboring teams in the Hendrick stable.

RELATED: Inside Kyle Busch’s pit-road dominance

For the first time since his rookie season in 2002, Johnson took the green flag at Daytona International Speedway listening to the voice of a new crew chief, Kevin Meendering. Still struggling to find Victory Lane late in the 26-race regular season slate, another change was made as Cliff Daniels took control atop the pit box with the tall task of righting the ship in Johnson’s quest for a record-setting eighth Cup Series title.

While the team found speed but struggled to produce consistent results with its on-track runs, the 48 team’s pit-road performance also ranked last among his teammates in nearly every category.

In 2019, an average four-tire stop for Johnson lasted 14.645 seconds compared to the No. 9 crew’s HMS-leading 13.839 seconds. The total time from entry to exit also lasted more than 47 seconds, though none of his teammates averaged over the 45-second mark.

Elliott’s No. 9 crew posted the fastest four-tire stop in seven of the 36 races, only trailing Kyle Busch for the series’ lead. Byron’s team also claimed five of the fastest times, while Bowman’s claimed one. The No. 48 group did not post the fastest single four-tire stop at any race last season.

Below is a look at the average time of a four-tire pit stop for all four of Hendrick’s teams:

Driver 1.5-mile Superspeedways Short Tracks
Elliott 13.753 sec 14.605 sec 13.497 sec
Byron 14.006 sec 14.942 sec 14.215 sec
Bowman 13.755 sec 14.363 sec 14.292 sec
Johnson 14.616 sec 15.296 sec 14.457 sec

Pit stats provided by SportsMEDIA Technology Corporation.

Racing in his final full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Johnson and company will look to make improvements in almost every area after posting a career-low 17.4 average finish and ending the season 18th in the final standings.

With Daniels solidly at the helm for the 2020 season, crew consistency and being faster on pit road will likely be a focus for the No. 48 team’s chase for an eighth championship.

Posted on by NBC Sports

(JANUARY 14, 2020) ATLANTA — Comcast NBCUniversal today announced the launch of SportsTech, a global accelerator for sports technology startups. SportsTech will feature an unprecedented partnership of three of Comcast NBCUniversal’s sports brands — NBC Sports, Sky Sports and Golf Channel — alongside NASCAR and two US Olympic sports organizations: U.S. Ski & Snowboard and USA Swimming. Comcast Ventures, the company’s San Francisco-based venture capital arm, will round out the partnership. Each partner will serve on an advisory committee that influences the innovation priorities of SportsTech, and each will provide startups with direct access to strategic industry relationships, mentorship and partnership opportunities.

Early stage startups from around the world are encouraged to apply for the inaugural class, which will begin in August

Based in The Battery Atlanta/SunTrust Park, where Comcast Cable’s Central Division headquarters are located, the new accelerator is designed to provide sports tech startups with the resources and relationships to succeed by giving them access to a broad international consortium of advisors, a custom sports tech curriculum shaped by industry experts and investment capital. Partners will have early exposure to emerging sports tech trends and technologies that cross multiple sports, gaining insight into how these technologies can potentially reshape and benefit their businesses.

SportsTech is the third accelerator created by Comcast NBCUniversal in the last three years, joining LIFT Labs Accelerator, powered by TechStars, based out of the company’s global headquarters at the Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia, and The Farm, powered by Boomtown, located in Atlanta.

“We are delighted to introduce SportsTech to our suite of accelerators to help founders build sports technology and products, refine their business models, tell their stories, and benefit from the unique assets and talent of Comcast NBCUniversal,” said Sam Schwartz, Chief Business Development Officer, Comcast Cable. “Comcast NBCUniversal has some of the most prominent sports brands and we are excited to partner with founders through SportsTech.”

“The demand for sports technology across the globe has never been greater, yet most sports startups don’t have access to the resources they need to succeed nor an ability to develop relationships with the right people inside the industry,” said Jenna Kurath, Vice President of Startup Partner Development, Comcast Cable. “SportsTech will provide the curriculum and platform for founders to develop their ideas while obtaining mentorship from leaders in multiple sports, enabling them to further deploy their technologies to dramatically improve sports experiences for athletes and audiences alike.”

Beginning in August 2020, SportsTech will offer a three-month custom-tailored program for up to 10 startups. Initial focus areas will include technologies and products in several key categories:

  • Media & Entertainment
  • Fan & Player Engagement
  • Athlete & Player Performance
  • Team & Coach Success
  • Sports Venue & Event Innovation
  • Fantasy Sports & Sports Wagering
  • esports
  • Business of Sports

“Technology has always played a pivotal role for NASCAR and our car manufacturers who, over the course of many decades, have used our sport to test and implement the next wave of innovations,” said Craig Neeb, NASCAR executive vice president and chief innovation officer. “But increasingly, our sport is focused on leveraging technology to provide comprehensive and engaging experiences, whether that’s from investing in esports and virtual reality to cultivate the next generation of fans or prioritizing connectivity solutions that enable new experiences associated with attending our live events. Joining the Comcast NBCU SportsTech accelerator program excites us because we’ll discover new ideas and have the infrastructure to fast-track them into the field and iterate further.”

The deadline to submit an application for SportsTech is May 15.  The selected startups will reside in Atlanta for the duration of the program, operating out of SportsTech’s flagship location at The Battery at SunTrust Park, where Comcast’s The Farm accelerator is also based. It will be directed by Boomtown Accelerators, a leading accelerator program headquartered in Boulder, CO. Boomtown operates The Farm for Comcast NBCUniversal and has established itself as a preeminent home for early-stage startups.

Comcast NBCUniversal has a proud history of supporting founders and startup communities, dating back to its own founder Ralph Roberts, who had the vision to see how a small cable startup in 1963 could transform into one of the most innovative global media and technology companies. In addition to SportsTech and The Farm, run at the Central Division in Atlanta, the company also offers the Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator.  Both accelerators are currently accepting applications for startups from around the world to build and refine their business. To learn about the 2020 focus areas and apply, visit www.ComcastNBCULIFT.com and www.TheFarmATL.com.