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Go Fas Racing announced Thursday that Matt DiBenedetto will drive its No. 32 Ford full-time in NASCAR’s premier series in 2017.

DiBenedetto joins the Archie St. Hilaire-owned team after two seasons with BK Racing. The 25-year-old California native parted ways with BK team owner Ron Devine last week, one day before teammate David Ragan followed suit.

“We have a great group of people that I am very excited to work with this season,” DiBenedetto said in a release provided by the team. “I am thankful for the opportunity and I look forward to representing the team and sponsors to the best of my ability.”

The move positions Go Fas Racing to have one driver for all 36 points-paying races for the first time since it joined NASCAR’s premier series full-time in 2014. A total of eight drivers piloted Go Fas’ No. 32 last season, with Jeffrey Earnhardt entering the majority of the races — 19. Joey Gase (six races), Bobby Labonte (4), Jeb Burton (2), Patrick Carpentier (2), Dylan Lupton, Eddie MacDonald and Boris Said (one each) were Go Fas’ other drivers.

The team indicated that Can-Am/Kappa, Keen Parts and Visone RV would return as sponsors with more partnerships yet to be announced. St. Hilaire also mentioned his hopes that “a fleet of newer race equipment purchased this offseason” would boost the team’s performance next year.

DiBenedetto has finished 35th in the final standings the last two seasons in NASCAR’s top division. He scored an emotional career-best finish of sixth place last April at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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In the fourth and final installment of the Mobil 1 “Our Normal Drives” video series on NASCAR.com, the Official Motor Oil of NASCAR gives fans a look at how the CNC shop manager at Stewart-Haas Racing helps prepare the drivers for their anything-but-normal race day drive.

Check out how John Simmons works behind the scenes to create custom parts which prepare the Stewart-Haas Cup cars for their journeys.

Watch today’s video, which is part of NASCAR Inside Track presented by Mobil 1, then come back for more in-depth looks at NASCAR from Mobil 1.

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SHOP: For your favorite die-casts

It’s not often that Dale Earnhardt Jr. loses a popularity contest, but that was the case Thursday when Lionel Racing — The Official Die-Cast of NASCAR — announced its best-selling die-cast of 2016.

For the first time since 2011 it wasn’t Junior’s No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at the top of the list. Instead, it was Earnhardt’s teammate, Chase Elliott, whose No. 24 NAPA Chevrolet claimed the top spot.

“Chase Elliott‘s arrival on the NASCAR scene has been big, and the overwhelming popularity of his first rookie NASCAR Sprint Cup Series die-cast is further proof that race fans relate to him and everything he represents,” said Lionel Racing President Howard Hitchcock in a company press release.

Never fear Junior Nation, as Earnhardt’s car still accounted for four out of 10 of the company’s best sellers.

Making the list for the first time was Kurt Busch, whose Monster Energy Chevrolet secured the seventh spot. Monster Energy recently became the sponsor for NASCAR’s top series, signing a multi-year deal.

Here’s the complete top-10 list of best-sellers for 2016:

1. Chase Elliott No. 24 NAPA Chevrolet
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. No. 88 Nationwide/Batman Chevrolet
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet
5. Kevin Harvick No. 4 Busch Chevrolet
6. Jimmie Johnson No. 48 Lowe’s/Superman Chevrolet
7. Kurt Busch No. 41 Monster Energy Chevrolet
8. Jimmie Johnson No. 48 Lowe’s 7X Time Champion Chevrolet
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. No. 88 Nationwide/Gray Ghost Darlington Chevrolet
10. Kevin Harvick No. 4 Busch Light Chevrolet

Posted on by George Winkler

.010: The margin of victory (in seconds) for Denny Hamlin over Martin Truex Jr. in the season-opening Daytona 500, the closest finish in the 58-year history of the Great American Race.

.010: The margin of victory (in seconds) for Kevin Harvick over Carl Edwards three weeks later at Phoenix International Raceway, the closest finish ever at the 1-mile track. We hear a lot about door-buster deals this time of year, but this finish was a door-banging deal instead.

$20,000: The amount NASCAR officials fined Danica Patrick for walking toward the racing surface and gesturing at Kasey Kahne‘s passing car during the Auto Club 400 in March at Auto Club Speedway.

$10,000: The amount NASCAR officials fined Kyle Busch for failure to fulfill his post-race media obligations following the XFINITY Series race at Auto Club.

Not sure what was going on under the California sun that weekend, but both drivers managed to avoid similar situations the rest of the season, which was good for everyone involved.

.75 miles: That’s how close Kyle Busch was to victory in April at Richmond before teammate Carl Edwards used his No. 19 Toyota to nudge Busch’s No. 18 out of the way. It was Edwards’ second win in a row for the season and it was the first last-lap win in the track’s history. The silence on Busch’s radio afterward was deafening. | Listen to in-car audio

18 (Part 1): The number of cars that wrecked during a restart pileup in May at Dover when Jimmie Johnson‘s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet had a mechanical failure. This opened the door for Matt Kenseth to hold off a hard-charging Kyle Larson for the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team’s first win of the season.

392: The number of laps Martin Truex Jr. led out of 400 laps in the Coca-Cola 600 in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He spent 588 of the 600 miles at the front, which set a record for a NASCAR race. Pity to the poor souls who removed him from their NASCAR Fantasy Live lineups right before the green flag.

23.0: The average age of the podium finishers in the June race at Michigan International Speedway, a record for the youngest first-, second- and third-place finishers in NASCAR history. Joey Logano (26) won the race and was followed by Chase Elliott (20) and Kyle Larson (23).

49: Tony Stewart‘s win total in the NASCAR premier series after he bumped Denny Hamlin out of the way in the final corner in June at Sonoma for what turned out to be his last victory. The win ended an 84-race drought for Stewart and wrapped up with him in Victory Lane drinking wine from a crystal goblet.

18 (Part 2): The number of races Dale Earnhardt Jr. would eventually miss because of concussion-related symptoms believed to be brought on after a crash at the season’s first race at Michigan. Alex Bowman drove the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet starting with the July race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Jeff Gordon also filled in for his former teammate starting at Indianapolis.

1: The number of road-course races Denny Hamlin has won in his career after he took the checkered flag in August at Watkins Glen International. Hamlin rebounded from his last-lap disappointment at Sonoma to hold off Martin Truex Jr., whose No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota wiped out on the last lap after contact with Brad Keselowski‘s No. 2 Team Penske Ford.

99: It took Kyle Larson this many starts before reporters could finally stop writing stories about when the talented Chip Ganassi Racing driver would win a premier series race, because he did so in August at Michigan International Speedway. And with Brett Moffitt winning in the Camping World Truck Series at Michigan and Michael McDowell winning at Road America that weekend, it marked the first time in history that there were first-time winners in all three NASCAR national series in one weekend.

17: The number of spots Kevin Harvick lost on pit road throughout the Bojangles’ Southern 500 — giving new meaning to the term “throwback” at Darlington Raceway‘s annual nod to racing’s past. So despite leading a race-high 214 laps, Harvick was unable to win — with that honor instead going to Martin Truex Jr., whose pit crew was on point when it mattered most.

.006: The margin (in seconds) that Denny Hamlin finished ahead of Kurt Busch for third place in October at Talladega Superspeedway, allowing Hamlin to tie Austin Dillon for the final Round of 8 transfer spot — with the best finish tiebreaker propelling Hamlin into the next round. All three of Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates also made the Round of 8. Those teammates rode in the back of the field for much of the race, employing a controversial strategy with the potential aim of avoiding the “Big One.”

9: Jimmie Johnson won for the ninth time at Martinsville Speedway in the October Chase race that guaranteed him a berth in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The win also gave the green light for pundits to ponder, along with the driver, the possibility of a seventh championship.

7: Three weeks later at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Jimmie Johnson earned the new nickname “Seven-Time” with his dramatic come-from-behind win in the Ford EcoBoost 400. Johnson’s seventh championship tied him with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most all-time and came after a wreck by Carl Edwards, who was trying to block Joey Logano following a late restart. For Johnson, it was career win No. 80, and now, the key stat entering next year is eight, as in Johnson attempting to stand alone in greatness.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon announced his retirement, a lot of folks thought he would be done with racing when the 2015 season was over. The truth, however, has proved to be just the opposite.
 
Gordon resumed NASCAR driving duties in numerous fill-in roles for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet throughout the 2016 season. At the beginning of this month, it also was announced that Gordon would return to the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the opening race for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, after a 10-year hiatus.
 
For the 2017 Rolex 24, Gordon will join Wayne Taylor Racing in the team’s brand new Daytona Prototype international (DPi), the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, where he will compete alongside Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli. Gordon turned his first laps in the car at in an IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona on Tuesday afternoon.
 
“Oh man, that was a lot of fun,” Gordon said after finishing his stint in the car. “I’m thrilled to be here, and to finally get some laps in. It didn’t disappoint. To be able to drive a car that has that kind of downforce, and the kind of braking and cornering it’s capable of, it’s just an amazing piece of machinery.”
 
In 2007, Gordon’s lone previous Rolex 24 experience, he drove alongside Angelelli, Wayne Taylor and Jan Magnussen in a Corvette Daytona Prototype. Despite a few setbacks during the race, the quartet ended up finishing on the overall podium in third. Back then, the DPs were far more similar to a Cup car than the new batch of DPi models are, so Gordon has been meticulous in his preparations.
 
“I’ve been working so hard because I want to give these guys everything,” explained Gordon. “I told Wayne years ago that I wasn’t going to come back to run this again unless I can put in the necessary amount of time and effort. I might be working harder this year than I think I’ve ever worked.
 
“Every lap I’ve made in the car has been helpful, as has the time I spent in the Dallara simulator in Indianapolis — that was big. I’ve definitely spent some time getting familiar with the seat, the steering wheel and how the car reacts. I anticipated feeling more comfortable here at Daytona than I did on the Charlotte road course, and that’s exactly what happened.”
 
For much of Tuesday, the team was working through a few software gremlins with the engine. However, once they hit the track, all the drivers were able to get some valuable seat time in on the high banks. Gordon feels there is definitely great room for improvement in setup, but he’s looking to step aside and listen to the experts on that topic.
 
“That’s for Ricky and Jordan and Max,” he said. “I mean, I’m just trying to keep up with those guys. I felt like there were some areas where I could have been more aggressive, but we’ll see.”
 
Gordon finds great amusement in some of the reaction to the announcement that he would be returning to the Rolex, as he wasn’t exactly private about his interest in partaking in the race. However, despite alluding to it on numerous occasions, much of the surprise makes him feel that not everyone took him seriously on the matter. He’s looking forward to showing everyone just how serious he actually was by chasing a win in the twice-around-the-clock enduro.
 
“At this point in my life and career, that would be huge,” Gordon said. “I think you really realize how important this race is when you’re here on race day and you see the hype and the buildup and it doesn’t disappoint. The challenges that you face, going for 24 hours to compete at that level against your competitors, that’s what makes this race so thrilling.”
 
Everyone will get a chance to experience that thrill on Jan. 28, when the green flag drops on the 55th Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR announced Wednesday that it will again host its annual NASCAR Fan Appreciation Day at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 21, 2017.

Current national series drivers, NASCAR Hall of Famers and members of the NASCAR Next Class are expected to be in attendance for a day-long celebration that will include autograph sessions, opportunities for fan-driver photos and question-and-answer sessions.

NASCAR Fan Appreciation Day will follow Friday night’s NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN), where Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Mark Martin, Raymond Parks and Benny Parsons will be officially inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as its Class of 2017.

Also part of Saturday’s festivities, the NASCAR Hall of Fame will unveil each inductees’ granite markers in the gardens just outside the Hall’s doors.

Further information about autograph session schedules plus ticket/wristband information will be announced at a later date.

Posted on by Staff Report

Blue is for boy. 

Trevor Bayne took to Instagram this week to reveal that he and wife Ashton are expecting their second child — a boy — to join daughter Elizabeth Kate Bayne, who was born last December.

The Baynes had quite a bit of fun at the gender reveal as Trevor proudly announced on Instagram that he got to “blow stuff up” to determine whether the baby would a boy or a girl. The Bayne’s second child is due in June.

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JTG Daugherty Racing revealed the car number Monday for its new team and incoming driver Chris Buescher — No. 37.

The expanding operation — owned by Jodi and Tad Geschickter with former NBA star Brad Daugherty — tweeted out an image of the numerals Monday afternoon. The team had previously announced its two-car effort in NASCAR’s premier series for 2017, with Buescher named as the second driver Nov. 29 through an arrangement with Roush Fenway Racing.

The combination of numbers borrows from a pair of sources. The number 3 features the same typeface as the stylized numeral made famous by Richard Childress Racing, which shares a technical alliance with JTG Daugherty. The number 7 carries over from JTG Daugherty’s founding team, the No. 47 Chevrolet driven by AJ Allmendinger.

The No. 37 has not been used in NASCAR’s top division since the 2014 season, when multiple drivers campaigned a part-time entry for Tommy Baldwin Racing. The car number is credited with just one victory in 486 premier-series efforts — a win by NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Isaac on Columbia Speedway’s half-mile dirt track on April 18, 1968.