NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Christopher Bell gave the term “pass in the grass” a whole new meaning Saturday night in Auckland, New Zealand.
Using up the bottom of the race track — and even more — Bell made a move on New Zealand’s Michael Pickens to pick up the sprint-car feature win at Western Springs Speedway.
In the World 30-lap Midget Derby feature race earlier in the night, it was Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson who took victory on the dirt, edging out Bell and Pickens, who finished second and third, respectively.
The action is all part of the United Truck Parts International Midget Series, an annual five-event international show that showcases dirt racing’s finest from the United States, Australia and New Zealand, competing on a world-class stage at Baypark Family Speedway, Huntly Speedway and Western Springs.
Bell, Larson and the rest of the competition will head to Huntly Speedway for the United Truck Parts 40 Lapper on New Year’s Day before heading back to Western Springs for the Kings of the Springs Bryan Clauson Tribute on Jan. 3 and the World 50 Lapper on Jan. 5.
Joey Logano’s highlights in 2018 are aplenty. There was a springtime win at Talladega to lock into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and reassert both Logano, a member of the Coca-Cola Racing Family, and Team Penske as masters at the superspeedways.
There was a summer stretch that showed plenty of speed, setting the No. 22 Ford camp up for an unforgettable fall.
Then it kicked into overdrive. A 100-lap led effort at Kansas in the postseason preceded one of Logano’s defining wins to date — a Martinsville conquest that saw the 28-year-old move Martin Truex Jr. out of the way coming out of Turn 4 in the final lap to clinch his spot in the Championship 4.
And if Martinsville was one of Logano’s most defining wins, the championship race in Miami was the race of his life, with a clutch late-race restart vaulting Logano to the win and series championship.
NASCAR Digital looks back at Logano’s season today, capping our December look-back for all 16 playoff drivers.
• Recapping his run to the title: Reviewing Logano’s 2018 season — from his win in April at Talladega to his championship triumph at Miami | More here | Watch the highlights
• Through the years: See pictures of Logano, from the start of his career up to the Miami championship and celebration in Las Vegas. | More here
• Martinsville moment: Perhaps the definitive moment of Logano’s season was when he knocked Martin Truex Jr. out of the way for the win at Martinsville. | Watch here
• Miami, nice: Relive the restart that led to Logano’s first Monster Energy Series championship. | Watch here
• Speech! Speech!: The season officially ended in Las Vegas, when Joey Logano made a heartfelt champion’s speech. | Watch here
The holiday season usually means plenty of time driving to visit friends and family, but this is likely a first: Ty Majeski pulled over on the highway and fired up his laptop to send an iRacing teammate some setup notes.
It’s a questionable way to trim time off the GPS calculation, but maybe his teammates picked up a few tenths with Majeski’s setup under the virtual hood.
It’s funny that I have to beg @TyMajeski to stop for me to use the restroom on road trips (he likes to beat the estimated time on the GPS). But he pulls over to send an @iRacing setup to his buddies like it ain’t no thang pic.twitter.com/3v0qhzLmLR
Xfinity Series driver Spencer Boyd spent Christmas Eve turning laps in an interesting combination on iRacing — Watkins Glen International in Gander Outdoors Truck Series-style trucks.
Just remain on the lookout for Noah Gragson — er, Riley Herbst. (Sure, Noah. Sure.)
The PEAK Gets Higher
While it’s already quite prestigious to win the eNASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series, the stakes just got a little — well, a lot — higher. In 2019, the series’ 10th season, the top 40 drivers in iRacing’s premier oval series will now compete for $100,000 in prize money. That’s a lot of dough.
The iRacing community wastes little time in recreating real-life cars. Ben Horton painted a virtual version of Daniel Hemric’s recently-announced No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 — complete with rookie stripes.
And, in the spirit of the holidays, George Simmons designed a helmet that looks like it was designed with gift wrap and shiny gold ribbon.
Video of the Week
Check out a replay of YouTube user Maratio expertly splitting the middle to win an iRacing Truck Series race at Talladega — not to mention a four-wide finish for second place.
On the day after Christmas Kevin Harvick unwrapped a new black Mobil 1 scheme that will adorn the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford for nine Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races in 2019.
The sleek new look will make its debut on March 17 at Auto Club Speedway in Harvick’s home state of California for the Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Harvick won eight times in 2018 en route to finishing third in the Monster Energy Series final standings. Two of those victories (Texas and Michigan) came in a Mobil 1 paint scheme.
Christopher Bell shared some holiday joy through social media Friday, revealing his engagement to longtime girlfriend Morgan Kemenah.
Bell’s news comes five days after his 24th birthday. The NASCAR Xfinity Series regular indicated that he and Kemenah had dated for 4 1/2 years before his proposal.
Fans got their first on-track look at the 2019 Ford Mustang in a video released by Ford Performance last week. Now, there’s a behind-the-scenes clip of the entire day to digest.
Ford Performance released that clip as well, showing the set up and execution of one of the more memorable “reveal” videos of the year.
It’s been a whirlwind holiday season so far for Corey LaJoie.
First, Go Fas Racing announced Thursday that LaJoie will drive the team’s No. 32 Ford full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series next season. That professional news precedes a big event on the personal side: tying the knot with his fiancée, Kelly, in the coming week.
“This is the best holiday ever,” LaJoie said. “I’m really excited about it. Just, God’s got me in a really good point in my life right now.”
LaJoie, 27, will replace Matt DiBenedetto, the team’s driver for the last two seasons. LaJoie was introduced at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, where the Archie St. Hilaire-owned organization also unveiled a show car to highlight sponsorship from Keen Parts, Schluter Systems and ZAK Products.
LaJoie has 57 starts in NASCAR’s top series spread over three seasons. After a season at BK Racing, LaJoie shifted to TriStar Motorsports for the 2018 campaign, splitting time with Cole Whitt in the No. 72 Chevrolet.
Those roles with lesser-funded teams came after paying his dues with various odds-and-ends jobs to keep his hand in motorsports. In the last handful of years, LaJoie has served as a crew chief for driver David Mayhew in the K&N Pro Series, manufacturing racing seats for his father’s business, and was offered a position as a car chief by Chad Knaus within the Hendrick Motorsports pipeline. Ultimately, LaJoie still felt the itch to be behind the wheel.
“There were times where Sunday nights, I was just wondering what I was doing,” LaJoie said. “You know, if I should go back welding seats or go be a crew chief. Man, there was a lot of obstacles to get to being a full-time Cup driver. If I need to be careful, I might make a career out of this thing before long. I don’t think there’s been any other Cup guys that were flying out to K&N West Series, crew chiefing for any guys three years ago. To rewind now, it’s pretty crazy.”
St. Hilaire said that his contract with LaJoie called for a one-year deal, a length of time that he said has been customary with his organization. The team owner said he’ll also receive some technical assistance from Ford and that he’ll have pit-crew service next season from Team Penske, a switch from Hendrick Motorsports in order to maintain manufacturer unity.
St. Hilaire added that he was open to expanding to a second Monster Energy Series team on a part-time basis, but that for now, his focus was on adapting to a new rules package in 2019 and building a relationship with LaJoie.
“We’re a blue-collar race team and Corey’s a blue-collar driver,” St. Hilaire said. “He can build a car, he can fix a car, and he can drive a car. I think that’s exciting.”
LaJoie has three ARCA Racing Series wins and six victories in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, where he was the series’ runner-up in 2012. He was selected for the NASCAR Next class of rising stock-car talent in 2011 and 2012, the program’s first two seasons.
DiBenedetto ended up 29th in the final Monster Energy Series standings last season, notching a best finish of seventh in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in July. He was announced in October as the full-time driver next year for Leavine Family Racing, replacing Kasey Kahne in the No. 95.
LaJoie and DiBenedetto both were chosen for the NASCAR Next roster in its first year, when the initiative was known as Next 9. Five of the nine drivers in that initial class are now Monster Energy Series regulars.
Richard Petty Motorsports announced Thursday that World Wide Technology will return as a sponsor for Bubba Wallace’s No. 43 Chevrolet next season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
The St. Louis-based tech solutions provider will provide primary backing for multiple races in 2019, with specific events to be named later. After signing with RPM last May, WWT backed the No. 43 for seven races during Wallace’s rookie season, providing not only sponsorship but technical support.
“I’m excited about that,” Wallace said. “Huge thanks to everybody in that corporation to first, take the big step in believing in our team last year and bringing in a new sponsor for us is a big thing for the sport, bringing in a new company like World Wide Technology that can do so many things just beside being a name on the side of your race car. They’ve helped us out in a lot of background ways, from software and data analytics that we can use behind the scenes to help our program.
“The extension couldn’t come at a better time as we’re getting ramped up for the 2019 season. We’re excited to see the direction we head, especially with all the new changes that are coming with the new (rules) package.”
The agreement means that World Wide — which brands itself as “Silicon Valley in St. Louis” — will remain RPM’s official Technology and Analytics Partner. Last season, WWT embedded data scientists to work alongside the team’s engineers to develop new performance systems.
Wallace opened last season with a runner-up finish in the Daytona 500. He added two more top-10 results and ended up second in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contest to William Byron.
“In a short time, we’ve seen the immediate impact World Wide Technology can make on our race program with their big data analytics,” RPM Chief Executive Officer Brian Moffitt said in a team release. “Their continued partnership will have a significant impact on the performance of our race team through data analytics, application enhancements and creation of proprietary performance focused applications. We are fortunate to have WWT as a partner and they are committed to making Bubba and the No. 43 team a winner.”
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Walking through the Richard Childress Racing shop, Daniel Hemric can feel the shift in the atmosphere.
A sense of rejuvenation that comes with change.
Richard Childress Racing has seen plenty of that; the Welcome, North Carolina, team announced Hemric as a new Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver to pilot the historic No. 8, made famous by Dale Earnhardt Jr. The team will also celebrate its 50th anniversary in NASCAR in 2019, which will be commemorated with a special exhibit titled “RCR 50: Only in America” at the NASCAR Hall of Fame beginning in May.
“It’s a complete rejuvenation for the entire organization from what I can tell,” Hemric said Wednesday, following the team’s 50th anniversary exhibit announcement at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “I’ve been in the shop a good bit, preparing for the obstacles that are going to be ahead that we’re all going to have to face. To see the morale, it’s unbelievable. Not that the 31 was ever anything to look down on at RCR, but … it’s change and people embrace change and I feel like I’m trying to do the same thing and I know the folks at RCR are doing that and when you have something like that, it’s all good.
“Everybody at the shop is pumped up, they’re going to get new number decals for their pit boxes. The little things that go into a big transition for the number switch … and driver change with myself coming in, it’s cool to see how everybody’s spirits are. There’s nothing you can do better than just build off of that.”
Team owner Richard Childress, who has overseen his namesake organization since its inception in 1969, called the team’s rejuvenation a “bounce in their step,” as it heads into its 50th year of racing.
“Fifty years is quite the milestone in anything, but for it to be with RCR and be in the sport, which is so demanding, so time consuming to be around for 50 years and I haven’t missed many of the races in those 50 years,” he told NASCAR.com. “So, it’s amazing and to see the sport ride the highs and lows and everything throughout the sport. I’m just honored to be here.”
In its 50-year existence, Richard Childress Racing has housed many premier drivers, including Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and, perhaps the team’s most famous wheelman, Dale Earnhardt.
“The Intimidator” is one of the reasons a young Hemric became an RCR fan years ago. The young driver knows and appreciates its history as he looks to make his own history in the No. 8 Chevrolet – which he laid eyes on for the first time in Wednesday’s event.
“Today was the first time seeing it,” Hemric said of his gold car. “I actually went to RCR yesterday and just posted, ‘Hey, I get to go see the car for the first time.’ I get there and it was already gone.
“Walking out here on stage and getting to see the gold car and to be able to reflect and kind of praise RCR on their 50th anniversary and know that Austin (Dillon) and I get to be teammates in two identical cars — which the spotters are going to completely hate once we get to Daytona — but the cars look incredible and it’s cool to be able to have a partnership with the Hall of Fame to be able to do something like this.”
