Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series kicks off the 2025 season with the sport’s premier crown-jewel event: the 67th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Qualifying for this race is unlike any other on the circuit. The format includes two rounds of single-car qualifying to set the front row of the Daytona 500, plus a pair of 60-lap Duel races that sets the remainder of the field and the official starting lineup for the “Great American Race.”

RELATED: Full Daytona schedule | TV schedule for Daytona 500 week

How the field is set

The 36 drivers of Chartered cars are guaranteed to be in the race. Their starting positions are determined by both single-car qualifying and the Duel races. The remaining four spots in the field are filled by drivers in non-Chartered, or Open, cars.

The two fastest non-Charter cars in single-car qualifying will lock into the field — they could still advance their Daytona 500 starting spot with their performance in the Duel races but can fall back on their time if needed. The final two positions are determined by the highest-finishing non-Charter car in each Duel race.

New for 2025 is the Open Exemption Provisional, which NASCAR can give to a special or invited entrant on a case-by-case basis. NASCAR announced that Hélio Castroneves would be awarded the provisional for the Daytona 500 if needed. Castroneves, driving the No. 91 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing, can still qualify for the Daytona 500 via the standard qualifying procedure. But if he doesn’t, he would slot in as a special entrant and start 41st. For more information on the OEP, read here.

MORE: Active drivers with Daytona 500 victory | Daytona 500 pole winners

Daytona 500 single-car qualifying

The single-car qualifying session is Wednesday, Feb. 12 (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Each driver will run one timed lap around the 2.5-mile Florida superspeedway. The top 10 fastest drivers will then advance to Round 2 to fight for the pole position. The two fastest drivers in the final round lock themselves on the front row for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), with the fastest claiming the pole. The rest of the lineup for the “Great American Race” is determined by the Duel races on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The lineups for the two Duel races are determined by the qualifying speed chart. Those finishing first, third, fifth, etc. will race in Duel 1. Those finishing second, fourth, sixth, etc. will race in Duel 2, although NASCAR ensures there is an even number of Charter cars and non-Charter cars in each Duel race.

How do the Duels set the starting lineup for the Daytona 500?

The Duels consist of two 60-lap, 150-mile qualifying races that set positions third to 40th in the Daytona 500. The finishing order from Duel No. 1 will make up the inside rows for the Daytona 500. Then, those participating in Duel No. 2 will complete the outside rows for the “Great American Race.” Remember, the starting front row for the Daytona 500 was previously determined via single-car qualifying.

Duel No. 1 is set to get underway Thursday, Feb. 13 (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Meanwhile, Duel No. 2 is tentatively scheduled for 8:45 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

SHOP: Gear up for the Daytona 500 

Are points awarded in the Duels?

The top-10 finishers in each Duel will be rewarded points that count toward the regular season. However, no playoff points will be awarded to the winners of each Duel race.

The winning driver of each Duel race will receive 10 points. Second place will earn nine points, and so on, down to the 10th-place finishers, who will get one point.

Posted on by Brandon White

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — A week-long trip to New Smyrna Speedway comes as a full-circle moment for Quebec, Canada native Raphael Lessard.

It was in 2016 during the World Series of Asphalt when Lessard made a solid first impression amongst the U.S. motorsports community. Driving a car prepared by David Gilliland, a solid debut outing for Lessard ended with a fourth-place finish in the Pro Late Model standings, which included a victory in the penultimate event.

That triumph in the Pro Late Model was Lessard’s first on U.S. soil at 14 years old. Now wiser with more experience to his name, Lessard has spent the first few days in New Smyrna diagnosing issues with his Pro Late Model but remains optimistic he can recapture the same consistency from 2016 before the week concludes.

“We wanted to enjoy a week of racing, that’s why we’re here,” Lessard said. “[We’ve been] having some trouble with the engine. It just won’t go. The car is really good in the corners, but there’s something we haven’t figured out.”

RELATED: Follow the World Series of Asphalt 

Lessard had plenty of knowledge to rely on for resolving his mechanical problems, some of which stems from his brief stint in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with organizations like Gilliland’s and Kyle Busch Motorsports.

The efficiency Lessard displayed on U.S. short tracks, including accomplishments such as a Super Late Model title the same year of his breakthrough World Series of Asphalt win, kept him on the radar of major teams during the late 2010s. By the end of the decade, Lessard found his way into the Truck Series on a part-time basis.

Lessard’s first full-time Truck Series campaign with Busch was anything but normal. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic meant Lessard could not utilize practice or qualifying to acclimate himself to tracks larger than a half mile, requiring him to lean more on the simulator and his team for guidance.

Despite dealing with some initial struggles, Lessard adjusted to the circumstances around him and began to find his comfort zone. All four of Lessard’s top fives came during the second half of the Truck Series season, including his lone victory at Talladega Superspeedway after he passed Stewart Friesen on the last lap.

Raphael Lessard
Despite dealing with COVID-19 restrictions, Raphael Lessard adapted to his environment and managed to score his lone NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win in 2020. (Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Although he planned to run another full Truck Series season in 2021 with GMS Racing, financial issues caused him to vacate the ride after seven starts. While he wishes his time in NASCAR would have endured, Lessard is grateful for everything he learned during that timeframe, particularly in a year dominated by COVID-19 restrictions.

“I learned to adapt,” Lessard said. “It was a new race track every week with no practice. You’re working full-time to develop your skills and craft at racing. There’s a lot of aero stuff at [an intermediate] you don’t have on a short track, but that was really fun to learn.

“In the end, it was too much money for us, but I lived that dream for a year and a half.”

Lessard moved back to his home country of Canada after departing GMS Racing, where he maintains an active presence in the motorsports community.

The start of the 2021 NASCAR Canada Series saw Lessard take home checkered flags in the first two races at Sunset Speedway. Lessard still makes infrequent appearances in the Canada Series, but his focus the past two years has been with Serie ACT Quebec, where he has piloted the No. 48 for LaRue Performance.

Lessard wasted no time showcasing the talent that helped him reach NASCAR’s top levels just a few years earlier. He earned the Serie ACT Quebec championship during his rookie year in 2023 before following it up with an even more dominant run that saw him tally six victories and build a 109-point advantage over Jeff Cote in the final standings.

Cote has known Lessard since his childhood, as they both attended the same school and played ice hockey together. The two also bonded over their family’s passion for motorsports, as Lessard and Cote’s fathers, Francois and Tony respectively, raced against each other during their careers.

Competing against Lessard on a regular basis in Serie ACT Quebec provided Cote a reminder on how accomplished his friend is behind the wheel. There are many qualities about Lessard that Cote believes have contributed to his success in both the U.S. and Canada, the most notable being his versatility.

“It’s his capacity to adjust his driving style to the car he has,” Cote said. “It’s quite impressive with the way he explains what the car is doing. He’s a good driver for many reasons and when you’re at a track practicing with Kyle Busch, it makes you a better driver. He’s a well-rounded race car driver at his age.”

While Cote wants to best Lessard on the track, he also cherishes being able to share ideas and assist him in any capacity. The camaraderie between the two is one reason why Cote accompanied Lessard to New Smyrna for the World Series of Asphalt.

Cote, Lessard and the rest of the crew have been diligently working to rectify the mechanical issue that has plagued Lessard’s No. 48 since they unloaded at New Smyrna. Lessard never cracked the top 20 during practice on opening night Friday evening and placed 24th of 26 cars during the 59-lap Pro Late Model feature.

Sunday’s feature saw Lessard’s struggles continue with a 17th place finish. He did not run the Pro Late Model event Saturday.

Raphael Lessard
Raphael Lessard has battled issues with his during the World Series of Asphalt, but remains optimistic about picking up a victory. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR Regional)

The setback is not deterring Lessard, who is exploring every viable option with his team to get the car where it needs to be. Lessard’s goal heading into the World Series of Asphalt was to have fun, all while gathering information that can be utilized ahead of a busy racing season.

“In a week [at New Smyrna], you learn as much as you would in a full racing season,” Lessard said. “We just want to learn more about these Pro Late Models because I think we’re going to run more in the future. They’re a lot of fun, the competition is great and we have some potential to be in the front with these guys.”

Following New Smyrna, the tentative plan for Lessard in 2025 is to venture back into the U.S. again more frequently, primarily in the ACT Late Model Tour that operates in the northeast. He also intends to keep racing in his home country and is currently working on a deal to return to the Canada Series on at least a part-basis.

Cote looks forward to seeing what Lessard accomplishes in both countries and would love to see him start the year with success in the World Series of Asphalt. The mechanical issues have been frustrating on numerous fronts, but Cote said there are still plenty of days left for Lessard to deliver a performance he and the team deserve.

“We want to win, but all these drivers and teams are great,” Cote said. “If we can be in the top five all week, we’ll be good. [Helping Lessard win this week] would be as cool as it was if I were driving the car. At this point, I want everyone to have fun and enjoy our week.

“When the car is right, he’s going to be fast.”

Even if the World Series of Asphalt comes up fruitless for Lessard, he is finding ways to take pleasure in the experience. New Smyrna’s endurance event was where everything began for Lessard a decade ago, which taught him some key fundamentals that are still ingrained into his race craft today.

If his car remains intact, Lessard plans to make a run at a checkered flag during the remaining Pro Late Model events.

“[A win] would be great,” Lessard said. “It’d be like ‘I’m still here’ to the people out here who still know me from when I raced against them in 2015, and 2016 to 2018 in Super and Pro Late Models. I’ve still got the talent to compete.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

Before the preseason-opening Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, Chris Gabehart was asked about the emotions of stepping off the pit box for the first time in a long time, changing roles at Joe Gibbs Racing after spending the last six seasons as crew chief of Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota.

“I mean, we’ll see,” Gabehart said. “I haven’t actually done it yet.” His answer partly stemmed from the timing (one day before the 200-lap Madhouse exhibition) and partly from that weekend’s logistics (Bowman Gray’s small size and the lack of a traditional pit-box setup).

“What I can tell you is, for the first time in literally 32 years of racing, both as a driver and so on, I’m now not focused on a single door number. I’m focused on multiples,” Gabehart said. “So that part is different. But what that actually looks like? I don’t know. We’ll see how it’s going to evolve.”

Joe Gibbs Racing enters that evolving chapter with a new crew chief lineup and a new competition director for its four-car fleet in Gabehart, whose job begins in earnest this week in preparation for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The change shakes up an organization that went winless in the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series season last year, missing out on the Championship 4 round of the playoffs for the first time since the elimination-format era began in 2014.

RELATED: 2025 preview: Joe Gibbs Racing | Daytona 500 weekend schedule

An offseason evaluation prompted the switch, with Gabehart replacing Wally Brown at JGR’s competition department helm. Chris Gayle shifted over after two seasons with the No. 54 team and driver Ty Gibbs to replace Gabehart and pair with Hamlin, while Tyler Allen was called up from Gibbs’ deep Xfinity Series roster to work with Gibbs. The team’s other two crew chiefs remain in place: Adam Stevens and driver Christopher Bell stay connected on the No. 20 team, and James Small remains atop the No. 19 pit box to pair with newcomer Chase Briscoe, who replaces veteran Martin Truex Jr.

Hamlin — 44, and now the Cup Series’ oldest driver after Truex’s transition to semi-retirement — expressed his initial “shock” at the move during the annual NASCAR Awards banquet, but also praised Gabehart’s leadership and management style as a potential boon to all four teams. Those changes, though, came in fairly short order after the Nov. 10 finale at Phoenix Raceway, setting the stage for his reaction when the announcement was made 12 days later.

“So things moved pretty quickly in a lot of different aspects,” Gabehart says, “and you know, Denny’s life is quite busy his self, so finding time to absorb details on any week for him is a lot because there’s a lot going on, right? He does a good job of it, but there’s a lot going on. So in this case, it was tough. Things moved pretty quick. I honestly made the decision probably the Tuesday night of the week after Phoenix, I had finally done enough talking and making sure that I was comfortable enough with what the role would be and what I felt like my reach could be, and then once they decided there was something to talk about, then it was a matter of time to tell Denny, and I think he was pretty shocked.

“I think we’re all still … I understand the perception of this, but I have every intention of making it pretty clear that this wasn’t just a passive move. I mean, I plan to make a big difference. So it may feel awkward up front here, but I hope in several months’ time, everybody has a good understanding of why it happened.”

Gabehart is new on the job but sees his role as a conduit between what happens at the track and back at the shop, taking direct responsibility of those operations, then optimizing their performance. Gayle called the move “like having a fifth crew chief,” noting how Gabehart’s recent experience in that role will aid the flow of communication among the four teams.

Gayle has worked with Hamlin in the past, pairing up with him for a handful of Xfinity Series races, including a victory in 2015 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. As far as the surprise factor goes, Gayle says it’s a natural reaction, but adds that the shift is not as drastic as it might seem.

“I think that the shock thing is he just didn’t really … in his mind, he didn’t see it coming, right? But the driver on the outside, versus all the things that are going on inside the team, they’re not always aware of everything that’s going on until late,” Gayle said. “I can understand he has a huge rapport and success with Gabehart, so any change in his mind late in his career is trepidation about, well, how’s this going to be, right? I just assured him that I’m as motivated as ever. There were lots of times that the 54 car may have had as good a car as the 11 car. We might not have finished there, but to be quite honest with you, it’s not like we’re losing any of the information and processes with how things are done. No one’s leaving. Gabehart’s shifting to this role and going to try to lean on all four teams a little better, but nothing’s really changing, other than the voice he’s going to hear from the box.”

MORE: Denny Hamlin 2024 season review | First look: Driver fire suits

Gayle goes from working with the 22-year-old Gibbs to a driver who is a generation older. He and Hamlin are both later in their careers, and both share the same goals of getting back to the championship stage. The two are still in a sorting-out period, but one preseason race in, Hamlin says so far, so good.

“Yeah, we’re learning each other. Certainly it’s a process,” Hamlin said after a third-place result at Bowman Gray. “We’re not going to just figure each other out right off the bat. I’m trying to do things as I did before, and he’s trying to understand that. I also am trying to give him the full free rein to kind of do things however he sees fit as well. He got to this position for a reason. You’ve got to always trust your leadership to make the right calls. My job is to drive the car and give them the feedback, nothing more. I’m not the crew chief. I’m not the strategist. Nothing like that. My job is to do it today and go there tomorrow and tell them a direction that we need to work on. That’s really important. I feel like it’s getting off to a good start.”

A quick start this season could propel JGR to its first win since Christopher Bell’s triumph last June at New Hampshire. Hamlin won three times last season, but not since Dover in late April.

Gabehart may not have exactly discovered the full-fledged feeling of what it’s like to step off the No. 11 pit box, but the question remains: Where does he plan to sit on a given race weekend? He says that some of his trackside belongings will be in the No. 54 team’s hauler this season, while the rest may stay with the No. 11 group.

His race-day vantage point, though?

“That’s the fun part for me, honestly, is I don’t know,” Gabehart says. “I say that a little tongue in cheek. I definitely have plans, but you have to remember every lap of my NASCAR professional career, from the time I was an engineer in trucks to my last race I called as a crew chief of the 11 has been on top of a pit box. That viewpoint is very limited, and the focal point is very specific. So I’m excited to and have plans to explore all parts of what we do on a weekend from a different perspective. As a matter of fact, I think that’s acutely my job, and in doing that, be able to take that perspective and bring it back to the shop on Monday and start building speed for the following weekend. That’s the intent.”

Posted on by Adam Fenwick

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — Jeremy Gerstner had no idea what happened.

Only seconds before, he was barreling down the fronstretch at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway preparing to enter Turn 1 during NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour practice. The next thing he knew, he was sitting inside the remains of his destroyed race car and wondering whether he was paralyzed.

The Tampa, Florida native was not paralyzed by his crash on Feb. 10, 2024. But in the moments after, he couldn’t feel anything below his waist.

“I went to get out of the car, and I couldn’t move my legs,” Gerstner said. “I pulled myself up to the outside of the car and put my head down and started taking my HANS Device off. I wasn’t in tears, but all I could think of was my buddy, Shane Hmiel.

“I raced Silver Crown cars with him back in the day and he flipped over and broke his back, and it paralyzed him from the waist down. I was freaked out; I’m not going to lie.”

Fast forward a year, and Gerstner was back at New Smyrna on Saturday to once again race with the Modified Tour.

The road to that moment was a long one, and it wasn’t easy.

RELATED: Watch the World Series of Asphalt on FloRacing

Gerstner, now 52, never lost consciousness during the crash and remembers everything, including the moments before and after the impact with the Turn 1 wall.

“I came out of Turn 4, and I felt the motor skip a little bit,” Gerstner explained. “I was like, ‘Well, there is no way I could be in the chip.’ By the time I got the start/finish line it (made a noise) like it was misfiring or hitting the chip. When I went to lift after that, the motor was still wide open.

“I was like, ‘What the hell is going on?’ I pulled back as hard as I could on the return pedal … I bent the return pedal 45 degrees the wrong way. I knew at that point I was along for the ride.”

Jeremy Gerstner
Jeremy Gerstner made his return to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Saturday night at New Smyrna Speedway. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)

Gerstner said he hit the Turn 1 wall going approximately 150 mph. He added that the impact with the wall was estimated to have been about 35 Gs, meaning approximately 35 times the force of gravity.

“Once I hit the wall, I watched the car fly through the air,” Gerstner recalled. “I saw chain link fence. I actually felt it hook on the retention fence up top and when it did it spun me around and bam, I hit the ground.”

Gerstner’s car was left mangled. The impact was so severe that a wheel was sheared off Gerstner’s No. 55 Modified, flew over the catch fencing and landed outside the track. Luckily, no bystanders were injured as a result.

Emergency medical personal quickly rendered aid to Gerstner. Once they put him in the ambulance and got medication into his system, he began to regain feeling in his legs.

“The second they put me in the ambulance, they put me on propofol,” Gerstner said. “I could feel my legs, and I could wiggle my toes. It was like, relief.”

Gerstner was transported to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he was diagnosed with a pubic rami fracture, a broken left femur and shattered left meniscus.

“I broke my pelvis — they called it a pubic rami fracture — in four different spots,” Gerstner said. “It’s basically like cutting your whole right lower extremity off. That’s why the nerves were pinched, and I couldn’t feel nothing.”

He believes that it wasn’t the impact with the Turn 1 wall that caused most of his injuries, but rather the hard landing and clipping the catch fence.

“Hitting the wall didn’t break my pelvis or my left tibia,” Gerstner said. “What actually broke it was slamming down at 102 mph from a dead drop from hitting the fence. Our seats aren’t designed to save you like that.

“I can’t blame nobody. It was one of those unfortunate deals.”

The cause of the accident itself was a fluke; a one-in-a-million part failure according to Gerstner. The kind of thing that no one, not even the best engineer in the world, could have predicted.

Jeremy Gerstner
Jeremy Gerstner climbs aboard his No. 55 Modified prior to Saturday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at New Smyrna Speedway. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)

“On that particular day, I hit the chip on the back straightaway. Bumped it a couple of times,” Gerstner said. “I have never hit the chip with the max gear. Coming off the corner, I hit the chip at the start/finish line, which made the motor go about 200 feet in the chip.

“When you do that, it floats the valves because it’s a hydraulic cam type motor. It can’t handle being at 8200 (rpms) that long. I basically killed the motor. When it did that, a piece of the valve guide, when it bent the intake in the exhaust, bounced off the piston and shot up back through the intake.

“It was like the perfect storm. When I lifted, that piece of guide wedged between the rear throttle blade and the carburetor housing. It didn’t matter how hard I pulled back, it wasn’t coming out. When I hit the wall and it revved way up and I bounced off [the wall], the piece came out and it fell down inside the intake.”

NASCAR officials discovered the broken piece of the valve guide inside the intake while inspecting Gerstner’s car after the crash, which confirmed what caused the throttle to hang.

“I probably could have had a better chance of winning the lottery that day,” Gerstner said.

Gerstner spent months confined to a bed while he recovered, and even more months doing physical therapy to regain the strength he lost because of his injuries.

“They said, ‘As long as you behave yourself for four months and lay still, we won’t have to put the pins and all that stuff and the halo around you for your pelvis,’” Gerstner said. “So, I sat in bed for four or five months.”

RELATED: Jeremy Gerstner’s career statistics

Gerstner returned to the seat of a race car for the first time last November when he competed in the North-South Shootout at North Carolina’s Caraway Speedway, but what he really wanted to do was compete with the Modified Tour on Feb. 8 at New Smyrna.

He was determined not to let the bad memories from one season ago stop him from racing at a track he’s raced at for decades.

It was hardly a perfect day for Gerstner on Saturday. He qualified 26th and spun to bring out the first caution on Lap 4 but quickly got his lap back. He would spin again later in the evening on Lap 95 before retiring from the race early due to overheating issues.

Despite not having the race he hoped for, Gestner was thankful.

Thankful to be racing. Thankful to be walking. Thankful to be alive.

“I’m still here to talk about it and race another day,” Gerstner said.

Posted on by Brandon White

Last year’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season opener at New Smyrna Speedway saw Patrick Emerling deliver a fourth-place finish in Rich Gautreau’s first race as a car owner.

Their second visit to New Smyrna together ended with a trip to Victory Lane.

RELATED: Complete results from New Smyrna Speedway

In a race dominated by a record number of cautions and diverging pit strategies, Emerling utilized every available opportunity to climb from the tail end of the field. Fresh rubber on his No. 1 Fleetworks Inc. Modified in the closing laps enabled Emerling to open 2025 with his eighth career Modified Tour victory.

The cohesion Emerling has developed in a short amount of time with Gautreau’s team had him eager to hit the track on a Saturday after a long winter of preparation.

“We couldn’t wait to get rolling,” Emerling said. “This is a brand new LFR car. [My crew chief] Dale Hedquist and the team put in so much hard work. I think Dale was working 100 hours a week. This is absolutely incredible. We weren’t the best car at the beginning, but we had to dial it in so we were good at the end.”


When Emerling made the decision to join Gautreau’s start-up operation ahead of the 2024 season, he expected to be competitive every week.

Aside from a crash that knocked them out of the second race of the season at Richmond Raceway, efficiency quickly became a theme for Emerling and Gautreau. The duo’s first nine races together consisted of six top-five finishes, all while Emerling inched closer to giving Gautreau his first victory as a car owner.

Everything finally came together for Emerling in race 10 of the year at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, where he cruised to victory after leading all 150 laps from the pole. Two more triumphs for Emerling at Oswego Speedway and Monadnock Speedway solidified a third-place points finish for Emerling behind Ron Silk and champion Justin Bonsignore.

Emerling entered the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 determined to build upon a stellar 2024. The car provided by Gautreau possessed plenty of speed, but the path toward the front proved unconventional with a plethora of cautions resulting in numerous pit stops.

An ill-timed yellow could have derailed Emerling’s strategy and shuffled him to the rear. Having been in similar situations several times during his career, Emerling kept his composure, all while patiently waiting for an opening to give himself a tire advantage over his competition.

“We started dead last, but as a team, we didn’t panic at all,” Emerling said. “We won the Spring Sizzler doing the same thing with the motor issue in qualifying. This was a strategy race, and you’re going to give up your track position early anyway. There were a lot of variables, but we wanted to out-tire the field and it all worked out.”

A caution for Trevor Catalano with 50 laps remaining brought Emerling to pit road for fresh rubber. He proceeded to pick off the slower cars in front of him before making the race-winning pass on Craig Lutz during the penultimate restart.

Lutz, who has not visited Victory Lane in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour since 2022, knew he was at the mercy of yellow flags. The early cautions allowed Lutz to climb into the top five with his strategy, while the late ones made it impossible to fend off Emerling.

“With the pit strategy there, it’s such a gamble,” Lutz said. “It really makes the crew chief and the crew roll the dice on the calls and you hope one works out your way. [Emerling] had the best car and his strategy worked out the best, but we fought for it. We just came up a little bit short.”

Despite settling for a disappointing second, Lutz saw Saturday’s season-opener as a step in the right direction. If he can amass more strong runs like the one at New Smyrna, Lutz is optimistic he can contend for the Modified Tour title in his second year with Goodie Racing.

Emerling will be a primary obstacle standing in the path of Lutz and the rest of the Modified Tour field. With his victory at New Smyrna on Saturday, Emerling has now enjoyed 15 consecutive finishes inside the top 10.

A long season awaits Emerling as he looks to parlay his New Smyrna victory into a potential Modified Tour title. He has full trust in himself, Gautreau, Hedquist and the rest of the operation to keep securing wins and solidifying themselves as the championship favorite.

“This is what we are trying to do,” Emerling said. “We executed tonight. It’s racing and anything can happen, but we came out on the good side tonight. We’re going to try and continue this momentum. This is a really scrappy team and [a championship] will take everyone involved.”

Justin Bonsignore overcame losing a lap from a flat tire to start his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship defense with a third-place finish. A strong evening for Luke Baldwin, in which he earned his first career pole, culminated with a fourth-place performance.

Austin Beers rounded out the top-five finishers. Following him in the running order were Stephen Kopcik, Eric Goodale, Ryan Newman, Ron Silk and Andrew Krause.

The Modified Tour gets a prolonged break before heading to Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on March 30. FloRacing will provide live flag-to-flag coverage

Posted on by Staff Report

New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200

New Smyrna Speedway

New Smyrna Speedway Logo

  • Race results:
Pos Car No. Name Sponsor Laps Diff.
1 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 206  –
2 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 206 0.38
3 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 206 0.659
4 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 206 0.74
5 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical 206 0.918
6 21 Stephen  Kopcik Wanick Construction/Karchner/Franzosa Trucking 206 1.017
7 58 Eric  Goodale GAF Roofing 206 1.284
8 8 Ryan  Newman Bass Pro Shops/Cabelas/USNE/Eighty-two services/Anglers Choice 206 1.577
9 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes 206 1.718
10 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Manufacturing 206 1.789
11 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 206 2.004
12 25 Brian Robie Bar Harbor Bank and Trust 206 2.072
13 56 Trevor Catalano USNE/Catalano Motorsports 206 2.248
14 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE/Catalano Motorsports 206 2.654
15 60 Matt Hirschman Pee Dee Motorsports 206 2.818
16 20 Max Zachem USNE/Lu-Mac’s/Byrnes Agency 206 2.965
17 81 Mark  Stewart* Cromers Market/Keith Grimes Excavating/Hydroaction 205 1 Lap
18 84 Tyler Catalano USNE Power/Kennedy Realty 205 1 Lap
19 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant 205 1 Lap
20 36 Dave Sapienza Eastport Feeds 204 2 Laps
21 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric/Tisdell Transmissions 203 3 Laps
22 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 202 4 Laps
23 11 Norman  Newman* Family Funland Amusement Park 198 8 Laps
24 26 Gary McDonald Lakeland Landscape Supply 181 25 Laps
25 9 Chris Hatton* Generac 160 46 Laps
26 55 Jeremy Gerstner TBE5/Crippling Hot Sauce/ Racecar Engineering 124 82 Laps
27 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 86 120 Laps
28 40 Frank  Fleming William E Smith Trucking/Taylor Auto Parts 70 136 Laps
29 44 Chase Dowling SS Paving/ Harshaw Paving 70 136 Laps
30 12 Brian Sones* Dennis Wenner 57 149 Laps
31 14 Jacob Lutz Advantage Trucks/Washtronic’s/Anastasi Trucking 29 177 Laps

 

Posted on by Staff Report

New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200

New Smyrna Speedway

New Smyrna Speedway Logo

  • Qualifying results:
Pos. Car No. Name Sponsor Best Time Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff.
1 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 17.501 102.851 2 2  –
2 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical 17.587 102.348 2 2 0.086
3 21 Stephen  Kopcik Wanick Construction/Karchner/Franzosa Trucking 17.688 101.764 2 2 0.187
4 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 17.693 101.735 2 2 0.192
5 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 17.699 101.701 2 2 0.198
6 58 Eric  Goodale GAF Roofing 17.713 101.62 2 2 0.212
7 60 Matt Hirschmann Pee Dee Motorsports 17.718 101.592 2 2 0.217
8 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Manufacturing 17.776 101.26 2 2 0.275
9 44 Chase Dowling SS Paving/ Harshaw Paving 17.784 101.215 1 1 0.283
10 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 17.785 101.209 2 2 0.284
11 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes 17.787 101.198 2 2 0.286
12 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 17.788 101.192 2 2 0.287
13 14 Jacob Lutz Advantage Trucks/Washtronic’s/Anastasi Trucking 17.793 101.163 2 2 0.292
14 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE/Catalano Motorsports 17.795 101.152 2 2 0.294
15 40 Frank  Fleming William E Smith Trucking/Taylor Auto Parts 17.81 101.067 2 2 0.309
16 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 17.816 101.033 2 2 0.315
17 84 Tyler Catalano USNE Power/Kennedy Realty 17.868 100.739 2 2 0.367
18 36 Dave Sapienza Eastport Feeds 17.882 100.66 2 2 0.381
19 25 Brian Robie Bar Harbor Bank and Trust 17.893 100.598 2 2 0.392
20 81 Mark  Stewart* Cromers Market/Keith Grimes Excavating/Hydroaction 17.894 100.592 2 2 0.393
21 56 Trevor Catalano USNE/Catalano Motorsports 17.908 100.514 2 2 0.407
22 8 Ryan  Newman Bass Pro Shops/Cabelas/USNE/Eighty-two services/Anglers Choice 17.917 100.463 2 2 0.416
23 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 18.067 99.629 2 2 0.566
24 20 Max Zachem USNE/Lu-Mac’s/Byrnes Agency 18.132 99.272 1 2 0.631
25 12 Brian Sones* Dennis Wenner 18.207 98.863 2 2 0.706
26 55 Jeremy Gerstner TBE5/Crippling Hot Sauce/ Racecar Engineering 18.227 98.755 2 2 0.726
27 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric/Tisdell Transmissions 18.262 98.565 2 2 0.761
28 9 Chris Hatton* Generac 18.32 98.253 2 2 0.819
29 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant 18.367 98.002 2 2 0.866
30 11 Norman  Newman* Family Funland Amusement Park 18.4 97.826 2 2 0.899
31 26 Gary McDonald Lakeland Landscape Supply 18.509 97.25 2 2 1.008

 

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

CONCORD, N.C. — Hendrick Motorsports has always been on the forefront of technology in NASCAR Cup Series racing.

The 14-time champions reinforced that Wednesday when the company unveiled its latest addition, the Hexagon Metrology Lab, at its shop in Concord, North Carolina.

Hendrick has utilized Hexagon’s coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) since 2002. But the latest influx of machinery allows Hendrick employees to laser-scan parts to the ten-thousandths of an inch, giving the team, it believes, an edge over its competition during the Next Gen era in which 85% of the vehicle is built from supplier-sourced parts.

MORE: 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule

As Hendrick employees demonstrated Wednesday morning, the machine’s robotic arms can be used to scan and create three-dimensional models of anything placed in front of it — from the stud in a wheel the lug nut attaches to the car itself. In total — and not exclusive to its metrology lab — Hendrick has 33 absolute arms, 13 scanners, a Leica Absolute Tracker, and seven CMMs.

“What happens is the data gets output into an Excel file and a PDF file,” explained Roy Crump, Hendrick Motorsports’ quality control supervisor. “So the Excel file is ingested into our database, and that feeds our simulation. The way that works is we’ve worked with Microsoft to set up just some pretty simple flows. So once that file shows up in the folder, it automatically gets fed to an Azure Blob storage account, and then that gets uploaded into our database. And then once that data gets updated, essentially the race engineers can then go and can pick and choose whatever parts are in there to essentially assemble their car virtually.”

NASCAR’s vendor-supplied parts are assigned to teams with each piece intended to be the same for each competing car across the Cup Series. Crump’s job as the head of Hendrick’s quality control is to ensure the parts the Nos. 5, 9, 24 and 48 teams receive are up to par upon receipt.

With such an advanced system in house now since November, the speed and efficiency of those processes allows Hendrick more time to focus its efforts elsewhere and build vehicles quicker with more assurances than ever in the Next Gen era since 2022.

“All the data is readily available,” Crump said. “We have all sorts of tools set up, all sorts of reporting set up where you can look top to bottom, look at the bell curve of all the parts that we have to say: ‘Look at this. Why do we have this outlier? Is it a bad part? Is it actually just a different part? Was there something wrong with it?’ And so it helps us be able to catalog that, and sometimes it does allow the race teams to say, ‘You know what, maybe that’s a good idea. Maybe we should use that part for a certain event.'”

NASCAR Hall-of-Famer and seven-time Cup championship-winning crew chief Chad Knaus now serves as the team’s vice president of competition. He and his teams benefitted significantly from this type of technology when Hendrick Motorsports was building its cars from the ground up. In a new world of stock-car racing has come a home and redefined purpose for this tech.

“It’s not only getting our tolerances where we need it and making sure we’re putting the best pieces together, it’s also making us tremendously more efficient,” Knaus said. “We’ve got a machine back there that we can stack up parts, and this robotic arm will pull the parts out of a shelf, lock it into the scanner. It will come through. It will measure this whole part. It will pick it back up, sort it, and put it where it needs to be. And we don’t have to do anything. All we have to do is program it. That saves hours and hours and hours of labor. There’s one thing in life you can’t replace and that’s time, right? So we have to get efficiencies.”

The season is young but Hendrick Motorsports is already 1-for-1 after Chase Elliott won the exhibition Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on Feb. 2. That only helped validate the group back at the shop that the team is moving the right direction.

“It’s just a great start to the season,” Crump said. “We always believe that everything we’re doing here helps drive the performance of the race cars. And seeing Chase go out there and get the W already makes us feel a lot better, that what we’re doing is the right thing. We’re already seeing results.”

Posted on by Staff Report

New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200

New Smyrna Speedway

New Smyrna Speedway Logo

  • Final practice results:
Pos. Car No. Driver Sponsor Best Time Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff.
1 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 17.588 102.343 7 7  –
2 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 17.678 101.821 2 8 0.09
3 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 17.723 101.563 3 7 0.135
4 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical 17.745 101.437 24 38 0.157
5 44 Chase Dowling SS Paving/ Harshaw Paving 17.765 101.323 15 16 0.177
6 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes 17.776 101.26 8 13 0.188
7 14 Jacob Lutz Advantage Trucks/Washtronic’s/Anastasi Trucking 17.786 101.203 16 17 0.198
8 60 Matt Hirschmann Pee Dee Motorsports 17.814 101.044 2 15 0.226
9 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 17.843 100.88 5 7 0.255
10 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE/Catalano Motorsports 17.891 100.609 2 7 0.303
11 56 Trevor Catalano USNE/Catalano Motorsports 17.905 100.531 14 14 0.317
12 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 17.916 100.469 14 27 0.328
13 21 Stephen  Kopcik Wanick Construction/Karchner/Franzosa Trucking 17.92 100.446 15 16 0.332
14 36 Dave Sapienza Eastport Feeds 17.946 100.301 14 14 0.358
15 84 Tyler Catalano USNE Power/Kennedy Realty 17.975 100.139 6 11 0.387
16 40 Frank Fleming William E Smith Trucking/Taylor Auto Parts 17.984 100.089 1 17 0.396
17 20 Max Zachem USNE/Lu-Mac’s/Byrnes Agency 18.066 99.635 7 14 0.478
18 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 18.096 99.469 17 22 0.508
19 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Manufacturing 18.096 99.469 7 9 0.508
20 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 18.106 99.415 2 8 0.518
21 8 Ryan Newman Bass Pro Shops/Cabelas/USNE/Eighty-two services/Anglers Choice 18.117 99.354 2 27 0.529
22 81 Mark Stewart* Cromers Market/Keith Grimes Excavating/Hydroaction 18.147 99.19 9 10 0.559
23 55 Jeremy Gerstner TBE5/Crippling Hot Sauce/ Racecar Engineering 18.188 98.966 7 10 0.6
24 12 Brian Sones* Dennis Wenner 18.247 98.646 3 21 0.659
25 25 Brian Robie Bar Harbor Bank and Trust 18.247 98.646 4 44 0.659
26 26 Gary McDonald Lakeland Landscape Supply 18.321 98.248 3 11 0.733
27 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant 18.337 98.162 3 7 0.749
28 11 Norman  Newman* Family Funland Amusement Park 18.388 97.89 8 39 0.8
29 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric/Tisdell Transmissions 18.396 97.847 11 35 0.808
30 9 Chris Hatton* Generac 18.446 97.582 2 24 0.858

 

Posted on by Brandon White

New Smyrna Beach Area Vistors Bureau 200

New Smyrna Speedway

New Smyrna Speedway Logo

  • Practice results
Pos. No. Driver Sponsor Best Time Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff.
1 60 Matt Hirschman Pee Dee Motorsports 17.839 100.903 24 25
2 44 Chase Dowling SS Paving/Harshaw Paving 17.925 100.418 3 35 0.086
3 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 17.988 100.067 4 42 0.149
4 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes 18.045 99.751 3 31 0.206
5 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical 18.069 99.618 7 42 0.23
6 14 Jacob Lutz Advantage Trucks/Washtronic’s/Anastasi Trucking 18.126 99.305 11 26 0.287
7 81 Mark  Stewart* Cromers Market/Keith Grimes Excavating/Hydroaction 18.137 99.245 24 24 0.298
8 56 Trevor Catalano USNE/Catalano Motorsports 18.146 99.195 4 19 0.307
9 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 18.162 99.108 7 28 0.323
10 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE/Catalano Motorsports 18.167 99.081 3 41 0.328
11 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 18.187 98.972 9 15 0.348
12 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 18.209 98.852 15 18 0.37
13 84 Tyler Catalano USNE Power/Kennedy Realty 18.217 98.809 4 44 0.378
14 36 Dave Sapienza Eastport Feeds 18.22 98.793 6 27 0.381
15 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 18.237 98.7 13 27 0.398
16 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 18.241 98.679 3 5 0.402
17 40 Frank  Fleming William E Smith Trucking/Taylor Auto Parts 18.255 98.603 11 23 0.416
18 21 Stephen  Kopcik Wanick Construction/Karchner/Franzosa Trucking 18.274 98.501 17 29 0.435
19 58 Eric  Goodale GAF Roofing 18.278 98.479 4 24 0.439
20 55 Jeremy Gerstner TBE5/Crippling Hot Sauce/ Racecar Engineering 18.332 98.189 14 15 0.493
21 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 18.356 98.061 9 45 0.517
22 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric/Tisdell Transmissions 18.416 97.741 25 26 0.577
23 20 Max Zachem USNE/Lu-Mac’s/Byrnes Agency 18.419 97.725 4 22 0.58
24 8 Ryan  Newman Bass Pro Shops/Cabelas/USNE/Eighty-two services/Anglers Choice 18.425 97.693 19 20 0.586
25 25 Brian Robie Bar Harbor Bank and Trust 18.426 97.688 19 36 0.587
26 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Manufacturing 18.439 97.619 14 16 0.6
27 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant 18.661 96.458 5 6 0.822
28 26 Gary McDonald Lakeland Landscape Supply 18.677 96.375 11 30 0.838
29 09 Chris Hatton* Generac 18.915 95.163 2 5 1.076
30 12 Brain Sones* Dennis Wenner 19.024 94.617 6 16 1.185