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  • SHR’s Harvick, Bowyer, and Almirola Meet the Press

    SHR’s Harvick, Bowyer, and Almirola Meet the Press

    CHARLOTTE, NC – SHR Teammates Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, and Aric Almirola met with the media on Tuesday at the Charlotte Convention Center during the 2018 Charlotte Media Tour. The team won three races in 2017 including the Daytona 500, and Harvick was in the Final Four championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. What do they think the 2018 season holds for them?

    “We have a car that is designed for a huge spoiler in the back and is the oldest car on the race track compared to the other manufacturers,” Harvick said. “It took us a little bit to get things situated last year with the balance. We could face those balance issues again this year that we might have to work through as we go into the year just because of the way they are going to inspect the cars with the Hawkeye system. With the new splitter rules, you are looking at a few hundred pounds of downforce taken off the cars. There are no rule changes, but everybody had to be cut off in every shop. It is different.

    “I think that much like the pit guns, I look at the splitter in that same category. There has been a tremendous amount of money spent on development of the shapes of the splitter. We could be in a position to where we have some balance issues with the race car but if we are going to have a problem at SHR and we put it on our aero department, I will put that up against anybody. We may come out of the box great but you don’t really know until you get to the race track. We worked through those issues last year. It took us a bit but we might have to work at them again.”

    Almirola is in his first season with SHR, moving over from Richard Petty Motorsports to SHR in the No. 10 Ford, formerly driven by the soon to retire Danica Patrick. He says the transition to Stewart-Haas Racing has been easy.

    “The transition to Stewart-Haas Racing has been really easy. They have so many talented people that they just make the transition easy. Everybody from the marketing and PR side to the personnel on the shop floor and the guys on the team,” Almirola said. “It has been great. That transition has been fun. It has been easy, fun, all of the above. I have just been really looking forward to getting to the race track to go race. We go all offseason and work on all the little things. Changing teams is a big undertaking. I would say that the most challenging thing has been learning 380 employees names and faces. That is one of the most challenging things. Besides that, just all the little things like getting your seat right and going and trying to work with a new team and new pedals and new seat and seat insert. All those things. Making sure I am comfortable when the season starts inside the race car.”

    Clint Bowyer, who hasn’t won a points race in a very long time, sees 2018 as a make or break year for him, though. He’s looking forward to the new year and finally sitting in a car he thinks will see him back in victory lane before the season is over

    “Every year is a make or break year. It doesn’t matter if it is your first year or your third year or your 12th year. It is always that pressure and it is always on,” Bowyer said. “Nobody puts that on. We are competitors. I have raced since I was five years old. I have always wanted to win. Once you get a taste of that, there is no going back from that. Last year, it was disappointing. My disappointment came from a lack of consistency. That has always been my m.o. and how I was always able to make playoffs if I did or compete for a championship if we did. It was through consistency and knocking on the door and not having bad runs.

    “We were spraying it all over the place last year. We would have good runs and bad runs and I really look for Stewart-Haas to smooth those things out. That manufacturer change was the best thing, in my opinion, that they have done in a long time. You are going to have growing pains because you have to learn a whole new everything. From your database to the aero platform to all that stuff. To have that behind us, the winter, the off-season has been way easier. It was pretty chaotic last year. I think we have weathered that storm and we are ready.”

    Bowyer is a fan of his new teammate and looks forward to having him on the SHR team.

    “Of course, he is a good dude and I think he is a great asset to our already great organization. I think he is a good guy. He really is. His family is awesome. They are always at the track and his kids are always running around. You can tell a lot about a guy by how his kids act. He has great kids. The racer in him, he has never had that opportunity. No knock on anything he has ever been in but this is his opportunity to shine in good equipment and I look for him to do so.”

    Harvick had unexpected praise for young drivers. Unlike Kyle Busch who recently lamented the press attention on younger drivers, Harvick thinks that it is a natural progression.

    “There has to be a push for the guys coming up to introduce them to who they are,” Harvick said. “If they happen to perform like they need to perform on the race track and start acquiring some of the race fans that are looking for a driver to support, that is good for everybody. Chase Elliott winning a race would be good for everybody. I think he hasn’t done that in two years. There is a lot of hype and he has been very competitive but I can promise you that every person in that garage should be happy for the sport when Chase Elliott wins a race because he is big for our sport.”

  • Stenhouse Looking Forward to the Daytona 500 and Has No Qualms About Racing with Danica

    Stenhouse Looking Forward to the Daytona 500 and Has No Qualms About Racing with Danica

    CHARLOTTE, NC – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won two restrictor plate races, the first of his career, and took a tumble in the Chili Bowl in the offseason. Those were just two of the topics the press corps heard at the NASCAR Media Tour in the Charlotte Convention Center on Tuesday.

    With two wins, a Playoff berth and a lot of baggage off him for 2018, Stenhouse seems to be ready to take on the challenges of the new season with vigor and anticipation.

    “I think there’s a lot of things that are looking good for us in 2018,” Stenhouse said. “I think, we ended the season really strong and I think my team has confidence in what we’re gonna be able to do. The cars that we’re building going into the Daytona 500 after winning two speedway races this past season, not looking for our first win is nice, not having that riding on your back. That seemed pretty tough to deal with for a long time and now I don’t have to answer those questions, but now it’s what other race tracks are we gonna win at?”

    Confidence is plentiful around the Stenhouse camp. His two wins in 2017 are making the driver of the No.17 Ford look at other tracks and maybe taking the Roush Fenway organization back to the glory days they had earlier before Stenhouse came along.

    “I definitely want to win at other race tracks, but going into the 500 I feel a lot more confident than I ever have. I always went into the 500 thinking, ‘Hey, lets’ get off to a good start. Let’s have a good points race.’ I never thought about winning the 500. I just thought that I was competing in it and if I won that was cool, but I didn’t really feel I had the confidence that we could.

    “After last season, I feel like going in that is the only goal that we have when we go down there is to win and not just to get a good finish out of it. Until we’re done with Daytona, that’s our number one priority, but we do have a Vegas test coming up that I’m looking forward to.

    “We’ve got a new car that we’re taking out there and we’ve got other cars to kind of judge ourselves off of. I know Kyle Larson is gonna be out there, so some of those cars that were fast on the mile-and-a-half race tracks last year will be out there testing and I’m anxious to kind of see how we stack up with our new car.”

    Stenhouse talked about the strides Roush Fenway Racing has made since the start of last season and why he thinks that 2018 is going to be a good year for them. The cars are better.

    “We worked on a lot of things last year. I think we worked on a lot of things that didn’t work as well,” Stenhouse said. “When I feel we got off a little bit last season it was we were working down a path that we thought there was gonna be some good things at the end of the tunnel. When we got there it just didn’t produce, whether it be the downforce or the grip in the race car we were looking for, so I feel like there was about a month or two that we fell behind of not gaining on it while other teams were continuing to gain. I felt like we fell behind at that point.

    “I felt like we started the Playoffs further behind than we thought, but I thought we ended the season – Martinsville, Phoenix, Texas, Homestead – closer to where we started the year based off of speed. So, I’m looking forward to those things that we worked on. We worked on those things this offseason to hopefully continue that progress, but it’s not gonna be overnight. I think we have focused in on things that we need to be better on.”

    During the offseason, Stenhouse and former girlfriend Danica Patrick parted ways. Much speculation has been voiced over how the two would race together in the Daytona 500. Patrick recently signed a contract to drive in the Great American Race in the No. 7 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet. Will Stenhouse race differently around his former girlfriend?

    “I don’t think I’ll race any different around her,” Stenhouse said. “I try to respect everybody around me, especially at those speedway races. You don’t really want to put anybody in a bad spot because you put the whole field in a bad spot, but I think I’ll go out and race just like I’m racing everybody else and see how it plays out. Heck, when we first started racing together we got in crashes anyway, so it is what it is. I’ll just go out and compete as hard as I can and I plan on putting myself in a position to win the race.”

  • Jimmie Johnson Looks Forward to 2018, Loves His Young Team, and Won’t buy the Panthers

    Jimmie Johnson Looks Forward to 2018, Loves His Young Team, and Won’t buy the Panthers

    CHARLOTTE, NC – Seven-Time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson faces having a new race car (the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1) and a changing Hendrick Motorsports organization. As the seasoned and senior driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, a leadership role emerges, even if last year’s performance was not up to the team’s usual standards. He talked with the press at the annual Charlotte Media Tour being held this week in Charlotte.

    “I went from the young gun. Every time I’d see my name written, it was Rookie Jimmie Johnson,” he said. “Now I’m grandpa. It’s gone fast.”

    Many have looked for reasons why the so-called Super Team didn’t do as well or win as many races as many thought they would. Jimmie’s theory comes down to execution.

    “For us, last year I think we had the right approach entering the season. We just, unfortunately, couldn’t execute like we needed to. This year with all the changes going on internally at Hendrick Motorsports, the debut of the new Camaro for us, I think we’re going to have a better product. I know we’re going to have a better product on the racetrack,” Johnson said.

    “In order to capitalize on all those points, you’ve got to start towards the front. I’ve made a great career out of winning from deep in the field or the back. But the way these points work, that’s just not the case. We need to qualify better.

    We definitely tried last year. Just, unfortunately, couldn’t get there. I feel that this year we’ll have a better product. I should be able to start closer to the front and make that a lot easier.”

    Johnson’s teammates, William Byron, Alex Bowman, and Chase Elliott are close to half his age, but with youth comes enthusiasm, and that’s a trait the “grandpas” have a rough time generating. It’s in good supply at HMS and Johnson thinks that is a valuable thing. He hasn’t given up hope on that eighth championship, either.

    “Enthusiasm? Without a doubt. That fresh blood brings great excitement and it also brings just a different vantage point,” Johnson explained. “When you look at William, for the longest time, like using our simulator, I watch something happen with another driver, that’s just a gaming way to go about it, you can’t do that in the real world. Well, it’s starting to happen in the real world. That new vantage point is really helpful.”

    A new body style car throws a curve at any organization, but Johnson sees the work paying off in the new season. He explains.

    “The effort has been massive to get this right and be as good as we can be,” Johnson said. “But with testing being so minimal, for myself, there’s going to be an adaptation period. I need to understand the side force, how hard I can lean on it. You climb out of the gas, with less downforce, how much it slows down. Trying to find the sweet spot with the car, some minor handling characteristics that go with it.

    “Atlanta, it’s such an abrasive track, and the drivers’ style, so many other things play into the performance there, I think we’ll get a flavor of where we sit. Once we get to the West Coast swing, I think that will really tell us where we sit.”

    Will he buy the Carolina Panthers, the NFL team that is for sale in Charlotte?

    “No, my pockets aren’t that deep. I don’t think they can look at me.”

  • Matt Crafton and Thorsport Move to Ford in 2018

    Matt Crafton and Thorsport Move to Ford in 2018

    CHARLOTTE, NC – In news involving the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Matt Crafton, long seen driving the bright yellow Toyota Tundra, announced that the No. 88 truck would be a Ford F-150 in 2018. How could that affect the team this new season?

    “We’re looking forward to working with Ford and they’re what I started with in NASCAR. In my old Southwest Tour days in 1997 I started racing a Ford out west and that’s all my dad has ever owned and raced, so it’s very exciting for him because he always said whenever I first started racing another manufacturer, ‘I don’t know if I can root for you because I’ve only driven a Ford and you’ve only driven a Ford,’ so I guess now I’ve got a new fan in my dad.”

    Crafton admitted that it was quite a job to switch manufacturers, but work is underway at the shop and going well in converting more than 16 tucks.

    “We have to cut everything off from the windshield bed forward and put all the Ford noses on it and the Ford back half, so there’s a lot going on and those guys are working a lot of hours right now to get this stuff done,” Crafton said. “We have four teams going to Daytona, so two per team, and we’re doing the test tomorrow. So we have one done for that.”

    Crafton said that though Ford will have wind tunnel and aerodynamic help, the late change in manufacturers won’t allow the team to take advantage of any of those services. The change caught him totally by surprise.

    “I had no idea, to be honest. It was definitely something that caught me off guard when they told me what we were doing,” Crafton said. “I was like, ‘Wow, OK.’ I’m very excited about it without a doubt just for the fact of that’s what I started in. That’s what I started my NASCAR career in and that’s what my dad has done and raced all his life.”

    Crafton’s hobby is racing dirt modifieds, and though he didn’t run the Chili Bowl this season (not enough seats available), he plans to do a little of that prior to the big race at the superspeedway. Add to that, Crafton, a former series champion at Thorsport, expressed a common viewpoint on the health of the truck series.

    “I think what we need to do is go to some different places and not just have us racing all the same race tracks,” Crafton said. “It’s great to race with the Cup Series, but, at the same time, we need to go to different places. We need more road courses. If you look in the Cup Series, what races did they sell out? The road courses. Our biggest turnout of the year was a road course. We need another road course, I feel. Maybe another dirt track. Take us to some short tracks and not just all the mile-and-a-halves. There are so many great short tracks that we used to race at. I know NASCAR is in a tough box with those people not having enough capacity in the stands to be able to – you have all the sanctioning fees and the tracks to be able to sell enough seats to be able to pay for those races and a lot of mile-and-a-halves do, so I would definitely like to see us go back to quite a few of these.”

  • Media Tour Day One – Charlotte’s Roval Changed to a Faster, More Challenging Course

    Media Tour Day One – Charlotte’s Roval Changed to a Faster, More Challenging Course

    CONCORD, NC – The Opening day of the 2018 NASCAR Media Tour was held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield area. Most of the Speedway Motorsports tracks were present and held a briefing of different fan-friendly promotions for the coming NASCAR Series races. An exception was the introduction of the road course to be used for the September Bank of America 500. The final layout will be a 17-turn, 2.28-mile Roval.

    The course is faster due to changes in the infield portion of the road course that uses much of the banked oval, much like the Daytona road course. It will be the first time a road course has held a spot in the NASCAR championship Playoffs.

    The removal of two of the final three infield turns before returning to the iconic oval layout promises to give drivers more speed, quicker lap times and more chances to race their way to the front. A 35-foot elevation change between Roval Turn 4, the track’s lowest point, and Roval Turn 9, its highest, means that the winner will literally face highs and lows before “basking in the glow of victory,” according to a press release by the track.

    “With these updates, the Roval is sure to provide the best show for the fans and the most challenging road course race for drivers,” said Marcus Smith, the President and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. “We’ve obtained great feedback over the past year from champion drivers including Mario Andretti and Jeff Gordon, and with their help and a collaborative effort with NASCAR, Charlotte Motor Speedway is proud to showcase this brand-new course on the NASCAR schedule. Fans are going to see a thrill show unlike any other when September rolls around and racing comes to the Roval.”

    At the presentation’s conclusion, media members were allowed to take a ride with professional drivers Christopher Bell, Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett, and Brandon Jones in the new Toyota Camry XSE automobiles.

    The historic racing weekend will be held from September 28-30.

  • Chip Ganassi Racing Ready to Rebound

    Chip Ganassi Racing Ready to Rebound

    With about a month away to the start off the 2018 season, Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) is gearing up for another hopeful season with drivers Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray.

    To start off the new year, CGR added experienced Doug Duchardt as their Chief Operating Officer.

    This upcoming season we’ll see the CGR Chevys in the new Chevy Camaro ZL1 and on some occasions with matching paint schemes as DC Solar extended their sponsorship to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

    Larson had a breakout year last season after winning four races, earning 15 top-five finishes and three poles.

    It is safe to say that Larson and the No. 42 team started their momentum right off the bat from Daytona. Larson finished in 12th, led 16 laps and was in the front of the pack during the closing laps until he ran out of fuel.

    The momentum and energy from the No. 42 team transferred into three straight second-place finishes and finally winning their first race of 2017 at Fontana. The No. 42 team proved throughout the season they could be the Chevy team to pressure the Toyota’s for the championship.

    Unfortunately for Larson and the No. 42 team, the run had to end somewhere. And it was during the most crucial part of the season, the Playoffs.

    NASCAR’s Playoff system did not go their way. After having one of the best cars all season long, Larson’s championship run went up in smoke after blowing an engine during the elimination race at Kansas.

    From there on Larson had three straight DNFs but finished the season off on a high note by earning a top-five finish at Miami.

    The start of 2018 did not start very well for Larson. While running the prestigious Chili Bowl, Larson’s car blew an engine and took him out of the race. It sure would have been fun to see Larson and reigning Chili Bowl winner Christopher Bell duke it out until the end.

    Although Larson had a rough ending to last season and bad luck at the Chili Bowl to start off the new year, Larson should keep his head up and look forward to the 2018 Cup Series. Chad Johnston will be back to serve as his crew chief.

    CGR’s longtime sponsor Target left after the conclusion of last season but the No. 42 team is happy to have Credit One and DC Solar on board for 2018.

    Larson will feature DC Solar at ‘The Clash at Daytona’ for the first time in 2018 and is no stranger to driving them to victory lane.

    “I’m really looking forward to representing DC Solar this season in the Cup series. You can tell Jeff and Paulette are passionate about being here and about racing, so I’m excited to be a part of their first season in NASCAR’s premier series. I’ve won with them once in the Truck Series, so I’m hoping to repeat that a few times this year in Cup.”

    As for Jamie McMurray, the Joplin, Missouri native will be back at CGR for his 12th season. McMurray and the No. 1 team raced their way back into the Playoffs last season.

    The former Daytona 500 champion started off the season by wrecking out of ‘The Great American Race.’ As for the remainder of the season, McMurray and the No. 1 team had three top fives and 17 top 10 finishes.

    McMurray’s first top five of the season came at Talladega when he finished second, a track where he has tasted victory in the past.

    No, the No. 1 team did not have a stellar season like the No. 42 team, but they still had top 15 speed which led them into the Playoffs.

    During the Playoffs, McMurray made it to the Round of 12. The No. 1 team’s championship hopes ended after crashing two straight weeks at Talladega and Kansas.

    Going into the 2018 season McMurray is one of the oldest drivers in the Cup Series. The youth movement will start to show this upcoming season but last month McMurray said he is not going anywhere just yet.

    “My goal is to be able to race for four more years, maybe a little bit more,” McMurray said during Champion’s Week in Las Vegas.

    Returning this upcoming season is crew chief Matt McCall as well as several sponsors which include McDonald’s, Cessna, and GearWrench.

    McMurray will also make several starts in the XFINITY Series, which he has not run since 2013. DC Solar will sponsor McMurray in both the XFINITY and Cup Series.

    “I’m looking forward to racing with DC Solar in Cup this year and a few times with them in the Xfinity Series. Our team has really done a nice job in that series having won with several different drivers the last couple of seasons. I’m also excited to drive a few times in the Cup series with DC Solar on-board and be a part of their first full season in that series. Their enthusiasm for our team and sport is evident and I’m glad that I get to be a part of this growth with them.”

    Follow @MrBrandonRivero for his latest articles

  • New Year, New Look for Hendrick Motorsports

    New Year, New Look for Hendrick Motorsports

    This upcoming season Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) will have a new distinctive look. Not only are they running the new

    Chevy Camaro ZL1, they’ll debut their new paint schemes, and add two youngsters to their lineup.

    Jimmie Johnson will be back in the No. 48 Lowes Chevy Camaro ZL1 and Chase Elliot will make his debut in the No. 9 Napa Auto Parts Chevy Camaro ZL1.

    HMS will also field the new driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevy Camaro ZL1, rookie William Byron. Taking over the No. 88 Nationwide Chevy Camaro ZL1 is Alex Bowman, which has raced in 81 Monster Energy Cup Series races.

    Johnson will begin his 17th full-time Cup Series season. Last season, HMS announced a three-year contract extension for the 42 year old that would keep him in the No. 48 team through 2020.

    “I’ve said it before and continued to say that when the fire does go out, I will step down,” Johnson said. “I don’t have any framework now on a timeline. I just know that I’ve got three more years of trying to go out there and win championships and win races. I’m as hungry as I’ve ever been and as focused and dedicated on doing my job.”

    Johnson and the No. 48 team went to victory lane three times, scored four top-five finishes, and finished tenth in the point standings.

    The No. 48 team’s championship hopes ended at Phoenix when Johnson blew a tire and took them out of the race.

    Johnson is a seven-time champion with 83 career wins and is pursuing to capture an eighth championship in 2018.

    The 2017 season was Elliot’s second full-time season in the Cup Series. Elliot did not make it to victory lane but finished second five times.

    Even though Elliot did not win a race, he made it far into the playoffs. Elliot finished second at Phoenix, making him a position shy of racing in the Championship 4 at Miami.

    Elliot had the opportunity to test the new Camaro ZL1 earlier this month. “Behind the wheel it’s really hard to tell what changes are when you are out there by yourself,” Elliott said during a break in a Goodyear tire test at Texas Motor Speedway. “I think the changes will probably become more apparent, hopefully, when we get to say Atlanta or get to some of the tracks that the changes are going to become important at.”

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
    Bank of America 500
    Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, NC USA
    Thursday 5 October 2017
    Hendrick Motorsports 2018 Daytona 500 cars unveil.
    World Copyright: Nigel Kinrade
    NKP

    This season, the Dawsonville native will begin his third full-time season in the No. 9 Napa Auto Parts Chevy Camaro ZL1.

    The 22 year old has been close to winning races already so don’t be surprised to see him in victory lane a couple times next season and make another run for a championship.

    Bowman will be taking over the No. 88 Nationwide Chevy Camaro ZL1. Bowman, 24, made his Cup Series debut in 2014 for BK Racing.

    After running the 2015 season for Tommy Baldwin Racing, Bowman lost his cup ride.

    In 2016 while Dale Earnhardt Jr was injured, Bowman was named the interim driver of the No. 88. In the ten races Bowman ran, he earned three top-ten finishes and a pole.

    Last season, Bowman ran two races in the XFINITY Series for Chip Ganassi Racing and captured a victory at Charlotte.

    Bowman is excited and ready to start the 2018 season. “I definitely just want to get there and get going, just so I can mentally be like, ‘OK, I’m fine, I didn’t forget how to drive a race car,’” Bowman said.

    Bowman may not have been in a racecar for a while, but has experience in the Cup Series and it may lead him to victory lane in the 2018 season.

    The flames are back on the No. 24 car and this time it will be driven by Charlotte, North Carolina native William Byron. Byron will make his Cup Series debut next month at Daytona.

    The 19 year old is coming off an XFINITY Series championship and is ready to prove his dominance in the Cup Series.

    “I’m going to try to win and compete hard for wins and championships,” he said. “I think we’re really qualified to do that at Hendrick Motorsports and I have a lot of great people around me.”

    Byron started off his racing career on iRacing. After having success online, he began racing legend cars at the age of 15 and since then has proven himself up in the ranks.

    In 2016, Byron won seven times in the Truck Series. Last year, Byron won four races in the XFINITY Series and won the championship.

    Byron has showed skill and knowledge behind the wheel these last couple of years. Don’t be surprised to see him pull into victory lane as a rookie in the Cup Series.

    Follow @MrBrandonRivero for his latest articles

  • The Players – The Best Teams’ 2018 Lineup in NASCAR Cup

    The Players – The Best Teams’ 2018 Lineup in NASCAR Cup

    It’s only a short time until the annual Media Tour at the Hall of Fame in Charlotte. We will learn a lot there, but a couple things are obvious. There will be 24 major teams running next year (10 Fords, nine Chevrolets, and five Toyotas). Each camp has stars in their lineup, but Toyota’s dominance of the 2017 season (with only six competitive cars) is favored. Let’s look at each team’s lineup.

    Chevrolet has the four Hendrick Motorsports cars. HMS fell on hard times last year despite their dominance for several years. Jimmie Johnson will be back in the Lowe’s Camaro. You read that right. The older SS they have fun the last few years is no longer being manufactured, so a change had to be made. Besides, finding a dealer with a Chevy SS was about as hard as finding a needle in a haystack anyway. After Johnson, the rest of the team will be made up of a group of youngsters. Chase Elliott is back, this time taking his father’s No. 9, William Byron, in the 24, and Alex Bowman in the 88. Of this team, only Johnson has ever won a Cup race. You might call this a rebuilding year for HMS.

    Richard Childress Racing will field the 31 for Ryan Newman, the 3 for Austin Dillon, and the 27, with the driver rumored to be Brennan Poole, but nothing has been announced. Both Newman and Dillon won races last year.

    Chip Ganassi Racing will feature Kyle Larson in the 42, coming off an excellent season. Jamie McMurray will be back in the No. 1 Chevrolet.

    Ford will field one more competitive car in 2018. Team Penske has expanded to three cars with Brad Keselowski in the No. 2 and Joey Logano in the No.22 Fords. Ryan Blaney, who earned his first victory in 2017 with the Wood Brothers will pilot the No. 12 Ford. The team’s alliance with the Wood Brothers continues with Paul Menard taking over the driving chores. Penske bought a charter for the No. 12 from Roush Fenway Racing, meaning the No. 16 is not coming back. The Charter was leased to the No. 37 JTG Daugherty team last year.

    Roush Fenway will see their improved team have the same driver lineup. Trevor Bayne in the No. 6 and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in the No. 17. Stenhouse won two restrictor plate races in 2017 and Bayne won the Daytona 500 in 2011.

    Stewart-Haas Racing will see it’s lineup jumbled somewhat. The Ford team will have Aric Almirola move over from the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 and drive the No. 10, formerly driven by Danica Patrick. Otherwise, things stay the same with 2017 Final Four driver Kevin Harvick in the No.4, Clint Bowyer in the 14, and Kurt Busch in the 41.

    Toyota saw its field go down a car this year. The Joe Gibbs Racing stable will have the 11 with Denny Hamlin, the 19 with Daniel Suarez, the 18 with Kyle Busch, and Erik Jones, who raced for Furniture Row Racing in 2017 in the No. 20. Much like Team Penske does with the Wood Brothers, Furniture Row and 2017 champ Martin Truex, Jr. will field the 78 Toyota. Furniture Row did not have sponsorship for the No. 77 car, so Toyota’s stable goes from six to five for 2018

    These are the teams that I predict will land in victory lane in 2018. Oh, we may get a surprise winner, but these 24 teams will battle race in and race out for the checkers. We will know more in a couple of weeks when the teams meet with the media in Charlotte, but this how I see it now. A big hole was left in the sport with the retirements of Dale Earnhardt Jr, Danica Patrick and Matt Kenseth at the end of the year. How many will stay away from the sport because these drivers are not in the lineup? Time will tell.

  • A Well-Deserved Opportunity for Ryan Truex

    A Well-Deserved Opportunity for Ryan Truex

    The NASCAR XFINITY Series should be exciting to watch this upcoming season. With several different driver changes, there is another driver back in the Series for 2018.

    Less than a week ago, Hattori Racing Enterprises announced that twenty-five-year-old Ryan Truex would not be returning to their team in 2018. After his best career season in the Truck Series, the two time NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion was left without a ride going into 2018.

    But the anxiety and insecurity about not having a ride for 2018 quickly ended for Truex. XFINITY Series team Kaulig Racing announced that Truex would be the new full-time driver of the No. 11 car next season.

    The last two seasons, Blake Koch piloted the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro and drove them to the XFINITY Series playoffs. Though Koch made it into the postseason, they had a lot of mediocre runs and it only led them to one pole and 10 top-10 finishes in the last two seasons.

    Truex was impressive in the Truck Series last season, not only did he have two poles, eight top-five, and thirteen top-10 finishes, he had fast trucks that allowed him to lead 115 laps and get a second-place finish at Loudon.

    The younger brother of last year’s Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. finally had a full-time Truck Series ride and made the best out of that opportunity. Although Truex did not win a race last season or make the Playoffs, he had the most consistent season of his career in one of NASCAR’s top three national series.

    As for this season coming up, Truex landed a ride that he truly deserved. Considering that he has had an up and down career over the last several years with different teams, 2018 should be a terrific opportunity to showcase his talents.

    Kaulig Racing couldn’t be more excited to bring a driver that had a stellar season and hopefully brings momentum to their team.

    “When we started this team two years ago I knew we had the potential to be one of the strongest teams in the XFINITY Series and I think we’re within reach of that goal. Ryan is going to be a great addition to the team and I have some high hopes for this season. Each year we keep improving as a team and I think this season we’ll be able to get some wins and make another run in the playoffs. Everyone at Kaulig Racing is excited to have Ryan on board and it should be a great, fun year.”

    Follow @MrBrandonRivero for his latest articles

  • Truck Racing Calendar for 2018: X Events You Won’t Want to Miss

    Truck Racing Calendar for 2018: X Events You Won’t Want to Miss

    As we roll into the New Year, that can only mean one thing for truck enthusiasts, and that’s a whole new year worth of exciting truck racing events that you won’t want to miss out. While there are all kinds of different truck racing circuits out there, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series tends to be the hottest. With that in mind, we’ve gone ahead and compiled a list of the top races in 2018 that you won’t want to miss out on.

    2018 NextEra Energy Resources 250

    The 2018 NextEra Energy Resources 250 will be taking place at Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL on Feb. 16. This race takes place right before the ultra-popular and world-famous Daytona 500. This one is known for having close finishes and features 100 laps. The track can be quite wild at times, which makes for some pretty exciting racing.

    2018 Nevada 350

    Taking place on March 2 is the 2018 Nevada 350 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, NV. The track is 1.5 miles in length and is classed as intermediate level, which means you’re in for an exciting race. Thanks to this track’s close proximity to the strip in Las Vegas, you can also make a whole vacation out of it if you choose.

    2018 Michigan 200

    The 2018 Michigan 200 taking place at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI on Aug. 11 and is another must-see race. This one takes place on a track that is two miles in length and is classed as a superspeedway. This track is extremely fast and exciting, which certainly helps to draw the crowds. It is actually considered one of the top tracks in the entire country and is constantly getting improvements.

    2018 UNOH 200

    Taking place just a few days later on Aug. 15 is the 2018 UNOH 200 race that will take place at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN. What makes this race unique is the fact the track is extremely short, just 0.53 miles, so you can expect lots of turns and excitement.

    2018 Ford EcoBoost 200

    If you want to catch the final race of the season, then it will take place on Nov. 16 and is the 2018 Ford EcoBoost 200. This race takes place at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, FL. This track is classed as intermediate and is 1.5 miles in length, making it the perfect track to host the final race.

    Take Your Passion and Love for Races to New Levels

    Why not take that love for races to a new level and check out how you may be able to boost the performance of your own truck or car? The blacksmokemedia.com site is the perfect place to find information such as “how to make a TDI roll coal”, learn about exhaust systems, how to improve the performance of your engine, and so much more.

    Mark Them on Your Calendar

    So now that you’ve got a list of all the most exciting truck races in 2018, you’ll be able to mark them down on the calendar, so they won’t be missed.