HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Only once has a driver pointed their way into Championship 4 from 20 points or more below the elimination line after the first Round of 8 race.
Being 47 markers down, it would be easy to close the book on Ryan Blaney’s chances of repeating as NASCAR Cup Series champion, especially when you consider his three finishes of 32nd or worse in the postseason and an average finish of 18.9 through seven playoff races. Numbers would suggest that the No. 12 team doesn’t have the momentum needed to make a second title bid.
However, in each of the last five seasons, at least one driver below the elimination line after the Round of 8 opener has raced their way into the finale. With a 27-point gap on the bubble being the largest deficit in playoff history after an opening-round race, Blaney and Co. remain confident that no matter how the standings look, they can right the ship over the final two Round of 8 contests.
“I feel like we’re controlling everything we can as a group very well. We’ve just been wrong spot, wrong time, and it’s kinda hurt us a little bit,” Blaney said. “We’re still in it. We still have a chance in two weeks with two really good tracks for us [Homestead and Martinsville], so hopefully we can step up.”
So much of the mentality for the 2023 Cup Series champion has been to reset to whatever the next challenge is and adapt in order to get back to Phoenix Raceway with a shot to go back-to-back.
“This group is so good at just like putting the past behind us, good, bad or indifferent and just moving on, like, ‘What’s the next job? What do we have to do have to do next?’ And we’re ready for that this weekend.” Blaney said. “We’ve done a great job. It’s just been a little bit more of a rougher year than I would’ve liked to have nothing really much of our doing. Just the way it goes sometimes.”
Blaney finished runner-up in last year’s Homestead race before closing out the Round of 8 with a dominant victory at Martinsville Speedway. However, he was one of the outliers in hoisting the Bill France Cup after not locking into the Championship early. With Joey Logano, his Team Penske counterpart, already locked in and having two weekends to prepare for the title race — in addition to the challenge of trying to gain points on contenders like Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and William Byron — Blaney is more focused on finding momentum he can ride to the desert.
“I think there’s some advantage to winning early, Joey doing in ’22, Larson doing it ’21, you know, having a couple weeks to prepare. But like in our scenario [last year], a win at Martinsville, we rode that momentum right to next week, right? So it’s like, yeah, maybe you want a couple weeks to prepare, but there’s only so much you can do to prepare.
“I am a big believer in momentum. I do believe in that stuff, and anything, it’s a confidence thing and firing everybody up, and it’s belief that you can do it.”
Even with how much has gone wrong for the No. 12 team, they aren’t hitting the panic button at all, and Blaney’s found it easy to handle the growing pressure with his prior championship experience.
“There’s pressure in big moments,” Blaney said. “Being in these situations and understanding what’s at stake, and how do you handle that, right? How do you approach it and accept it and understand the pressure and just try to figure out how to kind of use it to your advantage where maybe people don’t handle it well.”
No matter if a win comes in the last two races or if Blaney points his way into the title bout, he and the team have always had Phoenix in the back of their minds.
“You take all the necessary precautions no matter what happens,” Blaney added. “No matter what scenario we’re in going into next week, we’re going to have a car ready for Phoenix like we’re going to run for the championship.”
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – The Regular Season Championship leaders will start alongside one another on the front row for Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick besting Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson by a slight 0.077 seconds Saturday morning to claim the pole position.
This is the 28-year-old Californian’s third pole of the 2024 season in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota — the ninth of his career — and comes at a crucial time in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 8 with Sunday the second of three races that will decide which four drivers advance to the Nov. 10 Phoenix race championship eligible to hoist the big trophy.
Reddick, a two-time Xfinity Series winner at the 1.5-miler, turned a 167.452 mph lap in his Toyota Camry to set the pace and earn the first pit stall selection. His work gave Toyota a three-series pole sweep for the weekend, with Toyotas starting first in Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series races — the 13th time the make has done that.
“The pole has eluded me in the Cup Series here. We’ve been very close and just needed a very good Round 2. I think for our group, we ran a really good lap for sure,” said Reddick, the Regular Season Champion, who arrives in South Florida ranked sixth in the championship standings, 30 points behind Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron in that all-important fourth-place transfer position.
“It’s always nice to run a really good lap, but when you run your lap, and five cars go after you, you know they have the opportunity to adjust, so I was curious to see what the 5 [Larson]and 20 {Christopher Bell] were going to do there and obviously, the 5 got pretty close.
“All in all, it was a great day for us and looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
Toyotas and Chevrolets dominated the opening round of qualifying putting five cars each into the final one-lap run for the pole. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell — the current playoff points leader — will start third in the No. 20 Toyota, alongside teammate and three-time Homestead winner Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won the Talladega Superspeedway race three weeks ago, will start the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet fifth, with JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. starting sixth in the No. 19 Toyota.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, who goes into the race ranked last among the eight Playoff drivers — 53 points below the elimination line — will start the No. 9 Chevrolet seventh alongside JGR’s Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Toyota. Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric and Spire Motorsports’ Justin Haley will start their Chevrolets from the fifth row, marking the best qualifying effort of the year for Haley and the first time he’s advanced to the final round.
No Fords advanced to the final round for the first time since the Circuit of The Americas race on March 24. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry was the fastest Mustang Saturday and will start 12th.
Only three playoff drivers did not advance to the 10-car final qualifying round. Among them is reigning series champion Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, who will start his No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang 20th on the grid. He’s currently ranked seventh of the eight drivers, 47 points below the elimination line.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Byron — the 2021 Homestead winner — will roll off 25th in the No. 24 Chevrolet. He is in that all-important fourth position in the standings, 27 points up on Hamlin in fifth.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano — who earned the first of four Championship 4 berths with a Las Vegas win last week — qualified 26th but will start from the rear after his No. 22 Penske team made a steering system change post-qualifying.
Tyler Reddick tops practice leaderboard
Tyler Reddick concluded Cup Series practice with the fastest single-lap time, with the No. 45 23XI Racing driver wheeling a 167.769 mph circuit. Ross Chastain finished runner-up with a 167.764 mph lap. Bubba Wallace (167.754 mph), Michael McDowell (167.676 mph) and Brad Keselowski (167.338 mph) rounded out the top five.
Erik Jones (167.338 mph), Martin Truex Jr. (166.842 mph), Denny Hamlin (166.646 mph), Joey Logano (166.636 mph) and Zane Smith (166.543 mph) rounded out the top 10.
On Oct. 26, NASCAR announced an extension of the entitlement partnership for its original division; Whelen Engineering returns to the Modified Tour through 2029. In conjunction with that announcement, NASCAR released the 16-race 2025 Whelen Modified Tour schedule.
The Modified Tour schedule will continue to feature NASCAR national series event weekends to highlight the competitive nature of the racing. On May 18, for example, the Modifieds will be part of a unique doubleheader as the opening act for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Richmond Raceway will host the Modified Tour on Aug. 14 as part of the track’s late summer NASCAR weekend. Also on the Modified Tour schedule is a Sept. 20 race during NASCAR Playoff weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule once again begins with a race at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway in 2025. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
On Oct. 18, Martinsville Speedway will again host the Modified Tour championship race as an opener for a week of camping and fan activity that leads into the national series Playoff weekend.
Fan favorite Modified Tour tracks like Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (Connecticut), Monadnock Speedway (New Hampshire) and Riverhead Raceway (New York) will host multiple races.
“We are proud to once again have a strong mix of types of tracks on the 2025 Whelen Modified Tour schedule that allow our drivers to put on an impressive show for fans in multiple markets,” said Jimmy Wilson, Senior Director, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. “As you can see by the quality of racing and the intense championship battle to the end this year, these events showcase the various strengths of each of our drivers and allow for competitive racing from the first race to the finale.”
Thompson will host a trio of high-profile events, starting with the March 30 race as part of the track’s Icebreaker Weekend – now the second race on the Modified Tour’s schedule. Thompson will also host a Wednesday night mid-summer showdown on Aug. 6, plus the penultimate race of the season as part of the World Series of Speedway Racing on Oct. 12.
Monadnock will host two events, the first on May 3 and the second on July 19. Riverhead will have a pair of races, one on June 14, and the other on Sept. 6.
Seekonk Speedway (May 31), Lancaster Motorplex (July 12) and Oswego Speedway (Aug. 30) will once again host Tour races next season. Additionally, White Mountain Motorsports Park returns to the Modified Tour schedule for 2025. The New Hampshire track previously held a pair of Tour races in 2020.
Anybody who examines the history of Whelen Engineering will see how safety and racing run through the company’s veins.
Pilot and engineer George W. Whelen III founded the operation more than 70 years ago in his garage. Today, Whelen Engineering manufactures lights, sirens and other warning systems globally for a variety of industries, including motorsports. The name can be found on caution and safety lights at most race tracks across the United States; it sponsors teams and drivers, as well.
Perhaps Whelen’s paramount connection to racing — its partnership with NASCAR’s Modified Tour — won’t fracture anytime soon.
NASCAR on Saturday announced an extension of its original division’s entitlement sponsorship. Whelen Engineering not only returns to the Modified Tour through 2029; the deal guarantees increased payouts starting with the 2025 season.
“This is close to us,” said Peter Tiezzi, the General Manager of Motorsports for Whelen Engineering. “The Modifieds just hold a special place for us at Whelen. … We’re extending the contract, and we’re going to put a big boost into the prize fund and hopefully attract more drivers to come to the Modified Tour and make it their home for racing.”
Tiezzi’s sentiment is supported by the fact that Whelen’s extension with NASCAR continues the longest active series entitlement partnership in NASCAR and the longest such sponsorship in Modified Tour history.
The commitment is not lost on those who compete on the Tour. Defending series champion Ron Silk inadvertently spoke for the entire Mods community with one quick comment.
“Whelen’s support of our series has been unwavering for about 20 years,” he said. “We hope they know how much it means to us.”
Whelen Engineering has been entitlement partner of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour since 2005. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
The extension includes a 250 percent increase to the season-ending championship purse and increased raced purses throughout the field. In short, drivers and teams will earn more throughout the year.
Jimmy Wilson, who has served as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series Director since 2013, knows better than anyone the power of such a financial boost.
“Whelen’s involvement in NASCAR and the entire racing industry has been huge,” Wilson said. “Since they announced they were coming on board as the title sponsor back in 2005, over the last 20 years, everything they’ve done to increase their presence in the sport has not only done that for them as a company, but has made our sport safer.
“That includes the iconic caution lights you see around the race track, the lights on the safety vehicles to make the drivers aware of where they are on the race track, and the top-notch products made here in America. The fact that they are doubling down and reinvesting in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour to continue to make it the strongest Modified series in the country I think speaks for itself.”
Doug Coby has witnessed everything Whelen has done to bolster the Modified Tour since Day 1. The six-time series champion who began his career in 2002 sees this extension as yet another example of how Whelen remains dedicated to making sure the Modified Tour is the best regional series in the United States.
For him, the reinvestment is more than just a welcome development.
“Continuous growth requires continuous support,” Coby said. “It starts with an idea and getting key players to commit. Having a sponsor like Whelen to do that, and to bring in additional support and exposure, it helps with everything across the board.”
Doug Coby has won six NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships, all during Whelen’s 20 years as the series’ entitlement partner. (Photo: Nick Grace/NASCAR)
Silk echoed Coby’s sentiments and added that, for many teams, the extra money being infused into the Modified Tour race and championship purses will go a long way toward attracting more competitors to the series.
“I race for a pretty well funded team, but more money is certainly always a good thing,” Silk said. “There are some teams that aren’t nearly as fortunate as we are, so hopefully we can get some more people interested in this and we can get the car counts back up to where we should be.”
The partnership between NASCAR and Whelen was initially spearheaded by longtime Whelen executive Phil Kurze, a proponent for grassroots racing. Kurze passed away in 2018 at the age of 69, but his influence remains impactful.
Coby believes Whelen’s continued support of the Modified Tour is the perfect way to honor Kurze, who never missed an opportunity shine a positive light on the series.
“Their commitment to the Modifieds and short-track racing in general started with Phil Kurze’s vision of how Whelen could fit into working with working class people who raced short tracks, and especially the Modifieds,” Coby said. “Phil loved our series and was an advocate for our series across the board.
“With his passing and Peter taking over and Whelen keeping the commitment going, it takes Phil’s legacy further. I know he is smiling. I know this is what he would want to see for the Modifieds.”
Phil Kurze, left, poses with race winner Todd Szegedy at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2011. Kurze, a driving force in Whelen Engineering’s partnership with NASCAR, passed away in 2018. (Photo: Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
Proof of Whelen’s continued support of motorsports following Kurze’s passing lies beyond its connection to the Modified Tour.
Whelen sponsors drivers, like part-time ARCA Menards Series and Modified Tour competitor Andy Jankowiak. The company sponsors other series, like the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup. Whelen even supports specific events, such as the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup.
“It’s kind of like you’re Saturday-night racing, more or less,” Tiezzi said of the grassroots racing vibe. “It’s local guys who have regular jobs. Blue-collar workers who come out and they race with the Modified Tour.”
And that’s exactly the point. Whelen Engineering builds products for blue-collar men and women, the kind of people who show up to work at 6 in the morning and don’t get home until 8 at night. The company is built by grassroots people for grassroots people.
The Modified Tour garage is filled with the same type of people. They work all week just to get to Saturday so they can go racing against the best Modified drivers in the country.
“I feel like Whelen is almost a perfect fit for the Modified Tour; the cars are very robust, and their products are very robust,” said Ken Massa, the owner of Ken Massa Motorsports and the No. 51 Modified driven by three-time champion Justin Bonsignore. “I’ve been to their facility. It’s a beautiful place. The way they manufacturer their products, they still have a lot of hands on. It’s an American-made company. I love their products; I think their products are perfect for what we are as the Modified Tour.”
Whelen Engineering’s support of grassroots racing goes far beyond entitlement partnership of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
Bonsignore, who entered the 2024 season finale as the points leader in search of his fourth title, is one of the top Modified stars of his generation. His victory at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Oct. 20 moved him into a tie with Reggie Ruggiero for second on the all-time wins list.
All of Bonsignore’s wins have come under the Whelen entitlement, a fact that is not lost on the 36-year-old New Yorker.
“Whelen has been with the series for nearly 20 years and is still looking to improve and make the series better financially … it’s amazing,” Bonsignore said. “We’re really appreciative of Whelen, and in particular Peter Tiezzi, for everything they do for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. They’re just so dedicated to motorsports.
“We’re just really, really fortunate they continue to support the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, because that’s where I love to race and want to be. Having them re-sign gives more stability to the series.”
Perhaps no Modified team embodies the blue-collar work ethic quite like Boehler Racing Enterprises. Founded by the late Len Boehler in the 1950s, Boehler Racing Enterprises has fielded the famous Ole Blue No. 3 for decades starting with the original NASCAR National Modified Championship before the series was rebranded as the Modified Tour in 1985.
Now led by Len’s son Michael Boehler, the five-time NASCAR Modified championship-winning team continues to race with a mostly volunteer team full of blue-collar workers who simply want to be part of NASCAR’s oldest division.
Without Whelen’s support, those workers’ involvement wouldn’t be possible.
“Having a series title sponsor like Whelen is awesome,” Boehler said. “To have people dedicated to the series and what they’ve given back to us, the Modified community, is second to none. At the end of the day in racing, we’re a community. As team owners and crew members and drivers, we want to showcase our series. To have Whelen right here in the Northeast supporting us, it’s beneficial to us and the brand name.
“We feel proud to be involved, and obviously the partnership goes both ways. They must feel the same way if they keep renewing the contract.”
Ron Silk (16) is the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s most recent champion driving for team owners Tyler Haydt and Joe Yannone. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)
Tyler Haydt, who co-owns the No. 16 Modified driven by Silk with business partner Joe Yannone, has a unique perspective on Whelen’s relationship with the series.
He started his Modified Tour career as a driver, competing in 15 events in 2005 before transitioning to team ownership. He’s thrilled Whelen is returning and even more thrilled to see the company continuing to up the ante.
“They’ve been in the series a long time. It’s nice to have a tenured sponsor like that who wants to keep upping the payouts,” Haydt said. “We’re all working people. This isn’t backed by sponsorship. This is about guys who like to race. Getting some more money back in the door is going to be beneficial.”
Simply put: The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour would not be what it is without the support of Whelen Engineering. With Whelen’s reinvestment in the series now official, all parties can focus on deepening the history of NASCAR’s oldest division.
“We’re honored to work with Sonny Whelen, Peter Tiezzi and Geoff Marsh and everyone at Whelen,” Wilson said. “We know how important the relationship with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is to them, and we really do appreciate and value that partnership. With this reinvestment in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, we look forward to growing this sector of the sport and their presence in it together.”
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR today announced an extension of the entitlement partnership of its original series as Whelen Engineering, Inc. returns to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour through 2029 in a partnership that guarantees increased team payouts starting with the 2025 season. In conjunction with the announcement, NASCAR released the 16-race 2025 Whelen Modified Tour schedule.
Whelen’s commitment to the Whelen Modified Tour in the coming years will see the largest Tour purse increase in the last decade, with championship prize money increasing by 250 percent. Additionally, the entire starting field will see the benefits of the new partnership, as each entry will see a minimum $2,000 payout to start the race – in several cases more than double the current payout for lower-finishing positions. Race winners will get a minimum of $11,000 in Whelen payout.
“The heart of NASCAR is in our regional racing and long-time partners like Whelen help support the high quality racing our fans and competitors deserve in the grassroots programs,” said Joseph Dennewitz, Managing Director of NASCAR Regional. “By building up the purse for all in the garage, Whelen is putting their money where their mouth is in ensuring the success and health of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for years to come.”
Competitors in the Whelen Modified Tour will begin seeing the benefits of the extended partnership next season at the season opener at New Smyrna Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 8. This will mark the fourth consecutive year that the Tour will open at the track that is just down the road from the birthplace of NASCAR.
The Whelen Modified Tour is NASCAR’s oldest and original series, which began racing in 1948 in Daytona Beach. The partnership between Whelen and the Tour originated with the 2005 season, and over the past two decades, Whelen has demonstrated a continued commitment to the dedicated fans and competitors of the Tour. The extension of the entitlement of the Whelen Modified Tour brings the partnership to 25 years in 2029, making them one of the longest-running sponsors in NASCAR.
“We are incredibly proud to extend our longstanding partnership with NASCAR and celebrate 20 years as the title sponsor of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour,” said Peter Tiezzi, General Manager of Motorsports for Whelen Engineering Company Inc. “For the past two decades, being part of this iconic series has been both an honor and a reflection of our commitment to grassroots racing. As the Official Warning Lights of NASCAR, we are excited to continue supporting the sport while further strengthening our ties within the racing community. This partnership highlights our dedication to safety and performance, both on and off the track.”
The Tour will continue to partner with NASCAR national series event weekends to highlight the extremely competitive nature of the racing. On Sunday, May 18, the Whelen Modified Tour will be part of a unique double-header as the opening act for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Richmond Raceway will host the Tour on Thursday, Aug. 14, as part of its late summer NASCAR weekend, and the Tour joins the lineup for the NASCAR Playoff weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a Saturday, Sept. 20, race.
On Saturday, Oct. 18, Martinsville Speedway will again host the championship race as an opener for a week of camping and fan activity that leads into the national series Playoff weekend.
Fan favorite Whelen Modified Tour tracks such as Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (Connecticut), Monadnock Speedway (New Hampshire), and Riverhead Raceway (New York) will each host multiple events.
“We are proud to once again have a strong mix of types of tracks on the 2025 Whelen Modified Tour schedule that allow our drivers to put on an impressive show for fans in multiple markets,” said Jimmy Wilson, Senior Director, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. “As you can see by the quality of racing and the intense championship battle to the end this year, these events showcase the various strengths of each of our drivers and allow for competitive racing from the first race to the finale.”
Thompson will host a trio of high-profile events, starting with the Sunday, March 30, event as part of the Icebreaker Weekend – now the second race on the Tour’s schedule. They will also host a Wednesday night mid-summer showdown on Aug. 6, and the penultimate race of the season as part of the World Series of Speedway Racing on Sunday, Oct. 12.
Monadnock will host two events on Saturday, May 3, and Saturday, July 19. Riverhead will have a pair of races on Saturday, June 14, and Saturday, Sept. 6.
Seekonk Speedway (Saturday, May 31), Lancaster Motorplex (Saturday, July 12), Oswego Speedway (Saturday, Aug. 30) will once again host Tour races next season. Additionally, White Mountain Motorsports Park returns to the Whelen Modified Tour schedule for 2025. The New Hampshire track previously held a pair of Tour races in 2020.
“The short tracks of the Northeast are at the heart of the Whelen Modified Tour and offer so many options for our teams to compete close to home in front of their friends and family,” added Wilson. “We have strong historic ties to many of these facilities and all host great events for everyone who comes through their gates.”
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will crown its champion later today (Saturday, Oct. 26) at 8 p.m. ET at Martinsville Speedway.
Over the two-decade partnership Whelen has held with the Modified Tour, 10 different drivers have won the Whelen Modified Tour championship, led by Doug Coby’s six titles (2012, 2014-17, 2018) and three from Justin Bonsignore (2018, 2020, 2021). Ron Silk, the reigning champion, also won the title in 2011.
This season, in one of the more thrilling – and contentious – championship battles in Tour history, Silk and Bonsignore are continuing the rivalry stemming from their down-to-the-wire title bout from a year ago.
Silk entered the penultimate race of the season last week at North Wilkesboro Speedway up by 11 points. But a dominate win on Sunday afternoon by Bonsignore flipped the script and put the driver of the No. 51 atop the points standings for the first time since August with a 10-point advantage entering the finale. Each driver heads into the championship race with four wins and 14 top 10s.
Tonight’s championship race may be streamed live on FloRacing, while schedule and ticket information is available at nascar.com/whelen-modified-tour.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — For the sixth time in his career, Joey Logano will be vying for a NASCAR Cup Series title. Being the first playoff driver locked into the Championship 4 via winning the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Logano finds himself in a familiar spot — being the favorite.
“I don’t see why we wouldn’t [be the favorite],” said Logano. “I always feel like we can win the race no matter what, and we figured out a way last week even when we weren’t the fastest car — we were the best team that figured out how to win that race. That’s where I feel like we have such an advantage over the other teams. We were very well-rounded and I think that’s what gives us a lot of opportunity to capitalize when no one expects it. Now you’re going to give us more time to focus on one track; that’s what we needed.”
The No. 22’s win last week already disrupted and changed the trajectory of this year’s playoffs and now the crew has a two-week headstart over whoever else locks into the final four. The team has been keen on wasting no time on what could be Logano’s third Cup Series title and cap a Team Penske three-peat of driver’s champions.
“We went over Vegas for a little bit, just like we typically would after any race. We did an overview of Miami, you know, just the details that we’re looking for here and then we started talking about Phoenix and pretty much just stayed there the entire time. The fact that we earned an advantage by being able to focus on Phoenix before anyone else, we need to take advantage of that opportunity.”
It’s a chance for Logano to repeat history as he captured his first two championships by winning the first Round of 8 race and again having a leg up on the competition in the finale. Even for a multi-time champ like Logano, the chance to add more to the resume isn’t something he’s taking lightly, fully embracing the pressure surrounding the chance to stand on the sport’s mountaintop again.
“I laugh all the time because so many drivers in all three series, a lot of their answers are, ‘We just treat it as another race, it’s just another race,’ B.S it’s not another race, it’s not even close,” Logano added. “It’s the championship. It’s the biggest race you’ll ever be a part of.
Everybody’s different, and everybody handles things in different ways. Some people get excited in those do-or-die situations and they want the ball as the clock winds down and they want to take the shot, and there’s other people that are like ‘I don’t know, I don’t want to be the guy that misses the shot’ I don’t think that way — I want to be the guy that makes the shot.”
NASCAR.com’s 36 for 36 continues at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
With 36 races and 36 full-time Charter cars, our players select one car per race, but there’s a simple twist: once they’ve made the pick, they can’t choose that car again for the rest of the 36-race season. Yes, that means every car will be selected exactly once … a survivor pool, by another name.
Follow along weekly as our panel of pickers — Dustin Albino from Jayski, along with Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson from NASCAR.com — embarks on a season-long journey to think like strategists and prove their picking prowess.
We’ll also feature a fourth “community” 36 for 36 pick each week, as decided by fan vote on the r/NASCAR subreddit. Can the collective vote topple our trio of full-timers?
Current Standings:
Steve Luvender: 853
r/NASCAR Community: -109
Cameron Richardson: -113
Dustin Albino: -117
Race 34 of 36: Miami
Hot afternoons last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway made for an impossibly close contest heading into this weekend. Dustin Albino entered the week in second place with a modest cushion over third but exited in last place following a day gone upside down from his pick, Tyler Reddick. Points leader Steve Luvender earned 27 points from Kyle Larson, while the big winners were the NASCAR subreddit — their Martin Truex Jr. pick brought home 48 points, his best day since Dover Motor Speedway in April — and Cameron Richardson’s 54-point race from Christopher Bell. Second through fourth are now separated by just eight points, with three picks remaining.
Homestead-Miami Speedway awaits our pickers next. It’s the fastest track left on the schedule, with just Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway ahead. Let’s see how our pickers handle this one.
Jayski’s Dustin Albino: No. 5, Kyle Larson
Dustin’s pick last week: No. 45, Tyler Reddick (12 points)
Total season points: 736 (fourth place, -2 since last week)
Dustin: It’s become wildly apparent that I’ve cursed plenty of drivers throughout the year while choosing them in this space. Last week, Reddick won the opening stage at Las Vegas before tumbling down the frontstretch. So, I’m going to apologize in advance to Larson this weekend. This choice this weekend is easy, though, as very few drivers in NASCAR history have been better at running an inch off the wall, the preferred line at Homestead. Larson tends to lead plenty of laps at Homestead and not get the win — aside from 2021 — so maybe I’ll break that curse with three races remaining in the 2024 season.
NASCAR.com’s Steve Luvender: No. 45, Tyler Reddick
Steve’s pick last week: No. 5, Kyle Larson (27 points)
Total season points: 853 (first place)
Steve: Tyler Reddick has earned three top fives in his four Cup races at Homestead, and it’s no secret he knows how to work the track’s high line — also as evidenced by his two Xfinity Series championship-winning races at the track in 2018 and 2019. After his early exit at Las Vegas, he needs a strong afternoon to remain in championship contention, and I think he’ll deliver.
NASCAR.com’s Cameron Richardson: No. 54, Ty Gibbs
Cameron’s pick last week: No. 20, Christopher Bell (54 points)
Total season points: 740 (third place, +1 from last week)
Cameron: With just three races left, I’m taking a cautious approach and stashing Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson for the final two races. Homestead can be a tricky and nerve-wracking one for the playoff drivers fighting for the remaining three Championship 4 spots, so I’m rolling with the No. 54 driver. I do have confidence in Gibbs, though, as he finished seventh at Homestead last year. With a second full Cup season almost complete for the young driver, he can potentially improve upon that on Sunday.
r/NASCAR Community: No. 45, Tyler Reddick
r/NASCAR’s pick last week: No. 19, Martin Truex Jr. (48 points)
Total season points: 744 (second place, +1 from last week)
The r/NASCAR subreddit selected Tyler Reddick for Sunday’s race. Here’s what Redditors had to say about their choice this week in the voting thread:
u/Dont_hate_the_8: “Time to reap rewards from Reddick ripping the really high line!”
u/Extreme-Bite-9123: “Definitely Reddick here. Really the only guy who has a chance of beating Larson”
u/NoahGragsonsBarfBag (good username): “Of these three I think the 45 team will put the most into this weekend. Not the say Penske won’t for the 12, but I think Toyota has the edge over Ford for this one.”
u/Joey_Logano (no relation): “Reddick and Homestead go together like Bananas and Mayonnaise aka a match made in heaven.”
Check back next week to see how our pickers fared as the season-long 36 for 36 journey continues.
And, if you’ve got a competitive itch beyond meticulously managing your Fantasy Live lineup each week, feel free to save or print your own 36 for 36 sheet and see if you can beat our pickers and the Reddit community!
Throughout the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, director of historical content for the sanctioning body, will offer his suggestions on which historical races fans should watch from the NASCAR Classics library in preparation for each upcoming race weekend.
Martin has worked exclusively for NASCAR since 2008 but has been involved with the sport since 1982, overseeing various projects. He has worked in the broadcast booth for hundreds of races, assisting the broadcast team with different tasks. This includes calculating the “points as they run” for the historic 1992 finale, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The following suggestions are Ken’s picks to watch before this Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
The 2004 NASCAR Cup Series season saw a playoff system implemented, pushing away the long-tenured season-long points format to decide a champion.
The new format saw drivers chase a playoff berth through the first 26 races of the season before the points reset for the playoff drivers. The drivers were separated by new five-point increments, which set up the season finale at Homestead to be one to remember.
Homestead saw five drivers eligible to potentially capture the Cup Series title, highlighted by points leader Kurt Busch.
Busch held an 18-point advantage over Jimmie Johnson, who was three points ahead of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin were both within reach of their first championship as well.
The weekend couldn’t have got off to a better start for Busch, as he put his No. 97 car on the pole for the race. Most of the other contenders were not as lucky.
Gordon and Martin both qualified inside the first six rows, while Earnhardt Jr. started 16th. Johnson had the toughest time, if he wanted to capture his first title, he’d have to do it from the 39th starting position.
As much as it seemed Busch had full control of the driver’s seat, it all looked like it disappeared just as fast. He lost the right-front wheel of his car early on and barely missed destroying his car in the process.
He managed to stay on the lead lap and eventually made his way back up front before coming home with a fifth-place finish.
The rest of the field needed to rely on the others in front of them having trouble but a strong run from Johnson set up a late-race battle for the title between Busch and himself.
Busch’s fifth-place finish allowed him to keep an eight-point gap on Johnson and secure him the championship.
Gordon came home third, Martin was 11th and Earnhardt Jr. was 23rd, making them third, fourth and fifth in the final standings respectively.
As for the race itself, second-year driver Greg Biffle, a former Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series champion, broke through for the third win of his career. This capped off a memorable day for Jack Roush, as Biffle was a teammate to the newly crowned champion.
Lightning struck at the start of the 2011 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and sparked a magical run for Tony Stewart.
Stewart, in his third season driving for his own Cup Series organization, struggled mightily throughout the first half of the season.
He sat 12th in the season standings with zero wins following the 17th race of the season.
The next few weeks saw Stewart slightly turn a corner, despite still not contending for wins like his usual self. He racked up a second-place finish at New Hampshire, a sixth at Indianapolis and ended the regular season with back-to-back top-10 finishes.
Where there is smoke, there usually are flames and that was just the case when it came to Stewart in the playoffs.
He won the playoff opener at Chicago and backed that up with a victory at New Hampshire. Stewart went on to win at Martinsville and Texas while finishing third at Phoenix. This set Stewart up to battle for the title in the season finale at Homestead.
While Stewart turned on the dominance, Carl Edwards was Mr. Consistent. He led the points for 21 races throughout the season but only picked up one victory, which came in the third race of the season at Las Vegas.
Edwards put together a streak of 11 top-10 finishes over the final 12 races before Homestead. His only finish outside of the top-10 was an 11th at Talladega.
This left Edwards with a three-point advantage over Stewart heading into the finale.
The race went down as an instant classic, slightly resembling the iconic championship battle at Atlanta in 1992 that saw Alan Kulwicki capture the title over Bill Elliott.
Edwards did just about everything he could to win himself his first title. The points leader won the pole, led the most laps and finished second.
Unfortunately for Edwards, the two drivers seemed to be magnets throughout the event. They each took turns leading the field throughout the night, while the other driver lay closely behind.
When the checkered flag waved, it was Stewart taking the checkered flag and Edwards coming in second. This left both drivers with 2403 points but Stewart’s five victories served as a tiebreaker handing the title to Stewart yet again.
The 2016 championship-deciding race at Homestead looked like it was shaping up to be one to remember and that is exactly what it was.
Four drivers chased a dream of hoisting the NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy. Defending series champion Kyle Busch, six-time champion Jimmie Johnson and a pair of drivers Joey Logano and Carl Edwards, who were looking for their first.
The other underlying storyline of the race was the final start of a three-time champion, Tony Stewart, who was hanging up his helmet following the race.
Kevin Harvick, who was not a part of the Championship 4 since its inception in 2014, put his No. 4 car on the pole for the race. The title contenders found themselves deeper in the field. Busch and Edwards started alongside of each other in ninth and tenth, while Logano and Johnson started next to each other two rows back.
As day turned to night, the action on the track picked up. The fourth caution flag of the day came out with more than 60 laps remaining, resetting the field. It came out again with 15 laps left, as all of the drivers eyed the title.
It didn’t take long for the caution to come out again, which set up a restart that would change the course of the record books forever.
Logano got a run on the restart but Edwards dipped low to attempt to hold the advantage but the two made heavy contact, kicking off a multi-car incident, relegating Edwards to a 34th-place finish.
Johnson passed Kyle Larson on the final restart to capture his record-tying seventh Cup Series championship, joining the ranks of Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty as seven-time champions.
Logano managed to finish fourth despite the contact with Edwards, while Busch finished sixth.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Corey Heim made Saturday’s strongest bid to be the next locked-in championship contender in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs, doing nearly everything short of posting his series-best seventh victory of the year.
Instead, the 22-year-old Tricon Garage driver settled for an outcome that put him that much closer to his season-long aspirations.
Heim finished fourth in Saturday’s Baptist Health 200, leading a race-high 68 of the 134 laps until a late shift in strategies flipped the event’s complexion. Heim rallied after his last pit stop split the final stage, but Grant Enfinger conserved his fuel for the final 55-lap run to the checkered flag, notching his second consecutive Truck Series win.
Heim’s yield was the day’s second-best points tally — 52 to Enfinger’s 55 — and a better sense of comfort heading to the Round of 8’s final race next weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
“It was pretty drama-free on my side, just kind of internal battles as far as the truck handling on late-race runs,” Heim said, “But you can’t be mad about a top-three truck all day, and we had a great points day, and that’s what we came here to do. Would have been great to win and make Martinsville easy and just focus on Phoenix, but we’re in a great points position going into next week, so nothing to hang our heads about.”
Heim set the tone by winning the pole position in Friday’s qualifying session, and he kept his No. 11 Toyota out front for 54 of the first 60 laps in the opening two stages. Heim won the first stage and was runner-up to Enfinger in the second, adding 19 points to his running tally.
When a caution flag flew for Matt Mills’ hard crash on Lap 76, Enfinger and a group of others stopped for fuel and tires. No. 11 crew chief Scott Zipadelli opted against it, keeping Heim out until Lap 101 for his final trip to pit road.
“I feel like we had a winning truck, a top-two truck,” Zipadelli told NASCAR.com. “When they pitted early, for me, I felt like it was definitely too early to take that risk. But for them, those guys that pitted then, they didn’t really have a truck that could win, so that was a pretty good option for them. If it did go green like it did, it’d work out, right, but statistically, we usually have a caution here.”
No more yellow flags came out, and Enfinger — who stopped one lap later than the rest of the opportunistic early group — was able to nurse his No. 9 Chevrolet to the end. Heim picked up a handful of spots on the final lap as the fuel tanks for Nick Sanchez and others sputtered dry, just short of the finish.
Thanks to his stage-points bonanza and his 13th top-five finish of the year, Heim enters the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville next Friday (6 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with a sizable 49-point advantage over the elimination line. Enfinger is the only driver officially clinched for the Championship 4 battle in the Nov. 8 finale at Phoenix Raceway; his Oct. 4 victory at Talladega Superspeedway sealed that title shot, and his triumph Saturday actually provided Heim with a backhanded benefit — blocking other playoff contenders from clinching.
“With the 9 winning, for sure it certainly makes it easier that there’s only one winner. If there was another one, it would have been a lot tighter to the cutline,” Heim said. “So, we can still point our way out of it if we have a bad day, so you can’t just take a deep breath and cruise through that race by any means. But the goal still remains the same to win every race, and that’s what we’re gonna do next week.”
With only a few weeks until Election Day, veterans and military family members attending this past weekend’s NASCAR playoff races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway were encouraged to once again serve their country — this time as election poll workers.
In August, NASCAR partnered with Vet the Vote to support the non-partisan coalition’s national campaign, established to address the critical shortage of election workers in the U.S.
NASCAR fans from Nevada and beyond joined the cause and registered in the fan zone at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers Garrett Smithley and Brennan Poole interacted with fans before Saturday’s race in support of Vet the Vote.
“NASCAR has a long history of supporting our military community and is proud of the incredible service that so many of our fans have given to our nation,” said Eric Nyquist, Chief Impact Officer, NASCAR. “The need for veteran assistance at the polls is clear, and as part of the Vet the Vote coalition, we’re encouraging our veteran and military family fans to help fill that gap.”
America will need approximately 1,000,000 poll workers to effectively run elections in all states during this presidential election. In recent years, declining election volunteer rates have led to reduced number of polling stations, longer lines at the polls, increased stress on volunteers, and ultimately, more difficulty voting.
Through all its outreach efforts to date, including partnerships with NASCAR and Alpha Prime Racing, Vet the Vote has registered more than 162,000 veterans and military family members across the country — roughly 16% of the number needed to run election sites.
Smithley and his Alpha Prime Racing No. 45 Chevrolet Camaro were in full support of Vet the Vote on Saturday, running a special Vet the Vote paint scheme during the Ambetter Health 302. Smithley, the grandson of two veterans, had previously represented Vet the Vote at the Focused Health 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Courtesy of Alpha Prime Racing
On Saturday, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar joined Vet the Vote at the Xfinity Series race, cheering Smithley and his pit crew on from pit road.
In the coming weeks, the Vet the Vote initiative hopes to raise the number of registered veterans and military family members even higher.
“Throughout the season, NASCAR has been a terrific partner in helping us address this critical need,” said Ben Keiser, Co-Founder of Vet the Vote. “As a true nonpartisan organization, our goal is to call on these patriotic Americans who have already served our nation to help support this critical mission at a time when we need them most.”
Over the summer, NASCAR through its NASCAR IMPACT platform joined a cohort of 38 national businesses and organizations, including the NFL, NBA, and Microsoft, in support of Vet the Vote.
To learn more about Vet the Vote and its efforts to recruit veterans and military family members as poll workers, visit Vet the Vote.
