Blaney set to make move to Team Penske for 2018

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Staff Report

Ryan Blaney is 23, has two full seasons in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season under his belt and has driven for two of the most iconic teams in auto racing.

“I never really thought of it,” Blaney said following the end of the 2017 season. “Two of the most historic teams in the sport and I’ve gotten to drive a Cup car for both of them.”

In 2016 and ’17, Blaney drove the No. 21 for Wood Brothers Racing. The car, and the team, have been around nearly as long as the sport itself. Founder Glen Wood raced on the beach in Daytona and competed with the No. 21 in the early 1950s.

Blaney won for the Wood Brothers, scoring team win No. 99 with his victory at Pocono Raceway in June of ’17. It was his first victory in the series and put him in a group that includes NASCAR Hall of Famers David Pearson, Curtis Turner, Cale Yarborough and Dale Jarrett. A.J. Foyt, Neil Bonnett, Donnie Allison, Dan Gurney and Marvin Panch put the familiar No. 21 in the winner’s circle, too. (OK, Gurney’s four wins came in the No. 121 but still …).

In 2014, Blaney made two starts for car owner Roger Penske; For 2018, he will move to Team Penske full-time and drive the No. 12 Ford as that organization expands to three cars – joining 2012 series champion Brad Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano.

“I’ve just been fortunate to be with some great teams ever since we got started,” Blaney said. “My dad was a big part of that, getting me in the door of a lot of places. Can’t thank him enough for that.”

MORE: Blaney, Penske reveal ’18 schemes | Listen to ‘Glass Case of Emotion’

Dave Blaney enjoyed a successful open-wheel career, winning a Silver Crown title, World of Outlaws title, Chili Bowl title and Kings Royal crown before moving into NASCAR where he spent more than a dozen years.

Because the Wood Brothers and Penske organizations enjoy an alliance – WBR gets its chassis from Penske, as well as technical data – the move isn’t expected to be particularly disruptive.

“It’s not going to be a huge change in equipment and things like that,” Blaney said. “We got all our cars from Penske and we’re taking a lot of the personnel with us over to the No. 12 car.

“We already work pretty well with Brad and Joey, adding another car. And bringing Paul (Menard) in. I think Paul is going to do a really good job with that group.”

Menard will drive the No. 21 in 2018; the winner of the Brickyard 400 in 2011, he spent the previous seven seasons with Richard Childress Racing.

“It’s bittersweet; I love driving for the Wood Brothers,” Blaney said. “The past three seasons have been a lot of fun, to get to know them and hear their stories. To be able to win for them was really cool, too.

“But, on the other hand, it’s a big deal to be able to drive for Roger Penske on the Cup side. It’s always something I’ve wanted to do too, since I got with him five years ago.”

Penske’s NASCAR association isn’t quite as long as the Wood Brothers, his first entry as a team owner came in 1972, but it’s equally impressive. One hundred and four wins have come with drivers such as Mark Donohue, Bobby Allison and Rusty Wallace, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Keselowski and Logano.

Blaney is eager to get started. No longer a greenhorn, he said his second full year in the series taught him quite a bit.

He finished 12th in the standings in 2016 and wound up ninth this past season, thanks to the win that put him in the Playoffs and the consistency that carried him through to the Round of 8.

“You kind of calm down a little bit, you’re a bit more methodical about things,” he said. “When you’re younger, you’re kind of set on kill the whole time. That’s good but sometimes it’s not the best thing.

“I feel like once you kind of understand the sport a little bit better and how to run 38 weeks out of the year you definitely learn a lot. Just being a little bit more patient and thinking a lot more about actually not going out and driving the car as hard as you can. How can you actually make the car fast without having to drive it 110 percent … that’s the smartest way you can do it.”

It’s just time behind the wheel, he said. Something he’s looking forward to having more of in 2018.

Posted on December 15, 2017December 15, 2017 by Staff Report

Stewart-Haas Racing has shaken up the leadership on the Nos. 10 and 41 teams going into the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Kurt Busch, who announced earlier this week he had re-signed with the organization to continue driving the Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford, will work with Billy Scott. Scott moves over from the No. 10 team after working with Danica Patrick, who is stepping away from racing, the last two years.

Tony Gibson had been paired with Busch since late 2014, but Gibson had expressed interest in coming off the road in the near future. He will remain with SHR in an unnamed capacity.

On the No. 10 team with newcomer Aric Almirola will be John Klausmeier, who moves into a crew chief position after serving as a race engineer at SHR since 2009. Klausmeier earned valuable experience atop the pit box in 2016, serving as Busch’s interim crew chief at Pocono Raceway and going to Victory Lane.

“We wanted to maximize our strengths and address the areas where we needed to improve, and we feel this lineup gives us our best chance to succeed every time we bring our Ford Fusions to the racetrack,” said Greg Zipadelli, vice president of competition for SHR. “This is a very technical sport, but it’s the people who make it go, and we’ve got some of the best people in the business.”

2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champions Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers will continue to work together. The pairing has 14 races wins together in four seasons and has made the Championship 4 in three of the last four years.

Clint Bowyer – who joined SHR in the No. 14 Ford last year – will also continue to work with Mike Bugarewicz. The 2018 season will be Bugarewicz’s third year as a crew chief, having started in 2016 with Tony Stewart.

“We have some of the finest talent in the industry and we’re confident in the leadership of each of our teams as we pursue wins and a championship in 2018,” said team co-owner Stewart in a team release. “Obviously, we’re very happy to have Kurt Busch back with SHR and I’m proud to have Aric Almirola as a part of our race team. He’s someone I’ve always been impressed with since we were teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, and John Klausmeier is more than ready to be his crew chief.

“The partnership between Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers is the best in the garage, and after a bunch of strong runs and second-place finishes, I think Clint Bowyer and Mike Bugarewicz are ready for a breakout year. We’re in a really good place with each of our race teams.”

Posted on December 14, 2017 by Zack Albert

A talented group of Ford Performance’s youngest prospects will join forces ahead of the NASCAR season, with Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer and Ty Majeski teaming up in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge opener next month at Daytona International Speedway.

The four drivers, who all are slated for competition in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2018, will share driving duties in the Jan. 26 event in a two-car Mustang GT4 effort in the GS class. They’ll be joined in the four-hour race by former division champion Scott Maxwell, who will serve as co-driver and mentor.

Briscoe, who turns 23 on Dec. 15, was Sunoco Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He was one half of the Brad Keselowski Racing driver lineup last year with the 19-year-old Cindric. Both drivers scored breakthrough victories in the Truck Series last season.

Custer, 23, secured his first career victory in the Xfinity Series, dominating the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Majeski, a current member of the NASCAR Next development class, made his Xfinity debut last year while continuing to thrive in the Super Late Model short-track ranks.

MORE: Meet the 2017-18 NASCAR Next class

It was announced Nov. 20 that Briscoe, Cindric and Majeski will share the No. 60 Ford in the Xfinity Series next year for Roush Fenway Racing. Ford Performance also previously announced that Briscoe, a part of the manufacturer’s driver development program, will compete in other IMSA and Trans-Am TA2 events.

Full driver pairings will be announced at a later date. All five drivers are scheduled to participate in the Roar Before the 24 three-day test session Jan. 5-7, helping them gain valuable road-course experience ahead of the event.

A glimpse at what the young drivers are saying about the road-racing opportunity, in comments provided by Ford Performance:

Briscoe: “This will be something new and I’m going to do a lot of it this year, so I think it’s going to be a good learning curve. I’ve only run two road courses my entire life and even though we ran decent, I didn’t feel like I ever knew what I was doing. Hopefully, I can get to the point by the end of this year where I know what I’m doing on a road course. Even though I’ll be driving two different kind of race cars, the principals of how you drive and the technique it takes will be something I can learn. I’m also looking forward to having a teammate and competing in an event where both of you have an impact on how well you run.”

Cindric: “For me with my background some of my biggest moments in the early part of my career have been with Multimatic racing Mustangs in the Continental Tire Series, so for me I’m coming home. I come from a different background than the other guys and I think we’re going to have a lot of fun, learn a few things and hopefully bring home some hardware because I know those Mustangs are pretty strong around Daytona. Scott (Maxwell) and I have become really good friends and he’s been a big help to me in my career and I look forward to being teammates with him again and having a little fun throughout the weekend.”

Custer: “I’m really excited about this opportunity. I’ve never done any endurance racing, but I’m looking forward to having some fun and learning what it’s all about. This is obviously a big race and great way to start the season. Being able to race with the other guys is going to be a lot of fun as well because we’re all pretty much the same age and have a lot in common. I never thought I would get the chance to do something like this, but road course racing has really grown on me. I think it’s fun to learn the different sides of things and this is going to be a chance for me to learn as a driver and make myself better.”

Majeski: “I have virtually no road course experience at all. I’ve been on one road course my entire life and that was this past summer when I was sent out to the Ford Performance Driving School in Utah. Outside of that I have not been on a road course, so this will be great for me to get some experience and be around people who know a lot about it. I’m looking forward to working with Chase, Austin and Cole as well. They’re good guys and I’m excited for the opportunity Ford has put in front of us. It will be a learning experience, but it will be a lot of fun working with those guys and learning together.”

Posted on December 14, 2017December 14, 2017 by Zack Albert

David Ragan and Michael McDowell are all set for 2018 with Front Row Motorsports, as the two-car organization announced its driver lineup Thursday. Both are looking to the future, but each will have a chance early in the season to reflect with a pair of career milestones.

McDowell is scheduled to make his 250th career start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 18. One week later, Ragan will mark his own big, round number with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start No. 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Both drivers entered the sport’s top division around the same time: Ragan’s first full season came in 2007 after a two-race foray the previous year; McDowell made his debut in a 20-race campaign in 2008. And both share stories about how they scraped their way to becoming series regulars.

“When I came into the sport, I was young and cocky and arrogant and yeah, I would’ve told you I was going to win races and win championships and do it for the next 20 years,” said McDowell, who opened his career with Michael Waltrip Racing. “But if you’d asked me six or seven races into that season, I would’ve told you my future in the sport was not very bright.”

McDowell said his initial leap was a large one, from sports cars and ARCA racing straight to NASCAR’s big leagues. His persistence in pursuing opportunities paid off, and on the heels of his first full Monster Energy Series season, he’ll toast his 250th appearance with his seventh start in The Great American Race.

“When stuff like that happens, it’s pretty neat,” McDowell said. “When I do look back at some of the guys that I came into the sport with, my rookie year was with Jacques Villeneuve and Sam Hornish and Regan Smith, Patrick Carpentier. You think about these guys that are Indy 500 champions, there’s just been so many great people coming through the sport. To think that I’d still be here is crazy. So it’s something I’m very thankful for.”

One week later, Front Row will celebrate another milestone with a home-state flavor. Ragan — an Unadilla, Georgia native — began his racing career at Atlanta in 1997, driving a Bandolero car on the short frontstretch oval. His father, Ken, remains active with the track’s entry-level racing series as the director of the U.S. Legends Car program at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Since those earliest days, Ragan made a gradual climb up NASCAR’s national ladder, making his first two premier series starts in a part-time effort in 2006. In the 11-year span that has followed, Ragan has made 396 consecutive starts.

“That’s something that I never would have dreamed that that would’ve been able to be possible 15 years ago when I was scratching around, trying to find my way in motorsports,” Ragan said. “I’m grateful to have had great team owners to drive for. I’m grateful that I’ve had good sponsors and good partners to help, and I want more. I’ve been able to win a couple of races, but I don’t want the story to end there.

“We are working through some of the ideas to plan something for some of my fans and some of the people who have supported my career through the years, but that’s humbling and I’m grateful. I don’t take anything for granted and you never know when the next race or the next good finish could be your last. We’ll enjoy all these races going down the road and hopefully get another win.”

Posted on December 14, 2017December 14, 2017 by Zack Albert

Front Row Motorsports announced its driver lineup Thursday for the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, naming newcomer Michael McDowell and returning driver David Ragan to its two-car organization.

McDowell, 32, joins the Bob Jenkins-owned operation after spending the last four seasons with the single-car Leavine Family Racing group. Landon Cassill, who had a two-year stint with FRR, will not return to the team.

“For me, I’m thankful to have the opportunity and excited to work with Front Row in a new chapter, a new beginning for me,” McDowell told NASCAR.com. “It’s fun when you’ve got a new challenge in front of you and a new set of people. Looking forward to working with David and helping to build this program and getting results. Also you know, I haven’t had a teammate in years and so that’s definitely a part that I’m really looking forward to.”

The 31-year-old Ragan, who described his return to the team as a homecoming, is back for his second straight season and fifth overall. He holds the distinction of bringing Front Row its first victory, at Talladega Superspeedway in 2013.

“I feel like Front Row is one of those teams that, we’re a close-knit family and everybody in the shop, the mechanics on the road, we’re good friends,” Ragan said. “We get along, and it’s a small team so that we all have a pretty big impact on the program itself, so I feel like that’s been a neat experience for me. … It’s a good feeling to be back with Front Row again as we continue to grow and get better on the race track and off the track.”

According to a release provided by the organization, Front Row Motorsports stands to benefit from a strengthened alliance with Ford Performance and Roush Fenway Racing, one of the manufacturer’s flagship teams. Additional details — such as the crew chief lineup, car numbers and sponsors — are to be announced in the coming weeks, according to the team. Front Row also indicated it was “evaluating possible additions to the competition staff.”

MORE: 2018 schedule

The roster move unites two drivers who already have a friendly bond inside the garage and away from the race track. McDowell said the two see each other most days, dropping off their kids in the carpool lane at school, and that their families have grown closer in recent years. That existing relationship sets the table for a give-and-take understanding as teammates who still shoulder a strong competitive will.

“That’s going to be a very unique partnership, but we’re both so competitive that I think it’s great to have someone to lean on and push you to drive,” McDowell said. “With him, he’s very smart, very intelligent, very likeable and is a good leader. That really helps with the crew, the team and the structure there. There’s a good parity there where you can grow and build a program.”

Ragan offered similar praise for McDowell, who frequently squeezed the most performance from his equipment during his time at LFR. McDowell topped the series last season in completed laps. He also finished 34 of 36 points-paying races, another a series best.

“He didn’t have a lot of DNFs, and that’s important for a small team like Front Row Motorsports or LFR,” Ragan said. “We can’t be in the garage with torn-up race cars and DNFs to have the best possible finish that we can. Michael does get a lot out of his race cars and he’s hungry.”

Front Row in general is eager to improve on a 2017 season where its two-driver effort landed 30th and 31st in the points standings. But Ragan says he sees opportunities at venues where the playing field is more level — for himself at restrictor-plate tracks, his strong suit; and for McDowell on road courses, where he has an extensive road-racing background.

Ragan said he hopes for steady gains, especially on the intermediate-sized tracks. He cites Furniture Row Racing’s gradual rise — from a fledgling single-car group in its first six seasons to a championship team this year with Martin Truex Jr. — as a model worth emulating.

“We look at the stat sheets like a lot of people in our industry do, and the stats, they really don’t lie,” Ragan said. “I know there’s variables and different situations where luck is involved, but over the course of a year, I think your good luck and bad luck always even out. … I think for us, we just need to improve on the stat sheets. We need to have more top fives, more top 10s. We need to improve that average finishing position by five spots, I think is a realistic goal.

“We’re not a championship-caliber team overnight or over an offseason, but you’ve got to get to first base before you get to second and third. I think that we’re a couple of years away from being a (playoff) contender and a championship contender car, but we’ve got to be a little more consistent and be a little better on some of the high-speed downforce tracks where we’ve struggled at.”

McDowell says a bolstered technical alliance should help. His former team enjoyed similar modest gains after entering such a relationship with Richard Childress Racing ahead of the 2016 season.

“I think the alliance and having manufacturer support is critical to your success in NASCAR, especially now,” McDowell said. “These teams are so, so maxed out on the competition side in development, engineering, just every person is digging hard to find just small, little gains. So having manufacturer support is huge and the alliance with Roush is just really critical to the development and staying on par with that.”

In some regards, McDowell isn’t entirely a newcomer. The Arizona native made a one-off start in Front Row’s No. 35 car in 2013 at Watkins Glen, an appearance that kindled his relationship with his future team owner.

“That whole entire weekend was fun,” McDowell said. “They put a lot of energy and a lot of emphasis into going there and being competitive, and it was a cool experience for me because at the time I was just start-and-parking and not running the full races in the Cup Series, so it gave me an opportunity to go run. We qualified well and were running well in the race until we broke a track bar, but it was that sort of spark where both of us realized that hey, we can do this and be competitive.

“Bob and I had stayed friends and remained close in the years after that, and I always sort of felt like there would be a time where I’d get to drive for him again. Just time flies and it never really worked out, and then this year it worked perfectly.”

Posted on December 14, 2017 by Team Release

RELATED: See all the 2017 paint schemes

DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – In year four of its award-winning throwback platform, Darlington Raceway will be celebrating “Seven Decades of NASCAR” for its 2018 campaign.

The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR will be celebrated during the track’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500® and NASCAR XFINITY Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 weekend on Aug. 31-Sept. 2.

Today, December 14, marks NASCAR’s 70th birthday, as the first meeting at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Fla., took place on this day in 1947, a meeting that eventually led to the official formation of NASCAR.

Throwback weekend will honor specific moments in each decade of the sport’s storied history, many of which occurred at Darlington Raceway. Recognizing many special iconic memories in NASCAR over the past 70 years will give industry stakeholders and fans an opportunity to honor the sport in a variety of different ways.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for Darlington Raceway and the NASCAR industry to celebrate the sport over a seven decade period during our 2018 throwback weekend,” Darlington Raceway President Kerry Tharp said. “We have been era specific the past three years, so we felt it was important to recognize the 70th anniversary of NASCAR with our ‘Seven Decades of NASCAR’ celebration next season and give the teams, sanctioning body and others a wider brush to paint a picture capturing memorable moments we might not have celebrated in year’s past.”

MORE: Vintage photos from 2017 race weekend

In tribute to the 70-year history of NASCAR, Darlington Raceway will focus on iconic occasions that occurred in the sport, many of which took place at the track Too Tough To Tame, including Ned Jarrett’s record-setting 14-lap victory in 1965, Ricky Craven’s record-setting photo finish over Kurt Busch in 2003, and Jimmie Johnson’s 2012 Bojangles’ Southern 500 win, which gave team owner Rick Hendrick his 200^th career victory, among others.

For the fourth straight year, Darlington Raceway is also excited to announce it will once again highlight its rich history with a commemorative ticket design for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 linking the past, present and future.

“We have produced commemorative tickets for our fans every year of the throwback program, which is an important part of our platform,” said Tharp. “We appreciate how much the fans have supported Darlington Raceway and want them to walk away from our weekend with a special keepsake that recognizes our rich history and honors the stars of our sport.”

Just in time for the holidays, Darlington Raceway has also started the ticket renewal process with fans receiving an e-mail communication to renew their tickets and campsites early with the ability to print a gift letter when they renew.

Paper ticket renewals will be mailed in early February, but fans may log in to their accounts now to receive exclusive renewal benefits. Renewing tickets early guarantees seats at the track’s best value prior to the opening of all remaining seats to the general public on March 28.

Renewing fans receive many great benefits for being a loyal customer for Labor Day weekend.

Renewal benefits include:

The track’s best value of the season for the Bojangles’ Southern 500® and Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200
Convenient four-part payment plan
One free admission to the Darlington Raceway Museum ($7.50 value)
One free Lionel RCCA (Racing Collectables Club of America) Membership ($19.95 value)
First 1,000 accounts renewed receive a 1/64^th scale Darlington diecast ($8.99 value)
All renewal accounts are entered into a random drawing for a chance to attend the 4^th annual Bojangles’ Legends Breakfast on Sunday, September 2, 2018
Special renewal pricing for Darlington Stripe Zone Hospitality ($30 savings)
Special renewal pricing for all-inclusive driver intros, pre-race concert and pre-race pit road access ($15 savings)
Special renewal pricing for an exclusive “Untamed Access” race day experience ($10 savings)
Special renewal pricing for FanVision rentals ($20 savings)
Special renewal pricing for Racing Electronics scanner rental ($10 savings)
Fans can create custom “Weekend Ticket Packages” (Practice, NXS & MENCS) that range from only $55-$124 per Adult and $20-$64 per Youth 12 & Under based on grandstand locations
Guests may renew their tickets and campsites by calling 866-459-RACE (7223) or visiting DarlingtonRaceway.com/renewals. The renewal deadline is Friday, March 9.

The Tradition Continues on Labor Day weekend as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500® is set for Sunday, Sept. 2, 2018. The NASCAR XFINITY Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 will race on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018.

Posted on December 14, 2017December 14, 2017 by Staff Report

The die-cast car from Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final race as a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver was the best-selling paint scheme for Lionel Racing in 2017.

Lionel Racing released its top 10 list Thursday. Earnhardt paint schemes take up five of the 10 spots. The Axalta/Last Ride car at Homestead-Miami Speedway consisted of a design Earnhardt drove early in his career.

Not only was it this year’s top seller, Lionel Racing says the car is now the best-selling die-cast in the company’s history.

“The demand for this car has been simply astounding,” said Lionel Racing president Howard Hitchcock. “The fan response to this die-cast is a true measure of how much Earnhardt has meant to both casual NASCAR fans and serious die-cast collectors.”

MORE: Dale Jr. die-cast deals

The 2017 top 10 best-selling cars:

1.Dale Earnhardt Jr. Axalta/Last Ride Chevrolet SS

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Darlington Chevrolet SS

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Chevrolet SS

4. Chase Elliott NAPA Chevrolet SS | SHOP: Elliott’s new number

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Axalta/Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet SS

6. Ryan Blaney Motorcraft/Pocono win Ford Fusion | SHOP: New look for Blaney

7. Kyle Busch M&M’s Caramel/Bristol Win Toyota Camry

8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Axalta Chevrolet SS

9. Chase Elliott Hooters Chevrolet SS

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Mountain Dew/Talladega raced version Chevrolet SS

Posted on December 14, 2017December 14, 2017 by Zack Albert

A landmark meeting that set the foundation for major-league stock car racing is getting a well-deserved toast on the occasion of its 70th anniversary.

Bill France Sr. gathers a group (pictured outside the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida) to discuss forming NASCAR.

The sport’s officials and dignitaries will meet again Thursday in Daytona Beach to celebrate the Dec. 14, 1947 gathering, the first in a series of meetings that formed the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing.

The festivities will take place at the Streamline Hotel, site of those initial meetings 70 years ago. The art-deco building, which opened just steps from Daytona’s shores in 1940, has been newly renovated with a focus on maintaining its historic importance as NASCAR’s birthplace.

The northern Florida beachfront had long been a site for automotive derring-do and land-speed records before stock car racing’s early growth. Sensing a need to organize and develop a rules structure and standards for promotion, Bill France Sr. and other prominent figures in the sport kicked off a three-day meeting with the intent of creating a sanctioning body.

Those talks ended Feb. 21, 1948 with the founding of NASCAR.

The site and location where NASCAR began, the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by ISC Archives via Getty Images)

Posted on December 14, 2017December 14, 2017 by @nascarcasm

First off I must apologize for the delay between blogs. As my owner’s retirement neared, it became my self-assigned duty to steal all of the retirement gifts he was bringing home and bury them in the backyard and that became quite the time suck. Amy buries most of the crap he hoards from eBay just east of the treehouse, so I had to stick most of the items in the car graveyard. The tricorn hat from Loudon? I dropped that over on Blaney’s porch. With his hair and facial hair he’s halfway to looking like Jack Sparrow anyways.

The only thing I didn’t bury is the musket he received from the “Magic Mile.” I talked with some of the deer that roam the property and we all agreed it would be hilarious if Dale actually tried to hunt with that thing. The way we see it, if Dale were to miss with the first shot, the deer would have time to point and laugh at his terrible aim then saunter out of range while he got all frustrated during the five-minute re-loading process.

I saw he received a few animals as gifts and got all nervous, but turns out they were all service animals, which is a nice gesture. I mean look at this one. Weirdest-looking dog I have ever seen.

But it was a very emotional time for all of us. I sobbed many dog tears. It was such a long, sad goodbye. Why couldn’t Dale have saved us the emotional breakdowns and just not shown up to work like that Carl Edwards guy did?

So, a lot has happened since I last blogged. First and foremost, my owner is now officially retired from full-time racing in the Monster Energy Series. It’s kinda good and kinda bad. I have gotten significantly more head scratches than usual, which I place in the “good” column. Plus, whenever I’m hanging with him and Amy and I let a scented scream out of the ol’ leather cheerio, I can blame it on him. Two can play that game, humans.

But there’s a lot of downside I never realized. For instance, whenever we’re binge-watching “Say Yes To The Dress,” we engage in this passive-aggressive battle where we try to claim more couch space. Dude is encroaching on the couch ass groove that I have spent YEARS developing. It’s my own little divot. I’m like NUH-UH, GINGER INTERLOPER – KNOW YOUR LIMITS. I swear he walks around here like he practically owns the place.

Plus, in my opinion, he’s enjoying the fruits of retirement a little TOO much. He used to be presentable. Now he walks around here looking like he just woke up on some stranger’s front lawn. Even Blaney’s like “Dude, groom your damn self.” And to our neighbors, I am terribly sorry – rest assured that Amy and I are doing everything in our power to get him to actually wear something under his bathrobe when he goes out to get the mail at 3 p.m. Please do not call the police until we can get this resolved.

And before I forget, I want to congratulate the fellow whose bus I took a dump in a couple years ago on winning that giant trophy. I think his name is Martin. His dog’s name is Boden and tell you what, that dog has an ego now. Whatever. As Kyle Busch said, sometimes you just don’t like a dog.

The other huge news is that apparently we are gaining a “new addition to the family” as Dale and Amy call it. This is vague. I dunno if this means they’re gonna be tossing another wrecked car chassis on our property that I then have to whiz upon because territory is territory – BACK OFF, JUNEBUG. Or maybe this means that Steve guy finally accepted Dale’s friend request. I don’t know.

OHHHHHHHHHHH hold on – wait, I just figured it out. We’re getting a new small human! As in they’re having a baby – AJ Allmendinger isn’t moving in or anything. Oh MAN, that’ll be crazy. Imagine when she’s born. Everyone’s gonna gather outside the hospital and Dale’s gonna have to go on the roof and hold her up like Simba.

OK … wow, I got so much to process right now. Gonna save it for another blog. OH man, imagine what great parents they’ll be. There’ll be a lot of us here – house will be packed pretty tight. Not Dale-in-bike-shorts tight. But tight.

They sure are gonna be awesome parents. They’ll make sure she’s well-raised, gets good grades, and knows that popularity isn’t the most important thing. At which point she might gesture at Dale’s 643 Most Popular Driver awards on the mantel and Dale’s gonna have to be like “Never mind them.”

SO MUCH TO PROCESS. Feliz Navidad, y’all.

– Gus

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Steve Luvender

Looking for holiday gift inspiration for the NASCAR fan in your life? Well, we’ve got you covered if the traditional route is simply not enough. Generate a totally random and made-up NASCAR-themed gift that you probably won’t find this holiday season (unless they really carry the Corey Lajoie Roomba or William Byron Hatchimals in stores, but we have our doubts).