Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to its first 1.5-mile track of the season this weekend with a trip to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Las Vegas also marks the first track teams will see that also makes an appearance in the playoffs, meaning plenty of notes will be taken on how the Next Gen car behaves in the desert.

Check out everything you need to know before Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

TRACK TIME IS KEY

NASCAR is adjusting its procedures for its revamped practice and qualifying this weekend at Las Vegas.

All teams will now be able to participate in Saturday’s 35-minute practice session (1:30 p.m. ET, FS2). After the session, teams will be broken into two groups (Group A and Group B) based on odd/even finishing order from last week’s race at Auto Club Speedway for single-car, single-lap qualifying (2:15 p.m. ET, FS1). The top five drivers from each group will then advance to the second round of qualifying to fight for the Busch Light Pole Award in another single-car, single-lap run.

RELATED: Las Vegas schedule | Cup Series standings

LAS VEGAS HISTORY

— Construction of Las Vegas Motor Speedway was completed in June 1996 on a 1,600-acre site near Nellis Air Force Base that holds rich racing history, dating back to a drag strip built in 1958. The site currently houses the 1.5-mile speedway, an industrial park, a drag strip, a 1/2-mile dirt track, a 3/8-mile paved oval and two road courses.

— The track’s original layout featured 12-degree banking in the corners, 3 degrees of banking on the backstretch and 9 degrees on the frontstretch. But a reconfiguration in 2006 changed the racing significantly, the result of 20-degree banking in the corners and 9-degree banking on each of the straightaways.

— Sunday marks the 29th race at Las Vegas.

— Las Vegas is the first of nine races held on 1.5-mile track this year.

Source: Racing Insights

GOODYEAR TIRES

Las Vegas has historically been a low-wear track for tires since the track was resurfaced. However, due in part to the Next Gen car’s wider tires and less downforce, Goodyear will issue the same right-side tire compound used at Auto Club as well as nine sets to use throughout the race.

“We have actually seen tire wear increase a little over the last couple races at Las Vegas,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “It is certainly not in the category of a Darlington or a Fontana that we saw last week, but all track surfaces will naturally degrade over time and wear will increase. To go along with that, these cars will run a package that has higher horsepower (670) and lower downforce (4-inch spoiler) than in recent Vegas races, and that will add to the wear as cars are less ‘in the track’ and have more lateral slip.”

RELATED: Complete list of horsepower/downforce track combinations

STORY LINES IN SIN CITY

— Kyle Larson has won five of the last seven races, the first driver to accomplish the feat since Tony Stewart in 2005.

— Aric Almirola is the only driver with two top 10s in 2022.

— Nineteen drivers have collected top-10 finishes this season. That’s the most through two races since 1973 (20).

— Kyle Larson’s Auto Club victory gives Hendrick Motorsports wins in 38 different seasons.

— Erik Jones finished third in Fontana, California, his best finish since driving the No. 43 Chevrolet. His 143 laps run in the top five were more than he ran in the top five in all of 2021 combined.

— Tyler Reddick led 90 laps at Auto Club before a flat left-rear tire ruined his day. Before that race, Reddick had led a combined 73 laps.

— Christopher Bell, William Byron and Harrison Burton all have two DNFs through two races.

— Thirteen of the last 14 Vegas races have been won by a Cup champion. Denny Hamlin is the exception after his September 2021 victory.

— The Stage 2 winner has won seven of the last nine races at Las Vegas.

— Kyle Larson leads all active drivers with four top-10 finishes in each of his last four Vegas starts. Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney each have three straight top 10s.

Source: Racing Insights

BETTING IT ALL IN VEGAS

Kyle Larson remains the odds-on favorite to hit the jackpot in Las Vegas this weekend with 9-2 odds, according to BetMGM. Not far behind is his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott (7-1), but Elliott has yet to win at the 1.5-mile track.

Elliott finished second in Vegas last September but had three straight finishes outside the top 10 before that performance.

The bet that should be catching eyes this weekend is Brad Keselowski at 25-1 odds. Keselowski leads all active drivers with three wins. Of course, those all came in Team Penske’s No. 2 car. The 2012 Cup champion now finds himself wheeling the No. 6 Ford for the RFK Racing team he co-owns. The Next Gen car may provide some challenges, but there’s no question Keselowski knows how to wheel around Las Vegas.

RELATED: Odds for Las Vegas | Analyzing driver head-to-head matchups

FANTASY LIVE

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live, which is open now. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts by garaging a driver by the end of Stage 2, and there is a $25,000 prize for the winner.

The 2022 Fantasy Live points leaders are Austin Cindric (76 points), Joey Logano (75 points) and Martin Truex Jr. (68 points).

How to play: Fantasy Live | Set up a team today!

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.

Posted on by Staff Report

Before Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), try your hand at some props on the race ranging from who will win a featured matchup to where a driver will finish.

Featured Matchups of the Week

Best team finishes

Where will a driver finish?

General race questions

Posted on by Staff Report

For 151 laps at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, Tyler Reddick delivered on lofty preseason expectations. 

For the first three-quarters of the Wise Power 400, the 26-year-old California native was in position to earn the first of “a lot of wins,” as Kyle Larson predicted two weeks earlier when the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion joined Mamba Smith and a chorus of pundits in dubbing Reddick a potential “breakout” driver for 2022.

“I feel like when I watch him, I am watching myself just because we are both really aggressive,” Larson said. “And he seems to be even a little more aggressive and kind of keep things in control better than I could back when I was running really hard in Ganassi equipment trying to run up front.”

Reddick did precisely that for 151 laps in his home state. He led for 90 laps — 17 more than the combined 73 laps he led in 75 previous NASCAR Cup Series races — and won the first two stages with remarkable control of his BetMGM-sponsored No. 8 Chevrolet at the worn-out tri-oval in Fontana.

RELATED: Weekend schedule for Las Vegas | Odds for Sunday’s race 

“I don’t even know if I truly understand what I do or what I’m doing to the car or the tires with the line that I run,” Reddick said after the race, referring to an instinctively aggressive style he developed in dirt and sprint car racing. “I just have a system or a way of knowing how to work up to what I think is 100 percent, and then finding that extra five, 10 percent when it’s time to go … I wouldn’t say I really understand it, either.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for Reddick’s first career Cup Series win as a blown left-rear tire — and subsequent collision with William Byron — on the 152nd lap pushed him to a 24th-place finish and, eventually, Larson to his 17th career win. 

It was enough, however, for a resounding vote of confidence for Reddick himself and the BetMGM sportsbook.

Shortly after Reddick praised his pit crew for adjustments on the Next Gen car and expressed optimism for the remainder of the season, oddsmakers reacted to Reddick’s strong race by slashing his championship odds and placing him narrowly behind the favorites in Pennzoil 400 odds.

He’s now tied with Austin Cindric and Christopher Bell for the 12th-best championship odds at +2500 (down from +3300). And, at +1400, just behind Kyle Busch (+1200) for eighth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. 

Fans are also casting votes of confidence in Reddick this weekend; as of Wednesday, March 2, he ranks a season-high sixth in both ticket share and handle share for race winner at BetMGM:

Driver Odds Tickets Handle
Joey Logano +700 7.4% 24.8%
Kyle Larson +350 7.4% 10.2%
Kyle Busch +1200 6.5% 8.5%
Chase Elliott +700 6.2% 7.7%
Austin Dillon +3300 5.6% 6.6%
Tyler Reddick +1400 5% 5.3%
Austin Cindric +3300 4.7% 3%
William Byron +1000 4.7% 3%
Brad Keselowski +2500 4.5% 3.6%
Kevin Harvick +1800 4.5% 5.3%

Reddick is also making his season debut in BetMGM’s Featured Matchups for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

William Byron (-130) vs. Tyler Reddick (+110)

Byron and Reddick share a manufacturer, Chevrolet, as Byron politely noted over his radio at Texas Motor Speedway last October, but that hasn’t stopped some on- and off-track dust-ups between the former Xfinity Series champions.

Byron has more career starts in Vegas than Reddick — and a driver rating of 94.2 vs. 69.3 at the track since 2019 — but they’ve split the four head-to-head matchups at the 1.5-mile tri-oval, and Reddick has a higher average finish (13.6 vs. 14.5) at similar intermediate tracks since 2019.

As of Wednesday, bettors are heavily favoring Byron to finish ahead of Reddick; he has 94% of tickets and 83% of the handle.

Kyle Larson (-150) vs. Chase Elliott (+125)

Kyle Larson wasted no time in rebounding from the Lap 190 crash at Daytona with a win in Fontana, his 10th in his last 24 starts. And he’s a heavy favorite (+350) to make it 11 wins in 25 starts and top teammate Chase Elliott in doing so.

One week after Larson’s “honest mistake” that sent Elliott into the wall and out of contention in the Wise Power 400, they’re counterparts in a fascinating Featured Matchup as Larson seeks a second straight win in Vegas. He won the final two stages last March en route to his first win with Hendrick Motorsports.

Ninety-eight percent of tickets (and 96% of the handle) are currently on Elliott, however.

Joey Logano (-120) vs. Kyle Busch (+100)

Despite ninth- and 11th-place finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last year — with two sub-100 driver ratings that snapped a 10-race streak of 100-plus ratings at the track — Joey Logano has sensational numbers in Vegas. 

Over the last six races at the track, the 27-time Cup Series winner ranks first in average driver rating (109.2), second in laps led (15.8%), third in top-10 finishes (four), and third in average finish (7.5). In 18 career Cup Series and Xfinity Series starts in Vegas, he’s finished worse than 14th only twice, both of which came before 2013.

To earn win No. 28, he’ll need to, at minimum, beat Vegas native Kyle Busch, whom he brawled with after a crash at the 2017 Kobalt 400. And the BetMGM public loves Logano in the head-to-head, pounding the book with 99% of tickets and 80% of the handle.

Kurt Busch (-120) vs. Austin Dillon (+110)

Kurt Busch, in his first year driving the No. 45 Toyota for Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing, is back in Nevada after opening the season with back-to-back top-20 finishes for the first time since 2017.

After a decade-long struggle for relevance at his hometown track, during which he routinely finished with sub-70 ratings, Busch has finished first, 19th, and eighth in his last three starts in Las Vegas, the best three-race stretch of his career.

As of Wednesday, Dillon has 97% of the tickets, but just 10% of the handle.

You can view updated Pennzoil 400 odds and more NASCAR odds at the BetMGM online sportsbook.

Posted on by Track Release

FONTANA, Calif. (March 2, 2022) – Auto Club Speedway is saddened to learn that pioneering motorsports journalist Norma Lee “Dusty” Brandel has passed away at the age of 87.

Brandel’s career as a motorsports journalist began in 1955 as a writer for the Hollywood Citizen-News and she covered sports car races throughout Southern California. In 1972, at Ontario Motor Speedway, Brandel became the first woman to cover a NASCAR race from inside the garage and was honored by the NASCAR Hall of Fame with the Squier-Hall Award for Media Excellence in 2018.

“Dusty not only was a trailblazing journalist, she was also a dear friend of Auto Club Speedway and of many within the racing community throughout Southern California and beyond,” said Auto Club Speedway President Dave Allen. “Our condolences go out to her family and friends during this difficult time.”

Brandel covered the first races at Auto Club Speedway in 1997, and she also worked in press information at other Southern California tracks throughout her career. In addition to her recognition from the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Brandel received the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association (AARWBA) Angelo Angelopolous Award in 2001. She also served as president of AARWBA and was a board member of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.

Posted on by Nick Giffen

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

The NASCAR Cup Series had a highly successful race at the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway this past weekend, drawing rave reviews for the Next Gen car.

Now, it moves on to the series’ bread-and-butter track type, the 1.5-mile oval, for 400 miles at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The race at Auto Club brought about some surprises, with Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones leading the way as the two fastest cars. However, despite their dominance, series champion Kyle Larson captured yet another checkered flag.

RELATED: Odds for Las Vegas race | Weekend schedule for Las Vegas

Books have reacted sharply to Auto Club, pricing Jones between 20-1 and 25-1 to win after coming in at 50-1 or longer the previous week. And the consensus line on Reddick is 14-1, although you can still grab him at 16-1 at some books.

That leads me to a third driver who was arguably second- or third-best on the day. In this driver’s case, books have not reacted to his strong day, possibly because it was overshadowed by Reddick and Jones, and possibly because he crashed out.

That’s where I’m focusing on my best early bet for Las Vegas.

NASCAR Picks & Predictions for Las Vegas

*Odds as of Wednesday afternoon

The driver I’m eyeing for my best early week bet is William Byron to win at +1300 on FanDuel.

Up to the point of his wreck on lap 151 at Auto Club, Byron had the third-best average green flag speed behind Jones and Reddick. He led 16 laps on the day, meaning 10.6% of the laps he ran were in the lead. That’s third best among all drivers at Auto Club.

Notably, since the advent of loop data in 2005 on intermediate tri- or quad-oval tracks, his 97.3 driver rating is the highest ever for a driver finishing 34th.

That’s a 219-race sample size!

In other words, Byron was really good, yet his odds haven’t shortened from Auto Club to Las Vegas.

That’s curious considering Las Vegas was one of his better tracks last year. In the spring race, Byron had the fifth-best average green flag speed and brought it home eighth.

In the fall playoff race, he was extremely unlucky to get caught out on poor pit strategy. He had by far the best car in that race, leading everyone in average green flag speed. He posted that speed despite having to drive through the field twice.

A flat tire relegated him to an 18th-place finish, but he was clearly the class of the field.

Overall, Byron had the second-best average running position at 1.5-mile tracks in 2021.

My model gives him a 9.3% chance of victory, easily besting his 7.1% implied odds to win.

If you can’t grab him at +1300, he’s widely available at +1200, so I wouldn’t go below that number.

Posted on by Staff Report

Check out the qualifying order (2:15 p.m. ET on FS1) for Saturday’s on-track action at Las Vegas Motor Speedway before Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 (3:30 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.

On most ovals this season, teams will be split into two groups based on odd/even finishing order from the week’s previous race for one 15-minute warmup/practice session per group. That will NOT be the case at Las Vegas, where the full field will comprise one group for the Cup practice (1:30 p.m. ET on FS2) that will run for 35 minutes to give teams additional on-track time.

That practice will lead directly into single-car, single-lap qualifying that 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.

RELATED: Learn more about the practice and qualifying procedures for 2022

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials issued a four-race suspension Tuesday to Front Row Motorsports crew chief Seth Barbour and crew members Jourdan Osinskie (jack man) and Tanner Andrews (front changer) after the No. 38 Ford lost a wheel during last weekend’s Cup Series event at Auto Club Speedway.

RELATED: NASCAR Cup Series schedule

Todd Gilliland drove the No. 38 to a 20th-place finish in Sunday’s Wise Power 400, but his car lost a wheel during a caution period for the Stage 1 break. The Bob Jenkins-owned team was cited under Sections 10.5.2.6 of the NASCAR Rule Book, which covers “loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle.”

Front Row announced Wednesday it had begun the appeals process for the penalties against the No. 38 team.

Posted on by Bozi Tatarevic

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.

Sunday’s WISE Power 400 at Auto Club Speedway was an eventful race as drivers figured out the handling and cooling limits of the Next Gen car on the surface of the 2-mile oval. We saw some of those challenges and how much harder this car is to drive in practice as well as the race. Multiple cars spun from lift-off oversteer while cooling challenges started to show themselves for some teams in the early stages.

Lift-off oversteer is a condition where load transfer happens from the rear to the front tires of a car as the throttle is lifted, which causes the rear tires to lose traction and the tail of the car to snap around. This is also often referred to as the car snapping loose. It was something we saw starting in the practice sessions with multiple cars spinning and some ending up in the wall. One such case was the No. 4 Ford of Kevin Harvick which ended up hitting the wall with its right corner.

Rearbumperassembly

The Stewart-Haas Racing crew examined the damage on the car and decided to repair it instead of going to a backup. They were able to unbolt the deck lid and the composite rear bumper and quarter panels to find that the rear bumper assembly had taken most of the damage. Since the Next Car has modular chassis and body components, they were able to unbolt that rear bumper assembly and bolt a spare one and then reinstall the bodywork back over it. This would have required a backup car in the past as the chassis supports in the rear required cutting and welding for repair versus bolting on a new one with the redesigned car. 

Crew chief Rodney Childers took to Twitter to share feedback from their repair experience and stated that the repair process went well and shared that the at-track repair that the team completed on this car would have taken almost two weeks of work at the shop last year. According to Childers, it would have had to visit their chassis and shops for repair and welding of the damaged chassis components and sheet metal work on that body. Vinyl was re-applied once the composite body panels were bolted back on and Harvick went on to finish seventh in the race after having to start at the rear due to those repairs.

While Harvick had a fairly smooth start to his race after his initial troubles in practice, we saw the first yellow flag of the race come out as Kyle Busch lost traction with his No. 18 Camry when he touched one of the seams on the racing surface. As he was bringing his car back to pit road, we heard that his engine temperatures were hot and that was likely a combination of the new cooling configuration and possible debris on the track limiting some of that cooling.

Radiatorduct
We’ve gotten used to grilles being taped up over the years as the radiator used to receive its airflow from that grille in the front and engines pulled air into their intakes from a cowl below the windshield, but the Next Gen car changes all of that as both the radiator and engine intake pull their air in from that grille at the front and tape is no longer allowed. Outlawing that tape works in conjunction with new radiator ducting that now exits out of the top of the hood.

Radiatorduct 2

The radiator duct assembly has a grille at the front and most teams run a secondary screen inside the duct before it reaches the radiator to trap debris. That duct now leads to the radiator and oil cooler which are sandwiched together and then a snorkel from that assembly leads to the engine air intake. This type of configuration discourages teams from taping the grille or trying to obstruct it in some other way because it could potentially reduce airflow to the engine intake, therefore, reducing power.

Blockerplate

The way that teams can control how much air passes through the radiator now is with a blocker plate that can be installed behind the radiator to throttle some of that airflow. If a team chooses to use a radiator blocker plate then it must use a piece that is 0.062 inches thick with identical circular holes to allow the air to pass through. Teams can tune how much air passes by the size of these holes if the blocker plate is installed.

The likely scenario that we saw in the Kyle Busch incident, and a few others that complained of overheating, is that those cars likely had a throttle plate installed which would limit a certain amount of airflow. That combined with sandy debris we saw at Auto Club limited airflow to the radiator enough to cause engine temperatures to rise. Teams attempted to resolve some of this by clearing the grille area during pit stops but that is the limit of what can be done in race conditions because the blocker plates cannot be removed during the race and they are not allowed to be adjustable.

Auto Club was definitely a track for collecting data on repairs and adjustments and we’re likely to see improvements based on that information as teams head into Las Vegas Motor Speedway this week.

Posted on by Tadd Haislop

Choose the nickname: “The World’s Most Famous Short Track” or the “Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars.”

Either properly conveys the significance of Hickory Motor Speedway, the .363-mile NASCAR Home Track located in Newton, North Carolina.

One of the most storied tracks in stock car racing, Hickory in 2022 continues to host weekly racing from March through October as part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series. The track’s “Big 10” events conclude with the Weekly Series championship night — with double points for all divisions — in September.

RELATED: Watch Weekly Series action all season on FloRacing

From Gwyn Staley in 1951 to Josh Kossek in 2021, the list of track champions at Hickory is loaded with notable names. And that list does not include the NASCAR national series winners at the track in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.

Below is everything to know about Hickory Motor Speedway.

Hickory Motor Speedway

Track Profile

Hickory Motor Speedway
(Jacob Kupferman/NASCAR)
Track Hickory Motor Speedway
Location Newton, North Carolina
Opened 1951
Length 0.363 miles
Banking 14 degrees in Turns 1-2; 12 degrees in Turns 3-4; 8 degrees on frontstretch and backstretch
Surface Asphalt

Hickory Motor Speedway opened in 1951 as a half-mile dirt track. That was the configuration on which Staley won the first race at the venue en route to his track championship that year.

That dirt track produced more notable track champions in the 1950s, as Junior Johnson won Hickory’s second track championship in 1952 before Ralph Earnhart reeled off consecutive Hickory titles in 1953-54.

Earnhardt would go on to win three more track championships at Hickory, in 1956, 1957 and 1957. Those titles sandwiched Hickory championships for Ned Jarrett in 1955 and Johnny Miller in 1958.

The Hickory dirt track was reconfigured to a shorter distance (0.4 miles) in 1955 before it was paved during the 1967 season. The track’s current configuration, an even shorter asphalt oval, arrived in 1970.

FOLLOW HICKORY: Facebook | Twitter

Hickory hosted 35 NASCAR Cup Series races from 1953-71. Johnson has the most Cup wins at the track with seven in 20 starts, ahead of second-place Richard Petty’s five victories in 22 starts. Petty has the most top-10 Cup finishes at Hickory with 18 in those 22 starts.

Hickory also hosted 42 races for what’s now the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 1982-98. That includes six of 28 events in 1982, the first year for the series.

Tommy Houston and Jack Ingram are tied for the most Xfinity Series wins at Hickory with eight apiece.

Below are the complete lists of winners at Hickory Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, followed by Hickory’s list of track champions.

Hickory Motor Speedway
(Jacob Kupferman/NASCAR)

NASCAR Cup Series races at Hickory Motor Speedway

Year-Race No. Date Winner
1953-10 5/16/53 Tim Flock
1953-29 8/29/53 Fonty Flock
1954-19 6/19/54 Herb Thomas
1955-12 5/7/55 Junior Johnson
1956-01 11/13/55 Tim Flock
1956-16 5/12/56 Speedy Thompson
1956-55 11/11/56 Speedy Thompson
1957-32 7/20/57 Jack Smith
1958-26 6/28/58 Lee Petty
1959-12 5/2/59 Junior Johnson
1959-37 9/11/59 Lee Petty
1960-11 4/15/60 Joe Weatherly
1960-36 9/9/60 Junior Johnson
1961-16 4/22/61 Junior Johnson
1961-43 9/8/61 Rex White
1962-19 5/5/62 Jack Smith
1962-46 9/7/62 Rex White
1963-12 3/24/63 Junior Johnson
1963-46 9/6/63 Junior Johnson
1964-23 5/16/64 Ned Jarrett
1964-52 9/11/64 David Pearson
1965-18 5/16/65 Junior Johnson
1965-46 9/10/65 Richard Petty
1966-09 4/3/66 David Pearson
1966-43 9/9/66 David Pearson
1967-12 4/9/67 Richard Petty
1967-41 9/8/67 Richard Petty
1968-08 4/7/68 Richard Petty
1968-40 9/6/68 David Pearson
1969-12 4/6/69 Bobby Isaac
1969-42 9/5/69 Bobby Isaac
1970-21 6/20/70 Bobby Isaac
1970-39 9/11/70 Bobby Isaac
1971-08 3/21/71 Richard Petty
1971-39 8/28/71 Tiny Lund

NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Hickory Motor Speedway

Year-Race No. Date Winner
1982-06 4/10/82 Jack Ingram
1982-12 5/23/82 Morgan Shepherd
1982-15 6/19/82 John Settlemyre
1982-20 8/1/82 Tommy Houston
1982-24 9/4/82 Jack Ingram
1982-28 10/17/82 Jack Ingram
1983-04 3/13/83 Tommy Ellis
1983-14 6/11/83 Tommy Ellis
1983-21 7/30/83 Sam Ard
1983-26 9/3/83 Tommy Houston
1983-34 10/16/83 Jack Ingram
1984-04 3/11/84 Jack Ingram
1984-14 6/9/84 Tommy Houston
1984-18 7/28/84 Jack Ingram
1984-27 10/13/84 Larry Pearson
1985-03 3/10/85 Jimmy Hensley
1985-12 6/8/85 Larry Pearson
1985-17 8/10/85 Ronnie Silver
1985-25 10/12/85 Tommy Houston
1986-03 3/9/86 Ronnie Silver
1986-13 6/7/86 Tommy Houston
1986-20 7/27/86 Jack Ingram
1987-02 3/15/87 Jack Ingram
1987-15 7/25/87 Dale Jarrett
1988-02 2/28/88 Mike Alexander
1988-19 7/23/88 Tommy Houston
1989-04 3/25/89 Jimmy Spencer
1989-18 7/22/89 Tommy Ellis
1990-05 3/25/90 Tommy Houston
1990-11 5/19/90 Chuck Bown
1991-06 3/31/91 Butch Miller
1991-15 6/15/91 Jimmy Hensley
1992-08 4/18/92 Tommy Houston
1992-31 11/8/92 Bobby Labonte
1993-06 4/10/93 Steve Grissom
1993-27 11/7/93 Johnny Rumley
1994-07 4/3/94 Ricky Craven
1994-19 7/31/94 Dennis Setzer
1995-08 4/15/95 Johnny Benson Jr.
1996-08 4/6/96 David Green
1997-07 3/29/97 Dick Trickle
1998-08 4/11/98 Ed Berrier

Racing Reference: More race results from Hickory

Hickory Motor Speedway track champions

Year Track champion
1951 Gwyn Staley
1952 Junior Johnson
1953 Ralph Earnhardt
1954 Ralph Earnhardt
1955 Ned Jarrett
1956 Ralph Earnhardt
1957 Ralph Earnhardt
1958 Johnny Miller
1959 Ralph Earnhardt
1960 Glenn Killian
1961 Glenn Killian
1962 Pete Stewart
1963 Pete Stewart
1964 Ken Houston
1965 Allen Rankin
1966 Ralph Thomas
1967 Bobby Waddell
1968 Jack Ingram
1969 Harry Gant
1970 Ned Setzer
1971 Jack Ingram
1972 Bob Pressley
1973 Harry Gant
1974 Bob Pressley
1975 Tommy Houston
1976 Tommy Houston
1977 John Settlemyre
1978 John Settlemyre
1979 John Settlemyre
1980 John Settlemyre
1981 John Settlemyre
1982 Gary Neice
1983 Dennis Setzer
1984 Max Prestwood Jr.
1985 Max Prestwood Jr.
1986 Tony Warren
1987 Richard Townsend
1988 Robert Huffman
1989 Robert Huffman
1990 Max Prestwood Jr.
1991 Larry Caudill
1992 Scott Kilby
1993 Dennis Setzer
1994 Andy Houston
1995 Max Prestwood Jr.
1996 Scott Kilby
1997 Marty Houston
1998 Dexter Canipe
1999 Shane Huffman
2000 Robin Harris
2001 Mark Setzer
2002 Pete Silva
2003 Matt Carter
2004 Matt McCall
2005 Keith Bumgarner
2006 Andy Loden
2007 Andy Loden
2008 Andy Loden
2009 Andy Mercer
2010 Andy Mercer
2011 Jesse LeFevers
2012 Austin McDaniel
2013 Austin McDaniel
2014 Josh Berry
2015 Matt Piercy
2016 Dexter Canipe, Jr.
2017 Ryan Millington
2018 Jacob Heafner
2019 Thomas Beane
2020 Ryan Millington
2021 Josh Kossek
Posted on by Staff Report

After two-plus years of postponements, the 26th edition of the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America is set to roll on, with a seven-day route announced Tuesday to raise funds and awareness for the Victory Junction camp.

The ride is scheduled April 30-May 6, starting in Phoenix and making a loop of roughly 1,500 miles through Arizona and Utah. Approximately 225 participants are signed up for the weeklong event, which is presented by Cox Automotive.

The Charity Ride celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced postponements in each of the last two years. The organization held the Charity Ride Revival last September, creating an abbreviated three-day version of the event with scenic trips through Virginia and West Virginia. A virtual fundraiser was held in 2021.

As with previous editions of the event, several celebrity riders have plans to participate. Former drivers Richard Petty, Donnie Allison, Harry Gant, Hershel McGriff and Ken Schrader are scheduled to ride, along with NBC Sports broadcaster Rick Allen.

“We’ve been planning this 26th Anniversary Ride since the end of our 2019 event, and patiently waiting for the right time to gather again amidst the coronavirus pandemic,” Kyle Petty said. “So now, nearly three years in the making, I’m beyond thrilled to finally get our riders back together for an exciting adventure in Arizona and Utah. This year’s Ride is all about stopping to see some of the beautiful places we’ve ridden by in the past, mixed with a few new places for our riders to explore. Together, we will create memories to last a lifetime. And it’s all for the kids at Victory Junction! We ride so that deserving kids get to experience the magic of camp.”

The 2019 edition of the Charity Ride raised $1.7 million and sent 128 children to Victory Junction, which provides life-changing recreational experiences for children with serious medical conditions. More than 8,200 children have attended the camp at no cost as a result of the Charity Ride’s contributions.

For more information, visit kylepettycharityride.com.