There is only one Hendrick Motorsports driver in its four-car garage who has not won a race in 2021, and he just so happens to be its winningest contender from 2020.
William Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet punched through first in this season’s third event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which is a big timeline change from scoring his first career win in last year’s regular-season finale. Alex Bowman won one race last season in the No. 88 and then returned the No. 48 to Victory Lane this season at Richmond Raceway. Kyle Larson is new to the organization and already won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the No. 5 entry.
Chase Elliott, however, has yet to punch the No. 9 team’s ticket into the playoffs. And he’s the sport’s reigning champion.
Of Elliott’s career 11 wins, five of them came in 2020 — the third-highest mark in the NASCAR Cup Series, only behind Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick (nine) and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin (seven) — and of those five, the first came in the eighth race of the season.
Now, 10 races into 2021, Elliott has three top-five and four top-10 finishes. No wins. And there have been nine different winners so far.
Overall, there have been 2,785 laps run this season, of which Elliott has completed 2,680 circuits (96 percent; one DNF). During that span, he has spent 618 in the top five (ninth best in the series) and 1,421 in the top 10 (also ninth best). His average running position is 11.79 – eighth best – and his average finishing position is 14.1 – 10th best.
For comparison, Elliott’s 2020 average running position was 9.21 and his 2020 average finishing position was 11.7.
That was after a full 36-race schedule, though.
For better comparison, Elliott’s average running position through 10 events last season was 7.59 and his average finishing position through 10 events last season was 12.9.
Clearly, Elliott was running better at this point in 2020 during races, but his end results weren’t all that different, just slightly better than 2021. Things got better finishing wise, too, as the season progressed.
Elliott currently sits eighth in the point standings — 140 points behind the leader (Hamlin) — then 11th in the 16-driver provisional playoff field — 89 points above the current cutoff line, though there are still 16 races left in the regular season.
Speaking of, up next is Kansas Speedway (Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Elliott is set to fire off 17th after the lineup was set by a performance-metrics formula due to COVID-19 protocol. BetMGM has his odds to win at 9-1.
Elliott won at Kansas in 2018, but his results on 1.5-mile tracks haven’t been so hot as of late. In the last nine races at the track type, Elliott has just one top-10 finish — Kansas in the spring of 2020, when he placed sixth. He hasn’t won on a 1.5-miler in his last 12 attempts.
OK, but that last 1.5-mile win also doubled as his first win of a season (Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2020), so Kansas could very well be the spark Elliott needs for 2021.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As part of the annual NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola initiative, the NASCAR industry will honor United States Armed Forces heroes and their families throughout Military Appreciation Month, beginning this weekend at Kansas Speedway.
Now in its seventh year, NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola begins for the first time at Kansas Speedway with the Buschy McBusch Race 400 (May 2 at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM) and concludes with the return of 600 Miles of Remembrance during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway taking place Memorial Day weekend (May 30, at 6 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM).
“The NASCAR industry takes tremendous pride in honoring those who serve our country, along with their families and communities,” said Michelle Byron, vice president of partnership marketing, NASCAR. “It’s impossible to describe their sacrifices to protect and support our communities throughout the past year during the pandemic — it’s our privilege to recognize them through NASCAR Salutes annually.”
In conjunction with this program, U.S. Naval Officer and NASCAR driver Jesse Iwuji, will be welcomed as the newest Coca-Cola ambassador and will host many of the NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola events.
As part of the 2021 platform, NASCAR and Coca-Cola will celebrate the military community by showcasing stories of everyday heroes from local bases, in partnership with the USO, while also hosting at-track and virtual experiences led by Iwuji for military families through Troops to the Track.
Beginning this weekend at Kansas Speedway, a weekly pre-race show will launch on NASCAR.com and Facebook hosted by Iwuji alongside NASCAR personality Kim Coon. The show will highlight NASCAR Salutes for fans who are unable to attend a race in person and feature special celebrity guests, including Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers, race dignitaries and more.
“Coca-Cola is proud to support and honor the sacrifice and service of all military members and their families in partnership with NASCAR,” said Chris Bigda, director of sports marketing, Coca-Cola North America. “We are excited to welcome Jesse as a Coca-Cola ambassador to help bring communities together that share an appreciation for our military and the love of racing.”
Throughout NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola, FOX Sports will highlight military service stories from the industry across its NASCAR programming. Fans can learn more about the heroes honored throughout the NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola program by visiting NASCAR.com/Salutes. Fans can participate this year by sharing a military member or family they salute on social media tagging #NASCARSalutes.
During the Coca-Cola 600 race weekend, NASCAR and Coca-Cola will host Gold Star Families, many of whom will have loved ones honored during the annual Memorial Day weekend 600 Miles of Remembrance. All 40 NASCAR Cup Series cars will feature the name of a fallen service member on the windshield during the race in honor of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Among the other NASCAR Salutes events and activities are the following:
Throughout the platform, fans can follow and engage with the NASCAR Salutes conversation on social media using #NASCARSalutes.
At Kansas Speedway and Darlington Raceway, as part of NASCAR Troops to the Track Hosted by Coca-Cola, active servicemembers from local bases will receive grandstand tickets.
AMR, the “Official Emergency Medical Services Partner of NASCAR,” will feature the NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola branding on its NASCAR safety trucks and safety team helmets throughout the program.
In support of NASCAR Salutes, Charlotte Motor Speedway is again hosting its annual Mission 600 as a prelude to its pre-race salute to the troops prior to the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend. This year’s program includes a mix of virtual and in-person experiences to connect members of the Coca-Cola Racing Family and other drivers with military bases.
Mack Trucks, the “Official Hauler of NASCAR,” will again adorn NASCAR Salutes colors on its flagship NASCAR hauler. This year’s Mack Anthem scheme will be chosen by fans through a social media vote taking place until Friday, April 30 and will be unveiled on Saturday, May 1.
M&M’S, the “Official Chocolate of NASCAR,” will provide 100 tickets to active-duty service members and their families from Fort Hood as a part of their partnership with Operation Gratitude during NASCAR’s debut weekend at Circuit of the Americas.
For more than 10 years, Goodyear has transformed its NASCAR race tires by replacing its iconic “Eagle” sidewall design with a message to honor America’s military. In 2021, for the third season, Goodyear will feature “Honor and Remember,” in recognition of the organization that worked closely with the industry for “600 Miles of Remembrance” to honor military lives lost while serving.
Through a new special at-track experience in partnership with Coca-Cola, the USO and Charlotte Motor Speedway, a group of service members and their families will have the opportunity to learn to race simulators from eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series competitors. The simulators will then be donated to the USO.
During the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Xfinity, a Proud Premier Partner, will display red, white and blue Xfinity windshield headers on their race cars to showcase their company’s commitment to hiring 21,000 veterans, National Guard and reserve service members, and military spouses who bring unique skills and experiences to Comcast NBCUniversal.
During Memorial Day weekend, Camping World will celebrate with red, white and blue windshield decals on all trucks racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Camping World is a strong supporter of all military branches and proudly displays 3,200 square foot American flags at its nationwide retail locations.
Leading into the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR drivers will discuss 600 Miles of Remembrance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (channel 90) during a special military tribute show airing at 1 p.m. ET. The Dialed In Salute to the Troops special, hosted by Claire B. Lang, will feature interviews with several drivers as well as service members from different branches of the military.
During the broadcast of the Coca-Cola 600, FOX will display the name of every U.S. Armed Forces member who lost his or her life since last year’s Memorial Day weekend race as part of a special tribute titled “FOX Sports Remembers,” an initiative begun in 2009. FOX’s scroll will begin running during its pre-race show at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Justin Bonsignore has proven — twice — you can win the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship without winning at Stafford Motor Speedway. Include Doug Coby’s title run in 2017, three of the past four champions lifted the trophy at the end of the year without visiting Stafford’s Victory Lane.
But how important is running well, and winning, at the historic half-mile to championship hopes?
Based on past history, very.
Consider, over the past 15 years, the worst finish in the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler of an eventual champion was eighth, by Bonsignore in 2018.
The average finish of the eventual tour champion in the 54 races at Stafford since 2006? 5.6. Only seven times, in that period, has the season’s champion finished outside the top 10 in a race at Stafford.
The postponement has added an incentive for fans – and an added obstacle for tour regulars: Former tour champion and current NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece has entered the event.
Preece has eight wins and 18 top fives in 39 starts at Stafford, including the 2017 and ’18 Spring Sizzler. He led 110 laps in the season opener at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway on April 8 before finishing 12th.
For Bonsignore, who finished second at Martinsville to kick off his title defense, another strong run at Stafford would go a long way toward setting him up in his chase for championship No. 3. A win would be even better.
“We have been getting closer and closer every time we go there,” Bonsignore said. “I was really happy with the way 2019 went, and optimistic going into 2020, but then COVID hit and by the time we went back there, we were mostly points racing, but were still a top three car.
“If we could pull it off in the Spring Sizzler, it would make all of the pains there go away.”
The Spring Sizzler is one of three events at Stafford this year, with the tour returning Aug. 6 for the GAF Roofing 150 Pres. by Riverhead Building Supply and then finishing the season on Sept. 25 for the NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final.
Ironically, it’s the August race that has been the outlier for the eventual champions in seasons past:
Coby had fuel issues in 2016 and finished 20th; he won the other three Stafford races that year.
Preece had a flat tire and finished 16th in his 2013 championship campaign.
Bobby Santos III had engine issues and finished 23rd in 2010. He had two wins and a second in the other three starts.
Ted Christopher finished 28th after mechanical issues in 2008. He had a win, a third and a sixth in his other Stafford races that season en route to his first title.
The average finish of the eventual tour champion in the Spring Sizzler since 2006? 3
That bodes well for a couple drivers looking to break up Coby and Bonsignore’s reign.
Craig Lutz, who leads all tour regulars with a best average finish of 8.3, including his first career win in 2018, will drive the Russell Goodale-owned No. 46 Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet.
Eric Goodale, another past Stafford winner, opened the season in Victory Lane at Martinsville. He returns to a track where he’s had an up-and-down history. Since 2016, he has six top fives – including the 2017 win in the Fall Final. But he has six finishes of 19th or worse, including a 22nd last year after winning the Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award.
Max McLaughlin was fourth in his tour debut in that race, and he followed up with a fourth at Martinsville.
In his last five Stafford starts, Silk has a pair of wins, a third, a fifth and a sixth. He won the only tour race at Stafford last year.
The Milford, Connecticut, driver is a 12-time winner at his home track – tied for second all-time.
While he has an average finish of 10.2 for his career, since winning the Spring Sizzler in 2012, Coby has an average finish of 4.4. He added Spring Sizzler wins in 2016 and ’19, and he was runner-up in 2014 and ’17.
“It’s the Spring Sizzler,” Coby said. “It’s one of the biggest races that you mark on your calendar to help kick-off the season. With it being our first New England race of the year, the history of the Sizzler, and the list of drivers who have won that race, I’m excited to go back there.”
Team owner Matt Kaulig said his organization will enter the NASCAR Cup Series full-time next season, fielding “at least one car” in the sport’s top division.
Kaulig, who made the remarks in a Wednesday morning appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, currently owns three full-time Xfinity Series teams for drivers AJ Allmendinger, Jeb Burton and Justin Haley. Kaulig Racing has made four Cup Series starts on a part-time basis, earning its best finish just last Sunday with Kaz Grala placing sixth at Talladega Superspeedway.
“We’re going full-time Cup racing next year,” said Kaulig, who indicated that the team had purchased another race shop in Welcome, North Carolina, to prepare for the move. “We’ll have one car. We’ll have at least one car, let’s put it that way. So that’s definitely a done deal. We’re super-excited about that. That’s the reason we’re running … we’ll run 10 or 11 Cup races this year, and man, we’re already three in.”
The move coincides with the introduction of the Next Gen car for the Cup Series in 2022. Kaulig had stated in January that a full-time Cup campaign was among its long-term aspirations; Wednesday’s remarks make that timetable official.
Kaulig said that Allmendinger and Grala would be among the drivers for the rest of this year’s part-time Cup Series slate.
See where your favorite driver will put in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
One decade ago, Drew Herring was a young race car driver looking to make it big with Joe Gibbs Racing. He now finds himself in pressure-filled situations every week, but it’s not as a driver. Herring is now spotting for Martin Truex Jr. at the NASCAR Cup Series level.
Ahead of the 2021 Cup season, the No. 19 team made a change on the spotter’s stand. Since joining Furniture Row Racing in 2014, Clayton Hughes was the primary spotter for Truex, going on to win 25 races together and the 2017 championship. But it was time for a change.
“It was something that we were talking about, throwing around, looking at some options,” Truex recently told NASCAR.com of the spotter change. “They thought [Herring] would fit well and if he wanted to be a spotter, I thought we could give him a shot, and he’s doing a great job.”
But losing Hughes was tough for Truex. After all, Truex has had a surge late in his career that’s atypical from most drivers.
“It was a team decision more than anything,” Truex said. “As a team, the feeling was we could do better there. I have a great relationship with Clayton. He’s an awesome guy and I love him to death. That was the hardest part of making the change. Those are sometimes hard decisions to make, but we did and I feel like we’ve improved in that area.”
Crew chief James Small picked up the phone at some point over the offseason to call Herring. For the past six years, the once real-life race car driver was tuning in hard on the Toyota Racing Development simulator, preparing it for the manufacturer’s drivers. He was also the organization’s test driver on its wheelforce car.
But when this opportunity came up, it was difficult to turn down.
“[Small] asked me if I ever wanted to be a spotter,” Herring recalled. “My initial response was no. I asked him to give me a few days to think about it. After sitting down and looking at the schedule right now, still dealing with the pandemic, we only have eight weekends that are multiple-day shows, which helped make my decision.
“I was humbled that James and that caliber of team, knowing that I have zero spotting background, felt like I could get the job done and be an efficient spotter for them.”
Herring admitted he enjoys new challenges, and this felt like the right one. However, he’d never been a primary spotter in his lifetime, only serving as a secondary spotter at select road course events in previous roles.
After learning he would become the No. 19 spotter, Herring went to work, replaying past races, listening to scanner audio and, most importantly, watching SportMedia Technology (SMT). But that can only help to an extent when it comes to getting your eyes and voice on the actual product.
Michael Reaves | Getty Images
No pressure, Herring’s first race as a Cup spotter: The 2021 Daytona 500. And boy, his stomach was in knots.
“I was more nervous than probably any race I’ve ever ran before,” Herring said. “Even my one-off Cup start during the Championship Weekend in 2019 was probably not as nerve-wracking as that. When I’m behind the wheel, I feel like I’m completely in control of my destiny and what’s going on. Being a spotter now, I have to make sure that I do a great job so that I don’t put Martin in a bad situation to wreck.”
Truex, a lofty veteran, could tell Herring was anxious heading into Daytona.
“We went to Daytona and I felt like he was pretty nervous, which I could totally understand,” Truex said. “Talk about spotting at your first big race being the Daytona 500. That’s pretty crazy.”
Since the Great American Race, Herring has spotted nine Cup races and three Xfinity Series races with Ty Dillon as the driver (he also spotted for Dillon at Daytona). He’s beginning to feel more comfortable atop the spotter’s stand, growing with confidence each week.
Some of that he credits to a motto of, “Anything I do, I’m not OK with just being average.” More of it stems from being a past driver and knowing Truex’s position.
“For me, I think it makes a big difference because when I’m up there spotting for Martin, I understand a lot of situations he’s in from his standpoint,” Herring said. “ I think it gives me a different perspective of the things that he’s feeling and things that he’s seeing, so that I can give a little more personal information to a certain extent.”
Truex agreed, confirming the belief that having a former driver as a spotter has helped.
“[He has] the experience of being behind the wheel and understanding what that’s like,” Truex added. “It’s not something that’s easy to explain to someone. I think you’ve either done it or you haven’t.”
Through 10 races this season, Truex is the only repeat winner in the Cup Series, having won at Phoenix Raceway and Martinsville Speedway. The series heads this weekend to Kansas Speedway, where he has won twice before. Truex credits some of the early success so far to the improvements Herring has made as a spotter, noting that he’s doing everything he can to be at his best.
“You can hear the confidence, that’s really the biggest thing,” Truex said. “Giving me good information, not too much, not too little, just things that really matter.”
Aside from enjoying the one-day shows, Herring also likes to win. A lot. Long term, he’s got his eyes set on the big prize at the end of the season, hoping to guide Truex to his second championship.
“One of the things that made it easy for me was knowing that we had the opportunity to go win every week,” he said. “And not knowing that we could just go win every week, but that we have the chance if we go out and do our jobs all year long, we could be one of the final ones and compete for the championship at Phoenix.”
As far as Herring’s primary goal as a spotter, he wants to continue to improve. He’s leaned on a plethora of other spotters, including Freddie Kraft, Coleman Pressley, Tim Fedewa, TJ Majors and all of his Toyota teammates.
And though he knows there are plenty of talented spotters on the stand, Herring wants to be the best.
“Even if we get to that point of, ‘You’re doing good,’ I still want to work to be even better because it’s not good enough,” he said. “You never become complacent, you always try to grow to become better and that’s the mentality I’ve had across life. No matter the role I put myself into I try to dive myself into headfirst and be the best person at that job.”
On top of being a full-time spotter, Herring is still doing as much work as he had in the past on the TRD simulator and wheelforce car. The spotter gig was just an add-on.
Though his attention is on spotting for the No. 19 Toyota, Herring hasn’t given up on being a competitive race car driver just yet.
Herring said, “I definitely want to get back out there. I love racing and still want to be a driver. But at the time I don’t have that opportunity. I knew there wasn’t going to be any opportunities on Sundays, but there’s still chances of maybe I could get out there on a Friday or Saturday.”
CONCORD, N.C. (April 28, 2021) – Motor Racing Outreach announced today the return of its Better Half Dash, this year as a virtual event in collaboration with iRacing. The Better Half iRacing Dash features the women of NASCAR, highlighting their contributions to the sport and allowing them to raise money for charity.
Participants will compete in a virtual Legends Car race at the virtual Texas Motor Speedway on the iRacing platform. FOX Sports provides exclusive coverage of The Better Half iRacing Dash, which will air during a special edition of NASCARRace Hub Thursday, June 10 at 6 p.m. ET on FS1.
Confirmed Better Half iRacing Dash drivers include
• Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Co-Owner and Vice President of JR Motorsports, wife of LW Miller III
• Kristin Labonte, President of Breaking Limits and wife of 2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee and FOX NASCAR analyst Bobby Labonte
• Morgan Bell, wife of Christopher Bell
• Marissa Briscoe, wife of Chase Briscoe
• Megan Smith, wife of FOX NASCAR reporter Regan Smith
• Jenna Petty, girlfriend of Harrison Burton
• Tammy Rice, wife of Kaulig Racing President Chris Rice
• Julia Piquet, girlfriend of Daniel Suarez
• Jennifer Self, wife of Austin Wayne Self, winner of 2017 Better Half Dash
• Karissa Flores, wife of Ryan Flores, front tire changer of the No. 2 for Team Penske
• Alexa De Leon, girlfriend of Tyler Reddick
Jennifer Self is the reigning Better Half Dash champion, winning the last event held in the series on Oct. 6, 2017, at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Tammy Rice also participated in the 2017 Better Half Dash, finishing second. Bios of each driver, as well as links to donate and support the charities each are racing for are available at MotorRacingOutreach.com.
Each driver will get an assist from their significant other, who will serve as crew chief for their respective “better half.” Participants are racing to raise money for Motor Racing Outreach as well the non-profit organization of their choice. Drivers will raise money for their charities through donations across social media leading up to the race.
The two drivers who raise the most money for their charity in advance of the race will receive an advantage in qualifying. The driver who finds Victory Lane at the Better Half iRacing Dash will capture the winner-take-all $10,000 purse for their charity.
“We’re are grateful to partner with iRacing, NASCAR, US Legend Cars and FOX Sports to revive the Better Half Dash,” said Billy Mauldin, president and senior chaplain, Motor Racing Outreach. “This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the amazing women in our sport while raising money for many worthy non-profit organizations.”
“US Legend Cars International has a long history supporting MRO and we’re thrilled to continue that relationship by sponsoring the Better Half iRacing Dash,” said Jessica Fickenscher, chief experience officer, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. “It’s fulfilling to be part of an event that celebrates the women in our sport while raising awareness and funds for MRO and other great charities.”
“We are proud to provide the virtual online racing platform for the women of NASCAR to showcase their sim racing skills in the Better Half iRacing Dash,” Otto Szebeni, director of sales and marketing, iRacing. “Collaborating with many great partners for a great cause makes this a fun and worthwhile project for everyone at iRacing”
Motor Racing Outreach hosted the Better Half Dash, a bandolero race featuring the women at NASCAR at Charlotte Motor Speedway from 2011-2017. Since its inception, the Better Half Dash has raised over $350,000 benefiting Motor Racing Outreach and more than 50 additional non-profits.
Additional information about Motor Racing Outreach and the Better Half iRacing Dash can be found at MotorRacingOutreach.com.
Brad Keselowski, last weekend’s winner at Talladega Superspeedway, has claimed the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Buschy McBusch Race 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Kansas Speedway.
Keselowski, who notched his first NASCAR Cup Series win of the season Sunday, will start his No. 2 Team Penske Ford from the pole position.
John Hunter Nemechek is on the pole for Saturday’s Wise Power 200 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. It marks the third time in the last four races that Nemechek will start first in the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.
As NASCAR adapted to COVID-19 protocols last season, practice and qualifying were eliminated at a majority of national-series events to limit at-track time, exposure and to cut race weekend costs. To determine starting lineups, competition officials used grouped draws, added inversions for weekend doubleheaders, and eventually adopted a performance-metrics formula. That metrics format remains in place this season, drawing on performance from both individual races and season-long results.
NASCAR’s metrics formula for 2021 weighs:
25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
35 percent: Team owner points ranking
15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race
See the full lineup for Sunday’s Cup Series race below.
Start pos.
Driver
Car #
Team
1
Brad Keselowski
2
Team Penske
2
William Byron
24
Hendrick Motorsports
3
Michael McDowell
34
Front Row Motorsports
4
Kevin Harvick
4
Stewart-Haas Racing
5
Matt DiBenedetto
21
Wood Brothers Racing
6
Austin Dillon
3
Richard Childress Racing
7
Ryan Blaney
12
Team Penske
8
Christopher Bell
20
Joe Gibbs Racing
9
Kyle Busch
18
Joe Gibbs Racing
10
Cole Custer
41
Stewart-Haas Racing
11
Tyler Reddick
8
Richard Childress Racing
12
Ryan Preece
37
JTG Daugherty Racing
13
Bubba Wallace
23
23XI Racing
14
Ryan Newman
6
Roush Fenway Racing
15
Martin Truex Jr.
19
Joe Gibbs Racing
16
Chris Buescher
17
Roush Fenway Racing
17
Chase Elliott
9
Hendrick Motorsports
18
Aric Almirola
10
Stewart-Haas Racing
19
Chase Briscoe
14
Stewart-Haas Racing
20
Denny Hamlin
11
Joe Gibbs Racing
21
Daniel Suarez
99
Trackhouse Racing Team
22
Anthony Alfredo
38
Front Row Motorsports
23
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
47
JTG Daugherty Racing
24
Ross Chastain
42
Chip Ganassi Racing
25
Alex Bowman
48
Hendrick Motorsports
26
Corey LaJoie
7
Spire Motorsports
27
Erik Jones
43
Richard Petty Motorsports
28
Kurt Busch
1
Chip Ganassi Racing
29
Joey Logano
22
Team Penske
30
BJ McLeod
78
Live Fast Motorsports
31
Justin Haley
77
Spire Motorsports
32
Kyle Larson
5
Hendrick Motorsports
33
Cody Ware
51
Petty Ware Racing
34
Quin Houff
00
StarCom Racing
35
Joey Gase
15
Rick Ware Racing
36
Garrett Smithley
53
Rick Ware Racing
37
Josh Bilicki
52
Rick Ware Racing
38
Austin Cindric
33
Team Penske
39
Matt Mills
55
BJ McLeod Motorsports
Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Busch Pole Qualifying was held for the season-opening Daytona 500 but rain canceled the qualifying races for Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt-track race. The next Cup Series event with qualifying scheduled is the May 23 debut at the Circuit of The Americas road course in Austin, Texas.
NASCAR officials penalized the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team Tuesday for a lug-nut infraction after Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
After Kyle Busch drove the No. 18 Toyota to an 18th-place finish, officials discovered one lug nut not safety secured in a post-race check. That safety violation (Section 10.9.10.4 in the rule book) resulted in a $10,000 fine for No. 18 crew chief Ben Beshore.
There were no post-race penalties after Saturday’s Xfinity Series event at the 2.66-mile Talladega track. Three teams failed pre-race inspection twice and will cede pit selection for the series’ next race, scheduled May 8 at Darlington Raceway: the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet for AJ Allmendinger, the No. 39 RSS Racing Ford of Ryan Sieg, and the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, which has featured a rotating cast of drivers this season but was most recently driven by Ty Dillon.
If it wasn’t for the success Kyle Barnes saw last year at Kingsport Speedway, he’s not sure how much confidence he’d have going back to his home track for the 2021 season.
Motor Mile Speedway, a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts sanctioned 0.416-mile paved oval track in Radford, Virginia, that is just about 20 minutes from Barnes’s home, didn’t hold races in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. So Barnes and his team instead travelled two hours every week to Kingsport, a 0.375-mile concrete semi-banked oval track in Kingsport, Tennessee.
Kyle Barnes celebrates in Victory Lane after winning a race at Kingsport Speedway last season. (RPM Photos/Randall Perry/Courtesy Kyle Barnes)
The travelling paid off. Barnes won 10 of 13 races, and was Kingsport’s sportsman class champion.
“We had a stellar, stellar year,” Barnes said. “We were travelling two hours up the road and back every week. I think one morning we saw the sun rise on Saturday. So that was really difficult.
“I got my championship out of the way last year and it was an amazing job by my entire family to help me be able to do that.
As Motor Mile reopens and Barnes returns home, he knows racing in the track’s limited sportsman division won’t be easy. In the opening race there were 22 cars, compared to between 10-14 he was usually up against at Kingsport.
Having a full year of success at Kingsport under his belt, though, gives him a huge amount of confidence for 2021.
“Anytime you can go into somebody else’s home turf and really pick up on something really fast it makes a huge confidence booster for you. Last year we competed against a bunch of great, awesome drivers out there and learned a lot. It taught me a lot about racing.” Barnes said.
“Without last year I probably wouldn’t go into this year with that much confidence, but I’ve got confidence in my team and my sponsors to be able to do well. Without them I know it wouldn’t be possible. I think early season results have shown we can win some races, just now it’s just putting it together.”
Barnes plans to run a full season at Motor Mile, something he hasn’t done in the 10 years he’s been racing there. In 2010 he won the Rookie of the Year Award in the limited sportsman class and the season finale race. Since then, his team has also travelled throughout Virginia and the Carolinas over the years, but they’ve raced at least five times at Motor Mile every season.
This year the team is going into the season focused more on wins than points.
“Our goal is to try to get three wins down there and if we can get three wins down there that would be big,” Barnes said.
In two races this season he has a seventh and second place finish.
He learned a lot at Kingsport he’s taking to Motor Mile.
“Just learning how to deal with traffic and trying to manage your tires race after race and just having them for the next week,” Barnes said.
“Kingsport is way more of a bullring than Motor Mile. It’s a lot more hardnose racing, door to door. There’s a little bit more contact out there so it really teaches you more about car control and I guess that’s why I love that place because it puts it more in the driver’s hands.”
The 26-year-old Barnes learned how to drive from his dad and uncle, who both also raced in the 90s and early 2000s. It was Barnes’ uncle, Anthony, who drove the sportsman car for the team before him.
They’re both now the main help for Barnes at the track, with his dad, Tim, serving as crew chief and car owner, and Anthony the main tire guy in the pits.
Kyle Barnes will race the No. 00 in the sportsman division at Motor Mile Speedway this season. (Emma Chrisley/Courtesy Kyle Barnes)
Even though Barnes himself has been racing for 14 years, he still leans on his elders, especially in situations during races when things aren’t going his way.
“This past week we got into a little skirmish on the front stretch and got shuffled back to 20th. Just having Anthony and my dad in my ear kind of coaching me and keeping me calm and getting me back up in traffic we were able to go from 20th to 4th in about 25 laps,” Barnes said. “In situations like that, that’s where my uncle with all his driving experience and my father, with all his crew chief and spotting experience, that’s where they really shine and that’s where they help me out the most.”
Barnes is now also able to help the next generation of Barnes drivers in the same way. His younger brother, Tristen, is in his first full-time season of racing. The 15-year-old is competing in the super street division at Motor Mile, and also helps Barnes on the car during the week.
“I’m not always able to get down to the shop so my little brother and my dad, they’re the main driving force behind getting the car ready and making sure it’s up to the standards we have to get to go racing,” Barnes said.
“I try to coach him the best I can. He did an amazing job this weekend. I can’t say enough about how well he did. He’s really, really good about taking care of his equipment and not wrecking and getting into anything. I can’t say enough about that because I definitely was more wild than he is.”
The entire Barnes team is a family event. His mom, Wendy, helps out as well, and he also has help from Emma Chrisley, Jimmy Whitt, and Junior Bailey. Whitney Cockram and Daryn Cockram, who also competes in the limited sportsman division at Motor Mile, help out and are sponsors with DCT Towing and Recovery. Fort Chiswell RV Park, where Barnes also works, and PayToWinSetups.com also help sponsor the car and provide support for the team.
“Without those three partners we wouldn’t be able to make it to the track each and every week,” Barnes said. “Without my little brother, my uncle, my dad, and my mom, the rest of my crew, all those guys and girls, they really make it possible for me to be able to do what I do behind the wheel.”
Barnes has always told his dad his biggest goal was to get one championship in his race career. Now that he’s done that, he wants to continue to travel around and collect as many wins at as many tracks as possible.
Thanks to a stellar 2020 season, he has the confidence to work towards that.
“We got the championship that I wanted. I wanted to at least be able to say I won one championship, but I think wins to me are a whole lot more exciting,” Barnes said. “I’d like to go out and win three, four, five races and go somewhere else and win a few too. Some of the greatest drivers in short track history, Lee Pulliam, Philip Morris, and all them, they travel around and they’ve got wins at almost all the tracks on the east coast. That’s what makes them great.
“I know I don’t have the budget to run late model stocks like they do, so if I can go and run a limited sportsman or a sportsman class like we do now and we can go get those wins, that’s awesome in my book and that’s our main goal. Just travel and be in contention to win anywhere we go.”
Racing will return to Motor Mile Speedway on May 8 with twin late model 60s, limited sportsman, super streets, mod-4, and U-Cars beginning at 7 p.m.
