In just his second season, Tyler Rycenga adds his name to Berlin Raceway history

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Cara Cooper

In the words of Tyler Rycenga, his 2023 season racing at Michigan’s Berlin Raceway was “a big year filled with a lot of exciting moments — and a lot of wins.”

In just his second full year of racing, Rycenga scored nine victories and 20 top-five finishes in 22 races on the way to a championship in Berlin’s Limited Late Model division. The highlight of his season came Aug. 3, when he won a race on the same night the Superstar Racing Series visited the NASCAR Home Track in Marne, Michigan.

“I would say the biggest win of my career was the night Berlin had SRX there,” Rycenga said. “It was definitely a night to remember. The place was packed, and there were a lot of people there.

“Just to win against the caliber of teams and drivers that we have in our division, to top it off you’re racing in front of a lot of Cup Series and high-profile NASCAR and IndyCar drivers, F1 drivers, Hall of Fame drivers. It was a really cool experience, for sure.”

By that point in the summer, Rycenga had the track championship almost in the bag.

He rolled to victory, winning the title by 162 points. All he had to do on championship night was take one lap, but he still made sure in the final race to put a cherry on top of a dream season.

“With about two weeks to go we had a pretty good idea that all we had to do was show up and qualify our way in,” Rycenga said of championship night. “Then it didn’t really matter what happened in the feature. From there we had a good qualifying effort. We qualified third, and then we started the feature sixth or seventh, and we all ended up winning the feature.

“It was definitely an exciting night that capped everything off, and it was nothing better than having a good qualifying effort, and then winning the race and the championship on the same night.”

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Rycenga chalked up his success to the team improvements in qualifying and getting more consistent finishes than in years past. He credited his team — Brian Campbell, Henry Fellows, Henry Rosendahl and his father-in-law Mike Bursley — as well as other family and friends who were there along the way.

It was those same team members who got Rycenga into racing at Berlin in the first place. He grew up around the sport, racing go-karts as a kid and Legends cars as a teenager, and started helping Campbell on his pit crew in 2012.

Nine years later, the team was building a new car, and it was decided Rycenga would drive it.

“I think I blame it on them,” Rycenga said with a laugh. “ We all kind of joke about it now.”

While racing half the season in 2021, Rycenga won six of the seven races he entered.

“We didn’t really know what we were, didn’t really have high expectations, didn’t really know where we were going to stack up, but right out the gate we came out and we were pretty dominant,” he said. “I attribute it all to the racing team that helps me out, Lakeshore Motorsports. Honestly, if it weren’t for those guys, I’d be nowhere.”

From the get-go this season, Rycenga had a lot of confidence in his car, his team and himself. That doesn’t mean the racing was easy.

He acknowledged there are always variables and risks every time the green flag waves. Plus, there was a lot of competition with a lot more time on the track than him.

“There’s just a lot of great competition and a lot of guys,” Rycenga said. “We added up the years of racing experience… and it was over 200 years of experience that we had split between three or four competitors that we’re racing against each and every week, so there’s a lot of guys that have a lot of laps and a lot of time in a race car at Berlin. It makes each and every night exciting.”

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Next season will bring its own set of challenges for Rycenga. The team sold the championship-winning car and is in the process of building a new one. He’ll move up to Berlin’s Pro Late Model division, where he’ll race against Campbell, who won the track title last season.

Even though he was hesitant to race against his longtime friend, he’s excited to have a teammate in the series to share notes and work alongside.

“We’re a team, and we’re going to go about the right way,” Rycenga said. “I’m super excited to have a new challenge and a new change of scenery and new competitors and see what’s where we stack up.”

Even though he’s only been racing at Berlin since 2021, Rycenga is well aware of what a championship at the historic track means.

“There’s just a lot of history and a lot of well-known drivers have come up through the ranks, and it all started for them at Berlin,” he said. “Johnny Benson, the Sennekers, a lot of Cup drivers have been there. And Kyle Busch has won a lot of races at Berlin. Yeah, it means a lot.”

Rycenga gave thanks to his sponsors: Fifth Wheel Freight, Mike Bursley with the Mark Deering team and Remax, NAPA Auto Parts of Holland, Michigan, CJ’s Coatings and Sealants, and Lakeshore Concrete Solutions for their support.

Posted on January 19, 2024January 19, 2024 by Holly Cain

Janet Guthrie still looks back at her pioneering days competing in 1970s NASCAR as filled with worthy challenges and high achievements – the off-track lessons every bit as usable as the on-track learning experience. She competed against NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Bill Elliott and the late Cale Yarborough and Dale Earnhardt. And she literally created history everywhere she went.

On Friday night, Guthrie will again be recognized with a select few of those former competitors at the NASCAR Hall of Fame where she will be formally honored as the 2024 Landmark Award winner – an esteemed acknowledgement voted on annually for someone who provided “significant contributions to the growth and esteem of NASCAR.”

MORE: Celebrate the 2024 Hall of Fame class | Hall of Fame induction weekend info

The 85-year-old Guthrie was the first woman to compete in the Daytona 500 — and also in the Indianapolis 500. Her 33 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series are most among her starts in a national racing series. She had five top-10 finishes with a best of sixth place at Bristol Motor Speedway in 1977 – a high mark still nearly five decades later for a female competitor in the modern era. Danica Patrick equaled the finish in 2014 at Atlanta.

Guthrie placed 12th in her ground-breaking 1977 Daytona 500 debut and 11th in her only other Daytona 500 start in 1980, proving herself absolutely up for the challenge on the sport’s biggest stage. And she did it in far less capable equipment compared to her competitors.

“For pure, flat-out enjoyment there was nothing like NASCAR,’’ Guthrie recalled last week. “I really did love it very much and I most particularly wish I had been able to continue longer because I had run NASCAR enough – just 33 races – but led a race, run with the leaders on several occasions and I was absolutely certain I was going to win races.

“I really, really enjoyed it.’’

That’s not to say Guthrie’s path was not without hard work and a strong will, however. Finding an owner to field a car, finding sponsorship for a relative unknown driver – let alone a woman – finding a capable crew willing to work with a new driver … all were things that Guthrie needed. And ironically, Guthrie says her best help to race in NASCAR came from a NASCAR legend who had competed in the Indianapolis 500 like herself: Cale Yarborough.

A mutual friend in the industry suggested to Guthrie that she speak with Yarborough before her first NASCAR start in the 1976 World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Yarborough, who was driving for fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson at the time, “checked out” the No. 68 Chevrolet that Guthrie was to drive.

“Cale did check it out and he had only gone maybe a second faster than I had or something like that,’’ Guthrie recalled. “And he and Junior Johnson had some words, Cale driving for Junior at the time, and Junior turned to [crew chief] Herb Nab and said, ‘give ‘em the setup.’ And that made all the difference in the world.

“It was a huge gift which I perfectly appreciated at the time. So, they changed the setup according to what Junior told them and suddenly I had a driveable car on my hands. So that was how I came to qualify right behind Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott.’’

Another star driver was also kind to Guthrie that Memorial Day weekend: Donnie Allison, who coincidentally will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame this weekend too.

“Donnie Allison gave me a few tips at that very first race that were in fact quite helpful,’’ Guthrie recalled. “And there were others subsequently. But I soon learned not to credit anybody who had given me a hand because all the other drivers would give them a hard time.

“But it was great to find the attitudes eventually change.’’

Of note, Guthrie would go on to finish 15th in her debut — ahead of the future NASCAR Hall of Famers Earnhardt (31st) and Elliott (23rd). And she would later become the first woman to lead a lap in NASCAR Cup Series competition (five laps in the 1977 race at Ontario Motor Speedway).

Guthrie has always seen her success and dedication as a result of hard work and an uncommon will. She did not necessarily set out to break gender barriers, but rather to simply achieve her own dreams. And her background shows as much.

She has a degree in Physics from the University of Michigan and earned her pilot’s license at the age of 17. She used that physics background as an engineer after college working on the Project Apollo program and then applied and passed the first selection round for a scientist-astronaut seat in the space program itself in 1964.

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Before NASCAR, Guthrie was the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 (1976) and she competed three times in the race with a best finish of ninth in 1978 — driving with a broken wrist. One of her helmets and fire suits hangs in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

“Being the first in anything is tough but necessary because it shows what’s possible when it would appear to not be possible,’’ said Lyn St. James, who in 1992 became the first woman to win Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors and is a two-time class winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series’ Rolex 24 herself.

“The 1970s was a time of change for women in every aspect of society. Janet was part of that change and defied the odds and options to show that women were capable to compete at the highest levels of motorsports. Fortunately, there now are women competing at all levels and areas of motorsports who thank her and celebrate with her.”

Having extraordinary talent and drive are certainly musts for a driver to succeed in the sport’s highest ranks. But in Guthrie’s case, courage and perseverance were equally as important. Not only did she have to prove herself on the track, she had to overcome stereotypes and frequent ill will that tried to keep her from the track.

“I was absolutely astonished at the commotion I caused back then,’’ Guthrie said with a laugh. “I had been working and playing in men’s fields all my life and so I was a woman, so what?”

“Not everybody felt that way though.

“I knew at the time, if I screwed up,’’ she continued, “it would be a long time before another woman got a chance. But the main thing on my mind was just not to screw up. The fact I was making it easier for other women was something really that was forced upon me. The first clue I had was probably at Indianapolis when people would come up to me and say, ‘do you know what’s going on in your wake?’ and tell business stories, which I figured were an example. So eventually I came to recognize it as a responsibility.’’

It was a responsibility well-served and now, well-appreciated. She has been inducted into eight halls of fame — primarily motorsports related — but this NASCAR Hall of Fame honor is something she says is very special to her.

“I was surprised and delighted at this one,’’ Guthrie said.

“Most of those guys had never driven against a woman and they were sure they weren’t going to like it,’’ she added. “But once they figured out that I knew what I was doing and was a courteous driver and could give them some good competition, things calmed down tremendously. And that was one of my biggest pleasures to see that happen. As far as I was concerned, I was just another driver and being a woman made no difference whatsoever.’’

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Brandon White

Last year, eventual ARCA Menards Series West champion Sean Hingorani nearly kicked off an incredible season with a crown jewel Super Late Model victory.

The most recent Chilly Willy at Arizona’s Tucson Speedway saw Hingorani line up on the outside of the front row in his debut appearance. He conserved his equipment well enough for the closing stages but ended up settling for third behind race winner Preston Peltier.

More experience — plus having 2022 Snowball Derby winner Derek Thorn as his car owner once again — is providing Hingorani plenty of confidence around his second attempt at the Chilly Willy 150 on Sunday.

“I’m feeling good going into this Chilly Willy,” Hingorani said. “We had a really strong race car last year, and I think if we played our strategy a little different, we would have had the best race car, especially at the end. All these guys have been working hard in the shop for the past month busting their tails getting this car ready, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity.”

Consistency against a group of talented Super Late Model competitors at Tucson set the tone for Hingorani’s maiden full-time campaign in the West Series. After struggling in his first race with Venturini Motorsports at Phoenix Raceway, Hingorani knocked off two separate two-race win streaks to cement himself as the title favorite during the summer.

By the time he returned to Phoenix in November, all Hingorani needed was to finish 25^th or better to deliver Venturini the team’s first West Series title.

Four wins for Sean Hingorani in his rookie ARCA Menards Series West season propelled him to the title. (Photo: Alika Jenner/ARCA Racing)

Reaching that milestone did not come without its fair share of adversity for Hingorani. Whenever he had to endure a bad race, Hingorani remembered to keep his head down and power through the lows so he could keep refining himself on-track.

Hingorani obtained that perseverance from Thorn, whose accomplishments outside of the Snowball Derby include two West Series titles back in 2013 and 2018.

As he progressed through 2023, Hingorani regularly leaned on Thorn’s advice when it came to saving tires and navigating each track on the schedule. That guidance from Thorn was crucial for Hingorani to maintain composure and close out the West Series title with Venturini.

“I’ve worked with Derek for a little while now,” Hingorani said. “He’s been a great help for my racing career as a whole. He came to ARCA races with me as my driver coach and has bent over backwards for me. I learned so much from him, and he’s such a knowledgeable person at a lot of different tracks. He’s so great to work with.”

Thorn was impressed with the way Hingorani handled himself during their first Super Late Model venture together in last year’s Chilly Willy, commending the driver’s diligence when it came to figuring out what his car needed each day they were at Tucson.

The characteristics Hingorani possesses not only have Thorn confident in his ability to grab a Chilly Willy victory this year, but also one day excel at the top levels of NASCAR.

“Sean is an extremely talented driver,” Thorn said. “He’s only been racing a few years, but he has the natural gift. His ability to get behind the wheel of a car at a new race track, adjust and find that raw speed is really amazing to watch. He has the ability, feedback and knowledge, so it’s up to us to give him a good car.

“You can grow a program around a driver like that.”

Sean Hingorani seeks to win the Chilly Willy at Tucson Speedway in only his second appearance. (Photo: Lachlan Cunningham/ARCA Racing)

Both Thorn and Hingorani have plenty of notes to look over going into the 11^th running of the Chilly Willy. Thorn raced at Tucson on four separate occasions during his career, which includes a pair of top-three finishes in a West Series doubleheader back in 2018.

When he turned his first laps in a Super Late Model at Tucson last February, Hingorani was surprised at how grating the track was on tires. He added the fight for the Chilly Willy victory is going to be settled between drivers who were the most conservative during the first half of the race.

“The main difference [with Tucson] is how much tire saving there is compared to any track out west that we go to,” Hingorani said. “You don’t have to save tires, but if you want to be competitive, you definitely need to do your fair share of saving.

“There’s a lot of strategy with Tucson, and the best car doesn’t always win.”

With nearly 30 cars on the preliminary Chilly Willy entry list, Hingorani knows it will be tough to find an ideal balance between being conservative and aggressive. Although Peltier is not among those expected at Tucson, there are still plenty of talented names chasing a Chilly Willy victory like defending runner-up Kole Raz and 2019 winner Michael Scott.

Thorn admitted he held Hingorani back too long during last year’s main event while waiting for a late-race caution that never came. While he intends to play the strategy safe like in 2023, Thorn stressed the importance of consistency during each part of the three-day event.

“We need to be smart,” Thorn said. “When you go to these races that are multiple days, you have to take it one day at a time. Execute each day appropriately while hoping track position and tires are in your favor [in the main event]. Sean is going to do an amazing job behind the wheel, so hopefully we can keep up with the track and make the car as good as possible.”

Hingorani echoed Thorn’s sentiments about being efficient through the entire weekend. He is confident the No. 13 prepared by Thorn will be strong enough to win the preliminaries on Friday and Saturday, which in turn would set up Hingorani perfectly for Sunday’s main event.

Running the table will require constant adjustments on Hingorani’s car to adapt to different race lengths and track conditions, but he is ready to commit himself and start off another busy year with one of the biggest wins of his career.

“It would mean a lot [to win the Chilly Willy],” Hingorani said. “A lot of good drivers are going to be there. Winning would show the talent and skill we have, so we’re hoping to bring home $15,000.”

Hingorani’s pursuit of a Chilly Willy trophy starts with two straight nights of qualifying and 50-lap preliminaries. These will help set the starting grid for the 150-lap main event, which is set to conclude a full day of racing that begins at 1 p.m. MT/3 p.m. MT on Sunday afternoon.

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Adam Fenwick

The Goodie Motorsports No. 58 Modified will be at every NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event in 2024, just not always with Eric Goodale at the wheel.

The team, owned by Goodale’s father Edgar Goodale, will chase the Modified Tour owner’s championship this season with Eric sharing the No. 58 with his cousin, nine-time series race winner Timmy Solomito.

“My dad has been fielding a car on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for 16 or 17 years back to when my brother raced on the Tour,” Eric Goodale said. “He’s got a lot invested in it, and I know he’s always wanted a championship.”

The decision to split driving time in the No. 58 so the team could chase the owner’s championship comes one year after Goodale decided to step away from full-time competition on the Modified Tour for the first time since 2008.

That decision had everything to do with his children.

“Two years ago, I kind of realized as I was getting older; I have young kids, and they play a ton of sports,” Goodale said. “I love being involved with all of them. I coach their tee ball; I coach them in football. My oldest son Mason raced last year for the first time, and I knew my time was going to be short.

“So I made the decision that this is going to be my last year (2022) that I can really fully commit to running a full Tour schedule, and we came down to the last race, the last lap of that race with the ability to win a championship, and we came up a few points short.”

Eric Goodale in action during the Miller Lite Salutes Mike Ewanitsko 200 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at New York’s Riverhead Raceway on June 24, 2023. (Photo: Dakota Moyer/NASCAR)

That defeat in 2022, which saw Goodale finish just nine points shy of the series championship, left a bitter taste in not just his mouth, but his father’s, as well.

After talking it over, they decided to take a different approach at winning a championship. Instead of chasing the driver’s championship, they would chase the owner’s championship much like Tommy Baldwin Racing successfully did in 2022.

“Last year was the first year I’d missed Tour races in 12 or so years,” Goodale said. “I think it left a little hole in my dad. He wanted to have one more opportunity to do it. I’m just unable to do it with my job and my kids’ sports, so we decided figure out if there was somebody that I would be OK with putting in the car.”

They didn’t have to look far for an answer. In fact, they didn’t even have to look outside the family.

Solomito, a veteran of 125 series starts, was the obvious choice to share the No. 58 GAF Roofing/Riverhead Building Supply Modified with Goodale.

For Solomito, the chance to drive the No. 58 for Goodie Motorsports came as one big surprise.

“It came kind of as a shock to me,” Solomito said. “I started a business a couple of years ago and kind of stepped away from the Tour. I haven’t really run full-time much anywhere. My uncle, Edgar, texted me and said, ‘Hey, next time you’re in Riverhead, stop by. I need to talk to you.’

“I went down to Riverhead Building Supply that they own and sat down with Eric. I knew something was up when I turned the corner and my aunt was there. It kind of caught me off guard.

“Exciting, obviously, for me. They have a really good team, and Jason Shepherd, the crew chief, and the guys on the team take it seriously.”

Timmy Solomito awaits the start of practice for the Miller Lite Salutes Mike Ewanitsko 200 for the Whelen Modified Tour at New York’s Riverhead Raceway on June 24, 2023. (Photo: Dakota Moyer/NASCAR)

Solomito was a regular on the Modified Tour for six seasons from 2014-19, winning nine races and finishing second in the series standings in 2017 while driving for Flamingo Motorsports.

He stepped away from full-time competition in 2020 but has continued to run a partial schedule with the series each year, including three races last year at Riverhead Raceway, his home track.

Now he’ll be a more regular fixture with the series as he and Goodale try to win an owner’s championship in the No. 58.

“I haven’t had too many opportunities since Flamingo Motorsports a couple of years back,” Solomito said. “I’m looking forward to getting to the race track with these guys, and hopefully we’ve got some speed and we can have some fun.

“I’m sure it’ll take me a little bit of time to get acclimated with everything and get up to speed. The ultimate goal is to run up front and to win. That’s what we hope for.

“It’s exciting for me. I stepped away to start my business, and I’ve been fortunate enough that it’s been very busy, but this gives me an opportunity.”

While the driving schedule hasn’t been set, Goodale said the races he expects to miss in 2024 are at tracks where Solomito has excelled in the past.

“The races that I’m unable to do are at tracks that he is actually very good at,” Goodale said. “I can’t do the Monadnock races. I can’t do the Oswego race, and I can’t do the Lancaster race. I don’t know if he’s won at Oswego, but he’s run well there. He’s won at Monadnock. I’m still up in the air about Seekonk, but he’s won races there, as well.”

To kick off the season, Goodale will pilot the No. 58 when the Modified Tour heads to Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway for the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 on Feb. 10.

From there, it’ll be full speed ahead for Goodale and Solomito as they look to bring the Modified Tour owner’s championship back to Long Island for Edgar Goodale.

“It would be freaking awesome to go out there to secure a championship for him,” Goodale said. “He does put a lot of time and effort into my racing program. I would like to see it pay off. I know it would be extra special for him.”

Posted on January 18, 2024January 19, 2024 by Alex Cadavid

NASCAR will hold its annual Hall of Fame ceremony this Friday, where Donnie Allison and Jimmie Johnson, along with crew chief Chad Knaus, will be inducted. Janet Guthrie will also be honored as the 2024 recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions. With so many great memories amongst these legends, NASCAR.com decided to dig out some classic races for each person being honored at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Ken Martin and Seth Sharp contributed to this report.

Donnie Allison

1969 National 500 at Charlotte
Allison’s second career victory was nearly a four-hour-long race that was action-packed with nine cautions at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Allison, who qualified third, would go on to lead a race-high 161 circuits around the track. He also earned bragging rights over his older brother, Bobby Allison, who finished 16 seconds behind him in second place.

1970 Firecracker 400 at Daytona
Allison’s first win at Daytona International Speedway came in dramatic fashion. Driving with a borrowed engine, Allison wheeled his way to Victory Lane after his teammate David Pearson blew a tire with under 10 laps to go. Allison put on a show for a then-record-breaking crowd of 57,500 fans to claim his fifth career win.

1979 Daytona 500 at Daytona
The 21st running of the Daytona is regarded as one of the most important races in NASCAR history. It was the first 500-mile race broadcasted in its entirety, and with Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough fighting for the win on the last lap, the two wrecked each other, leading to a fight that launched stock car racing to new heights.

Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus

2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 at Fontana
The first win that would spark a magical run between Johnson and Knaus, who would go on to etch their names into the upper echelon of motorsport greatness. Not only was it the duo’s first race win together, but it was also the 10th race of Johnson’s rookie season, and he managed to outduel seasoned veterans Kurt Busch, Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott to the checkered flag.

2006 Ford 400 at Homestead
While it might be difficult for Johnson to pick his favorite championship, there’s nothing sweeter than your first. In a title race where five drivers could mathematically win the championship, the season finale was set to produce sparks. While he may not have won the race, Johnson’s ninth-place finish was enough to capture the 2006 championship, the first of seven that he and Knaus would win together.

2011 Aaron’s 500 at Talladega
A three-wide thriller finish that was one for the ages. A hair-raising race with drafting duos all over the track, culminated with a pack of eight cars spreading out across the track, shooting out of the final turn and crossing the finishing line in a blink. Johnson claimed the narrow victory by 0.002 seconds, which is tied for the closest finish in Cup Series history.

2016 Ford Ecoboost 400 at Homestead
In a race that was tense from start to finish, it left fans on the edge of their seat as the witnessed history in the making. In an attempt to tie Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for career championships, Johnson didn’t even look like a favorite to win the title with where he was running in comparison to three other championship contenders for the majority of the race. But with cautions breeding more cautions down the stretch, all Johnson needed was three laps to take the crown and become a seven-time champion.

SHOP: Celebrate the 2024 Hall of Fame class

Janet Guthrie

1977 Daytona 500 at Daytona
Guthrie became the first female driver to qualify and compete in the Daytona 500. She started 39th and cruised her way to finish an impressive 12th in a 42-car field. The unprecedented accomplishment led to Guthrie breaking another barrier three months later when she became the first woman to qualify and race in the Indianapolis 500.

Posted on January 18, 2024January 23, 2024 by Chris Murdock

Editor’s Note: Today’s Wood Brothers Racing preview continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the 2024 Cup Series season, ranked in reverse order of best finish in last year’s owner standings.

Wood Brothers Racing

Manufacturer: Ford
Engine: Roush-Yates Engines
Driver-crew chief pairings: Harrison Burton-Jeremy Bullins

Team outlook: As it heads into the third season with driver Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing hopes to improve its performance significantly in 2024. With their alliance team, Team Penske, having won back-to-back series championships and Wood Brothers ranking 31st in the final standings, all eyes will be on Wood Brothers to return to Victory Lane for the first time since 2017. That moment saw Ryan Blaney, now the defending series champion heading into 2024, secure the team’s 99th win.

Harrison Burton, No. 21 Ford
Experience: Two full-time seasons in the Cup Series
2023 stats: 2 top 10s, 25 laps led
2024 championship odds (DraftKings): 600-1

Outlook: Harrison Burton’s Cup Series career had an upside-down start, literally, with the 23-year-old ending his first Daytona 500 by flipping through the air before landing back on his wheels. Now, entering his third season as the driver of the No. 21 for Wood Brothers Racing, he’ll be looking to take a right-side-up approach to the 2024 campaign. He has certainly shown flashes of success with a total of four top 10s and one top-five finish in his previous two seasons — in addition to a fruitful, four-win Xfinity Series campaign in 2020 — but has not shown much for consistency yet at the Cup level.

Stringing together strong results will be the key and the mark of improvement for Burton in the new year. With his Ford-affiliated counterparts at Team Penske each scoring victories — and the only two championships in the Next Gen era — in the same time Harrison has been a Cup Series mainstay, many are looking to the Huntersville, North Carolina native to be the next Ford driver to make it to Victory Lane. Perhaps a spot in the Cup Series Playoffs, too, is in order if everything goes according to plan.

NASCAR.com 2024 team previews schedule

Jan. 15: Legacy Motor Club
Jan. 16: Spire Motorsports
Jan. 17: Kaulig Racing
Jan. 18: Wood Brothers Racing
Jan. 22: Rick Ware Racing
Jan. 23: Richard Childress Racing
Jan. 24: Stewart-Haas Racing
Jan. 25: Front Row Motorsports
Jan. 26: JTG Daugherty Racing
Jan. 29: Trackhouse Racing
Jan. 30: RFK Racing
Feb. 6: 23XI Racing
Feb. 7: Joe Gibbs Racing
Feb. 8: Hendrick Motorsports
Feb. 9: Team Penske

Posted on January 18, 2024January 19, 2024 by Cameron Richardson

Anytime Jimmie Johnson’s stats surface, the first accolade usually shown is the seven Cup Series championships that tie for most all-time alongside Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

It’s the obvious primary number to display in front of the sports world, but Johnson’s illustrious career is far more than his championships.

Racing alongside fellow NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for over a decade, Johnson was the best of the bunch by a wide margin. Between Johnson’s first full-time season in the Cup Series in 2002 and 2017, the year the 48-year-old won his last Cup race, no one could touch the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and the dynamic duo of Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus. Both Johnson and Knaus will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday night.

Driver	Wins	Top fives	Top 10s
Jimmie Johnson	83	218	341
Matt Kenseth	38	172	305
Jeff Gordon	35	178	287
Tony Stewart	37	148	242
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	21	137	239

Gordon’s 81 career poles rank third all-time in the Cup Series behind just Petty and David Pearson, and Gordon turned those front-row starts into victories 20 times (24.7 %). Johnson only tallied 36 pole awards in his career but took the No. 48 to Victory Lane from the top spot 15 times for a blistering 41.7% mark.

Stewart, Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr. all fall well below Johnson in that category, as Kenseth won four times from 20 pole positions (20%), Stewart won just twice from 15 poles (13.3%) and Dale Jr. never won a Cup race from his 15 times as polesitter.

SHOP: Celebrate the 2024 Hall of Fame class

During that 2002-2017 span, Johnson won multiple races in every season. Gordon, Stewart and Kenseth each only had one victory in three different seasons in that time, while Earnhardt Jr. had four seasons with a single trip to the winner’s circle. All four had winless seasons in this era as well, with Gordon’s coming in 2008 and 2010, Stewart in 2014 and 2015, Kenseth in 2008, 2010 and 2014, and Earnhardt Jr. in 2007, 2009-2011, 2013 and 2017.

The era of Johnson’s dominance saw him compete against nine Hall of Famers altogether as Rusty Wallace, Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte and Mark Martin challenged the seven-time champ on a weekly basis in his career.

No one questioned Johnson’s worthiness of a spot in the Hall of Fame, and the numbers corroborate how great driver No. 48 truly was to earn him a spot in NASCAR’s pantheon.

Posted on January 17, 2024January 19, 2024 by Staff Report

Three NASCAR legends will be inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame on Friday evening at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina. Among the remarkable list of nominees for the 2024 class, drivers Jimmie Johnson and Donnie Allison will be enshrined alongside crew chief Chad Knaus.

Joining them is Janet Guthrie, who will be honored with the Landmark Award for outstanding contributions to the growth and esteem of NASCAR.

Here is everything you need to know about the drivers and 2024 ceremony, including broadcast and ticket information.

WATCH: Hall of Fame red carpet live stream

NEW INDUCTEES

• Jimmie Johnson: Johnson spent 19 seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series. He joined rarified air in 2016, becoming a seven-time champion alongside Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty. Johnson is also the only driver to win five consecutive championships from 2006-2010. He amassed 83 victories in his career, which is tied for sixth on the all-time wins list alongside Cale Yarborough. Johnson was named to NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers list in 2023. | More on Johnson

• Donnie Allison: A member of the famed “Alabama Gang,” Allison has been an ambassador of the sport for over 50 years. He collected 10 wins in his career, earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1967 and currently owns the best combined finish in the Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 double with a fourth-place finish at the Brickyard followed by a victory at NASCAR’s longest race in 1970. Allison’s most famed moment came in the 1979 Daytona 500 after crashing on the final lap in a battle for the win with Yarborough. After their cars came to a stop, the two engaged in fisticuffs in the infield. | More on Allison

• Chad Knaus: The man atop the box for Jimmie Johnson, Knaus called the shots for all of Johnson’s seven Cup championships and 81 of his 83 victories. He also served as crew chief for rising star William Byron before taking on a new role as Vice President of Competition for Hendrick Motorsports. Knaus trails only Dale Inman and Leonard Wood for all-time wins by a crew chief. | More on Knaus

Note: Racing pioneer and former driver Janet Guthrie will also be honored as the 2024 recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. | More on Guthrie

SHOP: Celebrate the 2024 Hall of Fame class

EVENT SCHEDULE (All times are ET)

Thursday, Jan. 18
• 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Class of 2024 Induction: Insider Experience inside the High Octane Theater

Friday, Jan. 19
• 4:40 p.m., Red Carpet live stream on NASCAR’s digital and social platforms
• 6 p.m., NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction dinner (invite only)
• 8 p.m., NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

MORE: Other exclusive events

TICKETS AND BROADCAST INFORMATION

Tickets are currently on sale for friends and fans to attend Friday evening’s induction ceremony. The NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony will air live on Peacock at 8 p.m. ET and will simultaneously be broadcast on the Motor Racing Network (MRN). Before the show, NASCAR.com and NASCAR’s YouTube platform will host a Red Carpet live stream. For more information on Peacock’s streaming service, click here. For more information on MRN and Friday evening’s radio broadcast, click here.

Posted on January 17, 2024January 23, 2024 by Alex Cadavid

Editor’s Note: Today’s Kaulig Racing preview continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the 2024 Cup Series season.

KAULIG RACING

Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine: ECR Engines
Driver-crew chief pairings: Daniel Hemric-Trent Owens (No. 31), Multiple Drivers-Travis Mack (No. 16)

Team outlook: Entering its third full-time season in the Cup Series, Kaulig Racing is undergoing significant changes as the team aims to rebuild its Cup program in 2024. With AJ Allmendinger moving to a full-time Xfinity schedule for the team, Justin Haley transitioning over to Rick Ware Racing for 2024 and a crew-chief swap that sees Matt Swiderski out, the team loses a sense of continuity it has built from its first two seasons racing full-time. Kaulig will head into the season with a replenished driver lineup with Daniel Hemric as its lone full-time driver, bringing strong experience vital to maintaining consistent results over the fierce Cup Series season.

DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 31 CHEVROLET

Experience: One full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series.
2023 Stats: Eighth in final Xfinity standings; 0 wins, 6 top fives, 18 top 10s
2024 championship odds (DraftKings): 400-1

Outlook: After spending the last two seasons in Kaulig’s Xfinity program, Hemric is being called up to return to NASCAR’s premier level, filling the seat that was left by Haley. Hemric is not much of a newbie to the Cup Series, with a steady full-time season back in 2019 with Richard Childress Racing, when he earned Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. He also made an additional nine Cup starts with Kaulig Racing in 2022.

Hemric has been relentless in finding a full-time Cup ride since parting ways with RCR, proving through success in the Xfinity Series he can make waves in the Cup Series by being back on the grid. He earned Xfinity Series champion status in 2021, winning the title race right at the wire. Since then, he has remained an Xfinity championship contender, netting nine top fives and 32 top 10s with Kaulig in Xfinity over the past two seasons.

NO. 16 CHEVROLET

AJ Allmendinger will drive the No. 16 Chevrolet to open the season at the Daytona 500. Allmendinger has had a small run of success at Daytona, tallying six top-10 finishes in his last eight starts at Daytona, three of those in the “Great American Race.”

Travis Mack will be on top of the pit box for the No. 16 team this season, serving a dual role as both crew chief and technical director of Kaulig’s Cup teams. Mack spent the last three seasons with Trackhouse Racing’s No. 99 team and won his first Cup Series race with Daniel Suárez at Sonoma Raceway in 2022. Mack will be able to bring a new perspective to Kaulig as he will be tasked with rebuilding the Cup program that aims to be more competitive.

BOLD PREDICTION: Daniel Hemric will finish in the top 20 of the final drivers’ standings at the end of the year. After spending four years out of Cup — and hungry to be back — Hemric’s second act bodes to be more statistically impressive than his 2019 rookie campaign. To his benefit, Hemric does have nine total starts in a Next Gen car. He was a part of the No. 16 seat rotation back in 2022 with Allmendinger and Gragson, which means he has some familiarity with what he will be driving.

Additionally, Hemric can lean on Allmendinger, who will be in a crucial role for both Cup and Xfinity this year as Kaulig’s lone race-winning driver in the former. Hemric will be paired with Trent Owens, a well-seasoned crew chief who has been a foundational piece since Kaulig began running full-time in Cup. The blueprints are there for a driver who has been in the team’s pipeline for the last two years to achieve fresh results in the new year.

NASCAR.com 2024 team previews schedule

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Adam Fenwick

There is nothing more important to Tim Connolly than family.

That’s why he stepped away from full-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour competition during the prime of his career in 2000, when his younger brother Michael was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Michael Connolly fought valiantly for two years but lost his battle with cancer in August of 2002. He was just 39.

“He never smoked, but he had lung cancer at 37 years old,” Connolly recalled. “He was very healthy, very talented young man. Our upbringing was, in short, in a broken home. I was kind of the dad in the family from an early time. So I stepped aside, and we chased hospitals up and down the East Coast.

“Unfortunately we lost him after a couple of years.”

That very easily could have marked the end of what was an impressive racing career for Connolly, who instead shifted his focus to spending time with his wife and children. He served as a coach on several of his children’s sports teams, something that gave him great joy.

“I was just fortunate with the way the timing was after my brother’s passing,” Connolly said. “I’d been involved in youth sports coaching even when I was racing. My college quarterback days afforded me the opportunity and the invite to participate at the high school level, which has morphed into me being the high school football offensive coordinator with my oldest boy, Shane.

“We went on to win a state championship at the Syracuse Dome, and then I coached my twins for awhile. At that time I’d been out (of racing) for a handful of years, and I was fully engaged in my children’s lives and coaching, and my businesses were taking off. So my focus became on that.”

Tim Connolly looks on during the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at New York’s Lancaster Motorplex on Aug. 5, 2023. (Photo: Bryan Bennett/NASCAR)

An All-State quarterback at New York’s Ithaca College, Connolly originally had eyes on a career in the National Football League. His NFL dreams were shattered when knee injuries forced him to give up football. He settled into a regular life with his wife and children, but Connolly was never destined for a regular life.

In the mid-1980s, Connolly was bit by the racing bug. He started off in a Street Stock at New York’s Tioga Speedway but quickly moved up to a Modified. By 1988, he was racing on a part-time basis with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

He ran his first full-time season with the series in 1993, bagging his first Tour victory that same year at Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania while driving for friend Lew Parks. He won again two years later, finding Victory Lane at New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway in 1995.

The following year, Connolly was hired by legendary team owner Bob Garbarino to drive the famous Mystic Missile No. 4. He went winless in 1996 but finished sixth in the series standings.

His breakout year came in 1997. He won four times, including a victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and finished second in the Tour standings to NASCAR Hall of Famer Mike Stefanik. He continued to drive the Mystic Missile until he stepped away from full-time competition at the end of the 2000 season at the age of 39, having earned nine Tour victories in eight years.

Connolly made three Tour starts in 2002 and then went more than a decade without driving a race car. He made a one-off start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2012 at Watkins Glen International, a race he called his “swan song.”

“Shane was down in Charlotte working for an Xfinity team,” Connolly said. “I had run a handful of times at Watkins Glen and had tremendous success. Living an hour and 15 minutes away from Watkins Glen and they needed a driver, we put a deal together.

“I really enjoyed that. I had a lot of fun. It was more of a friends and family type deal. That was my swan song, as they would say.”

Tim Connolly, driver of the No. 24 Michael Connolly Endowment for Lung Cancer Chevrolet, leads Dexter Stacey, driver of the No. 23 R3 Motorsports Chevrolet, during the NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 11, 2012. (Photo: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

That should have been it for Connolly as a race car driver, but his wife Cheryl had other ideas.

In 2022, Cheryl reached out to Garbarino, who had since retired as a team owner, about acquiring the last Mystic Missile race car as a gift for her husband. The two struck a deal, and she surprised her husband with the car.

Little did she know that gift would soon reignite something in Connolly.

“My wife and Bob Garbarino had been talking behind the scenes,” Connolly said. “In short, Mr. Garbarino showed up at my house, and he brought the last race car out of his stables, which was an honor.”

Fast forward to 2023, and Connolly returned to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour more than two decades after his last start with the series in 2002.

For Connolly, it was important to continue the rich history of Garbarino’s Mystic Missile, which captured three NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships in four years between 2007-10 with drivers Donny Lia and Bobby Santos III.

“I’d been very close to Bob,” Connolly said. “His wife passed a couple of years ago, and I just remained really close with his family and our family. I think the world of him. He filled a big void for me as a role model and mentor. When he speaks, I listen very closely.

“It’s a very big honor and a responsibility comes with driving the V4 with the history and the legacy of that car.”

Connolly, now 63, made eight starts with the Tour in 2023, but things didn’t go as planned. He failed to finish four of those races and managed a best finish of 11th at Langley Speedway.

He admitted his performance was not up to his own standard, but he believes the addition of a new race car plus the help of Speed77, a speed shop in Corfu, New York, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race winner Cale Gale will lead to a turnaround this year when he takes on the full NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule for the first time in more than two decades.

Tim Connolly races during the CheckeredFlag.com 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway on Aug. 26, 2023 in Hampton, Virginia. (Ryan M. Kelly/NASCAR)

“I want to be cautiously optimistic that we did most of the battling and growing (in 2023) and hopefully accelerated our learning curve,” Connolly said. “We’ve got some great people around us. My brother Mark spent 17 years at Hendrick Motorsports around the best. He’s very important to the program. My son Shane is a very, very smart guy. He spent a couple of years down in professional racing down in Charlotte.

“Dave (Russell of Speed77), to his credit, asked me if it would be OK if we invited Cale (Gale) to come in at the end of the season at Martinsville. We took a liking to Cale an awful lot. Clearly Cale took six tenths of a second off every lap time for us. He made a tremendous difference.”

But what about the last Mystic Missile?

Connolly says the car is race ready, but he’s hesitant to run it. He’s planning on bringing it with him to New Smyrna Speedway next month in case he decides to compete in one of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing features.

He said the car will remain in his family as a cherished reminder of his time racing with Garbarino, a man he considers to be part of his own extended family.

“As Bob told me, ‘It’s your car, do what you want with it.’ And he means that,” Connolly said. “My family, not just myself, my boys, are pretty head strong that we want to protect it. But we’ve all fixed race cars before.

“That (Mystic Missile) car is not for sale. My sons have already been pretty clear, when my time comes and goes, that will stay in the family. That makes me really happy that they have that kind of respect for Mr. Garbarino and his family and his daughters and the team and all the people that put all that effort into 60 years of Mr. Garbarino’s program.”