Here are the NASCAR drivers racing in the BC39 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2022

Posted on August 2, 2022August 4, 2022 by FloRacing

A strong contingent of drivers with connections to NASCAR’s national series will be competing in this week’s BC39 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The annual USAC Midget event, which honors the late Bryan Clauson, is held on the quarter-mile dirt track located inside Turn 3 of the historic IMS oval.

Once again this year, the BC39 will feature champions from all over the motorsports world with NASCAR, USAC, World of Outlaws, Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions and more represented.

The entry list includes the names of champions and race winners in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Take a look below at the list of drivers with NASCAR connections that will be competing in the race.

Kyle Larson looks over the track during the 2022 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire at Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Jan. 15, 2022. (Nick Oxford/NASCAR)

Kyle Larson

The defending NASCAR Cup Series champion is also the most recent winner of the BC39. One year ago, Larson prevailed in a thrilling battle with open-wheel stars Justin Grant and Thomas Meseruall to score the $15,000 victory. In addition to his 2021 BC39 win, Larson has won the last two runnings of the Stoops Pursuit race held on Wednesday night.

Chase Briscoe

Briscoe, the driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing car in the NASCAR Cup Series, has yet to miss the BC39 in the three years it’s been held. After failing to qualify in 2018, he finished 24th in 2019 before recording a career-best finish of 11th one year ago. After securing his first NASCAR Cup Series win earlier this year at Phoenix Raceway, Briscoe has been busy on his “Chase’n Dirt Tour” racing MIdgets, Sprint Cars and Dirt Late Models throughout the year.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Stenhouse returns to the BC39 after missing last year’s version of the event. The full-time driver of the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing car on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit finished 11th in the inaugural BC39 before recording his best finish of seventh in 2019. This time around, Stenhouse will be driving the No. 08 car for Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Sheldon Creed

The 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion will make his USAC Midget debut at the BC39. Creed, who currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Richard Childress Racing, has made a handful of dirt starts in recent years. He’s competed in Dirt Late Models, UMP Modifieds and Micro Sprints, most notably at Millbridge Speedway in North Carolina.

Ryan Newman

While Newman no longer competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, he’s a very familiar name to NASCAR fans. He’s also a familiar face at the BC39 after competing in last year’s event. This year, Newman competed full-time with the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) and collected a victory at Stafford Motor Speedway. In addition to driving SRX cars, he’s also raced Midgets, Pavement Sprint Cars, Tour-type Modifieds and USAC Silver Crown cars this season. Now, he’ll return to a Dirt Midget for the first time since January’s Chili Bowl Nationals.

J.J. Yeley

Yeley, who experienced success on dirt before beginning his NASCAR career, returns to the BC39 after attempting all three previous versions of the race. He has failed to qualify in his three previous attempts. In 2003, Yeley claimed the USAC Triple Crown championship after winning the USAC National Midget, USAC National Sprint Car and USAC Silver Crown championships in the same year. On the NASCAR circuit, he has made 342 NASCAR Cup Series starts and 369 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts.

Dillon Welch

While Welch isn’t known primarily for driving a race car, he’s a well-known personality within the NASCAR world. He returns to the BC39 after missing last year’s event. Welch, the son of FOX Sports NASCAR broadcaster Vince Welch, has created a path of his own in the broadcast industry as a reporter for NBC Sports and MRN Radio. He’s also the co-host of the Loudpedal Podcast on FloRacing. Behind the wheel, Welch has experienced success while racing a limited schedule. In January, he qualified for the A-Main at the prestigious Chili Bowl Nationals.

Posted on August 2, 2022August 2, 2022 by Zack Albert

Homecoming week for Brad Keselowski comes with some recent signs of encouragement — “a little bit of an upswing,” as he puts it. His first year on the driver-slash-ownership side with RFK Racing has had its share of wild swings with some hits and misses mixed in.

Back in his native state for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at Michigan International Speedway, Keselowski says he hopes to give the home crowd reason to cheer — both for his No. 6 Ford and the No. 17 Mustang of teammate Chris Buescher. Tuesday, he indicated he’s making progress in re-establishing the organization’s place among the NASCAR Cup Series’ perennial powers, but that he also has personal goals for adding to his own legacy behind the wheel.

“We seem to be getting better every week, and the team’s starting to click and we’re starting to figure out some of the missing pieces,” Keselowski said, noting the speed he and Buescher had last weekend on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. “Michigan is gonna probably be a tough race for us, but I’m looking at Richmond, Watkins Glen, Daytona, and I think we have reason for a lot of optimism and hope. So, we’re gonna give it all we got, and I’m in this for the long haul. I’m 38 years old, and statistically, I’m still a few years from my prime, and I want to keep pushing as hard as I can to get this company to where RFK — both cars, the 6 and the 17 — can win races and contend for championships.

“So we’re heading the right direction, and I think it’ll bear fruit with a little patience. So I appreciate the fans that are sticking with me as we’re turning a new leaf.”

The newness remains, barely more than a year after the announcement in July 2021 that Keselowski would join forces with Hall of Famer Jack Roush’s group. The organization’s name change came later, and RFK Racing made its first on-track splash with a sweep of this year’s Daytona 500 qualifying races.

The splashes have had fewer ripples since, and both drivers need wins to shoehorn their way into the Cup Series Playoffs. Buescher managed to snag his first career pole position earlier this season, but has just six top-10 finishes so far. Keselowski’s total is half that, and his place in the Cup Series standings received a jolt in March with a 100-point penalty for modifications to a single-source part for the Next Gen car model that debuted this year.

That punishment stood alone until a recent spate of infractions emerged after last month’s race at Pocono Raceway, where the top finishing Joe Gibbs Racing entries of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were disqualified. Days later, Michael McDowell’s Front Row Motorsports No. 34 team was added to the offenders’ list with its own 100-point deduction.

Keselowski said he had “a little bit of sense of relief” that the penalties to those teams were treated with similar severity to his team’s case. While he said he had a general understanding of NASCAR’s position with rules enforcement, he advocated for wider, sweeping sanctions for teams that play outside the rule book’s boundaries.

“The reality is that the garage is going through a reset with respect to kind of cutting out the games, and that’s a good thing for us as a sport,” Keselowski said. “I personally think the sport needs more penalties, and that NASCAR needs to be handing them out like candy right now to get control of the garage. Because, you know, we’ve been playing a lot of games for a lot of years, and the games have to stop. The games cost a lot of money. … And so looking at that, the easiest way for NASCAR to stop those expenses is to stop the games.”

MORE: Power Rankings post-Indy

After his team’s own brush with the long arm of NASCAR law, Keselowski said he clamped down. Engineering home-grown parts at great expense was out.

“I know after our issues at Atlanta, we went through our entire company and said no more games,” Keselowski said. “Nothing goes on in these cars, period. And it’s a rapid culture shift and there’s a lot of people inside our own company that didn’t like it, but the reality is NASCAR is setting precedents that needed to be set, that we support being set, that are important to the future of our industry and its viability.”

As for the more immediate outlook, this weekend’s event at Michigan holds extra importance to the sport’s manufacturers, but also to the Rochester Hills-raised Keselowski. The driver-owner is 0-for-24 in Cup Series races held at the 2-mile track, and the prospects for finally scratching the win column there are marked by variables.

Sunday’s 400-miler is the first Michigan race for the Next Gen model, and a Goodyear test there earlier this year prompted a change in approach from the tire supplier. Mix those factors with limited track time in Saturday’s preliminaries and there’s uncertainty aplenty.

“I would say this is about as wild card as a wild card can get this weekend,” Keselowski said. “I don’t know what to tell you to expect with the new car, different tires, very little practice. The one test session there was with a limited amount of cars didn’t go that smoothly so we’ll have to see. I don’t know what to expect. It could be complete and utter chaos. It could be the best race ever. It could be somewhere in between. I don’t know. I think that’s in some ways part of the fun of Next Gen is the complete uncertainty every week, what’s going to happen.”

Posted on August 2, 2022August 2, 2022 by Staff Report

Front Row Motorsports announced Tuesday that the organization has abandoned its plan to appeal L2-level penalties against its No. 34 Ford team.

FRM indicated in a statement that the team informed NASCAR that the organization has accepted the penalty and that “the team has made internal changes in its build practices to ensure the issues leading to the penalties will not happen again in the future.”

The 100-point penalty assessed July 26 to both driver Michael McDowell and team owner Bob Jenkins in their respective Cup Series standings will now stand. The four-race suspension for crew chief Blake Harris will go into effect beginning this weekend at Michigan International Speedway.

Chris Yerges, lead engineer for the No. 34 team, will take over as the interim crew chief starting with Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at the 2-mile Michigan track. Just four races remain in the Cup Series regular season, and McDowell ranks 26th in the driver points.

Posted on August 2, 2022August 10, 2022 by Tadd Haislop

BROWNSBURG, Ind. — The scene that was Layne Riggs climbing out of his No. 62 Toyota Tundra on Friday night was one typically reserved for Victory Lane. All of the energetic hugs and fist bumps were accompanied by permanent smiles.

This was not Victory Lane, of course. This was the back end of pit road at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Amongst a line of top-10 finishing trucks and drivers, one could easily tell who finished seventh in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut.

The son of former NASCAR driver Scott Riggs, Layne Riggs turned the TSport 200 into a race he’ll never forget. The 20-year-old from Bahama, North Carolina, also brought himself to an encouraging realization.

This is where he belongs.

“It was funny coming to the green-white-checkered restart,” Riggs said. “We lined up fifth, and I was looking around like, ‘Well there’s Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter, Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, all these guys I watch on TV every week, and I’m right in the middle of them.’

“It was awesome to be a part of it, but at the same time, I didn’t feel any pressure. I didn’t feel nervous behind the wheel. Everything felt natural to me. I feel like I’m confident enough as a driver to be there.”

Layne Riggs (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

A full-time late model stock car driver, Riggs leads the NASCAR Advance Auto Part Weekly series national points standings with 27 starts this year at Dominion Raceway, Hickory Motor Speedway, South Boston Speedway and Wake County Speedway. He has 13 wins in 2022, easily the most among national championship contenders.

It was after a win at Hickory a few months ago when Riggs received the offer to go Truck Series racing with Halmar Friesen Racing.

Riggs’ ultimate goal is to race full-time in a NASCAR national touring series. But for now, his primary focus remains his Weekly Series racing. That’s why Friday night’s Truck Series race was only the beginning of Riggs’ exhausting weekend.

Riggs didn’t get much time to celebrate at Lucas Oil IRP. He needed to get to the airport and fly overnight to Statesville, North Carolina, so he could drive to Dominion for a pair of late model features and two chances to collect more Weekly Series points.

The flight from Indianapolis arrived in Statesville around 2:30 a.m ET. Riggs then took a car to his house for a quick snooze from 5:30 a.m. to 7 a.m., when he had to get up and travel to Dominion to make it to the track by 11:30 a.m.

That night, he qualified on the pole and won the first late model feature race.

“I was all good Saturday with adrenaline keeping me awake,” said Riggs, who finished fourth in the second feature race due in part to worn tires from the first event. “But right after the second race was over, I was out.”

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A post shared by LAYNE RIGGS 🇺🇸 (@layneriggs99)

At Dominion, Riggs was taken aback by the reception his racing peers delivered. On-track rivals were among those congratulating the young driver on his top-10 finish in his Truck Series debut.

They all knew how impressive Riggs’ run truly was.

Riggs at Lucas Oil IRP conquered what seemed like an endless stream of challenges. This was his first time racing a truck and his first laps on the Indiana short track, so a short practice run led to an overcorrection in his setup for qualifying, and he wheeled a loose truck to a 26th-place effort in time trials.

Riggs’ first pit stop in the race was a disaster. He slid through his pit stall. His front tire changer’s air gun wouldn’t work. The fuel can wouldn’t engage with the truck’s nozzle. He went a lap down as a result and didn’t get back to the lead lap until the end of Stage 2.

Despite the chaos, Riggs’ numbers from the race tell a story of resilience. He made 62 green-flag passes, the second most in the field behind Zane Smith’s 67. On two occasions, he recorded the fastest lap in the field. Of 36 drivers, he ranked 14th in driver rating with a 76.5.

(Photo: Torey Fox/NASCAR)

A late caution and a wise strategy call not to pit combined to put Riggs in such a strong position for the final restart of the race. He battled old tires and an aggressive pack of drivers to finish seventh.

“To come from the tail end all the way back to finish seventh in the end, making a good call to stay out, it was a good day,” Riggs said. “Everybody from home and people in the racing industry giving me support. I couldn’t ask for more in my debut.”

Riggs will get at least one more chance to run with the Truck Series in 2022; he’ll again race for Halmar Friesen in a couple weeks when the series returns to action at Richmond Raceway for the Worldwide Express 250 for Carrier Appreciation (Aug. 13, 8 p.m. ET on FS1/MRN/SiriusXM).

Based on how Riggs performed at Lucas Oil IRP, one can visualize another strong performance from him at Richmond.

Regardless, he’ll always have the memory of his top-10 finish in his NASCAR national series debut, plus the subsequent reception and victory at Dominion.

Posted on August 2, 2022 by Brandon White

One constant during the Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the past decade has been the presence of veteran Robbie Faggart.

A two-time champion of the Masters division, Faggart has served as a veteran presence amongst the young group of drivers, all of whom are attempting to follow the same path as NASCAR Cup Series champions like Chase Elliott and Joey Logano.

Faggart initially entered the Summer Shootout to help develop the racing career of his son, Dillon Faggart, but quickly fell in love with the culture surrounding the series and wanted to become more involved with the weeknight festivities.

“Dillon started running back in 2013,” Faggart said. “He ran in the Young Lions division and then moved up to the Pros. We both love racing a lot, and when he didn’t need me so much, I inherited the second car we had and started doing this. It’s a lot of fun to race [in the Summer Shootout] every year.”

Unlike most of the drivers he races against during the summer, Faggart brings an extensive auto racing background to the Summer Shootout’s Masters division.

Among the accomplishments Faggart has accumulated during his career include a Super Late Model title at the now defunct Concord Speedway along with a NASCAR Sportsman Division championship in 1992, during which all four of his victories came at Charlotte.

Faggart also made 16 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts between 1987 and ’02, scoring a career-best finish of 19^th at Charlotte in 1997. He also attempted to qualify for a handful of Cup Series events but ultimately did not make the starting grid on each occasion.

After racing for more than 50 years, Faggart sees the Summer Shootout primarily as a hobby, but admitted that he enjoys the intense racing offered in the Masters division, especially against other seasoned veterans like former NASCAR drivers Jeff, David and Mark Green, the latter of which still actively competes and has three wins this year.

Going up against Green and the rest of the regulars in the Masters division is much different for Faggart compared to weekly racing at Concord in the lats 1980s and early 1990s, yet he said every driver in the garage area possesses a tremendous amount of passion for the sport despite how chaotic races can get.

“These guys out here in the Legends cars will bump you around in a minute,” Faggart said. “Myself and the Greens have bumped heads forever. The temperaments don’t change, we just get older.”

Robbie Faggart’s accomplishments include a Super Late Model title at Concord Speedway and a NASCAR Sportsman Division championship. (Photo: Brandon White/NASCAR)

Watching his father race side-by-side with the other veterans around Charlotte’s miniature frontstretch oval can be a nerve-wracking experience for Dillon, who now serves as a driver coach for his dad after electing to scale back his own schedule a few years ago.

Dillon enjoyed plenty of success himself in the Summer Shootout during his own career and attempted to pass that knowledge to Robbie once he started actively competing in Legends cars, though he joked about his father being headstrong when it comes to his needs on the track.

RACING REFERENCE: Career stats for Robbie Faggart

“I try to help my dad out with the line and everything else, but he’s a little bit stubborn,” Dillon said. “These cars are a lot different compared to what I use to drive, so I just tell him to go out there, have fun and to not tear the car up. He’s fallen in love with the Legends cars and certainly has the itch to race.”

While Robbie and Dillon have enjoyed working together in the Summer Shootout, the 2022 season has been slightly more challenging compared to previous campaigns.

Robbie has yet to win a feature in the Masters division with the season set to wrap up on Tuesday evening. He recorded four consecutive Top 3 finishes to open the year but gradually lost ground to his competition in July, with his best performance during the month being a fifth on July 12.

Dillon has been equally as puzzled as his father over the shortcomings of the car and spent all of July attempting to diagnose the issue in order to give Robbie a chance at adding another Masters division championship belt to his trophy case.

Even though they face significant odds towards winning that title, Dillon believes he is close to getting Robbie’s car back into its early-season condition and is optimistic that they will close out the 2022 campaign by once again celebrating in Victory Lane.

“I’m trying to tune this car in for [my dad],” Dillon said. “I finally got some GoPro footage that I can use to see what his hands are doing inside the car. I can tell that he’s pretty tight center off, so if we can loosen the car up a little bit, I think he’ll be a rocket.”

The 2022 Summer Shootout season has been a struggle for Robbie Faggart, as he has yet to win a race heading into Tuesday’s season finale. (Photo: Brandon White/NASCAR)

Robbie promised himself that he would keep competing in the Summer Shootout as long as he could still win races. While he has yet to accomplish that goal in 2022, Robbie believes he is a couple of adjustments away from returning to his winning form in the Masters division.

Although he wishes the year had played out different, Robbie said there are hardly any stressful evenings at the Summer Shootout and said that his primary goals with each event are to have fun and to enjoy watching the younger drivers develop their skills around the track.

Robbie has seen so many prospects come and go at the Summer Shootout throughout the years and has tried to pass down his expertise at every available opportunity. Among those who have shared the track with Robbie in 2022 include Super Late Model standout William Sawalich and ARCA Menards Series West winner Landen Lewis.

As expenses with auto racing continue to rise, Robbie still sees the Summer Shootout as an ideal steppingstone for up-and-coming drivers to not only get acclimated with each other on track, but also build connections that could enable them to one day race at NASCAR’s top levels.

“These young kids coming up through the ranks have to start somewhere,” Robbie said. “[The Summer Shootout] is a great way for them to get that track time, especially for the inexpensive racers.”

Robbie anticipates plenty of changes for the Summer Shootout at Charlotte as the motorsports industry continues to evolve, but he intends to keep fully supporting the track and the series that have had such a positive impact on his life throughout his career.

He hopes at least one more Masters division championship is in the cards before eventually deciding to hang up his helmet, whenever that may be.

Posted on August 2, 2022August 2, 2022 by Staff Report

The team made the announcement Tuesday, two days after Reddick’s victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

MORE: Michigan entry list | Full weekend schedule

“As a kid growing up in this sport, getting the chance to run a NASCAR Cup Series car is the ultimate dream, especially with a team like Richard Childress Racing that has so much history and success,” Hill said in a team release. “I’m so thankful that Richard Childress and everyone at RCR have so much faith in me. It will be a learning weekend, for sure, but I’ve had success at Michigan International Speedway in the past and can’t wait to take on the track’s wide, sweeping corners in a NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolet.”

Bennett Transportation & Logistics will back Hill’s entry for his first start in NASCAR’s top level.

The 28-year-old Hill is a new face in the RCR stable, joining the team for the 2022 season in its No. 21 NASCAR Xfinity Series program. The ascension came after Hill spent four years in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

The Georgia native won his first race with the Childress stable in February at the Daytona opener. He also won at Atlanta and currently sits sixth in the standings, having notched two wins, eight top-five finishes and 13 top 10s in 20 races this year.

RELATED: All of RCR’s wins by driver

Hill previously won eight Truck Series races during a full-time stint from 2018-21, including a four-win 2019 for team owner Shigeaki Hattori. One of his 2019 victories came at Michigan.

“I want to learn how aggressive all the drivers are on the race track, the moves they make and how they create passes,” Hill said in a Zoom teleconference Tuesday. “I think there’s gonna be a different view of what I’ve seen on the Truck side and Xfinity side.”

The No. 33 was last used in the NASCAR Cup Series last season, with Austin Cindric making six starts before joining the Team Penske camp full time this year.

Clint Bowyer drove the number full time for RCR from 2009-2011, notching three wins during that stretch.

“Austin Hill has shown talent in every Series he’s raced in during his career, so I couldn’t be more excited to have him behind the wheel of a Cup Series car,” said Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “He’s having a strong season in the Xfinity Series, and I know he will be just as competitive and eager to learn behind the wheel of a Cup Series car.”

Posted on August 2, 2022August 2, 2022 by Team Release

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has announced a new executive leadership structure that will take effect on Sept. 1.

President Brett Frood, who has been a part of SHR since its inception in 2009, is departing his day-to-day duties with the championship-winning NASCAR team to become commissioner of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). However, Frood will remain as an executive advisor to SHR and the board chairman for all Tony Stewart-related entities.

RELATED: Stewart-Haas Racing team page

In that role, Frood will assist in the transition of Brian McKinley from vice president of sales to chief commercial officer for SHR, as well as facilitate the expanded responsibilities of Greg Zipadelli, who becomes SHR’s chief competition officer after serving as vice president of competition since 2012. Joe Custer, currently co-president, will continue in his leadership role, and all members of the executive team will maintain its fiduciary oversight for SHR co-owners Stewart and Gene Haas.

Brett Frood, courtesy of Stewart-Haas Racing

“I’m honored to have had the opportunity to work for Tony and Gene, and humbled to have been in the trenches with such committed and impressive colleagues at Stewart-Haas Racing,” Frood said. “SHR is filled with individuals who are self-motivated and passionate in our collective pursuits of success. It’s why we’ve accomplished so much together. My 14 years here have been some of the most satisfying of my professional career and I’ll be forever grateful.

“Becoming commissioner of the National Lacrosse League is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I appreciate the support everyone has provided me at Stewart-Haas Racing as I embark on this new chapter. I’ll look forward to maintaining a meaningful connection with the organization in my advisory role. Brian McKinley and Greg Zipadelli have the experience, acumen and drive to absorb the elevated responsibilities of Stewart-Haas Racing and position it for continued success in the years to come.”

Frood’s original passion is lacrosse. The Elbridge, New York, native was captain of the Brown University lacrosse team, which during his time with the Brown Bears won two Ivy League titles (1994 and 1995) and made an appearance in the 1994 NCAA Final Four. Frood has continued his involvement in the sport, where he has been a club and high school coach for more than a decade.

“Brett is the type of person that puts 100 percent effort into any project,” said Stewart, who recruited Frood 18 years ago upon his graduation from Harvard Business School. “No job is too big, but no job is beneath him, either. He’s negotiated multi-million dollar contracts and then the next day has stood in the mud at Eldora Speedway to hang sponsor banners. He’s not afraid to roll up his sleeves and get dirty. That’s just how he is. I’m lucky to have him and SHR is in a great place because of him.

“I know his passion for lacrosse, and being commissioner of the National Lacrosse League is a dream job for him. They’re getting one of the most trustworthy, detail-oriented people I’ve ever met. And thankfully for us, we’ll still have an opportunity to leverage his expertise from a different vantage point.

“Obviously, I think a lot of Greg Zipadelli. We won two championships together and a lot of races. He brought the same determination that made us so successful together on the race track to Stewart-Haas Racing.

“Brian McKinley joined SHR two years ago and in his short time here has already made a big impact. He’s helped secure new partnerships and made strong bonds with partners who have been a part of our race team for years. Brian has earned this opportunity and I know that between him and Zippy, we’re well positioned for continued success.”

Zipadelli was Stewart’s crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series for 10 years, beginning with his rookie season in 1999. It was a pairing that delivered two championships (2002 and 2005) and 33 victories, and as SHR transitioned from a two-car team to a three-car organization in 2012, Stewart hand-picked Zipadelli to lead SHR’s competition department. Today, SHR fields four cars in the NASCAR Cup Series and one in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

McKinley joined SHR in 2020 and has since secured numerous partnerships, including Mahindra Ag North America, GEARWRENCH®, Subway®, Magical Vacation Planner, PristineAuction.com and Renegade Insurance, among others. Prior to joining SHR, McKinley was the co-head of global partnerships at Feld Entertainment, managing more than $40 million worth of partner activation across seven live touring properties, including Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, Monster Jam and Disney on Ice. Before his tenure at Feld, McKinley was the vice president of sports marketing at Herbalife International. He led a global sponsorship strategy for the $4 billion health nutrition company that encompassed more than 250 partnerships across 90 countries.

Posted on August 1, 2022August 5, 2022 by Deja Dorsey

NASCAR fire suits are hot off the presses and headed straight to the runway … or, more specifically, to pit road. The suits not only display the teams’ well-appreciated sponsors but also protect pit crew members and drivers from the extreme heat and possible fires.

Just like any sport, team members have a mandatory uniform and protection standard. NASCAR fire suits are made with Nomex, a flexible fiber developed by DuPont, that protects up to 1,000-degree heat. But recent advances have helped these uniforms with mobility and in keeping crew and drivers cooler in the summer months

“There’s a lot of things going on over the wall. You know, you’ve got lug nuts going everywhere, used to but now you’ve got one and any fall down, things like that,” Chris Burkey, Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew coach, told NASCAR.com. “It is added protection like football, you know, they (fire suits) are hot, but obviously the most important part of it, it keeps them safe in the event of a fire.”

MORE: NASCAR TV schedule | Michigan weekend schedule

But these suits were not always as protective as they are now. In the 1950s, there were no fire suits, mandated gloves, or helmets. The fabric was thin and resembled everyday clothes, that is until NASCAR Hall of Famer Tim Flock became one of the first drivers to wear a fire-retardant jumpsuit.

A recent experience with the protective power of fire suits came from Justin Fiedler, former tire charger for Erik Jones’ No. 43, sharing his helmet cam footage from Nashville Superspeedway on social media.

Here's the stop. The detents on the left side did not release (again) and I was already on the trigger. Caused a few sparks. Sparks+fuel=fire. We did come back and change the LR the next lap. I apologized to Jones on the plane for setting his race car on fire. pic.twitter.com/20ShlzYB38

— Justin Fiedler (@Justin_Fiedler) June 27, 2022

“Fire suits are not necessarily completely fireproof,” Fiedler said. “You know they’re not going to protect you from it for a long period of time; what fire suits and fireproof underwear really do is just to give you time to get out of it. So, knowing that, if I need a second or a couple of seconds to finish up the job, I’m not concerned about staying.”

Fiedler is currently in his 16th season with the sport and says he’s experienced countless pit stops across all three NASCAR series, but only four fires. He says the odds of extreme fires from the race cars are relatively low and that having the extra layers of protection comes as second nature.

“Knowing that I have all of the equipment on, you obviously are aware of it. It’s hot,” Fiedler said. “But I don’t worry necessarily about getting burned. You know, your suit will get singed, and maybe your knee pads or something like that will get some burn marks. But the fires that I’ve been in, I was not concerned in any way, shape or form about actually myself getting burned at this point.”

Torey Fox | NASCAR Digital Media

Throughout the years NASCAR has made it a point to require drivers and pit members to have SFI Foundation-approved suits, footwear, helmet, gloves, and fire-resistant underwear.

Although there’s been a drastic change from early stock-car racing to today’s Next Gen race car, Burkey as a pit coach has seen advancement in the protective gear that has improved performance in pit crews.

“Even though the fire suits are kind of clunky and kind of heavy, they have made advancements in the materials to make them lighter, which is obviously a good thing for the guys,” Burkey said. “They like them lighter, more flexible and the guys can also do alterations.” All approved and certified, of course.

MORE: Evolution of fire suits in NASCAR

As DuPont and NASCAR continue to make advancements, Fiedler and Burkey say they hope the suits can offer more cooling technology, especially as the racing season peaks in the summer with 90-degree-plus temperatures. While pit crew members complete 12-second and under pit stops — all of this can cause heat exhaustion to the body.

“One thing the guys got to do, especially on a day like today, is hydrate. You know, we talk about hydration on Tuesday of the week. We just can’t do it today,” said Burkey. “We really talk about hydration because you will lose a little bit of weight just like a driver. … It is hard on them, so the hydration is a big part of it.”

Fiedler echoes Burkey and says he does “as much as I can through the week to be prepared for the weekend.” That in mind, he practices in his full fire suit get-up to have the same feeling as race day at practice.

“Obviously if it’s nice and cool outside and you’re not sweating, your fire suit is going to feel different and fit differently than if it’s a super-hot day and you’re sweating,” said Fiedler “… I’ve got two pairs of knee pads, you know, your knee pads kind of move around during stops and your gloves feel different and all of that stuff.”

“I want to sweat during practice so I can have those same feelings of what that’s going to be like at the race track, just to try to mimic things as much as you can.”

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Brandon White

The fight for the 2022 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship has now become a two-man race.

With his victory in the Clash at Claremont 150 on Friday evening, Jon McKennedy is now four points behind 2011 series champion Ron Silk, who has led the standings for most of the year despite having yet to win a race.

Although he managed to finish right behind McKennedy at Claremont Motorsports Park, Silk is still attempting to recover from the damage he sustained from his poor showing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway two weeks before, where he finished 21^st after getting involved in an early wreck.

While Silk and McKennedy have emerged as the frontrunners with six races remaining on the schedule, plenty of drivers remain within striking distance to take the points lead for themselves should either driver endure a bad race.

Below is a breakdown of how the top 10 drivers in the standings fared during the Clash at Claremont 150, along with a complete look at the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings.

Although the championship is a two-man race, drivers like Eric Goodale and Justin Bonsignore remain within striking distance of the points lead. (Rachel O’Driscoll/NASCAR)

Ron Silk: 377 points

With Silk being one of three drivers who ran the most recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Claremont, he used that experience to deliver his sixth top-five finish on the year. Despite this, Silk’s efficiency was not enough to prevent another hit in the points that stemmed from McKennedy’s victory.

Jon McKennedy: 373 points

Like Silk, McKennedy also ran the last NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Claremont back in 2007. Once he took the lead from Jake Johnson on the 14^th lap, nobody managed to keep pace with McKennedy as he cruised to his first win since 2018, firmly establishing himself as a title contender in the process.

Eric Goodale: 356 points

Fresh off a heartbreaking loss in the most recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at New Hampshire, Goodale was a non-factor throughout the Clash at Claremont 150. After starting in sixth, Goodale faded to 12^th at the end of the evening, allowing Silk and McKennedy to put distance on him in the standings.

Justin Bonsignore: 349 points

Leading the first 11 laps from the outside pole proved to be the highlight of Bonsignore’s night at Claremont. Bonsignore struggled to keep pace with the leaders during the middle portion of the Clash at Claremont 150 but did rebound for a sixth-place finish.

Tommy Catalano: 343 points

Catalano’s best season in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour continued Friday evening with his fifth top-10 finish of the year at Claremont. Although he ended up losing a position to Bonsignore in the standings, Catalano remains in an ideal place to easily exceed his previous best points finish of 11^th, which occurred in 2018 and 2019.

Austin Beers: 340 points

The current leader in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour rookie point standings, Beers did not have his best run in the Clash at Claremont 150, as he ended up coming home in 11^th. Beers maintained his sixth-place position in the standings but now trails Silk by 37 points.

Kyle Bonsignore: 337 points

The other Bonsignore quietly nabbed his second consecutive top-five finish at Claremont on Friday evening. With momentum on his side, Bonsignore will look to break into the top-five in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour point standings during the next six races.

Craig Lutz: 305 points

Friday at Claremont was not the best outing for veteran Craig Lutz. After finishing 10th at New Hampshire, Lutz was involved in an incident with Dave Sapienza that brought out the caution flag on Lap 81. He was able to recover from the incident to ultimately finish 13th.

Dave Sapienza: 270 points

Sapienza was involved in a crash on Lap 81 with Craig Lutz that derailed the day for both drivers. A second incident also involving Sam Rameau on Lap 97 didn’t do Sapienza any favors and he eventually settled for a 15th-place finish. He has yet to earn a top-10 finish this season.

J.B. Fortin: 264 points

Fortin could not match the pace being put down my McKennedy and ended up 16^th as the second car one lap down. In his nine starts this year, Fortin’s best finish was a third-place result at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway.

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings

Pos.	Driver	Races	Wins	Top fives	Top 10s	Poles	Laps	Laps led	Average start	Average finish	Points	Diff.
1	Ron Silk	10	0	6	9	2	1642	232	7	6.7	377	—
2	Jon McKennedy	10	1	5	8	0	1682	153	9.8	7.3	373	-4
3	Eric Goodale	10	0	2	6	0	1691	30	8.6	8.5	356	-21
4	Justin Bonsignore	10	2	3	7	3	1455	138	4.9	10.2	349	-28
5	Tommy Catalano	10	0	2	5	0	1673	70	13.7	10	343	-34
6	Austin Beers	10	0	0	4	0	1691	0	12.1	10	340	-37
7	Kyle Bonsignore	10	0	2	6	0	1683	6	7.7	10.4	337	-40
8	Craig Lutz	10	0	0	3	0	1599	0	11.2	13.5	305	-72
9	Dave Sapienza	10	0	0	0	0	1598	0	14.7	17	270	-107
10	J.B. Fortin	9	0	1	2	0	1246	0	14.1	14.7	264	-113
11	Doug Coby	6	2	3	6	0	1044	294	7.2	5.5	241	-136
12	Patrick Emerling	7	0	3	4	0	1037	0	12.1	11	231	-146
13	Matt Hirschman	5	1	5	5	1	881	282	4.8	2.4	216	-161
14	Gary McDonald	9	0	0	0	0	1422	0	23.4	20.3	213	-164
15	Walter Sutcliffe, Jr.	8	0	0	0	0	1126	4	23.6	19.3	199	-178
16	Melissa Fifield	10	0	0	0	0	582	0	24.1	24.8	192	-185
17	Tyler Rypkema	5	0	3	3	1	791	108	9.2	8.6	180	-197
18	Jake Johnson	5	0	2	3	2	723	5	12.8	13	157	-220
19	Ken Heagy	6	0	0	0	0	900	0	19.7	19	150	-227
20	James Pritchard, Jr	4	0	0	0	0	683	0	22	17.3	130	-247
21	Timmy Solomito	4	0	1	2	1	641	131	7.8	12.5	129	-248
22	Andrew Krause	4	0	2	2	0	589	70	14.5	13.8	123	-254
23	Mike Christopher, Jr.	3	1	2	2	0	550	28	11.3	5.7	120	-257
24	Jimmy Blewett	3	1	1	2	0	500	13	9	7	115	-262
25	Matt Kimball	4	0	0	1	0	531	0	17	17.5	106	-271
26	Eddie McCarthy	4	0	0	0	0	532	0	16.5	17.8	105	-272
27	Kyle Ebersole	4	0	1	1	0	472	0	18.5	18	104	-273
28	Dylan Slepian	3	0	2	2	0	610	0	13.7	10	102	-275
29	Donny Lia	3	0	0	2	0	415	44	12.7	12.7	96	-281
30	Sam Rameau	3	0	1	1	0	475	0	7.7	12.7	94	-283
31	Ronnie Williams	3	0	0	0	0	612	0	7.7	12.7	94	-283
32	Anthony Nocella	3	1	1	1	0	248	4	15.3	16	88	-289
33	Kyle Soper	2	1	1	2	0	413	39	16.5	4	84	-293
34	Chris Young	3	0	0	0	0	551	0	17	18.7	76	-301
35	Ryan Preece	2	0	0	2	0	300	26	7	8	73	-304
36	John Beatty, Jr.	1	0	0	1	0	200	0	11	7	73	-304
37	Max McLaughlin	2	0	0	1	0	299	10	7	9.5	70	-307
38	Spencer Davis	3	0	0	0	0	337	0	18	21.3	68	-309
39	Jacob Perry	2	0	0	1	0	378	0	15.5	12.5	63	-314
40	Bobby Santos III	1	0	0	0	0	100	0	16	13	58	-319
41	Brian Robie	2	0	0	1	0	299	0	12	15.5	57	-320
42	Anthony Sesley	2	0	0	0	0	247	0	14.5	17.5	53	-324
43	Chris Turbush	2	0	0	0	0	268	0	17.5	19.5	49	-328
44	Matt Brode	2	0	0	0	0	322	0	10	20	48	-329
45	J.R. Bertuccio	1	0	0	0	0	198	0	7	18	47	-330
46	Tom Rogers, Jr.	1	0	0	0	0	66	0	21	25	43	-334
47	Chuck Hossfeld	1	0	1	1	0	150	5	14	3	42	-335
48	Jeremy Gerstner	2	0	0	0	0	296	0	26.5	23	42	-335
49	Roger Turbush	2	0	0	0	0	283	0	22.5	23.5	41	-336
50	Todd Patnode	2	0	0	0	0	62	0	22	24.5	39	-338
51	John Baker	1	0	0	1	0	213	0	20	6	38	-339
52	Blake Barney	1	0	0	1	0	150	0	8	9	35	-342
53	Corey LaJoie	1	0	0	1	0	100	0	8	9	35	-342
54	Joey Coulter	2	0	0	0	0	232	0	19	27	34	-343
55	Ryan Newman	1	0	0	0	0	149	2	4	13	32	-345
56	John Fortin	1	0	0	0	0	211	0	11	15	29	-348
58	Eddie Brunnhoelzl III	1	0	0	0	0	198	0	19	16	28	-349
59	Jack Ely	1	0	0	0	0	147	0	14	16	28	-349
60	Andy Seuss	1	0	0	0	0	46	0	24	22	22	-355
61	Paul Charette	1	0	0	0	0	194	0	23	23	21	-356
62	Bryan Dauzat	1	0	0	0	0	78	0	25	24	20	-357
63	Danny Bohn	1	0	0	0	0	76	0	12	24	20	-357

Posted on August 1, 2022August 1, 2022 by Zack Albert

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — The Victory Cuvee at Richard Childress’ North Carolina vineyard has been in more regular rotation these days. It’s billed online as the wine of the month and the wine of the week at the NASCAR team owner’s sprawling 70-acre side hustle, and well, that seems about right.

Tyler Reddick helped Childress round out an especially newsy month on the last day of July, sharing another cork-popping moment Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. The team celebration was the customary all-smiles affair with the bonus of champagne-soaked brick kissing included, even with the looming inevitability of their partnership’s end drawing near.

Reddick’s first Cup Series win on July 3 at Road America was followed just nine days later with the bombshell that he would leave for 23XI Racing in 2024. Childress’ reaction at the time was tinged with some acrimony, with the team’s statement bluntly denouncing the timing of Reddick’s jump. Reddick said Sunday that he and his team owner “haven’t really spoken much” since that news broke.

Just 19 days later, the bubbly apparently pairs well with awkwardness. In proving so far that he’s a lame duck with no let-up, Reddick indicated that winning should help soothe any wounds.

“I’ve told him that as long as I’m racing here, I’m going to do everything I can to win races for this team, and I would love to win a championship or two with this team,” Reddick said. “I’m going to be more committed — I feel like the older I get, the smarter you get, the more you find ways to work really hard, and I’m just going to work as hard as I can for this team because there’s a lot of great people on this team, a lot of great people at (engine builder) ECR and a lot of great people not just on my car but at the shop at RCR that work really, really hard on these cars, and they’ve helped me come so far as a driver. I’m just going to give them everything I’ve got.”

Reddick cemented his second straight trip to the Cup Series Playoffs with his second victory of the year. His July breakthrough ended a two-year winless drought for Richard Childress Racing, which promoted Reddick to the Cup ranks after the two paired for an Xfinity Series championship in 2019.

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

Reddick’s contract with RCR runs through the 2023 campaign, and 23XI and Toyota jumped at the opportunity to sign next year’s top free agent this year — before the usual Silly Season swirl had even settled on the shorter-term signees. In remarks to FOX Sports, the timing is what stuck with Childress, who said he was notified that morning before Toyota went live with a news conference at noon.

Any personal feeling of estrangement might be understandable, but it didn’t stop Childress from fielding a winning car bearing Reddick’s name and his Sunday.

“After they made their announcement, I met … I thought about it a lot that night, gave it a lot of thought, and it’s more than just about one person. It’s about a team,” Childress said. “Stayed up most of the night thinking about what I should do, how I wanted to handle it. I went in the next day and told the whole team it wasn’t a perfect circumstance the way it went down, but we’re going to give it everything we’ve got this year, and we’ll see where we go next year.”

That closing note of “we’ll see” for 2023 begged a follow-up question, and Childress reaffirmed, “Yeah, Tyler will be in the car at RCR next year.”

MORE: At-track photos: Indy

That commitment has followed from Childress on down the org chart at RCR. Crew chief Randall Burnett helped guide Reddick to his second Xfinity title in 2019, then made the leap to the Cup Series with him.

In the two-plus seasons since, the No. 8 crew has grown into the organization’s top producer — a perch Burnett says he’s intent to keep despite any frayed feelings.

“Well, you know, it’s one of those things. It’s a business deal,” Burnett said. “We’ve still got a lot of racing left to do with Tyler, and that’s what I told our guys. We’re all professionals. A lot of us, everybody in our team is veterans of the sport. We’ve all been around for a long time. We’ve seen drivers come and go and things move around, and that’s just part of our sport.

“We’ve talked about it as a group, and Richard sat in on some of them and talked with all of us about it. The biggest thing we can do is go out and do what we did today and that’s put fast cars underneath Tyler and try to win races and show everybody what this team is made of so we can try to figure out what we need to do to fill that void. That’s what we’re going to continue to do. We feel like we’ve got a great shot at the championship this year, to win two races now after just not even a month apart.”

As the long goodbye for Childress and Reddick continues, the 26-year-old driver said he’s content to keep adding to the team’s legacy. Sunday’s latest chapter gave RCR another Indy accomplishment, one that dates back to Dale Earnhardt’s emotional win in the second Brickyard 400 in 1995.

Childress soaked it all in Sunday, but made sure to replace the Speedway’s signature sparkling bottles with his own brand. Any vintner worth his or her salt can deliver their wine’s slogan on demand. Few get to do it from one of the more prestigious race tracks on earth.

“For all the winning moments in your life,” Childress said, holding the bottle aloft for the cameras. “That’s pretty good.”