NASCAR TV schedule: Dec. 6-12, 2021

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Wednesday, Dec. 8
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: The 2021 Playoffs (re-air), FS2
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Features: Part 3 (re-air), FS2
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: 2022 Season Preview (re-air), FS2

Friday, Dec. 10
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: 2021 Champion Season Rewind (re-air), FS1

Saturday, Dec. 11
6 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub Game Night: Part 1 (re-air), FS2
7 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub Game Night: Part 2 (re-air), FS2
8 a.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS2
9 a.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS2
10 a.m., The Golden Hour: Making of Days of Thunder (re-air), FS2
11 a.m., Refuse to Lose: Jeff Gordon and the 1997 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS2
Noon, NASCAR Masters of the Clock: The Legend of Martinsville (re-air), FS2
1 p.m., One Hot Night: The NASCAR 1991 All-Star Race (re-air), FS2

Sunday, Dec. 12
6 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Features: Part 1 (re-air), FS2
7 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Features: Part 2 (re-air), FS2
8 a.m., NASCAR Presents: This Racing Life (re-air), FS2
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: The 2021 Playoffs (re-air), FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: 2021 Champion Season Rewind (re-air), FS1
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: 2022 Season Preview (re-air), FS1

Posted on December 3, 2021December 3, 2021 by Staff Report

NASCAR announced the indefinite suspensions of three national series team members Friday.

Johnny Roten, crew chief No. 13 Motorsports Business Management Toyota in the NASCAR Cup Series, has been suspended under NASCAR’s substance abuse policy and the NASCAR member code of conduct for violations of sections 4.1; 4.1.10.4; 4.3; 4.4 and 4.4.e of the NASCAR rulebook. Roten was atop the pit box for 14 Cup races in 2021 with five different drivers. David Starr (six) and Timmy Hill (five) made the majority of those starts.

John Byrd, hauler driver for the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford in the NASCAR Cup Series, and Austin Zivich, car chief of the No. 78 BJ McLeod Motorsports Ford in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, were suspended for behavioral penalty violations under the NASCAR member code of conduct of sections 4.3; 4.4; 4.4.e of the NASCAR rulebook and are each suspended indefinitely.

Posted on December 3, 2021 by NASCAR.com

December Member of the Month
Name: Keith
Current City: Mooresville, North Carolina
Member Since: 2020

Getting to KNOW Keith:

Q: How did you first become interested in NASCAR?
“I was a young kid and was flipping through the channels one Sunday afternoon when a bright colored race car, which I would come to find out was driven by Jeff Gordon, caught my attention. For the next few hours, I was glued to the TV as the 24 car climbed through the field and eventually won the race. As I began to follow the sport, I learned more and more about the technology, strategy and skill that it took to compete in NASCAR. Here I am 25+ years later and still as in love with the sport as that little boy so long ago!”

Q: What is your favorite part about NASCAR?
“There’s so much to like about the sport, but if I had to single one thing out, it would be the unpredictability of it all.”

Q: What is your favorite NASCAR memory?
“My favorite NASCAR memory would have to be attending the 2015 fall Martinsville race. In all my years of being a Jeff Gordon fan, I had never seen him win in person. It was such an amazing moment to see him take the checkered flag for the final time and punch his ticket to the championship round in almost pitch-black conditions.”

Q: Do you have a favorite in any of the following categories?
Current Driver: “Kyle Larson.”
Past Driver: “Jeff Gordon.”
Up and Coming Drivers: “Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer.”
Team: “Hendrick Motorsports.”
Track: “Martinsville Speedway.”

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
“In my free time I like to race go karts, play racing games on Xbox, watch any kind of motorsports I can, and write.”

FROM ALL OF US AT NASCAR, WE THANK KEITH FOR HIS CONTINUED SUPPORT AND LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM HIM IN 2022!

Look for Keith on the Official NASCAR Fan Council page on NASCAR.COM.

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Zack Albert

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It felt good to be back. The city of Nashville had opened its arms wide to embrace NASCAR with its Champion’s Week celebration for the first time in 2019, and the natural pairing seemed like an annual tradition set to take root.

Last year’s awards became a more muted made-for-TV event after the COVID-19 pandemic altered the plans for a full-on Year 2 in Nashville. But 2021 brought a return to in-person celebration, and Music City was here for it.

NASCAR honored Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and recognized a host of title winners this week, capping off the festivities with Thursday night’s NASCAR Awards gala from the Music City Center. It was another chance to reconnect, both with the city and the industry as the offseason hits full swing.

“It’s really good to get back to having that opportunity and being able to celebrate everyone’s year and accomplishments,” said Kyle Busch, who was cheered as Cup Series champ during Nashville’s 2019 event. “It’s just nice to kind of have a sense of that again and to just be in Nashville and enjoy it.”

The sound of live music filled the historic streets of Nashville each night as it does every night. Drivers and teams soaked in the honky-tonk atmosphere but added their own engine rumble to mix in with the twang with Wednesday’s Burnouts on Broadway — a tire-smoking show on Nashville’s main street.

Hoots and hollers rang out from the city sidewalks, and drivers put on a show for the revelers.

“You see all the fans last night while we’re doing Burnouts on Broadway, and we’re not even racing. Like, people are dressed up in their favorite driver’s gear. It shows the passion that Nashville has for NASCAR,” Joey Logano said. “I was just thinking about that: There’s people lined up all the way down the street — and they’re real race fans; they’re not just people that happened to be in Nashville this weekend, right? It’s people are came here for our banquet and watched cars do donuts. They didn’t even get to see us race. It just shows the passion that Nashville has for NASCAR, for sure.”

This year’s version borrowed some of the features of NASCAR’s inaugural visit, but with some new twists. For one, champions in the other national series, plus regional and touring title winners were also honored.

Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric and Camping World Truck Series champ Ben Rhodes were among those sharing the stage.

“It’s special, special to come into a week with this kind of environment, have the fans, the industry, really just your peers rally around our champions not only of all three top series but the local division series,” Hemric said. “That’s cool, right? Everybody puts so much into it, so to come here and enjoy it with your peers, that’s all you can ask for.”

Thursday brought a glitzy end to the weeklong affair, but NASCAR’s ties to Nashville have only grown. The Cup Series visited Nashville Superspeedway for the first time this year, bringing racing in NASCAR’s top division to the Music City for the first time since 1984. And investments planned for the city fairgrounds may provide another Nashville racing revival.

That mutual embrace between NASCAR and Nashville? It’s only getting stronger.

“It’s a good feel of just walking down Broadway, you see all the action,” Kurt Busch said. “With the burnouts, it’s a privilege to be out there doing that out on city streets. Then with the bars, the bands, the people — there’s knuckle-bumps and people aren’t out there hustling. It’s just, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ It’s like a vibe all the way through.”

Good to be back.

Posted on December 2, 2021December 6, 2021 by Holly Cain

NASHVILLE – An abundant and enthusiastic welcome this week was punctuated by a packed ballroom and a litany of genuine feel-good moments as NASCAR celebrated and culminated its 2021 season with the Champion’s Week banquet in Nashville on Thursday evening.

NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team was properly feted at the annual awards banquet at the Music City Center, with a racing A-list attending to celebrate the highlights of the 2021 NASCAR season – and three first-time national series champions.

Larson’s amazing statistical showing en route to the title included a modern-day record number of laps led (2,581), and a career-best tally of wins (10), top-five (20) and top-10 (26) finishes.

“The numbers our champion put up this year were astounding,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps said, comparing the 29-year-old Californian Larson to former legendary champions from Richard Petty and David Pearson to Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. “This was his first [championship], but I’m sure it won’t be his last.”

After taking the stage, Larson promised not to get too emotional, but the gratefulness was evident in his voice and on his face. He thanked wife Katelyn, team owner Rick Hendrick and team executive, former four-time champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon, recalling how he dressed up like Gordon for his first day of kindergarten and had always considered him his racing idol.

Larson thanked his sponsors and fans — his longtime supporters who made the difference in him transitioning from the California short tracks to NASCAR’s big time, initially as a member of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity class. And he concluded his speech, thanking team owner Chip Ganassi, who in 2012 gave Larson his first big NASCAR shot.

“I’m humbled to be standing up here in front of many of my heroes, friends and family tonight. As many of you know, my journey over the last year and a half to get to this stage hasn’t been easy,” Larson said, before thanking Katelyn, his “best friend and biggest supporter.”

He continued: “I didn’t know at the moment, but those hard times made me a better person and made us a stronger family. I’m lucky to spend this life with you, Katelyn, even though I’m not sure how I feel about you stealing the thunder in Victory Lane, shotgunning your beers.”

Larson spoke about how special it was to him to drive the No. 5 for Hendrick – the same car number and paint scheme Hendrick’s late son, Ricky, used. And he ended his speech thanking his former team owner, Ganassi, for giving him his first opportunity.

“I left there 20 minutes later realizing my life was going to change forever,” Larson said of his first – and brief – meeting with Ganassi. “I will always cherish my years on your race team and forever be grateful for the risk you took on a young kid from the West Coast.”

A champion.

Before Larson’s championship conclusion, the NASCAR industry celebrated each of the other national series champions – Ben Rhodes in the Camping World Truck Series and Daniel Hemric in the Xfinity Series.

Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott, received his fourth consecutive National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver Award.

“For me, I think I’m as guilty as anybody,” Elliott said. “I don’t often realize just how much of an impact you can have or just how much someone is paying attention to what you do or just how much some young man or some young girl is looking up to you. And I think those things are important to recognize and I try to set a solid example at least.

“The fans have been a huge part of my career and super proud to have that support and I enjoy trying to make them proud in the process.”

Another annual award recognized during the main banquet is the prestigious Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. This year it went to Jeff Harmon of Louisville, Kentucky – a longtime volunteer with Down Syndrome Louisville.

Harmon, who has a 19-year-old son, Justin, with Down Syndrome, has worked with the organization for almost two decades and was extremely grateful for the award, mindful of the impact it will have. It started with only a handful of volunteers, and now, Harmon said the organization now serves more than 1,200 kids and families.

“It’s a huge benefit, to get $100,000 for one organization,” Harmon said. “It really helps out. We’re going to use to use the money to spread out to help more people in the state and to the counties that can’t come to the city of Louisville. There’s a lot of rural counties in Kentucky so we’re going to reach out and try to expand our reach.”

Among the other big awards noted, the late broadcaster Bob Jenkins won the NMPA Myers Brothers Award. And longtime Goodyear executive, Stu Grant, was given the Buddy Shuman Award.

At the end of the evening, after the trophy photos, press conferences and speeches, Larson and Hendrick addressed the NASCAR media – the unmistakable feeling of gratitude evident as they closed out the celebration.

“It’s a cool moment and one I’ll never forget,” Larson said.

Hendrick, a 14-time NASCAR Cup Series championship owner said: “It never gets old.”

Posted on December 2, 2021December 6, 2021 by Staff Report

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Pioneering motorsports broadcaster Bob Jenkins is the posthumous winner of the 2021 National Motorsports Press Association’s Myers Brothers Award, the NMPA announced Tuesday.

Presented annually since 1958, the award, named in honor of former NASCAR competitors Billy and Bobby Myers, recognizes individuals and/or groups who have provided outstanding contributions to the sport of stock-car racing. Each year, the NMPA Myers Brothers Award winner is selected by a vote of the NMPA membership.

Jenkins, who passed away in August 2021 at age 73 after a battle against brain cancer, was a fixture in ESPN’s NASCAR broadcast booth from 1979-2000, Initially, he teamed with Larry Nuber and later with NASCAR Hall of Famers Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons to form one of the sport’s most revered broadcast teams.

A native of Richmond, Indiana, Jenkins got his start in motorsports broadcasting as an IndyCar pit reporter on radio and television. When ESPN debuted in 1979, Jenkins was one of the first anchors for the new sports network, where he worked until 2003.

After leaving ESPN, Jenkins joined the staff at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, filling roles as a public-address announcer and press-conference emcee. Subsequently, he returned to the IndyCar broadcast booth with Versus and retained the role as chief IndyCar announcer when Versus was acquired by NBC Sports Group.

In 2019, Jenkins was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum’s Hall of Fame, along with driver Dan Wheldon.

Myers Brothers Award Winners

2021, Bob Jenkins; 2020, Jimmie Johnson; 2019, Darrell Waltrip; 2018, Jim France; 2017, Martin Truex Jr., Sherry Pollex; 2016, Betty Jane France; 2015, Darlington Raceway; 2014, Dale Earnhardt Jr.; 2013, Tony Stewart; 2012, Jeff Gordon; 2011, Drs. Joseph and Rose Mattioli; 2010, Jim Hunter; 2009, Barney Hall; 2008, T. Taylor Warren;

2007, Bill France Jr.; 2006, Benny Parsons; 2005, Rusty Wallace; 2004, Kyle and Patti Petty; 2003, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; 2002, Mike Helton; 2001, Dale Earnhardt; 2000, Kyle Petty; 1999, Junie Donlavey; 1998, T. Wayne Robertson; 1997, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; 1996, Rick Hendrick; 1995, TNN: The Nashville Network;

1994, Brickyard 400/Indianapolis Motor Speedway; 1993, Goody’s Manufacturing Co.; 1992, Richard and Lynda Petty; 1991, Harry Gant; 1990. Dick Beaty; 1989, Bill France Jr.; 1988 Richmond International Raceway; 1987, ESPN; 1986, Hayride 500; 1985, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; 1984, Charlotte Motor Speedway;

1983, CBS-TV; 1982, MRN; 1981, Junior Johnson; 1980, STP and Champion Spark Plug Co.; 1979, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; 1978, Busch Beer; 1977, First National City Travelers Checks; 1976, Junior Johnson; 1975, Bill France Sr.; 1974, H. Clay Earles; 1973, Wood Brothers;

1972, Winston Cigarettes; 1971, Richard Petty; 1970, Richard Howard; 1969, David Pearson; 1968, Wood Brothers; 1967, Richard Petty; 1966, Norris Friel; 1965, Ned Jarrett; 1964, Richard Petty; 1963, Marvin Panch; 1962, Hank Schoolfield; 1961, Ned Jarrett; 1960, Russ Catlin; 1959, Lee Petty; 1958, Bob Colvin.

Posted on December 2, 2021December 6, 2021 by Staff Report

Chase Elliott’s National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver Award presented by Hooters streak is now at four years running as the Hendrick Motorsports driver was awarded the hardware Thursday night at the 2021 NASCAR Awards in Nashville, Tennessee. The NASCAR Awards will air on NBCSN at 7 p.m. ET Saturday.

Elliott topped the balloting, which ran from Nov. 9-Dec. 1 and was based completely on voting by fans. Counting his two Most Popular Driver honors in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2014-15, he now has six Most Popular Driver honors across NASCAR national series.

Elliott’s recognition added to a long family history with the award. NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, his father, won Most Popular Driver a record 16 times non-consecutively during a span that began in 1984 and ended in 2002. That’s one more than Dale Earnhardt Jr., who claimed the award for 15 straight years until his retirement from full-time driving in 2017.

“Just super grateful to have a lot of great support across the country,” Elliott said. “It’s been super humbling, honestly. I feel like every year that goes by, we go to a new town or a new place and I’m just … like Road America this year, I think back to that event and that weekend and all the folks that were there supporting us was unbelievable.

“For me, I’m just as guilty as anybody, I don’t often realize just how much of an impact you can have or just how much someone is paying attention to what you do – just how much some young man or some young girl is looking up to you. I think those things are important to recognize and try to set a solid example at least or try to most of the time. The fans have been a huge part of my career and super proud to have that support and enjoy trying to make them proud in the process.”

A season after notching his first Cup Series title, Elliott nabbed two wins and reached the Championship 4 for the second straight season before ultimately falling short to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson in the title race at Phoenix Raceway.

The NMPA Most Popular Driver Award was presented to a Hendrick Motorsports driver for the 14th straight year, with Elliott’s four coming on the heels of Earnhardt’s 10 with the same organization.

Elliott emphasized he prides himself on remaining true to who he is as a person and competitor, appreciating the support in the process.

“I think for me, I’m certainly not the loudest person in the room, certainly if I don’t know you very well, either,” Elliott said. “Traveling around, I feel like I always try to do my thing and being in the position that you’re in as a race-car driver, No. 1 to me has always been about performance and trying go fast and do my job and I’ve tried to keep it simple as that. Might be boring in some cases, but it’s how I like to go about my business and how I like to go about my job and it’s how I feel like I can perform the best on Sundays.”

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Justin Allgaier won the award for the third straight year after a season where he grabbed two wins in the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. The award for Allgaier continues a 10-year run for JR Motorsports drivers. Other former JRM drivers to earn the honor during that time include Elliott Sadler (2016-18), Elliott (2014-15), Regan Smith (2013) and Danica Patrick (2012).

For the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, rookie Hailie Deegan took home the award. Deegan drove the No. 1 David Gilliland Racing Ford in her freshman season in a NASCAR national series and scored a career-best finish of seventh at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in August. She becomes the second rookie in a row to win the award after Zane Smith won it in 2020.

Posted on December 2, 2021December 2, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A tradition started by Jimmie Johnson in 2011, Kyle Larson will be the latest NASCAR Cup Series champion to receive the Champion’s Journal.

At the suggestion of NASCAR’s vice chairman, Mike Helton, Johnson penned the first note in the small brown leather book in December 2011 after winning the 2010 title, passing it to 2011 champion Tony Stewart. His fifth championship at the time, Johnson, now a seven-time champion, wanted a mantle for the exclusive club of NASCAR’s most talented competitors.

Since then, six other drivers have had the privilege to receive the journal for a year – Brad Keselowski (2012), Kevin Harvick (2014), Kyle Busch (2015, ’19), Martin Truex Jr. (2017), Joey Logano (2018) and Chase Elliott (2020).

Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Elliott, is set to pass it along to the No. 5 driver. But the contents of the book remain untold.

“I feel like it’s the best-kept secret in our sport,” Larson said during Champion’s Week in Nashville. “I’m really looking forward to receiving that and getting to read what other drivers have written in it. I’m just excited to see the things people say. I was talking to Brad Keselowski about it [Wednesday] and he said he didn’t even remember what he wrote in it. It’ll just be neat to see the stories and see what they had to say.”

Elliott noted he plans on presenting the journal to Larson during the Hendrick Motorsports holiday celebration later in December and is still putting thought into what words he will leave Larson to carry on into 2022.

“It’s a great honor to have seen that and read what’s in it and be able to pass that along,” Elliott said. “… I wish they had started it sooner. Having been a champion and having a chance to read it, I just wish it went back further. I think it would be incredible.

“I can’t wait for the champ in 2050 or 2040 or whatever to get that and read what some of the greats have written like Tony and Jimmie. That’s gonna be a great honor for people to have it. It’s just going to get more special every year.”

While the message Elliott will eventually compose remains unwritten, one thing is for sure – we’ll never know.

“I haven’t decided exactly how I want to angle it, but even if I had, I probably wouldn’t share,” Elliott said. “That’s kind of the whole point of the book is for no one else to know it. Whatever I decide, I’ll make a personal decision and try to make it special.”

Larson awaits his turn to lay eyes on compositions by champions before him, leaving him full of anticipation for what he’ll see.

“I’m assuming, like I said I haven’t seen it, but I’m assuming it’s just a lot of respect, I think, between all the drivers,” Larson said. “Even the ones that don’t get along.”

Posted on December 2, 2021December 6, 2021 by Holly Cain

NASHVILLE – It was a packed year for Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, who fielded his own team 23XI Racing team, and nearly claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Hamlin won a pair of races and posted career-best marks in top-five (19) and top-10 (25) finishes and took eventual NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson to the wire in challenging for the regular season championship. He won two Playoff races – at Darlington and Las Vegas – and came a pit stop away from nearly pulling off his first NASCAR Cup Series title.

His 23XI Racing team officially expanded by a car and will add veteran, former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch to the fold for 2022. Bubba Wallace scored a victory for the organization in its first season in 2021.

On paper it’s a challenging balance, but Hamlin and his ownership partner NBA legend Michael Jordan, certainly delivered on the team side and the 41-year-old Hamlin certainly delivered on the competition side.

“My passion for work is still really, really high and I knew that I wanted to run a business,” said Hamlin. “I didn’t know what that business would be, it turns out it’s team ownership. And hopefully I make the right decisions in the long term to make that all work out.

“I had to compartmentalize my time. I had to make sure that I designated certain days for certain aspects of my life.

“… I’m planned, I’m programmed, that’s the way I work,” Hamlin added, insisting about his time behind the wheel, “I feel as good as I’ve ever felt about the driving aspect of my career.

“If you had asked me three years ago, I’d have been like, ‘ugh, how much longer do I want to do this?’ And now I have no horizon, I don’t know. As long as I stay competitive like I’ve been doing, I don’t know. I’ll race until I’m Mark Martin, I guess.”

Posted on December 2, 2021December 2, 2021 by Holly Cain

NASHVILLE – The 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion and perpetual title contender Kevin Harvick was philosophic about his 2021 season — the first winless year he has had at the NASCAR Cup Series level since 2009.

Asked about the year, Harvick reminded reporters Thursday he finished in the exact same championship position in 2021 – fifth place – when he went winless that he did in 2020 when he won nine races.

“I think our guys did a good job,” Harvick said at the Music City Center before the NASCAR Awards. “Obviously we’d love to have won, but we did a great job in managing the season. I don’t know what it says with how we currently exist with our current system.”

He added with a smile: “We won nine times last year and finished fifth, and we won nothing this year and finished fifth. I don’t really know how to take that, personally.”

Harvick extended his run of 20 or more top-10 finishes to nine years. He has had at least 10 top-five finishes for the past eight years. And while the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was eliminated after the second round of the NASCAR Playoffs, he did score a pair of top-10 finishes in the round before getting derailed at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. He then closed out the year with top 10s in three of the final four races.

“I thought there were two or three [races] that we were in position to win and for one reason or another, running out of laps or following a roadblock, whatever the scenario was [we didn’t get them],” Harvick said. “I thought Phoenix, the last race of the year, we didn’t do a good job on pit road and to give ourselves a chance but I thought we had one of, or even the best car just needed to finish off track position.

“I think as you look at the season and look at the result, most people would say, ‘How did that happen?’ and that’s just a huge credit to the guys for giving us something manageable at the end of the year.”