Posted on by Staff Report

After 10 years driving go-karts, the transition to a late model was anything but easy for Kingsport Speedway’s Nik Williams.

Williams’s dad bought him a late model three years ago, a first asphalt car for the family that, up to that point, had only owned dirt cars for many years up.

Williams’s first time out in a late model was a struggle.

“My first race I got lapped and I told my dad, ‘I’m never getting lapped again, that was embarrassing.’ And I never got lapped again. That’s the kind of person I am I guess,” Williams said.

By the end of the year, Williams had become a bit more comfortable, reaching the top 5 a few times at Kingsport, a 0.375-mile semi-banked concrete oval in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Kingsport Speedway | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

The next season, the gradual climb to the top continued. After buying a new car midway through the season, Williams won six of the final eight races, a sign of more good things to come for the young driver.

Nik Williams

Williams’s reached the peak this year, winning seven races on the way the Highlands Sign Shop Late Model Stock Car division championship at Kingsport and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Tennessee championships.

Williams was one of five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champions crowned at Kingsport this year. Kevin Wolfe won the Super Transmissions Mod Street title, while Keith Helton took home the Pure 4 title while finishing second in the national Division IV standings. Kevin Canter became a four-time Mod 4 champion, and Doug Austin won his second Pure Street division crown.

It’s taken time for Williams to find steady success in a late model, but he’s used to winning races. He won 10 championships in 10 years racing go-karts before making the switch to a stock car.

His competitive nature took over when he transitioned to a new car.

“I’ve just been around racing, I know you struggle going to a different car. It really motivated me honestly,” he said. “I’m competitive in everything. If you want to race me in the house I’ll beat you… I wanted to win, no doubt about it.”

This season was all Williams’s from the start. There was one race he got wrecked and tore the whole nose off of his car, and was still able to get it back on the track and win the race.

Much of his success this season was simply carried momentum from the strong end to 2018. Winning consistently gave him confidence.

“Definitely the turning point was last year the middle of the year,” Williams said. “Going into this season I had more experience, I knew the drivers at Kingsport better, knew what they did, what they don’t do, and I just felt more comfortable in the car. Plus my crew got better, my crew chief got better, made the car better. I just felt more comfortable this year.”

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I standings | standings by state

Williams is the first in his family to drive, and the first in his family to choose asphalt over dirt. Both his dad and grandfather owned dirt track cars, so simply getting the late model ready for races was different than they were used to.

Williams said he’s not even sure why he chose asphalt over dirt, given he said there are about four dirt tracks near his home. But Kingsport was the natural choice when he got into a late model, since it’s just over 20 minutes from where he lives.

Another former Kingsport driver, Jeff Maupin, helped Williams get used to the late model and his new home track.

“When we first got the car he (Maupin) ran it a few races and went and tested with us and I pretty much just picked it up from him,” Williams said. “He gave me a lot of pointers. He helped me the most, for sure.”

Racing not only gives Williams an outlet for his competitive nature, it’s also given him a chance to work closely with his own family. His dad owns the car, and the two are the ones who work on it the most. Williams’s grandfather is also around often, as is his mom. Williams’s brother is in the Air Force, but when he’s in town he’s also at the track.

Williams had help getting on the track this year from sponsors Dalton Direct Carpets, Hy-Tec Specialty Coatings, and Wheel Chill Race Performance Engineering.

Not only is racing a family deal for the Williams, they’ve also found a new family at the track.

“I just love that rush. When you get in the car that’s all you think about it racing,” he said. “You don’t think about anything else. Plus I made all my friends through racing. You go to the track, you need something, even if you don’t really like him, the guy next door, he’ll give you a tool or something. Everybody is just helpful. They understand.

“My crew that comes to the track, I like them like family too.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Cole Pearn shocked the NASCAR world on Monday when he announced he was stepping away from his position as crew chief at Joe Gibbs Racing. It meant a sudden end to a five-year run with Martin Truex Jr. that included a NASCAR Cup Series championship with Furniture Row Racing and 24 Cup Series victories.

MORE: Pearn stepping away | All of Truex’s wins | Track NASCAR Silly Season

Truex reacted to his co-worker/friend’s decision on social media, tweeting a picture of the two toasting in front of the grandfather clock they won this year at Martinsville Speedway. Twenty-four of Truex’s 26 career wins have come with Pearn during a stretch when the two have been one of the more dominant combinations in the Cup Series.

Here’s to the memories:

A new crew chief for the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has yet to be announced.

Posted on by Staff Report

For the third time in the last 10 years, the Snowball Derby had two Victory Lanes.

The first was for Stephen Nasse, after the 24-year-old from Pinellas Park, Florida, crossed the start/finish line first to culminate a wild finish Monday night in the rain-delayed 52nd annual Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway.

The second was two hours later, after Nasse was disqualified following post-race technical inspection, and the winner’s trophy was handed to Travis Braden as the 25-year-old from Wheeling, West Virginia, inherited the race win.

RESULTS: 2019 Snowball Derby | Past Snowball Derby Results

Braden was making his Snowball Derby debut. The 2011 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model champion at the now-closed Columbus Motor Speedway in Ohio, Braden also is a two-time CRA Super Series champion (2013-14) and won an ARCA Menards Series race at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis in 2015.

Braden originally crossed the start/finish line second Monday night in a green-white-checkered finish in the high-profile, season-ending Super Late Model race. However, the brakes on Nasse’s car did not pass post-race tech.

Fourteen-year-old Jake Garcia moved up to second, followed by Cole Butcher, Jesse Dutilly and Preston Peltier.

The post-race technical inspection area has been dubbed the “Room of Doom,” and rose to national prominence with the disqualification of future NASCAR Cup Series drivers. Chase Elliott was DQ’d in 2013, which handed the win to Erik Jones, and then subsequently in 2015 Elliott was the beneficiary of a Christopher Bell DQ.

Nasse had won his share of short-track milestones in a career whose length is belied by his still young age, including the Red Eye 100 at New Smyrna Speedway twice and the Winchester 400 in 2019.

“Come on man, that ain’t a question,” said Nasse, whose best finish in eight previous Derby starts was sixth. “This is the top daddy right here. This is it.”

The euphoria lasted only two hours.

Braden now adds his name to recent Derby winners that include Kyle Busch (2009 and ’17), Erik Jones (2012-13), John Hunter Nemechek (2014), Chase Elliott (2011 and ’15), Christian Eckes (2016) and Noah Gragson (2018).

Braden Snowball Derby Win Main
Jacob Seelman/SPEED SPORT

Nasse wasn’t the only one to leave Pensacola frustrated.

Wisconsin’s Ty Majeski was poised to take the win, twice.

Following a red-flag with 17 to go, Majeski built a nearly two-second lead. That was erased by a yellow flag with five laps remaining. He got another great restart and when Braden and Nasse each took turns making a three-wide battle for second, and Majeski again skipped away to a nearly 2-second lead.

However, a spin by Braden set up the first green-white-checkered finish of the night.

On the ensuing restart, Majeski got tangled battling to hold onto the lead and went around in front of the field, collecting top contenders Jeff Choquette and Casey Roderick among others. Nasse, who was on the outside of Majeski, was able to slip by and avoid the carnage to become the improbable leader.

Chandler Smith finished sixth, followed by Roderick, Hunter Robbins, Dan Fredrickson and Boris Jurkovic.

Majeski wound up 13th, one spot ahead of Choquette. Derek Thorn, who won the Pro Late Model Snowflake 100 Saturday night and the pole for the Snowball Derby, initially made it through the wreck and was going to start third on the final restart. However, after a review, he was ruled to have been involved in the caution and sent to the back. The two-time NASCAR West champion finished 17th.

Among other notables, 2019 NASCAR West champion Derek Kraus finished 18th, 2019 Martinsville 300 winner Josh Berry was 29th and NASCAR Cup Series driver Corey LaJoie finished 31st after mechanical failure.

Posted on by Staff Report

Champion crew chief Cole Pearn, one of the leading figures atop NASCAR pit boxes, caused a Silly Season stir late Monday with his departure from Joe Gibbs Racing.

The Canada-born Pearn cited spending more time with his family as the reason for his departure. Pearn spent five years as the crew chief for driver Martin Truex Jr., a pairing that was among the most successful in recent NASCAR history.

Pearn started with Colorado-based Furniture Row Racing in 2010 as a race engineer. He was promoted to crew chief in 2015, kicking off a tenure that netted 17 wins and the 2017 Cup Series championship for Barney Visser’s No. 78 group. He added seven more wins with Truex last season, their first with JGR’s No. 19 team.

RELATED: Truex Jr. reacts

Pearn’s dry sense of humor was one of his calling cards, as was his understated but often acerbic social-media presence. But the other trademarks were his savvy in the garage and a chemistry that clicked with Truex, who toasted his crew chief on social media Monday evening.

“I cannot say enough good things about Cole and what he has meant for my career,” Truex said in a release provided by the team. “I appreciate his hard work and dedication to our race team over the past six years going back to when he was my engineer at Furniture Row. Our friendship is what matters most to me and I’m happy that he’s doing what’s best for him and his family.”

MORE: Most crew chief wins since 2015

The personnel move opens a high-profile vacancy with an organization that set a single-season record with 19 wins in the 2019 campaign. Pearn was the No. 19 team’s fourth crew chief in five years, following Darian Grubb, Dave Rogers and Scott Graves. The organization indicated that Pearn’s successor would be announced at a later date.

Truex is the third driver of the JGR No. 19 Toyota, which began competition when Coach Joe Gibbs expanded to a four-team operation in 2015.

Carl Edwards was the No. 19’s first driver, scoring five wins in 2015-16 before his surprise retirement before the 2017 season. Daniel Suarez replaced him and drove the No. 19 for two years before he was succeeded by Truex after Furniture Row disbanded.

RELATED: 2020 NASCAR schedule

Posted on by Staff Report

It’s happening.

After months of planning, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and an assembled crew paid a visit to North Wilkesboro Speedway on Monday to clean up the .625-mile track in preparation for an iRacing track scan.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B53GeK8FFF7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/B53IMBBhiCZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Earnhardt was joined by a host of others, including Speedway Motorsports Inc. president Marcus Smith, iRacing executive vice president and executive producer Steve Myers, NASCAR Cup Series driver Chris Buescher, Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series driver Myatt Snider, NBC Sports’ Rick Allen and Marty Snider, William Byron’s spotter Tab Boyd, Austin Dillon’s spotter Andy Houston, among others.

Despite inclement weather, the team cleared weeds and other debris from the track in order for iRacing to perform an adequate scan with the end goal of making the closed North Carolina track available for iRacing users to compete.

The NASCAR Cup Series last competed at the facility on Sept. 29, 1996. Jeff Gordon was the last driver to claim victory before it was dropped from the schedule.

Posted on by Staff Report

Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon and wife Whitney are expecting their first child, the couple announced Monday morning via Instagram.

Married in December 2017, the two found a creative way to spread the news by using images from a photoshoot at Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of Dillon’s first career NASCAR Cup Series victory in the 2017 Coca-Cola 600.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B527wdYnCJf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Congrats to the future Mama and Daddy Dillon.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

The more laps, the better.

Or at least that’s Ross Chastain’s mindset. He ran 77 races last season across NASCAR’s top three series. Without drop-off, too. Chastain finished second in the final standings of the Gander Outdoors Truck Series, where he competed full time for points.

“It’s weird,” Chastain said at the NASCAR Awards in Charlotte, North Carolina. “It’s just the adrenaline of thinking you’re going to go and compete in every national NASCAR race that weekend. Plus, I think it helps my driving. I’m not naturally Kyle Busch (the Cup Series’ 2019 champion). I’m not, and I accepted that probably before I ever raced at 12 years old.”

RELATED: Silly Season updates | Gander Truck Series rankings

Chastain made his NASCAR debut in 2011 and has since notched 311 starts overall. The 77 this past season topped the 74 mark in 2018 and broke down into all 23 events in the Gander Truck Series, 19 in the Xfinity Series and 35 in the Cup Series. He piloted the Nos. 38, 44 and 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolets full time in the Gander Truck Series, moved among the Nos. 10 and 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolets and the No. 4 JD Motorsports Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series and then bounced between the Nos. 15 and 27 Premium Motorsports Chevrolets in the Cup Series.

Through it all, Chastain has two wins in the Xfinity Series — the first was at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2018 and then Daytona International Speedway in 2019 — and three in the Gander Truck Series — all in 2019 at Kansas Speedway, World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and Pocono Raceway. He has one top 10 in the Cup Series.

“If I’m going to make it in this sport, I’m putting in the work now to hopefully make that next step in a couple of years,” Chastain said.

The first step was made back in October when Chastain and Kaulig Racing announced the 27-year-old will race for the Xfinity Series championship full time in 2020 with the No. 10 entry. As of the banquet in November, a crew chief had not been officially decided on.

Chastain still plans to run in the Gander Truck and Cup Series next season, in as many events as he possibly can and is allowed.

“We’re having those conversations right now,” Chastain said. “But I tell every team when I first meet them, get to know them and before I ever drive for them, OK, you’re going to have some hard days to deal with me. Here’s what I think it will be, and then you tell me ahead of time what you think it’ll be. And then we’ll go through that. Because I don’t want any surprises. … Different teams want me to run less and some teams want me to run more. It depends on their personal opinion.”

The argument is whether Chastain should focus solely on one circuit. He doesn’t think so and needs teams that understand even if they don’t fully agree. His goal is to improve, and he believes this is the way.

Because, ideally, he’d eventually like to earn a competitive full-time ride in the Cup Series.

“Whatever happens, happens,” Chastain said. “I’ve probably already out-kicked my coverage on my career.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Joey Logano is scheduled to drive the NASCAR Cup Series’ Next Gen car in its second on-track test Monday and Tuesday at ISM Raceway near Phoenix.

Logano will pilot the same prototype that first hit the track Oct. 8-9 at Richmond Raceway, with Austin Dillon behind the wheel. That test car was built by Richard Childress Racing in collaboration with NASCAR.

The car is scheduled for its competition debut in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.

RELATED: 2020 NASCAR schedule

Logano offered a preview of his drive during Champion’s Week media availabilities last week in Nashville, Tennessee, saying he was entering the test without preconceived notions about the Next Gen car.

“I think I need to leave my mind open,” Logano said Wednesday. “I think a lot of it is just understanding, for one, just some durability stuff but also just understanding what works and what doesn’t. I’d like to, once we get to some point, I’d like to make some longer runs just to kind of see where things go, but I think there’s just so many differences with the car that we need to understand.

“I think there’s some aero package differences, some tires we’re changing will be a little different and some drivability things, but I think it’s still very much in the beginnings of the development process. With only having one car out there, it’s hard to say one aero package over another besides just an aero balance, so I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to getting back in a race car. It’s been a few weeks, so I like doing that, and just curious more than anything of just how this thing’s going to drive.”

Richmond offered the first glimpse of the Next Gen racer, which debuted with a camouflage wrap, larger wheels and a new profile. NASCAR president Steve Phelps said in his 2019 “State of the Sport” address that the new car was intended to correlate more closely with its highway-going counterparts, saying “We are going to put the ‘stock’ back in stock car.”

Phelps added that the car is on target for its 2021 debut at Daytona Speedweeks, and that some type of electrification or energy-recovery system will also be a component of its development.

Another test of the Next Gen car is scheduled in January at 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 1-mile ISM Raceway track will host two Cup Series race weekends in 2020, including the season finale Nov. 8.

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

Monday, December 9
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Pop Quiz, FS1/FOX Sports App

Tuesday, December 10
On MRN
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Friday, December 13
2 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Fans Choice Awards (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
3 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Pop Quiz (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App

Sunday, December 15
2 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Pop Quiz (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Fans Choice Awards (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App

Posted on by Staff Report

It’s been quite the week for Joe Gibbs.

The longtime NASCAR team owner of Joe Gibbs Racing saw three of his drivers feted at Thursday’s NASCAR Awards in Nashville, Tennessee — one of which was crowned a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion in Kyle Busch — along with taking home the prestigious Bill France Award of Excellence for his own contributions to the sport.

MORE: Joe Gibbs wins Bill France Award of Excellence | Best photos from NASCAR Awards

Gibbs was recognized Friday for his contributions of excellence to another sport as well, being named to the National Football League’s NFL 100 All-Time team. One of just 10 coaches to be named to the group, the former Washington Redskins play-caller claimed a 154-94 career record as the franchise’s winningest coach over his 16 seasons. Gibbs led the Redskins to all three of the team’s Super Bowl victories and was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

“It means so much to me,” Gibbs said on NFL Network shortly after the announcement. “Just to be mentioned in that group of all the great coaches who went down through history, it’s a thrill for me.”

“Joe was a very disciplined coach,” said New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, according to Redskins.com. “He really popularized the one-back offense. He really believed in the running game, but they threw it down the field as well.”

Gibbs, a five-time Cup Series champion as owner of JGR, first coached the Redskins from 1981-92 and again from 2004-07. He’s the first coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with three different quarterbacks.

As part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2020, the accolades will only continue for Coach Gibbs, who is surely starting to run out of room to house his expansive trophy collection.