Posted on by Team Release

CONCORD, N.C. — Leavine Family Racing (LFR) today announced that Procore, a leading provider of cloud-based applications for construction, will return as a primary sponsor for 2019. Procore will be featured as the primary sponsor aboard the team’s No. 95 Toyota Camry for a total of 12 races this coming season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with driver Matt DiBenedetto behind the wheel.

The Carpinteria, California-based company took a chance on leveraging a NASCAR partnership in 2017 with two races aboard the No. 95 entry for the team. Seeing success from the 2018 season, Procore is increasing their program to include 12 races as the primary sponsor with LFR for 2019.

RELATED: LFR adds DiBenedetto, moves to Toyota

2019 brings with it several exciting changes for LFR as the organization transitions to new manufacturing partnerships with Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) and Toyota Racing Development (TRD). The addition of Matt DiBenedetto as the team’s new driver, as well as crew chief Mike Wheeler, add to the team’s quest to improve upon their racing program.

“Procore is excited to team up with Leavine Family Racing for another year of NASCAR in the 2019 season,” said Mark Lyons, the VP of Industry Marketing for Procore. “With a large percentage of the NASCAR fanbase coming from the construction industry this has been an excellent platform for brand exposure. We are really looking forward to all the changes with Toyota, the JGR alliance, and Matt DiBenedetto behind the wheel.”

Procore tried their hand at a NASCAR partnership because of the target-rich environment of the sport’s fans who work within the construction industry. NASCAR fans are shown to be 60% more likely than non-fans to have a building and ground maintenance or construction occupation, so the sponsorship was a chance for Procore to increase their brand awareness.

“It’s great to have Procore back with us in 2019 and for them to increase their investment level” Jeremy Lange, Vice President and General Manager of LFR commented. “They saw positive results from the 2018 season, and we look forward to continuing to help them grow their business while making stronger B2B connections in and around the sport. Partnerships like theirs allow us at LFR to continue to build towards the future and grow overall as a race team.”

Procore and LFR will hit the track together to kick off the season in the first points race of 2019 for the Daytona 500 on February 17, 2019 at historic Daytona International Speedway.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Erik Jones has less than a month before he suits up for the return of on-track activity in the typically sunny climes of Daytona Beach. Until then, he’s savoring some of the cooler temps in his home state.

Being close to home has its advantages, such as Jones’ appearance Tuesday as the special guest of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. Jones, 22, took in the team’s morning skate at Little Caesars Arena ahead of the Red Wings’ home game Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks.

RELATED: 2019 NASCAR schedule | Daytona schedule

Jones showed off a new Detroit jersey with No. 20, matching his car number with Joe Gibbs Racing. Red Wings players received replica racing helmets as part of the gift exchange.

“Every sport’s different and it’s neat to see how each one operates,” said Jones, who did his part to cross-promote NASCAR’s two stops this season at Michigan International Speedway. “I’ve had a chance to be around some football teams and I’ve had some chance to be around some baseball players, but never really hockey. Down in North Carolina, they don’t have a lot of hockey going on, so I get to come back to Michigan and see that. It’s cool to see their process and how they prepare.”

BUY TICKETS: See the Michigan races

For Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams, the preparation has already started for the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 17 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The venue of Daytona International Speedway has already been a mixed bag for Jones early in his career. His previous two appearances in The Great American Race resulted in event-ending crashes, but the track’s most recent race made him a first-time winner with a dramatic triumph in the 2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400.

“For me, it’s such a wild-card every year,” Jones said. “Obviously, we were fortunate enough to win at Daytona in July last year, but it’s still pretty unknown. You have to be pretty lucky along the way to win one of those races, but it’s an opportunity to win for everybody. It’s the Daytona 500. Everybody wants to win it and start the year off on the right foot, and it sure would be nice to be locked into the playoffs after Week 1.

“So that’s our mindset, going in with a chance to win and hopefully going for it. We had a good plan at Daytona in July that worked out well, and we’re probably going to follow a hopefully similar one there.”

MORE: On the move: 2019 changes

Before settling into a groove closer to the stock-car racing hubs of Charlotte and Daytona, Jones says he’s rounding out the rest of his offseason break. As has become customary the last few years, Jones has spent the holidays and extra time off at his family home in Michigan.

While he says he’s anxious to get back to business further south, Jones says there’s a certain ring to the frigid air of home.

“I like the cold. I went snowmobiling last weekend, and I’m going to hit it one more time this weekend and get my fill of cold weather, then I’ll be back down and go to work,” Jones said. “I’m ready to get going now. At the end of the year, I was ready for a little break, but by the end of December and beginning of this month, I was pretty ready to go again. I don’t have any tests or anything this winter, so I haven’t been in a car since Homestead, so I’m ready to get to Daytona and get back going and just be on track.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Chase Briscoe competed in Monday night’s first preliminary round for the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In the first of five qualifying nights for the annual event, Briscoe won his heat race and started third in the A-Main in the Boss Factory Racing No. 21B.

RELATED: What you need to know about the Chili Bowl Nationals

Thanks to a cool on-board camera above Briscoe’s cockpit, you can watch him wheel his dirt midget around the 1/5-mile indoor track. Briscoe finessed his way through some pretty hairy moments en route to a fifth-place finish, three position below the transfer spot to become automatically locked into the A-Feature event. Briscoe will get another shot to make it through to the marquee show with the B-Main on Saturday evening.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Rookie stripes come with the turf in your first season in NASCAR’s top series and hard lessons get learned along the way. This year’s rookie class includes Daniel Hemric (No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet), Ryan Preece (No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet), Matt Tifft (No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford) and Tanner Berryhill (No. 97 Obaika Racing Toyota).

William Byron, Erik Jones, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick are among the current full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers to earn the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award. Who will join this list following the 2019 season? NASCAR.com’s RJ Kraft and Chase Wilhelm break down which freshman will earn top honors.

MORE: Drivers on the move for 2019 | List of full-time drivers in 2019 | Hemric ready to build own legacy

KRAFT: Daniel Hemric has yet to win a Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in his NASCAR national series career and I expect that to change in 2019. While there will be growing pains for the rookie — as there are for nearly all rookies (see William Byron’s 2018 season), Hemric’s tendency to run a clean race and avoid trouble will serve him well in the points and, ultimately, the rookie battle. Remember, the rookie scoring system mirrors the point structure for the season-long championship.

The North Carolina native got his feet wet in the sport’s top series last year with two starts and reached the Xfinity Series Championship 4 for the second straight season. While he did not win in the Xfinity ranks (or in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series, for that matter), he was a top-five and top-10 machine the past two seasons. (Side note and a fun fact: Jimmie Johnson had just one Xfinity win in his career as a regular in that series before he went on to become a seven-time champion — so a lack of Xfinity wins is not a complete predictor of future success.) With Luke Lambert’s steady hand atop the box, I expect Hemric to maintain the top spot among the rookie contenders for the bulk of the season and hang around in contention for one of the final playoff spots.

PHOTOS: Every Sunoco Rookie of the Year winner 

WILHELM: Hemric’s a great choice, but I’m getting behind Ryan Preece on this one. After taking an unconventional path from the Whelen Modified Tour ranks, the 28-year-old Connecticut native made the most of his opportunity with Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series the past two seasons. In his first race driving the No. 20 Toyota at Chicagoland Speedway on July 2017, Preece finished a career-best second behind Kyle Busch. His first victory came shortly afterward, edging out Kyle Benjamin at Iowa Speedway. Another partial schedule in 2018 saw Preece take victory again, winning the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash bonus at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Long story short, the guy is good. Really good. Sometimes it’s hard to gain much momentum when you’re running a partial schedule, but that didn’t pose a problem for Preece, earning seven top five and 10 top-10 finishes in 15 races last season. Preece has earned his ride at JTG Daugherty Racing. A talented driver like him is just what the organization needs to see their No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 up front more often – enough to earn Sunoco Rookie of the Year.

Posted on by Staff Report

Whether you’re following a race, planning a trip to the track or spending a few minutes catching up on your favorite sport, NASCAR.com’s redesigned homepage will make it easier to find what you’re looking for.

The Live Event Module (highlighted in red) will quickly take you to your favorite race-day products such as RaceView, Scanner, NASCAR Drive, NASCAR Fantasy Live and more.

The enhanced Race Center section offers live results at a glance and a link to dive deeper into the stats. Time and TV information for the race are featured here, and readers can navigate for information across NASCAR’s top three series.

Quick Links will feature more of the essentials you love with links to results, standings, the schedule, the latest news and videos.

For those who’d rather be at the track, Upcoming Events makes it easy to purchase tickets to a race in your area – or in a different part of the country if you’re going out for a road trip.

A new top headlines area will make it easy to find the latest news and features that readers like you are gravitating toward. And you will be able to stream the race day broadcast on MRN straight from the homepage.

The new NASCAR.com homepage is live, so send us your feedback at [email protected].

Posted on by Staff Report

OREGON, Wis. — It was another very competitive and exciting racing season featuring the best drivers in the Midwest in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series at Madison International Speedway. The NASCAR Late Models, Sportsman, and Bandits headlined the 2018 slate.

Zack Riddle (NASCAR Late Models), Robert Hansberry Jr. (Dave‘s White Rock Sportsman), and Nick Schmidt (Pellitteri Waste Systems Bandits) picked up 2018 track championships.

Hometown favorite Zack Riddle of Oregon, Wisconsin, won his second track championship in the Late Models after taking home the crown in 2015. Riddle won three features, two heats, and three dashes and set fast time on four nights, including turning the fastest lap of the season with an 18.545 second time on Wisconsin‘s Fastest Half-Mile.

Consistency paid off for Riddle, as he finished in the top five in twelve of fourteen races and only finished outside the top ten once. Riddle finished with 1318 points with multi-time champion Jeremy Miller finishing in second with 1169 points. Riddle’s race to the championship started slowly then quickly picked up steam.

MADISON: Point Standings | Latest News | Track History

“This team always comes on towards the end of the season. We were able to stay in the hunt early and finish the year strong,” said Riddle.

Riddle now has fifteen feature wins in his career at Madison which puts him tied for fourth on the all-time list for the Late Models. Riddle‘s grandfather, Johnny Ziegler, is a four-time Super Late Model champion at Madison plus his uncle, Jared Ziegler, is also a past champion in the Late Models.

It was three in a row for Dave‘s White Rock Sportsman champion Robert Hansberry Jr. of Beloit, Wisconsin. This season, Hansberry Jr. won six features, three heats, and seven dashes on his way to the championship. He was fast qualifier on seven nights and turned the fastest lap of the season with a 19.834 on the half-mile. He finished the season with 1279 points fueled by eleven top five finishes and only one race finishing outside the top ten. At the beginning of the season, Hansberry Jr. really was not sure what his racing plans would look like in 2018.

DEEPER LOOK: Madison’s Divisions

“We keep telling ourselves we‘ll stay home and not run for a championship, but I love this place so much that we had to be here,” said Hansberry Jr.

He now has five track championships (2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018) and is the all-time leader in Sportsman feature wins at Madison with twenty-four checkered flags.

Nick Schmidt of Watertown, Wisconsin, won his first track championship in the Pellitteri Waste Systems Bandits. Schmidt won seven features, three dashes, and one heat in addition to setting fast time on seven nights including a new track record on the quarter-mile “Ring of Fire” of 14.695 seconds. He finished in the top five twelve out of thirteen races and totaled 1373 points.

“I want to thank Gregg and Angie for giving us a place to race on Friday nights. I race four different tracks so it‘s been a busy summer,” he said.

Schmidt now owns twelve career feature wins in the Bandits division at Madison which places him third on the all-time list.

Track owners Gregg and Angie McKarns would like to thank everyone who supported their family owned track in 2018 and are looking forward to the start of the 2019 season in May.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

When seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson takes the green flag for the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 10, it’ll be his first race with new crew chief Kevin Meendering.

 After 17 seasons with Chad Knaus on the headset, Johnson will hear Meendering call the shots for the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team. While Meendering isn’t a household name like that of Knaus, the road to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead Johnson to a potential record-breaking eighth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship was well-earned.

RELATED: Who will have the biggest impact — Knaus or Meendering?

Meendering worked his way up the ranks at Hendrick Motorsports, fabricating and building suspension parts shortly after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, transitioning to a research and development position before joining the No. 24 team of Jeff Gordon in 2008 as an assistant engineer.


In 2016, he moved to JR Motorsports to work with Elliott Sadler atop the box. In three seasons with Sadler in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Meendering led the No. 1 team to three wins, three playoff berths and two Championship 4 appearances (2016-17).

Between long hours in the shop during his first stint at Hendrick to his success in the Xfinity Series with a veteran driver, Meendering has proven himself worthy of this shot in the Cup Series. When asked what he wants loyal fans of Johnson and the 48 team to know about him, the first words he uttered were “hard working and very driven.” 

“I want to win races, just like Jimmie does,” Meendering said when the change was announced in October. “We’re all in this … we didn’t reach this level just being complacent. I feel like I’ve earned this position. I’ve worked hard.”

MORE: See the brand-new No. 48 paint scheme for ’19

“It’s my goal to take this team and take Jimmie and win that eighth championship for him,” he added. “That’s the biggest thing. It’s a little surreal to be put in this position and I’m excited. There’s a lot of history with Jimmie and this 48 team. Just to be a part of it is exciting.”

The 37-year-old admitted he has some nerves going into his first season with arguably the best driver to ever compete at NASCAR’s highest level. But behind every great driver and crew chief pairing are hundreds of people at the shop who make it all happen behind the scenes. Meendering knows the depth of the organization because he’s been there before.

“We have such a strong organization here, so many smart, important people backing you,” Meendering said. “The resources are just phenomenal. That definitely helps.”

Meendering is also confident of the relationship he and Johnson have been able to develop in such a short period of time, which is another reason why fans of “Seven-time” should have no cause of concern with this fresh start.

“He’s so easy to work with and he really is just one of the guys when you’re talking to him,” he said. “…He’s just so down to Earth and so level-headed, it’s just really easy to communicate with him.”

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

While a good portion of the country battles the cold weather that January brings, the racing world heats things up each year with the Chili Bowl Nationals.

This week, some of the best drivers dirt racing has to offer have flocked to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the 33rd running of the annual indoor midget car event held on a 1/5-mile dirt oval at the River Spirit Expo Center. As of Jan. 14, more than 350 drivers and teams were featured on the entry list as five qualifying nights lie ahead leading up to Saturday night’s A-Main event. The champion gets the coveted Golden Driller, a replica of the 76-foot statue located outside the venue.

At the top of that elite list of powerhouse drivers are a few of NASCAR’s finest talents.

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Christopher Bell goes into this year’s Chili Bowl searching for his third consecutive victory. In 2017, the Norman, Okla., native became only the second Oklahoman to win the event, beating out World of Outlaws driver Daryn Pittman for his first triumph. In 2018, Bell took advantage of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson’s misfortunate after engine issues parked Larson in the waning laps. Bell out-dueled two-time Chili Bowl champion and former Gander Outdoors Truck Series driver Rico Abreu for the victory.

Bell, 24, will need to get past the usual suspects in order to become just the third driver to win three or more Chili Bowls behind four-time winner Kevin Swindell (2010-13) and five-time winner Sammy Swindell (1989, ’92, ’96, ’98, 2009). Bell feels his stiffest competition is none other than Larson as both will compete under the Keith Kunz Motorsports umbrella.

“He’s the most talented guy that probably any of us have ever seen,” Bell said on the NASCAR on NBC podcast. “So, I would say he’s number one on that list.”

MORE: Bell on ‘unique relationship’ with Larson

Monday kicked off a week of action-packed racing, including practice rounds that began at 9 a.m. local time, followed by the first night of preliminary racing. The entry list is divided into sections for each qualifying night, which includes a series of heat races and qualifiers, followed by a 25-lap feature event. The top-two finishers in each qualifying night feature event lock themselves into the 24-car A-Feature event on Saturday night.

Drivers who do not finish in the top-two positions in their respective preliminary features will have one more shot to make the field with a series of main events on Saturday, with the top-seven finishers from each of the two B-Mains transferring to make up the full field.

Former and current NASCAR drivers participating this year include:

  • Christopher Bell
  • Kyle Larson
  • Alex Bowman
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  • Kasey Kahne
  • Landon Cassill
  • Tanner Berryhill
  • Justin Allgaier
  • Chase Briscoe
  • J.J. Yeley

Along with the list of NASCAR national series regulars includes Karsyn Elledge, the niece of NASCAR on NBC race analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. and daughter of Earnhardt’s sister and co-owner of JR Motorsports, Kelley Earnhardt Miller. The 18-year-old rising dirt-racing driver is competing in her first Chili Bowl Nationals.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

For nearly two decades, the No. 48 Chevrolet set up by Chad Knaus for Jimmie Johnson was fast — dang fast. After seven championships at NASCAR’s highest level, however, the pairing of Knaus/Johnson started to slow down. The veteran Hendrick Motorsports duo failed to reach Victory Lane last season for the first time in Johnson’s full-time career, also registering career lows in top-five and top-10 finishes.

HMS decided a change was necessary, moving Knaus over to the No. 24 to pair him with sophomore driver William Byron, while Kevin Meendering will rise from the Xfinity Series ranks with JR Motorsports to helm Johnson’s No. 48.

It’s arguably the biggest shakeup since the birth of HMS, and one that will have a serious impact on the 2019 season and beyond. Which crew chief will make the biggest mark on his new team? NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola and Chase Wilhelm debate.

RELATED: On the move — driver changes analyzed

DECOLA: Whatever you want to call it — a feeling, intuition, delusion — I was already all-in on Byron taking a major step forward in his sophomore campaign after an admittedly lackluster rookie season. Though he did win Sunoco Rookie of the Year, Byron’s four top 10s in 36 races were a bit underwhelming after lighting up the NASCAR world with a combined 11 wins from 2016-17 in the Xfinity and Gander Outdoors Truck Series ranks.

I talked more about this in a debate earlier this month, but I feel there were too many variables working against the then 20-year-old in his first year at the highest level of motorsports to really get things rolling consistently. Most/all of them have been cleared up for his second year, and it should culminate in an environment he can thrive in.

Then you add in the fact that he’ll now be working with arguably the greatest crew chief in the sport’s history, and it’s a no-brainer that the ceiling for Byron in 2019 is sky-high at the moment. There may be some growing pains in the early portion of the season, sure, but I think it’s a safe bet that Knaus has the No. 24 Chevrolet dialed in by season’s end and in playoff contention.

RELATED: Knaus ‘geeked up’ about returning to No. 24

Knaus is the perfect candidate to groom Byron into being the next “face of the franchise” that Johnson heralded for more than 15 years after “Seven-Time” inherited that duty from Jeff Gordon. Johnson drove his tail off during their tenure together, but Knaus’ ability to push the Californian to new heights amidst a sometimes-tenuous but often-dominant relationship was unparalleled.

I believe the impact he will have on Byron will be massive.

WILHELM: There’s no question the addition of Knaus on the No. 24 team is going to really take Byron’s performance to greater heights for years to come, but since we’re talking about a crew chief who will have the biggest impact this season, my money is on Kevin Meendering.

Although Meendering doesn’t have all the impressive statistics behind him that Knaus has racked up through the years, there’s a reason why he’s getting his first full-time shot in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with a seven-time champion in Johnson. Team owner Rick Hendrick isn’t going to just put anyone in that role.

MORE: Meendering talks about pressure-filled, incredible opportunity

Between the three successful seasons the 37-year-old had with veteran Xfinity Series driver Elliott Sadler at JR Motorsports and his work as an engineer during his previous time at Hendrick Motorsports, there was a reason why Johnson’s phone was blowing up with praise for Meendering.

“The amount of respect everybody here at Hendrick Motorsports has for him, from Chad to Alan Gustafson, you name the crew chief, even throughout the industry … I’ve been receiving text messages from competitors saying ‘hey he’s a sharp guy and a great choice,’ ” Johnson said. “So, his reputation and the way people hold his work ethic and his value the way they look and think of him.”

Steve Letarte, an NBC Sports analyst and former crew chief at Hendrick, gave him high praise, too, saying Meendering reminded him of Knaus.

Johnson’s lackluster 2018 season was a sign he needed a fresh start to go after that record-breaking eighth championship after the first winless season of his career. Meendering is the perfect choice. A mix of the fire that still burns in Johnson to win races and championships with Meendering’s stellar prowess will get Johnson back to Victory Lane in 2019.

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give you the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports Go | How to find NBCSN

MONDAY, Jan. 14
11 p.m., Beyond the Wheel, FS2 (re-air)

TUESDAY, Jan. 15
Midnight, NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Features: Part 1, FS2 (re-air)
1 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Features: Part 2, FS2 (re-air)
2 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Season Recap, FS2 (re-air)
5 p.m., IMSA: Prototype Challenge at Daytona, NBCSN (re-air)

On MRN
7 p.m., NASCAR Live