Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. soaked in every high and low in his return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

A two-time champion some 25 years ago, Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t get many opportunities to get back to racing on the national-series level since his Cup Series retirement after the 2017 season. The Class of 2021 NASCAR Hall of Famer has returned to Xfinity competition at least once a year from stepping away, though, and maximized his most recent endeavor, leading 47 laps and running well inside the top five for much of the evening.

Even a night that went aflame — literally, as an electrical issue sparked a fire beneath his steering column and near his feet inside the final 30 laps, leading him to a 30th-place DNF — couldn’t erase his post-race giddiness.

“I just know one thing — I didn’t cause no problems tonight for nobody,” Earnhardt Jr. said with a laugh. “That was a big deal for me. I didn’t wanna come in here and screw up somebody’s championship. Everybody would be like, ‘That damn Junior don’t need to be out there!'”

MORE: Xfinity Playoffs standings | Dale Jr. through the years

Unsurprisingly, Earnhardt Jr. proved once again he indeed still belongs in a race car. Friday marked his first race at Bristol since 2017 and latest overall since an appearance at Martinsville Speedway in April 2022, when he qualified 30th before rallying to finish 11th.

It was qualifying that had Earnhardt — a 50-time winner across Cup and Xfinity competition — concerned at Bristol. That 30th-place qualifying effort at Martinsville barely saw him advance into the race.

“I ain’t never been as nervous as I was (Friday),” he said. “I’ve raced my whole career locked into every race I’ve ever went to, and I’ve never really had to sweat it out or worry about something happening and missing the show. And that’s not fun. It’s the worst feeling ever. …

“I did not feel like I got enough laps in practice to understand nothing. I felt like everything was way ahead of me, and I was way behind on what I was seeing and processing mentally — but that was the way it was when I came here as a full-timer. I mean, this place just takes time to get up to speed. Your brain ain’t processing everything that’s coming at it visually, but it eventually slows down.

“So I feel like that was probably as nervous as I’ve ever been. Probably more nervous than my very first (Cup) qualifying attempt at Charlotte as a rookie. I mean, I’m thinking back, and there’s nothing more gut-wrenching than wondering if you might go home, missing a race. I ain’t never failed to qualify for a race, and being presented with that reality was frightening.”

Luckily for Junior — and his swath of loyal fans — that fear was short-lived. His lap at 120.596 mph was good for 15th on the starting grid, plenty quick enough to make the show and charge to the front.

Earnhardt Jr. lingered inside the top four much of the evening before eventually nabbing the lead. These days, he’s hesitant to set any sort of lofty expectations for himself, the result of doing this once yearly since 2018, although he’s scheduled to return a second time at Homestead-Miami Speedway in just over four short weeks. Since making these annual starts, Junior has viewed himself as a fifth- to 12th-place runner. He would have been plenty happy with that Friday. Turns out he was destined for a little better than that.

“I guess if you aim low, you’ll never be disappointed,” Junior said. “I don’t set high expectations, especially at this point in my life, except for certain things. But when it comes to racing, I try not to really get too competitive because when I get competitive, I get miserable, even when I’m running well. These races, for me, are about just coming back and smelling the smells and hearing the sounds and getting reminded what’s going on inside the car and what a driver thinks about.

“I feel like that the further I get removed from my driving career, the harder it is to be a broadcaster and an analyst,” continued Earnhardt, a regular in NBC Sports’ NASCAR commentary booth. “And so running these races is all about learning and relearning really and reminding yourself what a driver thinks and goes through in certain situations and just so that stuff’s fresh on your mind.”

He certainly got the full experience on Friday night when an electrical short inside the cockpit led to a fire near the floorboard of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

“We had a positive wire short up in the top of the dash, and the casing on the wire melted down onto the leg brace and caught the foam in the leg brace and the cloth cover of the leg brace on fire, so it burnt the leg off my uniform. It was like another lap, and I was probably gonna be blistered up.

“No burns on my leg. Just barely escaped,” Junior smirked. “I was disappointed to have to get out. We were gonna run fourth or better.”

The charred fire suit of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s right leg after his NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol
Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Studios

At age 48 — 49 by the time he races again on Oct. 21 at Homestead-Miami — how often Earnhardt will make these one-off appearances back in one of NASCAR’s national series remains to be determined. But Friday served as a good shot in the arm that he can still be competitive when he zips up the fire suit, pulls on the helmet and straps into one of his team’s quick Chevrolets.

“I mean, I’ll run as long as I can. I like running one here and one there,” he said. “I mean, certainly not until I’m 60 years old. But I think I still feel young. I overachieved tonight in my eyes in terms of how I ran, so I guess that gave me some confidence to try to do one here and one there for a couple more years.”

Oh, and he still got to visit Victory Lane — thanks to JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier, who wheeled the No. 7 Chevrolet to the win.

“I’m real happy for Justin,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Winning at Bristol is such an amazing accomplishment for any driver. This kind of ranks up there with Darlington in terms of being a driver’s race track. You’ve got to be tough and move around and defense and be on the offense and gotta (have your) head on a swivel out there. All the good drivers seem to do well and figure this place out. It’s not a place where you get any flukes. Proud for him.”

Posted on by Press Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (September 19, 2023) – After winning his opening 11 races of the season at Langley Speedway, 26-year-old Connor Hall captured his first NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championship.

The championship is the first for a Langley Speedway-based driver in the top division of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series in the 73-year history of the track. The late Shawn Balluzzo won the Division II national title in 2011.

Hall’s opening series of wins included 10 Weekly Series Late Model Stock events, and the CARS Tour event on June 3. He would go on to tally 18 total wins in 26 Weekly Series races at Langley (14 of the wins), Hickory Motor Speedway (three wins) and Southern National Motorsports Park (one win), recording 23 top-five and 24 top-10 results overall.

The championship is a full-circle moment for Hall, who got his start in racing at the age of eight with the Hampton Roads Kart Club at Langley. He competed in Karts for seven years before trying his hand at arena racing and then Legends cars. He began racing Late Models in 2014.

“Connor had a storybook path to a title, winning the championship by racing out of the track where he first got his start as a young child,” said Joseph Dennewitz, NASCAR Managing Director, Touring Series. “And as NASCAR wraps up its 75th Anniversary season, it’s especially meaningful to have a grassroots champion from one our most historic short tracks win the Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series title.”

Hall is a professed Late Model Stock Car fan, running home from school on Mondays as a kid to watch local highlight videos on YouTube that recapped the exploits of drivers such as Lee Pulliam, Phillip Morris and Josh Berry at tracks like South Boston Speedway and Motor Mile Speedway. This makes winning the Weekly Series championship that much sweeter for the Virginia driver.

RELATED: How Connor Hall won the 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National Championship

“The biggest thing for me is I grew up as the biggest Late Model Stock Car fan,” said Hall. “I thought these guys were way cooler than the top guys in NASCAR, I have always been obsessed with it. I grew up thinking I would never get to race Late Models, so when I got my first Late Model, we were so bad, but we were so happy to do it at the time.

“That was eight years ago, and to see where we are now, it’s just crazy.”

The magnitude of the championship is just beginning to sink in for Hall, who marked a special anniversary in his Late Model racing career last weekend at Langley when he ran his last race of the points season.

“This past Saturday, that same day six years ago, I got my first win at Langley when I was 20-years old,” said Hall. “To be there six years later and having the national title wrapped up…sitting here talking about it now and where I was six years ago, gives me goosebumps.

“I started Late Model racing in my dad’s garage and we won a national championship out of the same garage.”

In addition to winning the Weekly Series national championship, Hall also won the Southeast Region title.

RELATED: Hall’s 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series season in photos

“From all of us at Advance, we congratulate Connor and his race team on becoming NASCAR champions,” said Samantha Avivi, Advance’s chief marketing officer. “Winning the Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championship requires talent, consistency and passion, all of which Connor demonstrated in his incredible, record-setting season. Connor has proven his status as an elite competitor, and we’re excited to follow along as he advances in his racing career.”

The complete list of regional and state Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champions and Jostens Rookie of the Year awards, as well as the champions of the other national divisions, will be released in the coming days.

Hall next takes to the track this weekend at Martinsville Speedway in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, the nation’s biggest, richest and most prestigious NASCAR Late Model Stock Car race and the final race in the Virginia Triple Crown finale, on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7:00 p.m. Practice and qualifying begin at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 22.

Two-time Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion (2005, 2021) Peyton Sellers, as well as Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, the 2023 Triple Crown points leader and winner of the opening 2023 Triple Crown race at Langley Speedway will also be featured in the race. 2023 South Boston Speedway track champion Carter Langley is also slated to compete.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials penalized two teams in the Craftsman Truck Series on Tuesday for lug-nut infractions found after last Thursday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet for playoff driver Nick Sanchez and the No. 17 Tricon Garage Toyota driven by Taylor Gray were each found with one unsecured lug nut after Thursday night’s UNOH 200. The violation of Section 8.8.10.4a in the NASCAR Rule Book resulted in $2,500 fines for each team’s crew chief — Danny Stockman (No. 2 team) and Jacob Hampton (No. 17).

RELATED: Craftsman Truck Series standings | Bristol race results

Gray drove to a fifth-place finish at Bristol, tops among the non-playoff competitors. Sanchez placed ninth and is tied for seventh in the series’ postseason standings, 22 points below the provisional elimination line.

The Craftsman Truck Series is idle this weekend and returns Saturday, Sept. 30, at Talladega Superspeedway (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) for the middle race in the Round of 8.

Posted on by Brandon White

Every Late Model Stock competitor always has one event circled on their calendar each year; the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway.

A proud short track tradition in the southeast since the mid-1980s, the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 regularly draws an entry list of 80 cars or more, all of whom are seeking to take home a grandfather clock at the end of 200 grueling laps.

RELATED: Watch the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on FloRacing

The names that have won the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 are among some of the best in the history of the region. Five-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion Philip Morris leads all drivers with three victories in the race, with other notable winners including Josh Berry, Lee Pulliam, Timothy Peters, Curtis Markham, Mike Skinner and Mark Martin.

A stacked group of competitors consisting of previous ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winners and current Late Model Stock stars are set to make the trip to Martinsville, Virginia this weekend for an opportunity to etch their own legacy into the event’s prestigious history.

Below is everything you need to know about the 2023 ValleyStar Credit Union 300.

Bobby McCarty (22) and Daniel Silvestri (97) lead the field during the 2022 ValleyStar Credit Union 300. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

What TV channel is the 2023 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on?

All the on-track action for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville can be viewed live on FloRacing, the official streaming home for all NASCAR Roots properties.

The event will not be shown on a television network.

Below is the complete schedule for FloRacing’s coverage of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.

Date Event Start Time How to Watch
Friday, Sept. 22, 2023 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 Qualifying 8 p.m. ET FloRacing
Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 1 p.m. ET FloRacing

Complete schedule for the 2023 ValleyStar Credit Union 300

This year’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 will take place on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, with practice and qualifying scheduled for Friday, Sept. 22, 2022.

The event is headlined by the 200-lap feature for Late Model Stocks. There will be four 25-lap qualifying races that will set the field for the main event.

Below is the complete schedule at Martinsville Speedway (all times ET).

  • Friday, Sept. 22
Time Event
6 a.m. Garage and Registration Opens
6:30 a.m. Haulers Enter
8:30 a.m. Mandatory Crew Chief and/or Team Representative Meeting
9 a.m. Inspection Begins
2-6 p.m. Practice
8 p.m. Qualifying
  • Sunday, Sept. 24
Time Event
11:30 a.m. Fan Gates Open
1 p.m. Qualifying Races (25 laps/Top 10 advance)
3-4:30 p.m. Pre-Race/Driver Intros
5 p.m. ValleyStar Credit Union 300 (200 laps)

Official race format

The field for Sunday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 will be set by a combination of qualifying and four 25-lap qualifying races. Competitors will first qualify on Friday evening, with the fastest qualifier earning a $5,000 bonus. However, no competitors will lock into the 200-lap feature from qualifying like in years past.

Instead, the entire 40-car field will be set based on the four 25-lap qualifying races held Sunday prior to the 200-lap main event. The top-10 finishers in each of the four qualifying races will secure starting positions in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. There will be no last chance race.

The 200-lap feature race will include three segments: 100 laps, 75 laps and 25 laps. The winners of the first two segments will each earn $1,000.

In the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 feature, the leader of each lap will receive $25, with $5,000 available in the laps led bonus pool. If the race concludes in overtime, there will be unlimited attempts at a green-white-checkered finish. The race winner will earn $32,000 in addition to taking home the coveted Martinsville grandfather clock.

Peyton Sellers kisses the grandfather clock after winning the 2022 ValleyStar Credit Union 300. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

ValleyStar Credit Union 300 entry list

The current entry list for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 features 88 cars.

Headlining the talented group of drivers is two-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion Peyton Sellers. Last year saw Sellers finally claim a grandfather clock in his 15th attempt at the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, but he will now look to become the first driver to win the event in two consecutive years.

Among the drivers standing in the way of a Sellers repeat are Brenden Queen and Bobby McCarty, who are the two frontrunners in the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown. McCarty opened the Virginia Triple Crown with a victory in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway, while Queen took home a checkered flag in the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway.

More than a Virginia Triple Crown title will be on the line for Queen and McCarty, as both drivers have yet to win the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 in their respective careers to date.

Another notable name seeking their first ValleyStar Credit Union 300 victory is Carson Kvapil, who is driving the No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. A standout in Late Model Stock competition, Kvapil excelled in his first ValleyStar Credit Union 300 last year but came up one spot short to Sellers.

Other entries for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 include 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion Connor Hall, along with 2023 ARCA Menards Series East champion William Sawalich, Landon Pembelton, Doug Barnes Jr., Carter Langley, Jared Fryar, Mike Looney, Kade Brown, Landon Huffman, Katie Hettinger, Kaden Honeycutt and Andrew Grady.

Below is the complete entry list for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.

Car No.  Driver
01 Camden Gullie
01A G.R. Waldrop
03 Brenden Queen
04 Ronnie Bassett Jr.
06 Terry Dease
07 Chase Dixon
07A Kenny Forbes
08 Brody Duggins
09 Riley Gentry
0 Landon Pembelton
1 Trent Barnes
1A Jamie York
1B Andrew Grady
2 Brandon Pierce
2A Josh Kossek
2B Matt Waltz
4 Mike Chambers
4A Kyle Dudley
5 Dexter Canipe Jr.
5A Carter Langley
6 Bobby McCarty
7 Dylan Ward
7A Blayne Harrison
7B Karl Budzevski
8 Thomas Scott
8A Carson Kvapil
8B Chase Burrow
9 Bruce Anderson
10 Kaden Honeycutt
11 Buddy Isles Jr.
14 Jared Fryar
14A Jonathan Worley
14B James Sweeney
15 Logan Clark
15A Kres VanDyke
15B Tristen Barnes
15C Ryan Millington
16 Casey Kelley
17 Jason Myers
18 Anthony Adams
19 Jessica Cann
22 Landon Huffman
23 Kade Brown
23A Zachary Dabbs
24 Mason Diaz
24A Blaise Brinkley
24B Chase Ratliff
25 Derrick Lancaster
25A Jacob Borst
26 Peyton Sellers
26A Tony Housman
31 Chase Robertson
31A Cole Bruce
32 Zack Miracle
33 Dillon Harville
35 Steve Zacharias
38 Riley Neal
41 Davey Callihan
42 Chris Horton Jr.
43 William Sawalich
44 Conner Jones
50 Ross ‘Boo Boo’ Dalton
51 Matt Cox
51A Jamey Caudill
51M Ryan Matthews
57 Jimmy Mullins
59 Heath Causey
61 Justin Hicks
71 Katie Hettinger
75 Cory Dunn
77 Trevor Ward
77A Blake Stallings
77B Connor Hall
81 Adam Murray
87 Mike Looney
87A Tate Fogleman
88 Brad Housewright
88A Doug Barnes Jr.
88B Dustin Rumley
90 John Goin
91 Justin S. Carroll
95 Sam Yarbrough
95A Jacob Heafner
97 Daniel Silvestri
97A Michael Faulk
97W Magnum Tate
99 Austin ‘Willie’ Somero
99A Colby Higgins
Posted on by Brandon White

When the 2022 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 concluded, one driver had everyone in the United States motorsports industry talking.

It was not the race winner Peyton Sellers.

Attention had been centered on Kinston, North Carolina native Andrew Grady all day after he confronted fellow driver Davey Callihan with a barrage of punches while the latter sat in his car. Contact between the two late in their heat race prevented Grady from racing in his first ValleyStar Credit Union 300.

Grady initially dismissed his actions as nothing more than typical frustrations that boil over at short tracks, but it did not take long for him to realize just how many people saw him express his post-heat frustrations.

“I was standing on pit road, and [fellow driver] Jonathan Findley came up to me 15 minutes later to say [former NFL wide receiver] Chad Johnson tweeted me,” Grady said. “I asked if it was Ochocinco Chad Johnson and he said yes. About an hour later, Mike Tyson retweeted [the fight].

“That’s when I realized we might have a problem.”

The catalyst for Grady’s viral moment took place the night before his heat race.

Grady had plenty of confidence in his chances of a strong Martinsville debut following a fifth-place qualifying run. By being up at the front for his heat race, Grady knew a solid starting position for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 was inevitable as long as kept his car out of trouble.

Optimism for Grady was mostly shattered when NASCAR notified him that he did not pass post-qualifying inspection. Grady’s stellar time was subsequently disallowed, putting him at the rear of the field with only 25 laps to climb inside the top 10 and earn a transfer spot.

With the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 heat races having a historically chaotic nature, Grady knew starting at the back presented astronomical odds against making the big race. Despite this, Grady was not going to let an infraction in inspection cost him an opportunity he had dreamed about since watching his father Tony make laps around the track during his childhood.

Through perseverance and a little bit of luck, Grady methodically fought his way to the top 10. He found himself in a heated-but-clean battle with fellow veteran Brandon Pierce for the final transfer spot by the time the white flag was displayed.

As the two leaned on each other, Grady noticed Callihan sail his car into Turns 1-2 to take them three-wide. Callihan hit the curb and ended up sending both Grady and Pierce into the wall, causing significant damage to their cars while Callihan earned the last guaranteed starting position from the heat into the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.

Andrew Grady brings his damaged car back to pit road after getting caught up in a crash with Davey Callihan during a heat race for the 2022 ValleyStar Credit Union 300. (Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

Grady anticipated some bold decisions from other drivers on the verge of missing the cut, yet he was puzzled by what he thought was a “banzai move” from Callihan when he was several car lengths behind him and Pierce.

“I’ve been going to Martinsville for this race since I was 2 years old, so I’ve seen all the crazy stuff happen,” Grady said. “Moving a guy for a transfer spot is one thing, but a kamikaze move that tears up $60,000 in race cars is not something I’d be proud of.”

Although Grady was furious, he had planned to have a cordial-but-firm conversation with Callihan once the two made it back to the garage area.

That was until Grady saw Callihan make a hand gesture toward him as he drove by, which enraged him. As Grady rushed to Callihan’s car and started throwing punches, only one thought crossed his mind.

“Please God, do not let one of these sheriffs tase me,” Grady recalled. “At first, I expected somebody to break it up immediately. I’m punching and looking over my shoulders, but nobody’s coming. It kept going and going until my guys dragged me off.”

Infuriated but also slightly embarrassed knowing the scuffle was caught on video, Grady kept a low profile for the rest of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. Watching Callihan get a lead lap finish only hastened Grady’s desire to put a disappointing weekend at Martinsville behind him.

By the time Grady returned home from the track, his fight with Callihan had garnered 9.5 million views on Twitter. The next day, Grady saw the clip on SportsCenter before he was contacted by CNN, NBC, Fox and other news outlets, all eager to know more about what happened leading up to the fight.

Grady has seen more outlandish events at short tracks during his career and remains confused as to why his confrontation with Callihan ended up going viral. He was enamored by all the attention but admitted to being remorseful about his actions.

“It wasn’t a good look,” Grady said. “NASCAR has always been considered a redneck sport, and we’ve done a good job over the past 15 years trying to change that image, so I kind of set us back. My kids are going to see that, not that I really care because I hope they have the same passion for racing as I do.

“It also opened the door for a lot of trolls.”

Grady’s euphoria from the viral moment wore off once and he his wife became the subject of relentless cyberbullying. The abuse gradually declined over the following weeks, but it made Grady realize how that one decision could have easily ruined his career or enhanced it.

Although he was anticipating a suspension from NASCAR, no disciplinary action was passed down to Grady after the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. Not having to worry about long-term consequences from that day has allowed Grady more time to focus on building up a successful Late Model Stock program with Mike Darne Racing.

With last year behind him, Andrew Grady is determined to make his first ValleyStar Credit Union 300 this weekend. (Photo: Jacob Kupferman/NASCAR)

The 2023 season has seen Grady work rigorously to find efficient speed in both qualifying and race conditions. He emphasized how important time trials are in Late Model Stocks today, especially with the top 20 usually being separated by a couple tenths.

With more than 80 cars expected for this year’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300, Grady said every driver understands that one mistake in qualifying could be the difference between starting at the front or the rear of a respective heat.

“You do not drop the ball in qualifying,” Grady said. “You can feel the tension in the air when we get ready to qualify on Friday night. Usually, all the drivers are joking around and talking, but nobody was talking last year. Everyone was laser focused and it was honestly cool to see.

“Last year, people saw just how seriously we take this race.”

The passion Grady has for Late Model Stock racing was on display for the motorsports to see in last year’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300, but he is hoping for a less eventful weekend while trying to make the 40-car starting grid on Saturday night.

In four attempts from 1999-02, Grady’s dad Tony never qualified for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. The younger Grady intends to fulfill a lifelong dream of finally getting his family name into the Late Model Stock equivalent of the Daytona 500 on Saturday evening.

“It would truly mean everything not just for me, but my entire family,” Grady said. “My dad blew motor while leading a heat race and got wrecked leading a heat race. Crazy stuff happened to him, so hopefully we can get in. All the wins I have are cool, but making Martinsville is something I’ve literally always wanted to do.

“If I can race my way in, it would be one of the highest points of my career.”

Even though he wants to avoid any confrontations with other drivers, Grady would not mind having all eyes centered on him once again in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.

This time as both a fighter and a winner.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. — It’s Denny Hamlin’s world, and we’re just living in it.

Such is the case after a dominant opening round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 11 team. Yes, Hamlin left the Round of 16 with just one win in those three races, but the three-time Daytona 500 champion led at least 63 laps in each of those postseason events — 177 at Darlington Raceway, 63 at Kansas Speedway and 142 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night, when he finally broke back into Victory Lane to capitalize on all that speed.

MORE: Hamlin speaks to the Bristol crowd | All of Hamlin’s Cup victories

Climbing from his purple and white Toyota to claim the checkered flag at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile, Hamlin was welcomed by plenty more jeers than cheers. All in a day’s work, even — and maybe especially — after win No. 51 for Hamlin.

“Everybody likes a winner, right?” Hamlin smirked in his frontstretch interview as boos rumbled around him in Thunder Valley.

Hamlin has never shied away from voicing opinions on any NASCAR topic, no matter how well those thoughts are received. Whether he’s asked about his competitors, the car, the track or the business — the last of which he sees more of these days as co-owner of 23XI Racing — Hamlin speaks. So when the fans talk back, it comes as no surprise that Hamlin is leaning into the role of NASCAR’s “heel” — the guy you love to hate.

“Hey, I beat your favorite driver,” Hamlin told the stadium-like crowd at Bristol. “All of them.”

Hamlin wasn’t always so brash — in part because he wasn’t always so jeered. The inaugural vocal displeasure was most noticeable nearly six years ago, when contact for the lead from Hamlin to Chase Elliott’s rear bumper sent Elliott spinning with less than three laps to go at Martinsville Speedway — one of Hamlin’s home-state tracks. Elliott, these days a five-time recipient of the Most Popular Driver Award, was cheered as he confronted Hamlin — while Hamlin was hammered by boos when his interview hit the public-address system.

The banter with fans has gotten louder in recent years, and Bristol was certainly no exception. When Hamlin was victorious for a record-breaking seventh time at Pocono Raceway this summer, he told spectators they could boo the commemorative rock the track will almost certainly display with Hamlin’s name and number once the veteran racer retires.

“I mean, at some point I’ve got to realize 18 years in that I’m probably not going to win the Most Popular Driver Award,” Hamlin said at Bristol. “I’ve come to the conclusion of that. I understand it. They think they bother me. But clearly, it’s having an opposite effect. I welcome any fan to want to come to the dark side. All five of my fans are still out there chanting my name. They’re over in Turn 3 right now.

“But yeah, as Katt Williams said: A hater can’t stand a winner.”

Denny Hamlin hoists the sword awarded to him for winning at Bristol in Victory Lane
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

The center of attention can be intimidating for anybody, let alone an athlete who spends three-plus hours inside a metal cage wearing a fire suit, helmet and gloves while temperatures ratchet to 125-plus degrees Fahrenheit. But Saturday night, inside the 0.533-mile bullring arena that is Bristol Motor Speedway, Hamlin seemed perfectly comfortable.

“That’s why I love this track, right?” Hamlin said. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s cheers or boos, you’ve earned the right to be on that stage for that given moment, for that interview or whatever it might be. It’s gratifying.

“I mean, I’m a person that feeds off of that because I know my hard work has paid off, right? As tough as it is, it’s like Deion (Sanders, University of Colorado head football coach) says: What in me thinks I care about what you think about me? Because it’s not the same opinion I have of myself, right?

“I know who I am. I know how I treat people. It’s OK, right? It’s OK to have fandom one way or another. But to have just electricity, that’s fun. This is a really fun moment in sports. It’s really fun in NASCAR to have that many fans passionate one way or another, right? That’s good for our sport.”

The way Hamlin is running these days, don’t expect that chatter to start dissipating. The No. 11 Toyota led 382 laps — 33.7% of all circuits completed — over the first three races of the 2023 postseason and netted a third Cup win this season, his most since 2020 when he went to Victory Lane seven times.

Still missing from his resume, though, is a NASCAR Cup Series championship. He’s been close numerous times before, most painfully in 2010 when he fell runner-up to eventual title winner Jimmie Johnson, Johnson’s fifth of seven total. Hamlin’s Bristol win officially marked him the winningest Cup driver of all time without a championship, breaking a short-lived tie with legend and NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson.

RELATED: Full list of NASCAR’s all-time winners

“For me, I feel very blessed and honored to have the amount of wins that we’ve had in this era of NASCAR racing,” Hamlin said. “I’ve been blessed to be with (team owner) Joe Gibbs, honestly. I didn’t have to go with an up-and-coming team; I went straight to Cup in a race-winning car. Wasn’t race winning when I got in it, but the team was, right? I never really had to cut my teeth for years with a lesser organization. That’s carried me.”

And while he has yet to hoist the Bill France Cup at season’s end, Hamlin has qualified for the Championship 4 in three of the last four years and four total times since the elimination-style format was introduced in 2014.

“Certainly, nights like tonight are certainly pleasing after having a couple weeks of, like, ‘Darn, we should have got ’em,’ ” Hamlin said. “Keep knocking on the door, keep showing up, keep making the final four, eventually your number will be called. Hopefully this is the year for it to be called.”

Meanwhile, be careful around Hamlin, who may or may not have the Bristol sword with him next time you see him.

“Anybody talks (expletive),” he joked, “come bring it.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR announced on Sunday during FOX’s NFL coverage that the Busch Light Clash will return to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to start the 2024 season, with the addition of a NASCAR Mexico Series race preceding the event scheduled for Feb. 4. This marks the third straight year that NASCAR will transform the famous stadium into a racing venue for the annual exhibition opener for Cup Series drivers.

“This is a tremendous win for our fans and our sport,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s senior vice president, racing development and strategy. “Not only will the fans see the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series in action, they will also bear witness to the talent and skill that is found within the NASCAR Mexico Series. I can’t think of a better way to begin our 2024 season.”

RELATED: Buy tickets for the 2024 Clash

Joey Logano won the inaugural Busch Light Clash in the Coliseum in 2022, with Martin Truex Jr. taking top honors in 2023. Now fans will get to witness another first as a Mexico Series competitor will get to raise a trophy in a stadium known for hosting the Olympics, USC football games and other top events.

“This is an incredible honor for the NASCAR Mexico Series and its drivers,” said Jimmy Morales, president and general manager of the NASCAR Mexico Series. “The competition in our series is always intense, but I know our drivers will want nothing more than to become the first Mexican driver to win inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This is going to be a race we will not soon forget.”

The list of NASCAR Mexico drivers competing in the event will be announced at a later date.

A single ticket purchased is good for both races, and prices begin at $65 with kids 12-and-under at $10.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Sherry Pollex, who rallied the NASCAR community with her philanthropic efforts to fight cancer, has died. She was 44.

Pollex’s passing was announced Sunday by her family. The cause was cancer, which she had fought since her initial diagnosis in 2014.

Pollex was instrumental in founding Catwalk for a Cause, a charity fashion gala that brought the NASCAR industry together in the fight against childhood cancer. The event was founded in 2010 and has raised more than $4 million to fund initiatives to combat the disease.

That project launch came four years before her own diagnosis with Stage 3 ovarian cancer at age 35. Her charitable works expanded to fund research to help battle ovarian cancer, a form of the disease for which she said treatment and care protocols had made relatively few advancements in the last 30 years. In 2020, her foundation partnered with Novant Health in Charlotte to open the Sherry Strong Integrative Medicine Oncology Clinic.

Pollex and former partner Martin Truex Jr. were named recipients of the National Motorsports Press Association’s Myers Brothers Award for outstanding contributions to the sport of stock-car racing in 2017. Pollex was also a finalist for the Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award in 2022.

Click here to donate to SherryStrong

The 2023 edition of the Catwalk was held just last Wednesday, with Pollex unable to attend. The event’s co-hosts acknowledged Pollex in introductory remarks, lauding her as “an absolute hero” as the crowd gave her a standing ovation.

NASCAR released the following statement: NASCAR is saddened to learn of the passing of Sherry Pollex, whose fight against cancer and determination to help others through the Sherry Strong Foundation was an inspiration to all who knew her. NASCAR and the NASCAR Foundation’s thoughts and prayers are with Sherry’s family and friends.

Sherry Pollex was born in Marshall, Michigan, on May 10, 1979. She later moved with her family to Brighton, Michigan. Both towns were nearly an hour from Michigan International Speedway, where she watched NASCAR races with her family in her youth, sporting a Rusty Wallace T-shirt along with her older sister, Jill.

“The smell of the pines, the lakes — people just don’t know how good it is here,” Pollex said of her home state in a 2015 interview with the Detroit Free Press. She said she grew up as “a hockey kid” who favored the Detroit Red Wings, well before her family’s involvement with racing. When she was first diagnosed with cancer years later, the Red Wings sent her a care package along with a get-well letter.

Pollex’s father, Greg, raced Late Models at dirt tracks in Michigan before branching into team ownership in NASCAR’s national ranks. His ppc Racing operation competed primarily in what is now called the Xfinity Series, claiming the 2000 championship with Jeff Green.

The family moved to Florida during Sherry Pollex’s middle school years, and she later attended Florida State University, where she earned a degree in Sports Marketing. She landed with a marketing firm that had accounts in NASCAR, which strengthened her bond with the sport.

Pollex was introduced to Truex during his climb to prominence in the Xfinity Series, and the two later used their platform for philanthropic works. The driver’s foundation launched in 2007 and focused on assisting children and families affected by pediatric cancer. The couple ended their partnership in January after 18 years together.

Pollex’s own diagnosis came in 2014 after she fell ill that summer. A CT scan revealed advanced Stage 3 ovarian cancer (Stage 4 is the most dire), and on Aug. 15, she underwent an emergency surgery where doctors removed her ovaries, fallopian tubes, spleen, appendix and part of her stomach in a procedure that lasted several hours. Pollex began chemotherapy treatment four weeks later.

Doctors, she said, had given her a 30% chance of survival over the five years that followed. On Jan. 11, 2016, she rang the bell to signal an end to 17 months of chemotherapy, heartening others with her positive outlook through treatment.

“I wake up every day and just have so much gratitude and joy for this life that I’m living, even though I have a chronic illness,” Pollex told Jeff Gluck in 2019. “And it’s so hard. People ask me all the time: ‘I don’t get it. How do you stay so positive and how are you happy all the time when you have Stage 3C ovarian cancer?’ And I wake up every day and just think this life is amazing. If you look around you, there’s so much positivity and there’s so much beauty in this earth. The people who want to make a difference and want to inspire each other — there is a lot of us if you look for us.”

Doctors determined that Pollex’s cancer had returned in September 2021, finding the disease had spread to one of her lungs. Subsequent scans revealed further progression and that her aggressive strain of cancer was especially resistant to treatment.

Her legacy is a powerful, lasting one as a champion of good causes and a resilient ambassador in the fight against the disease.

“I often wonder if that’s my purpose here,” Pollex told The Athletic in 2022. “It’s maybe not what I would have chosen for myself — nobody really wants to be the poster child for any type of cancer — but maybe I’m supposed to go through all this so I can pave the way for other women. On some days, that can be a really hard pill to swallow. But on other days, it’s like, ‘You know, I’ve been given this really important role in this life, and if I’m going to leave a legacy behind and help other people, then I need to do it 100 percent.’ “

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Martin Truex Jr. entered Saturday’s Round of 16 elimination race seven points to the outside looking in. Bubba Wallace was 19 points shy. Both left Bristol Motor Speedway having done enough to advance to the Round of 12.

The Regular Season Champion, Truex advanced by a scant five points with a 19th-place finish, one lap down. Wallace, competing in his first postseason venture, nabbed the final of 12 available spots by four points over former NASCAR Cup Series champions Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick.

MORE: Race results | At-track photos: Bristol

A Regular Season Champion had never been eliminated from the opening round of the playoffs. Finishes of 18th at Darlington and 36th – last – at Kansas put the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team in a hole entering Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Bristol Night Race.

Truex’s record at the high-banked, 0.533-mile bullring is far from stellar, but the 2017 Cup champion did enough on Saturday to advance to the next round and keep his title hopes alive.

“I think tonight was kind of a typical Bristol race for us,” Truex said.” You know, we were pretty decent early when we were up front, and then we lost track position, and it was a battle and a struggle from there. So, luckily, it was enough. It wasn’t pretty, but you know, after the last two weeks, to come out here in a good spot is good. And hopefully, the bad luck’s out of the way from here on out.”

James Small, crew chief of the No. 19 car, said post-race that he and the crew came into Bristol “really worried” because of Truex’s poor stats. But average was enough Saturday as Logano crashed out and Harvick was off-pace, leaving points on the table for Truex to nab.

“It’s statistically our worst track outside of superspeedways,” Small told NASCAR. “We just pounded along all night long, and we worked on the car and got a little better, and luckily, that last run, it came to life a little more, and other guys had problems, and we managed to survive.

“It’s been a hell of a round, and we’ll put it behind us and reset.”

A punctured tire at Lap 4 at Kansas was the team’s ultimate setback in this first round, sending Truex into the outside SAFER barrier. That contact, Small said, resulted in a potential sprained wrist for Truex to nurse through 500 laps at Bristol.

“He’s like the Iron Man – but in true Martin fashion, he didn’t go and get help,” Small laughed. “He’s a hard-ass. I’m glad he got through it. Last week was a killer, and to rebound from that scrape through was a big relief for everyone.”

Indeed, Truex muscled through a grueling race that ended on a green-flag stretch of 131 laps.

“It hurts pretty bad,” Truex said, “but it didn’t slow me down any. Just had to grit my teeth, and I probably needed a mouthguard tonight. We got through it. I should be good to go next week.”

Martin Truex Jr. drives his black and orange No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota at Bristol
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

Truex has plenty of playoff experience to carry into the Round of 12. Wallace, on the other hand, had never faced elimination quite like he did Saturday. The driver of the No. 23 Toyota for 23XI Racing did his part through the opening round, though, by finishing seventh at Darlington and overcoming a Kansas crash due to a flat tire while running second, an issue that left him 32nd in Kansas before a 14th-place result at Bristol.

MORE: Champs Logano, Harvick ousted

“Trying to gather my thoughts and man, just emotional,” Wallace said. “I said to myself out loud – not on the radio – ‘Proud of you, kid.’ And we all know I rarely do that. Just, way to stick with it. Tried to throw it away a couple of times. Got frustrated with myself, frustrated with others, but it all worked out. What you need to do is execute.

“This is a special day and gotta cherish it, but can’t get complacent. We know Texas is up. We’re OK there. But we’ve gotta come out swinging and come out on the right end of it.”

That Wallace overcame a 19-point deficit to advance without winning was significant, a display of the grind it took to advance through Bristol. Opting not to pit during the race’s first caution at Lap 69 was, in Wallace’s mind, a turning point.

“I think the strategy at the beginning was a game-changer, staying out there,” Wallace said. “We watched last year’s race and had seen that tires were not that big of an advantage. So I thought that was key and gave us our buffer.”

During a pre-race press conference, Kurt Busch – 23XI Racing’s self-coined CFD (Captain of the Fun Department) – said the tiger-striped Air Jordan 1 Low OG “Chinese New Years – Year of the Tiger” sneakers he was wearing were symbolic of what Wallace needed Saturday night – the eye of the tiger. Busch beamed with pride after the race as Wallace earned his spot into the next round.

“This is huge,” Busch, the 2004 champion, told NASCAR.com. “This is something that takes a team all the way through – whether it’s simulator work, whether it’s our owner (and race winner Denny Hamlin) that’s doing burnouts as I’m speaking. There’s a strategy call. There’s a driver duty. There’s a pit-crew duty.

“This is all the teamwork that I’ve talked about for years on how I’ve lost races and won races. I’m so happy to see all of this.”

Crew chief Bootie Barker was behind the strategy call that helped keep Wallace in the picture. But after the call was made, Wallace had to execute on track. And he did.

That didn’t come as a surprise to Barker, who has been with 23XI Racing since its inception – as has Wallace.

“I’ve seen the progression with all of us for two years now,” Barker said. “I knew tonight was going to be hard. Last week, we were lights out; it just didn’t work out. But no, I expect us to be this good.”

Hamlin, the team’s co-owner, celebrated the win at Bristol after leading 142 laps. Now, his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team and his two 23XI Racing entries – piloted by Wallace and Kansas winner Tyler Reddick – make up 25% of the remaining playoff contenders.

“I’m really happy with where that team is progressing to and really happy for Bubba,” Hamlin said. “I think the highest he’s ever finished is 20-something points. So he’s doing well. He’s really working on his craft, and he’s doing all the right things, and he’s studying the right things, and he’s really working with the team well.

“(He) and Tyler are working really well together. And yeah, I’m very happy with the trajectory that that whole organization’s on. I mean, not three years complete, to have two cars now in the Round of 12, it’s very, very humbling. And certainly, our goal was going into the year to have two cars in the playoffs. Now, to have two in the next round, this is just icing on the cake. The key this is nothing but bonus from here on out.”

Posted on by Brandon White

RIVERHEAD, New York — For all 256 laps of Saturday’s Eddie Partridge 256 at Riverhead Raceway, Justin Bonsignore and Ron Silk never lost sight of one another.

The tension gradually built between the two frontrunners in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour point standings as the checkered flag drew closer. Neither driver gave the other any breathing room, with Bonsignore and Silk trading bumps numerous times as the finish neared.

RELATED: Complete results from the Eddie Partridge 256

By the time the two champions settled their duel, Bonsignore was the one who emerged as the victor. The resilient effort during the final laps earned Bonsignore his 11th career Riverhead victory while simultaneously putting him back on top of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour point standings.

“It was a heavyweight fight for sure,” Bonsignore said. “It was going to be whoever [bumped the other] last, but we timed it perfect tonight. Sometimes you just have to be aggressive in this deal, but I was going to get wrecked if I let [Silk] get back behind me.”

Bonsignore has been more motivated than ever to claim his fourth NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship following a hard crash at Oswego Speedway that caused him to lose significant ground to Silk in the standings.

When the Ken Massa Motorsports team convened the following week, Bonsignore jokingly remarked to his team owner that he was going to win the final five races on the schedule.

Bonsignore kicked off his quest to run the table by leading every lap from the pole in last weekend’s Winchester Fair 150 at Monadnock Speedway. He carried over that speed into the Eddie Partridge 256 by putting his No. 51 on the pole with a time of 11.561 seconds.

Silk, who was eliminated from contention at Monadnock following two early crashes, ensured that the Eddie Partridge 256 would not go as smoothly for Bonsignore.

Despite the two mostly engaging in a clean fight for the championship through 14 races, both Bonsignore and Silk were not afraid to be assertive at Riverhead. Nearly every lead change came because of shots to the rear bumper, which only intensified in frequency as the laps dwindled.

Silk fought valiantly to keep control of the top spot even as the rear brakes on his No. 16 glowed bright red as he entered each corner, but one last bump from Bonsignore coming to the white flag was enough to give him the lead for the final time. Silk attempted to return the favor in Turns 1 and 2, but ended up falling to third as a result.

As Silk decompressed after a heartbreaking defeat, Bonsignore celebrated two major milestones in Victory Lane.

Not only did Bonsignore become the fourth driver to reach 40 wins in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour alongside Mike Stefanik, Reggie Ruggiero and Ted Christopher, he also tied Mike Ewanitsko for the all-time Whelen Modified Tour win record at Riverhead.

An exhausted Bonsignore was elated when he was informed he matched Ewanitsko’s Riverhead win total. He has long considered the Modified veteran to be one of his heroes and felt honored to celebrate that moment after having to exert so much energy to defeat Silk.

“With all that went on there, I forgot about tying Mike,” Bonsignore said. “That was a goal of mine since I was fortunate enough to start winning a few [at Riverhead]. I’m sure he’ll voice text me something extremely funny.

“Momentum has been going pretty good so far, but I’m ready for a week off.”

Bonsignore now has five victories during the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season compared to Silk’s four. Although he triumphed in another battle on Saturday, Bonsignore’s war for the championship with Silk is far from over.

Riverhead regular Mark Stewart took advantage of the chaos to finish second in front of the home crowd. Following Silk in fourth was Austin Beers, with J.R. Bertuccio completing the top-five a lap behind Bonsignore.

CNBC will broadcast a replay of the Eddie Partridge 256 at Riverhead Raceway on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Up next for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is the series’ inaugural visit to one of the Southeast’s most cherished facilities, North Wilkesboro Speedway. The Brushy Mountain Powersports 150 at North Wilkesboro is set to take place on Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. ET, with FloRacing providing live coverage.