Noah Gragson is 2-for-2 in collecting $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonuses in this year’s edition of the NASCAR Xfinity Series initiative. He’s also a perfect 2-for-2 in somehow losing the giant display checks with his name on them.
Gragson finished sixth in Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, outdistancing three other eligible drivers — Josh Berry, Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones — for the six-figure payout. He is halfway to a clean sweep of the four-race promotion but has none of the fancy Dash 4 Cash check placards to show for it.
“I have the one from Atlanta last year, but I don’t know where the one from Martinsville went,” Gragson said, noting his April 11 reward at the Virginia short track. “I got back to the shop and there’s a Big Check Bandit at the shop somewhere from the Martinsville check and then there’s a Big Check Bandit here at Talladega. So we’ve got to find this person because they’re stealing all the checks.”
The 22-year-old Vegas native led four times for eight laps in a quest for his first victory of the Xfinity Series season. That stretch of time up front included a convincing Stage 2 win with JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier pushing him to the green-checkered flag.
Gragson remained in the hunt until two caution periods slowed the final stage, all before a drenching rain shower forced the event to be stopped with 90 of a scheduled 113 laps complete. While the victory instead went to first-time winner Jeb Burton, Gragson was able to take measure of consolation in the Dash 4 Cash prize.
“I think it’s huge. We really want to win races, but I think that extra bonus through Xfinity and Comcast is really appreciated and beneficial for our team at JR Motorsports,” Gragson said, adding the incentive money will be split amongst him and his crew. “… It’s a team sport and I’m just very thankful to be a part of this 9 team and very fortunate. It’s not me winning the $100,000 two weeks in a row, it’s the 9 team and those guys. It takes a whole group.”
As for the other eligible Dash 4 Cash drivers at Talladega, Hemric was the best of the rest, leading 18 laps early in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota and settling for 12th at the end. Martinsville winner Berry wound up 31st — last on the lead lap — after a solo spin with a flat tire hampered his efforts in the JRM No. 8 Chevy. Jones fared the worst, his Gibbs No. 19 Supra sustaining heavy damage in a multi-car stack-up on Lap 75 and relegating him to 37th overall.
Gragson’s result means he’ll face off with Saturday’s top-finishing Xfinity regulars — Burton, Austin Cindric and AJ Allmendinger — in the next Dash 4 Cash round, scheduled May 8 at Darlington Raceway (1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM). With the extra money on the line again, Gragson said he doesn’t expect to temper his aggressive approach and prioritize the Dash 4 Cash finish over a race win. He just might have to be more protective of the display check if he goes 3-for-3.
“I don’t really see a reason to change,” Gragson said. “I sleep like a baby at night, and our race team sleeps like a baby at night, just because we’re content with who we are. I don’t know, we’re just confident and when we get to the race track, we know we have an opportunity to win, and outside noise doesn’t really bother us.”
Jeb Burton won his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, and the NASCAR community turned to social media to congratulate the driver of the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski and Michael McDowell are just a few past and present NASCAR drivers to celebrate Burton on Twitter.
Burton is the son of former NASCAR Cup Series driver, Ward Burton, and the cousin of current NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, Harrison Burton.
In 2020, Burton competed on a part-time basis with Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports in the No. 8 Chevrolet and earned three top-five and six top-10 finishes in 11 starts. Burton also has one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at Texas Motor Speedway and 33 NASCAR Cup Series starts.
Felt good to control the race early. I wasn’t decisive enough and lost control of the race near the end of stage 1, and really struggled the rest of the day to get the right momentum going after that. Happy to see @JebBurtonRacing get his 🏁👍
Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on NASCAR.com on Feb. 8, 2021:
How to measure the value of hard work: Clearing roads, sawing downed trees plus overseeing controlled burns equals sweat, aches and the rewarding feeling of managing nearly 10,000 acres through your outdoors foundation.
Then even recreation turns into something of a project. Hunting and other outdoor activities in the Virginia countryside become a prime facet of a streaming TV series, putting another aspect of your life on a to-do list.
“We’re always doing something,” Jeb Burton says, boiling his multi-pronged family life down to a simple declarative phrase.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
How, then, to measure hard work in stock-car racing? When a driver loses the power steering and has to muscle a heavy vehicle through high-load, high-banked turns, that’s an easy litmus test. Less quantifiable is the work of a NASCAR grinder, one who has scrapped for part-time rides and tried to maximize all of them, one who has picked himself up when sponsors reneged and hustled to attract new ones, and one who has fought to stay relevant in a business where cast-offs are quickly forgotten.
“It all goes back to breaks,” says Chris Rice, “getting something where you get a chance to show your talents.”
Rice should know. As president of Kaulig Racing, a rising Xfinity Series organization with eyes on Cup Series expansion, Rice presented the 28-year-old Burton with his biggest break to date: his first full ride in six years as the newly tapped driver of the team’s No. 10 Chevrolet for the 2021 season — one south-central Virginian to another.
“All this racing and success is about timing, anywhere you go on a team,” Burton said. “I feel like I’m going to Kaulig and hitting my stride when I’m hitting their stride at the same time.”
The timing of that stride is the culmination of a life immersed in the outdoors and stock-car racing, with both pursuits forged by the value of a solid day’s work.
A family’s foundation
Jeb Burton was 9 years old when his father, Ward, won the Daytona 500. That was 2002, and the victory represented the largest of his father’s five Cup Series triumphs. Jeb’s memories include watching the frantic final laps in their motorcoach, his mother Tabitha’s jubilance after the checkered flag and the golf cart ride to Victory Lane.
Ward says he remembers taking an extra lap to compose himself before pulling his No. 22 car to a halt. His family was there to greet him, and many newspapers printed the Associated Press’ group photo showing young Jeb signaling No. 1 beside the Harley J. Earl Trophy.
Capturing the Great American Race meant making the talk show rounds in the days that followed, and The New York Times caught up with him in the green room of “Live with Regis and Kelly.” The Burtons’ daughter, Sarah, said “absolutely not” when asked if racing was in her plans. Instead, she offered: “But my brother Jeb — he’s 9 — he likes to live on the edge, like daddy. He’s not afraid of anything.”
By then, Ward had already been teaching Sarah to drive a tractor on the family’s farm. Grade-school Jeb was driving a truck — his dad working the pedals while the youngster sat on his lap and grasped the wheel. “We’ve had a few close calls, just missed falling into a few ditches,” Burton told The Times, “but he’s got what it takes.”
So while the racing life wasn’t for all of Ward and Tabitha Burton’s children, Jeb took to it, eventually finding his way to the same South Boston Speedway that launched careers for both his father and his uncle, Jeff. While he was drawn to the thrill-seeking aspects of racing, he maintained a strong connection to quieter adventure, exploring the still of the Virginia woods like his father did growing up.
“When I was being brought up, there was nothing else but the outdoors, you know,” Ward Burton said. “Our parents gave us a lot of freedom. By the time I was 8 or 9 years old, my mom wasn’t even concerned about me if I didn’t come home, just so I got home an hour after dark. My generation was a little bit more protective of children, but I didn’t move to Charlotte and all that because I wanted to bring my kids up in the rural culture that I was brought up in.”
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Growing up Burton also meant go-karts and motocross and eventually a Limited Late Model debut at South Boston shortly after his 16th birthday. After more seasoning in the Late Model ranks, his national-tour debut came in 2012. His first full season the next year with Turner Scott Motorsports produced seven pole positions, an emotional first win at Texas Motor Speedway and a fifth-place finish in the overall Camping World Truck Series standings.
Then Burton’s career turned nomadic. After a prime sponsor defaulted on payment to Turner Scott late in the 2013-14 offseason, the next-generation driver hopped rides and series, briefly bumping up to the Cup Series for the 2015 campaign with underfunded BK Racing. The years that followed were made up of part-time duty with rides in the Xfinity Series and trucks, never competing in more than half the races in a given season.
With the family still trying to attract business partners for their efforts, the scrutiny sharpened on Jeb Burton each time out. With limited seat time to impress prospective sponsors and team owners, both father and son felt the strain.
“Look, man, when you’ve only got five, six, seven races and you’ve brought all the partners to the team like Jeb has been doing over the last couple years, it’s a ton of damn pressure,” Ward Burton says. “It’s a ton of pressure to perform for your companies that are supporting you, your family, yourself, and it’s tough no matter what you’re doing when somebody’s doing it every single week and you’re not. And racing just adds a steroid to that.”
The most productive of those part-time seats proved to be a springboard. Jeb Burton landed seven races with JR Motorsports in 2019, finishing among the top 10 in all but one start. That led to last year’s 11-race slate, which yielded three top fives and a runner-up finish to JRM teammate Justin Allgaier in September.
“Didn’t put any pressure on anybody but me,” Jeb Burton says. “I just had a lot that I needed to prove, and last year I feel like we did that. Should’ve won a couple races, looking back on it. … I think we showed we can lead laps and contend for wins, and me racing every week this year will make me better so I can win those races when I have the opportunity to do it. So there was a lot of pressure last year, but I feel like a lot of that got off my shoulders once I went and ran inside the top three and continued to do it and showing that I can do it given the opportunity.”
Opportunity arises
On Oct. 14, the Burtons met at Kaulig Racing for a conference with Kaulig’s Chris Rice and representatives for sponsor Nutrien Ag Solutions, a Colorado-based agricultural company. Rice admits now to ramping up some of the drama by initially casting doubt on whether an agreement could be achieved, but the actual reveal — captured on camera — prompted both father and son to well up.
Not another part-time ride, but a full one. Rice saying “33 races” almost didn’t register right away.
“It’s just, those things don’t happen. And they haven’t happened,” Jeb Burton said. “Every time something did happen for me, it kind of blew up in my face. Either somebody defaulted on a payment or didn’t do what they said they were going to do on a contract, so it’s been a struggle. … It’s just been a tough road and that’s where all of that emotion came from.”
The news was announced nearly a month later on Nov. 16. The No. 10 Chevrolet that Ross Chastain drove to a series-best 27 top 10s in 2020 would now have Jeb Burton’s name above the driver’s door.
Burton’s connection to Rice extends beyond the Kaulig relationship, rooted in their shared upbringing in Halifax County, Virginia, Rice’s father and uncle built racing chassis under the banner of A&E Race Cars and fielded Late Models for Jeff Burton in a collaborative effort between their families. And Cathy Rice, Chris’ mother, still serves as general manager of South Boston Speedway, her involvement with the operations of the grassroots track spanning 33 years.
So that fit seems natural for Burton, and so does his blending in with his two full-time teammates in veteran AJ Allmendinger and returning 21-year-old ace Justin Haley. The connection with Nutrien Ag Solutions is an even greater bit of synergy. The company was an existing partner of Kaulig’s, but its background in sustainability, conservation and farming aligned with the Burtons’ off-track pursuits. “It really is everything that we stand for,” Jeb Burton says.
Harold Hinson/HHP | Kaulig Racing
On track, Burton’s fit may require a slight adjustment period, Rice says, as he prepares for his first full-time campaign in six years.
“He’s going to fall right in here,” Rice said, “and I think he’ll have some learning curve early on because no driving full-time in an Xfinity car and then having to drive it every week’s a little different. I think he’ll have a little learning curve, but I think he’ll be ready to go by race five or six, and you won’t see him miss a beat.”
The ever-important timing that Burton mentioned is something Kaulig has focused on as well. The organization has expanded to three full-season Xfinity Series teams for 2021, and the group is wading into Cup Series waters with a part-time effort expected to grow into a full-fledged ride at NASCAR’s top level.
Burton has a measure of Cup Series experience, but so do Allmendinger and Haley, who have registered premier series wins. The team also has Kaz Grala in its system, and the 22-year-old will attempt the Daytona 500 and other Cup Series starts this season.
“I think every driver we have, we say can go further along with us,” Rice said when asked about Burton’s prospects for a return to Cup. “We don’t look at any of them that this is a one-year deal or this is just for this year. We look at them that we would love for them to grow with us and continue to make Kaulig Racing better and where we want it to be, and I think Jeb’s one of them.”
All the while, Burton has remained true to his identity both as a racer and an avid outdoorsman. Both interests are now documented in a MyOutdoorTV series called “Crossroads with the Burtons,” a show that focuses on Jeb, his wife Brandi and father Ward. And the family’s works with the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation continue with land management and its programs that connect with military veterans and educational outreach.
Crossroads is an apt title for where Jeb Burton is now on both fronts. In recent years, his father had placed some of his personal pursuits on the back burner to nurture partnerships for his son’s racing efforts. Ward Burton is now able to dial back those engagements as his son’s new opportunity approaches; as Rice says, now he’s ours — the reward for years of grinding and putting in a solid day’s work.
“It’s still emotional. It’s been a long ride, man,” Ward Burton says, making a nod to their tearful reaction to last fall’s career move. “We’ve exhausted just about every resource. I took off almost two years and made this career Jeb wanted a priority in my life, and everything else just came second. I finally just had to step away a little bit because it was going to kill me. Those emotions were real and they still are now.”
A thunderstorm pelted Talladega Superspeedway at just the right time for Jeb Burton.
After a seven-car wreck on the backstretch, Burton held the lead under caution when the rain intensified. After NASCAR brought the Xfinity Series cars to pit road, the clouds opened and made a first-time winner of No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet driver.
Burton’s win in Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300 was the third straight at Talladega for Kaulig Racing, which swept last year’s two events with driver Justin Haley.
“Unbelievable, man,” said Burton, son of 2002 Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton. “It’s been a tough road to get to this point. Just an unbelievable race team. Today we had Mother Nature on our side, but we had a fast car anyway. We ran up front all day …
“We’ve been building and building and building, and I feel like I’ve kind of been the weak link the last couple of races, and I need to clean some things up. Just the momentum — that’s what I needed … I want to win races. I told them (Kaulig Racing) that I wanted to come there and hang banners.”
The wreck on the backstretch on Lap 85 of a scheduled 113 destroyed the cars of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Brandon Jones and Ty Dillon and ended the last green-flag run of the race. Michael Annett spun off the bumper of Joe Graf Jr.’s car, igniting a seven-car accident that brought out the fourth and final caution of the afternoon.
Dillon’s Toyota was knocked up the track into the Supra of Jones, as both cars sustained severe damage.
The first two 25-lap stages ran without incident. Haley surged into the lead on the final lap of Stage 1 and beat Burton to the stripe to score the NASCAR Playoffs point.
The second stage went to Noah Gragson, who moved past Austin Cindric on Lap 50 to get the green-white-checkered flag.
Series leader Cindric finished second in the race, followed by AJ Allmendinger, Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg. Sixth-place Gragson pocketed the $100,000 Xfinity Dash 4 Cash bonus for the second straight race as the highest finisher among four eligible drivers.
“A hundred thousand dollars is a big deal for us,” Gragson said. “This is two times in a row. It’s pretty cool to be able to do that, but, man, I wanted to race for the win… A hundred thousand’s nice, but I race for wins. It is what it is. It’s ‘Dega, baby.”
Burton, Cindric, Allmendinger and Gragson all qualify for the next round of the Dash 4 Cash on May 8 at Darlington Raceway (1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM).
Cindric, the reigning series champion, leaves Talladega with a 59-point lead in the standings over second-place Daniel Hemric, who ran 12th Saturday.
NOTE: The race winning No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet of Jeb Burton passed NASCAR’s post-race inspection. There were no other issues.
GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (⏰ 2 p.m. ET | 📺 FOX | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Sunday’s race, the 10th points-paying NASCAR Cup Series event of the 2021 season.
Where: Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66-mile oval located in Talladega, Alabama Green flag: 2 p.m. ET TV/Radio: FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Forecast: Partly cloudy, with a high near 73. Calm wind becoming north around 8 mph in the morning, according to NOAA.gov National anthem: Army 313th Band, based in Birmingham and Huntsville, Alabama Grand marshal: Tag Team, Hip-Hop Duo Race Distance: 188 laps, 500 miles Stages: 60 | 120 | 188 Pit-road speed: 55 mph Caution car speed: 70 mph Talladega 101: Get the full lowdown
Starting lineup: See the full lineup Pit-stall assignments: See who is pitting where | Expert breaks down pit selectionsChris Graythen | Getty Images
Five to watch
Here are five big story lines we’ll be following at Talladega Superspeedway.
1. Ryan Blaney has won two of the past three races at Talladega, winning both by .007 seconds. After four straight finishes in the top 10, this year’s Atlanta Motor Speedway race winner will be looking to get back on the streak after a pair of 11th-place results at Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway. The No. 12 Team Penske squad has spent a lot of time up front throughout the season so far, showcasing top-notch speed at each track we’ve visited. Expect more of the same on Sunday from Talladega’s version of James Bond.
2. Denny Hamlin has done everything but win a race in 2021. The series points leader has led the most laps out of any driver and spent 90 percent of 2,594 laps running in the top 10 so far this season. But it has been inside the final 20 laps that has given the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver problems. Hamlin was passed by teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps at Martinsville and by Alex Bowman at Richmond. Hamlin won at Talladega last fall and is the odds-on favorite at 13-2 this weekend — for good reason. You have to think his time in Victory Lane is coming soon, potentially Sunday.
3. It truly comes down to the last lap at superspeedways. The race-winning driver has only led one lap — the white-flag one — in five of the last 13 superspeedway events. The latest driver to do so is Michael McDowell in this year’s Daytona 500. Speaking of McDowell, The Great American Race champion’s only finish inside the top 10 in 20 starts at Talladega is a fifth-place finish in the fall of 2019.
4. Another driver who surprisingly has yet to win this year is our defending champion Chase Elliott. The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports driver could give the likes of Blaney and Hamlin a run f0r their money Sunday. Elliott won at Talladega in the spring race in 2019 and finished fifth in the series’ last stop here. He also owns five top 10s in 10 starts at the Alabama superspeedway.
5. Kevin Harvick‘s luck appeared to be turning around with a ninth-place finish two weeks ago at Martinsville, but a 24th-place result at Richmond last Sunday squandered their slight momentum. Talladega could also be a struggle for the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing driver to right the ship. In 40 starts at Talladega, Harvick only has seven top fives and only two finishes inside the top 10 the past eight races. Anything can happen at Talladega and, for Harvick’s sake, hopefully it works out in his favor when the checkered flag flies Sunday.
Race-day staples
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles. •Power Rankings: Matt DiBenedetto emerging from slump | Scope the ranks •Paint Scheme Preview: Check out the designs taking on Talladega | See the schemes •Fantasy Fastlane: See which drivers to use, avoid | Full Fantasy advice | Set your roster •Preview Show: Jonathan Merryman and Alex Weaver preview the race | Watch the show
Get in on the action
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy. • Betting odds for Talladega race | See the odds
• Talladega betting: A pair of intriguing teammates for the superspeedway | Learn who • Talladega puts sportsbooks in unenviable position | Find out why • Denny Hamlin running really well, somehow still missing first win | Full analysis
• Take a shot at winning cash prizes with the free-to-play Jackpot Races app | Hit the jackpot
• Full guide to 2021 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ
Track history
Every track has a story to tell. Here’s what we’ve seen go down at Talladega Superspeedway in the past. •First timers: Drivers who have earned first career win at Talladega | See the list •Surprise!: Drivers who have unexpectedly won at Talladega | See the list •Spring has sprung: Talladega’s all-time spring race winners | See the list
• Front of the pack: Top 10 lap leaders at Talladega | See the list
Fast facts
Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights. • Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney are the only drivers with multiple wins in the last 15 superspeedway races. • The final lead change came in the last two laps in 12 of the last 17 superspeedway races, including the last four. • Four different organizations won the last four superspeedway races. • Eleven of the last 19 superspeedway races had an overtime finish, including four of the last five races. • The race winner led only one lap in five of the last 13 superspeedway races, including 2021 Daytona 500.
Catch the pack
Read up on all the headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race. • Penske pow-wow: Ryan Blaney said Team Penske drivers had ‘really good’ talk before Talladega | Read more
• Lights, camera, action: Bubba Wallace to star in new Netflix docuseries | Read more
• ‘I’m here:’ Harrison Burton excited for his first Cup Series start at Talladega | Read more
• Unveiled: Patriotic logo revealed for the 2022 Daytona 500 | Read more
• Watermelon man: Ross Chastain having humbling first year with Chip Ganassi Racing | Read more
• Sad news: Cup Series winner Charlie Glotzbach passes away at 82 | Read more
Say what?
Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.
“I think having friends on the race track doesn’t really benefit you, except for this week going to Talladega. I respect everybody I race with. There are a few guys in the Cup garage that I would consider friends, but I’m not there to make friends. I’m there to do the best I can. I have a pretty small circle of friends as it is; it’s not just an in-racing thing. I have a small group; I keep to myself and do my own thing. I think being selfish is definitely rewarding in the Cup Series. But this week, I need all the friends I can get. So, everybody be my friend and push me to the front.” — Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
“I don’t really always have a set full game plan. I feel like when you have those game plans and you try to stick to it, especially at speedways, it can be a detriment to the decisions you make on the race track. So, I’m more of a feel guy. One that goes out to the race track and that’s me, my spotter, and that’s also (crew chief) Brian Pattie watching from the pit box. I feel like we do a really good job of just kind of watching what’s going on.” — Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
“I’ve always enjoyed speedway racing. You go into those races, any speedway race at Talladega and Daytona, understanding what can happen — kind of the unpredictability of those places on, ‘Hey, I could get tore up lap two’ and just kind of get caught up in someone else’s mess, but I like the racing. It’s just a different kind of racing. It’s kind of a chess match, sort of what lane you think is coming at the right time and you jumping in it and trying to work lanes and things like that. It’s a neat style of racing, so you love it when you win there and run good and survive it, and you hate the place when you get wrecked.” — Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford
“To me, superspeedway races and Talladega, just as much as Daytona is, are such a coin flip. There’s no way of really knowing the right place to be at the right time all the time. I feel like there are guys that seem to have a better feel for it than others and know when to be in certain positions and know when something doesn’t feel right. I’ve tried to learn that over the years. I haven’t done a great job of it, but it’s just about positioning yourself in the right place at the right time. Also, having patience and taking runs when you have the opportunity.” — Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Chargin’ Charlie Glotzbach, who earned his nickname with dazzling qualifying speed during the height of NASCAR’s speedway boom and aero wars, died Friday. He was 82.
WAVE, a Louisville-based NBC affiliate, first reported the news, citing Glotzbach family sources.
Glotzbach won four races in what is now called the NASCAR Cup Series, driving for a who’s who of Hall of Famers in his career — Junior Johnson and Cotton Owens among them. He was twice a runner-up in the Daytona 500, and also claimed 12 pole positions, establishing a majority of those qualifying marks at stock-car racing’s largest, fastest tracks.
“That’s how he got his name. He stood on the gas,” A.J. Foyt once said of Glotzbach, who claimed to have lapped the Chelsea (Mich.) Proving Grounds at 243 mph in the late 1960s.
Glotzbach broke into NASCAR with a handful of starts as a 22-year-old rookie in the 1960-61 seasons. After achieving limited success, he went back into ARCA, USAC and other local competition near his Edwardsville, Indiana, home.
The sport was not as welcoming to drivers from outside its Southern origins back then, and Glotzbach said he was viewed as something of an outsider. One characteristic that helped him fit in was a country drawl. “I’m from Southern Indiana,” he told reporters with a laugh in 1969. “You go on upstate, about 200 miles north of me, they talk a lot different.”
His return to NASCAR came by chance in 1967. While working for car owner Nord Krauskopf, Glotzbach was given the opportunity to make several starts in Bobby Isaac’s backup car. The car broke in four of his nine appearances that year, but each of his five remaining starts netted top-10 finishes.
Those efforts drew the eye of Owens, who hired Glotzbach to drive his No. 6 Dodge the following year after the departure of David Pearson to the Ford camp at Holman-Moody. Glotzbach scored his first win with Owens that fall at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but pole positions at Daytona, Darlington and Charlotte earned him his “Chargin’ Charlie” nickname.
Glotzbach’s 1969 season was among his most eventful. He lost the Daytona 500 by a car-length, passed on the final lap by LeeRoy Yarbrough. Months later, Glotzbach set a world qualifying record for the opening race at Talladega Superspeedway at 199.466 mph on Sept. 10.
“It was the biggest thrill of my career. It almost takes your breath away,” Glotzbach told the press after exiting his Ray Nichels-owned Dodge. A day later, he posted an unofficial lap of 199.827 mph in practice, but a group of drivers boycotted after the tires failed to hold up under the high-speed conditions and Glotzbach was among those who withdrew.
He returned for the 1970 season, but only after recovering from two gunshot wounds suffered the previous November after a disagreement with a former employee. He won twice and secured four poles as the manufacturers’ arms race for horsepower and aerodynamic advantages reached its peak as track sizes grew.
Glotzbach’s final Cup Series victory in 1971 set a record that still stands. Glotzbach exited his No. 3 Chevrolet on a searing July day at Bristol Motor Speedway on the 351st lap, and relief driver Friday Hassler handled it the rest of way in a rare caution-free event. The 101.074 mph average speed is still a 500-lap benchmark for the .533-mile Tennessee track.
Though the bulk of his driving career was complete by the mid-1970s, Glotzbach continued racing — even with gaps of several years in his Cup Series tenure. Most notably, he returned for a seven-race Cup stint with car owner Junie Donlavey, the last of those appearances coming at age 54. Two years later, he was among the 43 drivers who failed to qualify for the first Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.
Glotzbach won four ARCA Menards Series races after turning 50. One of his last driving appearances came back at Bristol in 2010 in an exhibition race for racing legends, but ended in multiple injuries after a crash that also seriously hurt Larry Pearson. He later made a full recovery.
Glotzbach never ran more than half the races in a given NASCAR season, but his career record of 50 top-10 finishes in 124 starts was admirable, especially in an era when attrition ran high.
“I’m proud to have run in NASCAR,” Glotzbach told the (Jeffersonville, Ind.) News and Tribune in 2011. “I was proud just to do it, but I’m also proud of the races I won. Plus I had a good percentage of finishing in the top five or top 10 of the races I ran.”
The following article is brought to you by BetMGM.
Folks, it’s Talladega Superspeedway week — and it’s a great time to break down the race field and take a shot at who might just be the best idea to check out when you bet NASCAR online. There’s no question some NASCAR Cup Series drivers are better than others on superspeedway tracks like ‘Dega, and we break it down.
Who does like full-blown drafting action? Who avoids it so they can race for another day in a long season? There are many strategies on how to approach venues like Talladega and Daytona International Speedway — the two superspeedway locations.
NASCAR went to restrictor plates in the late 1980s when there were worries after Bill Elliott’s incredible — and troubling — pole-qualifying numbers were going above 210 mph. The track this happened on in 1987? You guessed it, Talladega. The pack-racing style of superspeedway racing makes for an exciting brand of racing where all sorts of names will have a shot … if they can make it to the end.
If you’re following the NASCAR odds this week, you’ll see some unique names atop the odds, which we’ll discuss below.
I was in the stands in Daytona when Hamlin kicked off his full-time NASCAR Cup Series career with a win in the 2006 Bud Shootout. The guy knows how to scoot around a restrictor-plate track, nobody questions it. Today, he’s one of the top veterans out there and has five plate-track wins on his resume and 25 top-10 finishes out of 61 starts.
That’s pretty incredible consistency at tracks that truly don’t allow for consistency. He also will start in the No. 1 position based on NASCAR’s 2021 formula for establishing the starting order (as opposed to the usual qualifying setup). But the truth is, starting in the No. 1 position — whether you earned it on speed or not — isn’t really a huge help at Talladega.
Race fans know that in superspeedway racing, strokers can win these from the 30th starting position. And veterans can easily win them from the 10th position. That’s the glory of this type of racing. Some drivers hate it, some drivers love it because it gives them a chance to get in the NASCAR postseason with a win. But again, one thing is for sure, the fans love it — and Hamlin leads the NASCAR betting lines this week.
OTHERS: Calling Brad Keselowski (+1100) an “other” candidate to win this race just feels dumb. He has won at Talladega in the NASCAR Cup Series five times, and he has won at Daytona once, too. He’s just short of batting .500 for top-10 finishes here when … so … many … things … can go wrong in a race here.
You could be sitting in sixth, minding your own business, and “The Big One” could take you out when you had nothing to do with it. That doesn’t happen as often outside of superspeedways — but it happens here all the time.
Also? Joey Logano (+900) is good at these venues, too (four superspeedway wins in the Cup Series).
Stenhouse just seems to like this place. He has captured one of his two career NASCAR Cup Series wins here (the other being Daytona, the other superspeedway), and he has the third-highest average finish there (12.7). For a place this unpredictable, that tells you how much he enjoys this style of racing when so many others don’t like it at all.
Stenhouse has nine top-10 finishes out of 15 attempts at Talladega and six top fives. He qualified well, too, before COVID-19 scrapped that last year. He’s an interesting guy to keep an eye on.
OTHER: Here we are stuck on Ryan Blaney (+1000) again, right? But the stats are legit. Blaney has already won two Cup races here, he is consistent at a track that doesn’t typically allow consistency (didn’t I already type that?). He’s a solid pick for a spot like this. He also starts in the No. 7 spot.
Preece is a fascinating youngster in this spot, and he may not be all that fascinating after this — who knows? It could go either way. But he’s in the race, starting in the No. 29 spot — but again, that depth in the starting lineup means nothing at Talladega or Daytona. Preece has run four times in the Cup Series at ‘Dega, and he has two top 10s and leads all current drivers with an 11.5 average finish. He also has two top 10s at Daytona in five attempts.
OTHERS: Good ‘ole Aric Almirola (+1600). He loves this place. His only two Cup Series wins are at superspeedways (one at Daytona, one at Talladega). And in the Xfinity Series? Two of his three career wins were at the same two tracks. He’s in solid equipment with Stewart-Haas Racing and could be a serious factor in this. Can he shed his rep of being a NASCAR journeyman? In races like this, he certainly can.
Also, Chris Buescher (+5000) is a guy whose career resume proves he likes this type of racing.
STAFFORD, Conn. — Due to impending inclement weather for Sunday, NASCAR and Stafford Motor Speedway officials have postponed the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
The event will be held on Friday, April 30.
With the new schedule, Whelen Modified Tour practice will be held from 4:35-5:35 p.m. Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award qualifying will be at 6:30 p.m., with the green flag for the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler set for 8:30 p.m.
The race will stream live on TrackPass on NBC Gold, and air on delay on NBCSN at a date to be announced.
Ross Chastain is a race-car driver who has seen it all during his time in NASCAR. But this year, he finds himself with the best opportunity of his racing career.
After making a staple of overachieving in underfunded equipment for nearly a decade, Chastain got the break he was hoping for last fall, when he was announced as the full-time driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet in the Cup Series. The opportunity obviously created additional internal pressure, one unlike any other.
“I don’t think I should be coasting right now by any means,” Chastain told NASCAR.com. “We’ve been preparing for this for several years here at CGR, trying to figure out how to make this happen. We didn’t know what year it was going to happen, and it might have been in 10 more years, the goal was to do this.”
In 2018, Chastain scored a three-race opportunity in the Xfinity Series for CGR by impressing team owner Chip Ganassi. In those three starts, the Florida native showcased his true potential by leading 180 of 200 laps en route to his first victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He backed that up with a runner-up finish at Richmond Raceway. And in his debut at Darlington Raceway, he won the pole before being wrecked by Kevin Harvick late in the race after leading 90 laps.
There was no doubt, at some point, Ganassi was going to find a place inside of his Cup shop for Chastain. But like the majority of Chastain’s NASCAR career, the 2021 season hasn’t been filled with dandelions, unicorns and roses. Instead, it has been much of the opposite.
Chastain kicked off the season by finishing seventh in the Daytona 500, despite being caught up in the last-lap fiery crash, triggered by Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. In the eight races since Daytona International Speedway, the No. 42 car has a best finish of 14th at Atlanta Motor Speedway, while having two crash-related DNFs at the Daytona Road Course and Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track.
“Humbling,” Chastain said of his 2021 season. “We’re just building and trying to compete at the top level of our sport. There are a lot of things I’ve been able to learn and try to implement into the next week. We learn on the fly in the race every week.”
Admittedly so, Chastain has been having to “really grasp” what makes the Cup cars go fast. Because of SMT data, he and the team have pinpointed bad habits the driver makes, something he said he has struggled with his whole racing career.
“When I enter the corner, I turn left and then I immediately turn right and then I turn back left and I immediately turn back right, jerk the wheel all the way down into the corner,” Chastain said. “I’m just not smooth putting the wheel into it. It’s always been a problem and I’m trying to make sure I don’t spin out on entry, so I’m constantly catching the car from getting too sideways.”
But Kurt Busch, veteran Cup driver and the 2004 Cup Series champion, has also struggled at CGR this season. The No. 1 team has just a pair of top 10s to its credit, coming off seasons of 18 and 19 top-10 finishes between 2019-20, respectively.
Known to be an ultra-consistent driver, Busch’s 2021 statistics are a tad concerning due to the lack of speed throughout CGR in the first quarter of the season.
“That’s where the humbling part comes in because I’m a race-car driver, and I go on track to do the best I can and put in the effort to prepare and be ready for when we go on track,” Chastain said. “The speed and results just haven’t been there. There have been things I’ve struggled with that have kept us from competing at the very front.”
Chastain vows the team will not let up. After all, CGR is home to nearly 200 employees and coming off back-to-back years with at least one of its teams making the Round of 8 in the postseason.
Members of the CGR management team, including Ganassi, have told Chastain multiple times this season to “just go drive,” assuring him everyone is doing their respective job.
“The biggest thing, as we’ve gotten into the season, is guys like Doug Duchardt (chief operating officer), Tony Lunders (competition manager), even my internal crew on the 42 with my crew chief Phil Surgen,” Chastain said. “Their biggest feedback to me is, ‘Let everybody do their jobs, you do yours and we’ll be fine. Tell us what you need, be ready to drive the car at 100% or as close to your full capacity every week.’”
And since Las Vegas, Chastain has seen an uptick in performance, with the stat sheet speaking for itself: four top 20s in the last five races.
“We’re on a path and you’re going to keep seeing it,” he said. “What I feel in the car hasn’t translated to the results just yet, but from Las Vegas to now, we’ve definitely moved the needle.”
Entering Sunday’s wild-card race at Talladega Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Chastain sits 24th in the championship standings, 62 markers outside the bubble. Currently, it is Busch who hand onto the coveted 16th seed.
Even with the points deficit, the primary goal for Chastain hasn’t changed from the start of the year: win a race.
“That’s still the goal, that has to be the goal,” Chastain said. “It’s what gets us all out of bed. (Chip Ganassi Racing) wakes up competitors. That’s what drives us to do this.
“We’re racing cars for a living, you can take the easy street, but we’re not. We’re going to figure this stuff out.”
In 88 career Cup starts, Chastain has picked up both of his top-10 finishes at superspeedway tracks.
With eight top-five finishes through the first nine races of the season – and having last week’s race in Richmond practically stolen from him on a late restart – Denny Hamlin is poised for a visit to Victory Lane. Since he performs well at Talladega Superspeedway, Sunday’s GEICO 500 (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) looks like a good spot for Hamlin to claim his first win of 2021.
But if you’re a bettor who believes in the randomness that often transpires at Talladega, Hamlin’s +650 odds (bet $100 to win $650) are probably not for you. Save for Joey Logano (9/1), every other driver is offered at double-digit odds by BetMGM (a NASCAR betting partner) and Barstool Sportsbook.
Hamlin has two Talladega wins over his career, including the most recent race at this track, last October’s YellaWood 500, and his 11.3 average finish over the last 10 events here ranks second only to Aric Almirola.
He’s also won two of the last five Daytona races and his 13.5 average finish over the last 10 there ranks third among drivers with more than two starts, further evidence of his superspeedway strength.
“Hamlin’s always good on this stuff,” said Ed Salmons, who handles NASCAR oddsmaking at SuperBook USA in Las Vegas.
Hamlin certainly has the betting market’s respect this week. He is listed in four of 20 head-to-head matchup props posted at the SuperBook, and he is the -125 favorite (bet $125 to win $100) in all four (vs. Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney, all of whom are priced at +105 in these head-to-heads). The remaining 16 matchups all opened pick ‘em, -110 juice attached to either side of those wagers, proverbial flips of the coin.
Kyle Busch vs. Almirola? Coinflip. Kurt Busch vs. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.? Coinflip. Martin Truex Jr. vs. Christopher Bell? Coin flip.
Bigger disparities in pricing can be found at Barstool, where Kevin Harvick is -109 vs. Kyle Busch (-122), Elliott is -109 vs. Ryan Blaney (-122), Michael McDowell is -109 vs. Chris Buescher (-122), and Truex is -109 vs. Almirola (-122).
Without divulging which matchups he’s targeting, sharp NASCAR bettor Blake Phillips said his strategy for superspeedways is to identify spots where oddsmakers may overvalue drivers on such unpredictable tracks.
“I just don’t think the concept of big disparity between drivers exists to the degree the sportsbooks would make it at a race like Daytona or Talladega,” Phillips said. “These races are fundamentally difficult to handicap and to predict, so I don’t envy the sportsbooks having to put up lines for them.”
Any patterns to identify?
Almirola is not the driver one would expect to see with the highest average finishing position at any track on the Cup circuit, but this is Talladega, and following Almirola and Hamlin in this stat over the 10 most recent races here is not exactly a who’s who of NASCAR drivers: Ryan Preece, Ty Dillon, Logano, Stenhouse, Kurt Busch and Tyler Reddick round out the top eight — only Dillon is not entered in Sunday’s race.
With a sixth-place finish last week at Richmond, Almirola flashed some of the form he displayed last summer, but bettors looking to back him this week will get relatively skinny odds on the No. 10 Ford.
As mentioned above, he’s favored over Truex at Barstool. He’s also rather large +210 chalk in a group matchup over Bell (+260), Matt DiBenedetto (+275), and Austin Dillon (+275), and his +650 price to be the top Ford car is shorter than Harvick, who has been far from his usual dominant self this season but still must be respected.
Speaking of Fords, if there’s one pattern that jumps off the page for Talladega, it’s that these engines have owned this track of late, winning nine of the most recent 11 Talladega events. To no one’s surprise, Penske has led the way, with Logano, Keselowski and Blaney accounting for seven of those victories.
If you want to ride this trend Sunday, of course, you’ll have to pay for it, as Barstool is dealing Ford as the +145 favorite (bet $100 to win $145) to be the winning manufacturer, followed by Chevrolet (+155) and Toyota (+250). The +325 on Penske as to be the winning team, while tied with Gibbs as the shortest price, may offer more value.
And if you’re looking for a driver with a poor superspeedway record to fade this week, Kyle Busch has one win and a 20.9 average finish over 31 races at this Alabama track. A wreck ruined his chances last October at Talladega, and he’s finished on the lead lap in just two of the six most recent runs at Daytona, thanks to three wrecks and one bad engine.
“It’s crazy,” said Salmons. “Kyle runs these races, and he’ll run top five the whole race, and every one of these races, somewhere in the last 20 laps, he wrecks out. I keep thinking that at one of these superspeedway races, he won’t wreck because he’s always right there, but he always catches a wreck.”
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.
