Two different National Motorsports Appeals Panels upheld penalties Wednesday against Kaulig Racing’s No. 31 team and Front Row Motorsports’ No. 38 for their respective safety violations in early-season races.
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For Kaulig Racing, crew chief Trent Owens and crew members Jacob Nelson (tire changer) and Marshall McFadden (jackman) had appealed the penalty after the No. 31 Chevrolet lost a wheel during the season-opening Daytona 500. The three-member panel denied that appeal, deciding that the three violated Section 10.5.2.6 (Safety Penalties and Penalty Options) in the NASCAR Rule Book and affirming the original penalty.
Owens, Nelson and McFadden were suspended for four races each in the Feb. 23 penalty report, but have remained rostered while the matter was under appeal. In a statement, Kaulig Racing president Chris Rice indicated the team will not file a final appeal. “We respect NASCAR’s decision on the appeal,” Rice said. “We will take penalty, move on and work hard to be better.”
Haley finished 23rd in the Daytona 500 and currently ranks 25th in the Cup Series standings.
The three panelists for Wednesday’s hearing were Tom DeLoach, Dixon Johnston and Dale Pinilis.
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For Front Row Motorsports, crew chief Seth Barbour and crew members Jourdan Osinskie and Tanner Andrews had appealed the penalty after the No. 38 Ford lost a wheel at Auto Club Speedway. A separate three-member panel denied that appeal, deciding that the three violated Section 10.5.2.6 (Safety Penalties and Penalty Options) in the NASCAR Rule Book and affirming the original penalty.
The three panelists for this hearing were Hunter Nickell, Bill Mullis and Kevin Whitaker.
On Thursday morning, Front Row announced that team engineer Troy Raker will serve as the crew chief for the next four events. Gilliland, a rookie in the Cup Series, finished 20th at Auto Club and is currently 28th in the Cup Series standings.
SOUTH BOSTON, Va. – Peyton Sellers’ drive for a record-tying seventh South Boston Speedway NASCAR track championship begins Saturday afternoon, March 19, when the speedway kicks off its 65th anniversary racing season with the Danville Toyota 2022 season opener racing program.
If Sellers can win the 2022 South Boston Speedway NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car division title he will tie David Blankenship of Mosely, Virginia, for the most career South Boston Speedway NASCAR track championships with seven championships.
The Danville, Virginia, resident says it would be an honor to tie Blankenship’s record, but his immediate focus is on winning races.
“I’m just focused on running well and winning races,” Sellers pointed out, “but to be up there with David Blankenship would be a big feather in my cap because in my eyes I will never be the driver he is. He was a guy I grew up watching. I was like ‘Man, that guy is smooth as silk.’
“We’ve just been able to do this for a long time and put together some really good results,” Sellers continued. “Myself, H.C. (Sellers’ brother and crew chief H.C. Sellers) and a lot of the guys at Sellers Racing have put in a lot of days here at this racetrack. We’re just going to give it all we’ve got and see what happens.”
Sellers enters the 2022 season as the defending NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion, the defending Virginia state champion and defending South Boston Speedway champion. He has won the last four South Boston Speedway NASCAR track championships.
Winning nine of 17 starts, posting a dozen top-five finishes and leading the most laps last season at South Boston Speedway gives Sellers confidence entering the 2022 season, but he isn’t taking anything for granted.
“There are always some young guns coming in that give us a fit year in and year out and there is always a new challenge every year,” Sellers said. “We don’t take anything for granted. We work just as hard today as we did three years ago, if not harder because we put more pressure on ourselves to come back even stronger the next year.”
“It would have been very easy to sit idle all winter and just kind of fluff and buff our cars and come back this year and think we kind of had the bull by the horns. We sold one of our cars, built a new car, and we’re trying some different things trying to get to where we want to be.
“Last year we kept the same two cars we had and just developed our notebook and worked to make them better,” he continued. “This year we felt like there was some better things out there that we could do to make our cars a little better. We have the same motor combination, the same stuff for the most part, and are just trying to fine-tune it a little bit better. H.C. doesn’t sleep much at night for thinking about these cars. We’re constantly trying to get better.”
Saturday afternoon’s Danville Toyota 2022 season opener racing program will be headlined by twin 65-lap races for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car division. Sellers would like nothing more than to sweep Saturday’s Late Model Stock Car division twinbill as his sponsor, Danville Toyota, is sponsoring South Boston Speedway’s season opening NASCAR racing event.
“It would be very special to be in Victory Lane for the Danville Toyota race,” said Sellers. “Danville Toyota has been with us a long time and there is nothing better than winning when they sponsor the race. They have been a good supporter of South Boston Speedway as well. I feel very fortunate to have them as a sponsor. It would be great to get a win.”
In addition to the twin 65-lap races for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division competitors, Saturday afternoon’s five-race card includes a 65-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman division, a 30-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock division and a 15-lap race for the Hornets division.
Grandstand gates will open at 12:30 p.m. Qualifying starts at 1 p.m. and the first race of the day will get the green flag at 2 p.m.
Advance adult general admission tickets for the event are priced at $10 each plus a $1.50 processing fee and may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com, through Friday night, March 18.
Adult general admission tickets online and at the gate on race day are priced at $15 each. Kids ages 12 and under will be admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.
The expectation heading into Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is that thanks to the reconfiguration and repave of Atlanta Motor Speedway, the race will run similarly to those at Daytona and Talladega. With increased banking and a narrowed layout, plus the addition of tapered spacers to the engines, we’re likely to see tight packs of race cars we’re used to seeing at the superspeedways.
The betting market agrees with this sentiment, as the odds to win the Atlanta race resemble the numbers for, say, the Daytona 500. At the market-making SuperBook USA, the three co-favorites — Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano — are offered at 10-to-1 odds, far longer than the chalk is priced for a typical 1.5-mile track. For last July’s Atlanta race, for example, Larson was the favorite at 7-to-4 odds (+175).
Here are odds to win 2022 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 from three sportsbooks — official NASCAR partners BetMGM and Barstool, and the SuperBook.
Driver
BetMGM
Barstool
SuperBook
Kyle Larson
9/1
1o/1
10/1
Ryan Blaney
9/1
10/1
10/1
Denny Hamlin
12/1
12/1
12/1
Chase Elliott
12/1
12/1
12/1
Joey Logano
12/1
12/1
10/1
Kyle Busch
12/1
13/1
12/1
William Byron
12/1
13/1
12/1
Alex Bowman
14/1
14/1
14/1
Martin Truex Jr.
14/1
16/1
16/1
Kevin Harvick
14/1
16/1
16/1
Chase Briscoe
16/1
18/1
18/1
Tyler Reddick
16/1
16/1
16/1
Kurt Busch
20/1
20/1
20/1
Ross Chastain
22/1
20/1
20/1
Austin Cindric
25/1
25/1
25/1
Aric Almirola
25/1
25/1
25/1
Brad Keselowski
25/1
25/1
25/1
Christopher Bell
33/1
30/1
40/1
Austin Dillon
33/1
30/1
20/1
Bubba Wallace
33/1
25/1
30/1
Sunday’s anticipated randomness combined with the flat odds pricing puts bettors in a difficult spot. Value is hard to find, at least based on these early numbers.
“I was hoping they would price it more like a regular mile-and-a-half with Larson as a big favorite or Elliott as a big favorite,” rather than like a superspeedway, said Zack White, a professional bettor who counts NASCAR among his specialties.
“I wasn’t sure I was going to find any value. And now that I’ve seen the outright prices, I’m a little bit discouraged, but you never know,” he added. “Between now and Sunday morning, when matchups and stuff get finalized and prices kind of come into place, there might be something that pops up, and we might learn something along the way that the bookmakers miss.”
Blake Phillips, another sharp NASCAR bettor, said in a text message, “I’m going to tread lightly this weekend, but I’ll be eyeing some of the conspicuously generous odds.”
Jim Sannes, a quantitative sports analyst at numberFire, is also having trouble identifying betting value ahead of Atlanta. He modeled the race with a hybrid of data from superspeedways and 1.5-mile tracks, generating an outcome of “super flat win/podium/top-10 odds that are very much in line with what the sportsbooks are saying.
“To me, that’s a relief,” Sannes said in a direct message. “I don’t feel comfortable enough in my assumptions around this race to feel good betting it before practice this weekend.”
In other words, patience may be key to handicapping Atlanta.
Talking About Practice
Both White and Sannes will keep a close watch on Friday’s practice session and Saturday’s qualifying runs.
“I’m planning on sitting back and seeing how practice plays out on Friday,” Sannes said. “If it gives us some sort of definitive answer, then I’ll look to attack the markets, alter my sims, and see where value pops up.”
Since NASCAR now releases to the public more detailed practice data than just each driver’s fastest lap like in years past, it’s more difficult for sharp bettors to find an edge against the oddsmakers. Local knowledge, though, can provide such an edge.
“Several big bettors in the NASCAR space have realized what you can get from practice data, so you kind of look elsewhere,” he said. “That’s where having some local eyes and ears at the track (helps). You might hear a little tidbit here or there. Who knows what might turn up between now and Sunday, but it’s definitely worth taking a look at these lines and seeing how the bookmakers treat it after we see some speeds on Friday.”
Briscoe Darling
Breaking through last week for the first win of his NASCAR Cup Series career, Chase Briscoe has gained the respect of the betting market. Briscoe was priced in the 100-to-1 range as he took the checkers in Phoenix. He was also 100-1 two weeks at Fontana and 50-1 at Las Vegas and Daytona. But the days of Briscoe’s long shot status appear to be over, as the No. 14 Ford is just behind the big boys on this week’s oddsboard.
Briscoe’s success isn’t much of a surprise to White, who has a position on the Stewart-Haas Racing driver to win the 2022 Cup Championship at 750-1 odds and is looking at a payday well into the six-figures should it happen. Odds that long for a talented driver on a well-funded team as the Cup embarks on a new era of Next Gen racing was a “no-brainer,” says the gambling pro.
That 750-to-1 ticket is looking awfully nice with Briscoe’s futures price tightening to 40-1 at the SuperBook and as short as 22-1 at Barstool.
“My thinking with that bet was it’s a Stewart-Haas car, they’ve got a really good chance to play catch up this year with the fresh start with the NextGen,” White said. “They certainly have the money and the experience to put a fast car out there. And now we’re starting with the clean slate and kind of evening things out between Gibbs and Hendrick and teams like Stewart-Haas that has been struggling for the last couple of years.”
The rollout of the Next Gen car is going according to NASCAR’s plan: more competitive racing and parity. But for bettors looking for long shots now, it’s probably too late — the betting market has caught up, as it usually does. Ross Chastain, for example, has been adjusted to 40-1 at the SuperBook from a 100-to-1 opener.
“I’m kind of looking down the list now, like maybe I should have bet those Chastains and maybe I should have bet those Daniel Suarezes when they were in the 2, 3, 4, 500 range at the beginning of the season,” White said, “because there are going to be some more winners that are surprising this year. And all you need is to make the (playoffs), and then your odds are going be much shorter and you’ll have a lot of value there.”
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.
It’s been nearly five years since Donny Lia last competed with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
On April 1 at Richmond Raceway, that all changes.
Lia, a two-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion in 2007 and ’09, is returning to the series on a limited basis this season thanks to a new relationship with Boehler Racing Enterprises.
A return to competition has been on Lia’s mind for some time, but now everything has come together to make it a reality.
“I’ve been thinking about it awhile,” Lia told NASCAR.com. “It’s just timing. Timing with the right situation. I was looking for a no pressure situation where we can go out there and have fun with guys I have known for a long time. It just all kind of lined up recently.
“I really need to thank Michael Boehler and all the guys on the No. 3 deal for being open to having me come race with them. It means a lot to me. I really appreciate them taking a shot with me as someone who hasn’t really been in a race car in a few years and believing in me enough to go out there and give this a shot.”
Lia made his last NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour start in 2017. Driving Tommy Baldwin Jr.’s No. 7NY., Lia finished fourth at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He explained the decision to step away was a combination of family and business obligations.
“Things were just kind of piling up for me. My children were really young at the time, so I just felt like I needed to focus 100 percent on my kids and on work,” Lia said. “I still feel that way today, but things are just a little bit different today where I’m able to do this. It was tough. I had to fight off…I had to say no to some rides and to go racing with Tommy. That was really tough, but at the time I felt like I was doing the right thing, and I was.
“Now I have more of a clear head and scheduling-wise it works right now in my life.”
The agreement for Lia to return to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour began to develop last year when, while watching a Tour event, he noticed the famous Ole Blue No. 3 of Boehler Racing Enterprises wasn’t in the field.
That’s when he reached out to team owner Michael Boehler.
“He reached out probably late summer or early fall just to check in. I hadn’t talked to him in like a year,” Boehler explained. “We go way back since when he started running modifieds in like 2000 or 2001. He was just checking in. ‘Hey, how you guys doing? Watching one of the tour races and saw you weren’t out there. What’s happening? How’s things?’”
Boehler explained to Lia that his team had scaled back and wasn’t running the full NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule. That’s when Lia said the magic words.
“He was like, ‘Hey, if you ever want to talk about doing something, give me a call.’ So it just kind of worked from there,” Boehler said.
Lia got his feet wet with the team last November when he tested at Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts. Boehler said Lia was still on the fence about returning after the test but eventually decided he’d give it a shot.
Donny Lia sits in the Boehler Racing Enterprises Ole Blue No. 3 during a test last November at Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts. (Photo courtesy of Michael Boehler)
“He tested and was kind of on the fence, just trying to figure everything out. We talked a little more around the first of the year and we put something together,” Boehler said.
The 43-year-old Lia is no stranger to fans of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. In 191 Tour starts he earned 17 victories, the last of which came in 2013. He also has a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory, which came in 2008 at Ohio’s Mansfield Motor Speedway while driving for Kevin Buckler.
Of his 17 Tour victories, 12 of them came aboard the famous Mystic Missile No. 4 owned by Bob Garbarino. For Lia, it makes perfect sense for him to return to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour aboard another legendary race car, the Ole Blue No. 3.
“They’re both legendary cars and car owners,” Lia said. “Lenny Boehler (original Ole Blue No. 3 owner) and Bob raced against each other for many, many years. There is definitely a connection there.
“At the end of the day for me, personally, I just look at it as I’m very fortunate to have driven some of the most iconic race cars in modified racing period. Not many guys can say they’ve driven the Mystic Missile, Ole Blue and then to drive for Tommy Baldwin my last year I raced.
“To be able to look back and say I’ve driven those cars is definitely an honor, a huge honor, for anybody racing modifieds. I just consider myself very, very fortunate to have the opportunities to drive any of these race cars.”
Lia is tentatively scheduled to compete in six NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races this year beginning with the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150 at Richmond. The team plans to run the entire Tour schedule, with Lia sharing the No. 3 with rookie Jake Johnson for the remainder of the year. Ryan Preece drove Ole Blue during the opener at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway last month, finishing ninth.
Richmond has always been a bucket list track for Lia, so making his return to the Tour at the 0.75-mile oval is extra special for the New York native.
“I had some tracks that I really always wanted to race at. Richmond was always one of them,” Lia said. “It’s probably one of the reasons I’m even coming back. During my career the Tour happened to not be racing at Richmond for those years. To be able to go to Richmond and race a modified there is really something I’m looking forward to doing.”
Lia is also tentatively scheduled to compete in the Tour races at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway on May 28, New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 16, Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on Aug. 17 and Oct. 8 and Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 27.
In terms of expectations for his return, Lia doesn’t have any. He’s just thankful to be back in a race car with a group as dedicated as Boehler Racing Enterprises.
“Right now, we need to go out and we need to run our first race together and then go from there,” Lia said. “Do I think if everything lines up just right and all goes really, really well, can we be competitive? I think it’s possible.
“I still feel like there are some good years left. I’d like to go out there and find out if that’s the case.”
Check out the qualifying order (12:30 p.m. ET on FS1) for Saturday’s on-track action at Atlanta Motor Speedway before Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). To view the order, click the printer icon above or click here to see the full order.
Atlanta is considered an expanded weekend, so there will be a 50-minute practice session on Friday (5 p.m. ET, FS1), and there will be no warmup session before Saturday’s Busch Light Pole Qualifying.
Single-lap qualifying is split up into two groups. The top five drivers from each group will then advance to the second round of qualifying to fight for the pole with another single-car, single-lap run.
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.
Drivers and teams appear to be settling in with the Next Gen car, and Phoenix Raceway showed more stability with the setups and how drivers are adapting to the handling conditions.
We’re seeing moves now where drivers are learning the limits of the car and can comfortably make saves as Joey Logano demonstrated in qualifying by recovering from a slide. While practice showed some interesting results, the action in the final laps of the race belonged to some of the youngest drivers in the series as Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick battled it out.
Reddick was there in the final laps and a bit more comfortable than he has been in previous races. His Richard Childress Racing crew has been able to make improvements to resolve the numbness issue he had recently complained about. The new pedal set is now mounted on the floor versus coming down from above, which results in a different point and requires a slightly different position. RCR mechanics were able to adjust the position of the pedal box to relieve the issues with numbness and Reddick did not share any complaints this time around.
Those teams will face an entirely new challenge, though, as they head back to the East Coast and prepare to race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which is an entirely new product for everyone involved.
Teams will run the superspeedway engine and aero packages along with the lighter duty brakes since the new surface and banking will be fast. While we should expect some similarities to Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, there are likely to still be some surprises based on the nature of the surface and all the unknown factors.
We can expect some big runs once cars get together in groups, but we shouldn’t expect anyone to try the top initially until they feel the track out based on some of the feedback from the Goodyear tire test that happened there. The big difference between Daytona and Talladega is that drivers will likely have to lift as they get closer to the car in front of them; otherwise, they will experience a tight condition from being so close to the car ahead.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
In addition to the aerodynamic challenges, there will be mechanical grip challenges for teams as the corners at Atlanta are tighter than the bigger tracks of Daytona and Talladega. Drivers will have speed, but they will have a challenge on corner entry as they make their way around the track, so we’re likely to see a combination of superspeedway style racing with the addition of some off-throttle time.
The general theme in the garage is that there are a lot of unknowns and most teams are taking multiple approaches with their setups and simulations, meaning we likely won’t truly know what handling will look like until there are multiple cars on track in Friday’s practice. That practice session will be one of the more important ones this year as teams will look to see how cars run in a group along with some single-cars runs to simulate what they will see in qualifying Saturday — that way teams have enough data to adjust the cars before they’re impounded after the qualifying session.
This weekend will also see the requirement of the rear tire changer to approach the vehicle from the rear to be removed from Rule 8.8.8.g which will open up opportunities for teams to attempt new pit-stop choreographies. Joe Gibbs Racing is the most notable group that has tried the style of pit stop in practice where both tire changers approach from the front. But even though Atlanta may be the first race that allows it, we may not see the full debut until a race or two down the road because two-tire stops are likely to be the main choice at Atlanta.
Atlanta should prove to be an exciting race and give teams a bit of a reset with some new challenges as they will see a new surface with the superspeedway engine and aero package — entirely different from what they’ve gotten comfortable with while racing out west.
NASCAR suspended crew chief Ryan Sparks and crew members Blaine Anderson (front changer) and Allen Hollman (jack) on Tuesday for four championship points events after the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet lost a wheel during Sunday’s Ruoff Mortage 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
Corey LaJoie hit the wall and lost a wheel in Stage 1 and ended up completing just 45 of the scheduled 312 laps for a last-place finish. The violation fell under Sections 10.5.2.6 of the NASCAR Rule Book: Loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle.
NASCAR also fined two Xfinity Series teams after their cars were found with a single lug nut not secured in post-race inspection on Saturday at Phoenix. Those teams were the No. 18 of Trevor Bayne and the No. 19 of Brandon Jones, with the respective crew chiefs Jason Ratliff and Jeff Meendering receiving $5,000 fines.
HAMPTON, Ga. (March 14, 2022) – The anticipation has been building for months. Torn apart, modified, and rebuilt in 163 days, the next generation Atlanta Motor Speedway will make its grand debut this weekend during the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.
Minutes after Kurt Busch took the checkered flag last July, crews began dismantling the track in preparation for its first repave since 1997. Reconfiguration produced 28-degree banking in every corner of the 1.54-mile speedway, making AMS the steepest intermediate track on the NASCAR schedule and writing a new chapter in the history of the iconic superspeedway.
“Anticipation has been building for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 since the moment we announced the reconfiguration,” said Executive Vice President and General Manager Brandon Hutchison. “The excitement and the unknown surrounding the upgraded and enhanced all-new Atlanta Motor Speedway has been unrivaled.”
Atlanta Motor Speedway
From idea conception to announcement to iRacing simulation to construction and testing, Speedway Motorsports has taken feedback and insights from across the industry to create a first-of-its-kind race track.
Since completion of the repave in December, tests held at the all-new AMS have offered a chance to get additional insight from drivers on the new layout. Based on their input, speedway officials fine-tuned several aspects of the track, including the creation of a smoother entry into the frontstretch as drivers exit turn 4. Crews added 320 feet of new outside wall and SAFER barrier to create a flatter curve.
The project also provided an opportunity to widen Atlanta’s frontstretch. Crews removed a large portion of the infield grass and added more asphalt, giving drivers more runoff to save their cars from damage and more room to pass as they challenge for stage wins and the checkered flag.
Safety enhancements to the Speedway also included reinforcing the frontstretch catch fence.
During construction, the track also added an open drainage layer under the asphalt to move groundwater away from the racing surface, reduce weepers and improve track drying time in inclement weather.
“Every step we’ve taken in this project has been to deliver a new, entertaining type of racing for the fans — something they’ve never seen before,” said AMS Executive Vice President and General Manager Brandon Hutchison. “From start to finish we’ve had great people involved in realizing this vision for the next generation of Atlanta Motor Speedway. We can’t wait to see NASCAR’s best take on this all-new track!”
The March 18-20 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 weekend will feature the first NASCAR races on the all-new Atlanta Motor Speedway, from Saturday’s Fr8 208 and Nalley Cars 250 doubleheader to Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. Drivers in each series will be tasked with taming a challenge unlike any other on the NASCAR circuit.
For more information or to purchase tickets, fans should visit AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com or call 877-9-AMS-TIX.
About the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 weekend:
Since 2015 the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 has been the main event in Atlanta Motor Speedway’s spring NASCAR weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This storied NASCAR Cup Series race brings awareness to Folds of Honor and its mission to help families of military servicemen and women who have fallen or been disabled while on active duty in the United States Armed Forces.
AVONDALE, Ariz. — The feeling of defeat almost won.
Chase Briscoe packed up his North Carolina life and decided it was time to head home to Indiana. Stock-car racing didn’t seem to be in the cards for the then-20-year-old. He’d made just two ARCA starts, and nothing else was on tap.
“I called my mom, I remember, an hour before,” Briscoe said. “I was bawling. I was over it. I felt like I had been kicked so many times, had no opportunities.
Briggs and Beth Cunningham asked if Briscoe wanted to test their ARCA car in 2015. That trial run then turned into a full-time gig come 2016. Briscoe won six of the 20 races that season en route to the championship.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
The next year, Briscoe made his NASCAR debut in the Camping World Truck Series – Feb. 24, 2017 at Daytona International Speedway. He finished third, driving full time for Brad Keselowski Racing. In the season finale, on Nov. 17, 2017 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Briscoe won his first NASCAR race.
Last Sunday – seven years removed from that call – Briscoe broke through to Victory Lane at Phoenix Raceway in the Cup Series, becoming the 200th driver to win at NASCAR’s top level.
“I never thought I’d win a Truck race, let alone win in all three series now,” Briscoe said. “It’s super special. Can’t believe it. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. I don’t know if it will for a while.”
Briscoe has now won a Cup, two Truck and 11 Xfinity Series races, making the 27-year-old one of 38 NASCAR drivers to win in all three divisions.
Sunday’s victory came in Briscoe’s 40th career Cup Series start, all with Stewart-Haas Racing. He’d only even finished in the top five one other time – earlier this season at Daytona, where he came in third. His best rookie result in 2021 was sixth (twice) at Road America and Circuit of The Americas.
“I think from a confidence standpoint, I feel like I belong this year,” Briscoe said. “Last year, you’re very eyes wide open. You’re racing against guys you’ve watched on TV for years, you’ve looked up to. Now, I don’t look at the 18 car and go, ‘That’s Kyle Busch.’ It’s just the 18 car, another guy out there.”
The next time NASCAR returns to Phoenix’s 1-mile track: the championship, Nov. 6. And Briscoe is already guaranteed a playoff berth by virtue of his victory. He’s the fourth driver to lock in, joining Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman, who won the opening three events.
There are 22 races left in the regular season – starting Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – before the four-round, 10-race postseason begins.
“This isn’t a guarantee,” Briscoe said. “This could be my only win. I hope not.
“It shows I’m capable of being at this level, but you still have to keep working.”
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Three drivers. Three laps. One goal.
Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick and Ross Chastain were each vying for their first career Cup Series win Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, and all of them had a rather equal shot on Lap 309 of 312 as they held the front spots for the final restart.
“It’s like when someone cuts you off on the freeway,” Reddick said. “You’re mad, you want to honk at them. It’s very tempting to hit the horn, right?”
Before what would be the last green flag, Briscoe, as the leader, chose the inside lane. Reddick lined up alongside him on the outside. Chastain then fell in behind Briscoe, and Kevin Harvick – a nine-time Phoenix winner – was next door in fourth.
As soon as the field fired off, Briscoe dove down into the apron to maintain position, kind of like a legal shortcut. Reddick and Chastain followed but not as far. Harvick stayed higher.
“On that last restart, or two restarts, I felt like that was probably the worst-case scenario for me,” Briscoe said. “Ross and Tyler are probably two of the most aggressive guys on restarts and obviously were going for their first win, too. And then fourth, you have Kevin, who obviously it’s been a year, year and a half since he’s won, so you know he’s hungry, too. I just knew that as long as I drove in there deeper than everybody else, I felt like I was probably going to be OK.”
More than OK. Briscoe was able to pull ahead so much that he completed two more go-arounds with no issue and won the Ruoff Mortgage 500. He took the checkered flag with a 0.771-second margin of victory.
The battle for runner-up, though, was much tighter – and until the very end. Reddick and Chastain practically crossed the finish line side by side. Only 0.016 seconds separated Chastain in second and Reddick in third.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
“We were waving to each other when it got done,” Chastain said. “Like it’s so much fun to race with friends like that. I can’t call many of these guys friends, and I can call Reddick a friend. To get to race with him there at the end, a lot trust on each of our parts to come home clean.”
Said Reddick: “We’ve all had a lot of fun racing each other in the Xfinity Series and when our paths have crossed in our past. We’re all very, very aggressive. But none of us want to be the guy to put someone in the wall wrong or anything like that. Right up to that point, but we never like to cross it.”
Harvick faded to sixth, as polesitter Ryan Blaney snuck into fourth instead.
The victory gives Briscoe two top-five finishes in 40 career starts. Second matched Chastain’s personal best, and he now has five top fives in 119 races. Reddick stands at seven top fives in 78 attempts; he has three P2s already on his record.
Briscoe marks the Cup Series’ 200th all-time different victor. He is the second first-time winner in 2022. Chastain and Reddick’s next chance to join those lists is March 20 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“Right on the restarts, he had the control,” Chastain said. “So, although we kept taking shots at him – or I did – I never had the full upper hand. But that’s fine. I don’t need the upper hand. I just need a shot, and we had a shot.”
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