Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to return to JTG Daugherty Racing in 2022; team moving to one car

Posted on September 30, 2021September 30, 2021 by Terrin Waack

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will return to JTG Daugherty Racing in the No. 47 Chevrolet for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, the driver confirmed Thursday. The two parties agreed on a one-year contract.

The 2022 slate will mark Stenhouse’s third go-around with JTG Daugherty, having joined before the 2020 schedule. Stenhouse had three top-five and four top-10 finishes in his first year with the team. He has had one top five and two top 10s this season, with six races still remaining.

“I’m just looking forward to a third season with the team,” Stenhouse said on a Zoom teleconference. “I felt like this year was kind of like the first year with the organization with the way last year went and the way it was kind of thrown on us, not being able to hang out with the guys, be at the shop and really spend time with each. Now I’m really enjoying (it).”

Stenhouse used to race for Roush Fenway Racing, beginning his full-time NASCAR Cup Series career there in 2013. He won twice in the No. 17 Ford, both times in 2017 — at Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway.

In addition to his personal news, Stenhouse also confirmed JTG Daugherty will field only one car in 2022 rather than its usual two. The No. 37 Chevrolet’s run will end when this season concludes, which leaves Ryan Preece without a ride for next year.

This will mark the first time in Stenhouse’s career he will race without a teammate.

“I definitely think it could be a negative on one hand and a positive on the other,” Stenhouse said. “When you’re practicing and testing and can have more ideas and run different things through both cars, it definitely speeds the process up. But we would also have to share the seat when it comes to testing. I feel like what I look for in a race car and what somebody else looks for in a race car and the way they drive is sometimes totally different. So, I feel like we’re going to be able to build the car around me.”

That car Stenhouse referenced is the brand-new Next Gen car, which is set to make its competitive debut in 2022. Its first exhibition race will be The Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 6. The first points-paying race will come with the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 20.

NASCAR has planned three organizational tests — two at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Oct. 11-12 on the Roval; Nov. 17-18 on the oval) and one at Phoenix Raceway (Dec. 7-8). While other teams will have to rotate drivers, Stenhouse will be JTG Daugherty’s sole pilot. He sees that extra seat time as an advantage.

“I think next year could be our best year yet,” Stenhouse said, “even my best year in Cup in general.”

Posted on September 30, 2021September 30, 2021 by Staff Report

Name: Cynthia
Current City: Chicago, Illinois
Member Since: 2008

Getting to KNOW CYNTHIA:

Q: How did you first become interested in NASCAR?

“I became a NASCAR fan after watching a few races on TV in the late 90s. It was very exciting, and I wanted to learn more about the drivers and their teams. The more I watched, the more interesting the races became. Then I wanted to understand the strategies in place during the races (when to pit, how many tires, when to get fuel, etc.). I have been hooked ever since!”

Q: What is your favorite part about NASCAR?

‘I love the pure excitement and energy of the racing. The roar of the engines, the smell of the tires and fuel. There is no other sport that provides the level of excitement as much as when you attend a race in person!”

Q: What is your favorite NASCAR memory?

“Meeting Richard “The King” Petty in person and shaking his hand!”

Q: Do you have a favorite in any of the following categories?

Current Driver: “Kyle Busch.”

Past Driver: “Bobby Labonte.”

Up and Coming Driver: “Bubba Wallace.”

Team: “Joe Gibbs Racing.”

Track: “Chicagoland Speedway.”

Sponsor: “Coke, because of their driver promotion program.”

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

“Watch NASCAR racing, play golf, and do some gardening.”

FROM ALL OF US AT NASCAR, WE THANK CYNTHIA FOR HER CONTINUED SUPPORT AND LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM HER IN 2021! Look for Cynthia on the Official NASCAR Fan Council page on NASCAR.COM.

Posted on September 30, 2021September 30, 2021 by Terrin Waack

If Talladega Superspeedway is considered a wild-card track, then Ford has figured out how to tame the 2.66-mile beast in recent years.

The blue-oval manufacturer has won 10 of the last 12 and 12 of the last 17 NASCAR Cup Series races in Alabama. That includes a streak of seven victories in a row from 2015-18 – remember, there are two stops per season.

Chevrolet, meanwhile, has won once in the last five events and three times in the last 16. Toyota won the fall race last year but otherwise hasn’t since the spring of 2014.

A little reading between the lines will infer Ford is the defending Talladega winner, having won there earlier this year. The Cup Series’ second visit is Sunday with the NASCAR Playoffs’ second race in the Round of 12 (2 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

TALLADEGA: Weekend schedule | Betting odds | Paint schemes

Here’s a look at Talladega outcomes since fall 2012 – stopped then since Dodge was the previous winner and is no longer active in NASCAR.

Nine current drivers have prior wins at Talladega. Of those, seven are still in the hunt for the 2021 title. Brad Keselowski (Ford) leads the way with six wins, including the spring 2021 event. Joey Logano (Ford) has claimed three. Denny Hamlin (Toyota; defending playoff race winner) and Ryan Blaney (Ford) both own two. Kyle Busch (Toyota), Chase Elliott (Chevrolet) and Kevin Harvick (Ford) have one apiece.

The four Ford drivers who double as former Talladega winners pilot the only Fords in the Round of 12.

All of the playoff Fords are set to line up within the top 10 Sunday — Blaney fourth, Keselowski seventh, Logano eighth and Harvick ninth — and 11 of the last 14 Talladega races were won from a top-10 starting position.

And yet, despite all of these Ford-focused facts, BetMGM has the Toyota of Denny Hamlin favored to win the YellaWood 500, listed at 8-1 odds. In BetMGM’s defense, Hamlin did win the Talladega playoff race last year and won last weekend’s playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — his second through four playoff races. He seems to be hitting his stride after not a single win in the regular season.

Logano was given the second-best mark, 9-1, as the highest favored Ford wheelman. Elliott and Blaney are then tied for third at 10-1. That leaves two Fords, two non-Fords with the top-three best odds.

Keselowski is 12-1 and Harvick (who is still winless this season) is 14-1 — just to check in on all the playoff Ford entries. They’re within the top five best odds, among others.

Other facts worth noting:

— Ford has actually won all superspeedway races this year, too. Can’t forget about Talladega’s superspeedway sister track, Daytona International Speedway, which bookends the regular season. Michael McDowell won the opener, and Ryan Blaney won the finale.

— Overall, Ford doesn’t hold the most Talladega wins out of the three active manufacturers. It has 31, with the first via Buddy Baker on May 4, 1975. Chevrolet boasts 41 victories; its breakthrough coming from Darrell Waltrip on May 1, 1977. Toyota tallies four since Kyle Busch on April 27, 2008.

— Of the 30 races so far this 2021 season, Ford has won seven. Ryan Blaney (playoffs) has three wins. Joey Logano (playoffs), Brad Keselowski (playoffs), Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell each have one. Chevrolet tops all with 14 victories. Toyota has nine.

Posted on September 29, 2021October 3, 2021 by Zack Albert

Joey Logano has run afoul of both Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick during the course of his NASCAR career — his long-ago clash with Harvick dating back to Pocono Raceway in 2010 and a flare-up with Elliott unfolding just last year at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Given his experience, Logano could be considered a leading authority on the recent squabble between Elliott and Harvick, even if the Team Penske driver insists he’s remaining neutral in terms of picking a side.

“As far as the whole Chase and Harvick thing, I am not a horse in this race,” Logano said in a Wednesday media availability. “So I can be out of that one. I can see both sides of the story, though. If there’s one thing I think we all can probably agree on watching it back is that I’d be mad on either side of it.”

The lingering Elliott-Harvick animosity still hangs over the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, which enters its next phase with Monday’s YellaWood 500 (1 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Talladega Superspeedway. Logano is a three-time winner there, and the Team Penske organization has won three of the last four Talladega races.

Elliott and Harvick each have one win there, too, but their on-track confrontation and pit-road standoff at the Round of 16 finale remains a sticking point without a tidy resolution. If anything, the remarks that each driver shared in a pre-race media session last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway only stoked the flames, with Harvick comparing his discussion with Elliott to trying to reason with his 9-year-old son, Keelan.

Logano said he’s seen the potential repercussions from letting unsettled scores fester, especially in the playoffs. His confrontation with Matt Kenseth in the 2015 postseason is testament to those implications, and he was on the receiving end of Kenseth’s retaliation at a key moment at Martinsville Speedway that year. Asked for his thoughts if he were in Elliott’s position, Logano shot straight.

“I’d be nervous. I’d be maybe a little nervous about the situation, you know, depending on who goes on to the next round or not,” Logano said. “It could really affect how things go. I feel like I’ve learned a lot of lessons in this sport. Some have cost me a lot. That might be one that really cost me a lot. So, you know, they get smarter every year, but you know I think we all handle things differently after going through things in the past.

“I was surprised, I’ll tell you that much, I was surprised hearing the comments. I thought they were humorous, though — pretty entertaining for us.”

Neither of the two antagonists seemed so amused one week after their Bristol brooding, and if there’s an advantage when it comes to playing head games, the experience edge goes to Harvick. Logano says he’s seen it first-hand.

“Games are played every day, I believe so,” Logano said. “I believe when you’re out there racing for a win, it’s a battle from every standpoint, whether it’s on track or off track, I believe sometimes it’s a battle. And that ratchets up. Kevin has been known to be that guy at times. I think how many times he’s made little comments to me, you know, and that seems to ratchet up as the intensity picks up. I feel like he may think it’s a tool in his box that he can use, and you know, it may be successful for him. It’s probably why he does it, maybe he finds it works. Maybe he finds it works for him as much as hurting somebody else. I can’t answer those questions.”

Posted on September 29, 2021 by Marcus DiNitto

The simplest of betting strategies would be resulting in a tidy profit this NASCAR season.

Had you bet $100 on the favorite in every Cup race so far, including the All-Star event, you’d be up $455, a return on investment of 14.67%.

It would have taken some fortitude to get there, of course. You would have been down $700 after the first seven races and -$850 after 13, and you wouldn’t have been in plus-money territory until Kyle Larson cashed at 4-1 odds in the All-Star Race. Then, you would have fallen back into the red after the Firekeepers 400 at Michigan International Speedway last month, emerging back into profitability with Martin Truex Jr.’s win at Richmond Raceway.

These types of ebbs and flows are what gambling is all about – some have the stomach for it and enjoy the “sweat,” others not so much.

A bettor following this strategy would have cashed tickets in eight of the 31 races, and only three drivers have delivered as the favorite this season – Larson (four times) and then Chase Elliott and Truex (twice each).

Here’s the season-long tally of this bet-the-favorite strategy. Odds reflect opening prices posted at SuperBook USA in Las Vegas.

Race	Favorite	Odds	W/L	Tally	Winner	Winner’s odds
Daytona	Hamlin	+800	-100	-100	McDowell	+8000
Daytona Road	Elliott	+200	-100	-200	Bell	+8000
Miami	Hamlin/Elliott	+500	-100	-300	Byron	+3000
Las Vegas	Harvick	+500	-100	-400	Larson	+1000
Phoenix	Keselowski/Elliott/Harvick	+500	-100	-500	Truex	+800
Atlanta	Truex/Larson/Hamlin	+500	-100	-600	Blaney	+1800
Bristol dirt	Larson	+200	-100	-700	Logano	+3000
Martinsville	Truex	+350	350	-350	Truex	+350
Richmond	Truex/Hamlin	+450	-100	-450	Bowman	+2000
Talladega	Hamlin	+1000	-100	-550	Keselowski	+1400
Kansas	Larson/Hamlin/Truex	+500	-100	-650	Kyle Busch	+1000
Darlington	Larson	+350	-100	-750	Truex	+600
Dover	Truex	+350	-100	-850	Bowman	+2000
Austin	Elliott	+180	180	-670	Elliott	+180
Charlotte	Larson	+500	500	-170	Larson	+500
Sonoma	Elliott	+225	-100	-270	Larson	+700
All-Star at Texas	Larson	+400	400	130	Larson	+400
Nashville	Larson	+250	250	380	Larson	+250
Pocono	Larson	+225	-100	280	Bowman	+1000
Pocono-2	Larson	+225	-100	180	Kyle Busch	+450
Road America	Elliott	+225	225	405	Elliott	+225
Atlanta-2	Larson	+175	-100	305	Kurt Busch	+5000
Loudon	Truex/Hamlin	+450	-100	205	Almirola	+10000
Watkins Glen	Elliott	+200	-100	105	Larson	+450
Indianapolis Road	Elliott	+175	-100	5	Allmendinger	+2500
Michigan	Larson	+250	-100	-95	Blaney	+1800
Daytona-2	Hamlin	+800	-100	-195	Blaney	+1200
Darlington-2	Larson	+250	-100	-295	Hamlin	+600
Richmond-2	Truex	+450	450	155	Truex	+450
Bristol	Larson	+400	400	555	Larson	+400
Las Vegas-2	Larson	+300	-100	455	Hamlin	+700

Moral of the story

So betting on NASCAR is pretty easy, huh? Just bet the favorite every race, and with some patience and guts, turn a nice profit over the long run?

Not quite.

Three-quarters of a season is far too small a sample size to come to that conclusion, and if we were able to look back at an extended period of time (maybe we will someday), we’d likely see different results.

From our perspective, the most important takeaway from this analysis is that Cup races play out close to form.

Sure, there have been a few drivers who have cashed big tickets as long shots this year – and if you were on Michael McDowell to win the Daytona 500, Aric Almirola in Loudon or even Kurt Busch in Atlanta, congratulations on those picks. But only four of the 31 races have been won by a driver not from either the Hendrick, Gibbs or Penske teams, so a swing-for-the-fences betting strategy is probably misguided.

Other takeaways and notes

Here are some other thoughts as we look back upon the season-long tally ….

Betting the favorite in every race would be paying off well; betting Larson every time out would be even better. His seven wins would have resulted in $3,700 in cashed tickets on $100 wagers, against $2,400 in losses, for a season-long win of $1,300. The bulk of that profit, however, would have come from his win at 10-1 odds at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the spring, before the market caught up to his dominance. Jumping on that train now, when he’s priced short in every race, is not advised.

Pro NASCAR bettor Zack White said in a text: “I think the +300s you’re seeing on him now are too short to be long-term profitable at this point. A lot of these playoff teams are saving their best for last, and I expect to see some real competitive racing down the stretch. Larson is still the favorite for sure. …. I’m just going to need to a better price to bet on him.”

While both of Elliott’s wins this season have come on road courses, he has underperformed against market expectations on these layouts, as he has been the favorite in all six such races. Keep this in mind before rushing to the window to bet the No. 9 at 2-1 odds at the Bank of America ROVAL in Charlotte, North Carolina, next week.
There are long shots, and then there are long shots. The McDowells, Kurt Busches and Almirolas of the world aren’t exactly on the same plane as drivers like Alex Bowman and Ryan Blaney, each of whom has won three races priced in double-digits odds. If you’re looking for a larger payoff, focus on the drivers from the Big Three garages.
Several races saw multiple drivers open as co-favorites at the SuperBook. Fortunately for this analysis, none of those guys won these races. We made the assumption here that a bettor following the bet-the-favorite strategy would have made a $100 wager on just one co-favorite per race.

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 September 29, 2021September 29, 2021 by Staff Report

Team Penske announced its lineup of driver-crew chief pairings for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series on Wednesday, introducing two new combinations for the three-car effort.

• No. 2 Ford: crew chief Jeremy Bullins with driver Austin Cindric
• No. 12 Ford: crew chief Jonathan Hassler with driver Ryan Blaney
• No. 22 Ford: crew chief Paul Wolfe with driver Joey Logano

RELATED: 2021-22 Silly Season Tracker

Hassler will move over from the Wood Brothers Racing affiliate to work with Blaney, replacing veteran Todd Gordon, who is hanging up his headset at the end of the season. Hassler became crew chief for the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Ford in June, teaming up with driver Matt DiBenedetto. A representative for Team Penske said that the Wood Brothers would announce a replacement for Hassler in the near future.

Bullins will remain with Roger Penske’s No. 2 Ford group, but will work with incoming driver Austin Cindric next season. Cindric, the defending Xfinity Series champ, is set to replace Brad Keselowski and challenge for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.

The Logano-Wolfe pairing remains intact for the third consecutive season. Wolfe is the longest-serving Cup Series crew chief on Team Penske’s roster, currently in his 11th season with the organization.

Posted on September 29, 2021September 29, 2021 by Zack Albert

NASCAR released the 2022 schedules for both the Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series on Wednesday, making two long-awaited returns to familiar venues at Portland International Raceway and Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

Both tours open the season in February at Daytona International Speedway and close out the year in November for championship weekend at Phoenix Raceway, but changes abound in between those two tripleheader bookends. The Xfinity Series remains at 33 races next season, but the Camping World Trucks calendar grows by one to a 23-race schedule.

“A lot of data and a lot of collaboration that’s gone on with it, and I think it’s a testament to the industry working together and collaborating and really creating some of the best schedules that we’ve seen so far,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president of strategy and innovation. “So, excited to get the Cup (Series) schedule out a couple weeks ago, excited to get Xfinity and Trucks out today, and we’re going to start working on 2023 tomorrow.”

The Xfinity Series will hold its lone stand-alone event June 4 at the 1.964-mile Portland road course, marking the first event for a NASCAR national series there in more than two decades. The Camping World Trucks raced there twice from 1999-2000, and the Oregon circuit has hosted regional stock-car series under both the NASCAR and ARCA umbrellas.

The return to the Lucas Oil track, formerly known as Indianapolis Raceway Park, will kick off the Truck Series playoffs on July 29 — run in conjunction with Xfinity and Cup Series races that weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 0.686-mile oval last hosted Xfinity and Truck events in 2011.

“It’s something that our fans have been asking for for a long time is getting back to Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, and I think a big part of that is the racing product that it put on as another great short track that we had on the Camping World Truck Series schedule back in the day,” Kennedy said. “I think it’ll be a great addition to the schedule, especially on that weekend. I think from a timing perspective, it just, it couldn’t have worked out any better having it on the same weekend as the Xfinity and Cup race and then also to be able to kick off our playoffs as a part of that, too.”

Other highlights and notes from Wednesday’s schedule release:

— The Camping World Trucks’ road-course lineup gets a shake-up with the addition of Sonoma Raceway (June 11) and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (July 9). The Sonoma circuit returns to the schedule for the first time since a 1995-98 stint in the series’ first four seasons. Mid-Ohio has been a regular stop on the Xfinity Series schedule for eight of the last nine years but transitions to a Truck Series event in 2022. Watkins Glen International remains on the Xfinity Series schedule (Aug. 20) but drops from the Camping World Trucks slate.

The truck tour will also miss a date at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the third consecutive year. The 2.459-mile road course in Ontario hosted Camping World Trucks events from 2013-19, but scheduled events the last two years have been canceled because of travel difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Kennedy said his team has stayed in contact with the track’s management and that he remains hopeful for an eventual return.

“From a fan perspective, it always amazes me when we go to Canadian Tire and to see the amount of fans that come out for that event every year,” Kennedy said. “You know, unfortunately, we haven’t had the ability to race there since 2019, and unfortunately won’t be going back there in 2022, and I think the biggest reason is just kind of the unknowns and uncertainties, there’s a lot of logistics that go into planning a lot of these races and a lot of lead time, especially for international events. It felt like it was best for us to press pause on 2022 and really kind of focus on the rest of the schedule. But they’ve been great partners to us and looking forward to continuing to stay in touch with them.”

— Both series have followed the Cup Series’ lead with tweaks to their playoff rotations. In the Xfinity Series, Texas Motor Speedway (Sept. 24) and Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Oct. 15) trade places on the schedule as the Round of 12 and Round of 8 openers, respectively. Homestead-Miami Speedway slots in Oct. 22 as the middle race in the Round of 8, moving Kansas Speedway back into the regular season. Bristol Motor Speedway (Sept. 16) returns as the regular-season finale.

In the Camping World Truck Series, the adjustments are broader with four new tracks in the postseason mix. Lucas Oil (July 29), Richmond Raceway (Aug. 13) and Kansas (Sept. 9) make up an all-new Round of 10, and Homestead-Miami (Oct. 22) enters as the Round of 8 finale to set the field of four title contenders. The regular-season finale shifts from Watkins Glen to Pocono Raceway (July 23) for 2022.

“We definitely want to keep the rotation fresh and, I think, kind of going back to the Cup schedule, we’ve seen it now play out for a year and now we’re getting a taste of it, of what this new playoff schedule looks like in its second year,” Kennedy said. “I think now that we’ve seen it play out, we wanted to keep it fresh, shake things up a little bit but still keep a lot of those cutoff races. … On the Xfinity and Truck Series schedule, it’s something that we constantly look at is not only what races are in the playoffs but what are those cutoff races and how do we make them exciting events for our fans. So that’s something that we’ll continue to look at. We saw some changes in the 2021 schedule from that perspective and excited to bring some more in ’22.”

— The Camping World Truck Series returns to a 23-race schedule in 2022 after a one-year dip to 22. The tour had run 23 races from 2015-20 and had a 25-race slate from 2003-11. The largest Truck Series schedule was 27 races in 1998, and the fewest races (20) came in the tour’s inaugural season in 1995.

“I think starting our season in Daytona and ending at Phoenix on championship weekend, we want to make sure that we’re driving as much momentum and as much content for our fans as we possibly can throughout that schedule,” Kennedy said. “Then another part of that, too, is you know I think a lot of feedback that we received from the industry and the teams. You know they want to see additional races on the Camping World Truck Series schedule, and that was another factor that went into it.

“As far as the number of races going forward, it’s something that we’ll continue to evaluate whether it makes sense to be at 23, go up, go lower or stay right at that number. I know we’ve had 23 races for a long time, and I think it’s a pretty good number and I think it’ll be great for the ’22 schedule.”

— The Xfinity Series returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the third consecutive year with a July 30 visit. Kennedy had indicated during the Sept. 15 release of the 2022 Cup Series calendar that a return to the 2.5-mile speedway layout was a possibility for future schedules.

Posted on September 29, 2021October 5, 2021 by Zack Albert

The NASCAR Xfinity Series is set to visit not only a new track next season, but a whole new corner of the country with its first venture into the Pacific Northwest.

Portland (Ore.) International Raceway takes a prime midseason spot on the Xfinity Series’ 2022 schedule, which was released Wednesday in conjunction with the Camping World Truck Series’ calendar of events for next season. The 1.964-mile road course will serve as the Xfinity Series’ sole stand-alone event June 4, marking the first national series race there since 1999-2000 — a two-year run for the truck tour.

The agreement marks an extension of NASCAR’s partnership with Green Savoree Racing Promotions, which promotes events at the Portland track, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and street circuits for IndyCar events in Toronto and St. Petersburg, Florida. Portland’s Xfinity Series date is being realigned away from Mid-Ohio, which transitions into a Truck Series host track in 2022.

“I think why now from a timing perspective, we’ve looked at the Pacific Northwest really since we started off in building out the 2021 schedule,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president of strategy and innovation. “I’ve had the opportunity to go out to Seattle and Portland and look at a number of different opportunities and, seeing that we had a good relationship with Green Savoree and Kevin Savoree, it felt like it was a good opportunity for us to explore it in 2022 and bring it on the Xfinity Series schedule and really make a special weekend there in early June.

“A great time of year to be racing, especially in the Pacific Northwest starting to warm up, and I think it’ll be a great addition to the schedule.”

Kevin Savoree — co-owner, president and chief operating officer of the promotions group — also embraced the return: “What an exciting day for Portland and Pacific Northwest race fans. This region of the country hasn’t had a visit from a NASCAR national series in over two decades. We are thrilled the wait is over. When the NASCAR Xfinity Series stops at PIR next June, it will deliver great racing and strong economic impact to the region.”

NASCAR has an intriguing history with the region, though it has been a largely untapped frontier in recent years. The Cup Series visited the half-mile Portland Speedway seven times from 1956-57, and ran a 1957 event at the Kitsap County Airport in Bremerton, Washington. Several prominent NASCAR drivers have emerged from the area, including Washington natives Greg Biffle, Derrike Cope, Kasey Kahne and Chad Little, plus Hall of Fame nominee Hershel McGriff, who hails from Oregon.

As for the Portland road course, it was a frequent venue on the NASCAR Northwest Series that ran from 1985-2006, and it has been an occasional host of what is now called the ARCA Menards Series West. Portland returned to that series’ schedule this year for the first time since a 2009-2012 stint.

But revisiting that part of the country was a priority for Kennedy, who said his team also explored other potential venues in the Portland and Seattle vicinities.

“Quite a few tracks reached out to us, and a few projects as well that we’ve had some discussions with, but very, very early stages of a lot of those conversations, too,” Kennedy said. “I think it was seeing where Portland Raceway was and the ability for us to go there in 2022 and really make it a special event. If you go out to the track, it’s not far from downtown Portland, and you’re only a few hours’ drive from Seattle as well, so you know it’s always been a key part of the country that we’ve been looking at. We’ve seen a lot of growth from a fan perspective there and wanted to get there as quickly as we could, especially with the Xfinity Series.”

Kennedy said NASCAR officials plan to use the 1.964-mile, 12-turn configuration that includes a chicane intended to scrub speed on the main straightaway shortly after the start-finish line. ARCA West and IndyCar have used that layout in their events this year, and Kennedy said he was able to test out both versions in laps of his own.

“I think ultimately we ended up with that configuration, both from a speed perspective as well as just a racing product perspective,” Kennedy says. “I think that chicane, in particular, is one of the most unique aspects of that track. We had the opportunity to go around it in a car a few times, both with the chicane and without the chicane. So I think from a speed perspective really, being mindful of that, and then just from a racing product perspective, it’s an iconic part of the track and we feel like it’s important to include that.”

While the news remains fresh for the Xfinity Series schedule that’s ahead, Portland’s addition begs the question of whether a Cup Series date might eventually be in the offing. Other venues — notably Road America and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway — were longtime hosts of Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series stand-alone events before migrating onto the premier-series calendar in recent years.

Kennedy says for the moment, the approach is wait and see.

“We’re taking it as-is for now,” Kennedy said. “I think it’ll be good to get up there with the Xfinity Series, see how it does. It’ll be a FOX event as a stand-alone event, and I know that they want to make it special and something unique. That said, we’ll certainly continue to evaluate it, and it’s one of the neat things about the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series, it gives you a little more flexibility to be able to go and test some of these new markets that you otherwise wouldn’t have the ability to go into. Excited to see how it plays out and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Posted on September 29, 2021September 29, 2021 by NASCAR Official Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR announced Wednesday the 2022 schedules for both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, slates that feature exciting – and significant – adjustments for race fans.

For the first time since 2000, a NASCAR national series will return to the twists and turns of Portland International Raceway when the Xfinity Series heads to the Pacific Northwest on June 4. The 1.964-mile road course hosted the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for a brief stint in 1999 and 2000 – the only visits by a NASCAR national series in the track’s long history.

Similarly, the Camping World Truck Series will renew its beating and banging brand of racing when it returns to the 0.686-mile Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis for the first time since 2011. The July 29 event will serve as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs opener and offer drivers the first chance to clinch a spot in the Round of 8. The event is part of a jam-packed weekend of racing in the city of Indianapolis, as the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series will race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course that Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

In addition, the Camping World Truck Series will visit a pair of new road courses in 2022. The series will return to wine country’s Sonoma Raceway for the first time since 1998, joining the Cup Series for a weekend doubleheader (June 11). Then, after trips to Knoxville Raceway (June 18) and Nashville Superspeedway (June 24) for the second consecutive year, the Camping World Truck Series will debut at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 9 – a track that hosted the NASCAR Xfinity Series on an annual basis from 2013-21.

“For the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series, we loved the idea of being able to deliver new road courses to both schedules and a short track for the Camping World Trucks while still returning to our traditional venues and the new tracks we introduced in 2021,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president of strategy and innovation. “Not only do these changes continue to deliver on what our fans are asking for, but we feel they will create even more drama and intensity as drivers battle to win championships at Phoenix Raceway in November.”

Texas Motor Speedway will kick off playoff festivities in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (Sept. 24). The cutoff races in the Xfinity Series will mirror the Cup Series as the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (Oct. 8) and Martinsville Speedway (Oct. 29) are set to pare the field from 12 to eight to four.

In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Kansas Speedway (Sept. 9) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 22) will trim the playoffs field.

Once again, both series will open the season on consecutive days at the World Center of Racing, Daytona International Speedway. The Camping World Truck Series gets underway Feb. 18, with the Xfinity Series kicking off its season Feb. 19. As announced earlier in the year, all three NASCAR national series seasons will culminate with NASCAR Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway Nov. 4-6.

A total of 15 tripleheader weekends will make up the 2022 schedule.

Broadcast times and networks for all three series will be announced at a later date.

Below are the full 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedules (playoff races in bold font):

2022 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES SCHEDULE

Date	Race / Track
Saturday, Feb. 19	Daytona International Speedway
Saturday, Feb. 26	Auto Club Speedway
Saturday, March 5	Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Saturday, March 12	Phoenix Raceway
Saturday, March 19	Atlanta Motor Speedway
Saturday, March 26	Circuit of The Americas
Saturday, April 2	Richmond Raceway
Friday, April 8	Martinsville Speedway
Saturday, April 23	Talladega Superspeedway
Saturday, April 30	Dover International Speedway
Saturday, May 7	Darlington Raceway
Saturday, May 21	Texas Motor Speedway
Saturday, May 28	Charlotte Motor Speedway
Saturday, June 4	Portland International Raceway
Saturday, June 25	Nashville Superspeedway
Saturday, July 2	Road America
Saturday, July 9	Atlanta Motor Speedway
Saturday, July 16	New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Saturday, July 23	Pocono Raceway
Saturday, July 30	Indianapolis Road Course
Saturday, August 6	Michigan International Speedway
Saturday, August 20	Watkins Glen International
Friday, August 26	Daytona International Speedway
Saturday, September 3	Darlington Raceway
Saturday, September 10	Kansas Speedway
Friday, September 16	Bristol Motor Speedway
Saturday, September 24	Texas Motor Speedway
Saturday, October 1	Talladega Superspeedway
Saturday, October 8	Charlotte Roval
Saturday, October 15	Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Saturday, October 22	Homestead-Miami Speedway
Saturday, October 29	Martinsville Speedway
Saturday, November 5	Phoenix Raceway

2022 NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES SCHEDULE

Date	Race / Track
Friday, Feb. 18	Daytona International Speedway
Friday, March 4	Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Saturday, March 19	Atlanta Motor Speedway
Saturday, March 26	Circuit of The Americas
Thursday, April 7	Martinsville Speedway
Saturday, April 16	Bristol Dirt
Friday, May 6	Darlington Raceway
Saturday, May 14	Kansas Speedway
Friday, May 20	Texas Motor Speedway
Friday, May 27	Charlotte Motor Speedway
Saturday, June 4	World Wide Technology Raceway
Saturday, June 11	Sonoma Raceway
Saturday, June 18	Knoxville Raceway
Friday, June 24	Nashville Superspeedway
Saturday, July 9	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Saturday, July 23	Pocono Raceway
Friday, July 29	Lucas Oil Raceway
Saturday, Aug. 13	Richmond Raceway
Friday, Sept. 9	Kansas Speedway
Thursday, Sept. 15	Bristol Motor Speedway
Saturday, Oct. 1	Talladega Superspeedway
Saturday, Oct. 22	Homestead-Miami Speedway
Friday, Nov. 4	Phoenix Raceway

Posted on September 29, 2021October 3, 2021 by Staff Report

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