A year later, Ross Chastain grasps the impact of the ‘Hail Melon’

Posted on October 24, 2023October 25, 2023 by Reid Spencer

The importance of what he had just done wasn’t immediately apparent to Ross Chastain.

It was Sunday, October 30, 2022, and Chastain had just stolen the final NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 Playoff berth in the Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville Speedway.

Entering the final two corners at the venerable short track, Chastain grabbed fifth gear, pinned his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet against the outside wall and shot around the perimeter like a roulette ball launched around the rim of the wheel.

That impossibly risky, unprecedented move netted Chastain a fourth-place finish — enough to knock an unsuspecting Denny Hamlin out of the playoffs.

But the contribution to NASCAR lore didn’t register right away.

“When we were driving home that night, we stopped in Walkertown, somewhere just south of Martinsville on the way back to Charlotte, and we ate at a Waffle House,” Chastain said before last Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “We were laughing and talking about it, but looking back, it really didn’t (register).

“It wasn’t ’till I went back up there to remove the wall. Mr. Campbell (Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell) had me up. We took a piece of Kubota equipment and lifted the center of the wall out with most of the word ‘Martinsville’ in it. He gave that to us, and that’s going to go with the ‘Hail Melon’ car that (team owner) Justin (Marks) kept.”

In his brief Cup career, Chastain already has added two verbs to the NASCAR lexicon. The first was the pejorative “Chastained,” meaning victimized by overly aggressive driving by the watermelon-farmer-turned-stock-car-star.

The second is “Hail-Melon-ed,” which Hamlin’s crew chief, Chris Gabehart, used to describe the move that knocked Hamlin out of the playoffs, as in his driver “got Hail-Melon-ed.”

For his part, Hamlin never saw it coming.

“Chris told me how many spots we had to get (to advance to the next round) with very few laps,” recalled Hamlin, who finished fifth. “I was trying to get as many as I could, and Chris was constantly telling me where we were.

“I just remember him saying we were two points ahead going down the back straightaway on the last lap, battling Brad (Keselowski) for one more position. At that point, I didn’t think there was a need to push the envelope anymore. But, yeah, ended up out of it, and all I remember is him (Chastain) being there beside me at the end.”

Second-place finisher Kyle Larson had a better idea than Hamlin that something unique was happening behind him.

“You look in the mirror to see kind of how close the guy is behind you, and I remember just seeing something kind of going on … like, coming off Turn 4 there was a new car in my mirror, so that’s all I really remember from that.

“And then you see the replay and all that. Yeah, that was crazy, for sure, and I’m sure we’ll see the highlight of it a million more times as we lead into Martinsville. But, yeah, that was definitely wild.”

Since its installation as the penultimate race on the NASCAR Cup schedule in 2020, Martinsville has provided high drama, and it is likely to do so once again in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

MORE: 2023 Martinsville playoff weekend schedule

Facing a must-win situation in 2020, Chase Elliott did just that and went on to claim the series title the following Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.

By the time Chastain had finished his unlikely trip around the outside wall last year, Christopher Bell had crossed the finish line for an 11th-hour victory that propelled him into the Championship 4.

Time may blur the memory of those accomplishments, but the “Hail Melon” will remain at the forefront of the sport’s history.

Though the physical evidence of the feat may be obliterated by the removal of the wall section and a fresh coat of paint, Chastain’s name will be linked inextricably with that imaginative path to the Championship 4.

“As I removed the wall, that’s where it really set in,” Chastain said, harkening back to March 7, when he was gifted with the wall section. “That was the moment it sunk in. It just kind of hit me that this always will be something that I’m remembered for.

“It made it even sweeter to go to Nashville this year and win after that — because it was like a third win in 2022 — but I don’t want that to be my lasting legacy. I want to win more races and fight for everything we can fight for.”

Posted on October 24, 2023October 24, 2023 by Zack Albert

“There is no magic in it,” Christopher Bell insists, pressed to explain his special knack for premium performance in adverse circumstances, both dire and desperate. His latest nifty bit of on-track tenacity last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway required no sleight of hand, no presto change-o, and the smoke billowing from his No. 20 Toyota’s post-race burnout wasn’t a screen for some other sort of trickery or switcheroo.

Instead, Bell spelled out, it’s a matter of extensive seasoning, having faced chips-down scenarios at each stage of his professional driving tenure. The same clutch impulses that helped him become a star in the ultra-competitive dirt-track realm — where qualifying for a main event is sometimes a wringer unto itself — also aided him on the way to a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title in 2017, back when the elimination-style playoff format for that circuit was in its infancy.

“You improve on things every time you get into that position,” Bell says, making it a reasonable leap to say he has been preparing all his career for those type of moments. For the second straight year, those same credentials, cultivation in the clutch and tendency for diffusing pressure have him and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team on the brink of his first Cup Series crown.

Bell converted in Sunday’s 4EVER 400, landing his second consecutive berth in the Championship 4 field for the Nov. 5 season finale at Phoenix Raceway. The Homestead victory didn’t hold exactly the same critical “walk-off” nature of the two round-ending wins that clinched his title-race spot last season, but Bell’s ability to rally from midrace hardships more than met the high-stakes criteria.

It’s a world where Bell thrives, though given a choice, he says he’d prefer an easier path.

“I would rather be the regular-season champion and be able to cruise in on points,” said Bell, who led 26 of the final 38 laps. “In Phoenix, I would rather have a five-second lead and just cruise. I don’t want to have to be put in those positions. But I do live for those moments. I love being great or trying to be great, I should say. Yeah, I love it.”

Bell faced a climb from the beginning Sunday, starting an unlucky 13th and carrying a three-point deficit relative to the provisional elimination line. He was also just a week removed from the sting of a runner-up outcome in the round opener, a narrow loss to Kyle Larson that would have propelled him to Phoenix if their finishing order was reversed.

Bell clambered up to ninth place at the end of the first stage, but went the opposite way through the event’s midsection. An adjustment by veteran crew chief Adam Stevens didn’t connect for either Bell or the No. 20, and the team sunk to 22nd place by the second stage break — their points gap cresting minus-25 as the laps ticked away.

Another set-up change at the intermission provided an opportunity, and the car set sail with Bell’s guidance. “Still wasn’t quite thinking a win yet,” Stevens said of his initial final-stage gains. “But, man, the more you pile on his shoulders, it seems like the better he does.”

When fellow contenders Larson and Denny Hamlin fell out with late-race issues, Bell was there to capitalize and complete his methodical march back to the front. Even after dropping two positions on his final pit stop, Bell responded to ensure that his return to Phoenix would include a title shot. Pursuits by Ryan Blaney and William Byron — both multiple-time winners this season — were turned back.

Last year, Bell’s crunch-time conquering came at the end of the Round of 12 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, then again with a win three weeks later at Martinsville Speedway to cap the Round of 8. He won’t need to replicate those dramatic results in this weekend’s return to Martinsville for Sunday’s Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM, NBC Sports App). His Homestead heroics did enough.

MORE: Weekend schedule: Martinsville

“As far as what makes Christopher great in these pressure situations, he just loves it,” said Stevens, who was crew chief for both of Kyle Busch’s Cup Series titles in 2015 and 2019. “He loves trading paint and racing for the win. The closer you can get him to the front, the better he does. That’s just the makeup of a real racer and somebody who was born to do this.”

Bell is only in his fourth season at NASCAR’s top level, but that didn’t stop the drawing of a connecting line to Kevin Harvick, whose driving days in the Cup Series will come to an end at Phoenix. Harvick tributes were everywhere at Homestead, from the pre-race ceremonies, his throwback paint scheme, to the race name itself — a nod to the theme of “4EVER” for his farewell tour.

Harvick earned the nickname “The Closer” for his propensity to finish strong in many of his 60 career Cup Series victories. Bell’s big-league win total is now just a tenth of that figure, but it’s at least a start toward inheriting some of that reputation, if not the nickname.

“I mean, Harvick is obviously one of the greatest to ever do it. I’m a far stretch from that,” Bell said. “I am proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish I guess is the right way to say it. But I don’t think that anybody will be ‘The Closer.’ That’s Kevin’s motto, that’s what he did. Hopefully, I’m Christopher Bell.”

Posted on October 24, 2023October 24, 2023 by Cara Cooper

Jake Gille has “watched a million laps, ran a million laps,” at Illinois’ Rockford Speedway.

Gille, now 34, began racing at Rockford in 2005 when he was 16. He’s won two track titles (2015 and 2022) and most recently finished third in Rockford’s Late Model division. Even though Gille called this season “extremely average,” he won a race on Aug. 13, which was even more meaningful to him because the win came in Rockford’s final season.

Officials at Rockford, a NASCAR Home Track in Loves Park, Illinois, announced this spring it will close for racing and large spectator events at the completion of the 2023 season. The track has been hosting races for more than 70 years.

Gille began watching races at Rockford when he was a kid and his dad and uncle were racing. The elder Gilles started in the sport in 1985.

“I basically grew up there at the playground and stuff. I was there every Saturday,” Gille said.

There was always something about racing that drew Gille in.

“I guess I just love being there. The sounds, smells, speed. You’ve got to work at it. There’s numbers and science and it’s a lot of different things. It scratches a lot of itches.”

Gille has raced throughout the Midwest in traveling series, and he said there’s something about Rockford that fits him as a driver.

“It’s hard to be beat the feel there,” he said. “It feels extremely fast because it’s so tight and it’s got a lot of banking. It feels a lot faster than it is sometimes, but stuff happens quick, too, and you’ve always got to keep your head up. There’s not a lot of time to relax, and I kind of like that.

“You have to be aggressive pretty much all the time, and that’s what I grew up watching, that’s what I’m used to doing.”

Gille’s dad Tom still helps him work on the car each week, along with Jeff Turnure, Ryan Smith, Mike Magnussen and Greg Walling.

His wife Amber is also there “every week, helping us out with stuff,” Gille said.

This year he’s also been able to bring his three kids into the pits on race days, which has made races a little more special.

“That’s been nice having them around,” he said of his kids. “It’s nice because me and my friends who are all parked next to us, we all have our kids with us and they’re all out in the front of the trucks playing, so it’s kind of a nice family vibe down there where we park.”

Gille’s children haven’t started racing yet, but with his youngest daughter getting ready to turn 8, he knows they’re probably going to start asking soon.

(Photo: Rockford Speedway)

Gille will continue racing next season in the Big 8 traveling late model series, and probably full time at Madison International Speedway in Wisconsin.

Gille will race one final time at Rockford on Oct. 28, the Last Lap Season Classic Finale, a day that will include Late Models, Figure 8, RoadRunners, Midgets, Vintage and Spectacular Drags.

National Short Track weekend, the championship night at Rockford, was emotional, but Gille said the real emotions will come when everyone lines up for one final green flag.

“(National) Short Track (Weekend), because it’s the end the year, it’s special,” he said. “A lot of those guys that came there, it’s the last time they’ll ever race there. But this one is going to be a little bit harder on me because it’s the last time. It’s going to be weird.

“It’s where I got started. That place is home. It’s where I spent every weekend in the summer for 35 years. … There’s a lot of familiar faces you grew up with that you’re racing against now. We always watched our dads there, and we’re racing each other now. It’s a particular feel that you don’t necessarily get at a lot of places.”

(Photo: Hotshot Photography/Rockford Speedway)

If he doesn’t get a win at the end of the month, Gille said he’s just happy he was able to get one victory in his final season. He’s done everything he hoped to do at his home track, and he’s happy to go out on a high note.

“It’s always what I wanted to do. I’m glad we got to do it as long as we did, honestly,” he said. “I’m just glad we got one. We were able to put our names on that. There were a lot of different cars there this year all trying to run the last couple nights, and a lot of really good cars running for points, too. It was pretty competitive all summer so I’m glad we got one.

“Obviously it would mean a lot, but then again I’ve kind of accomplished all the things I wanted to there, so another one would kind of just be a bonus. I do hope it’s somebody from around here that gets the last one. I hope that happens. It would mean a lot to me.

“If I could walk off a winner, that would be cool, but I really just want to be a part of it and enjoy it.”

Posted on October 24, 2023October 26, 2023 by Adam Fenwick

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has been an important part of Danny Watts Jr.’s life for a long time.

His involvement in the series started in the late 1980s as a driver, which saw him make 43 starts spread across 11 seasons through 2015. He then shifted to the ownership side of the sport, fielding cars for familiar faces like Ron Silk, Ted Christopher, Woody Pitkat, Anthony Nocella and, most recently, Craig Lutz.

Now, with one race left in the 2023 season, Watts is preparing to say his goodbyes. He is set to retire from full-time team ownership in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour following Thursday’s Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at Martinsville Speedway.

“I can’t keep that pace up anymore. I’m 62 years old and it’s a little rough doing that,” said Watts, who has called Long Island home his entire life. “It’s definitely time to back it down a little bit.”

Watts was raised around racing. When he was a child, his father raced figure 8s and bombers, and he would help him prepare his race cars. Once he was old enough, Watts began his own racing career with an old Chevelle that he turned into a Street Stock.

“I raced Street Stocks all over the place,” Watts recalled. “Jersey, Riverhead, Islip, Thompson, Stafford; wherever I could go, I raced. When Bob Park had one of his first Troyer cars for sale, I bought it. I turned it into an SK (Modified) car, me and a friend of mine, and I went SK racing when that first started.

“Making those trips from Long Island to Stafford and Thompson with an old 1960 Chevy pickup truck was kind of rough. I got wrecked a few times, and I said to myself, ‘If I’m going to be spending this kind of money and time going up here and getting wrecked, I may as well just stay home and buy a Modified motor.’ That’s how that happened. That’s where it started.”

Watts spent two seasons as a full-time competitor at Riverhead Raceway, where he earned two wins in a Modified during his career. However, as things changed at Riverhead, Watts decided he wanted to venture out.

Craig Lutz, driver of the No. 82 Horton Avenue Materials Modified, qualifies for the Jersey Shore 150 at New Jersey’s Wall Stadium Speedway on July 8, 2023. (Kostas Lymperopoulos/NASCAR)

That meant hitting the road to race with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour whenever his work schedule allowed.

“I just figured I’d go out there wherever I could go to race,” Watts said. “I liked it because it was organized. Riverhead was a bullring. I will admit I did get tore up there a few times. I finally decided that I can travel whenever my work would allow me to. I grabbed a couple of guys, a couple of my friends, we did whatever we could do.”

As a driver, Watts’ best effort with the Modified Tour came in 1997 at Jennerstown Speedway, when he finished 10th in a field that included drivers like Tom Baldwin, Tony Hirschman, Rick Fuller, Reggie Ruggiero, Junior Miller, Jan Leaty and Jamie Tomaino.

After making a single Modified Tour start in 1998, Watts stepped away from racing to spend more time with his family. However, as it so often does, the alure of racing proved too strong. Watts eventually returned to competition.

He made two Modified Tour starts in 2014. At that point, Watts was in his early 50s, and he quickly realized that maybe it was time to let someone else do the driving.

“I realized I’m not young anymore,” Watts explained. “I had a motorcycle accident while I was racing, and that kind of set me back a lot. I went to New Hampshire and I got caught up in a real bad wreck with Ron Yuhas. His car went up on its nose and I ended up in the hospital, too, just to get checked out because I got my bell rung pretty good.

“After that, I went to Thompson and blew a right-front and hit the wall again, and after that I said, ‘You know what, I can’t keep doing this.’”

He made three more Modified Tour starts one season later. He finished the 2015 season by competing at North Carolina’s Concord Speedway during the annual North-South Shootout, but a near-miss during the event directly led to his decision to stop driving race cars.

“I had gotten around there pretty good and things were working good,” Watts said. “It had rained the night before and there were weepers coming out of the track. They all told me don’t hit the weeper. Well I got up a little high and I hit those weepers. I missed the pit wall by probably two inches.

“I said to myself, ‘You know what, I don’t need to be doing this anymore. I’ve got too many people depending on me.’”

Danny Watts Jr. (82) races alongside Brandon Ward in 2015 at Concord Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, during the North-South Shootout. The event was Watts’ final race as a driver. (Photo: Adam Fenwick)

By this point, Watts had lots of new equipment and race cars, and he wasn’t ready to totally leave racing. He decided to hit the ground running in 2016 by going full-time as an owner with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

He hired Ron Silk, who at that point hadn’t won since 2012, to drive his No. 82 for the full Whelen Modified Tour season. In their third race together, Silk won at Connecticut’s New London-Waterford Speedbowl.

After parting ways with Silk early in 2017, Watts hired Ted Christopher to drive his race cars. He did so until Christopher died in a plane crash on Sept. 16, 2017. Woody Pitkat took over the No. 82 and drove for the team through the 2019 season, which included earning Watts’ second win as a team owner at New Jersey’s Wall Stadium Speedway.

Chase Dowling briefly drove for Watts in late 2019 and early 2020 before Anthony Nocella took over the car for the majority of 2020 and 2021. Craig Lutz became the full-time driver of the No. 82 starting in 2022, a role he has held since. Lutz delivered Watts’ third Modified Tour win last year at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

Fast forward to 2023, and Watts admitted he’s starting to run out of gas. Between making sure his Modified Tour team makes it to the track each week and managing his businesses, it’s become a lot for Watts to handle.

When Lutz came to him and told him he’d signed a deal to drive for Russell Goodale during the 2024 Modified Tour season, Watts decided now was as good a time as ever to retire.

“I’d been dropping hints all year that I’m probably gonna not be doing it like I’ve been doing it,” Watts said. “I’ve got things I have to finish. I have things I want to do. I thought this would be perfect timing. Craig got hooked back up with the No. 46 team (owned by Goodale), and I said, ‘Here’s my chance.’”

While Watts is retiring from full-time ownership, that doesn’t mean he’s done with racing entirely. He said he plans to keep one car and just enough equipment to field that car just in case the right driver and opportunity present themselves.

“It’s like if you jones for something and you really want it, I have it if I still want to do it,” Watts said. “If somebody comes along with the right offer to run a show here or there, I’ll do it. But I’m giving it one year. Then I’m totally done.”

When the checkered flag waves at Martinsville and the track is silent Thursday night, Watts’ career as a full-time Modified Tour team owner will be over.

Sure, he’ll miss the racing, but what he’ll miss more is all the friends he’s made along the way.

“All my friends are at the race track,” Watts said. “All I know is work and racing. When I go to the race track, it’s a chance to breathe. It’s a chance to talk to people. I’ve grown up doing this. I have some friends outside of racing, but not like at the race track.”

Posted on October 23, 2023October 24, 2023 by Zach Sturniolo

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — The elimination-style format of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs often sparks dramatic moments throughout the postseason. Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway delivered plenty packed into just more than a single hour.

Christopher Bell won to rocket himself back to the Championship 4 for the second consecutive season after a late pass on William Byron, but the final 66 minutes that preceded the checkered flag in the 4EVER 400 flipped a steady playoff run of show on its head.

MORE: Race results | Playoff standings after Homestead

How did Bell rally to another clutch victory? What happened to the day’s dominant driver? And wait, two Joe Gibbs Racing cars had mechanical failures all within the same 120 seconds?

With timestamps provided by Racing Insights, let’s break down the minutes that led to Sunday’s finale and how they altered the championship picture:

All times Eastern.

4:56 p.m.

After leading 38 consecutive laps, Ryan Blaney peels to pit road with 57 circuits remaining. His team’s decision draws second-place runner Kyle Larson in as well.

In an attempt to close the gap on pit entry, Larson overcooks his approach and is forced to slam on the brakes. He veers right, colliding with sand barrels at the pit-wall attenuator, spewing sand upon the track after also making slight contact with Blaney’s back bumper.

Playoff impact — Larson’s Las Vegas victory one week ago means the No. 5 Chevrolet is locked into the Championship 4 and will fight for the 2023 title despite Sunday’s DNF — his eighth of the year. The ensuing caution period benefits Blaney’s No. 12 team as he cycles back to the lead on fresh tires, but the red flag allows the track to cool ahead of a shorter run to the checkered flag — both suboptimal conditions for Blaney to excel. Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and William Byron line up behind him for the subsequent restart.

5:37 p.m.

Denny Hamlin slams the wall at Lap 236 with a mechanical failure moments after restarting alongside Blaney on the front row. Fierce racing between the two allowed Bell and Byron to surpass both of them in separate three-wide moves. But an apparent issue on the No. 11 Toyota sent Hamlin into the SAFER barrier in Turns 1 and 2, ending his day.

Playoff impact — Hamlin was relegated to a 30th-place finish, his second DNF in the past three races. After long appearing as a preemptive lock for the Championship 4, Hamlin now enters this week’s Round of 8 finale 17 points beneath the provisional elimination line. Blaney capitalizes on a 25-plus-point advantage as Hamlin slides down the leaderboard.

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR

5:38 p.m.

Within the next minute, Martin Truex Jr.’s engine goes up in smoke, sending the Regular Season Champion to the garage and ending his race in an instant.

Playoff impact — Truex entered Homestead tied with Hamlin, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, tied two points above the elimination line. With a 29th-place result after qualifying on the pole position, Truex and Hamlin are tied again — this time, both beneath the elimination line. Blaney and Tyler Reddick pounce on the points and begin to work their way closer to the Championship 4.

5:43 p.m.

While his teammates’ days fall apart, Christopher Bell leads the field down pit road under caution with 29 laps remaining. The No. 20 team’s 10.4-second stop costs Bell two spots as Byron — a 9.3-second pit — and Blaney — 9.4 seconds — capitalize on quicker service to pass Bell on pit road. Bell lines up for the restart in third place. Tyler Reddick picks up one spot to restart seventh.

Playoff impact — Byron catapults back into position to lock his way into the Championship 4 if able to hold onto the lead to win while Blaney has one less car to pass on the track now that he’s in front of Bell. Reddick, who lingered quietly all day with a third-best 6.88 average running position, inches closer toward the front.

5:53 p.m.

It takes Bell a mere 10 minutes to go from losing the lead on pit road to passing Byron for the race win. Bell hounds Byron for eight laps before pulling alongside Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet with 15 to go. He positions his No. 20 Toyota to Byron’s left, runs down the frontstretch door-to-door before using the bottom lane in Turns 1 and 2 to clear Byron and charge forward.

In the meantime, Reddick works from seventh up to fourth place.

Playoff impact — All momentum shifts to Bell’s favor as he takes control of the race’s late stages. Byron’s slide to second isn’t an ultimate detriment as he maintains above the elimination line, but the No. 24 team knows that win would erase any doubts. Reddick chips away at the deficit to Blaney.

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR

6:02 p.m.

The checkered flag waves over Christopher Bell, who mounts a stellar rally after falling to 22nd at the end of Stage 2, losing the lead again late, all to secure his spot in the Championship 4 for the second straight season. Ryan Blaney charges back to second place and Reddick to third as Byron drops to fourth. Playoff drivers sweep the top four positions, but none of the other four Round of 8 contenders finish better than 21st (Chris Buescher).

Playoff impact — Bell puts any doubt to rest as he scores another dramatic and clutch victory at one of the season’s most critical points. Blaney maximizes a strong day that includes a Stage 2 victory, leaving him fourth in the standings, 20 points behind Byron but 10 above the provisional elimination line. Reddick walks away 10 points beneath the elimination line, closest of those below. Hamlin and Truex leave 17 points behind Blaney while a tough day for Chris Buescher puts him 43 points to the negative.

Posted on October 23, 2023 by Staff Report

Las Vegas is no stranger to weddings hosted in unorthodox locations. From extravagant scenery to an average drive-thru wedding, the city has many places to get married.

However, what better location to tie the knot than at the track?

That’s exactly what lucky couple Tori Lindsay and Nick Brendel got to do during the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Busch Light hosted the 10-second “Pit Stop Wedding” after putting out a call to all couples back in August who wished to get married in one of the fastest ceremonies possible, hosted by the Busch Guy himself.

Dressed in fire suits, Tori and Nick said their “I do’s” at Kevin Harvick’s pit stall as the No. 4 team completed their first stop of the race.

“Nick surprised me by proposing during our own pit stop at the NASCAR Hall of Fame while road tripping over the summer, and we could have never imagined that Busch Light would soon be helping us get married at Kevin Harvick’s pit stop in the wedding capital of the world,” Tori said. “This has been a dream come true. The race was one of the best days of our lives, and we are eager to see what the future holds!”

Cheers to the happy couple, who toasted the special occasion with Busch Light.

Posted on October 23, 2023October 26, 2023 by Brandon White

An eventful 2023 season for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour ends on Thursday night at the historic Martinsville Speedway with the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200.

Modifieds have long been intertwined with Martinsville’s proud history since the track first opened its doors to competitive auto racing in 1947. Among those who claimed victories in the early days of Martinsville include many of the discipline’s all-time greats, such as Ray Hendrick, Jerry Cook, Bugs Stevens, Satch Worley and Richie Evans.

When the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was created in 1985, Martinsville frequently served as a season finale for the division during the 1980s and early 1990s. After being removed and rotated on the schedule several times during the past two decades, Martinsville became the terminus for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour once again last year.

A talented group of drivers are making the trip to Martinsville on Thursday evening for one last opportunity at claiming a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory in 2023, all while the title gets settled between two series mainstays.

Tickets to the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 are available here. Below is everything you need to know for Thursday’s championship race.

Ron Silk leads Justin Bonsignore by 13 points heading into the season-ending Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Dakota Moyer/NASCAR)

Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at Martinsville Speedway

What to watch for:

Since the first green flag waved at New Smyrna Speedway, the two most dominant drivers in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this year have been Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore.

The two series veterans have matched one another in nearly every category. Both have five victories, nearly the same amount of Top 5s and have led more than 625 laps this season.

Silk finds himself leading the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings by 13 points ahead of Bonsignore heading into Martinsville Speedway. The gap between the two would have been closer if not for a poor restart by Bonsignore late into the penultimate event at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park that relegated him to a 13th-place finish.

Should Silk hold onto the points lead at Martinsville, he would claim his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour title since the 2011 season. For Bonsignore, he is attempting to claim his fourth championship after last accomplishing that feat in 2021.

MORE MARTINSVILLE: Watch the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 on FloRacing

There will be a plethora of drivers standing in the way of both Silk and Bonsignore as they look to close out potential title runs with a victory. Among the regulars on the star-studded entry list include Matt Hirschman, Austin Beers, and Kyle Bonsignore, all of whom have tallied at least one win in 2023.

Long-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour car owner Danny Watts Jr. is set to retire following the conclusion of Thursday’s Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200. Watts has found success with drivers like Silk, Ted Christopher and Woody Pitkat while in the series and will look to add one more victory with current driver Craig Lutz at Martinsville.

Two members of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers list, NASCAR Cup Series veterans Ryan Newman and Bobby Labonte, are also competing at Martinsville on Thursday. Other notable names set to take the green flag include 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion and current Cup Series driver Ryan Preece, Patrick Emerling, Burt Myers, Bobby Santos III, Andy Jankowiak and many more.

The complete entry list for the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 can be found here.

The garage area will be crowded at Martinsville Speedway on Thursday with an entry list currently featuring 39 cars. (Photo: Veasey Conway/NASCAR)

RACE FACTS

Race	Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200
Date	Oct. 26, 2023
Track	Martinsville Speedway
Layout	0.526-mile paved oval
Location	Martinsville, Virginia
Start time	8 p.m. ET
Laps	200
Posted awards	$109,345
Live stream	FloRacing (Live)

Schedule: Thursday, Oct. 26 … Final practice from 3 to 4 p.m. ET … Qualifying at 5:30 p.m. ET … Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at 8 p.m. ET (FloRacing)

Qualifying: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time. Starting field for the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 is limited to 32 starters including Provisional Positions.

Tire allotment: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is twelve (12) tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires myst be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event. The tire change rule is four (4) tires, any position.

Posted on October 22, 2023October 24, 2023 by Zach Sturniolo

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Ryan Blaney put himself in position to earn the most critical win of his career to date. Those efforts ultimately fell short, but the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford left Homestead-Miami Speedway in steady shape heading into the final race of the Round of 8.

Blaney led 53 laps in Sunday’s 4EVER 400 and at times appeared set for victory, which would have locked him into his first Championship 4 appearance.

His race changed, however, at Lap 214 coming to pit road under green-flag conditions.

MORE: Race results | At-track photos: Homestead

Blaney was leading Kyle Larson to the pits when Larson tried to carry too much speed behind him. Larson lost control, contacted Blaney’s right-rear bumper and slammed into the sand barrels attenuating the pit wall. That brought out the red flag for cleanup, allowing track conditions to change out of Blaney’s best favor.

“I really didn’t want to see that red flag,” Blaney said. “I would have liked to have just raced it there with Larson because it was hot and a long run to the end and just see who kinda came out of pit road ahead of each other honestly. Proud of the effort. Good day. I thought we had a good shot, just didn’t really work out for us at the end.”

The damage from Larson’s contact was an afterthought for Blaney, who was unaware of Larson’s charge to pit road until much after the fact. He hadn’t seen the damage upon exiting his No. 12 Ford but didn’t notice any change in the car’s handling.

His strength was the long run, he said, proven multiple times as he worked to pick up positions as green-flag laps ticked away.

On the restart that followed Larson’s Miami beach vacation, Blaney restarted from the lead left of Denny Hamlin. Hamlin got the better run through Turns 1 and 2 to snag the lead and a quick caution put Hamlin in control of the next resumption.

The duo lined up inverted from the previous green flag and Hamlin leaned hard on Blaney’s left-side door for multiple laps. That allowed Christopher Bell to power past for the lead before William Byron came through for second. Not long later, a mechanical failure sent Hamlin into the SAFER barrier and ended his day. Blaney was less than pleased with how the veteran 51-time Cup race winner ran him.

“He tried to slide me two or three times and failed miserably and then just decided to use me up,” Blaney said. “I mean if you’re gonna slide somebody, slide somebody and commit. Don’t halfway do it and use me up. So what did he say? Hack? I think he was that today.”

Ryan Blaney expressed frustration with the No. 11 after the race Sunday. pic.twitter.com/T8rwQSoGSf

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 22, 2023

Through frustrating moments and lost track position, Blaney and Co. persevered to a runner-up finish, holding the fourth and final spot above the provisional elimination line with a 10-point buffer to fifth-place Tyler Reddick. Next week’s round finale is set for Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 29 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) — one of Blaney’s best tracks on the Cup Series circuit.

Blaney has yet to win at the 0.526-mile oval, but he owns a 9.5 average finish — his best on any track with three or more starts — with seven top fives and nine top 10s in 15 starts. Still, he’s not willing to write his name into the Championship 4 in pen quite yet.

“You never know,” Blaney said. “I mean it’s nice to go back to a place where you feel like you have somewhat of a clue of how to get around there and kind of know what you need. But at the end of the day, you never know what’s gonna happen. So we had a pretty good run there in the spring and hopefully we can replicate it.”

Posted on October 22, 2023October 24, 2023 by Staff Report

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates and playoff contenders Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. exited Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race within a lap of each other, falling out with separate issues in the late going at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Hamlin’s JGR No. 11 Toyota crashed into the outside retaining wall in Turn 1 with 32 laps left in the 4EVER 400, with the veteran driver telling his crew on the radio that he had encountered a steering issue before the wall contact. Hamlin limped the battered No. 11 back to pit road, and he exited the car unhurt.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

“We really battled back well today,” Hamlin said after a check at the infield care center. “Just a tough break.”

During the caution period for Hamlin’s wreck, Truex’s No. 19 Toyota showed signs of smoke as it circulated behind the pace car. Truex told his crew that he felt the engine was failing, and he also headed to the pits to end his day.

Hamlin finished 30th in the 36-car field, retiring 31 laps shy of the full 267-lap distance. Truex completed just one more lap than Hamlin and was credited with 29th.

Both drivers sit 17 points below the provisional elimination line in the Cup Series Playoffs picture, heading to Sunday’s Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM, NBC Sports App) at Martinsville Speedway. The 500-lapper is the final race in the Round of 8, and the title-eligible field will be whittled from eight drivers to the four who will race for the Cup Series crown in the Nov. 5 finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Two spots remain in the Championship 4 field. Kyle Larson clinched his title-race berth with a win Oct. 15 at Las Vegas, and Christopher Bell — a teammate to Hamlin and Truex at JGR — snapped up another spot by winning Sunday’s race at Homestead.

Hamlin has reached the Championship 4 in four of the last five seasons. Truex, the Regular Season Champion this year, has made the final four on five occasions.

Posted on October 22, 2023October 24, 2023 by Alex Cadavid

After the eighth race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs concluded at Homestead-Miami Speedway, here’s a quick look at the playoff picture.

WINNER

Christopher Bell took the checkered flag to win at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Bell was almost out of contention for the win before a red flag caused by Kyle Larson’s crash eventually brought him into the top three with 38 laps to go. After struggling with handling all day, the short-run speed paid off for Bell as he was able to make a crucial pass on William Byron for the win.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

WHO’S HOT?

Ryan Blaney. After a mix of emotions last week, Blaney was rejuvenated and quick at Homestead. After going top-three fastest in practice, Blaney continued to ride the wall, grabbing a stage win and finished second. He has some newfound momentum heading into Martinsville above the elimination line.

William Byron. After a quiet weekend in Las Vegas, Byron roared back to the front in Homestead. Byron steadily improved all weekend at Homestead. He was a threat to win all race long but managed to net a fourth-place finish, keeping him red-hot in the playoffs.

RELATED: Full playoff standings

WHO’S NOT?

Denny Hamlin. Hamlin ran strong all weekend and even looked like a threat to win in Miami. However, a late race run-in with the wall due to an apparent mechanical issue in his car took him out of the lead. He would finish 30th. There is hope in next week’s race at Martinsville, a track where Hamlin has three top-five finishes in his last five starts and five career wins overall. He may need a sixth win there to advance to the Championship 4.

Martin Truex Jr. Truex and the No. 19 team continue to face major challenges in these playoffs. A late engine issue took him out of the race after he ran most of the day inside the top 10. Like Hamlin, Truex is 17 points below the elimination line with one race to go before the Championship 4 is set.

NEXT RACE

The Round of 8 concludes at Martinsville Speedway for the Xfinity 500 on Oct. 29 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

BUBBLE WATCH

Rank	Driver	Cutoff
1	Kyle Larson	WIN
2	Christopher Bell	WIN
3	William Byron	30
4	Ryan Blaney	10
	ELIMINATION LINE
5	Tyler Reddick	-10
6	Martin Truex Jr	-17
7	Denny Hamlin	-17
8	Chris Buescher	-43