I remember the crying, maybe most of all. The finish to the Daytona 500 in 1979 left a lasting impression on my 6-year-old self, not just because of the dramatic nature of the final lap but because Cale Yarborough was my driver.
That, gentle reader, was my agonizing introduction to how sports can break your heart. The scoffers who say, “it’s just a game” or in this case, “just a race,” may not fully comprehend just how hard the sports world can tug on those inner-most emotions, but watching Yarborough’s blue-and-white No. 11 Oldsmobile clang alongside Donnie Allison’s deep-red No. 1 Olds before crashing and sliding helplessly out of the race turned on a faucet of tears. A replay of the wreck on the 6 o’clock news the next day reopened the wound.
Nearly 45 years later, that finish still holds up, and Cale Yarborough is still my driver.
Yarborough’s death on the last day of last year brought those sorts of emotional connections back for many in the NASCAR industry. His legacy as one of stock-car racing’s most tenacious drivers was remembered with reverence, and his mark on the sport will be forever enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which will induct the Class of 2024 – including his ’79 foil in Allison — in gala ceremonies this Friday.
Becoming a Yarborough fan came easy, thanks to his enduring speed and no-prisoners driving style, but his dominance as a Cup Series champion through the mid- to late-1970s put his name in plenty of headlines as I started to read the sports pages. Yarborough’s familiar No. 11 was also a fixture in the pages of my dad’s hand-me-down Stock Car Racing and Circle Track magazines, usually up front.
But at least in part, the fandom was owed to that broadcast, Yarborough’s name, and how Ken Squier said it. Squier – a Hall of Famer himself who preceded Yarborough in death by just six weeks – had a knack for making race-car drivers seem like larger-than-life figures who wrestled heavy machines at great risk around palaces built for breakneck speed. But Squier also stretched every syllable of Yarborough’s name just so, including an emphatic “Caaaaaaallle!” whenever his car entered the picture.
Like much of the East Coast that fateful February day, the piedmont and foothills of North Carolina were blanketed by the near-record snowfall that kept a wide swath of the U.S. population indoors and around their TV sets. Our home wore a rare 10-inch coat of white, but no matter if the weather had been a sunny 75 degrees, our family would have been a captive television audience. With just four channels back then and broadcast media rights nothing like the wall-to-wall blockbuster deals of today, any televised auto racing coverage was a novelty. A 500-mile race shown live, from green to checkered flag? Unheard of.
Yarborough’s rally into contention after an earlier tangle with the Allison brothers only stoked false hopes as Squier boomed, “It’s all come down to this!” The block, the slide and the crash all meant anguish. The jubilation of the winning No. 43 team after Richard Petty had snapped his longest losing streak to date was barely a ripple from my beanbag-chair point of view.
Donnie Allison became a villain who tied fair damsels to railroad tracks. Each driver blamed the other for their final-lap collision, but my allegiance to Yarborough helped shape those opinions into facts about who was in the right. If you’d asked 6-year-old me to name the most evil thing there is, I’d have probably still ranked the devil over Donnie Allison, but I would have had to think about it.
That same last-lap slingshot tactic provided reason to cheer Yarborough’s Daytona 500 wins in 1983 and ’84, and I softened my stance on Allison after both drivers sunsetted their careers. When Yarborough stopped by our office before his Hall of Fame induction, I saw them both having a cordial conversation, with Allison promising to stop by Yarborough’s farm in the coming days. There was a handshake, smiles and a hearty pat on the back – all unimaginable for kindergarten me.
Also unthinkable was an assignment I received roughly 10 years ago for a 1-on-1 interview with Yarborough in the Hall’s Legends Room. His wife, Betty Jo, was seated beside him for the introduction and the question-and-answer session, which went well despite the nerves. At the end, I thanked him for his time and shared in some small talk before he departed.
I briefly considered telling him about my rooting interest and how much the 1979 race had cemented that. I didn’t, ultimately deciding against putting him on the spot and having a professional conversation turn into a personal one.
LOS ANGELES(Jan. 14, 2023) – NASCAR announced today that GRAMMY-nominated and multi-platinum recording artist Machine Gun Kelly, also known as MGK, will give a show-stopping race break performance during the 2024 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 4.
“Machine Gun Kelly is the true embodiment of what it means to be a modern-day rock star,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing development and strategy. “We’re thrilled to have as captivating of an artist as MGK bring in the 2024 season during the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.”
The Cleveland, Ohio, native has been on a tear since releasing his first Rock/Pop Punk album Tickets to My Downfall in 2020. It became his first No. 1 effort with songs like “bloody valentine” and “my ex’s best friend” going platinum.
In 2022, MGK continued to top the charts with Mainstream Sellout, his second album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album was nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY Award for “Best Rock Album” and was supported with a sold-out tour. The US leg ended back in Cleveland to a crowd of 50,000 fans, making him the first and only Ohio native to sell out FirstEnergy Stadium.
In addition to putting on a spectacular race-break performance, MGK will show off both his signature nail polish line UN/DN LAQR and his Cleveland-based 27 Club Coffee lounge with pop ups at the NASCAR Fan Fest. To learn more about UN/DN LAQR and its vibrant range of cruelty free, vegan nail polishes, visit https://undnlaqr.com/. For more information on 27 Club Coffee and its decadent coffees, delicious food and unique, themed cocktails, go to https://27clubcoffee.com/.
Witness MGK rock the world of NASCAR on Sunday, Feb. 4, as racing begins on the Coliseum’s temporary, quarter-mile asphalt track at 1:30 p.m. with the NASCAR Mexico Series’ King Taco La Batalla en El Coliseo followed by the NASCAR Cup Series’ Busch Light Clash at 5 p.m.
The third-annual Busch Light Clash is the NASCAR Cup Series’ season-opening exhibition featuring the sport’s top stars. NASCAR on FOX will once again carry the broadcast for the Busch Light Clash while the NASCAR Mexico Series Race will be on FS1, Fox Deportes, Fox Sports 3 in Mexico, and available pan regionally on Claro Sports and the D Motors channel on DirecTV.
A single ticket purchased is good for both races, and fans are encouraged to get their tickets now while supplies last by visiting www.nascarclash.com.
Nothing stood in the way of Logan Seavey earning his second consecutive Chili Bowl Nationals victory inside the Tulsa Expo Center on Saturday night.
After feeling under the weather all week and narrowly advancing into the Pole Shuffle through his A-feature on Friday evening, Seavey was calm and composed in Saturday’s main event. He took control early from the outside pole and led almost every lap.
Seavey was not going to let an illness deter him from winning another Chili Bowl. When it came time to race, he replicated the efficiency that earned him his first Golden Driller in 2023.
“It’s the Chili Bowl, and you have to do what you can to perform,” Seavey said. “I can’t say enough for what these guys do for me by giving me cars that can come here and win the biggest race of the year. I felt a lot better [on Saturday] after getting a little bit of sleep and was finally able to put some food down.
“I knew all I needed was to get some food in me, and I felt great all day.”
The only challenge Seavey faced in this year’s Chili Bowl finale came from pole-sitter Buddy Kofoid, who traded the lead with Seavey several times during the opening laps.
Just as Kofoid was about to take the lead, an early caution reverted the running order back to the last completed lap, relegating Kofoid to second behind Seavey. As the track rubbered in, Kofoid was unable to mount another charge for the lead and settled for a runner-up finish in his fifth Chili Bowl attempt.
There were several aspects about the caution that confused Kofoid, from how he was scored to a transponder issue that required repairs. Despite the frustration, Kofoid took solace in his overall performance knowing he is getting closer to his first Golden Driller.
“I guess it just wasn’t meant to be,” Kofoid said. “My car felt good having to back down to [Seavey’s] pace and being in his dirty air, if you will. Our car got through the cushion better than him, but there’s such a fine line of hitting it perfect.
“Logan is one of the best and one of my best friends. I’m happy to see this for him, but it’s still bittersweet.”
For Seavey, who has one NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2018, he joins an elite list of drivers who have multiple Chili Bowl victories. That group includes current NASCAR Cup Series competitors Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, along with three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart.
With his victory, Logan Seavey joins an elite list of drivers who have won multiple Chili Bowls. (Photo: Nick Oxford/NASCAR)
Seavey is now halfway to the Chili Bowl win total accumulated by his co-owner Kevin Swindell, who won the prestigious dirt midget car event four times from 2010-13. The camaraderie Seavey shares with Swindell was crucial toward him pushing through his illness and delivering another Chili Bowl triumph for the iconic No. 39.
“[Kevin and I] have only ran [the Chili Bowl] a couple of times and won every time we’ve been over here,” Seavey said. “That’s why he built this car, to come here and win this race. To be the one doing it for him is so much fun. He always has my back and we’re always on the same page. I could not be happier right now.
“This is the biggest race of my life, and to now win it twice is unbelievable.”
Of the NASCAR regulars that entered the 2024 Chili Bowl, the only one to advance to the A-Main was Chase Briscoe, the first time he had done so since 2017. Despite this, Briscoe was unable to keep pace with the leaders and finished 21st.
Larson and 2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were both surprise entrants for the Chili Bowl and arrived at the Tulsa Expo Center in the middle of the week. Stenhouse’s run ended in the first C-Main on Saturday. Larson withdrew after crashing in his A-feature on Thursday.
Jesse Love, J.J. Yeley and Josh Bilicki also made attempts at the Golden Driller during the long, hectic week in Tulsa. Love made it to the second E-Main while Yeley and Bilicki were eliminated in the F-Main and N-Main, respectively.
Kaulig Racing announced its spotter lineup for its 2024 NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series teams on Friday.
Coleman Pressley, who won the 2022 Cup Series championship with Team Penske driver Joey Logano, will reunite with AJ Allmendinger and spot for the No. 16 Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series. Pressley, who will continue his Sunday duties with Logano, has spotted for the No. 22 car since August 2021 and has visited Victory Lane five times with Logano, including after winning the Cup title race in 2022 at Phoenix. Pressley was the eyes in the sky for Allmendinger and the No. 47 Chevrolet at JTG Daugherty Racing from 2015-18. A former racer himself, Pressley moved to Team Penske in 2019 as the spotter for 2012 champion Brad Keselowski and later moved over to Logano and the No. 22 in August 2021.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>We’ve locked in our eyes in the sky. <a href=”https://t.co/ADqvUj8D0q”>pic.twitter.com/ADqvUj8D0q</a></p>— Kaulig Racing (@KauligRacing) <a href=”https://twitter.com/KauligRacing/status/1745913543319302171?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>January 12, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Kaulig also named Frank Deiny Jr. to handle double duty in the team’s announcement. Deiny, who formerly spotted for Allmendinger, will spot for Xfinity Series rookie and Chicago Street Course Cup Series winner Shane van Gisbergen in the No. 97 Chevrolet, as well as Daniel Hemric’s No. 31 Chevy in the Cup Series.
Additionally, Joe White will handle spotting duties for Josh Williams as he pilots the No. 11 Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series, Williams’ first season with the team. White will also be in the spotters’ stand for the No. 16 Cup Series car throughout 2024, which Allmendinger will pilot in the Daytona 500 and select other Cup races this season. White previousspotted for Chase Briscoe at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2021.
Kyle Larson’s return to the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Thursday night did not go as planned.
The driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series hoped to punch his ticket to Saturday’s championship feature. Instead, he flipped twice in the No. 98 midget car fielded by Keith Kunz Motorsports, with his second flip — during Thursday’s preliminary feature — ending his hopes of qualifying for Saturday’s Chili Bowl finale.
Larson opened the night with a difficult performance in his heat race, where he started fifth. He first narrowly avoided a flipping car down the backstretch early in the race. Unfortunately, that was where Larson’s luck ended.
When the race resumed, Larson went to work trying to pass Chili Bowl rookie Christopher Townsend, but the two made contact in Turns 1-2, and they both flipped.
Larson was able to continue and finish the race fifth, but that result wasn’t good enough to secure Larson a spot in a qualifier.
(Photo: Noah Watts/FloRacing)
Instead, Larson was relegated to the front row of a C Main, which he promptly won to advance to a B Main. He then drove from 13th to second in the B Main, which earned him the 20th starting position in the 30-lap preliminary feature.
“It’s hard. When you’re in traffic you can’t really like air it out, and your car doesn’t operate right,” Larson told FloRacing after his runner-up finish in the B Main. “We’ll do what we can and try to make the most of the night.”
Progress was slow for Larson during the 30-lap feature. He was only able to move up five positions by the halfway point to 15th, and he was 13th with 10 laps left.
With six laps left, Larson had moved up to 11th and was challenging for 10th when everything fell apart. Coming out of Turn 4 Larson clipped the outside wall with his right-rear tire, which sent his car into a spin and subsequent flip down the frontstretch.
Larson was uninjured in his second incident of the evening, but that crash and subsequent last-place finish ended any hope he had of qualifying for the 55-lap championship feature Saturday night.
With his Chili Bowl adventure now over, Larson will return to Vado, New Mexico to continue competing in the Wild West Shootout dirt super late model event Friday through Sunday at Vado Speedway Park. In three starts so far during the Wild West Shootout, Larson has finished fifth, fourth and 24th.
Connor Zilisch, a rising racing talent at 17 years old, has signed a multi-year agreement with Trackhouse Racing, the team announced Thursday.
Zilisch has extensive racing experience in Trans Am and karting and now begins the path toward stock-car racing development. As part of the agreement, Zilisch’s development program will include select CARS Tour, ARCA Menards Series, Trans Am and IMSA races as well as NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series starts in 2024 and 2025, according to the press release.
“This is a dream come true,” Zilisch said in the release. “I can’t thank Justin (Marks, team founder and owner) and everyone at Trackhouse Racing enough for giving me this opportunity. It has been a pleasure to spend the last two years racing with Chevrolet and I am thrilled to extend that relationship. I have a lot to learn, but I don’t think there is a better place for me to learn than with Trackhouse Racing.”
Road courses are where Zilisch has typically shined, thanks in part to 10 years spent karting, including a European stint at just 11 years old, according to the release. That expertise at a young age propelled him to the top prize of the Mazda MX-5 Cup scholarship in 2021, winning 2022 Rookie of the Year honors along with a runner-up showing in standings before winning four races a season ago.
The Mooresville, North Carolina native made his ARCA debut at Watkins Glen International in 2023, starting second and leading 34 of 42 laps before eventual series champion Jesse Love passed Zilisch for the lead in the final corner in wet conditions.
“I have watched Connor grow from a youngster racing go-karts at the Trackhouse Motorplex to an up-close seat as he beat all of us in the Trans-Am race at VIR (Virginia International Raceway) a few months ago,” Marks said in the release. “This kid is an amazing talent who we wanted to be a part of the Trackhouse family. We are going to go slow with Connor and make sure he’s fully prepared as he advances in what we believe will be a long racing career.”
Zilisch’s season is slated to get underway on Jan. 26 with the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In Trans Am action, Zilisch won five of 13 starts in TA2. The dominant performance he had at VIR against Marks and others marked Zilisch the youngest driver to win a Trans Am race in his first start in the class as well as the first to win races in two different classes in the same weekend.
Additionally, Zilisch was victorious in the CARS Pro Late Model Tour race at Ace Speedway back in May while driving for Rackley W.A.R. Racing. Marks, along with former NASCAR Cup Series stars Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick, co-owns the CARS Tour.
See when points will be paid out to the top 10 for each race of the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series slates below. The lap number listed indicates the lap number on which the stage ends.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 11, 2024) —The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series will see significant changes to both its 18-event schedule and race formats for 2024, NASCAR and iRacing announced today.
With new tracks, new race formats for short tracks and road courses and regular season stages with cash and points bonuses, the new campaign is set to be one of the most unique and innovative in series history. Races will also start an hour earlier than previous seasons, going green at 8 p.m. ET.
“The eNASCAR Coca-Cola Series has been at the forefront of sim racing innovation for the past 15 years. With NASCAR and iRacing’s continued dedication, we’re injecting fresh excitement and innovation into the series,” said Ray Smith, NASCAR director of gaming and esports. “The 2024 schedule updates, new race formats and improved league infrastructure demonstrate our unwavering commitment to offering the pinnacle of sim racing experiences.”
The 2024 campaign will be broken up into three distinct regular season stages, followed by the traditional four-race playoffs. The top point scorer in each regular season stage will receive a $3,000 bonus and five additional bonus points for the playoffs. As in past seasons, 10 drivers qualify for the playoffs by either winning a race or scoring the most points in the regular season, and four of those drivers will qualify for a shot at the championship in the season finale.
While Stage 1 of the regular season starts with the traditional opener at Daytona International Speedway, the other two stages will kick off with the series debuts of Brands Hatch Circuit and Iowa Speedway in April and June, respectively.
Road-course races like Brands Hatch will feature a new sprint and feature race format, while short tracks like Iowa will start with a pair of heat races to set the grid for the feature. The preseason Clash on Jan. 30 will implement the heat formula, too, as it returns to Daytona for the first time since 2021.
The playoffs will kick off Aug. 13 at Michigan International Speedway, followed by visits to Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway to set the Championship 4 for the Oct. 1 series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Other highlights include the return of fixed setup races to the schedule for 2024, with Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 12, Talladega Superspeedway on April 30, and the Chicago Street Course on July 2 serving as the three selections. In these three races, all drivers will run the same vehicle setup, placing a premium on driver skill and adaptability to an equal playing field. Darlington Raceway will serve as the annual Throwback race once again on May 28.
“The 2024 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series calendar will be one of the most innovative seasons in series history,” said iRacing President Tony Gardner. “We’ve introduced new tracks, race formats, regular season bonuses and much more to breathe fresh air into our longest-tenured professional esports series. These changes, along with many new faces coming in, should inject some fresh excitement into what has already been a terrific series for more than a decade. We can’t wait to drop the green flag on the new season!”
Full 2024 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series Schedule:
Round
Stage
Date
Track
Notes
--
--
Jan. 30
Daytona International Speedway (Clash exhibition)
Fixed setup, heats
1
1
Feb. 13
Daytona International Speedway
2
1
Feb. 27
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
3
1
March 12
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Fixed setup
4
1
March 26
Richmond Raceway
Heats
5
2
April 9
Brands Hatch Circuit
Sprint/feature
6
2
April 23
Dover Motor Speedway
7
2
April 30
Talladega Superspeedway
Fixed setup
8
2
May 14
Charlotte Motor Speedway
9
2
May 28
Darlington Raceway
10
3
June 11
Iowa Speedway
Heats
11
3
June 25
Nashville Superspeedway
12
3
July 2
Chicago Street Course
Fixed setup/sprint feature
13
3
July 16
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
14
3
July 30
Pocono Raceway
15
--
Aug. 13
Michigan International Speedway
Playoff race
16
--
Aug. 27
Texas Motor Speedway
Playoff race
17
--
Sept. 10
Phoenix Raceway
Playoff race
18
--
Oct. 1
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Championship race
Coca-Cola iRacing Series broadcasts will stream live on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on eNASCAR.com/live and across iRacing social media channels. For more information on the eNASCARCoca-Cola iRacing Series, visit eNASCAR.com or iRacing.com/eNASCAR. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit iRacing.com.
Legacy Motor Club announced Thursday morning a multi-year agreement with Dollar Tree, Inc. for all three of its NASCAR Cup Series entries.
Dollar Tree and Family Dollar will be on track in all 38 races of the 2024 NASCAR season, seeing select races with full-time competitors in No. 42 driver John Hunter Nemechek and No. 43 driver Erik Jones. Both brands will also adorn the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE of NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson at Dover Motor Speedway (April 28), Kansas Speedway (Sept. 29) and Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Oct. 20). The sponsorship spans both of the marquee brands, creating significant visibility with customers and associates in the company’s 16,000-plus stores.
“What an exciting time for Legacy M.C. to team up with Dollar Tree and Family Dollar,” said Johnson in a team release. “We look forward to creating extensive visibility for these two iconic and beloved brands where we have so many fans in common.”
Both Dollar Tree and Family Dollar will be present on the team’s cars for the preseason The Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 4.
“We are thrilled to sponsor Legacy Motor Club and spotlight our brands to fans of the exhilarating and high-octane sport of NASCAR,” said Rick McNeely, chief merchandising officer for Dollar Tree. “Watching Dollar Tree and Family Dollar take off into one of the most-watched sports in the country is a great start to the year.”
Family Dollar’s Chief Merchandising Officer Larry Gatta added, “We have an incredible opportunity to reach our existing customers, and with this sponsorship an even greater platform to attract new shoppers to Dollar Tree and Family Dollar — which is exciting for our vendor partners and associates.”
Chili Bowl results are rolling in on a nightly basis now that the 2024 edition of the Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma are underway.
The Chili Bowl preliminary night action began Monday and runs through Friday before Saturday’s championship day, complete with the annual alphabet soup and the title-awarding A-Main. Chili Bowl results throughout the week will set the stage for Saturday’s marathon of midget car racing.
Each preliminary night at the Chili Bowl features heat races, qualifiers, C-Features, B-Features and an A-Feature.
As for the Saturday night main event, the top two finishers in each preliminary night A-Feature lock into the big race. The lineup for the top 10 cars in the A-Feature will be determined through the Chili Bowl Pole Dash. The five A-Feature winners will draw 1-5, followed by the five drivers who finished second drawing 6-10 to seed the Pole Dash.
Seven drivers will advance from each B main to the A for a total of 24 cars with provisionals set aside for the defending Chili Bowl champion and previous year’s Race of Champions winner should he or she not transfer.
Below are the complete 2024 Chili Bowl results from the SageNet Center in Tulsa.
