Posted on by Tadd Haislop

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — The annual John Blewett III Memorial 76 as part of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing is special in part because of the silence that grips Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway prior to the race as competitors and fans alike pause to remember Blewett and other fallen heroes of modified racing.

But there was nothing quiet about the race itself once 38 Tour-Type Modifieds roared to life Wednesday night at the half-mile paved oval.

Matt Hirschman, who won Saturday night’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season-opener Saturday at New Smyrna, found himself in Victory Lane once again Wednesday after winning the John Blewett III Memorial 76 in convincing fashion.

FloRacing: Highlights from John Blewett III Memorial 76

The triumph marked Hirschman’s 200th career modified win. His mind after the race, though, was in the same place many were on an emotional night in central Florida.

“This race is special, because I raced with John,” Hirschman said of Blewett, who was killed at age 33 in a 2007 accident at Connecticut’s Thompson International Speedway. “I was in the race the night John was killed. It would be fitting for Jimmy (Blewett, John’s brother) to win this race, but we were the class of the field. We had a little more late and were able to pull away.

“The Blewett family — I’m thinking of them. I wouldn’t be at 200 wins if John would have raced longer. We were on paths to battle for a lot of wins. When I won my first North-South Shootout win, I’ll never forget him coming and congratulating me. I think he really appreciated a young driver like myself that owned their own car, set up their own car and did the stuff he did.

Jimmy Blewett finished second in the event, which runs 76 laps in honor of his late brother’s car number.

“Obviously wanted to win this one more than anything,” Blewett said. “Like I say every year, I finished second in one of my brother’s memorial races. We’ll keep coming back and trying.”

Jimmy Blewett was involved in the accident that killed his brother almost 15 years ago. At the time of his death, John Blewett III had been racing on the NASCAR circuit for 12 years. He won 10 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races, including three in 11 starts in 2006. He finished third in series points in both 2001 and 2003.

The annual Tour-Type Modified feature as part of the World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna is named in his honor, and it’s among the biggest races during the event’s nine-night span.

Wednesday night’s action featured a loaded field in front of a packed grandstand, much to the satisfaction of the late modified driver’s brother.

“I’m very thankful — and I know I’m speaking on my family’s behalf and everybody back home — that they’re continuing to keep my brother’s legacy alive,” Jimmy Blewett said. “My brother lived a short life. He was only 33 years old when he lost his life.

“To see the turnout, the people and the car count that comes year in and year out, to show the support not only to my family, but to our motorsports family as well, I just want to thank everybody back home who tuned in to watch the race. We’ll never forget John.”

Hirschman’s win marked his third victory in the John Blewett III Memorial 76; he also won in 2018 and 2019. He is now the first three-time winner of the event.

Craig Lutz, Joey Coulter and Patrick Emerling rounded out the top five Wednesday night. Spencer Davis, Tyler Rypkema, Andrew Krause, Teddy Hodgdon and J.R. Bertuccio completed the top 10.

Posted on by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Two drivers for non-chartered teams can breathe with a measure of relief after locking in their Daytona 500 berths with Wednesday’s Busch Light Pole Qualifying. And what a contrast for those two.

Give one starting spot to Noah Gragson, the plucky 23-year-old Xfinity Series regular who pushed the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet into the field with the fastest lap – 33rd overall – among the open teams. The other guaranteed berth went to Team Hezeberg’s Jacques Villeneuve, the 50-year-old Canadian who has a Formula 1 title and Indianapolis 500 win in his trophy case.

RELATED: Qualifying results | Daytona weekend schedule

Both will race in Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) for the first time. The other four non-chartered drivers – Kaz Grala, Greg Biffle, JJ Yeley and Timmy Hill – will await their fate after Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).

Gragson’s effort will mark his Cup Series debut. His bid to make The Great American Race with the Beard Motorsports group last year ended in heartbreak after a crash in the second Duel.

“It’s really emotional to be able to make the race after last year coming so close and went through adversity during qualifying last year and not being able to take time,” said Gragson, who has more part-time Cup Series duty on his 2022 schedule with Kaulig Racing. “Before the Duel last year, Ms. Beard said to just go out there and drive the piss out of it. So she told me that tonight before qualifying, too. Last year, not being able to make the race, it’s almost that much sweeter and you appreciate it that much more. ”

This year, Gragson celebrated with the family-run team, sharing hugs with owner Linda Beard on pit road after his lap. Beard and her children have continued the team’s legacy after the death of founder Mark Beard Sr. just two weeks before last year’s 500.

“Well, just being right here is a thrill,” Linda Beard said. “Because being a small team, and having this happen to us, which has happened before, we’ve made this race before, but not being here last year and having the tragedy of losing my husband makes this just so much more emotional for all of us and so much bittersweet for all of us. So it’s a thrill, and we are extremely grateful.”

2022 Feb16 Jacques Villeneuve Main Image
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

Villeneuve is scheduled for just his fifth Cup Series start and his first since 2013. He failed to qualify in his only other Daytona 500 bid, also driving a No. 27 entry for team owner Bill Davis in 2008. He’ll give Team Hezeberg, a part-time team with European roots, its first Cup Series appearance on the sport’s grandest stage.

Villeneuve was also all smiles after time trials, saying Thursday’s feat stood out on the list of his career accomplishments.

“Obviously, it’s not a win. It’s not like winning the Indy 500 or the F1 championship. But at this point in my career, the last time I tried to qualify here was 14 years ago, just to make the show is incredible,” Villeneuve said. “Because we’re a small team, we didn’t link up with a big team to to get the car ready, and it’s highly unexpected to be able to make it on time. So it ranks right after these big wins.”

The rest of the 40-car field will be sorted after Thursday’s 60-lap, 150-mile Duel races. Grala and Biffle were the fastest among the four drivers not already clinched, and both could rely on qualifying speeds to make the main event.

Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson has started 2022 off the way he ended 2021 – out front. The 29-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver won the pole position for Sunday’s Daytona 500 season-opener with a lap of 181.159 mph in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Wednesday night at Daytona International Speedway.

And for a record fifth consecutive year, Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman has also earned a front-row starting position in the Daytona 500. He’ll start the No. 48 Chevrolet second.

RELATED: Qualifying speeds | Duel lineups

All four of the Hendrick Motorsports cars advanced to the final round with 10 drivers and ultimately were among the five fastest qualifiers. Only the front row was set Wednesday night with the remaining Daytona 500 field finalized in Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel 150 qualifying races (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“It’s unbelievable,” Bowman said of the record. “It just says so much about Hendrick Motorsports and these guys. It’s cool to have the record but I feel like Greg Ives and the race team should get the credit. The driver doesn’t do much.”

“Hopefully we can figure out how to win it,” Bowman added with a smile.

This is the seventh Daytona 500 pole position in eight years for the team. And it’s Larson’s career-best starting position.

“It’s really neat,” Larson said. “I mean anytime you are really proud of your team to get a pole here ‘cause this is the littlest it has to do with us drivers, qualifying at superspeedways.

“Everybody’s who’s had a part in touching these vehicles, whether it be on the computer, engineering or just hands-on. It’s really neat, just awesome the speed in our Hendricks.com Chevy. Hopefully this is the beginning of a really good season.

“Almost feels like my proudest pole,” he continued, “because you’re proud of everybody who had an impact in doing it.”

RELATED: Every Daytona 500 pole winner

Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula One world champion and 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner, qualified for his career first Daytona 500 Wednesday night by virtue of earning one of two “Open’ positions available in pole qualifying – recording the 36th fastest speed in the No. 27 Team Hezeberg Ford.

Noah Gragson, a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contender, also earned an automatic bid into the Daytona 500 with a 33rd best qualifying lap. Sunday will mark his NASCAR Cup Series debut.

Two other Open cars – representing teams without NASCAR Charters – will be able to make the 40-car grid based upon their finish in the Bluegreen Vacations Duel 150s, which set the final starting order of the Daytona 500 grid.

This will mark Villeneuve’s fifth career NASCAR Cup Series start and first ever in stock car racing’s crown jewel. The last time he raced in the series was 2013 when he recorded a 41st-place finish in Sonoma, Calif. His best previous series finish was 21st – at Talladega in his first career NASCAR Cup Series start.

“Just to make the show is incredible,” Villeneuve said, adding, “To be able to make such a big race at such a high level is amazing. When I’m in a race car I don’t realize I’m 50 years old, which is good. As long as it carries on like this, I can’t imagine myself stopping racing.”

RELATED: Gragson, Villeneuve jubilant to make field

Gragson’s showing in the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet was equally as dramatic. His team owner Linda Beard – along with her children – is fielding the family-owned team in honor of her late husband Mark. It is only planning on running the superspeedway races and Gragson’s work Wednesday marks the team’s fifth start in the Daytona 500.

“It’s really emotional being able to make the race after not making it last year,” Gragson said, adding, “Last year not making the race, makes this year that much more special. … I really hope to make the Beard family proud this weekend.”

Judging by the smile and emotion she showed on pit road following the qualifying session, Gragson indeed made her proud.

“People that don’t race have no idea how much this means. .. when you are a team like us, we love it,” Linda Beard said. “To do this means so much to us, not only emotionally but just the thrill of it.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson addressed the media Wednesday afternoon, taking questions on a wide variety of topics from his chances in Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), to his pick as to who would turn in the “next” breakout season, to his expectations for a back-to-back title trophy hoist.

Larson’s best Daytona 500 finish in eight starts is seventh-place – twice – in 2016 and 2019. He’s led 17 laps total at the track – 16 in the 2017 race and one lap last year en route to a 10th-place showing.

RELATED: Full Daytona schedule | Every Daytona winner ever

“It’s the biggest race in our sport so I want to win it and I get excited to come down here, spend the week, get to go to Disney, run sprint cars and compete in the biggest race of our year,” said Larson, who drives the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 15: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, drives through in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series 64th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) | Getty Images
James Gilbert | Getty Images

“I haven’t had much success here so that part of it doesn’t get me too excited. I was close to winning in 2017. I crossed the line coming to the white as the leader then ran out of fuel. That was really cool. I just remember the emotions of that, I was like, ‘wow,’ I could win the Daytona 500. And not winning it fuels me to want to win it in my future. Before that race and every race since I have been not even close. I would love to do it.

“For me,” Larson continued. “I’ve chased races more than championships, so the priority of winning big races hasn’t changed at all because it’s more in front of you than the championship is really.”

Larson seems confident that one of his main challengers for a second title will come from fellow Californian, Tyler Reddick – driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Reddick, a two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion (2018-19), is still looking for his first win in the premier NASCAR Cup Series level, but has three runner-up finishes – at Texas (2020), Homestead-Miami (2021) and the Charlotte ROVAL (2021).

RELATED: Cup championship odds | 2022 schedule

Both Larson and Reddick raced sprint cars and midgets on their way up to NASCAR’s major league and there is great respect between the two.

“I think Tyler Reddick is going to have an amazing season,” Larson said. “I think he’s been the best car at all the tests. I think he showed last week at the Clash he’s really good. I feel like when I watch him, I’m watching myself just because we’re both really aggressive and he seems to be even a little more aggressive and keep things in control better than I could back when I was running really hard in Ganassi equipment trying to run up front.

“I feel like he’s the guy I look at this year that’s going to have the breakout season and winning a lot of races.”

That’s obviously a theme for Larson, whose 10-race haul in 2021 was the most in a single season since former Hendrick driver, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson won 10 races in 2007.

Posted on by Staff Report

Each year, the NASCAR Cup Series kicks off the season with its pinnacle event — the Daytona 500.

The 64th annual running is set for Sunday, Feb. 20 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/FOX Sports App) at Daytona International Speedway. And like any big event, some unique quirks are part of the build up.

The Great American Race’s most notable difference compared to any other on the Cup schedule is how the starting lineup is set. Forty cars will make the Daytona 500 starting grid. Thirty-six teams are guaranteed starting spots thanks to their Charters, leaving only four spots available for Open teams.

RELATED: Daytona 500 schedule | Launch of Next Gen 

The process began with single-car qualifying on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 8:05 p.m. (FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/FOX Sports App), where the two fastest drivers — Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman — secured the front-row starting positions for Sunday’s race, with Larson claiming the Busch Light Pole.

The remaining results from qualifying set the field of the two Bluegreen Vacation Duel races on Thursday, Feb. 17 (7 p.m. ET, FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/FOX Sports App). Drivers who qualified in odd-numbered positions make up the starting grid of Duel No. 1, while those who qualified in even-numbered positions make up Duel No. 2.

The highest-finishing Open car in each Duel will advance into the Daytona 500, while the final two spots in the Daytona 500 field will be awarded to the two fastest Open cars based on their single-car qualifying speeds.

The results of Duel No. 1 will set the inside row for the 2022 Daytona 500, while the results of Duel No. 2 will set the outside row for Sunday’s race.

Stay locked on this page throughout Wednesday and Thursday as we update in real time.

Bluegreen Vacation Duel No. 1 Results

* denotes Open, non-Charter team

Finishing Position Car No. Driver
1 6 Brad Keselowski
2 2 Austin Cindric
3 12 Ryan Blaney
4 14 Chase Briscoe
5 9 Chase Elliott
6 43 Erik Jones
7 5 Kyle Larson
8 8 Tyler Reddick
9 45 Kurt Busch
10 1 Ross Chastain
11 99 Daniel Suarez
12 24 William Byron
13 31 Justin Haley
14 77 Landon Cassill
15 38 Todd Gilliland
16 41 Cole Custer
17 16 Daniel Hemric
18 50 Kaz Grala*
19 55 JJ Yeley*
20 78 BJ McLeod
21 62 Noah Gragson*

Bluegreen Vacation Duel No. 2 Results

* denotes Open, non-Charter team

Finishing position Car No. Driver
1 17 Chris Buescher
2 34 Michael McDowell
3 21 Harrison Burton
4 18 Kyle Busch
5 20 Christopher Bell
6 19 Martin Truex Jr.
7 23 Bubba Wallace
8 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
9 22 Joey Logano
10 4 Kevin Harvick
11 7 Corey LaJoie
12 42 Ty Dillon
13 44 Greg Biffle*
14 48 Alex Bowman
15 11 Denny Hamlin
16 51 Cody Ware
17 15 David Ragan
18 3 Austin Dillon
19 10 Aric Almirola
20 66 Timmy Hill*
21 27 Jacques Villeneuve*

Daytona 500 starting lineup

Position Car No. Driver How Spot is Determined
1 5 Kyle Larson Fastest in qualifying
2 48 Alex Bowman Second fastest in qualifying
3 6 Brad Keselowski Duel No. 1 winner
4 17 Chris Buescher Duel No. 2 winner
5 2 Austin Cindric Duel No. 1 second place
6 34 Michael McDowell Duel No. 2 second place
7 12 Ryan Blaney Duel No. 1 third place
8 21 Harrison Burton Duel No. 2 third place
9 14 Chase Briscoe Duel No. 1 fourth place
10 18 Kyle Busch Duel No. 2 fourth place
11 9 Chase Elliott Duel No. 1 fifth place
12 20 Christopher Bell Duel No. 2 fifth place
13 43 Erik Jones Duel No. 1 sixth place
14 19 Martin Truex Jr. Duel No. 2 sixth place
15 8 Tyler Reddick Duel No. 1 eighth place
16 23 Bubba Wallace Duel No. 2 seventh place
17 45 Kurt Busch Duel No. 1 ninth place
18 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Duel No. 2 eighth place
19 1 Ross Chastain Duel No. 1 10th place
20 22 Joey Logano Duel No. 2 ninth place
21 99 Daniel Suarez Duel No. 1 11th place
22 4 Kevin Harvick Duel. No. 2 10th place
23 24 William Byron Duel No. 1 12th place
24 7 Corey LaJoie Duel No. 2 11th place
25 31 Justin Haley Duel No. 1 13th place
26 42 Ty Dillon Duel No. 2 12th place
27 77 Landon Cassill Duel No. 1 14th place
28 44 Greg Biffle* Duel No. 2 13th place
29 38 Todd Gilliland Duel No. 1 15th place
30 11 Denny Hamlin Duel No. 2 15th place
31 41 Cole Custer Duel No. 1 16th place
32 51 Cody Ware Duel No. 2 16th place
33 16 Daniel Hemric Duel No. 1 17th place
34 15 David Ragan Duel No. 2 17th place
35 50 Kaz Grala* Duel No. 1 18th place
36 3 Austin Dillon Duel No. 2 18th place
37 78 BJ McLeod Duel No. 1 20th place
38 10 Aric Almirola Duel No. 2 19th place
39 62 Noah Gragson* Fastest Open car in qualifying (not in via Duels)
40 27 Jacques Villeneuve* Second-fastest Open car in qualifying (not in via Duels)

Note: In addition to two Open cars that make the race on their qualifying speed, two additional Open cars will make the race based on their Duel results and will line up according to their finish in that race.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Ryan Blaney can thrive at faster speeds and survive on longer distances.

Three of Blaney’s seven career Cup Series wins have come at a superspeedway. Half, if excluding road courses. And the 2022 season will kick off Sunday on that beast of a track type with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM).

“I don’t really ever think, and I don’t sit around and be like, ‘Man, I’m a race favorite,’” Blaney said Wednesday during Media Day for the Daytona 500. “But you have confidence in yourself. It builds confidence when you are successful at speedways. We won the August race here, so you build confidence and I think I have a decent idea of what to do to try to get to Victory Lane, so I don’t know. I think a lot of people can be favorites.”

DAYTONA 500: Weekend schedule | Betting odds | All-time winners

Blaney conquered the 2.66 miles of Talladega Superspeedway twice before breaking through at its 2.5-mile sister track, Daytona. He won the fall event in 2019, leading 35 of the 188 laps, and the summer race in 2020 with 63 of the 191 circuits spent out front. The Daytona win came last year in the regular-season finale, where he led just seven of the 165 laps.

Aad500 74
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

That first superspeedway victory saw Jeremy Bullins atop Blaney’s No. 12 pit box as crew chief. The next two, Todd Gordon wore the Ford’s connecting headset. Now, Jonathan Hassler will be calling the shots.

Hassler was added to Team Penske after Gordon’s retirement with the conclusion of the 2021 season. Hassler was previously with Wood Brothers Racing, which is an organizational affiliate.

“He and Todd have kind of the same demeanor and personality, and he and I have the same pretty much personality, too,” Blaney said. “It’s been nice to get some testing in with Jonathan in the offseason to just kind of learn each other and talk to each other on the radio and see how we both go about things. That just gives you such a better jump-start to the season, but I’m looking forward to working with him. He’s very smart and well deserving, and I’m lucky to have him.”

SPEEDWEEKS: Entry lists, qualifying procedure and more | Tuesday’s practice recap

The duo did top Daytona’s leaderboard in second practice Tuesday, turning in a 46.732-second and 192.588-mph run. They were 39th in the opening round (49.848 seconds, 180.549 mph).

“It’s kind of hard to look at speeds in practice,” Blaney said. “We just had a big draft in that second practice and put a big lap up there.”

OK, but Blaney also produced the third-fastest lap time back in January during the second day of Next Gen testing at Daytona. He did not participate in the first day. And then, at the Phoenix Raceway test weeks later, he was sixth Day 1 and first Day 2.

The No. 12 crew has found speed in the new car.

BetMGM has placed Blaney at 12-1 betting odds to win the Daytona 500. Blaney has two runner-up finishes and three top-10 results in seven career Great American Race starts. He recorded laps led in four of those openers, including 118 in 2018 before ending up seventh, but he has also failed to reach the checkered flag in three.

“It’s nice they say I’m a race favorite,” Blaney said. “But you’ve just got to make it to the end and anyone can be.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Joe Gibbs Racing announced Wednesday that Ty Gibbs will drive the No. 54 Toyota full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season.

Gibbs’ widely expected promotion became official with the announcement and veteran Chris Gayle will be his crew chief. Monster Energy, Interstate Batteries and Sport Clips will divide the primary sponsorship through the season, with Monster featured on the car for the season-opening Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner 300 (Feb. 19, 5 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Changes to know for 2022 | Tracking the Xfinity Series rides | Daytona entry list

The 19-year-old phenom won four times while driving in a partial Xfinity Series schedule last year. That list included a breakthrough triumph in his series debut on the Daytona International Speedway road course, followed by wins at Charlotte, Watkins Glen and Kansas in an 18-race slate. 

“I’m excited to get going on the 2022 season,” Gibbs said in a team release. “Chris Gayle and the crew guys from the 54 were great last year and hopefully we can have even more success this year. Of course, I can’t thank everyone at Toyota and TRD enough for all their support as well. I’m just ready to get going in the No. 54 Toyota GR Supra.”

Gibbs also scored 10 victories in 20 races in the ARCA Menards Series in 2021, leading more than half the laps to power to that tour’s championship.

Gayle came back to the NASCAR Xfinity Series last season after a four-year stint in the Cup Series paired with Erik Jones. His return was a successful one as he led the No. 54 Toyota team to 10 victories, split among four drivers. Gibbs and Kyle Busch each won four times in the No. 54 in 2021, while Christopher Bell and John Hunter Nemechek added one each.

Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The differences of opinion between Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney still persist, nearly a week and a half after their run-in at the Busch Light Clash. During Daytona 500 Media Day, both confirmed that they haven’t spoken since the incident at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but that they’ve also tried to turn the page.

In the moment, Blaney showed his displeasure for their on-track contact by throwing his HANS device at Jones’ No. 43 Chevrolet from the track’s infield. Jones drove on to a fourth-place result, but Blaney wound up 17th, three laps off the pace in his No. 12 Ford.

“No, he hasn’t reached out to me, so I guess it’s resolved,” Jones said Wednesday from Daytona International Speedway. “I don’t know. You know, I guess if I had a problem with someone, I would talk to ’em. So I guess it’s over.”

RELATED: At-track photos | Daytona weekend schedule

Like Jones, Blaney said he had also put the incident in his rearview, but that no communication to potentially mend any hard feelings had taken place.

“No, I haven’t talked to Erik. I don’t really have anything to talk to him about,” Blaney said. “I’m over it. I don’t know. It’s funny he thought I was supposed to apologize after I got fenced. But just, two people are gonna think differently. But no, I haven’t talked to him, but I’m over it. It’s in the past and move on from it.”

After Blaney’s display of anger in LA, he questioned Jones’ tactics in a televised interview, wondering why he was racing full-bore in a low-reward contest for seventh place. FOX Sports’ Jamie Little noted that Blaney’s outburst seemed out of character. Jones said Wednesday he wasn’t entirely surprised by the reaction.

“The way I look at it, if I’m racing somebody and I brake-checked them, I guess I’d expect to get wrecked,” Jones said. “It’s not like I meant to take the guy out of the race. You know, I didn’t just intentionally right-rear him in the wall, move him up the track. He got in the wall and broke a piece, and unfortunately that took him farther out of the race. So yeah, he’s probably upset about that, for sure. He was having a solid run there, obviously. We’re kind of moving forward together. But yeah, I mean, frustrated. I don’t know. I wasn’t I guess shocked to see it at all. I knew he’d probably be mad about it, so just kinda waiting on it.”

Posted on by Scott Bernberg

From diecast miniature cars to vintage T-shirts, collecting is in the DNA of every NASCAR fan.

And while traditional collectibles such as cards and figurines remain popular with racing fans and general sports lovers alike, even after all these years, there’s a new kind of collectible emerging on the scene that could be the thing that pushes sports collecting into the future – Digital Collectibles.

But if it’s Digital, what do I own?

It can be hard to wrap your head around the idea at first, but when you get right down to it, Digital Collectibles aren’t that different from the physical items you’ve likely been collecting your entire life.

Sometimes the psychological hurdle can be a generational thing. Many of us equated our music collection with that bookshelf of CDs we kept in the corner of the living room (or even that technology favored by the ancients, a record collection). That was ownership.

But the young music fans of the current generation don’t need those shiny discs to signify their music collection. They are satisfied with a few fave Spotify playlists — digital representation of the music. It’s a way of thinking that has come with all the technology we have at our fingertips — and is why digital items can carry the same importance as something printed on paper.

Digital Collectibles are big and getting bigger

Digital Collectibles, especially those commemorating attendance at a major sporting event, are becoming a big deal all around the world. How big? Even the NFL, an organization notoriously slow to adapt to new technology, gave every fan who attended this month’s Super Bowl a complementary digital version of their ticket to the big game in Inglewood. (Given the game’s average ticket price of $6,116, they should have thrown in a ride home from MVP Cooper Kupp).

The Super Bowl’s got nothing on the World Center of Racing

NASCAR chose its biggest event of the year as the setting for the introduction of the first official NASCAR Digital Collectible — a commemorative digital ticket celebrating this year’s running of The Great American Race.

And to sweeten the pot, NASCAR created five different editions of the Daytona 500 Digital Collectible Tickets, each series with a very limited run of 100.

Everyone with a ticket for the 2022 Daytona 500 was eligible to win, but only 500 ticket holders would be chosen to receive the limited edition Digital Collectible.

Even those lucky enough to snag a ticket to the race, and then be chosen to receive one of the 500 collectibles were going to need even more good fortune if they were to get their hands on one of the five special edition commemorative driver helmets created specifically for the 2022 Daytona 500. These special items will be given to five lucky people who were selected to receive the commemorative ticket.

Whether you’re a new racing fan or a seasoned vet, you know that the bond between NASCAR and its fans is strong — which is why NASCAR chose to give these Digital Collectibles away for free. So that everyone had a chance to start a collection and share with other race fans.

MORE: Sign up for future drops here

Why WAX? (And while we’re at it, what’s WAX?)

NASCAR wanted to ensure that as many people as possible could take part in the fun of this history-making event. That’s why it selected WAX as its platform/marketplace. In addition to understanding the fun-factor of collecting, WAX also allows fans who may just be getting started with Digital Collectibles an easy way to dive in and get started.

WAX is also certified carbon neutral by ClimateCare and uses 220,000x less energy than its competitors.

In case you missed it … this time

And for those who weren’t selected for this inaugural program, don’t worry. NASCAR will be releasing additional collectibles as a thank you to fans throughout the season. Keep checking NASCAR.com for the latest information about upcoming drops.

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.

Teams have been hard at work to find ways to make the Next Gen car faster, and one of the most notable things we saw in the two practice sessions Wednesday was that some teams appeared to implement reverse skew in an attempt to make their cars faster.

One of the goals of the Next Gen car is to make use of the symmetric body and to have cars look more like what we see on the street, so a rule change was implemented late Tuesday night to reduce that reverse skew. As a result, we will see teams making suspension changes Wednesday.

RELATED: How teams will prepare for Duels

Reverse skew is most apparent when cars are traveling down the straightaways as it visually looks like the rear of the body is shifted left while the chassis is pointing straight. The benefit of this configuration, where the car is yawed in a clockwise direction from the top, is that it hides the spoiler from the right rear of the car, which in turn creates the lowest drag configuration. This is an optimal configuration for tracks such as Daytona and Talladega, where drag is one of the main performance differentiators.

All of the changes outlined below will require a rework on the rear suspension geometries and setups of the cars that were outside of these new allowable tolerances and will result in seeing cars that visibly show less reverse skew once they hit the track later Wednesday.

Due to the number of required changes, the garage opened at 11 a.m. ET Wednesday as opposed to the original 2 p.m. ET schedule so that teams have plenty of time to make these adjustments before qualifying (8:05 p.m. ET, FS1).

Rear suspension

Inset1 Rearsuspension

 

Teams likely achieved this reverse skew by performing adjustments on the rear suspension, where they have options to adjust rear toe and wheel offset by adding or removing shims. Rear toe is the position of the front of the wheel relative to the centerline of the chassis. Toe can be adjusted in multiple methods as there are also slugs that change the position of those toe links relative to the suspension uprights to which the wheels mount.

New2 Rearsuspensiondetail

 

If we take a closer look at the components that bolt up to that rear suspension upright we can see how shims can be added or removed behind the toe link clevis in order to move that suspension upright in or out. We can also see the toe link slug and how the position of where the toe link connects to the clevis using the slug can affect the position of the upright.

Rear steer

Inset Rearwheelsteer

All of these changes result in the change of the rear wheel steer, which basically turns the rear wheels at an angle opposing the body. The specification for the angle of that rear wheel steer has been 0 degrees, but there was previously an allowable tolerance of -0.30 -> 0.30 degrees on the left side and an allowable tolerance of -0.30° -> 0.00° on the right side as measured in pre-qualifying and pre-race inspection. This has now been changed to 0.00° -> 0.30° for both sides in the rear in an attempt to reduce that rear steer angle and visible reverse skew.

Post-qualifying and post-race inspection measurements have also been updated as the previous left side tolerance of -0.55 -> 0.55 degrees and the previous right side tolerance of -0.55° -> 0.25° have now been updated to an allowable tolerance of -0.25 -> 0.55 degrees. While these angles might seem minimal, it is important to note they are measured statically in the inspection station and they grow and become exaggerated when the cars are at speed on track.

In addition to the allowable tolerances being adjusted to reduce the amount of rear wheel steer that teams may attempt, the position of the toe link slugs has also been prescribed for this race weekend. The left rear toe link slug must be set to center or below center while the right rear toe link slug must now be set to center or above center out of the three positions that are available on the slugs, which set the lateral position of the toe link relative to the control arm.