Posted on by John Crane

A calm early Tuesday morning acted as Parker Kligerman’s moment of solace for the week, the opportunity helping the 33-year-old take in a hot coffee and park bench for a quick breather. But the brief moment of relaxation also opened the door to reflect — on the double-duty responsibility of driving full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and broadcasting for NBC Sports. And, perhaps most of all, reflect on clinching a coveted NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs berth for the first time in his career.

For Kligerman, the clinching ceremony came close to three days earlier, when a fourth-place finish at Kansas Speedway for the No. 48 Chevrolet helped him seize the 12th and final playoff berth via points, also marking Big Machine Racing’s first postseason appearance in its three years of existence.

RELATED: Meet the 2023 Xfinity Series Playoffs field 

“It’s definitely been a moment of reflection for sure, and I’m not the best at doing that,” Kligerman said during Xfinity Series Playoff Media Day on Tuesday. “I’m not the best at sort of staying in the moment or taking a breath in the moment and sort of being like, wow, this is really cool, but I tried this morning. …

“I will try and find those moments to sort of reflect on this, but at the same time, I am a competitor, I am a race car driver, I want to go win, I want to go compete at a high level here, I want to get us to do something amazing and be in position to go be a part of that Championship 4 because that would be a really, really cool accomplishment to make happen. No matter what happens, we’ve accomplished something big, but I really think we can do it.”

Kligerman’s 2023 Xfinity campaign — his first as a full-time driver since 2013 — could be seen through the lens of two halves of the regular season. Through the first 12 races of the season, Kligerman amassed only four top-10 finishes and two top-five finishes. A 14th-place finish in June at Portland International Raceway, however, flipped a switch, and in 13 ensuing races, Kligerman finished outside the top 10 only three times. Kligerman additionally finished inside the top five five times during that stretch, including a runner-up result in July at Road America.

Parker Kligerman prepares to enter his No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet.
Logan Riely | Getty Images

Such a momentum swing — including the fourth-place finish at Kansas — didn’t solely put the No. 48 Chevrolet in prime position to clinch its first playoff berth. It also provided Kligerman the opportunity to gain more perspective when it comes to broadcasting.

So much perspective came from the playoff-hunting experience that, the morning following Kansas, Kligerman mentioned to NBC commentator Rick Allen his newfound appreciation for drivers who have gone through the tense grind of the postseason hunt.

This appreciation started during his own experience on Aug. 25 at Daytona International Speedway, when he realized he would not get help from other playoff-hopeful drivers as they looked to secure the same playoff berth. Fast forward to the Kansas race, and the appreciation only grew.

“It was an odd race because I have a newfound respect for the drivers that have gone through this because you race with the intention of, I gotta finish the best I can,” Kligerman said. “You have to focus on your race, the best ability you possibly can for your race team and you, but at the same time, no matter what you do, there’s this little thing in the back of your head being like, “OK, where’s the 98? OK, now the 9 is in second. All right, now I gotta go, right, and you also have to drive every lap at 99.9% because you can’t make mistakes.

“So like, this past weekend, I knew if I wanted to be more aggressive in the wall, we could’ve went up there and probably ran second. We had some speed in the bag, but I had to run the 99.9% ability of using the wall because if I hit the wall and cut a tire down, then that’s the stupidest thing I could do. At the same time, I was watching the 9 get away from me, and I’m thinking, what’s the choice here.”

MORE: Xfinity Series schedule | Bristol schedule

As the Xfinity Series Playoffs Round of 12 gets underway Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), Kligerman will look to continue a second-half stretch that helped vault the No. 48 team into the playoffs. And while Kligerman appreciates having a chance at competing for the Championship 4, he has not failed to realize how he has grown not only as a full-time driver but also as a broadcaster and individual.

“It’s been an amazing gift in my life to have this opportunity to be pushed to perform at such a high level in such a competitive endeavor at 32, 33 years old, and no matter what happens in my life, I’m going to be very grateful for this because I think it’s made me a better person,” Kligerman said. “I’m (not) going to say it’s made me smarter because I probably hit my limit there, but I think it’s definitely made me someone who’s a lot more understanding of the world, and I feel better prepared to be in pressure-packed, high-pressure situations no matter what that is in the future.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

The 12 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs drivers met with the media Tuesday afternoon to discuss the seven-race slate that begins with Friday night’s Food City 300 at the famed Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and concludes with NASCAR’s thrilling tripleheader championship week at Phoenix Raceway where a driver will be crowned the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver John Hunter Nemechek holds a 10-point edge over the Regular Season Champion Austin Hill of Richard Childress Racing. JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier is third, 23 points back, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer and JR Motorsport’s Sam Mayer.

MORE: Full Xfinity Series Playoffs standings | Meet the 2023 field

Kaulig Racing’s Chandler Smith, JR Motorsport’s Josh Berry, Hill’s RCR teammate Sheldon Creed, Nemechek’s JGR teammate Sammy Smith, Jordan Anderson Racing’s Jeb Burton, Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric – the 2021 series champion – and Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman round out the group of 12 drivers eligible to contend for the 2023 Xfinity Series trophy.

Hill, 29, earned the Regular Season Championship last week at Kansas Speedway, saying, “It just shows no matter how tough the battle is and how tough the uphill climb is, we never quit fighting.”

The No. 21 RCR Chevrolet driver has four wins this season, including two of the first three races. With the playoff reset, Hill will start 10 points behind the six-race winner Nemechek heading to Bristol this weekend.

“No, not at all,” Hill said of considering himself an odds-on title favorite. “I think the 20 car (of Nemechek) has to be the favorite; they’ve just been really fast all season long, they have six wins on the year. The main reason why we were able to win the Regular Season Championship was that we were just very consistent all year where the 20, they had more roller-coaster finishes going, and we were more even-keel.

“I don’t see us being a clear favorite, I think the 20 probably is, but we’re a good enough organization to make it to the final four, and if you can make it to the final four, anything can happen.”

Although Hill has two Xfinity wins and a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory on the Daytona superspeedway, he bristles at being labeled merely a “big track specialist,” noting that, during his career, he’s won on every style of race track. And he’ll need to in this seven-race run for a title that includes the half-mile Bristol high-banks and the Charlotte Roval among its venue list.

“I kind of laugh anytime someone says that (I’m a superspeedway specialist) because if you look at my wins at the Truck level, I won on all different types of tracks,” Hill said. “I won on the dirt track. I won at Watkins Glen (road course). I won on superspeedways and mile-and-a-halves, so a lot of different race tracks.

“I’ve always felt like I could win on any given track we go to. … but it gives me a little bit of a chip on the shoulder. I’ve always been the guy no one really talks a lot about, always been the dark horse, so it kind of just gives me a little chip on my shoulder and want to prove to everybody that I can win on all these sorts of race tracks. All you have to do is look at what we’ve done this season.”

John Hunter Nemechek is focused on the goal at hand

Although he battled Hill vigorously for the Regular Season Championship, Nemechek will still start the playoffs ranked atop the leaderboard courtesy of his series-best six victories in 2023. Even with his position leading the series to start the Playoff run, the 26-year-old North Carolinian refuses to consider himself an odds-on favorite for his first major racing title.

Legacy Motor Club announced last week that Nemechek will drive the No. 42 Toyota for that team next year in the NASCAR Cup Series – a huge opportunity for the well-tested driver. He’d like to take an Xfinity Series championship with him to the new team, favorite or not.

“To be honest, I think it’s just noise to us,” said Nemechek, who led a dominating 154 of the 200 laps in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in last week’s regular-season finale at Kansas Speedway.

“We’re not really focused on being the favorite or not being the favorite. We’re focused on just running every race like we know how to do and to go out and race every single race track, every single week and put some emphasis on trying to win but also having good weeks and not letting bad weeks affect your playoff run.

“I don’t think the standpoint of being a favorite or not being a favorite really affects us or the mental side of things.”

Justin Allgaier isn’t sure if experience is a plus or minus

The Xfinity Series veteran and perennial championship contender Justin Allgaier said Tuesday that sometimes being that experienced competitor works against him. Ranked third in the playoff standings with wins at Charlotte and Daytona (2), the 37-year-old driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet likes his title chances but warned that having a lot of experience doesn’t necessarily translate into a championship trophy.

“I think as a veteran and somebody that’s got experience, you sometimes come in a little more tentatively, maybe you don’t put yourself in positions you would even in the regular season to try to win races because you know that maybe sometimes being safe is a better route,” said Allgaier, whose best title run was runner-up in 2020.

“But winning races is also really ultra-important. If you can win a race each round and lock your way into Phoenix, it’s a lot easier than it is to point your way in. I think sometimes, with experience comes reservation. I’ve got plenty of gray hair here to prove that I’ve done my fair share of crashing. I think you just race differently than you would if you’re kind of young and tenacious and have a little bit of a different outlook on what it takes to be successful.

“I also don’t know how many more opportunities I’ll have,” Allgaier continued. “You never know when that next opportunity is going to come to have a shot to go for a championship, so you try to almost hold it in close and not let it go, and sometimes I think, maybe throwing caution to the wind would be a better approach.”

Posted on by Staff Report

After a tense run-in with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson late in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race at Kansas Speedway, No. 9 Chevrolet driver Chase Elliott offered his thoughts on the incident, taking the onus on himself and downplaying any drama.

“There’s a lot that goes on. We obviously ran into each other on pit road and I didn’t have the full picture of what went on, so I was frustrated,” Elliott told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday. “That stuff happens, for sure. But at the end of the day, I’ll certainly take the blame for my frustration on that front. The good news is he and I can have a conversation like adults and it’s a non-issue. The bad news is, it’s (not) a non-issue for all of y’all and everybody that wants to talk about it. There’s nothing to talk about.”

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>.<a href=”https://twitter.com/chaseelliott?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@chaseelliott</a> shares his perspective on the late-race pit road incident with <a href=”https://twitter.com/KyleLarsonRacin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@KyleLarsonRacin</a> at <a href=”https://twitter.com/kansasspeedway?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@kansasspeedway</a> ⬇️<br><br>🗣️ “I didn’t have the full picture of what went on so I was frustrated […] the good news is he and I can have a conversation like adults and it’s a non-issue.” <a href=”https://t.co/njpkqZzYlB”>pic.twitter.com/njpkqZzYlB</a></p>&mdash; SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) <a href=”https://twitter.com/SiriusXMNASCAR/status/1701706403357044963?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>September 12, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

On a late round of pit stops, Larson swerved to avoid Brad Keselowski, exiting his stall, on pit road. Larson incidentally made contact with Elliott as a result of the maneuver, with the No. 9 obscured from seeing the reason Larson’s No. 5 veered suddenly. With Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 to his outside, Elliott was unable to swerve and avoid contact with the No. 5. Elliott then retaliated and swerved into Larson’s car on the apron of the track.

The pair talked on pit road after the race.

“From my vantage point, I knew we were three-wide while we were leaving. And I knew — well, I didn’t know — but the (No.) 6 is pitted in front of us, and I was just trying to leave as much space as I can,” Larson told NBC Sports after the race. “He’s coming out of the lane because the 6 is trying to slow us down. I tried to leave as much space as I could. Obviously, I made contact with (Elliott), but I felt like if I didn’t, I was going to clobber the 6 right in the right front. I thought the safest bet for all of us was for me to squeeze out a little bit.”

“I understand why he’s mad or was mad in the moment,” said Larson. “I hope when he sees the replay, he understands I didn’t have the space or not much. It was just inches.”

The Round of 16 concludes Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway (6:30 p.m. ET, USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials indicated Tuesday that driver Noah Gragson has been reinstated from his suspension and is cleared to resume NASCAR activity.

Competition officials suspended Gragson on Aug. 5 for violating the member conduct section of the NASCAR Rule Book, citing in a statement “his actions on social media.” That suspension came hours after his Legacy Motor Club team issued its own indefinite suspension, for “actions that do not represent the values of our team.”

Tuesday, a NASCAR spokesperson said that “Noah Gragson has completed diversity and inclusion training with our partners at RISE,” and that group recommended his reinstatement, restoring his member privileges.

RELATED: RCR No. 2 crew chief suspended for lug-nut infraction

Gragson released a statement on social media Tuesday evening.

 

Gragson was 21 races into his rookie Cup Series season with Legacy Motor Club’s No. 42 Chevrolet team when he was suspended. Five days after that penalty, Gragson and the team announced that they had parted ways, with the 25-year-old driver asking for his release and the organization — co-owned by Maury Gallagher, Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty — granting it.

“I have asked Legacy Motor Club to release me from my contract so that I can take time to work through the NASCAR reinstatement process,” Gragson said in his statement Aug. 10. “I love racing, and I am looking forward to a second chance to compete for wins at the highest level of NASCAR — and most importantly, make my family, my team and the fans proud of me once again.”

Legacy MC has fielded a host of substitutes in the No. 42 Chevy since Gragson’s departure, with Josh Berry, Carson Hocevar and Mike Rockenfeller taking the wheel for two races each. Hocevar, a Craftsman Truck Series regular, is scheduled to drive the Legacy Motor Club No. 42 this Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The organization announced Sept. 6 that Xfinity Series driver John Hunter Nemechek will take over the No. 42 seat next season.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials issued penalties Tuesday for lug-nut infractions in the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series from last weekend’s events at Kansas Speedway.

Foremost among those lug-nut penalties was a one-race suspension for Jeff Stankiewicz, crew chief for the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet for Xfinity playoff contender Sheldon Creed. The No. 2 Camaro was found with two unsecured lug nuts in a post-race check after Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300, resulting in the one-race ban and a $10,000 fine.

The No. 2 RCR team has tapped engineer Sam Bowers as Stankiewicz’s replacement on the entry list for Friday night’s Food City 300 (7:30 p.m. ET, USA, PRN, SiriusXM, NBC Sports App) at Bristol Motor Speedway. The event is the opening race in the Xfinity Series Playoffs.

RELATED: Weekend schedule: Bristol | Officials reinstate Gragson

Two other Chevy teams with drivers in the Xfinity postseason field were each fined $5,000 for having one unsecured lug nut each: Andy Street, crew chief of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing group for regular season champion Austin Hill; and Shane Whitbeck, crew chief for Jordan Anderson Racing’s No. 27 and driver Jeb Burton.

In the Craftsman Truck Series, two teams outside the playoff picture were hit with L1-level penalties for infractions related to the triangular filler panels. The following teams and drivers were docked 10 points in their respective standings:

  • No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet (driver Kaden Honeycutt)
  • No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet (driver Colby Howard)

The No. 12 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet team was fined $2,500 for a single loose lug nut after Friday’s Kansas Lottery 200. That penalty was issued to Tyler Young, crew chief for the No. 12 driven by Truck Series regular Spencer Boyd.

Posted on by Adam Fenwick

For the third time this year and the 73rd time in series history, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to New York’s popular quarter-mile bullring known as Riverhead Raceway for the running of the Eddie Partridge 256 (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET on FloRacing).

While the Modified Tour is no stranger to Riverhead, Saturday’s race marks just the second running of the Eddie Partridge 256, an event held in honor of the late Modified Tour car owner and Riverhead Raceway owner Eddie Partridge.

Unlike most Tour events held at Riverhead, the Eddie Partridge 256 will feature live pit stops thanks to a specially constructed, temporary pit wall in the infield. Justin Bonsignore, a 1o-time Tour winner at Riverhead, is the defending winner of the Eddie Partridge 256.

Tickets to Saturday’s Eddie Partridge 256 are available trackside. Below is everything you need to know about the 15th race of the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.

Eddie Partridge 256 at Riverhead Raceway

What to watch for:

The battle for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship returns to Riverhead Raceway for the third time this season as both Justin Bonsignore and Ron Silk look to find an edge in the title battle.

Silk narrowly leads Bonsignore with four races remaining, and both drivers have reason to be excited to race at Riverhead. Bonsignore, coming off a victory at Monadnock Speedway last weekend, is the active wins leader at Riverhead. Silk, meanwhile, is the most recent Riverhead winner in June.

Both are expected to contend for victory, but they won’t be the only contenders.

Austin Beers, who started from the pole and led 63 laps at Riverhead in June, has been fast all season and could be a threat to Silk and Bonsignore on Saturday night.

MORE RIVERHEAD: Watch live Saturday on FloRacing

Eric Goodale returns to action aboard his own No. 58 at the same track where in 2014 he earned his first Modified Tour victory. Timmy Solomito, a three-time Modified Tour winner at Riverhead, is also in the field as he looks to score his first series win since 2017.

Langley Speedway Modified Tour winner Kyle Bonsignore will look to register his second victory of the season and third of his career. Craig Lutz will look to shake off a difficult season with a victory of his own.

Local drivers John Beatty Jr., Mark Stewart, Matthew Brode and Roger Turbush will look to give the Long Island fans something to cheer about Saturday night.

The complete entry list for Saturday night’s Eddie Partridge 256 is available here.

Cars in action during Eddie Partridge 256 at Riverhead Raceway on Sept. 17, 2022. (Photo: Mike Lawrence/NASCAR)

RACE FACTS

Race Eddie Partridge 256
Date Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023
Track Riverhead Raceway
Layout Quarter-mile paved oval
Location Riverhead, New York
Start Time 8 p.m. ET
Laps 256
Posted awards $88,495
Live stream FloRacing (Live)

Schedule: Saturday, Sept. 16 … Final practice from 3:15-4:15 p.m. ET … Qualifying at 6 p.m. ET … Eddie Partridge 256 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 Eddie Partridge 256 is limited to 28 starters including Provisional Positions.

Tire allotment: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is ten (10) 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 must 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 two (2) tires, any position.

Posted on by Brandon White

Ryan Vargas will wrap up the month of September by experiencing two vastly different parts of NASCAR culture.

On Sept. 23-24, Vargas is set to take part in a NASCAR Whelen Euro Series event at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben in Germany. He will pilot the No. 30 Critical Path Security Chevrolet Camaro in a collaborative effort between Team FJ and 3F Racing in the EuroNASCAR PRO division.

Once Vargas wraps up his Euro Series debut, he will turn his attention to his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start at Talladega Superspeedway on Sept. 30 driving the No. 30 Critical Path Security Toyota Tundra for On Point Motorsports.

Germany and Talladega could not be further apart for Vargas in every regard, but he is excited about participating in the upcoming doubleheader, particularly when it comes to fulfilling a childhood passion of competing across the Atlantic Ocean.

“I’ve always wanted to race in the NASCAR Euro Series,” Vargas said. “My dream has always been to go overseas and drive a race car, whether it be GT racing or NASCAR Euro. I’ve always had a fascination with racing overseas, so when the opportunity arose for [the doubleheader] to happen, I jumped on it as quickly as I could.”

RELATED: Career stats for Ryan Vargas

3F Racing was the driving force behind making the doubleheader happen for Vargas, who has served as the organization’s director of team and driver development since July.

A German team based in Richard Childress Racing’s campus, 3F Racing’s goal is to one day compete in the NASCAR Cup Series. While Vargas is working hard to help make that idea a reality for 3F Racing, he is eager to represent the team in their home country during the NASCAR GP Germany.

What entices Vargas the most about the Euro Series is the drivability of the cars. Designed to resemble their Cup Series counterparts but built for European tracks, the Euro Series cars use a V8 engine with 450 horsepower along with a four-speed manual gearbox with rear-wheel drive, all of which Vargas said results in one thrilling race after another.

An elite international driver roster only adds to the allure of the Euro Series for Vargas. He would love to perform well against past series champions like Anthony Kumpen and Lucas Lasserre, but Vargas said his goals for Germany are to keep his car out of trouble while promoting both 3F Racing and NASCAR.

RELATED: NASCAR Whelen Euro Series point standings

“I’m not going over there expecting to set the world on fire by any means,” Vargas said. “I want to show what 3F Racing is trying to do with their development program and bring some eyes to the international crowd. NASCAR is always trying to grow their footprint across the world, especially with the Garage 56 entry at Le Mans, so there’s no better time than now to try something completely unorthodox.”

Ryan Vargas is fulfilling a childhood dream of racing overseas by competing in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. (Photo: NASCAR)

The Euro Series competing at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben for the first time is something Vargas believes will put him on a more level playing field with the series veterans. Despite this, Vargas understands he is still going up against drivers who have been competing on road courses through their entire careers.

Even after his time in Germany is complete, Vargas will not get much time to mentally decompress before preparing for the Truck Series race at Talladega, an event known for its chaotic and unpredictable nature.

In the past five Talladega races in the Truck Series, the winner has only led the final lap, with the four most recent winners still having just one victory in the series to date. For Vargas, those statistics only add to the anticipation of running with the lead pack and potentially scoring his first Truck Series win.

“I love the superspeedway racing,” Vargas said. “Some guys like it, some guys hate it, but I’m one of the few that absolutely loves it, especially when it goes [my] way. It’s a race where everyone has the same chance to go out there and win. For me, I want to put myself in contention when it gets down to those final few laps.”

RELATED: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races at Talladega

Superspeedways were mostly kind to Vargas during his time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Including Atlanta Motor Speedway’s reconfiguration into a drafting track, Vargas has five top-20 finishes on superspeedways, among them being a career-best run of sixth at Daytona International Speedway last August.

Vargas is approaching the Talladega Truck Series race differently from an Xfinity Series there. He said the aerodynamic setup with the trucks puts more emphasis on track position and minimizing mistakes as opposed to utilizing big runs in the draft.

“The Trucks are so much taller, they have a bigger spoiler, and they poke such a big hole in the air compared to the Xfinity cars,” Vargas said. “Just from watching footage, they also get more tightly bunched together, so it’s going to be about making sure you’re [up front] with 10 to go. If you’re smart and bide your time, you can have a good day.”

Ryan Vargas looks to score his first Top 5 in any NASCAR national series when he competes in the upcoming Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo: NASCAR)

All the preparation between Germany and Talladega has been a rigorous exercise for Vargas, but he considers himself grateful for a chance to pull such a unique feat off.

Vargas wants to do everything possible to keep racing in the top three levels of NASCAR. He knows the best way to accomplish that mission is to take any ride available and showcase his capabilities behind the wheel.

The logistics of the doubleheader are not going to be easy despite the races taking place one week apart from each other, but Vargas has confidence in himself and those assisting the effort to stay efficient as he travels between two continents.

“We’re putting in a lot of work on both ends,” Vargas said. “When those weekends come around, there’s going to be a lot of action in a short amount of time. To go on this journey from Germany all the way to Talladega, Alabama is a wild one and it’s great to bring Critical Path Security along for the ride.

“It’s crazy to think about everything that’s going to be happening in these upcoming weeks.”

Germany and Talladega are going to test Vargas in two separate but equally demanding ways. No matter what challenges he endures during those two weekends, Vargas is ready to enjoy every minute of his time on track.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Sam Mayer will return to the No. 1 Chevrolet with JR Motorsports in 2024, the team announced Tuesday morning.

Mayer is currently on the brink of his second appearance in the Xfinity Series Playoffs, but this time, he enters with momentum. The 20-year-old Wisconsin native found Victory Lane twice during the regular season to clinch his postseason position, claiming his first two career wins.

MORE: Xfinity Series Playoffs hub | Bristol schedule

He heads into his sophomore playoff run with all focus on chasing a championship and none centered on any contract worries.

“It’s a huge weight off of my shoulders obviously to be set in stone for next year and have that confidence to come back to a great organization that has been really good to me over the past couple of years,” Mayer told NASCAR.com. “Obviously, it took us a little bit to get going (during) the first part of my career here in the Xfinity Series, but they’ve helped me through every step and every heartache that we’ve gone through and it’s been a great deal.”

Through heartache has come triumph. Mayer scored his first two Xfinity Series wins over the summer, cementing his spot in the postseason through wins at Road America and Watkins Glen International in a span that featured five straight top-five finishes and eight in an 11-race stretch.

“Obviously, this year is super, super solid with getting my first two wins and being locked in the playoffs and all that kind of stuff,” Mayer said. “So I’m really looking forward to coming back, obviously, and being better than ever.”

Mayer joined the Xfinity ranks on a regular basis midway through the 2021 campaign, forced to wait until he turned 18 years old to take over the reins on JRM’s No. 8 Chevrolet. That season, Josh Berry – who mentored Mayer in late model stock cars as he came through the ranks – competed in the bulk of the No. 8 team’s Xfinity races before Mayer was eligible to race regularly.

Next year, Berry graduates to the NASCAR Cup Series with Stewart-Haas Racing, joining a list of other JRM drivers Mayer has been able to learn from – Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Michael Annett and Noah Gragson among them.

“It’s cool because Josh got the opportunity because we split the car for that one year, and it’s super cool to see him go to the Cup Series now,” Mayer said. “And knowing to be a little bit a small part of that is super cool. But I mean, as an organization, I’ve seen a lot of different people. I was there when Michael Annett was just getting done. And obviously, Noah had a lot of success last year, Josh this year and Justin’s been there right by my side with it.

“So it’s super cool to be able to see an organization that kind of moves around that much and has success each and every year no matter what. But obviously, next year’s gonna look a lot different, just overall. With obviously Josh being gone, the 8 car’s gonna look different probably. So I’m looking forward to it. I think that we’re going to be one of the strongest ones on the team because I just have that experience, and I have that confidence now.”

RELATED: Mayer: ‘So special’ to score first win at home track | Mayer’s OT win at The Glen

That confidence didn’t come overnight. His first 13 starts resulted in six DNFs, five of which were due to crashes. His persistence was relentless, though, and now he’s set for a third full season at JRM.

“I learned probably every lesson in the book, good and bad,” Mayer said. “And I continue to learn and experience more positive and powerful things for my career. And it helps to have it at an organization that’s able to back me up and help me out. Obviously, the name with JRM and the organization and their history, it’s super cool to be a part of that. It makes life a lot more fun inside the shop.

“It makes having that shop time and being with the guys during the week just a lot of fun. So I’m looking forward to being able to do that again next year. Obviously, the lineup for my team should be just about the same. So we have that confidence, and that momentum going into next year is gonna be really key for us.”

One of Mayer’s key on-track mentors has been Gragson, who won eight Xfinity races a season ago before finishing runner-up in the championship race. But just as important have been Berry and team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who returns to action at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in one of two scheduled 2023 appearances.

“Having to learn on the fly and having Dale by my side and all these other drivers in-house really helps a lot with that,” Mayer said. “But really, everyone just had their own input, and it helped and affected me, each in different ways.”

Next on the docket is his second chance to chase a NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship. Mayer enters as the No. 5 seed with a nine-point buffer to the provisional elimination line ahead of Friday’s postseason opener.

That marks quite the turnaround from the start of the year, which saw Mayer flipped on his lid on the final lap of the opening race at Daytona International Speedway after slight contact with Allgaier. In all, Mayer suffered four finishes of 17th or worse in the first nine races, three of them DNFs.

Fortunes have generally trended positive lately, though the No. 1 Chevrolet indeed crashed out early at Kansas Speedway in the regular-season finale after completing 20 laps.

“I do think we can go out there and win a couple more races and be in that Championship 4 here at the end of the year,” Mayer said. “ I think going into this year, we were kind of a sleeper pick about that. It was just a matter of if it was a positive season or if the season from last year stayed the same.

“I think we kind of came out of the gate a little bit slow. We did as an organization. We acknowledge that. But I think that throughout the rest of the summer, we got a lot of speed in these race cars now. And we who we have a lot of success here coming up, I think. So it’s just a matter of going out and closing the deal. Closing the deal and hopefully going for a championship.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR competition officials announced procedural changes Tuesday for the last remaining road course on the 2023 schedule, reinstating caution periods at the end of each stage.

Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, revealed the format shift Tuesday during his regular weekly appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The changes are set to go into effect for the Bank of America Roval 400, scheduled Oct. 8 on the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

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Competition officials had updated rules before the season to eliminate stage breaks for road-course events. The move was made in collaboration with teams and fan feedback, with Sawyer saying that the intermissions “took an element of strategy away from the event.” Sawyer also noted the desire to officiate all 10 Playoffs races consistently — with each race having stage-break cautions.

At the previous five road-course races for the Cup Series and select events in other national series this year, the green-checkered flag still waved to signify the end of stages and championship points were still awarded, but the racing continued under green-flag conditions. In the last two road-course races for the Cup Series (Indianapolis and Watkins Glen), only one caution period slowed the action, and drivers noted the physical demands of long green-flag stints without breaks.

Sawyer also said the restart zone for the Charlotte road course race will be moved to the final chicane before the start/finish line on the 2.32-mile layout. In the previous five Roval events, the initial start and restarts fired off from a portion of the oval track that’s used as a run-off area on all other laps.

The move follows similar procedure updates at two other road courses this year, with starts and restarts occurring before a turn and not on a straightaway. The restart zone was placed before the final turn for the inaugural Chicago Street Race and was moved to the final chicane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road-course configuration.

The Charlotte Motor Speedway road course is scheduled as the final race in the Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 12 and the sixth of 10 races in the postseason.