Editor’s note: Fantasy Fastlane will look at each race from a fantasy perspective, examining the top plays as well as several under-the-radar options and a play to avoid for NASCAR Fantasy Live. See the full analysis here.
On Saturday night, Daniel Hemric will climb into a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet for his first premier series run at Richmond Raceway (6:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
It’s not just any car though – Hemric will drive the No. 8, a number that has been driven since 1949 by some of NASCAR’s greats from Dick Trickle to Sterling Marlin to Joe Weatherly to David Pearson. Dale Earnhardt even made his premier series debut behind the wheel of the No. 8 in 1975 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
RELATED: Dale Jr. reacts to No. 8’s return | Drivers of the No. 8 through the years
But perhaps its most famous pilot was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who earned 17 premier series wins in the No. 8 Monster Energy Series ride.
For North Carolina native Hemric, that means something.
“It’s definitely special,” he said on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. “Myself, growing up in the North Carolina, right in the Kannapolis area – the same as Earnhardt. It’s cool and really surreal to know I get to pilot that number next week and do it at a short track in the place I love.
“Just looking forward to doing my thing and having fun with it.”
MORE: Why wins aren’t everything for young talent like Hemric
Daniel Hemric doesn’t have a NASCAR Xfinity Series win to his name. Richard Childress Racing sees no problem with that.
Hemric’s relatively unexpected announcement that he’d make his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut at Richmond Raceway this weekend is backed by legendary precedence.
Jimmie Johnson signed for a Hendrick Motorsports ride in the fall of 2000, 10 months before he’d score his first and only Xfinity Series race win. Kasey Kahne had yet to find Xfinity Series Victory Lane when Ray Evernham selected him as Bill Elliott’s replacement in 2003. Denny Hamlin was tabbed for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 11 car in 2005 during a winless rookie season in Xfinity. Chip Ganassi deemed development driver Kyle Larson ready for Cup months before he was a winner, an interesting detour from the fun “Chip Likes Winners” narrative.
What’s going on, you ask? In a sport where winning garners headlines and attracts fans, its participants are paying more attention to success in the periphery. It’s for good reason.
MORE: Hemric to bring back No. 8 at Richmond | No. 8 through the years
Winning is of the utmost importance, especially in NASCAR, where a regular-season victory equates to a playoff berth, but wins aren’t on the level when evaluating potential for driving stardom. Consider this: The five fastest cars in the Xfinity Series, occupied by 12 different drivers, won 70 percent of last year’s races. Through seven events in 2018, the same rate exists (five of seven). Since entering Xfinity, Hemric has never had one of the five fastest cars.
Still, those keeping close tabs appreciate Hemric. It helps that we’re now predisposed to grading drivers in less-than-elite equipment with the understanding that there’s a limit on what their superficial stat line — wins, top-five finishes, laps led, etc. — can tout. This is thanks to drivers, emerging from second-tier equipment or worse, who proved formidable immediately upon entering NASCAR’s premier series.
A peripheral area in which Hemric thrives is long-run passing, particularly on 1.5-mile tracks, NASCAR’s most prevalent track type. In 2017, he provided his team with an adjusted pass differential of plus-43 at Atlanta, Charlotte and Texas, over 35 positions beyond the expectation of a driver with his average running position. Earlier this month at Texas, he finished third despite his 35th-place starting spot, thanks primarily to the 17 additional positions supplied via efficient passing.
RELATED: Hemric readies for ‘special’ Monster Energy Series debut
This is a trait that translates to Monster Energy Series success. Chase Elliott and Erik Jones, both winners in top-tier Xfinity equipment, were plus passers before jumping to Cup, where their penchant for efficiently sifting through traffic continues. So was Larson, ranked first in pass efficiency among Xfinity Series regulars in 2013, whose passing acumen proved more predictive of his fortune than his lack of race victories at the time.
Efficient passing represents something RCR doesn’t typically get from its driving roster. Three drivers, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman and Paul Menard, combined for an adjusted pass differential 301 positions worse than expected last year, forcing their crew chiefs to place a season-long emphasis on pit strategy in an effort to supplement track position. That game plan turned out OK, all things considered. Both Dillon and Newman won races based on strategy. Menard’s crew chief, Matt Borland, chipped in 67 additional positions for his driver, the second-highest total among all crew chiefs, through green-flag pit cycles.
Dillon and Newman returned in 2018, and the focus on pit strategy remains; Luke Lambert has pitted Newman either early or late in the fuel window a relatively high 40 percent of the time. A driver like Hemric, with an innate ability to maneuver through dirty air, would represent a mental reprieve for RCR’s brain trust and a pathway to winning they haven’t had since the days Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer walked through their hauler door.
RCR also understands the initial Cup Series output from Hemric won’t adequately represent his ceiling. The Monster Energy Series can make for a daunting transition. There is reason, though, for optimism.
Hemric has improved on the fly during his brief Xfinity Series stint. He underwent an assimilation period during the first half of last season, averaging a 15.9-place finish through the first 17 races before improving by about 5.5 positions in the season’s second half. His 8.6-place average to this point in 2018 is in line with every series champion within the last five years. He currently ranks second in Production in Equal Equipment Rating among series regulars, trailing only Elliott Sadler, a driver with 438 career Cup Series starts to his name.
Hemric’s second-half leap last year may have been due to improved position retention rates on restarts. During the first half, he retained his spot on preferred groove restarts 77.78 percent of the time, a measure that increased nearly 12 percent in the second half to 89.19, which would’ve sufficed as the best full-season rate in the series among regulars. He gained 18 positions inside the first two laps when restarting from the preferred groove through the year’s first half; he doubled his first-half positional gain (plus-36) in the second half.
Time is required for Hemric’s potential for impact to be realized, but given the drivers that came before him with similar records, RCR will happily stomach such an assimilation. The team is betting that Hemric will offer something different than what they already have at their disposal. It’s a smart gamble, and if he becomes another diamond rescued from the winless rough, it would shift the trajectory of an organization that’s won just three times in the last 153 races.
Numbers mean plenty when it comes to building out your Fantasy Live teams each week. NASCAR.com will examine the stats outlook for each track in advance to help give you an edge as you set your lineups ahead of the race weekend.
Don’t forget to check back on NASCAR.com for additional insight from fantasy expert RJ Kraft, and watch Fantasy Fastlane with Jessica Ruffin and NBC Sports’ Steve Letarte for even more advice.
RELATED: Play Fantasy Live now | How the new Fantasy Live works | Driver stats
Top five in average running position (per loop data from 2005 to the present) at Richmond:
| Driver | Average Running Position |
| Kevin Harvick | 7.508 |
| Kyle Busch | 7.808 |
| Denny Hamlin | 7.938 |
| Brad Keselowski | 11.263 |
| Kyle Larson | 11.318 |
Top five in stage points earned at Richmond in 2017:
| Driver | Stage points | Stage wins |
| Kyle Larson | 29 | 0 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 24 | 1 |
| Brad Keselowski | 21 | 1 |
| Kevin Harvick | 15 | 0 |
| Joey Logano | 15 | 0 |
Top five in total points earned at Richmond in 2017:
| Driver | Race points | Race wins |
| Kyle Larson | 92 | 1 |
| Joey Logano | 89* | 1 |
| Brad Keselowski | 82 | 0 |
| Denny Hamlin | 79 | 0 |
| Ryan Newman | 75 | 0 |
Note: This total adds in the 25 points Logano lost from the No. 22 team’s post-Richmond penalty, which are not assessed in Fantasy Live.
Most laps led in 2017 races at Richmond:
| Driver | Laps led |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 198 |
| Brad Keselowski | 119 |
| Denny Hamlin | 59 |
| Kyle Larson | 58 |
| Kyle Busch | 39 |
Average starting position for last 10 winners: 8.0; however, the last seven race winners at Richmond have started from inside the top five
Active drivers to win pole: Denny Hamlin (3), Jimmie Johnson (2), Joey Logano (2), Kasey Kahne (1), Ryan Newman (1), Kevin Harvick (1), Brad Keselowski (1) and Kyle Busch (1)
Active drivers to win a Richmond race: Kyle Busch (4), Jimmie Johnson (3), Denny Hamlin (3), Kevin Harvick (3), Clint Bowyer (2), Joey Logano (2), Kurt Busch (2), Kyle Larson (1), Ryan Newman (1), Kasey Kahne (1) and Brad Keselowski (1)
Most recent pole winner: Matt Kenseth, fall 2017 race
Last time pole-sitter won here: Denny Hamlin, fall 2016 race
Where stage winners started from: First, fifth, seventh and 15th
Winning manufacturers of last 10 races: Ford-4, Chevrolet-3, Toyota-3
If your favorite driver doesn’t have an automatic bid in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race, never fear, the fan vote is here!
Starting now, you can have a say in who gets to race in NASCAR’s all-star event at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 19 (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) by going to https://www.nascar.com/fanvote or by downloading the NASCAR Mobile App.
MORE: See eligible drivers now
Not only can you vote once per day, but votes shared via Facebook and/or Twitter count as double toward your favorite driver getting a shot at competing for the $1 million prize.
RELATED: Vote Now! | Format revealed | All-time All-Star winners
The Fan Vote winner will be announced immediately following the completion of the Monster Energy Open, prior to the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race on FS1 at 8:15 p.m. ET.
Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, May 18.
This year’s Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race features a new format and rules package.
Four stages make up the event, with Stage 1 ending on Lap 30, Stage 2 on Lap 50, Stage 3 on Lap 70 and Stage 4 on Lap 80. Each stage also has the potential to go into NASCAR Overtime, meaning no stage will end under caution. Only green-flag laps count in Stage 4. Also different from years past, there will be no mandatory pit stop, which opens the door for pit strategy.
The rules package consists of restrictor plates in use at the 1.5-mile Charlotte track, along with a 6-inch high spoiler (with two 12-inch ears), a 2014 style splitter and aero ducts.
Currently, 17 drivers have earned automatic bids into the event, including all 2017 and 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race winners, former All-Star Race winners competing full time and former Monster Energy Series champs competing full time.
Drivers who win one or more stages in the Monster Energy Open qualifying race held before the NASCAR All-Star Race will automatically gain entry into the main event, with a total of three stage victories up for grabs. Stage winners will be taken out of consideration for the Fan Vote. The driver who accumulates the most votes and finishes the Monster Energy Open in raceable condition as determined by NASCAR will earn the final spot in the race.
Follow @NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and on Saturday, May 19 to find out which driver you voted into the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race.
Ten years later, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch sat down face-to-face to discuss their heated rivalry that blossomed in 2007 and came to a head at Richmond Raceway in 2008 — and lasted years longer.
On the latest edition of Dirty Mo Radio’s “Dale Jr. Download” podcast, Earnhardt and Busch met up over beer and doughnuts (provided by Busch) early in the morning at JR Motorsports in Mooresville, North Carolina. Their talk dove deep into what led to the events of that infamous night in Richmond (which Jeff Gluck reported on earlier this week).
Before the rivalry really sparked, both drivers were feeling the pressure in the search for a ride for the 2008 during the ’07 season.
“In 2007, I had no idea where I was going to drive,” Earnhardt said. “…I talked to a lot of people.”
“You probably did the whole tour,” Busch replied. “You were 3-4 months ahead of me.”
RELATED: All of Junior’s premier series victories | All of Kyle Busch’s wins
Eventually, both figured out their new rides as Earnhardt would go from the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet to the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, while Busch jumped from the No. 5 at Hendrick to Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 18.
Once their plans were set, that’s when the feud fired up.
Earnhardt wrecked Busch on the backstretch at Kansas Speedway in late 2007, having major implications on Busch’s hopes to win the championship.
After the race, Busch didn’t mince words with Earnhardt, calling him out for the incident and raising the question as to why he would wreck a car that belongs to a team he would race for next year. Earnhardt apologized for his mistake in post-race interviews.
“I heard his comment (about Junior coming over to Hendrick Motorsports and wrecking their equipment),” Earnhardt said Tuesday as they rehashed their rivalry. “That comment made my mind go, ‘He thinks I’m taking his ride.’ I’m thinking the whole time, ‘I’m not taking your ride! They’re keeping (Casey) Mears. Mears is taking your ride.’ That made me think he assumed I had screwed him over so many times. You know. He’s wrecked me. He’s pushed me out of HMS. I had it in my mind that you thought I was the devil.”
Busch confirmed with one word: “Absolutely.”
When the 2008 season rolled around, both drivers came out of the gate swinging. Busch won at Atlanta and Talladega to position himself second in the points standings heading into Richmond, while Earnhardt accumulated consistent finishes to work his way up to third in points.
“At first, I thought it was me versus the 88 team, Junior, those guys, mainly Junior, but then kind of as it developed and the season was kind of going, it was more of like a me versus Hendrick Motorsports-type thing,” Busch said. ‘It just became like, ‘Look, you all made this decision, so now you all are going to feel the wrath of this decision.’ ”
Then came Richmond.
The race was fairly tame between Earnhardt and Busch up until the battle for victory came down to the two competitors in the closing laps. But the rivalry exploded when Busch wrecked Earnhardt with three laps remaining, ruining the No. 88’s chances of winning.
“It was a recipe for disaster,” Earnhardt said. “Everything up to that point up through the first half of that year was leading to this moment.”
The recollection of the event prompted Busch to ask Earnhardt, “So did you know in the moment, though, when the wreck happened and you had a chance to see it that it wasn’t purposeful?”
Earnhardt’s response: “Yeah.”
“My mindset in that moment was like, if it was somebody else, if it was a teammate or somebody I was actually kind of getting along with, there probably would have been two more inches given, right?” Busch added.
MORE: Dale Jr. through the years | Junior’s best No. 88 schemes
But Earnhardt would get his payback later that year. And what better place than the fall Richmond race to deliver it to Busch?
“I was under a lot of pressure from my fans to do something,” Earnhardt said. “I felt in my heart if I don’t get him back, everybody’s going to look at me as this guy who gets wrecked and don’t do (expletive). It was just me being hard-headed and ignorant.
“I felt like if I didn’t wreck you at some point, my fans were gonna be really pissed.”
It was a decision that Earnhardt didn’t take lightly.
“I had been contemplating it and dreaming about it,” Earnhardt said. “I didn’t want to do it. But I had to do it. … It’s definitely not my personality. I hate confrontation in any form. I try to avoid it at all costs. I like everybody to be happy. But that’s not going to be the way it is on the race track. I felt this pressure, ‘He’s not his daddy, he don’t stand up for himself, he lets people push him around.’ I thought I had to do it.”
So he did, sending Busch around with a shot to the rear quarter panel that had the fans cheering.
Busch went on to win eight races in 2008 while Junior had one victory, but the incidents with Earnhardt lingered in the back of his mind despite the success. Busch ended the season ranked 10th in the driver points standings, with Junior close behind in 12th.
“I didn’t feel vindicated because we sucked so bad through the final 10 races,” Busch said. “As soon as we hit (playoff) time, we stepped on any tack we could possibly find. It was horrible. We absolutely faltered and threw it away.
RELATED: Kyle Busch through the years
“Things probably have maybe turned around sooner if ‘08 had ended with a championship. I may have been a little smarter and grown up a little bit quicker where it would have been like, ‘Hey Dale, sorry, I’m a total (expletive). Can we just forget about ’08? I’m OK now.’ ”
For Earnhardt, the rivalry messed with his head for a long time.
“I was consumed by our rivalry at different points of my life,” Earnhardt said. “I always knew where Kyle Busch was at on the race track. From 2008 to 2012 or ’11, I was consumed by it. It bothered the (expletive) out of me. I hated it. I didn’t like it. It wasn’t like fun, at all.”
Although it took a decade for the two fierce competitors to finally sit down and talk about it, it was a conversation that both agreed should have happened way before 2018.
“Man, when can we just figure out how to bury this hatchet,” Busch recalled thinking over the years. “I hate being mad at the guy, but I was just always waiting on him, and I don’t know why. Maybe it was because of age, maybe it was because of his stature. I don’t know why.”
“That’s so crazy. I never thought about it like that,” Earnhardt replied. “I thought Kyle hated my guts, or hated what I was or who I was.”
And not only have Earnhardt and Busch never forgotten about that Richmond scuffle, but they also realized their loyal fans haven’t, either.
“I was really surprised 10 years later, fans are still so frickin’ passionate about that night,” Earnhardt said.
“Yep, I hear about it all the time,” replied Busch.
The No. 17 car in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series received a safety violation on Tuesday for having a lug nut not properly installed at the conclusion of Monday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The issue was discovered in post-race inspection, and NASCAR has fined crew chief Brian Pattie $10,000 as a result.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford to a fourth-place finish in the Food City 500 at Bristol. Stenhouse is 18th in the series standings.
CONCORD, N.C. — It’s been a big 48 hours for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Roush Fenway Racing: A season-best fourth place at Bristol, three main sponsors renewing and the announcement that Ford plans to introduce the Mustang into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018.
“The Mustang is cool. Winning races in Mustangs and championships in Mustangs, it’ll be cool to get back in a Mustang,” Stenhouse said at the race shop in Concord, North Carolina.
Stenhouse achieved a high amount of success in the Ford Mustang during his two full-time seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, recording back-to-back championships and eight wins with Roush from 2011-12.
“I felt like it took me two or three years to get used to calling the Fords a Fusion, now we’re going back to a Mustang. All in all, these partners and these color schemes will look good on a Mustang. Hopefully we can get back to our winning ways in those Mustangs, for sure.”
With Fastenal, Fifth Third Bank and Sunny D extending their primary sponsorship agreements for the No. 17 through 2021, the team has firm footing as it prepares for the new body in 2019.
RELATED: Ford Mustang plans in 2019 | Big sponsorship news for Roush
As Ford Performance bats .500 so far this season, winning four of the first eight races with Kevin Harvick (3 wins) and Clint Bowyer (1 win), the speed with an older body style has Stenhouse feeling extremely optimistic about the upcoming change.
“I think this year, we’ve been pretty encouraged by what the Ford teams can do on the mile-and-a-half race tracks, seeing we are really the last car to really change our bodies and really change them up,” Stenhouse said. “So, I’m encouraged by what all we’ve learned and what we feel like we need in our Mustang.”
Now the focus shifts to making those same triumphs happen in the Monster Energy Series, where Stenhouse earned his first two career wins at Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway last season.
“Come 2019, I’m really wanting us to get our program to the highest level that we can because I really feel like when we switch to the Mustang in ’19, it’s going to continue to elevate our program. I think Ford’s done their homework and their research and the teams have given a ton of input. Stewart-Haas, Penske, ourselves really put a big collaboration with Ford to get these cars where we want them. I’m excited for 2019, for sure.”
Overall, Roush Fenway Racing has accumulated 70 victories and three championships with the Ford Mustang in the Xfinity Series since 2011. Roush hopes to begin the process of obtaining that same prosperity next year.
RELATED: Roush Fenway Racing complete NASCAR statistics
Jack Roush, founder and owner of Roush Fenway Racing, was also on hand for the sponsorship announcement, sharing just how far back his professional career in the automotive and motorsports industry goes with the Ford Motor Company and the Mustang.
“I went to work right out of college to work for Ford to help build Mustangs in the plants,” Roush told NASCAR.com. “I started racing Mustangs in ’66 and had a great 10-year run of drag racing. We’ve had a great run with Mustangs and have had a lot of success with Mustangs in the Xfinity Series.
“…I look forward to being able to carry the Mustang banner to the front in NASCAR’s highest series.”
Although we’re nearly a quarter of the way through the NASCAR season, there’s never a break in the action on everybody’s favorite racing simulation software, iRacing. When you can race the high banks of Bristol from the comfort of your living room, why would you ever stop?
Plus, an iRacing subscription and a racing wheel clamped to your desk makes you qualified to critique what the pros are doing in real life, if Twitter’s taught us anything. You might be racing against stars like William Byron or Kyle Larson, after all.
With @KyleLarsonRacin on @iRacing. Hope he doesn’t wax me 😬 pic.twitter.com/sxvRVnAnpm
— William Byron (@WilliamByron) April 3, 2017
Here’s what’s happening this week where the worlds of virtual race cars and real race cars intersect.
• Joe Gibbs Racing driver Daniel Suarez stopped by Richmond Raceway’s iRacing simulator cockpit — which appears to be modeled after Logan Clampitt’s No. 46 NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series car.
Last stop of the day. @RichmondPrez and @Daniel_SuarezG take a ride in the #RichmondRaceway simulator. Who do you think is going to win? pic.twitter.com/MEkU9DIjqf
— Richmond Raceway (@RichmondRaceway) April 11, 2018
• Part-driver-part-NBC-personality Parker Kligerman took home a victory at Bristol — not in a real race car this week, but, rather, in an iRacing league. Do you think he sprayed champagne in his living room?
Sooo @KyleBusch may have won “REAL” cup but I finally won a @Sim500_Racing Cup race at Bristol in @iRacing ! I know… I know… Everyone will want an interview/ appearances. I will do my best to fit it all in. pic.twitter.com/E7vSbRq7TW
— Parker Kligerman (@pkligerman) April 17, 2018
NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series Update
While Kyle Busch won his second straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race this week, Ryan Luza, too, won his second consecutive race. The NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series hit the virtual Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Tuesday, and the Texas native made an impressive run to the front in the closing laps to claim another victory (as our Las Vegas Power Rankings predicted, by the way).
Ryan Luza keeps rolling as he wins Round 4 of the NASCAR @iRacing Series at @LVMotorSpeedway 👉 : https://t.co/oHwdeR0zHy pic.twitter.com/4GxTG1ghtq
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 11, 2018
RELATED: Full iRacing race report
The three-time series champion Ray Alfalla currently leads the points after scoring top-10 finishes in each of the season’s first four races.
iRacing Paint Schemes of the Week
The creativity of custom paint scheme artists on iRacing is almost as impressive as the drivers who’ve perfected their skills using the simulation.
Brantley Roden re-created Kyle Busch’s Skittles Toyota Camry that raced to victory at Bristol Motor Speedway. It might not make you as fast as Kyle Busch, but you can race the rainbow on iRacing.
Tanner Tallarico put a unique spin on Kevin Harvick’s No. 98 Xfinity Series Ford — if it were a super late model. Kevin Harvick sometimes drops down to the local level to compete against different racers, so this fictional iRacing re-creation seems half-believable.
In the “what on earth?” category, Brennan McGee re-created an old-school NASCAR on NBC car for iRacing. Yes, if you’re an iRacing member, you can race around on the mid-2000s show car from the hit video game NASCAR Thunder 2004.
Flashbacks to NBC’s Wally’s World, anyone?
Don’t Try This at Home
While iRacing is a serious simulation, sometimes it’s nice to have a little fun, too. Watch a virtual version of a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car try to jump a row of other cars … uhh, for science.
Best part of tonight and this is going to be a pinned tweet pic.twitter.com/jJHbJTT1Po
— Jgallstar1-TwitchTV (@Jgallstar1_tv) April 6, 2018
Don’t try that with an actual race car. Or do, but it might get a little expensive. Thankfully, we’ve got iRacing for experiments like this.
Joey Logano’s ability to multitask is getting put to the test this year.
The 27-year-old driver and his wife, Brittany, became parents, welcoming their first child in January. Logano has also found time to mentor a father-son duo’s path into stock-car racing, having the relationship unfold on the Discovery Channel series “Twin Turbos,” which debuted in February. All that comes in addition to a hat he’s worn for the last five-plus seasons, as a valued teammate for Team Penske’s growing organization.
Of all the roles Logano currently holds, none has compared to caring for the young family’s 3-month-old son.
“Being a new dad is probably the biggest adjustment I’ve ever made. It’s a lot more than taking wedge out, I can tell you that much,” Logano says. “It’s a big adjustment. It’s been challenging, but it’s been the most fun and rewarding thing already.”
Logano’s search for more gratifying moments continues this weekend at Richmond Raceway, the site of his most recent victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. That win came almost a full year ago, a drought that included missing out on last season’s playoffs.
Since then, Logano and his No. 22 Ford team have made methodical gains to rekindle those winning ways. So far this year, consistency has been their hallmark. Logano sits second in the Monster Energy Series standings with seven top-10 finishes in the first eight races of 2018. Points leader Kyle Busch — winner of the last two events — is the only other driver to reach that figure.
“We’re right on the edge of getting those top fives, which does always sting a little bit, but we’re not where we want to be, by no means,” Logano said. “If you’re not winning races, you’re not where you want to be. But we’ve made progress from where we were last year. We’re sitting second in points, so we’re close to where we want to be but we need to start racking up those wins, start racking up those playoff points.
“Those are very important, but we’ve been running up front and getting those stage points, which is important and which shows in the overall point standings right now, but like I said, wins are everything in this game right now.”
Ready for his close-up
Logano has made multiple appearances on television as himself, taking a guest-starring role on automotive-themed shows such as “Fast N’ Loud” and “Jay Leno’s Garage.” But his screen career also includes a cameo turn on 2015’s “Sharknado 3,” opposite teammate Brad Keselowski.
His newest on-screen project, though, provides an opportunity to nurture a young driver’s career — and drive fast cars as a bonus. Logano has taken aspiring driver Brad DeBerti and his father, Doug, under his wing for “Twin Turbos,” which airs Wednesdays (10 p.m. ET/PT) on Discovery.
The DeBertis share Logano’s passion for cars, working to create custom builds in an effort to fund Brad DeBerti’s racing endeavors. Logano said he saw plenty of parallels between their family and his, which had little experience with the ins and outs of motorsports early in his career.
“Just like I had some people and role models who helped guide me, I’m kind of that person for them to help guide them along,” Logano says. “So there’s a lot of similarities in the way they do things together and the way my dad and I did a lot of things together growing up.”
And the show has also provided an authentic look at Logano’s life away from the race track.
“I can be who I am. I don’t have to act and be something else,” Logano says. “It’s a very natural fit, and I think that’s what fans want to see is what you are in a natural, fun environment.
“It’s just hanging out with cars, cool people and doing some fun things.”
Zeroing in
As for Logano’s other roles, he’s played a stabilizing part in a Team Penske operation that has broadened its reach this season. The organization added a full-time third car for Ryan Blaney in the offseason, and it has continued its alliance with the Wood Brothers Racing team and driver Paul Menard.
The steady strength Logano has enjoyed has been a teamwide phenomenon, with Keselowski currently fifth in the standings and Blaney sixth. And Menard, in his first season in the Wood Brothers’ No. 21, already has two top-10 finishes this season, one shy of his total for all of 2017. All four Penske-affiliated cars ran first through fourth at one point last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“There’s definitely some hurdles when you add a race team like that,” Logano said. “It’s not just putting another car on the race track. You’ve got to hire a lot more people, you’ve got to build more cars, right? So the production side of this whole thing is something that’s very challenging, from the machine shop to building chassis to hanging bodies. You’ve got to build another car for all these races, so it’s a big, big challenge for the race team, but we’ve handled it fairly well, I think, right off the bat and been able to show that we’ve all been consistent.”
If only his son’s sleep schedule could be as consistent. Logano said close friends had told him how much different his life would become after getting married, which he did after the 2014 season.
The even bigger change to his already busy life came shortly after New Year’s Day, when the Loganos became a party of three.
“You’re so focused on your job all the time, right, but you also want to be a good dad and husband at the same time,” Logano says. “It’s hard to balance all that off, and I’m sure that a lot of people can relate to that. You don’t have to be a race car driver to be able to relate to that and how you do that work-life balance.”