Posted on by Brandon White

A couple months ago, three-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Justin Bonsignore was nowhere near the title battle between Ron Silk and Jon McKennedy.

Two consecutive victories at Oswego Speedway and Riverhead Raceway has shifted momentum in Bonsignore’s favor and made him a favorite to claim his fourth title as the series heads to Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park this weekend for the Phoenix Communications 150.

“We’re really excited to head into Thompson,” Bonsignore said. “It’s been one of our best tracks over the years, and the World Series weekend is always a special event in the New England area. We’ve really hit on something with the car over the past couple of weeks, and we think that’s going to carry over into Thompson, as well.”

RELATED: Phoenix Communications 150 entry list

Two finishes below 20th at New Smyrna Speedway and Riverhead put Bonsignore in the hole that he has been trying to climb out of all year.

Justin Bonsignore makes a lap around Wall Stadium in 2019 (Photo: NASCAR)

While Bonsignore believed he could shake off those poor showings, inconsistency during the summer further hindered his progress back toward the front of the field. Despite the struggles, Bonsignore and his team were not ready to let a fourth title escape their grasp.

Following a 12th-place run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Bonsignore has not recorded a finish worse than sixth over the past five races. This has erased his deficit from 25 points after New Hampshire to just three, putting him in a tie for second with Silk.

With 12 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victories at Thompson on his resume, including six in a row from 2018-19, Bonsignore is confident he can enter the season finale at Martinsville Speedway with the points lead. But he expects Silk and McKennedy to battle him all the way down to the last lap of the year.

“It’s going to be a dogfight during these last two races,” Bonsignore said. “Jon and Ronnie are really good drivers and have really good teams, so this’ll be exciting for the fans. Whoever does the best in these two races is likely going to win the championship, as well, so we’ll have to execute all day and keep ourselves in a position to win when it gets down to it.”

Bonsignore will search for his 13th Thompson win and fifth on the 2022 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season when the green flag flies for the Phoenix Communications 150 at 4 p.m. ET. The event will be streamed live on FloRacing.

Mike Christopher Jr. back with Tommy Baldwin Racing

While three points separate the top three in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver standings, there are almost no questions over who the owner’s champion will be once the checkered flag flies at Martinsville.

Tommy Baldwin Racing has been a dominant force in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour all season long, with six-time champion Doug Coby, Jimmy Blewett and Mike Christopher Jr. all taking the iconic No. 7NY to Victory Lane at least once in 2022.

For the Phoenix Communications 150, Baldwin has tabbed Mike Jr. to pilot his car around Thompson. Mike Jr. impressed many in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour garage area earlier this year by outdueling the series veterans at Jennerstown Speedway for his first win at the age of 23.

The nephew of 2008 series champion Ted Christopher and son of former racer Mike Christopher, Mike Jr. has plenty of knowledge and experience to rely on as he continues to grow more comfortable competing at some of the most storied facilities in the northeast.

Another win for Mike Jr. in Sunday’s Phoenix Communications 150 would be the sixth for Baldwin on the 2022 season and further pad out their advantage over the rest of the field in the owner points.

Ryan Preece piloting Ole’ Blue at Thompson

The iconic No. 3 Ole’ Blue Modified owned by Jan Boehler will have a familiar face behind the wheel at Thompson on Sunday.

Ryan Preece, the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion, will climb into the famous ride for his fourth start on the 2022 season. This is the second time Preece has competed in Ole’ Blue this year after he scored a top 10 in the season-opener at New Smyrna.

Ryan Preece (3) races alongside Mike Stefanik (16) at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in 2010. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Preece previously ran Ole’ Blue during the early days of his Modified career from 2008-10. In that timeframe, Preece picked up three of his 25 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victories and claimed a second-place points finish in 2009.

Now back with his old team again, Preece is looking to claim an eighth consecutive top-10 finish that dates to his 2021 season with the late Eddie Partridge. All three of Preece’s top 10s in 2022 have come with a different organization.

Should Preece take home a checkered flag Sunday afternoon, it would be his fourth triumph in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Thompson. His most recent victory at the track came in 2017 while driving for Partridge.

Notes:

  • Craig Lutz turned an inconsistent season around during the most recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Thompson by leading a race-high 119 laps to claim his fourth career victory. Lutz will be searching for his third consecutive victory at Thompson on Sunday afternoon.
  • Doug Coby is back in his own No. 10 Modified for the Phoenix Communications 150. He drove the same car to a third place finish at Thompson in August, but he ended up drawing the ire of teammate Jimmy Blewett after contact on the fronstretch sent the 7NY into the wall, knocking Blewett out of the race.
  • Bobby Santos III is making his fourth start of 2022 behind the wheel of the No. 44 owned by Lawney Tinio. Santos has won at Thompson five times during his career, but a win on Sunday would break a dry spell that followed his victory in the Musket 200 at New Hampshire in 2020.
  • The last time Timmy Solomito won a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race was back on Oct. 15, 2017 at Thompson, his second at the track. Solomito has come close to Victory Lane several times since that day, but will look to finally earn another win driving for his family-owned team.
Posted on by Staff Report

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel on Thursday amended the September penalty to NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron for his intentional contact to Denny Hamlin under caution at Texas Motor Speedway, which sent the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver spinning into the infield and out of the top five

Byron, a two-time 2022 winner in the No. 24 Chevrolet, will now be issued a $100,000 fine with no championship points deduction. He was initially docked 25 driver points and 25 owner points along with a $50,000 fine as a result of violating Sections 4.3.A & 4.4.C of the NASCAR Rule Book, which pertain to the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct.

RELATED: Updated series standings

Section 4.4.C states that member actions that can result in a loss of 25-50 driver and team owner points and/or $50,0000-$100,000 fine and/or suspension includes “intentionally wrecking another vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is removed from Competition as a result” and “any actions deemed to compromise the safety of an Event or otherwise pose a dangerous risk to the safety of Competitors, Officials, spectators, or others.”

The points portion of the initial penalty would have left Byron 10th in the playoff standings and 11 points beneath the elimination line. Instead, he returns to the playoff-advancing side of the bubble heading into Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 Round of 12 elimination race (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR). Byron now sits in seventh place, 14 points to the good.

MORE: Byron: ‘I didn’t mean to spin him’ | In-car camera view of spin

Daniel Suárez is now right on the good side of the bubble at +12 and in eighth place. Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric, who are tied in points and were initially on the elimination line together, now both sit 12 points back.

Eight drivers will advance to the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs following Sunday’s race, while four are eliminated from championship contention.

The members of the Appeals Board for the hearing were Hunter Nickell, Dale Pinilis and Kevin Whitaker.

Posted on by Staff Report

Hendrick Motorsports sets a standard of excellence for how to run a professional NASCAR Cup Series organization — and that precedent comes from the top down, starting with team owner Rick Hendrick.

Look no further than this tweet from fellow Chevrolet-backed Petty GMS Racing — a team that, in some form or another through its Richard Petty Motorsports roots, has been racing against Hendrick for literally decades.

MORE: Celebrating Hendrick drivers through the years

“Mr. H” appears to have sent flowers to the Statesville, North Carolina Petty GMS headquarters to both congratulate the organization on Erik Jones’ win earlier in the playoffs at Darlington Raceway’s Southern 500 and, in turn, thank the team for Jones’ push of Talladega Superspeedway winner Chase Elliott in the final laps to help propel the No. 9 driver to the Round of 8.

MORE: Watch the ‘Dega finish from Elliott’s POV

Always class from Hendrick, and nothing but respect between him and “The King.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Editor’s note: Tune in or set your DVRs for Episode 6 tonight at 10 ET on USA Network.

Episode six of USA Network’s unscripted series “Race for the Championship” airs tonight at 10 ET, and the sixth of 10 episodes provides exclusive looks and sounds surrounding a couple of drivers who were still looking for their first Cup Series win earlier this year — Daniel Suárez and Corey LaJoie.

Each episode throughout the series will feature multiple drivers and their lives and stories away from the track. Suárez, LaJoie and Kyle Larson will be the three spotlighted tonight as the series focuses on both their stories off the track and on it as the series heads to both Sonoma and Atlanta.

In addition to the upcoming Thursday episode, NBC Universal has announced that the entire season of “Race for the Championship” will be available on Peacock starting Oct. 7. Episodes 7-10 of “Race for the Championship” will still debut on USA Network before being available on Peacock the next day.

So after watching tonight’s Episode 6, be sure to stream previous episodes or any you may have missed on Peacock starting Friday.

—

How to find USA Network | USA Network streaming on the go

Posted on by Adam Fenwick

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For 13 young men and women, Thursday could be the first day of the rest of their lives.

The driver roster for the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine was announced Thursday morning at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, with 13 drivers from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines among those selected to participate.

The drivers, ranging in age from 13-19, will participate in the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine in November, when they will be judged in a variety of areas with only a portion of those participating ultimately selected for the Drive for Diversity Driver Development program.

RELATED: Advance Auto Parts becomes official partner of Drive for Diversity Driver Development Combine

“We talk about building and widening the pipeline, and that’s exactly what this is about,” said Brandon Thompson, NASCAR’s vice president of diversity and inclusion. “That starts at the grassroots level regardless of what color you are or whether you are male or female.

“The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series is a feeder system into the rest of the sport, so it’s vital we fill that pipeline with talent, number one, but diverse talent is a double win for us.”

Npm Aap Hof 9289

The list of drivers accepted for the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine include competitors from seven states and Mexico. They include newcomer Katie Hettinger, who made headlines this season by becoming the winningest female competitor in the history of North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway.

Hettinger’s accolades include a Limited Late Model victory during the 2021 edition of the Bobby Isaac Memorial, one of Hickory’s biggest events. She’s also scheduled to make her ARCA Menards Series West debut on Oct. 14 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“I think [the Combine] is going to help me with my race craft and a little bit of everything,” said the 15-year-old Hettinger, who is from Dryden, Michigan. “My media skills aren’t the best, but hopefully they get better with the Combine. My feedback to the crew chief, hopefully it helps with that, and I’m pretty sure it will.

“I’m really hoping to get the ARCA ride for Rev (Racing). I really hope that will happen.”

Rev Racing serves as the driver development arm of the Drive for Diversity program and is overseen by Rev Racing CEO Max Siegel. Among the 13 Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine competitors are five current Rev Racing drivers, including Justin Campbell (age 17), Andres Perez de Lara (17), Jaiden Reyna (16), Lavar Scott (19) and Regina Sirvent (19).

“Obviously the Combine is a really good place to, I don’t want to say measure yourself, but definitely compete against people from different backgrounds,” said Reyna, who is completing his first season racing Late Model Stock Cars for Rev Racing and veteran Late Model competitor and team owner Kres VanDyke. “Some of these [drivers] are from Mexico, some of these [drivers] started on dirt. It’s very good to see how well you stack up and what you need to improve on.”

RELATED: Jaiden Reyna hopes NASCAR career will feature return to family’s native Mexico

Npm Aap Hof 9418

In addition to Hettinger, Quinn Davis (13), Eloy Sebastian Lopez Falcon (17), Caleb Johnson (15), Nathan Lyons (13), Jordon Riddick (17), Paige Rogers (19) and Lucas Vera (15) are new to the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine.

The Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine isn’t just about a driver’s on-track skill. The competitors also learn how to better work with media and build their own brands, two crucial steps all drivers must face as they work their way up the development ladder to NASCAR’s national series.

“You want to partner with those things that are most indicative and linked with your brand,” said Jason McDonell, Advance Auto Parts’ executive vice president of merchandising, marketing and e-commerce. “For us to be able help these young people literally learn and define what their brand is, is really important. Along the way they get a little bit of experience, a little bit of training by working with us. I think it’s really going to help them.”

The ultimate goal for each of the 13 drivers taking part in the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine is to follow in the footsteps of Drive for Diversity graduates like Kyle Larson, Daniel Suárez and Bubba Wallace, all of whom now race in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Before they do that, they first must be selected for the Drive for Diversity program. To do that, they must impress during the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine.

“I had a great opportunity to spend some time talking to a bunch of them and you can see the fire in their eyes and their willingness to learn and already their eagerness in the types of questions they were asking me,” said McDonell. “You can sort of see a future leader from a mile away. Whether it’s a future leader or a great driver on the track, I’m really excited about supporting them.”

Posted on by Staff Report

From 1973-2017, only one driver won the Charlotte Motor Speedway fall race in back-to-back years; Jimmie Johnson won in 2004 and 2005.

After 45 years with one back-to-back winner – the longest stretch with only one back-to-back winner in NASCAR Cup Series history – it took only three years for the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval to squash the parity on the new infield road-course layout for the fall race, with Chase Elliott winning in 2019 and 2020.

If NASCAR odds prove accurate for this weekend’s Bank of America Roval 400 (Sun. 2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, Sirius XM NASCAR), there’s a good chance of a second back-to-back winner in just four years.

One year after winning for the first time in Charlotte, Kyle Larson has the third-shortest odds at BetMGM to win for the second time. At +800 as of Thursday, he’s narrowly behind the favorites, Chase Elliott (+400) and Tyler Reddick (+600). And the public is buying Larson stock.

He ranks first in ticket share (7.2%) and third in handle share (12.5%), only behind Elliott (19%) and AJ Allmendinger (13.9%).

Larson and Elliott also face each other in a blockbuster featured matchup at BetMGM:

Chase Elliott (-155) vs. Kyle Larson (+125)

With a combined 28 top-10s, 22 top-5s, and 11 wins in 50 career starts on road courses, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are already two of the best road-course drivers in Cup Series history. And they’ve combined to win the last three Bank of America Roval 400s.

“As the defending Roval winner and most recent road-course winner in general, there would need to be some mighty circumstances for Larson to miss [the Round of 8] at this point despite a somewhat tenuous points gap between him and the bubble,” Pat DeCola wrote in this week’s NASCAR Power Rankings, noting Larson’s plus-18 points margin in the playoff standings.

William Byron (-120) vs. Christopher Bell (-110)

Both William Byron and Christopher Bell can rise above the elimination line – Byron is 10th at minus-11, and Bell is 11th at minus-33 – but this still feels like a head-to-head elimination matchup between the rising stars.

Byron led a race-high 30 laps last year but finished 11th, his worst finish in the event since a late wreck led to a 34th-place finish as a rookie in 2018. He’s still seeking his first Cup Series road-course top-5 finish; he has zero in 20 starts.

MORE: Top 10 lap leaders at the Roval

Bell, meanwhile, has three top fives (and one win) in only 14 career Cup Series road-course starts. And he raced well on this course last year, finishing eighth in his second start on the Charlotte road course.

Byron ranks 14th in race-winner ticket share (2.7%) and 10th in handle share (2.2%), while Bell is ninth in tickets (3.8%) and fifth in handle (5.4%)

Austin Cindric (-120) vs. Chase Briscoe (-110)

Austin Cindric’s winless drought extended to 30 races with a ninth-place finish last weekend, though it was his eighth straight top-20 finish as he’s finding some late-season consistency after ups and downs throughout most of his rookie season.

Cindric has zero career Roval starts in Cup – and just one career Cup Series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway – but does have five top-10s in eight Cup Series road-course starts, most recently a second-place finish in Indianapolis two months ago.

Neither Cindric nor Chase Briscoe are popular race-winner picks this week. They have a combined 3.8% of the tickets and 2.5% of the handle, the lowest combined shares of any featured matchup.

Daniel Suárez (-130) vs. Joey Logano (+110)

Joey Logano is one of only three drivers with four top-10 finishes in this event since the transition in 2018. Of those drivers – Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman are others – he’s the only one without multiple top-five finishes.

Logano finished 10th in 2018 and 2019, second in 2020, and seventh in 2021. Those are four of 19 career top-10 road-course finishes for the No. 22 driver, most recently finishing third in the Go Bowling at the Glen in August.

Daniel Suárez finished fifth in that race, the lone top-five finish in his last 10 starts after four straight top-10s from the Kwik Trip 250 through the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400. He has the sixth-highest race-winner ticket share (4.6%) and eighth-highest handle share (2.8%).

Logano ranks seventh in ticket share (4.2%) and ninth in handle share (2.4%).

You can view updated Bank of America Roval 400 odds and more online sports betting opportunities at the BetMGM online sportsbook.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR announced today that Advance Auto Parts, a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider and the Official Auto Parts Retailer of NASCAR, will serve as the primary sponsor of the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine.

The entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (NAAPWS) and Advance My Track Challenge, Advance has dedicated its resources to developing NASCAR at the grassroots level. As partner of the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine, the retailer continues to expand its presence in the sport.

“This program has been advancing careers for many years, with so many talented drivers getting the opportunity to showcase their abilities,” said Jason McDonell, Advance’s executive vice president of merchandising, marketing and e-commerce. “Increasing diverse representation within the motorsports community is paramount, and our Advance team is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with NASCAR to create a pipeline for tomorrow’s racing stars.”

“We’re excited to welcome Advance Auto Parts as our combine partner,” said Brandon Thompson, NASCAR’s vice president of diversity & inclusion. “Their commitment to our industry diversity & inclusion efforts, and specifically their commitment to advancing the next generation of NASCAR drivers will aid us in identifying, attracting and developing young, diverse talent.”

LEARN MORE: Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series | Drive for Diversity 

NASCAR and Rev Racing also announced the names of 13 drivers who will be participating in the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine.

These drivers from around the world went through a rigorous selection process and will be evaluated by judges from across the NASCAR industry. Each participant will be assessed in different areas from physical fitness and on-track performance to media and marketing skills.

The NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program was created in 2004 to develop and train ethnically diverse and female drivers both on and off the track. NASCAR Cup Series drivers Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suárez and Kyle Larson are alumni of the program, which is operated by Rev Racing in Concord, N.C.

“We are thrilled that we are in a position to return to an in-person evaluation for this year’s Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine,” Rev Racing CEO Max Seigel said. “We are energized by the high-level of participating athletes and look forward to building the best driver class for 2023. As an organization, we have never been more positioned for success and future growth.”

Following the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 combines due to the impact of COVID-19, this year’s candidates were evaluated based on applications, references, historical success and previous on-track performance by a panel comprised of NASCAR executives and professionals. To apply, interested drivers submitted a racing resume and video highlights to NASCAR and Rev Racing.

The 2022 combine features the following drivers:

Name Age Hometown Car Type
Justin Campbell 17 Griffin, Georgia U.S. Legend Car
Quinn Davis 13 Sparta, Tennessee Bandolero
Eloy Sebastian López Falcón 17 Mexico City, Mexico NASCAR Mexico Truck Series
Katie Hettinger 15 Dryden, MI Late Model Stock
Caleb Johnson 15 Denver, CO Jr. Late Model eSports Next, Carolina Pro Late Model
Nathan Lyons 13 Concord, NC Bandolero
Andrés Peréz de Lara 17 Mexico City, Mexico U.S. Legend Car & NASCAR Mexico Challenge Series
Jaiden Reyna 16 Cornelius, NC Late Models Stock
Jordon Riddick 17 Sellersburg, IN CRA Jr. Late Model & U.S. Legend Car
Paige Rogers 19 New Haven, IN CRA Late Model Sportsman
Lavar Scott 19 Carney’s Point, NJ Late Model Stock & Power 600 Series Micro Sprints
Regina Sirvent 19 Mexico City, Mexico NASCAR Mexico Challenge Series & Late Model Stock
Lucas Vera 15 Charlotte, NC Bandolero & U.S. Legend Car

 

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

With the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs halfway over, the Round of 12 comes to a close at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.

Four drivers will be eliminated following the Bank of America ROVAL 400 on Sunday afternoon (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) while eight drivers will continue chasing their championship hopes.

Get set for the race weekend with everything you need to know here:

RELATED: Weekend schedule | Cup Series standings

GETTING ACQUAINTED

Practice is back on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule this weekend ahead of Sunday’s race.

Teams will be broken into Groups A and B for 20 minutes of practice (12 p.m. ET, NBC Sports App; USA Network at 12:30 p.m.) for each group, respectively. Following practice, the series will roll into two rounds of qualifying set to begin at 1 p.m. to set the starting lineup.

With the postseason underway, playoff drivers and teams will be ordered by their previous race metrics and assigned to Group A or B by the usual odd/even metric procedures. Playoff teams will be the final cars to qualify in their respective groups.

Each group’s round will run for 15 minutes. The fastest five drivers from each group will advance to the final round of qualifying, where those 10 drivers will have a 10-minute session to fight for the Busch Light Pole Award. The driver who sets the quickest lap in the session will start first on Sunday.

MORE: Paint Scheme Preview | Qualifying order

ROVAL STORY LINES

— Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, will unfortunately be one of the four drivers eliminated from playoff contention. Bowman, who won his way into the postseason at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, will miss his second consecutive race as he recovers from concussion-like symptoms sustained at Texas Motor Speedway, where the Round of 12 opened.

— Nineteen different drivers have won this year, tied for the most all-time.

— Chase Elliott has scored 46 playoff points this season, 21 more than Joey Logano who holds the second-most with 25 playoff points.

— Tyler Reddick has won three of the last 14 races, with teammate Austin Dillon picking up another victory (Daytona) for Richard Childress Racing in that span.

— Denny Hamlin is the only driver to start the 2022 playoffs with top 10s in all five races. Forty-two percent of his top 10s this year have come in the last five races (five of 12).

— Reddick has won twice on road courses this year, the only driver to score multiple road-course victories.

— Chevrolet has won a series-record 11 consecutive road-course races.

— Each of Chase Elliott’s last 12 wins came at a different track. Four of the 12 were on road courses.

— Chase Elliott is winless in his last eight road-course starts, his longest winless streak on road courses.

— The last eight races have each been won by different drivers — Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Reddick and Chase Elliott.

— Hendrick Motorsports won 11 of the last 19 road-course races. Only one organization has more all time road-course wins than Hendrick scored during that span (Joe Gibbs Racing, 13 all-time road-course wins.)

Source: Racing Insights

GOODYEAR TIRES

Teams will have plenty of familiarity with this week’s Goodyear tires at the Charlotte Roval.

Goodyear is providing teams with the same tire setup that was used at Road America, Watkins Glen International, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The left-front/right-rear tire codes were also utilized at the season’s first road race at Circuit of The Americas in March.

“This is a well-established tire that the Cup cars are running on the Roval this week,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “When adding the race at COTA, when we ran this same tire with just one code, Cup teams have run this setup at four races already this season. Having such a consistent tire choice gives teams the chance to refer back to prior races in determining how to set up their cars. A lot has changed since last year’s race at the Roval, so having an established tire removes one variable for the teams to worry about.”

CHARLOTTE HISTORY

— Starting in 2018, the fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway has been contested on the newly built infield road course known as the Roval.

— AJ Allmendinger did an initial test of the 18-turn, 2.3-mile layout of the Charlotte Roval in January 2017.

— That original course was shortened from 18 to 17 turns. The removal of the A turn in the infield portion of the track shortened lap times by 15-20 seconds. Chicanes were added to the backstretch before the oval’s Turn 3 and on the frontstretch before the start/finish line. The final layout of the course for 2018 was set at 17 turns and 2.28 miles.

— The Roval serves as Charlotte’s first road course in the track’s 58-year existence; the first road-course race to appear in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and the longest road-course event in NASCAR at 400 kilometers.

— In June 2019, Charlotte Motor Speedway officials expanded the configuration of the backstretch chicane. The chicane was originally 32 feet wide, but the updated version in 2019 became 54 feet wide and featured additional runoff areas which were not available in the original configuration. The inside wall of the oval near turn 3 was also moved back to accommodate more on-track space for the updated chicane.

— The average green-flag stretch was 10 laps or less in each of the four Roval races. The longest green-flag stretch at the Roval was 31 laps in 2018.

Source: Racing Insights

BEST BETS THROUGH TWISTS AND TURNS

Two words should guide your expectations this weekend: Hendrick Motorsports.

Hendrick drivers have won three of the four races on the Charlotte Roval, with Chase Elliott going back-to-back in 2019 and 2020 and Kyle Larson taking the checkered flag last year. The oddsmakers are paying plenty of attention to that as Elliott enters Sunday as the favorite at 4-1 odds, according to BetMGM. Larson isn’t far behind at 8-1.

Snuck in between those two is the only driver to score multiple road wins in 2022 — Tyler Reddick (6-1). Reddick scored his first career victories at Road America and the Indy road course this summer, both of which featured this tire as well. Where’d he finish the other road race in that span? Seventh at Watkins Glen.

It’s also worth keeping an eye on AJ Allmendinger at 10-1 odds. Allmendinger, who will race full-time with Kaulig Racing in 2023, has won each of the last three Xfinity races on the Roval, finished seventh in the inaugural Cup race there and led five laps a season ago before mechanical issues led to a DNF.

MORE: Complete list of odds for Sunday

FANTASY LIVE

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live, which reset for the playoffs. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts by garaging a driver by the end of Stage 2, and there is a $10,000 prize for the playoff winner.

The 2022 Fantasy Live points leaders are Chase Elliott (1,076), Ryan Blaney (961) and Kyle Larson (943).

In addition to Fantasy Live, NASCAR.com is offering the Playoffs Grid Challenge presented by Ruoff Mortgage during the playoffs.

How to play: Fantasy Live | Set up a team today!

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week the full field of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.

Posted on by Staff Report

UPDATE: Stewart-Haas Racing announced Friday that it will appeal the penalty to the No. 4 team. Crew chief Rodney Childers will still sit out for Sunday’s race at Charlotte, with team engineer Stephen Doran serving as interim crew chief. 

—

NASCAR officials issued L2-level penalties Wednesday to the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team for unapproved modification of a single-source part.

The infraction, which falls under the heading of Sections 14.1 (vehicle assembly) and 14.5 (body), resulted in a 100-point penalty for both driver Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 SHR team in their respective Cup Series points standings. Additionally, crew chief Rodney Childers was fined $100,000 and suspended from the next four Cup Series events.

RELATED: Cup Series standings | Full Cup schedule

The No. 4 Ford — driven to a 29th-place finish in last Sunday’s YellaWood 500 — was one of two cars taken back to the NASCAR Research & Development Center after last weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for Martin Truex Jr. was also taken to the R&D Center for further post-race inspection.

Childers, who just celebrated his 600th Cup Series start at Talladega, would be eligible to return for the Nov. 6 season finale at Phoenix Raceway. The team did not immediately announce whether it would appeal the penalty.

A behavioral penalty was also handed down in another NASCAR national series.

Competition officials indefinitely suspended Andrew Abbott, crew chief for the No. 20 Young’s Motorsports team in the Camping World Truck Series, for violating the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct (Sections 4.3.A and 4.4). Officials indicated that “completion of NASCAR-mandated anger management training is a pre-requisite to reinstatement.”

Posted on by Sean Montgomery

Stock-car racing’s roots run deep in Mexico.

Now anchored by the country’s premier series, the NASCAR Mexico Series, decades of history and memorable moments have the sport on an upward trajectory with a rapidly growing fandom that is passionate about racing.

“The important thing is to be clear that we are a prime form of motorsports in our region,” said Victor Pineda, a manager with NASCAR International and a mainstay with the series since its inception. “NASCAR has changed the way we do races. Everything changed from the way we build new tracks to the way we build race cars. We understand that on the technical competition side we are grassroots series on the touring series level, but for us, it is the most important thing in motorsports in Mexico.”

MORE: 2022 series schedule | Learn more about the Mexico Series

EARLY PIONEERING

Hispanic drivers have a storied history of competing in NASCAR, dating back to Mexican legend Pedro Rodriguez competing in six Cup Series races between 1959 and 1971. Rodriguez raced to a career-best fifth-place result in the 1965 World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Nearly three decades after Rodriguez’s final race, Carlos Contreras debuted in the Camping World Truck Series (then-Craftsman Truck Series), serving as a pioneer of the modern era while making starts with Impact Motorsports and Richard Petty Enterprises for multiple seasons.

Through the years, NASCAR’s relationship with racing in Mexico began to grow, resulting in a series of four Xfinity Series (then-Busch Series) races at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City from 2005-08. Notable stars Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kyle Busch each earned checkered flags in the country’s capital city, racing alongside Mexican legends like Adrián Fernández, Michel Jourdain Jr. and others.

During this international stint, the creation of NASCAR’s first series in Mexico in 2006, the NASCAR Corona Series, set a new standard for stock-car racing in the country moving forward. Now, 2022 is the series’ 16th season of operation under the NASCAR banner, though the series was inactive in 2016.

STARS AND STABILITY

NASCAR Mexico Series

Because the NASCAR Mexico Series is the premier stock-car racing series in the country, it attracts the top stars who want to compete at the highest level. The race season is 12 races long and competes in nine different states with at least eight of the races taking place on larger speedways or short tracks.

German Quiroga at 31 years old became the first muli-time champion in series history, reeling off three consecutive titles from 2009-11. Former Xfinity Series and K&N Pro Series driver Ruben Garcia Jr. matched the feat in 2019 at just 20 years old after also claiming championships in 2015 and 2018. Salvador de Alba Jr. is the current defending champion, winning the prestigious trophy over Garcia just days before his 21st birthday.

Each year, the series is becoming more competitive and the stars are becoming younger. It’s a healthy trajectory for the sport.

It even led to the creation of a new division for up-and-coming drivers to race alongside veterans: the Mexico Series Challenge Division.

“NASCAR Mexico created the Challenge Division in a way to showcase the new talent,” said Pineda. “Former drivers, like Daniel Suárez, Rogelio Lopez, Antonio Perez, German Quiroga, all these names. Now, these young kids see them as a reference or a goal to be like them. Daniel Suárez is, of course, the main target. But they want to be like all these guys and each of those names inspired these young kids.”

PHOTOS: Mexico Series through the years

SUÁREZ INSPIRES WITH SUCCESS IN THE STATES

Unquestionably, one of the most notable alums from the Mexico Series is current Trackhouse Racing star Daniel Suárez, who was born in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Suárez made his Mexico Series debut in 2009 and quickly made a name for himself in the series with 10 wins in 76 starts. Suárez’s success elevated him to make NASCAR starts in the United States in the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series, leading to his groundbreaking Xfinity title in 2016. In 2017, he reached the pinnacle of stock-car racing, the NASCAR Cup Series, and has been driving the sport forward in Mexico ever since.

In June at Sonoma Raceway, Suárez became the first Mexican-born driver to win at NASCAR’s highest level. It was a historic feat for not only the sport, but also for those watching him back home — particularly the ones who saw him rise through the ranks.

“We saw Daniel since he was a young kid,” Pineda said. “He started racing with us in the support series, so he was like 14 or 15 years old. So this was just like, really young guy with braces on his teeth and now we are seeing this great sportsman racing on the big ovals. I mean it’s just fantastic. It’s an inspiration for every one of us because I still remember the moment that we approved his first license to make his foray. So his first race here with us and now you can see how he’s doing and that is inspiring. The young kids that it is inspiring, the drivers.

“So the old guys that raced against Daniel back in the day, they are happy because they say ‘Well, we were racing together. We actually taught him a couple of things.’ But the young kids, they say, ‘Well, if he can do it, we can do it.'”

For more information on the NASCAR Mexico Series, visit www.nascar.mx and check out these exclusive driver highlights on rising stars Jaiden Reyna, Sebastian Arias, Max Gutiérrez and 2022 ARCA Menards Series champion Nick Sanchez in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Race broadcasts can be found on FOX Sports 3 and Claro Sports (in Mexico and Latin America) and also streamed on the NASCAR Mexico Series social media channels.