Posted on by Brandon White

Just over 40 miles from Anchorage, Alaska lies one of the newest and most unique short track complexes in the United States.

The decision to build a short track at Alaska Raceway Park back in 2016 proved to be a popular one amongst local fans and drivers, all of whom were eager to experience what racing would be like at the northernmost NASCAR-sanctioned track in the United States.

Along with providing thrilling on-track action across several different divisions, Alaska Raceway Park features one of the most scenic views across any motorsports venue in the world, as the 6,398-foot Pioneer Peak sits right next to the track along with the surrounding forest.

FLORACING: Catch every race at Alaska Raceway Park

Unlike the adjacent mountain, only a handful of chapters have been written in the story of Alaska Raceway Park’s short track, but general manager Michelle Lackey Maynor and the rest of the facility’s staff remain committed towards creating a vibrant racing culture in Alaska and provide their local drivers more national exposure.

The Last Frontier’s premier short track is set to start its seventh season this Saturday evening with a busy schedule headlined by the GCI Late Model class, with John Klayum entering 2022 as the most recent track champion.

Below is everything you need to know about Alaska Raceway Park.

Alaska Raceway Park

Track Profile

A near-capacity crowd fills the grandstands and lines the fencing along the frontstretch at Alaska Raceway Park.
(Joey Klecka/NASCAR)
Track Alaska Raceway Park
Location Palmer, Alaska
Opened 2016
Length 0.333 miles
Surface Asphalt

Before any oval racing took place at Alaska Raceway Park drag racing was the main draw at the facility with the quarter-mile drag strip formally opening in 1964.

The first major attempt to bring oval racing to Alaska Raceway Park occurred back in 1980, when a small dirt oval was built right next to the drag strip. This venture did not last long for ARP, and the dirt track was ultimately closed in 1986.

In 1995, Alaska Raceway Park became the only drag strip in the state sanctioned by the International Hot Rod Association. Three years later, Earl and Karen Lackey took over ownership of Alaska Raceway Park before handing over day-to-day operations of the track to their daughter Michelle in 2021.

Alaska Raceway Park (Matt Strickert/NASCAR)

Since taking over the facility, the Lackeys have strived to make Alaska Raceway Park a top destination for the state’s growing auto racing fanbase. The construction of the paved oval only served to bolster that goal for the Lackeys, as Ken Schrader and Jordan Anderson have been among the notable drivers to make laps around the short track.

Now that the oval and drag strip have the support of NASCAR and the National Hot Rod Association respectively, a bright future is ahead for Alaska Raceway Park as the staff makes final preparations for a new and exciting season of short track competition.

Below is the list of track champions at Alaska Raceway Park.

Alaska Raceway Park track champions:

Year Track Champion
2016 Justin Creech
2017 Justin Creech
2018 Tim Workman
2019 Dana Pruhs
2020 Stu Laidlaw
2021 John Klavum
Posted on by Zack Albert

There was no over-the-top panic when Justin Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet wouldn’t fire off from the pit lane before last weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Darlington Raceway. A moderate scramble ensued in the problem-solving process, but that controlled form of chaos paid a precious reward.

In a fortunate stroke, Allgaier’s powerless car was a short push to the pit stall belonging to teammate Josh Berry’s No. 8 JR Motorsports group, which was prepared to lend a hand and make the necessary fix. After a quickly managed battery swap, Allgaier rejoined the field before the green flag waved, dropping to the rear for the start. Just 200 miles later, Allgaier was talking to his crew on the cool-down lap, thanking them for keeping him calm as he carved up through the pack for his first victory of the season.

RELATED: Xfinity Series standings | 2022 Xfinity winners

That win marked the third in a row for JR Motorsports, which is rounding into powerful midseason form in a stacked Xfinity Series field. While Allgaier’s Darlington tally mark came with a dose of good fortune at the start, it’s been the overall performance that’s added a level of reassurance whenever adversity crops up.

“I mean, I think when something like that happens before you’ve even started the race, and you feel like it’s fixed, at that point you just kind of reset and say OK, we’ve got time to work our way back to the front,” said No. 7 crew chief Jason Burdett. “And as long as we stay patient and don’t make big mistakes, we’re going to be OK. And you know, it worked out. … So it was just, it was a solid day for our team all around. And as an organization, I mean, I think we obviously have really good cars right now.”

The scoring pylon at Darlington reflected those facts, with three JR Motorsports cars among the top five finishers. Behind Allgaier were runner-up Noah Gragson and fifth-place Sam Mayer, who rallied after a last-gasp pit stop. Berry was also in that top-five mix until a late-race restart penalty knocked him back.

Impressive as that was, JRM’s day at Darlington came on the heels of its Dover Motor Speedway dominance the previous week, when all four of the organization’s entries posted top-five outcomes behind a victorious Berry. Allgaier — the team’s longest-tenured driver, now in his seventh season with JR Motorsports – has seen peaks in JRM’s performance before. But this recent spike?

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

“It’s all of and then some better than what it’s ever been,” Allgaier said. “You know, there’s been times in my time at JR Motorsports where we’ve been ultra-competitive, but not like we are today, right? I feel like our team has done a really good job, the cohesiveness of all of us. You know, the crazy part is as drivers we’re so different, and even setups that we bring to the race track are so different.”

At one end of the JRM chemistry spectrum are veterans Allgaier, a 35-year-old Midwesterner who stands as the team’s senior statesman, and the 31-year-old Berry, a longtime Late Model campaigner making the most of his shot at the NASCAR national series ranks. The other end of that close-knit driver collective has two young prospects – Gragson, who at 23 years old and a two-time winner already this season seems primed to make a Cup Series leap; and Mayer, the 18-year-old rookie who is starting to show polish in his first full Xfinity season.

Different ages and different driving approaches have also meant a variety of car setups, as Allgaier alluded to, which JRM’s teams have been willing to share and fine-tune to improve company-wide performance. Many core members of the team have stayed intact to keep that chemistry tight, but even its relative newcomers – veteran crew chief Luke Lambert included — have fit in seamlessly with the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned operation.

“You know, I feel like I’ve had some good opportunities through the years, and I feel like in a lot of ways, this is one of the best opportunities I’ve had, as far as all the pieces are right — with the team and the driver and the timing of it is really good,” says Lambert, who took over Gragson’s No. 9 team this year and has been a crew chief at the national-series level since 2011. “So we’ve got a good chemistry and who knows where it can lead to, but just really trying to make the most of the moment, and we’re in the moment every time we get to go on the race track, and that’s what we’re putting our effort on.”

MORE: 2022 Xfinity Series schedule

The Xfinity Series pumps the brakes for a weekend off this week before returning May 21 at Texas Motor Speedway (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM). It’s allowed an extra week for the organization’s place in the Xfinity standings to simmer, with all four drivers ranked among the top seven – Gragson second, Allgaier fourth, Berry fifth and Mayer seventh.

“This doesn’t happen because of one person or even one team,” Allgaier said. “You know, this is a huge integral part of everybody that works at JR Motorsports. … I’ve always been proud of being at JR Motorsports, but this year, seeing kind of everything come to fruition of the hard work and effort. You know, that’s what you look for, right?

“I mean, everybody works hard. There’s not a soul in that garage in there that doesn’t put their blood, sweat and tears into these race cars, week in and week out. I don’t care if you run 38th every week or if you win every week, you still put the time and energy into it. And so when you have these moments, you have to enjoy them and make the most of them.”

Posted on by Cara Cooper

Nine years ago, Justin Krossman just happened to be at a race when a family member needed someone to drive their car.

Krossman grew up watching his family race in the 1990s, but he didn’t pay much attention to the sport after they quit. Other than some laps at a local go-kart track, he had never driven himself.

“It was intimidating. That’s for sure,” Krossman said of his first night behind the wheel. “Everything was flying by. I remember it seemed like I was going super fast, and my reactions were just definitely not as fast as they needed to be to be in this sport.”

The intimidation didn’t stop him from wanting to keep trying, though.

“But it was an absolute blast,” he added. “I absolutely loved it.”

RELATED: Coos Bay Speedway’s 2022 racing schedule

Krossman started racing in the mini-outlaws division at Coos Bay Speedway, a 0.375-mile dirt oval in Coos County, Oregon, and stayed there for two years before moving up to the track’s street stocks division, which he’s been in for seven seasons and won a track championship in 2017. The driver of the No. 4 finished third in Coos Bay’s only street stocks race so far this season.

Getting used to the speed of racing and what it takes to be successful behind the wheel was one thing for Krossman, but learning how to set the car up and get it ready to race was something he didn’t fully expect when he started in the sport nearly a decade ago.

Krossman has worked on cars his whole life, and he knows how to repair and maintain his own rides for the street, but there’s quite a bit of difference when it comes to the precision needed for a race car.

“Your standard maintenance is just your basic services, oil changes, stuff like that, or just replacing parts as they’re not working, and the race car itself is a lot more precise,” Krossman said. “You don’t take your street car and pull the tires off and scrub them and clean them up after every race to make sure they don’t get a bunch of oil sucked out of them from the dirt track. Just a lot more precision in the things you do and the depth you go into versus just your basic every-day mechanic.

“Trying to get the car set up for the changing track, it’s a dirt track, so it’s always changing. Car setup, suspension, shocks, adjustments, that’s been the biggest learning curve.”

Since Krossman is off from work every Friday, those are the days he spends in the shop, from around 8 a.m. until the afternoon. Between that and the time he spends tinkering on Monday through Thursday, and going over the car on Sunday to clean and make sure nothing happened the night before, he estimates he spends about 10 hours working in the shop every week.

It’s time well-spent, though, because he takes pride in being successful with his car both on and off the track.

“I’ve learned the more time you spend making sure that everything is good to go, the less time you’re at the track when you’re supposed to be racing and you’re running into issues,” Krossman said. “So if you check ever nut and bolt in the prep work it makes the night of the race a lot easier. It gives you a peace of mind. So, yes, I enjoy it.”

Krossman has two uncles and a cousin who are at every race to help him with making sure the tires are set and there’s nothing he overlooked.

“They double and triple check everything, and I definitely couldn’t do it without them,” he said.

He has also turned racing into a family event. Krossman’s young son, Blake, is also at every race and is getting the chance to grow up at the racetrack.

Krossman’s fiancée, Cheyanne Austin, is in her first season of racing in Coos Bay’s hornets division. She grew up around the sport, and Krossman helped clean and check her car, and is giving her pointers on what to expect on the track.

“The first time I got in a car it felt like everything was flying by even though it really wasn’t, so she’s going through the first steps of hopping in a race car and getting her reaction times quicker and just getting comfortable with the car.

“She absolutely loves it.”

From first getting in a race car as a way to help a family member out, the sport has now grown into a family event for Krossman.

“It’s a big family ordeal. That’s pretty much what we do on Saturdays,” he said. “It’s amazing. It gives us all something to do together, keeps us all out of trouble… so it’s definitely bonding time. My boy has grown up around it his whole life. He pretty much has free roam at the track. Everyone there knows him. Other racers have kids that are his age so he just runs around and absolutely loves it.”

Ever since Krossman’s championship five years ago, he has been trying to figure out the new car he bought the following season.

Since then, he has been a consistent top-five street stocks driver at Coos Bay, but he’s excited to see if his work this offseason pays off.

Either way, he just wants to continue chasing that rush he felt his first time behind the wheel nine years ago.

“I would say it’s the adrenaline rush. It’s strapping in with all your buddies,” he said.

“I think we finally got all the bugs out of this car, so it’s definitely just getting out there, getting more seat time in the new car and working our way to the front, I guess. That’s always the goal. I’m looking forward to the new races. We do some big street stock races up here, so I’m looking forward to the out-of-town competition.

“That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Racing will return to Coos Bay Speedway this Saturday for the Mega Bike Giveaway, featuring the track’s America’s Mattress Super Late Models, Sportsman Late Models, Three Rivers Casino Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws, Hornets, JR Stingers, and OTRO Hard Tops. Racing will begin at 6:30 p.m. local time.

Posted on by Staff Report

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ask almost any driver in the NASCAR garage today to name some of the racers they wanted to emulate coming up through the racing circuit, and it doesn’t take long for this Roush racer to come up: Mark Martin.

Known now for his encyclopedic memory of the setups his teams ran as far back as the early 80s and his affinity for rap music and lifting heavy weights, Martin built a NASCAR career on winning races (96 of them in the top three NASCAR national series), on being completely in tune with his car and for managing his tires in such a way that his late-race charges to the front of the field became the stuff of legend.

Ask almost any driver in the NASCAR garage today to name some of the racers they most wanted to emulate when it came to earning the respect of their peers, and it doesn’t take long for this Roush racer to come up: Jeff Burton.

RELATED: Check out Mark, Mamba & The Mayor

Now an analyst for NBC Sports, Burton built his career with plenty of on-track success, but also on having the reputation for being one of the most trusted and honest racers in the garage. In an era where drivers policed themselves among the garage (1990s specifically), Burton earned one of the most famous nicknames ever in NASCAR — The Mayor.

These two NASCAR legends and former Roush teammates are teaming up again. Martin and Burton, along with host Mamba Smith, are launching a podcast on the NASCAR Digital network — Mark, Mamba & The Mayor. Listen to a snippet of the first episode below.

Scm Mark Mamba Themayor Mark 17

The biweekly podcast will feature these racers swapping stories of their time at NASCAR’s top level in the 1990s, sharing previously unheard stories from their time behind the wheel and in the garage. Smith, who also appears weekly on Backseat Drivers on NASCAR’s YouTube channel, will provide his perspective and help connect NASCAR’s past with its present and future.

“We all are well aware of how much thirst and demand there is for the 90s era,” Burton said. “There seems to be a really large demand from the fans for that. Our vision for this podcast is to couple current events and current racing with our stories, and connect the past with things that are going on today.”

Martin and Burton were teammates driving for Jack Roush from 1996 into the 2004 season. Their friendship took root during that period, and they’ve stayed in touch since then. Martin said Burton is really the only driver from his era he stays in touch with to this day.

“I would have to say without Jeff Burton, I probably wouldn’t want to have done this. Jeff and I have always had tremendous chemistry. He was the best teammate a veteran could have ever asked for and he is a lot smarter than I am,” Martin said with a laugh. “He’s in the broadcasting world. With all those factors I figured being his wingman or having him for a wingman would make it perfect.”

MORE: All NASCAR podcasts

The host Smith started racing when he was 4 years old, going from go-karts to the Allison Legacy Series to late models by the time he was 16.

After hanging up his helmet at age 18, Smith stayed in the sport by constantly reinventing himself. He sports a NASCAR Cup Series championship ring, earned in 2014 as a teardown mechanic at Stewart-Haas Racing in the year Kevin Harvick won the first championship in the elimination-style NASCAR Playoffs.

He previously had earned a K&N Pro Series East title (now ARCA Menards Series East) working for Kyle Larson’s team as an interior mechanic. Two more titles followed when Smith transitioned to a communications role, in 2017 with Harrison Burton (Jeff’s son) in the East Series and then in 2018 in the ARCA Menards Series with Sheldon Creed.

RacingOne
RacingOne

“It’s really just great chemistry between Mamba, Jeff and I,” Martin said. “Jeff and I both tell stories of things most fans probably don’t know about or don’t even remember, and that’s really fun. But it’s more than that. It’s not really about us, it’s about the history of the sport and some of the heroes that paved the way for me and Jeff, and the guys that are currently out there on the race track now. So we are able to blend all that together and pay tribute to some of the greats that came before us.”

One thing that made Martin and Burton incredible teammates — besides their natural ability to drive a race car — was their honesty. Add in mutual respect to that, too.

Burton calls Martin the most honest person he knows. It’s what drew Burton to Martin in the garage back in the early 90s, when The Mayor was trying to find his path in NASCAR’s top series.

“Even before I knew him, he was a mentor to me,” Burton said. “I was paying attention to him long before he knew who I was. When I started Xfinity racing, he was a Cup guy and I could go ask a question and Mark would shoot me straight. His work ethic, his desire, his care, I got to really see that behind the scenes. You get to know people when things are hard. He is a straight-up good guy. If I ever need something, a piece of advice, he may not tell me what I want to hear, but he will tell me the truth.”

Telling the truth will be the hallmark of Mark, Mamba and The Mayor. Telling stories will be, too.

“Maybe this is naïve, but I feel like part of my role is to leave the sport better than I found it,” Burton said. “Because Bobby Allison did that for me, and somebody did it for him. I love the sport. I go to the race track every weekend. I just think that all of us could do more to move the ball to make things better.

We all kind of have the same goals. If we all work together, we can make things better. That’s just the way I feel about it. There was a time in my life I thought I wanted to run for office. I wanted to serve my community. NASCAR is my community. And I want to serve it as best I can.”

Posted on by Sean Montgomery

The saying goes, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. But in recent history, drivers starting outside of the top 10 have struggled to reach Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway.

Five of the last six races at Kansas were won from a top-10 starting position, with defending spring winner Kyle Busch starting ninth. And only three times in the last 12 races has a car beginning outside the first five rows at the 1.5-mile track gone on to Victory Lane.

But if you are expecting the trend of dominance to continue in Sunday’s Sunflower State showdown (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), think again. Early 2022 numbers, albeit a small sample size, suggest it isn’t a given.

KANSAS: Weekend schedule | Who’s the betting favorite? | Buy tickets for the race

Both of the races this season on 1.5-mile tracks were won from a starting position outside the top 10: Alex Bowman at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (13th) and William Byron at Atlanta Motor Speedway (12th). In fact, seven of the 12 races this season have seen a winner who started 11th or lower, including multi-race winner Ross Chastain, who started 16th at Circuit of The Americas and 19th at Talladega Superspeedway. Surprising numbers with the return of practice and qualifying sessions, but a healthy nod to the variety already seen with the Next Gen car.

In the last 10 races at Kansas, the track has been an unpredictable wild-card that has produced eight different winners.

 YEAR
  WINNERS (spring / fall)
2017  Martin Truex Jr. / Martin Truex Jr.
2018  Kevin Harvick / Chase Elliott
2019  Brad Keselowski / Denny Hamlin
2020  Denny Hamlin / Joey Logano
2021  Kyle Busch / Kyle Larson

Joe Gibbs Racing has earned the most collective success at Kansas with Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin checking in as the only two-time victors in this span. JGR has also won three of the last five.

Prior to Kyle Larson’s dominant, 3.619-second win last fall, the previous seven races at the track have only had a combined margin of victory of 2.784 seconds.

In some ways, the parity seen at Kansas mirrors the fluctuating field we have seen so far this season. Through the first third of the schedule, 10 unique drivers have been first to the checkered flag. Included in that total were three first-time Cup Series winners: Austin Cindric (Daytona 500), Chase Briscoe (Phoenix Raceway) and Ross Chastain (COTA). For comparison, the series only recorded one first-time winner all of last season: Michael McDowell, in the season-opening Daytona 500.

MORE: Paint schemes for Kansas | Full entry list | Play Fantasy Live

Kansas provides an opportunity for teams and drivers to change the entire course of their season.

Historically, the Kansas City track has favored the seasoned veterans of the sport, rewarding drivers who started out front with the ability to stay there. And since being added to the schedule in 2001, Kansas has had 16 different winners in 32 races but has never produced a first-time Cup Series winner.

If the 2022 trajectory continues, Sunday’s race could very well kick some of these old Kansas trends.

Statistical source: Racing Insights

Posted on by Staff Report

“Today of all days,” wrote Austin Petty in a statement that could not ring more true.

On the 22-year anniversary of Adam Petty’s death in a racing accident, his brother, Austin, announced the birth Thursday of a child with wife Sarah — a girl, Ellington Montgomery Petty.

Adam Petty was the first-born son of Kyle Petty. He passed away at age 19 after a crash during practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on May 12, 2000. Kyle Petty had two other children from his first marriage — Austin, now 40, and 36-year-old Montgomery, who now shares a middle name with the Petty family’s newest addition.

Austin and Sarah Petty have two other children, boys Stonewall and Rhett.

Adam Petty’s memory lives on with the Victory Junction Camp founded near the Petty family’s hometown in Randleman, North Carolina. The multi-purpose facility opened its doors in June 2004, providing life-changing camp experiences for children with serious and chronic medical conditions and their families.

Posted on by Staff Report

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel rescinded a race disqualification penalty in a hearing Thursday for the No. 88 ThorSport Racing team, restoring a fifth-place finish for driver Matt Crafton in last weekend’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington Raceway.

RELATED: Kansas weekend schedule

Crafton and the No. 88 team were initially stripped of the top-five result in Friday’s Dead On Tools 200 for violating Section 14.17.3.2.1.2.A of the NASCAR Rule Book — Post-Qualifying and Post-Race Front Body Inspection Heights. Race officials indicated that the No. 88 truck was found to be too low in the front, and Crafton was moved to last place in the 36-truck field.

After hearing Thursday’s testimony, however, the three-member panel ruled “that the Appellants did not violate the Rule(s) set forth in the Penalty Notice,” opting to rescind the original penalty.

The panel’s decision is considered final. The three panel members who heard the appeal were Tom DeLoach, Dixon Johnston and Hunter Nickell.

Posted on by Brandon White

Six years ago, Cayden Lapcevich and Andrew Ranger engaged in a tough battle for the NASCAR Pinty’s Series championship, with Lapcevich ultimately coming out on top by 54 points.

The two experienced Canadian competitors now find themselves working together to achieve the same goal, as Lapcevich will serve as Ranger’s crew chief for the new Paille Racing Team during the 2022 Pinty’s Series season.

Lapcevich has always respected Ranger’s ability to navigate every type of track in Canada and is confident he can use his own knowledge from the Pinty’s Series to help Ranger tie Scott Steckly in championships with four apiece.

“It’s funny how the world works sometimes, especially with how this deal came together,” Lapcevich said. “[Andrew and I] were racing each other for a championship in 2016, and now here we are trying to get one as a team. He’s a clean, respectful driver, and I always enjoyed racing with him.”

FLORACING: Follow the NASCAR Pinty’s Series all year long

Being a crew chief is not where Lapcevich envisioned his career would go after becoming a Pinty’s Series champion in 2016, yet he is thrilled to continue the passion that was passed down to him by his father Jeff and grandfather Joe.

The advice Joe and Jeff provided Cayden Lapcevich in the early days of his career helped him transition into Pinty’s Series competition. After getting one top five in six starts back in 2015, Lapcevich entered 2016 optimistic he could at least claim his first Pinty’s Series victory.

Not once did Lapcevich believe that 2016 season would see him outrun veterans like Ranger, Alex Tagliani and Kevin Lacroix for three victories and a championship.

“A championship was something we did not think was going to happen that year,” Lapcevich said. “We even lost a major sponsor and were only going to run select events, but we pieced it together as we went and winning the championship that way just made it all the more special.”

Cayden Lapcevich celebrates a victory at Wyant Group Raceway in 2016. (Photo by Matthew Murnaghan/Matthew Murnaghan/NASCAR via Getty Images)

Lapcevich followed up his championship campaign with another three-win season and a third-place finish in the point standings. With momentum on his side and plenty of attention surrounding him, Lapcevich was excited to embark on the next step of his NASCAR career.

Unfortunately for Lapcevich, the opportunity to compete in one of NASCAR’s top three divisions never arrived, and funding issues have prevented him from making another Pinty’s Series start since the end of the 2017 season.

Instead, Lapcevich has spent the last few years primarily running various cars in the United States. Lapcevich had minimal issues carrying over his efficiency in Canada to the U.S., as he tallied two victories in Toledo Speedway’s Glass City 200 while also stringing together several strong runs in a Super Late Model fielded by Bobby Blount.

RACING-REFERENCE: Career NASCAR stats for Lapcevich

Lapcevich still wants to continue racing whenever he has an opportunity to do so, but he is now solely focused on making sure Ranger has everything he needs to make a serious run for his fourth Pinty’s Series championship.

Ranger said Lapcevich always challenged him as a driver whenever they shared the track together, adding that having a fellow champion atop the pit box has only provided him more comfort in his ability to establish consistency with the Paille Racing Team in their first Pinty’s Series season.

“It’s a great opportunity to have Cayden crew chief me,” Ranger said. “He’s very intelligent and whenever I raced against him in the past, we always did well together. Cayden’s a great driver but he really likes the crew chief role, so when I was asked if Cayden could be my crew chief, I quickly said yes.”

The all-time Pinty’s Series wins leader, Ranger has found success in nearly every single car he has climbed into. Outside of his 30 career Pinty’s Series victories, Ranger has also visited Victory Lane seven times with Robert Torriere between the three ARCA Menards Series divisions.

RACING-REFERENCE: Career NASCAR stats for Ranger

Of the drivers Ranger has raced against during his long career, he recalls Lapcevich being one of the more well-rounded when it comes to tackling a diverse Pinty’s Series schedule that features an even mix of road courses and short tracks. It did not surprise Ranger one bit to see Lapcevich showcase that same maturity while driving in the U.S..

With Lapcevich as his crew chief and David Wight supplying the chassis for his No. 27 Chevrolet, Ranger has high expectations for the 2022 Pinty’s Series season and is looking forward to seeing what the team accomplishes together when the new year gets underway.

“I’d love to get that fourth championship,” Ranger said. “My goal is to tie Scott Steckly, and right now I’m tied with L.P. Dumoulin. I’m going to give it my all to try and get a championship at the end, but I really want to give Cayden his first win as a crew chief.”

Andrew Ranger will be driving for the new Paille Racing Team as he searches for his fourth NASCAR Pinty’s Series title. (Photo by Matthew Murnaghan/NASCAR)

Saturday’s Pinty Series opener at Sunset Speedway will serve as the first real test for Lapcevich and Ranger’s new working relationship.

Although neither has won a Pinty’s Series event at Sunset, Lapecvich said the familiarity he has with the short track along with the experience of both Ranger and Wight should put the team in a great position to win right away.

“Sunset is a place I know really well,” Lapcevich said. “It was where I raced weekly after I got out of quarter midgets, so I like going there. We always seemed to miss it just by a little bit every time we went there, but we’ve always been good there, and Wight won twice at Sunset with Raphael Lessard last year, so I think we can start on a good note this weekend.”

Both Lapcevich and Ranger are aware victories will be hard to come by in the Pinty’s Series this year. The 2022 driver roster includes Lessard, former champions like Dumoulin and D.J. Kennington, as well at Lapcevich’s younger brother Treyten, who happens to be driving a car fielded by the all-time series champion in Steckly.

Despite the tough competition, Lapcevich is familiar with the parity the Pinty’s Series has to offer. He said the strategy that won him his lone title can easily help Ranger reach a pivotal milestone in his own career.

“We’re going to do the same thing that won us a title in 2016,” Lapcevich said. “That involves making the right calls and keeping the car up front all the time.”

Through his unconventional path back to the Pinty’s Series, Lapcevich has cherished every chance to race between Canada and the U.S., but he feels right at home assisting one of the most successful drivers in his home country.

Now that his future has more clarity, Lapcevich hopes to keep building upon his family’s proud racing legacy by becoming a championship-winning crew chief.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

Three-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton brings two unique distinctions to Saturday night’s Heart of America 200 (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

First, he’s the only former Kansas winner in the field for the 24th renewal at the track. Second, he’s the only driver to have competed in all of the previous 23 Kansas races, dating to 2001.

RELATED: Kansas weekend schedule | Truck Series standings

During that long string of races, the 45-year-old veteran has accumulated three victories, seven top fives and 13 top 10s at the track.

Crafton will have an experience advantage over every other driver in the field, but that’s not to say he won’t have stiff competition for the win. After a frustrating start to the season, John Hunter Nemechek picked up his first victory of the year last Friday at Darlington Raceway.

Niece Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar, seeking his maiden win in the series, has finished second in the last two races, at Bristol Dirt and Darlington.

“We have a lot to look forward to at Kansas this week,” said Hocevar, 19, who was born nearly two years after Crafton made his first Kansas start. “Producing consecutive second-place finishes is big, for not only myself but Niece Motorsports and the No. 42 team, too.

“It’s really good to show the improvements we’ve made and to have a lot of points in the bank that we did not have three weeks ago. The ability to show our speed at three completely different race tracks over the past month is encouraging, and I have a lot of confidence in our intermediate program.”

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the midwest this weekend with a visit to Kansas Speedway.

The sport hasn’t raced at a traditional 1.5-mile track since Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, though the races in between included a trip to Atlanta which utilized the superspeedway rules package.

Kansas will be back on the Cup Series Playoffs schedule this fall, so teams will put plenty of focus on what they can learn on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RACE YOU TO THE POLE

Cup teams will be broken into Groups A and B for practice and qualifying at Kansas. Their Saturday begins with practice at 4 p.m. ET (FS1), where each group will be allotted 15 minutes of practice. Once practice is complete, the groups will head out for single-car qualifying in which each driver will be allowed a single, timed lap. The five fastest drivers from each group will advance to the second round of qualifying, where the 10 competitors will fire off for single-car laps once again. The fastest of those 10 drivers will earn the Busch Light Pole award.

RELATED: Cup qualifying order | Kansas schedule | Cup Series standings 

KANSAS HISTORY

– In 1997, Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, were selected as the site for a new Midwestern speedway at the intersection of Interstates 70 and 435. That December, International Speedway Corp. (ISC) announced plans to build a 1.5-mile speedway to seat approximately 75,000. 

– Architecture firm HNTB designed the facility and Turner Construction provided construction management. Construction began on the 1,200-acre, 1.5-mile speedway in May 1999.

– In July 1999, 13,750 preferred tickets went on sale and were quickly purchased. The demand prompted ISC to expand the planned 32 suites by an additional 36, increasing capacity from 75,000 to 82,000.

– Completion was targeted for 2000 but was delayed by weather and lawsuits from nearby landowners. Paving began in September 2000 and the speedway was completed in early 2001. Estimated project cost was $250 million.

– The track’s first Cup race was held in September 2001 and won by Jeff Gordon.

– Sunday’s race marks the 33rd Cup Series event at Kansas.

Source: Racing Insights

GOODYEAR TIRES

As teams progress with the Next Gen car, one observation made has been an increased load on the left-rear corner of the car, partially due to the independent rear suspension and partially thanks to the aerodynamic shift to the vehicle’s rear. To accommodate for that, Goodyear has recommended teams set their left-rear tire pressures 2 PSI higher than the left-front tire.

“The amount of air pressure in the tire should directly correlate to the amount of load on that corner of the car,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “If the amount of load increases — like it has on the left-rear of this Next Gen car — you need to increase the load-carrying capability in that tire, which is done via air pressure. If you run below our recommended pressures, the tire can over-deflect, sustain damage and result in an air loss.”

This week’s left-side tires were also used two weeks ago at Dover while the right-side compound was used at Darlington Raceway, Auto Club Speedway and Las Vegas. This tire combination will be used at Texas Motor Speedway for All-Star Race weekend as well as at Nashville Superspeedway.

KANSAS STORY LINES 

– Hendrick Motorsports has seen all four of its drivers visit Victory Lane (William Byron, Atlanta and Martinsville; Kyle Larson, Auto Club; Alex Bowman, Las Vegas; Chase Elliott, Dover). This marks the first time an organization has won with four drivers within the first 11 races of the year.

– Hendrick Motorsports won 22 times since the start of 2021, twice as many as any other organization in that time.

– Hendrick Motorsports drivers won the last four races on 1.5-mile speedways, including the most recent race at Kansas. No team has ever won five straight races on 1.5-mile tracks.

Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

– Tyler Reddick notched his fifth runner-up finish in the Cup Series last week at Darlington but is still looking for his first career win. Only one driver has more runner-up finishes all-time without a win.

– Richard Childress Racing’s 208 laps led this year between Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick are the team’s most circuits led in a season since 2013, which was Kevin Harvick’s last season before departing for Stewart-Haas Racing.

– Nine races in 2022 were won with a pass for the lead in the final 10 laps, the most ever through 12 races in Cup.

– Ten different drivers have won through 12 races in 2022, only the seventh time there were at least 10 winners through 12 races in Cup.

Source: Racing Insights

BET YOUR DRIVER WILL WIN?

As the most recent winner at Kansas, Kyle Larson heads into the weekend as the favorite at 6-1 odds, according to BetMGM. Nobody led more laps at Kansas in 2021 than Larson, who led 262 of a total 534 laps.

Behind Larson in odds so far are Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch, who both enter as 8-1 favorites. Busch is the defending winner of this event, and Elliott has finished inside the top six in six of the past seven Kansas races.

If you’re looking for a long shot this weekend, perhaps this is a week to consider Brad Keselowski, who enters at 66-1 odds. Yes, his season hasn’t gone how most of his previous years have. Driving the No. 6 for RFK Racing, Keselowski has just one top-10 finish and has finished 20th or worse in each of the past three races. But Keselowski has three top fives in his last four Kansas starts. Maybe the 2012 champion can turn that into a major positive Sunday.

RELATED: Odds for Kansas

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 2, and there is a $25,000 prize for the winner.

The 2022 Fantasy Live points leaders are Chase Elliott (447), William Byron (388) and Ryan Blaney (380).

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.