Posted on by Track Release

If the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL™ gets wet during the Bank of America ROVAL™ 400, the action on the track is sure to get wild. Goodyear will make wet weather tires available for the first road course race weekend in the history of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, a move designed to keep cars on track in the event of inclement weather at America’s Home for Racing.

The 17-turn, 2.28-mile ROVAL™ road course oval configuration features high-speed corners around the oval and low-speed, twisting, left and right turns in the course’s infield portion. Drivers will have to adjust braking points to account for differing levels of grip if the track surface is wet.

“Having wet weather tires at teams’ disposal is a great thing for the drivers and the fans as well,” said Charlotte Motor Speedway Executive Vice President Greg Walter. “The ROVAL™ is a challenge unto itself, but giving teams the opportunity to use tires designed for a wet surface adds even more unpredictability to the race. Rain or shine, I can’t wait to see how it unfolds.”

Wet weather tires — which have become a common option at road courses in recent years — were last used in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 4. Unlike the standard dry tires, wet weather tires have tread pattern designed to redirect moisture and provide grip in challenging conditions.

A Goodyear Racing representative said that the wet-weather tires that will be available at Charlotte Motor Speedway are the standard rubber used at all road courses for NASCAR’s three national series. The Xfinity Series’ Drive for the Cure 200 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is scheduled Sept. 29 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) with the Monster Energy Series’ main event scheduled Sept. 30 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM).

As part of Speedway Motorsports’ new weather policy, if a NASCAR race is postponed to a different day due to weather and the ticket holder is unable to attend on the rescheduled date, a ticket credit can be issued toward a qualifying NASCAR race at any Speedway Motorsports venue. This initiative is valid for Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.

Fans with an unused, eligible ticket will have 60 days from the original race date to request a ticket credit on a qualifying future event. The credit must be used toward another Speedway Motorsports NASCAR event within one calendar year of the original race date or the same event the following year, even if it takes place beyond the one-year mark.

Contributing: NASCAR.com staff reports

Posted on by Zack Albert

Cincinnati Reds infielder Scooter Gennett has made his fandom of NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt well known on the field. This weekend, he’ll take it to another level.

Gennett and other Major League Baseball players will participate in Players’ Weekend this Friday through Sunday, making avant-garde uniform choices to put their personalities and passions on full display.

Gennett switched his jersey to No. 3 this season in an homage to The Intimidator, and his bat handles are identified by a decal bearing Earnhardt’s legendary car number. This weekend, Gennett’s gear will pay further tribute to the NASCAR Hall of Famer with black No. 3 Goodwrench cleats, a checkered-flag motif on his bat, and “Dal3” on the back of his jersey.

“It’s my favorite number,” Gennett told MLB.com during spring training this year. “I was a big Dale Earnhardt fan when I was younger. Still am.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave his approval of the jersey change shortly after Opening Day.

Cincinnati Reds player Scooter Gennett honors Dale Earnhardt with his checkered-flag bat, Dal3 uniform name and black Goodyear cleats
Scooter Gennett
Posted on by George Winkler

We can’t blame you if you did a double-take when news broke that Bill Elliott was making a comeback in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this weekend at Road America in the Johnsonville 180 (3 p.m., Saturday on NBCSN). For some, it must have felt a little bit like the start of a good April Fools’ Day joke.

But trust us, it’s really happening.

Elliott is on the entry list as the driver of the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet this weekend, which will be the Hall of Famer’s first Xfinity race in more than a decade.

But if for some reason you still can’t believe it, then check out some of the tweets, which have ranged from humorous to heartfelt, coming in from the track in Wisconsin:

Posted on by Staff Report

Darlington Raceway celebrates its annual Throwback Weekend next week, when one of the most iconic tracks on the NASCAR circuit serves as a host for the industry to honor its past in creative paint schemes and promotions.

We’re kicking off the Darlington celebration today by posting six classic races from 1958-78 to our YouTube channel. And we’re remastering them and uploading in 4K.

The heroes of yesterday have never looked better on your screen. Here is the playlist.

RELATED: Visit our YouTube page

Check out all six races and watch as NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts claims his first Southern 500 victory in 1958; as David Pearson and Cale Yarborough swap victories in the two 1968 races … and then again in 1973; and as the high speeds (and difficult driving) at the egg-shaped oval leads to plenty of scrapes, wrecks and highlight moments.

Some things never change.

Get a sneak peek below:

Posted on by Zack Albert

There’s a twofold goal in mind this weekend for Justin Allgaier. The shorter-term aim is to score his first victory at Road America, the sprawling Wisconsin road course that hosts Saturday’s Johnsonville 180 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).

The longer-term focus for Allgaier and the JR Motorsports No. 7 team is to keep their momentum in the close contest for the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ regular-season championship.

RELATED: Weekend schedule | XFINITY Series standings

Allgaier enters Saturday’s 45-lap event with 10 consecutive top-10 finishes, a run that includes a victory at the series’ most recent road-course event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The consistency has helped the 32-year-old driver offset a pair of crash-related finishes outside the top 30 (Charlotte, Pocono) in late spring, catapulting him to second place in a five-way fight for the regular-season crown.

“That’s been the one thing for us, I feel like we’ve had great speed all year. We just haven’t been able to capitalize on it when it matters,” Allgaier said after his most recent strong finish, a third last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. “I look at Charlotte and Pocono as the two that, man, really just they irked me because we felt like we had a solid top-two or three night going at both of those and didn’t get to show it.

“This month has been incredible. Obviously you want to peak at the right time, and the playoffs are coming. I think we’re in a good spot.”

Allgaier, a three-time winner this year, sits just 13 points behind Xfinity Series leader Christopher Bell with four regular-season events remaining. Behind Bell and Allgaier are Elliott Sadler, Cole Custer and Daniel Hemric — a top-five cluster separated by a mere 42 points.

All five are within reach of capturing the regular-season title and the bounty of 15 playoff points that goes with it. Though Allgaier and crew chief Jason Burdett have kept an eye on the standings, their focus has been more about performance than number-crunching.

“I think if we do what we did tonight and what we’ve done the last few weeks, the points are going to take care of themselves,” Burdett said after Bristol. “We’ve had a lot of good runs — 10 top 10s in a row, I guess now — which is what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to string that out through Homestead, or until we get to Homestead and then we’ve got to go win.

“Right now for us, we just need to gather as many bonus points as we can and part of that is the regular season deal. If we can get first or second, it’s a big jump in points there. Right now, we’re just going to keep digging, keep going every week and see what we can get out of it.”

Allgaier has a road-course knack in his portfolio, with two of his eight career Xfinity wins coming on the twisty circuits — 2012 at Montreal and two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio. He also placed third earlier this month at Watkins Glen.

MORE: Flashback: NASCAR at Road America, 1956

With Road America, Burdett says he’s prepared for “a crapshoot” on the historic 4.048-mile course, which features several fast sections and a tendency for contact and wrinkled sheet metal. Still, Allgaier says he’s circled the track’s place on the calendar as one of his favorites, citing his feel for handling the challenges of the high-speed stretches and 14 demanding turns.

“That’s encouraging going into next week. It’s a tough place, but man, is it fun,” Allgaier said. “If we do our jobs and stay out of incidents — because that’s always the hard part of the road courses — I think we’ve got a good shot at maybe going back to back on road courses and winning again.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Chip Ganassi Racing announced Thursday that Ross Chastain will drive the team’s No. 42 Chevrolet in three NASCAR Xfinity Series races this season.

Chastain, 25, is scheduled to make his first start for the team Sept. 1 at Darlington Raceway. Additional races Sept. 15 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Sept. 21 at Richmond Raceway round out his partial slate with the team.

RELATED: Xfinity Series schedule

Chastain has made 22 starts each in the Monster Energy Series (for Premium Motorsports) and the Xfinity Series (for JD Motorsports) this season. He also has four starts this year in the Camping World Truck Series. His best effort this year in Xfinity competition was a spirited drive to fourth place last month at Iowa Speedway.

Chastain is set to become the fifth driver to wheel the No. 42 this season, joining John Hunter Nemechek (12 races), Kyle Larson (six races), Jamie McMurray (three) and Justin Marks (one). Larson has scored four Xfinity Series victories for the team this season, helping the No. 42 entry to its sixth-place rank in the team owners’ standings.

Posted on by Holly Cain

It may as well be billed as an “awesome” weekend.

NASCAR’s Xfinity Series race Saturday on the famed Road America road course will include a current NASCAR Hall of Famer on its grid for the first time, popular driver Bill Elliott, who was nicknamed “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville” during his championship time competing in NASCAR during the 1980s, 90s and 2000s.

MORE: Full weekend schedule | Who is on the Xfinity entry list?

The 1988 Cup champion will steer the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet in Saturday’s Johnsonville 180 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), making his first start in one of NASCAR’s national series in six years and first start in the Xfinity Series since 2005. His only Xfinity Series win came on a road course — at Watkins Glen in 1993.

Ironically, the Hall of Famer will be considered a “rookie” at the 4-mile Wisconsin road course since he has never competed there before.

 “When this opportunity came up from (president of GMS Racing) Mike (Beam), I had to jump on it,” Elliott said in announcing the news earlier this month. “Chase (Elliott) has ran a handful of races for the team so I figured I would give it a shot at Road America. Beam and I have worked together in the past so it will be exciting to get back behind the wheel and bring back some old memories.”

 Elliott’s 22-year old son, Chase, who won his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race this month at Watkins Glen, will serve as spotter for his father during this off-week from Cup competition.

MORE: Chase, Blaney to serve as spotters at Road America

There have been eight different winners in as many races on the course, and Xfinity regular Jeremy Clements picked up his first career win last year.

This is also a significant stop in firming up the playoff picture. With four races remaining to establish championship-eligibility, Ross Chastain holds the final playoff position with a 42-point edge over Michael Annett, who was a career best runner-up in this race last season.

The field for the Johnsonville 180 includes a bevy of big names. From Elliott to IMSA road racing stars Andy Lally and Katherine Legge, to IndyCar standouts like James Davison, who led the opening laps of last year’s race at Elkhart Lake to Conor Daly, who is making his NASCAR competition debut. Longtime NASCAR fan favorite Brendan Gaughan is entered, too. 

Posted on by Staff Report

A federal judge on Thursday approved Front Row Motorsports’ winning bid in the sale of NASCAR team BK Racing.

The $2 million purchase includes all of BK Racing’s assets, along with the team’s charter for the No. 23 Toyota.

BK Racing has entered every Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race this season under owner Ron Devine, filling its No. 23 Toyota with four different drivers, most notably Gray Gaulding (17 of 24 starts).

Front Row Motorsports is a two-car operation based out of Statesville, North Carolina. Under the Ford umbrella, the team hosts the No. 38 for longtime driver David Ragan and the No. 34 for Michael McDowell, in his first year with the team.

The Bob Jenkins-owned team has two wins at NASCAR’s top level. Ragan won at Talladega in 2013, and Chris Buescher won in his 2016 rookie year at Pocono. Both of those teams have charters, as well, and Front Row Motorsports leases another charter to TriStar Motorsports.

Posted on by Staff Report

About three weeks ago, Caleb Hammond and his family accepted a difficult realization: Cancer treatments weren’t working for the 11-year-old anymore.

Caleb left the hospital where he had been receiving treatments for his two-year battle with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and returned to his home in Oskaloosa, Iowa, to live the rest of his life away from painful procedures, and to spend time with his family.

But he had one request that has reverberated across NASCAR and social media: He wanted to gather as many racing stickers as possible to cover his casket.

NASCAR drivers and teams have answered the call — and the Hammond family has been overwhelmed with the response.

Caleb has been a racing fan since age 2, when he visited his uncle, Chris Playle, at Playle’s house across from Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa.

According to the Des Moines Register, drivers would park their cars on the streets before the pits opened, and Playle would bring Caleb outside to see them. Once cars started racing, Playle and Caleb would pull up lawn chairs and watch the action.

“He’s my racing buddy. It was kind of our deal,” Playle told the Des Moines Register. “I probably had just as much fun as he did.”

It was there that Caleb once met Kasey Kahne, who was at the track for the Front Row Challenge.

“He was all smiles. Enjoyed it quite a bit,” Playle told the newspaper. “Just being able to go, it was a good time.”

On Saturday, Caleb had a taste of what being a driver is like when he donned a fire suit and sped around a dirt track in a stock car as a 12-year-old sat beside him to help work the stick shift and navigate the track.

“A goal of his was to be able to drive a race car when he got older,” his father, John Hammond, told The Oskaloosa Herald. “It’s like a dream come true.”

In mere weeks, Caleb has been embraced by the NASCAR family, which was quick to respond to his request for stickers.