Only a few months into his new role, Harrison Burton has hit the ground running. Tabbed as the latest wheelman for the iconic Wood Brothers Racing team in the NASCAR Cup Series, the 21-year-old legacy driver is eager to continue making his own name in the sport.
It’s no secret, the Burton name carries a long history in professional stock-car racing. Harrison’s father, Jeff, and uncle, Ward, combined to win 26 races in the premier series, while cousin Jeb is finding success in the Xfinity Series. But the youngest Burton now has an opportunity to do what none of them have before: win a race for NASCAR’s longest continually operating team.
“It’s definitely a cool opportunity and a big responsibility to carry on that legacy and do it the right way,” Burton said. “That’s not lost on me, but I think the biggest thing for me is that I’ve kind of always put that same pressure on myself to perform and do well. External pressure doesn’t really change my mentality about things. I think all drivers want to be the winner. We all want to do the best we can and I think that personality is the same with Wood Brothers and we’re all aligned with our goals.”
A win for Burton and Wood Brothers this season would mark two milestones for the newly formed pairing: the first top-flight victory for Burton and the long-awaited 100th for the Wood Brothers’ team. And they each have the confidence they can get it done.
“That’s the biggest thing is having a team that believes in you, that surrounds you and wants to go to work with you,” Burton said. “I’ve gotten nothing but confidence from the people around me. They believe that we can go and be successful and that’s from our crew chief level to the people at Ford, all the way down to just saying ‘hi’ to the people in the shop. It’s nothing but excitement and that’s been cool to see.”
Burton’s exciting career took off at a young age, with dominant performances in a variety of touring series.
He quickly climbed through the ranks, highlighted by a successful five-win stint in the K&N Pro Series East (now ARCA Menards Series East) in 2017 and four Xfinity Series victories in 2020. At the age of 21, he becomes the youngest driver to ever run a full-time season with the organization and youngest since Ryan Blaney’s full 2016 campaign at 22.
“It gets back to his demeanor and his willingness to learn,” team co-owner Eddie Wood said. “He just seems to really fit in with everyone. I think he brings some energy that only youth can bring. I’ve seen it before and there’s just something special about a kid that’s 20 years old just getting started and already driving race cars.”
Though experienced, the 2022 season will undoubtedly be one of the biggest shifts in Burton’s career — joining a new team in a new series, all while leaving the Toyota Racing Development (TRD) pipeline where he spent many years to transition to Ford.
“I was really nervous because I had been in the Toyota camp for a long time and I had this amazing opportunity here,” Burton said. “I was nervous to kind of change everything that I had done and it’s been a really gratifying change just because of the open arms that everyone at Ford and the Wood Brothers and Penske has welcomed me with. It’s been a pretty easy change for me. I feel right at home and where it also helped was the people at TRD were excited for me.”
James Gilbert | Getty Images
In addition to the comfort offered by the family-like environment in the garage, Wood Brothers’ technical alliance with Team Penske provides Burton with a chance to develop alongside fellow rookie Austin Cindric. On track for the first time together for the Next Gen test session at Daytona International Speedway, the young pairing started to find their groove and enjoy the experience.
“I think Austin and I both are really trying to gear up for our first season and being as ready as we can,” Burton said. “For me personally, it’s just such a cool feeling to roll into Daytona, to see your name on the leaderboard with the guys that you’ve always wanted to race against, the guys my dad raced against – some of them. I always thought that it was the coolest thing in the world that they were able to do that and what they did was awesome and now looking back on how bad I wanted to be in the opportunity that I have now, to have it is really neat.”
In spite of the bright lights and biggest stage of his career, Burton remains focused on capitalizing on his hard-earned chance.
“The biggest thing for me is to kind of understand that it’s a huge blessing to be here and an insane opportunity for me to be here and also understanding that I have to make the most of it,” Burton said. “There’s a very limited amount of seats in this sport and you have to earn your keep.”
Burton is scheduled to make his full-time Cup Series debut Feb. 6 at the Busch Light Clash in Los Angeles, followed by his first points-paying races: the Bluegreen Vacations Duels and Daytona 500. His lone premier series start came last spring at another superspeedway, Talladega, where he finished 20th with Gaunt Brothers Racing.
GANNEY, S.C. – JD Motorsports with Gary Keller is proud to welcome back La Mirada, California, native Ryan Vargas to the team for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. This will be his second full-time season with JD Motorsports.
While the 2021 season had its ups and downs, Vargas showed strength throughout the season with solid finishes at multiple tracks. Out of his 41 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts to date, Vargas has a best career finish of eighth at Texas Motor Speedway (2020) and numerous top-20 finishes. Each year has been an improvement over the last, and 2022 will be no different.
“I’m very excited for this opportunity to race for JD Motorsports again in a full-time capacity,” Vargas said. “Johnny and his entire team have believed in me since Day 1 and have become almost an extended family at this point, and I’m ready to hit the track and put everything I have into this campaign. I spent many years as a fan of this organization; watching the red cars fight against the big dogs; and I hope to bring that same excitement to the track and show the NASCAR fan base what this team is all about.”
The 21-year-old and team looks to continue building upon a solid base of partners and is actively hunting additional sponsorship.
“Nothing about this business is easy,” Vargas said. “However, we have some amazing partners that I look forward to seeing return and we are working around the clock to bring new ones to the fold.”
All partners and car number will be released at a later date.
The late Mike Stefanik will receive the call to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Friday night, an honor that recognizes his racing accomplishments as a nine-time champion at the regional series level.
Stefanik excelled in cars with fenders and those without – thriving in the former Busch Grand National North Series and the open-wheel NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. That dominance led to a handful of national series starts in what’s now called the Xfinity Series, and a brief stint in the Camping World Truck Series. He became that circuit’s Rookie of the Year in his lone Truck season, a standout newcomer at age 41.
Stefanik never ran a Cup Series race, but he was exceptional at the tracks where NASCAR’s top division competed. At tiny Martinsville Speedway, Stefanik won five times when the northeast-based Modified Tour ventured south to Virginia. Closer to his Rhode Island home, he was an eight-time Modified winner at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, adding a pair of Busch North wins to his tally at the relatively flat mile track.
Both of those totals top the all-time win list at Martinsville and New Hampshire since the Modified Tour’s modern era was established in 1985. The last of his 74 tour victories came at another Cup Series mainstay – Bristol Motor Speedway in 2013. He died six years later in an ultralight airplane crash near the Connecticut-Rhode Island border.
Winston Kelley, the NASCAR Hall’s executive director, has often said the shrine is a NASCAR Hall of Fame and not solely a Cup Series Hall of Fame. Stefanik fits that all-encompassing description, but his success on the grand stages of Cup Series tracks – especially at Martinsville and New Hampshire — is a distinction all its own.
With Stefanik’s induction night approaching Friday (8 p.m. ET, streaming on Peacock) along with fellow honorees Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Red Farmer, NASCAR.com spoke with two longtime institutions in the racing industry with deep connections to those tracks, gathering their remembrances of Stefanik’s enduring excellence. Their interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Mastery at Martinsville
Clay Campbell grew up with Modified racing as a regular tradition at the track his grandfather, H. Clay Earles, founded near NASCAR’s origin date. Mike Stefanik played a significant role in writing that history.
Campbell is now president of Martinsville Speedway, which celebrates its 75th anniversary season this year. The Whelen Modified Tour returned to the .526-mile track last season after an 11-year absence, but its previous run at Martinsville was marked by Stefanik’s staying power. The first of his five Martinsville wins came in 1989; his last, in 2009. Campbell was there for all of them.
Clay Campbell: “That all goes way back to when I was a child with the Modified Series coming here and running the doubleheader along at that time with Sportsman, but it was always big. And I think that that kind of points to the relationship, or maybe not even a relationship but the friendship that I had with Mike, because this place was always special to the Mod guys to come down. I mean, it was their annual pilgrimage coming down on the spring for the March race and then the fall race in October.
“And they always looked forward to it because they said this was their big race, and it meant a lot to them. So it’s really neat now to rekindle that relationship with the Modified guys and have them back here and running at the speedway. The Modified Tour’s always been special to Martinsville. That goes back to my grandfather — they meant a lot to him and it does to me as well.
“I think how our friendship began was you know, Mike coming down and he had five wins here at Martinsville, so that that’s pretty darn good for any guy to have. So obviously I got to see him in Victory Lane five times, for sure. But it was always Mike and his wife, Julie. I mean, they were together all the time. I remember one particular case, and I’m not sure exactly which year it was, but it was a Modified Tour banquet up north. Me and my wife sat with Mike and Julie, just had a wonderful time. I mean, they’re great people.
Tom Whitmore | NASCAR, Getty Images
“Mike was just one of the kindest people I’ve met, and to be a competitor, when you strap the helmet on and get out there in competition, you have to be different. But as far as the Mike Stefanik that I knew, he was a great guy. I went to his visitation and saw Julie, and you know, it’s hard to say when you only see people twice a year that they’re good friends or you consider them family, but in that case, you kind of did. There’s some people you just have a natural attraction to or you have a bond with them that you know, some people it takes seeing them all the time to do that. Mike was not that way with me. Anytime we saw one another it was like we just saw each other last week. I always thought a lot of Mike, and he was just a special guy to me.
“There are some drivers that have run here for years and years that never figure out. And there’s some that, in Mike’s case, he took it and he adapted to it. It is a difficult track and especially for Modifieds. I mean, they’re the fastest car that runs here, so to get around here in the times and speeds that those guys do to figure it out and be as successful as Mike was, that says a lot about his power behind the wheel. And obviously he had it.
“Twenty years between wins and to still maintain that drive and still put it on the line to do it, that makes him … just that in itself makes him a special individual. In 20 years, things change — your reflexes change, things in your head change, and let’s face it. Modifieds here, that’s a true race car that you’ve really got to be on your A-game to succeed at it, and he did it from 1989 until 2009. That’s phenomenal.
“I would say if Mike was here, and you asked him when he got started in Modifieds, did he ever have the ambition or the desire or even the inkling that he would ultimately go in the Hall of Fame, and I’m sure he would have said no, and I’m sure he would’ve said, ‘You know, I love doing Modified racing and that’s where I want to stay.’ Although I know he did dabble in Busch Grand National at the time, things like that, it speaks volumes for all the guys all across this country that are running weekly tracks every Friday night, Saturday night, that it’s doable. You can do it. Look at Mike Stefanik, and to go in the Hall of Fame with the guys he’s going in with, I think that’s great.
“The only bad thing about it is he’s not here to go in himself. I think Mike Stefanik embodies what NASCAR is all about. It’s just a shame. He’s gone too early.”
Back-home success at NHMS
Dick Berggren’s racing chops are unquestioned, spanning multiple areas of the sport for decades. After a start as a racer and car owner in the northeast, he became better known later as a veteran journalist – both as a founder and trusted editor of national motorsports magazines and a reliable broadcaster and pit-road reporter for televised NASCAR coverage. He continues his involvement with the sport as the president of the North East Motor Sports Museum, which neighbors the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway on state route 106.
Berggren’s roots with the Stefanik family run deep, all the way back to humble beginnings before Stefanik’s ability had taken hold in the racing community. But Berggren’s career also made charting Stefanik’s rise a necessity and a priority, and the racer continually wowed him at New Hampshire – a venue with special prominence for the Modified Tour.
Dick Berggren: “Well, certainly one of the memories I have of him is when his wife, Julie, was his spotter, and just seeing how the two of them interacted over the course of a race. They weren’t just husband and wife. I mean, if he didn’t pick the lane she wanted him to pick, he heard about it on the radio. They were just very, very good together. It just seemed as if you saw Mike Stefanik, Julie was nearby. If you saw Julie, Mike was nearby. They were as solid a couple as I have ever known. I mean, it’s just … his departure just has broken her heart, and I can understand that.
“Another thing to share with you is his racing, the way he raced. He was tough, he was aggressive, but by the same token, when I think back to all the laps I watched that guy, I don’t remember him ever putting a bumper on somebody else to move them out of the way. If he couldn’t pass fairly and easily and get the spot, he wasn’t going to spin somebody out. He wasn’t going to move somebody up a lane. That just wasn’t his way of racing, and I appreciate that. I know that’s not what’s going on anywhere in the racing world in the United States anymore, but it’s the way I like racing to be, and Mike Stefanik did it and he did it well.
“First time I met him, I found him in a basic one-and-a-half-car garage, working on a race car all by himself. It was an early morning, and I just thought to myself — this is before anybody knew who Mike Stefanik was; he hadn’t really done anything yet — I thought to myself, this guy’s working this hard this early in the morning on his race car. This is a good thing. Maybe this guy’ll be somebody someday. He really did turn out to be quite somebody someday, didn’t he?
Jared Wickerham | Getty Images
“He was so good at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. I mean, that’s a tough joint. It really is. You’ve got very high speeds, very long straightaways. So there’s a lot of speed going into both one and three turns, and a lot of people never figure out how to do that. The track being very flat, you don’t get any help from the banking. You’ve just got to control the car with your brake, your throttle and your steering wheel. You’re in charge. You don’t get any help from banking, and he seemed to figure it out very quickly. He was so good at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, I mean, so smooth and you never saw the car wiggle. You can tell by looking at him, he was right on the edge, but you’d never see the car wiggle. He was always in control.
“I can only think of a couple of other people who were as good as they were in Modifieds and also as good as that in the Busch North car. (Mike) ‘Magic Shoes’ McLaughlin was one of those. Teddy Christopher’s the other. It’s a small club — three people that could do that. And of course, Stefanik was — of the three of them — I think Stefanik was the best at it. I mean, he won championships in both series, and the other two guys did not.
“All three of this year’s class excelled on little, tiny race tracks and great big superspeedways as well. And they did it for a reasonably long time. I mean, it’s too bad (Dale) Junior didn’t have more time in his career. I would like to see what else he could have done if he was able to race longer than he did. But the three of them, it’s just an incredible class of very gifted and very talented people who all had in common in their racing days that they did the best they could to entertain their fans and build NASCAR as a sport that people wanted to buy tickets for and wanted to see.
“All three of this year’s new Hall of Famers are people who helped the sport a lot in what they did. They all had time for fans, they all had just wonderful records on the race track, and they helped build the sport. There’s no other people that are in that situation. We get three of them going to the Hall of Fame all at once.
“I think his legacy is that of a winner and that of a champion and that of a man who lived his life well and set his goals and accomplished them — and basically was somebody who you could point to and say, ‘I’d like to be more like that person. I’d like to be more like Mike Stefanik.’ Certainly, I’m in that category. I wish I was, but I’m not. He was very, very special. His passing was a huge loss to so many.”
Gary Crotty, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel for NASCAR, celebrates a historic first as the new year gets going. It’s a crossover into the affairs of global motorsports, one that leans on his years of stateside legal experience in stock-car racing’s front office.
On Jan. 1, Crotty began a four-year term on the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) Courts as one of its 36 judges, placing him in the prestigious rotation of members who hear and rule on international motorsports disputes. He became the first NASCAR representative to hold such a post after his election by the FIA General Assembly late last year.
Fusion Photography | NASCAR
“That’s another distinction and an honor that I’m happy to fulfill and am honored to do so, so it’s a big deal,” Crotty says. “And for me, having been in NASCAR for a quarter-century as a lawyer and helping NASCAR with their rules, regulations and appeals as well, it’s going to be fascinating for me to see how the other side of the pond is.”
Crotty applied for the post last summer after being approached by George Silbermann, President of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States (ACCUS), the FIA’s National Sporting Authority in America. He was confirmed as an FIA judge last month, and his term will run until Dec. 31, 2025.
His duties include the potential to be called upon by the two independent bodies that settle disputes and appeals in global motorsports – the International Court of Appeal and the International Tribunal – to hear their cases. It’s a post that will draw upon the legal experience he’s gathered since joining NASCAR in 1996 as secretary and general counsel.
“Gary Crotty is an outstanding choice for this distinguished position,” said Jim France, NASCAR’s Chairman and CEO. “Gary has served NASCAR with passion and care for more than two decades, and has a well-deserved reputation as a strong voice for fairness and process. We thank the FIA General Assembly for recognizing Gary, and by extension, NASCAR. They have chosen the right person for this honor.”
The 58-year-old Crotty has already began familiarizing himself with FIA rulebooks and regulations. Next up in February is an introductory seminar, which will involve another facet of his new role with the European organization: It begins at 3 a.m. ET. “A bit of a time difference between us and Paris,” says Crotty, who is based in Daytona Beach, “so that’ll be interesting.”
All sounds so far like a gradual orientation process with his new position, but the potential for a quick thrust into a high-profile case loomed as his term approached. That threat ended Dec. 16 when Mercedes ultimately withdrew its plans to appeal the results of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Red Bull’s Max Verstappen edged Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to claim the Formula One world championship in a controversial finish.
“That’d be a good first day on the job, huh?” Crotty said with a laugh. “Hopefully not. I was concerned about, my God, what have I gotten into? I’m hoping that I get eased into the situation and no one has something as big as recent things that have come up in the world of FIA racing. … I kind of wiped my brow that that wasn’t right on our plate.”
As for the other aspects of the job, Crotty says he expects the transition to be largely seamless. He’s been immersed in working remotely to conduct business for nearly two years now, which should help bridge some of the distance with the European body as he balances the FIA role with his current duties at NASCAR. Crotty celebrated his 25-year work anniversary with the company last year; he’s been a member of NASCAR’s Board of Directors since 2006.
That quarter-century of service has been a period of growth for NASCAR, and Crotty has been at the center of the legal end of negotiations for speedway assets and acquisitions, contracts with broadcast partners, plus deals with premier and series entitlement sponsors.
“So really, it’s been the gamut of experience and legal opportunity,” Crotty says. “It’s almost like, what haven’t I seen from employment law, environmental law, broadcast, (intellectual property) licensing, sponsorships — it’s everything, and I’ve had the privilege of being there for it. It’s been a great run.”
(Editor’s note: This updated news release originally published Sept. 8, 2021)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The NASCAR Hall of Fame and NASCAR are pleased to announce the Class of 2021 Induction Ceremony will take place in Charlotte on Friday (8 p.m. ET, streaming on Peacock). The ceremony was originally scheduled for Feb. 5, 2021 but was postponed due to the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19.
“We are thrilled to celebrate these legends’ significant accomplishments and contributions to NASCAR alongside their families, friends and fans,” said Winston Kelley, executive director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “The decision to postpone was very difficult but the right thing to do. With the planned evolution from five to three inductees with the Class of 2021, NASCAR and the NASCAR Hall of Fame teams saw an opportunity to take a fresh look at our schedule of events for Induction Weekend and are excited about what we have created. It’s always a special time for each honoree and their families and friends and will be a truly memorable weekend for our fans and guests alike.”
To celebrate the Class of 2021, the NASCAR Hall of Fame will again have three days of special events and programming — including an exclusive insiders experience, a brunch event with NASCAR Hall of Famers and behind-the-scenes looks at pieces of racing history.
KEY INFORMATION
Induction Dinner and Induction Ceremony (Friday, Jan. 21, 2022): Both the Induction Dinner and Induction Ceremony will take place in the Crown Ballroom at the Charlotte Convention Center adjacent to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Hall of Fame Membership Program: Information about membership can be found here.
Inductees: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Red Farmer and Mike Stefanik make up the Hall of Fame’s 12th class with Ralph Seagraves being honored as the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
Among the additional events scheduled for Induction Weekend are the Insider Experience, featuring a Q&A session with Class of 2021 Inductees and an Induction Stage photo op; Brunch with Hall of Famers where guests will share a table with a NASCAR legend; and Victory Lap, where the Class of 2020 will share stories and memories about the artifacts from their Hall of Honor exhibits.
The Class of 2021 will be the 12th class inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s since its inception in 2010. The first class with three members instead of five, it is comprised of:
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: A third-generation NASCAR champion in a family synonymous with the sport, Earnhardt Jr. is among the most popular drivers in NASCAR history. In addition to his 26 Cup Series wins and two Xfinity Series championships, Earnhardt Jr. served as the face of NASCAR for many years with 15 consecutive Most Popular Driver awards.
Red Farmer: Part of the original Alabama Gang, Farmer’s exact win count is unknown — but it’s more than 700 and counting. Named one of the 50 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR’s first 50 years in 1998, Farmer’s immeasurable passion for the sport has kept him racing for decades, even as he approaches 90 years of age.
Mike Stefanik: Atop the list of all-time NASCAR championships with nine sit two men: NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evans, and Mike Stefanik. In 2003, Stefanik was named one of the Modified Tour’s 10 Greatest Drivers, and he holds the all-time series record in wins, poles, top fives and top 10s.
Induction of this class brings the Hall’s total number of racing legends to 58. Additionally, Ralph Seagraves will be honored with the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
While NASCAR Cup Series drivers are set to take on the new track at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum February 5-6, high school students from the nearby Boys & Girls Clubs of Carson took time on Saturday to get a behind-the-scenes glance.
NASCAR hosted 20 members of the local Boys & Girls Club for an inside look of the .25-mile, temporary asphalt oval inside the home of the University of Southern California football team. The students received a detailed tour of the ongoing construction from Martin Flugger, NASCAR vice president of engineering services, design and development, and learned about the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) involved in the build process.
The timing of the visit allowed the students to see firsthand the process of installing the SAFER barriers, an important innovation designed to help keep drivers safe if a collision with the wall occurs.
“Being able to see the track in action being built, all of the engineering behind it and all the people involved in this was an amazing experience for our kids,” said Kim Richards, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Carson, located 15 miles south of the Coliseum. “We don’t usually have access to real-life application in terms of the things that they’re learning, so something like this is invaluable.”
Through its national partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, NASCAR recently launched a ‘Design a Racetrack’ activity on MyFuture, the club’s digital learning platform. The content teaches club youth all about racetracks – the various track types, surfaces and degrees of banking. Before Saturday’s tour, members of the Carson club were challenged with designing their own tracks.
“The MyFuture experience was really fun,” said Irene, 17, who attended the event on Saturday. “To be able to do it myself made me feel like I could be part of building a track of my own one day.”
Michael Chow | USC student
For most of the kids, the visit to L.A. Memorial Coliseum marked the first time stepping foot on a race track. The experience was eye-opening for Joze, 18, and his fellow club members.
“I’ve never been exposed to this before,” said Joze, who lives in Carson. “I learned so much including that it’s not just the car and the driver that makes the sport, it’s the track as well. I’m really excited to come back and see how all this work comes to fruition.”
NASCAR will host the same group from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Carson at the Coliseum on Feb. 5 for Cup Series practice, a follow-up experience focused on introducing the kids to the various roles across the NASCAR industry as well as the personalities behind them. The club kids and staff will also receive tickets to The Clash on Feb. 6.
“The STEM applications are really important, but this partnership is also about career development and making sure these kids learn about all the roles and opportunities that exist for them in our sport,” said Erica Wilkerson, who leads youth marketing for NASCAR.
“To be here on the track and talk to people at NASCAR who are behind the scenes, it plants the seed for our kids in terms of what’s possible in the future,” added Richards.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America was announced last April as the Official Youth Community Partner of NASCAR. The partnership extends across all NASCAR tracks and platforms and is centered around virtual and at-track opportunities for club kids that let them experience the thrill of the sport up close.
The collaboration emphasizes career development and mentoring across a breadth of industry disciplines, including engagement with industry executives and other employees, providing a diverse and inclusive environment in the process.
LOS ANGELES – NASCAR’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum just added some star power that’s “Straight Outta Compton.”
NASCAR announced today that Ice Cube will perform during the race break of the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 6. His performance, which will be shown live on FOX, enhances an already star-studded lineup of racing and entertainment set for the sport’s season-opening exhibition inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
“Ice Cube is more than a rapper, actor and entertainer,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president for strategy and innovation. “He’s an icon who has risen to the top in all of his endeavors. We’re honored to have him perform at this first-of-its-kind event in the heart of Los Angeles.”
To call Ice Cube a game-changer in entertainment is an understatement. He rose to prominence with the groundbreaking group N.W.A. before launching a solo career that showcased his visionary talent and led to countless collaborations with some of the music industry’s biggest stars. Yet his versatility as an actor propelled him to greater heights, beginning with his screen debut in the film Boyz n the Hood and continuing through his work in the Friday and Barbershop franchises.
Moreover, Ice Cube is also a business leader in professional sports as the founder of the Big3 basketball league. He’s also no stranger to NASCAR, attending the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway.
“I’ve long been a fan of NASCAR from afar, and I’ve become an even bigger fan after seeing the action in person,” Ice Cube said. “And now to perform for all of the fans at the Coliseum and for the millions watching at home, I’m excited to be part of an incredible day for NASCAR and LA.”
Pitbull will also perform a 45-minute concert presented by Coca-Cola prior to the 150-lap main event on Sunday, Feb. 6, and more celebrity participation in the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum will be announced in the coming weeks.
TULSA, Okla. — Christopher Bell’s face was as red as his Toyota Racing fire suit. There’s no telling whether this was the result of exhaustion or frustration. Either would apply.
Having just climbed out of his No. 71W Keith Kunz Motorsports midget car, Bell stood with his hands on his hips and watched Tanner Thorson celebrate in a cloud of confetti. Those who arrived to greet the 27-year-old NASCAR Cup Series driver were met with shoulder shrugs and tepid smiles.
Some might call this result an upset, but Bell knows better. He suggested as much earlier in the week, when he explained how one simple mistake can doom any driver on the quarter-mile dirt track.
Between Bell’s three consecutive victories in 2017-19 and Kyle Larson’s back-to-back triumphs in 2020-21, NASCAR Cup Series drivers had won the last five Chili Bowls prior to Saturday night. The 2022 edition of the Super Bowl of midget car racing served as a reminder that NASCAR drivers’ success at the Chili Bowl is more of an exception than the rule.
That is, assuming one considers Bell and Larson to be NASCAR drivers in this setting. Thorson does not.
“These guys, even though they’re NASCAR guys, they’re still dirt guys,” the 25-year-old Thorson said of Larson and Bell, both of whom built their careers racing open-wheel cars on dirt. “When people say ‘NASCAR guys,’ I don’t think of them as NASCAR guys. Because I grew up racing with them.
“They’re dirt guys to me.”
Christopher Bell and Tanner Thorson in action during the 2022 Chili Bowl. (Nick Oxford/NASCAR)
Most considered Bell and Larson the co-favorites to win the Chili Bowl even though a refrain was repeated all week: “Everybody knows how easy it is to have something happen to take you out of it,” Bell said Thursday after his record eighth preliminary feature victory.
Added NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon, speaking with FloRacing on Friday: “There’s a lot of strong competition, and it just seems to get deeper every year. You can’t make any mistakes.”
In his pursuit of Thorson during the closing laps Saturday, Bell made a mistake. He was attempting to find speed at the top of the track, padded with clumps of dirt, when he crossed the fine line with which dirt racers routinely flirt.
“Whenever the top gets like that, it’s side bite to run against it and it’s grip to run against it,” Bell explained. “So you want to run against it as hard as you can. But there’s a line and a limit. You can hit it at X mph, but if you go one mph over X, you’re going to push.
“You have to do it once to find out where the limit is, and unfortunately I did it before (Thorson) did it.”
The 2022 Chili Bowl perfectly displayed that strong competition of which Gordon spoke. More than a dozen drivers with NASCAR ties entered the event, but only Bell, Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. reached the A-Main.
Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champ, flipped his car in an F-Main on Saturday. Ryan Newman finished 13th in his C-Main. Alex Bowman finished 11th in his B-Main. It’s no coincidence that the Cup Series drivers with the most Chili Bowl experience reached the deepest levels of the event.
And really, of those drivers, only Bell was a true contender for the win. Larson struggled all week to find the speed that contributed to his pair of Chili Bowl titles. The defending Cup Series champion finished sixth in the main event.
Podium finishers Tanner Thorson, middle, Christopher Bell, right, and Rico Abreu pose after the 2022 Chili Bowl. (Nick Oxford/NASCAR)
These are the reasons Bell’s face had returned to its normal color by the time he reached the post-race media conference portion of the night. By that time, he was able to joke with Thorson.
“Want to see my trophy?” Thorson joked with his rival as he sat down to speak with the press.
Bell, sitting next to Thorson, replied with a smile: “I know what it looks like.”
For Bell, there’s no shame in a runner-up finish to one of the best midget car racers in the world. He may have three Chili Bowl titles, but Bell knows any of them could have been lost the same way a 2022 victory slipped through his fingers.
Though Bell stumbled in the closing laps, the reality is he did not lose the Chili Bowl. Thorson took it. Bell would not have been chasing Thorson had the latter not slid below for what turned out to be the winning pass on Lap 36 of 55.
“It got really slick right beneath the cushion,” Bell said of the track conditions. “I could tell I was really starting to slow down in my mid-corner speed in Turns 3-4. The thought came across my mind to start trying to pick up the middle off of Turn 4.
Christopher Bell’s shot at four will have to wait another year.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who doubles as a top-shelf dirt racer, lost the lead late in the Chili Bowl Nationals to Tanner Thorson, who powered to his first win in one of the most prestigious races in the country on Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
It’s the first Chili Bowl victory for Thorson, an ace driver who previously competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Bell was going for his fourth win in the dirt Midget race held in his home state Oklahoma. Only two drivers have won this event at least four times: Sammy Swindell is the all-time leader with five wins, and Kevin Swindell has four.
Bell started Saturday night’s A-Main from the pole position and led the opening 36 laps of the 55-lap event. He lost the lead to Thorson following a caution, but appeared to be in position to pass for the lead — and perhaps win — with six laps to go. A flip by Brady Bacon brought out the caution, though, and Thorson maintained the lead.
Bell would finish second, with Rico Abreu, Michael “Buddy” Kofoid and Tanner Carrick completing the top five.
Thorson’s win broke a two-year winning streak by Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ. Larson finished sixth and was one of three Cup Series regulars in the top 10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had a Chili Bowl for the ages and finished Saturday night ninth. His week included a photo finish heat-race victory over former Cup Series driver Kasey Kahne on Friday, followed later with a runner-up finish in the night’s A-Main race.
Larson was seeking to become just the third driver to win three in a row.
The Chili Bowl is an annual dirt Midget race that has been held since 1987 and always draws interest from some of auto racing’s most talented drivers. Preliminary heat races began Monday and lasted through Saturday.
Larson, Bell and Stenhouse Jr. were among the 10 drivers locked into the A-Main heading into Saturday, leaving more than 300 drivers competing for the final 14 spots. Those that had not yet qualified for the main event spent the entirety of Saturday attempting to qualify through a prolonged series of races known as “Alphabet Soup” as drivers who had not previously qualified for the championship race had to drive their way in through a series of transfers, starting with two P-Feature races. The top six finishers advanced upward to the corresponding O-Feature races, in which there were already several drivers who had qualified based on their performance earlier in the week. Then the top six finishers from each O-Feature race advanced into the N-Feature races, where other drivers were also waiting and so on.
Kaylee Bryson: Bryson made history this weekend, becoming the first woman in the event’s 36-year history to make the championship A-Main. Bryson started 10th in Saturday’s second B-Feature and drove her way up to first, then held on to win and automatically advance. She finished 18th.
Chase Elliott: The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champ has embraced the grassroots world in recent years, foraying into the dirt scene and adding experience in a variety of disciplines. In his second Chili Bowl, Elliott had plenty of ups and downs. The ups: In Monday’s opening action, Elliott won his heat race from the pole position and went on to finish eighth in his B-Feature race. He also finished ninth in the Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions, an impressive run for a driver with such little experience on dirt.
That slotted Elliott into the F-Feature in Saturday’s championship day, where he would climb from his car after a frightening flip uninjured, but with a 19th-place finish.
Chase Elliott climbs into his car as he prepares to race in the 2022 Chili Bow. (Nick Oxford/NASCAR)
Alex Bowman: Bowman fell a few spots short of qualifying for the A-Main on Saturday. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is a constant in the dirt world, building his own cars and showing off progress on his social platforms, and he’s always one to watch in Tulsa. Coming off a four-win NASCAR Cup Series season in 2021 driving the No. 48, Bowman finished second in his C-Feature race Saturday. That put his No. 55X car into the B-Features, with a shot at making the championship race in sight.
Bowman would finish 11th in his B-Feature after starting 17th, a strong run-up but not enough to earn one of the seven transfer spots.
Prior to Saturday, Bowman won his 10-lap qualifying race to advance to the day’s A-Feature, where he finished ninth.
Ryan Newman: What a week for the “Rocket Man.” His third Chili Bowl produced a strong run in his Friday heat race and some additional clarity about his future.
Ryan Newman gets into his car before the feature race. (Nick Oxford/NASCAR)
Boasting a smile this weekend in the pits, Newman told NASCAR.com his main goal in racing this year is to have fun — with winning a close second. After racing full time in the Cup Series from 2002-21, Newman does not have a ride for 2022. But he does not consider himself retired. He specifically named dirt late model racing, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the USAC Silver Crown as competitions he intends to enter in 2022. He called them “bucket list items (he) missed along the way” through a couple of decades in the Cup Series.
And although he didn’t advance out of the C-Feature on Saturday night, he surely ended the night with another smile.
Chase Briscoe: Briscoe has had his share of heartache at the Chili Bowl, and Saturday he fell one spot short of advancing to the B-Feature. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver started seventh and had worked his way up to fifth — the final transfer position — before losing the spot to Spencer Bayston with two laps to go. Briscoe would go on to finish sixth, with the top five drivers advancing up to the B-Feature races.
All that after being involved in a first-lap wreck, which the driver says damaged the front axle and right front shock of his No. 5 machine.
Dillon Welch: A NASCAR reporter for MRN and NBC and lifetime racer who excels every time he gets in the seat, Welch qualified for the A-Feature for the second time in his racing career. Welch hadn’t raced a Midget event since last year’s Chili Bowl, but he still advanced out of the B-Feature — driving from 11th to sixth late to claim a spot in the A-Main, where he finished 22nd.
Jesse Love: The two-time ARCA Menards West Series champion capped his week by finishing 19th in his Saturday D-Feature race.
J.J. Yeley: The veteran Yeley, who has had a number of memorable Chili Bowl moments over the years, finished 11th in the first of two E-Feature races to end his Chili Bowl run. Yeley had finished second in the F-Feature to advance up to the E.
Carson Hocevar: Hocevar, 18, finished second place in his J-Feature race Saturday, advancing upward. In the I-Feature he would finish 12th out of 15 drivers and failed to advance. The Niece Motorsports driver is coming off a 10th-place finish in the Camping World Truck Series in 2021. This was his Chili Bowl debut.
Ryan Ellis: Ellis finished 11th the first L-Feature race Saturday. Earlier in the week, Ellis finished sixth in his eight-lap heat race on Friday. That placed him in one of the evening’s C Features, and he finished ninth again to end the night.
Jesse Little: Little started his day in the M-Feature, where he finished ninth and did not advance. Making his Chili Bowl debut, Little finished eighth in his heat race during Tuesday’s racing. He then finished 10th later that evening in the C-Feature.
