Jordan Taylor gets the call for NASCAR debut at COTA: ‘A dream come true, for sure’

Posted on March 8, 2023March 9, 2023 by Zack Albert

Jordan Taylor’s phone rang Monday, and on the other end was Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon — yes, the same Jeff Gordon that has the full allegiance of Taylor’s alter-ego Rodney Sandstorm, who is never seen without his vintage Rainbow Warrior jacket and trademark jorts.

“Would you be available?” was Gordon’s question, pointing toward an open interim seat in Hendrick’s No. 9 Chevrolet with Chase Elliott sidelined for several weeks by a leg injury. Presented with the opportunity for his NASCAR Cup Series debut in a fill-in role for the Circuit of The Americas later this month, Taylor’s response came quick.

“I was like, definitely, no question. What a ridiculous question that is, if would I want to do it,” Taylor says with a laugh. “Yeah, definitely.”

Gordon told Taylor he’d keep him posted, and that the team was still sorting out the necessary arrangements. Less than 24 hours later, Taylor walked in on a phone conversation with Chad Knaus, Hendrick’s VP of competition. “Hey, Jordan just walked in,” Taylor recalled Knaus saying. “I’ll put you on speaker.” The next voice Taylor heard was Gordon’s: “Hey, so it’s a done deal if you’re up for it.”

“I’m like, 100 percent. I’m in. Whatever it takes. I’ll move to Charlotte for the next two weeks if I need to, to prep for it,” Taylor told NASCAR.com by phone Wednesday during a break in Garage 56 Le Mans testing at the same COTA circuit. “So it was amazing. It’s amazing that it has come full circle with Jeff himself, from back meeting him and racing with him in 2017 and always talking about one day doing a road course. I don’t think either of us ever imagined it would be in a top Cup car like this driving for him. But it’s, yeah, a dream come true, for sure.”

Taylor, a four-time IMSA champion, was announced Tuesday as one of the two drivers set to substitute for Elliott in the No. 9 Chevrolet in the coming weeks. Xfinity Series standout Josh Berry, who was a late-hour fill-in for Elliott last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, will return to handle the oval-racing duties. But the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on March 26 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will belong to Taylor, who has two IMSA victories on the 3.41-mile road course in Austin, Texas.

“I mean, it’s honestly hard to believe and still kind of feels like it’s a little bit of a dream,” Taylor said. “Talking with Jeff Gordon, Chad Knaus, (No. 9 crew chief) Alan Gustafson, arranging things to get to the shop to do seats and sim time, it’s still a little surreal. Still going through the paces, it still feels like it happened yesterday, and we’re getting in the race car tomorrow, so it feels a bit rushed. But obviously, I’ve always talked about openly wanting to do a road course race in a NASCAR, and never in my craziest dreams would have expected it to be in pretty much the best car with the best team possible.

“Obviously, under really unfortunate circumstances with Chase being unable to drive right now, so I was super-honored to be asked to fill in for COTA for them to have the belief in me to do a good job. But yeah, I’m hoping to just make everyone proud and prove to them that they made the right decision.”

Taylor expressed his gratitude for the opportunity on social media shortly after the team’s announcement, hinting that “a heck of a learning curve” awaited him. It promises to be a busy handful of weeks for the 31-year-old sports car veteran, who is wrapping up a two-day test as a driver coach and reserve pilot for the Garage 56 project. He will compete in IMSA’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 18, a week before NASCAR arrives at COTA.

So honored to be asked by @TeamHendrick to fill in for Chase at Circuit of the Americas in the #9 car. This is obviously under difficult circumstances with Chase being injured. It is going to be a heck of a learning curve, but I hope we can make him proud while he’s recovering. pic.twitter.com/3mg0WYN5VJ

— Jordan Taylor (@jordan10taylor) March 7, 2023

Aside from those already scheduled engagements, Taylor says he hopes to immerse himself in preparations on the NASCAR side of things and to draw on Hendrick Motorsports’ resources.

“I’ve already told Chad and Alan that I’ll make myself available any day that I can around my commitments to the Sebring 12-hour next week,” Taylor said. “I can be up there any of those other days to spend with the team and get an understanding of what I need to do to prepare, whether it’s pit stop practice or sim time. Unfortunately, there’s no way to actually drive a real car to get a feel for it, so that’s all going to come down to race weekend. There’s a lot of amazing people at Hendrick Motorsports, a lot of amazing drivers that I can kind of reach out to and talk to, to get tips here and there. So I’m sure we can prepare as much as possible, but I’m sure once we get to the race track, it’s gonna be a completely different animal to kind of figure out, but it’s gonna be a really cool challenge.”

Taylor’s name adds more intrigue to an already compelling entry list for the first road course of the 2023 Cup Series schedule. IndyCar regular Conor Daly is set to compete with The Money Team Racing at COTA, and Trackhouse Racing announced earlier Wednesday that Kimi Räikkönen will join the field through its Project 91 initiative.

Taylor said that he’s looking forward to joining in on the participation from other walks of motorsports but that his chance to mix it up with stock-car regulars in the No. 9 Chevy holds its own appeal.

“It’s gonna be awesome,” Taylor said. “I mean, I’ve known Conor since we were kids and racing against each other, so that’ll be full circle as well. Watching Kimi Räikkönen race Formula One all those years when I was growing up was awesome, so to kind of share the race track with someone like him will be super special. But the same thing goes for all the Cup regulars, you know. I grew up watching all these guys compete and race, so I feel like I know them in some aspects from watching them on TV so much, and I kind of know a lot of the racing styles, so maybe I know who to kind of watch out for and who I can lean on a little bit more.

“But yeah, I think it’s going to be a crazy weekend. I think it’s gonna be a lot to take in, but I’m definitely gonna do my homework and come to the weekend as prepared as possible, kind of knowing the guys that I’m racing against.”

Taylor officially joined the Garage 56 program in January, taking on a key role in bringing a Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the 24 Hours of Le Mans classic June 10-11. His sports-car expertise and long-running relationship with Chevrolet’s Corvette racing program made him a natural choice to work alongside primary drivers Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller.

MORE: Garage 56 livery unveiled | Photos: All angles of Le Mans entry

The Garage 56 project has two tests in the books already this year – Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at Daytona and Feb. 20-21 at Sebring — both with a focus on endurance. The team’s aspirations for this week’s test at COTA are building speed and feeling out the limits for making adjustments.

“Obviously, our Sebring 24-hour test was very strong, and I think that was kind of the true test before going to Le Mans,” Taylor said. “This one is more performance-based to get some lap time and pace out of it, just doing some more handling work on that aspect. So, it’s been interesting. We’ve done a lot of big swings on setups to kind of get an idea of what the car does to kind of prepare ourselves for what we need to do at Le Mans, so yeah, it’s been super positive.

“I think we’ve got one more real track test before heading over there, so this one’s kind of one of our key tests to kind of lock everything down from a parts point of view and those things. It’s been good so far, and we’ve got one afternoon to go to get some more laps. Flawless test so far, I’d say.”

Posted on March 8, 2023April 24, 2023 by Staff Report

Trackhouse Racing announced Wednesday that Kimi Räikkönen will drive the team’s No. 91 Chevrolet at the Circuit of The Americas, securing a return engagement with the organization’s Project 91 initiative.

Räikkönen, the Finnish Formula One great, is set for his second NASCAR Cup Series start in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on March 26 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). His previous entry into the Cup Series came at Watkins Glen International in a 37th-place debut, abbreviated by a midrace crash.

The Austin, Texas race is the second race for Trackhouse’s Project 91, a third entry that will compete alongside the team’s regulars – Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez. The project was launched last May as a place for international motorsports stars to explore competition in NASCAR’s top series.

“When we announced Kimi last year, I said he was the global superstar I had in mind when we created Project 91,” said Trackhouse team founder Justin Marks. “I think you saw the fan reception across the world, and Kimi’s performance in the car was proof of the concept. Kimi’s following is massive, and it’s great for NASCAR, Trackhouse plus I think Kimi really enjoys our racing.”

Räikkönen, 43, is the 2007 champion of the international Formula One circuit with 21 race wins during the course of 19 seasons. He also made one start in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series in 2011.

MORE: Räikkönen’s journey to inaugural Cup start | What went wrong at Watkins Glen

Räikkönen has a level of familiarity and success at the 3.41-mile Texas circuit, scoring a victory there for Ferrari in 2018 as part of his eight COTA starts.

“Obviously, it’s helpful that I know the track,” Räikkönen said in a video released by the team. “Obviously, an F1 car and NASCAR is slightly different how the track feels when you go around it. So I need to remember that there’s slightly less downforce the first time going out of the pits. That side helps for sure, but obviously, like I said, this is a different car. So the track will be completely different in a way as it feels. I have some experience from last year from that race with the car, so we’ll see.”

Trackhouse is also the most recent winner at COTA, where Chastain notched the first victory of his Cup Series career last March. The triumph was also a breakthrough for Marks’ organization in just its second year of competition.

“As a company, we’ll be coming back with a lot of confidence because we won that race,” Marks said, “but also, now we’ve got three cars instead of two.”

Posted on March 8, 2023March 8, 2023 by Dustin Albino

For the past eight seasons, Kaulig Racing has given numerous drivers an opportunity to perform in its NASCAR Xfinity Series stable.

The most recent name to join the list is Chandler Smith.

Smith, at the ripe age of 20, spent the previous two seasons battling for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championships with Kyle Busch Motorsports. There, he won a handful of races, made it to the Championship 4 last season and defined consistency as he was the only driver to run every lap of the 2022 season.

When he competed in a trio of Xfinity Series races last season for Sam Hunt Racing, he realized he wanted to make the jump to the Xfinity Series as quickly as possible. He believes the higher series suits his driving style better.

“A lot of people that believe in me said I was ready for it, and I felt that I was ready for it myself,” Smith said while comparing the current Xfinity car to a previous generation of ARCA cars. “The rule of thumb, people are going to say, ‘You didn’t win a championship in the trucks, so you shouldn’t go to Xfinity.’ Ty Gibbs won the Xfinity championship last year, and I don’t think he’s ever raced a truck.”

Late last summer, Kaulig Racing approached Smith about taking over its No. 16 entry as AJ Allmendinger was getting the nod to go full-time racing in the Cup Series. Smith had no prior relationship with anybody at Kaulig, though he knew of Daniel Hemric, with the two having similar racing backgrounds in super late models.

A move to Kaulig, however, would mean a departure from Toyota Racing Development, a manufacturer that poured resources into Smith the previous six years.

That move was harder than some might expect.

“I made a lot of good, lifelong friends over there,” Smith said of TRD. “They did a lot for me in my career and put me in opportunities and were able to present things to me that were big for me and for my family.

“It was hard. And it’s still kind of hard because I miss those guys. I love them to death; they were like brothers to me.”

Thinking big picture, Smith thought the move to Chevrolet made sense. As he phrased it, it’s “what is going to be best for us long term for my wife and child.”

It’s no secret that Kaulig Racing struggled against its competition last season. Allmendinger maximized nearly every weekend in 2022, but Hemric went winless, and Landon Cassill missed out on the playoffs in the team’s No. 10 ride. Team president Chris Rice saw the potential in Smith and wanted to give him a shot.

“I talked to Kyle Busch a lot about him and got his thoughts and feelings on him,” Rice said last week. “It’s somebody that I thought would fit with the 16 group and our entire team.

“The kid shows a ton of talent. It seems like he has his life put together. He has a wife, a kid, just all put together. Molding him into an Xfinity or Cup driver changes your life a little bit, but he’s always eager to learn and just trying to make the most of every situation.”

Smith has started the 2023 season strong with a pair of top-five finishes in the first three races. At Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend, he won the pole and led 118 laps, the most a Kaulig entry has ever been out front for in 434 starts. After three races, Smith leads the series with 119 laps led and impressively sits fourth in points.

“I just told him good job,” Kyle Busch said to a group of reporters after the Las Vegas race, in which he came out of retirement in the Xfinity Series. “He was fast. He did a great job for what he had. I was driving something similar, and I couldn’t make it work like that.”

Compared to the midway point of last season, Rice can see an uptick in performance across the board of Kaulig’s Xfinity program. The previous lack of speed has been found. And he also believes Smith is a good listener.

That makes Smith’s goal of winning at least one race in his rookie campaign look doable. He was less than two miles from getting it done in Sin City before Austin Hill got by for the lead coming to the white flag.

“We’ve got to at least win a race,” Smith said. “I think that’s the bare minimum of what we must do. I’ve matured in the fact of knowing that finishing races and getting all the laps under my belt, not putting myself in a bad situation, I’m going to learn, and so is the team. If I have a car that’s only a fifth-place car, I can put myself in a bad situation and possibly get two more positions, then I’m probably not going to do that.”

MORE: View Smith’s career stats | 2023 Xfinity schedule

Rice believes Smith can win, too, despite knowing there will probably be a tough patch of the season at some point in time. He also assured the rookie that he doesn’t have to win in 2023.

“My expectations for him are to continuously grow, do well and learn,” Rice said. “If he can do that and put all of that together and make the playoffs, then that will be a successful season. I think he can win. It’s going to be a long road to win in your first year in the Xfinity Series, but I do think he can win. I think he has the speed and talent.

“What you’ve seen so far is a light of how good he can be.”

Posted on March 7, 2023March 7, 2023 by Zach Sturniolo

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Ross Chastain’s daring last-lap thrash will forever be memorialized in NASCAR lore.

Chastain visited the historic 0.526-mile paperclip-shaped short track on Tuesday, climbed into a Kubota forklift and helped remove part of the SAFER barrier in Turns 3 and 4, the site of his famed ‘Hail Melon’ move that propelled him into the Championship 4 of the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022.

The removed portion of the wall will be preserved to commemorate the wall ride heard around the world when Chastain propelled himself around the perimeter of the white steel barriers to launch past four cars – earning enough points to leap into the championship round of the sport’s premier level.

Four months later, Chastain still struggles to fathom it was him piloting the blur of the No. 1 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing that pounded the wall in a somehow-successful move that only seemed plausible in video games before Oct. 30, 2022.

There’s been plenty of time to reflect, especially considering NASCAR officials outlawed the move from any legality moving forward. As he stood next to the 20-foot section of removed steel sitting on the edge of the concrete and asphalt, Chastain could only think of the magnitude that moment carried – for his team, for his season and for himself.

Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Studios

“It’s more about what it provided for us at the time,” Chastain told NASCAR.com. “It’s not about now. It’s about the wall and what this will symbolize for us forever. I mean, this thing will never be touched. It will always be dirty, scratched up and scraped to the end of time. And for me, that’s just a good, physical large reminder of what that did. It let us go fight for a championship the next week in Phoenix.”

Rare are moments that transcend the NASCAR universe. Rarer are those that don’t focus on the race winner or a multicar incident. Christopher Bell pulled off one of the ultimate win-and-in playoff moments for the second time in as many rounds by scoring the victory that day at Martinsville.

But it was what Chastain did – in need of two points to advance to the next round while running 10th on the final lap and rocketing around the wall to a fifth-place finish (fourth, following post-race inspection) – that went viral on every platform one could imagine.

“It is amazing that something like this, that we’re not talking about the winner,” Clay Campbell, Martinsville Speedway president, told NASCAR.com. “We’re not talking about anything else that happened on the track. We’re talking about the move that Ross made, the ‘Hail Melon.’

“Usually, when something takes precedent over the race win itself, it’s usually not for a good reason. This was for a perfectly good reason. So many people were so amazed by it. The talk that it generated at the water cooler on Monday was off the charts. The exposure that that got – social media, television, it was the talk of everybody. And it still is. So, you know, it’s just it’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime deal.”

What ensures it as a single moment time is NASCAR officials’ decision to ban the move in future events, citing the already-existing Section 10.5.2.6.A in the sanctioning body’s rule book which notes, in part: “Any violations deemed to compromise the safety of an Event or otherwise pose a dangerous risk to the safety of Competitors, Officials, spectators, or others are treated with the highest degree of seriousness.”

MORE: Buy tickets for April race | Rules updates for 2023

Trackhouse co-owner Justin Marks was already considering preserving the No. 1 car for as long as possible before the move was forbidden. That became definitive after recognizing the history surrounding that particular moment and car.

Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Studios

“I wanted the whole car to stay, and there was a point that we weren’t sure,” Chastain said. “And then once the rule came out, and they updated everything — and I’m glad NASCAR did. I think it was the right call. I don’t want to get beat by it, for sure. I don’t want to do it again to beat somebody. So I just want to beat them straight up.

“And the rule cemented that the car and the wall and, like I said earlier, it’s all staying intact. And we’ll be able to use this. This is a bright spot for our sport. It’s a bright spot for this track, and selfishly, it’s a bright spot for me.”

Where the wall will rest is still to be determined. The SAFER barrier may reside in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina, temporarily, or it may find its way to Trackhouse’s shop in Concord.

No matter where it sits, the moment will remain unforgettable.

Posted on March 7, 2023March 8, 2023 by Staff Report

Josh Berry is set to once again fill in for Chase Elliott in the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro this weekend at Phoenix Raceway as the 2020 series champion remains sidelined with an injury, Hendrick Motorsports announced Tuesday evening.

With Elliott slated to miss his second straight race in Sunday’s United Rentals Work United 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) following an injury to his left leg while snowboarding in Colorado last Friday, Hendrick will once again turn to Berry. The NASCAR Xfinity Series regular, who drives for Hendrick affiliate JR Motorsports, replaced Elliott in the No. 9 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Sunday, finishing 29th in his Next Gen debut.

“I don’t know if I can say I got it figured out, but I mean, I learned a ton,” Berry said after Sunday’s race in Las Vegas. “I think we were on our way to a pretty good day before that (throttle) issue happened, so I’m not really sure if it was self-inflicted or not. I know these guys, they’re gonna look at the data and figure it out. But you know, regardless, I think it was a good experience and a lot of fun.”

WATCH: NASCAR gives update on Chase Elliott injury-waiver process

In addition to Phoenix, Hendrick announced that Berry will also be behind the wheel for all oval races that Elliott misses. Sports car veteran Jordan Taylor will pilot the No. 9 at Circuit of The Americas. Taylor currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing.

“We’re focused on getting Chase back to 100%, so we’ll take however much time is necessary and make sure he has the best resources available,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, in a team release. “Josh was impressive this weekend under difficult circumstances, and we look forward to having him drive the oval tracks until Chase is able to return. Jordan is a world-class road racer and has recently been working with our Garage 56 team preparing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He’ll be able to step in and do a great job at COTA.”

MORE: Chase Elliott’s career in photos

Elliott underwent successful surgery Friday evening and is expected to return to the car when medically cleared. The team indicated it is anticipating his recovery will be another six weeks.

Prior to Vegas, Elliott had not previously missed a start in his full-time Cup Series career. Dating back to the 2016 Daytona 500, he had made 254 consecutive starts. He won 18 times during that stretch and, in addition to his 2020 title, advanced to the Championship 4 in 2021 and 2022.

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Staff Report

NASCAR officials penalized the No. 16 Kaulig Racing team Tuesday for an unsecured lug nut after last weekend’s events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Chandler Smith drove the No. 16 Chevrolet to a third-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series during Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300. His car was found with a single unsecured lug nut in a post-race check by officials, a violation detailed in Section 8.8.10.4a in the NASCAR Rule Book.

As a result, crew chief Bruce Schlicker was fined $5,000.

Posted on March 7, 2023March 7, 2023 by Cameron Richardson

In the waning moments of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, it looked like the results sheet would favor Kyle Larson as he dominated the final stage. However, a caution on Lap 264 stemming from an Aric Almirola spin bunched the field one more time, and split-second decisions had to be made on whether to come to pit road for tires.

Most of the field came to pit road for new tires, but Martin Truex Jr.’s decision to stay out jumbled how a handful of hopeful race-winners chose their respective lanes for the overtime restart. When it was over, just two drivers maintained their exact position from the final caution flag to the checkered flag.

RELATED: Full race results

After losing the race off pit road to Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, Larson was forced to fall in the second row behind Truex while Byron, who ended up with a race-high 176 laps led, restarted on the front row with the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, opening the door for the No. 24 Chevrolet to reclaim the lead and eventually the victory.

Watch the video above to hear analysts Steve Letarte and Todd Gordon break down this final restart, and keep reading to see how the final caution shuffled the race results with those that made up positions and those that fell back — with notable in-car cameras (every driver’s in-car camera is available each race on NASCAR Drive) and driver comparisons that give a closer look at how the finishing order played out.

CHRISTOPHER BELL

The driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota ran inside the top 10 for most of the day but a vibration in the final stage sent Bell all the way back as far as 20th. His team was able to fix the vibration and Bell used the inside lane on the final restart to earn himself a hard-fought, top-five finish.

Lap 264 position: 13th

Race finish: 5th

Difference: +8

Bell’s in-car camera:

AUSTIN CINDRIC

The 2022 Daytona 500 champion hit the jackpot with the late caution. Cindric ran outside the top 15 for most of the race but Almirola’s misfortune became a boon for the No. 2 Team Penske Ford as the second-year driver painted the bottom lane to bring home his car in sixth.

Lap 264 position: 14th

Race finish: 6th

Difference: +8

Cindric’s in-car camera:

JUSTIN HALEY

Like Cindric and Bell, Haley chose the inside with his No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. He was able to squeak into the top 10 on the final lap before a handful of cars wrecked just behind him. He also took four tires on the final pit stop while many of his competitors took two.

Lap 264 position: 15th

Race finish: 8th

Difference: +7

Haley’s in-car camera:

DENNY HAMLIN

The driver of the No. 11 JGR Toyota was not as fortunate as the drivers listed above him. Hamlin was in position for a top-five finish starting just behind race winner Byron on the outside. However, a shove going into Turn 1 from Ross Chastain and his fellow competitors having the advantage on the inside parachuted Hamlin outside the top 10 when the checkered flag flew.

Lap 264 position: 3rd

Race finish: 11th

Difference: -8

Hamlin’s in-car camera:

NASCAR.com’s driver comparison tool shows just how drastic the spots gained and lost were on the final restart.

See how Hamlin compared to gainers like Cindric and Bell.

Ryan Blaney and Chastain joined Hamlin as those who weren’t beneficiaries of the overtime restart. Chastain fell back not making any ground on the outside while Blaney was trapped behind a hornets’ nest of cars trying to score a top 10.

Blaney/Chastain comparison:

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Reid Spencer

Phoenix Raceway is a major intersection in and of itself.

If that seems strange for a track located south of Phoenix — and not all that far from the Mexican border — let’s acknowledge that we’re using the term “intersection” in a figurative sense.

Opened in 1964, some 13 years after NASCAR held the first of four Cup Series races at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, the 1-mile, irregular-shaped speedway in the Sonoran Desert has seen a confluence of just about every form of racing imaginable.

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From 1976 through 2009, Phoenix Raceway hosted the Copper World Classic, which featured competition in USAC National Midgets, USAC Silver Crown and Super Modified divisions.

Though those were open-wheeled race cars, many of the successful drivers in the Copper World Classic are quite familiar to NASCAR fans — Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jason Leffler, Kenny Irwin Jr. and J.J. Yeley, to name just a few.

During its varied history, which once included a 2.7-mile road course that meandered inside and outside the oval track, Phoenix has been home to the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series; the ARCA Menards Series; and the NASCAR Mexico Series.

Other forms of racing have included AMA Supercross; Formula Atlanta Championship; Barber Pro Series; Can-Am; CART; Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series; IMSA GT Championship; IndyCar; Indy Lights; NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division; SCCA Formula Super Vee; Trans-Am; and U.S. F2000 National Championship.

Suffice it to say that Phoenix Raceway — and in a broader sense, the state of Arizona — has been a melting pot for racers of all varieties and a talent-rich source for car owners searching for the next superstar.

Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion, made his reputation in Arizona, though not at Phoenix Raceway. Racing against the likes of NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr., Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick, Busch turned heads in the 1997 Winter Heat Series at Tucson Raceway Park.

A year later he was rookie of the year in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series, and in 1999 he won the series championship.

The Cup Series has raced at Phoenix 53 times, including the debut event in 1988. The NASCAR Xfinity Series competed at the 1-mile track for the first time in 1999, with Jeff Gordon winning the inaugural race by 1.036 seconds over Dale Earnhardt Jr.

MORE: Memorable Phoenix moments

But it’s the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series that’s most deeply rooted in the Sonoran Desert. The series debuted in 1995 at Phoenix, with Mike Skinner winning the inaugural race on the way to the first series championship.

In fact, the first season of the Truck Series was heavily Western-centric. After Phoenix, the trucks raced at Tucson, Saugus (Calif.), Mesa Marin (Bakersfield), Portland and Evergreen Speedway (Monroe, Wash.) before heading east. The final three races of the season took place at Sonoma, Mesa Marin and Phoenix.

Though NASCAR is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and though many of NASCAR’s top stars raced in Arizona before they gravitated to stock cars, the state has produced only a handful of successful NASCAR drivers who were born there.

Three such drivers — Alex Bowman, Michael McDowell and Yeley — currently compete in NASCAR’s top division.

“As far as why other drivers haven’t come out of Arizona — I think there have been a lot of really talented drivers come up from there, but, yeah, it’s tough,” Bowman said. “Coming from the West Coast in particular is tougher than the East Coast.

“There’s not as many race tracks there as there used to be. Obviously, development has kind of stopped down there. But, yeah, hopefully that changes and we see more drivers come from that area soon.”

McDowell, the 2021 Daytona 500 winner, was an instructor at the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Goodyear, Ariz., before he became a full-time NASCAR driver. McDowell is eager to return to familiar surroundings for Sunday’s United Rentals Work United 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“It’s always fun to go home,” McDowell said. “I wish we ran better at Phoenix. It’s kind of been an Achilles heel for us the last few years … But it’s just nice to see friends and family and have a hometown crowd and support. You definitely feel that on the weekend.”

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Cara Cooper

More than 50 years ago, Garry Bushnell’s father helped build a dirt track in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada.

That track is now named Edmonton International Raceway, a quarter-mile paved oval that is Alberta’s only NASCAR-sanctioned track. And six decades after his dad helped build the raceway, Bushnell is a track champion.

Bushnell won Edmonton’s NASCAR Pure Stocks division title in 2022. Despite never winning a feature, he was on the podium six out of 10 races. He never finished worse than seventh.

“Just consistency, I guess, was the thing,” Bushnell said. “It was good. It was a lot of fun this year.”

NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series racing at Edmonton International Raceway

The title was the first for Bushnell, which came “at my young age of 56,” he said with a laugh.

The driver has been around Edmonton since he was a kid, and his dad Scotty was a driver. Garry Bushnell raced some in the 1990s when Edmonton was still a dirt track, but he got out of the sport to raise a family.

A couple years ago, Bushnell’s son Mitchell and a friend wanted to get into racing, and they bought a car. Bushnell was always in the pits helping out for the first year.

“He said, ‘Well, why don’t we just get another car, and you might as well run with me since you’re here every weekend anyhow and you used to do this,’” Bushnell said.

The two ran in the same class for a couple years until Mitchell moved up to Edmonton’s Thunder Cars division.

“It was a lot of fun getting to run with him a couple years. We had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs,” Garry Bushnell said. “Then this past year he moved up, so I sold my car and then I took his car and ran it, and ran it to the championship, so it was good.

“We’ve had a lot of fun these last four years, for sure, at the track… I enjoyed racing with him. We had a ton of fun. We’re both very competitive, but when you get to race with your son out on the track… it’s a whole different world, and you can make that a lot of fun, and we did. We enjoyed it.”

Even though Bushnell misses racing against his son, being in separate classes is easier for both, because they can help the other during races.

The two also get help from Ron Elder Jr., Les Wray and Mike Larson, as well as others throughout the Edmonton racing community.

“We have that big family community, and we do have a lot of good people at the track that help each other out all the time, so that always comes in handy, for sure,” he said.

After winning a championship, Bushnell has to move up a class, but he’ll actually be taking this year off to help his son, who has had issues with his car that the family wants to try to solve and perfect.

Mitchell has also never won a championship at Edmonton, so the Bushnells are going to work hard to get a title for a third member of the family.

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“Two years ago he was knocking on the door, and he finished second by two points,” Bushnell said. “I think the rate he’s going, it’s not easy, but I think he may have hopefully something in the future that we can say all three of us have won a championship out there. I think that would be a really neat accomplishment.”

Even though he won’t be racing full-time, Bushnell will still spend plenty of time around the track this summer, and he may even race a time or two if someone needs a driver.

For now, though, he’ll continue celebrating 2022 and everything that came with it.

“It’s nice. Every year there’s a new championship, so I guess just the bragging rights for the year saying you are… I guess it’s just nice to have that on the wall saying you did actually win a championship for whichever class you were in.

“It’s just nice to know that some hard work paid off and you do get some recognition for it… To be able to say I was able to do the same as what my dad did 50-something years ago is kind of really neat. It was the last three or four years he’s been out at the track with us, too, watching, so having the three generations there at the track and stuff like that is really neat and nice for us all to share together. That’s one thing for sure.”

Edmonton will open the 2023 season on June 3.

Posted on March 7, 2023March 7, 2023 by Brandon White

Plenty of changes are in store for the CARS Tour as the series opens its 2023 season with the Puryear Tank Lines 225 at Southern National Motorsports Park, a NASCAR Home Track in Lucama, North Carolina.

Not only does the series have a new broadcast partner in FloRacing, but Saturday’s opener will be the first CARS Tour race under a new ownership group consisting of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, former driver Jeff Burton and Trackhouse Racing Team owner Justin Marks.

The goal of the new ownership group is to bolster the solid foundation that has been existent in the CARS Tour since its inaugural year in 2015. This is the series in which drivers like William Byron, Christopher Bell, Todd Gilliland, Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry and more have developed their skills against some of the best short-track competitors in the southeast.

To kick off the new era, the CARS Tour heads back to the track that hosted its first race in Southern National. The series has raced at Southern National 12 times between its Late Model Stock Car division and the defunct Super Late Model Tour, but Saturday marks the first time the series has raced in Lucama since 2020.

Several talented drivers make up the entry lists in both the Late Model Stock Car and Pro Late Model Tour for the Puryear Tank Lines 225.

Below is everything you need to know about Saturday’s event at Southern National.

Southern National Motorsports Park (Photo: Veasey Conway/ARCA Racing)

What channel is the 2023 CARS Tour opener on?

All the on-track action for the Puryear Tank Lines 225 at Southern National can be viewed live on FloRacing, the official streaming home for all NASCAR Roots properties.

The event will not be shown on a television network.

Below is the complete schedule for FloRacing’s coverage of the Puryear Tank Lines 225.

Date	Start Time	How to Watch
Saturday, Mar. 11, 2023	3 p.m. ET	FloRacing

Complete schedule for the Puryear Tank Lines 225

This year’s CARS Tour opener will take place on Saturday, March 11. Practice is scheduled for both Friday and Saturday, with qualifying set to take place for both divisions 90 minutes before the green flag.

The Pro Late Model Tour kicks off the racing at Southern National with a 100-lap feature. Once that race concludes, the Late Model Stock Car Tour hits the track for 125 laps.

Below is the complete schedule at Southern National Motorsports Park (all times ET).

Friday, March 10

Time	Event
8:30 a.m.	Trailer parking
9:30 a.m.	All cars unloaded
10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.	Safety inspection of all cars and equipment
1 p.m.	Pits open
1:30 p.m.	Crew chief meeting
2:15-6:15 p.m.	Practice (three rounds for LMSC & PLM)
6:45 p.m.	Pits close

Saturday, March 11

Time	Event
7 a.m.	Trailer & hauler parking
7:15 a.m.	Pits open
7:30 a.m.	Mandatory crew chief meeting
8-9:15 a.m.	Race tire selection
9:30-10:50 a.m.	Practice (two rounds for LMSC & PLM)
11 a.m.	Mandatory crew chief, driver & spotter meeting
11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.	Mandatory pre-qualifying tech
12:30 p.m.	Track safety meeting/grandstands open
1:30-2:30 p.m.	Qualifying (single car for LMSC & PLM)
2:40 p.m.	Driver introductions
2:55 p.m.	Pre-race ceremonies
3 p.m.	Puryear Tank Lines 225- PLM (100 laps), LMSC (125 laps)

Southern National Motorsports Park (Photo: Jacob Kupferman/NASCAR)

Entry lists

The preliminary entry lists for both the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car and Pro Late Model Tour feature an even mix of new and familiar names.

Headlining the Late Model Stock Car feature is defending series champion Carson Kvapil, who will be driving the No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. Nobody could match the efficiency displayed by Kvapil during the 2022 season, as he ended up accumulating four victories and 13 top fives.

Kvapil is joined on the entry list by the drivers who make up the CARS Tour’s loyalty program — known as the Touring 12. This list includes Connor Hall, who won three Late Model Stock Car Tour races in 2022, along with three-time Langley Speedway track champion Brenden Queen, Chad McCumbee, Cale Gale and Isabella Robusto, among others.

For the Pro Late Model Tour, Caden Kvapil, who is Carson’s younger brother, moves over from his family team to the organization that won last year’s championship with Luke Fenhaus in Highlands Motorsports. Caden Kvapil is expected to be a favorite for the Pro Late Model Tour title, but he will have competition from drivers like Katie Hettinger, who is driving for Anthony Campi Racing.

The complete entry lists for the CARS Tour’s Puryear Tank Lines 225 can be found below:

Late Model Stock

Car No.	Driver	Hometown	Owner
00	Jody Measamer	Sanford, NC	Measamer/Usry
03	Brenden Queen	Chesapeake, VA	Lee Pulliam Performance
04	Ronnie Bassett Jr.	Lexington, NC	Bassett Racing
08	Deac McCaskill	Raleigh, NC	McCaskill Motorsports
0	Landon Pembelton	Amelia, VA	Sellers Racing
1	Andrew Grady	Youngsville, NC	Mike Darne Racing
2	Brandon Pierce	Alton, VA	Lee Pulliam Performance
2W	Ryan Wilson	Randleman, NC	Ryan Wilson Motorsports
4	Dylon Wilson	Wilkesboro, NC	TwoBoros Performance Shop
4F	Jonathan Findley	Bristow, VA	Derek Peebles Motorsport
6	Bobby McCarty	Madison, NC	R&S Race Cars
8	Carson Kvapil	Mooresville, NC	JR Motorsports
8B	Chase Burrow	Mechanicsville, VA	Top Gun Motorsports
8F	Tate Fogleman	Durham, NC	JFCO Motorsports
10	Kaden Honeycutt	Aledo, TX	Mike Darne Racing
14	Jared Fryar	Trinity, NC	Jimmy Mooring Racing
15	Ryan Millington	Statesville, NC	Millington Motorsports
16	Chad McCumbee	Supply, NC	McCumbee Elliott Racing
19	Jessica Cann	Winston-Salem, NC	Mixed Merchants Motorsports
20	Joshua Dickens	Easley, SC	Mitchell Mote Performance
22	Cale Gale	Winston-Salem, NC	Nelson Motorsports
24	Mason Diaz	Manassas, VA	Chad Bryant Racing
29	Brian Obiedzenski	Franklinton, NC	Brian Obiedzenski Motorsports
32	Zack Miracle	Indian Trail, NC	Miracle Motorsports
42	Carson Brown	Mooresville, NC	Cook Racing Technologies
44	Conner Jones	Fredericksburg, VA	R&S Race Cars
55	Isabella Robusto	Fort Mill, SC	Lee Faulk Racing & Development
59	Blake Lothian	Wellesley, MA	Mike Darne Racing
67	Cameron Bolin	Sharon, SC	Bolin Family Racing
77	Connor Hall	Hampton, VA	Chad Bryant Racing
81	Mini Tyrrell	Manassas, VA	Timmy Tyrell Racing
95	Jacob Heafner	Dallas, NC	Carroll Speedshop
97	Jason Kitzmiller	Maysville, WV	CR7 Motorsports

Pro Late Model

Car No.	Driver	Hometown	Owner
03	Kyle Campbell	Conniver, NC	Kyle Campbell Racing
5	Zac Fowler	Ellicott, MD	E33 Motorsports
5B	Gavin Boschele	Mooresville, NC	DLP Motorsports
6	George Phillips	Newton, NC	Setzer Racing & Development
7	Tristan McKee	Williamsburg, VA	Accelerated Development
7C	Justin Crider	Statesville, NC	Robin Crider Racing
7T	Tyler Church	Concord, NC	Tyler Church Racing
8	Rusty Skewes	Mechanicsville, VA	Top Gun Motorsports
9	Ashton Higgins	Weaverville, NC	ALH Motorsports
13	Austin MacDonald	Pictou, Nova Scotia	King Racing
15	Brett Suggs	Mooresville, NC	TH Motorsports
19	Bryan Kruczek	Epping, NH	Bobby Webber Racing
24	Carter Langley	Zebulon, NC	Ashley Crim Racing
28	Isabella Robusto	Fort Mill, SC	Wilson Motorsports
29	Logan Boyett	Cantonment, FL	E33 Motorsports
43	Nick Loden	Stanley, NC	Loden Motorsports
43H	Matt Horniman	Claremont, NC	Stillwell Racing
44	Justin Whitaker	Burlington, NC	JFCO Racing
48	Jeff Batten	Nashville, NC	B&J Racing
49	Luke Morey	Denver, NC	Luke Morey Racing
77	Logan Jones	Fredericksburg, VA	J&L Motorsports
81	Katie Hettinger	Metamora, MI	Anthony Campi Racing
96	Caden Kvapil	Mooresville, NC	Highlands Motorsports