NASCAR Cup Series drivers have another tall task on tap Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Before the action, try your hand at some props.
RELATED: Set your Fantasy Live lineup
Featured Matchups of the week
Race-specific data props
Before the start of the 2022 season, Josh Williams declared he would further his career by moving to BJ McLeod Motorsports for the full Xfinity Series schedule. He knew there would be critics.
“I want to race on Sundays, and (BJ McLeod Motorsports) was an avenue to have that opportunity to get some seat time off and on,” Williams told NASCAR.com last week. “I thought it was a good idea for us.”
For the previous five seasons, Williams contributed to the growth of DGM Racing, a similar team to BJMM in the Xfinity Series. There, he piled up eight top-10 results, six of which came during his standout 2020 season.
RELATED: Talladega weekend schedule | Xfinity Series Talladega entry list
This past Sunday, Williams made his Cup Series debut, piloting the No. 78 Ford for Live Fast Motorsports. When the checkered flag flew, the Florida native earned a respectable 25th-place finish.
His Cup debut has been the only bright spot thus far in 2022. His primary focus, driving the No. 78 car in the Xfinity Series, is having a rugged start to the year, failing to qualify in three of the eight races.
“It’s just part of motorsports, it’s part of racing,” Williams said. “I’ve had good years before and I’ve had really, really bad years before. We’re making gains to make it better and get back to where we need to be. It might take a little longer than we expected, but we’ll be back up where we need to be.”
After finishing 31st and 21st in the opening two races of the season, respectively, Williams missed his first race at Las Vegas. During the 20-minute practice session, the No. 78 car blew an engine and was unable to make a qualifying lap.
In the first road course of the season at Circuit of The Americas, Williams’ team missed the setup, thus resulting in him watching from the sidelines. And most recently at Martinsville, it was another instance of not being able to fix an issue from practice, when the No. 78 car had a broken seal in the right front brake caliper. Though still turning a qualifying lap — essentially with just left front brakes — Williams missed the show.
Team owner BJ McLeod was worried something like what’s happened to the No. 78 team could happen this year, especially if a team that is high in the owners standings has a problem and can just take a provisional position.
“I knew that it would be a problem with having some failures in practice and you can’t get it fixed,” McLeod said. “It’s hurt us more than others because we’re down in the points. Of the three races we got sent home, two of them are because of problems we couldn’t fix before qualifying. I’m fine with that.
“We need to do a good job of cleaning that up, get ourselves further up in points, that way if we do have a common problem that happens when you go practice then we aren’t shoved out of the race because somebody else has already taken a provisional.”
In signing Williams, McLeod knew he was getting a racer’s racer, someone he believes can run inside the top 10 weekly given the right opportunity. The entire No. 78 team was overhauled during the offseason, too, when the duo made a collaborative effort of who they wanted to work on the car. McLeod also purchased a multitude of updated chassis, hoping to step up his Xfinity efforts.
Getting everything to mesh has been a challenge.
“(This) isn’t the BJMM that you saw in 2021 or 2020,” McLeod said. “We were trying to put together a whole new program and it hasn’t worked out as quickly as we wanted it to. But we’re working hard to get that turned around and get it to where we can get in the direction we want it to go.”
RELATED: See who qualifies for Xfinity Dash 4 Cash at Talladega
Williams just boils the tough luck at the start of the season down to growing pains that most teams have.
“It’s one of those things where everybody is getting used to everybody,” he said. “I’m trying to learn what everyone wants and how to react to different people. I’m excited to get it back to where it needs to be and show everybody that the (No.) 78 car is going to be a threat every week.”
Despite the troubling start, McLeod does see light at the end of the tunnel. On paper, he said, the entire organization has seen an uptick in speed. Richmond, in particular, sticks out because Williams was second in the practice session while Stefan Parsons was right behind in third.
In addition, Parsons led his first laps in the Xfinity Series at Martinsville, as Matt Mills was running inside the top 10 before getting turned by Riley Herbst.
“We definitely have more speed than we’ve had, but we’ve had small mistakes with Josh that have cost us big,” McLeod added. “We’ve got to clean them up and do a better job in the future.”
Both the driver and owner believe the team can salvage the 2022 season. Besides, there’s still three-quarters of the year remaining, with a bunch of tracks Williams has performed well at in the past coming up.
“I’ve raced my entire life, it’s the only thing I’ve ever done,” Williams stated. “You can’t get down on yourself, can’t get down on your guys, your team. You’ve got to keep a positive attitude to try to be better. If everyone is getting upset at the shop, it’s not going to benefit your program.
“We try to keep a positive attitude and make the best of the situation and build off of it.”
Surely, McLeod, who has seen many peaks and valleys of BJMM’s seven years in the series, isn’t going to give up.
“There’s no doubt I’m not happy with what we’ve done on our side,” he said. “I’m not at peace with it, but I can also say that my guys have done a good job, too. It’s not any one person’s problem or any one thing that’s hurt us, it’s a combination of things that we have to get better and we’re all working towards that.”
The first goal is to qualify Williams into Talladega on Saturday, as the team enters the weekend 35th in the owners standings after swapping points with the No. 99 car earlier this week, which will now be a part-time entry. In the series’ first superspeedway race at Daytona, the No. 78 Chevrolet qualified solidly into the show in 24th.
Then, the racer in Williams can come out.
“The biggest thing for us is to go to Talladega and finish the race,” he said. “Try to have a good points day and then we can go to places like Dover and Darlington and race. I’ve had pretty good success there with decent finishes, so I think we’ll be good once we get back into the swing of things and get our momentum back.”
Editor’s note: Bozi Tatarevic is a professional racing mechanic and pit crew member. He will provide technical analysis for NASCAR.com throughout the 2022 season.
Overcast conditions and sprinkles during the day resulted in a damp surface to start Sunday’s Bristol Dirt Race, but we ultimately saw what the Next Gen car could do for 250 laps on dirt.
Yes, early conditions led to some mud being flung on the cars, but they eventually settled in and became very racey. The independent rear suspension and wider tires appeared to make these cars much more compatible in the dirt, and seeing them slide into the corners was reminiscent of seeing rally cars pushed to their limits on dirt.
RELATED: Photos from Bristol Dirt Race
While the cars got off to a great start from a handling standpoint, the soft top layer of the dirt surface meant that the grilles were getting slung with mud in those early laps, eventually resulting in a caution for teams to clear grilles and windshields. This initial cleaning was enough to clear off the bulk of the dirt that had ended up stuck to the fronts of many cars, and another similar caution period for cleaning was not required. While this was probably a good idea to allow as many cars as possible to continue to race, it would have been interesting to see the dirt and debris element as part of the strategy since some teams had spent time engineering solutions that allowed them to get cool air to their radiators and engine even with dirt hitting the front of their cars.
Once the surface settled in, close competition came out and a variety of tire strategies were employed, with some drivers deciding to stay out during stage breaks to gain track position. This was partly due to the new tire design working so well with the dirt surface, and it did not degrade over long periods of time. The wider surface of the tires along with the modifications to the tread blocks for cooling did its job to allow teams not to have to worry if they would overheat or damage the right rear tire by making a setup where a driver could get the most out of the car.
Elements of the Next Gen car such as the rack-and-pinion steering and the independent rear suspension combined with removing some of the aerodynamic elements such as the rear diffuser meant that this was very much a race of car control and driver skill, combined with crew chiefs maximizing on adjustments to the tires and dampers. This race allowed a bit more freedom with things like minimum shock lengths so teams could have a little more room to play, but ultimately it came down to who was behind the wheel.
Racing with a new car on a new surface can often lead to chaos, and there was no shortage of that as cars got up close to each other all the way until the last lap. Many made it through with some bumps and scrapes, but we also saw damage similar to what we had seen in the heat races a day earlier where cars that had impacts to their wheels would sustain damage to suspension components like control arms and toe links. While the toe links have been beefed up, the series appears to be taking a careful approach to increasing the size of suspension components as there is a balance of trying to protect the rest of the car by letting a control arm or toe link bend instead of damaging the chassis.
Outside of the expected suspension impacts, the Next Gen car was fairly durable for racing in an environment that many thought would be impossible for such a car. The composite body panels held up to various impacts and the changes made to the underbody allowed the cars to have enough ground clearance to not run into issues. The only other issue that seemed to pop up was ingestion of dirt by the engines in some of the cars, which seemingly resulted in the retirements of the No. 1 and the No. 11 cars. The Next Gen car has moved the air intake from the cowl of the car to the nose, so air being pulled in by the engine comes from the same central grille as the air that goes to the radiator and oil cooler. Any debris that enters there has the potential to go toward the engine.
MORE: Kyle Busch cashed in at Bristol
Teams installed screens on the grille and as usual, have a large rectangular air filter. But fine dust can still make it through all of that because you can only make these air filters so fine and not choke the engine. Some teams planned for these situations, with a few replacing the entire intake inlet assembly during stage breaks with one that had been cleaned in order to reduce the build-up of dirt and dust. Luckily, most cars in the field were not affected by these issues and if similar races are run in the future, it might be worthwhile to consider moving the intake to the top of the hood so that it points backward like we might see on dirt late models so that the air filter is not getting blasted with dust and dirt directly.
Overall, the Next Gen car on dirt seems to be a success with the way it drives and how competitive much of the field was. The changes to the track surface and the car modifications showed huge leaps in how well the cars raced and it is likely we will see similar changes to approve the product if another dirt race is put on based on all the data collected here.
WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. — Daniel Suárez and his No. 99 Trackhouse Racing crew chief, Travis Mack, traveled to U.S. Coast Guard Station Wrightsville Beach on Tuesday in North Carolina, as part of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s annual Mission 600 program.
Suárez, a native of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, and part of Coca-Cola Racing’s family of drivers, made his first in-person visit with the U.S. Coast Guard after a virtual interaction in 2021.
RELATED: Photos from the visit | Denny Hamlin kicks off 2022 Mission 600
“Recognition is huge,” Suárez told NASCAR.com. “To learn more about what they do and how they do it. Some of these people spend their entire lives training and working and moving different places to help others to keep people safe. And we shouldn’t be taking that for granted. I feel happy and I’m proud to be here with Coca-Cola and NASCAR to be able to understand more and learn more of how they do things.”
This visit was an exciting and wholesome one, creating an opportunity for U.S. Coast Guard personnel to learn about NASCAR and vice versa.
The Trackhouse pairing received hands-on training, including simulating a beached boat rescue mission and operating pumping units designed to counter flooding on vessels at sea. Likewise, it was a chance for at-station personnel to learn the ins and outs of day-to-day workload for drivers, crew chiefs and their race teams.
Normally leading the charge on Sundays, Mack took the opportunity to learn new things he could apply to his race team — including taking a back seat while Suárez piloted the 45-foot vessel.
“Working in a team atmosphere, learning how the military branch of authority works and how they do things as a team is really important to take some of that aspect back to our team,” Mack told NASCAR.com. “How can we apply the things that they do in the military to our racing team and make us better. These guys dedicating themselves to the Coast Guard is really impressive. It’s amazing the job that they do.”
Each year leading up to the Coca-Cola 600, drivers throughout the Coca-Cola Racing Family participate in various virtual and in-person interactions with armed forces leading up to Memorial Day weekend and the Charlotte race.
TICKETS: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
And Suárez’s in-person experience was a memorable one.
“In general, a lot of respect for them,” Suárez said. “The respect hasn’t changed, I already had that respect before today. But to learn more about what they do has been something cool. They spend their entire lives trying to keep people safe and save people’s lives, so big respect for these guys.”
The 63rd running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is Sunday, May 29 (6 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The sound of a Next Gen car is sweet music to the ears of race fans, and that’s one reason why Corey LaJoie’s throwback tribute to Marty Robbins is a lead-pipe lock to turn some heads at the Goodyear 400 on May 8 at Darlington Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).
“The whole Marty Robbins story fascinates me because it’s a great crossover between country music and NASCAR,” LaJoie said. “And I don’t think his story gets told enough, so it’s cool to bring that story some light.”
RELATED: Buy tickets to Darlington
Robbins was a country-music star whose accolades in music included 16 No. 1 hits and 11 albums, all of which went either gold or platinum, and he also was a NASCAR driver, taking part in 35 Cup Series starts, including two top-10 finishes at Darlington. So one might say it’s a perfect match for the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet to be sporting such livery at the annual throwback race.
LaJoie revealed the purple-and-yellow scheme that should be familiar to NASCAR history buffs on his Stacking Pennies podcast Wednesday on NASCAR.com. For LaJoie, who often delves into the history of the sport with cohort Skip Flores on the podcast, the scheme is exciting to bring to fans along with the Fraternal Order of Eagles sponsorship.
Robbins, a Glendale, Arizona, native and later Nashville, Tennessee, resident who passed away in 1982 because of heart failure, was a beloved figure for NASCAR fans and for those who participated in the sport, so it’s with honor that the below paint scheme is presented:
Check out the qualifying order for Saturday’s on-track action at Talladega Superspeedway (11 a.m. ET on FS1) before Sunday’s GEICO 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
RELATED: Talladega weekend schedule
On superspeedways this season, teams will compete in single-car qualifying with one lap, and the top 10 cars in the opening round of qualifying will advance to the final round to compete for the Busch Light Pole Award.
RELATED: Learn more about the practice and qualifying procedures for 2022
If you’re looking for a historic NASCAR track, look no further than Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The popular quarter-mile bullring is NASCAR’s longest running weekly racing track. Hosting racing on most Saturday evenings from late April through mid-August, the grandstands are typically packed with patrons who are there to watch the ground pounding modifieds battle for supremacy and the occasional fisticuffs that result from the intense on-track action.
The track first opened for racing in 1949 under the tutelage of Bill France Sr. and Alvin Hawkins, with NASCAR Hall of Famer Tim Flock claiming the first track championship later that year.
RELATED: Watch Weekly Series action all season on FloRacing
In the years since, a number of legendary names have captured track titles at the facility, including Glen Wood, brothers Bobby and Billy Myers, Pee Wee Jones, Ralph Brinkley, Philip Smith, Junior Miller, Burt Myers and Tim Brown.
Brown is the most recent track champion, capturing his 11th crown in 2021 to give him more track championships than any other driver.
Below is everything you need to know about Bowman Gray Stadium.
| Track | Bowman Gray Stadium |
| Location | Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Opened | 1949 |
| Layout | Oval |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | Quarter-mile |
| Banking | No banking |
Bowman Gray Stadium didn’t start off life as a race track.
On the contrary, it actually started life as a football field, a role the facility continues to fulfill to this very day.
The stadium was built in 1937 as a public works project to provide jobs during the Great Depression. It is owned by the City of Winston-Salem. A portion of the money to build the stadium was donated by Nathalie Gray in memory of her husband, Bowman. Mr. Gray, a philanthropist and president and chairman of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, passed away in 1935. His wife Nathalie donated $30,000 toward the stadium’s original $100,000 construction cost.
In the beginning, the stadium’s sole use was for collegiate football. Later, trotter horse racing was added on the .250-mile dirt oval surrounding the football field.
Automobile racing came to the stadium in 1947, but initially France and Hawkins weren’t involved.
“The story goes that a guy promoting the Midget races on the dirt track in 1947 asked the city to pave the track,” current manager and promoter Gray Garrison told NASCAR.com in 2011. “He said he’d pay for the paving from what he made in 1948. Apparently, he left town without paying the bill.”
That’s when France and Hawkins stepped in, with the pair reaching a deal with the city to promote the track. In doing so, they pledged to earn enough money to pay back the city for the paving of the track.
FOLLOW BOWMAN GRAY: Facebook | Twitter
They followed through with their promise, paying back the city the money it was owed and in doing so created a piece of NASCAR history that continues to operate today.
The track hosted 29 NASCAR Cup Series races from 1958-71, with 1960 NASCAR Cup Series champion Rex White scoring the most wins during that time with six triumphs. That included four straight victories in 1961 and ’62. Junior Johnson, Richard Petty and Glen Wood are tied for second with four each.
The series now known as the ARCA Menards Series East visited Bowman Gray five times from 2011-15, with current NASCAR stars Matt DiBenedetto, Corey LaJoie and Ben Rhodes among the winners. Ben Kennedy, the great-grandson of France and current senior vice president, racing development and strategy for NASCAR, also earned an East Series win at the track in 2013.
From 2005-16, the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour was a staple at Bowman Gray, with 10-time track champion Burt Myers earning three Tour victories at his home track to lead all series competitors. He scored wins in the first Southern Modified Tour race at the track in 2005 and the final race in 2016.
| Year-Race No. | Date | Winner |
| 1958-19 | 5/24/58 | Bob Welborn |
| 1958-39 | 8/22/58 | Lee Petty |
| 1959-08 | 3/30/59 | Jim Reed |
| 1959-24 | 6/27/59 | Rex White |
| 1959-33 | 8/21/59 | Rex White |
| 1960-13 | 4/18/60 | Glen Wood |
| 1960-22 | 6/25/60 | Glen Wood |
| 1960-34 | 8/23/60 | Glen Wood |
| 1961-12 | 4/3/61 | Rex White |
| 1961-28 | 6/10/61 | Rex White |
| 1961-38 | 8/9/61 | Rex White |
| 1962-16 | 4/23/62 | Rex White |
| 1962-25 | 6/16/62 | Johnny Allen |
| 1962-42 | 8/18/62 | Richard Petty |
| 1963-18 | 4/15/63 | Jim Paschal |
| 1963-33 | 7/13/63 | Glen Wood |
| 1963-43 | 8/16/63 | Junior Johnson |
| 1964-12 | 3/30/64 | Marvin Panch |
| 1964-49 | 8/22/64 | Junior Johnson |
| 1965-17 | 5/15/65 | Junior Johnson |
| 1965-44 | 8/28/65 | Junior Johnson |
| 1966-12 | 4/11/66 | David Pearson |
| 1966-41 | 8/27/66 | David Pearson |
| 1967-09 | 3/27/67 | Bobby Allison |
| 1967-37 | 8/12/67 | Richard Petty |
| 1968-35 | 8/10/68 | David Pearson |
| 1969-39 | 8/22/69 | Richard Petty |
| 1970-36 | 8/28/70 | Richard Petty |
| 1971-34 | 8/6/71 | Bobby Allison |
| Year-Race No. | Date | Winner |
| 2011-05 | 6/4/11 | Matt DiBenedetto |
| 2012-05 | 6/2/12 | Corey LaJoie |
| 2013-05 | 6/1/13 | Ben Kennedy |
| 2014-07 | 5/31/14 | Ben Rhodes |
| 2015-05 | 5/30/15 | Scott Heckert |
| Year-Race No. | Date | Winner |
| 2005-05 | 8/6/05 | Burt Myers |
| 2006-06 | 8/5/06 | Jason Myers |
| 2007-06 | 8/4/07 | Burt Myers |
| 2008-04 | 8/2/08 | Brian Loftin |
| 2009-06 | 8/1/09 | Luke Fleming |
| 2010-05 | 8/7/10 | L.W. Miller |
| 2011-06 | 8/6/11 | L.W. Miller |
| 2012-06 | 8/4/12 | George Brunnhoelzl III |
| 2013-06 | 8/3/13 | Ryan Preece |
| 2014-06 | 8/2/14 | Danny Bohn |
| 2015-06 | 8/1/15 | Danny Bohn |
| 2016-06 | 8/6/16 | Burt Myers |
When discussing the most efficient drivers in the history of Bowman Gray Stadium, John Holleman IV is a name many would initially overlook.
Yet success has followed the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, native everywhere at Bowman Gray, as Holleman has enjoyed several seasons that saw him lead the most laps and tally the most victories.
A championship has been the one thing eluding Holleman on the quarter-mile asphalt oval in his home city, but he believes everything is falling into place to finally reach that milestone as he looks to build upon a three-win debut season in Modifieds division.
“Obviously the championship is the goal, and if we get that, then I won’t care about the other stats,” Holleman told NASCAR.com. “If you’re going to win a title, you need to consistently be at the top of your game week in and week out, because the Modified guys aren’t going to let you do less than that. You have to take the title from them.”
FLORACING: Catch all the on-track action at Bowman Gray Stadium
Holleman had been anticipating the opportunity to race full-time alongside Bowman Gray champions Tim Brown and Burt Myers, but he also knew 2021 would be a difficult year to find a consistent rhythm in Modifieds.
Only a handful of weeks featured on-track action at Bowman Gray last year as the track resumed operations following the canceled 2020 season. This only gave Holleman and his team a limited amount of time to figure out how to keep their car competitive with every passing race.
Holleman was not phased by these circumstances and knew he could seamlessly transition into Modifieds after previous success driving Street Stocks and Sportsman cars at Bowman Gray, which included one year that saw him win eight races in the latter division.
Carrying over that efficiency into the Modifieds for Holleman required an adjustment to the lighter weight and higher horsepower of the cars while also intuitively studying his equipment so he could keep up with Brown, Myers and the rest of his seasoned competitors.
Although he ended up ninth in the final standings, Holleman’s three victories last year were more than any other driver in the division. He also led the most laps on the year and was recognized as the most popular Modified driver.
Holleman said the accomplishments he obtained in 2021 only served to strengthen the already sturdy foundation on which his program was built.
“I expected that out of myself and my team,” Holleman said. “We ran two races at the end of the Modified season in 2019, and although the outcomes weren’t the greatest, those races gave us great confidence going into the next year, even though we didn’t expect to win three races in nine weeks.”
Every part of Holleman’s journey to date has contributed to the copious amount of wins he has accumulated in the Street Stock, Sportsman and Modified divisions.
This includes a brief stint in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (now ARCA Menards Series East) during the mid-2010s, when Holleman tallied four top 10s and even obtained a pole at Stafford Motor Speedway before he and his family left the series in 2017.
RACING REFERENCE: Holleman’s career NASCAR stats
Holleman’s father, John Holleman III, has witnessed his son take all the lessons learned from NASCAR and the support divisions at Bowman Gray to craft a unique driving style around the historic track.
“The most impressive thing (John) did was pass those guys on the outside,” the elder Holleman said. “He was doing that all year long, and that’s very hard to do in a Modified. Only a few even try that.”
Despite Bowman Gray primarily being a one-groove track, the younger Holleman has never been afraid to test the top side, adding that the hard work put in by his crew chief Brian Loftin and the rest of the team to give him fast equipment is why he feels comfortable making those bold moves.
Holleman’s father said that his son’s intrepid-but-calm approach to driving is only going to keep paying dividends for him, and he knows everyone’s determination will pay off with a Bowman Gray championship soon.
“We have finished second multiple times in both Street Stocks and Sportsman,” John III said. “(John) can win a championship, and everyone on the team has worked hard over the offseason. I think we’re all ready to go for it.”
Holleman seconded his father’s belief that he is about to break through for that first championship at Bowman Gray.
The final four weeks of the 2021 season at Bowman Gray saw Holleman qualify inside the front row for every race. After spending the offseason building a new car, Holleman expects to continue that trend starting with the season-opener.
Holleman wants to win the Modified championship for his family, crew and long-time sponsors like Black Sand Company and A Lawn Crue, but he admitted he has not yet fully processed the idea of being in the same category as the legends he idolized like Myers, Brown, Junior Miller, Ralph Brinkley and more.
“It would mean the world to win (a Modified championship),” Holleman said. “I grew up watching all these legends win championships, and it would be so surreal to join them.”
There are many years remaining for Holleman to fully chart out his legacy at Bowman Gray, which he hopes will be regarded as one of the best in the history of the track.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — NASCAR’s only active multi-time champion just got better.
Kyle Busch won Sunday’s Cup Series dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway, giving him 60 career victories at the sport’s top level. The two-time titleholder remains ninth on the all-time wins list but is now 16 away from seven-time champ Dale Earnhardt. The next-closest competitor is Kevin Harvick with 58.
RELATED: All of Kyle Busch’s wins, 1 to 60 | Cup Series standings
“Great,” Busch said. “Elaborate on that, OK?
“To me, it’s a long time, 18 years. The biggest thing to me is just having that opportunity and being thankful for my chances with Joe Gibbs Racing, Joe (Gibbs), Coy (Gibbs), everybody at M&M’s, Interstate Batteries. Having my back over this long a time, keeping me in the seat.”
Busch joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008 after three seasons with Hendrick Motorsports. He started full-time racing at the Cup Series level at the age of 20, scoring his first win at 21 that same year on Sept. 4, 2005 at Auto Club Speedway. The now 36-year-old has won at least one race every season since then.
That’s 18 consecutive seasons with a win, tying Richard Petty for the longest streak in league history. Not counting this year since the schedule is ongoing, there have only been five seasons with only one victory. His personal-best mark has been eight – 2008 and 2018. His championship years – 2015 and 2019 – saw five each.
“A lot of different people to work with, a lot of different cars we’ve gone through, a lot of things that we have done and won races in those years,” Busch said.
The 2022 slate will be Busch’s last with M&M’s as a primary sponsor, it was announced in December 2021. Mars has supported NASCAR since 1998.
Team owner Joe Gibbs was not made available during Busch’s post-race press conference, but co-owner Coy Gibbs was present.
“So, I don’t deal with the sponsorship stuff directly,” Coy said. “I kind of stick on the competition side. But we’ve got a couple people we’re talking to, so we’re excited about that, excited about the leads. I think anytime you win, it helps.”
The victory signified Busch’s ninth at Bristol, his first on the dirt track. He finished 17th in the 2021 inaugural Bristol Dirt Race.
Admittedly, Busch got lucky Sunday. Chase Briscoe wrecked race leader Tyler Reddick on the last lap, trying to steal the front spot. The two went spinning, and Busch, who was running third, cruised on by for the checkered flag.
MORE: Watch frantic final lap | At-track photos: Bristol
Regardless, a win is a win. And the No. 18 Toyota is locked into the NASCAR Playoffs — a relief as the Next Gen car continues to be an equalizer in the garage. There has only been one repeat winner (William Byron) in 2022, so that’s eight of the 16 postseason berths sealed.
“It’s a work in progress, like I’m sure every team is,” crew chief Ben Beshore said. “The learning curve is really steep right now eight or nine races into the season. I’m sure in another eight or nine, we’ll look back on what we did this weekend and (ask), ‘Why did we do that?’ Everyone is learning so fast right now and developing what they think is the best package for each weekend.
“Kyle has been really good, giving us good feedback, really working on our cars, trying to get them better every week.”
Through the nine races so far, Busch now has just two top-five and six top-10 results. He’s averaging a 12.1 finish. His best showing before Sunday was fourth place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway back in March.
Busch is tied for fifth with 273 points – 51 off leader Chase Elliott – and for 11th in stage points with 38 (no wins). In both cases, Alex Bowman matches his tallies.
“With how struggle-some I feel like our year has been this year, did we deserve this?” Busch said. “Yeah, I mean, we ran up front all night, we were in contention. That was great. I’ll take that.
“We got a lot of work to do to win more races and be in contention each and every week. I say all this because yes, the 18 is important, but I feel like I’m in the prime of my career and I would love to be running up front an dominating and winning races and contending for championships. That’s our ultimate goal.”
NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee Matt Kenseth added to his sporting resume Monday, completing the Boston Marathon with a time of 3 hours, 1 minute and 40 seconds.
The 50-year-old former driver Kenseth finished 3,558th overall and was an impressive 141st in his age division. His clocking was also several minutes faster than former NASCAR competitor Jimmie Johnson, who ran the 2019 event in 3 hours, 9 minutes and 7 seconds.
“Yeah, he was way younger,” Kenseth quipped in an interview with WBZ-TV, a CBS affiliate in Boston. Johnson was 43 years old during his first Boston Marathon, which he ran just 36 hours after the Cup Series’ event at Richmond Raceway.
RELATED: Johnson finishes first Boston Marathon
Kenseth said he had run the Chicago Marathon last October. He finished in 3:09:08, saying that hot, humid conditions made the running more difficult. Monday, Kenseth was treated to sunny and cool weather for the 26.2-mile distance.
“I love this area. I love coming up to Boston,” Kenseth told WBZ. “I always loved racing up in New Hampshire. It’s a great place, so the atmosphere was second to none. It was one of the better experiences in my life — obviously, sporting experience for all the races and everything. This was really cool — the crowd, enthusiasm and just a huge event. Fun to be part of it.”
Kenseth is the 2003 Cup Series champion, a two-time Daytona 500 champ and the winner of 39 top-division races in his two-decades-plus career. He was added April 4 to the ballot of names up for election to the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023.
