Bubba Wallace senses ‘a lot of potential’ in 23XI’s early showings

Posted on April 16, 2021April 16, 2021 by Zack Albert

Bubba Wallace’s first campaign with first-year team 23XI Racing hasn’t quite had the results in its set-sail season that have dazzled on paper. The magic number right now seems to be 16, his finishing position in three of the eight NASCAR Cup Series races so far this year.

What has been encouraging has been the performance, leading laps in half those starts and finding some early chemistry with crew chief Mike Wheeler. As the 23XI organization sets its course for growth under the leadership of co-owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, Wallace has been emboldened by the early showings before the series’ next race, Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM) at Richmond Raceway.

“It’s only a matter of time,” Wallace said during a Friday morning video conference with reporters, noting the team’s strides toward cracking the top 15 and landing its first top-10 finish. He starts 15th Sunday. “All cylinders are not firing at the same time, but we’re hitting all of them. They’re all kind of sporadic, so it’s like once we get that out and hit it together, there’s a lot of potential with this team, and I continue to say that. That’s one of the most exciting things is, ‘can it be this weekend?’ and that’s what you go into like, OK, we showed some highlights of success, we know what to build back on when we come back. Richmond’s going to be a good weekend. I can feel it.”

Even as 23XI Racing tries to find its way in the Cup Series, talk has centered around its potential for expansion. A move to a multi-car organization could sync with the introduction of the Next Gen car, which will make its competition debut next season.

Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

As far as the timing or who a potential 23XI teammate might be under that scenario, Wallace smiled at the prospects before deferring to team leadership.

“Welp, that’s above my pay grade, both of those parts of that question,” Wallace said. “But no, I’m here to help advance the team each and every race and progress and get us to the next level each and every race. So whatever their time frame is, I’m a part of it and I hope to continue that growth for many years to come. Where we’re at, what we have going right now is something super solid and a really good foundation for us to continue to build and add new teams and new cars, new drivers. A matter of when, I don’t know. A matter of who, hey, that’s Denny. That’s Denny’s call there.”

As for the other part of the 23XI brass, Wallace said Jordan has been similarly encouraged by the start-up team’s early returns. The NBA legend’s ultra-competitive nature is well-documented, and Hamlin and Wallace each possess similar traits in their own realm.

Jordan’s basketball success was measured in scores of Chicago Bulls victories and several championships, but none of those came with immediacy. His new NASCAR team’s progress has also been gradual, and Wallace said 23XI’s famous co-owner has accepted that pace without adding any pressure on the driver to win.

“He understands motorsports a little different,” Wallace said. “He had a superbike team. You know you can’t win every race. Having Denny as co-owner there is managing expectations, and from the sounds of it, talking with Denny, we are exceeding expectations that they kind of had set in place before the season started. After our good runs, I’m getting a text from MJ saying, ‘Good job, kid.’ It’s stuff like that’s like, that’s pretty cool.

“He’s paying attention. Yeah, he knows we’re not winning, but he knows we’re continuing to make steps to make progress. It’s not something you just jump right into and expect to win. You’re living in fairy-tale land if you expect that to happen. Do we expect to win? Absolutely. But we have to do a lot of work in the meantime to get to that level. This sport is tough.”

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Marcus DiNitto

Martin Truex Jr. is a deserving favorite heading into Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway, but priced at 4/1 odds at multiple sportsbooks, the No. 19 Toyota may be too expensive a proposition for bettors.

Those odds, which can also be expressed as +400 (bet $100 to win $400), translate into a 20% chance of winning the race.

Truex has been stellar this season, sitting in second in the standings and boasting two wins in the first eight races. Those two wins, in fact, have come at Phoenix and Martinsville, tracks handicappers use as comparisons for Richmond.

Truex’s past performances at Richmond have also been excellent. He’s finished second, first, first and third over the last four Cup events on this three-quarter miler, and in the two previous Richmond races before that, he led 121 and 198 laps.

Sharp bettors make their plays based on value. If the odds imply a greater percent chance than a driver truly has, for example, they’ll stay away.

“It’s hard to deny he’s great at Richmond and he’s great at these types of tracks. The question is, is he really a 20-25 percent favorite to win, which is what the betting markets are suggesting,” Blake Phillips, a sharp NASCAR bettor, said of Truex this week.

Ed Salmons, who handles NASCAR oddsmaking at SuperBook USA in Las Vegas, adjusted his original numbers in Truex’s direction. On Monday, he hung Truex and Denny Hamlin both at +450. Upon reflection, he made Truex the sole favorite at +400 and lengthened Hamlin to +500

“I made my spreadsheet, and then I thought about it, and I’m like, ‘Truex has to be the favorite.’ The 9/2 was probably a little bit high, so I just tweaked it a little bit. I went ‘5’ on Hamlin, ‘4’ on Truex and just basically adjusted all of his matchups up about 20 cents.”

For examples of Salmons’ matchup adjustments, Truex went from -110 (bet $110 to win $100) to -130 (bet $130 to win $100) vs. Hamlin, and from -135 to -150 vs. Brad Keselowski.

“He definitely seems like the guy to beat,” Salmons continued, “and it’s funny, because last week (at Martinsville), his car really was nothing special. You saw his track position. But once it turned to nighttime, all of a sudden you could see it come to life around lap 400. He was definitely clicking off the best lap times the rest of the race.”

Most recreational bettors tend to put too much weight on what they saw last, and the public’s anticipated lean to Truex likely factors into his odds being so short.

“(Public bettors) are gonna go heavy on Truex no matter what,” said Phillips. “I think that’s a reason why he’s such a heavy favorite. A little bit of recency bias going on, and the fact that he’s great on short flat tracks and especially Richmond.”

If not Truex, then who?

The suggestion above is not that Truex doesn’t have a great chance to win Sunday – he obviously does –only that at 4/1 odds, he may be overvalued.

The SuperBook oddsboard has five other drivers priced in the single digits, and Salmons gives all of them a shot. As any NASCAR observer may have guessed, these guys all come from one of three garages – Gibbs, Penske or Hendrick.

In addition to Truex and Hamlin, Salmons said, “You can never count out Logano (8/1) and Keselowski (6/1) here. Kyle Larson (7/1) has been fast all year. Martinsville has never really been his thing, and I thought he ran a decent race for him there (finished fifth last weekend). It was a non-mistake race. I would put Chase (Elliott) and Kyle Larson in there and the two Penske guys. I think one those six is your winner.”

Added Phillips, “You’re generally going to see the same guys you expect to see up there. Joey Logano’s gonna be up front, Denny Hamlin’s gonna be up front. I think Kyle Larson is gonna be a guy to watch this week, and William Byron – those are guys who are not favorites to win the race, but I think they have a lot of attributes that are going to favor them.”

Also per the NASCAR.com Power Rankings, where he’s listed No. 5, Byron deserves a look at juicy 20/1 odds. Ryan Blaney ranks No. 6 on NASCAR.com’s list and can be had for 16/1, but Salmons downplays the No. 12 Ford’s chances.

“I’ve followed Blaney at this track for years and for whatever reason, he’s so bad here (24.8 average finish). I read a quote after the race last year, and he said how much time they spent on the Richmond race. Their biggest issue has always been their tire fall off is just so dramatic. So they really worked on it to try to run different early in a run or whatever, and the same thing happened again.”

Blaney’s best finish at Richmond is 17th in the 2019 Fall race.

“I don’t know why he can’t drive Richmond. On TV, it doesn’t look like a real technical track, but obviously there’s something there. I mean, he’s just never been competitive here, let alone winning.”

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

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Press Release

LAS VEGAS – The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway gets back in action Saturday after a year-long absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bullring, in its 37th season (and 21st in its current configuration), is set to resume under the supervision of TJ Clark, a former driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and previous instructor at the Bob Bondurant Driving School.

The Bullring has produced many great talents, including Kurt and Kyle Busch, Brendan Gaughan, Noah Gragson and Riley Herbst. Clark and his son Spencer raced in the Kyle Busch era, before Spencer lost his life in an automobile accident shortly after his successful NASCAR Busch (now Xfinity) Series debut in Las Vegas in 2006. Clark, who considers the Bullring his “home track,” has spent the past 10 years since Spencer’s passing propelling other young drivers in their racing careers, through the Spencer Clark Driven Foundation. TJ is taking on his new role as Bullring manager to ensure that short-track racing continues and is available to other racing star hopefuls.

RELATED: Bullring at LVMS Website | Buy Tickets

“I am thankful that (LVMS President) Chris Powell believes in grassroots racings and has given me the opportunity to keep the Bullring going,” Clark said. “I believe short tracks are the heart of racing and we as a community need to support local grassroots racing and the Bullring. We’re lucky. I’ve seen a lot of tracks all across the country, and our Bullring is premier compared to a lot of the others.”

Taking the green on the 3/8-mile paved oval will be all NASCAR classes and the USLCI Legends and Bandoleros. This Saturday kicks off a 10-event schedule, with the NASCAR 602 Modifieds anchoring the night with a 40-lap feature. NASCAR Pro Late Models have a 35-lap race on tap for the season-opener, with both the NASCAR Super Late Models and NASCAR Bombers on the slate with 25-lap features.

In addition, the action kicks off for the Late Model Truck Series, a traveling series that will also make three other visits to the LVMS short track over the course of the season. NASCAR Super Stocks will show up for 20 laps and the popular and exciting Skid Plate cars, cars with no rear wheels but drag “skid” plates instead, will slide around for 15 laps.

Gates open at 5 p.m. Pacific Time, immediately starting with Late Model Truck Series Heat races, then NASCAR Pro Late Model qualifying and NASCAR 602 Modified qualifying. Opening ceremonies will take place at 6:45 p.m. This weekend’s event is the first of 10 points races for the track’s 10 major classes and the season continues through championship night on Saturday, Oct. 30, with an Open Show post-season on Nov. 6. Children 12 and under will be admitted free with a ticketed adult on Saturday and throughout the 2021 Bullring season. Purchase tickets in advance by visiting or calling the LVMS ticket office at 800-644-4444 or online at LVMS.com.

The Bullring Opening Night schedule

Saturday, April 17

5:30 p.m. Spectator gates open

Late Model Truck Series Heat race 1 (6 laps)

Late Model Truck Series Heat race 2 (6 laps)

NASCAR Pro Late Models single-car qualifying (2 laps)

NASCAR 602 Modified single-car qualifying (2 laps)

6:45 p.m. Opening Ceremonies/National Anthem

USLCI Bandolero Bandits/Outlaws feature – 12 laps (15 minutes)
NASCAR Skid Plate Cars feature – 15 laps (15 minutes)
USLCI Legends feature – 20 laps (20 minutes)
NASCAR Super Stocks feature – 20 laps (20 minutes)
Late Model Truck Series feature – 30 laps (30 minutes)
NASCAR Bombers feature – 25 laps (25 minutes)
NASCAR Super Late Models feature – 25 laps (25 minutes)
NASCAR Pro Late Models feature – 35 laps (35 minutes)
NASCAR 602 Modifieds feature – 40 laps (40 minutes)

** ** Schedule is subject to change ** **

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Holly Cain

In so many ways, Frank Kelleher’s new role as president of Daytona International Speedway was a lifetime coming. His upbringing, his passion and his decades-long work in NASCAR all make the 40-year-old Pennsylvanian a natural choice to lead the sport’s most iconic property.

Kelleher, who previously served as NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Sales Officer, is a former WKA Karting champion — winning a title at the very track he was put in charge of overseeing on April 6. He comes from a working-class background in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he grew up working on cars and learning about customer service in the family’s long-established Kelleher Tire store.

He attended college nearby at Scranton’s Marywood University and was often spending breaks between classes there at the family business filling in wherever he was needed — from taking customer’s phone calls to turning wrenches under cars.

Those early life lessons have been important in Kelleher’s career and will serve him well as he now leads one of the most famous sporting facilities in the world. A background of hard work and high expectation have shaped how he’s conducted himself in business and give a glimpse of what to expect of his tenure as Daytona International Speedway’s top executive.

“I can remember there would be breaks in the day to where your 3 o’clock class wraps up and your next one isn’t until 7, so I would drive to the garage and think, ‘OK, I’m going to work behind the counter and sell this afternoon,’ ” Kelleher recalled of his college days.

“And you get there and realize someone didn’t show up for work, so I would then be in the back changing tires and changing oil and working on cars. That wasn’t what I thought I had to do but then again, it’s just that spirit that nothing is below or beneath you and we’ve got a job to get done.

“So, I think bringing that humility into being the track president here, I will bring that same energy and same mindset to the job. I’m ready to get my hands dirty. I’m ready to get to work, whatever that may be, whether it’s an interview or helping the operational team. I’m ready to get to work on that.”

And as you might expect, there is a lot of palpable pride on the Scranton streets these days as word has gotten back about Kelleher’s new Daytona Beach role.

“My hometown is beyond ecstatic and thrilled,’’ Kelleher said. “They are so proud, and I have received more phone calls and emails and congratulations from friends and family that I speak to daily or haven’t heard from in years. So they are beyond proud which really puts a big smile on my face.”

BUY TICKETS: Coke Zero Sugar 400 in August

Kelleher’s story is full of lessons — of seizing opportunity, of turning passion into a career and of maintaining a modest, grateful heart.

During his junior year at Merrywood University, Kelleher earned an internship at the former International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and worked in the sales and marketing department. Before he even graduated the next year, ISC had called back and offered the young talent a full-time job — life’s work, as it has turned out.

Since that internship, Kelleher has worked in several capacities in NASCAR’s corporate ranks — more recently relocating back to Daytona after a stint at NASCAR corporate offices in Charlotte. He played a big role in securing the major sponsorships at Daytona International Speedway’s “injectors” as well as leading media and partnership sales for the sport in general. For years, he has played a vital role in NASCAR’s modernized corporate setting.

And, if you ask those who know Kelleher well, his success is a finely-tuned combination of the old school values and work ethic he learned from his family-business and utilizing his natural ease and smarts in the business world.

“Frank’s a racer,” said NASCAR’s Executive Vice President/Chief Operations and Sales Manager Daryl Wolfe, who has worked alongside Kelleher for much of the last 20 years.

“Frank grew up around the sport. He understands the sport. He knows the company. He knows what it takes to be successful on the track. He had a very successful karting career. And he’s kind of grown up professionally in this company and seen the company from a lot of different angles. So, he knows the sport, he knows the company and knows the players and the personalities. He understands our tracks.”

2021apr16 Kelleher Karting — Daytona International Speedway

Wolfe is adamant, however, that Kelleher’s past success and future triumphs are genuinely based on traits that Kelleher possesses naturally. And he thinks the different attributes that Kelleher possesses will only enhance his role at the speedway.

“That’s all professional experience,” Wolfe said. “But what makes Frank really special is he’s just so authentic and relatable, just a likable guy who wants to get to know people on a personal level and that’s what’s made him successful on the partnership side, made him successful on the sales side.

“There’s no kind of pretense. You what you see. He’s just a very relatable guy that builds personal and deep relationships with people.”

That will go over as well with NASCAR fans as it has with Kelleher’s corporate connections. This is a man who still fondly remembers attending races at Pocono Raceway near his hometown, a young NASCAR fan excited about being able to go in the garage and see his racing heroes.

He gets it. And fans at the sport’s most iconic track stand to benefit.

“The past 18 years, I’ve gotten to view the sport from many different seats, whether that was managing and serving a current partner or me out there trying to bring on a new partnership,” Kelleher explained. “So working with race teams, understanding the value proposition as well as the event day experience, it’s been an honor for the past 18 years to have many different vantage points as to what the sport is and how to leverage it.

“I grew up as fan, a young kid with family and friends going to Pocono, being in the infield, looking through the fence and getting a glimpse at icons like Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace. So, I have that appreciation for it as well.”

“Just to be thought by Jim (France) and by Lesa (France Kennedy) and Steve (Phelps) and Mike Helton and Gary Crotty that this is what they want me to do was really humbling and an honor,’’ Kelleher added. “For sure, I was having a lot of fun in what was my previous role and I feel like I’m leaving that position better than I found it. So again, it was very humbling and just a tremendous honor.”

“Daytona sets the bar from its past to what the brand is to what the events are. It’s a great group of people I’ll be working alongside.”

“For me personally, legacy is the first thing that comes to mind and being only the ninth track president of this iconic facility, I think back to the others that have been in this position and that’s Bill France and Bill France Jr. and most recently Chip Wile so it’s really understanding the legacy of what has been laid out for me and to make sure I protect and maintain that and then, ideally take it to a new level.”

Kelleher and his wife Lauren, a former Davidson College lacrosse standout and marketing corporate executive, have two children, Frankie, 6, and Tess, 5.

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Staff Report

See where your favorite driver will pit for Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) — the ninth race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Terrin Waack

Kevin Harvick could very well be turning into not-so-happy Harvick any time now.

The 2021 season hasn’t been all too kind to the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, who accomplished a series-best nine victories in 2020. Through eight races, Harvick has yet to reach Victory Lane, which is fine considering there have been a series of rather surprising early winners (Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell among them). But still a less-than-ideal start for the 2014 champion.

To get the fast facts out of the way, courtesy of Racing Insights:

No wins in the last 15 races – longest streak since 2018-19 (21 races)
No laps led in the last seven races – longest streak since 2017 (also seven races)
No top-five finishes in the last five races – longest streak since 2019 (eight races)
No stage points in last three races – longest streak ever

RICHMOND: Weekend schedule | Betting odds | Paint schemes

Harvick’s best run so far is a fourth-place result in the season-opening Daytona 500. He then placed sixth on the Daytona Road Course and fifth at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Since then, Harvick hasn’t finished within the top-five field. He was 20th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, peaked at Phoenix Raceway with another sixth-place showing and has since come in 10th at Atlanta Motor Speedway, 15th on Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt and ninth at Martinsville Speedway.

All that puts Harvick eighth in the current standings at 253 points. Denny Hamlin, who also has yet to win this season, leads the way with 379 points.

Eighth marks Harvick’s lowest rank since 2019, but that was only after he placed 26th in the season opener and wound up 13th in the standings because of it. After the second race, he was already back up to second. He never again dropped below fifth in the standings.

So, 2019 doesn’t really hold a strong comparison here.

Technically, Harvick has been ranked outside the top five for five weeks now. After his Las Vegas flop, he fell from second to seventh. He stayed there for two weeks, moved up to sixth for one, only to move back down to eighth for the past two weeks.

The 2018 schedule was the last one to see Harvick ranked outside the top five for more than a week. He was eighth in Week 5 and seventh in Week 6. But then he never went below fourth.

Still no strong comparison.

In 2017, there was a nine-week span early in the season when Harvick ranged from sixth to 10th in the standings. That’s probably the best, most recent comparison to his current situation. He had an even worse fate at Las Vegas (38th) in the third event that set him back, and then he bounced in and out of the top 10 in the following races. Once he dug himself out of the hole, Harvick only missed the top five in standings three times and ultimately finished third overall at season’s end anyway.

Obviously, Harvick has a knack for turning poor standings around. Besides, eighth really isn’t bad. Neither is 11th, which is where he sits in the provisional playoff standings after the seven different winners and Hamlin, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski. His current status is just a bit shocking after the season of dominance he turned in a year ago.

That could easily change Sunday at Richmond Raceway (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It’s Harvick’s best venue when it comes to top-10 finishes (15 overall; 12 in the last 14 races) and second-best in top fives (15). He averages a 9.7 finish at the .75-mile Virginia track – good for his fifth-best – and has won three races there (2006, 2011 and 2013; tied for fourth-most for him).

Harvick isn’t the best active driver at Richmond – that would be Kyle Busch and his six wins – but he’s surely up there. Harvick’s win and top-five total are second only to Busch. His average finish is third best, behind Busch and Hamlin. His top-10 tally leads all.

While another top-10 finish isn’t the worst outcome possible – he has six, which is tied for second-most overall right now – it surely won’t turn Harvick’s 2021 frown upside down.

Posted on April 16, 2021April 16, 2021 by Staff Report

The next stop on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule takes teams to Richmond Raceway for Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Before all the on-track action, there are many things you should know. Take a look at the rundown.

WHO’S ON THE POLE?

Martin Truex Jr. leads the field to green Sunday in Richmond, earning his first Busch Pole Award of the season after outpacing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin in the Final Stage to secure his third win in the last four trips to Martinsville.

Looking for redemption? Hamlin has his chance this weekend, starting alongside Truex on the front row. Chase Elliott, William Byron, Joey Logano and Kyle Larson complete the first three rows. See the full Toyota Owners 400 starting lineup.

RELATED: Weekend schedule | Pit-stall breakdown

BETTING ODDS, FAVORITES

The Joe Gibbs Racing battle between short-track standouts even has oddsmakers invested in the potential Martinsville ‘rematch’. Truex’s 4-1 series-leading odds to win Sunday narrowly edge out Hamlin who slides in at 6-1.

But don’t sleep on last year’s Richmond winner, Brad Keselowski, who dominated the show in 2020 by leading 192 laps. The No. 2 Team Penske wheelman sits just behind the leaders at 13-2.

Based on recent track trends, Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch each present good value. Full list of BetMGM Richmond odds.

RULES PACKAGE

The NASCAR rules package for short tracks will be in effect with a tapered spacer used to set a target of 750 horsepower. The cars will use a reduced downforce package with a shorter spoiler, a shorter splitter overhang and other aerodynamic changes.

GOODYEAR TIRES

Cup Series teams have nine sets of Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials for the 300-mile marathon at Richmond. Due to the high wear nature of the track, four tires and maintaining track position is even more crucial at every opportunity.

“Richmond has emerged as a high wear track over the past decade as the track surface has aged,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “As that has happened, it has given us some great racing. Even though Richmond is technically a short track, the cars carry a great deal of speed. You add in the fact that the surface wears tires and you end up having a race with multiple grooves and a lot of passing throughout the field. That makes Richmond a very popular track for both drivers and fans.”

Recommended tire inflation is 12 psi for the left side tires, 30 psi for the right front and 27 psi for the right rear.

RICHMOND FAST FACTS

— Since its inaugural race in 1953, Richmond Raceway has hosted a Cup Series race every year since 1955 and Sunday marks the 129th.
— Joe Gibbs Racing has dominated recent history at Richmond, winning four of the last five races and seven of the last 10.
— Two of the last three Richmond races had a green flag stretch of 148 or more laps to finish the race.
— In the last 12 races at Richmond, the race winner has started inside the top 10 all but two times.

Source: Racing Insights

FANTASY

Another week means another chance to beat the competition and show off your NASCAR instincts. Take control of your very own team each week with NASCAR Fantasy Live — it’s free to play! Learn everything you need to know at fantasygames.nascar.com.

The 2021 fantasy points leaders are Denny Hamlin (379), Martin Truex Jr. (303) and Joey Logano (295).

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

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

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

Posted on April 15, 2021April 15, 2021 by Zack Albert

Gaunt Brothers Racing announced Thursday that Harrison Burton is scheduled to make his NASCAR Cup Series debut April 25 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Burton is in his second full season with Joe Gibbs Racing’s efforts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he has four career wins — all recorded last season on his way to Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. The 20-year-old driver currently ranks third in the series standings.

Gaunt Brothers Racing

Burton is the son of former racer and current NBC Sports analyst Jeff Burton, who collected 21 Cup Series wins and 27 Xfinity Series victories in his career.

DEX Imaging will sponsor the Marty Gaunt-owned entry at the 2.66-mile Alabama track. The race weekend will also mark Burton’s 50th career start in the Xfinity Series.

“I’m incredibly grateful to DEX Imaging and Toyota for providing this opportunity with Gaunt Brothers Racing,” Burton said in the team’s news release. “From the moment I started racing, the Cup Series was always the goal. In everything I’ve done, I’ve been working toward this moment. I saw how hard my dad worked to get to Cup and how hard he worked to compete and win races. He instilled that same work ethic in me and I’m just really proud and honored to have the chance to do what he did and compete with the best of the best.”

The No. 96 team has made two starts this season, both with Ty Dillon behind the wheel. Gaunt Brothers Racing failed to qualify for the season-opening Daytona 500 but raced at Daytona’s road course and Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt-track event.

“We’re proud to represent such an innovative brand in DEX Imaging and equally proud to have Harrison make his first NASCAR Cup Series start with us,” team president Marty Gaunt said. “As a Toyota team, we’ve seen firsthand how well Harrison has developed. He’s been racing and winning in Toyotas for years, and yet he’s still only 20 years old. He has a very bright future ahead of him and we aim to make his Cup Series debut a successful one.”

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Holly Cain

For all but a small handful of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regulars, competition at this week’s Richmond Raceway is a new skillset. Among the regular-season championship contenders, only Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter have multiple previous starts at the 0.75-mile track, which is hosting the ToyotaCare 250 Saturday (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

There was robust competition at Richmond in the Camping World Truck Series for a decade (1995-2005), and the series returned to race there again last year, with Grant Enfinger earning a 1.033-second victory over Crafton, a three-time series champ.

Enfinger will be in a Toyota Tundra this week, and the make is working on a perfect season with victories in all five races to date – the second time in three years that has happened to start the season.

Championship points leader John Hunter Nemechek, who won his first race with Kyle Busch Motorsports at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, leads the standings by six points over two-race winner Ben Rhodes. They are the only two full-time championship contenders with wins. NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (Atlanta Motor Speedway) and Martin Truex Jr. (Bristol Motor Speedway dirt) have won the last two events.

It has been two full weeks since the Trucks last raced – at Bristol – and it’s fair to say drivers are highly anticipating this week’s short-track battle.

Beyond Nemechek’s slim six-point advantage over Rhodes, reigning series champion Sheldon Creed is only 21 points back. Crafton is fourth in the standings, 40 points back, followed by Stewart Friesen (-53) and perennial favorite Austin Hill (-55), who has climbed back into contention after a rough season start.

The series’ all-time winningest driver, Busch (60 career wins), will be making his third start of the season at Richmond and, like most of the field, racing for his first career series win there. Busch, owner-driver of the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, has two previous Richmond truck starts, finishing 22nd in 2001 and crashing out (30th place) in 2005.

The odds certainly favor a robust course correction, though. Busch has a record six NASCAR Xfinity Series wins there – three times from pole position. He has another six NASCAR Cup Series victories at Richmond coupled with seven runner-up finishes – 13 of his 30 starts.

While the Kyle Busch Motorsports organization certainly brings momentum to Richmond – its drivers have won the last three races of 2021 – Enfinger’s ThorSport Racing team proved last year it’s up for the challenge.

ThorSport Racing’s trucks swept the race with Enfinger winning, Crafton finishing second and Rhodes coming home third – the trio combining to lead 109 laps, nearly half the 250-lap total.

Defending race winner Enfinger is currently set to run only a partial schedule with ThorSport this season, making a second straight win at Richmond this week all the more crucial.

“We are taking the same truck that we ran there last year – same basic set-up, same tires – so hopefully we can duplicate the result,” Enfinger said. “Obviously things are going to be different with it being a daytime race. I feel like it’s going to be a little bit slicker out there with hopefully a little bit of sunshine on Saturday. I’m looking forward to it.”

Posted on April 15, 2021April 15, 2021 by Holly Cain

Martin Truex Jr. became the first driver to score multiple wins in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season with a big victory last week at Martinsville Speedway. As the NASCAR Cup Series stays in the state for Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) a certain Virginian couldn’t be more motivated to hoist his first trophy of the year.

Denny Hamlin – who was raised in Chesterfield, Virginia, about a half-hour drive from the Richmond track – has already turned in a competitive season for the ages. And we’re only eight races into the NASCAR calendar.

He’s scored a series-high seven top-five finishes – more than he earned in three previous full seasons and twice that of all drivers but Kyle Larson (four top fives). A top five this week would tie Hamlin’s career-best streak of six consecutive. His No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has led a series-best 487 laps, and Hamlin holds a commanding 76-point lead on Truex, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, in the points standings.

The only thing left to do for the perennial championship contender is score that first victory of the year.

Hamlin, 40, is especially good at the 0.75-mile Richmond track with three trophies there as proof. His driver rating is third best – behind his JGR teammate, six-time winner Kyle Busch and three-time winner Kevin Harvick.

All three of these Richmond masters and annual title favorites, however, are also looking for their first victory of 2021.

Busch, driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, among active drivers has a series-best six Richmond victories and a series-high seven more runner-up finishes – meaning he won or finished second in nearly half (13 of 30) of his NASCAR Cup Series starts at the track. Furthermore, his 16 short-track victories are easily tops in the series among drivers entered this weekend. Hamlin and Busch’s older brother Kurt are next with 10 short-track wins.

The two-time series champion Kyle Busch arrives in Richmond, however, 11th in points with only a pair of top-five and four top-10 finishes on the season with no shortage of motivation.

Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, similarly, shows up at Richmond more than ready to right his team’s ship as well. He’s a three-time winner at the track and his 26 top-10 finishes in 39 starts ranks best among active drivers. He ranks first or second in five of the six pre-race Loop Data statistical categories. His 7.210 average running position, 93 percent of laps run in the top-15 and 972 quality passes leads the field.

Interestingly, seven of the 10 active drivers with previous short-track victories are still looking for a win this season. And last year’s Richmond playoff winner Brad Keselowski is among that group. Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott is as well.

With so many of the sport’s best more than ready to get that first trophy of the year and a sure-bet playoff berth, there’s good reason to expect a chippy afternoon at Richmond. And these drivers say they are prepared for that.

“A lot of times there are still a lot of guys who don’t apply [the notion of “give-and-take”] and they wind up getting themselves in trouble – tearing their cars up and putting themselves in a bad spot,” the 2014 champion Harvick said. “I think part of our success is being able to race like that when we need to race like that and understanding how that works.

“In my book, it’s just being smart.”