Greg Ives reflects on family, decision to step away from crew chief role: ‘It comes down to timing’

Posted on November 13, 2022 by Zach Sturniolo

Greg Ives is known publicly as one of the quiet leaders among the sport’s top-level crew chiefs.

Get him talking about family, though, and it’s a different story.

In his final season atop the pit box of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team, Ives spoke at length with NASCAR.com about — well, everything: from family to future grandchildren to why he’s leaving an established job as crew chief at NASCAR’s winningest team on his own volition.

MORE: Ives steps down after 2022 | 2023 Cup Series schedule

Ives, a Hendrick employee since 2004, marched through his 16th season in NASCAR in 2022, a year that challenged him and driver Alex Bowman despite a March victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The year was a success overall, qualifying for the playoffs together for the fifth consecutive season and winning for the fourth straight year.

But as the season progressed, Ives knew the time was coming to step away from being on the road 38 weeks of the year. He’ll be sticking around Hendrick Motorsports from 2023 forward, but his weekends will more often be spent locally instead.

“Ultimately, it comes down to timing,” Ives said. “My kids got a couple more years older. My daughter Payton’s 16. My daughter, Taylor, she’s … 10 this year, and my son (is) 8 this year. And you know, a lot of different activities from softball, football, go-kart racing, and, you know, my daughter becoming an adult and going to college soon, it was starting to weigh on me, kind of having to leave home. And then I feel like going through the COVID shutdown there for a while kind of made me realize how much maybe I was missing.”

Rainier Ehrhardt | Getty Images

Ives broke into the sport more than 18 years ago, hired by HMS as a mechanic on Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet. The dream opportunity kept evolving, joining the No. 48 team with Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus as an engineer ahead of the program’s record streak of five consecutive championships. In 2013, he took his first crew chief role in NASCAR as the leader of JR Motorsports’ No. 7 team, piloted by driver Regan Smith, who won two races that season.

Then came a championship run in 2014 with Chase Elliott at JRM, where the duo took the No. 9 Chevrolet to three wins and 26 top 10s in 33 races. That propelled Ives back to Cup in 2015, replacing Steve Letarte atop the pit box of the No. 88 Chevrolet driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Since the start of 2015, Ives has crew chiefed for Earnhardt, Bowman, Gordon and Noah Gragson with a combined 10 victories.

In the hustle to work through the rest of the 2022 season, Ives had little time to reflect on his journey and career. But gratitude never escaped the native Michigander, who entered stock-car racing’s national level with a powerhouse team and managed to stay there and advance through the company.

“I’ve been so, so blessed and fortunate to be at the right point of my life, on the right day in the right hour, to meet the proper people to have those doors open for me …,” Ives said. “I did what I needed to continuously open those doors and, you know, hard work got me on the setup plate. Hard work got me noticed by Chad and wanted me to be his engineer. So yeah, I’ve been blessed to be part of Hendrick Motorsports since really my inception of racing.”

Family unity is a staple of Ives’ upbringing. He’s one of eight children – six sisters, one older brother – and grew up taking care of his nieces and nephews as a child himself. As a husband to wife Jessica and father to Payton, Taylor and son Parker, that love for those at home only strengthened as he grew older.

“I love being around family,” Ives said. “I love having kids around, enjoy that honest and just true love of life that they tend to bring into any situation, not the stress in the environment that we try to put ourselves in that we think is so important.”

In a 2011 lightning-round biography of Ives posted to Hendrick Motorsports’ website, the then-32-year-old had one answer that leaped off the page: “If I could meet anyone, I’d meet: My grandkids.”

Eleven years later, he can still recall why that answer came to mind.

“Ultimately, maybe I was foreshadowing the fact that, you know, the crew chief life is a tough life,” Ives said. “You’re traveling a lot, and you hear a lot of stories where crew chiefs are like, ‘Man, I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with my kids.’ …

“I love being around family. I love having kids around, enjoy that honest and just true love of life that they tend to bring into any situation, not the stress in the environment that we try to put ourselves in that we think is so important. So ultimately, I feel like the day that I start seeing my grandkids are the days that I kind of maybe got it together, you know? Maybe realize that it’s God, family, racing – not just racing all the time.”

If anything, he said, that highlights how much he’s thinking about his future rather than what’s best in the present.

That’s why even though he and driver Bowman had been relishing their sustained success, he decided it was time for a new role. Plans are undetermined yet for what that role fully entails – “I’m pretty much gonna rule the world,” he laughed – but he knows he’ll be working closely with Knaus, who now serves as Hendrick Motorsports’ Vice President of Competition.

There may also be opportunities to work more closely with the GM Charlotte Technical Center in Concord, right outside the Hendrick campus, as Chevrolet continues to find innovative ways to improve its on-track performance. It’s also not out of the question that Ives gets involved with the Garage 56 entry – a partnership between Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR that will see a modified Next Gen car partake in the storied 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 2023.

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Before that, though, came Phoenix, which was an important weekend both for Ives and for Bowman. Bowman missed five of the last six races of 2022 due to a concussion suffered in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sept. 25. At his home track, Bowman was able to return at Phoenix for one final race with Ives calling the shots.

“A lot of emotion to come back with Greg,” Bowman said Nov. 5 at Phoenix. “Definitely a lot of different emotions. We’re obviously caught up in trying to run the best we can but just trying to enjoy it and really happy for him and the next step in his career.”

The return of Ives actually proved to be a strong motivator for Bowman as he worked to return to competition.

“I think having a goal to come back this year kept me working really hard and really accountable for what I was doing,” Bowman said. “I think if we would’ve said, ‘ah, we’re going to take the rest of the year off, it would’ve been way easier to sit on my butt and not work as hard. So I think that was good for me.”

While Ives’ future plans remain open, what’s certain is his belief in the future of the No. 48 team.

Blake Harris transitions from crew chief of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford and driver Michael McDowell to take the reins of Hendrick Motorsports’ famed No. 48 Chevrolet. Ives felt responsible to ensure Bowman had a crew chief who could “take him to the next level” if Ives wouldn’t be atop the box himself. So what did the search for the next crew chief entail?

“There’s a lot of things that you can look at, whether it’s experience, whether it’s an engineer, whether they’ve got a great personality or a leader,” Ives explained. “Ultimately, I think that all gets wrapped up in one word, and that’s called a racer. Anybody who eats sleeps, breathes, grows up in this sport … most of them have those qualities. And the determination to get to the Cup level as a crew chief is a hard feat in itself.

“That’s kind of what I saw in Blake. He’s a racer. Ultimately, names are just there. It’s character that’s usually what you see and those types of qualities. So, for me, it came down to those, right? Being a racer, being somebody who can put the time, energy, the work that it requires to be successful in this sport.”

Chris Graythen | Getty Images

Ives is and forever will be a racer. He won his first race on a Big Wheel in Michigan back at age 5 and eventually worked his way up to late models. His late model paint scheme was honored on the No. 48 Chevrolet at Darlington in 2021 as part of ‘Throwback Weekend.’ By age 16, he knew he wanted to work at Hendrick Motorsports. He achieved that by age 25.

For all of it, he credits his family.

“I feel like every day, I reflect on the opportunities that I’ve been given,” Ives said. “And so, (I’ve) been part of a great family. Mom and Dad, we had a big family. Had six sisters, one older brother, and when you’re put in that environment of living in the country and living off the land and having to cut wood and sell wood, and then grow your own food and sometimes hunt for it, you feel like everybody’s that way.

“And then when you start to realize that the hard work and the life that you were given, you know, you tend to be a little bit more grateful for the things that are easy. You know, hard work is not something … you can’t go learn it anywhere. It’s just something that’s instilled in you. So I always knew hard work was going to be part of my life.”

The hard work paid off. A new chapter awaits Ives in 2023.

Posted on November 13, 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, Nov. 14
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
11 p.m., Race for the Championship: Make or Break: Victory Lap, USA

Tuesday, Nov. 15
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, Nov. 16
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, Nov. 17
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, Peacock

Posted on November 13, 2022November 13, 2022 by Press Release

STATESVILLE, N.C. – On Nov. 11th, 2022, Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation (BKCFF) awarded their fifth service canine to a deserving service member during a special Veterans Day “A Hero’s Homecoming” celebration. BKCFF gives back to heroes through various initiatives that focus on supporting servicemen and servicewomen in their transition to civilian life, investing in their overall mental health, and providing resources to the families who make sacrifices for our freedoms as well.

An ongoing initiative for BKCFF is sponsoring the certified training of service canines to be awarded to deserving veterans, free of cost, through their Service Dog Fund. To date, CFF has awarded five service dogs during ‘A Hero’s Homecoming’ ceremonies which represent the dog’s graduation and their handoff to the selected veteran. 

During this special Veterans Day “A Hero’s Homecoming” celebration, service canine Kala was awarded to her new owner and handler, U.S. Navy Corpsman Kelli Carter. This moment marked the beginning of Kelli and Kala’s new journey together. Learn more about the heroes and how they will make an impact below.

Meet the Heroes:

United States Navy Corpsman Kelli Carter: Meet the Recipient of K9 Kala, Kelli Carter. Kelli Carter is a Navy Corpsman who joined the Navy in 2016 where she holds the rank of Petty Officer Second Class. Kelli recently converted to the Navy Reserves so she can attend Watts College of Nursing in Durham, North Carolina. Once finished, she intends to return to active duty by commissioning as a Naval Officer where she can help others in the military with her nursing skills. In her free time, Kelli competes as a bodybuilder using the gym as an outlet to refocus her anxiety.

Certified Service Dog Kala: Introducing the honorary pup, K9 Kala! Kala is an 11-month-old Dutch shepherd with training tailored to Kelli’s specific needs. Kala is trained in obedience, alerts on command, and to recognize and alert Kelli when people are too close. Kala’s high-energy personality makes her the perfect companion for Kelli.

Join the Checkered Flag Foundation in their mission to support heroes by visiting www.checkeredflagfoundation.org/donate or shop on their online store at www.checkeredflagfoundation.org/shop.

Posted on November 12, 2022November 12, 2022 by Adam Fenwick

HICKORY, N.C. — Prior to Saturday night, Coleman Pressley had not raced in seven years.

If rust was a factor, Pressley didn’t show it at Hickory Motor Speedway.

With his best friend and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano calling the race from the spotter stand, Pressley won the 25th anniversary edition of Hickory’s Fall Brawl in his return to late model stock car racing.

“I don’t even know how to do restarts anymore or any of that stuff,” an elated Pressley said after climbing from his race car in Victory Lane. “It’s pretty freaking cool.”

Pressley, who works as Logano’s spotter at Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series, is just the second driver in Fall Brawl history to win the race more than once. The other is NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Josh Berry, who has won the Fall Brawl four times.

“It’s so cool to see how good Coleman is,” Logano said as he watched the Victory Lane celebration. “I know he is a great spotter, but how much he’s watched what we do and the studying what we do together and how it’s transformed him into a better driver even though he hasn’t driven in seven years.

“It’s pretty cool.”

Coleman Pressley in action during the Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway on November 12, 2022. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

While he hadn’t driven a race car in seven years, Pressley did not forgot how to race at Hickory. He spent several years racing at the NASCAR-sanctioned, 0.363-mile oval during his youth, and knew that if he was going to drive a race car again, it was going to happen at Hickory.

That opportunity arrived when Hickory officials opted to postpone the Fall Brawl from its traditional October date to Saturday night. Pressley said he was standing on the spotter stand at Talladega Superspeedway when he saw the news on Twitter.

He instantly knew he wanted to compete.

“If there is a place I feel like I can get comfortable quick, it’s Hickory,” said Pressley, who won the Fall Brawl in 2009. “It made sense. Can’t say I had the bug to be a professional race car driver again. More than anything, I just wanted my kids to see me drive a race car one time, and I figured Hickory was the right place to do it.”

Pressley had his work cut out for him during Saturday’s 200-lap late model stock car main event. He qualified deep in the 23-car field in a car prepared by Byrd Brothers Racing, but he spent the first portion of the race cruising and saving his tires.

It was during the second half when Pressley found his groove, and it wasn’t long before he was racing inside the top five.

However, as the laps clicked away, it appeared the battle for the win was going to be between polesitter Doug Barnes Jr. and Connor Hall.

Joey Logano (left) greets Coleman Pressley in Victory Lane after Pressley won the Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway on Nov. 12, 2022. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

Things took a drastic turn when Barnes and Hall made contact while battling for the lead. Both cars were severely damaged and fell out of contention, a development that elevated Pressley to second behind new leader Charlie Watson

Pressley spent nearly 20 laps chasing Watson, but with five laps to go, he made the pass for lead. A caution just as the field took the white flag forced a green-white-checkered restart, but Pressley held on to win.

The victory put a bow on an incredible week for Pressley and Logano. One week prior, Pressley helped guide Logano to the NASCAR Cup Series championship with a victory at Phoenix Raceway. Saturday at Hickory, Logano returned the favor.

“Coleman and I have been best friends for a long, long time,” Logano said. “To see him jump back in and start 16th and just kind of chill out and save his tires and methodically pass a couple here and there and then run down the six (Watson) and pass him clean and dealt with the pressure afterwards during the green-white-checkered … it was pretty awesome.”

Coleman Pressley is joined by his family in Victory Lane after winning the Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway on Nov. 12, 2022. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

Amidst the jubilation in Victory Lane, Pressley scooped his children up and gave each of them a bear hug. For him, Saturday wasn’t about winning a race; it was about giving his children a memory that will last a lifetime. He said as much before the event.

“The best thing would be if I could win a race and get a picture with them,” Pressley said a few hours before the green flag waved Saturday. “That would be a story told, and I could just retire on the spot and not have to do it anymore. It’s going to be special no matter what.”

Mission accomplished.

Posted on November 11, 2022November 11, 2022 by Zack Albert

Petty GMS Motorsports announced its partnership with Jimmie Johnson last weekend at Phoenix Raceway with an understated fanfare. When two seven-time NASCAR champions walk into the same room, not much more pyro or pulsing music is necessary.

Now that the deal is officially official with Johnson signing on as a part-owner and part-time driver, plotting the road map for the team’s rapidly evolving growth is already underway. What that looks like for Johnson’s first step into team ownership waters and the Petty GMS organization’s jump to a third part-time entry is still in fast-tracked development.

“I think overwhelming. I think that’s a perfect word for the way we do it,” said team president Mike Beam. “Like it never stays the same. We’re always striving to get better. It’s a great challenge. Some days I question it. It’s great. But it is great. I think, like I said, we’re very blessed.”

Johnson documented his “first official day at the office” Monday on social media. But his first visit to the Petty GMS shop came Sept. 12, says Joey Cohen, the team’s Cup Series competition director. Johnson’s interest in the team was still in the negotiation phase then, and the date’s timing — just one week after Erik Jones’ first win for Petty GMS in the Southern 500 — was coincidental. The trip came one day after Johnson wrapped up his full-time duties in IndyCar, and Cohen spelled out how far the team had come and how far it had yet to go.

“Here’s what we’ve done in nine months. If you give us another nine months, we’ll double or triple this,” Cohen recalled telling Johnson. “We’ll force-multiply this effort that we’ve put in, and it’s going to be another level that we’re going to be at in nine months. Now, if you come on board, I mean, we weren’t planning for you to come on board, now it’s gonna happen even faster with you as a part of it.”

First official day at the office. pic.twitter.com/UxKsY9pb61

— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) November 7, 2022

The team has already grown exponentially in that nine-month timetable since the former Richard Petty Motorsports group merged with GMS Racing’s expansion effort to create a two-car Cup Series operation. Since the season’s midpoint, Petty GMS has sought to solidify the next nine months, re-signing Jones to a long-term contract in the No. 43 Chevrolet, and bringing in the driver-crew chief pairing of Noah Gragson and Luke Lambert to the No. 42 team after their successful pairing this year in the Xfinity Series.

Cohen says even with those pieces locked in, Petty GMS still had a working list of plans. Then Johnson told Cohen the morning of the Phoenix announcement that he had his own list.

“We’re going to get together and look at two lists and what’s going to accelerate us through those next nine months,” Cohen said, adding that he felt their individual goals would match up. “Now we’ve got two sets of things that we’re going to go after.”

Joe Skibinski | Penske Entertainment

Among those aspirations is Johnson’s return to Cup Series competition for the first time since 2020, competing in a select set of eight to 10 races in a third Petty GMS Chevy. The team – still without an announced car number – will compete as an open, non-chartered entry.

Cohen says extra care will be taken so that the expansion does not come at the expense of the organization’s two established teams. Still, there’s plenty to accomplish before the season opens next February. “Everything — haulers, pit boxes, all the infrastructure — that comes with another team,” Cohen says, “we’ve got to go create that again.”

As for races where Johnson isn’t competing, Cohen said other drivers could fill the seat, almost as a parallel to the Project 91 program that Trackhouse Racing introduced this year for all-stars and global figures from other motorsports disciplines. That outfit produced a much-ballyhooed Cup Series debut for former F1 driver Kimi Räikkönen in August.

Cohen says there’s already buzz around the possibilities at Petty GMS.

“Kind of through the rumbling of the circles, I think a lot of people knew that an open car was coming on our end, and it generated more interest, and there’s people out there that are looking to run races next year,” Cohen said. “The road-course stuff always interests people, there’s people lining up to do those from other series. We have partners that have asked us about drivers that they could go in in our organization that they would be interested in supporting. So I think it’s gonna be a really interesting year.

“We looked at the (Daytona) 500, and I’m sure we’re just the very beginning of a multiple amount of teams considering running an open car. I would say that that car will have an opportunity to run more races with other drivers in it next year as well.”

MORE: Jimmie Johnson through the years | 2023 Clash tickets, event information

As for the 2023 edition of the Great American Race on Feb. 19 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM), Johnson confirmed that he’ll be the third Petty GMS driver of record, striving to qualify or race his way onto the grid without a guaranteed starting spot. Johnson said he was eager to “do everything that I can” to make the Daytona 500 field, at which point principal team owner Maury Gallagher interjected.

“You go back and look at the GMS super track record, we’re as good as anybody in the business,” Gallagher said. “I’m breaking my arm patting us on the back, but …”

“I can testify personally to that,” Beam threw in. “We build damn good (superspeedway) cars.”

“He’ll have an advantage, we believe,” Gallagher added, “in the quality of car that he’s going to be in.”

Posted on November 10, 2022November 11, 2022 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR will kick off its 75th anniversary celebrations at the start of the new year with a vibrant display in the 2023 Rose Parade® presented by Honda, highlighting the thrills of racing in full bloom.

The parade, part of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses® which also features the famed college football Rose Bowl Game®, will be held Monday, Jan. 2. Hundreds of entries will process down the 5.5-mile route, including NASCAR’s display, showcasing the 75th anniversary and the upcoming Busch Light Clash at the LA Coliseum. The float is titled ‘Always Forward’ – a nod to the theme of the 2023 parade ‘Turning the Corner.’

“We’re beyond thrilled to be participating in such an incredible spectacle as the Rose Parade,” said NASCAR Vice President of Marketing Services Patrick Rogers. “There’s truly no better way to enter NASCAR’s 75th year than by celebrating at an event that brings people together through immense creativity and color. With a theme that so closely resembles the growth of our sport and organization, I can’t wait to see our float come to life in the new year.”

As per tradition, floats in the Rose Parade are entirely decorated with natural elements such as florals, seeds, fresh leaves, nuts, spices and other herbage. Each float requires tens of thousands of floral and non-floral materials to decorate fully.

NASCAR’s float design features the renowned entrance of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with the Olympic Caldron atop the Peristyle, with speedy stock cars racing around a track surrounded by checkered flags, ribbons, palm trees and more, headed by the diamond logo to signify the start NASCAR’s 75th year. The float stands 25 feet tall, from the base to the top of the flame, and 55 feet in length.

The Coliseum façade will be decorated with light and dark sesame seeds while the caldron will be coated in Green Tea leaf, with warmly hued carnation petals as the flame. The cars, track, ribbons and checkered flags will be adorned with elements such as red cranberry seed, black seaweed, rice, orange lentils, poppy seeds, blue statice and ground green split pea.

The NASCAR 75 diamond logo will be made up of various seeds and decorated with yellow strawflower, red carnation and blue statice, representing those three famous colors in the NASCAR bar mark. All of the float’s design elements will sit atop a base of hot pink, orange and red roses with sprinkles of blue florals throughout.

Finally, a portion of the float will bring to life philanthropic efforts in California highlighted by a NASCAR-themed license plate in partnership with the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), with proceeds benefitting Expo Park, parks in the Fontana, Calif. area and the NASCAR Foundation. More information can be found at www.nascarplates.com.

NASCAR will partner with Artistic Entertainment Services (AES), an official float builder and partner of the Tournament of Roses.

The annual Rose Parade celebrates 134 years of success with its upcoming celebration on Jan. 2, led by the volunteer-driven, non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association. In addition to participating in the 2023 parade, NASCAR will also be providing the Tournament’s 935 volunteers with a special Busch Light Clash and Auto Club Speedway ticket offer, in recognition of their dedication to America’s New Year Celebration^®.

In ringing in 2023, NASCAR enters its diamond year as the organization celebrates 75 years of history and passion for racing. The Rose Parade kickstarts the anniversary festivities which continue with the Busch Light Clash at the LA Coliseum, and on throughout the rest of the year.

The Busch Light Clash at the LA Coliseum will be held on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, as a part of the destination’s “Coliseum Forever” celebration to honor the historic stadium’s centennial anniversary and will air live on FOX at 8 p.m. ET. After an action-packed 2022 season, the 2023 NASCAR season-opener is bound to be another thrilling event in a momentous year.

For more information about the Busch Light Clash and details on ticket pricing, please visit nascarclash.com.

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – After a season that saw the successful debut of a new race car, a record-tying number of winners, fresh faces in Victory Lane, two ‘first-timers’ reaching the Championship 4 and a wall-ride-for-the-ages, it’s easy to become hyperbolic when discussing the recently completed 2022 season. So, let’s do just that with this question … did we just witness the most competitive and noteworthy season in NASCAR Cup Series history?

MORE: Youth, parity driving factors toward successful 2022 NASCAR season

The re-written record books suggest an answer…

19 Different Winners: The 2022 season tied the NASCAR Cup Series record of the most different winners in a single season (19) all-time; joining 1956, 1958, 1961 and 2001.

All-Time Record for Green Flag Passes For The Lead: There were 1,544 green flag passes for the lead (GFPL), the most ever. A green flag pass for the lead, by the way, is defined as a lead change all around the racetrack, and not just at the start/finish line.

Nine Races Have Set Records In GFPL: A total of nine different NASCAR Cup Series races have set records in green flag passes for the lead this season, including Circuit of The Americas (30 green flag passes for the lead), Atlanta-1 (141), Las Vegas-1 (57), Bristol Dirt (20) Darlington-1 (28), Kansas-1 (41), Charlotte (64), Nashville (47) and Las Vegas-2 (46).

Overall Green Flag Passing Increased Year-Over-Year: In a year-over-year comparison (2021 to 2022), the 2022 season has seen an increase in total green flag passes throughout the field of +6.36%.

Second Closest Average Margin of Victory: The average MOV for this season was 1.011 seconds, which is the second closest since the advent of electronic timing and scoring in 1993 (.909 seconds in 2014).

Highest Percentage Of Lead Lap Finishers In Modern Era: The 36 races of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season have produced an average percentage of 59.46% of the competitors finishing on the lead lap per race – the highest percentage of lead lap finishers through 36 races in the Modern Era (1972-2022).

The firsts were many…

First year with the Next Gen car, a machine that ushered in a new era of competition in NASCAR.

First purpose-built racetrack inside a football stadium (L.A. Memorial Coliseum), a bold schedule vision in which more than 70% of ticket buyers were attending their first NASCAR race and one that kicked open the door for further innovation (see: Chicago Street Race in 2023).

Five first-time winners, a Modern Era record (Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suárez, and Tyler Reddick).

First season with three graduates of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program winning a NASCAR Cup Series race (Kyle Larson, 3 wins; Bubba Wallace, 1 win; Daniel Suárez, 1 win)

The fans took notice…

Overall television ratings by the FOX and NBC family of networks increased by 4%.

The overall share – the percentage of televisions turned on and watching NASCAR – increased by 10%.

There were eight sellouts in 2022, including two of the earliest sellouts in recent history with the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series Championship in Phoenix.

The number of fans who attended their first NASCAR race grew by 11%, when compared to the last event that allowed full capacity.

NASCAR Digital just experienced its best statistical season since 2015, including a 10% increase YOY in unique users.

That ‘wall-ride-for-the-ages’? NASCAR on NBC’s social video of Ross Chastain’s move on the final lap at Martinsville earned more than 50.4 million impressions and 27.9 million video views.

On the sports betting front, authorized gaming operators saw a 51.5% increase in their NASCAR handle, year-over-year.

And it all ending with a championship that cemented a first-ballot NASCAR Hall of Fame career …

Joey Logano’s 22 in 22: Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, won his second NASCAR Cup Series championship (2018 and 2022), becoming the 17th different driver to win multiple championships and just the second active driver to win multiple Cup titles (Kyle Busch). Logano book-ended his 2022 season with a win in the season-opening Busch Light Clash at the LA Coliseum and a victory in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway.

So … was it the best season ever? The answer: It doesn’t really matter. It was a fun one … and we can’t wait for 2023, NASCAR’s 75th anniversary season – a celebration of stock racing’s past, present and, most importantly, bright future.

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Staff Report

NASCAR fans have a unique opportunity to experience the Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway like never before thanks to a partnership with Meta: Horizon Worlds on Oculus.

After capturing their second premier series trophy, Joey Logano and the No. 22 Team Penske team will be featured in the exclusive social experience on Thursday, Nov. 10 from 8 p.m. ET to 8:45 p.m.

Participants will be able to watch the Championship 4 battle through an interactive virtual reality simulation, including seats on the pit wall and in pit lane to get you up close and personal with crew members from a team of your choosing. The revolutionary experience uses technology from Oculus Quest, a headset that lets you participate through a platform that offers a wide range of environments.

Thursday night’s event also jump-starts a new experience for the NASCAR community, bringing a different angle for NASCAR fans to capture one of the sport’s historic moments through the new XTADIUM App — available exclusively on Meta headsets.

PHOENIX: Race results | Logano mic’d up after the race

Watch a special presentation of @joeylogano's championship-winning run in Meta Horizon Worlds Thursday at 8 PM ET! https://t.co/zpccsjh2pr pic.twitter.com/UXJHyqqzWm

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 9, 2022

Tune in tonight to relive the epic battle for the championship between Logano, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott.

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Adam Fenwick

Rodney Childers will always love late model stock car racing.

The discipline helped prepare Childers for life in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he captured the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series championship as crew chief for Kevin Harvick in addition to 40 victories at NASCAR’s top level.

That’s why he’ll always remember his victory in the inaugural running of the Fall Brawl at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway, an event that celebrates its 25th anniversary Saturday.

In 1998, Childers was one of many young late model stock car competitors who were pursing their dreams of racing in the Cup Series. He spent his Friday nights racing at Tri-County Speedway in Hudson, North Carolina, where he quickly became a dominant force.

“That particular season was my first year running late model stocks full-time. My home track was actually Tri-County up the road running on Friday nights,” Childers said. “The thing I remember most about the Fall Brawl is Shane Huffman had won a ton of races at Hickory that year. I don’t remember how many it was, but it was in the teens. I think I had won 10 or 11 at Tri-County.

“One of his guys came to Tri-County one Friday night, it was like the last race of the year, and was running his mouth saying that I was scared to come to Hickory because I knew I would get beat.”

Like any good racer, Childers didn’t back down from the challenge. He spent the few weeks prior to the inaugural Fall Brawl in 1998 rebuilding his race car to make sure everything was perfect before he went to Hickory to challenge Huffman’s dominance.

“I did everything I could do to it to make it better,” Childers said.

When race weekend came along, Childers was ready. He was fast in practice and qualified third for the main event while Huffman qualified on the pole.

The early portion of the race saw Huffman in control, with Childers following in his tire tracks. It wasn’t long before Childers began to realize Huffman’s car wasn’t handling nearly as well as his own.

“We followed Shane for a long time, and about every lap his right-rear tire would smoke just a little bit off Turn 4,” Childers said. “My spotter kept saying, ‘I know you see it. His right-rear is smoking.’ I knew at that point that I had him, because I was just riding and could still keep up with him.”

Rodney Childers in victory lane following his victory in the inaugural Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway in 1998. (Photo Courtesy of Rodney Childers)

Childers passed Huffman on a restart and led the remainder of the race, becoming the first winner of the Fall Brawl in the process. It’s a moment he still cherishes.

“I learned a ton that day,” Childers said. “It was a cool race, it was a lot of laps, it was something that a lot of us hadn’t done before in a late model. Obviously winning $10,000 was a huge deal back then. It was a big day, for sure.”

In the years since Childers won the first Fall Brawl, many other recognizable names have added themselves to the winner list. They include 48-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner Denny Hamlin, 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes and 2020 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion and current NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor Josh Berry, among others.

“It’s a hard race track. It’s hard to win at, and it’s a race that if people are really good, they want to go race it,” Childers said. “I think that’s why that list kind of stands out. You’ve had a lot of good people that want to go race and end up winning it.”

The Fall Brawl is one of several late-season major events for late model stock car competitors in the Southeast. It serves almost as a proving ground for many rising stars hoping to follow the footsteps of Childers, Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr., all of whom got their starts racing late model stock cars at tracks across the Southeast.

Childers, who is currently building a late model stock car for Harvick that the two hope to debut sometime next year, believes it’s important to support grassroots racing as a whole.

Without that level of the sport, Childers said, many current NASCAR stars would never have made it to where they are today.

“There are so many good racers out there that never get an opportunity,” Childers said. “They don’t get a chance. With me coming from late model stocks and Dale coming from late model stocks and Denny coming from late model stocks, it’s a huge deal for us. If it wasn’t for that, none of us ever would have made it.

“I want to see it succeed, and I want to see short tracks succeed.”

Posted on November 10, 2022November 12, 2022 by John Crane

Joey Logano crossing the checkered flag at Phoenix Raceway and claiming the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship certainly brought the spectacle. And it no doubt checked off a milestone for the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, too. After all, Logano’s 2022 victory now gives him the recognition of being one of only two active drivers to win more than one title at the Cup level (Kyle Busch).

But the 2022 Championship 4 checked off another milestone, too. While the 32-year-old in Logano took home the title, his title-vying running mates — 29-year-old Ross Chastain, 27-year-old Christopher Bell and 26-year-old Chase Elliott — helped emphasize one major facet: youth.

Per Racing Insights, the average age of the 2022 Championship 4 was 29 years, 3 months and 19 days, the youngest ever under the parameters. And for Logano to be the “old man” at 32 only heightened the notion that younger grasshoppers are becoming ever more abundant atop the title-contending table.

Of course, youth wasn’t solely exclusive to just the sub-30 championship-contending trio. If anything else, it transcended throughout the entire racing field. And through the youth movement revolution, another significant facet was illustrated, too: parity.

The combined youth and parity of the sport emanated right at the start of the season, and it was hard to miss. Dating from the Daytona 500 through the circuit’s mid-March event at Circuit of The Americas — six races in total — all winners (Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, William Byron and Chastain) were younger than 30 at the time of their victory.

Expanding on the sample size further continued to show the trend — drivers younger than 30 found Victory Lane in nine of the season’s first 11 races. And to extrapolate it further when speaking on the parity side of the coin — within the first 18 races, there were five first-time winners for the first time in a season since 1950 (Racing Insights). Four of those five first-time winners qualified under the younger-than-30 threshold (Cindric, Briscoe, Chastain and Tyler Reddick). And just for the sake of brevity, the fifth first-time winner — Daniel Suárez at Sonoma Raceway — was only 30.

Season-long trends can tell the story, so let’s examine the season’s entirety. Three stretches spanning six races saw drivers under 30 win each race (Feb. 20-Mar. 27, June 26-July 31 and Sept. 4-Oct. 9). In total, 22 of the season’s 36 races were won by drivers under 30.

Talking points around the Next Gen car exist when speaking about the sport’s parity. However, the youth could have also played a part in that, too. Among the league’s 19 winners over 2022 — tied for the most in a single season — 12 were 30 or younger at the time of their win. Among the sport’s nine drivers to win more than one race, six were younger than 30, with only Logano, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick being the odd drivers out.

It was a banner year for the league, not only due to Next Gen’s arrival but also because of the youth that took the wheel behind it. And while it is certainly arguable, this youth helped heighten the parity to a level rarely matched before.

RELATED: 2022 standings | 2022 drivers

Now, the sport looks ahead to 2023, which could potentially see even more youth and parity. Perhaps Ryan Blaney — who didn’t win a race in 2022 but will still be under 30 by the time 2023 rolls around — checks his name off. Maybe 24-year-old Noah Gragson — who will jump from the NASCAR Xfinity Series to Cup next season and drive the No. 42 Chevrolet for Petty GMS Racing — taps into the same magic that helped net him eight Xfinity victories in 2022. Maybe Cup drivers from the 2022 crop will take an even bigger leap forward.

Whatever the case, the spectacle should be one to watch. And perhaps even more milestones come from it.