Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

Kyle Busch’s perspective on William Byron is among the most unique between two of today’s best NASCAR Cup Series drivers.

Busch, a two-time champion at the sport’s highest level, welcomed Byron to Kyle Busch Motorsports when Byron was merely 17 years old, making his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut in 2015.

Since then, Byron went on to set a rookie record in Trucks with seven wins in 2016, win the Xfinity Series championship in 2017 with JR Motorsports and now leads the NASCAR Cup Series with three wins through 13 races in 2023, bumping his Cup total victories to a collective seven, all with the sport’s winningest team in Hendrick Motorsports.

Fair to consider the new face of the No. 24 Chevrolet a championship threat?

“Yeah, I mean, you’d have to,” Busch said in a Tuesday teleconference.

MORE: Latest Cup Series standings | All-Star Race schedule

Byron’s progression to Cup is well documented — a journey that began through iRacing and computers that propelled him to real track in legend cars, late models and the ARCA Menards Series East before landing on the national stage.

Now, in addition to his Cup Series-high three wins, the 25-year-old leads the league in top fives (six) and laps led (596); sits second in top-10 finishes (seven); is tied with Kyle Larson and Joey Logano for most poles (two); and sits fifth in points, 42 points behind series leader Ross Chastain. A 60-point penalty after the April 2 race at Richmond Raceway now remains the only thing separating Byron from the top spot in the standings midway through the regular season.

The tracks where Byron has broken through are also critical. The 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway serves as the opening race of the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs; Phoenix Raceway, the flat 1-mile, D-shaped oval, is where the championship will be decided in November. Darlington Raceway, the site of Byron’s most recent triumph, opens the playoffs in September.

“All of his wins have been pretty diverse at all different race tracks, you know?” Busch said. “I think William is a rare talent. (…) He’s done a great job at driving all the stuff that he’s driven. He’s been in good stuff the entire time, but he’s made the most of that as well.”

RELATED: Byron listed as co-favorite for 2023 title; full odds here

Busch, who has welcomed Byron back into the KBM fold for a select number of Truck Series races this season thanks to his return to Chevrolet, pointed to their 2016 romp over the circuit, collecting 11 top fives and 16 top 10s to pair with those record seven wins over 23 events. A failed engine in that season’s penultimate race at Phoenix denied Byron the chance to vie for a championship — one he would have won considering he was victorious at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the season finale.

Atop the pit box was crew chief Rudy Fugle, who now guides Byron and the No. 24 team at Hendrick Motorsports.

“Working with William the time that we did, him and Rudy were amazing here and had great results, and now they’re having great results on the Cup side as well,” Busch said. “It took a couple years of learning the ropes of the Cup Series for William, which, to be expected out of anybody, right? But ever since being paired with Rudy again, it seems like those two really have a knack for one another. And Rudy is really good at what he does. I know that very well, having him be here at KBM for so many years. So that doesn’t surprise me.”

William Byron, left, fist bumps Rudy Fugle after winning the pole at Kansas
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

 

Fugle’s filter for prioritizing information is a significant key to the success he’s had with multiple drivers in the Truck Series — Busch (10 wins), Christopher Bell (five) and Erik Jones (four) to name a few.

“I think he just has a knack for being able to read information and the sim and stuff like that, without there needing to be a full emphasis put on the driver being in the sim, if you will,” Busch explained. “We all go do and run the simulator and everything. And sometimes it works for particular race tracks; sometimes it doesn’t. Like, I felt like Fontana, it was perfect. It was really good. And then I felt like Darlington, it was actually really good for us. But Vegas, it wasn’t even close. And somewhere else we went, it wasn’t even close, you know?

“So we really struggled at a couple of those places trying to rely on that, where Rudy and William, I know they go use it and they run on it. But I think Rudy really looks at numbers, a lot more of just setup things and the stuff that he does on how he picks what springs to run and what setups to go with.”

As for Byron and Fugle’s success, well that just leaves Busch with mixed emotions.

“I’d like to say that I’m happy for him (Fugle),” Busch said. “But on the other hand, I’m not because I’d rather have Rudy here on the Truck Series side with us at KBM and I’d rather be beating William on Sunday.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials penalized the No. 45 team from 23XI Racing on Tuesday for violations found in Cup Series pre-qualifying inspection last weekend at Darlington Raceway.

The No. 45 team was found in violation of Section 14.11.2.1.A of the NASCAR Rule Book, which states that, “Any and all ballast added to the vehicle must be secured inside a ballast container(s). … Additional ballast containers will not be permitted to be added to the chassis.” As a result, competition officials docked the team 10 points in both the drivers and owners standings.

RELATED: Darlington race results

The team had lost pit-stall selection for Sunday’s Goodyear 400 after the infraction was discovered during Friday’s technical inspection at the 1.366-mile track, and crew chief Billy Scott was ejected for the remainder of the race weekend. 23XI Racing performance director Dave Rogers filled in for Scott, and Tyler Reddick drove to a 22nd-place finish in Sunday’s 400-miler, scored as the final driver on the lead lap. It marked two consecutive weeks that the No. 45 team failed pre-qualifying inspection twice.

Competition officials also issued suspensions for two crew members of the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet team after a wheel dislodged during Sunday’s Cup Series race. Erik Jones was involved in a multicar stack-up when the No. 43 Chevy spun sideways at the start of the final stage, collecting eight other cars at the exit of Turn 2. The No. 43’s right-rear wheel came loose and rolled down the backstretch, and Jones was held in the pits for two laps. He finished 25th.

WATCH: Stage 3 starts with multicar melee

The infraction falls under the heading of Section 8.8.10.4.C — “Loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle.” The violation resulted in two-race suspensions each for No. 43 crew members Nate McBride (jack) and Adam Riley (rear tire changer).

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

For the first time since 1996, it’s NASCAR race week at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

The NASCAR All-Star Race is back in the state of North Carolina and shifts to the 0.625-mile oval in Wilkes County at the historic short track, which heartily welcomes back the Cup Series and its modern-day stars on Sunday night (8 ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) for the first time in more than 26 years.

With the All-Star Race comes unique changes to the weekend format, at the forefront of which are a pit crew challenge and heat races. The main goal, however, remains a simple, easy-to-follow setup that’s bound to excite throughout this special weekend.

RELATED: All-Star schedule | Before and after: See the track’s rebirth in photos

Here is how the format factors into the main event:

FRIDAY

Qualifying — Pit Crew Challenge, 5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM: Lineups for the two heat races and the All-Star Open will be determined by the Pit Crew Challenge, which will feature each team performing a four-tire pit stop with timing lines marked one pit stall behind and one ahead of the designated pit box. Fuelers will be in play for the pit stop as usual, but their fuel cans will be dry.

The goal is straightforward: The quicker the pit stop, the higher up the field that team will start. The race team with the fastest pit stop Friday will also collect a $100,000 bonus.

MORE: Introducing — and detailing — the Pit Crew Challenge

The 21 teams locked into the All-Star Race will be split into two heats. Those who finish first, third, fifth and so on in the pit competition will compete in the first heat race; those who finish second, fourth, sixth and so on will compete in the second heat.

The remaining drivers not yet locked into the big show will compete in the All-Star Open, the starting lineup for which will be set by the results of Friday’s pit competition, with the quickest team on the pole.

SATURDAY

Heat Races – 7:20 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM: Two 60-lap heat races are set to fire off Saturday night with 11 cars in Heat 1 and 10 in Heat 2, each fighting for their starting positions in Sunday night’s $1 million main event.

The results of the first heat will set the inside row – first, third, fifth and so on – for the starting grid of the All-Star Race, while Heat 2 will set the outside, even-numbered positions.

All caution laps will be counted throughout the heats, with each team slated to start on new, fresh tires with one additional set available on pit road. Normal race procedures are in effect for pit road with no scheduled interruptions throughout the 60-lap dashes.

SUNDAY

All-Star Open – 5:30 p.m., FS1, MRN, SiriusXM: The sixteen drivers not yet locked into the main event will fight through this 100-lap preliminary event to earn one of two transfer positions into the All-Star Race.

The field will take the green flag with the event’s lineup set by Friday night’s Pit Crew Challenge. All normal race procedures are in effect with one scheduled “competition break” set to wave at or around Lap 40.

The top two finishers in this dash will advance to the All-Star Race. In addition, the Fan Vote winner will also bump from the Open into the All-Star Race. The award is granted to the driver with the most votes who did not already advance via the transfer positions.

RELATED: Vote your favorite driver into the All-Star Race!

All-Star Race – 8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM: The grand finale, the 200-lap All-Star Race pits 24 of the sport’s greatest drivers against each other for a $1 million payday.

Like the heats, every lap will be counted with all competitors starting the event on fresh tires. Teams will have three additional sets of Goodyears available to use on pit road, which will be open per standard race procedures.

An “All-Star Caution” will signify the yellow flag at or around Lap 100, the midway point of Sunday’s big show. After that caution period, only one additional set of new “sticker” tires may be used throughout the duration of the event.

The winner walks away $1 million richer in this non-points exhibition thriller.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

Just in case you’ve lost count, there are now two Phoenix Raceways.

One, of course, sits proudly in the Sonoran Desert as the final leg of NASCAR’s West Coast Swing and the host site for the season-ending Championship 4 race.

The other “Phoenix” harkens to the immortal mythological bird that rises from the ashes of its predecessor. In this case, our second “Phoenix” has risen from the ash heap of NASCAR history as the miraculous renaissance of North Wilkesboro Speedway.

RELATED: Full All-Star schedule | Pit Crew Challenge to play pivotal role

What better place to hold a NASCAR All-Star Race during the 75th anniversary of the sport than the track that has sat idle since 1996 and is enjoying its revival through the advocacy of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the enthusiastic cooperation of Speedway Motorsports president and CEO Marcus Smith?

The gritty 0.625-mile paved oval added kindling to the foremost rivalries in NASCAR’s top division: Richard Petty vs. Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough vs. Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt vs. a host of characters including Rusty Wallace, Terry Labonte and Jeff Gordon.

Before Gordon won the last Cup race at North Wilkesboro in 1996, the track took the measure of the four-time series champion. In 805 career starts, Gordon finished last only five times, two of which came against 34-car fields at North Wilkesboro during his 1993 rookie season.

By the time Gordon took the checkered flag to beat Earnhardt by 1.73 seconds in 1996, North Wilkesboro already had fallen behind the curve in terms of the amenities fans had come to expect from a Cup Series venue.

Speedway Motorsports founder Bruton Smith purchased 50% interest in North Wilkesboro in 1995 after the death of track developer and owner Enoch Staley. In 1996, New Hampshire Motor Speedway owner Bob Bahre bought the remaining 50% from the Staley family.

Smith and Bahre bought the track for its two Cup dates, intending to transfer them elsewhere. Nevertheless, North Wilkesboro’s disappearance from NASCAR’s schedule was a heart-wrenching loss for Wilkes County, whose moonshine-driven role in the origins of the sport is the stuff of legend.

Wilkes County native Junior Johnson, a member of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class, refused to attend the last race at the speedway, which had debuted as a dirt track in 1946.

In a contemporaneous story in the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, Bob Zeller quoted Johnson as saying, “I’m not going. It would be more of a sad deal for me to go out and just stand around and look at something disappear, something I can remember almost since I’ve been around.”

For decades, the thought that NASCAR Cup racing would return to North Wilkesboro was dismissed as a pipe dream. The track property, located five miles east of the town of North Wilkesboro, was overgrown with weeds.

But in 2023, the pipe dream will become a reality as the luminaries of the sport take to the track for the All-Star Race (Sun., 8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Gordon earned $91,350 for his victory in 1996. On Sunday, drivers will compete for a $1-million top prize. But money isn’t the main motivator. Just ask Joey Logano, winner of the first Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum last year.

“I think the atmosphere is going to be amazing,” Logano said. “That’s the race everyone has been talking about, kind of like the Clash before there was the Clash. What’s it going to be like, right before we went there the first time? Now, it’s North Wilkesboro, and what’s it going to be like?

“Everyone has talked about it. I’m pretty excited to get up there and see what the racing is like. You’ve got a million bucks on the line. It doesn’t matter where you race, it’s going be intense and exciting, but I think the nostalgia of going back there and that excitement that a lot of fans and competitors have as well have added a piece, for sure.”

Posted on by Tadd Haislop

An opportunity in motorsports is often the result of being in the right place at the right time, and building relationships with the right people make such an opportunity feasible. Jordan Taylor‘s path to North Wilkesboro Speedway is the latest example.

The 32-year-old Corvette Racing driver in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is set for his debut racing a stock car on an oval track. The moment will come in Wednesday’s CARS Tour Pro Late Model race at the historic 0.625-mile oval (7:30 p.m. ET, FloRacing).

For Taylor, this is simply his long-awaited opportunity to compete in an oval event after years of watching stock car racing with a curious eye. Yet the fact that his chance arrives during NASCAR All-Star Week at North Wilkesboro, of all times and places, makes the challenge all the more notable.

RELATED: How to watch late model racing at North Wilkesboro

Jordan Taylor
Jordan Taylor’s alter ego is “Rodney Sandstorm,” and Rodney’s name will be on the team’s Rainbow Warriors throwback car at North Wilkesboro. (CARS Tour)

The Apopka, Florida resident’s road-racing resume is loaded. Running his fourth full-time season with Corvette, Taylor is a four-time IMSA drivers champion. He’s won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Overall, he has 24 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship wins, 11 of which have come with Corvette.

The Rolex 24 victory in 2017 began the chain reaction that led to Taylor’s entry with E33 Motorsports in Wednesday’s Late Model race at North Wilkesboro.

“It’s kind of all fallen into place in a weird way,” Taylor said. “It started with me driving with Jeff Gordon in 2017 … we won the Rolex 24 together, so it kicked off the relationship in a nice way.”

Taylor’s connection to Gordon led to the IMSA driver being involved with Hendrick Motorsports’ program when the NASCAR Cup Series team took to the Daytona road course in 2020. Taylor said that experience was the primary reason he was invited to contribute to Garage 56, a special entry from NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports set to compete in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

RELATED: Year in review: Garage 56 — NASCAR to Le Mans

The domino effect continued from there. In part because of his experience with a NASCAR stock car in the Garage 56 program, Taylor was pinned in March as the replacement for an injured Chase Elliott in the Cup Series race at Circuit of The Americas, where he completed every lap and finished 24th.

Even after all that, Taylor wanted more from stock-car racing.

“I reached out to a few people to see what other opportunities there’d be in the stock-car world,” he said. “Greg Ives from Hendrick [Motorsports] — I’ve gotten to know him pretty well. He was actually the one who made the introduction to E33 Motorsports. They had an open seat available for North Wilkesboro, and they asked Greg who he thought could do it. Greg asked if they’d be up for giving me a shot at an oval.

“The E33 guys have been amazing — super helpful and excited to be a part of my first oval experience.”

Jimmie Johnson and Jordan Taylor
Jimmie Johnson and Jordan Taylor talk during the NASCAR Garage 56 test at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 31, 2023. (Photo: James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Some might see Taylor’s appearance at North Wilkesboro as a sort of ploy, especially given Rodney Sandstorm’s presence. (Rodney Sandstorm is Taylor’s playful alter ego. It began years ago when he pranked Gordon wearing a leather DuPont jacket and jorts. He’ll have the Rodney Sandstorm attire on hand at North Wilkesboro should he decide to play the part.)

But this is no ruse. Taylor is approaching his first oval start in a serious manner, and he’s well aware of the challenges he faces.

Taylor’s only experience in a Late Model is the testing he recently completed at Florida’s Orange County Speedway and North Carolina’s Ace Speedway. He’s studied videos of drivers running Pro Late Models at North Wilkesboro and has spent time learning the track on iRacing.

Even knowing a Pro Late Model would feel completely different than a Corvette C8.R, Taylor was stunned by the test.

“The biggest surprise was how much grip [Pro Late Models] had,” Taylor said. “And how much speed you can go into the corner with; how far you can attack into the corners. A much higher limit than I was expecting. And that just leads me to think about how difficult the racing’s going to be.

“You watch these drivers run side-by-side and nose-to-tail, lap-after-lap for 100 laps. So testing it is one thing. Getting to a race weekend with a bunch of other cars is going to be a whole different thing to learn.”

Jordan Taylor
The 2023 season is the fourth for Jordan Taylor as a full-time driver with Corvette Racing. He teams with Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R for the full GTD PRO season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. (Photo: James Moy Photography/Getty Images)

Taylor’s awareness of the difficulty the North Wilkesboro race will bring is part of the reason he’s not entering with expectations. He’s approaching race day the same way he viewed his COTA Cup Series start in March: “I want to show some speed if I can, and be in the mix somewhere in the pack. I don’t want to fall off the back of the pack. I just want to have a respectable showing.”

Ultimately, as Taylor described it, this is “just going to be a cool experience.” And it helps that he’ll have one of the sharpest looking cars at North Wilkesboro.

Despite Taylor’s association with Gordon, the Rainbow Warriors throwback paint scheme on his No. 1 Pro Late Model was not his idea. The E33 team conceived the look and pitched it to Taylor, who had no issue playing the Rodney Sandstorm game.

Taylor also noted it’s fitting that Gordon, sporting the Rainbow Warriors look on his Chevy Monte Carlo, won the last time the NASCAR Cup Series visited North Wilkesboro, in the fall of 1996.

Almost 27 years later, the Cup Series is back at North Wilkesboro for Sunday’s All-Star Race. Thanks to Taylor and E33 Motorsports, an iconic paint scheme is back, too, ready to grace the historic venue. Or so the driver hopes.

“This opportunity — it’s going to be a lot to take in,” Taylor said. “Hopefully we’ll just be somewhere in the mix.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

Ross Chastain has developed into one of NASCAR’s most magnetic personalities. Lately, his car has also been magnetic.

The latest metal-attracting-metal moment from the Trackhouse Racing ace came on Sunday at Darlington Raceway, where he pressed 2021 Cup Series champ Kyle Larson in a late-race duel that ended in stock-car shrapnel. The two drivers led significant swaths of the Goodyear 400 but neither was around to contend for the victory in overtime.

RELATED: Chastain, Larson collide late | Cup Series standings

Rick Hendrick celebrated after William Byron drove the No. 24 to its 100th Cup Series win, but the contact that thwarted Larson roused the typically slow-to-anger team owner, and he issued a bit of a salvo from the media center dais.

“I think you can ask any driver in here that he’s wrecked or been involved with him,” Hendrick said. “He doesn’t have to be that aggressive, and I guess at this point in the race maybe you’re super aggressive, but you just don’t run people up in the fence or just — he’s not going to — he’s going to make a lot of enemies. It’s hard to win a championship when you’ve got a lot of paybacks out there.”

The NASCAR-sphere was still buzzing about Chastain’s sparring session with Noah Gragson the previous weekend at Kansas Speedway when this latest episode of aggression dropped. Rewind one week earlier to Dover and it was another Chastain move that sent Brennan Poole’s slower car skidding into Larson’s path.

Chastain’s list of rivals has grown this year, and Larson is the latest member of the club.

Still, Chastain’s unabashed approach to racing has attracted a following. Reactions to his name on the roll call of driver introductions have become more polarizing. The 30-year-old journeyman is a no-nonsense hero to some, incorrigible villain to others, and his Trackhouse Racing team has previously wrapped its arms around Chastain’s style, staying true to its mantra of disrupting the status quo, even within the bounds of the ownership establishment and under the Chevrolet umbrella.

“Well, I don’t know if Chevrolet can cool it down. I don’t know that,” Hendrick said, referring to No. 5 crew chief Cliff Daniels’ suggestion on the radio that the manufacturer should intercede. “That’s not the way they usually operate. It’s either NASCAR or the drivers, the owners. You’ve heard the pit crew say before, we like it. We don’t care if people like us. We’re here to run over and win. If it doesn’t change, he’s going to have a hard time winning a championship.”

Nearly 24 hours later, one of the vested owners had already stepped in. Trackhouse founder Justin Marks told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the organization was taking measures to address the string of incidents. Marks indicated that Chastain had raced hard throughout the day at Darlington, making moves that placed him in position to win.

“Ross clears Kyle and makes that pass and wins the throwback weekend to Darlington seven days after getting a scuffle on pit road, the guy’s a legend,” Marks told SiriusXM. “And you know, he’s got the skill to do that. He’s got the ability to do that. The result was just bad. It just was bad for everybody. … And so, you know, this has been my life today. I mean, we have addressed it. We’ve had many conversations with different people today, some difficult conversations. And I think the important message here is that we are a believer in Ross’ talent. That’s obvious. He’s very fast, but he’s got some things he’s got to clean up. I mean, I’ll just be totally honest with you. And we today started the process of more aggressively handling that, with our partners, with Ross and with our team because, not because necessarily that we’re mad at him but because there’s so much opportunity here, and we’re addressing it.

“I’m going to take a more active role in it, and I love the kid and I love the opportunity that he’s giving every single person that works at Trackhouse to be able to put a championship run together but there’s just stuff that needs to be cleaned up, and it’s a process he’s going to have to start going through sooner rather than later. We are very supportive of him. We’re very supportive of this team. And we are addressing it.”

The thing about Hendrick’s claim of Chastain’s hard road to a championship: Amid all the controversy, conflict and contact, the current NASCAR Cup Series points leader is … Ross Chastain. His five stage wins are second only to the league-leading six from Byron, another top championship contender. One key difference is that Byron already has three wins through the first half of the regular season, while Chastain is still searching for his first.

There are multiple routes to a Cup Series title, but winning is certainly the most direct. As Hendrick suggests, that path is made more difficult by frequently re-aligning the feathers of his peers. But in the same breath, the team owner lauded Chastain’s gobs of talent, saying that he just needs to find a balance of picking his spots and knowing when to push it.

NASCAR honored its 75 Greatest Drivers this weekend at Darlington, gathering legends of the sport from multiple generations. Chastain may well wind up on the list of 100 Greatest in the next quarter-century, depending on how his career goes from here, but his season’s body of work thus far feels like an audition for an unofficial list of the 75 Most Aggressive Drivers to join the diamond-anniversary superlatives.

Depending on your point of view, that’s either a rambunctious dark spot or a badge of honor to be worn proudly. It’s a formula that could result in a breakthrough championship. That, or another magnetic moment.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR, The NASCAR Foundation, Speedway Motorsports and Speedway Children’s Charities will officially launch later today the first-ever NASCAR Day Giveathon, an online giving campaign with a goal to raise $750,000 in charitable funds for local charities in all 50 states.

Each participating nonprofit organization has its own online Giveathon page to solicit donations at www.nascardaygiveathon.org. Donors visiting the site can designate funds throughout the 75-hour window.

“We’re elated to kick off the NASCAR Day Giveathon and raise funds for nonprofit organizations across our racing communities. We want to encourage everyone to donate during the next 75 hours and help make a difference,” said Nichole Krieger, Vice President and Executive Director of The NASCAR Foundation. “There’s no better way to celebrate NASCAR’s 75th anniversary than coming together along with our sponsors to make the NASCAR Day Giveathon event an impactful initiative.”

The Giveathon, which runs from Tuesday, May 16 at 5 p.m. ET until 8 p.m. ET on Friday, May 19, features bonus grants every hour during the 75-hour window and matching gift donations for nonprofit organizations on May 19, as well as T-shirts and memorabilia items as incentives for donors.

Every hour during the 75-hour window, NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports will randomly award one (1) $750 bonus grant to charities that receive at least one $25 donation during that hour.

Additionally, matching gift donations will be available throughout the day of May 19, thanks to the generosity of Giveathon sponsors, including NASCAR, Speedway Motorsports, Coca-Cola, Jeep Beach, and First Nation Group. Sponsors will continue to match donations in their designated hour until they reach their specified dollar amount. The following breakdown explains the matching gift donations per hour available on Thursday, May 19, from 9 a.m. ET to 8 p.m. ET:

9-10 a.m. ET, NASCAR, $10,000 Match

10-11 a.m. ET, Speedway Motorsports, $10,000 Match

11 a.m.-noon ET, Jeep Beach, $10,000 Match

1-2 p.m. ET, First Nation Group (veterans/military charities), $25,000 Match

4-5 p.m. ET, Jeep Beach, $15,000 Match

5-6 p.m. ET, Coca-Cola, $25,000 Match

6-7 p.m. ET, NASCAR, $15,000 Match

7-8 p.m. p.m. ET, Speedway Motorsports, $15,000 Match

Donor incentives include the opportunity to be listed on the bed of three GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado RSTs competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at North Wilkesboro on Saturday, May 20; a commemorative Helmet for the first 100 donors who contribute $750 or more; a commemorative coin for the first 300 donors of $50 or more; and a commemorative t-shirt for the first 3,000 donors of $75 or more.

MORE: Full North Wilkesboro schedule

NASCAR fans can also follow along throughout the 75-hour window by tuning into the SiriusXM NASCAR Radio channel and following The NASCAR Foundation’s social channels, which will feature charity spotlights throughout the campaign.

For more information and to make a donation, go to www.nascardaygiveathon.org

Posted on by Brandon White

On average, a driver will face anywhere between hundreds or even thousands of competitors on track during his or her career.

Young prospects and seasoned veterans alike are tested by their on-track competition with every single weekend, yet there remain a select few who have left a strong impression — whether that’s because of their on-track accomplishments or how they perfected their race craft over a sustained period.

As the CARS Tour prepares to tackle North Wilkesboro Speedway on Wednesday, drivers from both divisions recently looked back on those who challenged them the most and left a profound impact on either short-track racing or motorsports in general.

RELATED: How to watch this week’s late model races at North Wilkesboro

Here is who members of the CARS Tour driver roster single out as the toughest competitor they have ever faced:

Among the accomplishments Josh Berry has accumulated in short track racing include a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series title, a CARS Tour championship and a win in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. (Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

Layne Riggs (No. 99 Riggs Racing – LMSC)

“The Truck Series is full of tough drivers, but in the Late Model world, Lee Pulliam, Josh Berry and Deac McCaskill are about the three toughest ones you go to. They have really good equipment every weekend, their cars are always on point, and they never miss behind the wheel. It’s an all-around package, so us being the small team that we are, conquering them sometimes means a lot.”

Bobby McCarty (No. 6 R&S Race Cars – LMSC)

“I would say Lee [Pulliam]. The toughest thing about Lee was his car control. It was phenomenal and it was hard to tell if he was pushing the car or if he was riding. When you race somebody like that, it’s hard to judge what they’re really doing. I learned a lot from the guy.”

Carson Kvapil (No. 8 JR Motorsports – LMSC)

“With Late Models, [the toughest] is definitely Josh Berry. When he comes and runs, there’s a good chance he’ll just kill us all and win. Connor Hall was pretty fast every race last year, but Josh is pretty legit.”

Deac McCaskill (No. 08 McCaskill Motorsports – LMSC)

“That’s an easy answer. It’s Josh Berry. He doesn’t ever make mistakes. I learned a long time ago racing against him at Orange County [Speedway] that he was smooth as glass. He figured out that place really fast and you couldn’t get him to mess up. [There was] no doubt he was the best.”

Kaden Honeycutt (No. 10 Mike Darne Racing – LMSC)

“It’s hard to say because there are so many good people. Carson [Kvapil] and Connor Hall are tied at the top for me. You can always count on them being up front and everywhere they go, they are always so strong. You’re usually chasing one of the two.”

Connor Hall (No. 77 Chad Bryant Racing – LMSC)

“The toughest driver that I’ve raced against in the CARS Tour is Mason Diaz. It’s like passing Ryan Newman. If the track is 20 feet wide, [Diaz’s] back bumper is 21 feet [wide]. He’s what I would call a blue-collar racer and always has a chip on his shoulder. Mason gives it 101 percent.”

Lee Pulliam won the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championship four times during his career. He also claimed ValleyStar Credit Union 300 wins in 2011 and 2014. (Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Mason Diaz (No. 24 Chad Bryant Racing – LMSC)

“It’s not just one [driver] for me. If you look back to years prior, Josh Berry was a great one, so was [Bobby] McCarty, [Connor] Hall, [Chad] McCumbee, [Sam] Yarbrough and so on. Last year, it was Carson [Kvapil]. Whoever is in the top five is the best in the series during that week. People can hit [the setup] one week and miss it the next, but when they’re up front, they are the best.”

Brenden Queen (No. 03 Lee Pulliam Performance – LMSC)

“I’m biased because I run Langley [Speedway], but Greg Edwards is super hard to beat there. On a more national level, racing against Lee [Pulliam], Philip [Morris] and those guys was so tough. I learned a lot and now I’m driving for one of the guys that whooped my tail every week. Hopefully he can pass some of his greatness down to me.”

Brandon Pierce (No. 2 Lee Pulliam Performance – LMSC)

“It’s a toss-up between my boss [Lee Pulliam] and Josh [Berry]. They are so good at their craft and on days they may be off, you have to capitalize on it. With those two, they are not off their game very much, but I wouldn’t even call it that. They can take a car that isn’t all that great and still win with it, and that’s hard to do. Those two were clean racers as well, and I’m lucky enough to call one of them my boss.”

Jacob Heafner (No. 95 Carroll Speedshop) – LMSC)

“The obvious answer is Josh Berry. I don’t think I’ve ever beaten him straight up. Him, Lee Pulliam and Philip Morris were some that were really good when I first got into Late Model Stock racing, so I think very highly of their talent.”

Caden Kvapil (No. 96 Highlands Motorsports – PLM)

“In the CARS Tour, particularly last year, [the toughest] was probably William Sawalich. He was pretty dominant and got six wins even though he didn’t run the full year. I learned a lot from him and how he races, so I want to build off what I learned from him.”

Katie Hettinger (No. 81 Anthony Campi Racing – PLM)

“When I ran North Wilkesboro, I went up against Dale [Earnhardt Jr.], and he was pretty good. Pretty much all the drivers in the [CARS Tour] Late Model series are good, but [Dale] had so much experience and he knew how to pace that race.”

Carson Kvapil has already built a strong resume in racing. Along with being the defending CARS Tour champion, Kvapil also rides a three-race win streak into North Wilkesboro Speedway. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

Ryan Millington (No. 15 Millington Motorsports – LMSC)

“The toughest I ever raced against was probably Josh [Berry] at Hickory [Motor Speedway] in 2020. We ran against each other all year and I learned more than I ever did in that one year. Josh is good every weekend he shows up to the track.”

Dylon Wilson (No. 4 TwoBoros Performance Shop – LMSC)

“The idea of toughest can be interpreted how you want, but there’s a whole different level of competition with the CARS Tour. The JR Motorsports cars are always good, but even though I only battled Lee Pulliam one time, it was still neat to be around a childhood hero like him. Right now, everyone in [the CARS] Tour is tough.”

Andrew Grady (No. 1 Mike Darne Racing – LMSC)

“In the CARS Tour, the toughest driver I’ve gone up against is [Carson] Kvapil. He is super good and super consistent. Josh Berry [was another good one] obviously, but on a weekly basis, Lee Pulliam was the toughest. When Lee came to Southern National [Motorsports Park] on Saturday nights hunting his title, it was on.”

Chad McCumbee (No. 16 McCumbee Elliott Racing – LMSC)

“There is so many guys I can think of, and across the years, that changes. When I started racing Late Models at Myrtle Beach, Robert Powell was dominating, and he had a great career down there. Then you move up into different ranks and race against guys like Frank Kimmel in ARCA, along with all those guys at the top level.

“There are great kids coming up who will have a good future in this sport, but you also have to look at guys with a lot of experience at this level who have won tons of races and championships like Lee Pulliam and Deac McCaskill. This entire series is tough right now, but Carson [Kvapil] in particular is doing great with his team. They are the guys everyone is shooting for right now.

“[The toughest driver] changes throughout your career.”

Posted on by Adam Fenwick

Riverhead Raceway, one of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s most traditional venues, is up next on the 2023 schedule as the track hosts the Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200 this Sunday, May 21 (FloRacing, 2:45 p.m. ET).

The fourth race of the season marks the 71st time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers have visited the popular quarter-mile asphalt oval located in Riverhead, New York.

The track, which hosts weekly Modified racing as part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, hosted the modern iteration of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour during its inaugural season in 1985. The track has been a regular stop for series drivers and teams since.

Jimmy Spencer won the first two Tour events at Riverhead, with familiar names like Richie Evans, Mike Stefanik, Tom Baldwin, Mike Ewanitsko, Bob Park, Reggie Ruggiero, Steve Park, John Blewett III, Jerry Marquis, Ted Christopher, Donny Lia, Jimmy Blewett, Ryan Preece, Justin Bonsignore and Doug Coby among those to earn Riverhead wins.

Tickets to Sunday’s race are available on race day at the Riverhead Raceway ticket office. Below is everything you need to know about Sunday’s Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200 at Riverhead Raceway.

Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200 at Riverhead Raceway

RiverheadracewayWhat to watch for:

A stout field of local NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series competitors are ready to defend their home turf as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour invades Riverhead Raceway on Sunday for the Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200.

Among the local entrants is nine-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour winner Timmy Solomito, who will be making his first start of the season aboard the family-owned No. 66. He competed in all three Riverhead races last year, earning a best finish of fifth while leading more than 130 laps across the three events. Three of his nine Tour wins have come at Riverhead.

Dylan Slepian is also among the local drivers set to join the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour field Sunday. He earned two top-five finishes with the Tour last year at Riverhead, including a career-best fourth in this race last season.

They’re also joined by brothers Chris and Roger Turbush, two more local Riverhead drivers. They both competed in all three Riverhead races last year, with Chris earning a best finish of 16th while Roger’s best effort was 13th.

MORE RIVERHEAD: How to watch Sunday’s race

Those talented drivers will face off with the best competitors the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has to offer. They’re headlined by the Tour’s most recent winner, Doug Coby, who dominated this event at Riverhead one year ago aboard the No. 7 for Tommy Baldwin Racing.

Also expected to be a contender is Justin Bonsignore, who triumphed in the Tour’s most recent stop at Riverhead last season. He counts nine victories at Riverhead Raceway among his 35 career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour triumphs.

Ron Silk and Austin Beers have both won this season with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, but neither has won a Tour event at Riverhead Raceway, something they’ll both look to change Sunday. Matt Hirschman will also be looking to add his name to the list of Tour winners at Riverhead.

Other notable entries for Sunday’s event include previous Riverhead winners Patrick Emerling and Eric Goodale, plus Craig Lutz, Jake Johnson, Dave Sapienza, J.B. Fortin and J.R. Bertuccio, among others.

The complete entry for the Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200 is available here.

(Photo: Mike Lawrence/NASCAR)

RACE FACTS

Race Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200
Date Sunday, May 21, 2023
Track Riverhead Raceway
Layout Quarter-mile paved oval
Location Riverhead, New York
Start Time 2:45 p.m. ET
Laps 200
Posted awards $83,450
Live stream FloRacing (Live)

Schedule: Sunday, May 21 … Final practice from 11:15 a.m. – noon ET … Qualifying at 1:30 p.m. ET … Race at 2:45 p.m. ET

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 Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200 is limited to 28 starters including Provisional Positions.

Tire allotment: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is eight (8) 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 zero (0) tires, any position.

Posted on by Adam Fenwick

For Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers, Wednesday’s CARS Tour race at North Wilkesboro Speedway during NASCAR All-Star Week is the culmination of a project that started more than a year ago.

That’s when the pair, best known for their work together on the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series, decided to begin the process of building a Late Model Stock Car.

That car, carrying the No. 62, will make its racing debut during Wednesday’s Window World 125 at North Wilkesboro (4:30 p.m. ET on FloRacing) with Harvick holding the steering wheel.

RELATED: How to watch this week’s late model races at North Wilkesboro

“Going and working on that thing is like going and playing a round of golf for some people,” Childers said. “I love to go over there and enjoy it. [The other day] I was over there four hours after work. I was by myself, music was going, and it was peaceful, and I was having fun with it.

“There are some people who love to go fishing. There are some people who love to go hunting. To me, the late model is kind of that thing. I can still use my brain for a lot of cool things and come up with things that maybe the late model guys don’t know or can’t do. It’s kind of fun to pull that stuff out from the back of your brain and see if it’ll work.”

Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick will drive the No. 62 Late Model Stock Car during the CARS Tour event at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Wednesday night. (Photo: FloRacing)

According to Childers, building a new Late Model Stock Car team from the ground up has been no simple task.

From the chassis to the toolbox to the jacks, everything had to be ordered, and, in most cases, there was a lengthy wait before anything could be delivered. For example, Childers said they waited four months for the chassis, four months for an engine, five months for a toolbox, four months for jacks and 12 months for a trailer.

“We started out needing everything,” said Childers, who began his own career racing Late Model Stock Cars in the Southeast. “Needing a car, needing an engine, a transmission, wheels, a trailer, jack stands, jacks, a toolbox, tools. We didn’t have anything at all. It’s taken quite some time to actually feel like we were ready to go racing.

“It takes a long time to accumulate enough stuff like that. People who have raced a long time have all that, and they can build a new car and go race it in just a couple months. For us, we didn’t even have jack stands to put it on or a way of hauling it to the race track.”

Childers said he even went so far as to use the same check list he used when he was forming the No. 4 NASCAR Cup Series team ahead of the 2014 season to make sure he didn’t forget anything important.

“That was the list I actually used,” Childers said. “It has everything on there from jack stands to drain pans to grease guns to rivet guns to what tools to buy. It’s three pages of stuff that we started the No. 4 Cup car with. It’s been a gradual process of accumulating all that stuff.”

Once Childers acquired everything he needed, he started blocking off time each week to build the car. Initially he spent a few hours every Thursday working on the car, but as the race at North Wilkesboro has drawn closer, he’s found himself working nights to make sure the car would be ready to race.

“As far as the car, it was really just working on it for three or four hours on Thursdays. That was really my only day off,” Childers said. “I would go over there and piddle with it. Honestly Kevin was pretty patient with me just doing it that way and not getting somebody else to come in there and take over.

“I think he knew the car meant a lot to me, and he was just kind of letting me do it.”

Late Model Stock Car racing has always been a passion for Childers. He made a name for himself racing them long before he become a crew chief at the top level of NASCAR; that included a victory in the inaugural Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway in 1998.

That passion has kept Childers involved on a small level in Late Model Stock Car racing for years, either as an interested observer or by helping drivers like Bobby McCarty, a three-time champion of the CARS Late Model Stock Tour.

“Through the years I’ve continued to help different people at different times,” Childers said. “Two years ago I was helping Bobby McCarty, and he was able to win I think four or five races that year. One of them that really stuck out was the fall race at South Boston, where he just dominated. We had actually built the shocks here at SHR.”

The competition in the CARS Tour is among the closest in short-track racing today, something of which Childers is keenly aware. He knows going up against series regulars like Carson Kvapil, Deac McCaskill, Brenden Queen, Connor Hall and Chad McCumbee will be a challenge.

“I had somebody tell me Monday morning that it’s harder to finish top five in a CARS Tour race than it was an Xfinity race,” Childers said. “I kind of laughed at first, and then I was like, ‘You know, you’re probably right.’”

That begs the question: What does Childers expect when Harvick takes the green flag Wednesday evening at North Wilkesboro Speedway?

“If you finish top 10, you’ve probably done something good,” Childers said. “It’s going to be a tough field. After you’ve worked on it for a year and a half, you want to go out there, sit on the front row, pace yourself and sit there and ride and see what you’ve got at the end. That’s what you really want to do.

“I think for us, anything could be possible.”