Where are they now? Catching up with Robby Gordon

Posted on October 8, 2021October 8, 2021 by Jerry Bonkowski

One day, NASCAR star Robby Gordon hopes to be able to tell Elon Musk to go eat his heart out.

Gordon both admires and also takes inspiration from Musk, the developer of numerous businesses, most notably Tesla automobiles and SpaceX.

Borrowing pages from Musk’s business playbook, Gordon has embarked on the most ambitious project of his life, having recently introduced a new off-road vehicle known as the Speed UTV Robby Gordon El Jefe Edition. Gordon already has thousands of pre-orders – each at a cost of $45,000 – even before full production is set to begin in January.

UTV stands for utility task vehicle, an off-road truck of sorts.

“The comparison to Elon Musk is spot-on,” Gordon told NASCAR.com. “I mean, we’re going to be able to have a lot of fun and be able to do pretty much whatever we want.”

RELATED: Robby Gordon’s career stats

The UTV project is global in scope. Gordon is ever-expanding, with plants now in North Carolina and Texas and internationally in India and Vietnam.

“It took us just 18 months to go from concept to production vehicle,” Gordon said. “We even build our own tires, wheels, shock absorbers, engines and gearboxes, steering wheels, ECU computers and everything else.

“You know, of all the series I have raced on, off-road was my favorite. I started in off-road and I’m going to end in off-road. It really points to what I’m doing today.”

The new UTV is a hybrid four-wheeled ride Gordon has been dreaming about creating for much of his life, designed exclusively for off-road use. It also pays homage to Gordon’s late father, off-road racing legend “Baja Bob” Gordon, as well as the father of off-road and stadium racing, the late Mickey Thompson.

“Mickey was a supporter of mine,” Gordon said. “He knew my dad well, and he knew my talents as a race-car driver. … My dad raced with him since I was 6 years old. I knew guys like Mickey, Rick Mears, Parnelli Jones. I was very fortunate at a young age to be around the right players.”

************************************

Gordon has achieved success in every form of motorsport he has taken part in. In fact, he’s the only driver in the world who has recorded race wins in NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA, stadium and off-road racing (including the legendary Baja 1000), as well as several stage wins in the Dakar Rally.

Even now, Gordon continues his pursuit of checkered flags, most notably in off-road racing as well as the Stadium Super Trucks series that he founded in 2013 and still owns. Borrowing from Thompson’s playbook, Gordon created a niche that has proven to be both popular and successful.

“I came across a partner that was going to do a Cup car with me, and I said, ‘Why don’t we do Mickey Thompson all over?’” Gordon said. “For the same amount of money, for $15 million, we could go start up our own series, right? And so basically we started Stadium Super Trucks.”

Super Trucks are just part of Gordon’s business portfolio, also owning Speed RC (radio controlled) cars, Speed Tools, Speed SXS Parts and Speed UTV.

Since its inception, SST has attracted an all-star lineup of drivers, including NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace and former NASCAR drivers Casey Mears and Greg Biffle, as well as the likes of Paul Tracy, Boris Said, Max Papis and Travis Pastrana.

Yet as busy as he is, Gordon still finds time to race both off-road and in the SST series, having taken the latter global with races in Canada, Great Britain and Australia, where it became so big and popular Gordon had to form its own race series to accommodate driver interest and participation.

“I don’t know how long I’ll continue to race for,” said Gordon, now 52. “(Spanish rally driver) Carlos Sainz is (almost 60) and he’s still racing. It’s all in the mind. I think when my eyesight and my body gets to the point where I can’t compete, that’s obviously time. But I’ve got a hot-rod young kid coming up right now that we’re having some fun with as well.”

Gordon is talking about his 13-year-old son, Max. Five years ago, when Max was only 8 years old, he competed in a UTV race alongside his father. Later the same year, Max became the youngest driver to ever compete in and finish the Baja 1000. He’s now racing part-time in his father’s SST series at the age of 13.

************************************

While he has raced all over the world and racked up numerous wins and championships — including a record seven SCORE International off-road titles (five of those were consecutive, from 1986-90), plus three wins in the noted Baja 1000 and four victories in the Baja 500 — Gordon is known to many racing fans for his time in NASCAR.

From 1991 through 2012, Gordon made 396 NASCAR Cup Series starts, racing for several notables like Junie Donlavey, Robert Yates, Dale Earnhardt, Felix Sabates, John Menard and Richard Childress. He also raced for legendary A.J. Foyt in CART in the early 1990s, as well as in sports cars early in his career for Jack Roush.

Gordon earned three wins in his Cup tenure, with his first coming in November 2001 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (The race had been postponed originally due to the 9/11 tragedy; Gordon donated all earnings to a fund to help victims’ families.) The other two victories were on the road courses at Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International in 2003, his best season in Cup racing (finished 16th).

Also of note, Gordon is the only driver in racing history to attempt “The Double” — racing in both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 500 on the same day — five times. He came close in both races several times but was never able to capture a win at either venue.

Gordon said the most satisfying time of his NASCAR tenure was the nearly 3 ½ seasons he drove for Childress from mid-2001 through the end of the 2004 season.

“Richard was another rad guy, he was a race-car driver that turned team owner,” Gordon said. “And he just knew how to deal with personalities like myself and Dale (Earnhardt). Richard was probably my fondest memory of NASCAR.”

Childress took Gordon under his wing and taught him how to run a business, as well as get investors and sponsors, which proved immensely valuable to Gordon not only when he went back to running his own team (2005-12), but also when he started building his post-NASCAR businesses.

“Richard was the biggest inspiration during my NASCAR career,” Gordon said. “He was probably the best guy to have conversations with. … I mean, it was every conversation. Even after I left the team, he’d say, ‘I don’t know if I’d do that Robby,’ or, ‘You know what, you probably need to do that, Robby.’

“And at the end of the day, when I went back on my own and did my own team, Richard was like, ‘You’ve got to go do that.’ And he was supportive of it. That’s pretty cool as a team owner, that he was willing to do that with me or for me.”

Yes, Gordon misses NASCAR — except for maybe one thing.

To this day, he still has to occasionally tell some non-NASCAR fans that he is NOT Jeff Gordon, nor is he related to him. In fact, during his NASCAR days, some would jokingly refer to Robby as “the other Gordon.”

************************************

Regardless of the racing series, Gordon was known throughout his racing career as a tough rival. He incurred NASCAR’s wrath several times — leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines in his career — and had numerous confrontations with several drivers, including future Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.

The most publicized incident was in the 2005 Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire, when Michael Waltrip and Robby Gordon were involved in a wreck. A furious Gordon exited his car and waited for Waltrip to make another lap around the 1-mile oval. When Waltrip finally came around, Gordon threw his helmet at Waltrip’s car. That outburst, coupled with using a profanity on live TV afterward, made national news and led to Gordon being fined $35,000 and docked 50 driver points.

But there was a positive that came out of the incident. Gordon auctioned the helmet and raised more than $51,000 for Harrah’s Casino and Hotel employees in New Orleans who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

While Gordon laments he didn’t win more races in his Cup career, he’ll be forever grateful to the sport, especially the countless friends he made and the invaluable mentoring he got from folks like Childress, Sabates, Roush, Menard, Earnhardt and others.

“I’ve got to be honest, no regrets,” Gordon said. “I had great times, had terrible times. But I also learned a lot. I learned how to manufacture, how to really push the envelope week to week. And at the end of the day, no regrets by leaving whatsoever.

“If we were winning races, we’d probably still be there probably doing that. But unfortunately, I would have missed this opportunity that I have now.

“A lot of people are going to look back and say, ‘Man, if he would just have stayed with Childress, he’d have won a championship, he’d do this, he’d do that.’ The reality is if I would have done that, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing today. I wouldn’t have been able to do Stadium Super Trucks, I wouldn’t have a 100,000-square-foot shop. Maybe go back seven years from today and I’d be just another 45-year-old retired race car driver if I followed that path. But instead, I followed my path, which was a path that Mickey Thompson, Dan Gurney, and AJ Foyt followed. I’m proud and happy about that.”

************************************

The Robby Gordon file:

* Age: 52.

* Hometown: Cerritos, California.

Career highlights:

* NASCAR Cup career: 396 starts, 3 wins, 16 top-five and 39 top-10 finishes. Also 1 pole. Best season finish: 16th (2003).

* NASCAR Xfinity Series career: 54 starts, 1 win, 10 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes.

* IndyCar career: 115 starts, 2 wins, 9 podiums, 4 poles.

Also:

* 7 SCORE International championships (1986–90, 1996, 2009).

* 3-time Baja 1000 winner (1987, 1989, 2006) – Gordon’s sisters, Beccy and Robyn, also competed in the 2006 race on the all-woman All-American Girl Racing team.

* 4-time Baja 500 winner (1989, 1990, 2005, 2013).

* 9 Dakar Rally stage victories.

* 4 time 24 Hours of Daytona winner.

* 3 time 12 Hours of Sebring winner.

Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is writing a number of Where Are They Now? stories this year for NASCAR.com. Check out stories he has already done on Ricky Craven, Terry Labonte, Kenny Wallace, Trevor Bayne, Ken Schrader, Shawna Robinson, Sam Hornish Jr., Bobby Labonte, Greg Biffle, Ricky Rudd, Darrell Waltrip, Mark Martin, Marcos Ambrose and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Posted on October 8, 2021October 9, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

Need a refresher about how to get around the 17-turn, 2.32-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval? We’re here to help.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series hits the track on Saturday for the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (3 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), followed by Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Both serve as Round of 12 playoff elimination races.

Study up on every twist and turn facing the competition ahead of the elimination weekend.

TURN 1

Once drivers take the green flag, they immediately funnel into a virtual 90-degree sharp left-hand turn, launching them into a slight incline and over into the second bend.

TURN 2

The uphill climb makes for a challenging entry into the second corner. Drivers won’t be able to see much of the narrow left-hander at first. Once over the hump and into the corner, drivers descend onto a short chute and make their way under the pedestrian bridge before Turn 3.

TURN 3

Because of the quick transition from left to right on the descent from Turn 2 mixed with braking, the third turn ranks high in terms of difficulty. The first right-hand corner of the course was a trouble spot for multiple drivers during testing in July of 2018. Drivers will need to be extra cautious making their way through the flat bend before quickly heading into Turn 4.

TURN 4

How well drivers make their way into Turn 3 determines how well they will get into and out of Turn 4. The second of four consecutive right-hand turns in the infield portion of the course, competitors will make their way through the flat corner and onto a longer chute in the direction of Turn 5.

TURN 5

Carrying a good amount of speed from the short chute coming out of Turn 4, drivers will be on the brakes for the dive into Turn 5. They will take a slight dip into the quick right-hander, followed by an ascent up to the sixth corner.

TURN 6

Drivers will quickly make the transition from Turn 5 to Turn 6, taking a small climb up into the corner. This turn will be tricky as a result of the ascent, as they will going straight into Turn 7 upon exit.

TURN 7

Once out of Turn 6, drivers are immediately approached with the entrance of the seventh turn. Another change in elevation will take place through the turn as they descend through the entire left-hand corner, sweeping them into Turn 8.

TURN 8

Another slight drop in elevation after exiting Turn 7 will lead drivers straight into this sharper left-hand corner, launching them straight onto the traditional 24 degrees of banking we are used to seeing at Charlotte. If drivers can gain momentum by getting a good exit out of Turn 7, it could set up them up well for Turn 8, leading to a passing opportunity through Turns 9 & 10.

TURN 9/10

A familiar sight for drivers, Turns 9 & 10 serves as Turns 1 & 2 on the traditional oval. Drivers will make their way onto the 24-degree banking out of Turn 8, giving them a chance to build a ton of speed and make passes before heading down the backstretch and into the chicane.

TURN 11/12

The drivers will carry a ton of speed through the high-banked turns and onto the back straightaway before being funneled into the track’s brand new chicane, home of Turns 11 and 12. The speedway made a big change to the backstretch chicane before the 2019 race, clearing space behind the inside wall for the addition of the improved section. After feedback from drivers, even racing legend Mario Andretti, the chicane will force drivers into a heavier braking zone. The new version will be 54 feet at its widest point, compared to 32 feet last year, and will feature additional runoff areas. Drivers will be launched back onto 24 degrees of banking upon exit. See the chicane in action on iRacing below.

TURN 13/14

Drivers will be hot on the gas pedal upon exiting Turn 12 to build as much speed as possible through Turns 13 & 14, normally Turns 3 & 4 on the oval. A good exit out of the 12th could make a for a great passing opportunity through the corner before funneling off into the frontstretch chicane.

TURN 15/16/17

With speed coming out of high-banked Turns 13 & 14, drivers will make there way back onto the frontstretch where they will be greeted by another chicane. While Turn 15 is a more wide left-hand turn, the 16th is a different story. Turn 16 is a sharp and narrow right-hander, the sharpest corner of the course. Space is at a premium here, making it another area where they will need to get sorted out quickly before entering or havoc could ensue. Drivers will then make another left at Turn 17 and head back to the start-finish line. Last year’s race came down the last turn when Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson made contact running 1-2, allowing Ryan Blaney to come by for the race win.

Posted on October 8, 2021October 8, 2021 by Zach Sturniolo

With elimination on the line, the NASCAR Cup Series heads for the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval to bring the Round of 12 to a close Sunday.

Prime yourself with what’s at stake, some history, odds and much more before the Bank of America Roval 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

WET WEATHER TIRES AND PROCEDURES

If conditions warrant, Goodyear’s wet-weather radials will be available to teams in both series. NASCAR Cup Series teams will have up to five sets of rain tires for the race, while Xfinity Series teams will have up to four sets for their race. Wet weather tires were last used by teams this spring at the Circuit of The Americas tripleheader weekend in May. Wet weather tires were also utilized during the Roval weekend by both series last year.

The treaded wet-weather tires will be further distinguished by white “Goodyear Eagle” lettering instead of the customary yellow on the sidewalls.

In the event of inclement weather, each series’ race director can declare a “wet” start or “damp” start, according to the NASCAR Rule Book. A wet start means that the entire racing surface is covered in moisture; a damp start means that the track has areas of moisture, but that other areas are dry. The race director can also declare the conditions not race-ready, if heavy downpours cause puddles and impaired visibility.

For a wet weather start:

All vehicles must mount rain tires, activate their rear flashing light and have a working windshield wiper installed.
Normal starting procedures follow.

For a damp weather start:

All vehicles may elect to install rain tires at the crew chief’s discretion. The rear flashing light must be activated, and windshield wipers may be installed.
Any team making a pit stop for rain tires on subsequent pace laps will forfeit its starting spot.

After the green flag, teams are permitted to change tires — to treaded rain tires or dry-weather slicks — at the crew chief’s discretion.

STARTING THE SHOW

For the second week in a row, Denny Hamlin has earned the honor of leading the field to the green flag Sunday. He’ll do so beside Brad Keselowski, with Joey Logano and Christopher Bell making up Row 2 and Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney together in Row 3. For the entire starting lineup, click here.

MORE TURNS, MORE OFFICIATING

NASCAR officials will be hard at work monitoring corner cutting around the 17-turn road course. By rule, if a competitor cuts or misses one of the two chicanes on track, that driver must stop at a designated location on track or will be issued a pass-through penalty for shortcutting the course.

“Additional cameras are put up to make sure that the competitors are not shortcutting the course and obviously there’s a competitive advantage there,” Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s vice president of officiating and technical inspection, said in a Tuesday appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “So that’s just one item that we have. I think it’s really just a mindset that we’re not at an oval; we’re at a road course, and the rules that apply to road-course racing is more balancing, more challenging. But we have more turns, we have more opportunities for things to happen, so let’s be on our toes there.”

HISTORY OF THE ROVAL

— Charlotte Motor Speedway introduced the idea of combining its oval layout with its infield road course in early 2017, beginning with a test with AJ Allmendinger on an 18-turn, 2.3-mile layout that January.

— After the test, that initial layout was altered to remove a turn from the infield portion while adding one chicane on the backstretch before Turn 3 of the oval as well as a chicane exiting the oval’s Turn 4 before the start-finish line.

— The NASCAR Cup Series held its first race on the Roval in the fall of 2018, where last-lap, last-corner contact between race leaders Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson allowed Ryan Blaney to scoot through for the victory.

— The Roval is the only road course to host a playoff race since NASCAR introduced a postseason format in 2004.

— While a Stage 1 winner at the Roval has never gone on to finish in the top 10 in the three races held there, the Stage 2 victor has gone to Victory Lane twice.

— There have been four or more cautions in the final stage of each Roval race.

Source: Racing Insights

RULES PACKAGE

NASCAR Cup Series teams will utilize the 750-horsepower, low-downforce package in Charlotte on Sunday. This is the same rules package used at each of the other road courses on this year’s schedule as well as all ovals shorter than 1.4 miles in length, featuring shorter front splitters and rear spoilers.

TWISTING THROUGH THE STORYLINES

— Entering Charlotte beneath the elimination line are Kevin Harvick (-9), Christopher Bell (-28), William Byron (-44) and Alex Bowman (-52).

— Hendrick Motorsports has won each of the last three elimination races in the playoffs (Chase Elliott, 2020 Round of 8, 2020 Championship 4; Kyle Larson, 2021 Round of 16).

— Chase Elliott has won each of the last two races at the Roval. He and Ryan Blaney are the only drivers with wins at this track.

— Denny Hamlin is the only competitor locked into the Round of 8 courtesy of his victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Bubba Wallace’s win at Talladega Superspeedway prevented other playoff drivers from advancing last weekend.

— Chase Elliott has won six of the last 10 road-course races, including this year’s inaugural events at Circuit of The Americas and Road America.

— The average length of a green-flag run at the Roval is 10 laps or less.

— Since 2016, only Denny Hamlin (2019, Phoenix Raceway) and Chase Elliott (2020, Martinsville Speedway) have entered an elimination race beneath the elimination line and advanced with a win.

— No drivers in the 2020 playoffs entered a cut race beneath the elimination line and advanced on points. William Byron and Alex Bowman both accomplished the feat at Bristol Motor Speedway to exit this year’s Round of 16.

Source: Racing Insights

RIGHT TURNS, RIGHT BETS

Chase Elliott is as straightforward a favorite as you can imagine, according to BetMGM. Elliott is listed as a 2-1 favorite, far from a surprise considering his recent domination on the layout. Kyle Larson isn’t far behind at 9-2 odds with wins in two of the last four road-course events, but he did miss the Roval race one year ago.

AJ Allmendinger may be a strong bet come Sunday. Along with being the first driver to test the course, Allmendinger started second and finished seventh in his lone Cup appearance at the Roval. He followed that up by winning each of the last two Xfinity Series events there, and at 20-1 odds after his Indianapolis Road Course victory, he is sure to be a contender this weekend.

FANTASY LIVE

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out the playoff version of NASCAR Fantasy Live, which is open now and offers a fresh start for those of you who played the regular-season contest. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts, and there is a $10,000 prize for the winner.

The 2021 Fantasy Live points leaders are Denny Hamlin (1,256) Kyle Larson (1,209), and Chase Elliott (1,021).

This year, NASCAR.com also has the Playoffs Grid Challenge game, presented by Ruoff Mortgage, where you can pick the winners for each round of the playoffs right up through the Championship 4. First prize is $10,000.

How to play: Playoffs Grid Challenge | Playoff Fantasy Live

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

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

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

And finally, head over to the NASCAR Mobile App for AR Racing presented by Mobil 1, where you can design your own car and race the playoff drivers at the playoff tracks in augmented reality.

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Dustin Albino

Seven years ago, Brandonbilt Motorsports got off the ground and ran three Camping World Truck Series events, with a dream of one day becoming relevant in NASCAR. But winning? Pshh, that felt like a pipe dream.

“When we were running part time in Trucks, we knew we were there to learn and build,” Jerry Brown, team owner of Brandonbilt Motorsports, said. “While we were going to the track to win, we knew the chances were very slim.”

While attending college at Coastal Carolina University, Brandon Brown ran a partial NASCAR schedule. Once the Virginia native earned a marketing degree in the fall of 2018, he went full-time racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

In Brown’s rookie campaign, he finished a respectable 15th in the championship standings. Last year, he did even better by making the playoffs and ultimately finished 11th in points. Expectations were higher going into the 2021 campaign.

However, a conversation with his father prior to the season opener in Daytona discouraged Brandon. The team had enough funding to get through Memorial Day weekend, which featured a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the 12th race of the season. From there on out, it was up to Brandon to find additional funding.

“When you’re almost in that down and out mindset, it changes everything,” Brandon Brown said. “It changes your attitude and becomes a very pivotal moment in a racer’s career, in my opinion.”

Less than a month after Charlotte, he created a beloved used car salesman video, hoping it would attract sponsorship. The plan worked. So much so that the team needed to buy him more email storage.

But the second half of the regular season was tough on the No. 68 team. After seven top-10 finishes in the opening 13 races of the season, he earned just one more top 10 until the regular season came to a close. Four DNFs over an eight-race stretch hindered any shot the No. 68 team had of making a second straight postseason.

But not racing for points opens a lot of options for him. Still, he went to Talladega Superspeedway last Saturday with a conservative approach, as he was running a seven-year-old chassis. The goal? Make it to the end of the race with a fighter’s chance of winning.

“There was impending rain in the forecast; the entire day was overcast, so I think everybody had a constant feeling of needing to hustle to stay up front because the rain could come at any second,” Brandon Brown added. “I think that made the field much more aggressive.”

With 13 laps remaining, a push from Jordan Anderson shoved Brandon Brown to the lead. With 10 laps to go, the caution flew for a seven-car incident. And the last scoring loop had the No. 68 Chevrolet as the leader, just ahead of Brandon Jones with darkness approaching the track.

Jerry Brown, who beat cancer last year, has poured a fair share of money into his son’s career, was pacing around on pit road.

“You’ve got that nervous feeling and thoughts of, ‘Our luck hasn’t been very good lately, is it going to happen again?'” Jerry Brown said. “It was one of those moments.”

NASCAR couldn’t get the race back green, deeming it was too dark. Brown was declared the winner, nipping Jones of a victory.

Brandon Brown recalled, “I knew we were side by side with Brandon Jones and I was thinking, ‘Man, I really hope we were out front.”

“I was thinking, ‘I think I’m ahead of him, I’m pretty sure I was. Yup, I’m ahead of him. Absolutely, no doubt about it.'”

Under the caution, he said when the field came off Turn 2, he couldn’t see Turn 3, despite Talladega having a long backstretch. Of course, he believes NASCAR made the right call, though stating it would have been dangerous to get back racing with no lights.

“If everyone had run a dayglow yellow car like Brandon Jones,’ yes, we would have been able to see the other [cars],” Brandon Brown said. “I’ve never looked from NASCAR’s perspective in the tower, but I do remember them yelling at me, ‘Thumbs up if you can race, thumbs down if it’s too dark’ and I’m sitting out there with my thumb down. They asked the flagman what the consensus was from all the drivers and the flagman said he couldn’t see, it was too dark.”

From there, the party was on. Brown, at 28 years old, 114 Xfinity Series starts in, was finally a NASCAR winner.

“I was pissed that we didn’t make the playoffs,” Colin Fern, a utility worker that’s been on the team for all of Brown’s Xfinity Series starts, said. “That win fixed a lot of those issues. I was worried about tech and I was thinking about how can this not happen. What can go wrong right now?

“Once he crossed the finish line, I told him to burn the (expletive) down.”

The raw emotion the driver showed in his front stretch interview was fresh. But the only thing the driver could do, mentally, was reflect.

“You think back to every late night that you were driving to a track or driving home from the track, in the race shop, in the team van before we were able to fly to all the races, putting together parts and pieces on your pit box,” he said of the emotions. “You think back to those moments and think, ‘Finally, it’s worth it. This made everything worth it.'”

Jerry Brown agrees with his son. The feeling is like nothing he’s ever experienced.

“When you’re one of seven car owners (that have won this year), it’s a pretty good feeling,” Jerry Brown said. “You walk with a little more pep in your step, and your head is held a little higher. It validates what you’ve been after for so long.

“When we first started out, we knew the odds of winning were very slim. Each year, you build on that until the odds are getting better, more in our favor. When you get to where we’re at today, and you’re going to the track knowing that if things will not go against you, then you have a chance of winning.”

Brandon Brown knows the win is validation.

“Just like the blood, sweat and tears work part of it, the finance part of it made it worth it too,” Brown said. “How worth it is it? I guess we’ll find out and see if this will translate into more sponsorships, more partnerships, things for 2022. It shows in the right place, the right time, we can get it done. Now, when we get to pitch to potential sponsors, no I can’t say I’m an Xfinity Series playoff driver like I could last year, but now I can say I’m an Xfinity Series winner so I’ll take that. That never goes away.”

The win also helps build team morale. Last year, veteran crew chief Doug Randolph joined Brandonbilt, as it was aiming to take a step up in competition.

From the outside looking in, it’s a fun father-son moment, too.

“Jerry was on Cloud 9,” Fern said. “He got the crowd into it. He launched every single one of the Victory Lane hats out to the fans. He was living it up and it was really cool to watch them both live that in the moment.”

When the Brandonbilt team arrived back in North Carolina on Saturday evening, there wasn’t an outlandish party, just a gathering at Randolph’s house to celebrate the accomplishment.

But Tuesday evening, the team threw a party at its Mooresville, North Carolina race shop, which it shares with the Camping World Truck Series’ Young’s Motorsports. With both teams winning on Saturday, it allowed the team to decompress.

Now with the Charlotte ROVAL on the horizon this weekend, Brown knows his work isn’t over. And from a marketing perspective, it isn’t either.

“We’re definitely above where we were last year,” Brown said of where the team stands heading into the offseason. “It’s enough to get us to the end, but we’re looking at the opportunity to go even bigger and to try and become a consistent race-winning organization, not a one-off.”

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Terrin Waack

There are only two drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series who have placed within the top 10 in all five of the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs race so far, and that’s about all they have in common statistically.

Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford) and Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) are the men in question here. Both of them have cranked out a top-10 finish at each of these playoff tracks: Darlington Raceway, Richmond Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. Take a look.

TRACK	HARVICK	HAMLIN
Darlington	5th (44 points)	1st (57 points)
Richmond	8th (32 points)	2nd (55 points)
Bristol	2nd (45 points)	9th (47 points)
Las Vegas	9th (34 points)	1st (58 points)
Talladega	8th (39 points)	7th (34 points)

Hamlin is averaging a 4.0 finish in the postseason; that’s best in the field. Harvick’s average is a 6.4 mark, good for third best overall. Their average points reflect the same standings – Hamlin is No. 1 at 50.2 and Harvick is No. 3 at 38.8.

Their shared playoff success is where the strong similarities end. Looking at the 2021 season as a whole, the duo is rather split – though both did enter the postseason with surprisingly zero wins to their names after topping the win column in 2020 (Harvick with nine, Hamlin with seven). Harvick still remains winless through 31 races. Hamlin has cranked out two victories since the playoffs started.

Hamlin is stronger than Harvick in every statistical category: wins, top fives, top 10, average finish, laps led, stage wins, stage points and playoff points. Again, take a look.

Note: Rankings in parenthesis account for full-time competitors only.

2021 STATS	HARVICK	HAMLIN
Wins	0 (N/A)	2 (tied for fifth-best)
Top 5s	8 (tied for ninth-best)	16 (tied for best)
Top 10s	21 (tied for third-best)	22 (tied for best)
Average finish	10.6 (third best)	8.3 (best)
Laps led	216 (10th best)	1,372 (second best)
Stage wins	0 (N/A)	10 (second best)
Stage points	146 (11th best)	361 (best)
Playoffs points	2 (16th best among playoff drivers)	30 (second best)

Harvick is by no means performing poorly. That’s not the point here. The point is, for two drivers sharing such an impressive stat line – top 10 in every playoff race – they’re not on the same playing field. It’s kind of weird.

Another major difference: Hamlin is locked into the Round of 8, thanks to his win at Las Vegas in the Round of 12 opener. Harvick is not. He’s actually in danger of being removed from title contention, checking in ninth in the standings and nine points below the elimination line.

ROVAL: Weekend schedule | Betting odds | Paint schemes

That means Hamlin can coast and Harvick must stress in Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 cutoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course (2 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). BetMGM has Hamlin at 12-1 odds to win the Round of 12 finale, while Harvick’s odds are lower at 25-1.

Those odds have to be based heavily on 2021 performances because Harvick has a better track record at the Roval than Hamlin. There have been three NASCAR Cup Series races on the oval-road layout, dating back to its debut in 2018. Harvick has placed ninth, third and 11th in those, posting a 7.7 average finish. Hamlin has finished 12th, 19th and 15th for a 15.3 average placement.

In more ways than one, Harvick and Hamlin differ, leaving the top-10 trend as their strongest current connection. Only time will tell if even that continues.

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Holly Cain

As NASCAR has announced bold new editions of the 2022 race schedules for its three premier series in the last few weeks, a fresh voice in leadership has essentially taken the corporate green flag — 29-year-old Ben Kennedy. The great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. has been the “point man” on the schedule work, essentially the new look of the sport.

As with his mom, NASCAR executive Lesa France Kennedy, his uncle Brian, the sanctioning body’s former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, his great-uncle Jim, current CEO of NASCAR and his grandfather, the late Bill France Jr., Kennedy has spent much of his life learning the ways of NASCAR and keeping it modern and relevant with the passing time.

His current position as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation is a long way from the summers Kennedy spent as a teenager working humble jobs at Daytona International Speedway — as did his mom, uncles and granddad — collecting tickets, directing parking, and in Kennedy’s case, pulling shifts at the popular DAYTONA 500 Racing Experience — the attraction once called Daytona USA — just outside the Speedway entrance.

Not too long ago, Kennedy found his old name tag, still in his former locker at Daytona USA. It said simply, “Ben.”

There was no hint of his family’s connection to the facility or of the future leadership position “Ben” now holds shepherding the sport into the next decade.

“It’s neat to go back and see some of those things sometimes,” Kennedy said. “Obviously, growing up in Daytona and going to a bunch of the Daytona 500s and traveling to a lot of different tracks, it gave you so much respect for all the different individuals that work at each one of these tracks and within the industry.

“And then to be able to do the different odd jobs in high school during the summer and then come out there and work at the Daytona 500 Experience for a couple years, it was such a cool experience and I got to meet so many amazing individuals.”

That genuineness coupled with a high-wattage vision and a lot of natural ambition has already earned Kennedy — who graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Sports Management — much respect throughout the industry — from the executives he works alongside to the drivers and team owners who will ultimately rely on Kennedy’s judgement and care to keep propelling the sport forward.

For many, such as longtime championship team owner Richard Childress, seeing Kennedy now in a position of oversight, has been inevitable.

“I think Ben’s the future of NASCAR,” Childress said. “I see him as a young Bill Junior. Bill Junior changed the sport and the same will happen with Ben Kennedy.

“I remember when Ben was born,” Childress continued with a huge smile. “I said, ‘Bill, what are you going to have Ben call you?’ He said, ‘Mr. France.’

“But Ben is the future of NASCAR. I’m so proud of many things. He’s done so much behind the scenes people don’t even really know what all he’s done and accomplished. I’m so proud of him.”

The drivers, many of whom are of similar age to Kennedy, are quick to speak about the importance of having this new generation represented in NASCAR leadership. Not only is Kennedy willing to look at the sport through a different generational lens, but he also has demonstrated the ability to try new things, such as adding new venues to the schedule or moving the Clash race to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum next February for the first time in history.

“I feel like Ben’s been around enough and seen enough and obviously has great mentors he’s worked with, who have been around,” said 31-year-old Team Penske driver Joey Logano, the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion.

“He’s been around great people his whole life and been around the sport even more than me. I think it’s key to have someone like that in that position. I think you’ve seen that with the new schedule — that’s been a big piece on his plate, shuffling it up and trying new things.

“Going to the LA Coliseum, if you had told me that three years ago, I’d have said, ‘Yeah OK, not a chance.’ But we’ve all learned this year that change is good for the sport. Look at all the new tracks we went to and what has happened. How many new people have come to these races? And going to new markets? You’ve got to switch it up and change it a little bit. So, I think he’s been around enough to have balance to know the historical race fan and also keep things appealing to the new race fan or non-race fan, yet.”

Drivers say Kennedy stepping out of his NASCAR driver’s suit and into a three-piece suit is also an encouraging aspect of Kennedy’s background and make-up. He brings a different set of experiences to his new role off-track and into the boardroom.

In fact, not only did Kennedy compete full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for three years in 2014-16, he won a race at Bristol Motor Speedway and earned a spot in the playoffs in 2016.

In all, Kennedy had 10 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes in 73 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts. He also made 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, and in 2017, he earned a top-five finish (fourth-place) at Talladega Superspeedway.

And it is this kind of “in the trenches” background that Kennedy feels has already benefitted him.

“I feel like some of that experience as a team owner and driver side has helped me at least get a different perspective on what it’s like on a day-to-day basis to kind of live in these roles,” said Kennedy, who also owned ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR late model teams.

“It’s one of the interesting parts of our business. We’re so complex and there are so many different parts of the company and the industry, whether you’re a team owner or a driver or on the NASCAR side or an official, a broadcast partner, an official partner. We all come to the track with a completely different experience, but at the end of the day, we all come together to put on a great race for our fans. I think that’s one of the really cool things about our sport. We all live completely different lives and completely different experiences, but we all have one goal at the end of the day and that’s to go racing — and for the team and drivers, to go out there and win.”

Certainly, the drivers appreciate that kind of mindset from leadership. One after another of the NASCAR Cup Series top drivers spoke about their respect for Kennedy who — unlike the previous generation of more business-oriented leaders — came up the competition ranks. It adds a different perspective.

“I think the cool thing, the biggest thing I respect about Ben in his time, and I think is something that sometimes gets overlooked, is that he spent time racing, going to these short-track races across the country racing late models, racing other cars,” said 25-year-old reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott.

“He got into the Truck Series and raced a couple Xfinity races as well. I don’t know of any other, if there are, there are very few members of the leadership that have driven. So, I really appreciate that.

“I feel like he put in a lot of time and a lot of effort to try and make a driving career. I think you learn a lot of things that you would not typically see just by being on the leadership side. Being down there and being in the fight every week, kind of seeing things from a different angle, I think is going to make him a great leader.”

Working alongside proven executives such as his uncle Jim France, NASCAR President Steve Phelps and NASCAR Executive Vice President, Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell has had a beneficial impact all the way around.

Kennedy’s “why-not-try” sort of philosophy working in conjunction with veteran leadership has been a welcome contribution from those he works with and those he’s working for.

“I think Ben is more connected with his generation and I think that benefits us,” Phelps said. “But, for example, I think it’s less about his age as it relates to the LA Coliseum, for example, and more about his willingness to embrace change that is the most important thing.

“I actually think, it really is more how you process and think about our business. It’s not change for change-sake, but smart change — that kind of calculated risk, where the upside is significant and the downside is negated in whatever means we take.

“He has embraced the change mantra, whether you’re talking about next-gen schedule or Next Gen car, obviously Ben will be a next-gen leader of this sport.

“And I think we as a sport now, embody that and he listens and I think that’s really important for us to have someone who is a France family member who can look through his own lens and see what it means to be a family member but also what it’s like to be 29 years old, what it’s like to understand we need to be aggressive in how we approach the growth of this sport. And I think Ben does that.”

As Phelps said, Kennedy’s exuberance and openness has been embraced. But Kennedy’s is also mindful of steering things in a thoughtful, calculated direction. He does a lot of listening.

“I think I naturally lean toward the innovative mindset and to think differently, but I think surrounding myself with a lot of peers that have a lot of experience and know the reasons for why we got to where we are today, no matter what part of business,” Kennedy said.

“It’s an interesting and neat balancing act to really try to keep our core and our tradition and the values of our sport but also to think differently about where we want to go in the future as a sport, too, whether that’s the racing product we bring our fans, whether it’s the locations we’re going to, what that experience is like, even how fans are consuming content on a race weekend, too.

“I think everyone wants to see something a little different. We’re never going to be able to cater to everyone, but I think we can meet somewhere in the middle and still have some innovative ideas and test some new things out along the way but still keep that tradition intact and make it special. It’s been a challenge for sure, but a neat challenge trying to thread a needle between the two of those.”

It’s exactly that kind of mindset that settles the hearts and minds of those he’s working with and working for.

“It goes past the legacy of the family and goes to a love of the sport,” Phelps said. “I think he shares that, frankly, with Jim (France) because Jim has never seen a race he didn’t like. He can find something good in every race. And he loves it. There’s no place he’d rather be than a race track and I think Ben shares that same love of the sport and I think that’s really, really important for us as a company and more broadly, as a sport.”

It all leads to a lot of enthusiasm about the future of NASCAR — both immediate and grand-scale. And the palpable uptick comes from inside the garage, outside in the grandstands and from seats of corporate boardrooms.

Kennedy’s high hopes and expectations have been a source of exhilaration and point of promise for the sport. And perhaps the best news for those that believe in his potential is that he’s only getting started.

“Ben’s fulfilling his legacy,” said 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski, who moves into a new owner/driver role next season with Roush Fenway Racing.

“He’s making bold moves that need to be made. And I think it’s been a major part of the success story the sport has seen over the last 12-18 months.

“I think we’re on an upswing.”

Posted on October 7, 2021October 8, 2021 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — In recognition of the individuals and organizations that have led with their efforts to advance diversity, equity and inclusion across the sport, NASCAR announced Thursday the 2021 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Awards recipients during a special ceremony in Charlotte, North Carolina.

NASCAR executives, partners, drivers, crew members and other industry leaders were on hand for the 14th annual event held at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, as NASCAR presented awards to 12 recipients whose commitment to DE&I has contributed to a more diverse and inclusive sport.

“The substantial progress our sport has made with regard to diversity, equity and inclusion is a result of the collective work of many leaders within the NASCAR community who are driving us forward together,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps said. “These awards celebrate those whose passion and commitment are strengthening a NASCAR culture that is welcoming and inclusive of everyone that shares a love of racing.”

Winners were announced during the Thursday ceremony across 10 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Award categories and are as follows:

Crew Member Award: Brian Eastland

A 17-year NASCAR industry veteran, Brian Eastland is one of the earliest graduates of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Development Program and continues to mentor program participants and active NASCAR crew members. A respected leader on pit road and in the garage, Eastland has performed every over-the-wall role during his lengthy career, including for NASCAR Cup Series teams such as Roush Fenway Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing, and continues to pit in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Eastland holds degrees in both automotive and mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University.

Developmental Series Driver Award: Rajah Caruth and Toni Breidinger

Rajah Caruth is in his second season with the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program after becoming the first participant to successfully transition from competitive iRacing to real-life stock-car racing. After notching his first career late-model win last season at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Caruth this year won three additional races in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series and progressed to full-time racing in the ARCA Menards Series East. When he competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Alpha Prime Racing in 2022, the Winston-Salem State University student will become the first Black driver from the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program to compete in a national series event since Bubba Wallace.

In February, Toni Breidinger became the first Arab-American woman to compete in a NASCAR-sanctioned event when she took the green flag at the ARCA Menards Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Breidinger’s history-making journey in NASCAR was covered by national TV programs — TODAY, Good Morning America and The Ellen DeGeneres Show — and her on-track schedule this season has also included late-model racing and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Earlier this year, she introduced the first beauty brand to NASCAR through a driver sponsorship deal with the Arab-owned Huda Beauty.

Sam Belnavis Industry Ambassador Award: Bernard Pollard

Bernard Pollard developed an interest in NASCAR midway through 2020, when the industry and its competitors took a vocal stance against racism and social injustice. The former NFL safety, who played pro football for nine years and won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens, became a student of NASCAR and documented his journey as a new NASCAR fan on social media. Pollard’s genuine enthusiasm for the sport has inspired others to learn more about NASCAR racing, and over the past year-plus, he has attended races, participated in iRacing events and served as an ambassador for Ally Financial and the company’s partnership with driver Alex Bowman and Hendrick Motorsports. The award was renamed in honor of motorsports pioneer Sam Belnavis, a trailblazer as a Black general manager and team owner in NASCAR. Belnavis passed away on July 14, 2021.

Institution Award: Boys & Girls Clubs of America

In April, Boys & Girls Clubs of America was announced as the Official Youth Community Partner of NASCAR and began working with the sanctioning body to plan both virtual and at-track experiences that will engage more than 4.6 million youth and teens across the country. The partnership focuses on three core areas — STEM education, career development and DE&I initiatives — and NASCAR activation planned for the Boys & Girls Clubs’ digital platform, MyFuture, will launch later this month. In addition to NASCAR, Boys & Girls Clubs of America have robust and impactful partnerships with numerous NASCAR industry stakeholders, including Comcast, FOX Sports and Coca-Cola.

National Series Driver Award: Bubba Wallace

After helping lead the national conversation on race and social justice in 2020, Bubba Wallace has continued to advocate for change this season and has championed various diversity initiatives, including McDonald’s Black & Positively Golden Mentors program. In his first year with Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin at 23XI Racing, Wallace became the second Black driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race when he claimed victory on Oct. 4, 2021 at Talladega Superspeedway. The journey of Wallace’s debut season as driver of the No. 23 Toyota Camry is being documented by Netflix in a new, multi-part series.

Outstanding Intern Award: Korn Supatrabutra and Iris Wright

Korn Supatrabutra and Iris Wright were participants in the 2021 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Internship Program and spent the summer as interns in the NASCAR Marketing department. After graduating from college, Supatrabutra followed his passion for research analytics and joined NASCAR’s Research & Insights team, where he contributed to analyze data around diverse fan audiences and other consumer research projects. The Bangkok, Thailand, native earned both a graduate degree in marketing research and bachelor’s degree in marketing from Michigan State University.

As part of NASCAR’s Multicultural & Youth Marketing team, Wright led initiatives to promote the recently launched NASCAR Kids Club and helped introduce the sanctioning body’s STEM-focused partnership with the National Science Teaching Association in August. The North Carolina State University senior also steered an intern-led fundraising case-study project for The NASCAR Foundation.

Partner Award: RISE

Partners with NASCAR since 2016, RISE is a national nonprofit organization focused on educating and empowering the sports community to eliminate racial discrimination, champion social justice and improve race relations. When NASCAR announced in 2020 that diversity training will be a mandatory requirement for all drivers and team employees, RISE was engaged to administer racism, anti-racism and unconscious bias workshops and curriculum across the industry. By the start of the 2021 season, RISE and its training leads conducted training with more than 1,500 NASCAR employees and industry personnel.

Team Award: Trackhouse Racing

Trackhouse Racing debuted in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021 with Mexico native Daniel Suárez behind the wheel of the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. The mission of team owner Justin Marks and partner Pitbull is to compete for wins and championships in the sport’s premier series — but also to promote diversity and inclusion and introduce new fans to NASCAR. Throughout the year, Pitbull and Suárez have engaged in various ways with the Hispanic community, including visits with students at the tuition-free charter school SLAM! (Sports Leadership and Management Inc.), founded by the world-famous entertainer.

Track Award: Nashville Superspeedway

Nashville Superspeedway hosted its first NASCAR Cup Series race in 2021 and returned to the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedules in 2021. On June 19 — the day of the Xfinity Series race — the track hosted 120 alumni from Tennessee State University in recognition of the HBCU school’s Founders Day. Erik Moses, the first Black track president in NASCAR, and his staff also hosted 30 students from the Knowledge is Power Program of Nashville, a free college preparatory school for low-income communities on that same day. In the last year, the track also made financial contributions to improve its surrounding community. In collaboration with Ally Financial, Nashville Superspeedway contributed $25,000 to the Urban League of Middle Tennessee and $25,000 to Box 55, which supports first responders in Nashville, Tennessee.

Young Racer Award: Regina Sirvent

In 2021, Regina Sirvent graduated to full-time racing in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series in her second season with the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program. Last year, the Mexico native became the first female driver to win a race in the FB and BOHN Mikel’s Trucks presented by Sherwin-Williams at the Autódromo del Ecocentro de la Unión Ganadera. She is a vocal ambassador for both women and Hispanics in racing and uses her platform to encourage young girls to pursue their dreams and always “go for the cookies (the win).”

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Dustin Albino

Amid a respectable debut season, Big Machine Racing announced Thursday it will return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022 with Jade Buford as its driver — and a major new partner alongside it.

The team, owned by Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta, will work with Richard Childress Racing in an enhanced partnership with the longtime championship organization.

RCR will provide Big Machine Racing with chassis and engineering support, along with other assets. Big Machine Racing will continue to run ECR engines. And though the No. 48 team will remain a one-car operation, the team will relocate to RCR’s campus in Welcome, North Carolina, after spending the 2021 season in Mooresville, North Carolina.

“To be able to join Richard Childress and the iconic RCR means we just put a turbocharger on our Big Machine Racing program,” Borchetta said in a team release. “As a racer and fan, I’ve always looked up to Richard, all of his accomplishments and his organization. He’s a winner in the truest sense and I look forward to the day that we can share our first victory together.”

MORE: Tracking the Xfinity lineup for 2022 | Key players in 2022 Silly Season

Richard Childress, whose organization already has a technical alliance with Kaulig Racing at the Xfinity Series level, is excited to add Big Machine Racing to the program.

“Scott Borchetta and everyone at Big Machine Racing have built a great program, and we look forward to not only continuing our relationship in 2022 but to enhancing it with additional technical and engineering support,” said Childress, chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “Our team partnership model is proven, and we know that this partnership will be beneficial for Big Machine Racing, RCR, ECR and Chevrolet.”

Not only will Buford return to the driver’s seat, but Patrick Donahue will also return to the No. 48 team atop the pit box as crew chief.

Through the opening 28 races of Big Machine Racing’s existence, the No. 48 Chevrolet sits 24th in the owner’s championship, while Buford is 23rd in the driver standings, just 38 points below 20th. The team earned its first top-10 finish in late August at Michigan International Speedway, placing ninth.

“An alliance with an organization like RCR will give us a huge advantage in improving our racing program and add another level of consistency that will help us achieve better results across the entire season,” Buford said. “With support and access to RCR’s resources, we will have a much better playbook going into every race.”

Buford, an avid road-course racer, will start from 19th position this weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, where he finished eighth last year.

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Marcus DiNitto

Bettors who believed in Denny Hamlin at the onset of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are looking pretty smart right now. Priced between +750 and +800 before Darlington Raceway, the first of the 10-race playoffs, Hamlin has been shortened to +350 on most oddsboards, with the Round of 12 ending Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

Those odds place Hamlin, the only driver who has locked up a spot in the final eight, a notch below Kyle Larson in the championship futures market.

RELATED: BetCenter | Roval odds | Title odds

Larson, 22 points above the elimination line, figures to coast into the next round and remains the favorite to lift the Cup at Phoenix Raceway in November. In fact, most sportsbooks have tightened his odds since the playoffs began. Certainly intriguing to some bettors, though, Barstool Sportsbook has lengthened Larson from +240 pre-Darlington to +275.

Here are updated odds to win the 2021 Cup title from NASCAR’s three partner sportsbooks – BetMGM, Barstool and WynnBET – plus SuperBook USA.

While Chase Elliott, Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, sits in seventh place in the standings, the betting market still has plenty of respect for the No. 9 Chevrolet. Elliott, just nine points above the elimination line, is priced as the third choice, and with this weekend’s race on a road course – layouts at which he’s always the betting favorite – it’s hard to envision him not advancing. Elliott is the +200 chalk to finish first in Charlotte on Sunday.

Martin Truex Jr. is the only other driver priced in single-digit odds in the futures market. He’s also in solid shape to advance, tied for fourth and 20 points to the good, and should he make it to the final four, a bettor holding a ticket at +850 would be delighted heading into Phoenix, where Truex won in March.

LOGANO LURKS

There’s a lack of market confidence in Team Penske, evidently. Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, third and fourth in the playoff standings, are relative long shots to win it all. Despite what we’ve written about Kes’ lame-duck status with Penske not boding well for his championship chances, he ran well at Talladega Superspeedway, finishing second to Bubba Wallace in the rain-shortened YellaWood 500.

But it’s Logano who now has our attention for a potential futures bet, with a fat +1400 offering at BetMGM.

While Logano figures to advance into the Round of 8, the challenge arises at the first two tracks of the next round – Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway – because Logano hasn’t been near the front during a lot of 550-horsepower races this season. He did, however, finish fourth at the All-Star Race in Texas (which used a different engine package), and he has been among the best at Martinsville Speedway, where the race before the championship will be run. His 6.71 average finish over the seven most recent races at the short track in Virginia is tied for second and his 110.5 average driving rating is third.

Over the four most recent races at Phoenix, Logano has steered the No. 22 Ford to finishes of second, third, first and ninth, leading 421 laps during that stretch. Should he scratch his way into the final four, he’ll be as live a dog as they come Nov. 7.

Marcus DiNitto is a writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been covering sports for nearly two-and-a-half decades and sports betting for more than 10 years. His first NASCAR betting experience was in 1995 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he went 0-for-3 on his matchup picks. Read his articles and follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.

Posted on October 6, 2021October 6, 2021 by Staff Report

NASCAR announced the indefinite suspension of Camping World Truck Series crew chief Eddie Troconis on Wednesday. Troconis, who was on the pit box for the Young’s Motorsports No. 02 Chevrolet driven by Kris Wright for last weekend’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, was hit for a behavioral violation detailed in sections 12.8.1.c of the NASCAR Rule Book.

RELATED: Truck Series standings | Truck schedule

That part of the Rule Book states:

Member actions that could result in a loss of 25-50 driver and Team Owner Points and/or $50,000-$100,000 fine and/or one Race suspension, indefinite suspension, or termination:

Physical confrontation with a NASCAR Official, media members, fans, etc.
Member-to-Member confrontation(s) with physical violence and other violent manifestations such as significant threat(s) and/or abuse and/or endangerment.
Attempting to manipulate the outcome of the Race or championship.
Intentionally wrecking another vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is removed from Competition as a result.

NASCAR did not provide specifics around the violation, but did confirm that it was not a competition or on-track-related incident.

Troconis has been a crew chief for 142 races over nine seasons in the Truck Series. He has two victories, both coming with Ben Rhodes for ThorSport Racing in 2017 and 2018.