For the first time since 1996, NASCAR Cup Series drivers will be chasing points at North Wilkesboro Speedway when they take the green flag for Sunday’s Window World 450 (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
For those who have been counting the days between points races at the iconic 0.625-mile short track, 10,885 days will have passed since Jeff Gordon beat Dale Earnhardt by 1.73 seconds on Sept. 29, 1996.
At 450 laps (281.25 miles), Sunday’s race will be the longest in North Wilkesboro history on an asphalt surface that was repaved in November 2023.
The Window World 450 comes at a point in the Cup Series season when the race for the top seed in the Chase has tightened considerably, the quest for the final spots in the Chase is excruciatingly close, and the battle for the $1 million In-Season Challenge prize has gotten serious.
Denny Hamlin wrestled the series lead from fellow Toyota driver Tyler Reddick on June 28 at Sonoma Raceway, but last Sunday at EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta, his advantage shrank from 44 points to 24.
Ryan Blaney’s victory at the Georgia track left him 65 points behind Hamlin, the closest margin from first to third since the second race of the season, also at EchoPark.
With six events left before the Chase field is set, and with huge swings in the points already an established fact, the battle for the top seed in the Chase is far from settled.
Though three editions of the NASCAR All-Star Race were contested at North Wilkesboro (2023-2025), this will be the first full-field event there in 30 years.
“I would never have thought five years ago that we’d have a points race there, but now we are,” said Blaney, the only Ford driver to visit Victory Lane since Team Penske teammate Joey Logano won at Texas Motor Speedway on May 4, 2025.
“I think it’s great for the series, great for that race track, obviously, but it’s just good to be racing around there. I think it puts on a great show, and it’s going to be a fun one … It’s going to be a long race — that’s for sure — a little bit different from the All-Star Race, a different feel with a full field of cars.
“It’ll take rubber a little bit differently, but last year that place got really wide. I think the race will continue that way as we put laps on it. So, I think it’s going to be the best race that we’ve seen at that race track.”
Blaney is one of four drivers still competing for the winner-take-all $1-million prize in the In-Season Challenge. He is paired against 2025 All-Star Race winner Christopher Bell, with the higher finisher at North Wilkesboro advancing to the tournament finals on July 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
On the other side of the bracket, Chase Elliott faces underdog Todd Gilliland for the right to race for the In-Season title.
The intensity in the battle for the final Chase spots can’t be understated. Just 50 points separate 16th-place Erik Jones (in the last Chase-eligible position) from 22nd-place AJ Allmendinger. Jones is eight points ahead of Logano, who won the 2024 All-Star race from the pole.
With a sixth-place finish at EchoPark, Shane van Gisbergen held 15th place in the standings, 31 points above the current cut line. With six tracks left — all ovals — the road-course ace from New Zealand faces a challenging path to remain in the Chase, but the Atlanta run was encouraging.
“I was thinking about it at the end of the race,” van Gisbergen said. “There was no one around me that I was racing for points, so really needed to consolidate where I was. It didn’t change my approach.
“Got a P6 out of it, and it gives us really good momentum heading to North Wilkesboro. It’s a short track — those seem to be good for us — so hopefully we are able to grab some points and get a good result.”
Kelley Earnhardt-Miller, co-owner of JR Motorsports in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, indicated in a SiriusXM NASCAR Radio interview Thursday that Justin Allgaier plans to return to the organization in 2027 and beyond.
The comments come after Allgaier, the 2024 champion, recently admitted that he has considered retiring following the 2026 season.
“I’m so glad that we talked him into coming back for a couple more years and not retiring yet,” Earnhardt-Miller told SiriusXM. “We might have him sticking around … I think you can count on him being with us and seeing him here at JR Motorsports in the future, for sure.”
In 21 races this season, Allgaier has racked up a career-high six victories and leads the series standings by a whopping 240 points. His victory at EchoPark Speedway last weekend clinched the No. 1 seed for the Chase, which begins in September at Darlington Raceway.
After a win at Nashville Superspeedway in May, Allgaier revealed his thoughts about stepping away from full-time competition after this year.
“We’re kind of working through what that looks like,” Allgaier said in a press conference. “There’s a lot of factors that kind of weighed in on my decision of what 2027 and what the future looks like. If you asked [JRM Director of Communications] [Mike] Campbell in January, he would tell you that it was 100% I was retiring. Actually, 105% — I mean, I bought a house in Illinois, if that gives you any consolation.
“I don’t know what the future looks like. What I know is that I’m having probably the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire career right now … I would say today you’ll probably see me — there’s a higher likelihood of you seeing me next year than there isn’t.”
Allgaier’s 34 career series victories rank sixth all-time, four behind Carl Edwards for fifth. He’s in his 16th full-time season in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and his 11th with JRM. Additionally, Allgaier has made 87 Cup Series starts, racing full-time in 2014 and 2015. He also delivered a ninth-place result in JRM’s first-ever Cup race, the 2025 Daytona 500.
Those who plan to compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series postseason would be well-advised to sharpen their short-track skills.
Starting with Saturday’s FaithFest 250 presented by Mercer Transportation at North Wilkesboro Speedway (12:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), positions in The Chase will be set in races at three traditional short tracks (North Wilkesboro, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and Richmond Raceway) and a 1-mile flat oval that races like a short track (New Hampshire Motor Speedway).
Against that backdrop, seven drivers are locked into a tight battle for the final spot in the 10-driver Chase, which begins Sept. 17 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Tyler Ankrum currently holds the 10th position, but he’s only 17 points ahead of 11th-place Stewart Friesen.
Tanner Gray, currently 16th in the standings, trails Ankrum by a mere 41 points, with Jake Garcia (tied with Friesen), Brenden Queen (13th), Andrés Pérez (14th) and Justin Haley (15th) all within 34 points of Ankrum.
With a 25th-place finish last Saturday at Lime Rock Park, Ankrum’s position in the standings became a bit more tenuous, but the next four races offer the opportunity to solidify his claim to a Chase spot.
“I’m super thankful the road courses have come to an end this season, that’s for sure,” said Ankrum, who finished eighth and third in his last two trips to North Wilkesboro. “It has been a disappointing start to the season, but we’re headed back to a short track where I’m always ready to get out there and get rolling.
“North Wilkesboro has been so good to us in the past, and it’s such a fun track to race at. Looking forward to it this weekend, and hopefully we can be in contention for a solid finish.”
If Lime Rock Park was a struggle for Ankrum, such was not the case for Grant Enfinger, whose upset victory at the road course left him ninth in the standings with a 42-point cushion over the current Chase cutoff.
At the top of the standings, series leader Layne Riggs holds a 44-point lead over second-place Kaden Honeycutt in what has evolved into a two-driver battle for the top seed in The Chase.
In his two North Wilkesboro starts, Riggs has finished third and second, tying Butch Miller for best average Truck Series finish (2.5) all-time at the track. Honeycutt ran 17th at the 0.625-mile track in 2023 and eighth in 2025 in his only two starts there.
Editor’s note: This story originally published on July 16, 2026:
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Bowman Gray Stadium announced that it will host the Kyle Busch Invitational on Friday, Aug. 21. The event, featuringLegends and Bandoleros races, will honor the life and legacy of Kyle Busch, with all proceeds benefiting The Samantha and Kyle Busch Bundle of Joy Fund. It will be broadcast live on FloSports and the NASCAR Channel.
“It’s an honor to host the Kyle Busch Invitational at Bowman Gray Stadium and celebrate the life and legacy of one of racing’s most accomplished drivers,” said Clay Campbell, President, Martinsville Speedway, and VP, NASCAR Mid-Atlantic Division. “This event brings together the passion of our fans, the rich history of the Madhouse and an incredible cause through The Samantha and Kyle Busch Bundle of Joy Fund. This will be a special night for our fans, our community and everyone involved.”
The Kyle Busch Invitational will feature up to 51 Legend Cars and 18 additional Bandolero Cars competing at the historic quarter-mile oval.
Drivers will earn an automatic bid if they are in the top five of the 2026 Summer Shootout final point standings in Pro, Semi-Pro, Masters, and Young Lions. Any Pro, Semi-Pro, Masters, or Young Lions drivers with an A-Main Feature victory during the 2026 Summer Shootout who do not finish in the final top five in points will also receive an automatic bid.
“The Legend Car played an important role in Kyle’s development on his path to becoming one of the greatest race car drivers of his generation,” said G.E. Chapman, Vice President of U.S. Legend Cars International and the INEX Racing Series. “To celebrate Kyle’s life and legacy with a Legend Car and Bandolero event at Bowman Gray Stadium, while also recognizing the incredible impact he and Samantha have made through The Bundle of Joy Fund, is a tremendous honor. We’re proud to be part of an event that celebrates both his accomplishments in motorsports and the lasting difference he continues to make off the race track.”
The Samantha and Kyle Busch Bundle of Joy Fund is a proven difference maker. Founded by Samantha and Kyle Busch in 2015, The Bundle of Joy Fund is a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to individuals and couples facing the challenges of infertility. Inspired by their own journey to parenthood, the fund awards grants for fertility treatments and helps families pursue their dream of having children.
And now race fans will have an opportunity to add to that legacy by attending the Kyle Busch Invitational on Friday, Aug. 21. Ticket gates open at 2 p.m., with practice and qualifying taking place from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Racing begins at 5 p.m. with five 10-lap Legends Car heat races. The evening will continue with two 15-lap Legends Car B-Main races before culminating with the Bandolero and Legends Car feature races.
Bowman Gray Stadium is offering a two-day ticket package that includes admission to the Kyle Busch Invitational on Friday night, as well as Saturday’s Weekly Racing Series Championship, the AGSouth Farm Credit 150. Single-day tickets may be purchased at the gate or online through the TicketHoss App, while two-day tickets are available online only.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit the event page.
At first, the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season looked destined to be the Tyler Reddick show — after all, Reddick won three straight races to begin the schedule and later tied or challenged records for the most wins in the first six and nine races of a season. Then, as Reddick faltered in June, Denny Hamlin stepped into the breach and threatened to take the regular-season title from his star employee with a hot streak of his own.
Between Reddick and Hamlin, one of those two has led the 2026 point standings each week of the season (Reddick in Rounds 1-17; Hamlin ever since) and they still have the best odds to win either the regular-season or Chase trophies when all is said and done.
But recently, another name has forced himself into what seemed like a closed conversation: Ryan Blaney.
After winning the rain-delayed Quaker State 400 in the wee hours of Monday morning, Blaney has finished no worse than 11th in any of his past 10 starts — while no other driver can say their worst finish is any better than 23rd (Erik Jones) over that same span. Blaney is on such a heater recently that his worst finish is better than every other regular driver’s average finish, with the exception of Hamlin (whose average is 7.9).
The early narrative of Blaney’s season was that of speed — and an early win at Team Penske’s favorite playground, Phoenix — but also mistakes and missed opportunities for the No. 12 car. He picked up infractions in five of the first 10 races of the season, and had one of the lowest-rated pit crews according to NASCAR Insights’ metrics. Through 10 races, he only ranked No. 7 in average finish despite sitting No. 3 in average Driver Rating. Clearly, Blaney and his Penske team had better finishes that they could wring out of the days they were having.
And over the past two-and-a-half months, that’s exactly what they’ve done. The race craft has been decidedly improved: Despite starting near the back and running 19th on average at Texas, Blaney worked his way toward the front late and grabbed a top 10, and he also squeezed top-11 finishes out of less-than-fully-dominant days at Watkins Glen, Michigan, Pocono and Chicagoland.
But when the 12-car’s peak performance level has been there, Blaney has also taken advantage. He’s posted a Driver Rating of 99.5 or higher five times in the past 10 races — only Reddick, Hamlin and Kyle Larson have more over that span, at six apiece — finishing ninth or better each time. (Contrast that with Larson, who has managed to turn a 112.0 rating into a 23rd-place finish at Nashville and a 97.5 rating into 34th-place run Monday morning.) We’ve always known that when Blaney’s speed and execution align, watch out.
The most impressive run of all for Blaney? It might have come just this past week, south of Atlanta.
While EchoPark Speedway is shorter than your traditional superspeedways, it has behaved like them in terms of drafting and pack-racing since its reconfiguration in 2021-22 — and that means the expectations for mayhem and chaos run high. Forget dominance; survival is the keyword here. So for Blaney to come out and lead 171 of 263 possible laps (65.0%) en route to victory at this type of track is a special accomplishment indeed.
In NASCAR’s modern era (since 1972), that was the 19th-highest share of laps led by a race-winner at a superspeedway — and the most in just over a decade, since Brad Keselowski led 71.4% of laps at Daytona on July 2, 2016:
Along with all of those laps led, Blaney also finished with a 134.5 Driver Rating at EchoPark, his best showing of the 2026 season thus far and the sixth-highest of his career overall. (Four of his top fives came at intermediate ovals, with his career-high of 146.0 coming at Iowa, a short track, in 2024.) Including Monday morning’s win, Blaney’s average Driver Rating over his past five starts is 107.1, including five straight over 90.0 and three in triple-digits.
In recent terms at least, then, Blaney’s form has surpassed that of both Hamlin and Reddick, as he pulls within 65 points of both in the standings. What once looked like a two-man show now has a third headliner.
Even better news for Blaney? We’re coming up on another short track, North Wilkesboro, where he finished top-six in the 2023 and 2024 All-Star races, and where only Hamlin projects to be better based on similar tracks. Then it’s on to the Brickyard, Iowa, Richmond and Loudon, all places where Blaney ranks among the Cup Series’ best drivers in the Next Gen era.
It’s still going to be tough to unseat Hamlin and/or Reddick for the regular-season crown — my simulation model only gives Blaney a 10% shot at it, though that’s higher than anybody outside the Reddick/Hamlin duo has had in a while. More importantly, though, Blaney is very unlikely to rank any worse than third in the Chase standings, placing him within striking distance of what will probably be Hamlin and Reddick at Nos. 1-2 to begin the championship hunt.
And based on how he’s been converting speed into results lately, that may be all the opening Blaney needs to add another Cup championship to his trophy shelf — stealing the ending from a season that had seemed destined to belong to Hamlin and Reddick.
Just four drivers remain in the 2026 In-Season Challenge, and while the biggest wild card — EchoPark Speedway — is in the rearview mirror, an unknown still lies ahead. The Cup Series heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) for the first points-paying race in the North Carolina foothills since 1996. Though these drivers have dueled it out for $1 million in the All-Star Race there in years past, it’s difficult to set expectations for a marathon 450-lap event.
Round 3 at EchoPark provided plenty of excitement and tightly contested battles, including No. 25 seed Todd Gilliland advancing over No. 32 seed Alex Bowman by just two positions. No. 4 Chase Elliott advanced by 23 positions over No. 12 Chase Briscoe, but that doesn’t tell the story, as both drivers contended for the win until Briscoe crashed late. No. 10 seed Christopher Bell knocked off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and No. 2 seed Denny Hamlin, and of course, No. 3 seed Ryan Blaney dominated the night to win the race and eliminate No. 11 seed William Byron.
If you’re a fan of college basketball, this semifinal round couldn’t line up any better. Three drivers represent three blue-blood organizations, while a Cinderella story looks to continue wreaking havoc throughout the bracket.
Because the Cup Series hasn’t contested a points-paying race at the 0.625-mile short track in this era, it’s tough to pin down the exact list of contenders. The All-Star Race gives at least some sample size, but a much shorter race combined with a much smaller field doesn’t fully paint the picture. All four remaining drivers, however, have stout short-track resumes.
This season, Blaney has the second-best average finish at 4.0 in this style of racing — only to Ty Gibbs — and is third best in both total points (94) and laps led (192). His seven consecutive short-track top 10s are tops in Cup, and he won earlier in the season at Phoenix. Speaking of winners, his opponent, Bell, banked the 2025 All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. Previous victories at Bristol, Martinsville, Phoenix and New Hampshire show he’s plenty capable — even though a win hasn’t been in the cards … yet … this season.
Meanwhile, Elliott has a victory in the two true short-track races this season, winning this spring at Martinsville. He’s generally a factor at every type of track, and North Wilkesboro could provide an opportunity for Chevrolet to catch up to red-hot Toyota. Don’t forget about Gilliland, though. While he hasn’t contended at short tracks, he owns four top 10s in 25 starts and finished sixth this spring at Bristol.
Bigger picture, according to Racing Insights, the driver who led the most laps won just once in the last five short-track races. At both Martinsville and Bristol earlier this year, a driver swept the stages but didn’t win the race, and two of the last four short-track winners didn’t score any stage points. What does this mean? One strategy call could easily shake up how Round 4 plays out.
MATCHUP OF THE WEEK: (No. 3) Ryan Blaney vs. (No. 10) Christopher Bell
With a spot in the Champions Round on the line, two of the best at flat tracks will go head-to-head in the Cup Series’ first points-paying race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996.
Through three In-Season Challenge races, these two drivers have been flawless. Blaney won a thriller on Sunday at EchoPark Speedway — leading a race-best 171 laps — and hasn’t finished worse than seventh all tournament. Bell doesn’t have a win yet this season, but his stretch of three consecutive top fives nearly one-ups his rival.
But with both riding significant momentum — and both carrying impressive short-track resumes — this matchup is a complete toss-up. Six of Bell’s 13 Cup victories are at shorter, flatter tracks, and he also boasts a North Wilkesboro victory in last year’s exhibition All-Star Race. Blaney has similar numbers with six short-track wins — and Ford always seems to thrive at those types of circuits. In three All-Star events at North Wilkesboro, Blaney has two top 10s.
Heading into the semifinal round, both of these drivers have found their stride at the right time — and this head-to-head in the North Carolina mountains will surely come down to the wire.
Gilliland’s certainly facing an uphill battle both on the track and in popularity contests by facing 2020 Cup champion and perennial most popular driver Elliott. In three All-Star Races at North Wilkesboro, Elliott’s been one of the best, never finishing worse than eighth. Meanwhile, Gilliland never qualified for an All-Star Race at the track and has never finished better than 12th in the All-Star Open.
The odds are certainly in Elliott’s favor here. Even though the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports driver is quietly on a slide with just one top 10 in his last nine races, he still finds a way to maximize days and finish races. That said, both he and Gilliland have had lady luck on their side over the last three weeks. The Front Row Motorsports driver hasn’t finished better than 16th during the In-Season Challenge, but benefited from uncharacteristically bad days from opposing Spire Motorsports drivers Daniel Suárez and Carson Hocevar in the first two rounds, before last week’s opponent, Bowman, suffered damage in a late wreck. The same goes for Elliott’s opponent last week, Briscoe, who contended for a chunk of the night before exiting in the same crash.
Is it likely for Gilliland to pull another upset? No. But with some unknowns heading to North Wilkesboro and an opportunity for some potentially wild strategy, a window at least exists.
CONCORD, N.C. — Three blue bloods highlighted the 2018 men’s college basketball Final Four. Villanova. Michigan. Kansas.
The fourth team? Loyola Chicago.
Similarly, three powerhouse drivers spotlight the In-Season Challenge semifinals. Ryan Blaney. Chase Elliott. Christopher Bell.
The fourth driver? Todd Gilliland.
Maybe he doesn’t feel quite as dangerous as the Ramblers that March. But the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports driver still has an opportunity to pull off the unthinkable in Sunday’s semifinal Round 4 at North Wilkesboro Speedway (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“We’ve been barely hanging on by the skin of our teeth each one of these rounds,” Gilliland told reporters Wednesday at the NASCAR Production Facility. “But we’re here now, and now we only got two more guys to beat.”
Entering the In-Season Challenge as the No. 25 seed, the Californian turned North Carolinian barely scraped by in each of the first three rounds. Gilliland’s 29th-place finish at Sonoma knocked out No. 8 seed Daniel Suárez after the Spire Motorsports driver suffered an early tire failure, forcing him to run the race on an alternative strategy. At Chicagoland, he finished 16th, but also benefited from the Zane Smith/Carson Hocevar melee as Hocevar suffered damage and placed outside the top 20.
And for most of Sunday night’s race at EchoPark, which stretched into Monday morning, it seemed as if Gilliland’s fairy-tale story had an expiration date. Admittedly, all three FRM cars struggled over the course of 400-plus miles, but when opponent and No. 32 seed Alex Bowman suffered damage in a late crash, his window suddenly opened.
Bowman lined up just behind the 26-year-old for the overtime restart. At that moment, Gilliland knew the stakes with $1 million still on the line.
“Maybe the first time I have heard anything about the In-Season [Challenge] over the radio or during the race was after [Bowman] spun and he restarted right on my bumper,” Gilliland explained. “I was at least hoping to keep him behind me. If it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen, but I wasn’t going to do anything crazy. It would be nice to keep this one single car behind me, and we were able to do that.
“It has been a lot of fun just to see my team kind of buy into something and have something to kind of look at and pay attention to. Obviously, we’re all competitors and we’re competing against 36, 37 other guys out there, but it is just fun and a little bit of something different.”
Widening the scope, through 20 races — and just six until the 16-driver Chase field is set — Gilliland ranks 24th in series points, 93 points behind the provisional cutline. He has only one top 10 with an average finish a half a spot better (20.8) than 2025 (21.3).
Now in his fifth full-time Cup season, Gilliland realizes the door for a postseason berth is rapidly closing, and barring unusual circumstances, he’ll be on the outside looking in. A stretch of four tracks roughly a mile or shorter over the next six races, though, has the No. 34 Ford driver encouraged about what could lie ahead.
“Going back to some short tracks will be really good for us,” he said. “When we show up to places like Martinsville, Richmond, those are places that I feel like we should be able to go out and honestly compete in the top 10 all day. North Wilkesboro, I feel like, should be in that category, but we’ve never really ran that great there [in three All-Star Weekends].
“I think consistency still just needs to be our main goal from the 34 side. Seeing what [teammate] Zane Smith has done, I think he’s shown much more speed than us, which is always tough to kind of look yourself in the mirror, and I think that goes for everyone on my team. He’s kind of showing us what the potential of our cars and our team can do. There’s definitely some room to improve, but we’re trying to chip away at it.”
With a date in the semifinals against No. 4 seed Chase Elliott, Gilliland is most certainly an underdog. The 2020 Cup Series champion is a contender nearly every week and has three All-Star top 10s at North Wilkesboro. However, Gilliland has shown flashes at short tracks with a sixth-place finish at Bristol this spring, plus a pair of top 10s in the last three Martinsville races.
Even if his underdog journey ends in the semifinals, as Loyola’s did, the still-budding driver hopes this In-Season Challenge run can create a team boost for the rest of the campaign.
“I think there’s small wins along the way,” Gilliland said, “But I definitely think from an enthusiasm side, attitude side in the shop, that this In-Season [Challenge] — any positive momentum — can definitely help us.”
If Doug Coby believed he was no longer capable of winning on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, he would not be starting races.
The six-time series champion is embarking on a partial schedule with Jett Motorsports, a new team to the Modified Tour co-owned by Jariah Roderick and Steve Rollins. Through three races, Coby’s results with Jett Motorsports have been mixed, with his best showing being a ninth in the first trip to Seekonk Speedway.
Despite this, Coby knows Jett Motorsports can be a race-winning program on the Modified Tour; they just need to put a full weekend together. The next event for Coby at White Mountain Motorsports Park on Sunday (3 p.m. ET on FloRacing) brings plenty of optimism; he is one of three drivers to have won a Modified Tour race there.
A lot has changed for Coby since that victory, but he is ready to finally showcase the drive that guided him to Victory Lane on 35 previous occasions.
“I’m looking forward to going back [to White Mountain],” Coby said. “I haven’t competed there since my win in the COVID season, so I might be a little behind. I really just love racing quarter miles where you can get after it. There’s a balance between aggression, skill, patience and knowing when to make your move or chill out for a little while.”
The last time Coby won a Modified Tour race was 2023 at Monadnock Speedway in Tommy Baldwin Racing’s iconic No. 7NY, an opportunity for which he remains grateful.
Coby’s partnership with Baldwin began after he was chosen to fill in for Jimmy Blewett at Riverhead Raceway in 2022 while the latter dealt with a family emergency. At that time, Coby was looking for a Modified Tour ride following a brief-but-successful stint with Phil Moran.
Baldwin’s decision to put Coby in the No. 7NY immediately paid off, as he put together a dominant race-winning performance at Riverhead that saw him lead 196 of 213 laps. The next two years saw Coby continue the stellar legacy of Baldwin’s No. 7NY with three more checkered flags.
For as efficient as the combination of Coby and Baldwin was, none of their ventures were full time. As Baldwin put more focus into his NASCAR Cup Series obligations along with the careers of his sons Luke and Jack, Coby’s races in the No. 7NY dwindled; he only contested one event for Baldwin in 2025.
Four of Doug Coby’s 35 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victories came while driving Tommy Baldwin Jr.’s No. 7NY Modified. (Photo: Nick Grace/NASCAR)
Coby diverted his focus back to his day job in real estate all while keeping an eye on available rides. A conversation with Cam McDermott, Kyle Bonsignore’s crew chief, introduced Coby to Roderick and Rollins, who were interested in expanding their operation Jett Motorsports into the Modified Tour.
The opportunity was so intriguing that Coby enlisted the help of numerous crew members from his time driving for owners like Wayne Darling and Mike Smeriglio III, with both of whom he won titles. Coby wants all that experience to translate into a winning formula for Jett Motorsports, but the process is taking longer than he would like.
“These guys want to build a team with some experience behind the wheel and in the pit area, too,” Coby said. “That’s why a lot of my guys came out of semi-retirement with me. [My crew chief] John McKenna came over with us, and we’re definitely having some fun working together again. I just want to get back to competing for wins.
“It’ll be really special when this team is able to do that.”
Coby partially attributed Jett Motorsports’ slow start to circumstances outside of their control, but he also expected growing pains. Jett Motorsports is still adapting to the rules and the competitive atmosphere of the Modified Tour, but Coby is willing to be patient with helping the program grow.
McKenna’s presence and leadership has been a major benefit from Coby’s perspective. The composed, methodical nature of McKenna is something Coby believes has made everyone at Jett Motorsports comfortable while working through their struggles.
Given how frustrating the first three races have been at times, Coby emphasized the importance of a loose-but-productive environment at Jett Motorsports. If everyone stays on the same page, Coby knows the results everyone expects will eventually materialize.
“We came out of the gate a few races behind everybody at Thompson,” Coby said. “We thought we learned something for Seekonk and we got tricked at Seekonk. We made some more adjustments, came back to Seekonk and got tricked again. We’re learning like everybody, but we feel like we’ve got the people and the equipment to get some wins.”
Being with a new team going into White Mountain this weekend does not concern Coby in the slightest. He was only three races in with Moran’s program when he won there back in 2020, a feat he accomplished despite the limitations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite a slow start with Jett Motorsports, Doug Coby is optimistic he can win a race with the organization. (Photo: Rachel O’Driscoll/NASCAR)
For Coby to replicate his race-winning performance from White Mountain six years ago, he and Jett Motorsports will need to put together their most efficient weekend to date. There are plenty of ideas Coby and McKenna are exchanging with Roderick and Rollins on how to sustain the speed the No. 28 Nucar Modified has shown in practice.
Whatever the missing ingredient is, Coby believes it can be found by applying all the knowledge acquired with Jett Motorsports so far.
“We were the fastest car in the first practice at Seekonk and sixth fastest on the second practice, but the day just kept steadily going downhill from there,” Coby said. “That’s just uncharacteristic for our team, but we’re hoping if we have a good car in practice that it translates into a solid qualifying run.
“You can’t keep starting mid-pack thinking you’re going to blast through the field in this series. It hasn’t happened in the last 20 years.”
Coby has more experience winning Modified Tour events than any other driver entered in Sunday’s Thunder in the Mountains 200. The first checkered flag for Coby came in 2006 with Curt Chase at Stafford Motor Speedway, a race in which he started 29th.
Now 46, Coby views himself as an unofficial ambassador for the Modified Tour. He wants to see the series that defined him continue to grow and prosper amidst an always evolving industry, adding that winning races with upstart teams like Jett Motorsports is a great way to do so.
Coby finding Victory Lane across his remaining starts with Jett Motorsports would make them the sixth team he has won with on the Modified Tour after Chase, Darling, Smeriglio, Moran and Baldwin. Even though kinks are still being ironed out, Coby is confident a win with Jett Motorsports comes closer to reality with every passing race.
“[Bringing] another chassis, another team, crew chief and car owner [to Victory Lane] would be awesome,” Coby said. “At this stage of the game, that’s kind of really what is left in my career; teaming up with new people, trying to be as professional as possible and bringing new sponsors and new car owners into Victory Lane on the Modified Tour.
“That’s what gets new people interested and that’s what keeps car owners like Jariah and Steve engaged and interested. It would be a huge win for our team, and I’m sure there would be no shortage of fun afterwards if that were to happen.”
Five races remain for Coby with Jett Motorsports in 2026 after White Mountain. The goal for Coby is to snap his three-year winless drought, but a top five would be a step in the right direction, especially after the early season issues.
Coby knows he can win. He also knows Jett Motorsports can win. The next step is to put all the pieces together and show the Modified Tour just how strong they are as a group.
Consistency is king for those who want to win a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship.
That isn’t just a statement; that’s a fact proven by countless champions throughout the 40-year history of the series dating back to 1985.
It was proven again last year by Austin Beers, who won two races and finished no worse than ninth throughout the 16-race season on his way to becoming the youngest champion in series history.
Entering Sunday’s Thunder in the Mountains 200 at White Mountain Motorsports Park (3 p.m. ET on FloRacing), consistency is proving, yet again, to be the most important factor in the battle for the Modified Tour championship.
Through eight of 16 races, Patrick Emerling and the No. 1 USNE Motorsports team sit atop the mountain thanks largely to an overwhelmingly consistent first half of the season.
The driver from Orchard Park, New York has amassed one victory, four top fives and seven top 10s through the opening eight races. His lone victory of the season thus far came in the most recent event at Claremont Motorsports Park, where he led a race-high 85 laps on his way to the 10th victory of his career.
This is hardly the first time Emerling has been a Modified Tour championship contender.
In 2021, Emerling had a breakout year, winning three times and leading the series standings early in the year before losing ground during the summer months to eventual series champion Justin Bonsignore.
Patrick Emerling won the most recent Modified Tour race at Claremont Motorsports Park, which helped catapult him to the top of the series standings. (Photo: Jaiden Tripi/NASCAR)
Emerling had one more victory than Bonsignore did that season, but Bonsignore proved to be the more consistent driver. His average finish of 5.1 compared to Emerling’s 6.4 average finish doesn’t seem like much, but that slight difference amounted to 22-point swing in Bonsignore’s favor at the end of the season.
It was a similar story in 2024 and 2025, as Emerling won multiple races each season but struggled to remain consistent. That resulted in championship finishes of third in 2024 and fifth in 2025.
So far this year, it appears Emerling has learned from his past mistakes.
Through the first eight races, Emerling has an average finish of 5.6. That’s tied for the best average finish this season with Beers, who sits five points behind Emerling entering Sunday’s Thunder in the Mountains 200 at White Mountain Motorsports Park. This is also the deepest into a season that Emerling has ever held the Modified Tour championship lead.
In addition, Emerling has completed every possible lap through the first eight races and has a worst finish of 13th, which came at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on April 12.
If Emerling can maintain the same consistency through the second half of the season that he’s shown through the first eight races, then he could easily become the 21st driver in history to call himself a Modified Tour champion.
Only time — and eight more races — will tell the story.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Due to continued inclement weather forecasted for the North Woodstock area through the weekend, NASCAR and White Mountain Motorsports Park officials have postponed the Thunder in the Mountains 200 to Sunday, July 19 at 3 p.m. ET. An updated event schedule will be shared in the coming days.
The fourth ever NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at White Mountain was originally rescheduled for Saturday, July 18 at 8 p.m. ET.
Three different drivers have reached Victory Lane in the Modified Tour’s brief history at the quarter-mile asphalt oval. As the series enters the second half of the 2026 season, another driver will look to add his name alongside Justin Bonsignore, Doug Coby and Kyle Bonsignore as a White Mountain winner.
Patrick Emerling enters the weekend as the man to beat after capturing the checkered at last week’s Clash at Claremont Motorsports Park. His milestone 10th career victory made him just the 24th driver in Modified Tour history to record 10 or more wins. The result also moved him into the championship lead as former points leader Stephen Kopcik dropped to a last-place finish after battling power steering problems for much of the night.
Reigning Modified Tour champion Austin Beers will be poised to capitalize on any opportunity that presents itself. While the 2026 season has been relatively quiet by his standards, including the end of his 45-race top-10 streak, Beers has still recorded five top-five finishes through the first eight races, putting him in prime position to contend for his first victory of the year at White Mountain Motorsports Park.
Other notable entrants include Doug Coby, Matt Hirschman, Mike Christopher Jr., Tyler Rypkeman, Eric Goodale and Anthony Nocella.
