For the first time in two years, the NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to Talladega Superspeedway for a playoff race — the United Rentals 250 Saturday at 4 p.m. ET (The CW, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Aric Almirola won last week’s 2024 playoff opener at Kansas Speedway, but because he is not playoff-eligible, this second race of the three-race round becomes even more pivotal in deciding which eight drivers will advance.
Playoff driver AJ Allmendinger won the last playoff race at Talladega in 2022. Jordan Anderson Racing’s Jeb Burton is a two-time Talladega winner and joins playoff rookie Jesse Love, who won at the big track in April as the only current full-time driver to hoist a Talladega trophy.
Entering the race, Regular Season Champion, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer, JGR’s Sheldon Creed, Kaulig Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen, RCR’s Love and SHR’s Riley Herbst sit above the playoff elimination line.
Meanwhile, a pair of preseason title favorites — JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier and Kaulig’s Allmendinger are currently just below that line. Allgaier, a two-time race winner this season, is a single point behind Herbst, has only four top-five finishes in 17 Talladega starts and has never hoisted a trophy there.
A victory this week would similarly go a long way for Allmendinger, who is still racing for his first win of the season and currently sits 10th in the playoff standings, 13 points below the elimination line.
“Anything can and usually does happen at Talladega. JR Motorsports has always had an incredibly strong superspeedway program and I know that that will be the case once again on Saturday,” Allgaier said.
“We just need to be smart out there and not get ourselves caught in a bad position in the middle of the pack. If we can keep our nose clean and run up front all day long, I see no reason why we won’t be fighting for the win with our JRM teammates and get ourselves into the next round of the Playoffs once the checkered flag falls.”
Qualifying is set for 11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday (USA Network, NBC Sports App). Austin Hill won the pole position back in April. Mayer won the pole for the last playoff race at Talladega two years ago.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series begins the final three-race playoff round to set the Championship 4 with Friday’s Love’s RV Stop 225 at Talladega Superspeedway (4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Last weekend’s Kansas winner Corey Heim arrives at the 2.66-mile superspeedway now boasting six wins on the season — double that of any other competitor, The 22-year-old Tricon Garage driver scored the win in the final race of the opening round last week when race leader, ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski ran out of gas on the final lap. Heim finished just ahead of Front Row Motorsports’ Layne Riggs, who had won the previous two races but is not among the playoff field.
Regular Season Champion, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes, Majeski and Rev Racing’s Nick Sanchez sit safely atop the cutoff mark entering the first race of this all-important round. Rajah Caruth trails Sanchez by eight points just outside the playoff bubble with Tyler Ankrum and Grant Enfinger both minus-11 points and Taylor Gray minus-15 points back.
Enfinger is the only current playoff driver with a previous Talladega win, earning his trophy in 2016. Former series champion Johnny Sauter – the 2013 Talladega trophy winner – will be competing this weekend for Hattori Racing Enterprises. Brett Moffitt is the most recent race winner.
There have been eight different winners in the last eight Talladega races. Heim, Eckes and Enfinger are the only playoff drivers to have scored top-five finishes at the big track.
Among those entered this week, William Sawalich (No. 1 Tricon Garage Toyota) and 18-year-old Connor Zilisch (No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet) are hoping to make their first career superspeedway start. Crowd favorite, veteran Norm Benning, is hoping to qualify for his first race of the season.
Cometic Gasket Qualifying is set for 1 p.m. ET Friday (FS2). Chase Purdy is the defending polesitter.
If you were hoping for a clearer perspective of the postseason field after Kansas Speedway, perhaps the picture isn’t clear enough — no one is safe.
The standings took another turn, with many title hopefuls and race favorites yet again finding trouble and missing out on critical opportunities at Kansas to capitalize on scoring stage points or even lock themselves into the Round of 8. No driver has consistently put a stronghold on the standings, keeping it wide open.
The YellaWood 500 is on deck this Sunday at Talladega (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), and you might want to buckle up for another wild ride.
With playoff peril striking almost weekly, it’s hard to pencil in who can run the table nearing the halfway mark to crowning a champion. However, two drivers can feel somewhat confident heading into Talladega: Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott. Racing Insights has predicted the two drivers to finish 1-2, and for good reason — both drivers have seemed to find ways to master the chaos around the Alabama high banks. Not only have they each won multiple times at ‘Dega, but they are the only two active playoff drivers to average more than 30 points scored in the stage era (Blaney, 32.73; Elliott, 31.93).
Secondly, both drivers have had their share of postseason issues, but those haven’t stalled their performance as they rank fourth and fifth in points scored through four postseason races (Blaney, 136; Elliott, 127). In Blaney’s camp, he’s not only the defending champ but the defending race winner. Plus, his reputation at drafting tracks speaks for itself, with eight top 10s in the last 12 races. We know Team Penske turns it on around this time of year and is gunning for a third consecutive championship. As for Elliott, he seems to be tapping into that consistency that led to him 19 straight finishes in the top 20 earlier this year. He’s nabbed top-10 finishes in three of the first four playoff races, has the best average finish among full-time drivers with 11.3 and has the most lead-lap finishes with 28.
If either driver can walk away from Talladega with a clean day and a handful of points — or even win — don’t expect them to let off the gas next week at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, a place both have won at.
DRIVERS TO WATCH
WILLIAM BYRON: Byron saw the performance jump he was looking for last week at Kansas. He now goes to Talladega, a place where he’s had two runner-up finishes. He’s also the only driver with three wins on drafting tracks in the Next Gen era.
AUSTIN CINDRIC: Cindric has scored the most points (181) and led the most laps (168) on drafting tracks this season. He looked comfortable out front leading at Atlanta and he has two top 10s in the last four Talladega races.
JOEY LOGANO: As mentioned earlier, Team Penske emphasizes winning races this time of year. Logano opened the playoffs proving that point by winning at Atlanta. With how chaotic the playoffs have been, don’t count out a savvy veteran navigating it all.
KYLE BUSCH: Rowdy was left ‘numb’ after Kansas. While the entire playoff field is itching to get into Victory Lane, no one wants to win more than Busch right now. In the last 10 races on drafting track he’s tied for the most top-five finishes with four and has the best average finish at 9.9.
BRAD KESELOWSKI: Ah yes, the six-time Talladega winner. Keselowski may be out of playoff competition, but he should firmly be in the mix to play spoiler. He has four top-five finishes over the last seven races at Talladega.
RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE YELLAWOOD 500
Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results.
1. What, exactly, did we learn in the Kansas madness?
Ross Chastain stole a shot at the Round of 8 from the playoff dozen, so where does that leave things heading into the season’s most unpredictable race?
As the dust settles on another Kansas Speedway thriller, championship contenders find themselves grappling with the results of a race that simultaneously clarified and muddled the playoff picture.
To start, the playoff field remains wide open — with no drivers locked into the Round of 8 yet after non-playoff driver Ross Chastain took the checkered – and perhaps more so than in recent years. Nothing seemed to go as expected at what was supposed to be the “normal” race of the Round of 12, with the three favorites in Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick combining for a 19.67 average finish in the race after topsy-turvy days for each. A pair of potential wild cards now loom, as continued volatility carried over from the Round of 16 to set the stage for what promises to be a thrilling and potentially chaotic showdown this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
The struggles of the aligned Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI camps at Kansas were particularly eye-opening, given no manufacturer has arguably had a better handle on a track in the Next Gen era than Toyota at Kansas. It’s fair to wonder at this point if the perennial title contenders have the juice to even land one of its three remaining drivers — Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick, all of whom have appeared destined for Phoenix at points this season — in the Championship 4.
Reddick described post-race and again in a Tuesday availability with media that he was scratching his head over the sudden performance issues that the Regular Season Championship winner — from not that long ago — is experiencing. This is especially notable given the 2023 RSC winner and fellow Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. also imploded quickly in the playoffs after a strong first 26 races and found himself bounced early.
And things aren’t likely to improve this weekend, either.
JGR’s difficulties on drafting tracks in the Next Gen era continued unabated this year, with not a single one of its drivers cracking the top 10 at Talladega in the spring and exactly zero drafting-style wins since the car was introduced. Even Bell, for instance, who has been perhaps the most consistent driver the past two months, boasts an average finish of 21.0 at Talladega for his worst performance at any track where he has more than two starts.
On the flip side, Ford seems to have cracked the code for superspeedway success in 2024. Blue Oval drivers have claimed all five poles on drafting tracks this season and led an astounding 63% of the 1,078 laps raced. This dominance could be a game-changer at Talladega, where track position and raw speed are crucial, opening the door for a dark-horse contender. This points to someone like Austin Cindric, in particular, having a legitimate Round of 8 chance after many had him as an easy out in the Round of 16. The No. 2 driver has upped his game in the playoffs, and leads all drivers in points earned and laps led on drafting tracks in 2024.
Similarly, fellow Ford driver Chase Briscoe, playing with house money in a lame-duck season for Stewart-Haas Racing and often overlooked in championship conversations, has quietly built an impressive Talladega resume and could surprise this weekend. With top-15 finishes in six of his seven starts there, Briscoe has more top-15s at Talladega than at any other track. Could this be the weekend he breaks through and throws the playoff standings into even further chaos?
It’s almost not even worth prognosticating, given how murky this race looks in general and the nature of the playoffs thus far. The Talladega pole-sitter has yet to finish better than 17th in the Next Gen era, and where we’ve seen eight different winners in the last eight races there. This streak of different winners ties the longest in Talladega history, underscoring the track’s reputation as the ultimate equalizer.
We’ll take a closer look later on at what each driver needs for points the next two races, but there are some clear hierarchical tiers of driver performances at Talladega in the stage era.
Reigning champ Ryan Blaney leads the pack with an average of 32.73 points per race — which is more than plenty, as you’ll see below — followed closely by Chase Elliott at 31.93. On the other end of the spectrum, Kyle Larson (19.54) and Daniel Suarez (19.13) have struggled to find consistent success at the superspeedway.
Speaking of Larson, his Talladega troubles are particularly noteworthy and more, well, troubling than the rest of the playoff field. The 2021 champion is currently mired in a 14-race streak without a top-10 finish on drafting tracks — the longest active streak in the Cup Series and one you would not expect from arguably the best driver in the world. With only three top-10 finishes total in 19 Talladega starts, Larson faces an uphill battle to maintain his playoff position and could see a surprise Round of 12 exit after being on top of the world a short time ago at Bristol.
Obviously, not a ton will translate from the 1.5-mile Kansas to the behemoth that is Talladega, so what did we learn, exactly?
That 16 drivers enter the playoffs, from long shots to dark horses to “sure things.”
And none of them are safe.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
2. Is Chase Elliott going to leave Alabama as the title favorite?
All year long the 2020 champ has felt ready to strike. With no clear front-runner at the moment, he could emerge as top dog.
Now, having said all that, there’s a strong chance we return to our roots of how the decade started as it nears its midpoint — and that’s with No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott being not just one of, but the championship favorite.
Though he did finally crack back into Victory Lane earlier this year after a supremely frustrating 2023, Elliott has felt like a snake patiently waiting in the weeds all year for his time to strike.
That time is now.
The 2020 champ has been nothing short of phenomenal at Talladega since the introduction of the Next Gen car, scoring an impressive 31 more points than any other driver. This consistency is further underscored by his remarkable streak of eight consecutive lead-lap finishes at the track — which is not only the longest active streak but also highlights his ability to stay competitive in a race where survival often takes precedence. It’s one that echoes the dominance of NASCAR legends past, as the longest stint since Ryan Newman’s nine straight between 2017 and 2021, and closing in on Dale Earnhardt’s record of 11 consecutive lead-lap finishes there between 1987 and 1992.
In races where drafting is an art form and proper positioning is crucial — and even his world-class teammate struggles, as alluded to above — Elliott has consistently demonstrated an uncanny ability to navigate through chaos, much like his Hall-of-Fame, cool-under-pressure father. We saw this play out in the 2022 fall race, where he executed a last-lap pass to clinch the win by a mere 0.046 seconds. While his 13.63 average finish at the track ranks on the lower half of his own track averages, the chaotic nature of Talladega’s finishes drag everyone’s numbers down there — and that 13.63 number is actually best among not just playoff drivers, but all active drivers with six or more starts at the mercurial facility.
Simply put, when crew chief Alan Gustafson puts a car under him capable of winning, No. 9 just knows how to get it done.
Of course, trophies are never handed out before the checkered flag, let alone the green flag, and it’s entirely possible Elliott gets caught up in a wreck on Lap 1.
But if he’s able to finally emerge and become the first driver locked into the Round of 8, gaining an edge on the field that he hasn’t had in years, you can probably pencil him into the Championship 4 from there.
The Round of 8 tracks set up better for some other remaining drivers — for instance, Elliott has just one win at the three venues in that round and his 18.6 average finish at Las Vegas is his worst at any non-superspeedway — but not one soul in that garage wants to give the longest-tenured driver/crew chief pairing in the sport an extra week to prep while they’re fighting for their lives at the Charlotte Roval in a week and a half.
Elliott’s long journey back to the top of the sport may finally be reaching its crescendo, and it sure is gonna sound like a sireen.
Getty Images
3. Up-close look, detailed explanation of aero enhancements to Next Gen car
Dr. Eric Jacuzzi walks through the aero enhancements NASCAR is implementing for superspeedway races, starting this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
4. What each driver needs over the next two races to advance
No driver that scored 110 points in the Round of 12 — including their Playoff Points — has missed advancing to the Round of 8. Here’s what each driver needs over the next two races to hit that number.
Rank
Driver
Points needed
Average needed per race
1.
William Byron
36
18
2.
Ryan Blaney
42
21
3.
Christopher Bell
42
21
4.
Kyle Larson
52
26
5.
Denny Hamlin
59
29.5
6.
Alex Bowman
62
31
7.
Chase Elliott
66
33
8.
Joey Logano
66
33
9.
Tyler Reddick
70
35
10.
Daniel Suárez
80
40
11.
Chase Briscoe
91
45.5
12.
Austin Cindric
95
47.5
5. Catch the pack — news and notes from around the garage
Held annually since 1970, Oktoberfest Race Weekend is the biggest event every year at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway. Featuring racing from multiple divisions spread across four days, the event is headlined by the Oktoberfest 200 Super Late Model event on Sunday that serves as the season finale for the ASA Midwest Tour.
Some of short-track racing’s greatest stars have won the Oktoberfest 200 through the years, including drivers like Dick Trickle, Joe Shear, Larry Detjens, Mark Martin, Junior Hanley, Rich Bickle, Matt Kenseth, Eddie Hoffman, Dan Fredrickson, Tom Sauter, Ty Majeski, Johnny Sauter, Andrew Morrissey and the most recent winner, Gabe Sommers.
The Oktoberfest 2024 weekend will also feature the finale for the LaCross Fairgrounds Speedway Late Model division. A champion season-long champion will be crowned in that division by the time the checkered flag waves Sunday evening.
Below is everything you need to know about Oktoberfest Race Weekend.
Fans will pack LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway this Thursday through Sunday for the Oktoberfest 2024 Race Weekend. (Forte Design/LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway)
What TV channel is the Oktoberfest 2024 Race Weekend on?
All the on-track action during Oktoberfest Race Weekend at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway can be viewed live on TrackTV.com.
The event will not be shown on a traditional television network.
Below is the complete schedule for TrackTV.com’s coverage of Oktoberfest Race Weekend.
Complete schedule for the 2024 Oktoberfest Race Weekend
On-track activity for this year’s Oktoberfest Race Weekend will begin Thursday, Oct. 3 and run through Sunday, Oct. 6.
The event is headlined by the 200-lap feature for ASA Midwest Tour Super Late Models on Sunday. Additional events throughout the course of the four-day event include the Dick Trickle 99, the Super Late Model Futures race, the Knights of Oktoberfest feature and four 20-lap features for the LaCrosse Late Model division.
Below is the complete schedule at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway (all times CT).
Thursday, Oct. 3
Time
Event
8 a.m.
Registration/Pits Open
9 a.m.
Drivers Meeting
9:30 a.m.
Open Practice
1:20 p.m.
Open Practice Ends
2:05 p.m.
Quarter-Mile Track Practice
2:20 p.m.
Grandstands Open
2:45 p.m.
Qualifying
6 p.m.
Street Stock/6 Shooter B-Feature (10 Laps)
Followed by…
Hornet B-Feature (10 Laps)
Followed by…
LaCrosse Late Model Semi-Feature (15 Laps)
Followed by…
LaCrosse Sportsman Semi-Feature (12 Laps)
Followed by…
Street Stock/6 Shooter Feature (20 Laps)
Followed by…
Hornet Feature (20 Laps)
Followed by…
LaCrosse Late Model Feature No. 1 (20 Laps)
Followed by…
Super Late Model Hooligan Race (15 Laps)
Followed by…
LaCrosse Sportsman Feature (20 Laps)
Followed by…
Super Late Model Futures Feature (25 Laps)
Followed by…
LaCrosse Late Model Feature No. 2 (20 Laps)
Followed by…
Super Late Model Knights of Oktoberfest Feature (25 Laps)
Followed by…
Double-O Feature (6 Laps / Track = 12 Total)
Friday, Oct. 4
Time
Event
8 a.m.
Registration/Pits Open
8 a.m.
Grandstands Open (Free Admission Until 2:40 p.m.)
9 a.m.
Drivers Meeting
9:30 a.m.
Open Practice
2:40 p.m.
Grandstands Open (Paid Admission)
3 p.m.
Qualifying
5:30 p.m.
Super Late Model Last Chance Races (10 Laps)
Followed by…
Area Sportsman Qualifying Races (8 Laps)
Followed by…
Area Sportsman Odd & Even Heats (6 Laps)
Followed by…
Segment 1: Dick Trickle 99 (33 Laps)
Followed by…
LaCrosse Late Model Semi-Feature (15 Laps)
Followed by…
Area Sportsman Last Chance Race (12 Laps)
Followed by…
Super Late Model C-Feature (20 Laps)
Followed by…
LaCrosse Late Model Feature No. 3 (20 Laps)
Followed by…
Segment 2: Dick Trickle 99 (33 Laps)
Followed by…
Area Sportsman Feature (25 Laps)
Followed by…
Super Late Model “The Stubby” Feature (20 Laps)
Followed by…
LaCrosse Late Model Feature No. 4 (20 Laps)
Followed by…
Segment 3: Dick Trickle 99 (33 Laps)
Saturday, Oct. 5
Time
Event
8 a.m.
Registration/Pits Open
8 a.m.
Grandstands Open (Free Admission Until 2:05 p.m.)
9:30 a.m.
Practice
2:05 p.m.
Grandstands Open (Paid Admission)
2:25 p.m.
Qualifying
5 p.m.
Big-8 Late Model Series Qualifying Features (20 Laps)
Followed by…
ASA Midwest Tour Odd & Even Dash (8 Laps)
Followed by…
Midwest Dash Series Heats (8 Laps)
Followed by…
ASA Midwest Tour Qualifying Features (12 Laps)
Followed by…
Midwest Truck Heats (8 Laps)
Followed by…
Mid-American Stock Car Series Heats (8 Laps)
Followed by…
Midwest Dash Series B-Feature (12 Laps)
Followed by…
Big-8 Late Model Series B-Feature (18 Laps)
Followed by…
Midwest Dash Series Feature (20 Laps)
Followed by…
Mid-American Stock Car Series Feature (25 Laps)
Followed by…
Midwest Truck Feature (25 Laps)
Followed by…
Big-8 Late Model Series Feature (48 Laps)
Sunday, Oct. 6
Time
Event
8 a.m.
Pits/Registration Open
8:30 a.m.
Grandstands Open
9:30 a.m.
Drivers Meeting
10 a.m.
Cratetoberfest Practice/Qualifying
10:15 a.m.
Vintage Cars Practice
10:45 – 11:30 a.m.
Autograph Session (On Frontstretch
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Champions Reunion (Hospitality Chalet)
12 p.m.
Vintage Car Heats (8 Laps)
Followed by…
Crateoberfest Heats (8 Laps)
Followed by…
Vintage Car Feature (15 Laps)
Followed by…
Crateoberfest Feature (25 Laps)
Followed by…
ASA Midwest Tour Driver Introductions
Followed by…
ASA Midwest Tour Oktoberfest 200 (200 Laps)
Race format
The field for the finale of Oktoberfest Race Weekend – the ASA Midwest Tour Oktoberfest 200 – is set through a variety of means.
Qualifying, which takes place on Saturday, will set the first 16 starting positions in the 200-lap event. Qualifying races, which are also set for Saturday, will then determine four additional starters. There are also provisionals available for the ASA Midwest Tour championship leader, the most recent winner of the Dick Trickle 99 and the most recent Oktoberfest 200 winner. The promoter also has promoters choice provisionals available to use, if necessary.
The Oktoberfest 200 will utilize a controlled pit stop format. Controlled pit stops allow teams to refuel, change tires and make adjustments under yellow flag conditions for a certain number of laps – typically four.
There are several other unique events held during Oktoberfest that utilize special race formats. Chief among them is the Dick Trickle 99, which is split into three 33-lap segments and run through the day on Friday.
Segment one is set by the roll of a dice inversion plus zero following qualifying. Segment two is lined up by inverting 10 plus draw of the first segment (must finish on the lead lap to be included in the draw) and segment three is lined up by inverting 10 plus draw of the current points (must finish on lead lap to be included in the draw).
The driver with the lowest average finish across all three 33-lap segments is declared the winner of the Dick Trickle 99.
Additionally, the Futures race is a special Super Late Model event exclusive to drivers under the age of 30 that have never finished in the top-three of the ASA Midwest Tour standings or anyone over 30 who has never raced in a previous Oktoberfest 200 or any touring division of NASCAR, ARCA, ASA, ARTGO or any of NASCAR’s three national divisions. The Knights of Oktoberfest feature is for drivers who do not qualify for the Futures race.
Ty Majeski, show here competing at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway earlier this year, is among those entered to compete during Oktoberfest Race Weekend at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
Oktoberfest 2024 entry list
Headlining Oktoberfest 2024 Race Weekend is the Super Late Model division, which will be on track multiple times throughout the four-day extravaganza.
More than 40 drivers have indicated they plan to be in attendance during Oktoberfest Race Weekend. Headlining that list is current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Ty Majeski, who is a three-time winner of the Oktoberfest 200 that serves as the grand finale of the race weekend.
Also entered is defending Oktoberfest 200 winner Gabe Sommers as well as 2019 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I champion Jacob Goede, who will be looking to clinch his first LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway track championship during Oktoberfest Race Weekend.
Other notable entrants include Derek Kraus, Levon VanDerGeest, Ty Fredrickson, Andrew Morrissey, Justin Mondeik, Michael Hinde, Jonathan Eilen, R.J. Braun and Dalton Zehr, among others.
Below is the complete Super Late Model entry list for Oktoberfest Race Weekend.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For a third consecutive year, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series championship race was held inside the NASCAR Hall of Fame and it did not disappoint.
A night of celebrating the motorsports gaming industry and the iRacing platform was capped by a thrilling result as hundreds of onlookers underneath the Glory Road exhibit anxiously watched Parker White eke out his first series title over Bobby Zalenski, Steven Wilson and Graham Bowlin.
In a venue that celebrates the greatest moments in NASCAR’s long history, White delivered one for eNASCAR and iRacing, making a daring four-wide move on the final lap to earn the trophy and $100,000 grand prize.
“To do it here, the Coke Series, the Hall of Fame in front of a live audience, absolutely nothing even comes close to this,” White said. “I couldn’t be happier. I’ve never celebrated a win like that.”
On hand to take in the festivities was NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., who presented the trophy, named in his honor, to White after the event.
It was a full-circle moment for White, who has been a longtime NASCAR fan.
“The biggest thing for me is Dale Jr. is my all-time favorite driver,” White said. “He was my idol as a kid. That moment … just hugging Dale there next to the trophy, it means quite literally everything to me. I don’t know how else to explain it other than surreal.”
An avid supporter of iRacing, Earnhardt Jr. has collaborated with the sim-racing platform for numerous projects from scanning a variety of historic race tracks and bringing them to life in the virtual world to fielding a JR Motorsports team in the Coca-Cola iRacing Series.
Having events like this for the sim community continues to be a big deal for Earnhardt Jr.
“I love the worlds of iRacing and NASCAR coming together equally to drive awareness and support for the event, but also for the sim-racing community,” Earnhardt Jr. told NASCAR.com. “This is a night to celebrate one particular driver but also the four and all the drivers that are in this series. Even a little bit of a bigger deal for because of what the sim-racing community has meant to my life and so I know how it’s positively affected my life and all the guys that are racing in this series and the thousands of customers that are racing on the service that are creating brand new friendships every single day.
“I think that’s where the asset and the value is for NASCAR. Not only can the sim-racing community enrich your life, but there’s a younger demographic there that NASCAR can tap into as well. To see just the growth of the event alone in the last three years has been amazing.”
Those friendships were on full display in the live audience with drivers Austin Dillon, Rajah Caruth, Brad Perez and Ryan Vargas in attendance as well as high school and college students, who were getting the real-world experience of the motorsports gaming industry and networking with those in the business.
Caruth, who launched his career through iRacing and is currently a student at Winston-Salem State University, spoke on a panel before the championship race and discussed the importance of the accessibility for HBCU’s [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] into esports and the sim-racing community.
“I think it’s really important because I think it’s a niche group of people or students that otherwise don’t really have an avenue or a community to really support their interests that they have,” Caruth said. “There’s a big untapped gaming community in the HBCU world that I think in years past just hasn’t been really tapped into. And so I think for iRacing to be a vessel for that is special. Not only does it satisfy the requirement of being an esport, it also kind of creates an interest and exposure to racing as a whole.”
NASCAR and iRacing have extended their display of eNASCAR outside of the Hall of Fame with sim-racing displays for fans to get a taste of themselves at a variety of tracks on the schedule as well as a live event at Navy Pier in Chicago that took place earlier this year.
But perhaps the most anticipated venture on the horizon between the two entities is the upcoming NASCAR console game being developed by iRacing.
From fans, drivers and all those connected to the NASCAR industry, the enthusiasm continues to build for the future of the gaming product.
“I think a lot of people are excited about the console game and NASCAR has had some pretty historic titles come out over the past three decades in terms of console and I raced on a lot of those when I was younger,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “There’s a bit of pressure, but I think the iRacing guys and the team behind all this can knock it out of the park. There’s a ton of experience and really, really smart people doing all the right things and pulling all the right levers.
“There’s certainly a NASCAR fanbase that’s preferably console anticipating this, anxiously waiting and holding their breath, right? I’m excited for them to have the product in their hand. I can’t wait to see how that product can grow, version over version, year after year. But again, it’s just another example of NASCAR and iRacing seeing some common ground, seeing some value in each other and working to produce that value and make that connection to the fan at home.”
Bubba Wallace and his wife Amanda became the proud new parents of Becks Hayden Wallace on Sept. 29, the couple announced on social media Tuesday.
Wallace, driver of the No. 23 Toyota for 23XI Racing, flew home from Kansas Speedway to be with Amanda for the delivery of their son just hours before Wallace competed in the NASCAR Cup Series race that afternoon.
The Wallaces shared photos celebrating their new addition across their social platforms on Tuesday afternoon, introducing Becks to the world.
Sunday in Kansas, Wallace raced to a 17th-place finish after starting 13th. Up next is Talladega Superspeedway, where Wallace earned his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in 2021. The YellaWood 500 is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and the NBC Sports App.
NASCAR fined crew chiefs Adam Wall of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and Kevin Walter of the No. 97 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet $5,000 each after a single lug nut was found unsecured on their respective vehicles during post-race inspection on Saturday at Kansas Speedway.
Brandon Jones drove the No. 9 to a sixth-place finish in the Kansas Lottery 300 while Shane van Gisbergen piloted the No. 97 to eighth place in a contest won by Aric Almirola.
Van Gisbergen is in sixth place in the playoff standings, eight points above the elimination line, as the series heads to Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday for the United Rentals 250 (4 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NASCAR will institute aerodynamic changes to all Cup Series cars ahead of Sunday’s Round of 12 playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway, the sanctioning body announced Tuesday.
NASCAR R&D Center
Among the mandated additions will be an extended-height roof rail, an extended rocker panel skirt and fabric beneath the right-side roof flap. These combined efforts are intended to reduce the chances and effects of a vehicle getting airborne in the event of an on-track, high-speed incident on the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
The right-side roof rail will be a 2-inch fin made of polycarbonate, allowing air to deflect off its flat surface if the vehicle were to slide sideways. There will be two bevels to allow air to pass through and activate the roof flaps atop the vehicle, which open to help keep or set the car to the ground.
Beneath the right-side roof flap will be a fabric modified to fit the inboard edge of the flap that will function similarly to a parachute. The straight-edged side of the triangular-shaped fabric will be fastened to the roof flap itself, while the cut edge featuring a 7/8-inch divot will fasten to the vehicle’s greenhouse, the roof. The fabric will be bolted into the greenhouse to assure its functionality and stability.
Finally, the rocker box that sits beneath the center of the vehicle will receive an aluminum extension, eliminating space between the car’s floor and the ground beneath it. The extension, which must be painted black, will sit flat on the bottom of the rocker box.
The YellaWood 500 will run Sunday (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) as the second race of the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Carson Kvapil has never been afraid to get his hands dirty.
He was raised by his father, 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil, to be a hands-on type of racer. He’s worked on every race car he’s driven, including the Late Model Stocks fielded by JR Motorsports that he’s wheeled regularly since 2022.
Kvapil’s dedicated work ethic and skills behind the wheel have earned the 21-year-old an opportunity to advance to the NASCAR Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports, where he’ll pilot the No. 1 Chevrolet in 2025 with support from Bass Pro Shops.
Much like his JR Motorsports Late Model Stock predecessor Josh Berry, Kvapil is a grassroots racer through-and-through.
He grew up racing just about anything he could, honing his skills on dirt at North Carolina’s Millbridge Speedway, where he won races and multiple track championships. After making the transition to full-bodied stock cars by 2017, Kvapil continued to race anywhere he could, from the short tracks in the Southeast like North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway to Midwestern venues like Wisconsin’s LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway.
His first Late Model title came in 2020, when he won the Carolina Pro Late Model Series championship, but it turned out to be the first of many. He followed in 2021 with the CARS Super Late Model Tour championship.
The 2021 season became a turning point for Kvapil’s racing career. That was the year he got a call from Dale Earnhardt Jr. with an offer to race the JR Motorsports Late Model Stock in a CARS Tour event at South Carolina’s Florence Motor Speedway while Berry was busy competing in the Xfinity Series at Talladega Superspeedway.
Kvapil led more than 100 laps that day and finished fourth, but more importantly, his performance was enough to earn him a full season of racing in the JR Motorsports Late Model Stock in 2022.
He repaid Earnhardt’s faith in spades, winning four CARS Late Model Stock Tour events and the series championship. He followed that with five more wins and another CARS Tour title in 2023.
Away from the Xfinity Series, Kvapil has continued to win in Late Model Stock competition. He opened the year winning the IceBreaker at Florence, and last weekend, he won the biggest Late Model Stock race of the season, the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway. He also has two CARS Tour victories in 2024.
Now Kvapil will turn his focus to the Xfinity Series and, potentially, a chance at the NASCAR Cup Series like his father before him.
None of it would be possible if not for that phone call in late 2021.
“I’m just super fortunate to be able to run this JR Motorsports car the last three years,” Kvapil said after his win Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. “From where I was before I got this ride to where I am now, I just never thought I would be in this position. I just can’t thank Kelley, Dale Jr. and L.W. and all the people at JR Motorsports enough.
“Without them giving me the opportunity at Florence (in 2021), none of this would be happening.”
The field for the finale of Oktoberfest Race Weekend – the ASA Midwest Tour Oktoberfest 200 – is set through a variety of means.
