NASCAR Digital to stream Cup practice from Phoenix

Posted on March 7, 2019March 8, 2019 by Staff Report

NASCAR Digital will stream live the opening practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway when teams take to the 1-mile track for the first time this season. 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.

• 1:35 p.m.-2:25 p.m. ET: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice

RELATED: Full weekend schedule

FOX Sports will feature a multi-hour block of Fast Friday programming each race weekend, beginning at 3 p.m. ET; practices prior to 3 p.m. will be live streamed on NASCAR.com.

The Xfinity Series will be in action on Saturday for the iK9 Service Dog 200 (4 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The TicketGuardian 500 concludes the weekend on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on March 6, 2019March 6, 2019 by Chase Wilhelm

After having three days to think about it, Erik Jones doesn’t feel any differently about his initial reaction to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s aggressive driving at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Jones and Stenhouse Jr. swapped positions for a number of laps while running in the top 10 toward the end of the first stage of Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, but the battle heated up when the two drivers made contact. Jones received light, cosmetic damage to the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after Stenhouse pinned him down on the apron while racing through the front stretch.

“I think it was just overzealous, probably, on his part,” Jones told NASCAR.com on Wednesday. “It was really early in the race and it was really overly aggressive. At that point, we had a much faster car than he did, and he just made it really hard on us to get around him.

“I really don’t know where that stems from,” Jones added. “I’ve never had a problem with Ricky in the past. … At the end of the day, if you’re going to race really hard, you’re going to get it in return.”

Jones didn’t take issue with Stenhouse Jr. racing him hard in general, rather it was the point in the race when it took place that he and his No. 20 team didn’t appreciate, causing them to get fired up on the radio. Jones went on to finish 13th, while Stenhouse scored a sixth-place result.

“It’s fine to race hard,” Jones said. “I would understand if that was, you know, 15 or 20 laps to go, you can race like that. But there was a lot of race left and when you’re banging the doors off the thing with 300 miles left in the race, that’s just a lot. Kind of is what it is and it’s his choice if he wants to race like that.”

Noting that Stenhouse Jr. raced his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch “really, really hard” a few laps prior to his own run-in, Jones said the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing driver should have thought more logically about the move.

“I know (Busch and I) both had quite a bit faster cars than him at that point in the race,” Jones said. “Most of the time, when somebody catches you with that long to go in the race, that quickly, you’re not going to give them too hard of a time to get by you.”

As the Monster Energy Series heads to ISM Raceway for Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Jones was persistent in stating that if Stenhouse Jr. can dish it out, he better be ready to take it, too.

“He’s just going to have to expect that in return,” Jones reiterated. “He’s had some fast cars to start the year and I know he wants to have some good finishes, but there’s kind of a happy medium there between racing hard, trying to maintain what you’ve got and giving people a little bit of a break every once in a while.”

Looking ahead to the fourth race of the 2019 season at the 1-mile track, Jones’ confidence level is high after a strong start with finishes of 13th or better the first three events. Jones also has a solid track record in Phoenix, with one top five and three top-10 finishes in five starts.

“Overall, I feel like we’ve adapted well to the rules package,” Jones said. “I think Joe Gibbs Racing is making good changes to what we have car-build wise going forward (and we’re going) to continue to make it better. Phoenix is going to be a lot different. High downforce, but more power like we had last year, so that’s going to be a first experience for everybody. But I think we’ve got a good grasp on which way we need to go with the package and what we need to do to be fast with it, so I think that’s a good sign for us.

Posted on March 6, 2019March 6, 2019 by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to ISM Raceway this weekend for Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Teams will have to adjust from their first two races with the 2019 rules package in Atlanta and Las Vegas to this weekend’s stint in Phoenix, where a different-sized tapered spacer — and no aero ducts — are on display for the first time this year.

ISM Raceway has an idiosyncratic layout where it’s nice to have a fast car — but a fast car that handles well is even better.

We explain that, plus much more, below to get you ready for racing in the desert.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule

Keeping up-to-date with the rules

In October, NASCAR officials unveiled a new rules package that would be incorporated into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, featuring a car with higher downforce and lower horsepower to develop closer racing.

The different packages are tailored to the specific tracks on the Monster Energy Series circuit. On the larger tracks, including superspeedways, cars will use a .922-inch tapered spacer to reduce horsepower and a larger spoiler to add roughly 50 percent more downforce.

At tracks shorter than 1.33 miles and at road courses, the Cup cars will use a 1.17-inch tapered spacer, with engines expected to generate roughly 750 horsepower.

This week’s configuration of a 1.17-inch tapered spacer with no aero ducts will be used in 14 events this year — mostly on shorter tracks and road courses. Cars will feature traditional brake ducts, not aero ducts, at Phoenix and because tracks like this require heavier braking and additional cooling.

Tapered spacers, aero ducts and spoilers — oh my

Beyond the tapered spacers and ducts, the baseline aero elements of the 2019 rules package are a taller 8-inch by 61-inch rear spoiler, a larger front splitter with a 2-inch overhang, and a wider radiator pan that measures 37 inches wide in the front tapering to 31 inches at the rear. Those base changes will be in place at every race season with the intent of adding downforce to stabilize handling, a break from a trend of downforce reduction from 2015-18.

“For us, it’s really a focus on getting back to a true focus on the drivers and what NASCAR is all about — close side-by-side racing and trying to deliver more of that,” NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said when the rules were announced last year.

Good(year) times

Monster Energy and Xfinity Series teams are going from a 1.5-mile track to a 1-mile desert oval and they will be under a lot of (air) pressure with the new rules package at ISM Raceway. This will be the first race with the 1.17-inch tapered spacer that produces more horsepower. Phoenix is a smoother surface, but is one of the more unique and challenging tracks on the circuit. It differs from other shorter tracks in that aerodynamics will play a more vital role.

ISM Raceway has three distinct corners with a lack of banking, so aerodynamics are more relevant. With this rules package being high-downforce, high-horsepower, the combination should result in higher speeds and increased tire loading, making the level of air pressure a very important factor.

“Teams will be under a new rules package this week at Phoenix, with all the new aerodynamic elements, but with more horsepower than they’ve had over the past couple weeks,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s Director of Racing. “When we tested on this package at Phoenix last fall, teams were considerably faster than we’ve seen in recent years.

“With the extra downforce versus the 2018 rules package, much of that speed comes through the corners, which generates higher loading on the tires. Teams will need to be mindful of our recommended air pressures as they develop their set-ups to optimize grip. Running below our minimums can cause the sidewall of the tire to flex more and over-deflect, generating more heat, higher wear and fall-off, and even damaging the tire to the point of air loss. Finding that balance will be key.”

There will be a brand-new tire compound debuting at Phoenix. Teams in both series will run the same tire compound at ISM Raceway this weekend. This is the first time either of the two Goodyear tire codes will be run. The left-side tire features a construction update that Goodyear will begin displaying at many more tracks this season, while the right-side tire features a compound change designed to introduce more tire wear and run cooler. Phoenix is the only track where either of these two tires codes are scheduled to run.

There was a tire test in Phoenix last year (Oct. 2-3) with this tire combination. Drivers Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Larson and Paul Menard were among those at the test. Similar to other NASCAR ovals that are one mile or less in length, they will not run liners in their tires at Phoenix this weekend.

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Staff Report

Buckle up, NASCAR fans — the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Awards are headed to Music City.

Nashville is the new host city for Champion’s Week and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Awards, the annual postseason celebration that sees drivers, industry luminaries and celebrities alike strut the red carpet and formally crown the series champion. The Awards will be held Thursday, Dec. 5, at the Music City Center in downtown Nashville.

Other Champion’s Week events will be announced at a later date, but fans should expect to have more access at the Awards than ever before.

“This year, we set a course to look at everything we do through a different lens, including how we celebrate the champions of our sport,” said Steve Phelps, NASCAR President. “Nashville’s energy, vibrant entertainment scene, and deep-rooted lineage in motorsports informed our decision and we believe our fans and industry will embrace the move to the Music City.”

Photo credit: Music City Center

The formal postseason Awards is a tradition that stretches back to 1981, when the event was held in New York City. It relocated to Las Vegas in 2009 and will now call Nashville its home for 2019.

NASCAR and Nashville have a history, too. Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville hosted 42 Monster Energy Series races from 1958-1984, with the circuit visiting twice a year from 1973-84. Tennessee native Darrell Waltrip made the venue his own personal playground, winning eight races there — including four in a row from 1981-83, and five of the last seven Cup races held there. Nashville also hosted what is now the Local Series Awards for a number of years.

“Nashville’s history with NASCAR is indisputable, and coupled with our event experience we are a perfect match for NASCAR Champions Week,” said Butch Spyridon, President and CEO, Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. “We look forward to welcoming NASCAR back home to Music City.”

Additionally, dates for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series and NASCAR Regional, International and Local Awards will shift and be held before the Monster Energy Series Awards. Once again held at the Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, the 2019 Xfinity Series and Gander Outdoors Truck Series Awards are Friday, Nov. 22, following by the Regional, International and Local Awards on Nov. 23.

Those events will be held the week after the NASCAR national series crown three champions in Miami, but before Thanksgiving.

Posted on March 6, 2019March 6, 2019 by Staff Report

Ryan Newman hasn’t won a race in two years, a span of 71 races where the 41-year-old has gone without lifting a trophy in Victory Lane. He also is in his first season driving for Roush Fenway Racing.

And those two factors are precisely why Newman should be considered among the favorites to win this weekend at ISM Raceway in Phoenix.

Consider the following stats from Racing Insights:

Newman has two wins at ISM Raceway in his career, one in 2017 and one in 2010.

The 2017 victory snapped a 127-race winless streak. It was his first win with Richard Childress Racing, which he had been driving for since 2014.

The 2010 victory snapped a 77-race winless streak. And it was his first win with Stewart-Haas Racing, the team he drove for from 2009-2013.

Sound familiar?

A long winless streak. A new team. ISM Raceway.

Sure sounds like a recipe for success for Newman.

MORE: Drivers who ended long winless streaks in the desert

Posted on March 5, 2019April 1, 2021 by Staff Report

The racing dream for late model drivers Austin McDaniel and Connor Mosack both started at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Now, both drivers will be competing just an hour up the road at Hickory Motor Speedway.

Hickory Motor Speedway, a .363-mile semi-banked oval asphalt track located in Hickory, North Carolina, has become a jumping off point for many young late model drivers in the south. McDaniel started racing limited late models there in 2010 when he was just 16 years old.

Now, nine years later, the 24-year-old feels like a veteran.

“Age-wise, I’m probably at the top of the age group now,” McDaniel said. “As I’ve raced over the years there’s been more and more kids, and more and more younger kids, at that, that have kind of started racing at Hickory.I’m probably one of the older ones there, and one of the most experienced, but the kids, by the time they move up to late models they’ve been racing in general for so many years they’re pretty tough coming right out of the gate.”

Hickory Motor Speedway will open the 2019 season on Saturday with Twin 40 lap late model races, limited late models, street stock, super trucks and renegades.

HMS Season Schedule

McDaniel grew up in Charlotte, where he said it was impossible to not fall in love with racing. It’s become a lifelong love too. He studied mechanical engineering at UNC Charlotte, and works full time at GMS Racing.

“Just growing up in the area that I did, I lived two or three miles from Charlotte Motor Speedway, so just being around the area definitely helps, and you grow up with it so much around you you just kind of grow into it,” he said. “There’s a lot of opportunities with being so close to so many race teams and shops. It just kind of caught my attention early and I’ve been hooked ever since and had the bug.”

The bug caught Mosack at a later age, but Charlotte had a lot to do with it for him too. Mosack did a Mario Andretti racing experience at CMS for his 16th birthday, and fell in love with the sport instantly.

Now 19, he will be one of those younger drivers on the track at Hickory this year. He drove legends cars the last two years, but will run a full season at Hickory this year in a late model for the first time.

“I’ve been doing it since and started having a little bit of success last year and and wanted to take it on to the next level,” he said.

Being so close to Charlotte, Hickory provides a good spot for McDaniel, Mosack and other young up-and-comers to live out their racing dreams less than 60 miles from the city. McDaniel will only run a partial schedule there, while also traveling to other tracks like Myrtle Beach, Tri-County and South Boston. But to him, Hickory will always be home.

“For the most part the competition is really good, especially at some of the bigger races that Hickory has. We really like Hickory,” he said.

“I’ve got to race with a lot of different people in a lot of different age groups and experience levels. Over the years the guys who have moved up to the higher ranks of racing, just getting to race against all sorts of experience levels, different car counts, I have grown over the years as a driver in myself. The competition has not gotten any easier the more I’ve gotten experience. There’s still a big challenge, cars are getting better, crews are getting better, the kids are learning as they go on. So even though I feel like we have an upper hand having a lot more experience at Hickory, the competition is still just as tough.”

Those experiences will be new for Mosack this year. So far, he’s only tested at Hickory a couple of times, and he’s still getting used to the bigger and more powerful car and learning how to conserve tires.

He’s used to learning curves though. He attributes his age to helping him learn how to deal with issues better.

“The first year that I raced it wasn’t on the best team. I didn’t have the best equipment so I had to deal with a lot of the car not being how I like it, so dealing with that the first year and getting used to how to drive it when the car is not good,” Mosack said. “And then this past year I got with (team owner) Dennis Lambert, he’s the best there is in legend cars, so making that transition I was able to use his coaching and learn from bad cars and do well in the good cars. And me being a little bit older than other kids helped me have a faster learning curve because I was able to understand things faster.”

Hickory Motor Speedway | HMS Facebook | HMS Twitter

This season, Mosack is just focused on getting better as the season goes on. Starting with just completing all the laps early on, getting experience, and working his way towards the front.

“Then hopefully by the middle of the summer we should be upfront most of the time and hopefully get a couple of wins,” he said. “I think if I can do well there it will pay off at other places and help me out the most.”

Racing is just a hobby for McDaniel, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t also working to get to Victory Lane this season.

“Having such a good time at it is what’s kept me around. Just really enjoying it, getting to work and go to the track with my family. We’re a family owned team, we own all our own stuff, and besides a couple of guys who help with us it’s all our family helping us,” he said. “The biggest thing this year is to just be competitive every week and being upfront in the top 3. Because once you’re in the top 3 anything can happen, and hopefully end up in victory lane a couple of times this year.”

OTHER OPENINGS THIS WEEK:

Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, North Carolina, will also open its season this weekend with the CARS Tour Solid Rock 300, featuring late model and super late model 150 races on the .4-mile oval.

Southern National Motorsports Park | SNMP Schedule

Southern National’s first NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event is the Easter Bunny 240 on April 20, which will be headlined by twin 40-lap Late Model Stock Car features.

Out West, California’s Irwindale Speedway and Nevada’s Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway get their seasons underway.

Irwindale is a half-mile with graduated banking and located just outside Los Angeles. It will host the City of Irwindale Night highlighted by two features for its Division I LKQ Pick Your Part Late Model class.

The Bullring, a .375-mile banked oval on the grounds of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, holds four classes of Whelen All-American Series racing, led by Super Late Models.

Posted on March 4, 2019March 4, 2019 by Staff Report

NASCAR cited a pair of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams for violations incurred following Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Post-race inspection revealed that the Nos. 41 (of Daniel Suarez) and 95 (of Matt DiBenedetto) each had one lug nut not properly installed. NASCAR fined crew chiefs Billy Scott and Mike Wheeler, respectively, $10,000 each, per Sections 10.9.10.4: Tires and Wheels of the NASCAR Rule Book.

RELATED: Las Vegas results | Standings

Suarez finished in 17th place and is in 18th place in the standings during his first season with Stewart-Haas Racing. DiBenedetto, meanwhile, finished in 21st place and is 24th in the standings in his first season with Leavine Family Racing.

The series now heads to ISM Raceway in Phoenix for Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on March 4, 2019April 1, 2021 by Staff Report

New Faces in New Places; Growing List of Rising Rookies, New Track Additions & Incoming Pole Award Sponsor Headline 2019 Whelen Modified Tour Season

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Five months after Justin Bonsignore clinched his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship, his title defense is set to commence. Bonsignore leads a stout group of drivers into the 35th season of Whelen Modified Tour action — but he’s far from the only storyline heading into the newest campaign.

As always, a fresh list of driver and team combinations has slowly, but surely, come to the front of the discussion as the season gets ready to take the green flag at Myrtle Beach Speedway on March 16. But, there are also a list of drivers who will remain with their same team in hopes of continuing 2018 success, or steering themselves back in the right direction.

WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR: 2019 Schedule | Race Center | Latest News

New Faces, in New Places

After a stout season in 2018, Chase Dowling has moved on from his tenure with LFR Chassis and Rob Fuller Motorsports and will be competing part-time for Jamie Tomaino in 2019. The Roxbury, Connecticut, driver picked up his first Whelen Modified Tour win in the inaugural Musket 250 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September and finished inside the top-10 in all but three races.

He also finished in the runner-up position in the final championship standings. But, after parting ways with Fuller, Dowling landed with Tomaino in a combination that will showcase the youth talent and veteran core that the Whelen Modified Tour has to offer, all in one. Tomaino has 621 career starts over 34 years, and stands as the only driver to make at least one start in each Tour season since the beginning of the modern era in 1985. Dowling, who joins the stable of the 1990 series champion, has just 57 starts and one win — but has quickly made it clear he plans to be around a while with over 30 top-10 finishes in his short career.

It might come across as a surprise to some, but the combination of Matt Swanson and Boehler Racing could certainly be one that sparks a cinderella story rather quickly. Swanson, of Acton, Massachusetts, has 49 career Whelen Modified Tour starts across four years — but a majority of them came with his family-owned car out of the family shop.

When Rowan Pennink retired late last year, Swanson was tabbed to drive the famed “Ole Blue” No. 3 — and didn’t let the team regret making the move. Swanson finished second in his first start in the car while Pennink was celebrating the birth of his first child, but after Pennink officially hung up the helmet, Swanson competed in the final five races of the season, ending it with a seventh-place finish at Thompson’s World Series. With the team on path to jell even more when the season begins, the combination of Swanson — the youngest Sunoco Rookie of the Year in series history — and the veteran core group of the Boehler racing family — who have been around for more than four decades — it could spell glory.

Veteran Jimmy Blewett, who has run part-time in his family-owned car over the last two years, could be in position to make a run at the title again if all the stars align for him. Blewett teamed with Gershow Motorsports in February and the combination went south to New Smyrna Speedway’s 53rd annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. Blewett finished third in the final point standings for the week, and wrapped the five nights of Modified racing with a second-place effort in the Richie Evans Memorial 100.

After some discussion internally, Blewett and the team announced via Facebook that they would be running the opener at Myrtle Beach together. If all goes well, it certainly could mean Blewett will be in the car for the season. Bertuccio’s Gershow Motorsports team competed last year with Ronnie Williams at the controls — capturing two poles and five top-10 finishes in 15 starts.

Kyle Benjamin, who has two top five finishes in eight starts in NASCAR Xfinity Series action for Joe Gibbs Racing in the past, will run a partial schedule for Rob Fuller and LFR Chassis. With Dowling leaving the team, Fuller is giving Benjamin a chance to compete in his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour attempts. Benjamin also has five career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victories.

“Kyle seems to be a great kid with a ton of talent,” Fuller said in a team release. “I‘m looking forward to introducing him to the Modified community and scoring some great finishes for our team and sponsors.”

Sunoco Rookie Contenders Ready To Rise

Last year it was Tommy Catalano who snagged Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors after only planning to run a few races. This year, another Catalano is hoping to keep that newfound family tradition rolling.

Timmy Catalano, Tommy’s brother, is going to chase the Rookie of the Year honors driving the family-owned No. 45 in all 17 events. With backing from his fellow family members, and advice about some of the tracks he’s never been to before coming from his brother, Timmy is hoping the new venture ends with celebration.

But he is far from the only rising star looking to make a name for himself in 2019. Sam Rameau, who moves from the tour-type Modified ranks of New England up to the Whelen Modified Tour, has some brief experience in the series. He competed in the Sunoco World Series 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park last year — getting his feet wet in the season-finale with a 17th place finish in a 33-car field. Rameau was a front-runner on the Valenti Modified Racing Series in New England last year.

“My dad raced Enduro cars and Street Stocks his whole life,” Rameau told RaceDayCT.com in February. “I never dreamed of racing an open wheeled Modified — nevermind on the Whelen Modified Tour with guys like Ryan Preece, Doug Coby, Justin Bonsignore and Timmy Solomito. Racing with these guys is a dream come true. I just can‘t believe I‘m doing it.”

READ MORE ON RACEDAYCT: Sammy Rameau Excited To Get Rookie Season Rolling

Joey Mucciacciaro, a Super Late Model competitor in the south, also has plans to run the full NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour slate as he first reported to RaceDayCT. The team will use a chassis out of the LFR shop — a chassis department that won 11 events last year.

Welcome Mayhew Tools as Pole Award Sponsor

Mayhew Tools, a Massachusetts-based company that produces tools used around the globe, will sponsor the pole award for teams this year. Even though the driver is often recognized as the winner of the pole, the team also plays a major role in the speed of the car on the track.

This year, crew chiefs are also going to be rewarded when their driver wins the pole.

[NEWS] Mayhew Tools To Sponsor Whelen Modified Tour Pole Award

ud83dudcdd https://t.co/9gCCWxvic6 #NWMT | @mayhewtools pic.twitter.com/dn03IFcMTM

— NASCAR Home Tracks (@NASCARHomeTrack) February 22, 2019

Mayhew Tools will provide the “Big Stick” to each pole-winning crew chief immediately following the conclusion of qualifying. The “Big Stick” is the largest pry bar the company has ever produced.

Just for example, Justin Bonsignore won five pole awards last year, and if he can accomplish the same goal in 2019, his crew chief Ryan Stone would have five “Big Sticks” in the shop.

South Boston, Wall Stadium Added To Schedule

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour teams may have their fair share of the same tracks this season, but there are also two new facilities on the schedule. South Boston Speedway, a .4-mile oval in Virginia, played host to 11 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races between 2009 and 2016. In those events, a select few drivers gained experience that might pay off for them now.

Kyle Bonsignore, who picked up his first Whelen Modified Tour win at Stafford Motor Speedway last fall, has two top five finishes in three starts at the Virginia oval. Patrick Emerling, Eric Goodale, Burt Myers and Andy Seuss are also among drivers who have prior starts at the track.

LEARN MORE: Wall Stadium | South Boston Speedway

Wall Stadium, a third-mile oval in New Jersey, returns for a date on May 18. In three previous Whelen Modified Tour events there, three different drivers visited Victory Lane — including two from the Blewett family.

John Blewett III won the inaugural race in 2003, while Reggie Ruggerio broke into the winner’s circle in the second event in 2004. Jimmy Blewett, who since has titles at Wall during weekly competition, won the event in 2007. Blewett has been running Wall weekly over the last few years, so will certainly be among the top contenders when the Whelen Modified Tour enters town.

Additional Tidbits of Offseason News

FansChoice.TV announced in February they will air each and every NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race on their website via a live stream in 2019. The events will also air on NBCSN, typically scheduled for the week following the conclusion.

After a successful first Full Throttle Weekend last September, New Hampshire Motor Speedway will again play host to the Musket 250 in 2019. The 2018 edition, which was the longest race in Whelen Modified Tour history, saw Chase Dowling edge Patrick Emerling across the line after Ryan Preece and Justin Bonsignore collided racing for the lead on the final lap.

This year, Whelen Engineering, the supporting sponsor of the Whelen Modified Tour, is taking the event to the next level, as they announced they will become the primary sponsor of the race.

Phil Kurze, a longtime executive with Whelen Engineering, passed in December following a long illness. Kurze helped to push NASCAR regional, international and local racing to extreme heights after helping to seal deals with the NASCAR Modified Tour, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. He was committed to helping put the local, short-track level of racing on a platform like never before.

Mary Hodge, a photographer who spent countless years covering the Whelen Modified Tour circuit with her late husband Howie, passed away in February. Hodge spent more than 40 years photographing races across the country.

Posted on March 3, 2019March 3, 2019 by Zack Albert

LAS VEGAS — Sunday’s race with both the tapered spacer and aero ducts as part of the 2019 rules package for NASCAR’s top series was as unpredictable as anticipated at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But the setup’s performance was also noteworthy for how several of those pre-race forecasts didn’t take.

At day’s end, Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, said the package won’t be judged by Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 alone. O’Donnell said he saw positive indicators at the 1.5-mile track, but the package will continue to be a work in progress.

“We’ve said from the beginning that this is going to be a season that we’re going to analyze,” O’Donnell said. “We’re not going to go every race and say, ‘Was that a good race, was that not?’ I know fans do that, but for us, directionally are you improving upon where you wanted to be. And if you look at last year versus this year, I would say we are.

“Was it tremendous improvement? Probably not. But again as a fan, you want to see lead changes. We saw that today, and I think if you would’ve looked in the past with no cautions, we would’ve seen someone check out all race long and we wouldn’t have seen a lead change.”

Sunday’s race was an extension of the previous weekend’s event at another intermediate track in Atlanta Motor Speedway, with increased downforce and a reduction in horsepower. The Las Vegas event went a step further with the addition of aerodynamic ducts to produce a larger wake from a leading car to trailing cars.

An organizational test, qualifying and practice fed a variety of pre-race predictions, but the package’s predicted resemblance to restrictor-plate-style racing on a smaller-scale track didn’t quite pan out, with only glimpses of pack-style competition during restarts. Prophecies of mass destruction and multi-car crashes faded with a caution-free race, save for the two stage breaks. And the prognosis for an underdog surprise also fizzled, with an array of heavyweights making a clean sweep of the top five.

“You go back even before the race — and I think even some of the media and it probably came from the garage: ‘We’re going to wreck the entire field, this isn’t going to be a race.’ Didn’t happen,” O’Donnell said. “Some said NASCAR’s goal is pack racing. Not the case. Our goal was to bring cars closer together, have more lead changes, but again, (I) was surprised. I think if we had more green-flag restarts, I think you probably would’ve seen one or two wrecks, but we’ll see. It’s early, again. I’d rather err on the side of not wrecking cars and having some lead changes versus having that happen through accidents.”

O’Donnell said the 400-miler almost played out as a tale of two races, with a tamer Stage 1 as a prelude to slightly more intense competition in the next two portions. The race featured 19 lead changes, a figure that was down from the 23 that occurred in sweltering conditions last September, but the highest for the annual March event at Vegas since 2016 (see chart below for more).

Date	Winner	Leaders/ Lead changes	Green flag (GF) passes	GF passes for the lead	GF laps to end the race
2019	Logano	9/19	3,341	47	100
2018	Harvick	6/11	2,379	9	73
2017	Truex Jr.	6/14	1,982	15	9
2016	Keselowski	10/20	2,210	22	35
2015	Harvick	10/19	3,054	18	69

Not surprisingly, Joey Logano savored how the package played out from his premium perch in Victory Lane. Other drivers expressed difficulty with passing ability, saying teams are still trying to establish a better understanding of how the package will unfold. Sunday, drivers were still trying to digest the early impacts.

“The package was insane on restarts,” said Kurt Busch, who wound up fifth. “The adrenaline and the activity, everyone racing harder, with three-wide. I mean, you didn’t know where cars were going to come from, and then yes, we did get strung out, but handling comes back into play. You’ve got to make your car handle and we had just enough handle on our car to get a top five today.”

The full package will return in two weeks at Auto Club Speedway for the Monster Energy Series’ first trip to a 2-mile track this season. Though O’Donnell said there was still work to be done, he was pressed post-race for what he wanted to see from the package’s performance.

“I think it’s not really up to me, right? It’s the fans,” O’Donnell said. “You want higher ratings and you want more butts in seats ultimately. You want rivalries out there and drivers getting after it, and I think what happens in that situation is you have more passes for the lead and you have cars closer together, so I think we’re on the march to do that. I think we saw some of that today, but we can continue to improve on it.”

Posted on March 3, 2019March 3, 2019 by Reid Spencer

LAS VEGAS — For the second straight week, Kevin Harvick looked dominant in the early stages of a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.

Harvick was the class of the field in the first stage of the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, leading Laps 1-43 from the pole and closing out the stage after green-flag pit stops by leading Laps 62-80.

RELATED: Full results | Stage results

In the second half of the race, however, Harvick lost the handle on his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and fell to fourth at the finish. The arc of the Las Vegas event mirrored that of the Atlanta Cup race a week earlier, when Harvick won the second stage before fading to fourth.

“The second half of the race, it’s happened to us two weeks in a row,” Harvick said. “The last two weeks, we’ve just been way off to start practice, based on where everybody thought we should start. And we just weren’t even in the ballpark, making huge changes to get in the ballpark.

“They’ve done a great job of getting the car close. When we get some baseline stuff here, we can start working on the details and not scrambling so much. But they’re doing a great job, and we knew that was going to be a possibility, and we didn’t know where we’d be with our cars.

“We qualified decent and had a good first half of the race two weeks in a row, but just got tighter as the race went on.”