Ty Dillon will drive full time for GMS Racing in its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series season in 2022, the organization announced Sunday.
In 2021, Dillon has competed in four Cup Series races with Gaunt Brothers Racing and 11 Xfinity Series races with Joe Gibbs Racing, Our Motorsports and Jordan Anderson Racing.
Dillon has competed in more than 160 Cup Series races in his career with his last full-time effort coming with Germain Racing in 2020.
“It’s such an honor to be able to drive for GMS Racing as they take the step into the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time, and that they have chosen me as their driver for the future,” Dillon said in a team release. “It’s been a challenging year off from racing full-time, but I’m so excited to return. I don’t think that there is going to be another driver that is more hungry than I am next year to get back out there and prove what I am capable of in the Cup Series. I am excited for our future and am ready to get to work.”
On June 17, GMS Racing announced it would field a full-time Cup Series effort next year. Since 2014, the organization has won more than 50 races across the Xfinity Series, Camping World Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series.
Dillon will drive the No. 94 Chevrolet for the team in an alliance with Richard Childress Racing and ECR Engines.
The number has significance with GMS Racing. Team president Mike Beam partnered with NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Bill Elliott in 1995 to form Bill Elliott Racing to field the No. 94 entry throughout the mid-1990s. The original Bill Elliott Racing shop is still a current part of the GMS Racing facility.
“We’re excited to welcome Ty to the GMS Racing family,” said Beam. “Going full-time Cup racing in 2022 is a big step for us and I can’t think of a better driver than Ty to lead us into our first year in NASCAR’s top series.”
Added team owner Maury Gallagher: “GMS is always looking forward and I believe this is the next step for the team in that process. We have the goal to be a championship-caliber team in any series in which we compete, and I am excited to watch the team grow in the coming years.”
CONCORD, N.C. — Rarely do so many dynamic factors figure into a 15th-place finish. That’s where Harrison Burton wound up on the scoring pylon after Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, the first elimination point in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.
But Burton’s just-above-midpack result included playoff pressure, a closely contested battle with family and a conservative approach that went against his racing instincts. In the end, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver celebrated his 21st birthday by advancing to the Round of 8, maintaining the necessary cushion by just eight points and staving off the playoff ouster that claimed his cousin, Jeb, and three others — Myatt Snider, Jeremy Clements and Riley Herbst.
“I know it’s boring, but just got to make it home,” Harrison Burton radioed his No. 20 JGR team as he tried to tiptoe through and avoid trouble with 10 laps left on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s tricky road course layout. Even after a late caution period forced a chaotic two-lap dash to the end, Burton stayed steady and kept his older cousin’s No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevy at least within sight as he finished two spots ahead.
“It’s family, and he wants it as much as I do,” Harrison Burton said. “You just have to take what you feel is yours. We were around each other all day, that was kind of by design on my part — just stay around Jeb and it worked out.”
The two cousins were in close proximity for much of the 68-lap showdown. Just Burton entered the day with the same nine-point gap that he finished with, his playoff chances hurt by a crash-related 36th place in the postseason opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway two weeks ago.
A seventh-place finish last weekend at Talladega helped his recovery, but the deficit was too much to surmount — and an over-aggressive counter-move was out of the question.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
“I needed to outrun him all day by a couple spots, and we were right beside each other all day. The only way it was going to happen was if I just wrecked him. I got a little bit more respect for him than that,” Jeb Burton said. “He races me clean, and I race him clean. If it had been some other guys, maybe I woulda just dumped ’em, but I wasn’t going to do that to him. It is what it is, and he was the better car today and he outran us all day and I just beat him at the end by a couple spots. It just wasn’t enough.”
Jason Ratcliff, Harrison Burton’s crew chief, had a front seat for the friendly family face-off atop the No. 20 pit box, enjoying a bit of a laugh when asked to wrap his head around the cousin vs. cousin component of Saturday’s race.
“I haven’t heard much, but I’m sure those two were probably back and forth this week, having a little fun with it,” Ratcliff said. “It seems like all day, we were right beside each other, within one or two spots. So it was a little nerve-wracking at times, but both of them raced each other with a lot of respect and they pushed on each other a little bit but not to the point where it got ugly. Both teams and both drivers did a good job today. It was close.”
The crews for both Burtons preached patience at different intervals — Jeb Burton got that message early, with a Stage 2 scrape of the Turn 2 wall prompting some reassuring messages from his No. 10 team. Harrison Burton’s coaching came later as he tried to preserve his points margin, cognizant of the stakes.
Taking it easy at the Roval, it turns out, was less than easy.
“It is tough. As a driver, it’s so tough to be in a rhythm when you’re not full aggression, right? When you’re riding around trying to not crash or not make a mistake to get into the next round, it’s challenging to get in a rhythm. I wish we were just able to race, but we were in the situation we’re in, and that’s racing,” Jeb Burton said.
For the others eliminated, a mixed bag of results kept them from making the first cut. Snider was the top finisher among them, coming home eighth at the Roval, but not providing enough pop to offset a 31st-place wreck-out at Talladega. He wound up 16 points below the elimination line after the Round of 12.
Riley Herbst’s long-shot chance to advance ended with his No. 98 Ford heading behind the wall with rear-gearing trouble in the closing laps. Jeremy Clements actually leapfrogged Herbst in the points with a 12th-place finish — his best of the playoffs — but earlier setbacks at Vegas and Talladega left him too far back.
“We got in a big wreck at Vegas, broke a rocker arm at Talladega, and I mean, after that you’re just in a huge hole,” Clements said. “We knew we needed to come here to win, and that’s a tall feat for a small team, but proud of our effort today. We ran hard and raced hard.”
NASCAR will remove six sets of six yellow and black rumble strips from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval layout ahead of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
While the normal blue rumble strips around the track will remain, the six sets of striped rumble strips used to enforce track limits on the backstretch chicane will be taken out.
The rumble strips, which have been in place since 2018, were placed there to keep vehicles from traveling at excessive speeds across the entire chicane. NASCAR officials discussed their potential removal with Charlotte Motor Speedway representatives and some Cup Series drivers in reaction to Saturday’s Xfinity Series race after Josh Bilicki suffered a brake failure and blew through the caution-like rumble strips.
All sides came to the conclusion that track limits and enforcement can still take place in the absence of the extra rumble-strip placement while avoiding an incident similar to the one that occurred with Bilicki’s No. 07 car.
CONCORD, N.C. – AJ Allmendinger stayed undefeated at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
The driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet won his third straight race at the 2.32-mile, 17-turn Roval and achieved several milestones in the process.
With his overtime victory in the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Allmendinger clinched a spot in the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. He won for the fifth time this season and the 10th time in his career.
Winning for the sixth time on a road course, Allmendinger broke a tie with race runner-up Austin Cindric for most-ever Xfinity road course victories.
Allmendinger, who worked his way forward from the 14th starting position, took the lead for good on Lap 48 when Ty Gibbs suffered brake problems, blew the chicane on the backstretch and had to come to a full stop before continuing.
From that point, Allmendinger stretched his lead to 8.8 seconds before a caution for Tommy Joe Martins’ wreck on Lap 64 sent the race to overtime.
After the subsequent restart on Lap 67, Allmendinger pulled away again and beat Cindric to the finish line by 3.192 seconds.
Cindric, the defending series champion, already had clinched a spot in the Round of 8. Third-place finisher Daniel Hemric joined him, along with Justin Haley (fourth Saturday), Brandon Jones (fifth), Noah Gragson (sixth), Justin Allgaier (ninth) and Harrison Burton (15th).
Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider, Jeremy Clements and Riley Herbst were eliminated from the Playoffs.
“I knew it was coming out,” Allmendinger said of the final caution. “It wasn’t going to go simple like that. That was a fight today. We had to be kind of on defense early, worrying about the points. This place was tough to pass—the track was really slick to start with, obviously, because of all the rain.
“Once we got the lead, the (car) was stupid-fast.”
As the final run progressed, Cindric didn’t have the pace to keep up with Allmendinger.
“I feel like this has honestly been one of my weakest road courses for probably exactly what you saw—the rear tires fall off way too much,” Cindric said. “I felt like I was driving a skid-pad car after about 10 laps.
“I feel a little bit lucky and a bit fortunate, honestly. I didn’t get moved or put in the wall, so either way we had a fast car. I think we set a fast lap time and got a good finish, so that sets us up well for Texas. I just wish we could have taken advantage of getting a Playoff point.”
Instead, it was Hemric who added to his Playoff point total by winning the first two stages of the race. Allmendinger gained five additional Playoff points for the victory.
The race featured six lead changes among five drivers, with Allmendinger leading the final 21 circuits. There were seven cautions for 13 laps, the fourth of which also caused a brief stoppage when the brakes failed on the No. 07 Chevrolet of Josh Bilicki, with the car plowing through the backstretch chicane and dislodging pieces of curbing in its path.
Track workers had to remove the exposed bolts that had held the curbing in place before the race could continue.
The three-race Round of 8 begins Saturday, Oct. 18 with the Andy’s Frozen Custard 335 at Texas Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Harrison Burton is the defending race winner.
Note: Post-race inspection confirmed Allmendinger as the race winner. The No. 11 of Haley was found to have one lug nut not safe and secure. A fine to the crew chief will be assessed early next week on the penalty report.
A host of NASCAR drivers and teams are set to get their Next Gen feet wet next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval for an open organizational test of the 2022 livery Monday and Tuesday — and it will be live-streamed, with broadcasts on NASCAR’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
(⏰ 2 p.m. ET | 📺 NBC, TSN | 📻 PRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Sunday’s Round of 12 elimination race and 32nd points-paying NASCAR Cup Series event of the 2021 season.
Where: Concord, North Carolina Green flag: 2:30 p.m. ET Grand Marshal: The family of Sergeant Nicole Gee Honorary Starter: Daniel Craig, portrayer of James Bond in “No Time to Die” TV/Radio: NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Forecast: Partly sunny, with a high near 76. North wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph according to NOAA.gov. Race Distance: 109 laps, 252.88 miles Stages: 25 | 50 | 109 Pit-road speed: 40 mph Caution car speed: 45 mph Roval 101: Get the full lowdown Starting lineup: See the full lineup Pit-stall assignments: See who is pitting where |Expert breaks down pit selectionsGetty Images
Five to watch
Here are five big story lines we’ll be following at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
1. Here we are — the final road-course race of an unprecedented seven total in what has been a historic 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson have been the class of the field on these tracks this year, with two wins apiece. Oddsmakers have the dynamic duo as the top favorites, but which one will snap the tie and claim the road-course crown for 2021? As the two-time defending winner of the race, the edge likely goes to Elliott, yet Larson has been the better driver overall this season with a whopping six victories. It’ll be fun to watch them duke it out, but, oh yeah, there are still another 37 drivers in the race with their sights on the checkered flag, too.
2. And one of them is Martin Truex Jr., Elliott’s previous road-course nemesis. After winning three over the span of five road-course races from 2017-19, the 2017 champ was perhaps the Ace to Chase’s King for a spell there, but has struggled to find similar success on them since. Since winning at Sonoma in 2019, Truex has strung together 10 winless starts, albeit with seven top 10s in that span. He led more laps — 59 — in that Sonoma race than every race since, combined. That said, if there’s any driver that can break up the Hendrick All-Stars, it’s Truex, who was within a few hundred feet of winning this race before.
3. Here we are focusing on who’s going to win the race, but perhaps the more important angle to come out of the Roval — who’s going to get eliminated? Three of the sport’s younger stars — Christopher Bell, William Byron and Alex Bowman — as well as one of its oldest in Kevin Harvick are currently the four that would tentatively be dropped from the playoff field after Sunday’s race. Harvick has a decent path to point his way in, but the other three have ventured into the neighborhood of must-win territory — and they each have a significant shot to win outright. Consider, too, that Elliott and Kyle Busch — the sport’s two most recent champs — are currently the last two in, and Sunday could easily get wild and unexpected in a hurry.
4. Talladega and the Roval to close out a playoff round — tough on drivers, tremendously entertaining for everyone else. Just as it was the case last week with the final superspeedway of the season, this weekend marks the final road-course race with the Gen 6 car. Road courses always tend to widen the field and really open the door for a surprise winner. Knowing that these chassis, uh, won’t need to be used again might tear the door completely off the hinges. We saw a surprise winner take away a guaranteed Round of 8 spot last year, and the chances are high again this weekend. Just for the heck of it, here’s a smattering of names of drivers that have finished in the top five in the first six road courses this year: Ross Chastain, AJ Allmendinger (twice, one win), Matt DiBenedetto. If you’re looking for an upset driver, pick from those three, one of which is still looking to pad his resume in search of a 2022 ride.
5. Speaking of resumes and 2022 rides, Sunday could potentially be Brad Keselowski‘s final race still in contention for the championship with his longtime organization Team Penske. After a brief summer lull following the announcement of his departure to Roush Fenway Racing in the late summer, the 2012 champ and the No. 2 crew have been on a steady rise and appear headed toward the Round of 8 and possibly beyond, but nothing is guaranteed given this weekend’s volatile nature. The spring Talladega winner is currently fourth in the standings and 20 points to the good, but also has a pair of finishes (31st, 18th) in the Roval’s three total races that might not be good enough this weekend. The other finish was a top five and he’s led multiple laps in all three races so I feel the chances are better than not that he does advance, but Sunday might end Keselowski’s last hope to bring Roger Penske one more title.
Race-day staples
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• Power Rankings: Could Bell win way into Round of 8? | Latest rankings
• Paint Scheme Preview: Slick schemes for Charlotte Roval | See them here • Playoff Pulse: Who’s hot, who’s not after Talladega | Full breakdown
• Debate: Can Harvick escape elimination? | Backseat Drivers
• Bubble Watch: Elliott has Roval right where he wants it | See the bubble breakdown
• Fantasy Fastlane: Start Chase, what about Larson? | Top plays, sleepers
• Busch Pole Award: Denny Hamlin to lead Roval field to green | Read more
Get in on the action
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.
• What are the odds?: Betting odds for Roval | See them here
• NASCAR betting: Who could possibly beat Elliott at the Roval? | Read more
• The Action Network: Who to pick — Elliott or Larson? | Read more • Talking playoffs: How Fantasy Live game works for the postseason | Read more • No risk, big reward: Take a shot at winning cash prizes with the free-to-play Jackpot Races app | Hit the jackpot
Memories from the Roval
Before the Cup Series races at the Roval for the fourth time ever, take a look back at some important track history.
• Top 10: Laps led at Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval | Who has led the most?
• Rulers of the road: All-time winners on road courses | See the list
• Recent roadies: Active road-course winners | See the list
• Remember when: Stewart, Dale Jr. put on a Charlotte show| Watch the 2001 UAW-GM Quality 500 replay
• That was cool: @nascarcasm: Coolest thing to happen at each Roval turn | Relive the moments • Turn, turn, turn: Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval turn-by-turn analysis | See the breakdown
Five fast facts
Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• All seven playoff points in Talladega were won by non-playoff drivers.
• Ford is winless in the last eight playoff races. There is one Ford driver below the elimination line: Kevin Harvick.
• Kyle Busch has nine playoff wins — seven of the nine came in the last five years.
• Hamlin is the only driver to make the playoffs more than 10 times who has not won a Cup championship.
• Five drivers still in the 2021 Playoffs have won a championship in this current playoff format (2014-current).
Catch the pack
Read up on all the headlines from the week leading up to the race.
• Win or get out: Byron’s Roval mission is simple — yet difficult | Hear his thoughts
• Leading by example: Ben Kennedy’s leadership role evolves at NASCAR | Read more
• Living the dream: ‘Surreal moment’ for Bubba Wallace at Diversity Awards | Read more
• Two of a kind?: Harvick, Hamlin share some playoff trends, differ in others | Read more
• Moving on: Round of 8 clinch scenarios for Roval | Read more
• The King speaks: Richard Petty’s Round of 12 finale preview | Watch more
• GIF Competition: @nascarcasm sums up how playoff drivers are feeling | Read more • The eliminators: Winners of NASCAR Playoffs elimination races | See the list
• Survive, advance: Kyle Busch’s mindset going into the Roval | Read more
• Ruffled at the Roval?: Harvick isn’t sweating advancement | Read more
Say what?
Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into the race.
Getty Images
“I feel like we have just have had a good road course package. Like I’ve said for years now, I don’t feel like what I do is anything special. I just think we have a good package and Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) has done a really good job of honing in on the things that matter at a road course and we’ve just kind of hit on things that work. When you are a young guy and you come into new situations and the foundation is built there for you, it makes it a lot easier for a guy to learn. I think I came into a great foundation and I was able to really work on myself because we have a solid package and as we improve, the cars and I improve, I think we just landed in a solid place. Does that mean we will be good there forever? No, but I certainly feel that we can improve upon where we’ve been and I can do a better job. We will see where we shake out.” — Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
“I think the biggest challenge with the Roval is that you have to somewhat set up your car to run on the oval, especially Turns 3 and 4 of the oval. It kind of keeps you from setting up the car the way you want to for the infield, so it just makes it a big challenge. It always seems like the infield is pretty bumpy. It’s pretty narrow. There is a lot of undulations up and down. The car is never in the race track very good because the tires are hard for the oval. It’s just a big compromise. It’s really hard to get your car working right and it’s a real challenge to get around there.” — Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
“The Roval has always been tough ever since we started racing there. I feel like every year it becomes a little bit more normal for us and we’re able to understand the race track a bit more and what to expect. The good thing is that I have the same amount of experience there as most of the field since it is a fairly new track. It’s difficult, though, because I feel like this is a race where there is always a lot more contact throughout the field and you can’t prepare for that other than to be ready for anything at any moment. We always have fast cars there, though, so we just need to go there and focus on getting the win. It’s going to be really difficult to worry about points, so a win is really all we’re worried about.” — William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
CONCORD, N.C. — The NASCAR Cup Series will add some European flair for select Cup Series events next season with the formation of Team Hezeberg for 2022.
The organization took the wraps off the Next Gen No. 27 Ford — dressed in orange to reflect the team founders’ roots in The Netherlands — on Saturday morning at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The part-time effort is a joint venture among former sports-car driver Toine Hezemans, Dutch businessman Ernst Berg and Reaume Brothers Racing, which will manage operations from its Mooresville, North Carolina shop.
NASCAR Whelen Euro Series champion and points leader Loris Hezemans will serve as the primary driver, focused on entering the six road-course events on the 2022 schedule. The 24-year-old Dutchman is set to compete in his fourth career Xfinity Series race in Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 (3 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the Charlotte Roval.
Hezemans said he caught his first glimpse of a Next Gen prototype during a stateside trip to celebrate his 2019 Euro Series championship at the NASCAR Awards ceremonies. Seeing the new Cup Series model in person and noting similarities to his current ride in Europe planted a seed, Hezemans said.
“We got interested in seeing what would be possible,” Hezemans said. “It’s incredible to now finally be here, yesterday finally seeing the car for the first time. I don’t even have words to describe it — a very exciting moment.”
The new team is set to participate in an organizational test Monday and Tuesday on the 2.32-mile Charlotte layout, with Hezemans splitting time with racing veteran Jacques Villeneuve in the two-day session. Villeneuve, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner, has spent parts of the last two seasons in the Whelen Euro Series and has made four Cup Series starts — the most recent one coming in 2013.
Zack Albert | NASCAR Digital Media
Hezeberg representatives left the door open for adding additional events to the team’s racing schedule, with the possibility that Villeneuve could also share driving duties next year.
Team owner Josh Reaume said Saturday that his group will house the Hezeberg operation alongside his current two-team effort in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He said his Reaume Brothers Racing group has not settled on its 2022 plans in Camping World Trucks, but was bullish about the new partnership.
“Everybody that’s found out that we are dabbling in Cup, they’re like, ‘Get ready, it’s a lot of work,’ ” Reaume said. “It’s a big schedule. Obviously, we’re starting small and we’re growing. I think that’s dynamic at the moment. There’s a lot of factors for us at Reaume Brothers Racing that are still up in the air. We haven’t signed anybody for next year for our trucks, but definitely there’s a big investment here. This is a great opportunity for us to grow and to learn and expand our business.”
It’s also an opportunity for NASCAR’s top division to find new talent, broadening its reach into the sanctioning body’s international circuits. The Whelen Euro Series — along with the Canadian-based Pinty’s Series and the NASCAR Peak Mexico Series — may not be thought of as a traditional development tour for NASCAR’s three national series. Chad Seigler — NASCAR vice president of international business — said he hopes that Saturday’s announcement is a step toward changing that perception.
“I think this obviously, this has definitely made people open their eyes, and it’s going to make our partners in Canada and our partners in Mexico start to look and say there’s a path,” said Seigler, NASCAR vice president of international business. “The big thing for us is really showing a path for the drivers. As I mention, we talk about the Daniel Suarez path (from the Mexico Series to Cup) a lot, but for a driver to be able to compete in the Euro Series and say there’s path for me to get to the U.S., I think that’s the big focus for us right now.”
Martin Truex Jr. will be reunited with Cole Pearn for Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM), but with his longtime crew chief in a far different role.
Pearn will serve as an additional spotter for the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, supplementing the work of primary spotter Drew Herring. Pearn was listed on the NASCAR team rosters for the race, which is the Round of 12 finale in the Cup Series Playoffs.
A JGR spokesperson said that Pearn’s appearance is a one-off, but that he still works remotely with the organization in a consulting role.
“Oh, it’ll be interesting. I’m sure I’ll have some smart-ass comments at some point in time,” Truex said during an availability before Sunday’s race. “So, look forward to that, and it’s been fun to see him this week around the shop. He’s going to be hanging around with us a couple days, so it’s been fun so far.”
Pearn helped guide Truex to 24 of his 31 Cup Series wins during a successful span from 2015-19. That run included the pair’s lone Cup Series championship in 2017 with the former Furniture Row Racing No. 78 team.
Truex enters the elimination race sitting fifth in the standings and +20 on the elimination line.
The elimination-style nature of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is intended to tighten the screws on even the most unflappable race teams, with the ever-lurking possibility that title eligibility can be gone in the blink of a three-race set.
Kevin Harvick insists that postseason pressure hasn’t gotten to him or his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team, a veteran group at its core, ahead of Sunday’s latest elimination event — the Bank of America Roval 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM). Harvick enters Charlotte Motor Speedway’s annual road-course challenge squarely on the bubble, sitting nine points back of the elimination line.
“The ins and outs of the day-to-day stress of playoff stuff doesn’t really … I mean, I’ve done it for so long that it’s just part of what you do,” Harvick says, “and you try to race the same way all year and not really say, ‘OK, playoffs have started. Let’s change what we’re doing it at this particular point and try to go in a different direction,’ because that kind of messes up the rhythm of the things that you’re used to doing.
“So I’m kind of a creature of habit, do the same things on a weekly basis, and it’s just another race. I know that sounds cliché and boring and all the things that come with that, but you just have to go out there and do what you do the best you can and see where it falls.”
If Harvick has a reputation for not letting pressure ruffle him, he also has a rich history of advancing when needed. His lone Cup Series championship came in 2014, the first year of the elimination structure. In the years since, he’s never been bounced out before the Round of 8.
This season stands out as a particular case, with five races remaining and the real and looming threat of his first winless campaign in 12 years. Harvick said he’s certainly had tougher seasons by comparison, and the No. 4 team’s consistency has been mostly on par with his most recent years — his 21 top-10 finishes compare favorably, though his eight top fives lag below his most recent clip.
“I think from a team standpoint, we also have learned a lot about the other side of the fence, as far as having to dig your heels in and do things that you haven’t had to do,” Harvick says, “and whether you like it or not, the race is coming up next week, and you’re gonna have to participate whether your car is slow or fast and you got to figure out how to make the most out of that. So I think for us, I know we’ve had 21 or 22 top 10s and you look at the top fives and they’re not where we would want them to be, but I think when you look at the overall picture and the grind that we’ve been through this year, I think everybody’s done a good job and I think a lot of that comes from the maturity and experience of the race team and having been together so long it didn’t tear it apart.”
Harvick also insists that his team’s ability to reach this stage of the playoffs hasn’t been solely accomplished by him willing the No. 4 Ford to better results. That’s where the team aspect has come into play, led by a tightly knit over-the-wall group and some savvy from atop the pit box from crew chief Rodney Childers, who re-signed with the Stewart-Haas organization last month.
“It’s really been a group effort, and honestly the group that’s carried us the most is the pit crew,” Harvick says. “Those guys have just been on point all year and helped with gaining track position while making huge changes to the race car. It’s really been a combination of a whole bunch of things, I feel like. I’ve made a couple of mistakes in the seat, but I think overall in the car, we’ve done a good job, Rodney’s made some great pit calls, and it’s just all those things just add up. I think that the pit crew has been the shining element of our season and really helped us stay in a lot of races.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Bubba Wallace’s back hurt from kickball the night before, but his heart swelled with pride at Thursday’s 2021 NASCAR Diversity Awards ceremony at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
It’s been a whirlwind week for Wallace. After coming off his maiden NASCAR Cup Series victory Talladega Superspeedway on Monday, also the first for 23XI Racing, he had a late Monday night celebration, made virtual appearances on “CBS This Morning” and “Today” and played pitcher on the winning celebrity team in Corey LaJoie’s first annual Kickball Klassic Wednesday evening.
Upon receiving the National Series Driver Award on behalf of the Drive for Diversity program, the 28-year-old driver was able to take some time to reflect. Seeming as though the victory was still sinking in, Wallace stopped short of tearing up during his acceptance speech. As the ceremony concluded, even NASCAR President Steve Phelps took a moment to hold back emotion while talking about what Wallace had achieved, sparking Wallace to yell out, “I’ll cry with you,” from the crowd.
“It’s kind of surreal sitting there being a part of the awards today,” Wallace told NASCAR.com. “I appreciate the award that I received. But I remember when I was a kid, sitting there watching other drivers come through. Crazy how life can chew you up, spit you out, but also mature you in the same way and make you appreciate these types of things.”
Wallace had even more to be proud of as young protégé Rajah Caruth was also honored, joining Toni Breidinger in receiving the Development Series Driver Award. Wallace has gone from a kid hoping to make it to the top through the diversity initiative to being on top of the world this week. Caruth is now that same kid hoping for a similar chance.
“Man, I’m proud of Rajah,” Wallace said. “He had a hell of a run. It’s funny … I was sitting there after they called the race Sunday night (at Talladega). The ARCA (Menards Series) race from Salem (Speedway) was on. It was a re-run and I knew he finished third, but I was sitting there watching the race and I thought he did a really good job. It was kinda cool watching that going into our win on Monday.”
Caruth was the first Drive for Diversity driver to successfully transition from iRacing to real-life stock-car racing. Caruth has also done his fair share of winning, earning his first career late-model win last season at Greenville-Pickens Speedway. This year, Caruth won three additional races in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series and progressed to full-time racing in the ARCA Menards Series East.
Next season, Caruth will compete in select NASCAR Xfinity Series races for Alpha Prime Racing. In doing so, he’ll become the first Drive for Diversity driver since Wallace to compete on the national series level.
Wallace has served as a mentor for Caruth in his rise up the ranks, handing down advice and some funding to further the progress. Earlier this year, Caruth shared that Wallace helped him during his first start at Dover International Speedway and even called him before a practice session at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Caruth doesn’t take for granted the time Wallace has taken out of his schedule to offer support.
“He’s been great to me” Caruth told NASCAR.com. “He paid for my helmet to get painted last year, helped me my first summer of legends cars. Really has paid dividends in helping me out in my development progress so far. … He’s been a great help to me and I’m really appreciative of him being there for me.”
While it took time, hard work, determination, mistakes and big breaks for Wallace along the way, he’s hoping the path he’s paved will speed up the process for the next generation.
“Takes a lot of hard work,” Wallace said. “It was 11 years ago when I was in his shoes, so I told them in there if they do things a little bit better, it might not be that long for them. Just gotta stick with it.”
