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  • Wallace on Cup Debut – ‘I did okay, but I want to be better’

    Wallace on Cup Debut – ‘I did okay, but I want to be better’

    Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Pocono Raceway Sunday in the historic No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. There were a few bumps along the way but he characterized it as “a wonderful day for me, a wonderful day for the sport.”

    Wallace is filling in for Aric Almirola who was injured May 13 at Kansas Speedway, suffering a compression fracture that will sideline him for approximately two to three months.

    Although he said he was not nervous during the race, the emotions of the day caught up to him shortly after getting out of the car when he fainted during a media interview.

    “It’s happened three times now where I’m very hard on myself, Wallace said, “and I’m super pissed off at myself, and I’m just so mad I just pass out. Competitive.”

    Most of the day’s frustrations were a result of multiple penalties for speeding on pit road which put him a lap down. In preparation for his next race at Michigan International Speedway, the team will focus on practicing pit stops.

    “I’m so used to analog tachs and everything, and this digital stuff I’ve got to figure out.  I’ll say I’m not a fan of it right now,” he admitted. “It’s jumping around too much. You just don’t get a true feel of what you’re running down pit road. A lot of other guys say it’s fine, so I’ve just got to figure out what I’ve got to do better.”

    Wallace also realizes that it will take time to become accustomed to the feel and speed of the Cup cars.

    His goal is to become “more comfortable in these cars, having the raw speed. I was figuring some things out, figuring out which tire I could feel out there, and that was really cool, as opposed to the XFINITY car, I was talking to Blaney before, you’re kind of just sliding around, not really in the racetrack. Here you can feel each tire, so I was kind of pumped up about that, so some things to keep in the memory bank and talk at the debrief about to see how we can be better. At the end of the day, it was my first race.”

    “I did okay, but I want to be better.”

    It was not exactly the race he wanted to run but Wallace is having the time of his life.

    “I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a little kid, being in the Cup Series, and now it’s here, and I made a name for myself. I thought I ran a pretty decent race, just kind of running there by myself, passed a couple people, tried not to make anybody too mad, and hopefully earned a lot of respect from those guys out there. I definitely had a blast.”

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Keselowski Swipes Pocono XFINITY Victory

    Keselowski Swipes Pocono XFINITY Victory

    By Reid Spencer | NASCAR.com

    LONG POND, Pa. — With a dramatic last-lap pass — the first of the season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series — Brad Keselowski won Saturday’s Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway, ending a 46-race drought for the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

    Keselowski swept the stages in the 100-lap event but couldn’t get past leader Kyle Larson until he reached the Long Pond straightaway on the final circuit. Keselowski powered off the first turn, down-shifted and blew past Larson before the cars reached the Tunnel Turn.

    Justin Allgaier followed Keselowski past Larson and finished second, .615 seconds behind the race winner. Larson came home third, followed by Elliott Sadler and Daniel Suarez.

    Keselowski’s victory didn’t come without a fight. On a restart with 16 laps left, after a caution for Brandon Jones’ blown left rear tire and a frontstetch wreck on Lap 78, Keselowski was on the inside of the front row, taking the green flag beside race leader Cole Custer.

    A push from Elliott Sadler got Keselowski to the front, but Sadler continued the shove into Turn 1. Keselowski sailed high in the corner, narrowly keeping the no. 22 Mustang off the wall.

    “I got a good push, but the push didn’t stop, and I found myself in the third lane in Turn 1, which is somewhere you don’t want to be,” said Keselowski, who fell back to 13th in the running order. “I got down there and my rear tires were off the ground and went straight, trying not to back it into the wall. With fewer than 16 laps to get back to the front, Keselowski began to bully his way through the field. He split the two cars of Brendan Gaughan and polesitter Kyle Benjamin, bouncing off both in the process.

    By Lap 97 he had reeled in Allgaier, and when the No. 7 Chevrolet slipped slightly, Keselowski charged past and took off after Larson. Then came the winning pass in Turn 1.

    “I drove by a bunch of cars and just pushed as hard as I could,” Keselowski said of his closing. “It looked like Kyle’s car was struggling just a little bit and he was getting tight in the middle, loose off. He was doing a really good job holding it low so I couldn’t get a run. Just on the last lap, I got on his bumper and got him loose.

    “He was trying to do the side draft thing down the backstretch and all the way down the apron. That had to look pretty cool. Hell of a race. Really happy for the 22 team. It’s been a while.”

    When Keselowski dropped back on the final restart, Larson found himself in a surprising position.

    “I was not expecting to get the lead on that restart,” Larson said. “Elliott gave Brad too good a push in Turn 1, and then Elliott overshot the Tunnel Turn.”

    After charging past Sadler on the restart lap, Larson protected his position until the first corner of the last lap.

    “I couldn’t get back to the gas as quick as I wanted to — my car was just plowing — and Brad got a great run off the corner,” Larson said.

    Allgaier was disappointed with second place, but he had the consolation of assuming the series lead by one point over Sadler. Those two drivers are light years ahead of their JR Motorsports teammate, William Byron, who stands third, 62 points behind Allgaier.

    On the eve of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. finished 11th in his last scheduled ride in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Mustang.

    Wallace finishes his stint with RFR fourth in the series standings, 88 points behind the leader.

    Benjamin led 28 laps in his second NASCAR XFINITY Series race – one fewer than Keselowski’s 29 – but fell back to 16th at the finish after the late contact with the eventual race winner.

     Race results | Series standings

  • Kyle Busch Soars to Coors Light Pole at Pocono

    Kyle Busch Soars to Coors Light Pole at Pocono

    LONG POND, Pa. — Running his fastest lap of the day in the final round of Friday’s knockout qualifying, Kyle Busch won the pole position for Sunday’s Axalta presents the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway (3 p.m. ET on FS1) by a comfortable margin.

    The only driver to top 179 mph in three rounds of time trials, Busch covered the 2.5-mile distance at the triangular track in 50.237 seconds (179.151 mph) to earn his second Coors Light Pole Award of the season, his third at Pocono and the 21st of his career.

    In the money round, Busch powered his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to a .171-second over fellow Camry driver Martin Truex Jr. (178.543 mph). As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season enters its second half, Busch and Truex, the series leader, will start 1-2 for their second straight race, having qualified first and second, respectively, at Dover.

    Despite slipping slightly at the entrance to Turn 3, Busch gained substantial time through that corner.

    “I thought I got through Turn 1 pretty good,” said Busch, whose crew chief, Adam Stevens, is serving a four-week suspension because the left rear tire on Busch’s car fell off (because of unattached lugs) during the team’s first pit stop last week at Dover. “I thought I got through Turn 2 just OK, and entering Turn 3, I felt I slipped a little too much, actually.

    “As it stopped slipping, I was like, ‘Wow, it’s got great grip right now — go!’ I was able to get the gas down and stick really well off Turn 3. I did notice that I was able to shift early and felt like I got a really good exit there. I didn’t know how good a lap it was going to be. It took forever to pop up on my screen.

    “And once they said it was a 50.20, I said ‘Well, that’s faster than the last round. Hopefully, that’s good enough.’”

    Matt Kenseth qualified third, as Toyotas grabbed the top three spots on the grid. The three Fords of Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski followed in fourth through sixth. Kyle Larson, who ran the fastest lap in the first round (178.625 mph), was seventh in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

    “The first round was really good for us,” Larson said. “Our Target Chevy drove really nice. I didn’t even feel like I was driving hard. So, the second round, I tried to get a little more, and I just got loose into (Turn) 1 and screwed up my whole lap.

    “And then the third round there, I backed my entry up into (Turn) 1 and still got loose in but was able to get to the bottom, and then I just got really tight off of (Turn) 1 and it killed my lap. Turns 2 and 3 are pretty good, but I just killed it there in Turn 1.”

    Jamie McMurray, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman were eighth, ninth and 10th.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start at the rear of the field after over-revving his engine during Friday’s opening practice, necessitating a change of the power plant. Under NASCAR’s one-engine rule, that means a mandatory start at the back.

    “I blew the engine up,” Earnhardt explained in a tweet. “Went into 2nd gear (aiming for fourth) and grenaded it. Will have to start last Sunday… Our rev limiter is 9500. It turned 12,615 before it gave up.”

    Earnhardt ran one lap in the first round of qualifying and was 28th fastest, but he will drop to the rear for the green flag.

    “If there’s a race track you’ve got to start in the back and not have a very good pit selection, this is the one to do that at,” Earnhardt said after his run. “Since we’re required to start on the tires we qualify on, we really just planned on making one lap. We went out there and we had our car set-up like we are going to try to start tomorrow (for practice) in race trim.

    “We just went out there and made one single lap to really kind of get a directional idea of where we want to go tomorrow. It allowed us to take pictures of our car and know where the travels and everything is. That way we don’t put any more laps on our tires that we have to start on Sunday.”

    Race lineup 

  • Larson Fastest in First Cup Practice at Pocono

    Larson Fastest in First Cup Practice at Pocono

    Kyle Larson topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Pocono Raceway.

    The driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was the fastest with a time of 50.758 and a speed of 177.312 mph. Kyle Busch was second in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 50.780 and a speed of 177.235 mph. Matt Kenseth was third in his No. 20 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 50.865 and a speed of 176.935 mph. Kevin Harvick was fourth in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 50.966 and a speed of 176.588 mph. Joey Logano rounded out the top-five in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a time of 50.973 and a speed of 176.564 mph.

    Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-10.

    Trevor Bayne, who ran the 27th fastest single lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 168.195 mph.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered engine problems after eight laps early in the session and changed motors. He’ll start from the tail-end of the field on Sunday.

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  • Pocono Raceway – Did You Know?

    Pocono Raceway – Did You Know?

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the XFINITY Series head to Pocono Raceway this week while the Camping World Truck Series travels to Texas Motor Speedway. The Cup Series “Axalta presents the Pocono 400” headlines the weekend’s competition, Sunday at 3 p.m. on FS1. Thirty-nine drivers are entered in the Cup event.

    But did you know that one of those 39 drivers is Darrell Wallace Jr., who will make his Cup Series debut at Pocono in the iconic No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford? On Monday, Wallace was named as the interim driver for Aric Almirola who is recovering from injuries sustained in an accident at Kansas Speedway on May 13.

    Wallace is determined to make the most of this opportunity.

    “I know I’ll go out there and prove to everybody inside the racetrack, outside the racetrack, on the TV, that I belong in the Cup Series,” he said. “Do the best that I can.  Give an extra 200% each and every time I climb in the car for Ford, for Richard Petty, for everybody on the team, for Smithfield, to go out there and make the opportunity the greatest it has been.”

    Did you know that the weekend will feature another first during the XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250? FOX will feature a special drivers-only broadcast that will be called by active Cup Series drivers? Kevin Harvick will handle the play-by-play announcing and will be joined by Joey Logano and Clint Bowyers as analysts. Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will cover pit road while Danica Patrick and Denny Hamlin host the event coverage from the Hollywood Hotel studio.

    While we’re talking about firsts, we can’t forget the winner of the inaugural race in 1974, Richard Petty. But did you know that prior to 2012, all of the Cup races at Pocono were 500 miles? Beginning in 2012 the race length was shortened to 400 miles. There have been 78 Cup Series races at the 2.5-mile track, one race each year from 1974-1981 and two races per year since 1982.

    Thirty-five different drivers have won at Pocono with Jeff Gordon leading the way with six wins. Of the active drivers, five have multiple wins at the track including Denny Hamlin (four), Jimmie Johnson (three), and Kurt Busch (three). Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. both have two wins.

    Kurt Busch is the defending race winner but did you know he has the series-best driver rating (105.7)? The Stewart-Haas Racing driver also has 13 top fives, 18 top 10s and two poles at Pocono. He is currently 16th in the points standings.

    Denny Hamlin (105.6) has the second-best driver rating followed by Jimmie Johnson (104.8), Chase Elliott (102.7) and Kyle Larson (95.6). All of these drivers are in the top-10 of the series standings but both Hamlin and Elliott are still searching for their first win this year.

    But did you know that the best chance for victory at Pocono begins with qualifying well? The pole is the most proficient starting position, having produced 15 winners while nine races have been won from the second starting position.

    Only seven drivers have swept Pocono in a single season. They include Bobby Allison (1982), Bill Elliott (1985), Tim Richmond (1986), Bobby Labonte (1999), Jimmie Johnson (2004) and Denny Hamlin (2006).

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the latest to sweep Pocono in 2014. In his past 11 starts at the track, Earnhardt has nine top-10 finishes including two wins and a runner-up finish last June.

    Tune in to FS1 this Sunday at 3 p.m. for the Pocono 400 to find out who will take home the trophy. In the meantime, watch the video below as Earnhardt holds off Kevin Harvick for the Pocono sweep.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

  • Kyle Larson finishes off dominant NASCAR XFINITY Series run at Dover

    Kyle Larson finishes off dominant NASCAR XFINITY Series run at Dover

    By Reid Spencer
    NASCAR Wire Service

    DOVER, Del. – Saturday’s One Main Financial 200 ended as it started – as a two-man show with polesitter Kyle Larson on top.

    Larson and Ryan Blaney were in a class by themselves at Dover International Speedway in the 11th NASCAR XFINITY Series race of the season. In winning for the third time in six starts this season, Larson led 137 of the 200 laps to Blaney’s 28.

    In fact, Larson now has three wins, a second and a third this season for an average finish of 2.5 – numbers that could rival those of another Kyle, XFINITY Series all-time victory leader Kyle Busch.

    “Our cars have been really good on both sides, (Monster Energy NASCAR) Cup and XFINITY,” Larson said. “Especially XFINITY, we’ve been extremely good. We’ve done a really good job adjusting to this new (lower-downforce) aero package.

    “This is the best car I’ve had here. At a lot of the tracks we’ve gone to, it seems like this is the best XFINITY car I’ve had this time around. Just a lot of fun. Hats off to (crew chief Mike) Shiplett and the rest of the mechanics at the shop and the engineers – the real reason I’m getting to run up front more often.”

    A first-time winner at Dover, Larson collected the eighth victory of his career, finishing 1.173 seconds ahead of Blaney. Third-place Daniel Suarez crossed the stripe 14.078 seconds behind the race winner.

    Cole Custer ran fourth, followed by Ryan Reed and William Byron, but Byron got the biggest consolation prize. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate collected a $100,000 bonus as the highest-finishing series regular among four drivers eligible for the prize in the last of four Dash 4 Cash events this season.

    But the day belonged to Larson, who led the first 63 laps and had to win a drag race with Blaney to secure victory in the first 60-lap stage. After the second stage, won by Darrell Wallace Jr., divergent pit strategies shuffled Larson and Blaney to 13th and 14th, respectively, for a restart on Lap 128.

    To Blaney, that was the key moment in the race, as his No. 22 Ford lost positions in a near-wreck with Wallace and couldn’t close on Larson despite a subsequent restart on Lap 141, after Blake Koch tangled with Daniel Hemric and Brennan Poole and nosed into the inside wall.

    “We almost got wrecked when the 6 (Wallace) got loose below whoever that was, the white car (the No. 90 of Brandon Brown), and that actually cost us the race,” Blaney said. “That allowed Larson to get by us, and he set sail from there, even though there was another restart.

    “He was about three rows ahead of us, and I couldn’t run him down by the time I got to second.”

     

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – OneMain Financial 200
    Dover International Speedway
    Dover, Delaware
    Saturday, June 3, 2017
    1. (1) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 200.
    2. (2) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, 200.
    3. (3) Daniel Suarez(i), Toyota, 200.
    4. (14) Cole Custer #, Ford, 200.
    5. (17) Ryan Reed, Ford, 200.
    6. (8) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 200.
    7. (9) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200.
    8. (18) Darrell Wallace Jr., Ford, 200.
    9. (6) Matt Tifft #, Toyota, 200.
    10. (11) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 200.
    11. (12) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
    12. (5) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 199.
    13. (10) Daniel Hemric #, Chevrolet, 199.
    14. (23) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 199.
    15. (26) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 199.
    16. (19) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 199.
    17. (32) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 199.
    18. (25) Ben Kennedy #, Chevrolet, 199.
    19. (22) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 198.
    20. (15) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 198.
    21. (20) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 198.
    22. (28) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 197.
    23. (29) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 197.
    24. (34) Ray Black II, Chevrolet, 191.
    25. (40) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 191.
    26. (27) Jordan Anderson(i), Chevrolet, Suspension, 188.
    27. (33) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, Track Bar, 176.
    28. (7) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, Power Steering, 175.
    29. (13) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, Parked, 174.
    30. (21) Dylan Lupton, Toyota, 170.
    31. (24) Spencer Gallagher #, Chevrolet, 166.
    32. (16) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, Steering, 135.
    33. (36) David Starr, Chevrolet, 107.
    34. (31) Chad Finchum, Chevrolet, Engine, 105.
    35. (4) Erik Jones(i), Toyota, Engine, 100.
    36. (39) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, Overheating, 99.
    37. (30) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, Engine, 91.
    38. (35) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Handling, 50.
    39. (37) Timmy Hill, Toyota, Accident, 39.
    40. (38) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Electrical, 13.

    Average Speed of Race Winner: 96.709 mph.

    Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 04 Mins, 05 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.173 Seconds.

    Caution Flags: 10 for 45 laps.

    Lead Changes: 7 among 6 drivers.

    Lap Leaders: K. Larson(i) 1-63; A. Dillon(i) 64-67; K. Larson(i) 68-87; R. Blaney(i) 88-115; D. Wallace Jr. 116-122; R. Reed 123-127; D. Suarez(i) 128-146; K. Larson(i) 147-200.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Larson(i) 3 times for 137 laps; R. Blaney(i) 1 time for 28 laps; D. Suarez(i) 1 time for 19 laps; D. Wallace Jr. 1 time for 7 laps; R. Reed 1 time for 5 laps; A. Dillon(i) 1 time for 4 laps.

    Stage #1 Top Ten: 42,22,20,9,48,1,7,6,21,16

    Stage #2 Top Ten: 6,22,1,7,42,9,21,48,11,14

  • Austin Cindric Captures First Top Five at Dover

    Austin Cindric Captures First Top Five at Dover

    Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 19 LTi Printing Ford for Brad Keselowski Racing was looking for his first career win of the season. However, a few challenges would be thrown the team’s way during Friday’s Bar Harbor 200 presented by Sea Watch International at Dover International Speedway.

    Cindric started the race in the fourth position. He would lose a few spots on the initial start and that would eventually cost him playoff points in the first stage. Cindric ended up finishing 11th in Stage 1. With a solid pit stop by the pit crew, Cindric restarted in the fourth position in Stage 2.

    After a somewhat disappointing Stage 1, Cindric made up for it by finishing fifth in the second segment, giving him six playoff points. Cindric would remain there for the rest of the race and wound up finishing in the top five. It was his first career top five finish and his second top 10 of his rookie season.

    Cindric was please with his top five run, saying, “Well I leave that up to Doug Randolph (crew chief), for good reason. I was really lucky to be out there contending for a win on the lead lap. I got a bit tough restart there. I had guys all over my door and I think we were tight firing off, tighter than we thought we were going to be. There’s a reason they call it the “Monster Mile.”

    “I’m definitely worn out and it was a whole lot of fun and I hope I can come back here and have another good run.”

     

  • Dover International Speedway – Did You Know?

    Dover International Speedway – Did You Know?

    This week, NASCAR travels to Dover International Speedway for events in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the XFINITY Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. The Cup Series AAA 400 Drive for Autism will close out the weekend’s competition Sunday at 1 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.

    There have been 94 Cup races with 35 different winners at Dover. The first Cup Series race was held on July 6, 1969, and was won by Richard Petty. David Pearson captured the inaugural pole and leads all drivers with six poles. But did you know that he also holds the record for most consecutive poles at Dover? From 1973 to the spring of 1974, he scored three straight poles.

    Matt Kenseth is the defending race winner and heads to Dover hoping for a repeat performance. Last year the Joe Gibbs Racing driver held off a relentless Kyle Larson, leading the final 47 laps in his No. 20 Toyota to capture the checkered flag. He has three wins, 17 top fives and 14 top 10s at the 1-mile track with a 108.6 driver rating, second only to Jimmie Johnson. But did you know that Kenseth posted his first career Coors Light Pole at Dover in 2002?

    Johnson is the undisputed master at the Monster Mile with a track-record 10 wins, the series-best driver rating (118.3) as well as the best average running position (7.8). In addition, the Hendrick Motorsports driver has 15 tops fives, 21 top 10s, and three poles. But did you know that if Johnson can pull off another win this weekend, he will become only the third Cup Series driver to win 11 or more races at a single track?

    Richard Petty has done it at four different tracks, Martinsville (15), North Wilkesboro (15), Richmond (13) and Rockingham (11). Darrell Waltrip has accomplished this feat twice with 12 victories at Bristol and 11 at Martinsville.

    Kyle Busch, winless this season, enters Dover with an opportunity to turn things around. He has the third-best driver (105.4), 11 top fives and 15 top 10s. With two victories, in 2008 and 2010, and a runner-up finish in the 2016 fall race after leading 102 laps, look for Busch to be a top contender. But did you know that if he leads 59 laps on Sunday, he will become the 11th Cup Series driver to lead 13,000 or more laps?

    The best chance to claim the trophy at Dover is to qualify on the front row. Thirteen of the 94 races have been won from the pole (13.8 percent) while 16 have been won from second place (17 percent).

    The AAA 400 Drive for Autism broadcast begins at 1 p.m. ET, Sunday, on FS1. Be sure to tune in early as this year’s pre-race activities will include special events to honor Richard Petty’s upcoming 80th birthday including a custom made cake to replicate the 1969 Ford that he drove to victory lane in the 1969 inaugural race plus a question and answer session. Petty will also drive a street-ready No. 43 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird tribute car around the track before the green flag drops.

    In the meantime, check out the video below as Kenseth and Larson battle for the lead in the final laps.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Hall of Fame Inductees Hornaday, Squier, Yates Surprised by Nominations

    Hall of Fame Inductees Hornaday, Squier, Yates Surprised by Nominations

    CONCORD, N.C. — On May 24, 2017, five new inductees were announced for the 2018 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Three of the future Hall of Famers, Ron Hornaday Jr., Ken Squier, and Robert Yates, visited Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon to speak with the media.

    Hornaday has a record four Truck Series championships with 51 wins. He also holds the all-time record for top fives, with 158, and top 10s, with 234. Dale Earnhardt gave the Californian native his first opportunity in the Truck Series and he has continued the tradition by allowing young drivers to stay at his home while they pursue racing, most notably, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick.

    He was humbled by his nomination.

    “I am the one person who shouldn’t be here,” Hornaday said. I quit racing three or four times. But Lindy (wife) always found enough money to go to the next race. In 1994, (Dale) Earnhardt called me to drive his truck. I have got a lot of people to thank – the sponsors, the people who put a lug nut on the car, the receptionist, all of the owners. This is just quite an honor. This is unbelievable.”

    Squier was one of NASCAR’s original broadcasters in its formative years. He transformed calling a race into an art form, painting a picture with his words as he captivated his audience. He began his career with Motor Racing Network in 1970 but is probably best-known for his coverage on CBS of the 1979 Daytona 500, a pivotal moment in NASCAR’s history.

    He went on to work with both CBS and TBS until 1997 before becoming the host for NASCAR broadcasts until 2000. In 2012 NASCAR created the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence. Squier and Motor Racing Radio’s Barney Hall were the inaugural winners.

    Squier seemed surprised by the nomination and began by saying,  “Being honored in this way by the people who support this sport is beyond belief. I’m just overwhelmed with the fact that the media gets this kind of play. And, it does play an important factor in growing this sport. To think that I represent (the media) is a bit overwhelming.”

    Photo Credit: Tommy Dampier

    Robert Yates excelled at both engine building and team ownership. He won 77 races as an engine builder and 57 as a team owner. He began his career at Holman-Moody Racing in 1968 and got his “big break” in 1971 when Hall of Famer Junior Johnson hired him. He provided engines for Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough before putting together his own team in the late 1980s.

    He found success with driver Davey Allison who won the 1995 Daytona 500 and finished third in the standings that year. Yates expanded to a two-car team in 1996 with drivers Dale Jarrett and Ernie Irvan with Jarrett winning the Daytona 500 that year. In 1999, Jarrett won the series championship. Today, his son, Doug, continues the family tradition as a top engine builder. Last year Doug announced that his father has been diagnosed with liver cancer.

    Yates said the nomination was unexpected, “I would have bet money that I would have had to wait another year. When they called me first, my heart must have missed one beat. I didn’t know it could miss three beats. I think if I was a driver like Richard Petty who won 200 races, I would have said, sure, they should be here. I didn’t expect this.”

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

  • “Logan Lucky” Co-Star Channing Tatum Makes a Return Visit to Charlotte Motor Speedway

    “Logan Lucky” Co-Star Channing Tatum Makes a Return Visit to Charlotte Motor Speedway

    Movie star Channing Tatum, a co-star in “Logan Lucky” and the grand marshal of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, met with media prior to opening ceremonies for the 600-mile event.

    Tatum plays a prominent role in the film. “Logan Lucky” is a heist comedy filmed at the speedway, directed by Steven Soderberg and slated for release Aug. 18. The film co-stars Adam Driver, Riley Keough, Daniel Craig, Hilary Swank, Seth MacFarlane and Katie Holmes.

    Tatum’s Sunday plans included a visit in the pre-race driver’s meeting and giving the “Drivers, Start Your Engines” command before the race. After having visited the speedway last year to film the movie, Tatum’s return trip gave him another chance to witness NASCAR on a personal level.

    “We were shooting the Magic Mike sequel (in 2014) and were planning on writing something about some good old boys and NASCAR,” Tatum said.  It was just simple ingenuity. We just wanted to get it done. I thought, “Hey, that sounds fun. Let’s do it.”

    Getting to grand marshal (the Coca-Cola 600), getting to see the whole backdrop of it (is amazing). I never really had a relationship with NASCAR other than what you saw on television. It always seemed so big and so grand. When you get to see behind it, there are like NASCAR physicists working on theses cars. It’s pretty fascinating.

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    Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards (not pictured), Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson will have cameos in the upcoming movie, “Logan Lucky” although none will portray NASCAR drivers. Photo by Stephanie McLaughlin/OnPitRoad.com