Posted on by Staff Report

Aric Almirola has been spending lots of time at the Stewart-Haas Racing shop this offseason as he moves into the No. 10 Ford, and he loves what he sees.

“When you drive up to the complex it’s so big and so massive. They have so many resources at their fingertips inside their race car shop,” Almirola said at a test session Tuesday at Texas Motor Speedway.

“You see all their trophies in their trophy case and their championship trophies, it’s very evident why,” Almirola said. “Just the attention to detail, the amount of people pulling in the same direction — it’s incredible to see first-hand, so knowing I’ve had to race against that the last six years has been disheartening, but I’m glad I get to be a part of it finally. I’m excited about 2018 and the opportunity to out there and perform at a high level.”

RELATED: New look for the No. 10 | Driver, team changes for 2018

All of that stems from owners who “eat, sleep and breathe racing,” Almirola says of Tony Stewart and Gene Haas. Even if Stewart is away from the shop quite a bit, doing what you’d expect: racing.

“He’s been pretty quiet and off the radar, in New Zealand racing and all over the map,” Almirola said of Stewart. “He’s just a racer at heart and I think that’s what makes him and that company so special. He still wakes up every morning thinking about race cars.”

 

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: NASCAR Hall of Fame set for Class of 2018

Ray Evernham justly gets credit for leading a second-stage evolution of the modern NASCAR pit stop. The master wrench and crew chief took the Wood Brothers’ groundbreaking emphasis on planning and choreography from the 1960s and advanced it three decades later, deploying a purpose-built team of specialized athletes to provide over-the-wall service on pit road.

In the years since, the evolution has grown. NASCAR organizations have assembled full-time teams of athletes, trainers and coaches for the purpose of trimming precious seconds from pit-stop times. The next evolution will come this upcoming season in the form of a rules change, limiting the number of over-the-wall crew from six people to five.

For Evernham, it’s just the latest development in a key part of race strategy, an element he helped to shape.

“I think it will be a unique situation,” Evernham said Wednesday, noting the reduction in cost for extra personnel and the safety benefits of one fewer person per team going over the wall. People have done that before. We’ve been down to one tire carrier before. There was a time you could have as many people as you wanted going over pit wall, then they cut it back to seven, then six, and now five. Someday you may see four.”

Evernham is scheduled to be honored for all of his contributions to the sport on Friday, Jan. 19 (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM), with induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He’ll be recognized not just as a pit-road visionary, but a championship-winning crew chief and a gifted team owner who helped orchestrate Dodge’s return to stock-car racing.

Evernham won three titles as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series, helping guide a young Jeff Gordon to the pinnacle of the sport. Gordon’s talent was undeniable, but so was the contribution of his Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 pit crew, a group assembled by Evernham and now etched into NASCAR lore as the “Rainbow Warriors” for their colorful uniforms to match the car’s paint scheme.

MORE: Evernham through the years

Evernham’s approach brought an extra level of professionalism to the sport. His pit crews — now a collection of fine-tuned athletes — were no different.

“The biggest thing I thought of back then is how can I expect a guy to work the way we’re working in the shop, at that time 14, 16 hours a day, then be able to pit the car on Sundays, be fresh, be focused,” Evernham said. “Let’s train some people that have skills and abilities and time to do that, that could be faster and we could really gain something.”

With full-time athletes in place, pit-stop times dropped dramatically and the No. 24 team was first in line to reap the advantages. Other teams quickly followed suit in an effort to catch up.

“I think that set the stage for what’s happening now,” Evernham said. “If you look at Hendrick, they’ve got backup teams, most all teams now have pit crew coaches and trainers. I think we might have been the first to have a set athletic trainer and things like that over at Hendrick.

“Without a doubt, it has brought the sport to a different place. I don’t want to say a different level, but it’s just an area of competition that it created. It’s very important to whether or not you can win a race or championship.”

Posted on by Pat DeCola

MORE: Meet the 2018 NASCAR Hall of Fame class

Ron Hornaday Jr. will make history next week when he is enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, as the first inductee to represent the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

That’s one important record — and the four-time series champion thought he’d nailed down another.              

“I thought, ‘It’s pretty cool to be the first one in there. It’s going to be really great because I’m going to have two records in the Hall of Fame, being the youngest,’ ” Hornaday said on a teleconference on Wednesday morning. “But Mark Martin is three years younger than I am, so I only got the Truck Series. Kicked me in the butt.”

It’s true. Well, sort of — the age gap is a little closer than Hornaday gives himself credit for, as Martin, a 2017 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, is roughly six months younger than the elder statesman.

Still, being the first inductee to represent a whole series is something to hang his hat on.

MORE: 2018 NASCAR Hall of Fame preview

And Martin had some keen advice for his closely aged pal.

“You don’t understand what the Hall of Fame is all about (at first),” Hornaday said. “When I got (voted in) that night, they actually pulled the ballot, said I was in, Mark Martin grabbed me aside said, ‘This don’t mean anything right now. Give it about six months, where the things you’ve done in racing, it will hit you of who you helped, how you handled yourself. It’s not all about all the races you won and all that stuff, it’s about all the people’s hearts you touched, who worked on your race cars, to go to dinner with your sponsors, meet the different people you meet.’

“It’s really come around. I can really see the other end of the light where Mark was talking about where everybody is reaching out, the awesome letters I’m getting from all my sponsors through the years I’ve done and stuff. It’s really bringing back memories. It’s been really darn cool.”

Hornaday, a 51-time winner in the Truck Series, was a mainstay in that tour for parts of three decades. After a few starts at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series level from 1991-94, he embarked on his first NASCAR national series full-time season in the series’ inaugural campaign of 1995, winning a whopping six races en route to a third-place finish for Dale Earnhardt Inc.’s No. 16 Chevrolet.

Four more wins followed a year later, and a title with it. He’d go on to win three more championships and 41 more races before hanging up the fire suit following his final full-time season in 2014 and a one-off Monster Energy Series start at Atlanta in 2015.

While the Truck Series certainly wouldn’t be what it is in 2018 without Hornaday’s guidance — and, more importantly, presence — he knows he has plenty of gratitude to dish out to those who’ve helped him along the way, just as Martin foretold.

“I hope I can represent the Truck Series like they put my career on the map, what they’ve done for my whole family,” Hornaday said.

“Because definitely I owe everything to NASCAR and the France family for starting the Truck Series, and that phone call from Earnhardt of giving me an opportunity to make it big‑time.”

Posted on by Brad Norman

A man of his word? A man of his word.

Ryan Blaney made good on his promise to fans out in the Lone Star State that he would hangout with them for a pizza party hosted by track president Eddie Gossage during Wednesday’s testing at Texas Motor Speedway … ‘stache and all.

The newest (and youngest) driver of the Team Penske family is already feeling right at home among teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. Part of his initiation will take part this Friday, when Blaney is set to cut his flowing locks and facial hair … a fan favorite around the sport. He will sport a fancy look on the track in 2018, too — a No. 12 Ford with a bright yellow paint scheme that will be hard to miss turnin’ left.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

RELATED: Meet the Class of 2018

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – An exciting weekend is in store for NASCAR fans beginning on Friday, Jan. 19 in Charlotte, North Carolina, featuring the stars of today and the legends of yesteryear.

The weekend will be filled with activities starting on Friday evening with the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018 Induction Ceremony. The star-studded event will be followed by NASCAR Fan Appreciation Day on Saturday, Jan. 20 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and will include a one-of-a-kind experience for fans.

On Friday, Jan. 19 (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN and MRN), NASCAR icons Red Byron, Ray Evernham, Ron Hornaday Jr., Ken Squier and Robert Yates will be honored and inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as the Class of 2018. As part of the Induction Ceremony, Jim France will receive the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR and Norma Brandel will receive the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence.

As in previous years, NASCAR legends and current drivers will be in attendance as the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018 is inducted. Scheduled to make an appearance are reigning 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Dale Jarrett, Ben Kennedy and Brad Keselowski. For tickets to the Induction Ceremony, visit nascarhall.com.

As part of NASCAR Fan Appreciation Day on Saturday, Jan. 20, the NASCAR Hall of Fame will offer free admission to the venue.  NASCAR drivers past and present will participate in Q&A and autograph sessions throughout the day. Admission to the Hall of Fame and to the Q&A sessions will be free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis during NASCAR Fan Appreciation Day. Admission to driver autograph sessions is free but will require a ticket for participation. Doors will open at 8 a.m. and the Hall of Fame will close at 5 p.m.

Tickets to the autograph sessions below, featuring stars from all three NASCAR national series, must be secured in advance. Tickets will be available free of charge on nascarhall.com starting at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 13. Each fan can secure up to two tickets for only one of the seven autograph sessions (one ticket for an individual or two tickets for an individual and their guest). NASCAR Next driver autograph sessions do not require tickets.  For more information on Fan Appreciation Day please visit nascarhall.com.

Q&A / Autograph Session
(High Octane Theater/Pre-Function Space Outside Crown Ballroom)		 NASCAR Drivers
(Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series)
Session 1 (9 a.m. Q&A / 9:30-10:30 a.m. Autograph Session) Paul Menard, Cole Custer and Justin Haley
Session 2 (10 a.m. Q&A / 10:30-11:30 a.m. Autograph Session) Kyle Larson, Matt Tifft and Noah Gragson
Session 3 (11 a.m. Q&A / 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Autograph Session) William Byron, Elliott Sadler and Michael Annett
Session 4 (12 p.m. Q&A / 12:30-1:30 p.m. Autograph Session) Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Spencer Gallagher and Cody Coughlin
Session 5 (1:30 p.m. Q&A / 2-3 p.m. Autograph Session) Ryan Blaney, Ryan Reed and John Hunter Nemechek
Session 6 (2:30 p.m. Q&A / 3-4 p.m. Autograph Session) Alex Bowman and Dalton Sargeant
Session 7 (3:30 p.m. Q&A / 4-5 p.m. Autograph Session) Tyler Reddick and Joey Gase

 

Q&A / Autograph Session

(High Octane Theater/Great Hall)

 NASCAR Next Drivers
Session 1 (10:20 a.m. Q&A / 11-11:40 a.m. Autograph Session) NASCAR Next drivers Harrison Burton, Hailie Deegan, Chase Purdy and Zane Smith
Session 2 (11:20 a.m. Q&A / 11:50 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Autograph Session) NASCAR Next drivers Chase Cabre, Todd Gilliland, Riley Herbst, Cayden Lapcevich and Ty Majeski

 

Q&A / Autograph Session

(High Octane Theater/ Pre-Function Space Outside Crown Ballroom)

 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018 Inductees
10:40 a.m. Q&A / 9-10 a.m. Autograph Session* Ray Evernham, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Ken Squier

 *Note: The Class of 2018 autograph session will be open to NASCAR Hall of Fame members only.

Times for Q&A sessions with all of the above drivers are noted and will begin prior to their autograph session. Q&A sessions are open to all guests and media. Please note that the schedule is subject to change.

Driver Q&A sessions will take place at the High Octane Theater in the Hall of Fame (access from Level 1 & 2) and will each last approximately 20 minutes. Autograph Sessions will take place in the pre-function space outside of the Crown Ballroom in the Charlotte Convention Center (connected to the Hall of Fame and accessible from Level 3). Note the NASCAR Next driver autograph sessions will take place in the Great Hall of the Hall of Fame.

Also, NASCAR tracks and official partners will be in attendance and will have various displays set up at the Hall of Fame for fans to visit, participate in and win prizes. As part of the festivities, Mack Trucks, the “Official Hauler of NASCAR,” will debut its new Mack Anthem, which includes several design features inspired by race cars. Following a ceremonial moment turning the Mack Anthem keys over to NASCAR, fans will have a chance to take a spin in the truck, which will haul NASCAR’s equipment and technology essential for facilitating the best racing in the world.

Posted on by Staff Report

Ryan Blaney may be moving to Team Penske with a new car there, the No. 12, but a lot remains familiar.

Starting with crew chief Jeremy Bullins, who helped Blaney reach his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in 2017 with Wood Brothers Racing, many of the team members also remain the same.

“We’ve mostly kept the same core group, which was good,” Blaney said during Tuesday’s test at Texas Motor Speedway. “A couple of them have already been a part of Team Penske, and we’ve moved them up from the Xfinity side or they were working in the shop and they came or we have one mechanic that has come from another team. I think they’re all working well together on our first test.”

RELATED: Driver and team changes for 2018

As part of the alliance between Team Penske and Wood Brothers, Blaney says he already worked well at the track with Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.

“That’s what has given us some of our success and helped us learn a lot, that’s for sure,” Blaney said of working with the other Penske teams.

Adding a fourth team to the mix as he moves to the No. 12 Team Penske Ford and Paul Menard takes over piloting the Wood Brother’s No. 21 should be fairly seamless with benefit to all, Blaney says.

“The Wood Brothers group, Paul, all of them, is going to be the same as it was last year; just one more group and I think that’s going to make us stronger,” Blaney said. “Just a lot more opinions about things, so for me it’s not going to change much for me and my team. It’s really the same thing for meeting or information that we get, it was all already all there, which is great and it’s still going to be there.”

MORE: Ryan Blaney 2017 season recap

Menard has 11 years of full time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series experience, the last seven with Richard Childress Racing, where he accumulated one race win and 17 top fives.

Blaney is building on a breakout sophomore season that extended to the playoffs and a ninth-place finish in the 2017 Monster Energy Series standings.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: How many wins for Chase Elliott in 2018?

Chase Elliott’s new car number may not make him go faster, but it does mean a lot to him to carry his father Bill Elliott’s No. 9 on his Hendrick Motorsports Camaro.

He likes the look of the Camaro and the No. 9 on it. And that has always been his favorite number. But while the change means a lot to him, Elliott does not expect it to change his performance.

“I’m very lucky and honored to carry the number that I’ve carried for a number of years before this year, so it’s like getting back home to me from that sense,” Elliott said during a break in the test session Tuesday at Texas Motor Speedway. “But no, I don’t think it’s going to make me go any faster or slower. I wish it did make us go faster. I would love that, but unfortunately numbers don’t.”

RELATED: Elliott debuts new Chevy in test at Texas

But maybe he doesn’t need that much of a boost anyway. In his second season at Hendrick and paired with crew chief Alan Gustafson, Elliott’s top-five finishes, top-10 finishes, laps led, average starting position and average finish all improved.

Elliott qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs, and really put on a show in the postseason, piling up four runner-up finishes, and finishing in the top 10 in seven of the 10 races. Just missing a spot in the Championship 4, Elliott finished fifth in the final 2017 standings.

MORE: Elliott’s 2017 season recap

“I was very proud of our team and the way we ran in the final 10 weeks last year,” Elliott said. “I know it didn’t end like we wanted it to. We had the pace to be there and to have a shot at Homestead and we didn’t, but we had the pace to do it throughout those 10 weeks and I think that is something to be proud of.

“We had the pit stops to do it, we had the race strategy calls to do it. I think I can do it and excited to give it another shot this year.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Kahne, Allgaier return to dirt in Chili Bowl

Kyle Larson wasted no time qualifying for Saturday night’s A-Feature at the Chili Bowl as he picked up his fourth preliminary victory to match the late Bryan Clauson for third on the all-time preliminary night win list.

The win automatically transfer the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series star into the A-Feature, which is the big event to culminate the dirt racing in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from Jan. 9-13.

Joining Larson in qualifying for the A-Feature was Brad Sweet and Tyler Courtney as they finished second and third, respectively. Sweet, who is the brother of Larson’s fiance, Katelyn, has 54 NASCAR national series starts to his name.

The 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Christopher Bell kicked off last year by winning the Chili Bowl, and on Thursday he transferred to the A-Feature by winning qualifying night. Bell will get to defend his title and try to match former NASCAR Monster Energy Series champion Tony Stewart as a two-time Chili Bowl champ.

Bell, Kasey Kahne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Justin Allgaier are among the NASCAR national series drivers looking to capture the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals.

Former full-time Camping World Truck Series driver Rico Abreu also qualified for the A-Feature via his win in Wednesday night’s Hard Rock Casino Qualifying Night A-Feature. Abreu has won the Chili Bowl twice (2015, 2016) in his career.

Posted on by Daytona International Speedway

Buy Tickets:  Daytona 500 | VIP packages

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Superstar vocal group Rascal Flatts will perform the pre-race show at the 60th annual DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, Feb. 18 (FOX, FOX Deportes, MRN Radio and SiriusXM Radio), the opening race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Rascal Flatts recently released their 10th studio album (Big Machine Records), as well as back-to-back chart topping singles “Yours If You Want It” and “I Like The Sound Of That.”  Known as one of the hottest-selling touring acts in any genre with over 10 million tickets sold and as the best-selling country vocal group of the past decade, Rascal Flatts has sold over 23.4 million albums, over 34.3 million digital downloads worldwide, as well as earning over 40 trophies from the ACA, ACM, AMA, CMA, People’s Choice and more, also making them the most awarded country group of the past decade.

“Rascal Flatts has been around for nearly two decades, establishing itself as one of America’s most popular musical acts – in any genre,” said Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile. “We are proud to have this outstanding trio on hand for our milestone 60th annual DAYTONA 500. We will have a great concert to precede the “Great American Race,” producing an extraordinary entertainment doubleheader for our fans.”

All race fans who purchase a UNOH Fanzone/Pre-Race pass for the DAYTONA 500 will be able to view Rascal Flatts’ DAYTONA 500 Pre-Race Show – as well as driver introductions – from the grass tri-oval area. A limited number of DAYTONA 500 Pre-Race Show ticket packages, available starting at $240, have been designed around Rascal Flatts’ appearance. The package includes a DAYTONA 500 ticket, UNOH Fanzone/Pre-Race access and VIP area access to the performance. Race fans who have already purchased DAYTONA 500 tickets can add UNOH Fanzone/Pre-Race access and VIP area access for $115. All VIP ticket packages are on sale now.

Those wishing to attend the 60th annual DAYTONA 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race will need to act quickly. Fans should also note:

• Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or visiting www.DAYTONA500.com.
• Hospitality and premium seat packages, including the Trioval Club, the Rolex 24 Lounge, Harley J’s and UNOH Fanzone/Pre-Race are also available.
• For all other Speedweeks events, children 12 and under are $10 in reserved grandstands and free in general admission areas and in the UNOH Fanzone.
• Fans can also visit PrimeSport.com, the new official ticket exchange and travel package provider of Daytona International Speedway. Offering multiple options for tickets, lodging and hospitality, https://www.primesport.com/d/daytona-500-tickets is ideal for fans looking for the ultimate racing experience.

Posted on by Holly Cain

MORE: Hall of Fame 2018 preview

Robert “Red” Byron was a true NASCAR original — the sport’s first crowned champion (NASCAR Modified Series) and first Strictly Stock Series (the current-day Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) title winner — and now he will join the NASCAR Hall of Fame, a nod to his historic achievements and the exciting foundation he helped establish for the sport.

Byron’s racing career will be formally honored as he is inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame during its Friday, January 19 ceremony in Charlotte, North Carolina, joining a fittingly accomplished class that also includes the late engine builder/team owner Robert Yates, Camping World Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday Jr., championship crew chief Ray Evernham and pioneering broadcaster Ken Squier.

Byron, who passed away in 1960 at the age of 45, was the sport’s first champion, and bona fide head-turner. He answered his 1948 Modified Series title in 1948 with that historical Strictly Stock crown a year later winning two of the eight Strictly Stock races that season en route to that championship in a car owned by another NASCAR Hall of Famer, Raymond Parks.

MORE: Meet the rest of the 2018 HOF Inductees 

Like many others of his era, Byron’s story and his contributions to the sport are even more incredible considering his service to his country long before he thought about a checkered flag. 

He served in the United States Army Air Corps in the Pacific during World War II. Assigned to Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, Byron suffered a severe injury to his left leg while flying in a combat mission during the war and later had to wear a specially created steel leg brace while racing. A version of the brace, which had to be attached to the clutch pedal of his race cars, is mounted in one of his cars displayed in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

It hardly slowed Byron down. The Virginia native-turned Anniston, Alabama resident had nine top-10 finishes in 15 starts, winning a pair of races and a pair of pole positions in three years of Strictly Stock competition.

 He won on the Daytona Beach, Florida road course in 1948 – earning one of the most iconic checkered flags in NASCAR history – and he answered the victory at another of the sport’s most storied facilities, Martinsville Speedway months later.

He was recognized in 1998 as one of NASCAR’s all-time Top 50 drivers for his historic efforts.

“In so many ways he was the perfect first champion,” the late NASCAR Chairman Bill France Jr. once said of Byron. “A guy who loved racing so much, he refused to give it up. And he loved his country so much he gave it all he had.”

Following his stock car career, the former flight engineer turned his focus to developing a sports car to race in the famed 24 Hours of LeMans in France, however Byron died of a heart attack while finalizing details for the effort.