Posted on August 4, 2023August 6, 2023 by Staff Report

August marks the final month in the push to the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Just four races remain until the 16-driver grid is set to determine who will compete for the Bill France Trophy.

Entering Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, 12 drivers had locked themselves into the postseason with a victory, leaving four spots still up for grabs. As the field looks to resume the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Lap 74 on Monday (noon ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), a handful of big names still have yet to solidify their playoff position. See who currently sits just above the elimination line, just below and on the outside looking in with stats provided by Racing Insights.

✅ DRIVERS ABOVE ELIMINATION LINE

BUBBA WALLACE

Points above: 54

Trending: OK Recently

Michigan outlook — Hit or Miss Recently: Wallace had a huge points day at Richmond despite falling off in the race’s closing laps for a 12th-place result. With nearly a race in hand above the elimination line heading into Sunday, the No. 23 team can put its focus on redeeming itself from a missed opportunity at Michigan last year. Wallace still finished runner-up in the 2022 race but arguably had the fastest car on the day until a late restart bolted Kevin Harvick to his first win of 2022 instead.

MICHAEL MCDOWELL

Points above: 18

Trending: Cold

Michigan outlook — Cold: On a completely opposite day from Wallace, McDowell went on a differing strategy than most of the field, and it backfired as he went a lap down to finish 22nd. Historically, Michigan doesn’t bode well either for the driver of the No. 34 as he hasn’t finished better than 20th in 16 career starts.

☣️ ON THE BUBBLE

TY GIBBS

Points below: 18

Trending: Hit or Miss

Michigan outlook — Warm Start: Replacing an injured Kurt Busch in the second half of the 2022 Cup season, Gibbs flashed his talent with a top-10 run at Michigan last season and has continued to climb his way closer and closer to the elimination line. He’ll have a good chance to jump ahead of McDowell for that 16th spot on Sunday.

AJ ALLMENDINGER

Points below: 22

Trending: Cold

Michigan outlook — It’s Been A While: Allmendinger all but turned Richmond into a throwaway as he forewent practice and qualifying to compete in the Xfinity Series race at Road America. While overcoming 22 points is definitely doable with four races to go, including two at road courses, Allmendinger hasn’t made a Cup start at Michigan since 2018.

DANIEL SUÁREZ

Points below: 34

Trending: Cold

Michigan outlook — Cold: The last three races have been anything but pleasant for the No. 99 team, with no finish better than 16th and two finishes of 33rd or worse in the last two contests. Suárez finished 25th at Michigan last year but does own a best finish of fourth in the Irish Hills (June 2019).

CHASE ELLIOTT

Points below: 40

Trending: OK Recently

Michigan outlook — Warm: Slowly but surely, Elliott continues to inch his way closer to the elimination line. Michigan has been a decent track for him recently, with four top 10s in the last five races at the 2-mile oval.

🚩 MUST-WIN SITUATION

ALEX BOWMAN

Points below: 42

Trending: Cold

Michigan outlook — Cold Until 2022: An 18th-place run at Richmond continues a dismal run for Bowman since returning from injury. He finished ninth at Michigan last season, but don’t expect Sunday to be the shot in the arm the No. 48 team needs to finally get back on the path toward the postseason.

AUSTIN CINDRIC

Points below: 64

Trending: Cold

Michigan outlook — Cold Start: A pair of road courses after Michigan will be Cindric’s last chance to shock the Cup field and make the postseason. He crashed out at Michigan in his first Cup start last year.

JUSTIN HALEY

Points below: 70

Trending: Cold

Michigan outlook — Cold: Haley currently owns three consecutive finishes of 17th or worse, and that trend may hold at Michigan as he finished 17th in the Irish Hills last year.

ARIC ALMIROLA

Points below: 86

Trending: Richmond Snapped Cold Streak

Michigan outlook — Cold: Almirola picked up a quality result at Richmond with an eighth-place finish on what was the banner day of the year so far for Stewart-Haas Racing. But the SHR camp has been abysmal on intermediate/2-mile ovals this season. Almirola currently has five finishes of 16th or worse in the last six races at Michigan.

RYAN PREECE

Points below: 88

Trending: Richmond Snapped Cold Streak

Michigan outlook — Cold: A top-five run at Richmond is a welcome turnaround for the No. 41 team in what has been a forgettable year to date. Michigan isn’t optimal for Preece to keep the momentum up, but he does own a career-best seventh-place finish at the track (Aug. 2019).

Posted on August 4, 2023August 6, 2023 by Kobe Lambeth

FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway

(⏰ Monday, Noon ET | 📺 USA, NBC Sports App | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)

Everything you need to know for Monday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Michigan, the 23rd points-paying race of the 2023 Cup Series campaign.

Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | Michigan 101

📍 Location: Brooklyn, Michigan
📐 Track length: 2 miles
🎟️ Buy tickets: Find weekend passes, seats for the race
💰 Cup Series race purse: $7,544,696
📏 Race distance: 200 laps | 400 miles
🔢 Stages: 45 | 120 | 200
—
🚪 Entry list: Cup Series drivers entered
📋 Starting lineup: Bell soars to P1
🚗 Pit stall assignments: Full pit grid for Sunday’s race
🏆 Most recent winner: Kevin Harvick, summer 2022
🌧 Weather delay: Race set to resume Monday

Key things to watch 🔑

Big story line

Will Kevin Harvick finally win in his final year in the Cup Series? Harvick entered Michigan International Speedway as the defending race winner and led all active Cup Series drivers with six wins at the 2-mile oval. With four races remaining in the regular season, Harvick has a 182-point cushion as the Stewart-Haas Racing driver sits comfortably in the playoff field. However, the 47-year-old certainly does not want to end his final year before transitioning to the FOX Sports broadcast booth without a win. Reaching Victory Lane in four of the last five Michigan races made him one of the early favorites to win this week. Riding a 34-race winless streak ahead of the 400-mile race in the Irish Hills, “The Closer” will hope history repeats itself as he snapped a 65-race winless streak at MIS in 2022. | Relive Harvick celebrating last year’s Michigan win

History tells us…

A Ford driver may end up in Victory Lane again. Chevrolet and Toyota have struggled to match Ford at Michigan International Speedway in recent memory. Ford leads the other manufacturers with 43 wins, which is 17 more than Chevy’s 26 wins and 38 more than Toyota’s five victories at MIS. The last eight Michigan races have seen a Ford driver in Victory Lane, with six of those wins coming with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick. In the previous nine races at MIS, Ford led 1,005 of 1,655 laps. Although Ford only has three Cup Series wins this year, with the most recent victory coming last weekend at Richmond Raceway with RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher, Michigan feels like a good track for the Blue Oval to get win No. 4 of 2023. | Preview Show: Can Ford extend Michigan dominance?

He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for…

Brad Keselowski. Last Sunday at Richmond Raceway was a special day for RFK Racing as Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Ford found Victory Lane. However, it came at the expense of Keselowski, who made an awkward entry to his pit box which cost him track position and forced him to settle for a sixth-place finish. Keselowski wants to win at the Cup Series level in his own equipment as the RFK co-owner. However, he probably wants to win at his home track, Michigan International Speedway, just as badly. Keselowski entered the race with 13-1 odds of finally getting a big breakthrough win at home. In 25 career Cup Series starts at MIS, he has two poles, seven top fives and 13 top 10s. Given RFK’s recent momentum and Ford’s strong history at this track, do not be surprised if the No. 6 team takes the checkered flag, giving Ford its ninth straight Michigan win and back-to-back victories for RFK to clinch playoff spots for both entries. | RFK Racing’s resurgence takes next step with Richmond romp

Talkin’ Trophies 🔍

Take a look at Michigan International Speedway’s Heritage Trophy, one of the most unique and coveted pieces of hardware in NASCAR.

Familiar favorites ⭐️

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.

• At-track photos: Best shots from Michigan race weekend | Scroll through gallery
• Bubble Watch: Outlook for drivers closest to playoff elimination line | McDowell, Gibbs, Allmendinger and more
• Paint Scheme Preview: See the schemes for Michigan | Pick a favorite
• Power Rankings: Denny Hamlin jumps to the top for the first time this year | Latest driver rankings
• Stacking Pennies: Corey LaJoie reacts to his new contract extension with Spire Motorsports | Listen to the podcast

💎 NASCAR 75: Learn more about the history of the sport, from pioneers to current stars | Visit NASCAR 75 hub

Hot off the press 📰

Key stories and breaking news from the week leading up to the race.

• Richmond test: Reaction from the two-day test | Read more
• Pit road stats: Speedy stops propelling Ty Gibbs into playoff conversation | Read more
• Corey LaJoie: New multiyear extension with Spire Motorsports | Read more
• Hall of Fame: Class of 2024 revealed, Landmark Award | Read more
• Jimmie Johnson: Seven-time Cup Series champion nominated to Hall of Fame | Watch video
• Chad Knaus: Seven-time Cup Series championship-winning crew chief nominated to Hall of Fame | Watch video
• Donnie Allison: Allison will join brother Bobby Allison in the Hall of Fame | Watch video
• eNASCAR: Michael Guest wins in wild overtime finish at Pocono | Watch video
• Untold Stories: The birth of the No. 3 | Watch video
• Noah Gragson: Legacy Motor Club driver suspended indefinitely | Read more
• Martin Truex Jr.: Returning to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2024 | Read more

Get in on the action 💰

Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy and Fan Rewards.

• Fantasy Live: Participate in interactive gameplay from week to week | Choose your lineup
• Fan Rewards: New in 2023, get rewarded for your participation | Learn more
• NASCAR BetCenter: Don’t miss your chance to make picks each week | Visit the BetCenter
• Going the distance: 2023 Cup Series championship odds | See them here

Michigan Moments 🎷

Michigan International Speedway has posted a lot of historic moments throughout the years, so take a look at some history.

• Do you remember?: Memorable moments at Michigan | Relive them here
• Flashback: Kevin Harvick ends 65-race winless streak at Michigan | Watch video

Take some notes 📝

Five hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.

• 10 of 19 drivers to win in 2022 have yet to win in 2023.
• Toyota only has one win in the last 20 Michigan races.
• Chevrolet only has two stage wins in the last eight races and only one stage win in the last six.
• Three-time Michigan winner Kyle Larson has finished in the top three in six of his last 10 races at Michigan.
• Ross Chastain only has two top-10 finishes in the last 10 races.

🔮 Advance to Victory Lane: Racing Insights projects the finishing order

Posted on August 3, 2023August 3, 2023 by Cara Cooper

Alex Yankowski doesn’t have any wins this summer, but his consistent finishes near the front have him climbing the standings at both Utica-Rome Speedway and the national NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series points.

Yankowski, who turned 19 last month, has four top fives and nine top 10s in the 3 Bastards Brewing Modifieds division at Utica-Rome, a newly NASCAR-sanctioned half-mile dirt oval in Vernon, New York.

The driver from Covington-Township, Pennsylvania races at Utica-Rome on Friday nights and Fonda Speedway on Saturdays. He’s also currently third in Fonda’s Amsterdam Truck Center Modifieds division.

While also traveling around to other special shows throughout New England and Canada, Yankowski has finished in the top 10 in all 16 of his NASCAR-sanctioned races this summer, and in the top five eight times, putting him seventh in the NAAPWS Division I points standings.

He’s the highest ranking Division I driver without a win this season.

“It’s going good. I think we’ve been pretty consistent,” Yankowski said. “We haven’t won a race yet at Utica, which is a little bit frustrating, but we’ve been consistent there, which I think is more important than winning one race. A string of good runs is definitely more important.”

Yankowski credited his consistency this season with “good prep” in the shop.

“The cars are good. Just good maintenance and good people working on them,” he added.

(Photo: Noah Watts/FloRacing)

Racing is all-in-the-family for Yankowski, and it has been for several decades.

His grandfather used to travel from Pennsylvania to New York during the summers when he was young to work on a farm. One of his relatives at the time owned a car they raced at nearby tracks.

Years later, when his grandfather came home for the fall, he bought his own race car. That car has now been in Yankowski’s family for three generations, and they’ve built a replica.

Seeing that car is what made Yankowski want to race himself.

“It’s just always something I wanted to do,” he said. “I started in go-karts at 4. After that it’s just been one thing after another.”

Yankowski said racing now is “definitely a family deal.”

The sport wasn’t something that came easy to the 19-year-old, but it’s never been something he could quit.

“At first it was definitely frustrating, but it was always something I wanted to do and something I really wanted to work at to get better at,” he said. “And it definitely was and still is a grind to get better and just keep digging with it.”

(Photo: Daryl Canfield/FloRacing)

This is Yankowski’s second season racing at Utica — he finished third in the track’s points standings in 2022 — and just the second time in his career he’s raced full-time at a NASCAR-sanctioned track.

Last year, the team saw flashes of speed, which gave Yankowski hope heading into 2023.

“I feel like when we work on a program hard we get a little bit better, and now we have speed consistently,” he said. “I think we’re just going to keep working at it to have some consistent speed and just get a little bit faster.”

While Yankowski is enjoying his climb up the rankings of several championship races, he is still looking for that elusive win this summer. Reaching Victory Lane was the goal coming into the season, and it stays the goal every time he straps into the car.

The key, he said, is to keep working and never get too comfortable.

“We’ve put ourselves in position to win a good amount of races this year, and cautions didn’t fall our way, or lapped traffic, wrecks, just something,” he said. “We need to keep putting ourselves in position to just execute. That’s the biggest thing is just execute.

“I care more about winning races than anything else. I knew last year we were fast at times, we just needed to be fast all the time. We’re at least consistent now. We just want to go in and win some races. We’ve been knocking on the door, so we’re going to keep working at it and hopefully we get there soon.”

Racing will return to Utica-Rome Speedway on Friday.

Posted on August 3, 2023August 6, 2023 by Cameron Richardson

It’s August, which means the precipice of the postseason push and Cup Series teams going for it all to lock their way into the 16-driver field. Two road courses and a superspeedway will close out the regular season, but before that will be Monday’s resumption of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (Noon ET, USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Check out trends to watch, important info on Goodyear tires and interactive ways to follow all the action.

FORD’S FORTE ⭐️

The blue ovals have captured just three checkered flags so far in 2023, with wins from Joey Logano (Atlanta-spring), Ryan Blaney (Coke 600) and Chris Buescher (Richmond-summer).

However, momentum could be leaning in favor of the manufacturer after winning last Sunday at Richmond while leading 201 of the 400 laps and heading to a track where Ford has won the last eight races.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick has won five of those races in that span and is one of the favorites to win Sunday’s race as he seeks to score his first win in his final season and the first for SHR in 2023. This could be a tightly contested battle between three of Ford’s organizations. Bragging rights will be on the line in the Ford camp as to who the banner team is at this point of the season. Team Penske has won twice this year, but RFK Racing has emerged as a top team with Buescher locked into the postseason and Keselowski 151 points above the elimination line.

MORE: How the playoff picture looks heading into Sunday

📉 TRENDS TO WATCH 📈

— Stewart-Haas Racing has won six of the last eight races at Michigan.

— Toyota has won only once in the last 20 Michigan races (Matt Kenseth, 2015).

— The last three Michigan races have an average green flag stretch of over 20 laps.

— Kevin Harvick (2022) is the only driver in the last 10 Michigan races to get their first win of the season.

(Via Racing Insights)

NOTABLE MOMENTS 🎥

2012: Dale Jr. snaps winless streak at Michigan | WATCH

2017: Kyle Larson makes a daring move on final restart to win at Michigan | WATCH

2019: Harvick celebrates with son, Keelan, after winning at Michigan | WATCH

ON-TRACK SCHEDULE 🗓️

Saturday, August 5

— 12:35 p.m. ET: Practice (USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App)

— 1:20 p.m. ET: Qualifying (USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App)

Monday, August 7

— Noon ET: Resumption of Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App)

MORE: Full weekend schedule at Michigan

RULE CHANGES/GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES 🛞

The GEICO Restart Zone returned to its 2022 dimensions after being extended for this season’s first five races.

Goodyear brought back the same tire setup that has been used at Fontana, Las Vegas, Kansas, Nashville and Pocono earlier this season. Teams were issued one set for practice, one set for qualifying and an additional six sets for this week’s race.

NASCAR implemented safety updates to the Next Gen car.

Along the right-side door bars and extending toward the rear clip, teams are mandated to run a steel plate in addition to the chassis adjustments made for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The right-side door bar gussets and the removal of the front clip V-brace are changes that remain, in addition to the removal of other front-clip components, to create a softer and larger crush zone for frontal impacts.

Also included in the updates are front bumper strut softening (modifications to existing parts), the requirement of an empty front ballast box and a modified cross brace. NASCAR incurs the cost of all these updates.

In the event of a lost wheel that is contained to pit road, the offending team will be subject to a pass-through penalty under green-flag conditions. If the infraction occurs during a caution period, the offending team will restart at the tail end of the field.

If the wheel breaks free outside of pit road, the new rules guidelines mandate a two-lap penalty plus a two-race suspension for two crew members. Each penalty is series-specific: Violations in one series will not impact those crew members’ eligibility to participate in other series.

RELATED: See rules changes for 2023

FAN REWARDS 🫵

Fans can get in on the action all season long with NASCAR Fan Rewards, a free program that rewards fans for participating in the action when they watch races and play NASCAR Fantasy.

There’s no cost to join. Fans must be 18 years or older to participate in the program.

Earn points by checking into a race from home or at the track, setting your Fantasy Live lineup, making purchases on the NASCAR.com shop and more. Points can be redeemed for race tickets, merchandise and VIP experiences at the track, including pace car rides and waving the green flag at qualifying.

JOIN TODAY

FOLLOW THE RACE 📲

NASCAR Mobile has now added support for fans to “Follow the Race” and access live leaderboard and race information from Live Activities in the current app release (v13.2.0), available now. Android users, we didn’t forget you — the same functionality has been custom-built for Android devices, as well.

How to access Live Activities on iPhones:

Make sure your iOS device has been updated to 16.1 or higher.
Available on the leaderboard of all NASCAR Series races.
Click on the three-dot menu near the top right of screen.
Select “Follow the Race.”
Swipe up to access the home screen and you will see the Live Activities at the top.
Lock the device and you will see Live Activities on the Lock Screen.
To turn off, simply visit the leaderboard, click the three-dot menu and “Unfollow the Race.”

FANTASY LIVE 🏆

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live, which is open now. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts by garaging a driver by the end of Stage 2, and there is a $25,000 prize for the winner.

How to play: Fantasy Live | Set up a team today!

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM 💻

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement to the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Adam Fenwick

Racing has been in Mike Leaty’s blood since the moment he was brought into this world.

His father Jan started racing in the late 1970s, the beginning of a career that included track championships at Spencer Speedway in Williamson, New York, and the now-defunct Tioga Motorsports Park in Owego, New York.

Jan Leaty’s success racing locally led him to become a regular with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, where he captured nine victories in a career that spanned from 1985 to 2008.

Mike Leaty followed in his father’s footsteps as a racer and has enjoyed a successful career himself, capturing two track championships at Spencer Speedway as well as a pair of regional touring modified championships with the Race of Champions.

This Saturday, Mike will do something he rarely gets to do. He’ll compete with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 (8 p.m. ET on FloRacing) at Lancaster Motorplex with his father as his crew chief.

Mike Leaty, driver of the No. 25 Northeast Industrials Technology, qualifies for the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Lancaster Motorplex in Lancaster, New York on July 31, 2021. (Photo: Bryan Bennett/NASCAR)

“It’s what we want to do. In a perfect world, we would do it every race,” Mike Leaty said about working with his father. “When we get to come close to home, that makes it more financially feasible to run my car, and we get to work together.

“It’s kind of like when I was growing up racing. We would race at Spencer Speedway, and my dad was always my crew chief. His experience brings my team to another level. It’s what we want to do, just not always what we’re able to do.”

The chance to join the field at Lancaster came in large part thanks to veteran Modified Tour driver Patrick Emerling, though not in the way one might think.

Through their business, L2 Autosport, Mike and Jan Leaty prepare and crew Emerling’s Modified Tour entry when Emerling is available to race. Mike usually works as part of the crew at the track while Jan serves as Emerling’s crew chief.

Emerling, who won the only previous NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Lancaster in 2021, is unable to race this weekend because of a schedule conflict with the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Michigan International Speedway.

That opened the door for Mike to dust off his own race car and head to Lancaster, where he’ll make his sixth career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour start and first of the season.

Mike Leaty, driver of the No. 25 Northeast Industrials Technology, sits in his car prior to the start of the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Lancaster Motorplex in Lancaster, New York on July 31, 2021. (Photo: Bryan Bennett/NASCAR)

“The opportunity to work with my father as a crew chief, just a whole bunch of things kind of worked out in my favor that allowed me to be available for this race,” Mike Leaty said. “It’s something I wanted to do; just time doesn’t usually permit it. We put the deal together kind of last minute. I wasn’t planning on it.

“Patrick wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to race or not. His Xfinity schedule, it depended on if he was in the seat at Michigan. We had the car ready for Pat that was going to go to Lancaster just in case he was available, and then when he decided he couldn’t make Lancaster, that kind of freed up our schedule to run my No. 25 car.”

Lancaster is an ideal place for Mike to join the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour field. He’s scored several victories at the facility through the years and believes experience — combined with mastering Turns 1-2 — are the keys to being fast at 0.625-mile asphalt oval.

“Lancaster is a unique track. It’s different on both ends. (Turns) three and four is kind of a more traditional corner like you’d see at most of the race tracks around the United States,” Mike said. “(Turns) one and two is unique. There is a drag strip there that they have to incorporate into the frontstretch, and for whatever reason one and two is a wide, sweeping corner. It kind of necks down as you get into it.

“I can’t even explain it. It’s just different. Getting through turns one and two is the key to going fast around Lancaster.”

While Mike hopes he can earn a top-10 finish Saturday night at Lancaster, he said the broader goal is to have fun working with his father while racing in the series where Jan enjoyed so much success through the years.

“Racing is my family’s life,” Mike said. “It’s what we do. We love racing. Any spare minute we have, we work on race cars. I work a normal job and then pretty much probably 50 percent of nights after work I work on race cars. I think this event is more about going and having fun as a family then it is to go and be like, ‘We have to win this race.’ This one is more about having fun together.”

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Zack Albert

Years ago during the peak of his NASCAR career, one of the knocks on Jimmie Johnson from fans was that he won too much. It was natural. Repeated greatness has a way of alienating some folks who are tired of seeing him in Victory Lane again and again.

Now the uproar, upon his crowning election Wednesday to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, is that he didn’t win by enough.

Johnson was a sure-fire choice for induction into the stock-car shrine with the Class of 2024, and he was announced Wednesday alongside his longtime crew chief Chad Knaus from the Modern Era Ballot. Donnie Allison was the pick on the Pioneer Ballot, and Janet Guthrie was honored as the recipient of the Landmark Award.

In Johnson’s case, the honor should not come as a great surprise for one of only three seven-time Cup Series champions. What was a shock to some was seeing the tabulated totals of the 57 ballots cast and noting that the percentage fell short of 100. Johnson was named on 93 percent of the ballots, meaning that four voters omitted him.

The only other drivers to reach seven Cup titles are Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty, who were inducted to the inaugural class in 2010 when vote tallies were not released. The numbers for subsequent classes have been made public, and Jeff Gordon — a four-time champ and one of NASCAR’s all-time greats — reached the highest known total of 96 percent with his election for the Class of 2019.

When asked Wednesday afternoon, Johnson handled the sticky wicket with his usual grace, saying “it doesn’t matter” that the vote that sealed his enshrinement was not unanimous. Knaus, however, pounced on the suggestion that the balloting totals produced a baffling result.

“Extremely. I remember there was somebody when Gordon went in, and I don’t know, it was a big story where they said that somebody voted against or didn’t pick Gordon because they didn’t want it to be unanimous,” Knaus said, before pointing to Johnson, seated to his right in a director’s chair. “If this man right here isn’t a unanimous vote, I don’t know if anybody ever will be. I mean, he’s the nicest guy, the best race car driver ever to sit a NASCAR race car, a huge contributor or sport, contributes to society in so many different ways with the Jimmie Johnson Foundation. He is the ideal picture of a Hall of Fame inductee.”

Apparently, not to all, and not enough to set the precedent of unanimity. Reckon it shouldn’t be astonishing. Try to get 60-odd people to all agree on one thing. That also seems unprecedented — in NASCAR and in society in general. Personal biases are bound to creep in, and Knaus said as much. When told he was left off 11 ballots, leaving him with an 81-percent take of the vote, the other seven-time champ in the room said: “Those are people that I made upset along the way, I’m sure.”

The other matter concerns Johnson’s eligibility. It’s been two full seasons since he last competed full-time in the Cup Series, but his return with a limited schedule this year may have muddled his nomination for some voters. Still, part-time comebacks on a bigger scale didn’t stop Gordon or Matt Kenseth from reaching eligibility on a similar timetable. Johnson’s appearance on the ballot comes through no fault of his own. Holding that against him seems foolhardy, but may have factored in.

MORE: Ballot choices by NASCAR.com’s Zack Albert

The other theory lies with voting strategy, the reasoning that if Johnson is a lock, better to throw support toward another Hall of Fame hopeful who may need it more. With respect to the class’s other vote-earners — all worthy candidates who will likely clear the bar for enshrinement one day — a handful of ballots cast with this rationale weren’t going to propel them past the finish line, not this year.

NASCAR hasn’t had a repeat Cup Series champion since Johnson’s unmatched run of five straight from 2006-10. Only two drivers — Kyle Busch and reigning champ Joey Logano have multiple titles since then, and Johnson’s benchmark seems every bit as unbreakable a record as Richard Petty’s 200 wins.

It seems unlikely that another candidate with Johnson’s credentials will come along — not soon, and maybe not ever. Part of that belief stems from the current era, with such seeming parity and a playoff system that makes the path to sustained championship runs more difficult. The other plank is Johnson’s singular talent that established him as a legend for all time.

Worth repeating are Knaus’ words: “If this man right here isn’t a unanimous vote, I don’t know if anybody ever will be.”

Seems accurate, 100 percent.

Posted on August 2, 2023August 2, 2023 by Zack Albert

Editor’s note: NASCAR.com’s Zack Albert is among the 57 voting members — including the fan vote — casting ballots to elect the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024. This year marks his fifth time participating in Voting Day. Here, he shares an explanation of his three choices on his ballot, a handful of honorable mentions and his pick for the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.

Class of 2024 selections

Jimmie Johnson — The choices don’t come much easier than this one when a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion appears on the list of nominees. Johnson’s accomplishments are myriad, and his run of five consecutive premier-series titles stands as a record that seems safe to classify as unbreakable. Wearing the Hall of Fame’s blue jacket is an inevitability, and the first-ballot nod is more than deserving.

Chad Knaus — Speaking of seven-time champions, Knaus’ nearly mirror-image accolades as a championship-winning crew chief seven times over deserve the other Modern Era Ballot vote. It feels fitting that the Hall of Fame would usher in Johnson and Knaus as inductees together, but this vote isn’t made to satisfy storybook smarm. Knaus’ merits easily stand on their own.

Sam Ard — This feels overdue, even with Ard in just his third year on the ballot. Maybe it’s because Jack Ingram, who ranked alongside him as one of the most hard-nosed stars of his era in what’s now known as the Xfinity Series, was a Class of 2014 honoree. Ard’s two championships that came after the tour reached national-series status were just part of his sweeping success in the Late Model Sportsman days.

Honorable mentions: Harry Hyde’s brilliance as a crew chief spanning from the 1960s into the heart of NASCAR’s modern era will likely get its due in future ballots. … Banjo Matthews’ influence as a pioneering racer who became an omnipresent and masterful car builder remains a Hall of Fame standout worthy of consideration. … The Alabama Gang can now claim four Hall of Famers in Bobby, Donnie and Davey Allison, plus Red Farmer. Someday, Neil Bonnett will become the fifth.

Landmark Award

Janet Guthrie — In an extremely worthy field of nominees, Guthrie has this vote for a second consecutive year as a true stock-car racing pioneer. Sure, women competed at NASCAR’s highest level in the sport’s barnstorming early years, but none in the modern era did so with as much professionalism and impact as Guthrie.

Posted on August 2, 2023August 3, 2023 by Zack Albert

Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, the indomitable driver and crew chief who paired up to win seven Cup Series championships, were elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Wednesday on their first appearance on the Modern Era ballot. They will be inducted as part of the Class of 2024 along with Donnie Allison, who was the top vote-getter on the Pioneer Ballot.

For the first time, all three Hall of Fame inductees are first-ballot choices. Johnson was selected on 93% of the ballots, and Knaus earned 81%. Allison drew 53% of the 57 ballots cast by the voting members after a Wednesday meeting at the Charlotte Convention Center. One ballot was also cast from fan voting that ran through Sunday on NASCAR.com; the fan ballot chose Johnson, Knaus and Allison.

Janet Guthrie was selected as the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. Guthrie will be recognized along with the Class of 2024 electees at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Jan. 19 in Charlotte.

Johnson, 47, is one of just three seven-time champions of NASCAR’s premier series. The other two — Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty — were part of the inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2010.

Five of those championships came consecutively during a brilliant run of success from 2006-10. Along the way, he tallied multiple wins in each of the series’ crown-jewel events — the Daytona 500 (2006, 2013), the Coca-Cola 600 (2003-05, 2014), the Southern 500 (2004, 2012) and the Brickyard 400 (2006, 2008-09, 2012). Johnson retired from full-time NASCAR competition after the 2020 season but has returned in two roles — one as a part-time driver and the other as a minority owner of the Legacy Motor Club organization.

“I wouldn’t say there was doubt, but it was great to hear my name called,” said Johnson, who watched the announcement and a video of his career highlights from a room upstairs from the Great Hall. “… They had so many key moments to this 19-year career I had which have led to this opportunity in the Hall, and those emotions just started running through my brain, through my mind. And then right in front of me was Brooke and Chad (Knaus), and to see so many images with Chad and I together, I’m like, ‘Oh, gosh, I hope he gets in, right?’ That’s the other component to this that I was really hopeful for. A lot of very deserving names on the ballot. I am a bit biased and very thankful that Chad and I are going in together.”

Johnson didn’t have to wait long as Knaus’ name was the final one called during Wednesday’s announcement. Virtually all of Johnson’s driving success came with Knaus atop the pit box. His seven Cup Series championships as a crew chief rank second only to the eight won by Dale Inman, who was inducted into the NASCAR Hall in 2012.

Knaus, 51, transitioned from his post as crew chief to Hendrick Motorsports’ vice president of competition at the end of the 2020 season. At the time of his shift to an executive role, Knaus had collected 82 Cup Series victories — 81 with Johnson and a first for William Byron.

That same montage of highlights also made an impression on Knaus.

“I can tell you, there’s a flush of emotions,” he said. “As I was watching the video that played once Jimmie was nominated and saw the way we grew up together, and as I sat back and I was watching him, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, how much I’ve learned throughout my career just because of Jimmie,’ I was really proud of that, and probably more proud of the fact that he’s in there than actually I am. But for me personally, it’s a huge, huge day. Very, very proud. Very proud of everybody that’s helped me, and it’s an honor to be here with Jimmie. Obviously, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Jimmie Johnson in a lot of different ways. So it’s pretty awesome. Fantastic.”

Team owner Rick Hendrick, who was inducted into the NASCAR Hall as part of the Class of 2017, employed Johnson and Knaus at the launch of the No. 48 Chevrolet team. In a statement released shortly after the announcement, he cheered the dual honors for the venerable pair.

“I cannot imagine a more fitting moment than Jimmie and Chad being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in the same class,” Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, said in a statement. “As individuals, they’re truly unique, with different personalities, strengths and approaches to their craft. Each is a champion and generational talent in their own right. But together, they were pure magic. All of us at Hendrick Motorsports were fortunate to see greatness up close as they re-wrote the record book. On behalf of our entire organization, congratulations to two of the fiercest competitors – and best people – our sport has ever seen. We look forward to celebrating their unprecedented achievements.”

Allison was a 10-time winner at NASCAR’s highest level and a member of the revered “Alabama Gang,” which now has four of its members in the Hall of Fame — his brother Bobby (2011), nephew Davey (2019), and longtime family friend Red Farmer (2021). The 83-year-old driver was the Cup Series Rookie of the Year in 1967 and counts the 1970 Coca-Cola 600 among his prized victories.

“I felt like maybe one day down the road, I might get inducted. It’s probably the culmination of a lot of hard work, a lot of luck, and a lot of patience by that lady sitting right back there …” Allison said, motioning to his wife, Pat, in the crowd.

Guthrie, 85, broke barriers in the sport and was the first woman to find success in NASCAR’s modern era. She was the first woman to compete in the Daytona 500 in 1977, the same year that she drove in her first Indianapolis 500. Guthrie was also the first woman to lead a lap in the Cup Series, and she finished among the top 10 five times in her 33 starts.

Harry Gant finished third in voting for the Modern Era Ballot, followed by Ricky Rudd and Carl Edwards. Banjo Matthews was second to Allison on the Pioneer Ballot.

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Press Release

ATTLEBORO, Mass. — JDV Productions and NASCAR announced today that the finale of the second annual Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup has been moved to Monadnock Speedway with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour on Saturday, September 9. After rain forced the Clash at Claremont to not take place on July 29, officials are also announcing today the event at Claremont Motorsports Park will not be rescheduled.

Advance tickets purchased for the Clash at Claremont will be transferred to the Monadnock event in September, unless otherwise requested. Race fans have until August 10 to request a refund if they wish by emailing [email protected].

“We are disappointed we will not be heading to Claremont with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this year,” Josh Vanada, owner of JDV Productions, said. “It’s always a pleasure to head there and we were excited to see the cars race around that technical track. However, due to these unforeseen circumstances, we are excited to move the finale of the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup to Monadnock. We had a fantastic event there in May and we know our September Winchester Fair is going to be even more exciting with this addition. We can’t wait to see the fans at the high-banks again soon.”

JDV also announced that the Winchester Fair will be the next JDV event on September 9 at Monadnock. The JDV Open Modified 100 at Claremont Motorsports Park is postponed until a later date to be announced in the coming weeks. Entry fees for this event will be refunded to the teams.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to Monadnock Speedway for the JDV Winchester Fair on Saturday, September 9. The event will include the finale of the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup — a three-race series with over $15,000 on the line. The battle at the top of the standings for the Cup is tight with Tommy Baldwin Racing showing the way with their driver Doug Coby. Back at Monadnock in May, when JDV Productions produced a Whelen Modified Tour event with 30 cars taking the green flag, Coby went to Victory Lane.

The Winchester Fair will also include the NHSTRA Modifieds, Evolve Bank & Trust Mortgage Pro Truck Challenge, New England Pro 4 Modifieds, NHSTRA Late Models, Mini Stocks and Pure Stocks. A full day of racing is planned in New Hampshire as the fall season will be about to begin. A full schedule for race day will be available closer to the race, however, tickets are available online now at JDVProductions.com.

For more information on JDV and to stay updated with the latest news, visit JDVProductions.com and follow on social media.

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Staff Report

Due to scheduling difficulties and conflicts during the remainder of the 2023 season, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and JDV Productions have canceled the Clash at Claremont 150 that was postponed due to weather on Saturday, July 29, at Claremont Motorsports Park.

The Whelen Modified Tour schedule resumes this Saturday, Aug. 5, at Lancaster Motorplex with the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150.