Editor’s note: Mission 600 serves as a prelude to Charlotte Motor Speedway’s pre-race salute to the troops before the Coca-Cola 600 every Memorial Day Weekend; tickets are still available at charlottemotorspeedway.com.
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Kicking off a month-long prelude to the 64th running of the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Weekend, Charlotte Motor Speedway launched its 2023 Mission 600 campaign Wednesday, visiting the 82nd Airborne’s 2nd Brigade Combat team and 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Bragg, with Coca-Cola Racing Family driver Austin Dillon and his Richard Childress Racing crewman Paul Swan.
Mission 600 is a campaign that pairs NASCAR drivers with military bases designed to educate the NASCAR community about the day-to-day lives of the men and women who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces and to build meaningful connections between the worlds of motorsports and the military.
“It’s really special any time you get to come out to Fort Bragg or a military base and spend time with the men and women who keep this country what it is and fight for the freedoms we enjoy,” Dillon said. “Seeing what they do, getting the adrenaline rush of flying in a Blackhawk and shooting some guns, it’s an amazing day.”
As part of Mission 600, Dillon and Swan, alongside Charlotte Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Greg Walter, spent the day learning about the equipment and training that members of the 82nd Airborne receive. The trio toured Fort Bragg in a UH-60 Black Hawk and fired an M119A2 Howitzer, rode in Infantry Squad Vehicles, dined with service members in the Warrior Restaurant, took part in an Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) and participated in live-fire exercises.
Source: Charlotte Motor Speedway
“Just coming out here and getting to be around these men and women is just incredible,” Swan said. “Getting up in that Black Hawk is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life. When we were shooting the Howitzer, I said, ‘Man, you guys are a well-oiled machine.’ What they do is exactly like what we do at a pit stop. If everybody is not doing their job, doing it right and doing it well, something’s going to mess up. For us, maybe it’s a slow stop or a missed lug; for them, in combat, it could be life or death.”
Fort Bragg is the largest military installation by population in the U.S., providing the infrastructure and training that enables a ready, capable force to fight and win the nation’s wars. The 82nd Airborne Division is America’s immediate response force — ready to deploy and answer the nation’s call in 18 hours.
“We’ve been doing these Mission 600 visits for a couple of years now,” said Greg Walter, executive vice president and general manager at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “What’s really neat is the natural conversations and the mutual appreciation. Austin’s asking questions to this paratrooper’s deployments overseas and family and training. Then, conversely, the paratrooper is asking Austin these same questions. There’s just a natural and mutual appreciation.”
At Charlotte Motor Speedway, Memorial Day Weekend provides the opportunity to pay tribute to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, particularly those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. The patriotic Coca-Cola 600 pre-race show includes representation from all six major branches of the military.
“I love the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Weekend,” Dillon said. “The national anthem, the stars and stripes, every military branch being represented, 600 Miles of Remembrance — so many things that tie back to our country and the people who have served and made this country what it is. The real heroes come to our race. It’s really special.”
Race fans have waited a long time for NASCAR’s return to its roots at historic North Wilkesboro Speedway. Thanks to a couple late model races scheduled to be shown live on FloRacing during NASCAR’s All-Star Week at the 0.625-mile oval, that wait will be cut short by a few days.
Kicking off NASCAR All-Star Week at North Wilkesboro will be the ECMD 150 for the ASA STARS National Tour on Tuesday, May 16, followed by the Crossroads Harley-Davidson 75 and the Window World 125 for the CARS Tour on Wednesday, May 17. Both events will be shown live on FloRacing, NASCAR’s home for live grassroots racing coverage.
Including NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, who are part of the CARS Tour ownership group, multiple NASCAR Cup Series stars will compete in the late-model features early in All-Star Week. For example, William Byron is expected to compete in Tuesday’s ASA race, and other current Cup drivers are expected to run the Late Model Stock Car portion of the CARS event.
The action at North Wilkesboro on Tuesday, May 16 features the ASA STARS National Tour, something of a rebrand of the old ASA National Tour. Track Enterprises announced last year that the STARS National Tour would be sanctioned by ASA under a licensing agreement with ARCA.
The ASA STARS National Tour features 10 major races in six different states with a $100,000 point fund. The North Wilkesboro race marks the third event of the season.
FloRacing will provide live coverage of the ECMD 150 on Tuesday, May 16.
The pair of CARS Tour features at North Wilkesboro on Wednesday, May 17 figure to provide another exciting show after the series returned to the track last year.
Not only does the series have a new broadcast partner in FloRacing, but the North Wilkesboro race will be the fifth CARS Tour race under a new ownership group consisting of Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, former driver Jeff Burton and Trackhouse Racing team owner Justin Marks.
FloRacing will provide live coverage of both the Crossroads Harley-Davidson 75 (Pro Late Model) and the Window World 125 (Late Model Stock Car) on Wednesday, May 17.
The late-model races are just the beginning of a packed NASCAR All-Star Week at North Wilkesboro. The action continues with All-Star Friday on Friday, May 19, when both the NASCAR Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series will practice ahead of a Pit Crew Challenge for Cup teams that will set the starting lineup for Saturday night’s qualifying heat races.
Saturday, May 20 will feature the Craftsman Truck Series race, the Tyson 250. The Truck race will broadcast live on Fox starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. Following the Truck race Saturday will be the pair of 60-lap qualifying heats for the Cup Series.
The capper for NASCAR All-Star Week at North Wilkesboro on Sunday, May 21 will be both the All-Star Open and the All-Star race for the Cup Series. Both the Open (5:30 p.m. ET) and the race (8 p.m. ET) will broadcast live on FS1.
NASCAR recently announced the format for the 2023 All-Star race at North Wilkesboro. The winningest NASCAR Cup Series drivers in North Wilkesboro Speedway history, Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip will serve as co-Grand Marshals.
The playing field is leveled this weekend as the NASCAR Cup Series visits Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday’s GEICO 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Before the action gets underway this weekend in Alabama, check out the trends to watch for the race, notable moments from NASCAR’s biggest race track and the on-track times and TV info for the Cup Series.
A superspeedway race opens the door for any one of the full-time Cup Series drivers to score a victory and secure a provisional playoff spot early in the 2023 season.
Among those seeking their first win of the season and snapping a lengthy winless streak is Ryan Blaney. The eight-year Cup veteran has gone 55 races since his last checkered flag at Daytona International Speedway in the regular-season finale of 2021. Blaney has seen a mixed bag of results so far in 2023 with three of his last four results placing him outside the top 20. After ending that slump with a top 1o at Martinsville, the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford has momentum heading to a track where he’s one of the best at. A winner of two of the last seven Talladega races, Blaney is projected by Racing Insights to end his winless streak Sunday.
📉 TRENDS TO WATCH 📈
— The last five Talladega races were won by five different organizations.
— The driver who led the most laps has failed to win the last five Talladega races.
— Thirty-one Talladega races were won with a last-lap pass, including five of the last six races and both in 2022.
— Twelve drivers got their first Cup win at Talladega. For six of those drivers, it was their only win.
(Via Racing Insights)
NOTABLE MOMENTS 🎥
2009: Carl Edwards goes for wild ride as Keselowski wins first career Cup race | WATCH
2010: Harvick slings past McMurray in tri-oval to steal win | WATCH
The Cup Series will run the same tire setup that was used for both Talladega races last season. Teams will have one set for qualifying on Saturday and seven sets of tires total for Sunday’s race.
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.
On Wednesday, NASCAR suspended Chris Jackson (rear tire changer) and David Smith (jack) of the No. 78 Cup Series team because of the loss of a tire/wheel last weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
For the Talladega Cup race, three codes will be given out during each stage of the broadcast that fans can enter to earn additional points. If fans enter all three codes they’ll be entered into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the 2024 Daytona 500.
NASCAR Fan Rewards is 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.
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.
Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week, 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.
Ben Kennedy holds fond memories of his family’s connection to Bowman Gray Stadium. His ancestors planted some of stock-car racing’s earliest roots at the quarter-mile track, and he put his own stamp on the place as a touring-series winner in 2013.
That victorious moment from his second and final NASCAR K&N Series (now ARCA Menards Series) East win is commemorated by a photo that sits in Kennedy’s office. Alongside him in the picture are his mother Lesa France Kennedy and his great-uncle Jim France, both members of the NASCAR board of directors but more importantly in that moment, family.
My memories of that moment nearly vary quite a bit, but it was a family occasion all the same. Getting my summer weekend schedule to align with my father’s isn’t the easiest task, but once or twice a year, the planetary alignment syncs on a Saturday night to make the trip from Charlotte to Winston-Salem for an evening at the stadium. June 1, 2013 was one of those nights.
Kennedy’s victory at the track known as the Madhouse is nearing its 10th anniversary, here during a time full of commemorative years. As NASCAR celebrates its 75th anniversary, Bowman Gray Stadium prepares for its 75th season of racing with Saturday’s opening night (8 p.m. ET, FloRacing), including the Hayes Jewelers 200 main event — the year’s longest race for the featured Modified Division.
It’s a renewal of weekly racing in North Carolina’s Twin Cities, but also another chance for the full-contact competition, the wild rivalries and fan fervor to spark anew. Kennedy has had the opportunity to experience it from more angles than most — as a driver, a fan and now in his role as NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Racing Development and Strategy.
“I think the Madhouse is probably a very good name for it,” Kennedy said this week. “I don’t even know how you would describe it. It’s incredible racing. I think it’s one of the most entertaining races to watch, and I would say that applies to both on the race track and off the race track. And I think the neat thing about it is, with the coliseum kind of style footprint that they have with the grandstands all around and every time I’ve been there, it’s just been a completely packed house.
“It’s an energy at that place. It feels like it’s almost a blend between what you’d expect at a traditional short track and a big marquee Cup event that we have on the schedule, the energy at that place is unbelievable. And I think it’s fueled by the drivers and the competitiveness that exists on the track, and I think vice versa. I think the drivers are fueled by the fans’ energy there, too. So it’s really, it’s such a cool place for racing. It’s incredibly unique. And I mean, as soon as you walk in there you can feel the stories and the history that have happened at that place. It’s really kind of difficult to describe, but it’s a one-of-a-kind place.”
When my dad and I settled into our seats in the south turn, the middle of the horseshoe bleachers, I hadn’t planned on covering the race. I was off the clock and attending as a fan, leaving the reporting to our capable NASCAR Roots group. Still, I brought along a notepad and a voice recorder, in the event a special moment might prompt another news story. Jotting notes is kind of a personal habit anyway, like the scorebook I keep for baseball games.
Bowman Gray Stadium hosted five East Series races from 2011-15, with fields stocked with many drivers who made it to the upper reaches of NASCAR’s national tours. Four of those races were won from the front row on a tight track where passing is difficult. When Kennedy qualified 10th that night, I figured I was in the clear. Still, Kennedy — 21 at the time — was fresh from his first K&N East victory just six weeks earlier at Five Flags Speedway. I kept notes anyway.
“We had a decent car most of the weekend, we had speed, but we didn’t have the fastest car there, but we felt like we had a top-five car and felt like we had a shot at being in the top five,” Kennedy said. “And for Bowman Gray, it’s always so important that when you restart, you restart on the inside as much as you can. I feel like in a lot of those K&N races, we had a lot of cautions, thus a lot of restarts. And thankfully, we lined up on the inside for most of those late-race restarts.”
Kennedy’s No. 96 Chevrolet had moved up gradually, but bore the scars from the stadium’s brand of close-quarters racing. He had mixed it up with Daniel Suárez, Johnny VanDoorn and Jesse Little along the way, but reached his projected top-five plateau with 60 laps remaining in the 150-lapper.
Brian A. Westerholt | NASCAR via Getty Images
Further up front, pole-starter Brett Moffitt had shown the way with an uninterrupted lead, free and clear of the spins and crack-ups behind him. But when Moffitt’s car started to sputter with a battery issue in the waning laps, it opened the door for other contenders.
Kennedy had pushed through the contact and made his way past a faltering Moffitt in the 124th lap, but had to withstand a furious challenge from Dylan Kwasniewski — that year’s eventual series champion — down the stretch. Kennedy said he recalled his car being better suited for longer green-flag runs, which were sparse on a night with 13 yellows. Kennedy withstood every charge and bump, sealing it when Kwasniewski overcooked the north turn just before the white flag flew.
“I still talk to him about this race every now and then,” Kennedy says. “… He raced us hard but raced us clean. I think he nudged us a little bit, but he didn’t move us out of the way. I give him credit for that, but we ended up winning the race.”
By then, I’d told my dad it was time to go to work, left my seat and worked around the concourse to get down to the trackside Victory Lane. Kennedy’s battered No. 96 had completed a burnout before venturing into the infield to keep the celebration going. “I don’t know how many drivers get to say that they’ve done a doughnut on the 50-yard line of a football field,” he said. “There’s not really anything like it.”
Once he emerged from his car, Kennedy’s family was waiting. He said his mother was disappointed to have missed out on seeing his breakthrough win in person at Five Flags, but because his first victory was such a new, whirlwind experience, he said he found himself able to appreciate the moment more with win No. 2. That meant a hug from his teary mother, who had also worked her way through the stands to soak in the scene.
“The night at Bowman Gray was very special for our family,” Lisa France Kennedy said, reflecting on the evening in a series of 75th anniversary interviews with industry figures. “What sticks out for me is that my uncle was there, and he was the one that got Ben started in racing. And for him to see that firsthand meant a lot to me, meant a lot to Ben, and it was really fun to see my uncle experience it. He loves racing, and I think he was living vicariously through Ben that night.”
I have never been more underdressed to interview our top executives. Still, they were generous with their time during such an intimate family celebration. I volunteered my side of the story from that night with Kennedy years later, at the end of a test session for the Next Gen car at Bowman Gray in October 2021. We shared a laugh about how I’d foolishly minimized his chances from the 10th starting spot and confessed that I was wrong to have counted him out.
If there was another lesson to be learned from that night, Kennedy offered some sage advice that could apply to anyone.
“Anything could happen at the Madhouse,” Kennedy said. “Be prepared for the unexpected, because the unexpected is bound to happen.”
Madison, Ill. (April 20, 2023)—Nearly six weeks from hosting its second NASCAR Cup Series race, World Wide Technology Raceway officials shared a detailed view of the venue’s continued expansion and enhanced fan benefits for the 2023 racing season.
The Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, June 4 will boast an all-new Gateway Garage Experience that enables fans to get up close and personal with the teams, cars and drivers, as they prepare to compete on the 1.25-mile oval.
It’s the perfect combination of a party and NASCAR action. Passholders will have access to the following: pre-race opening ceremonies on-track; premium access to Saturday and Sunday turn-1 concerts; tech inspection; driver Q&A’s; discounted food and beverage; free enhanced wi-fi; and the driver red-carpet walk. Fans in the Gateway Garage Experience will also have access to a NASCAR-approved viewing area behind the team pit boxes on pit road during the race. Other details include:
• The speedway is lengthening the existing garage space to allow fans a close look at the crews, cars and NASCAR’s biggest stars preparing for races on the track.
• The NASCAR Cup Series Drivers Meeting and VIP event space will now be held in a remodeled Clubhouse located adjacent to the garage area.
• The adjacent Fan Zone has been expanded and reimagined, featuring infield seating as well as shade structures, soft seating, additional vendors and multiple food options.
The infield experience is part of a multi-phase $100 million renovation and expansion project that includes significant land acquisition and expanded guest accommodations, including the infield fan zone project.
“Our fans are going to love the intimate experience of the new garage access,” World Wide Technology Raceway owner Curtis Francois said. “This is just the latest example of our commitment to building a world-class entertainment venue, investing more each year, responding to what fans want and showcasing hospitality at every turn.”
In addition to the new amenities and experiences, race fans will enjoy world-class entertainment with the Confluence Music Festival on June 3-4. The festival will feature headliners Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Flo Rida, Brittney Spencer, Bailey Zimmerman, Rissi Palmer and Tim Dugger among more than two dozen regional musical performers throughout the weekend. Bentley will perform following Sunday’s Cup Series race. A performance schedule for all artists will be announced closer to the event weekend.
The concerts are included in the race ticket and can be purchased separately. WWT Raceway is offering multiple upgrade options to get fans closer to their favorite performers. Click here to review the available options as well as concert FAQs.
The NASCAR doubleheader weekend includes the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The trucks open the weekend with practice and qualifying on Friday, June 2, and then compete in the Toyota 200 on Saturday, June 3, beginning at 12:30 p.m. CT. NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying will also be held that day, followed by the JJK5K run and walk celebrating Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee. The weekend culminates with the Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter on Sunday, June 4, beginning at 2:30 p.m.
No matter what type of car he is racing, Brandon Ward finds a way to win.
Ward’s career has seen him take home checkered flags in Late Model Stocks, Super Late Models, Modifieds, the USAR Pro Cup Series and the NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series, all of which has helped him build a reputation as one of the most versatile drivers in the country.
Since the mid-2010s, Ward has been a regular in the famous Modified division at Bowman Gray Stadium. Ward has emerged as one of the track’s better Modified competitors during that time, but the seasoned veteran is determined to parlay that consistency into his first championship at the Madhouse.
“We’re coming off a runner-up in the points last year, and we’ve all worked very hard over the winter,” Ward said. “Two new cars got built, and there are a lot of new things going, so there’s a lot of new excitement. I really feel like all of it is going to build up and result in a pretty good season for us [at Bowman Gray].”
Brandon Ward finished second to Tim Brown in the 2022 Bowman Gray Stadium standings with one victory on the year. (Photo: Corey Latham)
As to why he primarily competes in Modifieds at Bowman Gray today, Ward admitted that scenario happened by accident.
After bouncing around several different disciplines during the 2000 that included winning a title in the UARA STARS Late Model Series in 2006, Ward joined his current team in New Day Motorsports, owned by Jeff Day and Kevin Powell, at the turn of the decade.
Ward’s tenure with New Day Motorsports initially started with him explicitly focusing on Super Late Model competition, all while Powell ran a part-time schedule in his Modified at Bowman Gray. The status quo remained in place until one fateful evening in the mid-2010s when Ward climbed into Powell’s Modified after the latter broke his scapula.
It would not take long for Ward to showcase the same efficiency in Modifieds that had followed him in every form of racing up to that point.
Today, Ward is a household name amongst the Bowman Gray faithful with his familiar No. Q104 Modified sponsored by local iHeartRadio station Q104.1. He added the electric presence provided by the fans creates an atmosphere at Bowman Gray unlike any other in the country — which in turn benefits him, New Day Motorsports and his sponsors.
When it comes to racing at Bowman Gray, Ward admitted there is only so much of his own experience he can apply on a given night.
The narrow design of the track creates plenty of challenges for drivers to progress through the field, but Ward said the unique schedule put together by the track each year excels at simultaneously keeping drivers vigilant and entertaining the crowd.
(Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
“The whole dynamic of Bowman Gray being a quarter-mile track around a football stadium is just so much different than anything I’ve ever done,” Ward said. “You also have races that can be 25 laps or 200 laps. There are also full field redraws some weeks, so there’s a lot of variation week to week you don’t see anywhere else.”
With the tight corners and diverse race lengths comes on-track tempers that have come to define weekly racing at Bowman Gray.
Like nearly every driver who has competed at the Madhouse, Ward has been on each end of contact that has evoked an emotional response out of one or both parties involved. Those situations can sometimes be unavoidable for Ward depending on the race, which only puts more emphasis on him keeping a level head from flag to flag.
Powell had advised Ward on how heated racing at Bowman Gray can get when he first climbed into his car, but he knew Ward would gradually find his comfort zone and become someone who could contend for victories on a regular basis.
The experience Ward brings to racing in general is why Powell believes New Day Motorsports can win a championship at Bowman Gray this year. But he stressed the quality of Ward’s character has also been instrumental in their program’s growth.
“When it came time to pick somebody to hold our steering wheel, it was important for me and Jeff to judge someone based on their character, capacity and attitude,” Powell said. “Brandon had proved himself long before he got to us that he was an incredible race car driver, but Brandon’s ability to represent us perfectly on and off the track shines through more than we could ever ask.”
New Day Motorsports has grown into a staple of the Bowman Gray Stadium Modified division with Brandon Ward behind the wheel. (Photo: Erick Messer)
Powell is proud of how the partnership between him, Ward and Day that started over a decade ago has blossomed into an organization that includes a 15,000 square foot race shop, four Modifieds and a second team that will be driven by Daniel Beeson during the 2023 season at Bowman Gray.
The progress made over the offseason alone has Powell cautiously optimistic New Day Motorsports can finally claim a Bowman Gray title, yet as a track veteran, he understands circumstances within and outside of the team’s control must line up perfectly to make that dream a reality.
For Ward, winning a championship will come down to more than just luck, as he must best the two drivers who have dominated Bowman Gray since the 2000s in Burt Myers and Tim Brown.
The duo has earned 22 track championships between them, with Brown leading the all-time list in 12 titles with Myers behind him in second with 10. Although Ward was consistent and managed to win a race last year, Brown still claimed the championship by 21 points over him despite not visiting Victory Lane once.
With both Brown and Myers expected to be favorites for the Bowman Gray crown once again, Ward said there is no margin of error for him and New Day Motorsports as they pursue their first title together.
“You have to be on your game,” Ward said. “Your cars need to be right, and you can’t make mistakes inside the car. [Brown and Myers] both have a lot of laps [at Bowman Gray], so no matter what, they are two cars you will have to beat. The racetrack also changes every week, so you have to stay on top of everything.”
Powell added that if anyone can dethrone the dominance of Brown and Myers, Ward is the most capable of doing so.
The aggressive-but-smart mindset of Ward behind the wheel allows him to maximize his points regardless of the race format at Bowman Gray, but Powell said obtaining strong track position and putting together another consistent, clean season are two factors that will dictate whether Ward is able to celebrate a track title at the end of the year.
“Last year, we completed every single lap at [Bowman Gray],” Powell said. “We had no mechanical failures whatsoever, so our goal is to complete every single lap. Secondarily, we have to qualify up front, especially on the Twin 25 nights. You also need to have lady luck on your side just a bit, but if we start up front and make smart decisions, we can win races.”
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Having now raced at Bowman Gray for more than half a decade, Ward is itching to finally earn that prestigious Modified title at the facility and sees the 2023 season as the perfect chance to do so.
The chemistry Ward has developed with Powell and Day over the years has culminated into New Day Motorsports’ current efficiency, so to have the program immortalized as Modified champions at the Madhouse would be a tremendous honor for him and everyone involved.
“Any race win or championship is big, and that’s what we’re doing this for,” Ward said. “Bowman Gray has such a huge following, and we were so close last year. I felt like we had an off year honestly, so I’m hoping we can get back to where we need to be with the cars. It would be huge to win this championship, not just for myself but for this entire New Day Motorsports team.”
Many long, grueling nights are ahead for the Modified class at Bowman Gray, but Ward is not worried in the slightest about rising to the occasion and adding his name to the list of champions in the track’s storied history.
Because no matter what type of car he is racing, Brandon Ward finds a way to win.
A return behind the wheel of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet last Sunday at Martinsville Speedway did not result in a win for Chase Elliott, but for a driver looking to jump back into the competitive NASCAR Cup Series, a 10th-place finish certainly sufficed.
However, for Elliott, top-five and top-10 finishes might not be enough to clinch a bid in this year’s playoffs. After missing six weeks of action due to a leg injury, the reigning five-time Most Popular Driver Award winner might need to win a race should he wish to participate in 2023 postseason play and have another chance at the Bill France Cup.
For the 27-year-old, the underlying motivation will always be to win as a driver and to succeed as a team, no matter the circumstance.
“We all want to win as a group,” Elliott said. “It’s not because of my absence that we want to win any more than we already did before. But we certainly recognize, hey, points probably aren’t going to work from the driver side, and certainly points in on the owners’ side.
“But yeah, from the driver’s side, it’s gonna be tough to do without a win, so I think it’s more just recognizing the job at hand and what we’re going to have to do to be part of the show, and just having that goal set in front of you, I think, it’s kind of fun. It’s very simple, and it’s pretty straightforward in what we need to go do, so it’s been, yeah, it’s a different feeling, I guess, than what it’s been, but we’re really embracing it as a group, and I’ve embraced it on my end.”
For the 18-time Cup winner and 2020 Cup Series champion, the newfound hurdle will not be one Elliott wishes to back down from. Instead, it will be one to embrace.
“I’m kind of excited about the challenge, really,” Elliott said. “It’s kind of unique and kind of fun. Either win and you’re in, or don’t, and you fail, so I kind of like it.”
Elliott and the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series field will next race on April 23 at Talladega Superspeedway in the GEICO 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
From NASCAR’s Whelen Modified Series to the Cup Series and everything in between, Ryan Newman has won in nearly everything he’s raced in, and it’s fitting the he was selected to join the ranks of the sport’s 75 Greatest Drivers.
Newman set an electrifying pace during his career, earning 64 pole awards, 51 of which came in the Cup Series, across the three national series. His premier-series prowess in qualifying earned him the nickname, ‘Rocket Man,’ and Newman is ninth all-time in Cup poles — trailing only Richard Petty, David Pearson, Jeff Gordon, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison, Mark Martin and Bill Elliott.
A true iron man of the sport, Newman made 36 starts per season for 18 consecutive seasons, only breaking his streak after a sidelining crash in the 2020 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. During his lengthy tenure, his most productive season at the Cup Series level came in 2003, where he earned the pole position 11 times and went on to win eight races.
Across his 725 career starts, Newman scored 18 victories, 117 top-five finishes, 268 top 10s and ran over 200,000 laps, leading 4,863 of them. His biggest victories came in the 2002 All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, earning the famous ‘Winston Million’ and the 2008 Daytona 500.
The ‘Rocket Man’ footprint also extends to the Xfinity Series, where he is a seven-time winner, the Craftsman Truck Series, the ARCA Menards Series and many more.
NASCAR penalized the No. 3 Cup Series team of Austin Dillon for an L1-level infraction after last weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway. The team violated the overall assembled vehicle rules related to the underwing assembly and hardware.
As a result, crew chief Keith Rodden has been fined $75,000 and suspended for the next two championship points events. The team and the driver also lost 60 points and five playoff points.
Dillon finished 12th at Martinsville, and he was 21st in the standings before the penalty.
Richard Childress Racing announced Wednesday that it will appeal the penalties issued to the No. 3 team.
In other penalties, NASCAR suspended Chris Jackson (rear tire changer) and David Smith (jack) of the No. 78 Cup Series team because of the loss of a tire/wheel last weekend at Martinsville.
NASCAR also fined three crew chiefs Mike Bumgarner, Jeff Meendering and Mike Scearce in the Xfinity Series $5,000 apiece for lug-nut violations.
Ryan Blaney’s 55-race winless streak is the second-longest dry spell of his career, but if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, then it comes in the form of Talladega Superspeedway and Sunday’s GEICO 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Blaney has won two of the last seven races on the high banks of the 2.66-mile track, and he finished runner-up there last fall. He has been strong overall on drafting tracks with three straight top-10 finishes — the longest streak among active drivers.
While Talladega certainly brings out the unpredictable on a regular basis, the one constant seems to be Blaney. And based largely on that strong history, Racing Insights’ formula for predicting races favors him this week.
OTHERS TO WATCH
ROSS CHASTAIN: He finished first and fourth last year at Talladega and was the only driver to finish in the top five in both races.
MARTIN TRUEX JR.: He has two straight finishes of seventh or better this season, and he finished fifth in this race last year.
KEVIN HARVICK: He has three top-10 finishes in the last four races at Talladega and will be making his 800th career start in the Cup Series.
CHASE ELLIOTT: Fresh off a top-10 finish in his first race back from a leg injury, Elliott has led laps in six of the last eight Talladega races.
DENNY HAMLIN: His fourth-place finish last week at Martinsville was his first top five this season. At Talladega, he has five finishes of seventh or better in the last seven races.
