Tricon Garage announced Monday that it has signed Gio Ruggiero to pilot the No. 17 Toyota for the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.
The Toyota Racing Development prospect takes over for Taylor Gray, who drove for Tricon in 2023-2024 and will move to the Xfinity Series in 2025 with Joe Gibbs Racing.
It will mark the rookie season for the 18-year-old wheelman who spent time in the ARCA Menards Series before landing the gig with Tricon.
“I am super thankful to have the opportunity to run full-time with Tricon in 2025,” Ruggiero said in a statement. “I look forward to getting to work with all of the guys on the 17 team and contending for wins this season.”
Ruggiero collected seven top fives and nine top 10s in 10 starts in the ARCA Menards Series in 2024 and earned a victory in the ARCA Menards East Series at Five Flags Speedway. He also owns a decorated short-track resume that is highlighted by a Winchester 400 trophy.
“Gio has shown a lot of promise in his young career, and we are super excited to welcome him into our program,” said Tricon partner David Gilliland. “Jumping into the Truck Series is no small feat, but Gio has proven that he adapts quickly, and we have no doubt that he will have a successful rookie season with us as he takes over the 17 truck.”
Ruggiero’s signing fills out the Tricon lineup for 2025, which includes Corey Heim, Tanner Gray and Toni Breidinger.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 2, 2024) – NASCAR announced Monday that Craig Stimmel has been hired to lead all sales efforts for the sanctioning body as Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. In this role, Stimmel will oversee all sales aspects for NASCAR, including premier partner and official partner categories, race entitlements, track partnerships and media sales across owned channels such as Motor Racing Network (MRN) and NASCAR Digital Media. He will also work closely with NASCAR’s media partners, teams, and non-NASCAR tracks to cultivate commercial opportunities across the entire NASCAR ecosystem.
NASCAR
Stimmel comes to NASCAR with a wealth of experience from the property, media and consumer side of the business, having led global sales & partnerships for the WWE and a similar role at Snapchat. Before that, he also held a leadership role on the brand marketing side at Procter & Gamble. Most recently, Stimmel was Senior Vice President of Commercial for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
“Craig’s proven track record of driving results and building billion-dollar brands in a multi-faceted environment like ours was one of several reasons why we felt he was an excellent fit for this role,” said Brian Herbst, NASCAR Executive Vice President, Chief Media and Revenue Officer. “NASCAR has the most brand-loyal fans and many of the most recognized sponsorships in professional sports, and Craig brings all the acumen to build upon our roster of tremendous partners and continue to deepen the engagement with our fans.”
“In recent years, NASCAR has taken some impressive and successful steps to grow the sport, authentically tell the brand story and build momentum for the future,” said Stimmel. “When you combine those factors with all the ways small and large brands alike can engage fans, new customers or new partners, it makes this opportunity extremely desirable, and I’m eager to continue building on the foundation already in place.”
Stimmel, who officially begins the new role Monday, will be based in NASCAR’s New York office and will manage employees across more than 20 office and race-track locations across the country. He will report to EVP, Chief Media & Revenue Officer Brian Herbst.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ return to the race track sits exactly two months away, when the season-opening Clash exhibition marks the unofficial kickoff of the 2025 campaign. For RFK Racing team co-owner Brad Keselowski, that in-between time won’t go idly by, not in what he’s characterized as a “really busy offseason.”
The dawn of the new season will mark the next phase in Keselowski’s vision for the Jack Roush-founded organization, which will grow from two Cup Series teams to three with the addition of driver Ryan Preece and a family of sponsors with Kroger. The 34-year-old joins a driver roster that includes Keselowski and Chris Buescher, both of whom won Cup events last season — the organization’s third under the RFK banner.
Keselowski, 40, noted how the team caught stride after a first-year stumble with the Next Gen car, putting both of its teams into the 16-driver playoff field in 2023. Last year, Keselowski snapped a 110-race drought with his victory at Darlington Raceway to mark his first win as a driver-owner, but all while having visions of what RFK’s evolution should resemble. That, he said, meant expansion.
“From there, it was kind of like we recognized that’s the next step,” Keselowski said Nov. 22, in the hours before the annual NASCAR Awards. “If you look at the way NASCAR’s set up right now, you need to have three teams. I think that’s why you see the Trackhouses and the 23XIs and all those guys are pushing to be three teams, even Front Row. So there’s strength in numbers with just the way the sport’s laid out, and how you can kind of amortize the overhead and capture the most data. So it’s important for us to be not just financially viable, but competitively viable to have three teams and maximize the opportunities on any given weekend. So, it’s a natural next step for us to get us to where we can ramp up our performance.”
Enter Preece, who has roots as a Connecticut Modified ace and spent the last two seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing on the Cup Series side. He’ll take over the No. 60 Ford, starting a new chapter with a car number that Keselowski says holds a special place in the Roush team’s heritage.
Preece has two victories in each the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series but has been a bit of a journeyman in his five-plus Cup Series seasons. Keselowski said he’d started discussions with Preece back in the spring and sees plenty of potential in his next phase.
“Talent, underrated, hard-working — you know, everything you could dream of, of a coachable player,” Keselowski said. “I think the ball is in our court to give him the right opportunity and equipment, and surround him with the right people to succeed next year.”
Keselowski said he was working diligently to firm up the No. 60 team’s crew chief for next season, but one personnel puzzle piece is already set. RFK announced Nov. 21 that Jeremy Bullins will replace Matt McCall atop the No. 6 Ford’s pit box, marking a rekindling of their driver-crew chief pairing. The two worked together at Team Penske from 2020-21, reaching the Championship 4 in their first campaign, and Keselowski said there was “joint interest” in reconnecting.
“Yeah, years have passed, but there’s still a friendship that never goes,” Keselowski said of his renewed partnership with Bullins. “I’m confident we’ll be able to learn from the years we had apart and apply lessons bilaterally.”
Until this past May at Darlington, Keselowski’s most recent Cup Series win had been a Bullins-led effort. His resurgent run to victory at one of NASCAR’s most demanding tracks was a special one, celebrated with his wife and daughters, who helped push the car from Victory Lane after the confetti had flown.
The triumph was Keselowski’s first in more than three years and the first for car No. 6 in nearly 13 seasons, but the sentiments ran high with his loved ones close by to share in the joy.
“When I won Darlington with my family there, I mean, that was just … it still gives me chills thinking about it,” Keselowski said. “Once you become a father, one of the things that nobody can really tell you — or at least they didn’t tell me or I wasn’t listening — is the impact of your success and being able to see it through the eyes of your own children and to know that it commands some level of respect and validation from them for years to come and hopefully through their whole entire life. As a father, you want your kids to think you’re a badass, and to see that actually happen is pretty cool.”
RFK Racing has tallied six Cup Series victories over the last three seasons since its re-launch. Pressed for measurable goals in the organization’s next stage, Keselowski says “we want to be able to do that in one season. That’d be a good mark for us.” Placing each of the team’s cars in the Cup Series Playoffs field is another aspiration, one fueled by the aim of being contenders on a weekly basis.
Building RFK’s strength through increased numbers and resources is Keselowski’s goal.
“If you’re not growing, you’re dying in this sport, and we’re growing,” Keselowski said. “We’re adding people, adding teams, making key investments. It’s an exciting time for me. You know, ’23 versus ’24 looks really similar, but I’m keen to say that ’25 should be a step up for us.”
Few are as aggressive as Gragson, the newest addition to Front Row Motorsports who just completed his first full NASCAR Cup Series season in Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 10 Ford.
Off the track is a different story though. Once the helmets are off, the smoke settled and the rage of driving 200 mph in 120-degree-plus conditions quelled, Gragson and a fraternity of fellow drivers can commiserate and decompress with the accompaniment of a few adult beverages.
A new wave of drivers is finding its footing at NASCAR’s highest levels, a group that includes Gragson, Riley Herbst, Zane Smith, Todd Gilliland and Harrison Burton among others. All are in the midst of their 20s, fighting for successful careers as stock-car racers. The intensity on the track is heightened with every lap logged, each door slammed and each flag waved. But there has to be a compromise once the checkered flag is unfurled.
“They say bring your friends to the racetrack,” Gragson said ahead of the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. “But this is a grueling, grueling schedule and you’re pissed off by everyone else 38 weeks of the year. And you have to be around them 38 weeks a year. … So we can find that balance and race hard. We put each other in bad positions sometimes, and it doesn’t work out. But I feel like we all do a pretty good job at being able to find that balance and separation between, hey, when we’re inside the track, we’re here to compete against each other when we put the helmets on. But when we walk outside the gates, we got each other’s back at the end of the day.”
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
The collection of competitors — including Gragson, Smith, Herbst, Gilliland, Burton, and 2025 Xfinity Series full-timers Christian Eckes and Sheldon Creed — shared a rental house together in Arizona after the 2024 campaign drew to a close, all in an effort to unwind.
“It’s hard to have friends in this industry,” Smith said. “But fortunately, we do have a friend group that has a similar mindset of, hey, let’s leave everything on the track, and that’s work. Be mad at each other on the track, but put it behind you and move forward come the next week. We’re adults. We can hash it out or whatnot. But it’s definitely fun to have a few beers and hang out after races with a group of friends.”
With his rookie year in the Cup Series complete, Smith added at Phoenix just how important his friend group has become. The 25-year-old piloted the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in 2024 through an agreement with Trackhouse Racing that was announced as a multiyear contract. Trackhouse, however, announced in late August that Smith would not return to the program in 2025, leaving Smith searching for options in the year ahead. All the while, he’s had plenty of support from those around him.
“Time and time again, it’s the same group that’s behind me, and I won’t ever forget that,” said Smith, the 2022 Truck Series champion. “I hope I get to experience the easy days, because I always remember those ones that hung out with me during those [difficult] times. Super fortunate for those ones, and they know who they are. But we’ll continue to move forward, and we’ll be all right.”
The tight-knit bond between these racers should not be confused for any on-track favors, though. Burton, who became the first of the group to score a NASCAR Cup Series win back in August at Daytona, said he’s seen some sentiment that racers who are friends “don’t race as hard as they used to.”
“No chance,” he said ahead of the NASCAR Awards in Charlotte. “I can promise you, we race each other harder. I can think off the top of my head the amount of times me and Todd Gilliland have ran into each other, me and Noah having our fight or racing really hard.”
Indeed, Burton had no problem exchanging both words and punches with Gragson after a 2020 Xfinity race at Kentucky Speedway after contact put Burton in the wall.
“We’ve all had our moments where we don’t like each other,” said Burton, who returns to Xfinity competition in 2025. “Like me and Noah fought each other and now are friends, right? And we were friends before that and are friends after that. And I think it just shows there’s a fraternity there, and we all came up through the same roots together, race each other and then just get along good. We’re all just friends, right? But then when the helmet turns on, we race each other really, really, really hard, and obviously to the point where we’ll fight each other as well.”
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Next season, Gragson and Gilliland will reunite as teammates at Front Row Motorsports. The two previously raced together in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2018, but their connection dates back even further, competing in what’s now known as the ARCA Menards Series East with plenty of fierce battles both there and in late models.
“It’s been really cool to see Todd’s evolution as a driver and his craft as a driver. It’s great to see,” Gragson said. “All of us drivers, we’re all competing against each other, but at the end of the day, we want what’s best for each other. We don’t want to see anybody else fail. We want to beat each other, but we don’t want to see somebody fail. And I think Todd’s done an unbelievable job throughout his career and building his brand and the driver that he’s become. So I think we can work together really well next year. We’re good buddies, which helps. We know each other. We’ve been teammates before. I think it’ll be a very easy transition.”
Tricon Garage announced Tuesday that Toni Breidinger will pilot the No. 5 Toyota full-time for the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series season.
It will mark the rookie season for the 25-year-old driver in the Truck Series, who has made select starts with Tricon over the last two years with a best finish of 15th in 2023 at Kansas Speedway.
“Racing full-time with Tricon is a dream for me,” Breidinger said in a statement. “It’s been a 15-year process to get here, but I’m so excited for this moment and ready to capitalize on it.”
Breidinger also made 65 starts in the ARCA Menards Series, scoring four top fives in 2023 and finishing fourth in the 2024 standings after tallying 11 top-10 results.
Breidinger will have backing from partners Raising Cane’s, Celsius and Sunoco.
In the Drive for Diversity Awards ceremony for 2021, Breidinger was recognized with the Developmental Series Driver Award as the first Arab-American woman to compete in a NASCAR-sanctioned event.
Her historic journey in racing received TV coverage on TODAY, Good Morning America and the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Along with racing, she has appeared in modeling campaigns for brands like Gap, Victoria’s Secret and Free People. Recently, Breidinger became the first NASCAR driver to appear in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.
The 2025 Craftsman Truck Series season kicks off on Feb. 14 at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
WINSTON SALEM, N.C. (Nov. 25, 2024) — NASCAR announced Monday that The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 2 is sold out as fans eagerly anticipate the return of the NASCAR Cup Series to this historic venue for the first time since 1971.
NASCAR also announced expanded action on Saturday with the Madhouse Classic, an exhibition race from Bowman Gray Stadium’s weekly Modified Division, along with Cup Series on-track activity.
“The sellout of The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium speaks volumes about the monumental nature of the event at this historic venue,” said NASCAR’s Justin Swilling, Project Lead for the NASCAR Clash. “We’re honored to bring such an incredible race weekend to Winston-Salem that will provide an opportunity to place the stars of Bowman Gray Stadium’s Modified Division in the national spotlight.”
Participation for competing in Saturday’s Madhouse Clash is by invitation only, based on the top 20 from the 2024 Bowman Gray Stadium Modified points standings. Saturday’s schedule will include a practice session, single-car qualifying, and a dedicated 125-lap feature race.
As part of the Saturday weekly show, race fans will be treated to Bowman Gray Stadium racing format classics like the Fan’s Challenge, where the four fastest competitors from qualifying will each be given a chance to forego their starting position and drop to the rear of the field. Entries that accept this challenge will become eligible for an event bonus paid out to those that find their way back to their initial top-four starting position or higher.
A sparse number of tickets remain for Saturday’s on-track activity at Bowman Gray Stadium, Feb. 1. A full schedule of weekend activities will be released in the near future. The Clash will be broadcast live on FOX on Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. ET. Fans are encouraged to visit NASCARClash.com to secure remaining experiences while supplies last. Those who have purchased tickets should also be on the lookout for information regarding parking, as it will be at a premium throughout the event weekend.
For the first time in 20 years, Kyle Busch went winless in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Since his rookie campaign in 2005, Busch scored at least one win per season — and as many as eight two times (2008, 2018) — at the sport’s top level. His 19 consecutive seasons with a victory are an all-time record — one he anticipated continuing in 2024.
But an uncharacteristic drop in performance from the otherworldly standard Busch set for himself resulted in the fewest top fives (five), top 10s (10) and laps led (230) of his career, with an 18.3 average finish that marked his worst since his rookie year (21.0, 2005).
Simply put, Busch described the 2024 season — his second driving the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet — as “character building.”
“Certainly frustrating,” Busch said during Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway. “Just not at all what we had hoped it to be after some success last year, especially early in the year and having those three wins, and then struggling a little bit on and off, but then this year, just seemingly not being able to get the monkey off our back. I mean, even having a shot to win late in the day and being close at Daytona and maybe even closer at Kansas and just not being able to pull through.
“We probably had a handful of opportunities that slipped out from under us. So can’t say that we shouldn’t have won this year or never had an opportunity to, but obviously didn’t get it done.”
The past two years have been ones of significant change for Busch. Now 39, Busch started his career with three years at Hendrick Motorsports before joining forces with Joe Gibbs Racing for 15 years. His success over those 18 seasons was remarkable, as he collected 60 wins and two NASCAR Cup Series championships.
That tenure with JGR came to a close following the 2022 season, leading the Las Vegas native to Richard Childress Racing. He laments the record run is over but has a different perspective on it now that it has concluded.
“I would have much rather it been — if I’m going to run six, seven more years — it last 25, 26 years, and just make it a mark that will never be achievable, right?” Busch said. “But unfortunately, those things didn’t happen. Things changed for me a couple years ago, and I was grateful to be able to extend the streak last year and make it my own. But honestly, for there being guys that are at 17 (years) and one guy was at 18, and now one guy at 19, it’s hard to put that many good years like that together in a row. It’s difficult.”
That sustained success throughout his career is what Busch hopes to rely upon in 2025. Crew chief Randall Burnett will return to lead the No. 8 team, but RCR has made leadership changes already in this young offseason which the company hopes will lead to improved performance.
Veteran crew chief and competition director Keith Rodden has been named the team’s vice president of competition, while former Stewart-Haas Racing leaders John Klausmeier and Richard Boswell have joined the ranks as well. Klausmeier will serve as RCR’s technical director, while Boswell becomes the new crew chief for the historic No. 3 Chevrolet and driver Austin Dillon.
While Busch’s results left much to be desired in 2024, optimism remains that a new win streak will begin in 2025.
TIMMONSVILLE, S.C. — For a moment in time at Florence Motor Speedway, NASCAR fans were thrust back into the mid-2000s with the return of one of the sport’s most recognizable schemes.
Earnhardt Jr. could not help but get immersed in the atmosphere generated by the Budweiser No. 8’s first race since 2007. The tribute nearly ended with Earnhardt Jr. taking the beloved scheme to Victory Lane, but he found satisfaction in what the weekend meant to himself and those who have been invested in his storied career.
“I felt great about the car,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Picked them off as I could. The car was excellent and a lot of guys were starting to struggle with the balance of their car. For the second half, we were going to sit there in second. When it was time to start pressuring (leader Treyten Lapcevich), I could probably get him loose, drive off the corner and beat him.
“It was about time to turn it on and then the fuel pump broke.”
A 40th-place starting position did little to stymie Earnhardt Jr., who carved through the field with relative ease to nestle himself into the second position at the halfway break, all while being cheered on by his exuberant fans. Earnhardt Jr. stayed in second the rest of the evening until a broken fuel pump knocked him out of the race with 31 laps remaining.
The final showing of 28th was not the outcome most members of Junior Nation had anticipated, yet the South Carolina 400 proved to be more about the journey for Earnhardt Jr.’s followers instead of the destination.
Although Earnhardt Jr. spent more time in a Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet during his Cup Series tenure, the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. is where he first built his identity.
During his eight full-time years with DEI, Earnhardt Jr. amassed 17 victories, 76 top fives and led over 5,000 laps. The most notable of Earnhardt Jr.’s accomplishments in the Budweiser No. 8 Chevrolet was his first of two Daytona 500 victories in 2004.
Earnhardt Jr. parted ways with DEI at the end of the 2007 season, but the memories of his success in the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet never faded. Nearly two decades on from Earnhardt Jr.’s final outing with DEI and NASCAR events are still filled with spectators who adorn the iconic No. 8.
One of those fans is David Faulkner, who traveled five hours from Hampton, Virginia, to see the Budweiser No. 8 for at least one final time. A lifelong follower of the Earnhardt family since the 1970s, Faulkner admitted seeing Earnhardt Jr. pilot a red No. 8 again evoked memories of the victories he got to witness in person.
“I remember the wins at Richmond, because Richmond is my home track about an hour away [from Hampton],” Faulkner said. “Just watching the Budweiser car running around brings back a lot of memories.”
Among the achievements Dale Earnhardt Jr. obtained in the iconic Budweiser No. 8 included his first Daytona 500 victory in 2004. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR Regional)
Many stories like Faulkner’s awaited Earnhardt Jr. as he greeted fans throughout the afternoon at Florence. One woman Earnhardt Jr. interacted with had been waiting to obtain his autograph since the Budweiser No. 8 made its formal Cup Series debut during the 1999 Coca-Cola 600.
The impact of Earnhardt Jr. on NASCAR extends far beyond spectators. Since returning to his Late Model Stock origins in 2022, Earnhardt Jr. has been approached by countless competitors young and old, with every conversation providing Earnhardt Jr. a healthy perspective into how he has shaped the world around him.
“I qualified really bad and I was pretty mad at myself,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I got done, pulled around and one of the other drivers [Gary Greenwood] who qualified poorly got out and said, ‘Keep your head up. I am racing because of you. I lost my dad and listening to your podcast has really helped me. That’s why I got this car.’
“I was so upset with qualifying, but sometimes it’s good to be reminded that it’s not that important.”
For Dylan Braswell, who ventured to Florence from the small town of Nashville, North Carolina, he never witnessed Earnhardt Jr. pilot the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet but had long been familiar with the Earnhardts and NASCAR through his late grandmother Dianne.
The two got to see Earnhardt Jr.’s final Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2017 a couple of months before Dianne passed away. Braswell saw his trip to the South Carolina 400 to honor Dianne’s love for racing and to get a firsthand account as to why the No. 8 was so special to so many people.
“My grandmother got me into NASCAR and she was always big into Earnhardt Jr.,” Braswell said. “I got to watch the VCR tapes and all that stuff back in the day, so that’s kind of where the No. 8 car is for me, watching it on TV.
“I bought tickets instantly as soon as I heard.”
Braswell and the rest of Earnhardt Jr.’s fanbase colloquially known as Junior Nation were treated to a thrilling performance from their favorite driver as he battled to make his own history in the South Carolina 400.
Although a broken fuel pump ended his night in the South Carolina 400 early, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Budweiser No. 8 proved to be one of the best cars in the field. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR Regional)
Up until a few months ago, not many in the NASCAR industry would have expected to see Earnhardt Jr. bring back the scheme that kickstarted his career for any reason. Circumstances brought the Budweiser No. 8 back to life, an opportunity not many Earnhardt Jr. fans were willing to pass up as evidenced by the South Carolina 400’s sold-out crowd.
Saturday was perfect for people like Faulkner, as it allowed him and others to reflect on pleasant memories and cherish seeing part of the past being reborn into the present day.
“I’ve been waiting on this since I saw a little hint back in April when [Earnhardt Jr.] threw a bunch of Budweiser stuff on the Internet,” Faulkner said. “I thought he was going to bring the Budweiser car back and now I’m here.
Other than the broken fuel pump and poor qualifying effort, Earnhardt Jr. got everything he wanted by bringing the Budweiser No. 8 Chevrolet to the South Carolina 400. The purpose of the initiative was to give back to the fans, many of whom descended upon Florence to see what Earnhardt Jr. could do in his iconic scheme.
The performance Earnhardt Jr. put together on Saturday gave him a much-needed jolt ahead of four planned Late Model Stock starts in 2025. While he is unsure of when that Budweiser scheme will next see the track, Earnhardt Jr. intends to bring it back before inevitably deciding to retire from racing altogether.
“At some point, you’re going to age out,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I don’t know why that happens or how it happens, but I don’t know when that happens. Maybe I got another three, four, five years left. If I have anything to do with it, they will see that Bud car again.”
Whenever or wherever Earnhardt Jr. unloads the Budweiser No. 8 next, the grandstands will be red and black, filled with loyal spectators eager to see if the famous car will find its way to Victory Lane just like it did back in the 2000s.
TIMMONSVILLE, S.C. — The first night of competition during Florence Motor Speedway’s South Carolina 400 on Friday saw Keelan Harvick take the next step in his young career.
At 12 years of age, Keelan strapped into his father Kevin Harvick’s No. 62 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet for his first start in a Limited Late Model. The results were just about everything the Harvick family could have hoped for, as Keelan avoided trouble all evening to finish eighth in the 96-lap feature.
Debuting on a national stage like the South Carolina 400 would be imposing for any young competitor, but Keelan had plenty of confidence in himself and his Kevin Harvick Inc. team to assemble a strong performance at Florence.
“I feel really good,” Keelan said after the race. “I can’t thank these KHI guys enough. They put in a lot of work. It’s definitely cool to get my first one under my belt, but I can’t wait for the next one.”
“Everything you would normally do, just do it. It’s just a big car, nothing different.”
Two seasons of competing in Legends cars around the United States prepared Keelan for his first race against Late Model veterans.
Keelan primarily developed his craft in the Cook Out Summer Shootout and the INEX Winter Heat, both of which take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway. No matter if he was racing on the facility’s frontstretch short track or road course, Keelan stood out with seven combined wins between the two events in 2024 alone.
With how well Keelan was performing in Legends competition, his father Kevin knew the first venture into full-bodied cars was coming sooner rather than later. After carefully analyzing how to approach this milestone, Kevin felt the South Carolina 400’s Limited Late Model feature would be a good first test for Keelan.
A race that featured 30 cars required Keelan to be composed behind the wheel, particularly when it came to saving tires and perfecting restarts. Kevin believed Keelan passed such a daunting task in every aspect, commending his son for the composure he showed all evening.
“I think we kind of threw [Keelan] to the wolves,” Kevin said. “I didn’t really put all this together for him to be in the biggest Limited race of the year, but it worked out really well because he got to race against a really competitive field. His race craft tonight was something I was proud of.
“He did an amazing job in the car.”
Aside from an incident under a red flag when Jason Myers made slight contact with Keelan’s left front while he was stopped, there were no major setbacks for Keelan in his Limited Late Model debut. Kevin said he believed Keelan had a car capable of finishing in the top three, but he was more than content with his son’s performance.
Keelan never once felt anxious about his first Limited Late Model race, but knew effort was needed on his part for the evening to be solid. The tenacious work translated into a strong run at Florence for Keelan, who gathered enough knowledge from Friday to exert more confidence for future events.
“I think I did pretty good,” Keelan said. “You always want more as a race car driver, but that was pretty good for my first race. I think I saved a little too long there and probably could have been more aggressive, but those are some good steps [to take] going into the next one.”
An eighth place run in the South Carolina 400’s Limited Late Model feature served as a preview for what is expected to be a busy 2025 for Keelan Harvick in full-bodied cars. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR Regional)
For Kevin, everything that transpired at Florence was equal parts rewarding and surreal.
The days of an infant Keelan standing inside his car during pre-race do not seem that long ago for the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, but Kevin is doing everything possible to foster a similar winning environment for Keelan. If everything goes according to plan, Kevin knows Keelan will one day be in a Cup Series seat himself.
Until that time comes, the developmental process for Keelan continues through full-bodied stock cars like the Limited Late Model he raced at Florence. Kevin wants to get Keelan acclimated to the heavier cars now so that he will have all the fundamentals to continue a proud tradition of racing across the Harvick family.
“[Friday] confirmed what we had planned next year,” Kevin said. “We’ll probably keep pushing down the road of 25-30 Late Model races for next year. Now it starts with all the little things. The last tenth-and-a half, two-tenths are the hard part, [along with] learning when to go, how hard to go, how to qualify and restarts.
“Now he knows he can do it, so everything will start to slow down. It’s a matter of repetition at this point.”
The outline for Keelan in 2025 involves a partnership with Rackley W.A.R. that will see him run several Pro Late Model events. While his exact schedule has yet to be announced, Keelan is expected to tackle a diverse set of tracks across the country that will test both his physical and mental stamina.
Several more daunting races await Keelan, but the young prospect remains optimistic he can excel with the environment around him.
“I’m going to try [and win] next year,” Keelan said. “I can’t thank my sponsors [enough in] Hunt Brothers Pizza, Realtree, along with everybody else that helps me. I couldn’t be here without them.”
Having already accomplished so much at a young age, the future remains bright for Keelan as he looks to build off a strong Limited Late Model debut.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On a cool Friday evening in uptown Charlotte, the NASCAR industry celebrated its heroes, industry inspirations and champions at the Charlotte Convention Center for the first time in the sport’s modern era.
Race teams, drivers and fans gathered to watch these 2024 victors receive their trophies and to see the sport honor those whose careers impacted NASCAR not only this season but for years and even decades.
Cup Series champion Joey Logano began the afternoon celebrating his third title with the iconic Goodyear Gold Car given to each year’s champion and then later being feted by the sport at the tuxedo-and-gown banquet that will be televised on The CW Network on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
The 34-year-old’s three titles in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford are now the most among all active drivers, and he is one of only 10 competitors in the history of the sport to have ever earned a trio of championship trophies.
Logano thanked his team and team owner Roger Penske, and the father of three gave a special nod to his wife Brittany, who he praised for taking care of their young family and home — allowing him to maintain championship focus. He thanked his family, who was also in the audience, “remembering when I was a kid and got a go-kart for Christmas and now I’m sitting here a three-time Cup champion, it’s just truly incredible.”
“To me, we did get a lot of opportunities, and life’s really all about what you do with the opportunities, you don’t know when they are going to come your way, but are you ready to take advantage when they do,” continued Logano, who received a full-room standing ovation when introduced by NASCAR President Steve Phelps.
Logano, whose four wins in 2024 gave him 36 total, was noticeably sentimental, reflecting on his career and season’s accomplishments.
“If you take the opportunity that God’s given us to talk to people, to inspire others to live a life of generosity, that’s when these scenarios of just driving in circles aren’t just driving in circles anymore,” Logano said, noting the sport’s huge push to help Hurricane Helene victims in Western North Carolina.
“That, to me, is something I’m most proud of in this industry and being part of that,” added Logano, who has personally helped raise money and deliver supplies to the affected regions.
“I’m proud of winning. I’m proud to be part of this team, but what I’m probably most proud of is the heart of this sport.”
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Logano’s team owner, NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Penske, has now earned five NASCAR Cup Series championships, including the last three consecutively between Logano (2022 and 2024) and Ryan Blaney (2023).
“From my perspective, Joey Logano was a winner when he came to our team in 2013,” Penske said in his remarks on stage, adding, “We’re so proud of all our teams. Racing is a common thread through our businesses. It’s teamwork. It’s pressure. It’s integrity. It’s transparency. And this has built the Penske brand. And we’re thrilled to be here.”
Beyond the Logano-Penske dominance, it was a night of emphasizing highlights across all NASCAR series — those in supporting roles in the pits and beyond.
The Xfinity Series and its first-time champion, popular veteran JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, along with Craftsman Truck Series first-time champion Ty Majeski and his ThorSport Racing team, were celebrated.
Allgaier’s team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. was visibly excited to honor his longtime driver.
“I’m normally not this kind of person, but I knew we were going to win it. I’m normally the kind of person who thinks about the odds and wonders how we might lose a race or what are the obstacles in front of us,” Earnhardt said. “But for some reason, I just felt like the universe owed Justin, and we were going to collect when we got to Phoenix.”
“Man did he get up on the wheel, all those restarts, those were classic, classic moments and if you just watched that seven-car work all night long you could see how bad Justin wanted it,” Earnhardt continued. “He carried the whole company on his back that night. Just proud of him and so thankful to be able to see Justin celebrate this tonight.”
The sport also celebrated Earnhardt’s good friend, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr, the 2017 Cup Series champion, who retired from full-time competition at the end of the 2024 season and also marked the distinction earned by a former Team Penske champion as well in Brad Keselowski, who claimed his first victory (at Darlington Raceway) as a driver-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, the 2020 series champion, was named the sport’s Most Popular Driver for the seventh consecutive season.
“First and foremost, thank you to the fans,” said Elliott, 28, who won at Texas Motor Speedway this season. “When I look at this award, regardless if I win it or not … I’ve always viewed it as an opportunity to honor and appreciate the legacy my family has set up for me.”
Former Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series champion Greg Biffle was recognized as the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Myers Brothers Award winner. Biffle, an avid pilot, flew rescue missions and dropped supplies to the residents in Western North Carolina following the devastating damage from Hurricane Helene in October.
“I thought, if I didn’t go, who’s going to go,” said Biffle, who said he received 12,000 messages for help and flew supplies into the area for 14 consecutive days after the storm hit.
“I didn’t do anything any different than anyone in this room would have,” a humble Biffle added.
In other awards presented on the night, David Wilson, the longtime president of Toyota Racing Development (TRD) was presented the Bill France Award of Excellence for his contributions to the sport. Wilson is retiring after leading the Toyota racing effort in NASCAR for 30 years — a tenure that included Toyota’s first Cup Series championship in 2015 and two more in 2017 and 2019.
Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones was named the Comcast Community Champion Award winner for his work in promoting cancer screenings, raising money for breast cancer patients and longtime literacy advocacy, reading books to school children as he travels around the country racing.
The NASCAR Foundation formally announced Judy Simmons, of Axton, Virginia as the 2024 winner of the prestigious Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. Simmons received a $100,000 donation from The NASCAR Foundation to her God’s Pit Crew non-profit organization, which provides disaster relief help to families.
The evening, hosted by Jamie Little, Adam Alexander and Kim Coon, concluded shortly after 8 p.m. ET with the hosts reminding the crowd and fans that NASCAR racing resumes with the NASCAR Clash exhibition at the venerable Bowman Gray Stadium on Feb. 2 (8 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The Daytona 500 opens the points season Feb. 16 at Daytona International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
