ATTLEBORO, Mass. — JDV Productions and Whelen Engineering announced today the new Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup that will debut in 2022. The three-race series will cover three of the four NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events that JDV Productions will promote during the new racing season.
All three events as part of the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup will be in the state of New Hampshire. The first is set for Saturday, May 21, as the inaugural Granite State Derby will take place at Lee USA Speedway. The second includes a stop at the high-banks of Monadnock Speedway on June 18, while the finale will take place at Claremont Motorsports Park on Friday, July 29. The winner of the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup will be crowned at Claremont. All additional details surrounding the Cup will be released at a later date.
The Cup will be just one more of many incentives for Whelen Modified Tour teams to chase during the new season, and will also continue to welcome local drivers who compete at the New Hampshire tracks weekly to enter the race.
“Whelen’s commitment to motorsports is matched only by their commitment to providing high quality, American-made products. We are grateful for their partnership and commitment to our three New Hampshire races through the “Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup” in 2022,” Josh Vanada, owner of JDV Productions, said. “We are excited to work with them to elevate these three events on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, and provide the local short track racers with even more incentive to contend with the Tour regulars.”
Whelen Engineering, a global leader in the emergency warning industry, has been trusted to perform since 1952. Whelen designs and manufactures reliable and powerful warning lights, white illumination lighting, sirens, controllers, and high-powered warning systems for Automotive, Aviation and Mass Notification industries worldwide. They have also been the title sponsor of NASCAR’s Modified Tour since 2005. To learn more about Whelen Engineering, visit Whelen.com, where you can search to find your local distributor.
“Whelen Engineering takes pride in our long-standing involvement in motorsports,” said Peter Tiezzi, III, General Manager of Motorsports for Whelen Engineering Company, Inc. “We are very excited to partner with JDV Productions for the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup at three iconic short tracks in New Hampshire with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.”
The 2022 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule includes 16 events, beginning in Florida on Saturday, February 12 at New Smyrna Speedway and ending at Martinsville Speedway on Thursday, October 27. The four JDV Productions events will play a crucial role in the race for the championship. Just one week after the Lee USA Speedway event on May 21, JDV will promote the second annual Jennerstown Salutes event at Jennerstown Speedway on Saturday, May 28. The Monadnock Duel at the Dog 200 (June 18) and Clash at Claremont (July 29) will wrap the 2022 season for JDV Productions.
For more information on JDV Productions, visit JDVProductions.com and follow the group on social media channels including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Less than one year after joining forces, U.S. Navy veteran Jesse Iwuji and Emmitt Smith announced Chevrolet as their team’s manufacturer for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series season. It was also revealed on Monday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame that the car number will be 34 (a tribute to Wendell Scott) and Jason Houghtaling will be the team’s crew chief.
Courtesy Jesse Iwuji Motorsports
“Wendell Scott, back in the day, he had the 34 and it meant a lot because he was the first African American to win a Cup Series race,” Iwuji said. “With everything he did to pave the way for African Americans in the future, we just felt like it would be fitting.”
Though the NASCAR Hall of Famer and legendary pioneer of the sport is an enormous source of motivation, Iwuji is ready to blaze his own path to success at the national level.
“We’re building together a team of people who are on the same mission and we’re grinding for it every single day,” Iwuji said. “There will be good days, there will be bad days but if everyone just stays together, continues to unite, we’re all about sharing the dream and sharing the moment.”
The newly formed Jesse Iwuji Motorsports organization will run a full-time schedule in 2022, something that neither co-owner has ever done. But this unique partnership offers Iwuji the best opportunity of his racing career, alongside an athlete who is well known for being dominant at his craft — and someone who sees the same determination in Iwuji.
“Once you got a chance to know this young man and spend time and discipline to understand his process and the way he thinks, not to mention the service he has provided to this great nation, all of those things became part of something I could get behind,” Smith said.
Sean Montgomery | NASCAR Digital Media
“Our mission is to not only go out there and compete but also to inspire others to (reach) their level of greatness.”
Iwuji is still an active member of the U.S. Navy and has been an ambassador for both the military and community outreach.
But he’s also no stranger to pushing for greatness at the Xfinity Series level.
Iwuji made his series debut with Carl Long in 2020 at Road America, moving on to complete three more races that season driving for B.J. McLeod at Kansas Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. He then raced for Mike Harmon in 2021 at Pocono Raceway.
Jesse Iwuji Motorsports plans to compete in the entire 33-race schedule this season, making it eligible for the playoffs in Year 1 — a big step for a new organization looking to gain traction.
As for any fear of the unknown, the team has a solid game plan for hurdling obstacles.
“Change creates opportunity for us to get better,” Smith said. “And to embrace it is the way that I look at it. Embrace change. I’m proud of this man and in order to go through the fire, you’ve got to be willing to do it and he’s built for it.”
The Xfinity Series season gets underway at 5 p.m. ET on Feb. 19 at Daytona International Speedway for the Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. 300 (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
We can't wait to get the season started with you guys!
LOS ANGELES – History seemingly happens only so rarely, but Los Angeles makes it a regular thing. The Super Bowl comes to town next week, a big deal the city has rallied around in the days-long run-up. Still, it has happened here seven times before.
NASCAR within the city limits, though, and in one of the crown-jewel settings – had never happened. Ten-years-ago NASCAR fan you would’ve told present-day you it never would. A mid-race break for an Ice Cube concert? Absolutely not. A quarter-mile track inside an Olympic-quality venue with a century of history? Saywhatnow.
Sunday, those things happened in the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, stirring up a buzzy Super Bowl atmosphere in a previously untapped part of town in front of a host of first-time attendees.
Nearly every logistical challenge the event may have posed was met. The Clash entered the realm of the trending on social media, with new eyeballs seeing the sport for the first time. And Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon, who may have had reason to be disappointed in finishing 2-3 behind race winner Joey Logano, capped the day with high-fives for NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell outside the locker room-turned-press room.
“I think it goes back to what I said, people having fun, getting back to going out there and racing. Today was what we’re all about, really the whole weekend,” O’Donnell said. “If you look at what the drivers have done for the sport over the offseason, really getting out there and help promoting us, this is a big market for us. It was important for us to come out here and look like we’re having fun, even if we weren’t. That wasn’t the case. I think everybody was really enthusiastic, ready to go, they wanted to win this race. I think that showed.
“High-fiving us is more we’re doing the same because they delivered, put on a great race for us.”
That started in the preliminaries, and the use of heats and last-chance qualifiers seemed tailor-made for this year’s version of the Clash. Several big names came perilously close to missing the feature, and former champs Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski were among those going home early. The tempers, fender-fraying and roughhousing that was semi-expected came to be, and the new Cup Series car that made its competition debut along with the track took its share of lumps.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
A host of California legends from all walks of sports made for an impressive list of grand marshals, and Vallejo’s own Jeff Gordon was front and center among them, lighting the Olympic flame, giving the command.
“To see the excitement and energy of the crowd, I mean that’s what NASCAR racing and great events are all about,” Gordon, now Hendrick Motorsports’ vice chairman, told NASCAR.com. “I thought top to bottom, NASCAR, everybody at the stadium, FOX just did a fantastic job. We were entertained – it wasn’t just about a race, it was about the whole experience. So I’m very pleased. I know we didn’t have the best result, but the racing was good.
“I was concerned coming here of what were we going to see on track. I felt like if we had a bunch of fans, we could entertain them with Ice Cube and Pitbull and all that, the DJ, but what were we going to see on track. I thought we saw a great race, all through the day – bumping and banging and passing.”
The main event’s finish may not have had the same slam-bang result as the qualifiers, but it had all the anticipation as Logano’s No. 22 Ford ran for its life with rival Kyle Busch in hot pursuit. A Turn 4 villainy not seen here since Zola Budd tripped Mary Decker at the 1984 Games was avoided, and the potential powder keg was defused. After the victory burnouts while Randy Newman’s “I Love LA” blared, Logano’s car rolled harmlessly back to the garage, where even those who placed among the also-rans were soaking in the back end of the day’s vibe.
“I feel like I came in with pretty high expectations, and I think everything was just a little bit better,” said defending Cup Series champ Kyle Larson, who finished fifth. “I think the atmosphere was amazing, just everything about it was really cool. … I hope we can do more of this in the future. I don’t know what the fans think of it, the new fans that are here, but I hope they enjoyed it. That’s the most important part. Just really proud of NASCAR for the effort they put in and what they were able to execute. I felt like this was a really smoothly run event, no real hiccups at all and that’s all you can ask for.”
Ah, the future. The pavement had barely cooled before crews began to deconstruct the track, and the temporary barriers that formed the inner retaining wall were all neatly stacked by the time most Angelenos were done with dinner. Just as quickly as the dream was built, it was being taken apart.
By no means was this easy, but before the weekend was even in full swing, talk centered around potentially doing it again. Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s senior vice president of strategy and innovation, had made this event his team’s touchstone. Taking it on the road to new venues — Soldier Field, Wembley Stadium, other international locales — that avenue is now wide open.
“It’s something that I think we’ll certainly look at,” Kennedy said. “Los Angeles, as we’ve mentioned from the start, is really an important market for us. … The Coliseum, USC, have been tremendous partners. That will be certainly an important part as we think about this. But to your point, too, if we can prove this out, a proof of concept, it does open the door to other locations in the future.”
Kennedy said those decisions would likely come sooner than later regarding a potential renewal, but for the time being, the 29-year-old executive was content to share some of the accolades from making the surreal become real, at somehow managing to pull all this off.
The year’s more traditional start comes in two weeks with the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 20 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM). That event has traditionally drawn comparisons as NASCAR’s Super Bowl. That type of atmosphere has already happened once this month, complete with a halftime show.
“This is LA, this is a tough market to really make a splash, but it is a great location and venue,” Gordon said, hinting at the possibilities that could emerge. “The weather is right for the winter, you’ve got an iconic, historic venue and location, so what else is out there? I do think there’s some places that if you could put a track in, I think they would draw a great crowd. I think what we can recreate now is you realize, when the cautions come out, you can pump music in, get the crowd involved, you can have a halftime and have somebody come out and put on a concert or whatever.
“I think there’s a lot that was learned from it — all positive. Great way to kick off the season.”
Making history repeat is an LA-centric phenomenon. Sunday may mark the start of it being NASCAR’s calling card, too.
LOS ANGELES — After starting on the pole, Kyle Busch wasn’t able to hold on for a second consecutive Busch Light Clash victory, this time at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Last year in the exhibition race, Busch took advantage of a crash between Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott during the final lap on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. This time around, a hard-charging Busch was unable to get to the back bumper of race winner Joey Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford in the closing laps on the quarter-mile temporary track.
But it wasn’t from a lack of effort as he managed to muscle his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to a runner-up result in its Next Gen competitive debut.
“I was being perfect doing everything I needed to do – keep the tires underneath me,” Busch said. “When I got close, I was like OK, I’ve got to try more and pounce at an opportunity and just overheated the tires and smoked them in three laps and that was it. Disappointing, obviously, come out here and win the pole, and lead laps, run up front. The finish goes green and it’s not chaotic and we can’t win, so it sucks.”
While Busch showcased speed throughout the weekend, it may be too early to tell if he’ll be a front-runner to start the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season given how unique the Coliseum circuit is compared to others on the schedule.
Other teams in the Gibbs stable struggled, most notably Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., who finished 23rd and 15th, respectively. For Busch, it was a good base run to move forward with as the organization continues to fine tune the Next Gen cars.
“Felt like coming in here off of the truck we were OK,” Busch said. “Made good speed right away. Even in our house, had a struggle. (No.) 19 (Truex) was way off. Definitely some little, little things on the setup sheet can certainly make for a big difference on the track.”
“The teams I think is the biggest thing, obviously, just car setup, what you can do with the car to make it drive well here, make the tight radius of the turn versus anywhere else really,” Busch added. “Even Martinsville, I think it’s probably pretty different than.”
Another caveat to Busch’s impressive run out of the gate was interim crew chief Seth Chavka, filling in for Ben Beshore due to a one-race suspension for a lug-nut violation carried over from last season’s championship finale at Phoenix Raceway. Chavka also filled in for Beshore last October at Texas Motor Speedway for another lug-nut violation.
Though the Coliseum race might be an anomaly, Chavka, a race engineer on the No. 18 team, believes the strong run still fueled confidence with the new car.
“We just came from the Phoenix test a couple weeks ago and had a couple things we learned there and kind of applied it to the race-car setup package coming here,” Chavka told NASCAR.com. “Seemed to be pretty decent off the truck and made some small adjustments here and there. For the most part, it went pretty smooth. The best part for us team is just the chance to go through tech and go through the new process with the car. See what the officials are looking at and that type of thing.”
LOS ANGELES — At the end of a transformative NASCAR experience that took the City of Angels by storm, Joey Logano held off hard-charging pole winner Kyle Busch to triumph in Sunday’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.
Logano got the lead on Lap 116, moments before Kyle Larson retaliated against Justin Haley for earlier contact that was not of Haley’s doing. Larson steered toward the bottom of the track, knocking Haley’s Chevrolet into the concrete Jersey barrier on the front stretch.
In the competitive debut of the Next Gen race car, Logano had control of the race for the restart on Lap 117 and held the top spot to the finish, with Busch frustrated in pursuit on the quarter-mile track built for the NASCAR Cup Series event in iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as part of NASCAR’s daring foray into downtown LA.
“I can’t believe it,” Logano exulted after the race. “We’re here. The LA Coliseum. We got the victory with the old Shell/Pennzoil Mustang. This is an amazing event. Congratulations, NASCAR. Such a huge step in our industry to be able to do this, put on an amazing race for everybody.
“I’m out of breath. I was so excited about this. This is a big win. My wife is having a baby tomorrow, our third one, so a pretty big weekend for us.”
It was an exhibition race — but what an exhibition. Rapper Pitbull, who co-owns Trackhouse Racing with Justin Marks, warmed up the crowd with a 45-minute set before the green flag. At the halfway break in the 150-lap event, crews changed tires and made adjustments to the Next Gen cars as rapper Ice Cube filled the Coliseum with a performance of his own.
A pantheon of California sports stars — among them former University of Southern California tailback Reggie Bush and LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts — joined NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon in a corps of grand marshals and shouted the command to start engines.
The race itself crystallized into a battle among Logano, Busch, Larson and Austin Dillon. After the final restart, Larson briefly took second from Busch, who regained the spot with more than 20 laps left and charged after Logano.
“I was being perfect doing everything I needed to do — keep the tires underneath me,” said Busch, who led a race-high 64 laps. “When I got close, I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got to try more and pounce at an opportunity,’ and just overheated the tires and smoked them in three laps and that was it. Disappointing, obviously.
“Come out here and win the pole, and lead laps, run up front. The finish goes green and it’s not chaotic and we can’t win, so it sucks. Congratulations to my son (Brexton Busch) – he won yesterday. That’s cool. I was trying to match him. He’s winning more than me these days, so somebody better send him a contract.”
Dillon passed Larson to finish third, and Erik Jones ran fourth after overtaking the reigning Cup Series champion in the closing laps. Larson held fifth, as William Byron, Cole Custer, Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger and Kevin Harvick completed the top 10.
Busch earned the pole position for the main event with a wire-to-wire victory in Sunday’s first heat race, with Daniel Suarez, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Blaney joining him in the Clash as the second-, third- and fourth-place finishers.
Blaney used his bumper to shove past Denny Hamlin to claim the final transfer spot from the opening heat.
In fact, drivers who started first won all four heat races, with no one else leading a lap. Tyler Reddick dominated Heat 2 — winning by a full straightaway — as Chase Briscoe, Dillon and Custer qualified behind him.
Driving for Kaulig Racing’s newly minted NASCAR Cup Series team, Haley took the third heat, with Byron, Bell and Chase Elliott joining him in the main event. In Heat 4, Logano and Larson ran 1-2, with defending Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell and Jones taking the final two transfer positions.
Hamlin made the Clash by winning the first of two Last Chance Qualifiers, with Harvick and Allmendinger finishing second and third to advance.
If the first LCQ was relatively tame by short-track standards, the second was utter chaos. After hitting everything but the lottery, as FOX broadcaster Mike Joy put it, Ty Dillon took the checkered flag but was demoted to the rear for jumping the final restart with three of the 50 laps left.
That gave Ryan Preece the race win and the final two transfer spots to Bubba Wallace and Harrison Burton, who was spun while leading on Lap 47.
The second LCQ featured seven cautions and saw strong contenders Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman eliminated when their cars sustained irreparable damage.
Sunday’s Clash exhibition race was a historic day for the sport, marking the first time the event was held outside of Daytona International Speedway. The LA Memorial Coliseum, home to the USC Trojans, was transformed from grass to a 0.25-mile asphalt circuit.
Post-race technical inspection is complete in the Cup garage, confirming Logano as the race winner.
The NASCAR Cup Series will return to action Feb. 15-20 at Daytona.
The first-ever Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum is a two-day event that consists of practice, heat races and two last-chance qualifying races, setting the stage for a 150-lap main event at the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 6 on FOX.
All 36 Charter teams are in Los Angeles, but only 23 will make the final show on Sunday night under the lights.
Here’s a breakdown of how the event works. Scroll to the bottom to the see the information presented visually.
• Saturday, Feb. 5: Practice and single-car qualifying
NASCAR Cup Series drivers took to the quarter-mile paved oval for a two-hour practice session, then ended the first day with single-car qualifying runs.
The single-car qualifying speeds will determine the fields and lineups for Sunday’s four heat races (see below for more on that).
Schedule: 3 p.m. ET, FOX (NASCAR RaceDay comes on at 2 p.m. ET)
There will be four 25-lap heat races with nine cars in each race Sunday, with those events starting at 3 p.m. ET on FOX. The four fastest cars from Saturday’s single-car qualifying — Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Justin Haley, Joey Logano — are on the pole position for each heat race (fastest speed in the first heat race, second fastest speed in the second heat race, etc.).
The first heat race consists of cars with qualifying speeds ranked one, five, nine, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29 and 33 on the speed chart. The second heat race will consist of cars with qualifying speeds ranked two, six, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, 30 and 34. And so on.
• How to advance from the heat race to the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum
The top four finishers in each heat race — 16 total cars — will automatically advance through to the Clash later in the evening. The winner of the first heat race will start on the pole, with the outside pole going to the winner of the second heat race.
The winners of heat race three and four will make up the second row. The remaining order for the 16 cars will be filled out in the same manner.
The Last Chance Qualifying races follow the heat races. Each heat race has nine cars, with four automatically advancing to the main event. That leaves five cars from each heat race, or 20 total cars, not advancing.
All 20 of those cars will advance to two ensuing 50-lap Last Chance Qualifying races, 10 in each race.
The starting order for each LCQ is based on finishing positions in the heat races, with the remaining field from heat races one and three racing in the first LCQ event. The second LCQ race is comprised of cars from heat race two and four.
The top three finishers (six total cars) in both Last Chance Qualifying races will advance to the Busch Light Clash, filling out positions 17-22 of the 23 available positions.
The final spot is reserved for the driver who finished the highest in the 2021 points standings who does not transfer on finishing position in the heat races or Last Chance Qualifying races. So in essence, that means 2021 champion Kyle Larson is the only driver locked into the field.
• Sunday, Feb. 6: Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum
With the field set, the 150-lap main event is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on FOX.
“I’ve had the chance to drive on the track through iRacing and make some laps in the NextGen car at Bowman-Gray on a similar layout, and there’s no doubt that this race is going to be awesome,” said Clint Bowyer, longtime former NASCAR Cup Series driver and current FOX Sports analyst. “The different qualifying events and format for the Clash are only going to add to what will be an unforgettable weekend. This is definitely a race you’re not going to want to miss.”
LOS ANGELES — At Bristol Motor Speedway in 2007, Kyle Busch won the debut race of the Car of Tomorrow.
In March of 2008, he gave Toyota its first victory in the NASCAR Cup Series with a dominating win at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Contemplating the prospect of winning the first race in the Next Gen NASCAR Cup Series car, however, Busch says that “first” might be taken with a grain of salt.
“In the back of my mind, you would say, yeah, you want to be the first guy, but I think many of us would argue that the first race for this vehicle will be the Daytona 500,” said Busch, who leads all active drivers with 59 victories in Cup Series points races. “You know, we’re here obviously, it is a race. Yes, they will pay somebody at the end of the day to win it. But this is more, as we’ve kind of alluded, a little bit where it’s a show.
“I mean that’s fine, and we’re going to do our best job of being able to put on a good show. There’s going to be a race involved. There’s going to be a checkered flag at the end of it. And I’ve been involved in the sport enough where there’s a lot of asterisks on the things that I’ve accomplished. So I’m sure me winning this race—I did not win the first race of the new car—it would be whoever wins Daytona, that’s how it would go.”
The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford ended practice ninth overall as the track gained speed throughout the scheduled two-hour warm-up. Blaney said wholesale changes to his car after the first session accounted for the improvement in performance.
“We found a lot,” Blaney acknowledged. “We changed a whole lot between the first and second practice. We were really bad the first run and just really loose. The corners are so tight here that the moment your rear slips out from under you, it takes forever to catch it and you lose tons of time.
“We came in and put tons of wedge in it and changed the right front spring and rear springs. There is a lot of adjustability in these cars with rear and front bar and stiffness on the arms on them—you can change a lot. We did a good job of getting on top of it and taking a huge swing at it.
“We were so far off. The adjustability on these cars is a lot though … It’s nice to have so many options where you can tweak on things.”
With independent rear suspension, differential in place of rear-end housing and rack-and-pinion steering all new to the Next Gen car, crew chiefs will have a lot to work with — and a lot to learn — in the coming weeks.
