Posted on April 14, 2022 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR^® and Sportradar Integrity Services, a global supplier of sports integrity solutions and a division of Sportradar (NASDAQ: SRAD), today announced a multi-year integrity services agreement, which features an expansion of a previous pact. The partnership reinforces Sportradar Integrity Services’ leadership position within the US market, while underscoring NASCAR’s mission to continue growing the sport in a safe and responsible manner.

Sportradar Integrity Services will provide NASCAR bet monitoring and reporting with its Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS), covering all races in the NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™. Additionally, Sportradar will supply NASCAR with its Education & Prevention Services to deliver an annual in-person integrity workshop and online eLearning tutorial. Furthermore, NASCAR will leverage Sportradar’s Intelligence & Investigation Services, as well as its Integrity Audit Service.

NASCAR will also be the first North American sports league to receive Sportradar’s Handle Estimation & Reporting Service, which consists of four quarterly race handle reports and one annual American Sports Betting Handle report. These reports will enable NASCAR to better analyze how fans are engaging with the sport through betting, while providing the league with a window into the emerging betting industry trends in the US market.

“NASCAR’s unwavering commitment to upholding the highest levels of competitive integrity has been instrumental to its success, and we look forward to continuing to safeguard their sport through our growing portfolio of industry-leading products and solutions,” said Andy Cunningham, Director, Global Partnerships, Sportradar Integrity Services.

“Our partnership with Sportradar is a foundational component to the success of NASCAR’s involvement with sports betting,” said Joe Solosky, Managing Director of Sports Betting, NASCAR. “When we began our journey into legal sports betting, our first priority was to protect the integrity of our product. Through this renewal, we’ll continue to ensure that our drivers, teams and industry stakeholders are educated on our policies. We are excited for this next step of the relationship between NASCAR and Sportradar to drive interest and engagement with our sport.”

Sportradar Integrity Services features a global team of integrity experts who deliver analysis on irregular betting patterns with any suspicious matches subsequently reported to partners, providing essential visibility into the global match-fixing landscape. During 2021, Sportradar Integrity Services detected more than 900 suspicious matches across global sport, and more than 6,900 suspicious matches have been witnessed during the past 17 years.

To learn more about Sportradar Integrity Services, please visit https://integrity.sportradar.com/

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Marcus DiNitto

Experience on the dirt is the single biggest factor in how oddsmakers are pricing the NASCAR Cup Series spring race at Bristol Motor Speedway, set to be run for the second year in a row on a surface unfamiliar to many drivers. But while the top of the betting board for Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race mirrors that for last year’s go-round the half-mile oval, there’s been significant odds adjustments among some of the contenders lurking behind favorites Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.

Daniel Suárez stands out among the movers. The No. 99 Chevrolet led 58 laps around the Bristol dirt last April, finishing fourth in Stage 1, second in Stage 2, and crossing the finish line fourth. That performance, combined with solid form out of the Trackhouse Racing garage this year, prompted SuperBook USA’s Ed Salmons to open Suarez at 25-to-1 odds for Sunday, a massive leap from the 100-to-1 odds the Mexican driver was offered at last year.

Despite a less-than-impressive practice run in 2021, Suarez earned the betting market’s respect after the green flag dropped.

“There was nothing that I saw in practice that said he’s gonna go up and challenge to win the race. So (the way he ran) was definitely a surprise. And that’s applied to this year’s odds, obviously,” Salmons, VP of risk management at the Las Vegas bet shop, told NASCAR.com this week.

Race luck wasn’t on the side of Ross Chastain, Suarez’s Trackhouse teammate, in last year’s version of this event. He crashed out early driving for Chip Ganassi Racing and finished just 52 laps, not enough for bookmakers or bettors to glean anything meaningful. This season, though, Chastain has been among the best drivers in the Cup Series, tallying a win, two seconds, a third and fifth over the first eight races.

Yes, he’s gained the market’s attention, and Vegas bettors have taken a liking to the No. 1’s opening price for Bristol.

“He’s not a dirt guy, but he’s running so well all year, and with Suárez’s team running good (on the dirt) last year, I assume that their car will be fast,” Salmons said. “He’s actually getting some money at 18-to-1.”

Back to the Top

With dirt-track success bulleted on their resumes, Larson and Bell are priced as the clear first and second betting choices at the SuperBook. It’s a tighter call for second at BetMGM and Barstool, with Joey Logano — winner of last spring’s Food City Dirt Race — listed at 9-to-1 odds at both sportsbooks.

Here are odds from those three books for Sunday’s top contenders:

Driver	SuperBook	BetMGM	Barstool
Kyle Larson	+450	+450	+500
Christopher Bell	+800	+800	+900
William Byron	+1200	+1200	+1200
Joey Logano	+1200	+900	+900
Chase Briscoe	+1200	+1400	+1400
Tyler Reddick	+1200	+1400	+1400
Kyle Busch	+1200	+1400	+1400
Chase Elliott	+1400	+1200	+1200
Ryan Blaney	+1400	+1400	+1300
Denny Hamlin	+1400	+1200	+1400
Martin Truex	+1400	+1400	+1200
Ricky Stenhouse	+1800	+2000	+2200
Alex Bowman	+1800	+1600	+1600
Ross Chastain	+1800	+2200	+2200
Kevin Harvick	+2500	+2500	+2500
Daniel Suárez	+2500	+2000	+2500
Kurt Busch	+4000	+4000	+5000
Austin Dillon	+4000	+4000	+3300

“They’re the starting point, they’ll always be the starting point,” Salmons said of Larson and Bell. “Last year was kind of screwy that they both got taken out in the same thing (a wreck on Lap 51). We’ll never know how that race actually would’ve gone down if those two had run (a complete race).”

Different Approaches to Handicapping the Dirt

With just one dirt race of data to go off, quantitative analysis becomes challenging for Sunday’s Cup event. Some sharp bettors are staying away completely.

Jim Sannes, a NASCAR betting and DFS analyst at numberFire, has trepidation about his simulations this week.

“I do have a model for it, but I’m not sure how much I should trust it,” Sannes said in a direct message. “It is based mostly on performance on slick tracks, or those with heavy tire falloff. Those tracks were more predictive of performance at last year’s race, even if they weren’t short. So, for example, average running position in the Homestead race had high correlation to average running position in the Bristol dirt race. So for this year, tracks like Richmond and Fontana are featured (in his model) even though they’re not similar to Bristol dirt.

“I’m not sure if I’ll use (the model) to bet.”

A more qualitative approach, Salmons suggests, is to look back at overall performance at Bristol, the change to the Next Gen car notwithstanding.

“I think the one thing that we took from last year was if you run good on Bristol pavement, you run good on Bristol dirt,” the oddsmaker said. “And it’s pretty obvious that the good teams are still the good teams on this stuff, whether you have dirt experience or you don’t.”

Around the Field

Here are some more thoughts from Salmons and Sannes on other drivers in Sunday’s field:

— Martin Truex Jr. had an outstanding showing on the Bristol dirt last year, winning the Truck race, shining in Cup practice, and leading 126 laps and winning Stage 1 before cutting a tire and finishing 19th in the main event. “(Winning the Truck race) showed something, and his practice at the Cup level last year was off-the-charts fast,” Salmons said.

— While his model doesn’t necessarily show value in Tyler Reddick, Sannes has the No. 8 circled in pencil. “Still evaluating that,” Sannes said Tuesday. “But either way, I’ll likely be holding off until after practice to truly go deep in on it.”

— Denny Hamlin is priced as a pick ‘em in matchup props at the SuperBook against Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and Truex. Some bettors will be looking to fade the No. 11 in these markets, Salmons anticipates. “You may see some things that you’re willing to bet in matchups if you think you’ve got someone that’s bet-against,” Salmons said. “It was pretty obvious last week in practice that Hamlin looked way off the pace. So you’re probably gonna see that this week, and some people would be happy to bet against that.”

Marcus DiNitto is Senior News Editor at Gaming Today. He’s been covering sports business for 24 years and sports betting for 11. NASCAR is among the many sports Marcus enjoys betting but often loses on. Follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.

Posted on April 13, 2022April 14, 2022 by Chase Wilhelm

The NASCAR Cup Series is set for the second edition of the Bristol Dirt Race on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway (7 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Drivers bred on the dirt-racing grassroots scene, including Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe, are automatic favorites. What about the non-dirt racing background drivers, like last year’s race winner, Joey Logano?

NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola and Chase Wilhelm debate which one of those competitors has the best opportunity to snatch a win away from the field under the lights.

RELATED: Full schedule for Bristol

DECOLA: Almost nothing went the way many expected things to go in last year’s inaugural running of dirt at the “Last Great Colosseum” — including the drivers who ran well.

Most foresaw either Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell or Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, two of the dirt-racing scene’s top competitors, stealing the show … which didn’t happen, as they actually wound up having their races derailed in the same wreck and both finished 29th or worse. Joey Logano, a champion of NASCAR but essentially a complete rookie on non-paved surfaces, led 61 laps en route to the win. Daniel Suárez, who joked during a mid-race interview he didn’t know what he was doing out there, landed Trackhouse Racing’s first-ever top five after leading 58 laps of his own.

Now with a Next Gen car that’s showing a proclivity toward parity in the early going, the field is once again wide open for this race. Of course, the dirt guys will likely still play a significant factor — and Bell/Larson are the two top favorites per oddsmakers — but it’s not a slam dunk that it’s their race for the taking. Logano and Suárez both make for good picks once again, but I’m actually going to go with last year’s Truck Series dirt race winner … Martin Truex Jr.

Lest we forget, MTJ went into Bristol, hopped into a truck for the first time since 2006 … and proceeded to lead 105 of 150 laps en route to the victory. On a surface he’s mostly unfamiliar with.

He also looked like he was headed toward his second W of the weekend in the Cup race, leading another race-high 126 laps in that one before fading to 19th.

This season has yet to see Truex land in Victory Lane, but he has been JGR’s best overall and most consistent driver to date. The team as a whole kind of had a big swing-and-a-miss at Martinsville Speedway, and the quartet of All-Stars will be hungry to make their mark on a 2022 campaign that so far has not seen them look like one of the elite teams.

A Truex win would give JGR two in the past three weeks (Denny Hamlin won at Richmond earlier this month), and of the four drivers, the speed in his No. 19 Toyota could give him the best shot.

Truex just needs to get past his teammate first.

WILHELM: Martin Truex Jr. will need to worry about William Byron before his teammates if he wants a victory at Bristol.

Despite his lack of practice on dirt, Byron qualified eighth and finished sixth in last year’s inaugural Bristol Dirt Race, a remarkable finish for a driver bred on asphalt racing. Prior to Sunday’s race, Byron set to compete in his first dirt late-model event on Thursday — FloRacing Late Model Challenge powered by Tezos at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tennessee. It’s perfect timing for Byron to gain valuable dirt-racing experience.

Also, Byron is a hot shoe at the moment. He put the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports back in Victory Lane last Sunday at Martinsville, becoming the first multi-win driver of the season. Byron also leads the field with stage points — 82 with two stage victories — five points ahead of Ryan Blaney.

The Las Vegas betting scene likes Byron’s chances, as well. He’s a 12-1 favorite to win on BetMGM, while Truex comes in at 14-1 odds.

You can’t buy momentum, and it’s hard to come by at the premier level. Right now, Byron has plenty of it. That’s dangerous for the rest of the field and could likely transform into a surprise win Sunday night.

Posted on April 13, 2022April 13, 2022 by Chase Wilhelm

Scott Miller, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, joined SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s The Morning Drive to discuss details of the infraction levied against the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team of driver-owner Brad Keselowski.

On March 24, an L2-level penalty was given to RFK’s No. 6 Ford in violation of Sections 14.1 and 14.5 of the NASCAR Rule Book — both headings that relate to the modification of a single-source supplied part for the Next Gen stock car. It resulted in a 100-point hit in the driver and owner standings, a 10-point deduction in playoff points, a four-race suspension for crew chief Matt McCall and a $100,000 fine.

The penalties were upheld following an April 7 appeal hearing by a three-member group from the National Motorsports Appeals Panel. The deadline for RFK Racing to file a final appeal was Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET, but the team elected not to move forward.

With the book now closed, Miller made it a point to be transparent about what was found that led to the substantial consequence, which was a repair to a tail panel that wasn’t up to code.

“The repair policy is very straightforward,” Miller said Wednesday. “Any repair that’s done is to bring the part back to the original specification. On this part, that was not adhered to. There are body mounting landings that are part of the rear fascia that weren’t brought back to the original specifications. That’s a key design feature of the part. The repair policy was not followed. That’s really what it comes down to. A critical dimension of the part was altered.”

Miller noted that a strict deterrence model was requested by NASCAR Cup Series drivers and teams during the Next Gen development process.

“As we worked through what the NextGen car was going to be over that long journey with the teams, one of the things was the single-source parts had to be strictly enforced or we’ll get right back to the place where we were with the other car — of constant development,” Miller said. “A strict deterrence model was asked for by the folks in the garage, and it was our job to do that.”

Posted on April 13, 2022April 13, 2022 by Zack Albert

The dust — and there was plenty of it – hadn’t even settled on last year’s inaugural dirt-track race at Bristol Motor Speedway when the announcement came that the format would return for 2022. Track officials interjected the news on the public-address system during the Stage 2 intermission.

One year later, that second edition has arrived with teams set to load in before Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race (7 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM). Teams learned plenty about the nuances of racing Cup Series cars on a packed dirt surface in the first go-around, but the amount of uncertainty remains high for the second running — especially with the new Next Gen car primed for its unpaved debut.

RELATED: Weekend schedule | Power Rankings

“I had fun last year,” said Joey Logano, who has good reason to say so since he won the inaugural Bristol Dirt Race. “You just kind of have to go with it. There’s still a lot of unknowns. We might know a little bit more than we did last year, but you have a whole new car now and there are areas I still want to be better at. That’s why I’m running the Truck race, so I don’t know. We’ll just kind of get up there and go racing like we do every other week.”

As new a concept as mud-slinging a stock car is, Cup Series drivers have sought out ways to sharpen their dirt skills, and the entry list of Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series race (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) is dotted with their names. Team DGR will field trucks for Logano and fellow Cup Series regular Harrison Burton, and Chase Elliott (Spire Motorsports) and Austin Dillon (Young’s Motorsports) also plan to participate.

Reigning Cup Series champ and dirt aficionado Kyle Larson isn’t on that list, but he has already tried his hand at Bristol’s surface this year. He won a qualifying heat and had a best main-event finish of fourth in two nights of Late Model competition at the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals on April 1-2.

“The entries of the corners seem to be a little more sweeping, so a lot easier to run wide open in the late model,” Larson said last weekend at Martinsville Speedway. “So I don’t know if that’s good or bad or what it means for the racing, I felt like the track needs some character, some bumps and stuff, but natural kind of bumps. But I think they’ve learned a lot with track prep and things. And I felt like the track was really close to being really good, the two nights I was there. So, excited to get the cars on there.”

Truck Series regular Stewart Friesen, an avid dirt-track racer, shook down the Next Gen P3 test car last week at Bristol as NASCAR officials tried multiple configurations – grille openings, windshield settings and diffuser adjustments among them — to dial the car in. This followed an initial dirt-track test for the car Dec. 10 at Lancaster Motor Speedway in South Carolina.

Another change in place for the 2022 edition is a shift to a nighttime event. The inaugural, which was pushed to a Monday start because of race-day rain and flooding, was run during sunny, daytime conditions. The shift is expected to help keep the track from drying out and stirring dust, aiding visibility for drivers and fans alike.

MORE: Car changes for Bristol’s dirt | Latest odds

Covering Bristol’s concrete surface with dirt is still a novelty for NASCAR, but it has origins that predate this recent revival. World of Outlaws sprint cars and Late Models competed on Bristol’s dirt from 2000-01, something that stuck with Tyler Reddick.

“As a dirt racer myself growing up, just the thought of having dirt Bristol back just in itself and having other dirt cars out there in itself was a really huge deal for me, because that’s something I never thought I’d see in my lifetime,” Reddick said. “Just only able to hear stories about it from the drivers who got to do it. So again, to be a part of it was really cool, but it is really, really important for it to be a good race. From my perspective being more of the dirt background, we don’t want to make dirt racing look like, you know … we don’t want to make the racing product look bad. It’s always been really good.”

Whether Bristol returns in its current form for 2023 is still undecided, but the race – just the second on dirt in the modern era for NASCAR’s top division – furthers the recent trend of the sanctioning body expanding its palate for new venues.

Last season’s adventurous schedule tackled dirt and a handful of new ovals and road circuits – Nashville Superspeedway, Road America and Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course among them. This year topped that cake with a kick-off Clash exhibition inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a revamped Atlanta Motor Speedway, plus race dates to come in St. Louis and – for the Xfinity Series – an expansion to the Pacific Northwest in Portland, Oregon.

So far, there has been an appetite for the newness – paved or not.

“The fact that NASCAR is going to different things … we just ran the Clash. I thought that was crazy, but it was actually pretty good and really big for our sport,” Logano said. “What’s next? We can race anywhere. We’ve proven we can put on a great race and an entertaining race for the fans, and a competitive race for the competitors out there. I don’t care where we go. Let’s do it. I think it’s great and if that’s on dirt, fine. If it’s at a local dirt track or Bristol, I don’t care. I’m gonna go race where they tell me to race and try to win and I think, honestly, it’s been pretty good here the last few years of the unknowns.

“When we go to those new tracks – Road America, the place packs out. Go back to Nashville after not going there for 10 years or so, the place packs out. So there’s something to that on bringing races to different markets that we haven’t gone to and bringing the races to the fans, whether it’s on whatever kind of track.”

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Dustin Albino

For roughly five years, Joey Gase says he constantly thought about what it would be like to become a NASCAR team owner. Now, he’s living his dream.

Last November, Gase announced the formation of Joey Gase Racing, which would run the No. 35 car full time in the Xfinity Series. Over a month later, the team added veteran Whelen Modified Tour driver Patrick Emerling as a co-owner. Thus, Emerling-Gase Motorsports came to life.

RELATED: Xfinity Series standings

“Of all years, this was the best year to do it and probably the worst year, all at the same time,” Gase recently told NASCAR.com. “The competition this year is by far the strongest it’s ever been since I’ve been in the Xfinity Series.”

Since 2014, Gase has made sporadic starts in the Cup Series. During the last couple of seasons, it became his priority, primarily competing for Rick Ware Racing — a schedule that included 33 races in 2020.

But with the implementation of the Next Gen car, Gase needed to find something new. He wasn’t sure that his sponsors would be able to pay the bills to foot him a ride in the Cup Series.

“I knew it was going to be really hard to stay in the Cup Series,” Gase stated. “At the same time, I’ve been in the Xfinity Series a lot, and running my own team is something I’ve always had in the back of my mind.”

Last fall, though, Gase had no equipment. So he took a gander at Shane Lee’s race shop, which consisted of a plethora of parts and pieces from the former H2 Motorsports operation. Gase believes Lee had roughly 75% of the tools it took to start a team, including three chassis.

Not knowing if he would obtain any of it, Gase left with his hands full.

“I wasn’t expecting to buy all of it; I thought I was only going to buy some parts and pieces,” Gase said. “We got talking to the Lees and ended up buying all of it.”

Adam Glanzman | NASCAR

The next goal was to get a race shop. A mutual friend of both Gase and Emerling introduced the two. They both shared a common interest, which led to a conversation about becoming co-owners of a race team. After all, Emerling, who ran the No. 23 Our Motorsports team last season, had a chunk of equipment that Gase didn’t have, including the hauler. He also had ownership of the points from the No. 23 team, which finished 20th in the owners’ standings last year.

Since 2011, Emerling’s family has fielded a competitive Whelen Modified Tour team. In 126 starts, he’s earned four victories, three of which came last season on the way to finishing runner-up in the championship standings. In the last two years, he’s competed in a quartet of Xfinity races, with a best effort of 24th last fall at Kansas.

“Racing has always been my passion,” Emerling stated. “I always wanted to get to the next level as a driver. Teaming up with Joey made a lot of sense. It’s a situation where you don’t know if you don’t try. We came together and so far, so good.”

The team, which has five full-time employees and two part-timers, didn’t even get into its race shop until January. It had to hustle just to have a car – let alone two – ready for the season opener at Daytona for both Gase and Lee.

Because the team came together so late, the team’s first challenge was to find quality employees. But Gase believes that’s hard for any start-up team.

“Finding good people right now is really hard,” he said. “Finding enough people is the hardest thing. And good people. We have a good core group of people right now, but we are hiring and trying to find a few more. We’re looking.”

Unfortunately for EGM, the team does not have a technical alliance with any manufacturer, thus they are running whichever suits them best for a given weekend. For instance, in the season opener at Daytona, the No. 35 was a Toyota and Gase drove the No. 53 Ford.

Because the team doesn’t have the same resources as one of the series’ elites, admittedly, a top-20 finish is the equivalent to a top-five run. And in nine starts this season, the team has accomplished that feat three times, including Parker Kligerman’s 12th-place run at Circuit of The Americas.

“If we can finish in the top 25 in points this year, we’ll be really happy,” Gase added.

MORE: 2022 Xfinity Series schedule

Emerling, who plans to run the majority of the Whelen Modified races in 2022, won’t let that schedule conflict with his Xfinity starts. Fortunately for him, he has people in place to run the modified program, so he can focus his attention on the Xfinity schedule.

“It is quite the task balancing both race teams, along with my real estate business,” he said. “The Xfinity team is definitely my main focus. With the competition in the series today, I believe it is as difficult as ever to form a new team in the series, especially on a budget.

“Owning a team allows you to control the situation. That’s all my family and I ever did.”

Through the first eight races of the season, the No. 35 car sits 29th in the owners’ standings, just 12 points below Gase’s goal of 25th. The team has had a few hiccups early on, but also had consecutive top-20 results between Atlanta and COTA. Like Daytona, the team plans to also run the No. 53 car in the series’ next race at Talladega.

Regardless of the results, the duo shares the same vision moving forward.

“To survive, make a living off of it and make it into something we’re proud of,” Gase said of his hopes for the team. “The overall goal is to become a team that can go out and compete for the win every week. That’s something that doesn’t happen overnight.

“It doesn’t matter how much money you have – we don’t have all that money yet – but it’s something that takes time. I don’t care what level of racing you’ve been at before, late models, modifieds, ARCA or whatever it might be, everyone that’s here has won before at what they’ve done. So when everyone is here and everyone is winners, it’s a lot harder competition.”

Posted on April 13, 2022April 14, 2022 by Adam Fenwick

For competitors in the state of Michigan, the racing season gets underway Saturday, April 23, with the running of the Icebreaker at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan.

The opening race of the 72nd season for the 7/16-mile paved oval provides racers in the Super Late Model, Limited Late Model, Sportsman and 4 Cylinder divisions opportunities to begin the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series season with a bang.

The event is headlined by a 75-lap, $5,000-to-win Super Late Model event that will kick off a busy season that features racing through mid-September.

All of the Icebreaker feature racing action can be seen live on FloRacing. Below is the schedule for this year’s kickoff to the short-track racing season at Berlin Raceway.

What TV channel is the Berlin Icebreaker on in 2022?

All feature racing action from the 2022 Icebreaker at Berlin Raceway can be viewed live on FloRacing, the new streaming home of all NASCAR Roots properties.

The Icebreaker will not be shown on a television network.

Below is the complete schedule for Icebreaker coverage on FloRacing.

Date	Start time	How to watch
Saturday, April 23	4 p.m. ET	FloRacing

(Photo: Nic Antaya/ARCA Racing)

Berlin Icebreaker 2022 schedule

Berlin Raceway’s Icebreaker is a packed one-day show that begins with rotating practice starting at 2 p.m. ET.

Qualifying for the headlining Super Late Model division is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET, with feature racing for the four divisions set to follow. The Limited Late Model, Sportsman and 4 Cylinder classes will each run double features.

Below is the complete track schedule for the 2022 Icebreaker at Berlin Raceway.

Saturday, April 23

Time	Event
11:30 a.m.	Pit Pass Window Opens
12 p.m.	Pit Gate Open
12:30 p.m.	4 Cylinder Tech (Turn 1)
1:30 p.m.	Sportsman Tech (Turn 1)
2 – 2:30 p.m.	Super Late Model Practice (30 min)
2:30 – 2:40 p.m.	Sportsman Practice (10 min)
2:30 p.m.	Super Late Model Tech
2:50 – 3 p.m.	Limited Late Model Practice (10 min)
3 – 3:10 p.m.	4 Cylinder Practice (10 min)
3:10 – 3:20 p.m.	Sportsman Practice (10 min)
3:20 – 3:30 p.m.	Limited Late Model Practice (10 min)
3:30 p.m.	Super Late Model Qualifying
3:57 p.m.	Invocation (Larry Bush); National Anthem (Davin Risk)
4 p.m.	Features (4 Cylinder Feature 1: 15 laps/15 min … Sportsman Feature 1: 20 laps/20 min … Limited Late Model Feature 1: 25 laps/25 min … Super Late Model Scuff Session … 4 Cylinder Feature 2: 15 laps/15 min … Sportsman Feature 2: 20 laps/20 min … Limited Late Model Feature 2: 25 laps/25 min … Super Late Model Feature: 75 laps/60 min)

(All times ET)

Posted on April 13, 2022June 6, 2023 by Adam Fenwick

Berlin Raceway at first glance appears to be your typical short track, a paved oval slightly less than a half-mile in length.

In reality, for drivers, the 7/16-mile track in Marne, Michigan, is one of the toughest short tracks in the nation.

Berlin is classified as an oval even though its rounded straightaways give drivers the feel of a circle. There is no time for rest on the nine-degree banked straights before diving into the 13-degree corners.

Oh, and the backstretch wall? It does not exist. Which can be convenient as it relates to the damage cars could sustain hitting a wall, but the lack of a barrier often leads to drivers losing position as they slide into the grass.

Below is everything to know about Berlin Raceway, which begins its 72nd season of racing this Saturday with the annual running of the Icebreaker.

Berlin Raceway

Track Profile

Track	Berlin Raceway
Location	Marne, Michigan
Opened	1951
Layout	Oval
Surface	Asphalt
Length	7/16 mile
Banking	13 degrees in turns; nine degrees in straightaways

Chester Mysliwiec and his family opened Berlin Raceway, located within the Berlin Fairgrounds, as a dirt track in 1951. In 1966, track was paved and configured as the 7/16-mile oval we recognize today. It was repaved in 1990.

Berlin had been hosting successful grass roots racing for 50 years when the West Michigan Whitecaps purchased the track in 2001 and invested in the infrastructure. The improvements included new restrooms, a sound system, private party areas, a catch fence and other amenities to ensure Berlin would remain the premier track in the Midwest and become the most fan-friendly.

The West Michigan Whitecaps in 2008 sold the the track to businessman Michael Blackmer, who after making even more structural improvements sold it to DBD Ventures in 2011.

In 2014, Berlin Raceway became Berlin Raceway and Entertainment Complex with a multi-million dollar facility upgrade and additional events like concerts and monster truck shows. Berlin became a NASCAR-sanctioned Home Track in 2016.

The sound of spring in West Michigan …@BerlinRaceway 🏁
Opening Day – April 16 pic.twitter.com/22d9tQpceH

— Jeff Striegle (@JeffStriegle) April 5, 2022

These days, Berlin hosts racing every Saturday night from April through September. The divisions include Super Late Models, Outlaw Late Models, Limited Late Models, Sportsman, 4 Cylinders, Vintage Racing and Mini Wedges.

The track has also hosted the ARCA Menards Series multiple times dating back to 1958, with Daniel Dye winning the most recent visit by the series to the track in 2021. The series is slated to return to Berlin in 2022 on June 18.

In addition, the track hosts a number of major late model races each season. It starts this Saturday with the annual running of the Icebreaker featuring the Super Late Model, Limited Late Model, Sportsman and 4 Cylinder divisions.

Other big events every year at Berlin include the Money in the Bank 150 on June 8 as well as the Battle at Berlin on Aug. 10.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor Carson Hocevar has won the last two Money in the Bank 150s while Kyle Crump is the defending winner of the Battle at Berlin.

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ARCA Menards Series races at Berlin Raceway

Year	Date	Series	Winner	Complete Results
2021	07-17-2021	ARCA Menards Series	Daniel Dye	Results
2018	08-25-2018	ARCA Menards Series	Joe Graf Jr.	Results
2017	07-01-2017	NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (Now ARCA Menards Series East)	Todd Gilliland	Results
2016	08-06-2016	ARCA Menards Series	Dalton Sargeant	Results
2015	08-08-2015	ARCA Menards Series	Grant Enfinger	Results
2014	08-09-2014	ARCA Menards Series	Grant Enfinger	Results
2013	08-10-2013	ARCA Menards Series	Erik Jones	Results
2012	08-11-2012	ARCA Menards Series	Chris Buescher	Results
2011	07-09-2011	ARCA Menards Series	Matt Merrell	Results
2010	08-07-2010	ARCA Menards Series	Joey Coulter	Results
2009	07-25-2009	ARCA Menards Series	Justin Lofton	Results
2008	07-26-2008	ARCA Menards Series	Scott Speed	Results
2007	07-07-2007	ARCA Menards Series	Brian Keselowski	Results
2006	07-15-2006	ARCA Menards Series	Brian Keselowski	Results
2005	07-16-2005	ARCA Menards Series	Joey Miller	Results
2004	07-03-2004	ARCA Menards Series	Frank Kimmel	Results
2003	05-24-2003	ARCA Menards Series	Frank Kimmel	Results
2002	07-20-2002	ARCA Menards Series	Fred Campbell	Results
2001	09-22-2001	ARCA Menards Series	Tim Steele	Results
2000	07-15-2000	ARCA Menards Series	Tim Steele	Results
1999	07-10-1999	ARCA Menards Series	Frank Kimmel	Results
1986	08-02-1986	ARCA Menards Series	Bob Keselowski	Results
1973	08-17-1973	ARCA Menards Series	Bob Senneker	N/A
1970	07-03-1970	ARCA Menards Series	Ramo Scott	N/A
1968	05-29-1968	ARCA Menards Series	Andy Hampton	N/A
1964	09-04-1964	ARCA Menards Series	Iggy Katona	N/A
1962	06-29-1962	ARCA Menards Series	Harold Smith	N/A
1960	06-24-1960	ARCA Menards Series	Don White	N/A
1959	06-12-1959	ARCA Menards Series	Bob James	N/A
1959	05-15-1959	ARCA Menards Series	Bob James	N/A
1958	09-12-1958	ARCA Menards Series	Nelson Stacey	N/A
1958	07-25-1958	ARCA Menards Series	Les Snow	N/A

Posted on April 13, 2022April 13, 2022 by Staff Report

LEE, N.H. – Kevin Rice, auto racing reporter for Area Auto Racing News, is boosting the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour purse for the Granite State Derby at Lee USA Speedway on May 21 by selling lap money.

With the addition of the funds, the total purse for the Granite State Derby 175 alone will push over $115,000.

Each lap is a minimum of $100 to purchase, with half of the money going to the leader of that specific lap and the other half to a random top-10 car. Laps are available for the first 100 green flag laps of the race. If a driver was to lead all of the first 100 green flag laps, they would go home with more than $5,000 in just lap money alone. Multiple laps have already been purchased for more than $100 and more are expected. Caution laps will not see any lap money distributed.

Anyone interested in purchasing a lap should contact Kevin Rice directly at [email protected] for more information.

“When I spoke with NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour car owner Danny Watts and he went over some of the costs associated with racing this year, it really spoke volumes to me,” Kevin Rice, who has been collecting bonus awards for many years, said. “We need to help these teams to get through the 2022 season. The lap money gives fans, businesses and those in the racing industry a chance to help, while also continuing to add to the anticipation for the Whelen Modified Tour return to New Hampshire’s Center of Speed next month.”

The race itself will serve as the first of three in the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup.

Nocella Paving has also posted a $1,000 award to the highest finishing driver in the race that has never been to Victory Lane in a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race. Carl Rice has posted a $300 bonus award to the highest finishing father in the 175-lap race. Anyone who would like to post an additional award outside of lap money may also do so by contacting Rice.

Upon purchasing each lap, purchasers will have the chance to pick what they would like the lap to say. Most have selected to purchase laps in memory of others, while some have put their business name. A full list of laps that are currently taken is available at jdvproductions.com/granite-state-derby.

“The opportunity to remember some of the best in the sport who have passed, such as Venetta Narducci, who we recently lost to cancer, is a good feeling and is a big part of this,” Rice said. “Venetta was an amazing woman, who not only embraced everyone she ever met, but she also helped keep race teams on track, just like we are trying to do with this bonus money.”

The inaugural Granite State Derby at Lee USA Speedway will take place on Saturday, May 21. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will headline the day with their 175-lap race, returning to the New Hampshire oval for the first time since 1998. The race will serve as the fourth event of the season for NASCAR’s oldest touring series. On top of the Whelen Modified Tour, fans will be able to see countless other divisions, with just about every type of race car a fan could ask for.

“We’re excited to see Kevin and all of the fans and businesses adding to the bonus funds to give back to the dedicated teams of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour,” Josh Vanada, owner of JDV Productions, said. “We are always happy to reward the teams who commit to racing in one of the toughest divisions in the whole country. With the strategy element and tire conservation that often plays a major role in racing at Lee, drivers will now have more incentive than ever to race as hard as possible to collect the extra cash in the pot.”

The Granite State Pro Stock Series will be joined by the NHSTRA Mini Stocks in a Battle For The Belt race, the NEMA Lites and Pro 4 Modifieds as house divisions. Racing will begin at 2:45 p.m. and last into the evening, capped off by the Granite State Derby 175.

Tickets are available in advance today by visiting JDVProductions.com, where fans can also purchase tickets to the JDV Experience – a behind the scenes view with a private autograph session, inspection tour, marquee seating and more.

Posted on April 12, 2022April 13, 2022 by Zack Albert

NASCAR officials fined Ty Gibbs $15,000 for a behavioral violation Tuesday for hitting another competitor’s car on pit road after Friday night’s Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway.

Gibbs was shuffled out of contention in a final overtime attempt in Friday’s Call 811 Before You Dig 250, handing the race victory to teammate Brandon Jones and the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus to AJ Allmendinger. Gibbs took out his frustration on the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet of rival Sam Mayer, delivering bumper contact on the cool-down lap that spilled over to pit road. The two emerged from their cars and fought before officials separated them.

The bumping from Gibbs’ No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota occurred while crews, officials and other personnel were waiting for the cars to stop on Martinsville’s tight pit lane post-race. The violation fell under the heading of Section 4.3.A&E (NASCAR Member Conduct) and Section 8.8.8 (Crew member/Servicing) in the NASCAR Rule Book.

Both Gibbs and Mayer were also summoned to the Xfinity Series officials’ hauler for a consultation after Friday night’s event. They went their separate ways after a 10-minute talk.

The No. 54 JGR team was also penalized after the car was found with a single unsecured lug nut after Friday’s race. Crew chief Chris Gayle was fined $5,000.

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

NASCAR officials also issued four-week suspensions Tuesday to three members of the Richard Childress Racing No. 2 team in the Xfinity Series for a ballast violation at Martinsville.

The safety infraction fell under Section 10.5.2.5.F, which relates to the “loss or separation of added ballast from the vehicle.” As a result, the following crew members were suspended for the next four races: crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz, car chief Kris McCabe and engineer Sam Bowers.

The violation occurred during Thursday practice, before Friday’s race. Sheldon Creed started fifth and finished 30th.

There were no penalties stemming from Saturday’s Cup Series event at Martinsville. Competition officials announced post-race the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and the No. 43 Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet would be taken back to the NASCAR Research & Development Center for further inspection.