Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Sam Bass, whose images earned acclaim as the first officially licensed artist of NASCAR, died Saturday. He was 57.

Denise Bass, his wife, confirmed the artist’s passing. Bass had been battling kidney failure and was in search of a transplant.

“It is with a sad heart that our family shares the news of our loss with the NASCAR community,” Denise Bass wrote. “Sam Bass, a loving husband, father, and inspiration to us all, passed away earlier today. Thank you for your prayers during this very difficult time.”

The sanctioning body of NASCAR said of Bass in a statement: “Though he may have never turned a lap or a wrench, few captured the essence of our sport through his work more than Sam Bass. He was a consistent presence in the NASCAR garage, and his ever-present smile and endearing personality welcomed all. Though we have lost a member of the NASCAR family, his legend will continue in his art – all of which illustrated the greatness of our sport and the talent of a true friend.”

Bass’ work was seen by many at high speed on NASCAR’s circuits, as his designs adorned cars driven by several of the sport’s most prominent drivers. Among those paint schemes was the iconic “Rainbow Warrior” colors that rode with Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet early in his career. Other paint schemes for Gordon’s rides followed.

RELATED: Bass-designed Gordon scheme driven by Byron at Darlington

“One of the things I have enjoyed the most about my career over the years is the people interaction,” Bass said as he provided a medical update in 2017.

Following his NASCAR Xfinity Series team’s win at Daytona by driver Michael Annett, Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked about Bass and the person he was.

“We worked real hard over the last year or so trying to help Sam,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “It’s just difficult to know that somebody, they’re here one day and they’re not here anymore. It’s so hard to understand. Everybody knows how Sam was, how great he was, how amazing. There’s not many people that you meet in your life that are so happy to see you every time they see you, and he was that way. And so he set such a great example for all of us on how to treat people and how to maintain relationships. He just seemed so grateful for everything that ever happened to him. I hope that he’s celebrated because he meant a lot to this sport.”

Bass’ work was also prominent on race-day programs, adorning the cover of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s publications since 1985.

In a statement, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. President and CEO Marcus Smith said: “Our deepest sympathies are with Denise and her family today. Sam Bass has been a significant part of NASCAR’s history. He poured his heart, soul and talent into producing souvenir program covers at many speedways including Charlotte for more than 30 years. His work provided our fans a keepsake to treasure, and that was so appropriate, because Sam was always such a fan of our sport and he was such a treasure to the entire NASCAR family. His body of work will be a legacy that lives forever. We will miss Sam’s smile and positivity.”

Drivers and teams reacted to the sad news.

Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Carnage was the name of Friday night’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series opener. For the fortunate few to avoid the multiple melees at Daytona International Speedway, personal-bests and history were the reward.

Angela Ruch clinched the second-highest finish by a woman in series history with an eighth-place effort in the NextEra Energy Resources 250. Spencer Boyd and Josh Reaume also turned their stories of survival into jubilant celebrations of career-best results, with Boyd placing fourth and Reaume sixth.

Ruch’s feat came in only her second Truck Series start and her first since 2010, marking the first race of a partnership for a part-time schedule with NEMCO Motorsports. Jennifer Jo Cobb’s sixth place at Daytona in 2011 still stands as the series’ all-time record.

RELATED: Full race results

But Ruch’s performance also signified another Daytona underdog story for the family; Ruch is the twin niece of former Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope, who shocked the field to win “The Great American Race” in 1990.

“For me to carry in his footsteps and to walk away with a top 10, I’m ecstatic,” said Ruch, who led two laps and eked out a top-10 finish despite her No. 8 Chevrolet losing a cylinder late. “I’m so proud of myself.”

Boyd is entering his second full-time Truck Series season, and Friday night’s event marked his first appearance with Young’s Motorsports. He credited his spotter, Freddie Kraft (who spots for Bubba Wallace in the Monster Energy Series), for helping him through the chaos. Even more remarkable, he says he’d never met Kraft until this race weekend.

“This is something you dream of forever,” Boyd said on pit road. “You just always ask for that shot.”

Reaume started last and methodically avoided the pitfalls that sidelined 23 of the 32 starters. The owner-driver has competed part-time in the Truck Series the last two seasons. Friday’s outing marked his first top-10 finish in 28 starts.

“It’s huge. It’s a boost of confidence,” said Reaume, who also led the first lap of his career. “If anybody had any idea, I pulled three all-nighters to make it here. The most sleep I got the last week was at the race track because they actually kick you out of the garage area and make you go home. To be able to come away from here with a sixth-place finish, you couldn’t have told me I was going to do that a week ago. Thrilled.”

Posted on by

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A lap and a half in regulation separated Ben Rhodes from a possible victory at the World Center of Racing in Friday’s Gander Outdoors Truck Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Rhodes’ No. 99 ThorSport entry had survived a particularly chaotic evening that would trigger 11 cautions by the race’s end — including a mid-race “Big One” that Rhodes said he “needed a new set of pants after.” But by Lap 100, the 21-year-old driver was leading the field when contact with Gus Dean set off a melee that involved 10 trucks in total.

RELATED: Full race results 

“I don’t know what happened on the outside, I’d have to see a replay of it. I just know I got hooked and turned around,” Rhodes said after being released from the infield care center. “Luckily we didn’t hit anything too hard, but the truck’s completely destroyed. Just a shame. I thought I was going to be able to get ThorSport a win here and make Duke extremely happy.

“I’m very thankful for the opportunities he’s given me this year. All the guys – we’ve got new pit crew, new crew chief, all new mechanics, new spotter on the roof. I just wanted to start the season off right for them.”

Rhodes’ 2019 plans became officially solidified two days ago, when ThorSport Racing announced he would pilot the No. 99 Ford this season. Rhodes had previously driven the Nos. 27 and 41 Fords in a three-year span for the team, earning two wins and making the playoffs the past two seasons.

RELATED: ThorSport sets driver lineup for 2019

The changes that Rhodes referred to also included bringing in veteran spotter TJ Majors to serve as Rhodes’ eye in the sky. A well-known talent at restrictor plate tracks, Majors has served as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s spotter and now spots for reigning champion Joey Logano in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Rhodes called Majors “a magician” at the superspeedways and said while he’s disappointed with the outcome of Friday’s race, his strong run bodes well for the rest of the season with his new group.

“This is one of the better showings that I’ve had here, being able to lead and control the race,” he said. “It’s crazy; I’ve been in the lead or at least right at the lead two times now here and just turned. Again, I’d have to see the replay, maybe it was me, I don’t know. I just know that I end backwards whenever I’m in the lead somehow. I feel like TJ doesn’t steer me wrong, I know I was doing everything I could …

“Had me a strong truck – didn’t qualify so hot, but had a strong truck. And with the leadership with TJ, we’ll go win Talladega.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – You could call Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 a battle of attrition, but that wouldn’t do justice to the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season opener.

It was more like a long, full-blown war.

In a race at Daytona International Speedway that saw a record 11 cautions, a record 55 caution laps and just nine of 32 trucks running at the finish, Austin Hill took the checkered flag on the 11th lap of NASCAR overtime to win for the first time in the series—in the Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota that carried Brett Moffitt to the championship last year.

“That whole last lap, my heart was pounding,” Hill said of the run to the finish on Lap 111. “I thought there were going to get to the outside and we were going to have a drag race. But I was able to protect it.

“I can’t believe my first win came at Daytona. It’s surreal. I can’t wait to party with these guys.”

RELATED: Race results

Grant Enfinger ran second, 0.278 seconds behind Hill, after surviving a 12-car pileup in Turn 4 on Lap 54. Enfinger rallied from two laps down and tried to manufacture a run on Hill through the final two corners, but Hill blocked him effectively off Turn 4 and cruised to the finish line.

“I didn’t have anybody lined up behind me coming out of Turn 4,” Enfinger said. “I wonder if it’s a full moon tonight—carnage everywhere.”

Ross Chastain ran third in his first run for Niece Motorsports. Spencer Boyd was fourth, followed by Matt Crafton, Josh Reaume, Timothy Peters, Angela Ruch and Austin Wayne Self, who’s battered No. 22 Chevrolet was the last car running at the finish.

Racing in the Truck Series for the first time since 2010, and for only the second time in her career, Ruch posted her best finish in a national series event. Her eighth-place result was the second highest by a female driver in NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series history, with the record belonging to Jennifer Jo Cobb (sixth at Daytona in 2011).

Ben Rhodes was leading on Lap 99, before a 10-car crash knocked him out of the race. That wreck forced overtime, and on the first attempt, Self and Bobby Gerhart crashed on the backstretch to necessitate the second attempt.

Moffitt, the reigning series champion, was a victim of the Lap 54 melee and retired in 26th place in his first event with GMS Racing.

Before the race was three laps old, second-place qualifier David Gilliland brought his No. 17 Toyota to pit road with a cut tire. On the same circuit, Gilliland’s DGR-Crosley teammate, Natalie Decker, followed onto pit road, with a cut tire and a broken oil line.

Decker’s car burst into flames, with the fire shooting from the left wheel well, and her crew pulled her from the car, ending her first start in the Truck Series.

“The tire went down, and it caught on fire when I brought it to pit road,” Decker said. “I really wanted to have a good finish, but it is what it is.”

Under caution for Decker’s issue, Bryan Dauzat pitted after having hit the Turn 1 wall in an earlier incident under green. Unable to bring his No. 28 Chevrolet to a stop, Dauzat hit jackman Billy Rock and knocked him to the pavement.

Rock was alert and awake, according to NASCAR officials, but was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.

The early incidents, however, were merely a precursor for the wild action that followed.

MORE: Crewmember on No. 28 truck team injured, transported to hospital

Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Billy Rock, a crewmember for the FDNY Racing team and driver Bryan Dauzat, was injured in Friday night’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series opener in a pit-road incident.

Rock, the team’s jackman, was struck by Dauzat’s No. 28 Chevrolet, which was unable to stop in its pit stall because of brake issues. Rock was transported to Halifax Health Medical Center for further evaluation, and NASCAR officials said he was “awake and alert.”

Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports reported that Rock suffered a broken shoulder in the incident, according to Jim Rosenblum, the FDNY team’s owner. Rosenblum also told FOX Sports that Rock was later released from the hospital.

Dauzat’s accident happened in a chaotic first few laps in the NextEra Energy 250. Dauzat said he ran over a piece of debris as he followed the No. 87 of veteran Joe Nemechek.

“Going into the turn on the drop of the green, something came off Joe’s truck,” Dauzat said. “Whether it was from his truck or someone else’s truck, I don’t know. I thought I centered it, but it must’ve hit the right-front tire. I don’t know.”

The damage hampered Dauzat’s stopping ability as he brought his truck to the pits. Rock crossed in front of the No. 28 truck’s path, and was upended by the contact. Medical personnel attended to Rock, who was taken off pit road on a stretcher.

“I just lost brakes when I was coming in,” Dauzat said. “… I told him, I said, ‘I have no brakes,’ and he came out in front.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NEW SMYRNA, Fla.— Once again Matt Hirschman was in the right place at the right time to take advantage of an opening to score his second tour type modified win this week at New Smyrna Speedway.

The Northampton, Pennsylvania, driver had powered by Timmy Solomito for the lead on a lap 28 restart. Solomito had been fighting to hold of Tommy Catalano when Hirschman, running in third, jetted by them both. Hirschman drove away in the final circuits to win the fourth Modified race of the week. Timmy Solomito of Islip, New York, was second and Chuck Hossfeld of Ransomville, New York, third.

A late race crash on lap 27 had collected multiple top contenders including Doug Coby, Jimmy Blewett, Anthony Nocella and Patrick Emerling.

“That was pretty exciting actually,” said Hirschman.  “I really didn‘t think tonight was going to be our night after our pole qualifying effort. We‘ve definitely got to do better there. We missed the opportunity for the invert completely. But I made a few more changes, stuff I wanted to try and at first I didn‘t think it was really probably any good, but it really came in well.”

Hirschman qualified a disappointing ninth and did not break into the top five until lap 20. Once in the lead pack, Hirschman did what he does best — wait for an opportunity and then pounce on it.

The Super Late Model veteran, Bubba Pollard, once again dominated Thursday‘s 35-lap Super Late Model feature as part of the World Series, picking up his third victory. Pollard qualified second, and with the luck of the draw, stayed there to start on the outside of the front row for the drop of the green flag.

Pollard passed Anthony Sergi on lap 10 to take the lead. He dominated the rest of the race to take the win and Super Late Model championship point lead.

“We had a good night tonight. We had two off nights. We had issues and we worked through those,” said Pollard. “We did not change much on the car except for tires. All that hard work it has been a tough long week. But it is a lot of fun!”

“Can‘t thank this group of guys enough. It‘s a great group.”

Gabe Sommers finished second and Anthony Sergi third.

All eight nights of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action are airing live on FansChoice.TV. Racing continues on Friday night, where the Tour Type Modifieds will compete in the Richie Evans Memorial 100-lap feature.

Jamie Skinner scored his second Pro Late Model feature win this World Series Thursday, while Jerry Symons picked up the Florida Modified win.

Bubbapollardnightsevenslmwin

Results: World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Night 7:

Tour Type Modifieds: 1. Matt Hirschman; 2. Timmy Solomito; 3. Chuck Hossfeld; 4. Bobby Measmer, Jr.; 5. Tommy Catalano; 6. Andy Jankowiak; 7. Patrick Emerling; 8. Calvin Carroll; 9. Dillion Steuer; 10. Amy Catalano; 11. Jeremy Gerstner; 12 Tyler Rypkema.; 13. Nikki Carroll; 14. Anthony Nocella; 15. Doug Coby; 16. Jimmy Blewett; 17. Chris Ridsdale; 18. Mike Leaty; 19. Al Emmarino; 20. Mike Bologna.

Super Late Models: 1. Bubba Pollard; 2. Gabe Sommers 3. Anthony Sergi; 4. Alex Labbe; 5. Carson Kvapil; 6. Ryan Moore; 7. Jeff Noland; 8. Travis Braden; 9. Derek Kraus; 10. Jared Irvan; 11. Tate Fogelman; 12. Derek Griffith; 13. Logan Seavey; 14. Sam Mayer; 15. Nolan Pope; 16. Collin Garrett; 17. Brandon Hebert; 18. Brad May; 19. Christian Rose; 20. Dakota Stroup.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The new Ford Mustang announced its arrival into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in emphatic fashion—sweeping the top three positions in each of the two Gander RV Duel at Daytona 150-mile qualifying races on Thursday night.

MORE: Full Duel 1 results | Duel 2

Team owner Jack Roush, for one, is delighted that the Mustang has finally ascended to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Roush, after all, has fielded Mustangs in a wide array of motorsports pursuits in a career that spans more than five decades.

“The Mustang is a river that runs through for me,” Roush said on Friday at Daytona International Speedway during a press conference with fellow Ford team owners and Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “Fifty-three years ago, I loaded my first Mustang on the truck and took it to the (drag racing) Winter Nationals.

“I’ve watched the Mustangs be raced in a myriad of classes, road racing and drag racing. We’ve taken it to Bonneville, Pikes Peak. We’ve taken it to Europe. The Mustang has finally taken its rightful place at the top of the stock car arena with NASCAR. It’s been something that I’ve watched come over a period of time that I’m very proud of being a staple with (Ford) for all those years.”

RELATED: Scenes from 2019 Ford Mustang intro video

Growing pains may still surface in the transition from the Fusion to the Mustang this year, but to a great extent, any apprehension that may have existed was allayed substantially by the Fords’ performance in last Sunday’s Advance Auto Parts Clash, where Paul Menard ran up front until contact from Jimmie Johnson’s Chevrolet sent him spinning, and in the Duels, where Fords finished 1-2-3 in both races.

Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart says such transitions have become routine for his organization, which made the jump from Chevrolet to Ford before the start of the 2017 season. And the ability of the Ford teams to work together at superspeedways has led to the carmaker’s dominance at those tracks.

“As far as preparation for this year, I think Stewart Haas Racing probably has been one of the teams that are used to hitting curve balls left and right,” Stewart said. “To sit here and switch body styles over the winter, as much as that’s a huge undertaking for everyone, I think it’s just another walk in the park for our guys.

“They’re so used to it from adding teams in consecutive years, to changing manufacturers, changing body styles. It’s just a layup for our guys. I’ve had all the confidence in our group. We have cars that are fast down here. I think we all learned last year, especially at the restrictor-plate tracks, when we get these Ford teams together, it’s really hard to handle all of us if we’re working together.

“We all want to win the race at the end of the day, but if we’re racing each other at the end of the day, it’s a lot better scenario than racing the entire field. Excited about what we’ve got to look forward to this year.”

To Stewart’s point, before Austin Dillon triumphed in last year’s Daytona 500, Ford drivers had won three straight races at the track. At Talladega, Ford has a current seven-race winning streak, with reigning Cup champion Joey Logano accounting for three of those.

Team Penske owner Roger Penske, who fields Logano’s Fords, believes Stewart-Haas’ manufacturer switch has helped produce a critical mass that has strengthened the entire camp.

“We really began a collaboration back then from the standpoint of how to make the cars better,” Penske said. “With the thought of the new Mustang, all of us had the opportunity with our technical people to sit down and interface with Ford’s performance team. Whether it was wind tunnel, scale tunnel, all the things that go together, they were key. Each of us had a piece of that.

“From our preparation, you have all these cars that are Fusions. We don’t have just four or five cars in the stable. You have multiple cars that have to be changed over. It puts a big pressure on us. The good news was Ford provided us the pieces that are specific by NASCAR. We had those in time in order to build these cars, which I thought was good.”

Penske also credited engine builder Roush Yates Engines as integral to the performance of the Fords, describing it as “the cornerstone of our success last year.

“And certainly, what you saw last night (in the Duels), it’s a big piece of that,” Penske added. “They should get a big thank-you for that. It’s just a total collaboration. We’re racing each other when it comes to Sunday.

“But I think what we learned is we can work better together during these races. You could see it last night and during the season last year. We all want to win, but I think that’s key to get us to that point where you have five or 10 laps to go, you have a chance to win, (that’s) what we’re all trying to do.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Paul Menard topped the leaderboard in Friday’s fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Daytona International Speedway at 200.758 mph in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.

Right behind him was Jamie McMurray in the No. 40 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet at 200.696 mph. McMurray was the only Chevrolet in the top 10.

MORE: Fourth practice results

Rounding out the top five were Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, Ryan Newman in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford and Clint Bowyer in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

The entire Joe Gibbs Racing fleet sat out this practice with 2016 Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin indicating the No. 11 team is done practicing for the weekend.

The final practice session before Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is set for Saturday at 12:05 p.m. ET on FS1.

Practice 3

Joe Gibbs Racing dominated Friday’s third Daytona 500 practice session for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Kyle Busch jumped on top with a fast lap speed of 200.285 mph in the No. 18 M&M’s Chocolate Bar Toyota. Martin Truex Jr. followed in second with a lap of 200.200 in the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota.

RESULTS: Full Practice 3 speeds

Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Ryan Preece practiced for 17 laps in his No. 47 Kroger.com Chevrolet and finished the practice session in third. He ran a best lap speed of 200.169 mph. This is Preece’s first Daytona 500.

Busch was also near the top of the leaderboard in the first Daytona 500 practice session last Saturday, when he finished in second behind Truex with a best speed of 195.852.

The 2015 champion was involved in an incident on Lap 35 of the Gander RV Duel No. 2 with Jimmie Johnson on Thursday night, where his left-rear quarter panel was clipped by the right-front bumper of Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet. Busch went for a spin down the backstretch but was able to avoid more damage.

He will start 31st on Sunday for the Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).