Dylan “Mamba” Smith is dusting off his driving shoes once again to compete in Saturday’s South Carolina 400 late model stock car event at Florence Motor Speedway in Timmonsville, South Carolina.
Smith, who made his ARCA Menards Series debut earlier this year at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, will drive a car fielded by Lee Faulk Racing with sponsorship from Dodge Direct Connection and @DodgeMoparMotorsports, the brand’s motorsports Instagram channel.
The 30-year-old from Randolph, Vermont, has worked with Dodge since 2019 as part of the Dodge Thrill Ride tour.
Baptized in the brotherhood of muscle… If it wasn't for @Dodge@OfficialMOPAR Motorsports I wouldn't be where I am with @NASCAR…
“In April 2019 I was offered a spot on the Dodge Thrill Ride tour, and since then I’ve grown within the brand from a support staff role to serving as a brand ambassador, Dodge product specialist, and now leading event activations and acting as a ‘hype man’ on the mic,” said Smith. “Without this opportunity on the Dodge Thrill Ride tour, I don’t think I’m doing what I’m doing with NASCAR. To carry Direct Connection and @DodgeMoparMotorsports colors on this car is a full-circle life experience — the people and the brand will always be home for me.”
Smith is one of more than 50 drivers entered to compete in the late model stock car portion of the South Carolina 400. He’ll be joined by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will drive a No. 3 late model stock car featuring a throwback wrap honoring his father’s Bass Pro Shops scheme from the 1998 NASCAR All-Star Race.
Complete coverage of the South Carolina 400 will be available on FloRacing starting Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET. Saturday’s coverage also begins at 5:30 p.m. ET.
On Thursday, Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m. ET, The NASCAR Foundation will reveal the winner of the 12th annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award live on NASCAR’s YouTube Channel.
The Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award, named in honor of the foundation’s late founder and chairwoman, Betty Jane France, recognizes NASCAR fans who volunteer for children’s causes in their racing communities. Each finalist receives a minimum $25,000 donation for their organization with the overall winner receiving a $100,000 donation from The NASCAR Foundation to further their efforts.
This year’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award finalists include:
Dan Majetich of Tempe, Arizona, a co-founder and volunteer with Nick and Kelly Children’s Heart Fund of Arizona, an organization that assists Arizona families of children with congenital heart disease and acquired heart disease. After losing their sons, Nick and Kelly, to congenital heart defects, Dan and his wife, Margaret, founded the Nick and Kelly Children’s Heart Fund in 1985. Since then, Dan has become a leading advocate for families of children with heart disease, helping to provide financial assistance and hosting annual camps for children to experience activities that normally may not be accessible to children with heart defects.
Ralph Maccarone of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, a co-founder and volunteer of Who We Play For, a nationwide organization whose mission is to eliminate preventable sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in young people through affordable heart screenings. After losing his 15-year-old son to SCA, Ralph helped to co-found Who We Play For and over the last decade has dedicated his time to volunteering at heart screening events, fundraising and advocating for policy changes and serving as the chairman of the Board of Directors.
Tammy Garrett of Mobile, Alabama, a volunteer with Rapahope Children’s Retreat Foundation of Alabama, a non-profit organization that provides opportunities to families on the childhood cancer journey through recreational support programs. A volunteer for 17 years, Tammy is involved in all aspects of Rapahope, including involvement on the organization’s fundraising and planning committees. She is also a regular attendee of the Camp Week, Sibling Weekend, Teen Weekend and Family Day programs, often volunteering her time to cooking meals and helping campers learn to fish.
Tracy Williams of Jacksonville, Florida, a volunteer with the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports families that are tackling childhood cancer. For the past 17 years, Tracy has played an integral role in delivering support and raising funds for families affected by childhood cancer. A chairperson to the organization’s signature fundraising event, The Celebrity Golf Classic, Tracy has helped raise over $7 million dollars, coordinating program content and logistics to assure the event’s success including its transition to a virtual environment during the pandemic.
To learn more about The NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award and the 2022 finalists, visit NASCARfoundation.org/Award.
Editor’s note: NASCAR Roots will profile local drivers in advance of this weekend’s South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway, where Dale Earnhardt Jr. will compete. Click here to learn more about the track or watch Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on FloRacing.
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From the moment his career began, Ryan Glenski has never been afraid to think outside the box to gain an advantage on his competition.
That ingenuity can be seen every race weekend at Florence Motor Speedway, as Glenski chooses to primarily utilize the high side while most drivers stick to the bottom groove. Glenski’s strategy netted him several victories in the 2021 season alone.
Approaching racing in an unorthodox manner is a mindset that Glenski’s father Randy utilized during his time as a dirt track competitor. The younger Glenski has done everything possible to mimic his father’s techniques while becoming a consistent late model stock frontrunner in South Carolina.
“Anywhere is a good place to run at Florence, but up on that outside is where I want to be,” Glenski said. “My father [Randy] use to run dirt up in New York and dirt racers know how to get the momentum going on the outside. If you can get it to work, it’s going to prevail.”
While Glenski has found a home racing at Florence, it was just more than a decade ago when he had an opportunity to showcase his talents on a national level.
After going through Bandoleros and the Allison Legacy Series during the late 2000s, Glenski participated in Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Blue Collar Hero Driver Challenge, which took place in 2011 at Rockingham Speedway’s short track known as ‘Little Rock’ from March to June.
Hillenburg was impressed by the efficiency Glenski showed during the three-month period and elected to put him in one of his cars for the ARCA Menards Series race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on July 28 of that year.
Nothing would come easy for Glenski at IRP, as he was tasked with putting up a great qualifying lap against a talented entry list that included current NASCAR Cup Series drivers Ty Dillon, Ryan Blaney and Chris Buescher, as well as other accomplished competitors like Frank Kimmel, Grant Enfinger and Tom Hessert III.
Looking back on his opportunity at IRP 11 years later, Glenski recalled the emotion surrounding the weekend, from just simply having a chance to race in ARCA to thinking about his father, who was battling Sinonasal Neuroendocrine Carcinoma at the time; a rare form of cancer.
“That was the one race my father never went to because he was going through chemo at the time,” Glenski said. “It was the most important race I ever ran, and even though my dad was stuck at home, that weekend meant so much to me and my family. It was a fun race at a fun little racetrack.”
The funding did not materialize for Glenski to make more starts in ARCA or NASCAR, so he decided to shift his focus to running his own family business while simultaneously maintaining an active racing presence at Myrtle Beach Speedway and later Florence.
Following his lone ARCA start, Ryan Glenski became a regular at Myrtle Beach Speedway and later Florence Motor Speedway. (William Chilton/NASCAR)
When he first met Glenski, Florence general manager Steve Zacharias was impressed with the competitive nature he brought to each race. As the years have progressed, Zacharias said Glenski’s determination has enabled him to develop a unique race craft that keeps him in contention for victories.
“Ryan is a fierce competitor,” Zacharias said. “He’s learned a lot about saving tires and what it takes to stay up front. A lot of these guys burn their stuff up, but Ryan stays focused on the task at hand. He’s always got a chance to win.”
For Glenski, the 2022 season at Florence has been more about overcoming adversity as opposed to establishing consistency.
The car Glenski enjoyed so much success with at Florence in 2021 was destroyed in a restart pileup during last year’s South Carolina 400. It has taken Glenski time to get acclimated to his new car, but he has seen significant progress over the past few months, especially with former NASCAR crew chief Paul Andrews helping his program.
With one victory under his belt during a part-time campaign this year, Glenski is confident the speed he found will carry over into the South Carolina 400.
“[The South Carolina 400] is everything,” Glenski said. “Whether it was at Myrtle Beach or Florence now, it’s the big one. Martinsville is one thing, but the 400 is a completely different deal. You’re going to have the best of the best there, and it’s a survival race. We got caught up in someone else’s mess last year and the guy running 25th ends up winning by saving tires.”
While Glenski is currently focused on the South Carolina 400, he has not yet given up on his dream to one day make another start in NASCAR’s top divisions.
Glenski knows he can get the most out of a car after several years of competing at Myrtle Beach and Florence, which is why he wants another chance to prove himself in either ARCA or NASCAR, even if it is just a one-race deal.
Zacharias would love to see such an opportunity develop for Glenski, but stressed that he needs proper funding starting at the local level so he can proudly represent Florence and South Carolina short track racing on a much larger stage.
“I want Ryan to be successful in whatever he does,” Zacharias said. “We’d love to have him here, but we want to see people get behind guys like Ryan. It takes a lot for our local guys to financially pull off what they’re doing, so any support Ryan can get from a sponsorship standpoint would really help him out.”
Saturday’ South Carolina 400 is only the second time Ryan Glenski has competed in the event’s Late Model Stock feature. (William Chilton/NASCAR)
Glenski has seen his team rise to the occasion numerous times through the past several years and knows everyone involved is going to do whatever it takes to ensure Glenski will be among those battling for the win in one of the south’s most cherished short track races.
“It’s really been a pleasure to do this,” Glenski said. “There’s something new every day and the sport is always evolving. We’re going up against the big dogs every week, but everything we’ve accomplished is something we’re all honored to be a part of.”
Putting together a great performance in the South Carolina 400 for Glenski will come down to being patient during the opening stages while simultaneously getting more creative than his competitors regarding strategy and race craft.
Should he make it to the final stage, Glenski fully intends to honor his dirt track heritage by making the top side work so he can join an elite list of South Carolina 400 winners.
RFK Racing faced a mini-revolution of sorts in 2022.
The year was bound to be a reset as the NASCAR Cup Series transitioned to the Next Gen car anyway. But the addition of former Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski as both a part-owner and full-time driver of the No. 6 Ford brought a revamped rebranding to RFK — known from 1988 to 2006 as Roush Racing and from 2007 through 2021 as Roush Fenway Racing.
Jack Roush, who founded his historic NASCAR operation in 1988, was still involved at 80 years old. But the mechanical genius known both for his engineering prowess and preference for doing things his way allowed Keselowski into the fold this year.
One of the many witnesses throughout the entire process was Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 Ford since 2020 but with ties to the company since 2010.
With a new teammate — who happens to be his co-owner, too — Buescher acknowledged that while much has changed, there was a surprising similarity in how Roush and Keselowski operated.
“It’s been really good,” Buescher said. “I think that, you know, both of them coming from Michigan, both being very ingrained Ford people trying to come in from both having their manufacturing side of their businesses, I think that it’s been a great fit.
“I think that Brad’s very, very knowledgeable and has been very sharp and has been able to take a lot of his practices through the years and figure out how to help it apply to us and help us and I think that’s been very, very good for us in general as well.”
That was another plus for Keselowski: While this was his biggest leap into ownership in NASCAR, it was not his first. That came in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Brad Keselowski Racing, which operated between 2008-2017 usually as a two-truck program, providing opportunities for some of today’s Cup stars like Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric.
“It’s really, really similar,” Keselowski said of his experiences at BKR and RFK. “It’s just every check has another zero on it. You know, that’s the reality. The things that cost $50,000 cost $500,000. Things that cost $500,000 cost $5 million. It’s just more expensive, probably the biggest thing. But all the same values and principles hold true of how you treat your people and how you develop your car and how you interact on a daily basis with your company and your team and sponsors and all the people that are kind of stakeholders.
“So I think the fundamentals are all the same. It’s just a little more expensive and a little better competition.”
The years leading up to 2022 were lean for RFK. Carl Edwards’ wins in 2014 at Bristol and Sonoma served as the company’s only victories on non-superspeedway tracks for the next seven years. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s triumphs in 2017 at Talladega and Daytona were the only exceptions.
That changed this past season thanks to Buescher’s victory in September at Bristol, his second career win and first since winning a fog-shortened race in 2016 at Pocono for Front Row Motorsports. Keselowski, meanwhile, went winless for the first time since 2010, snapping an 11-year streak of consecutive seasons with victories. While disappointing for the 2012 Cup Series champion, numbers from one year alone aren’t bothering him much.
“You know, if I’m able to do what I want to do with this company — and we’re on the track to do it — then it’s not gonna mean a damn thing to me,” Keselowski said. “Part of the risk of taking the opportunity and making the move I did is giving up some of those stats, which probably feel good in the moment, but you know, 10, 20 years from now, I’m not going to remember or care about those things. What I’m going to remember or care about is what I was able to take this company from where it was a year ago to where I want it to be in the next year or so.”
The numbers don’t lie. Buescher scored a career-high three top-five finishes and 10 top 10s in addition to his Bristol win while Keselowski contributed one top five and six top 10s. The quick math says that counts for four combined top fives and 16 top 10s — an immediate improvement from 2021, when Buescher and Ryan Newman combined for three top fives and 13 top 10s.
Keselowski is optimistic more good lies ahead despite him and Buescher finishing outside the top 20 in driver points this season, with Buescher 21st and Keselowski 24th.
“Definitely didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted to, but you know, looking realistically at the challenge, it’s probably somewhat on schedule,” he explained. “You know, I think we’ve got a lot of things coming over the offseason. … But we’ve got a lot of things that we’re doing to progress that have come over the last, you know, six to 12 months of understanding where the company is at and making the moves accordingly to get both race teams where they can compete for wins.”
The question remains, though, whether any baseline knowledge from 2022 can propel RFK toward an upward trajectory in 2023.
“I would like to say that we have a hold on this car and we got it all figured out and it’s gonna be much easier next year, but I’m not sure that would be truthful,” Buescher said. “We have ideas. We have baselines to start, but we are constantly learning. We’re constantly evolving even more. And I think that’s what we’re going to be looking at through the offseason, right, is how do we take our best days and figure out how to make that our every day.”
Stewart-Haas Racing announced on Wednesday that Ryan Preece will join the organization in a full-time capacity to drive the No. 41 Ford Mustang in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The 32-year-old Preece has most recently been a reserve driver for the team but will be brought into the full-time fold to compete for next year’s championship. The Berlin, Connecticut, native will join 2014 Cup champion Kevin Harvick and returning drivers Aric Almirola and Chase Briscoe to round out the team’s quartet.
Preece replaces incumbent Cole Custer, who piloted the No. 41 for the past three seasons and is moving to the Xfinity Series to team with Riley Herbst.
“This is the opportunity I’ve been working for,” Preece said in a team release. “Nothing was guaranteed at the start of this year, but I felt like if I put in the time, whether it was in a race car or in a simulator, that SHR was the place for me. It’s a company built by racers, for racers, and it’s exactly where I want to be.
“I know this season just finished and most people are looking to take a break, but I can’t wait to get going.”
Preece appeared in a pair of Cup Series races in 2022, driving the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford to a best finish of 25th at Dover Motor Speedway. He also made a combined 13 starts across Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series action, winning in the No. 17 David Gilliland Racing Ford F-150 in June at Nashville Superspeedway.
Custer landed three top 10s and a pole in 2022, and won at Kentucky Speedway during his rookie season in 2020.
“Cole Custer has been a part of SHR since 2017 and we’re glad to have him stay with us,” team co-owner and three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart said. “Cole’s experience will be invaluable to Riley Herbst as he continues his development in the Xfinity Series.”
Joe Gibbs Racing announced Tuesday that Xfinity Series champion Ty Gibbs will move to the NASCAR Cup Series full-time next season, taking the roster spot left open by Kyle Busch and marking the next step in his speedy ascent to stock-car racing’s major leagues.
Gibbs is set to drive the No. 54 Toyota for the team owned by his grandfather, Coach Joe Gibbs. The 20-year-old driver will bring the car number he campaigned in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with him, marking a departure from the No. 18 that’s been with the JGR organization since its Cup Series debut in 1992. Although Gibbs will be in the No. 54 car, Joe Gibbs Racing intends to use the No. 18 in the Cup Series in future years.
Chris Gayle, who served as crew chief during Gibbs’ championship season, will move with him to serve as crew chief in the Cup Series.
Gibbs has excelled at each stage of his rapid climb up the NASCAR ladder. He concluded the season as a seven-time winner this year in the Xfinity Series, capping his first full season of Xfinity competition with a title-clinching victory at Phoenix Raceway. That triumph was marked by tragedy with the death of his father, Coy Gibbs, in the overnight hours just after his Phoenix win.
In parts of two Xfinity seasons, he’s already won 11 times, including prevailing in his series debut in 2021 at Daytona International Speedway’s road course. But Gibbs also made an unplanned jump to the Cup Series this year, filling in with 23XI Racing — a JGR affiliate — when former series champion Kurt Busch was sidelined by a concussion after a crash during qualifying on July 23 at Pocono Raceway.
Gibbs was pressed into duty for his Cup Series debut the next day, and he filled in for Busch in 15 races the rest of the year. He withdrew from the Cup season finale after his father’s death.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s high-profile vacancy on its four-car team officially opened Sept. 13, when Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing announced they would join forces, starting next season. The move ended a partnership that dated back to 2008, a long-running union that produced two Cup Series championships and 56 of Busch’s 60 career wins.
The younger Gibbs’ rise to NASCAR’s top level has been marked by success and a dab of controversy. Even as he nearly immediately rounded into a consistent challenger for Xfinity Series wins on a part-time schedule last season, Gibbs cruised to a championship in the ARCA Menards Series, prevailing in 10 of the 20 races in 2021. He’s an 18-time winner on that circuit, and he also has multiple victories in each of the two ARCA regional tours.
Gibbs’ aggressive nature has helped him land in Victory Lane, but it’s also ruffled some of his competitors. He was assessed a behavioral penalty and fined $15,000 in April for making contact with Sam Mayer’s car on pit road after an Xfinity race at Martinsville Speedway. That disagreement led to fisticuffs between the two. On the Cup Series side, Gibbs also angrily bumped alongside Ty Dillon’s car on pit road during a Sept. 25 race at Texas Motor Speedway, drawing scrutiny and a $75,000 fine for unsafe driving near race officials and pit-crew personnel.
The controversy came to a head in the Xfinity Series’ penultimate race, when Gibbs bumped teammate Brandon Jones into a last-lap crash at Martinsville Speedway. The maneuver denied another JGR driver from making the Championship 4 field, and a repentant Gibbs apologized for the move.
Gibbs drove the No. 18 during his ARCA successes, flying the car number that his grandfather used when he created Joe Gibbs Racing as a single-car outfit with Dale Jarrett as his driver 31 years ago. As an Xfinity regular, though, he established his own identity with the No. 54.
The last time the No. 18 was not in regular rotation in the NASCAR Cup Series was 1991. JGR drivers account for all but one of the car number’s 80 wins — Marvin Burke was the first, winning in his only Cup appearance in 1951. Three of JGR’s five Cup Series championships have come with the No. 18 — Bobby Labonte’s 2000 title and the two crowns claimed by Kyle Busch (2015, 2019).
The No. 54 has not been used full-time in the Cup Series since 2003, when driver Todd Bodine paired with team owner Travis Carter. The No. 54 has won just three times in NASCAR’s top division, most recently in 1978 when Lennie Pond posted his only Cup Series win at Talladega Superspeedway.
ALTON, Va. – The testing phase of the Garage 56 test-car prototype penned its latest chapter Monday, sending a loud V-8 rumble through the frigid air in the southern Virginia hills.
The Hendrick Motorsports-built Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 tester debuted Monday at Virginia International Raceway, marking only the program’s second on-track session ahead of a proposed special appearance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans next June.
The troubleshooting process sent the assembled crowds of crew and support personnel scrambling at times, but there were encouraging signs found among the challenges. The track time inched the project another step closer to a potential exhibition entry in the 2023 endurance classic, but also offered a reminder of how early in the process the car’s launch still is.
“No, it’s definitely an infant,” said Chad Knaus, Hendrick Motorsports VP of Competition. “So we’re still trying to get it to go and honestly, the way it ran today, I’m actually pleased with the performance of the car. We’ve just got to start to work out some of the bugs.”
Sports-car veteran Mike Rockenfeller, a former Le Mans overall winner, was again behind the wheel of the test car. The German road-racing ace also drove in a previous Garage 56 test, wheeling a Camaro prepared by IMSA team Action Express Racing at Road Atlanta on Aug. 29-30.
Zack Albert | NASCAR Studios
This entry, Knaus said, is a closer representation of what the actual Le Mans racer might be when it hits the French countryside, with significant updates to the chassis, engine and suspension components, plus the addition of side-view mirrors. Among the most visible changes were the aerodynamic pieces, with the addition of stabilizing dive planes and a more robust splitter and diffuser – an indication of the loose leash that the Garage 56 team will have with the specifications as it builds off the Next Gen template.
“It’s definitely a big step. I mean, we have … where do I start?” Rockenfeller said after wrapping up his day’s work of hustling the car around the 3.27-mile VIR full-course layout. “We have less weight, we have a bit more downforce. Tires are the same, because we did (initial) tire testing in Atlanta, so similar-ish. Power is a bit different, so we increased a little bit there as well in that area, Now we have paddle-shift, we have traction control in, we have a new dash. I mean, everything is different, basically. So we are pretty close to what we think will be the race car in Le Mans. But of course, it’s still a very long way to go.
“We will improve in pace and reliability, definitely. So I would say that’s the difference. Between the current Cup car, and this test car, again, it’s pretty similar, I would say, its weight, its power, its tire grip – it’s just a lot faster. I mean, to give you a figure, around here, I think we are around 10 seconds faster than what I did in a Cup car, so it’s quite a lot faster.”
Reaching that speed Monday took effort all around. An “electrical gremlin” that Knaus chalked up to a faulty power distribution module prevented the test car from making a sustained run during the morning hours. Afternoon testing was stopped early, just before sundown, by a fuel-pump issue that the crew worked on into the evening hours.
That drew the attention of the attending representatives – from Hendrick, Goodyear, NASCAR and Bosch among others – to jump in and lend a hand with remedies.
“I think it’s a huge milestone for us. It doesn’t go without its challenges, of course, but that’s why you come to the race track to test,” Knaus said. “But I think with all the people here and all the resources that have been here at VIR today, it shows the importance of this program, and what a big commitment it has been for everybody.”
More testing was planned for Tuesday at the scenic Virginia road course, as Rockenfeller put the car through its paces in the morning with significant rain in the forecast for later. But a course has already been charted for what’s next in the project’s development – both in performance and endurance.
“Well, this is a first step and over the course of the next six months or so there’s going to be a huge amount of iterations,” Knaus said. “Obviously, always trying to get yourself more margin from a pace standpoint, so we want to continue to try to push and make the car faster from a weight and performance standpoint. Downforce, get some more aero efficiencies put into the car, Goodyear has done a really good job of starting to get some construction and compound combinations put together, and we’ll start to get that really rolled up into what the tire is going to be. So an awful lot of work from this point forward.”
For 24 years, Mark Jenison raced in hopes of one day winning just one championship.
This year, he won two.
Jenison won track titles in the Pro Stock and Late Model divisions at Seekonk Speedway, a NASCAR-sanctioned oval track in Seekonk, Massachusetts. He finished the season with one win and nine top fives in 14 Late Model races, and two Pro Stock victories.
Jenison spent much of his career racing around the Northeast and finished several seasons in the top three in points at more than one track.
This year, Seekonk announced it would be changing its championships away from points races in favor of a playoff system similar to the one used in the NASCAR Cup Series. The change prompted Jenison to focus his racing efforts solely on the Massachusetts track.
On one hand, it was a tough change because Jeinson loves to race. However, the shift in concentration was instrumental in his success.
“I was like, ‘If I could just get over that hump,’” Jenison said. “My team, we’re in a small garage in my backyard building with small funds. Usually you have to have big sponsors, big funds, that way you can get to that championship. This year it just seemed to work out perfect for us.”
Throughout his career, Jenison has dealt with struggles on the track, but he’s always gotten better and stronger as the season goes on. This season was no different. He was in a couple accidents early in the year in his Pro Stock, but he still managed to rank third in points as the playoffs began. He was fourth in the Late Model points at the start of the playoffs.
Mark Jenison (22) leads a pack of cars at Seekonk Speedway. (Photo: Ed St Germain/Seekonk Speedway)
Jenison had conserved tires throughout the season to have six in the final races, which also helped.
“We went out on that last race, and we just dominated,” he said. “The last two races we dominated them pretty good.
“It was very, very refreshing to have something actually pan out and go the way you want it. You don’t usually get that.”
The final Late Model race wasn’t without its own dramatics. Jenison was the fastest car in practice earlier in the day, a fact that wasn’t lost on his competitors.
“Me and Chase Belcher, before we even went out for the race, I was walking through the pits… we started talking, and he says to me, ‘Are you going to take it easy on me today? You’re putting down the fast laps,’” Jenison said. “I said, ‘Chase, it ain’t about the fast laps, it’s the last laps. We’re going to have a hell of a fight when we get there.’ And he just laughed. We both laughed and walked away.
“Me being Nostradamus, I had to go and say that because that’s exactly what happened.”
On the final lap, Jenison was riding the outside when Belcher pushed him up the track even further going into Turns 1-2. Jenison rode the wall as hard as he could going out of the final turns and down the last straightway when Belcher again pushed into him.
“I said, ‘Here it comes,’” Jennison said.
“I tried to get down more to get away from the wall a little bit, because I knew I was going have to scrape the wall coming out. I got it down a little a bit, and as I got it down the car started pushing… I couldn’t turn the wheel. All I could hear was his engine roaring, and as I soon as I heard it, I went up over the wall.”
Jenison crossed the finish line with his car’s wheels on the outside wall. He finished second, just a few hundredths of a second behind Belcher.
“When I finally stopped in Turn 1 the engine was still running. I had to shut the engine off. I knew what happened, but in your mind in the car you’re like, ‘What’s going on now?’” he said. “I see all the smoke coming off and I’m like, ‘Oh geez. I don’t even know if I’m on fire or not.’
“I’m trying to get out of the harnesses and stuff, and my belt is stuck on the seat. Then I heard the first responders up there yelling my name saying, ‘You all right?’ So I was like, ‘At least I’m not on fire, because if he’s up there yelling to me… He’s not going to jump on the flames.’ … So I calmed down and started getting my belts off easier and climbed out.
“Chase was there and he was like, ‘Oh man, I’m so sorry.’ He was trying to be compassionate, trying to make sure I was alright.”
Belcher was disqualified for the move, giving Jenison the win, and the eventual Late Model title.
“I’ve had some pretty good dooseys before. Not exactly like that one at the start finish line. That one was for the books,” he said.
“We both had the opportunity to win that championship, and that was what was the coolest about the whole thing. It obviously wasn’t cool to lose your car, but it was cool that there’s so much love out there for the sport that you’re putting your life on the line for it. Just knowing that people still have the love for the sport like that was the coolest.”
Mark Jenison poses with the remains of his destroyed race car following a crash at Seekonk Speedway. (Photo: Courtesy of Seekonk Speedway)
It’s the thrill of races like that one at Seekonk that has kept Jenison in the sport for so long. He began his career drag racing before his brother convinced him to give circle tracks a try.
“I liked drag racing, but to me it was too short and not enough thrills to it,” he said. “I like the longevity and the thrill of controlling something that’s out of control.
“Drag racing, I felt like if you could just hold the wheel straight and put it to the floor you could do it. I used to run 12.2 seconds in a quarter mile, and it’s 12 seconds then you pull up and you park it and it would take you almost an hour to get back out again. It wasn’t as much of an adrenaline rush with racing and circle tracks. You could spend that 20 minutes, half hour, hour sometimes racing and actually being in that tight pack of cars and racing hard with people and trying to prove yourself. It’s a lot different, but more exciting to me.”
Jenison said he still hasn’t figured out how he was able to pull off two championships after racing for decades and never winning one. He’s looking forward to more racing in 2023 and trying to race for even more.
“I’m 53 years old. My best racing has been coming in my later years,” he said. “It’s funny, because they push these young kids to run these cars at young ages, and they do well, but it just goes to show you can still be an older person and still run these cars and win races.
“Twenty-four years it took me to get these two championships, and I was trying to get one. Like, before I retire I’d like to get one. And then that night everything just came down.”
The 30th running of the South Carolina 400 will take the green flag Saturday night at Florence Motor Speedway, and the entry list features more than 50 drivers who will be vying for a starting position in the event that continues the legendary history of the Myrtle Beach 400 at Myrtle Beach Speedway.
The entry list that will battle for a coveted starting position in Saturday’s event includes track and regional champions from up and down the East Coast, as well as a two-time Daytona 500 and NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.
Multiple rounds of qualifying will determine the 40-car starting field, with more than a dozen drivers expected to be sent home before the green flag even waves for the 200-lap late model stock car main event.
Below is a closer look at some of the racing champions on the entry list for Saturday’s South Carolina 400 and their accomplishments.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t start with the most well-known name on the entry list: Dale Earnhardt Jr. The two-time Daytona 500 winner and two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion is making a rare late model stock car start. Earnhardt won at Florence during his formative years racing late model stock cars, so there’s no reason why he can’t win at the track again.
When identifying contenders for events like the South Carolina 400, one must consider the reigning track champion. That honor belongs to 16-year-old Kade Brown, who claimed his first Florence track championship this year in his first full season racing late model stock cars for AK Performance. He also won the 2022 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series South Carolina state championship.
Typically a contender in a super late model, Matt Craig is set for a rare late model stock start in the South Carolina 400. Craig is a multi-time super late model champion with both the CARS Tour and Pro All Stars Series. In 2021, he won the legendary All American 400 at Tennessee’s Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
Brenden Queen has been turning heads for several seasons with his impressive performances at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia, where he is the three-time and defending track champion in the late model stock division. A victory in the South Carolina 400 would be his first marquee victory in a major late model stock event.
The driver of the second JR Motorsports entry in the South Carolina 400 is Carson Kvapil, the son of 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil. The 19-year-old racer recently completed his first full season racing late model stock cars, claiming the CARS Late Model Stock Tour championship in the process.
You’ll be hard pressed to find a driver with more experience at tracks with worn out asphalt than Sam Yarbrough. A six-time track champion at Myrtle Beach Speedway, Yarbrough won the last race held at the historic South Carolina venue in 2020. He won the Myrtle Beach 400 in 2007 and will attempt to add the South Carolina 400 to his resume.
The 2022 season was a statement year for Landon Huffman, who ran the full schedule at Hickory Motor Speedway in pursuit of his first track championship. He accomplished his mission thanks to three victories, joining his father Robert Huffman as track champions at one of the Southeast’s most historic venues.
He doesn’t get behind the wheel of a race car as often as he used to, but Dexter Canipe Jr. can still be a contender if the cards fall his way. The son of 1997 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion Dexter Canipe, the younger Canipe made his mark at Hickory Motor Speedway when he captured the 2016 track championship.
Speaking of Hickory Motor Speedway, two-time track champion Ryan Millington is heading to Florence for the South Carolina 400. The 2017 and 2020 Hickory champion has been riding a wave of momentum recently after winning the Bobby Isaac Memorial, one of Hickory’s marquee late season events that honors the legacy of 1970 NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Isaac.
A familiar face at tracks across Virginia, Mark Wertz has been involved in the short-track racing scene for more than two decades. In that time he’s scored five track championships, with his most recent coming in 2020 at Langley Speedway in the modified division.
Race fans may recognize Jason Kitzmiller as an occasional competitor in the ARCA Menards Series, but when he’s not competing on a national stage, he’s racing with the Super Cup Stock Car Series. This year he won six times en route to his first championship with the Super Cup Stock Car Series, momentum he hopes to carry into the South Carolina 400.
Better known by his nickname “Boo Boo,” Ross Dalton is one of the more accomplished drivers on the entry list. He’s scored track championships at a variety of venues around the Southeast, including Ace Speedway, Orange County Speedway and Caraway Speedway. This year alone he’s scored nine victories at eight different race tracks.
Blaise Brinkley makes the trek to Florence after competing regularly at Caraway Speedway in Sophia, North Carolina, the last few seasons. He captured the 2021 Caraway track championship and will look to add a South Carolina 400 trophy to his case.
A familiar name at nearby Anderson Motor Speedway, David Roberts joins the field for the South Carolina 400. Roberts is a multi-time late model stock car track champion at Anderson, something he hopes will give him an edge when the green flag waves at Florence.
Live coverage of the South Carolina 400 at Florence starts at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on FloRacing.
Below is the complete 2022 South Carolina 400 entry list.
HICKORY, N.C. — For years, Ray Alfalla dreamed of the day he would make his debut behind the wheel of a race car.
That day arrived Saturday at Hickory Motor Speedway, where the four-time eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series champion competed in the 100-lap Limited Late Model race held during the 25th annual Fall Brawl.
It was a moment years in the making for Alfalla, who traveled from Florida to North Carolina to take part in Saturday’s event.
“It was hard enough just getting up here,” said Alfalla, who was born in Cuba but moved to the United States when he was 6. “We had to go through a tropical storm, flew in, and then had to drive through a tropical storm to the hotel. The whole travel day was hectic enough.
“It’s been a lot to get here, just to get to this race. It still feels surreal.”
The chance for Alfalla to live his dream started a few months ago when he tested a limited late model at Hickory under the guidance of 2022 track champion Landon Huffman and the Jason Smith Racing team.
Ray Alfalla (51) battles Bub Haney (28) during the Limited Late Model feature as part of the Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway on Nov. 12, 2022. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
Alfalla said he quickly realized there were some things he needed to improve, including his physical fitness.
“I did a test and figured out I needed to get in better shape,” Alfalla said. “I lost 20 pounds over the summer. I worked a lot on my neck, and it showed [Saturday]. I’m very comfortable physically in the car. Made a few adjustments to the steering wheel and the seating position from the last time.
“After the test, it was just about getting funding together and finding a race to do.”
The funding came from iRacing, the Virtual Racing School and Interstate Batteries. After a few false starts, Alfalla settled on the Fall Brawl and Hickory as the time and place to make his racing debut.
In order to prepare for Saturday’s race, Alfalla did what came natural by turning laps at Hickory on iRacing. The 0.363-mile asphalt oval was added to the iRacing service last year.
“Obviously I know the track perfectly; I have no issues with that,” Alfalla said. “I got out there in a practice session with a bunch of cars, and I felt comfortable. It was my first time ever with a bunch of other cars, and it didn’t feel any different than I would expect. I feel as comfortable as I think you can feel getting into a car for the first time.
“I’m really just focused on finding speed and not making any mistakes. iRacing has really helped flatten that learning curve a lot.”
Ray Alfalla during practice for the Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway on Nov. 12, 2022. (Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
Entering race day, the 33-year-old said his biggest concern had nothing to do with his on-track ability. Instead, he was more concerned about how to navigate pit road or how to get in the race car.
These are all factors with which the iRacer had never dealt.
“I was almost more concerned with the logistics of where to go and what to do,” Alfalla said. “Where to maneuver on pit road and getting in and out of the car, all that stuff. Obviously on iRacing you just sit on the sim and you just drive. You don’t have to deal with everything else.”
Alfalla qualified 17th for the 100-lap race, roughly half a second off the pole speed of eventual race winner Michael Bumgarner. During the race, Aflalla battled mechanical gremlins and ultimately retired from the event early, registering an 18th-place finish following a fuel pump failure.
P18 in the Fall Brawl. Fuel pump failure ended our race, but overall an amazing experience! Learned a ton and showed some good pace. Thank you iRacing, VRS, and Interstate Batteries for making this happen, as well as my friends and family for their support. We’ll be back 🤙 pic.twitter.com/9dJbZnNRYR
While it wasn’t the type of debut for which Alfalla hoped, he was still grateful for the opportunity and is working toward adding more races to his schedule in 2023 in his home state of Florida.
“I’ve always been a big believer in sim racers,” Alfalla said. “There are a lot of drivers who are really good on iRacing but don’t have the funds to go race in real life. Now we’re seeing more and more of it. I’m happy to be another one of those.
“Thanks to NASCAR and iRacing for putting sim racers on the map and putting eNASCAR on the map and helping us really showcase that we can do this. The simulation is close enough to real life that guys get into a real car and they can get up to speed fairly quickly.”
