Posted on by Zack Albert

LE MANS, France — Toyota and 23XI Racing announced Wednesday that sports-car ace Kamui Kobayashi will make his NASCAR debut in the Cup Series event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Aug. 13.

The announcement was made at the NASCAR display at the Circuit de la Sarthe’s manufacturer village in Le Mans, with NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France among the dignitaries in attendance. Kobayashi is competing in this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans for Toyota Gazoo Racing in the Hypercar class. He has two wins already this season in FIA World Endurance Championship competition, where he is a two-time champ, but said he was eager to explore a new motorsports discipline in NASCAR.

“I think NASCAR is kind of like baseball. It’s something different in the culture of motorsports compared to Japan and Europe, and it’s NASCAR, and as a driver, it’s an American dream,” Kobayashi said. “I was lucky as I was able to race in IMSA the last couple of years. It’s a different way of racing, but I think as racing technology, it’s really at a high level. I really appreciate this opportunity from TRD, U.S.A., and of course, Toyota Motor North America and Toyota Gazoo Racing.

“For us, especially the Japanese people, Toyota has been in NASCAR for a while, and I don’t think any other Japanese driver has been in a Toyota racing in the Cup Series. I’m very proud of this opportunity.”

RELATED: Cup Series schedule | Le Mans race week schedule

Kobayashi is set to drive the No. 67 Toyota Camry TRD, a third entry that will compete alongside 23XI Racing teammates Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace on the 2.439-mile IMS circuit. The last time 23XI fielded a third car, action-sports star Travis Pastrana drove it to an 11th-place finish in this year’s Daytona 500.

Kobayashi becomes just the second driver from Japan to enter a Cup Series race, but the first to do so in a Toyota; Hideo Fukuyama made four Cup starts between 2002-03, and three other drivers from Japan — Akinori Ogata, Kenko Miura and Shigeaki Hattori — have competed in Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series events. It’s another effort for the automaker to broaden its reach within the NASCAR world.

“To have Kamui carrying a global flag with him to our sport, we’ll put some eyeballs on it that we haven’t had before,” said David Wilson, Toyota Racing Development (TRD) USA president. “And then, focusing narrower to Japanese drivers, I would say we have even broader goals for global drivers and aspirations. So European kids who maybe have a frame of reference that goes through Formula 1, maybe this opens another for ‘Well, why not NASCAR?’ ”

The 36-year-old Kobayashi has had a varied racing career after a start in karting, which eventually led to a prime scholarship spot with Toyota’s Young Drivers initiative. He progressed to a stint in Formula 1 with the automaker and now races in the Supra Formula Series along with his sports-car duties. That wide list of experience, Kobayashi says, doesn’t include driving a stock car, and he marveled at his first sight of one once his No. 67 entry was unveiled Wednesday at Le Mans.

Kobayashi joins a growing number of newcomers from other series to recently give NASCAR a try. One of the most recent examples came in late March at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, where former F1 champs Jenson Button and Kimi Räikkönen joined sports-car standout and Garage 56 reserve driver Jordan Taylor in providing some new faces on the entry list. Kobayashi said he watched the full race with interest.

“Actually, I like this type of racing because you bump each other all the time, and you have to be very sharp on the start, otherwise, you lose all the momentum, and you’re going backwards, and you have no chance,” Kobayashi said. “I think the way they race is different, but I like it because I think this is something the driver brings instead of the car bringing something.”

Räikkönen’s participation was part of the Trackhouse Racing Project 91 initiative to provide opportunities for global motorsports stars. Wilson said that “Project 67” had served as a sort of internal codename for the part-time 23XI effort with a similar intent of broadening stock-car racing’s audience.

“We are absolutely open to using this as a platform to bring in other drivers on occasion,” Wilson said. “Now, the challenging part, of course, is you want to do it well, right. And you want to make sure that we give Kamui the best experience. We take this very personally because it is some heavy lifting with the regular lot, and so if future opportunities present themselves, we certainly have the seats, we certainly have the willingness of our friends from 23XI — Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin, Steve Lauletta. They had Travis Pastrana in a car at Daytona, so certainly, we’re open to further opportunities down the road.”

Kobayashi said the opportunity emerged for the Indianapolis race primarily because of scheduling, given his busy racing workload. He also said he was focused on debuting on a road course but that the Chicago Street Race on July 2 was “too close, so we decided to look at Indianapolis to be safe.”

Kobayashi said his preparation time still may be short, and he indicated he plans for two days of racing simulator prep, plus a potential test of a Next Gen stock car on a test track. Leaning on Toyota teammates for information will also be a resource. “With on-track opportunities, we are limited,” he said, “but with experience and knowledge, we have some of the best for this form of racing.”

Kobayashi also said that he hopes his Cup Series debut might open the door for other Japanese drivers to explore stock-car racing and that a solid showing could pave that path.

“I will try my best, but I’m very thankful for this opportunity and happy to be in this position,” Kobayashi said. “For Toyota and for the entire family, I think this will create something new for us. Now we have to finalize all the small details, but at the end of the day, I think a strong performance would help with future possibilities.”

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

Chase Elliott’s one-race suspension from the NASCAR Cup Series is in the rearview mirror, right where he’d like to keep it.

The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet said Tuesday he understands the sanctioning body’s decision to sit him out for last weekend’s event at World Wide Technology Raceway after officials ruled he intentionally crashed Denny Hamlin. The 2020 Cup champion looks forward to returning at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: Details on Elliott-Hamlin incident | Cup Series standings

“I think certainly it was an unfortunate circumstance on many accounts,” Elliott told NASCAR.com via teleconference. “And I hate that we’re in the position that we’re in. Obviously, it’s been a pretty wild year, even prior to last week or two weeks ago. But yeah, look, I mean, I hate that I put our team and our partners and our fans and all the folks that make this go in a tough spot. Certainly glad Denny’s OK, and I understand NASCAR’s call and what they felt like they needed to do. So I respect all that.”

Elliott has missed seven races in 2023, six due to an injury suffered while snowboarding ahead of his most recent absence. He’s hopeful his Sonoma arrival triggers a more long-term stay on the schedule.

“For me personally, just looking forward to getting back to work and just trying to get in a groove because I don’t really feel like I’ve been in one throughout the year,” Elliott said. “It’s been kind of stop-and-go all season, unfortunately. But the way I see it is there’s 11 races left (in the regular season), and we pretty much need to go win one of those to get in the show. So that’s where my head’s at right now.”

Sonoma signals an excellent opportunity for Elliott to relocate the rhythm he’s sorely missed, as seven of Elliott’s 18 career wins have come on road courses. Yet Sonoma is the only road course at which Elliott has made at least three starts and not scored a victory — so far.

“I think we can go out there and win for sure,” said Elliott, a 2021 runner-up in Napa Valley. “We had a pretty solid run there last year. We weren’t the best I didn’t think, but we were fast enough to contend. And I think that being said, I also know the areas we could be better in leaving there last year, so I have a lot of confidence in the direction that I think we need to go in and what we need our car to do to be more successful there this year.”

As Elliott noted, just 11 races remain in the regular season. With seven races missed this year — six due to injury, one due to suspension — Elliott sits 28th in points, 98 points beneath the cutoff line for the NASCAR Playoffs. A win is almost necessary to lock into the postseason, but the No. 9 team has also balanced chasing stage points this season in Elliott’s return.

However, stages have a different look at road courses this season. The caution flag no longer flies at the end of each stage, but the top 10 drivers at the stage breaks will still receive a points payout. That may alter what strategies each team may utilize Sunday in Sonoma.

“For the most part there toward the end of last year and throughout the season, as this car kind of continued to evolve, you really had to had to short those stages to give yourself a shot to win,” Elliott said. “So I think just taking that out of the equation makes makes things a little more straightforward and doesn’t penalize the guys who are running well, right? You know, that’s the big thing with that is it ended up hurting the people who are running good and were deserving of stage points and forced them to not take any. So I think it’s a good move.”

Sonoma will mark Elliott’s first road race since returning from injury, a broken left leg suffered in a March snowboarding accident. The good news is Elliott has zero concerns about his leg’s comfort heading into the twists and hills of Sonoma, California.

“It’s been fine in the car really,” Elliott said. “I mean, Martinsville was a little challenging, but since then, I’ve felt pretty good with it in the car and getting stronger outside of the car too. You know, that particular injury is a long recovery. If you were playing a stick-and-ball sport, it would be quite some time before you could go play again.

“So I’m very fortunate that just the way our seats are and where my leg is positioned in the car and how secure it is in the car, those are all things that are working to my advantage and being able to get back to work as quick as I did.”

Elliott’s results have been decent this season. Aside from DNFs in the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600, Elliott has landed safely between second and 12th in his other six starts. A seventh-place run at Kansas was “probably our best race” since returning from injury, Elliott said, but he noted he’s largely had eighth-to-10th-place cars.

As Elliott strives to make NASCAR’s postseason for the eighth consecutive season, he has the speed of Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman to lean on. Byron’s three victories this season are tied for the series best, while Larson has an additional two. Bowman has yet to find Victory Lane but boasts the second-best average finish (11.8) despite missing three races due to a back injury.

“Those guys are having having a lot of success, and when you have that, it definitely can help lead you in directions setup-wise or car-build wise or whatever it may be,” Elliott said. “So the program in general have been solid all year and there’s been a lot of pace. Obviously a lot of victories. So yeah, we’d like to tap into that and add to it.”

Elliott is entering a stretch of races that saw him rattle off five straight top-two finishes in 2022 — wins at Nashville, Atlanta and Pocono with runner-up results at Road America and New Hampshire. The Chicago Street Race replaces Road America this year, but his confidence is still high the No. 9 team can rekindle some of last year’s summer magic.

“I think we’re certainly capable of doing it; it’s just getting in a little bit of a rhythm,” Elliott said. “Running two races, skipping six, and then jumping in there for a few weeks and missing another one, it’s just kind of hard to find a rhythm. So yeah, hopefully no more skips over the next 11 weeks and we can just start chipping away at it. And obviously, that starts at Sonoma.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

LE MANS, France — One of the primary differences in a NASCAR-type pit stop vs. a European sports-car-style stop found its way to the peak of the Le Mans podium, doused with champagne. Garage 56 jackman Donovan Williams made sure the apparatus — the only jack that will be used for tire changes in this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans — traveled the length of the circuit’s pit road for its own place of prominence.

The Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 crew collected one of race week’s preliminary prizes Tuesday by showing the international crowd how it’s done stateside, winning the Le Mans Pit Stop Challenge. The Garage 56 effort — which is classified in the Innovative Car category — was best among the 21 LMGTE Am entries and fifth-fastest out of the 62-car field.

RELATED: At-track photos: Le Mans | Race-week schedule

The crew was popping corks in the late-spring sunshine from the elevated start-finish platform Tuesday afternoon as the driver lineup of Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller took cell-phone videos and cheered.

“We were feeling good in practice, it was kind of a warm-up, starting off with a medium tempo and then continue to increase your speed, and then once our confidence, we just relied on our training, and it just came into place,” Williams said from the busy Garage 56 paddock. “Instinctively, I think we all just went out there and performed and didn’t think too much, and that’s what’s special about sports. Most of us have athletic backgrounds, and we’re able to kind of lean on that when you talk about canceling out a crowd and locking in and being in the moment. So that was a special moment, and we were able to capitalize.”

The competition gave the Garage 56 team members some early bragging rights, but it also showed a modified version of the stock-car pit procedures to an eager new audience, which applauded the choreography. It also illustrated how the pit crew has adapted to new regulations and equipment to prepare for a twice-around-the-clock endurance run.

Getting the Garage 56 crew to build chemistry and adjust to Le Mans rules has been the charge of Evan Kureczka, now in his sixth season with Hendrick Motorsports and currently its pit development manager. Since the group’s arrival at the French circuit, fellow racers have taken an interest in the American visitors — much as the fans have at every turn.

“I feel like a lot of teams on pit road have opened up to us, and they’ve come and asked why we’re doing pit stops one way compared to another and trying to give us tips,” Kureczka said. “It’s like NASCAR is like a big community. You can tell this style of racing is also like one big community, and they’ve accepted us in and we’re almost working together at this point.”

WATCH: Garage 56 crew’s winning pit stop

Indeed, all 62 teams are operating under the rules of the same house, run by race organizers Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). And the pit stalls on the frontstretch of the iconic 8.467-mile Circuit de la Sarthe are their own unique being — snug both in width and in length, though the G56 entry has the benefit of some extra room as the pit box nearest the pit-lane exit.

The stalls also have air hoses affixed to an overhead boom that swivels as team members move from one side of the car to the other with their lug-nut guns. Kureczka says that’s meant making extra sure the jack handle doesn’t become entangled in the hoses as part of the rotation. He also said that Hendrick’s team mocked up a gantry-style system back home in North Carolina to practice with a similar setup.

The rules also require teams to complete fueling before tire changers can engage the car. The fuel comes from an overhead tank, and a nozzle seals with the filler — which is located behind the right-side B-post. The tall, quick-dump gas cans used in NASCAR are not found in Le Mans. Driver changes are done during fueling, and Kureczka says replenishing a full fuel load takes approximately 42 seconds — theoretically enough time to complete a change-out.

Tire changers are also not allowed to rush out in front of the car on its approach to get in position to start changing the outside tires. Changers and carriers begin on the right side before rotating over to the left, and there’s no pit wall for the crew members to start on. Regulations mandate four “over the wall” pit crew members, but the Garage 56 project was granted a fifth because of race officials’ insistence that the No. 24 team use a jack for NASCAR authenticity instead of the in-car pneumatic jack system that all other cars carry.

“Since we started, it’s been like a day-by-day process, learning how to go by their rules instead of NASCAR’s,” said Jarius Morehead, the rear tire carrier. “They’re so tedious about everything that we do, from the tires, the gun hose up top with the boom system, so it’s just getting used to everything that they do and try to do what we do in NASCAR.”

The Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Garage 56 crew celebrates with fans on pit road after winning the pit stop challenge at the 24 Hours at Le Mans
Chris Graythen | Getty Images

Kureczka said the Garage 56 pit crew is part of a development group but that all of the team have found some experience in NASCAR national-series events. This pit team was assembled a little under a year ago but has grown since their first at-track practice in a wintertime test at Daytona International Speedway.

“So they’re pretty seasoned,” Kureczka said. “We did plenty of two-a-days of practice leading up to the event, and so it was a little bit of a balance between them pitting Trucks, Xfinity and some of them pitting Cup and doing this, trying to get all our work in.”

If they’re not seasoned now, they will be before the 24 hours is up. If all goes according to plan, team members estimated approximately 25 to 30 pit stops for the full distance, with the No. 24 car stopping nearly hourly and drivers mostly working double stints after shorter earlier ones.

The Hendrick Motorsports crew members working the Le Mans event include:

  • Front-tire changer Dawson Backus, who joined Hendrick in September 2019 and currently changes the rear tires for the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in the Cup Series.
  • Front-tire carrier Cody French, who has changed tires, carried tires and manned the jack in his two-plus years with Hendrick. He’s now the jackman on the No. 77 for Spire in the Cup Series.
  • Rear-tire carrier Jarius Morehead, former captain of the N.C. State football team and who has been a tire changer for various teams in Xfinity and Trucks.
  • Rear-tire changer Mike Moss, a two-sport standout in basketball and football collegiately who is the newest member of the crew — joining just last October.
  • Jackman Donovan Williams, who also signed on with Hendrick Motorsports less than a year ago and has served on the jack and as the fueler for Xfinity and Truck teams.

Then there’s Kureczka, who hasn’t been content to sit on the supervisory sidelines and merely observe and coach. Here at Le Mans, he’s donned a full fire suit and has been the self-termed “lollipop guy” handling the pit sign, which features the Camaro logo.

That, too, has been a little different.

“In NASCAR, the sign’s held from the other side of the wall — the cold side of the track,” Kureczka says. “And so now I’m out there on pit lane holding the sign, which is a great experience to be out there with the guys and be part of the team with them. I think they appreciate it, and they’re glad I’m out there with them.”

MORE: Timetable, coverage of Garage 56 project

Before Tuesday’s pit stop challenge, Kureczka said he had a fleeting wish that the Garage 56 Next Gen car had been equipped with air jacks to lift the car. The 36-year-old coach said that such a modification would make their technique even faster. “I’d like to try it their way without the jack because I feel like you know for the pit challenge coming up, man, we can definitely win that.”

Nearly 24 hours after that speculation about the team’s chances, Kureczka was clearing French bubbly from his eyes. The No. 24 pit crew had practiced 8-10 stops already that day, he said, and the final one — the one that mattered — was the cleanest of the day, checking in at 10.364 seconds behind three Hypercar entries and one in LMP2.

“All the hard work these guys put in, and to see them to see them reap the rewards of all the work they put in is just phenomenal,” Kureczka said on the walk back from the podium to the front of pit road, a victory march interrupted every few stalls for photos by fans and press. “So glad they had the chance to go up there and experience that and represent all of NASCAR. Goodyear, all our sponsors, America, so it’s phenomenal.”

Hendrick Motorsports pit development manager Evan Kureczka holds the pit sign at the Garage 56 pit stall during Sunday's test day at Le Mans
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Though the distinct roar of the NASCAR Garage 56 Chevrolet has earned global attention at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it was NASCAR’s over-the-wall athletes who took center stage — and a victory — on Tuesday.

The Hendrick Motorsports pit crew topped 16 competitors in the GTE class to win the Pit Stop Challenge, despite being the only team competing with a manual jack. The five-person crew changed four Goodyear Eagle tires in 10.364 seconds, edging Northwest AMR by 0.12 seconds. They finished fifth overall, just 0.3 seconds behind the top-finishing team.

RELATED: Photos from Le Mans | More Garage 56 coverage

“It was actually our fastest stop of the day, so I would say I was surprised but also very pleased,” said Hendrick Motorsports Pit Crew Coach Evan Kureczka. “You can tell the fans were very impressed with the fact that we were using a jack to jack the car up. You could see the smiles on their faces, we put on a great show for the fans.”

Even more impressive is the fact it was the team’s first time working together in a competition setting.

“Over the past eight months, we’ve put this team together, and we’ve rolled with them the entire time and knew this is what we were going to bring to Le Mans, but we had to get them up to speed together,” Kureczka said.

The crew includes Dawson Backus (front tire changer), Mike Moss (rear tire changer), Donovan Williams (jackman), Cody French (front tire carrier) and Jarius Morehead (rear tire carrier).  All five compete for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“This is a special moment to be able to represent Hendrick Motorsports, represent our families, America and NASCAR as a whole,” said Williams, the only jackman competing in the competition. “We just relied on our training, and it came into place instinctively. I think we all just went out there and performed and didn’t think too much.

“That’s what’s special about sports — we all come from athletic backgrounds and were able to lean on that when you talk about canceling out the crowd, locking in and being in the moment. It was a special moment, and we were able to capitalize.”

The Garage 56 project is a partnership between NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear — the winningest team, manufacturer and tire in the sport’s 75-year history. The Garage 56 Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will be driven by 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller in this weekend’s 100th anniversary running of the world-famous endurance race.

Posted on by Staff Report

Seekonk 150

Seekonk 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
3 Jake Johnson Boehler’s Racing Equipment Gregory Fournier Boehler Racing Propane Plus; Lin’s Propane Trucks
6 Woody Pitkat Mertz Racing Enterprises Mike Holmes Troyer Koopman Lumber
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 Bonsignore Performance Tools; Chalew Performance
25 Brian Robie Robie Motorsports LLC Scott Spaulding Troyer Maurice Enterprises
26 Max Zachem Lakeland 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 JB Fortin Racing Kenny Lechner FURY Race Cars A&R Materials, John’s Fuel Oil, Rapid Recovery, Queen Concrete, CYA Screen Printing
36 Dave Sapienza Judith Thilberg Greg Kleila LFR Sapienza Enterprises
46 Justin Brown Goodie Racing Doug Ogiejko Troyer Riverhead Building Supply
51 Justin Bonsignore Kenneth Massa Motorsports LLC Ryan Stone FURY Race Cars Phoenix Communications Inc.
60 Matt Hirschman Pee Dee Motorsports LLC Mike Stein LFR Elite Towing; Baker Racing
64 Austin Beers KLM Motorsports Ron Yuhas Troyer Dell Electric, Lumiere Electrical, Andrew James Interiors, AP Marquadt & Sons, Hughes Motors
79 Jon McKennedy Middlesex Racing LLC Dale Hedquist LFR Middlesex Interiors
82 Craig Lutz DWR Racing Corp. Ryan Barbieri LFR Horton Avenue Materials
92 Anthony Nocella Anthony Nocella Chris Burdell Chevrolet Nocella Paving; K and D Associates; Airgas
109 Tommy Wanick Wanick Construction Mike Odwazny Troyer Wanick Construction Inc.
Posted on by Adam Fenwick

With a quarter of the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season officially in the books, the Mod Squad shifts its focus to Seekonk Speedway this Saturday night for the running of the Seekonk 150.

The Seekonk 150 marks a return for the series to Seekonk Speedway after last visiting the track in 2019. It marks the 11th visit by the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour to the third-mile asphalt oval in Massachusetts.

Seekonk Speedway first welcomed the series in 1987, with Reggie Ruggiero outlasting Jimmy Spencer to secure the victory. The series didn’t return again until 2000, when Jerry Marquis visited Victory Lane. Other Tour winners at the track include Chris Kopec, Ed Flemke Jr., Chuck Hossfeld, Eric Beers, Timmy Solomito, Justin Bonsignore and two-time Seekonk winner Doug Coby.

Tickets to Saturday’s Seekonk 150 are available here. Below is everything you need to know about the sixth race of the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.

Seekonk 150 at Seekonk Speedway

What to watch for:

With five races now in the rearview for the stars of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, the battle at the top of the series standings is between Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore.

Silk, who won the opening race of the season at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway, leads the standings by three points ahead of Bonsingore, who triumphed in Race 4 at New York’s Riverhead Raceway.

Both should be considered contenders Saturday when the Whelen Modified Tour makes its return to Seekonk for the first time since 2019.

Doug Coby is also likely to be among the frontrunners Saturday. The Tommy Baldwin Racing driver is the most recent Tour winner at Seekonk and already has a victory this year, which came at New Hampshire’s Monadnock Speedway last month.

MORE SEEKONK: Watch on FloRacing | Get tickets

Matt Hirschman is still riding a wave of momentum following his victory in the most recent Tour event at New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway. He led laps in 2019 at Seekonk and will no doubt be in the mix when the green flag waves Saturday night.

Austin Beers will also be among those to watch Saturday. His father Eric Beers won his first Whelen Modified Tour race at Seekonk in 2005, and Austin would love to join his father as a Tour winner at the track.

Defending Tour champion Jon McKennedy will chase his first victory of the season Saturday at Seekonk alongside fellow 2022 race winners Anthony Nocella and Craig Lutz. One driver, Tommy Wanick, will be making his Whelen Modified Tour debut Saturday night.

The complete entry list for the Seekonk 150 is available here.

Action during the most recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Seekonk Speedway on June 1, 2019. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)

RACE FACTS

Race Seekonk 150
Date Saturday, June 10, 2023
Track Seekonk Speedway
Layout Third-mile asphalt oval
Location Seekonk, Massachusetts
Start Time 8 p.m. ET
Laps 150
Posted awards $81,600
Live stream FloRacing (Live)

Schedule: Saturday, June 10 … Final practice from 3 to 4 p.m. ET … Qualifying at 5:30 p.m. ET … Local racing at 6 p.m. ET … Seekonk 150 at 8 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 Seekonk 150 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 Staff Report

A 26th-place finish in Sunday’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway was not the result Alex Bowman and the No. 48 team wanted. However, with Bowman back full time following an injury, the team appears close to a breakthrough via it’s pit-road acumen — especially given Sunday’s performance.

RELATED: Gateway results

Spearheaded by Donnie Tasser (front changer), Andrew Bridgeforth (rear changer), Scott Riddle (tire carrier), Allen Holman (jackman) and Jacob Conley (fueler), the No. 48 team put on a stellar showing reminiscent of Richmond two months earlier. Let’s take a look.

In terms of average four-tire stop, Bowman’s No. 48 crew clocked out an average time of 9.743 seconds at Gateway, good enough for first on the year among all races. In fact, the mark stands out as the only time under 10 seconds for the duration of a race.

The only average four-tire stop time somewhat close is Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet. The No. 24 team established a swift pace in its own right via a 10.008-second average time during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Although Sunday’s on-track finish might not have been a preferable one, Bowman will look to capitalize on any sort of momentum. And if pit-road statistics are an indicator, perhaps the remedy will start from the pit box.

After all, each Hendrick Motorsports team — Bowman’s included — has shown a knack for thriving on brisk pit-road stops.

See below to analyze additional pit-road statistics through last weekend’s race at Gateway, courtesy of Racing Insights.

TEN FASTEST FOUR-TIRE PIT STOPS IN 2023

RankTrackDriverTime
1RichmondCorey LaJoie9.309 seconds
2CharlotteWilliam Byron9.383 seconds
3CharlotteTy Gibbs9.443 seconds
4CharlotteWilliam Byron9.504 seconds
5KansasBubba Wallace9.509 seconds
6CharlotteWilliam Byron9.541 seconds
t-7KansasTy Dillon9.543 seconds
t-7KansasDaniel Suárez9.543 seconds
t-9DarlingtonKevin Harvick9.576 seconds
t-9KansasJosh Berry (No. 48)9.576 seconds

BEST AVERAGE FOUR-TIRE PIT STOP TIMES IN 2023

Posted on by Adam Fenwick

After a hugely successful debut at Hickory Motor Speedway in 2022, the second running of the Jack Ingram Memorial is scheduled for Saturday night.

Held in honor of the late Jack Ingram, a three-time NASCAR Late Model Sportsman champion and two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, the event will feature some of the Southeast’s best Late Model Stock Car competitors battling for 111 laps and a $5,011 top prize.

STREAMING: Watch Saturday’s Jack Ingram Memorial live on FloRacing

Held for the first time last season, the event was won by current NASCAR Xfinity Series star Josh Berry in a car owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr.

A strong field is again expected to head to Hickory Motor Speedway to pursue a victory on Saturday night, including weekly stars like defending track champion Landon Huffman, Tyler Matthews and Kade Brown, among others.

Below is everything you need to know about the 2023 Jack Ingram Memorial at Hickory Motor Speedway.

Jack Ingram Memorial at Hickory Motor Speedway
Scenes from the Jack Ingram Memorial at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway on June 11, 2022. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

What TV channel is the Jack Ingram Memorial at Hickory Motor Speedway on in 2023?

All feature racing action from the 2023 Jack Ingram Memorial at Hickory Motor Speedway can be viewed live on FloRacing, the streaming home of all NASCAR Roots properties.

The race will not be shown on a television network.

Below is the complete schedule for coverage on FloRacing.

Date Start time How to watch
Saturday, June 10 7 p.m. ET FloRacing

2023 Jack Ingram Memorial schedule

This year’s event at Hickory is scheduled for Saturday, June 10. Below is the complete race-day schedule for the 2023 Jack Ingram Memorial.

(All times ET)

8 a.m. Sign In Begins
9:45 a.m. Pit Gates Open
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Optional Early Practice
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Late Model Pre-Tech Inspection
2 – 4:15 p.m. Practice
5 p.m. Qualifying
7 p.m. Feature Racing
Jack Ingram Memorial at Hickory Motor Speedway
Josh Berry and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Victory Lane after Berry’s victory in the Jack Ingram Memorial at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway on June 11, 2022. (Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

Entry list

A complete entry list for the Jack Ingram Memorial has not been released by track officials, but the event is expected to feature some of the top Late Model Stock Car racers from across the Southeast.

That includes defending Hickory track champion Landon Huffman, who has one victory this season at the historic 0.363-mile asphalt oval.

Kade Brown, who captured the track championship at South Carolina’s Florence Motor Speedway last season, is also expected to be in action, as well as current Hickory championship leader Tyler Matthews.

Posted on by Brandon White

Berlin Raceway has always been a special place for Erik Jones.

The two-time Southern 500 winner not only obtained his lone ARCA Menards Series triumph at the facility in 2013, but he has also claimed two consecutive victories in the Battle at Berlin, one of the track’s crown-jewel races of each season.

On Wednesday evening, Jones will look to claim his first victory in Berlin’s prestigious Money in the Bank 150, which would carry extra significance for the NASCAR Cup Series veteran as he gets more acclimated to overseeing his own Super Late Model.

“This is still a pretty new car for me,” Jones said. “We built it over the offseason, and [Wednesday will] be the second start on it for us, so I’m looking forward to learning more about it and getting it better. This is a nice car and one that I’ve been excited to get racing. It’s going to be a strong field, and I’ll get to race against a lot of guys that I raced with years ago.”

STREAMING: Watch Wednesday’s MITB 150 live on FloRacing

Jones’ initial rise through the Super Late Model ranks was crucial toward his eventually earning a full-time Cup Series ride.

After accumulating several wins as a teenager during the early 2010s, Jones caught the attention of the motorsports community in the 2012 Snowball Derby with an efficient performance that saw him lead a race-high 124 laps and win against drivers like Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Grant Enfinger, John Hunter Nemechek and many more.

Within a year, Jones found himself in a driver development deal with Kyle Busch Motorsports, all while he proceeded to win numerous other prestigious Super Late Model events, including another Snowball Derby in 2013 and three consecutive Winchester 400s from 2013-15.

All the track time Jones recorded when he was younger helped him find a competitive rhythm in Super Late Models that eventually carried over into the Cup Series. But he also credited his success in the discipline to the fast cars prepared by the teams with which he’s competed.

Now that race weekends for the Cup Series are more condensed following the COVID-19 pandemic, Jones has more freedom to participate in Super Late Model events of his choosing. Transitioning back into Super Late Models has not been easy for Jones, who is impressed by the competitive depth prevalent in the discipline today.

“It’s been a challenge getting back into [Super Late Models],” Jones said. “The cars have changed a lot with so many different rules compared to when I first started racing. Everybody now has pretty good stuff, but I’ve been figuring things out. We ran a few races last year and won one of those, so I want to keep doing some more going forward.”

In the early 2010s, Erik Jones was one of the most efficient Super Late Model drivers in the country with two Snowball Derby wins and three Winchester 400 victories. (Photo: NASCAR)

Among the races Jones competed in last year included the Money in the Bank 150 and the Battle at Berlin, scoring finishes of 10th and third, respectively.

Jones anticipated a learning curve with his own Super Late Model in both of Berlin’s crown jewel events. The storied facility always posed a challenge for Jones when he was younger because of its design and the loyal group of competitors that race there every weekend.

“[Berlin] is by far one of the most unique places I’ve ever raced on as far as ovals go,” Jones said. “It has a unique shape. The surface is abrasive and slick, so it never has a lot of grip. You’re running down on the apron off [Turn] 4 and [Turns 1 and 2] are a big sweeping turn where you have to focus on your exit.

“It’s tough, and the local guys there are always hard to beat.”

RELATED: Everything to know about the 2023 MITB 150

Headlining the talented group of track regulars Jones will have to contest with Wednesday is defending track champion Evan Shotko, who also won the most recent edition of the Battle at Berlin.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Carson Hocevar is also on the preliminary entry list; he’s a Berlin track champion and two-time Money in the Bank 150 winner. Other notable names include Super Late Model veteran Bubba Pollard, along with Sean Hingorani, Gio Ruggiero and Kyle Busch’s Cup Series spotter Derek Kneeland.

A talented field of cars is only one of Jones’ worries, as he will have to strike a perfect balance between being conservative and aggressive with his tires over 150 laps so he can be in contention for a win at the end of the night.

Jones admittedly prefers longer Super Late Model events due to all the different strategy aspects associated with them, but he plans to be more aggressive in Wednesday’s Money in the Bank 150 compared to last year.

“The [Battle at Berlin] is definitely more of an endurance race,” Jones said. “You’re saving a lot more in that race just trying to get to the end. The track also changes a lot from day to night, whereas [the Money in the Bank 150] is a pretty quick race.

“It goes by quick, so you’ve got to push a little bit harder.”

With two Battle at Berlin victories on his resume, Erik Jones will chase his first Money in the Bank 150 victory with his own car. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

With plenty of experience on his side in both short tracks and NASCAR, Jones has high aspirations for his Super Late Model program and expects to take another step forward during the Money in the Bank 150.

Jones is enjoying every moment of being a team owner in the discipline that helped define him as a driver. He admitted taking home a checkered flag in front of his home crowd in his own car would be a highlight in a career already filled with numerous accomplishments.

“[Winning] would be cool for me since this is my car,” Jones said. “Any time you can win a Super race now is a great feeling. They are harder to win than ever with the fields being so tight. For me, winning with my own car and my own guys would be one I’d remember for a long time.”

Following the Money in the Bank 150, Jones plans to take his car to the Slinger Nationals before heading back to Michigan in August for the Battle at Berlin, where he will look to tally another victory at one of his favorite tracks.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio during his weekly appearance that the sanctioning body will not suspend or penalize Austin Cindric for Sunday’s wreck with Austin Dillon.

Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford connected with the right rear of Dillon’s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet late in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Worldwide Technology Raceway while battling for 12th place. The contact sent Dillon into the No. 47 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Cindric would finish 13th in the race, with Dillon and Stenhouse slipping to 31st and 32nd, respectively.

RELATED: Full race results

“We didn’t see anything that really would rise to a level that would be a suspension or a penalty,” Sawyer said. “It looked like hard racing. One car coming up a little bit and another car going down. …

“As we said last week, we take these incidents very seriously when we see cars that are turned head-on into another car or head-on into the wall. I spent a lot of time (Monday) looking at that, looking at all the data, looking at TV footage and just deemed this one really hard racing.”

The on-track incident received extra scrutiny Monday, especially following NASCAR’s one-race suspension of Chase Elliott the week prior. The sanctioning body ruled Elliott intentionally wrecked Denny Hamlin at Charlotte Motor Speedway, sitting the Hendrick Motorsports driver for one week as a result.

Dillon had called for a similar penalty on Cindric after being checked and released from the infield care center, saying: “I was wrecked intentionally by (Cindric), hooked right … he better be suspended next week.”

Cindric disagreed with Dillon’s assessment, according to the Team Penske driver’s social media post:

And as Sawyer said, the data did not indicate this incident should rise to the level of a penalty or suspension.

Sawyer also said NASCAR officials would meet with Dillon and Cindric ahead of Sonoma weekend.