Posted on by Staff Report

Clint Bowyer showed the way atop the leaderboard Friday, leading a 1-2 sweep for Stewart-Haas Racing in opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Bowyer put the SHR No. 14 Ford through its paces with a best lap of 180.152 mph on the 1.54-mile Georgia track, making him the only driver to eclipse the 180-mph barrier. Teammate Aric Almirola was second-fastest at 179.988 mph in Stewart-Haas’ No. 10 Ford.

RELATED: Practice 1 speeds | 10-lap averages | Full Atlanta schedule

Austin Dillon (179.772 mph), Kurt Busch (179.406) and Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin (178.931) completed the top five in opening practice for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM), the second race of the Monster Energy Series season.

Reigning series champ Joey Logano claimed the ninth-best lap in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford. Defending race winner Kevin Harvick clocked in 29th on the leaderboard in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford.

Sunday’s 500-miler is the first race for the series’ 2019 rules package, which increases aerodynamic downforce and reduces horsepower in an effort to foster closer competition. Teams will compete with engines targeted for 550 horsepower, plus aero devices that include a larger spoiler and splitter, plus a wider radiator pan. Last year’s fastest lap in opening practice was 186.384 mph, more than 6 mph faster that Friday’s best lap.

MORE: Atlanta weekend 101

Busch Pole Qualifying for the Monster Energy Series is scheduled later Friday at 5:10 p.m. ET (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM).

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR and TrüNorth Warranty announced today a multi-year agreement designating the company as the “Official Commercial Truck Warranty of NASCAR” expanding its investment in the sport.

TrüNorth is a leading provider of limited liability warranties for commercial medium and heavy-duty trucks including work trucks, construction and agricultural equipment. The company is dedicated to shortening the time-to-action at every step in the repair claims process, as well as meeting all truck warranty needs to get commercial vehicles and equipment back working as quickly as possible.

TrüNorth also competes in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series with Niece Motorsports and drivers Ross Chastain and Reid Wilson.

“TrüNorth’s expanded commitment reinforces the value that NASCAR provides to brands investing across the sport,” said Jon Tuck, chief revenue officer, NASCAR. “The combination of a team and sanctioning body partnership will effectively enhance TrüNorth’s brand awareness and help them reach new customers.”

The multi-year agreement provides TrüNorth additional promotional rights to build around its existing relationship with Niece Motorsports, driving brand awareness and business. TrüNorth will also host key customers and prospects at-track with VIP hospitality events at NASCAR races throughout the year. As part of the partnership, TrüNorth joins the NASCAR Fuel for Business Council®, bringing together an exclusive group of more than 50 Official NASCAR Partners to buy and sell products and services from one another.

“NASCAR’s commitment to quality, excellence and fan experience, combined with their outstanding value, reminded us of our own business dynamic and drew us to the sport,” said William Eskridge, CEO, TrüNorth Global. “We’re looking forward to working with NASCAR to help build the TrüNorth brand.”

As part of TrüNorth’s partnership with Niece Motorsports, TrüNorth engaged Paul Teutul Jr. of Paul Jr. Designs and star of “American Chopper” to design the No. 45 TrüNorth Paul Jr. Designs Chevrolet Silverado, which finished third in its debut at Daytona International Speedway with Ross Chastain at the wheel.

TrüNorth and the renowned custom motorcycle designer have an ongoing relationship, teaming up last year to create the TrüNorth custom bike, which will be on display at TrüNorth’s hospitality area in the Atlanta Motor Speedway infield as well as other NASCAR events throughout the season. TrüNorth also unveiled a second bike by Paul Jr. last week at Daytona in conjunction with the launch of its newest warranty brand, MyTruckWarranty.com, powered by TrüNorth.

The No. 45 TrüNorth Chevrolet piloted by Ross Chastain will return to the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Atlanta 200 on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and MRN.

Posted on by Kenny Bruce

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Christopher Bell wants to be the first NASCAR driver to put the new Toyota Supra in Victory Lane and he isn’t approaching the opportunity lightly.

“I remember when (Jason) Leffler won the first Xfinity race for Toyota in the Camry at IRP,” Bell said of the 2007 highlight at Indianapolis Raceway Park. “And Kyle Busch won the first Cup race in Atlanta (in ’08).”

Bell is 24 and driver of the No. 20 Toyota Supra in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. He won the Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2017 and finished fourth in the Xfinity Series title battle last season.

“I have the opportunity to be the first winner in a Toyota Supra,” Bell said. “That would be really cool and really special.”

PHOTOS: Get an up close look at the Toyota Supra

The Supra made its NASCAR debut last weekend at Daytona International Speedway, replacing the Camry for Xfinity Series competition. Meanwhile, the Camry will continue to lead the way for Toyota in the Monster Energy Cup Series, as it has since 2007.

JGR teammate Brandon Jones finished highest among the Supra entries at Daytona with a third-place run. Bell was sixth while Jeffrey Earnhardt led 29 laps and finished 15th. Others Supra teams were scattered a bit further back in the 38-car field.

Opportunity No. 2 for win No. 1 comes this weekend as the Xfinity Series lands at Atlanta Motor Speedway for Saturday’s Rinnai 250 (2 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Full schedule for Atlanta

Daytona was an aberration in that the rules package used there won’t be seen again this year. Instead, a higher downforce platform will be in play and teams are still grappling with how those changes will affect performance.

Adding an entirely new model to the mix could be troubling – Chevrolet teams struggled with the switch to the Camaro ZL1 in the Cup Series last season, winning only four times.

Jason Ratcliff, Bell’s crew chief on the No. 20, isn’t anticipating any issues for his group, however.

“My hope is we get to Atlanta and we pick up right where we left off late last year which was running strong at the intermediate tracks, or really everywhere,” he said. “As we get more time with the Supra, I think it will be no different – it will just get better.

“We run the intermediate tracks so much more than we do speedways. I think we will have a lot better feel for the work we’ve put into it this winter and what we can expect. But so far everything looks really positive.”

  • Did you know: The “S” in the Supra logo is fashioned after a section of track on the legendary Nurburgring race course in Germany known as Wehrseifen.

The Supra joins the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang in the Xfinity Series. The Camaro was incorporated into Cup competition last season, while Ford’s Cup teams made the switch this year from the Fusion to the Mustang.

Officials with Toyota say it’s not a given that the Supra will eventually become a Cup entry although they acknowledge that there is currently more room to incorporate style points into the Cup car than its Xfinity counterpart based on current rules.

“In that garage, (using) that rule book, we’re limited on what we can do,” said David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development (TRD) USA. “We put all of our expression in the upper part of the nose; the lower (portion) is common among all manufacturers. … In Cup we have essentially the whole front end we can play with and (that) gives us more latitude from a styling perspective.”

MORE: Xfinity Series Preview Show

But those are concerns for another day – 2021 perhaps, when NASCAR hopes to roll out the new Gen-7 car.

Now, it’s all about the Supra making its mark in the Xfinity Series.

Having gone through the NASCAR approval process on multiple occasions made life a bit easier when it came to getting the Supra off the drawing board and onto the race track. “We’ve become very comfortable with the process,” Wilson said.

“The challenge is making sure that along the way, while we’re thrilled with having this great-looking car, that we don’t stumble out of the gate, which can be a possibility if we don’t do a good enough job.

“We talk about wanting the performance to be better each time you do this and that’s true. But the reality is, given the box all of us have to work in … it’s not that it’s better, it’s that it’s not worse than (before).

“That’s really the goal – that we get to have Supra and we’re still competitive.”

  • Did You Know: The first 2020 Supra production car recently sold for $2.1 million as part of a charity effort at the Barrett-Jackson auto auction in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The Supra is a global car, meaning it will be sold worldwide. It may eventually race worldwide as well.

“Supra will race somewhere else,” Wilson said. “More than likely in a GT4 category, which is a global sports car class.

“Hopefully we will see it in sports car racing, but for now it’s only in NASCAR.”

And only in the Xfinity Series.

Bell, who finished third in Atlanta last year, said he is looking forward to racing the Supra beyond the high banks and long straightaways of Daytona.

“I’m really happy with how (the car) turned out,” he said. “Performance-wise I think it’s going to be right there. … We won’t really know what we’ve got until we get to some of the downforce tracks. But we’ll be in the hunt.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Cole Moore has been racing super late models at All American Speedway for about five years, and with the track returning to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series this year, he’s excited to now get to compete for a title, and bragging rights at home.

Moore races at the track against his dad, John Moore, who raced at the speedway the last time it was NASCAR sanctioned.

“It’s awesome. A lot of people think that we’d race each other clean but we actually race each other really hard,” Cole Moore said of racing against his dad. “We can trust each other to race hard and not wreck each other. It makes it very entertaining I think for the crowd.”

All American 3

All American Speedway, located just 20 minutes from California’s capitol in Sacramento, is a third-mile track that hosted NASCAR K&N Pro Series West events from 1977-1982. Promoter Bill McAnally began renting the facility in 2008, and he’s hosted late models and two K&N races a year ever since. The county-owned track was recently bought by an events company that had no knowledge of racing, so McAnally signed a long-term contract last April that would allow him to host weekly races.

This year, All American will be sanctioned by NASCAR Whelen All-American Series for the first time under McAnally. They’ll host 14 races, starting on April 13 and ending on November 2.

McAnally won the 1990 NASCAR Winston Racing Series championship at All American in 1990. He credits winning that championship at the Roseville, California, race track with helping him to be able to move up in the world of racing and get bigger sponsors.

Now, as a promoter, McAnally is trying to give that same opportunity to other young drivers at the same track where he grew up.

“I think it’s fantastic to be able to give our local racers the opportunity to have the same direction that I had followed to race for a weekly championship now and a state championship and a national championship,” McAnally said. “It’ll give them recognition not only locally but statewide and nationally.”

The 21-year-old Moore lives about 10 minutes from the track, and plans to race there as well as in the SRL Southwest Tour. While he’ll travel quite a bit this summer on both tours, there’s nothing like seeing a packed crowd at his home track.

“I think it’s been awesome since Bill has taken over the track. There’s been an extreme amount of fans that show up,” he said. “He literally sells out the crowd every night. I’ve been racing for a long time and it makes it a lot more fun when you’re racing in front of a full grandstand, especially if it’s your hometown and everybody knows you.”

All American averaged about 3,000 spectators a race last season, and McAnally said the community has really embraced what they’re trying to do to keep it successful.

The Moores join a growing list of drivers expected at the track this season. The speedway finished last year with 82 cars after starting the summer with just 30.

“I know it’s going to be some good competition,” Moore said. “Word travels fast. There was good racing there last year.”

All American is the only weekly track in the Sacramento area, with the closest other NASCAR sanctioned track nearly five hours away. McAnally said he’s happy he can not only provide a place for local drivers, like the Moores, to get the chance to race in front of friends and family, but also provide them with NASCAR’s insurance, publicity, and awards.

The track has even partnered with NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, whose KH Management team will provide a cash award to weekly racers.

“Somebody like Kevin Harvick that came out of NASCAR weekly racing and used the NASCAR ladder to go regional racing and then national racing, it shows our local racers that they can follow his footsteps,” McAnally said. “For him to want to share that and to want to keep track of what’s going on at our weekly track in Northern California says a lot for what he’s given back. And the racers notice that and it creates a lot of excitement that a NASCAR Cup champion cares enough to support the local racers and wants to give back and help continue it growing weekly.”

Beyond the winnings and championships though, All American will most importantly be a place drivers can get on the track, and maybe even strengthen a family bond.

“It’s obviously thrilling for us to race against each other, especially at home on the home track in front of our family and all the friends watching,” Moore said. “We really have a good time. I’m smiling from ear-to-ear every time we’re out there together.”

All American 2

Posted on by Staff Report

FansChoice.TV has quickly become the place for NASCAR fans to watch regional series and local NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action each weekend.

That will increase exponentially this year.

FansChoice.TV announced Friday that the streaming digital platform will air the entire NASCAR regional series schedule live in 2019.

They will air the complete NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West schedules – including the two summer combination races — as well as the  17-race schedule for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

FansChoice.TV aired the season-opener for the K&N Pro Series East on Sunday, February 10 at New Smyrna Speedway — a race won by Derek Kraus. They also aired all nine nights of the 53rd annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna.

Fans will be able to watch K&N Pro Series West drivers open their season on Thursday, February 28 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, before watching Whelen Modified Tour teams kick-off 2019 at South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach Speedway on March 16. The next time the K&N Pro Series East hits the track is at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 6.

With events airing live, fans will have the opportunity to stay up-to-date with all of the action from the track, while also following behind the scenes content via NASCAR Home Tracks on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Fans can also get complete FansChoice.tv updates on their social channels: Twitter and Facebook. In addition to NASCAR, FansChoice.tv streams select IMSA content as well as American Flat Track.

With the entirety of each schedule airing, fans can watch champions be crowned in all three divisions. The K&N Pro Series East season ends at Dover International Speedway on October 4, while the Whelen Modified Tour crowns their champion at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on October 13. The K&N Pro Series West returns to Arizona and ISM Raceway on Saturday, November 9 to crown their new title holder.

RELATED: NASCAR & NBCSN Announces Regional Series Coverage

NBCSN’s coverage will remain unchanged. They will cover a total of 37 races between the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and Whelen Modified Tour via a tape-delayed broadcast. NBCSN already aired the East opener at New Smyrna, and will air the opener for the West and the Whelen Modified Tour just days after the races conclude.

The West opener at Las Vegas will air on NBCSN on Tuesday, March 5, at 6 p.m., while the Whelen Modified Tour opener airs on Thursday, March 21, at 6 p.m.

Following the  NBCSN airings, the regional races will be archived and available on FansChoice.tv.

Posted on by Zack Albert

With Daytona’s dust settling, this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway represents one of the first true tests of the series’ 2019 rules package. Teams tasted the full setup in an organizational test conducted last month at Las Vegas. At Atlanta, championship points and a race victory will be on the line.

Plenty of homework went into developing this season’s rules package, which increases aerodynamic downforce and reduces engine horsepower at certain tracks to promote closer competition. Most of the package’s components will be in place for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM), the second of 36 points-paying races this season.

MORE: 101 on rules, tires

For John Probst, NASCAR Vice President for Innovation and Racing Development, the Las Vegas test served as a validation for the simulation work and data that helped to develop the package.

“I think it reaffirmed more of what we’d expected,” Probst said. “To back up a little bit, it’s not a case of we just threw it out there and we’re like, ‘yeah, let’s see what this does. We hope it’s good.’ If you look, it’s really been a journey that we’ve been going on for a couple years. We’ve tried bits and pieces of this in the past and we’ve seen little nuggets of what we’ve wanted to see, and this is really the first time we’ve put it all together.

“So we feel like we’re finally getting to a point where it’s not a case of throwing it out there. We’ve done the research and reaffirmed what the research told us it should be. I think we would’ve walked away from that test and been more confused had something not added up to what we thought it should.”

RELATED: Full schedule for Atlanta

Sunday’s 500-miler will feature a targeted 550-horsepower figure and many of the package’s downforce-creating components — an 8-inch tall spoiler, a wider radiator pan and a front splitter with a 2-inch overhang. The Atlanta race, however, will not use the aerodynamic ducts that other intermediate-sized tracks will see, starting with the following weekend’s event at Las Vegas. After simulations and consultations with manufacturers and teams, competition officials elected for brake ducts over aero ducts at Atlanta as a precautionary measure.

“We know that coming to Las Vegas, we weren’t really using the brakes before and with this package, you’ll likely use them less. We said let’s not get off to a rough start in Atlanta by having a bunch of brake failures or tire issues because of brake heat,” Probst said. “Let’s just run conservative and then when we get to Atlanta (again) where we feel more comfortable about the duty cycle on the brakes that we just implement the package ‘full monty’ at that point.”

Probst said competition officials also have had a relatively smooth rollout of another new wrinkle for 2019 — a tougher inspection and penalty structure for all three series. Aside from three car chief suspensions in inspections before Daytona 500 qualifying, the remainder of Speedweeks proceeded without a flutter.

MORE: Finding favorites at Atlanta

Probst said the inspection process for Atlanta would look similar, but that teams often try to push limits in different areas on the circuit’s 1.5-mile tracks. But Probst also said he was encouraged by the early level of cooperation in the Daytona garage.

“I feel like they showed up with their cars in pretty good shape and had heeded our direction in the offseason that we’re trying to clean up how you show up at the race track,” Probst said. “… We’re hoping that continues in Atlanta.

“If you look at the post-race, Daytona is pretty different in that that car that won gets torn completely down and then we have to put it completely back together because it goes back over to the museum for a year. So that was a little bit different, but I can say that even from our side of it, it’s really nice from our side to show up for work Monday morning and be looking forward to the next race and not looking back or tearing cars down on a Tuesday, so I think that creates pretty long night right after the race, but when you look at all the benefits that come out of that, this is going to be a really good thing for our sport.”

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced today that Toyota Racing Development (TRD) driver Chandler Smith will compete in four NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) races for the organization in 2019 – splitting his schedule between the No. 51 and No. 46 Tundras – and will also compete in three marquee Super Late Model events in the No. 51 Camry.

The Georgia teenager will make his NGOTS debut June 15 in the No. 51 Tundra at Iowa Speedway in Newton, and will also compete for that team Aug. 15 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Smith will compete for the No. 46 team June 28 at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill., and Nov. 7 at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Ariz. On the Super Late Model side, he will race the Winchester 400 Oct. 13 at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, the All-American 400 Nov. 3 at Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tenn., and the Snowball Derby Dec. 2 at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla.

Despite being just 15 years old at the time, Smith set an ARCA Racing Series record by winning four consecutive poles to start his career and earned his first victory after leading a race-high 102 laps at Madison (Wis.) International Speedway in his fourth series start. He was also victorious at Salem (Ind.) Speedway last September when he led all but one circuit of the 200-lap event. Smith totaled two wins, four poles, six top-five and nine top-10 finishes, while posting an average starting position of 3.3 and an average finish of 4.3 across his nine ARCA Racing starts last year. Despite competing in only nine of the 20 races, the racing prodigy led all drivers with 763 laps led.

In addition to his ARCA Racing Series experience, Smith has competed in some of the biggest Super Late Model events the last few seasons. He earned his first marquee win in January of 2018 in the CRA Speedfest at Crisp Motorsports Park in Cordele, Ga., edging out short-track legend Bubba Pollard. He also won the pole, led 97 laps and finished second to former KBM driver Noah Gragson in the 2018 Winchester 400 at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway and finished third in the 2017 running of the event. The talented teenager has also posted an average finish of 6.0 across three starts in the prestigious Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola. Fla.

“The opportunity to compete in one of NASCAR’s national series with Kyle Busch Motorsports is a dream come true and it wouldn’t be possible without everything that Toyota and TRD have done the last few years to help me develop as a driver, on and off the track,” said Smith. “I can’t wait to get the season started and I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to carry on the winning tradition that KBM has established in both the Truck Series and with their Super Late Model program.”

“Chandler was impressive in a limited ARCA Series schedule last year — winning poles, leading laps and bringing home a couple of victories,” owner Kyle Busch said. “He races with a veteran presence and has gone toe-to-toe with some of the best Super Late Model drivers in the country. He races hard and runs up front, and races the other competitors with respect and takes care of his equipment. We’re anxious to see him in one of our Tundras this season and feel he will gradually improve each time out. Even with such a limited schedule, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him get to victory lane similar to Erik Jones in his first season for us.

“At KBM, we love having representation at the marquee Super Late Model events and at one point we weren’t sure if that was going to happen this year, so we’re excited to be adding three of the biggest SLM races in the country to Chandler’s schedule. We feel that he gives us a great shot to add some more big wins to our resume, including the opportunity to bring home our third consecutive Snowball Derby victory.”

Sponsors for all of Smith’s races in both the NGOTS and the Super Late Model will be announced at a later date.

Posted on by Staff Report

Trackside Live is back in 2019! The live at-track show returns at Atlanta Motor Speedway with two events over two days, with a live appearance from Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin as the headliner.

WATCH: Trackside Live

Hamlin, Ryan Blaney (who will attempt to break into the Guinness Book of World Records), Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman and Garrett Smithley are on Sunday’s show, which is from 10:30-11:30 a.m. ET. Saturday’s season premiere is slated to launch after the Gander Outdoors Truck Series race, from approximately 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET.

Kurt Busch is a scheduled guest Saturday, with the winner of the Truck Series race joining as well.

Come watch the show live if you’re at Atlanta, or watch the live stream on NASCAR.com if you’re not.

MORE: Full schedule for Atlanta | Buy your tickets

Posted on by Harris Lue

Editor’s note: Harris Lue is a graphic designer for NASCAR Digital and a friend of Sam Bass. These are his thoughts on the passing of his friend.

NASCAR’s first officially licensed artist. The first time I saw that tagline my mind was blown. You mean I could draw cars and make NASCAR artwork for a living? I knew my entire life I wanted to be a NASCAR artist like Sam Bass, and I did everything in my power to follow the track Sam paved for me and so many others.

Sam quickly became my hero at age 4 upon getting my first Charlotte Motor Speedway program at the 1997 All-Star Race. Already an avid NASCAR fan, I was on the edge of my seat, program in hand, eager to see my favorite drivers race. It turned out to be a-life changing evening.

Dale Earnhardt’s Wheaties car, Darrell Waltrip’s Chrome No. 17 and Jeff Gordon’s infamous “T-Rex” raced for all of the cash in a shootout that saw the T-Rex dominate the field (with a not-so-legal setup) and end up in Victory Lane. Little did I know the same man that made the artwork on that program cover also designed those breathtaking paint schemes I quickly fell in love with.

RELATED: Sam Bass dies following illness

In the years to come I always kept that program close. I spent afternoons trying to redraw the perspective of Dale Earnhardt’s car chasing the likes of Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte, Michael Waltrip and Dale Jarrett coming out of Turn 4 in Charlotte. I tried to copy the illusion of fans in the stands holding up cards to make an IROC Firebird and Randy LaJoie’s No. 74 Xfinity Series car. And always saved the firework-filled sky with the portrait of Waltrip’s No. 17 for last.

Harris Lue Sam Bass 1
NASCAR designer Harris Lue, left, with Sam Bass.

Of course, I never once came close to matching the elegance of the original piece, but along the way I learned essential skills like lighting, reflection, perspective and how to balance all of those pieces to create one cohesive layout. The passion that stemmed from that first taste of NASCAR art led me to take every creative class I could and influenced my pursuit of a Graphic Design degree from the East Carolina University School of Art & Design. In 2016, my dream of becoming a NASCAR artist became reality when I accepted my current position as a member of NASCAR Creative Design.

In that moment, I was on top of the world.

After picking up my first Coca-Cola 600 credential at Charlotte as an employee, I happened to duck into the gallery of Sam Bass’ work. Being a huge fan, I wanted to bask in the sea of NASCAR art — but once I crossed the threshold, I was shocked to look over and see the man himself! I audibly made an exclamation I can’t publish here, clearly star-struck. I was embarrassed by the uncontrolled outburst, but Sam laughed, cracked his classic smile and invited me over to his autograph table.

He happened to be sitting directly below the painting of Dale’s Wheaties car from my first race 19 years prior. The meeting allowed me to tell Sam how much that night meant to me, how that paint scheme was my favorite and how the program cover was part of what led me to where I am today. He talked about the design process of “Champion’s Choice” and how he embellished the orange helmet and suit, and how Earnhardt loved it so much during the race that he wanted to keep the orange paint for the 600. When I told Sam I was a graphic designer, he hopped up from behind the table and took me through a full tour of his studio. He showed me his drawing board, his custom Van Halen refrigerators, his memorabilia stash, the guitar collection, the framed original Wheaties box and his pen and ink drawings of his first car — and his newest car that matched. Both of our first cars were Ford Mustangs.

RELATED: Remembering Sam Bass through his artwork

For both of us, our cars helped influence our art. Sam told the story of buying the ’05 model that matched his ’72, and I shared how I had an ’87 convertible to go along with my first ’93. In that moment, we were just car guys shooting the breeze.

Not long after the race I thanked Sam via text for the behind-the-scenes look at his workplace, and we began to build a friendship I never could have imagined. For the next three years I had the opportunity to ask my hero the hows, whens and whys of some of my favorite paint schemes and art pieces. I got to hear firsthand what it was like to work with icons like Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon. I really got to get to know the man behind the paintings and picked his brain about anything and everything NASCAR art.

More recently, we began sending each other the pieces we were working on or getting ready to release. We’d text for hours. Whenever I employed some of his techniques, he noticed before anyone else, and his advice and critiques were always held with the highest regard. He trusted me as much as I trusted him and treated me like an old friend. No matter what was going on in his life, Sam was happy to drop everything and talk design for a bit. Eventually, after telling my girlfriend (and fellow NASCAR artist) Emily Butler the story of that first meeting in the gallery, she commissioned him to do pen and ink drawings of my Mustangs that matched his. They were a surprise birthday gift last year.

Sam Bass Drawing Main

No matter where Sam was in his health journey, he always made sure to ask how I was and how my life was going. He kept me informed on his condition, but never wanted it to seem like a burden. That’s who Sam was.

We were up late chatting in November about his Kannapolis Intimidators logo unveil. During the conversation, he sent me the picture of Dale grinning ear-to-ear and talked about how much this was a career highlight. Toward the later hours, he texted “I haven’t meant to keep you up all night. Sorry, I just really enjoy talking with you, and respect your opinions so much!” It was in that moment I let him know how much these conversations meant to me, and that I would’ve stayed up into the next week talking to Sam, my hero. I’m forever thankful for those conversations now. Knowing that he respected my opinions and valued my friendship as much as I valued his is more than I could’ve ever imagined.

When the news of Sam’s passing began to spread throughout the NASCAR community, the hole he left was immediately evident. The news was delivered to me by friend and fellow NASCAR artist Daylon Barr. I’ll be forever grateful for how he put his arm around me and comforted me on pit road in Daytona that Saturday. My whole world was a little darker that day. I had lost an amazing friend and mentor, the shooting star that I had chased for so long.

Harris Lue Sam Bass 2

Social media filled quickly with the bright colors and swift motion of Sam’s artwork in remembrance of his life. Each piece was carefully chosen from a body of work so big that I rarely saw the same thing twice. It’s comforting to know that a NASCAR fan doesn’t have to look too far to find a piece of his work, and I find hope in knowing that there are many others like me that hung on to every brush stroke and every air brush speckle as inspiration to make their own NASCAR art. It’s with that drive and mentality that we can all push the look of this sport in new directions while serving to honor our history through the preservation of Sam’s artwork and its presence in NASCAR culture.

I would like to end with a little note to Sam:

Your paint schemes are iconic, your artwork is forever and I know your influence will be felt as long as there are graphics on a race car. Thank you, Sam, for paving the way for us. More than anything, thank you for being a friend.

Talk to you soon, buddy.

Your friend,

Harris Lue