Posted on by Staff Report

Only 17 drivers in premier series history have won 40 races — and just one, Jimmie Johnson, will be an active driver in 2017.

 

It’s a story that bears watching in 2017 as three drivers have 40 in their sights. It’s worth noting that of the 17 drivers, from Richard Petty (200 wins) to Mark Martin (40), everyone eligible for the NASCAR Hall of Fame has either been inducted, or in Martin’s case, will be inducted.

 

Jeff Gordon (93 wins) and Tony Stewart (49 wins) aren’t eligible yet, but widely are considered locks to be enshrined as well.

 

Here’s a look at three current drivers with 40 in their sights, as well as a full list of drivers with 40 or more wins in NASCAR’s history.

Kyle Busch

 

Career wins: 38

Rank all time: Tied for 19th

Outlook: Given that Busch has won nine races in two years with Adam Stevens as his crew chief, it will be a surprise if he doesn’t reach 40 in 2017. A banner season (which we’ll qualify as six wins or more) would put him in range of catching Bill Elliott on the all-time list.

Matt Kenseth

 

Career wins: 38

Rank all time: Tied for 19th

Outlook: Be cautiously optimistic about Kenseth’s chances. He’s run slightly hot and cold since joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2013, at least when it comes to wins. Including that season, his wins per year have been: 7, 0, 5, 2. On one hand, he’s due for an uptick. On the other, there aren’t many 44-year-olds who suddenly see a surge in performance.

Kevin Harvick

 

Career wins: 35

Rank all time: 22nd

Outlook: Harvick needs five wins to get to 40, and he’s done that in his career twice before, most recently in 2014. Although he and crew chief Rodney Childers have fielded one of the fastest cars in the garage for three years, he’s probably more likely to reach 40 wins in 2018, given that Stewart-Haas Racing is undergoing a manufacturer change from Chevrolet to Ford and hinky issues likely will pop up throughout the season.

Drivers with 40 or more premier series wins

Rank Driver Wins
1. Richard Petty 200
2. David Pearson 105
3. Jeff Gordon 93
t-4. Bobby Allison 84
t-4. Darrell Waltrip 84
6. Cale Yarborough 83
7. Jimmie Johnson 80
8. Dale Earnhardt 76
9. Rusty Wallace 55
10. Lee Petty 54
11. Ned Jarrett 50
12. Junior Johnson 50
13. Tony Stewart 49
14. Herb Thomas 48
15. Buck Baker 46
16. Bill Elliott 44
17. Mark Martin 40
Posted on by Team Release

RELATED: Gilliland’s 2017 plans set

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Dec. 21, 2016) – Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced today that 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion Todd Gilliland will compete in four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races in 2017 with primary sponsorship from Toyota – the world’s top automaker. Gilliland, who competed in seven Super Late Model races for KBM in 2016, will make his Truck Series debut behind the wheel of the No. 51 Toyota Tundra June 17 at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois.

The third-generation driver will also compete at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Sept. 3, New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon Sept. 23 and Phoenix International Raceway Nov. 10.


With six victories this year in the K&N Pro Series West, the 16-year-old matched three other drivers for the series record for most wins in a single season and also collected six poles, 11 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes en route to becoming the youngest champion in the history of any NASCAR national or touring series. The K&N West Series Rookie of the Year also competed in five K&N Pro Series East events in 2016, registering one win, one pole, three top-five and five top-10 finishes.


Gilliland was victorious in his K&N Pro Series West debut at Phoenix International Raceway in November of 2015 and opened up the 2016 season with wins in both the East Series opener at New Smyrna Speedway and the West Series opener at Irwindale Speedway. He followed it up with a win at Kern County Raceway Park in April, giving him wins in each of his first four K&N Starts which matched a 60-year-old record set by International Motorsports Hall of Famer Dan Gurney.


In addition to his seven career K&N Pro Series victories, Gilliland made history in his ARCA Racing Series debut at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway in May of 2015 when he became the youngest winner in series history just two days after his 15th birthday. He finished ninth in his only other ARCA start at Iowa Speedway in July of 2015.


“Todd joined the driver lineup for our Super Late Model program this year and we liked what we saw with his competitive nature and strong work ethic, so we are looking forward to seeing him move up to the Truck Series program for 2017 and getting behind the wheel of our Tundras for four races,” Busch said. “He proved by winning several races in the K&N Series, both East and West, and the West Series championship that he has the talent to succeed in bigger stock cars and he deserves a chance to compete at higher levels next season.”


“I’m very excited for the opportunity to race in the Truck Series for KBM next year and it wouldn’t be possible without the support of everyone at Toyota and TRD,” Gilliland said. “Moving up into the top levels of NASCAR is going to be a learning experience, but I know that I’m getting behind the wheel of fast Tundras and with the staff that they have in place at KBM and the knowledge that Kyle can pass along I’m going to learn a lot and continue to grow as a driver.”


Gilliland joins owner-driver Busch (five races) as part of the multi-driver lineup that will compete behind the wheel of the No. 51 Tundra in 2017. Announcements for the drivers who will complete the remainder of the schedule are forthcoming.

Posted on by Team Release

RELATED: Catch up on key offseason moves


WELCOME, N.C. — Richard Childress Racing (RCR) will return with three full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series entries and five full-time NASCAR XFINITY Series teams for the 2017 season. It will be the first time in team history that RCR will field five full-time XFINITY Series entries, and the first time since 2011 the team has fielded eight full-time teams.
 
Austin Dillon, Paul Menard and Ryan Newman return to carry the banner for the RCR Cup Series program in 2017. Richard “Slugger” Labbe, Matt Borland and Luke Lambert have been assigned crew chief duties, respectively.
 
With the addition of rookie driver Daniel Hemric, RCR will operate five entries out of its XFINITY Series stable.
 
The No. 2 and No. 3 Chevrolets in the XFINITY Series will include multiple drivers. Austin Dillon and Paul Menard will be primary drivers for the No. 2 Chevrolet, with second-year crew chief Justin Alexander atop the pit box. Ty Dillon will remain with the No. 3 Chevrolet team and will partner with rookie crew chief Matt Swiderski, who has spent 10 years at RCR in its engineering department. Swiderski made his debut as crew chief last season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he led the No. 3 team to a second-place finish. Additional drivers for RCR’s No. 2 and No. 3 teams will be named at a later date.
 
Brandon Jones and Brendan Gaughan return with full-time driving duties of the No. 33 and No. 62 Chevrolets, respectively, and will compete for the XFINITY Series driver championship. Jones and veteran crew chief Nick Harrison will be paired together, while Gaughan returns with his long-time crew chief Shane Wilson for their 12th season together.
 
In 2017, RCR will welcome back the storied No. 21 entry with Daniel Hemric behind the wheel. Hemric and two-time NASCAR championship winning crew chief Danny Stockman will work together as Hemric competes for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors and the XFINITY Series driver championship.

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Dec. 20, 2016) – Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced today that owner-driver Kyle Busch will compete in five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events in 2017. Busch’s No. 51 Tundra will carry primary sponsorship from Textron Aviation, an aircraft industry leader that provides its customers with the most versatile and comprehensive general aviation product portfolio in the world. KBM will promote Textron Aviation’s Cessna, Hawker and Beechcraft brands.

Busch ranks second on the Truck Series All-time win list with 46. The Las Vegas native has been victorious in a remarkable 34.6 percent (46/133) of his starts since debuting in NASCAR’s third division in 2001 and has finished first or second 52.67 (70/133) percent of the time. “Rowdy” collected two wins and three top-five finishes across four Truck Series starts in 2016. His 170 all-time combined NASCAR national series wins rank second to NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty (200).


“We are very excited to have Textron Aviation and the Cessna, Hawker and Beechcraft brands as new partners for my five races in the Truck Series for 2017,” Busch said. “Textron Aviation’s commitment to multiple teams across multiple levels in NASCAR shows that they are a company that knows how to build successful programs and I’m looking forward to seeing our program take off at Atlanta.”


Busch will make his 2017 Truck Series debut Saturday March 4 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and will also race May 12 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, May 20 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, July 29 at Pocono Raceway and Aug. 12 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.


Announcements for the rest of the driver lineup that will share driving duties behind the wheel of the No. 51 Tundra with Busch are forthcoming.

Posted on by Team Release

BK Racing has announced a multiple race partnership with Best Home Furnishings to sponsor the No. 23 BK Racing Toyota Camry with driver, Joey Gase. The Best Home Furnishings Toyota will be on track at the Daytona 500 in February, the night race at Bristol Motor Speedway and additional races throughout the 2017 season. The Daytona 500 will be Gase’s first race with BK Racing.      

“We’re thrilled to have Joey and Best Home Furnishings, one of the largest furniture manufacturers, join us for the Daytona 500 in February,” said BK Racing team owner Ron Devine. “It is the largest race of our series and a wonderful event for Joey to debut his BK Racing relationship. We’ve been watching Joey’s growth for quite some time and looking forward to seeing what he can do behind the wheel of a BK Race car.”

“I cannot put into words how thankful I am for the opportunity everyone at Best Home Furnishings and BK Racing has given me,” said driver Joey Gase. “Racing in the Daytona 500 and the Bristol night race has been a dream of mine since I can remember. It’s very exciting to share this experience with everyone at Best Home Furnishings and those who have helped me get to this point in my career.” 

Best Home Furnishings is becoming one of the largest furniture manufacturers in the world. With five locations throughout the US and over 1,000 employees they have a very simple theme, make the best quality product at the most affordable price.  

“We are thrilled to be partnering with BK Racing and Joey Gase,” said Glenn Lange, CEO of Best Home Furnishings. “Joey is a young, energetic and up-and-coming driver who has shown to be competitive from an early age. His heavy involvement with the non-profit, Donate Life exemplifies our shared values and passion to exude excellence in all facets of our business and personal lives.”

“Our family has been involved with the collection of classic and sports cars for decades. To have our company’s name as a primary sponsor on a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car is a dream come true,” said Lange. 

The decision for Best Home Furnishing to enter the sport of NASCAR was quite simple. “NASCAR has some of the most loyal, passionate fan bases amongst the major U.S. sports scenes,” Lange said. “The cross section of this fan base also happens to align with our desirable furniture demographic.” 

Gase sums up this relationship perfectly, stating, “It is awesome to say I will be 1 of the 40 drivers in the world racing in the 2017 Daytona 500 driving for BK Racing and Best Home Furnishings.”

Posted on by Team Release

LEVEL CROSS, N.C. — Petty’s Garage will expand the Level Cross, North Carolina, speed shop with a $2.4 million investment. The expansion will include renovations to the shop and the addition of 17 new jobs over the next two years. Construction is slated for the first quarter of 2017. The expansion will allow the team to continue their high-quality performance parts, restorations and custom builds that are fit for “The King.”

 

The added renovations will increase capacity for manufacturing automotive parts, as well as restoring and modifying cars and specialty builds to decrease the service wait time and meet demand. The added jobs will include technicians, as well as management positions, and marketing and sales jobs to the existing Petty’s Garage team of 33 employees.

 

“We’re thrilled to announce the expansion of Petty’s Garage,” said Richard Petty, owner of Petty’s Garage. “Petty’s Garage is the shop where I grew up building racecars and it is very special to me. It’s great that we’ve now built the demand to expand our team and increase our capabilities. We want to continue the tradition of renovation and innovation. To add to the economic development of Randolph County, and bring new jobs to the community, is something we’re extremely proud of as well.”

 

Petty’s Garage was founded by Petty as a way to keep his competitive spirit alive. Petty — representing the second of four generations of Petty racers — won 200 NASCAR races in his career, a record many believe will never be broken. He also holds the record for most wins (27) in a season in 1967, including a record-setting 10 consecutive wins.

About Petty’s Garage

In June 2008 Petty’s Garage, a Level Cross, North Carolina-based company, was born to begin restorations on racecar chassis from owner Richard Petty’s private collection. Petty’s Garage is currently bringing “The King’s” winning tradition to a wide variety of high-performance automobiles from production-based Richard Petty Signature Series to custom builds and restorations. Petty’s Garage is a high performance speed shop focused on spectacular performance automobiles.