NASCAR Cup Series teams closed out the first of two days of an organizational test at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Tuesday with drivers offering their intent to continue learning the Next Gen car.
The Team Penske duo of Austin Cindric and Joey Logano posted the fastest laps in Tuesday’s session, with the rookie Daytona 500 winner Cindric pacing the field at 165.548 mph. But drivers said the prime focus was to gather data, information and a better feel for the seventh-generation stocker ahead of its first event there, the Dixie Vodka 400 on Oct. 23 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM).
“Just kind of learning this car at this race track,” said Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron, the track’s most recent winner back in February 2021. “Try to get a baseline set-up, I would say, and maybe a couple things apply to Texas, possibly. So just try to keep learning this car and just get a little bit better.”
The organizational test session is scheduled to continue Wednesday, with wheel-force cars from each manufacturer joining the action Wednesday and Thursday. Drivers and teams welcomed the extra track time, a luxury in the streamlined practice and qualifying format introduced this season.
With the opportunity for more laps available, the chance to take more drastic swings at car setups also increased.
“To me it’s less about tuning and getting prepared for when we come back to Homestead, as it is learning overall and trying some things that maybe we haven’t had the opportunity to try,” said Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell. “I mean, if you think about practice this year, you get 20 minutes and you go right out for qualifying. You cannot make big changes; they won’t allow you to. So here we’re going to try a few things that we probably haven’t gotten to try throughout the season.”
Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, said during a Tuesday morning appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that no changes in rules configurations were planned during the test days.
“NASCAR doesn’t have a real agenda for the organizational tests,” Miller told SiriusXM. “This is completely whatever the teams want to do working on setups, working on whatever it is that they’re doing to collect data, to better understand the Next Gen to help with setups down the road. So it’s one of their few opportunities to go to a race track, collect all the data that they want and need and experiment, have time to wildly change setups and try to understand different things. So it’s an important test for the teams, but for us, we have a presence down there obviously, but we have no agenda or for anything on the docket for the teams to do. It’s their test.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – At 40 years old, AJ Allmendinger knows that his time as a yearly contender for championships won’t last forever.
Once again as the regular-season champion of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the Kaulig Racing driver is currently in the best position to hoist his first NASCAR championship at the season finale in Phoenix on Nov. 5.
Even with his regular-season title, Allmendinger’s wins this season have only come on road courses at Circuit of The Americas, Portland International Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is why entering the 2022 postseason, he says he’s upping the ante.
“It comes down to Matt [Kaulig] and Chris [Rice],” Allmendinger said in regard to his longevity with the team. “They know how intense I am and I’m probably more intense than I’ve ever been because I know we have more opportunities to win but what they allow me to be is me and then away from the racetrack, we go have fun.”
Regarding the results this season, the driver of the No. 16 Chevrolet has never been more consistent with a career-high 23 top 10s through 26 races and owning a current average finish of 6.4. But like the mindset of every racer, the goal is to be in Victory Lane after the checkered flag flies and Allmendinger says he knows he’s capable of grabbing more wins this year.
Whether it be the frustrations that come at Bristol Motor Speedway or the constant nerves racing in a pack at Talladega or Daytona, Allmendinger admitted to being fiery with his team over the radio but said that he’s found a balance when it comes to his intensity on the track.
“You still hear me on the radio. I’m frustrated and I’m not going to change,” Allmendinger said. “That’s what makes me me but you also have to learn what’s too negative that just hurts you and what keeps pushing you every day, and I think I’ve found that limit now where it’s like I’m not going to allow myself to go down a bad direction and keep burying myself.
“At the end of the day, you still want to win, and you’re still frustrated if you don’t win. It’s just like life. You get older, you get more mature and figure out what works and what doesn’t. You make sure that’s how you allow yourself to be.”
With Allmendinger’s age and maturity, many would expect him to take on the role of “enforcer” when it comes to the aggressiveness of the young drivers in the Xfinity Series.
Tony Stewart and Matt Crafton are probably the first names that come to mind when one thinks of those that will give the aggressiveness back to young drivers that make mistakes but Allmendinger says that’s just not what he wants to be.
“I don’t try to put my wisdom into it,” Allmendinger said. “I think it’s trying to understand each other. Ty [Gibbs] and I have had a couple incidents and we talk about it after and we get into each other’s side. It’s racing. You’re not ever going to agree. I’ve always been open with people to come talk about whatever they want to talk about but it’s not right of me to go enforce what I believe on them or what I thought happened.”
Despite being the regular-season champion and earning an extra 15 playoff points, Allmendinger still enters the postseason fourth in the standings and just 27 points above the Round of 8 cutoff line.
The Xfinity Series Playoffs begin Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Ryan Blaney headed to pit road in the 93rd of 500 laps in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race after his No. 12 Mustang slowed with a flat tire. As he left his pit box, the left-rear wheel detached and veered through a handful of pit stalls, ending at the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing slot.
As a result of the violation of Section 10.5.2.6.D in the NASCAR Cup Series Rule Book, officials issued four-race suspensions each to three team members — crew chief Jonathan Hassler, and pit-crew members Zachary Price (rear-tire changer) and Graham Stoddard (jack). Those suspensions are set to start this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway and end after the Oct. 16 event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Blaney continued to a 30th-place finish at Bristol and advanced to the Round of 12 in the Cup Series Playoffs.
Nothing about the 2022 edition of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown has been predictable through the first two races.
This extends to the drivers who share the points lead heading into Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway, as young standout Mason Diaz and veteran Mark Wertz have withstood the chaos to accumulate average finishes of fourth.
Diaz regularly anticipates unpredictability when it comes to competing in the Virginia Triple Crown, but he considers himself fortunate to be atop the standings and is optimistic that he can bring home a title on Saturday evening.
“I figured we would have some decent finishes,” Diaz said. “With these big races, it’s so hard to tell what will happen. There tends to be a lot of carnage every year and we were never the best at Langley [Speedway]. We just wanted to go for it this year, but we’ve been fortunate with two fourth-place finishes.”
Even though he’s only 22, Diaz enters the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 with plenty of experience on his side.
Having made starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Camping World Truck Series and all three ARCA divisions, Diaz said the seat time has helped build his endurance and enabled him to be more comfortable against racing established Late Model Stock veterans like Peyton Sellers and Bobby McCarty.
That maturity proved to be an essential quality for Diaz during the final laps of the first Virginia Triple Crown event in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston on July 2.
With 12 laps remaining, Diaz was fighting for track position inside the top 10 when Jonathan Shafer was turned by Mike Looney on the frontstretch, leaving with Diaz and the rest of the field with nowhere to go as a 20-car pileup unfolded.
Instead of calling it a night, Diaz assessed the damage to his No. 24 Solid Rock Carriers Chevrolet and managed to get back on track. He avoided another late-race accident to obtain a solid fourth-place finish.
“I didn’t think we’d be able to keep going,” Diaz said. “I hopped out of the car from the passenger side because I had a car on top of me. The wheels were pretty straight, and my crew told me that if the wheels were straight, we would go back out. We needed a whole new body on the car after the race, but it could have been a whole lot worse.”
While Diaz’s crew had to make repairs to his car, Wertz was fortunate by missing the huge crash altogether. He ended up finishing sixth at South Boston before following that performance up with a second-place run at his home track of Langley Speedway in the Hampton Heat 200.
A two-time Langley track champion in 2003 and 2004, Wertz has been enthralled by the success he has experienced in the Virginia Triple Crown this year and said nearly securing the Hampton Heat victory against so many talented drivers was a major highlight in his long career.
“That was epic,” Wertz said. “The best of the best were there for the Hampton Heat, so to execute a well-thought out race with strategy and tire management just made recognize that this program has the ability to race with all the big teams.”
Mark Wertz (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
Now 53, Wertz has seen Late Model Stock competition on the East Coast change drastically in just the past couple decades. The most notable differences for him are how much younger his competitors are and the amount of money invested into ensuring they are able to succeed on the track.
Despite these changes, Wertz remains confident his No. 55 CorvetteParts.net/Dunkin Donuts Chevrolet prepared by Bubba Johnston can be competitive in both the weekly races at Langley and in marquee events like the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. He added that the experience within the program gives them an advantage against the younger drivers.
Bringing in six-time Langley track champion Danny Edwards Jr. for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 has only given Wertz more optimism about potentially bringing home a grandfather clock, but he stressed that everything for his team could be undone with a poor finish in his heat race.
With so much unpredictability associated with the heat races, Wertz intends to be patient but aggressive regardless of his starting position so he can have an opportunity to keep his hopes of a Martinsville win and Virginia Triple Crown title alive into the night.
“We’re definitely going to focus on short-run speed,” Wertz said. “Everybody has to run a heat race, so step one is just making [the ValleyStar Credit Union 300]. If time permits, we’ll work on our long run speed, but the main goal is focusing on making the race.”
Should Wertz make the 300-lap feature, he knows track position is going to be imperative for him to build a gap between Diaz and the rest of the Virginia Triple Crown contenders.
Like Wertz, Diaz is worried about getting caught up in an accident during his heat race and is hoping to put together a qualifying run strong enough to get him away from the chaos and inside the top 10 for the main event.
Mason Diaz (Photo: Jacob Kupferman/NASCAR)
Diaz believes he’s getting closer to being a consistent contender in Late Model Stock events. He said winning the Virginia Triple Crown would give him and Mike Darne Racing plenty of momentum heading into the winter.
“It’d be really cool for us to win the Triple Crown,” Diaz said. “This hasn’t been our best year even though we’ve had the speed. There have been a lot of parts failures that have taken us out of races, but a Triple Crown title would really show the speed that we have. We just have to keep our heads down and make it through the weekend unharmed.”
Diaz and Wertz will have to fend off several other talented drivers to claim the Virginia Triple Crown title at Martinsville. Below are how the top 10 in the Virginia Triple Crown standings look heading into the final race.
Mark Wertz: 4.0
Although he is one of the most experienced drivers in the field, Wertz has only attempted the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 eight times in his career. His most recent successful attempt came back in 2016, but he finished 41st after being collected in a crash on the opening lap.
Mason Diaz: 4.0
Saturday will be Diaz’ fifth attempt in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. In the races for which he’s qualified, Diaz has failed to finish every single one, with his best performance being a finish of 21st back in 2017.
Jared Fryar: 5.5
Fryar salvaged a 10th-place finish at South Boston despite getting entangled in the big crash on the frontstretch. He followed that performance by winning the Hampton Heat and finds himself well within striking distance of the lead shared by Wertz and Diaz.
Carter Langley: 6.0
Langley’s second attempt at the Virginia Triple Crown has been an adventurous one. He brought home a battered car at South Boston in fifth and will look to improve upon his seventh-place showing at Langley.
Bobby McCarty: 8.5
The defending Virginia Triple Crown champion, the 2022 season has been dominated by inconsistency for McCarty. Despite this, McCarty still has a chance to defend his title after recording finishes of ninth and eighth at South Boston and Langley, respectively.
Peyton Sellers: 8.5
No driver has recorded more Virginia Triple Crown championships than Peyton Sellers. A 14th-place run at Langley hindered Sellers’ average finish, but he still has a great opportunity to claim his fourth title in the series on Saturday.
Conner Jones: 9.5
Jones opened his debut Virginia Triple Crown campaign by being swept up in the big one at South Boston that saw him get treated for a neck injury. He rebounded to finish sixth in the Hampton Heat but will need another strong performance at Martinsville to claim the title on Saturday.
Camden Gullie: 11.5
Gullie was one of many drivers swept up in the big crash at South Boston, but he was able to make repairs and salvage a seventh that night. A 16th at Langley has dropped Gullie in the Virginia Triple Crown standings ahead of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
Landon Pembelton: 14.5
The defending ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner, Pembelton’s Virginia Triple Crown run has been marred by frustration. He has not yet recorded a top 10, but will look to showcase the speed of his Sellers Racing Inc. car as he attempts to defend his Martinsville victory.
Mini Tyrrell: 14.5
After crashing at South Boston, Tyrrell rebounded in the Hampton Heat for a solid 12th-place run. Tyrrell will need to crack the top 10 in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 to have a shot at winning the Virginia Triple Crown.
A top NASCAR competition official on Tuesday addressed the level of attrition during Saturday night’s Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, providing context around some of the power-steering issues at the short track, how single-source parts were chosen and adding that there remains a learning curve with the Next Gen car.
Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, made his remarks during a Tuesday morning appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. His comments came three days after Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at the 0.533-mile Tennessee track, where the playoff-eligible field was trimmed from 16 to 12 drivers.
Eight of the 36 drivers were not running at the finish of the 500-lap event. Three of the six Toyota teams experienced issues with power-steering failure, and a fourth – the No. 18 of Kyle Busch – was sidelined by engine trouble. Those problems, which were compounded by tire issues on the high-banked concrete layout, prompted criticism from several drivers about the design of the Next Gen racer, which made its debut in the Cup Series this season.
Miller answered those Tuesday, borrowing a phrase used by Kevin Harvick at Darlington and parroted Saturday night by Martin Truex Jr., Bristol’s last-place finisher after power-steering woes.
“Bristol is definitely a unique load case, and some things cropped up with the steering that weren’t expected,” Miller told SiriusXM. “But honestly, no excuse, but, you know, with the newness of this car and the newness of everything, I think that it’s not acceptable to have problems, but it’s probably part of the learning process for us all. All the teams and OEMs were involved in the RFP (request for proposal) process when we chose the parts so, everybody’s got a stake in this, and it’s not just NASCAR choosing quote-unquote crappy parts.”
Miller said that competition officials had a meeting scheduled Tuesday morning with Goodyear representatives to debrief about their findings at Bristol. As for any other reliability concerns, Miller indicated that his department at the Research & Development Center was busy seeking fixes.
“Well, with every part of this car actually being a new part and a new design, I think historically, in racing and in any walk of life, when you do something completely new with a departure, there’s a learning curve,” Miller said. “So we’re in that learning curve, and, you know, working really hard to make sure that everything works. And I think for the most part, it has. We did have some steering issues at Bristol. That is, again, a part that was chosen through the RFP process, and it is team serviceable. So you know, that’s where we are right now. Are we looking to improve on when we have problems? We absolutely 100% are, every single day.”
In other topics discussed Tuesday:
• Miller addressed questions about caution flags and the timing of them, reiterating that each instance of contact or on-track trouble is assessed on a case-by-case basis.
“Every incident is unique. Every visual that we have on an incident is also unique,” Miller said. “We don’t have 36 sets of eyes glued to each and every car. We have a bunch of us up there that kind of act as spotters. We don’t always see the beginning of an incident, and we have to point that out. Whoever sees it points it out to the race director. The race director analyzes the situation as he sees it and puts the caution out at his discretion on what he sees.
“Now, we don’t have the ability to go obviously watch replays and watch the incident. Cautions are pretty … you know they’re a quick call, and there’s going to be some judgment in those, no matter how you look at it. So it’s, I would love to say that … I would love to be able to define what creates a caution and what doesn’t, but it’s impossible because everything is … every incident is completely different from the last one, and completely different from the next one.”
• Miller also offered a preview of Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM) at Texas Motor Speedway. The race opens the Round of 12 in the Cup Series Playoffs.
Miller indicated that the 1.5-mile track’s asphalt surface would be treated with a resin and that rubber would be applied with a “Tire Dragon” in an effort to widen the racing groove.
“It will be resin and Tire Dragon at the beginning of the weekend, and we’ll leave it,” Miller said. “We’re also going to probably go a lane or so higher in (turns) three and four, just to try to give a little bit more racing room over there. It may not turn into racing room, but if they do slip out of the groove, at least there’ll be something there to grab a hold of. So that’s what we’re doing for the weekend.”
Every September, Martinsville Speedway welcomes the best Late Model Stock Car competitors from across the Southeast to take part in the annual running of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
The Martinsville Speedway Late Model race, held at the 0.526-mile track each season since 1985, is widely considered the most important and prestigious for Late Model Stock Car competitors. The event annually draws an entry list that more than doubles the 40-car starting field, meaning more than half of those who enter typically fail to qualify for the race.
The ValleyStar Credit Union 300 features a purse totaling $110,000. In addition, the race serves as the finale of the Virginia Triple Crown that also included the Hampton Heat 200 at Langley Speedway and the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway. The Triple Crown offers an additional $7,000 bonus to the champion.
The entry list is stacked with regional and national stars, including drivers like Ty Majeski, Corey Heim, Timothy Peters, Peyton Sellers, Layne Riggs, Rajah Caruth, Mason Diaz, Tate Fogleman, Jared Fryar and defending race winner Landon Pembelton.
Below is everything you need to know about the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway.
Cars race during the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Veasey Conway/NASCAR)
What TV Channel is the 2022 Martinsville Speedway Late Model race on?
All the on-track action for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville can be viewed live on FloRacing, the official streaming home for all NASCAR Roots properties.
The event will not be shown on a television network.
Below is the complete schedule for FloRacing’s coverage of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
Complete schedule for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300
This year’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 will take place on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, with practice and qualifying scheduled for Friday, Sept. 23, 2022.
The event is headlined by the 200-lap ValleyStar Credit Union 300 for Late Model Stock Cars. The event also includes four 25-lap qualifying races that will set the field for the 200-lap main event.
Below is the complete schedule at Martinsville Speedway (all times ET).
Friday, Sept. 23
Time
Event
6 a.m.
Registration Opens
6:30 a.m.
Haulers Enter
6:30 a.m.
Garage Opens
8:30 a.m.
Mandatory Crew Chief and/or Team Representative Meeting (Garage)
ValleyStar Credit Union 300 (200 laps / 105.2 miles)
Official format for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300
The field for Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 will be set by a combination of qualifying and four 25-lap qualifying races. Competitors will first qualify on Friday evening, with the fastest qualifier earning a $5,000 bonus. However, no competitors will lock into the 200-lap feature from qualifying like in years past.
Instead, the entire 40-car field will be set based on the four 25-lap qualifying races held Saturday prior to the 200-lap main event. The top-10 finishers in each of the four qualifying races will secure starting positions in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. There will be no last chance race.
The 200-lap feature race will include three segments: 100 laps, 75 laps and 25 laps. The winners of the first two segments will each earn $1,000.
In the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 feature, the leader of each lap will receive $25, with $5,000 available in the laps led bonus pool. If the race concludes in overtime, there will be unlimited attempts at a green-white-checkered finish. The race winner will earn $32,000 in addition to taking home the coveted Martinsville grandfather clock.
Martinsville Speedway Late Model race entry list
The current entry list for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 features 93 cars.
Headlining the list of entries is defending winner Landon Pembelton, who will look to become the first driver to earn back-to-back victories in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 and take home another grandfather clock.
In order to do that, he’ll have to defeat a field that includes Ty Majeski, who just punched his ticket to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship race at Phoenix Raceway with a victory at Bristol Motor Speedway last Thursday. Also entered is Corey Heim, a two-time Camping World Truck Series winner this year and the winner of the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 earlier this year at South Boston Speedway.
NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. has entered a car for rising star Carson Kvapil, the son of 2003 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil. Peyton Sellers and Layne Riggs, the two drivers who spent most of the year battling for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I National championship, are also entered.
Timothy Peters, a two-time ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner, returns in search of his third victory in the event. Other previous winners that have entered include Mike Looney, Jake Crum and Jason York.
Other notable entries come from Brenden Queen, Tate Fogleman, Jared Fryar, Kaden Honeycutt, Bobby McCarty, Connor Mosack, Clay Jones, Mason Diaz, Conner Jones, Mark Wertz, Rajah Caruth, Katie Hettinger, Connor Hall and Mini Tyrrell.
Below is the complete entry list for Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
Car No.
Driver
Hometown
Owner
00
Kyle Barnes
Draper, VA
Wendy Barnes
01
Camden Gullie
Durham, NC
Jason Gullie
03
Brenden “Butterbean” Queen
Chesapeake, VA
Mike Queen
07
Jamie Byrd
Mount Airy, NC
Susan Stimpson
07
Chase Dixon
Abingdon, VA
Chris Dixon
07
Riley Neal
Walkertown, NC
HRE Lease Program
09
Riley Gentry
Easley, SC
Randy Gentry
0
Landon Pembelton
Amelia, VA
Brian Pembelton
1
Trent Barnes
Forest Hill, MD
Doug Barnes Sr
1
Daryn Cockram
Draper, VA
Daryn Cockram
1
Michael Faulk
Huntersville, NC
Lee Faulk
1
Jamie York
Reidsville, NC
Jason York
1
Andrew Grady
Youngsville, NC
Tony Grady
1
Shane L Canipe
Hildebran, NC
Shane L Canipe
1
Craig Moore
Rougemont, NC
Craig Moore
2
Ryan Wilson
Randleman, NC
Ryan Wilson
2
Braden Rogers
Bakersfield, CA
Lee Faulk
2
Brandon Pierce
Oak Ridge, NC
Lee Pulliam
4
Parker Eatmon
Wilson, NC
Mike Darne
4
M. Kyle Dudley
Roanoke, VA
M. Kyle Dudley
5
Jaiden Reyna
Cornelius, NC
VanDyke Racing
5
Carter Langley
Zebulon, NC
Hedgecock Racing
5
Dexter Canipe Jr.
Conover, NC
Dexter Canipe
6
Clark Houston
Hickory, NC
DHR of Knob, NC LLC
7
Dylan Ward
Walkertown, NC
Dylan Ward
8
Thomas Scott
Mebane, NC
Thomas Scott
8
Carson Kvapil
Mooresville, NC
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
8
Tate Fogleman
Durham, NC
JFCO Motorsports
8b
Chase Burrow
King William, VA
Edwards Racing Enterprises
11
Blaise Brinkley
Sanford, NC
Brad Brinkley
11
Timothy Peters
Danville, VA
R&S Race Cars
12
Austin Thaxton
South Boston, VA
Austin Thaxton
12
Kaden Honeycutt
Aledo, TX
Barry L Nelson
14
Jonathan Worley
Kingsport, TN
Jonathan Worley
14
Jared Fryar
Trinity, NC
Jimmy Mooring
15
Kres VanDyke
Abingdon, VA
VanDyke Racing
15
Ryan Millington
Statesville, NC
Bob Saville
15
Tristen Barnes
Draper, VA
Wendy Barnes
17
Jason Myers
Hurt, VA
Jason Myers
17
Stacy Puryear
South Boston, VA
Stacy Puryear
18
Jason York
Reidsville, NC
Jason York
19
Jessica Cann
Trinity, NC
Bill Petroff
19
Colby Stottlemyer
Dauphin, PA
Mark Stottlemyer
21
Mike Darne
Mooresville, NC
Mike Darne
21
Steve Zacharias
Myrtle Beach, SC
AK Performance
21
Tommy Neal
Rural Hall, NC
Tommy Neal
22
Bobby McCarty
Madison, NC
Barry L Nelson
24
Mason Diaz
Manassas, VA
Michael Diaz
25
Jacob Borst
Elon, NC
Justin Borst
25
Derrick R Lancaster
Christiansburg, VA
Derrick R Lancaster
26
Peyton Sellers
Danville, VA
Burt Sellers
28
Ryan Glenski
Mooresville, NC
Karin Glenski
28
Connor Mosack
Mooresville, NC
Justin Carroll
31
Cole Bruce
Fredericksburg, VA
Robert Bruce
31
Clay Jones
Lucama, NC
Wayne Goss
32
Nik Williams
Chuckey, TN
Dean Wilson
41
Davey Callihan
Fredericksburg, VA
Davey Callihan
41
Magnum Tate
Easley, SC
Hawk McCall Motorsports
44
Conner Jones
Fredericksburg, VA
Robbie Jones
45
Andrew “Bryce” Applegate
Simpsonville, KY
Andy Applegate
50
Ross “Boo Boo” Dalton
Greensboro, NC
Jay Dalton
51
Matt Cox
Longs, SC
Robert Elliott
51m
Ryan Matthews
Wake, VA
Mike Matthews
55
Mark Wertz
Chesapeake, VA
Mark Wertz
57
Eddie Johnson
Midlothian, VA
Richard K Johnson
57
Jimmy Mullins
Bassett, VA
Jimmy Mullins
57
Rajah K Caruth
Concord, NC
John Carroll
66
Ty Majeski
Vale, NC
Chad Bryant Racing/Triple R Racing
71
Jake Crum
Taylorsville, NC
BJ Mackey
71
Katie Hettinger
Dryden, MI
Matt Piercy
73
Bruce Anderson
South Boston, VA
Racing College
75
Cory Dunn
Salem, VA
Larry Dunn
77
Blake Stallings
Danville, VA
Steve Stallings
77
Connor Hall
Vale, NC
Chad Bryant Racing/Triple R Racing
78
Corey Heim
Davidson, NC
CH Racing
81
Zack Clifton
Walkertown, NC
Ronnie Clifton
81
Mini Tyrrell
Manassas, VA
Timothy Tyrrell
81
Adam Murray
Bailey, NC
Travis Byrd
87
Mike Looney
Catawba, VA
Billy Martin Racing
88
Doug Barnes Jr
Forest Hill, MD
Doug Barnes Sr.
88
Brad Housewright
Kingsport, TN
Claude F. Housewright Jr.
88
Dustin Rumley
Brown Summit, NC
Dustin Rumley
90
Terry Carroll
Williamsburg, VA
Terry Carroll
90
John Goin
Scottsville, VA
Bo Collins
91
Jonathan Shafer
Ashland, OH
R&S Race Cars
91
Justin Carroll
West Point, VA
Justin Carroll
91
Chris Elliott
Bullock, NC
Chris Elliott Motorsports
95
Sam Yarbrough
Myrtle Beach, SC
Robert Elliott
95
Jacob Heafner
Dallas, NC
John Carroll
97
Daniel Silvestri
Ashburn, VA
Brian Silvestri
99
Austin Somero
Landrum, SC
Ted Somero
99
Layne Riggs
Bahama, NC
Scott Riggs
T2
Travis Truett
Conway, SC
Travis Truett
Landon Pembleton celebrates after winning the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Veasey Conway/NASCAR)
ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winners
Late Model Stock Cars have been a regular fixture at Martinsville Speedway through the years, but the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 didn’t come into existence until the 1985 season, when Barry Beggarly became the inaugural winner of the event.
It has been held annually since, with the lone exception being the 2020 season when the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several drivers have earned multiple wins in the event, including Beggarly, who picked up a second victory in the race in 1994. Philip Morris is the all-time leader in ValleyStar Credit Union 300 victories with three. Others who have won the race twice include Timothy Peters, Curtis Markham, Phil Warren, Tony McGuire, Tommy Lemons Jr. and Lee Pulliam.
A number of drivers who would go on to enjoy success in one of NASCAR’s national divisions have also won the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin won the race in 1987. Mike Sinner, the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion in 1995, visited Victory Lane in the Martinsville race in 1993. Current NASCAR Xfinity Series star Josh Berry won the race in 2019.
Below is the complete list of winners of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
NASCAR Cup Series teams are scheduled for the final organizational test of the year this week, getting track time Tuesday and Wednesday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The two-day open session is in advance of the Dixie Vodka 400, scheduled Oct. 23 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at the 1.5-mile South Florida track. The event is the middle race in Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 8, which will determine the four drivers who will compete for the championship in the Nov. 6 finale at Phoenix Raceway.
One car from each manufacturer will also participate in wheel-force testing this week at Homestead-Miami. Those test runs will overlap with the organizational test and will take place Wednesday and Thursday.
A full list of participating teams and drivers will be released later.
The Homestead-Miami track was the site of the Next Gen car’s third-ever test during its development. Erik Jones drove the prototype in two days of on-track sessions Jan. 15-16, 2020.
Joe Gibbs Racing indicated Monday that its Nos. 11 and 18 teams will swap pit crews, starting with Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Driver Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Toyota team remain alive in the Cup Series Playoffs, which continue with Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM) at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth track. Kyle Busch, driver of Coach Joe Gibbs’ No. 18 Camry, was eliminated from title contention after last weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The NASCAR Cup Series season is 29 races old, but there’s already reason to celebrate before this season comes to an end.
Chris Buescher’s Bristol breakthrough on Saturday night produced the 19th different driver in Victory Lane this year, a record through 29 events and tying 2001 for the most in the modern era. Some of the stunners stem from who have been victorious; some stem from those who haven’t been.
Austin Cindric, the fresh-faced rookie wheeling the No. 2 Ford for Team Penske, started the year with a bang, scoring the Daytona 500 triumph in his eighth career Cup start by mere inches over Bubba Wallace.
Defending series champion Kyle Larson and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman followed up with respective wins at Auto Club and Las Vegas, perhaps lulling some into thinking this year would be routine. That was before Chase Briscoe, the sophomore Stewart-Haas Racing driver, made his maiden trip to Victory Lane by winning the spring race at Phoenix Raceway.
As the season rolled, Ross Chastain drove himself and Trackhouse Racing to their first wins at Circuit of The Americas, then proved himself again just four weeks later by winning at Talladega. His teammate, Daniel Suárez, wasn’t far behind, netting his inaugural triumph in June at Sonoma Raceway.
Another second-year team, 23XI Racing, has itself two wins this year courtesy of two different drivers — but via the same car number and at the same track. Kurt Busch drove the No. 45 Toyota to victory at Kansas Speedway in May. Five months later, with Busch recovering from a July injury, Wallace scored career win No. 2 at the same track piloting Busch’s number across the stripe.
Perhaps more eye-opening was that Wallace’s win came during a sweep by non-playoff drivers in the Round of 16, a shocker unseen during the elimination era of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs since it began in 2014. His victory was sandwiched between two storybook triumphs themselves.
Erik Jones earned his second Southern 500 checkered flag on Labor Day Weekend behind the wheel of Richard Petty’s famed No. 43 Chevrolet for Petty GMS Motorsports — the team’s first win despite the number and co-owner’s prior history. Two weeks later, Buescher scored the inaugural win for the rebranded RFK Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway, his first win in 222 races.
And let’s not forget the first career win for Tyler Reddick at Road America on Fourth of July weekend — a feat he backed up four weeks later at the Indianapolis Road Course. His Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon ended the regular season with a clutch win at Daytona to advance into the postseason as well.
Yes, the regular contenders have scored their wins — 2020 series champion Chase Elliott leads with four victories; two-time title winner Kyle Busch was victorious on Bristol’s dirt; Kevin Harvick went back-to-back in August; Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin each have two wins — but the parity has perhaps never been stronger in the NASCAR Cup Series.
While Hendrick Motorsports has statistically separated itself with nine wins — Joe Gibbs Racing trails with four — nine different teams have won in 2022. That means only six organizations that field full-time Cup efforts are winless.
And yet there remain surprises on the list of those with goose eggs in the win column.
Ryan Blaney, a three-time winner in 2021, has failed to visit Victory Lane since the 2021 regular-season finale, yet the No. 12 Ford (which won this year’s exhibition All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway) is locked into the Round of 12, which begins Sunday at Texas (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Former Cup champions Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. have both been shut out of Victory Lane thus far and failed to make the playoffs for the first time in years. Keselowski last missed the postseason in 2013 while Truex was last out in 2014.
But there remain seven races on the schedule for breakout winners to find their way into the history books. Never has the Cup Series seen 20 different victors in the same season, particularly in the modern age dating back to 1972.
What once seemed impossible is certainly within reach. Truex has shown speed numerous times this season, including at 1.5-mile tracks like Texas and Las Vegas; Blaney, among other winless competitors, is especially capable of breaking through at the crapshoot that often is Talladega; and who’s to say the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval won’t produce an upset?
Regardless of what’s ahead over the next seven weeks, the season should be relished for its rare history. Years like this come around only so often — and if there is a new winner, it’ll be something never seen before.
“I was sitting in the grandstands watching them race going, ‘I can do that, no problem,'” Rotundo said.
Rotundo had done some motorcycle racing, but never in a car. He had grown up watching the sport, loving driving and cars, and his dad desert raced many years ago.
While at Irwindale, a NASCAR-sanctioned asphalt oval near Los Angeles, Rotundo found the track’s Tucker Tire Enduro Sport class, which he thought looked relatively affordable with good competition and a variety of cars and skill levels.
It also, most importantly, just looked really fun.
It turned out, “I had a lot to learn,” he added.
(Photo courtesy of Ian Rotundo)
The first two years were a steep learning curve for Rotundo. He’s had to learn how to save tires and not be so aggressive on the gas pedal.
“Get in, put the pedal to the floor and hold on. … It turns out that doesn’t work very well,” he said. “I’m learning how to go slower to go faster, if that makes any sense.”
He’s started finding much more success the last two years. In 2021, he finished second in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division III national championship standings, and this year he’s third.
“The last two years I’ve just been honing those skills and trying to be a little more precise, and a little less aggressive with the pedals, and a little smoother all around,” Rotundo said. “And it’s been amazing how much that’s changed, just learning how to drive a little more carefully. It’s not always push the pedal harder to go faster. It doesn’t always work all the time.”
Much of the learning for Rotundo has been alongside his family, especially his dad, Jim, who helps him work on the car every week.
“I couldn’t even begin to do it without him. There is no way that I would be as competitive as I am and consistent as I am without his help,” Rotundo said. “Doing stuff with my family has been awesome.”
Rotundo has found the competition and camaraderie among the drivers at Irwindale is his favorite aspect of racing. He’s built something of a rivalry with driver Bobby Ozman, who won the Enduro track championship at Irwindale in 2019 and 2020. Ozman is currently second to Rotundo in the track points this season.
“He’s been pushing me hard this year. He’s been doing a great job,” Rotundo said of Ozman. “It’s good to have. It’d be no fun if there were no competition.”
But it’s not all about just getting wins for the two drivers. It’s not worth it if they’re not pushing each other to victory.
“At the last race, during the autograph session, Bobby found a nail in his tire,” Rotundo said. “We had already gone through tech, and if he were to change that tire he was going to have to start at the back of the pack. So we ended up, I was able to run back to the pits and grab a plug kit and plug his tire for him, and he’s my biggest competition. But we’re still out there to help each other and make sure that we’re out there to race, and have fun racing and push each other on the track.
“I don’t want to beat him by some technicality that he was going to have to start further back than he was supposed to. I want to race him to race him. We’re out there to have fun and learning something, and push each other to the edge.
“I love the competition of it. The fact that on the track we can all be pushing the limits, and off the track be friends and help with each other.”
While Rotundo was hoping to try to win the NASCAR national championship this season, he may have to settle for another top-three finish. Irwindale finished its NASCAR season last week.
He’s fallen so in love with racing, though, that Rotundo will surely have more chances in the future.
