NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. – Steady rain has postponed Friday’s NASCAR All-Star Race qualifying at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The session and the Pit Crew Challenge within the time-trial procedures will be held Saturday at 11:40 a.m. ET (FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Rain arrived late afternoon at the 0.625-mile track, abbreviating qualifying for the NASCAR All-Star Open qualifying race. Since that session was not run to completion, the starting lineup was set according to the NASCAR Rule Book, handing Ty Gibbs the pole position in Sunday’s 100-lap preliminary for drivers not already qualified for Sunday night’s main event.
The postponement adds another element to Saturday’s busy on-track schedule. All-Star Race qualifying now slots between Craftsman Truck Series qualifying (10:35 a.m. ET, FS1) and that series’ race, the Wright Brand 250 (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
All-Star qualifying procedures have been revised for this year’s edition, with drivers taking the green flag and making one lap at speed. Lap 2 will include a pit-road entry at the speed limit, and a pit stop for four tires and a mock-up of fueling. Drivers will then exit pit road, then race back to the checkered flag to complete their qualifying attempt.
That pit stop will be scored from a pair of timing lines – one pit stall on either end of the team’s box. The crew with the fastest clocking will claim the Pit Crew Challenge crown, and those results will set the order for pit-stall selection for Sunday’s 200-lap feature.
INDIANAPOLIS – Naturally for Kyle Larson, familiarity mattered little in producing supersonic speed on Fast Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Again showcasing the adaptability that has branded him a world-class talent, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion mastered complicated cockpit adjustments and 100 extra horsepower on the fly at speeds of more than 230 mph.
Four hours into the final Indianapolis 500 practice before qualifying, Larson turned the fastest lap (234.271 mph) of 34 drivers with a 232.902-mph lap around the 2.5-mile oval at exactly4 p.m. ET.
Even more importantly at a track where a four-lap average determines pole speed, the Hendrick Motorsports star was solidly in the top 10 rankings for a 10-mile qualifying run. The 12 fastest drivers on Saturday will advance to two rounds of pole qualifying on Sunday.
“It definitely feels faster, but it’s not like scary fast, thankfully,” said Larson, who was bumped by Colton Herta to second fastest by the end of the session. “So that was good. I just think our balance was pretty comfortable so I was happy about that. … It’s hard to say kind of still where you’re at yet because I feel like every run, there’s some bit of tow (draft), but I think the good thing is that the balance seems comfortable, so I don’t feel like I’ve got a bunch of understeer or tight, for the stock car racers listening, but I don’t feel super loose either, so it’s pretty balanced, which is nice.
Larson made four solid attempts Friday at simulating qualifying, defusing concerns after three frustrating days of practice time in his attempt to become the fifth driver to run the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
“Kyle’s doing a great job,” said Brian Campe, the technical director for Hendrick who is helping spearhead the team’s joint effort with Arrow McLaren to field the No. 17 Dallara-Chevrolet. “We’re learning as a team every run.
Joe Skibinski | Penske Entertainment
“We’ll just really work on the details the rest of the day. We’ve got the bulk, we’ve got some speed. We’re kind of right in the game there with our teammates Rossi and O’Ward. So that’s a big confidence booster for Kyle. So now we can focus on the details. It’s just getting laps and going through the process. I think the more Kyle can learn, we’ll be faster. If you can make Kyle Larson better, you’ll always be faster.”
A winner in everything from sprint cars to stock cars to dirt late models, Larson is used to hopping into unfamiliar vehicles and ripping off eye-popping laps — but the degree of difficulty is higher this weekend at the Brickyard.
Starting in Friday’s six-hour session and through the end of Sunday afternoonqualifying,the Chevy and Honda engines are outfitted with a turbo boost that puts cars on the cusp of challenging the track qualifying record of 236.986 mph set by two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk in 1996.
While traveling more than he ever has in nearly three decades of racing cars, Larson is also being asked to manage his car with the precision of a fighter pilot. The Indy 500 pole often comes down to adjustments made at speed. In-car cameras capture drivers furiously mashing buttons and turning knobs on their wheels to control weight distribution and engine mapping that can make the difference in gaining critical tenths of a second.
Larson spent some of Thursday getting acclimated to the machinations of qualifying, but he still felt a little behind the 8-ball. After losing nearly 90 minutes to an engine change, Larson completed only 29 laps (the third-fewest) in a session interrupted by rain (which already had wiped out 11 of a possible14 hours Tuesday and Wednesday).
“Obviously it’s not ideal for them, considering he’s new to IndyCar,” Arrow McLaren teammate Pato O’Ward said after turning the fastest practice lap (228.861 mph)Thursday. “He’s new to basically everything that has to do with the Indy 500 and with the car and everything.But Kyle looks comfortable. I think he’s fine.”
Barring a major mechanical problem or human error, Larson should have no trouble qualifyingfor his Indy 500 debut on May 26, and he might even have a shot at starting in the top four rows (all four Arrow McLaren entries made the top 12 in qualifying).
“I think it’d be pretty neat to make the Fast 12 and then the Fast Six,” he said. “But being a rookie and all that, I don’t know if that’s to be expected, but it would be pretty cool to line up in the front couple rows of the race. I just want to get a good, smooth run in and make the show first. Being the top rookie I guess would be cool in qualifying as well.”
But the work starts all over again Monday when the turbo boost is removed, and the handling is impacted for the race. Larson will have only four more hours — two-hour sessions Monday and Friday — to get comfortable in traffic for 500 miles.
“The intensity level of those two sessions isa lot higherthan probably it is during this week, so it’s a bit more race-like,” Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin said. “I think Kyle’sstill got time to get acclimated. He’s a smart dude. He’s the typeof guy that once he gets into the race,I’m sure if he’s fast enough, he’ll just figure it out and just start picking people off. Guys like that, they’re generational talents, so I think he’ll be just fine.”
Chris Owens | Penske Entertainment
Defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden also has confidence in Larson being a fast learner.
“My intuition tells me that he’s in a great spot,” Newgarden said. “He’s in a good team. He’s got good teammates. He’s got great historical data. They had strong cars last year. He’s had enormous practice as far as what you need to do as a race car driver to implement yourself into a system.
“The other thing,too,is the typical transfer happens better from NASCAR to (IndyCar)because you do get so much mileage. You wouldn’t get this in the NASCAR world,so even the limited (practice) is more than what he’s used to,so I think he’s going to be just fine.”
Campe said Larson benefited from making 54 laps Wednesday.
“In probably the worst traffic we would see during the race. So he got a taste of that. And then Monday and Friday, we’ll have a better idea where we’ll start. That’ll really dictate where we put himin traffic so they can really dial in the balance of the car.”
And in between all of that, Larson will be dialing in his No. 5 Chevrolet at North Wilkesboro Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway the next two weeks.
If he qualifies between 13th and 30th (locking into the Indy 500 field but not eligible for the pole), Larson will fly Saturday night to North Carolina and spend Sunday at North Wilkesboro.
If he makes the Fast 12 (or in the very unlikely scenario he’s in the bottom four battling for the final three spots on the 33-car grid at Indy), Larson will spend Sunday morning and afternoon in Indy. Qualifying is scheduled to end by 5:55 p.m. ET, and the Hendrick plane has a wheels-up time of no later than 6:20 p.m. so Larson can take the green flag as the defending winner of the All-Star Race.
“I think I talked to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports before we left (for Indianapolis), wishing us good luck,” Campe said. “And I know they’re tuned in back at the shop. So I know they’re working hard for Wilkesboro and the 600, which is our next big race.
“So a big thank you to Rick (Hendrick) and Jeff (Gordon)and Chad (Knaus) and all the people back atHendrick to let Kyle and I do this and take our focus off of our day jobs to go do this little thing, the Indy 500. We’re super proud to represent everyone at Hendrick Motorsports,and it’s real special. I’m blessed to be able to do it.”
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is the host of the NASCAR on NBC Podcast and also has covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.
Ty Gibbs was the fastest driver in Friday’s 50-minute practice session for the NASCAR All-Star Weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway, with a speed of 124.001 mph.
Ryan Blaney (123.790 mph), Christopher Bell (123.558 mph), Chase Elliott (123.301 mph) and Bubba Wallace (123.261 mph) rounded out the top five.
Denny Hamlin (123.146 mph), Kyle Busch (123.119 mph), Josh Berry (123.065 mph), Corey LaJoie (123.045 mph) and Daniel Suárez (123.038 mph) completed the top 10.
For this year’s All-Star Race, Goodyear brought a special, softer compound dubbed the “option tire” to North Wilkesboro, which received positive reviews from the drivers. Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, enjoyed the practice session.
“They (Goodyear) nailed it with this one,” Hamlin said. “It’s a great tire, great lap time variation between the two tires. And also just the ability to pass with it, the difference of speed between the cars. So, as you’re seeing now, guys are searching for new pavement to try to get grip because they don’t want to be in the rubber. Because it is kind of slick. Really, really fun right now. This is like back to the old short track days.”
The 2025 event — scheduled for May 18, 2025 — will mark the 41st All-Star Race in NASCAR history with prior hosts being Charlotte Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.
Kyle Larson is the defending winner of the All-Star Race and seeks his third victory in the event on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) adjacent to his efforts to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will also return to North Wilkesboro in 2025 for a Saturday-night showdown prior to Sunday’s main event.
Throughout the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, director of historical content for the sanctioning body, will offer his suggestions on which historical races fans should watch from the NASCAR Classics library in preparation for each upcoming race weekend.
Martin has worked exclusively for NASCAR since 2008 but has been involved with the sport since 1982, overseeing various projects. He has worked in the broadcast booth for hundreds of races, assisting the broadcast team with different tasks. This includes calculating the “points as they run” for the historic 1992 finale, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The following suggestions are Ken’s picks to watch before this weekend’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
The beginning of the 1987 NASCAR Cup Series season was dominated by Dale Earnhardt in historic fashion.
If not for mechanical issues while dominating the race at Atlanta, Earnhardt would have eight consecutive victories on his already legendary list of accomplishments.
He won at Rockingham and Richmond before his issues at Atlanta. The Kannapolis, North Carolina driver backed that up with four straight wins at Darlington, North Wilkesboro, Bristol and Martinsville.
Earnhardt entered the All-Star Race at Charlotte with a 220-point lead in the season standings over Daytona 500 winner, Bill Elliott.
The entry criteria included winners from the 1986 and 1987 seasons, the winner of the 1986 All-Star event, plus the winneeeeeeeer of the All-Star Open.
Four additional drivers were added to the field since it did not meet the 19-driver threshold. Cale Yarborough, Harry Gant, Richard Petty, and Greg Sacks were eligible via this change, as they were the four most recent drivers not yet eligible for the event, to have a points paying victory.
Buddy Baker advanced to the main event, thanks to a victory in the Open.
The first two segments of the All-Star Race went to Elliott, who seemingly had the fastest car of the day. The two early triumphs brought home a combined $75,000 for the Dawsonville, Georgia star.
Early on in the race, the polarizing duo of Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine had a run-in on the track, that left Earnhardt with some minimal damage.
It wasn’t a surprise that the race for the victory came down to those three drivers, as the beginning of the third and final segment started with fireworks that had a lasting impact.
Contact off the restart saw Bodine go around after racing for the lead with Elliott and put Earnhardt in the lead, as the race was yellow-flagged.
Once the green flag waved, Earnhardt looked to be in control until Elliott closed back in. The move, which is heralded as the “Pass in the Grass,” occurred on the frontstretch.
Elliott closed in on the back of the blue and yellow No. 3 car, as Earnhardt laid a block on Elliott to stay out front. Elliott took a strong run out of the fourth turn and put his front bumper to Earnhardt’s car, sending him sliding through the grass, before coming back onto the track right in front of Elliott in thrilling fashion.
The two drivers continued their battle, door slamming on the track before Elliott’s chance at victory ended with a cut tire.
Earnhardt held off Terry Labonte and Tim Richmond to capture the victory. Following the race, Elliott let Earnhardt know he wasn’t pleased with the action on the track by pulling up alongside of Earnhardt on the cool-down lap.
Elliott was visibly frustrated during his post-race interview. He pointed out all of the things that he said Earnhardt did from his point-of-view and said that it needed to stop.
Earnhardt, Elliott and Bodine were all fined by NASCAR for their involvement in the incidents.
Charlotte Motor Speedway’s new state-of-the-art light system was on full display for the first time as the NASCAR Cup Series raced the All-Star Race under the lights for the first time in event history.
The event was comprised of 20 drivers, with race-winning drivers and owners from the 1991 and 1992 seasons, the top-two finishers from the Open and former Cup Series champions filling the field.
The biggest surprise to the field was Dave Mader, who was eligible for the event because he was driving the No. 9 car for Melling Racing that Bill Elliott won with the previous season. This stipulation also allowed Morgan Shepherd in the race, thanks to a Dale Jarrett win for the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team in 1991.
Flashbulbs illuminated the Charlotte night sky, as drivers took to the track for the main event. The 20-car field stopped at the start finish line for a historic photo, before taking a few pace laps in preparation for the event.
It should come as no surprise as the event was full of just about everything, as they raced under a full moon.
The final lap of the race saw Earnhardt and Kyle Petty battling for the lead, before contact between the two sent Earnhardt around, ending his chance at the win.
This allowed Davey Allison to close in on Petty, as the two drivers raced side-by-side to the checkered flag. Allison crossed the line first, but the two cars made contact, which sent Allison hard into the wall and required him to be cut from his No. 28 Robert Yates Racing Ford.
Allison was transported to a local hospital and admitted with a concussion, a bruised lung and bruised legs.
North Wilkesboro Speedway sat dormant from the NASCAR Cup Series schedule since 1996 and many believed that the historic facility was slowly fading into oblivion, but that was not the case.
To the surprise of just about everyone, the venue opened back up and the Cup Series All-Star Race, as well as a Craftsman Truck Series event, were added to the schedule for the 2023 season.
The historic buzz around the events could be felt from the moment the announcement of its impending return was made official, so it was no surprise that the venue was sold out for the annual All-Star Race.
The field for the main event was made up of race winners from the 2022 and 2023 seasons, full-time former series champions, former All-Star Race winners, the two top finishers from the Open and the winner of the fan vote.
An ever-popular event also made a return of sorts, as a pit crew competition set the field for both the Open and the main event.
Josh Berry, who was subbing in the No. 48 car for an injured Alex Bowman, and Ty Gibbs advanced to the main from the open race, while Noah Gragson captured the All-Star Fan Vote.
Daniel Suárez led the 24-car field to the green flag for the main event, in a scene that most in attendance never believed would ever happen after the near 28-year absence from the series schedule.
It was the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports car of Kyle Larson who stole the show. He led 145 of the race’s 200 laps en route to the checkered flag.
The victory was somewhat of a throwback, as Hendrick Motorsports swept the final two races of the 1996 season at the track. Terry Labonte piloted the No. 5 car and won in April, while Jeff Gordon won the somber finale at North Wilkesboro in September.
23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick finished second and third, while a pair of Chase’s, Briscoe and Elliott, rounded out the top five.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
You can watch these three races and hundreds more by visiting NASCAR Classics.
Eddie Gossage, a race promoter known for bold creative ideas and an unwavering passion for motorsports, died Thursday at the age of 65. His longtime employer Speedway Motorsports confirmed his passing.
“Today we have lost one of the world’s biggest race fans,” Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith said in a press release. “From his legendary promotions to the lasting relationships he developed throughout the sports and entertainment industries, Eddie Gossage meant so much to the world of motorsports. On behalf of our Speedway Motorsports teammates across the country, our hearts go out to his many friends and his beloved family.
“We are praying for his wife, Melinda, daughter Jessica, son Dustin and daughter-in-law Lauren during this trying time as well as his grandchildren Lyra, Evelyn and Oliver. We know the children were the light of his life.
“Eddie’s career spanned 32 years promoting major events at Charlotte Motor Speedway and supporting my father, Bruton, with the iconic showplace that is Texas Motor Speedway,” Smith added. “His impact in our sport will be felt for many years to come. We repeat one of Eddie’s favorite sayings often: ‘If we don’t make a big deal out of it, nobody else will.’ He lived that mantra every day at work developing creative publicity stunts, pre-race shows and over-the-top entertainment.”
Gossage’s passing comes on the eve of the 40th NASCAR All-Star Race weekend. One of the first major races he ever promoted was the 1992 NASCAR All-Star Race, known then as The Winston and marketed as ‘One Hot Night.’ The event, held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, was the first-ever NASCAR night race at a superspeedway.
“Eddie Gossage was a consummate promoter whose outside-the-box ideas helped engage fans across the country,” a NASCAR statement read. “He was truly passionate about motorsports and always looking for the next great idea to bring new fans to the sport and keep them entertained at the racetrack. Our deepest condolences go to Eddie’s family and friends.”
Gossage’s successes at Charlotte, alongside Speedway Motorsports Chairman and Founder Bruton Smith and CMS President and General Manager Humpy Wheeler, paved the way for Gossage to chart his own course at Texas Motor Speedway. When the track was built in 1996, Gossage was named its first general manager. For 25 years, until his retirement in 2021, Gossage hosted major sports and entertainment events, establishing Texas as an iconic venue that welcomed sports fans and entertainment-seekers from around the world.
Gossage excelled in a state where everything is bigger and his personality and promotional flair were popular from the campgrounds to suite level.
As passionate as he was about big events, Gossage also had a tremendous heart for children and the fundraising efforts of the Texas chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities.
“Eddie Gossage was a trailblazer, promoter and innovator at a time when attracting attention was critical as Speedway Motorsports expanded NASCAR into the Lone Star State,” said Texas Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Mark Faber. “Each day I come to work, I see the impact he had throughout our property. Eddie laid a foundation for success to build upon for generations to come and made Texas Motor Speedway a showplace of which Texans will always be proud.”
INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson’s Gasoline Alley garage stall was drawing its usual crowd Thursday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But this intense group was all business compared to the throngs of festive onlookers usually fixated on the NASCAR Cup Series champion’s every move as he prepares to qualify for his Indianapolis 500 debut.
After a precautionary engine change, Arrow McLaren team members scurried around the No. 17 Dallara-Chevrolet from the minute the IndyCar garage opened at 8 a.m. for an extended practice session starting two hours later.
Larson missed the opening bell but was on track by 11:26 a.m. — making only a few laps before fellow rookie Linus Lundqvist smacked the SAFER barrier at the exit of Turn 2 (the Swedish driver for Chip Ganassi Racing was OK after the hit).
By 2 p.m., Larson still had completed only 11 laps, ranking last on the speed chart among 34 drivers with a best lap at 219.079 mph (because he hadn’t been drafting yet in the traffic that produces much faster speeds).
“We’ve been a little behind,” Larson said. “Just because we got behind, we missed the drafting runs, so now we’re just back to qualifying sims to experience that.”
Matt Fraver | Penske Entertainment
Thursday was the last scheduled practice day this week with race setups. Teams will be given turbo boost Friday, adding 100 horsepower that will bring the average speeds to more than 235 mph during qualifying sessions Saturday and Sunday for the 108th Indy 500.
With the track open for only three hours of practice the past two days because of rain, Larson and his one-off team were left playing catchup as the daunting prospect loomed of a four-lap qualifying run around the 2.5-mile oval.
Described by many as the toughest 10 miles in motorsports, qualifying for the Indy 500 can be like landing a plane in a heavy crosswind. While hanging on at top speeds of 240 mph, drivers are required to push buttons and turn knobs on the wheel as their engineers talk them through adjustments to optimize weight distribution and engine mapping for maximum results.
Though he has practiced on the simulator in GM Motorsports’ Charlotte Technical Center that is adjacent to Hendrick Motorsports in Concord, North Carolina, Larson began focusing on getting acclimated to qualifying Thursday afternoon (albeit without the turbo boost).
“Yeah, I just don’t really know what to expect with the boost and all that, just going through the motions of I guess hitting buttons on our steering wheel and turning knobs and stuff will be interesting,” he said. “It’s been good so far these couple of days. I just need some more laps.
“There’s still a lot left to learn and get comfortable with, but so far I feel like it’s gone pretty smooth for me. Getting some drafting runs in (Wednesday) just to be familiar with everything.”
Larson also is trying to tame the slowest section of the track. He was given a drive-through penalty Wednesday for speeding on pit lane and also has wrestled with some false starts on exit.
“I keep screwing up leaving the pit stall and getting into the anti-stall, so I have to get better on my end there,” he said. “But yeah, just try to keep getting reps so all the little things are more natural and simple for race day.
“I think we’re done with race runs until I’m guessing next week. So yeah, that’s kind of a bummer. I wish I would have got some more time drafting, but I’m guessing Monday (practice) will be some more of that and obviously (Carb Day final practice May 24). So still a lot of opportunity, a lot of hours left to get all that, but you now kind of switch your mindset to qualifying and what that is and what to feel and all that.”
Joe Skibinski | Penske Entertainment
Rain is in the forecast again for Friday, which could limit his exposure to the turbo boost. That will have little impact on the amount of attention he has been garnering as he tries to become the fifth Cup driver to run the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
When practice finally began Wednesday, a few dozen fans were gawking from behind his timing stand while the rest of pit lane was virtually empty.
Indianapolis native Conor Daly, who will be attempting his 11th Indy 500 this year, has noticed the impact that the latest NASCAR crossover is having.
“When I get deep into the comments sections of like my podcasts and stuff, there is a lot of excitement about Kyle Larson,” said Daly, a co-host of the Speed Street podcast for Dirty Mo Media. “I am excited about Kyle Larson. I’ve noticed the most viewed episodes of my podcast are with Kyle Larson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“So NASCAR is so powerful, you need to have some sort of this crossover that’s going to be helpful, right? It’s got to be helpful for us. We have to embrace it.”
The crossover would be amplified if Larson is in the running for the pole position Sunday before heading to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the NASCAR All-Star Race.
The 12 fastest drivers from Saturday’s qualifications will advance to two rounds of Indy 500 pole qualifying Sunday. Arrow McLaren put all four of its Chevys in the Fast 12 last year, and Larson tentatively says that’s the objective.
“The team sent me (a list) since like 2018 of where rookies qualified just to kind of have a goal in mind, I guess, and there really hasn’t been too many rookies to qualify that good,” he said. “If I could make the Fast 12, I think that would be a pretty good accomplishment for us and a pieced-together team.”
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is the host of the NASCAR on NBC Podcast and also has covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announced Thursday that three-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) champion Justin Bonsignore will drive the team’s No. 19 Toyota GR Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) on Saturday, June 22.
The June 22 race at NHMS will mark Bonsignore’s first career NXS start, but he is no stranger to the Magic Mile. The 36-year-old driver has made 25 NWMT starts there over the past 14 years. In those 25 races, he has two wins in points-paying events and one in a non-points race, along with 10 top-five finishes. His most recent New Hampshire win came last July.
“We’re thrilled to have Justin in our car at New Hampshire,” said Steve DeSouza, EVP NASCAR Xfinity Series/Development at JGR. “He’s a driver with a rich short-track racing resume and represents the heart of modified racing in the northeast. To put him in one of our cars at a track that he’s built a legacy at is going to be a lot of fun for us, and even more so for the fans.”
Bonsignore is a familiar face in the modified world with three tour championships and 41 NWMT wins since 2007. The Holtsville, New York native picked up his first NWMT championship in 2018 and followed it up with back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021. Those 41 wins put him fourth on the all-time NWMT win list – just one win behind third. Bonsignore has 31 career tour pole awards, which also ranks fourth on the all-time list.
The NWMT is four races into their 2024 campaign, and Bonsignore has one victory, which came at Richmond Raceway in March. He is currently second in the tour standings, six points back from the lead.
“Having the opportunity to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing at New Hampshire is truly the chance of a lifetime,” Bonsignore said. “I love driving modifieds and that will always be my home, where we hope to win many more races and championships. But, having the opportunity to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with such an established, winning organization like Joe Gibbs Racing is such an exciting chance on this national stage.”
Bonsignore will be running double duty at New Hampshire as he makes his NXS debut and then jumps into his modified to run the seventh race of the NWMT season. The NXS race at NHMS is scheduled for Saturday, June 22, at 3:30 PM ET. Coverage of the race will be on USA Network, PRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Juanita “Lightnin’ ” Epton, whose tireless knack for selling tickets with a personal touch made her the longest-tenured employee at Daytona International Speedway, has died. She was 103 years old.
Epton was at the ticket window for the first Daytona 500 in 1959, hired a year earlier by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. while the circuit was still under construction. The speedway’s ticket office was named in her honor in 2022, when she was still on the job.
“The France family has meant so much to me over the years,” Epton said at the ticket office’s dedication ceremony. “I remember Bill Sr. told me years ago that as long as I wanted to work, I could — and I’ve taken him up on that offer.”
Epton’s longevity, sharp memory and homespun way of connecting with ticket-buyers made her a fan favorite. Some of the Speedway’s regular customers often asked for her by name. When they came calling, she could typically recall where their grandstand seats were located without looking at her ledger.
“Lightnin’ Epton and her husband Joe were part of my mom and dad Bill and Anne France’s team from the early days of NASCAR,” Jim France, NASCAR’s CEO and chairman, said in a statement. “They were scoring races, selling tickets, and did every other job that needed to be done. The Eptons worked from the Carolinas, coming to Daytona Beach to help with races on the beach, and ultimately moving to Florida for the opening of Daytona International Speedway. She worked alongside our family from the very first Daytona 500 through this year’s 66th running of the race, bringing an incredible passion for the track to the ticket office every day. Lightnin’ was beloved by our staff, fans, and drivers alike. Our family will miss Lightnin’ tremendously and our thoughts are with her family and friends as we celebrate her life.”
Courtesy of Daytona International Speedway
Juanita Epton grew up in Grenada, Mississippi. When a junior college offered her a basketball scholarship, she declined, opting to stay closer to home. She found employment in her hometown’s sheriff’s office, selling car registration and license tags. Her uncanny method of memorizing license numbers and their corresponding customers would serve her well in her later career.
She married Joe Epton, a NASCAR official who became the sanctioning body’s first head of timing and scoring. He is credited with giving his wife her electrifying nickname, which was not specifically attributed to her ticket-selling proficiency.
“He always said he never knew when or where I might strike,” Lightnin’ said in a 2008 interview with the Orlando Sentinel. “I am full of mischief.”
Her marriage meant a move to Daytona Beach and her first big assignment in a role that would become her life’s work. Grandstand capacity for the new speedway was roughly 10,000 reserved seats for the first Daytona 500, and Epton recalled counting the freshly printed tickets — which ranged in price from $6 to $10 — on the kitchen floor of the France family home on the eve of the race.
“We wrote out each customer’s name by hand in order to create our first mailing list,” Epton said in 1998. She added that speedway architect Joel Sayers provided her with a large picture of the grandstands mounted on cardboard to keep track of sales. “We’d mark each seat off in pen as we sold it. Of course, back then we didn’t have over 140,000 seats.”
Epton’s career spanned all seven generations of Cup Series stock cars and more than 150 points-paying races for NASCAR’s top division at the 2.5-mile track. Her tenure spanned not just the speedway’s history but vast changes in American history.
During the Vietnam War, Epton helped coordinate a special plan with a soldier buying a ticket from overseas. He intended to surprise his parents by showing up suddenly and sitting down next to them at the Daytona 500.
During the height of the civil-rights movement, Epton had a system for fending off customers who demanded tickets in an all-white seating section, even though the speedway never had segregated grandstands.
“Sir, did I ask you your race when you called to order tickets?” Epton recalled saying.
“No, ma’am,” was the reply.
“Well now,” Epton would say, “how would I know who you’ll be sitting next to?”
While she was a reliable presence at the speedway since its birth, Epton rarely saw any of the on-track action in person. Her first live glimpse of the Daytona 500 came in 2007, when her colleagues coaxed her to watch several laps from the grandstands. In 1988, she had observed some of the Thursday qualifying races from a newly built section of seats — primarily so she could better explain the view to ticket buyers.
“When I come to work, they expect me to be doing my job, and I couldn’t do it sitting in the grandstands watching,” Epton told the Sentinel. “As much as I’d like to see the race, my place is here. I love what I do. It’s why I’m still doing it. Whenever I leave, it will be with the satisfaction that I did my job as well as I could.”
Epton reluctantly confessed to having two favorite drivers in Darrell Waltrip and Sterling Marlin, both of whom would become Daytona 500 champions. The two competitors regularly marked Epton’s milestone birthdays by sending her flowers or gifts.
Epton celebrated her 100th birthday in the summer of 2020, just a few months after the pandemic’s outbreak. Well-wishers kept socially distant during her celebration, driving past her home in a long parade that included NASCAR chairman Jim France, Daytona’s official pace car and Daytona Beach mayor Derrick Henry. Asked by local reporters how it felt to reach the 100-year milestone, Epton cracked: “No different. I’m striving for two.”
Just two years later, the track unveiled the newly dedicated Lightnin’ Epton Ticket Office, with track president Frank Kelleher and members of the France family alongside her for the ceremony.
“We’ve come a long way, and I’ve seen a lot,” Epton said in 2008. “This place is like my family. I’ve always followed one rule: Treat people like you would like to be treated. We wouldn’t be where we are today if we had mistreated our first customers. I know they will always like racing, but they don’t have to come back if we don’t treat them with respect.”
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The second annual NASCAR Day Giveathon proved to be another success, so much so that the fundraising efforts have been extended until Sunday, May 19 at 10 p.m. ET, after the North Wilkesboro NASCAR All-Star Race. This morning in a surprise announcement, Gainbridge, a Group 1001 company, donated a matching gift of $77,000, resulting in the extension of the Giveathon to reach a new fundraising goal of $770,000 for qualifying charities.
The Giveathon, which ran for 37 hours on May 14 and 15, raised $482,864 from 2,822 donors from all 50 states, impacting nonprofits representing a wide variety of causes and initiatives in our racing communities and across the country.
The new fundraising goal was selected in conjunction with Gainbridge, an official sponsor of Spire Motorsports’ Nos. 7 and 77 Chevrolets driven by Corey LaJoie and Carson Hocevar, as part of their Drive to $770,000 campaign. The campaign was designed to help the Giveathon reach $770,000 in donations by Sunday evening and support the many participating charities.
“This year’s NASCAR Day Giveathon showcased the power of our sport to help those who need it most,” said Nichole Krieger, Vice President and Executive Director of The NASCAR Foundation. “Sponsors like Gainbridge have embraced the Giveathon and are going above and beyond in innovative ways to take our efforts to the next level. We are so grateful.”
The announcement comes just days before Gainbridge will run NASCAR Day Giveathon paint schemes at North Wilkesboro Speedway on the No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado of Rev Racing driver Nick Sanchez in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Hocevar’s No. 77 Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro during the All-Star Open.
Sanchez’s truck will feature donor names from the first 24 hours of the NASCAR Day Giveathon and Hocevar’s car will feature a listing of the participating Giveathon nonprofit organizations.
Additionally, although he’s not currently locked into the All-Star Race, Carson Hocevar could earn his spot in the field by winning the fan vote or racing his way in through the NASCAR All-Star Open. If he then goes on to win Sunday’s All-Star Race, Gainbridgeannounced they will make another donation to the Giveathon’s efforts, this time contributing $770,000.
“Giving back to charity is a central part of our mission at Gainbridge and that’s why we really wanted to rev this up a notch,” said Group 1001 Chief of Sponsorship and Activation, Mike Nichols. “We’re proud to team up with Spire Motorsports, Rev Racing and The NASCAR Foundation to drive towards $770,000 for the deserving charities. In addition, NASCAR fans can rally behind Carson on Sunday because if he wins, all the charities win! We’ll make an additional $770,000 donation to the charities if Carson captures his first career (All-Star Race) win. Regardless, it feels like all the charities will be in Victory Lane after the race.”
NASCAR fans can help complete the Drive to $770,000 by donating online at www.NASCARDayGiveathon.org from now until May 19 at 10 p.m. ET. Additional contributions from the Drive to $770,000 match will be shared with all qualified nonprofit organizations participating in the Giveathon.
