Editor’s note: Photo courtesy of Chevrolet Racing

For Justin Dubin of San Diego, California, being the most recent winner of an online Chevrolet Racing sweepstakes could not have turned out any better: He won a brand-new Chevrolet Silverado and a trip to NASCAR’s postseason banquet.

“This has been a great experience, definitely one of the coolest things to happen in my life,” Durbin said before picking up his new pickup last week. “Winning this sweepstakes is a sign that the universe loves me.”

The online sweepstakes, put together by Chevy Motorsports and NASCAR last September, culminated with Dubin winning the Grand Prize, which included a 2016 Silverado and a trip for two to Las Vegas for the 2015 NASCAR Champions Week events and banquet in December. 

“The purpose of the sweepstakes is to utilize the platform as an opportunity to work with partners in a capacity that reaches a lot of fans,” said Meagan Quinn, Chevy Racing Digital and Social Media Marketing Manager. “This allows us to reach people who might not otherwise consider Chevrolet.

“The sweepstakes’ creative and call to action of entering for a chance to win, allows us the opportunity to collect opt-ins, with which fans confirm that they are interested in receiving more information from Chevrolet. From there, we can contact them about special offers. This platform has been successful in producing high sales conversions.”

Dubin received delivery of his 2016 Silverado on Friday, March 4, at Courtesy Chevrolet in San Diego.

Chevrolet’s latest online sweepstakes winner already has plans for his new Silverado, which pairs brains with brawn to build upon the legacy of the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickup trucks on the road.

“The Silverado is a great fit for my personality,” Dubin said. “We love the outdoors and plan to tow a lot of toys behind this great truck.”

NASCAR Diversity Award recipient Macy Causey was featured in the March issue of Sport Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd alongside other prominent athletes thanks to her running list of racing-related accolades. 

In April, the 15-year-old competed in her first race at Langley Speedway in the Late Model Division, becoming the youngest female to race at the .396-mile track. She has NASCAR in her blood, too — her grandmother, Diane Teel, was the first woman to start a race in what is now the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

Causey then went on to receive the Langley Speedway Rookie of the Year honors. 

Her most recent accomplishment came in February when she was honored with the NASCAR Diversity Award’s ninth annual Young Racer Award.

The SI feature can be found here. 

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took questions from the NASCAR media last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway appearing as relaxed and hopeful as he could be. Hopeful being the key adjective.

This year is poised to be a welcome new chapter in his Sprint Cup career — a winning chapter.

Stenhouse is ranked 11th in the standings following a 12th-place finish in the No. 17 Fastenal Ford on Sunday in Las Vegas. He was 22nd at Daytona and 10th in Atlanta — which marked his 12th top-10 effort in his four seasons. It’s his best start since his rookie year when he was ranked 11th after the opening three races.

Stenhouse, 28, has never had more than five top-10s in a single year (2014) and with his early pace — and the bulk of the schedule remaining — he may well post his best year statistically speaking. A win — or multiple — is still the goal.

With new hires behind the scenes and a reinvigorated effort on the cars, the entire Roush organization is as optimistic for the 2016 season as it has been in many years.

“I think we were more pumped up this media tour because of the way we ended last year versus the way we started last year,” Stenhouse said. “We were going in the right direction. All the things we learned throughout last year, the things we implemented to the cars and our system, the people we implemented brought over some more information, and all that, kept playing into how we ended the year last year.

“It kind of made us more motivated, and pretty happy with the group of people we got and believe in the direction we’re going. You can see it throughout the shop. The drivers feel like we drive it now and can see a difference. That’s the biggest thing for us drivers.”

After back-to-back championships (2011-12) in the NASCAR XFINITY Series much was expected of the Ford driver when he transitioned to the Roush Fenway Racing Sprint Cup team. Especially because he particularly dominated en route to his 2012 XFINITY title, winning six times and posting 19 top-five finishes in 33 races.

Stenhouse was understandably hopeful and confident entering the Cup ranks in 2013. Although he won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title that season, his showing (three top-10s, one top-five) was disappointing in relation to his expectations and those of others. The organization struggled in general and it was a harsh learning experience in particular.

Instead of getting better, however, his second and third seasons were tough, too. During this same three-race period in 2015, for example, Stenhouse had finishes of 29th, 36th and 29th.

“Over the last few years we were doing a lot of work, the team was doing a lot of work, but we really didn’t feel anything different in the race cars and we didn’t see any speed difference in the race cars,” Stenhouse said. “Last year, throughout the year we could see a difference and the first time since I’ve been on the Cup side I could feel the difference and that was a big thing for me.”

Three races in, Stenhouse still seemed a bit reluctant to declare himself a contender this season, but he was clearly more enthusiastic and confident than in years past. Promise is just that and for a former NASCAR champion it comes with tempered and realistic expectations.

But seizing on the positives … having positives is certainly a sign of improvement.

“Went to Daytona and the cars were fast and we qualified well and didn’t get the results we wanted in the race, but the cars were fast,” Stenhouse said. “Everyone was like, ‘This is great.’ But I was like, ‘It’s a superspeedway race.’

“Then at Atlanta cars were good and I was like, ‘I hope the race goes well.’ I didn’t know, I’ve had cars go the other way.

“Definitely on the 17 team we’re taking it one race at a time, one practice at a time. We had a good race in Atlanta, but I was a little nervous about how the car would be today (in Las Vegas). … If we were going to have speed, how would it drive, and it was a lot better than we were here last year.

“We’ve still got a long ways to go. We want to be back winning and running top-five consistently. I’m happy with how we ran last week, but you don’t want to get too far ahead of yourself.”

Stewart-Haas Racing announced Wednesday afternoon that Tony Stewart‘s doctors are satisfied with the healing of an L1 vertebra burst fracture the No. 14 SHR driver and co-owner sustained in a Jan. 31 all-terrain vehicle accident.

Stewart’s doctors now are implementing a rehabilitation regimen to hasten the driver’s recovery, SHR said.

No timetable for Stewart’s return has been set, as further evaluations of his progress are needed.

The three-time Sprint Cup Series champion is expected to make a full recovery and return to the No. 14 Chevrolet to close out his final season in the Sprint Cup Series. Plans for an interim driver have not been finalized.