Posted on April 12, 2022April 12, 2022 by Pat DeCola

Eight points-paying races into 2022, 10th-year Cup Series veteran Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is on pace for a career-worst average finish. His current 28th-place position in the points standings would also be a career low for the two-time series winner and former back-to-back Xfinity Series champion.

And, yet, he’s nowhere near out of this thing.

Talent has never been a question with Stenhouse, now in his third year with long-running JTG Daugherty Racing, and it certainly isn’t now despite the early-season hiccups.

We’ve continued to hear — and seen it played out on the race track — how there will be comers and goers in the Next Gen era, particularly early on as teams get a handle on things. It’s no surprise to see a perennial stalwart like Hendrick Motorsports looking beefy to start the year, but flip the token and we’re seeing its Toyota counterpart Joe Gibbs Racing being consistently outrun by a team like Trackhouse Racing, in just its second season.

Perhaps it just hasn’t been Stenhouse’s turn yet — sure doesn’t mean it isn’t coming.

“I like what you said right there: ‘Everybody has a turn.’ I had a horrible race at Martinsville, but I was racing Denny Hamlin, who won the weekend before,” Stenhouse told NASCAR.com on Monday. “So, it’s just crazy to me when you look at it. It seems like when somebody kind of hits on something, they stay in the top 10, top five pretty consistently. And then like, all of a sudden somebody misses it and they’re really bad. So, we’re scratching our head right now on the short-track program, but I feel really good when we go to Talladega in two weeks. I know we’ll have a good car there; we had a good one at Atlanta and Daytona. Looking forward to getting back to the mile-and-a-halves, because I thought we were a little more competitive there as well. I’m hoping this is kind of our month.”

We’re gonna go ahead and tentatively call this the ~~summer of George~~ spring of Stenhouse, because of his 41 career top-10 finishes, a whopping 19 of them have come at the next three tracks on the schedule. And a lot of positive momentum can be built over a three-week span.

Not to mention, if there are two things Stenhouse loves in this world, it’s Bristol and dirt.

Well, he’s in luck.

MORE: Full Bristol dirt schedule | Updated championship odds

“I always love coming to Bristol,” said Stenhouse, last year’s runner-up in Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway (7 p.m. ET, FOX) “Just being around there, I feel like I’ve always had a shot to win. And even though I’ve never gotten a win, man, we’ve battled for wins. Finished second in the Cup car, the Xfinity car and led laps in both and just had a really fun time every time we go to Bristol. I get excited.

“Obviously, finishing second here last year makes me more pumped up and ready to go. Still a lot of unknowns and don’t really know what the weekend kind of holds for you until you run some practice laps, see how the car’s handling and really go from there. It’s definitely one that I‘ve always looked forward to.”

Stenhouse, a bonafide superstar of the dirt-racing community, propelled his No. 47 Chevrolet to a runner-up finish in last year’s inaugural running of the unique event, which wound up standing as his sole top five and one of just two top-10 finishes he netted in ’21. Given his proclivity for strong results at the next spate of tracks, it’s conceivable that if it is indeed “his turn” as a Next Gen stud, all of those figures could be topped over the coming weeks.

That said, there’s no telling if last year’s race — during the day, in wet conditions and with a different generation of race car — will look anything like this year’s.

That’s all just part of the intrigue.

“I think that’s what is fun about dirt racing. You’re never sure what track conditions are going to be like,” Stenhouse said. “You’re never sure how your car’s going to handle on it. … The Next Gen test looked like they were making some really good laps around Bristol. Steve Swift and the whole crew there does a really good job of getting the race track smooth, and I think that’s going to be really beneficial for the handling of this race car. …

“You’ll see some beating and banging. I think you’ll see some side-by-side action and I think this car is going to be a little bit better for that. Our car last year, you beat and banged, you’d get a tire rub and then you’re in trouble. I think this car could be better in that aspect.

“It’s going to be fun.”

Especially if it sparks his season. Or, with one spot higher in the finishing order than last year, puts him in the playoffs.

Posted on April 12, 2022April 13, 2022 by Adam Fenwick

The FloRacing Late Model Challenge powered by Tezos is a vision for co-promoter Kyle Larson.

The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion always enjoyed watching the Prelude to the Dream at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, an event held from 2005-12 that featured many of NASCAR’s top stars competing in dirt Super Late Models to help raise money for charity. Larson came along too late to compete in the Prelude to the Dream, so he decided to host his own race.

The FloRacing Late Model challenge takes place Thursday, April 14, at Volunteer Speedway, a 0.4-mile dirt track located in Bulls Gap, Tennessee. The event will be shown live on FloRacing.

Below is everything to know about the new race Larson is co-promoting.

FloRacing Late Model Challenge powered by Tezos

Date: Thursday, April 14
Location: Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tennessee
Start time: 6:30 p.m. ET
How to watch: FloRacing

The FloRacing Late Model Challenge powered by Tezos takes place three days before the Food City Dirt Race at nearby Bristol Motor Speedway, presenting Cup Series competitors with an opportunity to get in some extra laps on dirt in advance of the race weekend at Bristol.

One Cup Series star in addition to Larson has already confirmed plans to participate. Larson will be joined in the field by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, who will make his debut in a dirt Super Late Model a few days removed from his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season last Saturday night at Martinsville Speedway.

Additional stars from the Super Late Model world are also expected to participate.

The race will pay $20,000 to the winner with a total purse of $62,000 for Super Late Model competitors. The Super Late Model program will include hot laps (practice), qualifying, heat races, a consolation race and the 50-lap finale.

Kyle Larson driving a Super Late Model at The Dirt Track at Charlotte with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series in 2020. (Adam Fenwick)

“Hopefully this is a step in the direction of what I want it to be in the future,” Larson recently told FloRacing, the streaming partner for the event. “That’s kind of to bring back an event similar to the Prelude to the Dream. It’s been so long now since that event has happened, and there’s a whole new crop of NASCAR drivers. I would love to build this event into something like the Prelude down the road.

“I think it leading up into a NASCAR weekend on dirt is a good reason for Cup guys to want to go run. I don’t know what the future holds, but I hope this is the beginning to start that.”

The Sportsman division will also be in action Thursday, with a $1,000-to-win feature taking place prior to the Super Late Model main event.

Tickets for grandstand and pit admission are available for purchase on race day at the track. Fans unable to attend in person will be able to watch the program live on FloRacing beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Retired NASCAR competitor and current FOX Sports NASCAR analyst Clint Bowyer will be part of the broadcast team for the event.

Posted on April 11, 2022April 12, 2022 by Zack Albert

There was a time when the teenaged Joe Gibbs Racing prodigy with a knack for aggressive driving as he climbed the NASCAR ladder was a precocious young ace from Connecticut named Joey Logano.

Nearly 15 years later, the driver who fits that description is 19-year-old Ty Gibbs, already an ARCA Menards Series champion and a seven-time winner in just 26 Xfinity Series races. How he’s accomplished it, though? Logano — now 31 and established with Team Penske — says he can relate, having been a feather-ruffler at that age.

Gibbs found himself at the center of attention after Friday night’s Xfinity Series event at Martinsville Speedway, where he squared off with rival Sam Mayer in a post-race altercation that became physical on pit road. Both drivers were summoned to the officials’ hauler after the run-in, and both said they would try to move on as best they could

“I have a lot more grace for seeing that stuff after going through it myself,” Logano said Monday. “Do I agree with the way it went down? No, I don’t. Have I done that type of thing before? Yeah, I have. Am I proud of it? No, not at all, but I learned from it at least. And it’s part of growing up on TV. You’re growing up in the limelight, right? It’s a very popular driver. He’s very good, he wins, he’s in a great car, and he’s pretty dang aggressive. And I can relate to all that.

“I learned a lot. I learned a lot. The unfortunate part is people don’t forget, and the other part is that everybody on this call was 18, 19, 20 years old at one time and you guys all did something stupid at some point. You did, right? You’re a kid, you did something dumb. But nobody knows it, right? It’s forgotten about. It moves on. There’s this thing called YouTube now where my kid can see this stuff, right? It’s like, ‘Oh, no!’ So I guess taking a deep breath and understanding the big picture and handling things correctly is probably the way to go. But we’ve all done dumb things. Just as a driver, it’s just gonna be out there in the open. There’s two younger guys ambitious to win, and I wouldn’t say what happened on the race track was wrong, but I’d say what happened after was probably not the right direction.”

Gibbs lost a race that he had dominated at Martinsville, leading 197 of the 261 laps. But his No. 54 Toyota had been shuffled back in the final overtime attempt; teammate Brandon Jones won the race, and the chance at a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus also evaporated, going to a surprised AJ Allmendinger.

The confrontation marked the third controversial incident for Gibbs in the last six Xfinity Series races. At Las Vegas on March 5, Gibbs spun out Ryan Sieg early in the race, and a pit-road conversation and a retaliatory bump followed. April 2 at Richmond, Gibbs bumped and brushed by teammate John Hunter Nemechek on his way to victory. That incident came one week before Friday’s fracas at Martinsville.

“I don’t know if he had to go straight to fists right off the bat, but for what it was, if you’re gonna race a certain way, you gotta expect to be raced that way back,” Logano said. “That’s the driver code and nobody can understand, that’s it. If you’re willing to push, you gotta be willing to take some pushes, and that’s kind of what it comes down to. So, to me … gosh, you’re asking my opinion. I don’t have a horse in this race, I shouldn’t even be commenting on this, but if you’re willing to push for a win, and someone’s willing to push for 100 grand behind you, it’s one for the other at that point. That’s my opinion. Each one’s entitled to their own.”

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Adam Fenwick

MERIDIAN, Idaho — The opening night of the season Saturday at Meridian Speedway featured a pair of winners in the headlining Bud Light Modified division, as Neal Latham and Josh Jackson each earned a trip to Victory Lane.

The twin 25-lap features headlined a five-division, six-race card at the quarter-mile asphalt oval during the ATS Inland Season Opener.

The first of the two 25-lap features was captured by Latham, who started fifth. It initially appeared polesitter Tommy Harrod would be the man to beat after leading the first 11 laps uncontested, but he spun by himself on the 12th circuit and fell to last place.

That gave the lead to Latham, who had worked his way up to second two laps before Harrod’s bad luck. Latham led the remainder of the distance to earn his first victory of the year ahead of teammate Joe Daily and Jackson.

“I’ve got to thank all the guys in the pits,” Latham said in Victory Lane. “We have been fighting this car all day. I think we’ve finally got a piece. A little bit tight, but we’ll get that fixed up. I think we’ll be even better in the second main.”

The Bud Light Modified division returned to the track to close out the night at Meridian, with Mike Davis and Rus Ward leading the field to the green flag. Ward took the lead from the outside on the opening lap while Jackson started his pursuit from the ninth position.

Two quick cautions in nine laps allowed Jackson to close the gap on the lead pack. At the halfway, mark Jackson was sixth and closing on the battle for the lead at a rapid pace. With eight laps left, leaders Brendon Fries and Darrell Dolling made contact on the frontstretch, which took both men out of contention.

During the subsequent restart, Jackson emerged with the race lead and drove away from Colton Nelson to close out the night in Victory Lane. Latham finished third in the second feature after starting 11th.

“I ran this car two years ago in the last race of the season,” Jackson explained in Victory Lane. “We ran on six cylinders and we won one and finished second or third in the second main. It sat in a barn since then. We pulled it out three days ago because it looked like the motor was going to be done.

“We just dusted her off and put the new motor in and thought we’d come out and have some fun.”

Also in action Saturday night was the Pepsi Sprintcar division, which was won by a driver with a familiar name. Ryan Newman, a driver from Caldwell, Idaho, who happens to share the name with the 2008 Daytona 500 winner, advanced six positions to win that feature.

Skip Taylor collected a victory in the Touchdown Automotive Street Stock class, while Jordan Harris took home the checkered flag in the Project Filter Pro 4s. Despite getting bit by the bad luck bug in the first Bud Light Modified feature, Tommy Harrod left Meridian as a winner in the Big Daddy’s BBQ Hornet class.

Meridian Speedway will be in action throughout the rest of the year on various Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings with a variety of classes on the schedule. The annual running of the Idaho 208, the biggest event each season at the track, is slated for Aug. 20.

Catch live racing from Meridian Speedway throughout the season only on FloRacing.

Posted on April 11, 2022April 11, 2022 by Adam Fenwick

HAMPTON, Va. — Two-time and defending Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway Taylor Waste Services Late Model champion Brenden Queen kicked off his title defense with a victory during the track’s Pepsi Opening Night on Saturday evening.

Queen started from the pole for the 100-lap Late Model race that headlined the action, but he gave up the lead on Lap 3 when Mark Wertz worked his way past him in Turn 1.

From there, Queen quickly fell through the field, falling as far back as 13th as Wertz led the way. Wertz got within a few car lengths of Queen to lap him, but Queen found a little extra pace and was able to stay ahead of Wertz until the caution flag waved on Lap 66 for a spin in Turn 1 by Chris Horton Jr.

FloRacing: Highlights from the Late Model division at Langley

The driver nicknamed “Butterbean” restarted 10th when the race resumed, and he quickly went to work regaining his lost track position while Greg Edwards moved around Mark Wertz to take the lead.

Another caution for a spin by Thomas Marks brought the caution back out, giving Queen another opportunity to gain positions during a restart after moving up to seventh during the previous restart.

Within a matter of laps, Queen made his way up to third, bypassing early leader Wertz in the process. Another caution, this time on Lap 74 for a spin by Dwayne Shreeves, gave Queen yet another opportunity to close the gap on race leader Edwards.

Queen moved around runner-up Nick Smith a few laps after the restart and shifted his attention to running down Edwards in the final 20 laps.

With fewer than 10 laps left, Queen made his move, pulling to the inside of Edwards going into Turn 1 to take the race lead with seven laps left. He led the rest of the way, eventually getting to the checkered flag first by 0.566 seconds ahead of Edwards to win the opening race of the year at Langley for the second straight season.

“I just stuck to the game plan,” Queen said after emerging from his race car in Victory Lane. “It’s so hard to let people go, but I knew it was going to pay off. I just stuck to the plan man, saved, saved, saved and when I was in jeopardy of going a lap down I picked it back up.

“I knew we were just as fast as those guys, just needed some luck. Got some cautions at the right times and had good restarts, good lane choices.”

Getting pretty good at winning Opening Night 🤘🏼

Can’t thank my team enough for bringing a fast car tonight. Not a bad way to kick off the 2022 season @LangleySpeedway. #03peat pic.twitter.com/IQJQQgP8Ki

— Brenden Queen (@03Butterbean) April 10, 2022

Smith came home third, nearly five seconds behind Queen. Casey Wyatt was fourth and early leader Wertz faded to fifth at the finish.

Five other divisions were in action Saturday night at Langley, including the Old Skool Video Games Super Streets. Landon Abbott emerged as the race winner in that 40-lap event ahead of Gordon Weeks.

Hunter Waltrip triumphed in the Harris Truck Shop Super Trucks, Charlie Bryant won the 30-lap Parts Barn Enduro division race and Jacob Harberts picked up a victory in the Champ Kart class.

NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series competition takes place on most Saturday nights at Langley through early October. Major events on the Langley Speedway schedule include the Hampton Heat 150 on July 23, a visit by the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour on Aug. 27 and the Shawn Balluzzo Memorial 100 on Oct. 1.

Watch NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series action from Langley Speedway throughout the season exclusively on FloRacing.

Posted on April 11, 2022April 11, 2022 by Adam Fenwick

ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Dylan Zampa couldn’t have started his season at All American Speedway any better.

After winning a touring series Pro Late Model feature to kick off his season at the track on March 5, Zampa backed it up by sweeping the twin NASCAR Berco Redwood Late Model features on Saturday night during the Spring Smash.

The 18-year-old made quick work of the field in both 35-lap features. In the first race, Zampa moved to the inside of early leader Michael Mitchell on Lap 16 and completed the pass for the lead two laps later. He led the remainder of the distance with Mitchell and John Moore completing the podium.

An eight-car invert for the second 35-lap feature meant Zampa had some work to do, but he was up to the challenge.

After a quick caution on the second lap, Zampa sliced his way through the field up to second before making the pass for the lead on the eighth circuit. Multiple cautions in the following laps provided his rivals a chance to challenge Zampa, but he remained at the front of the field to complete the sweep.

“Car was really good all weekend long,” Zampa said in Victory Lane.

Michael Mitchell was once again second, with Moore following in third for the second-straight race.

Winner winner in both twin35’s at @AllAmericanSpdy.Car was great right out of the trailer on Friday and just can’t thank the ZampaMotorsports crew enough.Broke the track record this race and just can’t thank all my sponsors enough for making this all possible.#KDDP | #Racing4Alan pic.twitter.com/1owj5Fqc4H

— Dylan Zampa (@zampa_dylan) April 10, 2022

Rick Andersen ended a multi-year drought in the Jaws Gear & Axle Modified division with a victory in Saturday’s 30-lap feature. He avoided an incident involving race leaders Tyler Wentworth and Brandon White that sent both competitors to the tail, allowing Andersen to take the lead and ultimately the victory.

Josh Whitfield picked up a victory in the Riebes Auto Parts Super Stocks while Matthew Fuhs was a winner in the F4 division. Lucas Burton was the winner of the Mini Cup feature, and 13-year-old Trey Daniels won the 30-lap Jr. Late Model feature.

Finally, Dillon Peterson emerged as the winner of the Riebes Auto Parts Trailer Bash. He secured $1,000 for his efforts.

All American Speedway will be in action at least once a month through October, with the ARCA Menards Series West scheduled to visit the 0.333-mile oval on Oct. 1 for the NAPA AutoCare 150.

NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series action from All American Speedway will be streamed live all season long by FloRacing.

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Track Release

DARLINGTON, S.C. (April 11, 2022) – Darlington Raceway and Goodyear, the “Official Tire of NASCAR,” announce a renewal of its entitlement sponsorship of the Goodyear 400, NASCAR’s Official Throwback Weekend Cup Series race for 2022. The Goodyear 400 will celebrate the history of stock car racing and signify another milestone chapter in Goodyear’s 68-year affiliation with NASCAR.

“Our entitlement sponsorship of the Goodyear 400 represents a continuation of our six-decade commitment to NASCAR through tire innovation and allows us to celebrate the sport’s storied history and talented drivers of today,” said Karen Maroli, Goodyear’s vice president of marketing. “NASCAR’s Official Throwback Weekend is always a highly-anticipated stop on the circuit, and alongside Darlington Raceway, we look forward to providing race fans with an unforgettable experience.”

MORE: Full 2022 schedule | 2021 Throwback Weekend photos

Amid a race weekend known for drivers’ nostalgic paint schemes honoring former drivers and memorable stock cars, Goodyear will sport a vintage sidewall design on its Eagle race tires, last used during the 1980-1992 Cup Series race seasons. The throwback tires mimic the spray-painted logo designs of the past, paying tribute to the first time Goodyear featured “Eagle” on its race tires’ sidewalls in NASCAR. The tire design will be used at all three national series races during the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR.

“From the paint schemes to the historic track and throwback tire design, few races capture NASCAR’s tradition like the Goodyear 400,” said Kerry Tharp, president of Darlington Raceway. “As NASCAR’s longest-running continuous partner, Goodyear is uniquely woven into the fabric of the sport and is an ideal partner for the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR at Darlington Raceway.”

Goodyear has a rich history at Darlington Raceway as it conducted its first official NASCAR tire tests at the track in 1954 and earned its first NASCAR victory in the 1959 Southern 500 with driver Jim Reed.

To bring spectators closer to the action, Goodyear is introducing the “Bring Home the Win Sweepstakes,” giving one lucky fan the chance to win one of the throwback Goodyear Eagle race tires from the winning driver’s stock car. Now through May 9, fans who visit Goodyear400Sweepstakes.com and complete the online entry form will automatically be entered for a chance to win one of the limited-edition tires, used exclusively by the winner of the Goodyear 400*.

The Goodyear 400 is a continuation of Goodyear’s longstanding relationship with the sport of racing. As the “Exclusive Tire Supplier” for NASCAR’s top three series, Goodyear is the longest-running continuous partner in NASCAR history. From the introduction of the racing slick in 1972 to the radial tire in 1989 and multi-zone tread design in 2013, Goodyear and NASCAR have consistently innovated to deliver compelling racing.

Tune in to watch the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio where Goodyear will provide aerial coverage of the race.

2022 NASCAR Season

Darlington Raceway will host the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR on May 6-8, featuring all three national series with the Dead On Tools 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET, Mahindra ROXOR 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, May 7 at 1:30 p.m. ET and Goodyear 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET

The Tradition Continues at Darlington Raceway with the Labor Day Race Weekend on Sept. 3-4, featuring the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 Xfinity Series race on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 3:00 p.m. ET and start of the Cup Series Playoffs in the 73^rd running of the crown jewel Cook Out Southern 500 over Labor Day weekend on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 6:00 p.m. ET

NASCAR tickets are available for purchase via phone at 866-459-7223 or online at darlingtonraceway.com.

Stay connected to Darlington Raceway on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the all-new NASCAR Tracks App.

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Zack Albert

Ask Dana Byron if her family has a special connection to Martinsville Speedway, and she smiles while offering a gentle clarification.

“Actually, we have several,” she says, having just watched her son, 24-year-old William Byron, add another layer to the list with a convincing triumph on a chilly Saturday night. The confetti had stopped swirling in Martinsville’s Victory Lane, her son’s No. 24 Chevrolet had since been pushed away to the post-race inspection line, but the family remained close to the grandfather clock trophy that quietly ticked and marked the moments they were all savoring.

What a passage of time it had been.

Dana Byron recalled a long-ago connection, when her husband, Bill, took their son to his first Cup Series race at Martinsville when he was barely in grade school. The family lived in Charlotte, not terribly far from the speedway there, but opted to drive north for that first fan experience, allowing the youngster to pull for Jimmie Johnson – his favorite – in person.

The more recent bond to Martinsville came with a significant degree of trauma. It was a year ago at the same track where the elder Byrons were watching from the skybox suites as William raced. During the event, Dana said she felt ill and speculated that the symptoms indicated she was having a stroke. She was whisked to a local hospital in Martinsville, and the diagnosis came later: MALT lymphoma, a rare but ultimately treatable tumor on the side of her brain.

While his relatives scrambled, the younger Byron drove on to respectable fourth-place finish after starting third. When he returned to his motorcoach, he found a text with uncharacteristic urgency from his father: “Call me.”

“It all seemed OK, but they were like, yeah, there’s this mass in her brain, we’re not sure what it is,” William Byron said. “My heart just stopped. I was just like, man, I couldn’t deal with the emotion of that. It was hard to process. I’d say the next few days after that I didn’t think about racing at all. It was all about what was going on.”

A major surgery followed, but so did complications, a handful of follow-up operations to address them, plus daily radiation treatment – all in the span of what William called “a crazy 90 to 100 days.” All the while, the younger Byron still had a job to do, and he performed it with aplomb. He revealed his mother’s diagnosis on social media May 4, five days before Mother’s Day. On the track, he followed the family hardship at Martinsville by eight top-10 finishes in a 10-race stretch.

“William has got a tight-knit family with his sister and his mom and his dad. Yeah, of course it affects him,” said Rudy Fugle, Byron’s longtime crew chief. “He’s a professional, and he doesn’t really wear a bunch of his emotions on his sleeve, but you know it affects you. We’ve all gone through different things in our lives, and as much as we want to block it out, it affects us and what we do.

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

“He did an awesome job of trying to … getting through all that and still being successful and racing, but it’s amazing. Just so happy that a year anniversary for that to get a win. It’s pretty awesome.”

The younger Byron wasn’t the only winner from the weekend. Dana Byron said her recent scans were negative and that doctors were optimistic about her long-term prognosis. “So this is a year, a year and I’m cancer-free,” she said, “so it has a lot of special meanings.”

The Byrons added more connections as the weekend progressed. William opened the Martinsville tripleheader with a Camping World Truck Series victory Thursday evening. His parents revisited the Martinsville hospital earlier on the race-day Saturday, bringing treats and No. 24 gear as a show of thanks to their first-response caregivers.

The Byrons will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary Monday, and their choice for a getaway destination was a frightfully cold night race at Martinsville. William delivered again later Saturday to make that trip even more worthwhile, converting after a dominant second-half drive to become the Cup Series’ first two-time winner this year.

“It was awesome. We’re so proud of him,” Dana Byron said. “He’s just been racing so much and winning, and this is, I think, his breakout year. He’s just in the zone. I can tell he’s so focused right now.”

MORE: Extended highlights from Martinsville

After Victory Lane ceremonies, the proud parents arrived to the Martinsville media center before their son did, not long after the clock ticked over from Saturday to Sunday. Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports’ vice chairman and a nine-time Martinsville winner, acknowledged both their presence in the back rows and their fight through adversity as his portion of the post-race press conference drew to a close. The night’s last round of applause went to Dana Byron.

The historic track kicked off its 75th anniversary celebration this year by handing out three grandfather clock trophies for each NASCAR national-series race winner of the weekend. Byron wound up with two of the three.

The near-obligatory question arose, asking Byron where he’d find room for the pair of seven-foot-tall timepieces. At this, Bill Byron perked up, then shook a pair of triumphant fist-pumps as his son indicated that he’d planned to keep one and send the other one home with his folks.

Yet another Martinsville connection for a family with plenty to celebrate.

“As we got on the other side of that, there was a lot of bright side. Great to have her here and have them here and just see how things have progressed in a year,” Byron said. ” It’s been amazing. Definitely makes you count your blessings and be thankful for everything, and nothing more special than tonight to kind of cap it all off a year later on the same weekend. Pretty special, and yeah, pretty cool.”

Posted on April 10, 2022April 14, 2023 by NASCAR Official Release

Before the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Thursday, The NASCAR Foundation surprised more than 100 children from the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Blue Ridge with new bicycles as part of a special field-day event at Martinsville Speedway.

The Speediatrics Fun Day Festival powered by Kaulig Racing was held in The 1948 tent, just outside of the race track, and featured a variety of fun, pit crew-themed activities for Boys & Girls Club members, including the Goodyear Tire Race, Pit Stop Challenge and Gas Can Relay. Each child also received a new bicycle, bicycle helmet and safety training during the event.

“For many of these kids, this is a first-time NASCAR experience so to have the opportunity to engage them at this age, introduce them to our sport and create a fun atmosphere around our race events is really important,” said Nichole Krieger, The NASCAR Foundation’s executive director. “It’s been amazing to partner with Kaulig Racing to provide such a fun and memorable experience for the next generation of NASCAR fans.”

Kaulig Racing drivers AJ Allmendinger, Landon Cassill and Daniel Hemric assist The NASCAR Foundation award a $15,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Blue Ridge. Credit: Pete Stuart | NASCAR

The two-hour festival event culminated a week-long, NASCAR-themed program designed to inspire youth from the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Blue Ridge to be physically active and lead a healthy lifestyle. At the track, kids from three local clubs rotated through a series of activities demonstrating the various roles NASCAR pit-crew members perform during a pit stop.

“I had the most fun I’ve had in a long time and my favorite part was the lug-nut relay race,” said Anala, 10, of nearby Bassett, Virginia. “It was really cool to learn about how the pit crews do their jobs and train to get ready for the races.”

To begin the event, Kaulig Racing drivers AJ Allmendinger, Landon Cassill and Daniel Hemric were on hand to help The NASCAR Foundation present a $15,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Blue Ridge. The partnership between The NASCAR Foundation and Kaulig Racing is facilitated by Kaulig Giving, the philanthropic arm of Kaulig Companies.

Thursday’s event Martinsville Speedway is one of nine Speediatrics Fun Day Festivals planned for the 2022 race season. The events are held in NASCAR race markets nationwide as an extension of The NASCAR Foundation’s Speediatrics Children’s Fund, which supports the needs expressed by hospitals, specialty clinics, camps and other organizations providing children’s medical and health care services.

In 2021, NASCAR announced Boys & Girls Clubs of America as its Official Youth Community Partner, and this year, both NASCAR and The NASCAR Foundation are hosting youth from local clubs for unique, at-track experiences across 15 NASCAR race weekends.

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Zack Albert

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – The driver-crew chief debrief for Joey Logano and Paul Wolfe after Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race first involved a shrug and then some hand motions.

The shrug belonged to Wolfe, who managed a sheepish grin for his driver after the team’s near-miss in overtime at Martinsville Speedway. The hand motions were all Logano, who illustrated the bumper-to-bumper nature of his late-race contest with William Byron.

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Logano struck the slight tone of regret after Saturday’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400, his No. 22 Team Penske Ford winding up in second place to Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. He’d applied pressure to Byron during the two-lap dash to the end, but he was direct when asked if he wished he’d delivered a slightly harder bump.

“Yeah. Yeah, I do,” Logano said, laughing. “You gotta punt them a little bit harder with this car, it seems like. But it was all I could do to get to him. That was kind of the tough part was that his car was superior to mine into the corner for sure. That’s where the Hendrick cars have been strong all year; they get into the corner harder than anybody. So it was all I can do to get to him. So getting to him and bumping him and me trying to make the turn, it’s just all too much, and I couldn’t quite get it done.”

Byron led 212 of the 403 laps. Logano led none, but he was in the neighborhood to shake up the scoring pylon when Todd Gilliland’s Lap 394 wall impact sent the event into overtime. At the time of the caution period, Logano ran third behind Byron and second-place Austin Dillon. When Dillon chose the bottom lane behind Byron for the restart, Logano opted for the outside groove to jump up to the front row.

Logano cleared Dillon through the first set of corners, then zeroed in on Byron. But Byron countered by stalling Logano’s momentum shortly after the white flag flew, then scooted away to seal the checkers by just a couple of car-lengths.

“He messed up off of (Turn) 4, coming to take the white (flag),” Logano said. “I thought, ‘OK, here’s my chance,’ and went into (Turn) 1 on the white-flag lap and got to him and tried to root him up a little bit. I did but not quite enough, and then he kind of was able to turn back down and really just stopped me at two-thirds. We were going to the gas, he hit the brakes, and it just checked me up big, which is the right move. He brake-checked the heck out of me, and he should have, and it worked for him.”

Logano had methodically moved up after starting 14th in the 36-car field, and the runner-up result marked his best points-paying finish of the season after his victory in the season-opening Clash exhibition in Los Angeles. It also helped the No. 22 team turn the tide after finishes of 31st (Circuit of The Americas) and 17th (Richmond Raceway) the previous two weeks.

“Hey, we had a shot at it,” Wolfe told NASCAR.com. “Honestly … from how we unloaded yesterday, it was very small change. So proud of that, that we were able to put together a setup. It’s hard when you come here and talk about 20 minutes of practice. Really, you’re pretty limited on what you can change, so hats off to all the guys for putting their heads together and being able to put together a nice package that we were able to just tune our balance a little bit in practice and have a shot to win.

“I think overall, we’ve done a fair job of that. I mean, I can’t say that we’ve had quite as much speed as the Chevys probably, but I think the 12 (Ryan Blaney) and the 22 have been solid cars every week. Now it’s just trying to find a little more speed. But we’re learning a lot every week, and another new style track. We keep learning and have something good to build off of.”