RJ Kraft guides you through the top plays, sleepers to watch and drivers to avoid for this weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series next stop on the schedule is at Talladega Superspeedway for the MoneyLion 300 (Saturday, April 27 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) which presents a new chapter for all the championship contenders. For the first time this season there are no former Talladega winners or pole-winners entered in the race.
Add to that the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus is up for grabs between four of the series hottest drivers – Cole Custer, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier and reigning series champ Tyler Reddick – and this weekend’s 300-miler on the series’ fastest track couldn’t be more wide open. The highest finisher among those drivers earns the $100,000 check from Xfinity and qualifies for next week’s Dash 4 Cash. In addition, the highest top-three championship contending Xfinity finishers this week at Talladega will also qualify to compete for the big check next week at Dover International Speedway.
RELATED: Talladega entry list | Talladega preview
Among those talented drivers, Allgaier, in particular, is eyeing this race to get back in Victory Lane. The veteran is on a remarkable run of six consecutive top-eight finishes at Talladega – including a runner-up showing in 2016 and a third-place finish last year. His average finish (10.0) is tops among those with more than one start Talladega and the worst he’s finished since 2011 is eighth (twice). He’s currently fifth in the driver standings – 87 points behind leader Reddick. Only two-time race winners Cole Custer (227 laps) and Christopher Bell (438 laps) have led more than Allgaier’s 224 laps this season.
RELATED: Dash 4 Cash explainer
Not only will the JR Motorsports driver Allgaier be a car to watch, but so will Jeffrey Earnhardt, who will be back behind the wheel of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota this week. Earnhardt, the grandson of the late 10-time Talladega Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series winner Dale Earnhardt, was a major storyline in the series’ first superspeedway race in Daytona Beach in February. He started on the outside pole at Daytona and led a career-best 29 laps in the perennial contending JGR No. 18. This will be Earnhardt’s first start for JGR since Texas last month and first Xfinity Series Talladega start since a career best 12th-place finish there running a part-time schedule for a different team in 2015.
Championship leader Reddick is still looking for his first victory this season and Talladega has traditionally been a positive place for him. He finished eighth last year in the Xfinity race and has two top-five finishes in three starts in the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series, winning the pole position in his first race (2014) at the superspeedway.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Before Kyle Busch takes on the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, he and wife Samantha have been busy helping others and spreading the word about something all-too-personal for them: National Infertility Awareness Week.
From New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina, Kyle and Samantha are giving back this week in a number of ways through their Bundle of Joy Fund, which provides grants and other support to cover the costs of various treatments necessary to couples facing fertility challenges.
RELATED: Learn more about the Bundle of Joy Fund
Kicking off the week with the TODAY Show on Tuesday morning, Kyle and Samantha shared their own journey with infertility, and with the help of Progyny, a company that specializes in fertility solutions and benefits to large corporations, they also surprised a couple with a $20,000 grant for fertility treatments.
The surprise also came full circle when Kyle and Samantha discovered that the wife of the couple they selected to receive the grant works at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
“Through (Progyny), we formed a lot of partnerships,” Samantha told NASCAR.com. “With National Infertility Awareness Week coming about, they said we want to explain to people what we do with our patient care, with our benefits. They said we love your Bundle of Joy Fund and we would like to grant money to it and surprise a couple.”
Kyle and Samantha also held a “Let’s Get #IVFINGReal about Infertility and IVF” panel discussion in Uptown Charlotte on Wednesday night through the Bundle of Joy Fund and REACH Clinic of Charlotte. The panelists included Samantha, former Mrs. North Carolina Nichelle Sublett, Bundle of Joy recipient Nena Glass, REACH infertility specialist Dr. Seth Katz and REACH IVF lab director Tyl Taylor. The event allowed couples the opportunity to ask a wide range of questions about the process and costs of fertility treatments and experiences.
The night concluded with various buildings in Uptown Charlotte lighting up in orange, the official color of National Infertility Awareness Week. Participants included the Bank of America Tower headquarters and Wells Fargo’s Duke Energy Center. A specialty orange cocktail, created by Samantha, was also provided with the part of the proceeds going toward the Bundle of Joy Fund.
“It’s nice to be able to see a community that supports you so much, even though we’re all kind of strangers,” Samantha said. “But then we get to come together. … It’s been an overwhelming response just with people sharing their stories and putting it all out there.”
Kyle and Samantha have other ways of support on tap beyond the awareness week. In collaboration with Omaze, an online fundraising company, the couple is giving a fan a chance to enter to win a Toyota Camry Rowdy Edition II car and a VIP experience during this year’s Coca-Cola 600 weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with proceeds supporting the Bundle of Joy Fund.
The Busch family even made waves on social media with a used car salesman ad to promote the Omaze campaign. A testament to the loyalty of the NASCAR fan base, the campaign has exceeded fundraising expectations, as fans across the country are entering for their chance to win and supporting this amazing cause.
Kyle and I have teamed up with @omaze to give a lucky fan the chance to win a Toyota Camry Rowdy Edition ll and a VIP race weekend with our family. 🏁 Hit the gas and enter: https://t.co/j59wYMK83g
— Samantha Busch (@SamanthaBusch) March 28, 2019
“The NASCAR community are the best fans in the world,” Samantha said. “I think that’s been a big reason why we’ve been able to do better than a lot of other people. At the end of the day, too, Kyle, as great as his driving skills are, he has some really good acting skills. And then throw in Brexton’s little cameo, I think people just love to see a different side of him.
“Obviously on the race track, he’s the best, aggressive and always focused, but then to see him fun and silly and see, I think, his authentic used car salesman side helps out the video.”
Aside from the assistance and awareness Kyle and Samantha have been able to provide away from the race track, there are also people within the industry that have benefited from the Bundle of Joy Fund, including employees at Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. They have even received a high amount of outreach from fans at the track.
“People have always just stopped and said we’re getting ready for our journey, we’ve read your blogs and had questions during their journey,” Samantha said. “It’s really great to hear people say thank you, thank you for telling your story and helping me feel less alone, or understanding what’s about to happen. We’re very happy we’re able to share it so openly because we’ve seen a very positive response from people.”
“I’ve had fans and team members come up to me as well and say, ‘oh, my sister, or my uncle, or my cousin is an IVF baby,'” Kyle added. “There’s a lot of people that know, but it’s not very well talked about. It’s very cool that people are speaking up and saying I’m an IVF baby, or whatever that might be.”
Between the initial struggle to get pregnant, Samantha’s diagnosis with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), the birth of son Brexton and an unsuccessful second In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) attempt last year, the couple has been through it all. But being able to share their difficult experiences to help thousands of other couples who face the same challenges has given Samantha the strength to push forward, despite the intense physical and psychological pain of a recent miscarriage.
“This is what keeps me going,” Samantha said. “We are a community and it is support and for as much as I’m able to have these panel discussions and reach out to women on social media, I’ve gotten just as much back from them to help me kind of cope through this time along with family and friends.”
For Kyle, the balance between the responsibilities that come with being a NASCAR superstar and offering support for Samantha has undoubtedly been a challenge, including his own battle with infertility. But together, the family is able to thrive and use their massive platform to help others in need.
“I think the biggest thing is trying to be there for her and trying to be her support system through all of it,” Kyle said. “It’s obviously very tough on the woman’s side because of their mental thoughts and processes about not being a true woman and being able to get pregnant on our own. But then come to the male side and figure out there’s male factors as well, which I have, that we were just never meant to have a kid together naturally.
“I keep Samantha and Brexton going with me on the road every single weekend, traveling with me and going to all these places just to keep that unit together and keep that family aspect going in order to have that support system going for her, her for me and both of us for Brexton.”
To date, the Bundle of Joy Fund has given away 37 grants total up to nearly $500,000, assisting in the birth of 19 babies with three more on the way in thanks to those grants awarded.
But for the couple, this is just the beginning. Among other issues they would like to tackle include insurance coverage and the astronomically high cost of fertility drugs. Kyle recently made a trip to Washington D.C. with NASCAR to meet about the issue, while Samantha will be traveling with RESOLVE (National Infertility Association) in May to find out more information about what needs to happen to get the costs down.
“It’s a spider web,” Kyle said. “We’re in the middle of it and it can go any different way. I think you have to look at insurance coverages, that’s where we’re trying to go. … We’d like to get to the federal level and make laws about some of this stuff.”
“We’re starting the very basic level of groundwork right now for what’s out there, but I do feel like having panels like this and this community and this voice, that if their are bills or if we help create one, then we’ll have a big support behind it,” added Samantha. “… As we grow as a community and we grow as one united voice, I think that’s how we’re going to see change.”
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (April 25, 2019) – After providing a unique entertainment experience to more than 2.6 million viewers last season, Comcast is teaming up with FOX Sports, NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Daniel Hemric to take part in the second version of “Watch Us Watch NASCAR,” a live event hosted on the Xfinity Twitter account (@Xfinity) in conjunction with the FS1 NASCAR Xfinity Series race broadcast at Dover International Speedway on Saturday, May 4 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
The “Watch Us Watch NASCAR” program was created with the purpose of bringing NASCAR fans and the general population a complementary second-screen experience of NASCAR Xfinity Series race broadcasts, while also creating a method of social media engagement. Fans will remember the introductory installment of the production taking place for the 2018 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course’s NASCAR Xfinity Series broadcast featuring Dale Earnhardt Jr. and NASCAR on NBC team members that garnered 2.6 million viewers in a 48-hour window.
“At Comcast, we’re committed to finding ways to bring NASCAR fans closer to the sport than ever before,” said Matt Lederer, Comcast’s Vice President for Brand Partnerships. “The Watch Us Watch NASCAR program not only enhances the NASCAR Xfinity Series fan’s experience watching the race, but it also creates a unique platform to showcase NASCAR to new viewers in a casual format.”
Confirmed to join Gordon (@JeffGordonWeb) and Hemric (@DanielHemric) for the Twitter Live broadcast are NASCAR on FOX pit road reporter Jamie Little (@JamieLittleTV), pit reporter and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series play-by-play announcer Vince Welch (@VinceWelch) and FOX NASCAR reporter, Alan Cavanna (@CopaCavanna). Similar to last year’s event, fans are able to watch the crew commentate on the race in real-time while viewing the race broadcast on FS1 and are also encouraged to submit questions and interact on social media via the Twitter hashtag #WatchUsWatchNASCAR.
As an added bonus, the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, William Byron, is also planning to make special guest appearance during the 200-lap event as well as other potential surprise guests.
As part of this year’s “Watch Us Watch NASCAR,” viewers will also experience the final race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash. Dash 4 Cash, a race within a race exclusive to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, awards the best finishing driver of the four contenders an additional $100,000 bonus. The four Dash 4 Cash contenders qualify based on their finishes this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
The Twitter Live broadcast will kick off from the @Xfinity Twitter account in conjunction with beginning of FS1’s NASCAR Xfinity Series live coverage from Dover International Speedway on Saturday, May 4 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
For sale free: Custom-built and supercharged Ford Mustang GT race cars, designed and built by one of your favorite Team Penske drivers and several of the world’s most well-known performance car builders.
Interested?
Well, MoneyLion and Team Penske drivers Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric — along with Ford Performance — have your back. They’ve all teamed up to custom build three Ford Mustang GT race cars, and three lucky fans will get to drive them home as part of prize packages valued at $240,000!
Want to feel the roar? Enter the HERE WE ROAR Sweepstakes now.
RELATED: HERE WE ROAR Sweepstakes Sponsored by MoneyLion
MoneyLion will introduce the first car up for grabs during Talladega race weekend, which features the MoneyLion 300 on Saturday. The muscle machine was designed and built by Logano, the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, and world-class drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr., founder of RTR Motorsports.
The brand-new 2019 Ford Mustang features a Ford Performance supercharger making 700 horsepower and showcases the modern-aggressive styling of RTR’s complete exterior Design Package and 20-inch Aero 7 wheels wrapped in Nitto NT555 G2 tires.
“When you think about awesome Ford Mustangs, one of the first names that comes to mind is Vaughn Gittin Jr.,” Logano said. “Vaughn (Gittin Jr.) and I have gotten to work together with some really cool projects before and this custom Ford Mustang project has been a lot of fun. It’s good to have a partner like MoneyLion get on board with this and give this thing away to a lucky fan. I can’t wait to unveil this thing at Talladega and let someone take home some sweet Ford Performance thanks to MoneyLion.”
On top of those features, it includes an adjustable suspension package that offers poised street driving, while keeping the car ready for energetic driving and track-day fun. The design was a collaboration of Ford Performance teammates Logano and Gittin Jr., the RTR Vehicles’ team and MoneyLion.
The lucky HERE WE ROAR Sweepstakes winners will be flown, with a guest, to Homestead-Miami Speedway for Ford Championship Weekend on Nov. 15-17 to receive their car.
“By combining three of the sport’s best drivers, with three of the most well-known custom car builders and influencers, and one of America’s most iconic cars, MoneyLion is delivering on its promise to bring excitement and unbelievable experiences to motorsports,” said Dee Choubey, CEO and co-founder of MoneyLion.
Logano has been sporting the MoneyLion logo on his fire suit throughout the 2019 season and will continue to do so at each race throughout the year. He will drive the No. 22 MoneyLion Ford Mustang on April 28 at Talladega Superspeedway for the GEICO 500 and again on Aug. 4 at Watkins Glen International for the Go Bowling at The Glen.
Later in the season, MoneyLion will unveil two more Ford Mustangs designed by Blaney and Cindric. They will partner with two top custom builders that have not yet been revealed. Those custom cars will be revealed at Watkins Glen International and at the 1000Bulbs.com 500 on Oct. 13 at Talladega. Make sure to keep an eye out for more details in the coming months.
Want your chance to win your very own custom-built Ford Mustang GT? Here’s how you can enter: Visit https://roarsweepstakes.moneylion.com enter or send a text message with the word “ROAR” to 95615. The sweepstakes will offer participants bonus entries and be open through Oct. 20. Sponsored by MoneyLion.
It’s safe to say that fans tend to expect the unexpected during a race at Talladega Superspeedway. But there’s one thing that’s not unexpected deep in the heart of Alabama — last-lap passes for the win.
Talladega, the biggest track on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series circuit at 2.66 miles, has long produced exhilarating and exciting races — but the white-flag lap has served up some climactic, edge-of-your-seat, hold-your-breath thrillers through the years.
RANKING: Top 10 drivers at ‘Dega
Diving into the statistics, 26 of the 99 total races at the superspeedway have ended with a last-ditch pass en route to the checkered flag — or nearly 26% of total races. In fact, three of the last four races have concluded with such an occurrence, including both races in 2018, when Joey Logano won in the spring and Aric Almirola arose victorious in the fall playoff race.
According to Racing Insights, only three times has the eventual winner led only the final lap, including Almirola. Then-teammate Kurt Busch was the leader when the white flag waved in last year’s showdown, but Almirola passed him as the No. 41 sputtered in need of just a few more drops of fuel.
The first occurrence was in October 2007 when Jimmie Johnson was the leader with one more go-around, but Jeff Gordon’s last-lap pass landed the No. 24 in Victory Lane. The same thing happened in April 2009 when Carl Edwards was the leader, but Brad Keselowski’s last-lap pass (or bump) awarded him the win while Edwards was sent crashing into the fence. Keselowski’s one lap led in the race was also his first career lap led.
MORE: Wildest wrecks at Talladega
Keselowski also holds the most last-lap passes for victory at Talladega. He’s done it a total of three times (2009, 2014, 2017) out of his five career wins at the track. Cale Yarborough is right behind Keselowski with two, along with Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson. Fifteen other drivers have also recorded wins at Talladega with a last-lap pass.
With the track’s 100th Monster Energy Cup Series race set for April 28 with the GEICO 500 at Talladega (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), we’ll have to wait to see whether the same will happen for the third consecutive time.
The anticipation and excitement is through the roof as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series gears up for Talladega Superspeedway, site of Sunday’s GEICO 500.
Here’s everything you need to know for Sunday’s showdown in Sweet Home Alabama.
RELATED: Full Talladega schedule | Who’s the favorite?
TRACK DETAILS
Talladega Superspeedway is a 2.66-mile tri-oval with 33 degrees of banking in Turns 1 and 2, 33 degrees of banking in Turns 3 and 4, 16 degrees of banking in the tri-oval and 3 degrees of banking at the start-finish line.
RULES PACKAGE
Teams will use the 2019 rules package with new tweaks specifically tailored for superspeedway racing at Talladega. The package includes a 0.922-inch tapered spacer (replacing the restrictor plate), 9-inch rear spoiler, 1-inch bolt-on track bar mount (raising the rear of the car by an inch), a tapered radiator pan, two-inch splitter overhang and aero ducts.
The spoiler and rear-end aerodynamic guidelines were altered after a two-day, three-car test session at Daytona International Speedway following this year’s Daytona 500. Findings from that three-car session prompted NASCAR officials to increase the height of the rear spoiler from 8 to 9 inches, along with the track-bar mount addition to create more drag in an effort to slow the cars down.
Cup Series teams also will participate with a new left-side tire compound for the Goodyear Eagle superspeedway radial, a construction update that makes its debut this weekend. The update was recommended after the two-day test at Daytona in February. Teams will be provided with two sets of tires for practice, one set for qualifying and seven sets for Sunday’s race — six race sets plus one set transferred from qualifying or practice.
“While we actually see some tire wear at Talladega, it still leaves room for some team and pit strategy,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “When to pit, with whom and how many tires to take all come into the equation for teams to consider this weekend. And adding in a rules package that Cup teams will be running for the first time, should make for some interesting racing.”
STATS
• Team Penske has seven Talladega wins, with all seven coming in the last 14 races. Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have collectively won six of the last nine races at Talladega, claiming three apiece.
• A Team Penske driver led the most laps in four of the last six races at Talladega, while the organization has also led 412 of the 1,140 laps raced at Talladega in the last six races.
• Ford Performance also owns the last seven victories at Talladega dating back to Joey Logano’s win in October 2015 — their longest streak of consecutive wins at the Alabama track.
Stats courtesy of Racing Insights
LIVE COVERAGE
The GEICO 500 will air on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 28. Fans can also follow along on the live leaderboard on NASCAR.com, get in-car audio on RaceView and watch in-car cameras on NASCAR Drive. Be sure to set your Fantasy Live lineup and sub in your garage pick (if needed) before the end of Stage 2 when rosters lock for good.
2018 RACE WINNER
After starting ninth, 2018 Monster Energy Series champion Joey Logano led 70 laps, including the final 48 circuits, to earn his third career Talladega victory in last year’s GEICO 500. Logano held off Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott in the closing laps for the triumph.
ACTIVE TALLADEGA WINNERS
| DRIVER | WINS |
| Brad Keselowski | 5 |
| Joey Logano | 3 |
| Clint Bowyer | 2 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 2 |
| Kyle Busch | 1 |
| Denny Hamlin | 1 |
| Kevin Harvick | 1 |
| David Ragan | 1 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 1 |
| Aric Almirola | 1 |
Former NASCAR Modified champion Carl “Bugsy” Stevens is recovering following a bike-riding crash. The news, released on Tuesday, came via racing journalist Mark “Bones” Bourcier on Facebook.
“Three-time NASCAR National Modified champion Bugs Stevens phoned to report that he’d fractured a couple of vertebrae (one thoracic, one lumbar),” Bourcier wrote.
The injury came during what Bourcier says was a “slow-speed Florida bike-riding crash.”
Throughout his career, Stevens piled on success in Modified racing, driving the famed ‘Ole Blue’ No. 3 for Boehler Racing, a car that still competes on the NASCAR Modified circuit today with Matt Swanson behind the wheel.
Stevens also was a champion at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, along with Seekonk Speedway, a Massachusetts oval, and multiple other tracks in the New England area.
His success didn’t only come in Modifieds, as Stevens competed in three Monster Energy Cup Series races during his time behind the wheel, all of which in 1970. He finished sixth in the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway driving a car for Richard Brown.
He ran the first three years of the modern era in the Whelen Modified Tour, grabbing a best finish of second driving the famed ‘Mystic Missile’ for Bob Garbarino.
Stevens is a member of Seekonk’s Wall of Fame and also was inducted into the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame in the class of 1998.
Sizzler History: 1974, fan favorite da bug Bugsy Stevens wins his only Sizzler holding off Ron Bouchard & Merv Treichler. Ollie Silva & @NASCARHall member Jerry Cook round out the top 5
Full archives u27a1ufe0f https://t.co/UTl3rPzjE2 #SizzlerHistory #StaffordLegends #NAPASpringSizzler pic.twitter.com/MaTiAX7Tj1— Stafford Speedway (@StaffordSpeedwy) February 12, 2018
Eddie Harvey is no stranger to success in racing.
But, the last two years have seen a bit of a transformation for his team, and he’s along for the ride.
A ride that he has enjoyed since day one, and a ride that he hopes will point him back to NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Victory Lane before long.
Four years ago, the ride was already well underway, while Harvey was celebrating a second straight championship as a car owner on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour with Andy Seuss.
It wasn’t anything new for Harvey, who had also been part of championships down south with George Brunnhoelzl III, and has deep racing roots in his family, with his father as a car owner for veteran Jamie Tomaino up north for many years.
“We had one phenomenal year where Andy and George were teammates and we won 11 of the 13 races and won almost all of the poles,” Harvey said. “It was a great relationship. Andy and I were together seven and a half years, and Andy had the opportunity to do some ARCA stuff, and he was able to pursue his dream. My specific vision is the Modifieds, and that’s what I wanted to do going forward, so we mutually agreed to move on but that door is still open even for the future. He stops by every once in a while. I think we won about 17 races together. It was definitely fun.”
After the two parted ways, Harvey tabbed Chase Dowling to drive at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing fourth in their first effort together. After that, it was current Monster Energy Cup Series driver Corey LaJoie who drove the car at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and it was then that Harvey found the relationship that would set him up for the future.
“It’s a funny story, that’s how Burt Myers and I ended up together. Corey was at a Cup Series race in Dover and said he’d be at the shop on Monday and I told him I needed a seat. He couldn’t quite get one, and he asked me how well I knew Burt Myers, and I called Burt and after Burt had unfortunately destroyed his car at Bristol, he said he had his seat, and he told me to come by and grab it,” Harvey said. “I got it, used the seat for Corey, and then Burt asked me what he needed to do to keep the seat in the car for the World Series at Thompson. Once we left there, we were talking about keeping the seat in there permanently.”
That relationship sparked success towards the end of last year, and the team has rolled it right over to this year, coming just a few short laps away from victory at South Boston Speedway on March 30, and running solidly inside the top five for much of the Icebreaker 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. Even though Myers finished sixth at Thompson, the combination left there pleased. Myers has finished seventh or better in the first three races of a new year.
“This past race at Thompson was our 13th race together, and since Bristol last year, we’ve pulled off top 10s and top fives with chances to win. Burt hadn’t seen a lot of the tracks, like Stafford and Riverhead. He had never really seen them before we went there. We also had to get used to working together,” Harvey said.
“It took us about five races together and we just had to build a little bit of a notebook. We had to use about five races to pretty much throw away it felt like just learning, but it worked out. The strategy and the tires were much different for us. Down south, we only got one change tire. Up north, you can get some more changes. Down south, you do a lot of riding and you don’t race until the end, but at these tracks up north, you race hard right from the start. Once we got a handful of races together, it started becoming fun.”
And even though that relationship is steered in the right direction with the combination hoping to continue that success for days to come, it’s on hold for now. Myers will begin his quest for a 10th track championship at Bowman Gray Stadium this weekend in their Modified division, meaning he won’t be making the trip to Stafford Motor Speedway for the annual NAPA Spring Sizzler 200.
Instead, Harvey will have Jeff Rocco sit behind the wheel, another driver who has joined the stable, run some previous races and is enjoying the ride.
RELATED: PIT BOX: Whelen Modified Tour Headlining NAPA Spring Sizzler Weekend at Stafford
“I get it, but it sucks that we have to stop that momentum,” Harvey joked of Myers heading to Bowman Gray. “Jeff wasn’t doing anything at Stafford for the Fall Final last year and he just jumped on board as a crew member. All of a sudden, he became a full EHR guy, coming to the tracks and doing whatever we needed him to do. With Doug Dunleavy in the mix, we put a deal together last year and put him in the car at Seekonk; then at Langley, Brian Loftin couldn’t show up there for me to drive the car and Jeff drove through the night and got in it there and ran inside the top 12.”
“He offered over the winter to put the new car together for me and help take some of it off my plate. He really has jumped right into this deal 1000 percent, he gets along great with all of us.”
Harvey says Rocco will drive at Stafford, followed by Danny Bohn returning to action at Wall Stadium Speedway on May 18. From there, Harvey will take a look at the situation and figure out the immediate future.
“It isn’t just a driver and owner relationship, we have become great friends. We text every single day and it’s important to have that relationship outside of racing as well. If we can’t go at this and have fun doing it, I don’t really want to do it,” Harvey said of his drivers. “We win and lose together as a team. We just try to put our minds together to figure out how to get faster.”
Outside of racing, Harvey is also back on track after some health issues forced him to make a pit stop late last year.
His motor is fired back up, screaming like never before.
“I dealt with some cancer a few years ago, got through that, then all of a sudden about eight months ago I started having some heart issues and I had a few stents put in, and then I had a blood clot and they had to get rid of it. But everything is really good now,” Harvey said.
“I’m fully working out again, back to pushing as hard as I can with this whole racing deal looking to move forward. It’s allowing me to go after this full-time if all of the stars align for us.”
NAPA SPRING SIZZLER 200: RACE CENTER | ENTRY LIST |SCHEDULE & TICKETS
Whelen Modified Tour NAPA Spring Sizzler News & Notes
- Stafford Motor Speedway regulars Joey Cipriano (SK Modified) and Mark Bakaj (SK Light Modified) will both make their Whelen Modified Tour debuts Sunday. Cirpriano will drive for Steve Greer, a car owner he ran some tour-type Modified races with at Stafford last year. Bakaj will wheel a car for Jason Nogiec driving with his family company as the sponsor.
- Doug Coby, who leads all active drivers with 11 career Stafford wins, leads the series standings entering the half-mile. Coby has one win already this season, and led the most laps in the Icebreaker at Thompson before a pit road penalty ended his chances of returning to Victory Lane.
- Sam Rameau, who will make his first start at Stafford this weekend, leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings at the end of the first three races. Timmy Catalano, the brother of defending Sunoco Rookie of the Year Tommy Catalano, trails by 16 points.
The @StaffordSpeedwy NAPA Spring Sizzler is just ud83dudd90ud83cudffc days away and one thing is for certain: last year’s winner won’t be this year’s winner. ud83dude0f
So…Who you got?
Full Entry list ud83dudc49ud83cudffc https://t.co/ms5LPWybys#NWMT | #NAPASpringSizzler pic.twitter.com/XTKbqrENH0
— NASCAR Home Tracks (@NASCARHomeTrack) April 23, 2019
NASCAR.com will live-stream the first three practices at Talladega Superspeedway — two Xfinity Series practices and one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice — in advance of the weekend races in Alabama. Bookmark https://www.nascar.com/live, the destination for all live practice streams this year. You can also catch the practice on NASCAR Mobile.
For Friday specifically, the live-streaming schedule is as follows for users in the United States. Full practices will be posted to NASCAR’s YouTube channel later in the day for fans who can’t watch live.
• 12:35 p.m. ET: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice
• 1:35 p.m. ET: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice
• 2:35 p.m. ET: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice
RELATED: Full weekend schedule
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice is the first practice session with the full field that will see cars with a smaller tapered spacer instead of restrictor plates as has been the custom for the past 32 years for races at Talladega and Daytona International Speedway.
FOX Sports will feature a multi-hour block of Fast Friday programming each race weekend, beginning at 3 p.m. ET; practices before 3 p.m. will be live-streamed on NASCAR.com.
It’s a doubleheader weekend at the 2.66-mile-long Talladega track with Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series MoneyLion 300 (1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).