After a one-year absence, a proud tradition returns to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule in the World Series of Speedway Racing at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
From Oct. 7-9, 17 different divisions will descend onto Thompson for the 59th edition of the World Series. The expansive schedule includes the Phoenix Communications 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, which is set to take place on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.
Thompson was the site of the very first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race back on March 31, 1985, which ended up being claimed by Richie Evans. Since that day, Mike Stefanik, Jeff Fuller, Steve Park, Ted Christopher and Donny Lia are among the names that have had the opportunity to visit Thompson’s storied Victory Lane.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s second trip to Thompson this year will serve as another chapter in the series’ long history at the track as a mixture of veterans and newcomers look to write their own history on Saturday — all while the intense, season-long championship battle draws closer to its conclusion.
Below is everything you need to know about the Phoenix Communications 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on Saturday evening.
Phoenix Communications 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
What to watch for:
The top three in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour point standings are separated by just three points.
Sitting atop the standings is series veteran Jon McKennedy, who is currently enjoying the best season of his career that saw him nab his second victory at Claremont Motorsports Park to go along with seven top fives and 170 laps led.
McKennedy has been forced to battle 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Ron Silk for most of the season. Despite having yet to win a race this year, Silk is currently in the middle of a consistent campaign of his own and enters the Phoenix Communications 150 with five previous victories at Thompson.
The other driver in the title fight is three-time series champion Justin Bonsignore. A 12-time Thompson winner, momentum has favored Bonsignore in recent weeks with two consecutive wins at Oswego Speedway and Riverhead Raceway, which have helped him claw his way to a tie for second with Silk in the standings following a slow start to the year.
(Photo: Billie Weiss/NASCAR)
While McKennedy, Silk and Bonsignore attempt to settle the championship, they will have to fend off a strong contingent of drivers like Craig Lutz, who has found comfort zone at Thompson by winning the last two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events at the facility.
Other notable names on the preliminary entry list include six-time series champion Doug Coby, who won four consecutive events at Thompson in 2015, as well as Ryan Preece, In his quest for a fourth Thompson victory, Preece will be piloting the famous No. 3 Ole Blue Modified for Jan Boehler.
The complete entry for the Phoenix Communications 150 can be viewed here.
Schedule: Saturday, Oct. 8 … Final practice from 1 – 2:15 p.m. ET … Qualifying at 4 p.m. ET; Sunday, Oct. 9 … Race at 4 p.m. ET
Qualifying: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time. Starting field for the Phoenix Communications 150 is limited to 30 starters including Provisional Positions.
Tire allotment: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is 11 tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event. The tire change rule is four (4) tires, any position.
In Colombia, every aspiring racer dreams to be like Juan Pablo Montoya.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time with accomplishments that include two Indianapolis 500 victories and three wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Montoya continues to captivate thousands of people inside his home country of Colombia even as he enters the twilight of his career.
Montoya is the reason why Bogotá, Colombia, native Sebastian Arias is competing in the ARCA Menards Series West today. Arias has done everything possible to model himself around Montoya’s principles, and he intends to reach the NASCAR Cup Series one day just like his childhood hero.
“My dad and I use to watch Juan Pablo Montoya when we still lived in Colombia, and I wanted to be just like him and get to NASCAR,” Arias said. “My dad wanted me to pursue my dream, so here I am right now.”
Sebastian Arias (Photo: Adam Glanzman/ARCA Racing)
Determined to make that dream a reality, Arias knew his best opportunity at doing so would be to move to the United States, which he did at the age of 16.
Settling into his new environment was far from an easy experience. Along with trying to acclimate himself to U.S. culture, Arias also had to adapt to the compact, aggressive nature of oval racing in Legends cars after primarily competing in go-kart events around Colombia’s road courses.
Legends races were only possible for Arias after his father Nestor sold the family home in Colombia to purchase the necessary cars and equipment. Once Arias got settled in, Nestor encouraged him to make connections so he could keep his racing career alive.
Following a couple of years developing his skills and securing funding in Late Model Stocks, Arias’ big break came in 2021, when he signed to drive for Bill McAnally Racing. He would officially become the second Colombia-born driver to compete in a NASCAR-sanctioned race after Montoya during the season finale at Phoenix Raceway that year.
Sebastian Arias (Michael Owens/ARCA Racing)
For his ARCA Menards Series West debut, Arias gained the support of several sponsors such as Rubbermaid Commercial Products and Brady IFS. Just about all of them followed Arias when he signed a deal with Eric Nascimento to contest the 2022 West Series season.
Arias has treated his time with Nascimento as a learning experience. Through his six starts in 2022, Arias has recorded two top-10 finishes, both of which were eighth-place runs at California’s Irwindale Speedway.
While Arias wants to find more consistency going forward, he has been satisfied with his first part-time West Series campaign. He does not intend to rush his development and hopes the experience tackling a diverse set of tracks on the West Coast will help him be more prepared for whatever 2023 brings.
“Believing in myself has been a key factor for me,” Arias said. “Patience has also been important, because I know nothing comes overnight, so I’m trying to train myself on that end while also believing that I can reach my goals.”
The long-term goal for Arias is to earn a ride in either the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series or Xfinity Series before one day racing in the Cup Series. Despite this, Arias knows the process toward earning a top-tier national series ride is one that will take a significant amount of time and resources.
But Arias is not letting adversity deter his dreams of racing in the U.S. He added that Montoya had to deal with plenty of obstacles in his own career that included separate transitions into Formula One and NASCAR.
(Photo: Michael Owens/ARCA Racing)
The fact that Montoya was able to find success in NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One and now endurance racing is why Arias and so many other Colombian drivers see him as an inspiration. All of them know any dream can be accomplished with the necessary amount of persistence and dedication.
While Arias does not currently see himself becoming an IndyCar or Formula One driver, he is confident a successful stock car career is ahead of him if he emulates the qualities that made Montoya such a dominant force at every track.
“I’ve tried to copy [Montoya’s] aggressiveness, his consistency and also the patience he has when he races,” Arias said. “I had the opportunity to meet him in Florida a couple of years ago. It was a great experience, and he gave me some helpful tips. Hopefully I can be just like him at some point.”
Meeting Montoya remains a highlight of Arias’ life, but he looks forward to having many more on the track so he can one day inspire the next generation of drivers in the U.S. and Colombia.
Kaulig Racing solidified a key vacancy in its NASCAR Xfinity Series program Wednesday, announcing that top talent Chandler Smith will drive the team’s No. 16 Chevrolet starting next season.
The move comes in conjunction with the announcement that AJ Allmendinger, the current driver of the No. 16 Camaro, will move to Kaulig’s Cup Series operation full-time next year. Smith was introduced as his replacement during Kaulig’s Fan Day festival at the team’s race shop in Welcome, North Carolina, with Allmendinger figuratively and literally handing him the keys during a news conference.
Smith, 20, described the transition to Kaulig as a place to plant roots in his racing career. The agreement places him up a rung on the NASCAR national-series ladder but also positions him well for his driving future.
“I think it’s no secret that what they’re building here is going to be really big one day, and I’m 20 years old, I’m really young in my career,” Smith told NASCAR.com. “I had a lot of different opportunities to go elsewhere other than where my path was to go. And at the end of the day, I have a newborn baby, I have a family to provide for, and this is where I need to be for the long term. I feel like everything that they’re building here is what I want to be a part of. I would like to be a part of that. Hopefully, I can actually bring something to the table to help build it even faster.”
The youngster has blossomed since joining the Camping World Truck Series full-time in 2021, winning five races for Kyle Busch Motorsports. That includes three victories in this year’s campaign, where Smith is currently ranked as the top points-earner still contending in the series’ playoffs.
Smith will be inheriting a ride that Allmendinger has carried to 12 wins in the last four years, but he also arrives as a bright prospect and fresh face in a veteran Kaulig Racing lineup.
“Youth,” Kaulig team president Chris Rice said when asked about Smith’s attributes. “I mean, you look at it, we’ve got Justin Haley that’s young, and then you look at our other guys, and they’re older, right? And he’s youth. I think that you can run to 45, heck, 47 (years old). You know, AJ is gonna be 41 next year, so, but he brings a lot of youth so if we can continue to build within that, we will have spaces for those guys.
“So he brings a lot of youth but he also brings a lot of different views. He’s a very outgoing guy, and I think with the other two teammates he’s gonna have, they’ll just bring him in, love him and care for him, and I’m sure it won’t be an AJ in the car, but I think he can get there in time.”
The move shifts Smith from Toyota’s pool of development drivers to Chevrolet’s prospect list. That mimics the transition between manufacturers made last month by Kyle Busch, Smith’s team owner who will shift his Cup and Truck Series allegiances to Chevy next year.
Wednesday, Smith was already mingling with fans and signing autographs inside and out of the Kaulig campus for fan-day fun. He says he already finding a comfort level in his new digs.
“It’s awesome. I love it,” Smith said. “Just like I told Chris earlier, the reason I respect these guys so much and why it was so clear for me to come here is because if I was in his position and I ran a company or race team, this is exactly how to do it. It’s so family-oriented. I’ve always said everybody should know that’s a part of our industry, people is what wins races. It’s not all these other different things, it’s people. You take care of your people, they’re going to work twice as hard for you. So that’s what they do here at Kaulig Racing, and I’ve only been here a handful of times and I’ve talked to a lot of people and that’s all I’ve been told is, this is the best place I’ve ever worked.
“So all the men and women at Kaulig Racing are busting their tails, and I haven’t even raced here yet and they’re busting their tails for me. So I already feel at home.”
Smith made his first two Xfinity Series starts (Talladega Superspeedway, Dover Motor Speedway) this spring for Sam Hunt Racing. He’s also a 10-time winner in the ARCA Menards Series, collecting his first victory as a 15-year-old rookie in 2018.
Kaulig Racing announced Wednesday that AJ Allmendinger will return to the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis in 2023, driving the team’s No. 16 Chevrolet.
The news emerged during a presentation at Kaulig Racing’s Fan Day festivities at the organization’s Welcome, North Carolina, race shop. Allmendinger will team alongside Justin Haley in the two-car Cup Series effort for team owner Matt Kaulig and team president Chris Rice next year.
It’s the latest step in a career resurgence for the 40-year-old Allmendinger, who stepped away from a full-time Cup schedule after the 2018 season before wading back into Xfinity Series competition with the Kaulig group the following year. He added to an increased Xfinity workload with partial Cup Series duty last year, bringing Kaulig its first Cup Series win in 2021 at Indianapolis.
“I’ve always told Matt and Chris over these last four years, and especially the last couple of years of doing this full time in Xfinity that I would always do what’s best for the company,” Allmendinger told NASCAR.com last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, where he brought home his fourth Xfinity Series win of the season. “Something I found out when I thought I was retiring or semi-retiring when I was doing the TV side of things for NBC, I really enjoyed that side of it and needed a break from racing, at least full time.
“But as I started running a few races with Kaulig Racing the first year, and then especially in 2020, having some success, like the weekends I wasn’t there, I kind of really started to miss it. And that’s what led to doing the Xfinity side of it full time. And out of all of it, I’ve just really have enjoyed the team, the atmosphere at the race track, the atmosphere away from the race track, and I thoroughly just enjoy everybody and appreciate and love the hard work, the support and the confidence that they give me. And so yeah, I wanted to be fully open to whatever they wanted to do.”
Kaulig went full-time Cup Series racing this season, jumping in with two charters to field the No. 31 Chevrolet for Haley and the No. 16 Chevrolet for a rotating cast of drivers — Allmendinger, Noah Gragson and Daniel Hemric. With Allmendinger moving to a full schedule, Kaulig will now have two drivers eligible to compete for the Cup Series title next season.
Allmendinger said the organization’s plan all along was to run a single driver in the No. 16 ride next season, and that the full-time opportunity was there for him if he’d pressed for it. But Allmendinger said bolstering the Cup Series program couldn’t come at the expense of the Xfinity Series outfit, which gave Kaulig his team-ownership start and what Allmendinger called “the heart of our company.”
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
“That was Matt and Chris’ decision because that program’s gotta be good because that’s Matt and Chris’ baby and it always will be, no matter what,” Allmendinger said. “Cup program, for sure, it’s got to be strong. But you know, that’s a process probably longer than I’m here, right? … To help develop it full time, that’s something I’m really looking forward to, and hopefully, helps us take the next step just whether it’s testing or sim work or just focusing on that car every week.”
That news has a full endorsement from Rice, who was promoted from general manager to team president in 2019.
“I think what AJ brings to us is the familiarity of the same driver in that car all the time and just to continuously grow that program,” Rice said. “I mean, we’re one year in, and I know we won last year, but you know, that’s still hard to do. I’m just really excited. He wants to do it. You know, we love him and we’re gonna miss him doing the Xfinity program. But I think what we’ve got going on there, and him helping with that will still be good. So pretty excited.
“At the same time, I don’t want to be here every Sunday to keep him calm,” Rice added with a laugh, noting Allmendinger’s sometimes animated transmissions over the team radio. “So I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”
It’s also been quite the jump for Kaulig Racing, which entered NASCAR racing as a single-team Xfinity operation in 2016. It’s grown into a three-car armada on that side, and the organization that first dipped its toe into Cup Series waters with a Daytona 500 one-off in 2020 is now finding its footing in stock-car racing’s big leagues.
Allmendinger is regaining that footing after a circuitous path back to Cup competition. He earned veteran status with stops at the former Red Bull team, teams owned by Richard Petty and Roger Penske before settling down with JTG-Daugherty Racing — a union that produced the first Cup Series victory for both, in 2014 at Watkins Glen.
When that partnership ran its course after five-plus seasons together, Allmendinger stepped away and found a role for 2019 with NBC Sports as a broadcaster for multiple forms of motorsports. When Rice came calling later that year with the chance for a handful of spot starts in Xfinity, Allmendinger found his future home.
“When we hired him five years ago, I took a leap of faith when I called him. And it was like, ‘Hey, can you come help us?’ He did,” Rice said, noting the multitude of stories that have emerged since. He can laugh about it now, but issues in post-race tech led to Allmendinger being disqualified from his first two Xfinity starts with the team. Adding an extra layer of insult to the latter DQ, Rice said the team had neglected to book him a hotel room for the weekend. Much more recently, the stories involve trophies — including the hardware earned for two consecutive Xfinity regular-season crowns.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
“He bought in and he believed,” Rice says. “He bought in and that’s what’s key to mine and his relationship. I buy into no matter how he feels, how crazy he sounds on the radio. I mean, I’m still gonna love him no matter how mad he gets. And that’s what makes us a good … I want to say a couple, but it’s like a weird couple, right? So he’s just, he’s one of those guys that you want on your side, you know. No matter what — good or bad — you want him on your side.”
The buy-in has been mutual.
“Chris, the first thing he said, from day one, he’s like, I don’t want you miserable. Like, I just don’t want you to go back to that place that you were at before,” Allmendinger says. “At the end of the day and probably as weird as it sounds because I’ve raced my whole life, I’m probably more comfortable in my skin than I’ve ever been, meaning we’ve had success and I’ve checked off a lot on my wish list of what I’d love to do. And you know, that was tough because as I thought I was ending the first time, I was like, ‘well, you know, I’ve had an OK career I guess, you know, I’ve won in a lot of different things, which not a lot of people can say that but man, I wish I could have done this or done that or just had some success.’ Well, it’s kind of happened now.”
Though Wednesday’s announcement turned some of the organization’s attention toward next year, Allmendinger has plenty still to achieve in the remaining weeks of this season. He has one Cup Series start left on his 2022 schedule — Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM) — and the five-race home stretch to the Xfinity Series Playoffs, where he is already locked into the Round of 8.
It’s a distinctive pair of opportunities for Allmendinger to help further the mission for Kaulig’s long-term goals, but also to continue the veteran driver’s career revival.
“There’s so much more to do, like really wanting to work as hard as I can to keep pushing forward and hopefully help us,” Allmendinger says. “And that’s what I’ve told them is, as long as you think I’m helping us, I want to keep doing it. The moment you think I’m not helping us, please tell me and then we can talk about something else. We can go a different direction or I can move away from driving and be just part of the team if that’s what you want it to be, but I do feel like I’m at the best I’ve ever been in my stock-car life, and I’ve gotten better and so it was more about why I wanted to do it.
“It may be because of confidence, it may be naïve, it may be dumb and it might be a combination of everything, but I truly believe if we keep getting better, and I keep getting better, we can go run with the top teams. I may be dumb as hell to think that right now, and it’s naïve or confidence that maybe shouldn’t be there, but I really believe if we keep doing the right things and keep pushing forward and getting better, like we can go run with these guys.”
Alex Bowman will not return to competition at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course this weekend, Hendrick Motorsports announced Tuesday.
Bowman is recovering from concussion-like symptoms resulting from a crash in the Sept. 25 race at Texas Motor Speedway. Noah Gragson, who wheeled the No. 48 Chevrolet to a 19th-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway, will again substitute for Bowman this weekend.
Bowman, who is in the Round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, will be eliminated from championship contention following the conclusion of Sunday’s race. The seven-time Cup Series winner sits 12th in the standings heading into the event, 54 points beneath the elimination line. Eight drivers will advance to the Round of 8, the penultimate round of the playoffs.
Since joining Hendrick Motorsports full time in 2018, Bowman has never missed the playoffs and earned a career-best points finish of sixth in 2020. Bowman qualified for this year’s postseason with a win in March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Chase Briscoe currently holds the final spot in the preliminary Round of 8 ranks courtesy of a tiebreaker over Austin Cindric. On the outside looking in are Cindric, William Byron (-11), Christopher Bell (-33) and Bowman.
“Alex’s health is our first priority,” said Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. “We’re focused on supporting his recovery and seeing him back in his race car when the time is right. Alex has a long career ahead of him, so we will invest the necessary time and take our guidance from medical experts. We’re putting no pressure on him to return before he’s 100% ready.”
Hailie Deegan will make her NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, she announced Tuesday via YouTube.
Deegan, a Camping World Truck Series regular, will pilot the No. 07 SS Green Light Racing Ford with sponsorship from Pristine Auctions in the Alsco Uniforms 302 on Oct. 15 (3 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I really wanted to make my Xfinity debut for sure on a mile-and-a-half (track) because that’s where I feel most comfortable,” Deegan said in her announcement video.
Deegan is in the midst of her second full-time season in the Truck Series, where she drives the No. 1 Monster Energy Ford with David Gilliland Racing. Deegan said plans for racing in 2023 are not yet set.
“I wish I knew and had it figured it out already,” Deegan said, “but we’re still working through a few things.”
Deegan, 21, just posted a career-best finish of sixth at Talladega Superspeedway, her second top-10 finish of the Truck season and third of her career. The Temecula, California native scored three victories in ARCA West, including a two-win campaign in 2019.
Cody Ware will not compete in the NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, he announced Tuesday through his social media channels.
Ware suffered an ankle injury in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway on Sept. 25 but was able to race at Talladega Superspeedway with a boot on his right foot. On Twitter, Ware clarified he suffered an impact fracture and torn ligaments in the Texas incident.
The driver of the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford cited the intricacies of road-course racing as part of his decision to sit out Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). JJ Yeley, who has made 15 Cup starts this season — 14 of which have been for RWR — will substitute for Ware.
Ware scored a career-best sixth-place finish at Daytona International Speedway in the regular-season finale and was on pace to complete his first full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series. Ware has 86 career starts at the sport’s top level in addition to 28 Xfinity Series starts and seven starts in the Camping World Truck Series.
Kaulig Racing plans to shed light on its 2023 NASCAR driver lineup Wednesday as part of Fan Day activities at the team’s Welcome, North Carolina, race shop.
NASCAR.com will plan to live-stream the driver announcement portion of the event, starting at 11 a.m. ET. You can watch it on Press Pass or on the NASCAR YouTube channel:
Kaulig Racing, which fields two full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series and three in the Xfinity Series, will host a day full of festivities. Those begin with a 5K run at 8 a.m. ET, a paint-scheme reveal at 9:45 a.m. ET and driver autograph sessions after Wednesday’s announcement. Fans can also bid on race-used driver uniforms and car sheet metal in a silent auction, with proceeds from that event and the 5K going to the Carolina Breast Friends Self-Image Program.
Before the Round of 12 finales in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Cup Series take place Saturday and Sunday, respectively, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, drivers will be in action in a much different capacity.
Corey LaJoie’s second annual Charity Kickball Klassic, featuring a star-studded cast of drivers and celebrities, returns Thursday, Oct. 6 at Atrium Health Ballpark, home of the Kannapolis (N.C.) Cannon Ballers. The Spire Motorsports driver-led charity event will see proceeds donated to the Kannapolis YMCA and LaJoie’s organization of choice, Samaritan’s Feet.
Three years ago, LaJoie put Samaritan’s Feet on his car at Watkins Glen International and donated a month’s salary to the organization. The group provides shoes and socks to those in need across the globe.
Special guests for the event will include drivers Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Noah Gragson, William Byron, Austin Cindric, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, IndyCar’s Scott McLaughlin and former Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart.
NASCAR will stream the celebrity championship game (7:30 p.m. ET) on NASCAR’s YouTube page. The event will be sponsored by Built Bar, which is the Official Protein Bar of NASCAR.
Full schedule of events
All times ET
1 p.m., Tournament begins
5 p.m., Championship Game
6:30 p.m., Celebrity Semi-Final Games
7:30 p.m., Celebrity Championship (streamed live)
