The NASCAR Xfinity Series will compete at Darlington Raceway on Saturday afternoon in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200. There are only four races remaining in the regular season. In 68 previous races at the track “Too Tough to Tame, there have been 36 different race winners and 32 different pole winners.
JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier is the most recent race winner at the 1.366-mile track with his victory in May earlier this season and has already clinched a spot in the 12-driver playoff field, along with Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, Chandler Smith and Shane van Gisbergen. That leaves seven spots up for grabs.
Notable Cup Series drivers who will be competing in the Xfinity Series race include Joey Logano in the No. 15 AM Racing Ford, Chase Elliott in the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Noah Gragson in the No. 30 Rette Jones Racing Ford.
Clinch Scenarios: The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by any driver that already has a win:
Cole Custer: Would clinch regardless of finish
Riley Herbst: Would clinch regardless of finish
Jesse Love: Would clinch regardless of finish
The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by AJ Allmendinger, Sheldon Creed, Parker Kligerman, Ryan Sieg or Sammy Smith:
Cole Custer: Would clinch with 14 points
The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by Brandon Jones or a driver lower in the standings:
Cole Custer: Would clinch regardless of finish
Cole Custer, Riley Herbst and Jesse Love could clinch with a win at Darlington.
The following drivers could clinch with a win:
AJ Allmendinger: Could only clinch with help
The Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 will air on the USA Network at 3:30 p.m. Saturday with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Alex Clubb, owner and driver of the No. 03 Ford Fusion, and it offered me a glimpse of Clubb’s busy life.
I went all the way back to the beginning to find out what had inspired the 33-year-old to get into racing. Like so many drivers, it started with family. His grandfather and his father, Brian Clubb, raced at their local track in the late model division. Clubb got his start driving at the same track, and he quickly moved up until he was at the top level of late models.
When he was 22 years old, he discovered the ARCA Menards Series, where he has been racing since 2015. This is his first full-time year in the Series, although he seems like a seasoned veteran. Clubb is a throwback to the days of Alan Kulwicki, as he pretty much does it all. He hauls his own cars, works on them, and drives them too, while his father serves as his crew chief.
He competes with 1/10th of the budget that the other drivers have. And while he’s driving, he’s learning quite a bit on the track, including who may be loose, who to be leery of, and the experience that only time in the seat can give you.
Don’t think for a second that Clubb is just sitting around waiting for the next race. He is also dedicated to his community.
“If you want something changed,” he told me, “You be the change.“
He is the third ward Alderman in his hometown and is also running for Mayor, although he’s not sure he will win. He also runs and operates A.Clubb Lawn Care and Landscaping, Inc.
Much to my surprise Clubb’s wife, Ashlee, isn’t into racing, but his son, 3-year-old Parker, seems to have the racing gene too. As for Kennedy, his four-month-old daughter; we will have to wait and see.
While Caleb Costner is a race car driver at heart, that’s not his only job. When he sat inside the Team Penske shop for our virtual interview, he wasn’t there to discuss strategy.
“At the start of the year, we took over Penske’s cleaning contract,” he explained, giving us a look around the video room, including the vending machine that would become an inside joke later in the interview. “This is the video conference room where they break down footage, it’s a pretty cool spot.”
While his life has taken him to the national spotlight, Costner’s story differs from most drivers coming up through the ranks today.
“I started racing when I was a kid, but not when I was 4,” Costner says. “I started when I was 12 years old. I had been begging my parents to consider racing. We had a neighbor move in named Tyler Lester. A lot of guys my age that are racing are familiar with him. He was a great racer and got me into it. I saw he had a Legends car for sale across the road. That started the questioning to my parents of, ‘I want to get involved, how can we do this?’ We bought my first couple of cars from Tyler and only ran about 3 races before we found out how expensive racing is. My parents are hard-working, blue-collar people. One works at Freightliner and the other at an industrial plant, and we decided that we just couldn’t do it. I was 15 years old at that point, and I got a job permit. My first job was at Subway, of all places. I was a sandwich artist.”
The road from sandwich artist to professional racecar driver was one filled with many twists and turns, but mainly financial issues. The lack of funds didn’t deter Costner’s dream, however. It seemed only to strengthen it.
“From that point forward, I was determined to make money and buy a race car. And sure enough, I did it. I bought a Mustang. I took it up to East Lincoln Speedway, which was my home track at the time. I ran a few seasons up there until I was 18 years old. That was the age when I realized that this was not going to be a career for me.”
With full-time racing dreams suddenly dashed again, Costner became a first responder and put his racing career on the back burner for nearly a decade, until he met up with an old friend.
“I got an opportunity to run a Legend car at Hickory Motor Speedway, in a one-off. It was actually for my buddy Tyler Lester, and from that moment, I was hooked again. I said, ‘Gosh, I miss this. I can’t believe I haven’t done this in years.’ I got back into it and enjoyed it for about a year. Up to that point, I had never had a sponsor. One of my best friends (Craig) who works at a pipe fitting company talked to his boss and asked if he’d be interested in helping me out. He invested in me pretty well. That gave me the confidence to say, okay, let’s go get another sponsor, and another one. And I went from just running dirt cars to getting to know more people in the (NASCAR) industry, and a friend of mine who used to run the Winston West Series gave me some opportunities that led to me eventually running my first ARCA race in 2021.”
While it may seem monotonous in today’s world, the old adage of never giving up rings true for Costner.
“I’ve just worked so hard and never given up. Not giving up is the biggest thing, man. There’s so many times you say that it isn’t worth it. I’m done. I faced that a couple times, but I kept saying ‘I’m so close, I’m so close.’ That ultimately led to the partnership I have with Aaron Weaver and running the full 2024 ARCA season.”
Costner says he and his race team keep their expectations realistic, but optimistic at the same time.
“We try to be as real as we can as a team. We’ve added some sponsors and put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into the team this offseason. We took a lot of necessary steps to improve. Realistically, we’re shooting for top tens every weekend. A great day for us is a top 5 at a Daytona or Talladega, and those are races where we expect to be competing for wins.”
“My goal is to be going for wins.”
Costner likely never imagined saying that while working at Subway as a teen, nor after his driving dreams were crushed multiple times. Despite some hardships, the never-give-up mentality of Costner and his race team has given the #93 team a shot in one of the premier motorsports leagues in America.
It’s up to them to take charge and capitalize on their biggest opportunity yet.
If you’ve ever wondered what the W.A.R. in Rackley W.A.R. racing stands for, I have your answer.
I had the opportunity to speak with Rackley W.A.R. team president Willie Allen recently, and we talked about everything from the feeling of the team winning at Talladega to his expectations for Ty Dillon and the No. 25 team for 2024. But no story is complete without a green flag.
Allen’s start in racing cycles back to where many current drivers begin – On the go-kart track.
“I started racing go-karts in high school,” Allen says. “My girlfriend’s dad owned a go-kart shop in Central Tennessee. I always wanted to race, but really didn’t know how to do it. So when I started dating her, I realized he had a go-kart shop there. Casey Atwood drove some for him, built motors and whatnot. I started working after school there to earn some money to build a go-kart and went and raced that. My cousins raced at the Nashville Fairgrounds in Trucks. My father-in-law, Keith, he raced a little bit too. So I got involved with them, and that’s how I got started in Nashville.”
Allen’s driving career then took him to the bright lights of the NASCAR Truck Series in 2007.
“I started running the Truck Series in ‘07, started doing that and building shocks. While I was racing there in ‘08, I started doing a lot more work with shocks and suspensions. I was also doing some side work with kids, being a crew chief and engineering stuff. I started helping some kids with their driving. I felt I could help kids dial in their braking, throttle trace, steering, brake trace, stuff like that. Somebody wanted to put one of their kids in one of our cars. That idea kind of took off, and that’s how I met Curtis Sutton at Rackley Roofing at the track a few years ago. We were running a car for Brittany Zamora, and she was bringing on Rackley Roofing to sponsor her in the All-American 400, racing our Super Late Model there, and we met Curtis and talked there.”
Both sides agreed to start a truck program while continuing their Late Model venture.
“It had always been a dream of mine to own a Truck Series team and continue the progression through racing. We formed the team and the rest was history. It’s a dream partnership.”
The team got its first win at Talladega in the fall of 2022 with Matt DiBenedetto, and to say it was a special moment for Allen would be an understatement.
“It’s unreal. Definitely a dream come true. There’s a lot of people that get into NASCAR. I feel like most of them never win, so to be able to do that is special. It’s not something we take lightly. We put a lot of hard work and effort into the team. For it to come through like that was an exciting and special day. With everything that’s been built over the years, everything Curtis and I have sacrificed. There’s so much sacrifice in racing, as we know. It’s a traveling circus. Everyone works all the time and puts their heart and soul into it. Most of the teams out there have great equipment. It just comes down to the people and how to train and put everyone in place.”
While he enjoyed reflecting on the past, Allen was visibly excited when I mentioned the future of the team, especially their new signing of Ty Dillon.
“We’re super excited about Ty. The whole deal came about really quick. We got a call from Team Dillon Management who told us about the opportunity. He’s so fired up. I definitely can see the excitement in his eyes. I can see the passion. He’s put a lot of effort in to hit the ground running. I think the Truck Series is going to be a great fit for him. It’s aggressive. He has a lot of experience racing hard. The help and support from RCR is going to be big for us.”
Allen says the team is also getting upgrades in the people and equipment at the shop, thanks to Dillon’s family ties.
“We’re definitely stepping up our in-house engineering staff. Combining it with their team of engineers and simulation stuff is really exciting. I feel like we’re on an upswing and trending upwards.”
Allen says expectations are the highest they’ve ever been for the team in their short history.
“I think we can take that next step. We’ve got to execute and keep working hard. The guys on the team are on fire right now trying to do everything they can to make the most of this opportunity and not leaving anything on the table. I’m really excited about the effort everyone is putting forth here at Rackley W.A.R. (Crew Chief) Shane Wilson coming on board is huge. Having his knowledge and expertise, and just knowing the processes is really cool. I’m really excited to see what he brings to the table. Danny Stockman has also been a big hit. His expertise and knowledge of the Truck Series is second to none.”
Allen added that the long-term future of the team is just as exciting as the short-term future.
“We’re definitely really excited about the development side of Rackley W.A.R. We’re racing Late Models this weekend with Dawson Sutton, Gavin Boschele, and Ross Chastain. It’s really cool to see the eyes we’re attracting here at Rackley W.A.R. So much has changed in the last 10 years as far as driver development. These kids are working their butts off every day and doing every single thing they can to be the best. They’re working with Chevrolet and Lorin Ranier, who is one of the best talent scouts in the world, especially in NASCAR. He helped get Connor Zilsich here. But we have some really cool stuff happening on the Late Model side.”
Allen’s experience on the national stage along with a love for grassroots racing makes him one of the more relatable figures in the ever-changing world of NASCAR ownership. In a world of suits and ties, Allen’s blue-collar attitude toward team ownership may have once seemed redundant but is now bearing fruit in the form of wins and Playoff appearances.
If you blink, you may miss them, but Rackley W.A.R. is on a collision course with the big dogs of NASCAR.
Sitting in his office in Concord, North Carolina, Speedway Motorsports Chief Operating Officer Michael Burch smiled through much of our chat. Working at Speedway Motorsports for over 20 years, Burch brings a smile and a positive attitude into the workplace day in and day out.
“It’s really fun when you can come and spend a significant part of your day, eight hours of your day, with the people that you work with,” Burch said. “Without people, it’s a big asphalt circle or a big asphalt road course, and it’s a grandstand. And it’s really the experience that people make work. Their creativity, their energy, their hospitality, their friendliness, all those things I think is really what you remember when you go to the races.”
Burch got into the sport differently than most people of his experience, and in a way that would make current Cup Series Driver William Byron proud: He fell in love with NASCAR video games.
“I grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania, where Roger Penske has his trucking empire based. I was more of an IndyCar fan, watching the Indy 500 on Memorial Day,” Burch said. “I was aware of NASCAR, but it was actually the NASCAR video games that got me involved. I was a big gamer growing up and that’s what really taught me who drove what cars and the sponsors, and manufacturers and drivers, but also gave me an understanding of how the cars actually work. There was so much interesting feedback, that dynamic, you know, you could see that right front tire going from black, to green, to yellow, to red as it wore out, and you had to decide when to pit. You could feel the car start to move around and lose its optimal line.”
Burch’s love for the gaming side of NASCAR extends to the future of the sport as well.
“It’s been a real passion of mine, and I really think it’s important in bringing new fans to the sport. You look at William Byron who literally went from iRacing to driving the No. 24 for Hendrick Motorsports. It’s one of the rare video game experiences where the inputs are exactly the same as what you’d do in the real world. You can get as good as you want pressing that X button and moving that controller in Madden, or NBA 2K, or ESPN FC, but that really isn’t going to help you on the soccer pitch, or the basketball court, or the football field.”
“I’m really excited that iRacing has gotten that (NASCAR) license, they’ve done some great work, and I’m really looking forward to them bringing their expertise to consoles, and making sure we do have some good console games.”
When I asked Burch about his favorite moment in his over 2 decade-long career at SMI, his face lit up.
“The experience at North Wilkesboro has been something that I think everyone involved will always remember. The smile on (the fans) faces, the energy, the excitement, they just couldn’t believe they were back at North Wilkesboro watching racing,” Burch says, recounting the return of the famed track in May of this year.
Burch ended by saying words that all race fans should do their best to live by.
“I just encourage everybody to get to a race in 2024. Make that a New Year’s Resolution,” he joked. “It doesn’t have to be a Speedway Motorsports facility. Make sure you’re supporting your local short track. If you can get to a Cup race, fantastic. If you get to one of our facilities, fantastic. Racing only survives if fans continue to support it, and there’s an awful lot of race tracks out there that are really being challenged.”
In a sports world where loyalty and sincerity are becoming a lost art, Mike Burch’s passion and love for racing shines a light on all the good still left in those who choose to share it with the masses.
Joey Meier is best known today as the pilot for Dale Earnhardt Jr. but his journey into the NASCAR world began as a child. He was raised in a racing family in Marathon, Florida, where his dad, Freddy, raced on the beaches of Daytona and then famously qualified for the final race held on Daytona Beach in 1958.
Growing up, Meier used to work on cars and quite often went to Hialeah Speedway and Punta Gorda Speedway in the West Hollywood Florida area in Lee County. Racing was always in his life but flying wasn’t. He even raced street stocks and won a race but always thought he would be a better mechanic than a driver. Later in his career, he utilized that skill to help a driver and crew chief with feedback during a race.
MW: How did you get into flying?
JM: I graduated high school on a Wednesday and the following Saturday after I graduated, my mom was in an airplane accident. She was with her boyfriend at the time in some type of general aviation – amphibious type airplane, and they were messing around, and they were involved in a very bad wreck. She survived but was never the same. She had broken her neck in several spots but she regained some mobility. I was at the speedway and I got called to go to the hospital.
But because of that accident, and I didn’t even know what kind of airplane she crashed in, it immediately sucked me into aviation. But I never thought I was smart enough to be a doctor, a lawyer, or a pilot. And so it was never in my reach. That was my thought process.
But at the end of her recovery, I found myself very invested in the aviation world. I took pilot lessons and got my initial pilot’s license and I didn’t have a direction on the aviation side.
So, I actually went back to aviation maintenance for two and a half years. I still really didn’t have a direction but my great uncle was an airline pilot and he allowed me to pursue a part of the flying side as far as being a mechanic. I was still young, not quite twenty years old. So once I realized that I could take my love and passion for racing and pursue it via an aviation entrance, that’s where it all began.
And ever since then I’ve gone on to fly charter cargo maintenance and went to work in the airlines for five years. But the entire time I was doing that, I was pursuing a job with Dale Earnhardt.
So my future boss at the time, Mike Collier, it just happened to work out that in 1997 when they expanded their flight department with Dale, they called one day and asked, ‘Are you still interested?’ I said, ‘Yep’ and I was in his office two weeks later and started at DEI.
MW: After your final season, with Brad Keselowski, how and when did you have this conversation with Dale Jr. about becoming his pilot, the opportunities it would bring, and what it would require?
JM: Midway through 2018 as drivers do, they were looking to make a change. Brad wanted to take me off the roof to pursue a different direction in his flight department and in his spotting department. So after multiple conversations in which I didn’t want to come off the roof, we agreed to step away from the spotting and flying side at the end of 2018.
But he needed somebody to fill in flying in 2019. So I actually went and I stayed at Penske from a spotter standpoint and spotted the Wood Brothers car in 2019 and did a little bit of flying for Brad. But then also flew for Victory Air which is another race organization that just does aviation for race teams that don’t have their own flight department. So I spotted the Wood Brothers and flew for Brad, a little bit and Victory Air a little bit and that got me through the end of August in 2019.
Dale had an event occur in Bristol in 2019 that changed the direction of his flight department and opened up an opportunity for employment right away, and as they were searching for someone to take a place that was opening. I was involved in those conversations of if I knew of anybody and it was a perfect opportunity for me to change directions and what I felt was a better course in my life and I went to work for him in December of 2019.
MW: I’ve talked to a couple of people that have actually flown with you and they’ve said that you have kind of like a signature move?
JM: What we used to do and I don’t do it anymore because we haven’t really experienced the opportunity to, but, back in the day, whenever we went to race, we would do a victory lap before we took off. And what that consisted of was on the ground before you took off, you would actually ask (and most of your Towers would allow it) to simply do a Victory 360 on the runway and make an announcement, “Hey congratulations,” kind of like what you would do with the race car. You go around in circles with your hand out in the air.
So that’s what we’re doing with the airplane and it seems to be what all the guys are now doing. So, if you have an opportunity to get on a flight where the team has won, a lot of the pilots will still do the 360, but it’s on the ground. I don’t know if it’s a signature move but, I definitely was one of the first that did it to celebrate whenever we’d win a race.
MW: What’s the difference between your communication while flying and while spotting?
JM: The difference with me from a flying standpoint as you got to remember in flying, you only have one radio and there might be 20 aircraft on the same radio, so I don’t want to say a lot of words. But I want to be very concise with what word I say. That one word will convey a very large message. So I want to be on the radio as short as I can and I transferred that over to the spotting so we could get in these different styles of techniques years ago.
Plate racing is where the word energy came from and it was very successful at the time. And now that word has gone. It’s taken on its own little life but, I never wanted to spot as much as I like talking clearly, I always wanted to try to keep my words in my messages as short as possible, while trying to convey, a very large message with the least amount of words possible
MW: I was going to ask if you ever watch from the roof, and if so, has it ever made you want to get back into spotting?
JM: This year I’m going to have an opportunity to spot for my current boss as he runs a couple of Xfinity races. He’ll be running at Bristol and Homestead. Also, I’ll be spotting for Carson Kvapil during his truck debut at Bristol and I’m looking forward to that immensely. (Meier also filled in for T.J Majors while he was out sick recently).
Also, I was fortunate enough last year as a lot of the truck teams were looking for spotters and I was fortunate enough that the KVM Truck team with John Hunter called and I was able to spot in Knoxville with him. We had an amazing amount of fun. And then at the same time, Ryan Blaney’s spotter, Josh Williams had a chance to run a modified race at Caraway, and I went up and spotted him and we had a really good time.
And that made me realize that I do miss it. I enjoy it thoroughly. I’ll also travel with Dale on The Late Model side whenever he does a Late Model race. It’s kind of a volunteer group of guys because we don’t race full-time. We’ve raced in North Wilkesboro and Florence. And we did that a couple of times this year.
I’ll also travel with Dale on The Late Model side whenever he does away a Late Model race. It’s kind of a volunteer group of guys because we don’t race full-time. We’ve raced in North Wilkesboro and Florence. And we did that a couple of times this year.
MW: Is there anything that you and Dale do together, particularly outside of racing?
JM: No, it’s definitely a working relationship and that’s fantastic. We text quite a bit back and forth when we’re not working together, relative to whatever it might be, you know. As long as it continues that way because we have a good working relationship, I hope I can keep doing that.
MW: With you having all of this valuable knowledge and experience, has it ever crossed your mind to enter the booth or be a Pit Road commentator at any point?
JM: You know, back in 2013 MRN was gracious enough to put myself and the team up with Woody Cain and we had our own podcast. It ran for nine years. I thought we had a lot of good times. We were under the MRN Banner in which we had some guidelines. If an opportunity presents itself, I’ll tell you who does a really good job nowadays and I would love to do it and wish I could have been in that spot but Coleman Presley has been approached by Fox and does some TV from the roof from the spotter’s viewpoint.
I think that’s wonderful. I’ve always said that I thought that in the future and I was clearly wrong, but I always thought there’d be crew chiefs from the roof because you see a much bigger picture. Now, one of the reasons I’m wrong is because technology has brought all that information to the computer tables in their pit boxes. So they don’t need to be on the roof anymore to see what the spotter sees. But it’s still a good viewpoint.
Visually obviously, the spotters will always stay on the roof. But Coleman does a really good job. And if that opportunity ever presented itself, I’d love to do it. I do miss being at the racetrack. Now, I’m not going to risk or entertain moving on from the position I’m in now, because this is something I hope I can stay for the next 10, or 20 years doing. As I know, it sounds, a long way away but. my health is virtually perfect.
MW: What do you do while Dale’s working?
JM: Melissa, that’s a good question because now that I’m not involved in racing, there’s no need for us to stay with the race team, right? So the flight department has its own budget and our requirements are to try to be as efficient as possible. If you’re traveling as much as I do; you know that the closer to the racetrack/airport, you get, the more expensive your hotels are. All right, so we don’t need to be there. I don’t need to be close to a racetrack or close to the airport. I land and I can drive. For instance: I can go north from Daytona or north from Homestead or wherever I have to go to get what’s a little more efficient for our hotel needs. So I do that and we’ll get in a car and we’ll drive
40, 50 miles up north. This is also allowing me to enjoy one of my greater hobbies that I enjoy away from racing and that’s bowling. And what I do is – I carry a set of bowling balls with me in the airplane. Actually, I carry three with me wherever I go. And I do a lot of tournaments on the road, or I just do some open bowling and practicing or some tournaments. And I’ve had the luck to run into some good people around the U.S., and I’ve actually taken some instruction which I did down in Daytona in March, which was really cool, but allows me to bowl because I’m a bowling fool. I work to support my bowling habit.
MW: Is there anything on your bucket list you have yet to achieve?
JM: Professionally, all I’ve ever wanted to do is my job. Hopefully, I can carry this off into the sunset. My bucket list is to able to finish that out. Personally, I’ve got two wonderful kids. One’s in the Navy and one’s a manager at Celsius Manufacturing. They’re just now starting their lives right there just getting into their 30s. Believe it or not, I’ve got two wonderful grandkids, and as a grandfather supporting them is a very unique experience and I’m looking forward to continually experiencing things in life with my wife, kids, grandkid, and our dogs. I don’t really have a bucket list, I just want this ride to continue on.
I’d like to personally thank my friend, Joey Meier for this interview as I’m grateful for the many opportunities we’ve had over the years to chat about racing and flying.
Joey Meier hands Dale Earnhardt Jr. the American Flag at Dover Motor Speedway after 9/11.
Grant Park 220 Averages Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 4.795 Million Viewers; Most-Watched Cup Series Race Since 2023 Daytona 500
First City Street Race in Series History is NBC Sports’ Most-Streamed NASCAR Race Ever
NBC Sports’ 2023 Two-Race Average is Best Since 2017
STAMFORD, Conn. – July 3, 2023 – NBC Sports’ coverage of the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series city street race from Chicago averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 4.795 million viewers (6:32-9:45 p.m. ET) on NBC and Peacock, resulting in numerous viewership milestones, according to Fast National data provided by Nielsen:
Most-watched NASCAR Cup Series race on NBC in six years, since Indianapolis in 2017 (5.647 million) and NBC Sports’ eighth-most watched race under its current rights agreement;
Most-watched NASCAR Cup Series race on any network since Daytona 500 (FOX; Feb. 19; 8.173 million);
Projected to be the most-watched sporting event of the weekend;
Up 144% vs. NBC Sports’ second Cup Series race of the 2022 season (USA Network; 1.962 million; Road America)
Up 72% vs. NBC Sports’ 2022 Cup Series average on NBC (2.784 million)
Most-streamed NASCAR Cup Series race in NBC Sports history with 163,500 viewers across Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms
Despite a weather delay at the start and a shortened race due to sunset (from 100 to 75 laps), excitement for the Grant Park 220 in Chicago never dampened and was bolstered by the improbable victory of New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, who became the first driver to win a race in his first NASCAR Cup Series start in 60 years. He entered the race as part of Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 program.
Viewership peaked at 5.383 million TV-only viewers from 9:15-9:30 pm ET when van Gisbergen took the checkered flag. Chicago delivered a 9.29 rating and is expected to lead all markets once final local data is completed. The rating is more than three times what the market did for this year’s Daytona 500 (2.99 on FOX).
Through two races, NBC Sports is averaging a TAD of 4.009 million viewers, its best start for the NASCAR Cup Series since 2017 (4.202 million). Last week, NBC Sports’ coverage of the Ally 400 from Nashville Superspeedway averaged a TAD of 3.230 million viewers, making it NBC Sports’ most-watched season opener in three years.
NBC Sports’ NASCAR coverage continues this week with NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series races from Atlanta Motor Speedway on USA Network.
This year the All-StarRace Pit Crew Challenge is presented by Mechanix Wear at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The team pit crews play a vital role in every race, but none more so than this weekend.
The starting lineups for the two heat races on Saturday and the All-Star Open on Sunday will be determined by the Pit Crew Challenge on Friday and the fastest pit crew team will also earn a 100k bonus.
This is how the pit crew challenge works:
It will consist of only one driver at a time and no speeding penalties. When the driver reaches one stall away from their designated box, the time begins. Once the driver is in their pit stall, it’s a four-tire stop and no fuel. However, the fuel man will be there with an empty can. After the driver reaches the speed line, which is one pit stall past their box, the timing ends for the stop.
If there’s any equipment out of the box, or if they go over the wall too soon, there will be a five-second infraction deducted from their time for each violation. If they have a loose wheel, then they’re disqualified. The results of the pit stop time only will determine the starting lineups for both the All-Star Heat Races and All-Star Open.
I spoke with all five of the pit crewman for the No.8 team of Kyle Busch about today’s All-Star competition to determine how they approach this event.
MW: As the jackman, you’re leveraging the car for your other teammates to complete the stop together. Do you feel any added pressure during the All-Star pit crew challenge?
Josh Sobecki: (Jackman) I don’t feel any added pressure. I guess I never really have. It’s a little nerve-racking having everybody watch you during that stop but, it’s also really fun and a great experience. Just have to execute what you already know and you’ll be just fine.
MW: Are there any advantages with the rules entering and exiting the box that are in your favor?
Josh Sobecki: The best advantage, we have is Kyle Busch. The man is P1 on and off pit road all the time, so any help is the best. And he always hits his marks well which makes us do our job better as a team.
MW: Once the jackman has the car up, as a tire changer, briefly explain your position.
Bryan Backus: (Front Tire Changer) Before the car stops, I should be on the lug nut already. Once the jackman gets the car up, the lug should be off. Then I have to pull the tire and roll it back to the wall then switch my button and zip the lug nut back on after the jackman hangs the tire.
MW: While passing the tire off to the tire carrier, do you feel any added pressure since this isn’t a normal race pit stop, but a challenge of speed?
Bryan Backus: I actually never hand the tire off to the carrier because I roll the tire back to the wall. It actually feels like less pressure because we are just going to try and do the fastest stop possible.
MW: Coming into today’s All-Star Pit Crew Challenge, how do you mentally prepare for it?
Marcus Horton: (Rear Tire Changer)
I mentally prepared for today just like any other race. Easy going. Relaxing.
MW: What if anything, do you feel will be the toughest challenge as the rear tire changer?
Marcus Horton: Getting to the right rear is always my toughest challenge. Depending on where Kyle stops the car makes all the difference for me.
MW: On a normal fuel stop, you feel the weight of the can plus the fuel. Explain how today’s challenge is different.
Justin White: (Fuel Man) First off, today will be a lot of fun because Fuelers will get to participate. In years past we had to watch the competition from behind the wall. Having an empty can will feel different from a normal pit stop, but it allows me to be there for my rear changer to help guide the left rear tire coming off back to pit wall as I’m fueling the car.
MW: In the past, teams have had tires roll away on pit road. Coming into today’s challenge, how do you prepare for this and your role as the tire carrier?
Lamar Neal:(Tire Carrier) I always try and prepare myself mentally before any pit stop by doing that, I get to visualize executing each component of my job, setting the tire for the jackman, hanging the tire for the rear changer, and cleaning up anything that is left behind going into the left side. As a carrier, I am depended on to be the cleanup man and that’s what I pride myself in doing.
The format is unique and to be eligible for the All-Star Race, a driver has to meet one of the following four criteria: They have to be a points race winner in the NASCAR Cup Series in either 2022 or 2023, a former All-Star Race winner, or a NASCAR Cup Series champion, top-two finisher in the All-Star Open, or win the NASCAR Fan Vote.
Even though Alex Bowman qualified for the race, because of an injury that has him temporarily sidelined, Josh Berry will be piloting the No.48 in the All-Star Open. He will need to finish in first or second place to transfer to the main event. Drivers who are not eligible for the All-Star Race will compete in the All-Star Open, where the top two finishers will advance to the main event. The Fan Vote winner will complete the field.
I’d personally like to thank the entire Richard Childress Racing No.8 Cup Series Over the Wall Pit Crew of Kyle Busch as they head into today’s All-Star competition at North Wilkesboro.
“This one’s for you old buddy !!!! Going to Give ’em hell tonight !!!” – Josh Sobecki jongurley @nascar #allstarpitcrewchallenge @rcrracing
Josh Sobecki is a 37-year-old veteran crewman who grew up in Kensington, Pennsylvania and now resides in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina area with his wife, Nicole and their two sons, Caden (8) and Grayson (3). Currently, he’s pitting for one of the most elite organizations in the field. Not only that, but Sobecki goes over the wall in all three NASCAR series.
Sobecki stated that as a kid, he loved playing outside, he was always in the woods and would often get into trouble with his friends. He was full of energy and played organized baseball along with hockey his whole life. Growing up, he developed the love and passion for cars and racing because of his dad who owned a 1966 Chevelle.
Around the age of 11, Sobecki started working in a shop with a man named Danny Bash. He worked with him for free just to learn about mechanics and gain some experience with cars. He continued to do this until he graduated from high school.
Sadly, Sobecki lost his father to Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when he was just 13 years old. However, he knew that his path was working with cars and he had the aspiration to get into racing. Shortly after graduation, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee where he began working at the restaurant, Outback Steakhouse while attending the Nashville Auto Diesel School. One of those courses he took was a high-performance class in which he learned about welding, fabrication and the aspects of racing.
Sobecki graduated from there in 2005. Not long after that, what began as a very rocky beginning led to an impressive and commendable career as he celebrates his 18th season in NASCAR this season.
“The beginning of my career was rough with teams shutting down, and I was going back and forth,” he told me. “In 2005 I heard that Bobby Hamilton Racing was hiring some fabricators.
Working for him is how I got my start into racing.
I always said that I was going to be in racing because it had to do with cars and speed. It was something I really liked to do. I just love it.”.
At this point in the beginning of his career, he had nothing to do with being part of a pit crew. Sobecki stated that Hamilton commented about his part-time job at Outback where he was still working at in the mornings.
“One day he said the coolest thing ever to me. He asked me what I was making and stuff, so I told him. He said “I need you to quit your day job. As long as you can quit Outback, I’ll hire you.” I was like, but of course, yeah!”.
Sobecki stated that not long after that, they asked him to start carrying tires, so he tried it out. He ended up being a tire carrier by the end of that first year in the truck series for Bobby Hamilton Racing and in 2006, he was a full-time rear tire carrier on the No.4 of Chase Miller.
He continued to work in the shop as a fabricator, and on the weekends he was the rear tire carrier until Hamilton passed away in 2007. After that, they (BHR) moved the shop to Virginia, and ultimately he decided to follow. But they decided to close BHR shortly after the move and he left them to work at Bill Davis racing in 2008.
Sobecki’s career was short-lived while he was with them as well because they ended up closing their doors as well. He did note that while he was there, he was a rear tire carrier on Mike Skinner’s No.5 truck.
Still hungry for an opportunity, Sobecki went to HT Motorsports. He was hanging truck bodies as the head fabricator and carried tires while he was there. Unfortunately, they also ended up shutting down the next year. Other organizations that Sobecki became a part of were Braun Motorsports and Kevin Harvick Incorporated, but those opportunities were also short-lived.
JS: When I was at Braun, I was still doing fabrication and carrying tires for Jason Leffler and Kasey Kahne. They were doing a split duty in the 38 car, but I left in the middle of the season and I went to KHI. I was there for a few years carrying tires for the truck and No.2 Xfinity car of Elliott Sadler. And once Delana got pregnant, they decided to shut down the shop.
MW: So when did you start at Richard Childress Racing, and what led to you going to their organization?
JS: So they thought they knew about me from KHI. I remember Mike Dillon found me at a bar – which was funny in Talladega.
The conversation between them was brief, but it provided Sobecki with the opportunity he had been waiting for. That was at the end of 2012.
MD: (Mike Dillon) Hey, aren’t you that Sobecki kid? You’re coming over to RCR next year.
JS: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
MD: Has nobody talked to you yet?
JS: I said nobody has talked to me.
MD: We want you on the three car next year for Austin’s Xfinity car.
JS: And I said, oh well this is a first thing I’ve heard about it, and I told him I was definitely interested.
Sobecki remembered that they spoke the next week and that’s how he got his job at RCR the first time for the 2013 season. He continued to say, “after the 2013 season, I was there to go move up with Austin (Dillion) from the Xfinity Series to Cup. The Cup series had different people in the organization and Harvick was leaving. So they had a different pit crew. They moved the pit crew over from the 29 to the 3, and I just wasn’t gonna be a part of that”.
Sobecki mentioned that he knew Harvick was going to be on a mission when he left RCR. He decided to go to Stewart-Haas and tried out for the pit crew and ended up making it onto the 4 car for the 2014 season.
MW: What did you do as a pit crew member while at Stewart-Haas Racing?
JS: I was a rear tire carrier. So, then they made some crew swaps after Harvick’s season when we won the championship. I went on to pit Tony Stewart’s car and then Clint Bowyer’s car. I was at Stewart-Haas for six years. So I switched, I guess, I could say this also; you know we switch to a five-man pit crew, but I was still a tire carrier for the first year. But then I thought I could be a really good jackman. I decided to try to learn how to be one and pushed myself with a lot of practice, and ended up becoming a jackman on the 41 halfway through the season of ’19.
Sobecki ended up leaving Stewart-Haas Racing and started the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series at RCR as a full-time jackman when Tyler Reddick started his Cup career.
He noted that to this day, between being a tire carrier, jackman and fabricator; fabrication is still his favorite.
Photo Credit: Josh Sobecki
MW: Out of all the positions that you have done, how important is the position as a jackman in a pit stop while going over the wall?
JS: Now it’s kind of like the quarterback to be honest with the one lug nut stuff. You can’t be too fast or really slow. One hiccup on your part really messes up the flow of the crew. It’s a lot different.
MW: How difficult is it to get over mistakes during a pit stop?
JS: So, when we did five lug, you could sort of make up time If you messed up on the right side. You can make it up on the left side, but you have to push a little bit harder. When you lose time on a one-lug stop, it’s gone. So you can’t really make up time If there’s a hiccup. You’re pretty much already going as fast as you can. Trying any harder can just label for mistakes. So it’s about trying to minimize mistakes while going as fast as you can.
MW: Any injuries over the years?
JS: Oh gosh, I’ve got a big list! I’ve had a meniscus injury, shoulder MRI done on both shoulders, pulled muscles, torn my groin and I’ve had injuries to my back. It’s just kind of the nature of the sport, I guess. You know, many years I’ve been doing this. This is my 18th season with having injuries over those 18 years.
MW: Do you ever have any fears in the moment during a pit stop?
JS: No fears, no. I’ve never had fears and I think that helps. I just always try to execute as best I can and I’ve always been an aggressive person. I’ve never had a fear of mistakes. You just can’t do that in this sport. You know, if you’ve got fears, it allows mistakes, and you’re just going to be slow. So I’ve never tried to have that. I’m just trying to be as aggressive as I can.
MW: When you go to tracks where pit boxes are reversed, is this challenging? And if so, what are the challenges?
JS: It’s definitely challenging as a jackman. It’s the most challenging, I’d say because you’re running the opposite way that you would run normally. It’s about learning your footsteps and movement. And when you’re running backwards; it’s just completely different than when you come around to which would be the right side because it’s backwards for the end of the stop. You’re beginning from the right side with the jack. It’s hard because you have to flip your body as fast as you can. It’s tough. You can’t ever learn it. You just don’t want to make mistakes. That’s all.
MW: How do you prepare for a race? Do you have any kind of rituals?
JS: So I guess I would say every race I try to stretch out. I think that’s what’s helped me the most throughout my career. And I try to stretch out as much as I can to make myself ready for all of those harsh movements. I don’t really have any rituals or anything. I think the only thing I ever do during a pit stop that’s always the same; I pull up my sleeves on my fire suit. So that’s about it. It’s just something I’ve always done. I don’t know. It’s like the most comfortable feeling to me while doing pit stop.
MW: Okay, so what’s this fist pump that I’ve seen your wife comment about during a race?
JS: So it’s kind of funny. My guys will be laughing and ask why do I still do this, but I just love competition. I’ve always loved competition. It’s about our pit stops. When you’re in, started coming out first and we’re picking up spots on pit road. So, I get a little aggressive during pit stops when we stop. That’s when you’ll see the signature fist pump. It’s almost just like Tiger Woods to be honest. I really didn’t realize I have the same exact fist pump, but I’ve always done it. It’s just something I always do. You can ask any crew that I’ve ever been with and they’ll tell you, Oh my gosh, like it’s just in the moment. I get so riled up. It’s just so fun to me and I think it’s why I still love doing it. It’s just, it’s an adrenaline rush. It’s just something I love to do and the signature fist pump happens when I’m heated up. Yes. It’s like everybody knows that’s a good pit stop. If I do that.
MW: I heard that you’re the only crewman that went with Kyle Busch over to RCR. What inspired you to do this?
JS: True. It was tough. The biggest thing is the pit crew. I love those guys I was with for the last three years. We’ve created a great bond, you know. I mean, the funny thing is we’re almost all together except for Brad Bodily. He went to 23XI with Reddick, and he’s on Reddick’s car in the rear. But otherwise, we’re all the same crew on the 21 Xfinity car, and the 51 truck. So, we were so good of a five-lug crew that they never wanted to change us for Austin Hill’s car. And the reason is for instance during one race, we came in third and sixth on another stopped, but went out first every time that weekend. It just goes to show the chemistry we have. Now when they said Kyle Busch was coming over, they were looking for some really fast pit stops. So they had to go to work to put a good crew together, and not saying we didn’t have one, but I think they were just looking for speed. I wasn’t even worried. None of us were guaranteed to be on this car at the end of last year. So we all went to work in the offseason, and I would say we all did about 500 pit stops. It was a lot of them. We put in a lot of hard work, a lot of sore bodies and, you know, we just started grinding. Some of the guys that came over were pretty fun. We had a lot of chemistry and it showed the first two races. We’ve been a top ten on pit road, and I was just lucky enough to still have the speed they were looking for. So I go to stay and start the season with Kyle Busch in the No.8.
MW: So far this season, you’ve gone over the wall with three teams and ended up in Victory Lane five times in five weeks. How does that make you feel? What’s the celebration like?
JS: It’s amazing. Like, I’ve never in my career started off the season like this except for when we won Daytona with Austin Hill last year. And so we went and won again this year with that kid. (Austin Hill) He’s amazing. Then we almost won with Kyle, but we wrecked on the second to the last lap while leading. I’ve always wanted to win Daytona in the Cup series. That one really hurt because that’s a race I haven’t won yet in Cup. Then we go to California, and of course, history with Kyle – he just dominates. We had good pit stops and we kept him up front where he needed to be and won the race. And then we knew we’d have a chance the weekend at LVMS in the truck race, because you always know Kyle’s going to be fast in a truck. We end up winning the truck race. And I didn’t expect to win the Xfinity race and we did. And I was hoping for, you know, something I’ve never had; all three races in one weekend, but we just didn’t have the car that weekend in the Cup series. But it was fun. Then we went on to win at Atlanta with Austin. Celebrations are flying. It’s been almost surreal.
Photo Credit: Josh Sobecki
MW: Tell me a little bit about the camaraderie with the other teams you work with.
JS: I’ve always remained friends with the guys I’ve worked with. I still have friendships with all the guys from Stewart-Haas. Some of us were crews that have won championships together. It’s pretty cool when you get respect along pit road because you’ve been in the sport for so long. Everybody comes up and talks to you about what’s new or whatever because I’m a veteran.
MW: You mentioned winning championships. What’s it like to get a ring?
JS: I still remember the first one. It’s just an accomplishment. For instance, there was this gasman that’s no longer with RCR, but he’s been in racing for like, 15 years and he never won a Cup race until last year. So man, that kind of puts you back into place. Some guys don’t have any rings. I guess that’s where guys kind of respect me. I would hope you know. In the sport, I think I have 26 truck wins, 12 Xfinity, and I have about 10 Cup wins now. And so when you get those rings for some of these racing championships, man, there’s no better feeling. I mean, it’s just an accomplishment that you hoped for and you know everyone wants it. And you’re just a guy for that year that got that accomplishment. You know that it helps the party after it’s all over with.
MW: When talking about rings in championships, how many rings have you acquired?
JS: I received a Team Championship ring in 2012 in the Trucks series with KHI, an Xfinity Championship with Austin Dillion in 2013, a Cup Championship with Kevin Harvick in 2014, and I have another Truck Championship in 2017 with Christopher Bell. That’s it for now, but hopefully more this year.
MW: Another thing is, how did it make you feel to get a shout-out on the Dale Jr. Download?
JS: My buddy messaged, me and goes, “Dude, Dale jr. Just shouted your name out. He was talking about you, man on his podcast! He singled you out. You know, about being the only crew member?”. And I was like, that’s pretty cool. You know of course, I have tons of respect for this guy. He’s big. I mean, I’ve seen him go through his racing years with 5,000 people around him walking into the garage. There’s a lot of people that listen to that. It was pretty cool to have Dale Jr. shout out my name, I love it.
MW: What kind of things do you do outside of racing during the week?
JS: Well mainly now it’s about taking care of my kids and all their activities. My oldest is in Muay Thai and he’s in love with it. He’s also taking drum lessons and he’s in football. So we take him to all that stuff, and the little one he’s not in too much of anything yet. But it’s fun and for me, I just love all of my projects around the house. I like to build things. I built our patio and deck in the backyard. Oh, and I built a swing for my wife because she always wanted one. I love working on cars. I have a truck that I bought and rebuilt from the ground up pretty much. I love working on that. So I mean, those are my main hobbies. And I’m still playing hockey Those are my favorite, but hanging out with my kids and wife is the best, for sure.
MW: Do you have any goals that you haven’t accomplished that you hope to achieve?
JS: Somebody recently asked me that. If you didn’t have goals to acquire, you know, you wouldn’t be doing this. And there are so many times throughout my career, I’d reach my goals and be like, oh my gosh, like what now? Like I wanted a truck Championship. Okay, well I got that. Then I won one in Xfinity and then I got one in Cup, too.
MW: After you completed those, what’s your new goal?
JS: My goal this year was that I’d love to win the Daytona 500 in Cup. That’s why I was so heartbroken losing that one this year. We were so close. The closest I’ve ever been, but that’s the goal.
Sobecki went on to say that as a veteran crewman, he’d love to make 20 years in the sport as a pit crew guy. “It’s just something I’m kind of striving for and trying to keep my body in shape enough to keep up with all these young guys”.
MW: With the fans booing at times, has this ever affected you working with Kyle Busch?
JS: No, no. I mean it’s funny. I mean, it’s not like being like a superstar athlete kinda thing, and how they get ‘hate fan mail’ and all that stuff. But it is funny. I mean, when you have a bad pit stop or a bad week, sometimes you’ll see comments a fan said. Like: they suck and are terrible and you know they got to change the pit crew. I mean, it’s never bothered me. Honestly, It’s just more comical. These people have no clue what they’re talking about, but I understand they all have their own say because it’s public, and they can say whatever they want. But it’s just funny, you know? It never changed my performance or has ever made me wonder if I’m good enough to do it or not. And you know when I was with Harvick’s crew, it was the same way. When you get with these good drivers that have talent and huge fan bases like Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick; it just comes with the territory. You gotta get out there and perform the best you can, which is why you’re there. It’s all because you’re good at what you do. Keep that in your head and block out everything else.
MW: Is there anyone you want to thank for the opportunities you’ve had or anything that’s current in your life?
JS: I mean, honestly, my wife. I’d like to thank her. You know, it’s so hard leaving every weekend for many years we’ve been together. We’ve been together about 11 years, and I’ve been leaving her every weekend with the kids and she’s the one having to take care of them by herself so that I can pretty much do what I love to do. It’s been tough on her and of course any of the moms.
MW: Would you like to talk about your uncle Tom Levett’s need for a kidney and where people can get the information to help?
JS: Yes! You know, at the beginning of this year, he had some kidney issues and they told him it wasn’t working well and he had to have some surgery on it. I guess they said it was like – level four kidney failure is what he said. And so they have to look for a kidney for him.
You can follow Josh Sobecki on Twitter @Sobesobecki and during race weekends on pit road as the jackman for the No.51 of KBM in the Craftsman trucks along with the RCR No.21 of Austin Hill in Xfinity and the No.8 of Kyle Busch in the Cup series. He’ll be the one expressing his signature fist pump after a fast pit stop!
I’d like to personally thank Josh Sobecki for taking time out of his extremely busy schedule to talk with me about his life, his love for this great sport, and to share his experience about going over the wall in motorsports.
If Daniel Hemric has an extra skip in his step this weekend, there’s a reason for it. He will climb into his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Cup Series machine with a new primary sponsor: Celsius Energy.
However, the organization has been a longtime partner with Kaulig Racing, and the company recently served as Justin Haley’s primary partner during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Now, it’s Hemric’s turn to showcase its sugar-free content while trying to score his second career top-five finish at Talladega Superspeedway.
“First and foremost, it’s an honor to carry them on our No. 16 Kaulig Racing car at Talladega this weekend. They’ve been a partner with Kaulig long before I came along. In fact, this is my first time actually being active with them, wearing their brand on my uniform, and having a full sponsorship on the car at the Cup level,” Hemric told Speedway Media.
“It’s cool to see them, to be able to take that next step in our partnership. Being a primary sponsor on a Cup car is a big deal for any company to take, so it’s a big deal. It’s a beautiful car. It’s gonna be special to spend time with them this weekend and hopefully, we’ll give them a good showing.”
Kaulig Racing is in its first full season at the Cup level, but the team has exemplified that its superspeedway program is up to par. Haley finished seventh at Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this season, and Hemric qualified third at Talladega in the spring. However, reminiscent of most teams, being there at the end of a superspeedway race is a common struggle. Hemric finished 36th in that race after an engine issue triggered a multi-car incident.
Similarly, both Haley and Hemric, the reigning Xfinity Series champion were contenders at Daytona during the regular-season finale when the pair became casualties of the infamous rain crash that took out 13 cars. Now the two teammates will try to keep their noses clean until the end of Sunday’s YellaWood 500. If all goes to plan, the Kaulig wheelmen could find themselves within the grasp of victory.
“I wouldn’t say I’m one of the few, but put me on the side of thoroughly enjoying the thrill of superspeedway racing and the chaos of not knowing what’s next. In superspeedway races, it’s a lot of the same guys [winning]. As much as people get caught up in hearing people talking about the unknown of plate racing and not being able to control your own destiny.
“A lot of the same guys win a lot of these races and that’s not by coincidence. To be able to go and hone and develop your craft to be one of those guys, that’s what I thoroughly enjoy about it. This is a big opportunity for us. I approach it the same as any other weekend, and that’s a chance to go win a race.”
In seven Cup series starts in 2022, Hemric has an average finish of 23rd.
