Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — From the varying angles of track banking to the impact of drag on a race car’s speed, NASCAR is helping Boys & Girls Clubs of America youth across the country explore STEM applications through the lens of stock car racing on MyFuture, the organization’s digital learning platform.

Over the course of the 2022 season, NASCAR has launched a series of racing-themed, digital experiences as part of its educational programming on MyFuture, which is available to more than 4.6 million Boys & Girls Clubs youth and teens nationwide. The interactive content features lessons and activities on race track design, live race broadcasts, the “3 D’s of Speed” (Drafting, Downforce & Drag), as well as a multi-part video series on NASCAR pit crew training exercises.

Boys & Girls Clubs members earn “badges” on MyFuture by engaging with the content and completing related challenges or activities, which range from designing their own race tracks to demonstrating the aerodynamic principle of downforce with a simple sheet of paper.

Click to view a video playlist of NASCAR’s MyFuture content.

“In NASCAR, there are elements of STEM at work constantly across many facets of our sport and that’s especially true on race day,” said Eric Nyquist, Chief Communications and Social Responsibility Officer, NASCAR. “We’re proud to engage Club kids with NASCAR content that is both fun and educational, and that drives a key area of focus for our important partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America.”

“To help youth meet the workforce challenges of tomorrow, we believe in offering kids and teens first-hand exposure to real-life, work experiences and trainings that allow them to explore their interests and passions,” explained Jim Clark, President and CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “But we also know that an important part of career exploration is having fun! Through these virtual and in-person engagements, our partnership with NASCAR is opening up a world of possibilities to kids and teens around the country.”

Mamba Smith Boys & Girls Clubs of AmericaEach of the core NASCAR activities on MyFuture includes video content, developed by NASCAR Studios, that demonstrates the subject or topic. The educational videos are hosted by NASCAR driver and on-air talent Mamba Smith and feature other drivers, crew members and members of the NASCAR industry.

Driver Rajah Caruth, who earlier this season made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Richmond Raceway, joins Smith to help explain the “3 D’s of Speed” and their impact on cars during a race, while industry pit crew coach Rocko Williams and crew members from Trackhouse Racing Team provide Boys & Girls Club kids with a video tutorial on what it takes to train like a professional pit crew member.

In another video, Smith goes behind the scenes with FOX Sports’ NASCAR team at Atlanta Motor Speedway to explore all that goes into producing a live race and delivering on-track excitement to millions of fans around the world. After viewing the content on MyFuture, kids are challenged with filming their own foot races with smartphones and incorporating similar broadcast elements such as post-race analysis and interviews.

In addition to the NASCAR content, MyFuture features more than 500 self-directed activities for youth across the country. The digital platform was created to encourage young people to learn new skills, earn career certifications, explore different interests, share creative projects and participate in events and contests without constraints. Kids and teens can earn recognition for their work while keeping track of their progress and journey on a learning pathway toward mastering new skills.

NASCAR’s digital integration with MyFuture represents an integral part of its work with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Official Youth Community Partner of NASCAR, by allowing youth across the nation to learn and engage with the racing-themed, STEM learning modules without geographical or economic barriers. The nationwide partnership launched in 2021 and focuses on three core areas — STEM education, career development and DE&I initiatives — and features both virtual and at-track experiences in NASCAR race markets.

On Sunday, NASCAR will host 20 teenagers from the Hank Kline Boys & Girls Club in Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway as part of a year-round, at-track engagement program. The NASCAR Cup Series race-day experiences, which will continue throughout the 2023 race season, are designed to showcase the breadth and scope of career opportunities available in the NASCAR industry to Club teens who will soon be entering the workforce.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America provides high-quality programming that helps level the playing field and provide opportunities to young people that will support them in building the skills needed to become the leaders, innovators and problem-solvers who will shape the world tomorrow.

To learn more about Boys & Girls Clubs of America, this partnership and support its mission, visit BGCA.org.

Posted on by Zack Albert

CONCORD, N.C. — Corey LaJoie has molded his career, his team and even a podcast after the mantra of “stacking pennies” – a nod to the grind of making more with less. So it was without irony when Spire Motorsports introduced Ty Dillon as his new teammate, and LaJoie promptly said he was looking forward to Dillon adding his two cents.

The next phase in Spire’s development took shape Tuesday with the unveiling of its NASCAR Cup Series lineup for 2023. LaJoie returns for his third season in Spire’s No. 7 Chevrolet, and Dillon charts a new course in his journeyman career as the newest driver of the No. 77 Camaro.

RELATED: Spire sets 2023 plans | Key figures in Silly Season

The organization’s next chapter drafts off LaJoie’s slogan with a goal of incremental growth, but it also stresses continuity — with LaJoie and crew chiefs Ryan Sparks and Kevin Bellicourt returning to their roles, but also with the No. 77 team’s shift from a rotating roster to a full-time driver in Dillon for next year. The course is also big on buy-in, from all parties involved in making the underdog team go.

“Look, I think it’s cliche, but I hope you guys hear it, but I mean, it’s the people,” said team co-owner Jeff Dickerson, who partnered with T.J. Puchyr to launch Spire Motorsports in 2018. “I think if you look at everybody here that works here and that’s up here on this panel, I think we’ve all been discarded by somebody, right? And I think that, kind of that bond, that desperation, feels like just everybody here has got something to prove. Sometimes I question who we’re trying to prove it to, right, but I think that that desire to be successful or to prove something or somebody wrong binds everybody here.”

That attitude applies in nearly equal parts to both the team and to Dillon, who was not renewed after one season at Petty GMS Motorsports. News of his pending dismissal was the latest in a recent line of cast-off moves, from the end of the road at Germain Racing in 2020 to a mishmash of part-time roles in all three national series last year.

Dillon credited his family and support system for helping him weather the uncertainty. Even as his career swayed in limbo, Dillon spoke with candid and often unflinching honesty about the struggles.

Through it all, the 30-year-old driver says he never lost confidence in his abilities. Dillon’s determination has already been requited by the team he’ll join next season.

“I’ve already felt that in the few meetings that I’ve had here at Spire,” Dillon said. “… There’s a belief in me, there’s a different way of communicating to me that they know I can be a part and they know that we can win. And that’s all I need. I know I can get it done, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this relationship and everything blossoms and the confidence builds.”

MORE: Homestead weekend schedule

Dickerson recalled the days when Dillon was what he called “a No. 1 prospect,” a champion in the ARCA Menards Series with multiple victories in his portfolio. Wins in Camping World Trucks and the Xfinity Series followed, but achieving the same level of success in the Cup Series has been elusive in 199 starts to date.

That recent track record was no damper on the team’s enthusiastic welcome of Dillon to the team’s Charlotte-area shop.

“Honestly, the second I found out that the deal was done and he was signed, I mean, I couldn’t think of a better person to get in this race car, and it’s for multiple reasons,” says Bellicourt, who was atop the No. 77 pit box for Spire’s best finish this season — fourth place by Landon Cassill in August at Daytona. “I think that what he brings to this race team, and the 77 car for us in particular, is a lot of experience, a lot of talent, and I have a group of guys that are hungry to go compete at the Cup Series. …

“These guys, we’ve all kind of been on a journey together, and they came here with me, and we’ve been building this place. And now to plug somebody in like Ty, I think it’s very important that Ty knows how lucky we are to have him in this race car, and he feels that. And I believe that 110%.”

Spire has markers up in its race shop commemorating the team’s thus-far modest accomplishments in its brief history. As a bit of a goof, Dickerson says, the largest of those is for LaJoie’s winning side in the celebrity kickball tournament he hosts each year for charity. It’s even bigger than the marker for Spire’s breakthrough Cup Series win — a 2019 stunner by Justin Haley at Daytona.

Adding more banner moments will mean rising from the two teams’ current perch in the Cup Series team owner standings — 32nd for the No. 7 and 33rd for the No. 77. Dickerson says that’s achievable in gradual measures in the team’s quest to contend against NASCAR’s established guard.

“So for us, we’re in year two of competing against teams that have been together for 30, 40, 50 years, right?” Dickerson says. “Sundays are so hard. It takes time to develop the notebook you have, and get the right personnel in place and just have them jell. So it takes a little bit of everything, but longevity, for sure. And we just, we’ve got to keep building, like I say, brick by brick, and it’s whether we add a few engineers or a few people in the back of the shop or whatever, so it’s just … it’s a slow progress, but I think we’ve definitely made our mark pretty quickly.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR announced Tuesday that it suspended Bubba Wallace after his actions in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Wallace was suspended for one race after he crashed Kyle Larson at Lap 94 of the South Point 400 and proceeded to shove Larson, both violations of Sections 4.3.A and 4.4.C & E of the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct laid out in the NASCAR Rule Book. Rule 4.4.C lists “intentionally wrecking or spinning another vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is removed from Competition as a result” as one of five member actions that could result in a penalty.

MORE: Details of the Vegas crash | Larson’s reaction at Vegas

The incident began at the exit of Turn 4 in the Cup Series’ Round of 8 opener at the 1.5-mile track, where Larson slid high and forced Wallace’s 23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota into the outside retaining wall. Wallace, the victor of Stage 1, turned left into Larson’s right-rear quarter panel, sending the No. 5 Chevrolet spinning toward the outside wall and clipping Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Toyota in the process. Bell is still competing for a spot in the Championship 4 while Larson continues to chase an owners’ championship for Hendrick Motorsports. None of the three competitors were able to continue.

Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s chief operating officer, joined SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s “SiriusXM Speedway” on Tuesday afternoon to discuss why the sanctioning body responded to Wallace’s actions with a suspension.

“Our actions are really specific to what took place on the race track,” O’Donnell told host Dave Moody. “And when we look at how that incident occurred, in our minds, really a dangerous act. We thought that was intentional and put other competitors at risk. And as we look at the sport and where we are today and where we want to draw that line going forward, we thought that definitely crossed the line and that’s what we focused on in terms of making this call.”

O’Donnell noted NASCAR officials examined the data and reviewed multiple angles of the incident before landing on the decision to suspend Wallace, an uncommon penalty levied against drivers.

“When we look at drivers historically, it’s been very rare if ever that we suspend drivers, so we don’t take that action lightly,” O’Donnell said. “So we view our penalties from what has to happen at the race track. It’s a driver-driven sport. Obviously, everybody’s very important to what takes place in the sport. …

“But the driver oftentimes is the focus. And what happens on track is a big focus. So in this case, that’s an action we’ve rarely moved forward with when it comes to a driver. There’s comparisons to what we’ve done in the past, but as we’ve always said, we need to ratchet things up where we see that there’s a line that’s been crossed.”

After the incident, Wallace said the steering on his car broke and that Larson just happened to be there. O’Donnell confirmed NASCAR examined both the vehicle and the data available and added: “We’re confident in the decision we made and why we made it.”

23XI Racing released a statement that indicated it would not appeal NASCAR’s decision and that John Hunter Nemechek would replace Wallace in the No. 45 Toyota for Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Wallace issued a statement to his social media accounts Monday night, specifically addressing the post-wreck confrontation.

“I want to apologize for my actions on Sunday following the on-track incident with Kyle Larson and the No. 5 car,” Wallace wrote. “My behavior does not align with the core values that are shared by 23XI Racing and our partners, who have played a crucial role in my incredible journey to the top of this great sport.”

O’Donnell said conversations will be had regarding the post-crash shoves but reiterated the penalties were aimed at what took place at speed.

“Certainly not something we condone when you look at all the actions that took place as part of that,” he said. “But again, a heat-of-the-moment thing. Bubba’s a competitor. He’s out there – he had a great race car. He wants to win, right? And we love that about Bubba Wallace that he wants to go out and win like all of our drivers do. In this case, you put all three of those things together, but our focus was really what took place on the track.

“We don’t want to see drivers fighting. We understand that emotions get high. We don’t encourage that obviously. But our focus was really on the race track and we’ll have conversations about what took place outside the race car one-on-one and see where we go from there.”

In addition to Wallace’s suspension, NASCAR announced four other penalties after the Las Vegas weekend.

Kyle Busch and crew chief Ben Beshore chat before Sunday's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Studios

Ben Beshore, crew chief of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, will miss the next four races along with jackman Derrell Edwards and tire changer Michael Hicks after the left-front wheel detached from Kyle Busch’s car under caution at Las Vegas. The suspensions carry through the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum exhibition that opens the 2023 schedule.

In the Xfinity Series, the No. 51 Jeremy Clements Racing team was levied an L1-level penalty for violating Section 14.4.B.E, which pertains to the body. The penalty report notes “Flange Fit Composite Body must be used as supplied from the manufacturer without modification.” Crew chief Mark Setzer was fined $25,000 and suspended from this weekend’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway while the team was docked 40 driver and owner points.

The family-owned Clements team issued a statement after the penalty was announced, saying: “JCR respects NASCAR’s decision on the penalty levied to us today relating to our rear bumper cover, which did not conform to the repair guidelines set forth by NASCAR. We apologize to our fans and partners for this unfortunate oversight and are focused on continuing to represent them with the same fervor as our previous 12 years of NASCAR competition.”

Chris Gayle, crew chief of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the Xfinity Series, was also issued a $5,000 fine after the car was found with one loose lug nut following Saturday’s event.

Additionally, Andrew Abbott has been reinstated and is eligible to return to all NASCAR activity after completing NASCAR’s mandated anger management training. Abbott was indefinitely suspended after pre-qualifying inspection for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Sept. 30 at Talladega for violating Sections 4.3 A & 4.A.E of the NASCAR Rule Book.

Posted on by Zack Albert

CONCORD, N.C. — Spire Motorsports announced its 2023 driver lineup Tuesday morning, adding newcomer Ty Dillon to pair with the returning Corey LaJoie in the NASCAR Cup Series next season.

LaJoie, 31, will be back for a third consecutive season in the organization’s No. 7 Chevrolet starting next year. He’ll have a full-time teammate in the 30-year-old Dillon, who will shift over from Petty GMS Motorsports to Spire’s No. 77 Chevy at season’s end.

RELATED: Catch up on Silly Season moves | Ty Dillon: The best is yet to come

The organization firmed up its plans from the team’s Concord, North Carolina, race shop, which it has called home since it expanded to a two-car operation in 2021. Spire also announced its crew chief lineup, keeping Ryan Sparks paired with LaJoie on the No. 7 team, and teaming Kevin Bellicourt with Dillon for the No. 77. Sparks will also fill the role of director of competition.

“I don’t think people have really seen what our potential is as a race team,” LaJoie said, “and I’m excited for the fans and the guys in this building who are the ones working on it to realize that potential next year.”

LaJoie joined the Jeff Dickerson and T.J. Puchyr-owned organization in 2021 after stints with BK Racing, TriStar and Go Fas Racing. This season produced the first top-five finish of his Cup Series career and his closest brush with victory — both coming at the newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway. LaJoie wound up fifth in March at the Georgia track, and he led a career-best 19 laps before a late-race tangle with Chase Elliott knocked him from contention.

Dillon will be suiting up for his sixth full-time Cup Series campaign. After a part-time schedule in all three NASCAR national series in 2021, Dillon returned to Cup in the Petty GMS No. 42 ride this year. The two sides announced July 15 that they would part ways at season’s end, and Petty GMS named Noah Gragson as his successor in the No. 42 on Aug. 10.

Dillon said he had multiple offers in other national series, but said he felt his calling remained at the Cup Series level. His said initial talks with Spire gave him a sense of belonging.

“I feel the best is yet to come with this team,” Dillon said, “and hopefully I can just be another positive cog to the great wheel that’s growing here. You can see in all facets of Spire Motorsports, they’re growing at the right pace, doing the things the right way. And I’m really happy to be here and looking forward to being a part of this for a long time. The best is yet to come for all these opportunities for all of us.”

After hosting a rotating cast of drivers this season, the No. 77 team will shift to a full campaign solely for Dillon. Josh Bilicki has made 16 starts in the No. 77 Camaro this year, with Landon Cassill netting the team’s best finish — fourth in August at Daytona — in one of his 14 appearances this season.

Next season, the No. 77 group will have a single-driver focus and another full-time presence in the Cup Series driver standings.

“It’s just about having that consistency to be able to build your notebook and build what you’re working on,” said Bellicourt, who will return for his third season with the No. 77 team. “You go to a race track in the spring with one driver, and go to the race track in the fall with another driver, your notebook doesn’t always translate. So I think all those things are important. I think it’s huge. It’s big for me to be able to have that consistency, and then it’s just a matter of the relationship. Me and Ty are going to develop a friendship. We’ve gotten to talk a few times and we’ve got to know each other. We text now, but we’re going to be able to develop a friendship and a trust in one another and that’s very important.”

The future Spire teammates are each on pace to reach their 200th Cup Series start this season. Dillon is set to mark the milestone in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at Homestead-Miami Speedway. LaJoie is on schedule to reach the 200-start plateau in the Nov. 6 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

It’s another parallel for the two next-generation drivers who grew up at the track with their racing families, who stayed involved in Motor Racing Outreach and who both made their first Cup Series start eight years ago.

“Even now, Corey and I have a relationship so much deeper than just what’s on track,” Dillon said. “We’ve shared very similar faith, and we were able to communicate about things deeper than racing. And that means a lot to me, just having that family, friendship atmosphere around your career, and I’m excited for that. And I think that’s the piece that I’ve really been looking for, for my career to just grow all the way around.”

Spire formed in 2018 and made a near-immediate splash the following year with Justin Haley’s stunning breakthrough Cup Series victory at Daytona International Speedway. The organization’s headway since then has been more measured, but has grown to include a part-time schedule this year in the Camping World Truck Series.

Spire has competed in 10 of the 21 Truck Series races this year, with six drivers sharing the on-track duties in the No. 7 Chevy. Those starts produced a first victory in a dominant day for Cup Series driver William Byron in April at Martinsville Speedway.

Dickerson said the Truck Series effort would likely return in 2023 with a familiar look.

“Right now the focus is on the Cup program, getting that squared away sponsor-wise and so forth,” Dickerson said. “I mean, obviously, Bono (crew chief Kevin Manion) and (team manager Mike) Greci do a really, really good job up there with those guys. I guess we’re always kind of looking, but I would say it’s probably going to be part-time, as of now will be part-time and look pretty similar to what it was this year.”

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 18, 2022) — Fresh off a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and a berth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4, Josh Berry will return to JR Motorsports as driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for 2023, the team announced today.

The soon-to-be 32-year-old Tennessee native has won a career-high three races this season in the No. 8 car, posting victories at Dover Motor Speedway in April, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and on Saturday at Las Vegas. In 52 series starts with JR Motorsports, Berry has earned five victories, 17 top-five and 32 top-10 finishes, and claimed a spot in the NXS Playoffs in his first year of eligibility. With the Vegas win, Berry becomes the first of four drivers to race for a coveted series title in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway next month.

MORE: Recap his Vegas win | Xfinity playoff standings

“We’ve been lucky to have Josh spend so much of his career with JR Motorsports. He’s been successful at every level for us,” said team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. “He’s performed well and won races in our cars, and now he’s contending for NASCAR championships. He established our Late Model team as a championship-caliber program and is now contributing to our Xfinity program. And I couldn’t be more proud to have him back at JRM in 2023.”

Berry began with JR Motorsports in 2010, when he campaigned all across the Southeast with the team’s legacy Late Model team, earning 94 victories. Combined with his NXS victories, Berry is just one win shy of 100 career wins under the JRM banner.

He won at Martinsville Speedway in his sixth NXS start in 2021 and again at Las Vegas in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs as a substitute driver in the team’s No. 1 car. That win helped propel the No. 1 team into the Round of 8 in the NXS owner’s title battle, and Berry’s success earned him a full-time ride for 2022.

“JR Motorsports has always been my home as a racer, and I’m proud to return to JRM and the No. 8 team for 2023,” Berry said. “When I came here, it was as a Late Model driver and mechanic, and when I got the opportunity to race full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, it was a dream come true. We’ll race for a series championship next month, and that’s nearly full circle for me with the team. I can’t thank Dale, Kelley, LW and Mr. Hendrick enough for this opportunity.”

Berry has won three championships for the team, all in Late Models. He was the 2017 CARS Racing Tour driver champion, a year after earning the owner’s championship in the same series. In 2020, Berry earned the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championship, the first for both himself and JRM. He remains the only driver in JRM history to have earned multiple championships for the team.

Partners for Berry and the No. 8 team will be announced in the near future.

Posted on by Press Release

New features and commands have arrived in NASCAR’s Discord channel as NASCAR and Discord partnered to bring a more exclusive racing experience to the community.

Real-time race highlights will be linked to in-race alerts provided by the new NASCAR-verified bot with clips including stage finishes, lead changes and top passes throughout the race. A post-race highlight video will also be available to recap the day’s events.

“When we launched our Discord channel last year, we wanted to create a unique community that could natively engage with the sport,” said Nick Rend, Managing Director of Gaming and Esports. “Through our partnership with Discord and our channel mods, we’re able to bring more behind-the-scenes access and customization options to users as they create their own individual experience and interactions with each other.”

In addition to race highlights, five NASCAR Cup Series driver radio feeds will be streamed during each event with users voting on the five drivers they’d like to hear from 24 hours before the green flag falls.

In 2021, NASCAR became the first sports league to launch an official server with voice, video and text communications service Discord, bringing new features to the platform including free access to live in-car audio streams from the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders.

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continue with the Round of 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Dixie Vodka 400 will run at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 23 (NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Staff Report

Bubba Wallace issued a statement through his social media accounts Monday night, apologizing for his actions at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.

On Lap 94 of the playoff race, Wallace contacted the frontstretch wall after close racing with Kyle Larson. Wallace appeared to retaliate by hitting Larson in the right-rear quarter panel, sending both cars into the outside SAFER barrier. Following the collision, Wallace walked down to Larson’s wrecked car and began shoving Larson in the infield.

MORE: Details on crash | Larson: ‘Think twice … next time’

 

In his post-race comments to NBC Sports, Wallace explained his immediate frustration.

“When you get shoved in the fence, deliberately like (Larson) did, trying to force me to lift – the steering was gone, and he just so happened to be there,” Wallace said. “I hate it for our team. We had a super-fast car – not on short-run speed, we were kind of falling back there and Larson wanted to make it a three-wide dive bomb.

“He never cleared me. I don’t lift. I know I’m kind of new to running up front, but I don’t lift. I wasn’t even in a spot to lift, he never lifted either and now we are junk.”

NASCAR confirmed Sunday that officials will review the entire incident but did not call Wallace to the officials’ hauler.

Posted on by Zack Albert

William Byron and Chase Elliott — the two drivers who still carry Cup Series title hopes for Hendrick Motorsports — ended their Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on opposite ends of the playoffs’ elimination line. Continuing their postseason run will come down to two tracks where each has experienced a degree of success.

Byron finished 13th and Elliott 21st in Sunday’s South Point 400, the first of three races in the Cup Series’ Round of 8. Both were able to avoid the calamity that struck fellow playoff drivers Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell, who now rank seventh and eighth in the postseason pecking order, but Byron and Elliott were unable to capitalize with substantial gains in the standings.

RELATED: Postseason standings | Playoff Pulse: Post-Vegas analysis

“I thought Las Vegas was going to be good for us, but unfortunately all day, we couldn’t really show that,” said Byron, who added that the handling balance of his No. 24 Chevrolet was a trouble spot. “We had some decent stage points, but never enough to really get up towards the front. Just a struggle all day.”

Byron finished 10th and sixth at the stage breaks, mitigating some of the woes with six points added to his current tally. The misfortune for Blaney and Bell actually moved him up a spot to fifth place in the standings, but Byron lost three points relative to the elimination line. He now sits at minus-6 to Denny Hamlin, the last driver above the provisional cut.

Elliott absorbed a larger 14-point loss relative to the elimination line, but his cushion of playoffs points as the regular-season champion and a five-time winner this year softened the blow. He’s third in the standings with a plus-17 margin above that cut-off point.

Another 1.5-mile track looms on the schedule with Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The round will end with a trip to Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 30, when the postseason field will be trimmed from eight drivers to the four who will compete for the championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 6.

MORE: Homestead-Miami weekend schedule

Both Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won at Martinsville, and Byron is the Cup Series most recent winner (Feb. 2021) at Homestead. Elliott was second at the South Florida track in 2020, but was still smarting from his Vegas performance when asked about prospects for Homestead, a dissimilar circuit of the same length.

“Homestead is definitely different,” Elliott said, “but I need to re-evaluate myself, in general, to have a shot next week.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Spire Motorsports will announce its driver and crew chief lineup for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series on Tuesday.

NASCAR.com will stream the news conference live from Spire’s race shop in Concord, N.C., at 11 a.m. ET. Tune in here or through our YouTube channel:

Spire is in its fourth season as a full-time entrant in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Jeff Dickerson and T.J. Puchyr-owned organization expanded to a two-car team in 2021, and added a part-time effort in the Camping World Truck Series this season.

Spire has one win in each series: Justin Haley brought home the team’s first Cup Series triumph at Daytona International Speedway in 2019, and William Byron drove Spire’s No. 7 entry to victory in the Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway in April.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

LAS VEGAS — Ross Chastain fell one spot short of punching his ticket to the Championship 4 for the first time in his young NASCAR Cup Series career.

Instead, a runner-up effort at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the opening race of the Round of 8 left the Trackhouse Racing driver second in points with two contests ahead of the title race after Joey Logano passed him with three laps to go.

MORE: Official results | At-track photos

Sitting next in line to a Championship 4 advancement, it was an afternoon of mixed emotions for the two-time 2022 winner.

“It’s a really, really, really good kind of hurt, but it hurts,” Chastain said.

Chastain pounced to the lead after a restart with 16 laps to go, diving to the inside of Turn 3 to make a three-wide pass on Chase Briscoe and Justin Haley for the advantage. But restarting eighth with fresher tires was Logano, who made a charge of his own after pitting for fresh tires with 20 laps to go.

Chastain fought valiantly to defend his potential title ticket but ultimately couldn’t fend off Logano any more than he did.

“I’m sure I can look back and find little things [to do differently],” Chastain said. “The obvious one is when he got inside of me in three and four, right? If I just don’t commit to the top on entry, and I just thought I could rip the top and stay in front of him one more time. He had a lot of grip.”

He also had plenty of praise for Logano, who clinched his fifth Championship 4 berth in the last nine seasons.

“I hope I’m racing that guy for wins in the Cup Series for a long time to come,” Chastain said. “And I think it’s gonna be a fun career if that’s the case.”

Logano noted the shared respect between the two competitors, who has had his fair share of run-ins with competitors as he becomes a regular frontrunner in the top level of stock-car racing.

“Ross and I have a great relationship,” Logano said. “I’ve talked to him a lot and we have a mutual understanding of how each other races, and honestly we work together pretty well on the racetrack. And I knew coming down to the end, I had a tire advantage. And I knew what was on the line, right? It’s a championship — a possible championship on the line right now. And I thought, ‘boy, he’s gonna be willing to do a lot to get in.'”

Chastain’s regular season was dotted with bent fenders and hurt feelings but he eventually began racing more conservatively as the playoffs neared. Crew chief Phil Surgen saw his driver’s aggression — if more calculated — was back in a big way Sunday in Sin City.

“We’ve seen it in previous races and this is the time to use it,” Surgen told NASCAR.com. “Going for the lead, late-race restart, that’s when the gloves are off and he drove a great race today. There was you know a couple-lap older tires [on his car], not a lot he could do. Really proud of him today. He had a great race.”

In addition to his second-place finish, Chastain netted seven stage points courtesy of a fourth-place finish in Stage 2. With Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway remaining as the barrier to a potential title run, the Las Vegas result was ultimately one Trackhouse can leave smiling about.

“It’s a really good day,” Surgen said. “That’s the kind of day we needed. And unfortunately when you have an opportunity to win and it comes down to two and a half laps at the end, it’s a stinger but really proud of this group.”

NASCAR hasn’t raced at Homestead since February 2021, where Chastain finished 17th for Chip Ganassi Racing, but he has a fifth-place finish at Martinsville earlier this season to reflect on.

No matter what happens now, Surgen stressed the focus has to remain on the task at hand.

“I think the mentality is to understand where you’re at, understand the information you have, look ahead at the next race and forget about all the outside pressure,” said Surgen, who’s also navigating his first run through the Round of 8. “Just maximize the day. It’s no penalties. It’s being really clean. It’s the good pit stops, fast cars and just optimize what you have that day and don’t let those outside influences affect your decisions.

“We’re here because we’ve been good all season. We’ve been consistent. We’ve been fast and we can’t let any of that go.”

The Round of 8 continues at Homestead-Miami on Oct. 23 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.