Posted on by Cameron Richardson

CONCORD, N.C. — One quarter down in the 2025 Cup Series season, Brad Keselowski and the No. 6 RFK Racing team are trailing big time to their competitors.

Whether you’re a supporter of the driver or the organization at large, the numbers will make you want to look away from how the 2012 series titleholder has performed in his 16th full-time season.

The stat sheet is full of goose eggs across the board for Keselowski … zero wins, zero top fives, zero top 10s, zero poles and zero laps led. The numbers that are ballooned are the ones you don’t want to see with a high value — 31st in points and a 25th-place average finish.

Keselowski will be the first to tell you that the start to this season has been less than optimal, but he’s begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

RELATED: Cup Series standings | Talladega schedule

“It’s definitely a lot of scratching and clawing. Our company went through a lot of changes; my team went through a lot of changes,” Keselowski said Tuesday in a media availability at the NASCAR Productions Facility. “We haven’t recognized the step forward. Hopefully, soon we’ll recognize the two steps forward with all the changes we made, but we definitely took a step backward in the process.”

It hasn’t been for the lack of effort from the No. 6 camp, but the running position at the time of each checkered flag this season has been unfavorable. Keselowski’s best finish so far this season was 11th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March and with RFK teammates Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher netting top 10s on a consistent basis, it appeared a track like Darlington would flip the switch for Keselowski.

It very much did not.

A loose wheel forced the No. 6 Ford to limp back to pit road at the “Lady in Black,” stifling what was a top-10 capable car to a 33rd-place finish.

The statistics indicate it’s the worst start for Keselowski since his rookie season in 2010, but the 41-year-old veteran sees the positives in his car’s performance and from his crew.

“It’s definitely not my best start,” Keselowski admitted. “But, I mean, I got my internal optimist glasses on and I see the potential. The potential for this team is higher than any team I’ve had in the last four or five years. Just got to recognize it. There’s a lot of talent on it, a lot of fresh faces and the mistakes that come with that, and we have to clean that up and recognize our potential.”

That potential can be recognized this Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where anyone in the field has a fair shot to nab a win and a provisional spot in the 2025 postseason. It’s also a track where Keselowski has won six times in his career; the most among active drivers and tied with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for second-most victories all time at the 2.66-mile Alabama behemoth.

With racing at Talladega evolving in recent years and fresh off runner-up results in both Cup events last season, Keselowski has embraced the superspeedway as a “thinking man’s race” and knows he may be best positioned to capitalize despite his early-season misfires.

“The goal is to be in the middle of the bee’s nest, right? And come out on top,” Keselowski said. “That’s actually really hard. The gaps are very small. The commitment level is very high. You have to get comfortable with the fact that you have an extremely limited visibility. That’s not just because of the helmets or the head surrounds, or even the car itself. It’s because you’re in the middle of a pack and you can’t see through the cars you’re around. In a lot of ways, you’re driving at 190-plus miles an hour and your reference points are very poor. So it’s a really unique environment that’s hard to get comfortable with, and I think that’s the challenge. That’s part of the fun about it, being in this really difficult environment and trying to come out on top of it. I think that’s super rewarding.”

No one knows how to find the reward at Talladega more than Keselowski does, and if there’s any other incentive to flip the No. 6 team’s fortunes in one race, they can look toward a driver who struggled through the first half just last season as a strong reference point.

Joey Logano, a longtime former teammate of Keselowski’s at Team Penske, leaned on his lone regular-season win at Nashville in 2024 to make the postseason and eventually alchemized that into three playoff wins and a third Cup Series championship for the No. 22 stable.

It doesn’t necessarily need to happen this Sunday — though the window is closing — but Talladega is going to be one of the best opportunities for Keselowski to find the jolt to launch his season in the right direction.

“I feel like that can strike at any moment,” Keselowski said. “We just need to trust our process. We’re developing a lot of people and they’re not all clicking together yet, but there’s a lot of signs that say that can and should, whether that’s on pit road or with the team and the mechanics and engineers. All those pieces have to click to have a great race and to win on any given weekend, and we haven’t experienced that yet.

“But we’ve shown these glimpses of being able to get there.”

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — Kasey Kahne experienced a little bit of everything and then some in his return to stock car racing.

Named one of the 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023, Kahne came back to NASCAR Saturday to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway, his first appearance across the sport’s national touring series since 2018.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Rockingham

Driving the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, Kahne qualified fourth and was steadily toward the front of the field until he suffered damage in a Stage 1 crash that hindered his car for the remainder of the 256-lap event. Nonetheless, Kahne trudged through the day and rebounded for a respectable, hard-fought 14th-place finish in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250.

“That was definitely a handful once the car was tore up,” Kahne said. “I think we were an easy top-five car prior to that, maybe even better. But yeah, once the front end was tore off the right side, and then just the damage, it was just a battle from that point on. The guys did good — like I thought we did a good job of getting back to the lead lap and just avoiding wrecks, just kind of salvaged the best we could at that point.”

It was nearly impossible to tell it had been seven years since Kahne’s last time driving a stock car. At 45 years old, Kahne continues to race sprint cars through his team, Kasey Kahne Racing, and is competing full-time in the Kubota High Limit Racing series in 2025. His departure from NASCAR, though, was medically necessary. Then 38 years old, Kahne would regularly overheat in the race car and become dehydrated more quickly, he explained in a February episode of Dirty Mo Media’s “Dale Jr. Download.”

Away from the intense heat and duration of a stock-car cockpit for numerous years, Kahne felt ready to get back behind the wheel, this time with Richard Childress Racing.

“As far as my health, I’m in a good place right now because I don’t do this all the time,” Kahne said Friday. “I don’t do the long races, the (heat). It got worse as soon as the summer months came, and then every week after that just was draining me, those last couple years I did it. I think going into this, it’s good.”

Good it was for Kahne, who soldiered through the 2 hours, 59 minutes and 38 seconds of Saturday’s event with little to no issues despite two red flags and 14 caution periods slowing the race’s average speed to 80.377 mph.

“Long day. I was hot on Lap 60,” Kahne said, referencing the end of Stage 1. “And then we got some ice bags and started drinking more water. Went fine from there, but yeah, I haven’t been that hot in a long time. Seven years.”

Yet Kahne returned to competition just as naturally as he entered it in 2004, when he finished second in a thrilling photo finish at Rockingham behind Matt Kenseth in just Kahne’s second career Cup start.

“It’s been a long time, and as long as I drove these cars, it was really cool to get back in one and feel it (and) do that whole race weekend because it’s just so much different,” Kahne said. “The sprint car stuff I’m doing now I love, and things happen quick and the night’s over and you move on to the next one. But this is just a different type of racing, different type of race weekend. I enjoyed it. I’m glad I did it.”

Ultimately, the 18-time Cup Series winner walked away satisfied with his entire experience. Whether Kahne returns for another crack at NASCAR racing — Cup? Xfinity? Trucks? — remains yet to be determined. But the process of being back in the throes of a NASCAR team for a January test, simulator prep work and the motions of a practice, qualifying and race was heartily welcomed by the 2017 Brickyard 400 winner.

“I enjoyed it,” Kahne said. “I’ve really looked forward to it and put a lot into it. It was really fun working with the RCR group, going up to their shop, just being part of a NASCAR team again — that was really cool. And all the people at RCR were great. So, yeah, I mean, I enjoyed it. I don’t know about more in the future, but I’m really glad I did this. I wish it would have went much different, but I think we were very competitive and had a shot at being somewhere in that top five if things go our way throughout.”

Posted on by Press Release

NEW YORK (April 22, 2025) — Prime Video announced a June 12 premiere date for “American Thunder: NASCAR to Le Mans,” a feature-length documentary about NASCAR’s 2023 endeavor to compete in the historic 24 Hours of Le Mans race with an American stock car.

The documentary — formerly known as “Garage 56” — will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide and is the latest addition to the Prime membership. Prime members enjoy savings, convenience and entertainment all in a single membership.

RELATED: Timeline, coverage of Le Mans project | Join Prime Video today!

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the crown jewels of international motorsports. It’s a showcase of sports car racing excellence that tests the limits of man and machine. For the race’s 100th anniversary running in June 2023, an invitation was extended to NASCAR to bring an American stock car Chevrolet Camaro to compete against the futuristic Ferrari and Porsche prototypes and attempt to complete the grueling 24-hour challenge that is Le Mans. It was NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France’s dream since childhood to have one of his cars race at Le Mans, so he recruited NASCAR’s most successful team, Hendrick Motorsports, to build and race the car. Along with world-class drivers Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson, and Mike Rockenfeller, Hendrick Motorsports embarked on an 18-month journey to develop a race car designed to run three-hour races on ovals in the United States into one that could survive the challenge of racing 24 hours straight on an unforgiving road course.

“American Thunder: NASCAR to Le Mans” is produced by NASCAR Studios and Griffin Van Malssen and directed by Brad Lockhart. The film is executive produced by Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports and Tim Clark, John Dahl, Amy Anderson, Tally Hair and Matt Summers of NASCAR.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

Kyle Larson bested the field in a big way on April 13 at Bristol Motor Speedway and carries all the momentum coming out of the Cup Series off-weekend. But Talladega is a different animal and could give other former champions, such as Ryan Blaney, an opportunity for win No. 1 this season.

NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 Cup Series contenders after the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway and before Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: 2025 Cup Series schedule | Full Cup Series standings

Analysis: Few drivers in the sport can take charge of a race and just flat-out dominate the way Larson has at Bristol, twice in a row now, and the rest of the garage has to wonder how they’re gonna beat this guy. Thankfully for them, Talladega is the great equalizer, and as his four top 10s there in 20 tries suggest: He’s incredible but not infallible.

Analysis: Hamlin did everything right — and everything he could — to match teammate Christopher Bell’s 2025 feat of three straight wins but fell just short of accomplishing the task after a runner-up finish to Larson. Still, he’s off to one of his best starts ever and heads to a track where he’s won twice with a style of racing at which he tends to excel. 

Analysis: While Byron failed to lead his first laps at Bristol — to be fair, his teammate didn’t exactly help to accommodate that — he did turn in his fifth top-six finish in the past seven races to keep a healthy points lead atop the standings. After some misfires in his early career at Talladega, he’s been sneaky good in the Next Gen and has an average finish there of 7.7 since 2022.

Analysis: Bristol felt like a bit of a quiet race for Bell, but No. 20 did wind up scoring the third-most points of the afternoon behind Larson and Hamlin. He’ll look to carry momentum from three straight top 10s into Talladega, where he has just three of them in his 10 career starts.

Analysis: Blaney nearly lucked into a win at Bristol, had a late caution flown after he inherited the lead while Larson pitted late, but alas … luck has not favored the No. 12 through nine 2025 races. Pure speed and talent weigh a little heavier in this sport, though, and Blaney’s had plenty of that this year and also at ‘Dega, where he’s won thrice.

Analysis: His 22 points at Bristol are tied for the fewest Elliott has scored in a race this season as he’s starting to slightly trend downward. Nothing major and nothing that a trip to Talladega — where he’s won twice and led laps in 10 of the last 12 — can’t fix, however.

Analysis: While Reddick is already sporting what would be a career-best 12.4 average finish, it’s notable that he’s on pace for just 16 top 10s after posting 21 last year. It’s quite possible he hasn’t fully gotten going yet, however, and as the defending Talladega winner, we could see that start next weekend.

Analysis: We’re officially a quarter of the way through the entire season, so it feels fair to wonder what, exactly, is behind the defending champion having just one top 10 so far and being on pace for his worst average finish since 2011. Logano and Penske have proven time and again that early-season returns do not indicate eventual championship chances, but if No. 22 still ain’t right at Talladega — where the three-time track winner will be inducted into the Walk of Fame next weekend — perhaps the alarm bells will ring a bit louder.

Analysis: For all the “Bubba’s off to a hot start” buzz that was out there, it’s jarring to now look at his stats at the quarter pole and see that he’s on pace for fewer top 10s than last year and his worst average finish since 2022. Still, he’s eighth in points (which would be a career-best) as we head to one of the two tracks where he’s won. Could be worse.

Analysis: Chastain continues to just flat-out wheel it despite not quite having the oomph in his car, grinding out an ugly, 35th-place qualifying run into a P7 at Bristol. His overall Talladega record isn’t stellar, but we know he can get it done there (2022 spring win), and his aggressive nature should come in handy when we return to the track.

Analysis: Buescher has five top 10s this year, but only two have come consecutively as No. 17 looks strong at times but has struggled to maintain consistency so far. Daytona’s been a strong track for him but the superspeedway success hasn’t quite translated to ‘Dega for Buescher, though he did land a P3 in this race two years ago.

Analysis: Briscoe did recently mention he felt he was one-to-two weeks away from things really clicking in his fresh tenure at JGR, and as one of three cars the team put in the Bristol top four, it appears the time has come. Six of Briscoe’s eight Talladega results ended in top 15s, so he could keep it rolling, too.

Analysis: Thankfully for Bowman, the Bristol pole winner stayed in the race long enough to collect stage points to buffer an otherwise disappointing result (37th) after his engine expired. That’s three rough endings in a row for him after starting the season brilliantly, as he now heads to a track at which he’s averaged a 22.4 finish.

Analysis: After looking quite strong for a three-race stretch in March, Preece has dipped a bit again with finishes in the 20s the past two, and his fewest points scored since COTA coming at Bristol. That said, it’s tough to count out any driver who once raced at Talladega in a Wonder Bread scheme — and scored his best track finish in doing so — and he could get back on the horse down in Alabama.

Analysis: Only nine drivers finished on the lead lap at Bristol, and how many people out there before the weekend would’ve penciled in Allmendinger to be one of them? Probably not many, but he continues to be slept on as his Cup return has now seen three top 10s in the past five races — none of which, notably, were road courses. The somewhat recent Xfinity Series winner at Talladega could make a little noise here.

 

Analysis: Busch did finally turn in his first Bristol finish better than 20th since 2020, but it’s a far cry from the days of him sweeping tripleheaders at the track as the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing entry still appears to be missing some sizzle. The two-time champ did win the Talladega spring race with this bunch just two seasons ago, so maybe the week off and return to a happy place rekindles some magic.

Analysis: Berry did stop the bleeding a bit with a 25-point, 12th-place Bristol finish, but all that momentum from a Vegas win is all but washed away, with no top 10s in the month since. That said, the sophomore actually led a handful of laps at ‘Dega in his first shot in Cup last year in this race before settling in 16th.

Analysis: That’s more like it. Perhaps no driver in the field has had a greater divide between expectations vs. results, but things did seem to click for Gibbs at Bristol, where he had easily his best run of the year. It’s a step in the right direction, but we’ll need to see more to consider him a true contender, and it may be hard to keep it rolling at a track (Talladega) that he has no top 10s at with just one finish better than 22nd in five tries.

Analysis: There was a lot of hope Stenhouse, starting on the front row at one of his best tracks, could turn in his second top 10 of the year, but alas … nil. Thankfully for him, we now head to another of his best tracks — one where he is the most recent winner and averaged a 2.5 finish last year.

Analysis: McDowell is in the confusing spot of thus far cultivating his second-best average finish ever … while also failing to secure a single top-10 finish to date in 2025. He’s become a threat on more and more tracks the past few years, but part of his bread-and-butter will always be superspeedways, and it wouldn’t be the biggest shock to see him win when we get back to action.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

The NASCAR Cup Series’ season-opening Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium left race fans clamoring for more.

Last weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series doubleheader at Rockingham Speedway had the same effect.

The enthusiastic turnout engendered hopes that perhaps the Cup Series might someday join its national series brethren at the rejuvenated “Rock.”

After winning the Black’s Tire 200 Truck Series race on Friday, Tyler Ankrum got right to the point.

“It’s really, really cool,” Ankrum said. “When we get to bring back these old tracks, it’s really cool. You can tell the fans are excited. Even on pit road, the fans are going crazy all the time, and they’re talking so loudly you can hear ‘em from pit road.

“You kind of get the feeling of what I imagine as a kid what Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon felt like. They’re here for us — they’re not here for the Cup guys. It’s cool to see racing like this come back to North Carolina.

“I was really surprised at how wide the track had gotten, how much fall-off there was, especially there at the end of the race. … I hope Rockingham stays on the schedule for a long time.”

RELATED: Recap Truck race | Xfinity Series race recap

Kasey Kahne, the only driver in the Xfinity Series field who had raced at Rockingham before the series left the track in 2004, made a return of his own after an absence from NASCAR racing of nearly eight years. Kahne thought the Cup Series would be a viable option at the 0.94-mile speedway.

“I think a Cup race could probably be really good here,” said Kahne, who also won a Truck race at the track in 2012. “I used to enjoy watching it and being a part of it the one year I was.

“It could make a great race.”

Kahne’s point is hard to argue against. The racing surface, which was repaved in late 2022, readily took rubber in both practice and the races themselves. The result was a viable second groove that lent itself to compelling racing.

“It’s been cool to go back to some of the venues that may not be as big places but the history, I think, of NASCAR and great racing is at some of those tracks, Rockingham being one of those as well,” Kahne said.

“I like where some of that stuff seems to be headed.”

NASCAR Xfinity Series racing at Rockingham.
James Gilbert | Getty Images

Jesse Love, disqualified as the ostensible winner of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, nevertheless waged intense battles at the front of the field against both Carson Kvapil and Ryan Sieg.

Drivers found creative lines around the track, running higher in the corners to gain momentum and dropping down to try to make passes on the inside. It wasn’t uncommon to see competitors swap positions more than once within the same lap with slide jobs and crossover moves.

As Ankrum indicated, fan reception was exceptional. The grandstands were packed, and likewise, the hospitality suites were sold out. As both the Clash at Bowman Gray and the move of the NASCAR All-Star Race to North Wilkesboro Speedway have proven, there’s an appetite within the fan base for the traditional venues that are an integral part of NASCAR’s past.

Yes, bringing a Cup race to Rockingham would require improvements to the track’s infrastructure, but that was also the case at Bowman Gray and North Wilkesboro.

MORE: At-track photos | Rockingham through the years

Though not yet three years old, the pavement at “The Rock” already is showing some age, and the racing — already compelling — will only improve as the asphalt continues to degrade.

There was no issue with access to the speedway. It’s a straight shot up U.S. Highway 1, with multiple entrances and ample parking. Even at expected peak times, the traffic flowed.

The bottom line? There’s no reason a Cup race can’t be a viable option at Rockingham, but even if the schedule doesn’t allow such an option in the immediate future, the Truck/Xfinity national series doubleheader — with an ARCA Menards Series East race thrown in for good measure — is well worth the price of admission.

That was certainly the case during NASCAR’s long-awaited return.

Posted on by Staff Report

Despite moving organizations after nine races in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, Ryan “Skip” Flores is taking his pit-crew change in stride, viewing the opportunity to help propel an up-and-coming Cup Series team with driver Zane Smith as an exciting proposition.

Flores, who joins the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports group as a front-tire changer, was a front-tire changer for the No. 12 since 2022 before he was replaced last week by Keiston France, who served in the same position on the No. 38 team. Flores co-hosts “Stacking Pennies” with Corey LaJoie.

RELATED: Cup Series schedule | Listen to “Stacking Pennies” podcast

“There’s a lot of young guys on the 38, and if we look at where the 38’s been on the charts, they’re at the lower end of the charts,” Flores said during a podcast segment about the move. “So, OK, my mind just immediately doesn’t go to, ‘What the hell, that’s not fair.’ Like, OK, shift gears, how do we win, what’s the steps with this team? How do I prepare them to be a top-20 team, to be a top-10 team and how do I take the experiences I have from racing for championships for the last 10 years … and I understand what it takes to win at this level, how do I pass that on to these guys that are gonna want to get there?

“That’s where my mind goes. My mind doesn’t go anywhere of being destructive or being mad, being frustrated, feeling wrong.”

The No. 12 pit crew has struggled at times this season, including most recently at Darlington Raceway, where a slow stop resulted in a fifth-place finish instead of a possible visit to Victory Lane. According to NASCAR Insights, Blaney’s No. 12 pit crew rating currently ranks 25th, while the 2023 champ’s passing, defense, speed and restart ratings all rank inside the top 12. Meanwhile, Smith’s No. 38 Ford ranks outside the top 20 in all categories; the No. 38 pit crew ranks 29th.

Flores, who has been a part of several Xfinity and Cup Series championships — including Blaney’s Cup title triumph — understands the sport’s shifting nature, including that of pit-crew members changing teams. However, Flores views the move as an opportunity to help the next up-and-coming pit-crew member find their place in the sport.

“I want to be somebody that, when I come back to pit road, the young guys, and I’ve passed on the good of what the sport is and how you’re supposed to act and how you’re supposed to be a champion,” Flores said. ” … If I can bring a good attitude to a team, show kids what it means to win, inevitably, if I’m meant to be on a championship car and go win another championship. If I’m meant to be a mentor and somebody that is on a car to help kids and help younger guys to get to where they’re at, then that’s great, too.”

MORE: Talladega weekend schedule

The Cup Series resumes action this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway (Sun., 3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Xfinity Series rolls into the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway for the Ag-Pro 300 on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

TALLADEGA ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series | Xfinity Series

Forty-one cars are on the entry list, including Navy officer Jesse Iwuji, who returns to the Xfinity Series driving the No. 91 DGM Racing Chevrolet. Katherine Legge, in the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet, will attempt to make her first national series superspeedway start. Only 38 cars will start Saturday’s event, meaning three teams will fail to qualify.

Take a look at the full entry list for Saturday’s event:

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series makes its first of two visits to Talladega Superspeedway, racing at the action-packed track Sunday in the Jack Link’s 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

TALLADEGA ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series | Xfinity Series 

Anthony Alfredo will run double-duty this weekend, piloting the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet.

See the full entry list for the 188-lap event:

Posted on by Staff Report

Cheshire County Clash 200

Monadnock Speedway

$104,304 posted awards

RACING PURSE BREAKDOWN

*1st place monies includes the $3,500 Special Award Whelen Engineering “Winner of the Race” award paid to winning driver.

Total: $70,701

  • 1st-$11,092
  • 2nd-$4,046
  • 3rd-$3,110
  • 4th-$2,275
  • 5th-$2,264
  • 6th-$2,227
  • 7th-$2,215
  • 8th-$2,204
  • 9th-$2,192
  • 10th-$2,180
  • 11th-$2,169
  • 12th-$2,157
  • 13th-$2,145
  • 14th-$2,133
  • 15th-$2,122
  • 16th-$2,110
  • 17th-$2,048
  • 18th-$2,012
  • 19th-$2,000
  • 20th-$2,000
  • 21st-$2,000
  • 22nd-$2,000
  • 23rd-$2,000
  • 24th-$2,000
  • 25th-$2,000
  • 26th-$2,000
  • 27th-$2,000
  • 28th-$2,000

QUALIFYING AND SPECIAL AWARDS

  • $1,150 Hoosier Tire “Pole Award” per event award to the eligible driver with the fastest qualifying time eligible to participate under the Manufacturers’ Prize Money Conditions.
  • $1,000 Hoosier Tire “Hard Charger” per event award to the highest finishing eligible driver who advances the most positions from the start of the race to the end of the race. In the case of a tie, the highest finishing driver will receive the award.
  • $550 Sunoco Spec Fuel per race award divided: 1st-$300 5th-$150 10th-$100
  • $400 Phil Kurze “Halfway Leader” Award presented by Josten’s per event award to the race leader at the halfway point of the event, regardless if the race is running under green or yellow.
  • One set of Hoosier Racing Tires – Product Award valued at $1,000 to be awarded as follows: At the conclusion of the event, the race winner will draw a pill to randomly select which finishing position of 10th through 25th will win this award.
  • One set of Hoosier Racing Tires – Product Award valued at $1,000 to be awarded to the highest finishing new team participating in the race. New team is defined as a new Car Owner to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour or a Car Owner who has not participated during the past three (3) seasons of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. If there are no new teams that qualify for this award, a second pill will be drawn, by the race winner, and the tires will be awarded to a team that finishes between 10th and 25th positions.
Posted on by Press Release

WOODFORD, Va. — A smashed watermelon that was triumphantly slammed from the roof of his car, an Advance Auto Parts victory cap placed upon his head and three separate trophies in his hands set a much better scene for Doug Barnes Jr. at the Triple Memorial 200 at Dominion Raceway on Saturday night.

A week removed from a viral ride into the Cordele Motor Speedway melon patch during a CARS Tour race, Barnes returned to his home track to complete a three-peat.

Previously titled the Dickie Boswell 200, the Triple Memorial 200 was renamed to honor the late Boswell, Roy Hendrick and Blake Morris on one special night. As the winner of both the inaugural and second annual race, Barnes’ win Saturday night was his third in the three-year history of the event.

“It means a lot to win this race. I have a lot of respect for all three guys we are racing for,” Barnes said from Bugsy Auto Repair Victory Lane. “I was feeling pretty confident when I saw there was no watermelon patch here.”

AirDoug qualified on the pole, beating last year’s Dominion Raceway late model track champion Landon Pembelton by a mere two hundredths of a second. However, it was Pembelton who dominated the early stages of the race.

The No. 0 of Pembelton led the first 87 laps before Mason Bailey passed him for the lead. Bailey was the halfway leader, but when the cars restarted after the Lap 100 break, Pembelton regained the lead.

On Lap 125, Barnes passed Bailey for second, and on Lap 147, calamity struck for Pembelton. The No. 0 cut a right-front tire in Turn 3 while leading and slammed the wall, ending his night.

“I am not sure if I was able to chase Landon down; I don’t know if I would have had enough time. He definitely had the car to beat,” Barnes said. “I would never wish misfortune on someone like that, especially a hard contact like that, because I’ve hit this wall before, and it is hard.”

With the dominant car on the tow truck, the adventure was just beginning for Barnes and the other competitors.

On Lap 161, the No. 88 also had a right front tire issue and pulled to a stop on the backstretch, bringing out a caution. Barnes’ team changed the tire, and Conner Weddell assumed the lead in his late model debut.

On the subsequent restart, Trenton Kilgore passed Weddell, but while jockeying for the lead, Weddell and Kilgore made heavy contact. Weddell’s car was destroyed, and
Kilgore’s car was spun in the other direction.

Doug Barnes Jr.
Doug Barnes Jr. in action (Photo: Mitchell Richtmyer/Dominion Raceway)

When the dust settled, Cameron Burke was the leader, and Barnes needed seven laps to chase him down. With 17 to go, Barnes took the lead for good.

“Right when I thought it might’ve been easy, I cut my own right front,” Barnes said. “I came in, and they docked me a lap, and then Conner and the white car got into it, and we got the lap right back, but then we didn’t get to start in the front, because we are the lucky dog and had to run the leader down by a straightaway. It was probably one of the weirdest wins I’ve ever had.

“The previous two years, we had the car to beat, and our strategy played out the way we needed. Tonight we were thrown one hundred curve balls, and we hit the right one.”

Barnes will return to Dominion when the CARS Tour runs the Mini’s Mission 225 on June 14. He is currently tied for fourth in points for the CARS Tour late model standings, and they are heading into the part of the schedule where they visit tracks he has prior experience racing.

“We are hitting the summer stretch and going to tracks that I have personally been to before like Orange County this weekend and then Ace and North Wilkesboro,” Barnes said.

While he may get his first CARS Tour win in the Lee Pulliam Performance machine beforehand, Barnes has his return to Dominion Raceway circled.

“When it comes to coming back here, we will be on the F45 Stars, so I don’t know how that is gonna go. That’s probably gonna be all out for 225 laps,” he said. “This is a good confidence booster after driving it into the watermelon patch last week.

“We are gonna get on it; I am excited to come back with Lee [Pulliam] and everybody.”

In other Advance Auto Parts Night at the Races racing action, Penelope Carlisle got her first home-track win in the Bandos, while Miles Murray and Charlie Beals split INEX Legends wins.

Richard Powers got his first win of the season on the Dominion Stocks, and the Any Cars race saw James Johnson win in the 6cyl class and Michael Pifer in the 8cyl class.