Following in his father’s footsteps, Hunter Waltrip claims first Langley Speedway championship

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Cara Cooper

Hunter Waltrip’s Super Trucks championship this season at Virginia’s Langley Speedway felt almost like it was destined to happen from the start.

The championship, the first of his career, came 20 years after his dad, Brian Waltrip, won a Mini-Trucks Series title at Langley – a NASCAR-sanctioned paved oval in Hampton, Virginia.

Brian started racing go karts when Hunter was young, and eventually moved up to trucks. Hunter would go with him every now and then, but never raced himself. Brian got out of the sport completely a few years after winning his championship in 2002.

In 2018, Hunter had graduated from the NASCAR Technical Institute, located in Mooresville, North Carolina, and was helping his dad’s old engine builder, Dean Case. Hunter went to a race and saw the same type of cars his dad used to race when he was younger.

“I started talking to some drivers and one of them said, ‘You’re Brian Waltrip’s son?’,” Hunter said. “He said, ‘I’ve got a spare car, I want to put you in it.’ And that was just huge to me. I didn’t think I would ever be able to drive, ever. It just wasn’t in the cards for me.

“And I did and I finished very well. I started in the very back and finished on the lead lap. I knew right then and there, I want to do this. So I bought that car from him and won two poles that season.”

The next season, Hunter picked up his first victory. That’s when the opportunity came for him to buy a truck – just like his dad raced – and start working with Case to build the engine for it.

Hunter got better and better each season, but considered quitting before the start of this season. Case passed away last December.

“I said, I’m not even in the mood to race,” Hunter said. “That guy brought me into the whole racing scene. My dad and him. I said I don’t even want to do it.

“My crew chief, who was best friends with my engine builder, he came into my shop one night. We had the truck with the tarp over it. He said, ‘Look you’re not going to get anywhere sulking about it. Nothing is going to bring him back. But I think what we should do is accept the real challenge and go for gold. Let’s go for a championship this year.’”

Hunter, Brian, and their team “went for broke,” he said, in Case’s memory. The first race of the season they took the pole and the checkered flag.

“We just went for gold in his honor,” Hunter said. “Busted our butts all year just trying to get the best we could out of our truck.

“Just the way the points worked we finished up front consistently and squeezed out a championship this year.”

Waltrip finished the season with three wins and won the Super Truck title by 16 points.

Hunter’s final win of the season was his most special. Case used to keep a running tally on the threshold of the door to his garage every time one of his race engines won a race. When he passed away, the number was 197.

Between Hunter and another driver at Dominion Raceway, they were able to get the final three. Hunter’s last win of the season was the 200th for a Case-built engine.

“A lot of really neat things fell into place this year that we did not think was going to happen,” Hunter said. “We are just ecstatic.”

“It’s just special,” Brian said. “Especially with us losing Caseman, and him building my engines as well. Everybody is just motivated again because we’re involved in something that we all used to love so much, and now we’re back into it. Everybody is just motivated, pitching in, doing what they can to help. It’s awesome.”

Hunter getting into racing brought his family closer together, and gave him a second family at the race track. After Brian retired from the sport, Hunter said it was “nothing but work,” for the both of them. Brian’s trophies went into the attic, and his career behind the wheel became a thing of the past.

“Then when I came up I was like, ‘Hey, I want to get into racing. Can I have y’alls help?” Hunter said.

“When Hunter came along … I was worried at first, but I said, it’s either you’ve got it or you don’t,” Brian said. “And he’s got it. He’s got the driving ability. When I watch him drive it reminds me of when I was driving. That just makes it more special.”

Hunter’s team now is a blend of his friends and Brian’s old crew. Even his grandfather comes to shop from time to time. The whole Waltrip family is involved, both on Saturdays at the track and on Sundays, when they all pile into the family barn to watch film of the race from the night before and discuss strategy for how to get better.

“I’m so thankful to have that because we have a huge family and family is everything to us,” Hunter said. “It’s really cool that racing brought my family back together. We’re talking to family members we haven’t talked to in 10 years because they’ve just been busy with their lives and all, and now they’re coming to races to help us in the pits.

“That’s what it means to me is bringing the family back together, and we’re doing it 20 years to the year that everything fell together for him, and it just so happened to fall into place for us.”

Another member of Hunter’s family is also always by his side in the pits – his dog, Blainy. Hunter got her last year on a race weekend, and she sat in the truck the entire night.

“Every time I go to the track she goes with me,” Hunter said. “That dog’s got more fans than I do, I’ll put it that way.”

Hunter came into the 2022 season with extra motivation for many reasons. But what keeps him even more motivated for the future is continuing to fill his dad’s big shoes.

More than winning, though, he goes to the track every week for happiness he didn’t know he could find.

“I’ve found when I’ve got the truck and trailer behind me and I pull into the race track, I just go into a whole other state of happiness,” he said. “I don’t think about work. I don’t think about stress. I don’t think about anything else other than, we’re going to have a really good day, no matter what happens. We’re going to have fun. I’m here doing what I love with the people that I love doing what they love doing. It’s another mindset. I just don’t think about anything else.”

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Brandon White

Entering Sunday afternoon, Derek Thorn had led a combined 539 laps during his last two Snowball Derby appearances.

Yet on both occasions, Thorn had to settle for second.

The two-time ARCA Menards Series West champion successfully channeled his frustration from the last two years to put together one of the most dominant performances of his career, leading 307 of 318 laps from the outside pole earn his first Snowball Derby victory.

Checking one of the most prestigious short track events in the United States off his bucket list in his 10th appearance proved to be both a cathartic and emotional moment for Thorn.

“It took a minute,” Thorn said. “This was my final race with [Campbell Motorsports] and it’s been a hell of a 10-year journey. It’s been tough, but what better way to end my last race [with these guys] than being a Snowball Derby champion.”

RELATED: Career stats for Derek Thorn

The last three years have seen Campbell Motorsports annually bring one of the fastest cars to Five Flags Speedway for the Snowball Derby, with Thorn earning the pole for each of those races.

While Thorn was unable to claim the pole this year, it took less than a lap for him to overtake polesitter and NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor Josh Berry for the lead. Once he had control, Thorn proceeded to set his own blistering pace for most of the afternoon.

As the race was hindered by several late cautions, Thorn could not help but flashback to 2020 and 2021, when two stellar performances were undone. Those races would ultimately be won by Ty Majeski and Chandler Smith.

Seeing 2022 ARCA Menards Series East champion Sammy Smith dive underneath him on two separate restarts did little to quell Thorn’s apprehension.

“We had plenty of restarts at the end for something to go wrong,” Thorn said. “I saw [Sammy Smith] go three-wide into Turn 1 and I thought ‘oh man, not again.’”

Two-time ARCA Menards Series West champion Derek Thorn won the Snowball Derby in his tenth appearance. (Photo: NASCAR)

Despite the aggression from Smith and fellow Super Late Model standout Stephen Nasse, Thorn maintained his composure and held off the field to formally put a bow on what had been a long and arduous process to reach Victory Lane during the Snowball Derby.

For Smith, he wanted nothing more than to conclude his stellar 2022 campaign with a Snowball Derby triumph, but was unwilling to do anything that would take him or others out of contention during the final restarts.

“I thought we were really good all day,” Smith said. “We put on some tires but got a little too tight. I thought [that last restart] was my only shot, but I thought if I hit [Thorn] that I would take him out. It was a pretty good weekend even though we struggled really bad early. Hopefully we’ll be good next year.”

Thorn admitted his victory Sunday allowed him to fully appreciate what he and Campbell Motorsports have done to be fully prepared for the Snowball Derby. It all culminated in a complete weekend during the Snowball Derby for Campbell Motorsports, which is set to cease operations once the haulers depart Five Flags Speedway.

While the circumstances surrounding his triumph are bittersweet, Thorn has been grateful for his time at Campbell Motorsports and intends to keep their legacy alive as he looks to pursue another Snowball Derby crown in 2023.

“This is something special,” Thorn said. “We were here for 10 days, and we’ve done this for so many years. [I couldn’t do this] without them. I honestly didn’t think we’d be able to beat our 289-lap record from last year, but what a day.”

Nasse finished behind Thorn and Smith in third, with Casey Roderick and Cole Butcher rounding out the Top 5. NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron finished sixth with Jake Garcia, Jace Hansen, Jacob Gomes and Majeski completing the Top 10.

Berry ended up behind the wall in 25^th after a late crash. Other notable names that competed in the Snowball Derby included Derek Kraus (19^th), Noah Gragson (20^th), Jesse Love (27^th), Corey Heim (28^th) and Erik Jones (33^rd).

Brad Keselowski also attempted to qualify for the Snowball Derby, but wasn’t fast enough in qualifying and didn’t advance into the event via Saturday’s last chance race.

Posted on December 4, 2022December 5, 2022 by Staff Report

Grammy-nominated Latino American hip-hop group Cypress Hill will take the stage in Los Angeles, performing a pre-race concert at the 2023 Busch Light Clash, FOX revealed during Sunday’s NFL broadcast.

Cypress Hill, a group native to California, features — Louis “B-Real” Freese, Senen “Sen Dog” Reyes, Eric “Bobo” Correa (formerly of Beastie Boys) and DJ Lord (Public Enemy/Prophets of Rage) — who have been performing all over the world since the late 1980s and continue to headline major festivals. The group was founded in 1988 with famous Italian American DJ Muggs teaming up with “Sen Dog” and “B-Real.”

MORE: Buy Clash tickets now | Full schedule for 2023

The group will entertain the crowd with many of their award-winning hits leading up to the second-ever NASCAR race inside the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

“What a tremendous addition to the 2023 Busch Light Clash,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s senior vice president for racing development and strategy. “Cypress Hill are cultural icons, not only in Los Angeles but around the world. We can’t wait for them to perform for our fans during this historic event.”

Cypress Hill became the first Latino American hip-hop recording group to reach platinum status. Their second studio album, “Black Sunday” released in 1993 with the hit song “Insane in the Brain,” earned the band the highest Soundscan recording for a rap group at the time. In addition to the tones of ’90s hip-hop, Cypress Hill incorporated many Spanish and Latin American influences into their sound, becoming a revolutionary favorite among West Coast music fans. Their historic success landed the group a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019, becoming the first hip-hop group to accomplish the feat.

“NASCAR drivers have the mentality of taking it to the limit on every lap, and we take the same approach with our music,” said Cypress Hill co-founder Sen Dog. “We’re excited to have NASCAR return to our backyard, and we look forward to bringing some South Gate style to all of the NASCAR fans at the LA Coliseum.”

The versatile musicians also bridged a classic hip-hop style with an alternative rock vibe, collaborating with notable artists like Sonic Youth and Pearl Jam among many others. They have also toured alongside Ice Cube, who performed at the inaugural Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.

PHOTOS: Inaugural Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum

Reigning champion Joey Logano raced his way to the checkered flag in LA to start the 2022 campaign, marking the first time the Clash event was held away from Daytona International Speedway. Next year’s exhibition at the 0.25-mile track inside the world-class venue is scheduled for Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. ET broadcast on FOX and the FOX Sports App. Radio coverage will also be provided on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Stay tuned to NASCAR.com for more information on the Busch Light Clash, including other celebrities participating in the headline event.

Posted on December 4, 2022December 7, 2022 by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

Monday, Dec. 5
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: 2022 Truck Season Recap, FS1
10:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: 75 Years of Racing, FS2
11:30 p.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS2

Thursday, Dec. 8
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive 2022 (re-air), FS1
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Features 2022 (re-air), FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: 2022 Truck Season Recap (re-air), FS1

Friday, Dec. 9
1:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS2
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS2
3:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: 75 Years of Racing (re-air), FS2
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Boundless: Betty Skelton (re-air), FS2
5:30 a.m., NASCAR RaceHub 2022 Championship Show (re-air), FS2

Saturday, Dec. 10
10 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS2
11 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS2

Posted on December 2, 2022 by Marcus DiNitto

While a perusal of the odds to win the 2023 Cup Series championship supports the notion that NASCAR has gone a long way toward achieving the parity it sought with the Next Gen car, a top professional bettor anticipates a shift back in the other direction next year.

After a 2022 season that saw a record-tying 19 different winners, the 2023 futures board is bloated at the top. At the market-marking Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson both opened at +700 odds, and following that Hendrick Motorsports duo, there are 10 – 10! – drivers all offered at +1200.

Here is a partial list of drivers’ odds to win the title next November at Phoenix Raceway posted at the Westgate and Barstool Sportsbook.

Driver	SuperBook	Barstool
Chase Elliott	+700	+500
Kyle Larson	+700	+650
Joey Logano	+1200	+900
Denny Hamlin	+1200	+900
Christopher Bell	+1200	+1100
Ryan Blaney	+1200	+1100
Ross Chastain	+1200	+1100
William Byron	+1200	+1200
Tyler Reddick	+1200	+1200
Martin Truex Jr	+1200	+1400
Kyle Busch	+1200	+1400
Kevin Harvick	+1200	+2000
Chase Briscoe	+2500	+2500
Bubba Wallace	+2500	+4000
Alex Bowman	+2500	+2000
Daniel Suárez	+4000	+3300
Ty Gibbs	+6000	+2500

Should this pricing be interpreted as not even the oddsmakers having a clue as to what will transpire next year?

“One hundred percent,” admitted Ed Salmons, vice president of risk management at the Westgate and the sports betting industry’s most influential NASCAR bookmaker.

“You know that the two Hendrick guys are going to be decent. The rest, I have no idea, especially with Kyle (Busch) switching teams (to Richard Childress Racing), Reddick going to (23XI Racing),” Salmons told NASCAR.com this week. “It’s just so much unknown.”

But Zack White, who has been betting NASCAR professionally for over 15 years and loves to get down on some futures action, believes that with a season of Next Gen experience, the cream will again rise to the top.

“NASCAR futures handicapping for the 2022 season was like no other season I’ve seen,” White said in a text message. “…You had all teams no matter how big or small getting a car that shared 95% identical parts and setups, and it was the tightest the playing field has ever been. This created a ton of futures value with teams that had historically been viewed as 2nd or 3rd tier. But since those teams (had) drivers with talent and now had equipment as good as anyone else, it made them just as competitive as the historical top-tier teams.

“I predict that the 2023 season will be a lot different,” White continued. “While everyone was in the same boat and learning on the fly for 2022, these teams have had over a year to shake this new car down and play with it. And I think we will see a shift back to a handful of teams with superior chances each week. Those will be the teams with the biggest R&D budgets, the best engineers and the most experienced team members. And also the really talented drivers.”

Salmons agrees with the sentiment that some teams will have things figured out heading into the season, but while there’s value to be found on the futures board, finding that value isn’t easy.

“You would think now that they’ve had a year to digest the car that someone will jump ahead next year,” Salmons said. “I don’t know who it’s going to be, but someone usually finds some tricks and starts to jump ahead.”

Betting also open on Daytona 500

Shortly after hanging odds to win the next season’s title, Salmons opened wagering on the 2023 Daytona 500.

Here are odds to win the Great American Race for drivers priced at +2500 or shorter at the SuperBook.

Driver	Odds
Chase Elliott	+1200
Ryan Blaney	+1200
Denny Hamlin	+1400
Joey Logano	+1400
Ross Chastain	+1600
William Byron	+1600
Kyle Larson	+1600
Bubba Wallace	+1600
Austin Cindric	+1600
Brad Keselowski	+1600
Michael McDowell	+2500
Kevin Harvick	+2500
Tyler Reddick	+2500
Daniel Suárez	+2500

MORE: Daytona 500 winner history

Head-to-head driver matchups, group matchups, and winning manufacturer are also available at the Las Vegas bet shop.

The latter-most category has Chevrolet the +125 favorite, Ford priced at +160, and Toyota +345.

Salmons indicated he’s written “small bets, little stuff” on his early futures odds from “tourists, no sharp money.”

The Daytona 500 is the market of greater betting interest.

“Daytona always gets more action,” Salmons said.

Marcus DiNitto is Senior News Editor at Gaming Today. He’s been covering sports business for 24 years and sports betting for 11. NASCAR is among the many sports Marcus enjoys betting but often loses on. Follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.

Posted on December 2, 2022November 27, 2023 by Staff Report

Editor’s note: With Champion’s Week in Nashville ongoing, NASCAR.com will look back at every playoff round of the 2022 season in all three national series.

CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: At Phoenix Raceway, Nov. 5

Chris Graythen | Getty Images

WINNER: Ty Gibbs

KEY HIGHLIGHTS: The battle for the 2022 Xfinity Series title was a tightly-contested one with Ty Gibbs battling three JR Motorsports competitors in Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier and Josh Berry. On the final restart, Gibbs got the edge over Allgaier and while Gragson charged near Gibbs in the closing laps, he couldn’t find a way around the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas as Gibbs snagged his first championship.

RACE RECAP: Gibbs holds off hard charge from Gragson to win first title

AT-TRACK PHOTOS: 2022 NASCAR Championship weekend

CHAMPIONSHIP 4 ORDER OF FINISH: Ty Gibbs (1st), Noah Gragson (2nd), Justin Allgaier (3rd), Josh Berry (13th)

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Reid Spencer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that deuces were wild Thursday night at the Music City Center, where NASCAR honored the champions of its top three national series at the annual NASCAR Awards.

Headlining the event was 2022 NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford. The title was Logano’s second, following the championship he won for team owner Roger Penske in 2018.

Logano also made a two-time winner of crew chief Paul Wolfe, who earned his first title a decade earlier while on the pit box for Brad Keselowski.

Logano won two of the 10 playoff races—the first Round of 8 race at Las Vegas to guarantee a spot in the Championship 4, as well as the race that decided the title, the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix.

The 2022 champion ended the season with four wins in addition to his victory at the exhibition Clash at the Coliseum, the competitive debut of NASCAR’s new Next Gen Cup race car.

“22 in ’22,” Logano said, repeating the motto that had driven his race team throughout the season.

Introduced by friend and IndyCar legend Mario Andretti, Logano paid homage to his team owner and his parents.

“Mom, Dad… Letting me chase my dreams means so much,” said Logano, 32.

He congratulated Penske for winning both the Cup Series and IndyCar championships in the same season.

“That’s never happened before, guys,” said Logano, who ended his speech with advice for young drivers.

“Coming from a guy that has made plenty mistakes in front of a lot of people… plenty of them still remind me of my mistakes,” said Logano, the youngest driver to win a Cup race at 19 years, 35 days. “No regrets.

“I challenge you to take risks, make the big moves, stand up for what’s right. Because it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about winning and growing. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.”

Penske described Logano as “the leader on the track and off the track. Obviously, we’ve signed him up for five more years.”

Wolfe was just as effusive in his praise.

“Joey—he’s the guy that motivates us all,” said Wolfe, who contrasted his first championship with Keselowski with the current title.

“Ten years ago… that first one was so early in my career I didn’t know any better,” Wolfe said.

In addition to recognizing the accomplishments of each of the 16 playoff drivers, the NASCAR Awards also honored NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Ty Gibbs and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Zane Smith.

Gibbs won the Xfinity Series title at Phoenix, picking up his seventh victory of the season in the process. But hours later, Gibbs’ father, Coy Gibbs, passed away in his sleep at age 49.

When Ty Gibbs took the stage at the Music City Center, he was greeted with a standing ovation.

“Wow! Thank you. It means a lot,” Gibbs said. “Thank you for all the claps. Thank you for all the support. I really appreciate it.”

Team owner Joe Gibbs, Ty’s grandfather, echoed the sentiment.

“Thanks so much for the way you’ve reached out in these last few weeks for our family,” Joe Gibbs said.

Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing development and strategy, introduced Smith with high praise.

“At such a young age (23), one can’t help but feel like we’re watching a future NASCAR superstar writing the beginning of his story,” Kennedy said.

Smith’s parents were in Phoenix to watch the driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford win his fourth race of the season and the accompanying title.

“I’m still not sure if my mom was more excited to see me win or get a picture with Jeff Gordon after the race since she’s always told me that was her dream,” Smith quipped. “So, I’m happy we were both able to accomplish our dreams that night.”

Ralph Maccarone was honored as the winner of the prestigious Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. In 2012, Maccarone founded Who We Play For to inspire and empower schools, sports clubs and communities to provide heart screenings for all student-athletes and students.

Team owner Justin Marks, who fields cars for Playoff drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez, was honored with the Myers Brothers Award for outstanding contributions to stock car racing. Marks’ Trackhouse Racing enjoyed a breakout season, with Chastain winning twice and Suárez once—and Chastain leaving an indelible mark on the sport with his eye-popping high-speed trip around the Martinsville wall to earn a spot in the Championship 4.

For the fifth straight year, Chase Elliott won the NMPA Most Popular Driver Award, the only significant honor in the sport determined solely by fan vote. Elliott’s father, Bill Elliott, won the award a record 16 times. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was voted Most Popular Driver for 15 seasons.

Noah Gragson was the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Most Popular Driver, and Hailie Deegan earned the honor in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Jes Ferreira from CSM Production was honored as the winner of the Comcast Community Champion of the Year award for her commitment as the single parent of two adopted children.

Posted on December 1, 2022December 2, 2022 by Staff Report

For the fifth year in a row, Chase Elliott is the man of the people as he is the winner of the 2022 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Most Popular Driver Award in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The 2020 Cup champion becomes just the fifth driver to win the award five or more times in NASCAR’s premier series, joining the likes of Richard Petty (8x), Bobby Allison (8x), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (15x) and Chase’s father, Bill (16x).

It’s the seventh time Elliott has been awarded the Most Popular Driver as he won the Xfinity honor twice.

“For me, obviously, I came into a very fortunate situation,” Elliott said after a moment of recognition on the NASCAR Awards stage as a member of this year’s Championship 4. “Dad had a great connection with the fans, and beyond him, I look at the connection as really an extension of his career and my uncles and my grandfather and just kind of the path and the work ethic that they had to be able to get to where they did and to achieve the goals they did.

“And I think a lot of people really connected with them because of their approach and how they went about things and they were a little different than the rest, and I think that was very easily recognizable to the fans. And for me, look, I get it, right? I completely understand that a lot of the folks that supported them and my family over the years have migrated to support me. I’m grateful for it, grateful for the other side of the fence as well, and grateful for the new fans that I feel like I’ve made along the way, too.”

Elliott also said that he enjoyed the tongue-in-check attack ads on social media from close friend Ryan Blaney, who ramped up the competition for the annual award.

“It was a complete surprise to me,” said Elliott, who denied that he eats his chicken wings with a fork and knife in some playful back-and-forth with Blaney during Thursday’s awards program. “I had no idea that he was doing anything, but I thought it was funny. I got a pretty good laugh out of it. The second one was my favorite one. I can’t remember what it was, but I think he put out three, whichever one was in the middle. I told him I was like, ‘all right, that was pretty good.’ So it was fun, but I gave him a hard time out there about it. And I don’t know, we might try to come up with something fun to get him back with, I’m sure at some point down the road. Now I know, it’s fair game.”

After a historic season with eight wins – matching Sam Ard’s four-race consecutive victories record and owning one of the most colorful personalities in the sport – Noah Gragson won Most Popular Driver in the Xfinity Series. It’s the first time he’s earned the honor at the Xfinity level, beating out Justin Allgaier, who won the award the last three years.

Gragson won the Truck Series Most Popular Driver award in 2018.

Hailie Deegan took home this year’s Most Popular Driver award in the Truck Series. It’s the second time in a row she’s earned the honor after becoming the first woman in the series to earn the award last season, along with being just the second woman all-time to win Most Popular Driver.

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Staff Report

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Justin Marks was announced as the winner of the 2022 National Motorsports Press Association’s (NMPA) Myers Brothers Award during the 2022 NASCAR Awards in Nashville.

Marks, 41, is co-owner of Trackhouse Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. However, his time in the NASCAR world has transcended beyond the formalities of owning a team that provided plenty of highlights during the 2022 season. Marks has additionally been behind the wheel in all three national series and the ARCA Racing Series, dating back to 2005. Marks holds additional experience in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), competing multiple times in the prestigious Rolex 24.

The Myers Brothers Award is voted on each year by the NMPA. The award recognizes individuals and/or groups that have provided outstanding contributions to stock car racing. The award is named after Billy and Bob Myers. The award has been presented annually since 1958.

Motorsports broadcaster Bob Jenkins was the posthumous winner of the 2021 Myers Brothers Award. Jenkins, an ESPN broadcaster in the NASCAR booth from 1979-2000, passed away in August of 2021 at the age of 73 after a battle against brain cancer.

Five nominees made up the ticket for the 2022 NMPA Myers Brothers Award. Marks, Rodney Childers, Kurt Busch, Goodyear and Speedway Motorsports rounded out the voting candidates.

Posted on December 1, 2022December 5, 2022 by Reid Spencer

Even in the immediate moments after Ross Chastain finished out the 2022 championship finale — finishing runner-up to new NASCAR Cup Series champ Joey Logano in the race – the 29-year-old Floridian insisted he was absolutely thrilled with the season.

The driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet earned his first two career NASCAR Cup Series victories (at Circuit of The Americas and Talladega Superspeedway) and was a legitimate championship threat the entire season from Daytona to Phoenix.

And, when he had to do something drastic to earn one of only four championship berths in the Phoenix title race, Chastain performed a move on the last half of the last lap at Martinsville Speedway to take that position. Still needing to make up positions on the final lap, he turned his Chevy into the outside wall and floored it – riding the wall and passing five cars to earn the final Playoff transfer position by a single-point over veteran Denny Hamlin and setting a track record in his wake.

Although Logano dominated the season finale en route to his second series title, Chastain secured career-highs in wins (2), top-fives (15) and top-10s (21). He led 692 laps in 2022 after leading only 76 laps in his previous five years racing in the series.

It all made for quite the “Cinderella story” for a young driver in his first year with a competitive team in NASCAR’s premier series – a racer from tiny Alva, Florida where his family operates a watermelon farm starring on the world stage.

Yet, Chastain said with a smile Thursday, his return home to his Florida farm property in the weeks immediately after the season was a lot less glamorous than many would have expected. He acknowledged, however, his work in 2022 raised the interest level of those he grew up with and has absolutely gained a lot of fans thanks to his performance all season and certainly with his “Martinsville Miracle.”

Chastain was with his younger brother Chad Chastain at a race recently – helping work on the car and then spotting for Chad during the race. He said he appreciated the number of people approaching him for attaboys and handshakes even if he had to remind them, he was working the race. He still hasn’t had a chance to read or even answer all the texts he’s received post-Martinsville.

Back at home in rural Southwestern Florida, however, Chastain is afforded the chance to relax and take it all in.

“It’s just home so people that I know were just like, great season, let’s go to lunch,” Chastain recalled with a smile. “Nothing too crazy. They want to talk about Martinsville and talk a little about the win at COTA and Talladega, but pretty normal. It’s the most normal of any place I go.”

Eleventh-hour dramatics may have hurt Christopher Bell in season finale

With two victories in must-win situations in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Christopher Bell stole his share of headlines and earned a spot in the Championship 4.

But his last-minute heroics — particularly in the Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville Speedway — may have put the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at a disadvantage compared with series champion Joey Logano, who won the first Round of 8 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and had two extra weeks to prepare for the Championship Race at Phoenix.

“That’s very interesting, because I had the exact same circumstances in my two Xfinity years,” said Bell, who competed for the NASCAR Xfinity Series title in 2018 and 2019. “My first year I didn’t make it till the last race at Phoenix, and then in my second year, I won the first race at Texas.

“It definitely changes your mindset and your preparation for the event. Joey had multiple weeks to prepare for that event (the season finale). The car, I’m assuming, was sitting there getting all the Phoenix tune-up on it, where our car … I don’t know … I definitely did not think it was a disadvantage for him to be able to focus on that for a number of weeks.”

Winning at Martinsville, however, had its own rewards for Bell — not the least of which is the grandfather clock trophy that goes with the victory.

“The house that I live in, we’ve just tried to keep my special trophies there, and the Martinsville clock is one that got to (be there),” Bell said.

Ryan Blaney is making a list and checking it twice—with his crew chief

After two enjoyable weeks in the offseason, Ryan Blaney was eager to return to racing. Because he’s not scheduled for any offseason testing, however, the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford won’t be back in his car until February.

That doesn’t mean Blaney can’t work on ways to improve from a season where he qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on points and finished eighth in the final standings.

“I make a list at the end of the year,” Blaney said. “OK, what did we do well? What did we struggle with? And like what are your goals to get better? What do you really want to improve?

“Me and (crew chief) Jonathan (Hassler) sat down last week and went through our list of notes, and like where do we want to get better and improve at, and what did we do well and can still build off of?

“That stuff to me is always really helpful. You look back on the year, and you’re like, ‘Well, we screwed up in this situation. Let’s jot that down and let’s try to figure out a different way. If that comes up again, let’s change it.’”

One race Blaney would like to change is the season-opening Daytona 500, where he had a chance to win on the last lap but finished fourth as rookie teammate Austin Cindric took the checkered flag.

“The one that stings the most is the 500, because we’ve been so close to that thing for years,” Blaney said. “That one stings the most, but I try to get over that stuff really quick.”