Posted on July 14, 2022 by Zach Sturniolo

The NASCAR Cup Series ships up to New England this weekend in a return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Get set for racing around the 1-mile oval before Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with plenty of storylines ahead.

MAKING HOT LAPS

Teams will be allotted 15-minute practice sessions on Saturday (11:30 a.m. ET, NBC Sports App; TV coverage starting at noon ET on USA Network) with the 36 entries divided into Groups A and B.

That precedes single-car, single-lap qualifying (12:20 p.m. ET, USA Network), which will set the starting lineup for Sunday’s Ambetter 301. The fastest five drivers from each group will advance to the final round of qualifying, where those 10 drivers will compete for the pole. The fastest lap earns the Busch Light Pole Award.

NEW HAMPSHIRE HISTORY

— New Hampshire Motor Speedway was built at the site of the former Bryar Motorsports Park. It is the largest sporting venue in New England at more than 1,100 acres and seating for more than 92,000. It is 75 miles north of Boston, 42 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean and 250 miles from Montreal.

— Bryar opened as a kart track in 1960. A 0.2-mile dirt oval ran near the later paved tracks from 1961-63; it was also referred to as Route 106 Midway Raceway. The 1.6-mile road course ran cars from 1964-88 and motorcycles only in 1989. A paved 0.2-mile oval ran from 1965-88, and a 0.625-mile paved oval from 1968-88. A 0.25-mile paved drag strip operated in the 1970s.

— Bob Bahre purchased Bryar in 1989. The existing complex was dismantled, and the 1-mile paved oval and 1.6-mile paved road course were built with much of the work done by Bob Bahre and his brother, Dick. After just nine months of construction the oval successfully opened on July 15, 1990, with an Xfinity Series race won by Tommy Ellis over Harry Gant.

— The first NASCAR Winston Cup race was on July 11, 1993, won by Team Penske driver Rusty Wallace over pole winner Mark Martin.

Source: Racing Insights

GOODYEAR TIRES

Although Cup teams haven’t visited New Hampshire to race with the Next Gen car yet, there will be some familiarity this weekend.

Goodyear is providing the same tire setup at the Loudon, New Hampshire, oval that has been used at Phoenix Raceway, Richmond Raceway and Worldwide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

“Loudon falls into a significant group of tracks, so Cup teams have been on this tire set-up three times already this season,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Having that experience, and now having raced this Next Gen car for five months, teams have had time to work through which settings work for their cars. In looking for grip, air pressure has always been a prime tuning tool for teams at Loudon. Combined with a team’s shock and camber settings, that will be the case again this weekend.”

Scott Miller, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, said Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that PJ1 traction compound is “a thing of the past” in lieu of what resin has provided instead. Whether we see resin in the outside lanes of New Hampshire this weekend, however, remained undetermined.

“There is actually some discussion going on right now amongst the drivers and ourselves about what we need to do this weekend,” Miller said. “Last year, we didn’t spray the track up there. We had planned on it, but the way the rain was around the weekend, there was never an opportune time to do so and the track raced pretty good last year.”

NEW HAMPSHIRE STORY LINES

— Seven races remain in the Cup Series’ regular season.

— The longest top-10 finish streak by a driver this year is five races, four times: Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain. Chastain’s streak is active.

— Kevin Harvick is on a 62-race winless streak, the second longest of his career. 21 drivers have won since Harvick’s last win.

— Kyle Larson is on a 17-race winless streak, the longest of his career at Hendrick Motorsports.

— Hendrick Motorsports has not won at New Hampshire since Kasey Kahne’s victory in July 2012. Since then, HMS has won four championships and 83 races at 25 different venues. Larson is the only active Hendrick driver who had made a NASCAR National Series start (Kentucky, Camping World Truck Series) when Kahne won.

Source: Racing Insights

TAKING THE FAVORITES FOR ‘GRANITE?’

Chase Elliott is the man to beat these days, scoring his series-leading third victory a week ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The 2020 Cup Series champion is listed as the 10-1 favorite Sunday, courtesy of BetMGM’s odds. However, this might be a week to stay away from the No. 9 Chevrolet. In eight starts at the “Magic Mile”, Elliott has one top five (2018) and one other top-10 finish (ninth, 2020). Hendrick Motorsports hasn’t won in Loudon in a decade, so avoiding Elliott seems to be the safer choice here.

On the other hand, Ford has been stellar on flat, mile-long ovals — both historically and this season. The Blue Ovals have won the last four races in New Hampshire, including three victories for Stewart-Haas Racing. Chase Briscoe, another SHR driver, took the victory in Phoenix this spring and Joey Logano was victorious at Gateway. Harvick scored his season-best finish (second) at Richmond earlier this year. Those results all came on this tire compound.

All that said, Harvick opens at 16-1 odds on BetMGM as the third-best bet in the field. Is this the week his 62-race winning streak comes to a close? Certainly seems plausible.

FANTASY LIVE

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live, which is open now. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts by garaging a driver by the end of Stage 3, and there is a $25,000 prize for the winner.

The 2022 Fantasy Live points leaders are Chase Elliott (618), Ryan Blaney (583) and Ross Chastain (578).

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

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

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

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

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Adam Fenwick

Andy Seuss is a busy man.

The New Hampshire native and North Carolina resident works as the car chief on the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series that will be piloted this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway by A.J. Allmendinger.

In addition to that, he and his wife are currently in the process of moving. So you might say Seuss’ life is currently complicated.

That makes this the perfect time for Seuss to dust off his driving suit and climb back into a Modified to race in Saturday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Manufactured in America 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (6 p.m. ET on FloRacing).

RELATED: New Hampshire entry list | Race preview

The two-time NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion doesn’t race often these days due to his work schedule, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to race on the big stage at New Hampshire.

“At a young age I fell in love with Modified racing,” Seuss said. “It was always a dream, even racing go karts not far from there, to one day run the Modified at Loudon. I guess that excitement has never really left me. It’s still important to me. It’s huge. It’s a big deal.”

Seuss has gotten to do that 24 times during his racing career, with a best finish of fourth at the 1.058-mile speedway. He earned his lone NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour pole at New Hampshire in 2020 and he led 30 laps during that event before finishing sixth.

Andy Seuss, driver of the No. 70 Rockingham Boat/TDS Chevrolet, during the Musket 200 presented by Whelen for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 11, 2020. (Photo: Maddie Malhotra/NASCAR)

His attempts at New Hampshire make up nearly half of Seuss’ career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts. Why is New Hampshire so important to Seuss?

“It’s always still been our Daytona 500, personally, and I feel like a lot of people feel that way about the Modifieds,” Seuss said of racing at New Hampshire.

The car the 35-year-old will be driving Saturday is owned by his father, Steve Seuss, and will have sponsorship from Rockingham Boat and Acacia Energy. The father-son duo have worked together to race at New Hampshire since 2006 and have built a notebook the younger Seuss thinks is good enough to make them contenders.

However, Seuss will be at a unique deficit before he even takes the green flag Saturday afternoon.

Because of his responsibilities with Kaulig Racing, Seuss says he doesn’t expect to practice in his No. 70 Modified on Friday afternoon. In fact, he may not even get to qualify.

“I won’t be able to practice the car. I’ll be doing my day job in the Cup Series garage,” Seuss said. “Hopefully if we pass tech in time maybe I’ll get to qualify it, but if not, we’ll be starting in the back.”

So can Seuss win the race starting from the back? It’s not impossible.

Four times a winner at New Hampshire has started 29th or worse, with Mike Stefanik winning one of his record eight races at New Hampshire from the 40th position in 1998.

With 26 cars entered Saturday, Seuss won’t need to pass nearly as many cars as Stefanik did in 1998 if he hopes to win his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race.

Regardless of where he finishes, Seuss said the goal will be to have fun and enjoy a weekend back in his home state with many of the crew members who have helped him race through the years.

“We know that it’s an uphill battle,” Seuss said. “Maybe we’re not as likely to have the success that we’ve had in the past by putting ourselves behind, but it’s really about going and having fun this year. We’re just looking forward to having a weekend together. Racing a Modified just happens to be one of the things we all enjoy the most.”

Preece back to battle Mod Squad in Loudon

Ryan Preece loves his Modified racing roots, and he loves New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

These are big reasons why Preece is entered in Saturday’s Manufactured in America 100 at the 1.058-mile asphalt oval, where he happens to be the defending race winner.

Preece scored his first New Hampshire Motor Speedway victory last fall in a thrilling finish that saw him go from third to first in the final two corners.

As Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore were battling for the lead, Preece made a hard left in Turns 3-4 to go underneath both competitors to take the lead and steal the victory in thrilling fashion.

Unlike last year, when Preece was driving the No. 6 Modified for the Partridge family, this time around he’ll be in his own No. 40 Modified that he recently began campaigning.

Saturday’s race will be Preece’s 26th NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In his previous 25 starts, he has earned the aforementioned victory as well as eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. He’s also fourth in laps led at the track among active drivers.

Veterans Coby, Silk look for another Magic Mile trophy

Among those entered in Saturday’s Manufactured in America 100, no one has made more NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway than Doug Coby and Ron Silk.

Coby has competed in 35 races at the track, and Silk has competed in 34. The two have combined for seven victories, with Coby owning four New Hampshire trophies and Silk having collected three.

Silk enters Saturday’s race on top of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship standings. He’s the only driver to finish inside the top 10 in every race so far this year, but he’s failed to visit Victory Lane thus far.

A trip to New Hampshire, where he has 16 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes, could be exactly what the doctor ordered as he continues his quest for his second series championship and first since 2011.

Coby, on the other hand, has already made two visits to Victory Lane this season. He earned wins at New York’s Riverhead Raceway and New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway aboard Tommy Baldwin Jr.’s No. 7NY, the same car he’ll be wheeling this weekend at New Hampshire.

While Coby may have more victories at New Hampshire than Silk, he hasn’t been as consistent. He has 13 top-five and 20 top-1o finishes, just a little shy of the numbers Silk has put together in one fewer start.

Baldwin’s team has earned four victories this year, two with Coby as well as wins with Mike Christopher Jr. and Jimmy Blewett. New Hampshire Motor Speedway would be an ideal place for victory No. 5.

Notes:

Anthony Nocella returns to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for his second attempt of the season this weekend. He had planned to race at Richmond Raceway in April, but a mechanical failure during practice forced him to withdraw from the event.
Six previous New Hampshire Motor Speedway winners are entered in Saturday’s race. They include the aforementioned Ryan Preece, Ron Silk and Doug Coby, as well as Donny Lia, Bobby Santos III and Justin Bonsignore.
Kyle Ebersole returns to the Tour for his fourth start of the year Saturday at New Hampshire. He’s made two previous starts at the track known as “The Magic Mile,” earning a best finish of 14th in 2017.

Posted on July 13, 2022July 13, 2022 by Adam Fenwick

Corey LaJoie is no stranger to Modified racing.

The driver of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series honed his skills racing a Modified in the early 2010s, competing on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.

However, the 30-year-old hasn’t raced a Modified in NASCAR-sanctioned competition since the 2015 season. That will change Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

LaJoie recently teamed up with new team owners Michele and Michael Davini to drive the No. 17 Modified with sponsorship from Needham Bank in the Whelen Manufactured in America 100 (Saturday, 6 p.m. ET on FloRacing).

The arrangement, according to LaJoie, was facilitated by his friend and chassis builder Rob Fuller.

“I drove a Modified for Rob Fuller years ago at Thompson, some other tracks, and had some success and had some speed,” LaJoie said. “Either we had bad pit stops or a couple things that wouldn’t allow us to get to Victory Lane.

“We always enjoyed working together. I drove a Super Late Model for Rob at the Snowball Derby in my first time down there. He’s always had a belief in my ability, and it’s cool that now he owns Troyer (chassis company), and he built a brand new car and got linked up with Michael and Michele Davini. They own the car, and he built it through his guys and shop.

“Anytime you see your name on a Modified, it always makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.”

(Photo: Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

LaJoie’s return to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour comes at a time when his name is in headlines following a strong run in NASCAR Cup Series competition last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

LaJoie led a career-best 19 laps at Atlanta and was leading the Quaker State 400 with two laps to go before losing the lead to eventual winner Chase Elliott. LaJoie tried to make the race-winning pass on the last lap but ultimately crashed and finished 21st.

While he may have missed out on a visit to Victory Lane in Georgia, LaJoie could have another chance to win Saturday in Loudon, New Hampshire.

In his first NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour start in 2010, LaJoie was victorious on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s frontstretch quarter-mile after a late-race battle with 11-time Bowman Gray Stadium Modified champion Tim Brown.

However, the racing on New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s 1.058-mile oval will be different than what LaJoie experienced in his previous NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts.

Corey Lajoie, driving the the No. 19 Hill Enterprises Modified, leads the field during the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Atlanta 150 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 5, 2010. (Photo: Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

LaJoie described the racing at New Hampshire as being like “dog fights” because of the drafting element that New Hampshire’s long straightaways create for the Modifieds.

“I’ve always enjoyed watching those Modified races at New Hampshire. I’ve always wanted to do it,” LaJoie said. “There are dog fights and drafting and (they’re) nerf baring each other. I’m excited for the challenge.

“I’ll watch a little bit about how you want to position yourself in the last couple of laps because of the drafts and the crossovers (and) how they work. They’re kind of unique and specific to Modifieds. In terms of just driving, the Cup cars are a bear around there, and I’ve always got around there fairly decent. The Modifieds are a beast of their own.”

PODCAST: Stacking Pennies with Corey LaJoie episodes

LaJoie is the latest driver from one of NASCAR’s three national divisions to expand his schedule to include a foray into grassroots racing. He joins drivers like Kyle Larson and William Byron, who each won grassroots racing events on Tuesday, on the ever-growing list.

LaJoie believes it’s important for NASCAR’s top stars to continue bridging the gap between NASCAR’s top divisions and grassroots racing.

“Anytime you can tie the grassroots stuff into the Cup Series stuff, you can make the drivers more relatable. I think it helps both parties,” LaJoie said. “We want those grassroots fans to be fans of the highest levels of the sport, but we also want fans of the highest levels of the sport to be fans of the grassroots stuff, and everywhere in between.”

Beyond New Hampshire, LaJoie doesn’t know if he’ll run any other NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events this season.

However, his eyes lit up when he realized the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour finale takes place at Martinsville Speedway on the same weekend as the Xfinity 500 NASCAR Cup Series event.

“That would be bad ass,” LaJoie said. “We’ll see. We’ll see how we get through Loudon, and hopefully we have a good run, and maybe we’ll make a plan for Martinsville. We’ll see.”

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Dustin Albino

By the naked eye, it would appear AJ Allmendinger is having a stellar season in the Xfinity Series this year. Unfortunately, that’s not how Kaulig Racing views its teams’ stats.

Through the opening 17 races of the season, Allmendinger has a pair of wins on road courses at Circuit of The Americas and Portland. He also has a total of 15 top 10s, three more than his closest competitor. And the first 12 of those kicked off the season in consecutive races, tying him for the third-longest streak to begin a season in series history, only behind Sam Ard in 1984 (23) and Regan Smith in 2014 (13).

But the raw speed from a season ago, when he tallied 18 top-five efforts, is missing.

MORE: New Hampshire entry list | Full Xfinity Series schedule

“I’m just trying to be smart knowing we don’t have the speed right now and getting the most we can out of each race,” Allmendinger told NASCAR.com at Road America.

Allmendinger credits the company’s constant grind for being the reason why he’s still leading the championship standings. Case in point — at Atlanta last weekend, the No. 16 team made an unscheduled pit stop during the second stage and went two laps down, only to sneak out a top 10. In the process, he gained 20 points on Ty Gibbs, who wrecked out earlier in the race.

Since winning at COTA, Allmendinger has been the points leader. That lead grew to as many as 44 markers on the field after Texas and shrunk down to nine entering last weekend’s race at Atlanta.

“I think us maximizing everything, I would give it an A,” Allmendinger said. “We haven’t let points slip away at any race that we’ve been at besides Nashville. But from where we’re at on speed, it’s not very good.”

While Allmendinger has made the most of his season, his teammates Daniel Hemric and Landon Cassill are on the second half of the playoff grid. Collectively, all three teams are behind, as Hemric has just two top fives (he picked up his first top five since March at Atlanta last weekend) while Cassill has tallied three.

The unfortunate part for Kaulig is … it’s not certain what the exact issue is. Chris Rice, president of Kaulig Racing, said he began seeing the team lose speed last summer, but didn’t want to change much internally because the team was still battling for victories regularly.

“It’s been frustrating because we can’t find that one thing that sticks out,” Rice said. “We do everything the same: We have great crew chiefs and have done a lot of stuff to be able to find the speed. It’s frustrating to be like, ‘Alright, where’s it at?’”

Compared to Darlington two months ago, when at one point late in the race Hemric was struggling to stay inside the top 30 (but did make a strategy call late to salvage a top 10), Rice dialed into Allmendinger’s radio and vowed to turn the program around before the playoffs. Over the last six races, Rice says the team is seeing improvements, bringing new chassis to Nashville that were quick off the hauler.

Rice stands by his comments to Allmendinger in May, believing the team is heading in the right direction, despite admitting the team’s road course program has fallen behind.

“We’ve made gains, but they’ve been so small and incremental that you can’t see them,” Rice said. “We’ve got to get to where we have big gains. I think by the time we get to the playoffs, we will put all the small gains together and hopefully have [our cars] ready to be able to show the big speed.”

With the addition of two full-time Cup Series teams, Kaulig hired roughly 62 new employees since last year. Some could argue that having two additional teams has overworked Kaulig’s employees. Rice says that’s not the case necessarily, though does admit he hired the new employees late and the team is running thin.

“We’re building our program with great people and our Xfinity program is going to continuously get better,” he said. “We’re not going to let it sit stale.”

With nine races remaining in the regular season, Allmendinger’s sole focus is having faster cars for the playoffs. Though having 15 additional playoff points by winning the regular-season championship would be nice, he isn’t concerned with winning his second straight such crown.

“If we’re being brutally honest, I could give a [expletive] about the points,” Allmendinger said. “If we were 10^th in points but we were really fast every weekend, I would be happier than leading the points and doing what we’re doing. It’s nice to be the points leader, but we all know that if we had to go to Phoenix tomorrow and race for the championship, we would need a whole lot of luck to win.”

Posted on July 12, 2022July 12, 2022 by Zach Sturniolo

Tyler Reddick is heading to 23XI Racing in 2024.

And while the Cup Series’ newest winner is secure with his current team at Richard Childress Racing through the 2023 season, Reddick’s eventual departure makes for a potentially awkward situation.

MORE: Reddick joins 23XI Racing, Toyota in 2024 | Silly Season updates

Reddick’s rookie contract, which began in 2020 under his first full-time season of Cup racing, was scheduled to end after 2022, but RCR held the option to retain him for 2023. RCR has picked up that option, keeping Reddick behind the wheel of the No. 8 Chevrolet through November 2023.

But the team’s statement after news of Reddick’s plans past 2023 signaled displeasure.

pic.twitter.com/PrNkyHYSH6

— RCR (@RCRracing) July 12, 2022

Reddick explained in his Tuesday availability that discussions had taken place between him and RCR for some time ahead of this move, most importantly to secure the plans for 2023. But any time beyond that remained foggy.

“We had talked about 2023 and they were going to fulfill their option a while ago, and it was kind of a done deal,” Reddick said. “It getting brought back up at Road America was a bit surprising because it had been in place. But obviously with the news today, we know where I’m going to be in 2024 and on. And I wouldn’t say this was quite … it shouldn’t have been a total shock to RCR.

“As we were navigating what the future would look like a while ago, we said that after the option was up in ’23, we were not sure a while ago if we were going to return and we were going to figure out what lied ahead. So this shouldn’t have been a true shock to them. But it’s out there and everyone has the information now. And now we all will collectively figure out we do going from here.”

Despite Reddick confirming he would leave RCR — and the team’s ensuing statement surrounding the poor timing of the announcement — Reddick praised the group for what they’ve accomplished together, which includes winning the 2019 Xfinity Series championship.

“My biggest thing with RCR is I got my first opportunity in a Cup car with Richard and that team, and it’s been great to grow with them,” Reddick said. “And for me, it was really important to finish what I’d started there, see it through to its end. And like I said, they’ve given me so many opportunities — opportunities to win, opportunities to be a two-time Xfinity champion, given me the door to get into the Cup Series — and I’m extremely grateful for that and will continue to be.

“And then expanding on that, that is why I wanted to see what I agreed to do with RCR to the end and continue to compete as hard as I can for them and against (23XI Racing team owner) Denny (Hamlin) and 23XI until then.”

Hamlin, a competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing in addition to his team ownership role, believes announcing this signing early is a benefit for all parties.

“This allows us to get it out there (and) stop speculation,” Hamlin said. “I’m sure from this point to the end, Tyler is going to get asked about 2024. It just stops speculation. He doesn’t have to tap dance around anything. And then allows us to formally announce it today and then when we get to the race track this weekend, we part ways and I’ll see you in a year and a half.

“And that kind of allows us to, like (23XI Racing President) Steve (Lauletta) said, work on all the things it’s gonna take to field a race car for (Reddick). And so it gives us plenty of time, plenty of leeway. And it also allows Tyler to do his team right in fulfilling his obligations to Richard (Childress) … and that whole group there and his team. It gives them a long enough runway that now they can kind of work on their future as well.”

This isn’t exactly new territory for Reddick in making a big move. His first Xfinity Series championship in 2018 followed the news he was not returning to JR Motorsports in 2019, departing instead for Richard Childress Racing.

This @TylerReddick announcement pic.twitter.com/Z9aSS6Jx24

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) July 12, 2022

Reddick hammered that belief home, eager to voice that he owes it to Richard Childress Racing to put his best foot forward in their Chevrolets until he leaves for Toyota.

“For me, nothing changes. My commitment to the team is as strong as it has ever been,” he said. “I’d almost argue that now that I know the window that I have with them has an end, I feel like I have even more pressure on myself to give them everything I have with the time that we have left and that lies ahead. We have two opportunities to go out and have great years. We have the rest of this year. We have next year. For me, nothing changes. I’m going to keep giving RCR everything I have. It’s just good to know what lies ahead for 2024 and on.

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Staff Report

NASCAR officials did not penalize the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota team for a lost wheel on pit road during Sunday’s Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The left-rear wheel on Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Camry became dislodged shortly after he left his pit stall with 22 laps remaining in the Quaker State 400. The force of the car’s launch pulled the tire changer along, and the No. 20 entry soon skidded to a halt on three wheels.

RELATED: Cup Series standings

The loss of a wheel during competition has frequently resulted in four-race suspensions for the team’s crew chief, tire changer and jack operator under the NASCAR Rule Book Section 10.5.2.6 (Loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle). But Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, said during an appearance Tuesday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that each case of a lost wheel would be considered before ruling it a safety violation.

“That’s always a hard call for us, right?” Miller told SiriusXM. “We’re still we’re continuing to look at that incident, and really the potential consequence for the wheel rolling down pit road. Now if that thing would have been going twice as fast as it was, we would have had a whole field on pit road, we may view that different than we did with hardly any cars on pit road, no speed to the tire, and it not getting away very far. So we always have a very difficult job sorting through what crosses the line and what doesn’t, and we’re still working through that on that particular case.”

Joe Gibbs Racing and its 23XI Racing affiliate had just swapped members of the pit crew for both teams ahead of the Atlanta event, all in an effort to shake up the team chemistry for both over-the-wall groups.

No other infractions were listed on the penalty report, which included the reinstatement of one crew member in the Xfinity Series. The NASCAR membership of Kase Kallenbach was restored, with officials stating that “Kallenbach has successfully completed the terms and conditions mandated for reinstatement.” Kallenbach was listed as the crew chief for the No. 6 JD Motorsports Chevrolet for the first 12 Xfinity Series races of the year.

Posted on July 12, 2022July 12, 2022 by Zach Sturniolo

Tyler Reddick has entered the chat. Quite literally.

Moments after unexpectedly joining a Toyota Racing Development media teleconference, 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin announced Reddick as the newest addition to 23XI, where Reddick will compete in 2024.

Reddick currently drives the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, which has reportedly picked up its 2023 option on the two-time Xfinity Series champion who just won his first Cup race on July 3 at Road America.

“Surprised?” asked Hamlin.

Very.

The deal links Reddick to a multiyear contract starting in 2024, 23XI Racing President Steve Lauletta confirmed on the conference. Reddick remains with RCR through 2023.

Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, was blunt in describing his pursuit of Reddick, who has already notched a career-high five top fives in 2022.

“I watched him, I raced against him. I wanted him and I got him,” Hamlin said. “And I didn’t know anything else that goes along with that. And honestly, there’s no hidden secrets here. We do not know who the sponsor will be. We do not know what car it is. All we know is we wanted him. And we made sure we planted our feet deep in the ground to make sure that Tyler had an opportunity with this race team and we made it happen.”

Reddick’s 2023 return to RCR was important from his perspective, closing out what he started after joining the team’s Xfinity program in 2018, winning a title and advancing to the Cup Series full-time starting in 2020.

But the 26-year-old is focusing on his future and knew where he wanted to go.

“I feel like it’s just the way my mind works. I’m always thinking about what lies ahead,” Reddick said. “I just think it’s important to always be thinking about everything, short-term and long-term. So for me, just those gears never really stopped turning, you know, I’m always thinking about what, what is the smartest move with the lies ahead in the years to come.”

pic.twitter.com/PrNkyHYSH6

— RCR (@RCRracing) July 12, 2022

Getty Images

Hamlin, a 48-time Cup Series winner, noted Reddick’s interest in 23XI Racing ahead of its maiden season in 2021, praising the team’s outlook as the No. 23 Toyota hit the track starting last year with driver Bubba Wallace.

“(He said), ‘I love what you’re doing. It looks like you guys are really pushing the limits and doing things a little differently. And it’s good to see,’” Hamlin recalled. “And from that point, you just start some conversations. And obviously, I’ve looked at his talents for a very long time. And after a while, I realized that I started asking those kind of important questions about his future. And then I asked obviously, permission from (Toyota) that can I pursue this individual, and they wholeheartedly agreed that this is a good direction for us.”

The signing comes a full 19 months ahead of the anticipated start of the 2024 season. Hamlin saw no reason to wait to sign someone of Reddick’s caliber.

“Franchise drivers don’t come around that often,” Hamlin said. “And so if there’s ever one that you feel like you can grab, you go after it. And you do whatever it takes to make that happen. And then you work on the details later.”

MORE: Drivers of the No. 8 through the years

Reddick admitted he “definitely” believed other programs were interested in hiring him whenever he became available. But the opportunity ahead at 23XI Racing – a team which has placed both cars in Victory Lane within the company’s inaugural 18 months – was too appealing to pass up.

“Just seeing where 23XI has started and where they’re going, it’s been very obvious to me that the ramp that they’re on and how they’re improving, it was very exciting for me. And I wanted to be a part of that,” Reddick said. “Also … just talking to Denny and getting to watch and see the direction the team was going, where Toyota is and their commitment to the sport, to NASCAR, to this team, they’re all very exciting things, and I really wanted to be a part of it. And that heavily influenced my decision.”

Currently at 23XI are Wallace and 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch, who won at Kansas Speedway in May. Busch is in the midst of his 23rd year as a Cup competitor and turns 44 years old in August. Hamlin noted no plans to expand to three teams at this time, but also backs Busch’s future – as a driver or otherwise.

“As long as Kurt wants to be a race car driver, we want to have him. So that’s pretty much the end of that,” Hamlin said. “And then once he’s done driving, he’s going to have a nice cushy office job at 23XI. So he’s going to be part of our future well beyond his driving days.

“We constantly are in dialogue with him on what his plans are. But ultimately, you never know. Things could change, and Kurt could want to race until he’s 48 years old. If he does, then we’re going to build a car for him.”

In the meantime, one aspect of 23XI Racing’s future is certain: Tyler Reddick will drive for the team in 2024.

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Zack Albert

Parker Kligerman admitted he hadn’t heard the MRN Radio call of his victory in last weekend’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race until Tuesday morning. Upon listening to it during his introduction for an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, he said it gave him chills.

The NBC Sports reporter and part-time Truck Series competitor was still savoring the spoils of his victory in Saturday’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where he held off series points leader Zane Smith in a spirited contest during the final laps. Kligerman won by a scant 0.119 seconds, notching his third Truck Series win and his first in nearly five years.

Kligerman estimated he had 650 text messages of congratulations that took him approximately five hours to sort through, but he also said the victory had special meaning for the small Henderson Motorsports team that fields his No. 75 Chevrolet. The organization is based in Abington, Virginia — a small mountain town in the southwestern part of the state — and Kligerman said the community had rallied around the group’s Mid-Ohio triumph.

“Whenever I’m there at the shop in Abington, it’s like we’re the high school football team,” Kligerman told SiriusXM, adding the team noticed storefronts and businesses had made signs heralding the victory. “We get people coming from all over Virginia, they come by the shop, they’re so supportive. We’ll do a signing at (local sponsor) Food Country USA, and so many people will come out there from the local area and just be like, we love that this local team is out there racing at the national level and having the success that we do, they’re so supportive of it.”

Kligerman has started in just eight of the 15 races so far on the Camping World Trucks schedule but performed admirably with top-five results in five of those eight appearances. The 31-year-old driver’s return to Victory Lane prompted questions about how many races remain for the rest of this year (Kansas Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway are current targets), but also the team’s hopes for a full-time campaign in 2023.

“We’ve been trying,” Kligerman said with a laugh. “There hasn’t been a year over the last eight years, I haven’t felt like that I was in a conversation for something full-time. And whether that’s here in the 75 and trying to find ways that we could go full-time, which we’ve tried every year I’d say for at least the last three or four years, and in terms of other opportunities that have come along that have been so close. I’ve told people I’ve had to go and have conversations with my family and my TV duties and say, like, ‘Hey, this is really real, this is happening,’ so on and so forth. Of course, it’s all true, but it’s been very close. I’ve been trying. I would love the opportunity to be full-time. I’d love to be full-time with the Hendersons in the 75 group and go race for a championship. I absolutely think that would be an awesome time, I think something that we could really go and surprise a lot of people in doing. But you know, most of all, I also just I’d love the shot to be full-time right now and race more often.”

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Adam Fenwick

One of the most popular venues on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour takes center stage this Saturday, July 16. For the 74th time in Tour history, New Hampshire Motor Speedway will welcome the series for the running of the Whelen Manufactured in America 100.

Saturday’s race is the ninth event of the 2022 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season as the series officially surpasses the halfway point of the schedule.

In the previous 73 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events at New Hampshire, 23 drivers have earned trips to Victory Lane. Mike Stefanik leads all drivers with eight victories at the 1.058-mile, while Bobby Santos III leads the active win list with six triumphs.

Among the other winners at New Hampshire are Tony Hirschman, Reggie Ruggiero, Ted Christopher, John Blewett III, Steve Park, Jeff Fuller, Donny Lia, Ryan Newman and the most recent winner, Ryan Preece.

Below is everything you need to know about Saturday’s Whelen Manufactured in America 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Whelen Manufactured in America 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

What to watch for:

Bobby Santos III doesn’t make many NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts these days, but when the Tour travels to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, you can bet he’ll be on the entry list.

Santos is a six-time Tour winner at New Hampshire, and he’ll attempt to become a seven-time winner during Saturday’s Whelen Manufactured in America 100 aboard the No. 44 fielded by the Tinio family.

The native of Franklin, Massachusetts, is one of six drivers entered in Saturday’s event who have visited Victory Lane at The Magic Mile since the Tour made its debut at the track in 1990.

Doug Coby, a four-time New Hampshire victor, is back in Tommy Baldwin Racing’s No. 7NY in search of his third victory of the season. Team owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. earned his fourth victory of the year in the Tour’s last event at New Jersey’s Wall Stadium Speedway, where Jimmy Blewett piloted the No. 7NY to victory.

Ron Silk enters the Whelen Manufactured in America 100 at the top of the Tour standings despite remaining winless this season. He’s a three-time Tour winner at the Loudon, New Hampshire, oval, and is the only competitor this season to earn top-10 finishes in every race thus far.

Another notable entry comes from Ryan Preece, who happens to be the defending Tour winner at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He’ll be aboard his own No. 40 Modified after last competing with the Tour during the season opener at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway in the Boehler Racing Enterprises Ole Blue No. 3.

Action during the Whelen 100 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 17, 2021. (Paul Rutherford/NASCAR)

NASCAR Cup Series competitor Corey LaJoie, who got within a lap of earning his first Cup Series victory last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, returns to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this weekend for the first time since 2015. LaJoie will pilot the No. 17 for car owner Michele Davini.

Donny Lia returns to the seat of the Ole Blue No. 3 for his first start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway since 2017. He is a two-time Tour winner at the track, with his last victory coming in 2009.

Justin Bonsignore, who has one victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 23 attempts, is the only driver in the top 10 in Tour standings to have a victory this season. He’ll look for his third triumph of the year Saturday afternoon.

Other notable entries for Saturday’s race include Andy Seuss, Kyle Ebersole, Tommy Catalano, Eric Goodale, Anthony Nocella and Tyler Rypkema.

The complete entry list for the Whelen Manufactured in America 100 is available here.

RACE FACTS

Race	Whelen Manufactured in America 100
Date	Saturday, July 16, 2022
Track	New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Layout	1.038-mile paved oval
Location	Loudon, New Hampshire
Start time	6 p.m. ET
Laps	100
Posted awards	$141,763
TV channel	USA (Delayed: Friday, July 24, 9 a.m. ET)
Live stream	FloRacing (Live)

Schedule: Friday, July 15: Garage opens at 11:45 a.m. ET … Final practice from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. … Single-car qualifying (two laps) at 6:45 p.m. ET; Saturday, July 16: Race at 6 p.m. ET

Qualifying: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Fastest 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 Whelen Manufactured in America 100 is limited to 32 starters including Provisional Positions.

Tire allotment: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is twelve (12) 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.

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Official NASCAR Release

NEW YORK and DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 12th, 2022) – NASCAR and SeatGeek, the high-growth technology platform that is transforming the live event experience for fans, teams, and venues, Tuesday announced a multiyear partnership. After entering into a relationship that allowed fans to buy and sell tickets to the sold-out Daytona 500 earlier this year, NASCAR and its owned and operated tracks have expanded SeatGeek’s role within the sport as its Official Ticket Marketplace Partner.

“Fans from all 50 states and 41 different countries across five continents descended upon Daytona to experience the 64th running of the Great American race this past February,” said Daryl Wolfe, EVP and Chief Revenue Officer, NASCAR. “Our new partners at SeatGeek did a tremendous job integrating into our ticket sales ecosystem and providing fans with a frictionless process to buy tickets best-suited for their race day needs. Expanding our partnership across all NASCAR owned and operated tracks was an easy decision.”

Whether fans like to sit close to the track, take in the view from the top of the stands, or camp in the infield, SeatGeek’s easy-to-navigate app and website help find the perfect ticket to help customize their race-day experience at the track. SeatGeek’s client-first approach will help NASCAR target and convert new customers through customized messaging across SeatGeek’s deep database of event-goers.

“Our partnership with NASCAR helps us engage with one of the most passionate fan bases in sports. To us, this isn’t just a ticketing deal, it’s a true partnership,” said Jeff Ianello, EVP of Client Partnerships at SeatGeek. “After a hugely successful Daytona 500, it was apparent to us that we are two like-minded brands that prioritize putting the fan experience at the forefront of everything we do. Together, we will create only the best experiences for the NASCAR fans of today and tomorrow.”

As an Official Partner of NASCAR, SeatGeek will have a presence across all NASCAR-owned tracks and Digital Properties, linking fans directly to SeatGeek’s NASCAR Racing HQ to buy tickets for an upcoming race. SeatGeek will also become a member of the NASCAR Fuel For Business Council, allowing them to connect with NASCAR’s broad base of Official Partners on business-to-business opportunities and co-promotions.

Like new tires after a pit stop, SeatGeek continues to roll, adding new partners across all sports. In the first half of 2022 alone, the company announced new partnerships with the NHL’s Florida Panthers, Citi Open Tennis Tournament, Fiesta Bowl, Kansas City Current of the NWSL, and Leeds United of the English Premier League.