Martin Truex Jr. adds name to NASCAR 75 Greatest Drivers roster

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Staff Report

Martin Truex Jr., a winner of three NASCAR national series championships and the Cup Series’ most recent victor, has been named to the list of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.

Truex is a 32-time winner in Cup Series competition, and he secured the 2017 championship to cap his best season in NASCAR’s top division. His list of victories includes two Coca-Cola 600 triumphs, one of which was an unprecedented show of dominance by leading 392 of 400 laps in the 2016 running.

Truex is the fourth driver on the active Cup Series roster to be named to the elite list this spring, joining Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott. The 75-driver list includes the original 50 Greatest Drivers who were selected for NASCAR’s golden anniversary in 1998, plus 25 new honorees as part of the diamond celebration.

Truex found success early in the former Busch North Series, winning five times. His talent drew the attention of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who hired Truex to be the first full-time driver for his newly formed Chance 2 Motorsports team in what is now called the Xfinity Series. The combination led to consecutive six-win seasons and back-to-back championships in 2004 and 2005.

Truex became a Cup Series regular in 2006. But he didn’t fully blossom until his second season with the Barney Visser-owned Furniture Row Racing team in 2015. Truex scored 17 Cup Series wins and one title for the Colorado-based organization before shifting to his current team with Joe Gibbs Racing. His most recent win came Monday at Dover Motor Speedway, which is now the Cup Series track where he’s won the most (2007, 2016, 2019, 2023).

RELATED: Martin Truex Jr.’s Cup wins

Truex, 42, is the sixth driver with ties to Joe Gibbs Racing to be named to the list. Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett and Tony Stewart are the others. Of those, only Jarrett was part of the 50 Greatest Drivers roster from 25 years ago.

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

Legacy Motor Club announced Tuesday that the organization will switch its manufacturer alignment from Chevrolet to Toyota for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, marking the latest significant shift for the two-car operation.

The move promises to provide Toyota a boost in numbers in Cup Series competition. The Japanese automaker stands to grow from six chartered cars on the grid to eight next year with the addition of Legacy M.C., which would join Joe Gibbs Racing (four cars) and 23XI Racing (two cars) on the Toyota roster. David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development, said the advent of the Next Gen car – which yielded 19 Cup Series winners in its debut season last year – accelerated the carmaker’s desire to add to its NASCAR fleet.

“I made a supposition before we turned a wheel in anger last year that this could be a game-changer for an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) in setting our strategy in place,” Wilson said. “Sure enough, 2022 turned the sport on its head, the most unique winners in our history, I think. And it confirmed the supposition, which was that a very focused — as I call it, a rifle-shot approach — which proved tremendously effective between 2015 and ’21, resulting in three championships for Toyota, that needed to be updated, and that we needed to add quality cars to our family. And so over the better part of a year, we’ve been on that. It has been a plan. It wasn’t reactive because we knew it was coming. And again, we’re just incredibly fortunate to have some interest and to further that interest to the point where we are today with Jimmie and with Maury.”

The “Jimmie and Maury” in that sentence refers to NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson and businessman and majority team owner Maury Gallagher, who have guided Legacy Motor Club through a rapid evolution in recent years — through mergers, shifts in ownership and growth. That began with the launch of Petty GMS Motorsports in December 2021, a two-car outfit formed when GMS Racing owner Gallagher purchased a majority stake in Richard Petty’s Cup Series operation. The organization took on Johnson — like Petty, a seven-time Cup champion — as a part-owner last November, and that group rebranded as Legacy M.C. in January.

Legacy Motor Club currently fields two full-time cars in the Cup Series — the No. 43 Chevrolet driven by Erik Jones and the No. 42 Chevrolet for rookie Noah Gragson. Johnson has driven the team’s No. 84 entry in a partial schedule this year, returning to NASCAR after retiring from full-time Cup competition after the 2020 campaign.

The shift represents a crucial break for Johnson, who spent his entire Cup Series career with Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet. He ranks sixth on NASCAR’s all-time win list with 83 victories – all under Chevy’s bowtie banner.

“I just want to express my excitement to be a part of the Toyota family,” Johnson said. “Clearly have a long history – 30-plus years with Chevrolet, 20 of those years at Hendrick Motorsports — and what we did together will always be in the record books and something that I’ll always cherish. But as Maury pointed out, strategically long-term, this is a foundational piece for the club that … this really makes sense. It’s something we need to do and to have this deep alignment and partnership with Toyota, it’s been a fun period of time to get to know them and really understand their passion and how much our core values truly align.”

While the news means a major pivot for Johnson, it signifies a sort of homecoming for Jones and Gragson, who both entered NASCAR’s national ranks as prospects in the Toyota pipeline before landing with Chevrolet teams. Both drivers won races for Kyle Busch Motorsports — then a top developmental affiliate for Toyota in the Craftsman Truck Series — and Jones marched to the truck tour’s championship for KBM in 2015 before moving up the stock-car racing ladder.

MORE: Cup Series standings

“This change, for me, won’t be much of a change,” said Jones, who is now in his seventh Cup Series season – four of which were with Toyota. “It’s going to be really going and working with a lot of people I know pretty well and worked with for a lot of years. So I’m excited about it. For me going in, I guess I kind of already know Toyota’s commitment and how things work and how things run. It makes me excited as a driver, just knowing going in, some of the resources we’re going to have going forward to continue to build the program.”

Said Gragson, in his first year with the Legacy M.C. group: “These guys are involved, and they’re making moves, and they’re making stuff happen. And with that being said, seeing Maury’s vision to bring Jimmie in and just the steps that they’ve been putting into place so far, in the short time coming, has been really exciting to see. And this is another step of this journey, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”

Wilson had said in recent years that the manufacturer had chosen to be strategic about bolstering its numbers, opting for “quality over quantity” for its Cup Series entries. The carmaker grew from five full-time cars to six when 23XI Racing expanded ahead of the 2022 season. Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota’s flagship team, shares a technical alliance with 23XI, and its pit crews train under the same organizational banner.

Wilson said the potential exists for further growth but that TRD’s expansion efforts are complete for now.

“I think there’s room for a couple more cars, potentially,” Wilson said. “You know, I think the sweet spot is somewhere between eight to 10. If they are quality teams and capable drivers, I think that’s enough. So as it relates to 2024, you can rest assured that we are done, and our focus is on making sure that we deliver to this new partner.”

Posted on May 2, 2023May 2, 2023 by Staff Report

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel ruled Tuesday to uphold the L1-level penalties issued to the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team, levied for violating the overall assembled vehicle rules related to the underwing assembly and hardware for the April 16 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.

The $75,000 fine to crew chief Keith Rodden was upheld by the three-person panel, as was his two-race suspension. Rodden was permitted to delay his suspension through the appeal process, but he and the team elected to serve the suspension instead and sat sidelined for the events at Talladega Superspeedway and Dover Motor Speedway. Justin Alexander, who previously served as Dillon’s crew chief, returned to fill the position on an interim basis in Rodden’s absence.

The team and driver Austin Dillon maintain their loss of 60 points and five playoff points, respectively. Dillon currently sits 31st in the driver standings with finishes of 38th (Talladega, crash) and 27th (Dover) in the past two races.

Dillon is in the midst of his 10th season as a full-time competitor for his grandfather’s team with four career victories to date, including the 2018 Daytona 500 and the 2017 Coca-Cola 600. A champion in both the Craftsman Truck and Xfinity series, Dillon scored a walk-off win at Daytona in last summer’s regular-season finale to pounce into the playoffs for the fifth time in his career.

Sections 14.1 C&E&Q, covering overall vehicle assembly, and 14.6.1 A&B were cited in the original penalty report as the particular rules violated. Sections 14.6.1 A&B refer to the specific underwing assembly mounting and hardware.

On the panel for Tuesday’s hearing were J. Kirk Russell, Lake Speed and Kevin Whitaker.

In reaching the above decision, the panel provided the following explanation: “As submitted the nuts are not a thread locking device — they are connected and part of the turn buckle. The nuts do not lock the assembly. Therefore, the assembly has been modified.”

RCR released a statement on Tuesday that they will not appeal the panel’s decision.

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Zach Sturniolo

DOVER, Del. — Heading into Monday’s race at Dover Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney and Miles the Monster weren’t exactly the best of friends.

In 12 prior starts, Blaney netted just two top 10s; eighth-place finishes in both 2016 and 2018. With the No. 12 Team Penske driver currently in the midst of a 56-race winless streak, Dover wasn’t exactly considered his best opportunity for a strong run.

And yet the 29-year-old shined in Monday’s rain-delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at the concrete, 1-mile oval. Per NASCAR’s scoring loop data, his 3.39 average running position was second-best to William Byron’s 3.34 and No. 12 walked away with a third-place result to reflect it.

MORE: Dover results | Cup standings

Not bad for a guy who hadn’t finished better than 11th in his last seven Dover starts.

“I feel like we’ve struggled here for the last four or five years,” Blaney said. “I feel like just kind of as an organization, I feel like we’ve just never really been able to hit it very good. We worked super hard this year and this offseason trying to get better at Dover, and we definitely did that. So hopefully, we learned something for the future.

“Really proud of the effort, honestly, for running how we did today. It was a lot worse last year, so I’ve got to be proud of the improvements even though you don’t win the race.”

That 56-race winless streak did extend to 57, but Blaney was in contention late for the second week in a row. Following a runner-up performance at Talladega Superspeedway, Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. — battling a 54-race drought himself — took two tires along with pre-race points leader Christopher Bell on the final pit stop with 11 laps to go.

“It was either two calls — you either stay out or take two tires,” Blaney said. “Four (tires) bit us before, and there were so few cars on the lead lap, and there were gonna be so little laps to go, so it was like, ‘Well, let’s take two.’ I almost stayed out, but I don’t know if that would’ve won me the race or not. Two was a good call. It put us on the front row and gave us a shot to win the race. Just, I can’t drive any deeper into (Turn) 3 without wrecking both of us.”

Indeed, the final restart saw Blaney low and Truex high at the green flag with seven laps to go. The two drivers managed to stay even for the next lap and a half and nearly collided at the exit of Turn 2, but Truex powered into Turn 3 in the outside lane to clear Blaney’s No. 12 Ford and snap his winless streak.

“Off of 2, he got tight and had to bail out of the gas, and we about touched,” Truex said. “It got really, really close to making contact. He had to bail out of the gas, and that was the end of the story. You know, I have always really enjoyed racing with Ryan. We’ve raced really hard together, really clean, never had any issues, and he’s a great driver.

“Hate that I had to be the one to steal it from him or keep his winless streak going, but I’m just happy we came out on the right end of it today.”

Blaney’s day appears fast approaching. He’s finished seventh, second and third in the past three races and all at different styles of tracks — Martinsville, a 0.526-mile flat short track; Talladega, a 2.66-mile superspeedway behemoth; and the 1-mile high banks of Dover.

Next up: Kansas Speedway, a 1.5-mile tri-oval where Blaney has three top fives and seven top 10s in 16 starts.

Posted on May 1, 2023May 2, 2023 by Zach Sturniolo

DOVER, Del. — Martin Truex Jr. was looking for his first win in 54 NASCAR Cup Series races. His brother Ryan Truex, 12 years his junior, was looking for his first national series win, period.

The duo left their home track of Dover Motor Speedway with both carrying trophies of Miles the Monster, with Ryan scoring the Saturday win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series before Truex Jr. broke through to triumph in Monday’s rain-delayed Cup event.

MORE: Monday’s results | At-track photos: Dover

“You know, it’s not a long list of brothers that have swept the weekend in NASCAR racing history,” Truex Jr., the 2017 Cup champion, said. “And to be on that list with some of the guys that have done it is really, really cool for both of us and our whole family.”

On site to celebrate both victories was their father, Martin Truex Sr., himself a former northeast racer who scored a New Hampshire win back in 1994 in what’s now known as the ARCA Menards Series East.

The family hails from Mayetta, New Jersey, some 75 miles northeast of Dover. To score their wins here of all places, well, hit close to home.

“It’s amazing,” Truex Jr. said. “You know, this is one of my favorite tracks. I love coming here. Like I said, a lot of friends and family come to this track, and I feel like we have a lot of fans up in this neck of the woods. So it’s been one of my favorite tracks for a long time since I first came here back in like 2001, I guess it was, so just yeah, excited for sure.”

Truex Jr. broke into the Xfinity Series 22 years ago in 2001 — a debut coincidently made at Dover. Ryan Truex made his Xfinity debut in 2010, three years after Truex Jr. had already scored his first Cup Series victory.

Ryan Truex’s first 187 starts — those across the Craftsman Truck, Xfinity and Cup series — were punctuated by heartbreak, notably at Dover. In June 2012, Truex wheeled the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the lead for 43 laps. But lapped traffic and a loose race car resulted in a squandered opportunity as then-teammate Joey Logano stormed by for the win with six laps remaining.

His Saturday breakthrough comes in his second stint with JGR in the midst of another part-time season as he tries to earn more races behind the wheel.

“It feels amazing. I feel like a huge 11-year weight lifted off my shoulders,” the younger Truex said. “Now people can finally stop asking me about 2012 here now that I came back and led all the laps I did and won both races and won the race.”

In Year 14 of his NASCAR career, Truex has just three full-time seasons: two in the Craftsman Truck Series and one in Xfinity. He signed on for a six-race schedule in JGR’s No. 19 Xfinity car this season after competing in that ride five times in 2022.

Big brother Truex Jr. was both emotional and reflective Monday, knowing better than most how hard Truex has worked behind the scenes to bring his racing opportunities to life.

“It’s been a long time coming for him,” Truex Jr. told NASCAR.com Saturday. “He’s been through a lot. Really, really worked hard to get in this seat, and just really proud of his effort over the years. He’s had a mountain to climb at times and just kept digging. Got knocked down, got back up and just always kept after it. I’ve always had faith in his abilities and knew what he could do, and you’ve just gotta get the right opportunities. So I’m just really proud of him and his team, and thanks to JGR for letting him do this. Just a huge day for him and our whole family.”

Team owner Joe Gibbs affirmed Monday that hard work has been noticed and that more may come of it thanks to the Saturday win.

“I thought it was great for the Truex family and to have the dad here and everybody celebrating,” Gibbs said. “Obviously, it’s a first for us. Never had two brothers like that win races on the weekend. But we would love to have Ryan in the car. He does a lot of simulation work for us. He’s a dedicated young guy, and it’s just, as everybody knows, hard to get sponsorship, and so we work our rear off. And I talked to Todd Moore (president, MTJ Group of Companies), he called me right after the race on Saturday. And we committed to work hard this year to try and get Ryan and more races.”

That Truex Jr. followed up Monday with his own win was the cherry on top of the family’s spectacular weekend. His first career win back in 2007 was also scored at Dover, also on a Monday. His career has seen its own fair share of high peaks and low valleys, so a 54-race winless streak was nothing in comparison to other droughts along the way.

“It isn’t that long. I mean, come on, 54 races? I’ve went way longer than that before. Such a long winless streak,” Truex Jr. laughed. “Jesus, I’ve only won 32 of these things now. It’s really, really hard to win these races, you guys, OK?”

But the missed opportunities were adding up — Richmond in April, Las Vegas 2022 among others. He scored the win in the Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum back in February, but that was an exhibition race.

“Last year, after missing the playoffs, that one is pretty big,” Truex Jr. said, reflecting on last season. “Missed it by three points. We were fourth in points at that point in time, and we missed it. It was a real gut punch. Especially after how many times we felt like we were capable of winning races or should have won races, just had a lot of tough luck. Just proud to be able to do it, and it’s always good to win.”

After considering retirement in 2022, Truex Jr.’s return signaled a competitive fire that hadn’t yet been doused. But the 42-year-old admitted as race wins slipped away, the realization he might not find another victory began to seep in.

“You never know when your last win is going to be or what’s going to happen,” Truex Jr. said. “Certainly, in those 54 races, there’s certainly a bunch of them that we probably should have won or had the best car. I think as tough as that is to swallow when those heartbreaking races happen, it keeps you motivated. It keeps your mind like, OK, yeah, we know we can do it. If the belts don’t fall off the engine, we’re going to win Darlington (last fall). If we didn’t use a set of tires in Stage 1 of Richmond, we’re going to win Richmond.

“You have all these races throughout that period where you’re like, we were good enough to win, we should have won. It’s not like we can’t do that. We just need to put it all together. It’s kind of like that carrot dangling out in front of you. You know you can get it, you’ve just got to find a way.”

Posted on May 1, 2023May 1, 2023 by Holly Cain

You could say NASCAR’s stop at Dover Motor Speedway was “All in the Family,” a kin-to-win kind of weekend. Martin Truex Jr. answered his younger brother Ryan’s NASCAR Xfinity Series victory on Saturday with a win in Monday’s rain-delayed Würth 400 NASCAR Cup Series race – the fourth win of his career at the 1-mile oval he considers his home track.

Truex, who started 17th in the 36-car field after qualifying was cancelled due to weather, methodically worked his way forward in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The 42-year-old New Jersey native finally took the lead for the first time with 69 laps remaining and led all but one of those final laps to claim his first points-paying victory of the season, ending a 54-race winless streak.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Dover

He and his JGR pit crew ultimately had to earn the win with pit strategy and pit execution. On a pit stop during the race’s final caution period, Truex’s team opted to put only fresh right-side tires on his Toyota. With the quick stop, he was able to beat the field back out to the track and then on the ensuing re-start — with seven laps to go — hold off a hard-charging Ross Chastain, whose No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet had taken four fresh tires on the stop.

“It feels incredible,’’ Truex said. “I feel like we’ve been close a bunch of times, that’s for sure. Felt today, with that caution, what’s going to happen here and then good call by (crew chief) James (Small) to take two (tires) and then I was able to get a pretty good restart.

“Just thanks to everybody that stuck with me. … we knew we could do this. We’ve shown we can lead laps and have dominated races and it just never all came together. I’ve said we just had to keep doing what we were doing and not overthink it.”

Chastain, who took his fourth stage win of the season, finished a slight .505 seconds behind Truex but was unable to make up any real ground on the leader in the closing laps after passing Ryan Blaney, who also took only two tires on that final stop.

“Gosh, so close again,’’ said Chastain, who led 98 laps. “It’s surreal to continue to race against my all-time heroes.”

Team Penske’s Blaney finished third – his sixth top 10 of the season and second top three in the last two races. Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron led a race-best 193 laps and added his series-best sixth stage win before finishing fourth. It marks the second time he’s led the most laps in a race this year but not claimed the victory.

Truex’s JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell finished fifth and sixth.

Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher and Josh Berry rounded out the top 10. Berry was driving the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in place of Alex Bowman, who suffered a back injury racing sprint cars last Tuesday.

It marks the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Truex’s 32nd career win and first since a victory at Richmond, Va., on Sept. 11, 2021. Snapping the streak and sharing Dover’s Victory Circle with his younger brother, Ryan, truly made the week for the veteran.

“It’s just special, you know,” Truex said. “This is a special place. Good day for my family and to see Ryan win Saturday, he’s worked so hard for so long to get good opportunities and it’s awesome.

“And then for us, we’ve given away a few here over the years so it’s nice to see it come around our way. Just excited and had a hot rod. Just needed to get it out front.”

The event was pushed to a Monday start after steady rain on its scheduled Sunday date. Three of Truex’s four Dover wins have come on Mondays.

Chastain was involved in one of the race’s early incidents, which knocked pre-race favorite Kyle Larson from contention. Chastain nudged the slower car of Brennan Poole into a spin, and Poole’s No. 15 Ford skidded into the path of Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Larson continued after extensive repairs and finished 32nd, 41 laps down. Poole was sidelined with a 33rd-place result and had harsh words for Chastain after a quick check at the infield care center.

MORE: Chastain-Poole contact collects Larson

Kyle Busch started from the pole position but was penalized on Lap 22 for speeding during the first round of pit stops. After the team was sent to the back of the field, Busch’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet sustained front-end damage in a Lap 34 stack-up that eliminated the cars of Daniel Suárez and Ty Dillon. Busch ended up 21st in the 36-car field.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is scheduled for Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Kansas Speedway.

Note: Post-race inspection was completed in the Cup Series garage at Dover with no issues. Officials indicated that no cars would travel back to the NASCAR Research & Development Center this week for further inspection.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on May 1, 2023May 1, 2023 by Staff Report

Pre-race favorite Kyle Larson dropped from contention early in Monday’s NASCAR Cup Series race after a Stage 1 crash at Dover Motor Speedway.

Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet made contact with the slower No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford of Brennan Poole on the 81st of 400 laps in the Würth 400. The collision sent Poole’s car sliding into the path of Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy alongside the outside retaining wall in Turns 1 and 2.

Larson continued with significant right-front damage. After meeting minimum speed to clear the Damaged Vehicle Policy clock, Larson took his No. 5 Chevrolet to the garage for further repairs. Larson returned to the race but finished 32nd, 41 laps off the pace.

“Ross flat-out wrecked the lapper, right?” Larson asked his No. 5 crew on the radio after the incident. “Yes, for no reason,” was the team’s reply.

Chastain continued and finished second behind race winner Martin Truex Jr., but not before Larson briefly slowed his pursuit of the leader in the closing laps. Chastain offered an apology to the Rick Ware-owned team in his post-race interview.

“It’s completely my fault,” Chastain said after his best finish of the season. “I was actually going to follow Brennan past the 3 (car of Austin Dillon) there and he checked up quicker than I thought. Totally my fault. Tomorrow, I’ll go out to Sonoma to the Skip Barber (Racing School) and when I get home from that, I’ll go find him and Rick and make some of that right.”

Chastain said “no comment” when asked about Larson holding him up in the closing laps. Larson’s version of events was noncommittal.

“I don’t know. I mean, you can take it for whatever you think it might be,” said Larson, who placed outside the top 30 for the third time in the last four races. “Just a long frustrating day for me and another day where I get caught up in something that’s not my fault.”

Poole’s day ended with terminal damage to the No. 15 Mustang and a 33rd-place result. After a quick evaluation at the infield care center, Poole expressed his frustration, saying that Chastain “probably needs to get his butt whupped.”

“I’m not exactly sure, but I feel like I just got ran over,” added Poole, an Xfinity Series regular making his first Cup Series start of the year. “As soon as he ran into me, I just kind of got shoved into the corner, like way too deep, and then I was just immediately turned around. So, I think it was the No. 1? Go figure. I mean, just a joke … 80-something laps into a race? No reason. I was side-by-side with the No. 3, just got to the outside, and it’s not like I can go anywhere or give him any more room than what I had. He just ran me over. So, it’s kind of pathetic. I don’t know. It seems to be something Ross does a lot recently. Just uncalled for. It was my first time in a new Cup car, and 80 laps out … for what?”

Larson’s teammate Alex Bowman, sitting out Monday’s race with an injury, offered his commentary after the incident.

5 was a rocket, 1 doing 1 things. Gosh I’m sure he didn’t mean to. pic.twitter.com/sOT4J1dV8R

— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) May 1, 2023

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Adam Fenwick

Following another lengthy break after the most recent event at Richmond Raceway, the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season kicks into overdrive this Saturday evening with the running of the Duel at the Dog 200 at New Hampshire’s Monadnock Speedway.

Saturday’s race marks the 15th time the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has visited the quarter-mile bullring located in Winchester, New Hampshire, and doubles as the first Tour race of the season in the Northeast. Ken Bouchard won the inaugural series event at the track in 1986, with future NASCAR star Jimmy Spencer picking up a victory the following season. Others to earn trips to Victory Lane at Monadnock include Mike Stefanik, Reggie Ruggiero, Jamie Tomaino, Ted Christopher, Todd Szegedy, Ryan Preece, Doug Coby and Timmy Solomito.

The winningest NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver at Monadnock is Justin Bonsignore, who has four victories at the track, including a victory during the 2022 season.

Saturday’s race is also the first race of JDV Productions’ Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup, which will award $15,700 in bonuses to NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers who compete in the events at Monadnock, Lee USA Speedway (May 27) and Claremont Motorsports Park (July 29).

Below is everything you need to know about Saturday’s Duel at the Dog 200 at Monadnock Speedway.

MORE MONADNOCK: Tickets | Streaming

Duel at the Dog 200 at Monadnock Speedway

What to watch for:

After a quiet rookie season in 2022, Austin Beers is off to a fast start this year.

He opened the season at New Smyrna Speedway in February by leading 51 laps and finishing eighth before being shot out of a cannon at Richmond Raceway, where he won the pole, led 102 laps and won his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race.

Beers sits tied at the top of the series standings with Ron Silk, who won the opening race of the season at New Smyrna after going winless in 2022. Both should be considered potential contenders this weekend at Monadnock Speedway.

If either Beers or Silk hopes to win on Saturday, they’ll have to find a way to defeat the all-time Monadnock win leader Justin Bonsignore, who sits third in the Tour standings behind Beers and Silk after finishes of second at New Smyrna and fourth at Richmond.

A general view during the Duel at the Dog 200 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Monadnock Speedway on June 19, 2022. (Photo: Nick Grace/NASCAR)

No other driver has more than one victory at Monadnock and only one other previous winner at the track is entered in Saturday’s event. That honor belongs to six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby, who scored his lone Monadnock victory in 2015. Coby, who is wheeling Tommy Baldwin Jr.’s No. 7, is seeking his 35th career victory this Saturday.

After not competing with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2022, Woody Pitkat makes his return to Tour competition this weekend driving for Mertz Racing Enterprises. Matt Hirschman, who finished second last year at Monadnock, will look to rebound from a difficult run at Richmond with a strong performance Saturday. Defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Jon McKennedy, who is looking for his first top-five of the season, should also be considered a potential threat to win Saturday.

Two drivers – Jacob Perry and Sam Rameau – are making their season debuts Saturday at Monadnock. A third, Cory Plummer, is scheduled to make his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour debut.

Other notable entries include Jake Johnson, Tim Connolly, Patrick Emerling, Tommy Catalano, Eric Goodale, Craig Lutz and Anthony Nocella.

The complete entry for the Duel at the Dog 200 is available here.

RACE FACTS

Race	Duel at the Dog 200
Date	Saturday, May 6, 2023
Track	Monadnock Speedway
Layout	Quarter-mile paved oval
Location	Winchester, New Hampshire
Start Time	5 p.m. ET
Laps	200
Posted awards	$83,450
Live stream	FloRacing (Live)

Schedule: Saturday, May 6 … Final practice from 12:20 to 1:20 p.m. ET … Qualifying at 2:30 p.m. ET … Race at 5 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 Duel at the Dog 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 May 1, 2023May 2, 2023 by Staff Report

Duel at the Dog 200

Monadnock Speedway

Entry list

Car No.	Driver	Organization	Crew Chief	Chassis Mfg	Sponsor
01	Melissa Fifield	Pine Knoll Racing, LLC	Jake Marosz	FURY Race Cars	Pine Knoll Auto Sales
1	Cory Plummer	Cory Plummer	Cory Plummer	SPAFCO Race Chassis	Apex Racing; Gene’s Auto Service
3	Jake Johnson	Boehler’s Racing Equipment	Gregory Fournier	Boehler Racing	Propane Plus; Lin’s Propane Trucks
4	Tim Connolly	Connolly Racing	Shane Connolly	LFR	Connolly Companies, LLC
5	Kyle Ebersole	Bob Ebersole	Bob Ebersole	FURY Race Cars	Ebersole Excavating, Inc. & Technique Chassis
06	Sam Rameau	Sam Rameau	Randy Rameau	LFR	Quality Fleet Services; Dennison Lubricants
6	Woody Pitkat	Mertz Racing Enterprises	Mike Holmes	Troyer	Koopman Lumber
07	Patrick Emerling	KPL Racing LLC	Jan Leaty	Troyer	Bonesteel Aerospace
7	Doug Coby	Tommy Baldwin Racing LLC	Tommy Baldwin	Troyer	Mayhew Tools
16	Ron Silk	Haydt Yannone Racing	Philip Moran	FURY Race Cars	Blue Mountain Machine, Future Homes
18	Ken Heagy	Robert Pollifrone	Greg Gorman	FURY Race Cars	Buoy One Seafood
19	Anthony Sesely	Wanick Construction	Stephen Kopcik	Troyer	Wanick Construction Inc.
22	Kyle Bonsignore	Kyle Bonsignore	Cam McDermott	FURY Race Cars	Chalew Performance, MTT, Munns Auto
24	Andrew Krause	Supreme Racing	Rob Hyer	Chevrolet	Supreme Manufacturing Co.
25	Brian Robie	Robie Motorsports LLC	Cody Rose	Troyer	Maurice Enterprises
26	Gary McDonald	Lake and Avenue Landscape Supply	Chad McDonald	Chevrolet	Lakeland Avenue Landscape Supply
32	Tyler Rypkema	Dean Rypkema	Zach Truesdail	FURY Race Cars	Northeast Drilling, Musco Lighting
34	JB Fortin	John Fortin Racing	Kenny Lechner	FURY Race Cars	A&R Material’s, John’s Fuel Oil, Rapid Recovery, Queen Concrete, CYA Screen Printing
36	David Sapienza	Sapienza Enterprises	Greg Kleila	LFR	Sapienza Enterprises/Eastport Feeds
43	Matt Kimball	William P. Kimball Trucking	William Kimball	LFR	J&M Towing & Recovery; Edmunds Ace Hardware; Poodiack Wealth Management
46	Justin Brown	Goodie Racing	Doug Ogiejko	Troyer	Riverhead Building Supply
47	Jacob Perry	Jack Bateman	Dennis Perry Jr.	Troyer	Jack’s Competition Engine; Rick Rak
51	Justin Bonsignore	Kenneth Massa Motorsports LLC	Ryan Stone	FURY Race Cars	Phoenix Communications Inc.
54	Tommy Catalano	David Catalano	David Catalano	Troyer	FX Caprara; Catalano Motorsports
58	Eric Goodale	Goodie Racing	Jason Shephard	FURY Race Cars	GAF Roofing
60	Matt Hirschman	Pee Dee Motorsports LLC	Mike Stein	LFR	Pee Dee Motorsports
64	Austin Beers	KLM Motorsports	Ron Yuhas	Troyer	Dell Electric, Lumiere Electrical, Andrew James Interiors, AP Marquadt & Sons, Hughes Motors
79	Jonathan McKennedy	Middlesex Racing LLC	Dale Hedquist	LFR	Middlesex Interiors
82	Craig Lutz	DWR Racing Corp.	Jerry Babb	LFR	Horton Avenue Materials
92	Anthony Nocella	Anthony Nocella	Chris Burdell	Chevrolet	Nocella Paving; K and D Associates; Airgas
121	Anthony Bello	John Bello	Glenn Jensen	LFR	JB Management; SKM; NJK Sunoco

Posted on May 1, 2023May 4, 2023 by Staff Report

Find out where to watch NASCAR KANSAS May Race. Which channels have NASCAR Kansas TV programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR Kansas TV schedule.

Note: NASCAR TV schedule Kansas. All NASCAR Kansas TV times are ET.

Monday, May 1
6 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: 75 Years of Racing (re-air), FS1
Noon, NASCAR Cup Series: Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Tuesday, May 2
Midnight, NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1
1 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive: Kansas (re-air), FS1
6 p.m. NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m. Dale Jr. Download, Peacock
7 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1

Wednesday, May 3
12:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: A-GAME 200 at Dover Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive: Kansas (re-air), FS1
3 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: 75 Years of Racing (re-air), FS1
6 p.m. NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m. Dale Jr. Download, Peacock
8 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway (re-air), FS2
11 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: A-GAME 200 at Dover Motor Speedway (re-air), FS2

Thursday, May 4
6 p.m. NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m. Dale Jr. Download, Peacock

Friday, May 5
Noon, NASCAR Pace Lap, MAVTV
3 p.m., NASCAR Pace Lap (re-air), MAVTV
6 p.m. NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6:05 p.m., NASCAR Opening Night at Autodrome Granby, FloRacing

Saturday, May 6
10:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive: Kansas (re-air), FS1
Noon, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series practice and qualifying at Kansas Speedway, FS1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Weekend Edition: Kansas, FS1
1:35 p.m., IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup: Miami Race 1, Peacock
2 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Kansas Speedway, FS1
2 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Kansas Speedway, FloRacing
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Weekly Racing at Berlin Raceway and Entertainment Complex, FloRacing
4 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Weekend Edition: Kansas, FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying at Kansas Speedway, FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR Opening Night at Riverhead Raceway, FloRacing
5 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modifieds at Monadnock Speedway, FloRacing
6:05 p.m., NASCAR Weekly Racing at Jennerstown Speedway Complex LLC, FloRacing
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Weekly Racing at Meridian Speedway, FloRacing
7 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Kansas Speedway, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Weekly Racing at Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway, FloRacing
7 p.m., NASCAR Weekly Racing at Hickory Motor Speedway, FloRacing
7 p.m., NASCAR Weekly Racing at South Boston Speedway, FloRacing
7:50 p.m. NASCAR Modified 100 at Bowman Gray Stadium, FloRacing
8 p.m., NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway, FS1

On MRN:
2 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Kansas Speedway
5 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying at Kansas Speedway
7:30 p.m. ET, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway

Sunday, May 7
7:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive: Kansas (re-air), FS2
8 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying at Kansas Speedway (re-air), FS2
11 a.m., ARCA Menards Series East: General Tire 125 at Dover Motor Speedway (re-air), CNBC
1:35 p.m., IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup: Miami Race 2, Peacock
2 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas Speedway, FS1
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Advent Health 400 at Kansas Speedway, FS1
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive: Kansas (re-air), FS2

On MRN:
2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Advent Health 400 at Kansas Speedway