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  • Michael McDowell to make 500th Cup start at Martinsville

    Michael McDowell to make 500th Cup start at Martinsville

    With the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season down to its final two races on the schedule, Michael McDowell is primed to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Cup Playoff event at Martinsville Speedway, the driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang Dark Horse will make career start No. 500 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Glendale, Arizona, McDowell, who grew up competing in BMX bicycles before transcending to go-karts, open wheels and the Grand-Am Series, where he claimed the Star Mazda championship in 2004, made his inaugural presence as a Cup Series competitor at Martinsville Speedway in April 2008. By then, he had made four career starts in the Xfinity Series and one in the Craftsman Truck Series. Driving the No. 00 Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR), McDowell started 34th and finished 26th in his series debut after cutting a tire in the closing laps.

    The following weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, McDowell was involved in a harrowing accident while qualifying for the event, where he slipped sideways after breaking a right-front sway bar and veered head-on into the outside wall in Turn 1 at full speed. The impact was enough for McDowell’s No. 00 Toyota to roll over on its roof, which it briefly slid and spun upside down towards the outside wall before the car tumbled seven times towards the bottom of the track and came to rest right-side up. Following the wild ride, McDowell managed to escape uninjured and he would proceed to finish 33rd in the main event while racing in a backup car.

    Following his first two Cup career starts, McDowell would make 18 additional starts in the No. 00 MWR Toyota over the next 21 races of the 2008 season, which started at Phoenix Raceway in April before concluding at Dover Motor Speedway in September as he was then released by the organization. During the span, McDowell achieved a season-best 20th-place result at Richmond Raceway in September. Combined with his first two starts of the 2008 season, he notched a total of 12 top-30 results and recorded an average-finishing result of 30.2.

    In 2009, McDowell made a total of eight Cup starts, all of which occurred in the closing stretches of the season. Driving the No. 36 Chevrolet Impala for Tommy Baldwin Racing in eight of the remaining 11 events on the schedule, he recorded an average-finishing result of 40.3 and a season-best 38th-place run at Dover in September despite retiring due to braking issues. He then competed in 24 events in 2010 between Prism Motorsports and Whitney Motorsports. After finishing in 14th place during the first of two Daytona Duel events, he qualified for the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February, where he would record a season-best 33rd-place result.

    During the 2011 season, McDowell competed in all but two of the 36-race Cup schedule. Thirty-one of his starts occurred with HP Racing, where he recorded a season-best 30th-place finish at Sonoma Raceway in June. His lone other start occurred in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry at Texas in November, where he filled in for veteran Kyle Busch after Busch was suspended for the remainder of the Texas weekend due to intentionally wrecking four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. during the Truck race earlier in the weekend. Despite starting the event in 17th place, McDowell settled in 33rd place, four laps down.

    Over the next two seasons, McDowell primarily competed for Phil Parsons Racing in the Cup Series. During the 2012 season, where he surpassed 100 Cup career starts, he competed in all but three of the 36-race schedule and recorded a season-best 23rd-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in August. He then notched his first top-10 career result by finishing in ninth place during the 65th running of the Daytona 500 in February 2013 and he would also record a 15th-place run at Talladega Superspeedway in October. Throughout the 2013 season, he also made a single start with Front Row Motorsports at Watkins Glen International in August and with HScott Motorsports at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September.

    From 2014 to 2017, McDowell made a total of 102 Cup starts with Leavine Family Racing, where he spent the latter season as a full-time competitor. Throughout the four-year span, the Arizona native recorded a total of four top-10 results, 10 laps led and his first top-five career result, which occurred at Daytona in July 2017 by finishing fourth. He also finished in the top 20 a total of 28 times and qualified for the Daytona 500 three times. After cracking the top-30 mark in the final standings in 2016, McDowell settled in 26th place in the final standings in 2017. By then, he boosted his average finishing result up to 22.3 and had surpassed 200 Cup career starts.

    The 2018 Cup Series season generated a new beginning for McDowell, who joined forces with Front Row Motorsports to pilot the No. 34 Ford entry as a full-time competitor. Despite recording a ninth-place finish during the 60th running of the Daytona 500, he would tally a total of nine top-20 results for the remainder of the season and tie his previous-best result in the standings in 26th place with an average-finishing result of 24.5. He then commenced the 2019 season by finishing fifth during the 61st running of the Daytona 500 and proceeded to record nine additional top-20 results for the remainder of the season before dropping to 27th place in the final standings and with an average-finishing result of 24.2. By then, he surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

    Then after concluding the 2020 Cup season with a total of four top-10 results and a 23rd-place finish in the final standings, McDowell commenced the 2021 season on a high note by winning the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 after dodging a final lap multi-car accident to escape with the victory with two turns remaining. The victory made McDowell the 40th competitor overall to win the 500 and the eighth to claim a first Cup victory in the Great American Race, with the event marking his 358th career start in NASCAR’s premier series. With the victory, the Arizona native became the 196th competitor overall to win in the Cup Series and he earned a guaranteed spot into the 2021 Cup Series Playoffs as he also delivered the first 500 victory for Front Row Motorsports.

    Following his Daytona 500 victory, McDowell finished in the top eight during his next two Cup starts. He would proceed to finish third at Talladega in April and seventh during the series’ inaugural event at Circuit of the Americas in May for the remainder of the 26-race regular-season stretch before he entered the Playoffs for the first time as a title contender. After finishing no higher than 24th during the Round of 16, however, McDowell’s 2021 title hopes came to an early end as he was one of four Playoff contenders to be eliminated from the title hunt. With four finishes in the top 17 to cap off the season, McDowell settled in 16th place in the final standings. By then, he boosted his average finishing result to 20.5.

    The 2022 Cup Series season generated McDowell’s best result in top 10s, where he tallied a total of 12, including two top-five results as he notched a pair of season-best third-place finishes at Sonoma in June and at Talladega in October. Despite concluding the season winless and missing the Playoffs, McDowell, who settled in 23rd place in the final standings, recorded a career-best average-finishing result of 16.7. By then, he surpassed 400 Cup career starts.

    The following season, McDowell finished in the top 20 six times during the first nine scheduled events. Despite finishing no higher than 22nd during his next five starts, he rallied by finishing in the top 10 four times over his next five. By Michigan International Speedway in August, McDowell was battling for a Playoff spot by points. Then at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in August, he led a race-high 54 of 82-scheduled laps, including the final 30, en route to his second Cup career victory as he also raced his way into the Playoffs for a second time. After capping off the regular-season stretch by finishing as high as 13th over his next two starts, McDowell’s Playoff hopes came to an early end following respective finishes of 32nd, 26th and sixth throughout the Round of 16. Finishing as high as ninth during the final seven events on the schedule, McDowell proceeded to finish a career-best 15th place in the final standings. Despite achieving four fewer top-10 results from his previous season at eight, he led 97 laps throughout the 2023 season and notched an average-finishing result of 19.0.

    This season, which marks his seventh driving on a full-time basis for Front Row Motorsports, McDowell ended up in 36th place during the 66th running of the Daytona 500 despite starting on the front row. He then notched his first Cup career pole position during the following weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he led 27 laps and rallied from being involved in an on-track incident towards the pit road entrance to finish eighth. Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, McDowell recorded a total of four Cup poles, which occurred at Talladega in April, World Wide Technology Raceway in June and at Daytona in August. Amid the qualification success, he notched a strong runner-up result at Sonoma in June, two top-five results and six top-10 results. The results, however, were not enough for him to make the 2024 Cup Playoffs. Nonetheless, he has since achieved two additional poles, the first at Atlanta in September and the other at Talladega in early October, and a seventh-place result, which occurred at Watkins Glen International in September, throughout eight of 10 Playoff events. With a current average-finishing result of 20.7, McDowell is ranked in 22nd place in the driver’s standings. The 2024 Cup Series season is set to mark the Arizona native’s final one with Front Row Motorsports as he is set to join Spire Motorsports in 2025.

    Through 499 previous Cup starts, McDowell has achieved two victories, six poles, 11 top-five results, 44 top-10 results, 534 laps led and an average-finishing result of 26.9.

    Michael McDowell is scheduled to make his 500th Cup Series career start at Martinsville Speedway for the Xfinity 500. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, November 3, and air at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Billy Scott to call 300th Cup event as crew chief at Gateway

    Billy Scott to call 300th Cup event as crew chief at Gateway

    In his ninth season as a full-time crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series, Billy Scott, crew chief for Tyler Reddick and the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota Camry XSE team, is scheduled to achieve a milestone start. By participating in this weekend’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway, Scott will call his 300th career event as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Land O’Lakes, Florida, and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering, Scott made his inaugural presence as a Cup Series crew chief at the start of the 2014 season, where he worked atop the pit box of the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Camry team piloted by former Xfinity Series champion Brian Vickers. By then, he had spent the previous two seasons as a lead engineer for MWR’s No. 55 team and had previously assumed the role of engineer for both MWR and Robert Yates Racing.

    In Scott’s first season as a crew chief, he led Vickers and the No. 55 team to a pole at Talladega Superspeedway in October, a season-best runner-up result at Daytona International Speedway in July, three top-five results, nine top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 18.6 and a 22nd-place result in the final driver’s standings.

    The following season, Scott retained his role as the crew chief for MWR’s No. 55 team that commenced the season with team owner Michael Waltrip competing in the 57th running of the Daytona 500 and Brett Moffitt earning a strong top-10 result at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March. Meanwhile, Vickers was absent for the start of the season due to health issues. Despite returning for the next two scheduled events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and at Phoenix Raceway, respectively, in March, Vickers was sidelined again due to blood clots, a health issue that would ultimately sideline him for the remainder of the season and would result with Moffitt and Waltrip filling in for the next six-scheduled events. By May, David Ragan became the full-time competitor of the No. 55 Toyota Camry as he finished no higher than 13th during his first four starts.

    Then in June 2015, MWR swapped the crew chiefs of its two-car entry field with Scott replacing Brian Pattie as crew chief of the No. 15 entry piloted by Clint Bowyer. In his first race paired with Bowyer, Scott led the No. 15 team to a 10th-place run at Michigan International Speedway. The duo then earned a strong third-place finish at Sonoma Raceway followed by another 10th-place run at Daytona in July. With a total of eight top-10 results in 12 races paired together, Scott and Bowyer managed to secure a spot for the 2015 Cup Playoffs based on points.

    Their run for the title, however, came to an early end at the start of the Playoffs when NASCAR issued a P4-level penalty and docked Bowyer’s team 25 points due to an illegal discovery made during the inspection process at Chicagoland Speedway in September. In addition, Scott was assessed a three-race suspension and a fine of $75,000. While MWR appealed the penalty, their appeal was denied as Scott was suspended, beginning at Dover Motor Speedway through Kansas Speedway in October. By then, Bowyer was one of four competitors to be eliminated from the Playoffs after finishing 19th, 26th and 14th, respectively, during the Round of 16. Once Scott returned atop the pit box at Talladega Superspeedway, he and Bowyer could only achieve just one additional top-10 result during the final seven scheduled events before capping off the season in 16th place in the final standings.

    When Michael Waltrip Racing ceased all operations following the 2015 campaign, Scott joined Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2016 Cup season and was paired with Danica Patrick and the No. 10 Chevrolet SS team. Commencing the season with a 35th-place run during the 58th running of the Daytona 500, the duo recorded an average-finishing result of 22.0 throughout the 36-race schedule, with Patrick’s best on-track result being an 11th-place run at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October, before finishing in 24th place in the final standings. Scott and Patrick would record a single top-10 result of 10th place at Dover throughout the 2017 season along with an average-finishing result of 23.8 before settling in 28th place in the final standings. At the conclusion of the 2017 season, Patrick retired from full-time competition.

    A month after the 2017 Cup season concluded, Stewart-Haas Racing shuffled its driver-crew chief pairing for the 2018 season, which included Scott transitioning to the No. 41 Ford Fusion team piloted by the 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch. The new duo commenced the season with a 26th-place result in the 60th running of the Daytona 500 after Busch was involved in a late multi-car wreck while contending for his second consecutive 500 title. They rallied by recording three poles and 14 top-10 results during the next 23 scheduled events. Then at Bristol Motor Speedway in August, Scott achieved his first career victory as a NASCAR crew chief when Busch held off Kyle Larson in a 13-lap shootout to claim his first win of the season, his sixth at Bristol, his 30th Cup career victory and a spot to the 2018 Cup Series Playoffs.

    Despite enduring an up-and-down road throughout the Playoffs, the duo managed to transfer from the Round of 16 to 8. Their Playoff run, however, came to a late end during the Round of 8 after Busch recorded respective finishes of sixth, seventh and 32nd. With a 10th-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November to cap off the 2018 season, Scott and Busch finished in seventh place in the final standings and accumulated a total of 22 top-10 results throughout the 36-race campaign.

    For the 2019 Cup season, Scott, who remained as the crew chief of SHR’s No. 41 team, was paired with the 2016 Xfinity Series champion Daniel Suarez, who replaced Busch as Busch joined Chip Ganassi Racing. Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Scott and Suarez endured an up-and-down journey that was highlighted with a pole at Kentucky Speedway in July along with nine top-10 results and a bid for a spot in the 2019 Playoffs. Ultimately, they missed the Playoffs by four points as Suarez proceeded to record two additional top-10 results during the 10-race Playoff stretch before finishing in 17th place in the final standings.

    Following the 2019 season, Scott, who was released by Stewart-Haas Racing, joined Richard Childress Racing and worked as the team’s head of engineering for the 2020 Cup season. He also served as a crew chief for a single Cup event for Kaulig Racing’s debut in NASCAR’s premier series with Justin Haley for the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. During the event, Haley, who managed to qualify for the event based on speed, settled in 13th place. Scott’s next pair of events as a crew chief occurred during the 2021 Xfinity Series season for Our Motorsports and Austin Dillon, where Dillon finished 37th at Watkins Glen International and sixth at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, respectively.

    In November 2021, Scott was announced as a Cup Series crew chief for 23XI Racing’s newly formed No. 45 Toyota TRD Camry that was set to be piloted by Kurt Busch for the 2022 season, which marked Scott’s return atop the pit box and his reunion with Busch since 2018. After accumulating four top-10 results during the first 12 scheduled events, the reunited duo achieved their first victory of the season when Busch prevailed over another late battle against Kyle Larson to grab a dominant win at Kansas Speedway in May and record the second career victory for 23XI Racing. The victory also gave Busch and the No. 45 team a guaranteed spot to make the Playoffs.

    Seven races and three additional top-10 results later, however, Busch was involved in a hard wreck during a qualifying session at Pocono Raceway in July and was forced to sit out while recovering from concussion-like symptoms, a move that would eventually force him to rule out from full-time competition for the remainder of the 2022 season along with the full 2023 schedule. Busch’s absence allowed newcomer Ty Gibbs to pilot the No. 45 entry for the remainder of the 2022 Cup regular-season stretch with Scott remaining atop the pit box. Then in September and at the start of the 2022 Playoffs, Scott moved over to 23XI Racing’s No. 23 entry along with Gibbs while the team’s primary competitor, Bubba Wallace, took over the No. 45 Toyota that was competing for the owners’ title, which made it as high through the Round of 12.

    Since being paired with Gibbs for the last 15 events, which started in mid-July, Scott has led the driver and 23XI Racing’s Nos. 23 and 45 entries to a single top-10 result, which occurred at Michigan International Speedway in August, along with a combined seven top-20 results. During the finale at Phoenix Raceway in November, Scott was paired with the 2021 Xfinity champion Daniel Hemric, who filled in for Gibbs as Gibbs missed the event due to the death of his father, Coy. With Hemric finishing in 17th place on the track, 23XI Racing’s No. 23 entry settled in 24th place in the final owner’s standings, 14 spots below the No. 45 entry.

    Returning as the crew chief of 23XI Racing’s No. 45 entry piloted by two-time Xfinity champion Tyler Reddick for the 2023 Cup season, Scott navigated the driver and team to two top-five through the first five-schedule events before they achieved their first victory of the season at Circuit of the Americas in March. Reddick led a race-high 41 laps and muscled away from the field during a two-lap shootout. Scott and Reddick then proceeded to record eight top-10 results in 19 regular-season events, minus Darlington Raceway in May after Scott was ejected due to Reddick’s car failing pre-race inspection twice two days before race day and before entering the Playoffs alongside teammate Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 23XI Racing team.

    Coming off a runner-up result in the Playoff opener at Darlington in September, Scott achieved his second Cup victory of the season after Reddick went from fifth to first during an overtime shootout to win and grab an automatic berth into the Round of 12. After transferring into the Round of 8 despite achieving only a single top-10 result in their next four races, the duo was eliminated from title contention after ending up eighth, third and 26th, respectively, throughout the Round of 8. Despite finishing in 22nd place during the finale at Phoenix, Scott and Reddick concluded their first campaign together in sixth place in the final driver’s standings, with the points result being the current best for both the driver and crew chief.

    Through the first 14 events of the 2024 Cup Series season, Scott has navigated Reddick and the No. 45 23XI Racing team to a single victory, which occurred at Talladega Superspeedway in April after Reddick dodged a final-lap multi-car wreck to overtake Brad Keselowski through the frontstretch to win for the first time at Talladega. To go along with seven additional top-10 results, including a fourth-place run during last Monday’s rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Scott and Reddick are currently ranked in sixth place in the 2024 regular-season standings and are guaranteed a spot to make the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs.

    Through 299 previous Cup events, Scott has achieved five victories, 10 poles, 34 top-five results, 85 top-10 results and 1,864 laps led while working with 12 different competitors.

    Billy Scott is scheduled to call his 300th Cup Series event as a crew chief at World Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday, June 2. The event’s broadcast time is set to commence at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Truex primed for 600th Cup career start at Gateway

    Truex primed for 600th Cup career start at Gateway

    With the NASCAR Cup Series set to compete for the first time at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, Martin Truex Jr. is also set to achieve a major milestone start of his own. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s event at Gateway, the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota TRD Camry will make his 600th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Mayetta, New Jersey, Truex made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July 2004. By then, he was contending for the 2004 Xfinity Series championship for Chance 2 Motorsports and was serving as a standby competitor for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was recovering from injuries and burns sustained following a fiery wreck at Sonoma Raceway while practicing for the American Le Mans Series Grand Prix at Sonoma. Taking over Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet Monte Carlo under the first caution period, Truex settled in 31st place in his unofficial Cup debut.

    Three months later, Truex made his official Cup Series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway in October, where he drove and retired the No. 1 DEI Chevrolet to a 37th-place result due to an engine issue. He returned for the 2004 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, where he ended up 32nd place after his right-rear tire shredded his rear quarter panel late in the event.

    Entering the 2005 NASCAR season as the reigning Xfinity Series champion with an opportunity to defend his series title, Truex also made a total of seven starts in the Cup circuit for Dale Earnhardt Inc. His first start of the season occurred in the 47th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February, which he finished in fourth place during the second of two Gatorade Duels a few days prior and earning a transfer spot for the main event. During the 500, however, he finished 34th due to a late engine issue. Returning at Talladega Superspeedway in May, Truex was running towards the lead pack when he was involved in a late multi-car wreck and fell back to 21st place. His best on-track result during the remaining six events to his limited Cup schedule was seventh place at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600 in May. This marked Truex’s first top-10 career result in the Cup circuit.

    After achieving his second consecutive Xfinity title in 2005, Truex took over the No. 1 DEI Chevrolet Monte Carlo as a full-time Cup Series competitor for the 2006 season. Commencing his rookie Cup season with a 16th-place result in the 48th running of the Daytona 500, he earned a total of two top-five results, five top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 20.8. His best on-track result was second place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway behind Greg Biffle as he finished in 19th place in the final standings.

    Truex commenced the first 11 scheduled events of the 2007 Cup Series season with three top-10 results. Then at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, he earned his first non-points Cup victory in the All-Star Open after fending off Johnny Sauter to earn a transfer spot to the All-Star Race, where he went on to finish 10th. Two weeks later, the New Jersey native earned his first points-sanctioned NASCAR Cup Series career victory at Dover International Speedway after leading 216 of 400 laps and beating pole-sitter Ryan Newman. The victory occurred in his 58th start in NASCAR’s premier series and on a day where former NASCAR CEO Bill France Jr. died at age 74. Truex backed up his first victory at Dover with four top-three results and six top-10 results for the remaining 13 regular season events, including two runner-up results during both Michigan International Speedway events, as he earned a spot in the 2007 Cup Playoffs. Despite finishing in the top 10 four times during the final 10 events, however, he never contended for the 2007 title and settled in 11th place in the final standings. Nonetheless, Truex’s sophomore Cup season was a success as he earned his first win, his first pole at Texas Motor Speedway in November, seven top-five results, 14 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 16.4.

    In comparison to the 2007 season, the following two seasons (2008 and 2009) for Truex were disappointing seasons as he did not make the Playoffs. In 2008, his best on-track result was fourth at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June as he racked up three top-five results and 11 top-10 results before finishing 15th in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premiers series. In 2009, where DEI merged with Chip Ganassi Racing, Truex won three poles, including one for the 51st running of the Daytona 500, but his best on-track result was fifth at Phoenix Raceway in November. Earning a total of six top-10 results throughout the season, he slipped back to 23rd place in the final standings.

    Following a four-year run with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, Truex joined Michael Waltrip Racing to pilot the No. 56 Toyota Camry. Despite commencing the season with a sixth-place result in the 52nd running of the Daytona 500, he struggled with maintaining consistency as he finished no higher than fifth place, which occurred at Martinsville Speedway in March, and achieved a total of seven top-10 results and a single pole (Dover in May) throughout the 36-race schedule. When the final checkered flag of the 2010 season flew, Truex, who did not make the Playoffs, wrapped up his first campaign with MWR in 22nd place in the final standings. 

    The 2011 Cup season saw Truex and the No. 56 MWR Toyota Camry team achieve a second pole at Dover in October, a season-best second-place result at the Bristol Night Race in August, three top-five results and 12 top-10 results, with the driver finishing in 18th place in the final standings, four spots better than in 2010. By then, he surpassed 200 Cup career starts.

    Truex, who remained at MWR for a third consecutive season, commenced the 2012 season by finishing 12th in the 54th running of the Daytona 500 despite earning a $200,000 bonus for leading the halfway lap. Not long after, he earned a pole and five top-10 results during the following six events. Then at Kansas Speedway in April, he led a race-high 173 of 267 before settling in second behind Denny Hamlin. After recording seven additional top-10 results during the following 16 events, Truex was placed in another opportunity to win, this time at Atlanta Motor Speedy in September as he was leading in the closing laps when a late caution due to Jamie McMurray blowing a right-front tire spoiled his run. After being beaten off of pit road by Hamlin and spinning his tires on the final restart, Truex settled in a disappointing fourth place. The result, nonetheless, was enough for him to make his second appearance in the Playoffs and return to the postseason for the first time since 2007. Ultimately, Truex and the No. 56 team achieved another second-place result at Kansas in October along with four additional top-10 results during the final 10 Playoff events, but finished in 11th place in the final standings. Nonetheless, his average-finishing result of 12.1 was his personal best along with 19 top-10 results throughout the 2012 season.

    Fresh off a multi-year contract extension with MWR, Truex finished in the top five three times as he also earned a total of six top-10 results during the first 15 events of the 2013 season. At Texas in April, he led 55 laps before settling behind Kyle Busch in second place. Then at Sonoma Raceway in June, Truex snapped a 218-race winless drought after claiming a dominant victory and achieving his second Cup career victory, the first since winning his first race at Dover in 2007. He went on to post three top-10 results, including two third-place results, during the following nine scheduled events as he was vying for a spot for the 2013 Cup Playoffs.

    At Richmond Raceway in September, Truex nursed his No. 56 Toyota Camry to a seventh-place result following a three-lap dash to the finish and he claimed a Wild Card spot to the Playoffs in a tie-breaker over Newman, who was leading late in the event before slipping back to third place. Controversy, however, ensued two days later when NASCAR assessed major penalties to Michael Waltrip Racing for the team’s involvement in manipulating the outcome of the event that involved teammates Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers to ensure that Truex would make the Playoffs. Among the penalties included a $300,000 fine and a 50-point dock for each of MWR’s three-car operation. The penalties eliminated Truex from Playoff contention while Newman and Jeff Gordon, both of whom were affected by MWR’s manipulation, were added to the Playoffs. With his title hopes for 2013 diminished, Truex recorded four top-10 results for the remaining 10 scheduled events before finishing in 16th place in the final standings.

    Two weeks prior to the 2013 Cup season’s conclusion, Truex inked a deal with Furniture Row Racing to drive the No. 78 Chevrolet SS for 2014 season, replacing Kurt Busch as Busch transitioned to Stewart-Haas Racing while Truex’s former ride at MWR became a research and development team and with his primary sponsor NAPA Auto Parts opting to depart the team entering 2014. Despite qualifying on the front row for the 56th running of the Daytona 500, the New Jersey native was forced to start at the rear of the field for the main event after wrecking his primary car during his Budweiser Duel event. During the main event, he suffered an early retirement in 43rd place, dead last, due to an engine failure. Two races later, Truex made his 300th Cup career start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. His first season with Furniture Row Racing, however, was a difficult season as he claimed a season-best fourth place at Kansas in October, five top-10 results and just a single lap led throughout the entire season before finishing 24th in the final standings.

    Following a difficult 2014 season, Truex roared out of the gate with seven consecutive top-10 results during the first seven scheduled events in 2015, which marked his 10th full-time season as a NASCAR Cup Series competitor. This stretch included a runner-up result behind Kevin Harvick at Las Vegas in March. Despite finishing 29th at Bristol Motor Speedway in April, Truex reignited his top-10 streak, beginning at Richmond Raceway in April through Dover International Speedway in June. Then at Pocono Raceway in June, Truex, who had potential race-winning opportunities slip from his grasp early in the season, made a triumphant return to Victory Lane after fending off Harvick to record the first victory for Furniture Row Racing since 2011, the first for Canadian crew chief Cole Pearn and the third for the driver of the No. 78 Chevrolet SS.

    Coming off the Pocono victory, Truex recorded four additional top-10 results during the final 12 regular season events before making his third appearance in the Playoffs. Throughout the Playoffs, Truex was consistent as he earned five top-10 results in nine weeks to transfer from the Round of 16 all the way to the Championship 4 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November and with an opportunity to claim his first title in NASCAR’s premier series over Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon. During the finale, however, Truex finished 12th on the track and settled in fourth place in the final standings. Nonetheless, the fourth-place result was the best result in the standings for both Truex and Furniture Row Racing, with the driver notching eight top-five results, 22 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 12.2.

    Entering the 2016 Cup season with momentum and a new manufacturer as Furniture Row Racing swapped from Chevrolet to Toyota, Truex settled in second place in the 58th running of the Daytona 500 after being edged by Denny Hamlin by 0.010 seconds, which marks the closest margin of victory in the Daytona 500. Truex backed up his run in the 500 by recording four additional top-10 results despite being eluded several opportunities of winning an event. Notable moments of him nearly winning occurred at Texas in April, where he led a race-high 141 of 334 laps only to fall back to sixth following a late pit stop; Kansas in May, where he led a race-high 172 of 267 only to be plagued by a loose wheel and finish 14th; and at Dover in May, where he led 47 laps and fell back to ninth after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. Nonetheless, the on-track frustrations ended at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600 in May, where he started on pole, led 392 of 400 laps and grabbed his first victory of the season and his fourth Cup career victory. Truex’s total laps led of 392 are the most by a Cup Series winner and having led 588 miles during the 600 event, he established the all-time record for the most miles led in a NASCAR event.

    Twelve races later, Truex earned his second victory of the season in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in September after fending off Kevin Harvick through the final 16 laps. Coming off a third-place result during the regular season finale at Richmond, Truex then capitalized on a late caution and a stellar four-tire service from his pit crew to win at Chicagoland Speedway during a two-lap shootout. The Chicagoland victory along with Truex’s fourth overall victory of 2016 at Dover in October were more than enough for the New Jersey native to transfer from the Round of 16 to the Round of 12. During the Round of 12, however, his championship hopes evaporated following two consecutive results outside of the top 10 along with an engine failure and a 40th-place result at Talladega in October. Posting two top-10 results during the remaining four scheduled events, Truex capped his third full-time season with Furniture Row Racing in 11th place in the final standings. Despite finishing one spot shy of the top-10 mark in the final standings for a third time, he capped off the season with four victories, five poles, eight top-five results, 17 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.9. In addition, he surpassed 400 Cup career starts.

    The recent on-track momentum for Truex and Furniture Row Racing continued in the early stages of 2017 as Truex claimed his first victory of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. He would go on to win at Kansas Speedway in May, Kentucky Speedway in July and Watkins Glen International in August throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch. To go along with 17 top-10 results, Truex claimed the 2017 Cup Series regular season title. He then commenced the 2017 Playoffs by winning at Chicagoland Speedway for a second consecutive season and transferring from the Round of 16 to the Round of 12. Three races later, Truex secured a spot in the Round of 8 after winning at Charlotte and Kansas in October. After posting three consecutive top-three results in the Round of 8, he earned a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. At the finale, Truex led 78 laps and held off title rival Kyle Busch to claim his eighth victory of the season and his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. By becoming the 31st different competitor to win a title in NASCAR’s premier series, he recorded the first championship for Furniture Row Racing and became the second Toyota competitor to emerge as a Cup champion. Truex’s championship season was a dominant one, where he notched a career-high eight victories, three poles, 19 top-five results, 26 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 9.4.

    Truex’s quest to defend his title started off with an 18th-place result in the 60th running of the Daytona 500 after he was involved in a late multi-car wreck. Despite this, he earned his first victory of the season at Auto Club Speedway in March. Four months later, Truex earned victories at Pocono and Sonoma before adding a fourth victory of 2018 at Kentucky in July. Those victories along with a total of 15 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular season stretch enabled the driver of the No. 78 FRR Toyota to qualify to make the Playoffs for the sixth time in his career. Five top-10 results throughout the Playoffs were enough for Truex to return to the Championship Round at Homestead for a second consecutive season. However, he was unable to defend his championship after being overtaken late by title rival Joey Logano, which relegated Truex to a runner-up result in the final standings. Overall, Truex achieved four victories, four poles, 20 top-five results, 21 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.7.

    Two months prior to the 2018 Cup season’s conclusion, Furniture Row Racing announced plans to cease operations at season’s end. With FRR closed, Truex and his championship-winning crew chief Cole Pearn moved over to Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2019 season and took over the No. 19 Toyota Camry team in place of Daniel Suarez. Despite finishing 35th in the 61st running of the Daytona 500, the 2017 Cup champion rallied by posting five consecutive top-10 results during the following seven events. Then at Richmond in April, Truex claimed his first elusive short track victory and his first with JGR after fending off Logano and Clint Bowyer in the closing laps. For the remainder of the 2019 Cup Series regular season stretch, Truex notched victories at Dover in May, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May and Sonoma in June along with six top-10 results before making the Playoffs for the seventh time in his career. By then, he surpassed 500 Cup career starts. For the third time in four seasons, Truex then commenced the Playoffs by winning the Playoff opener at Las Vegas in September. The following weekend at Richmond, he rallied from a late spin while trying to lap Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to claim his sixth victory of 2019 at Richmond and transfer past the opening Playoff round. After posting two top-10 results and transferring to the Round of 8, Truex secured a one-way ticket into the Championship Round for a third consecutive season after winning at Martinsville Speedway for the first time in his career in October. During the finale at Homestead in November, however, he settled in second place on the track and in the final standings behind teammate Kyle Busch. Nonetheless, Truex’s seven victories in 2019 were the most he achieved in a season since winning eight times in 2017. He also recorded 15 top-five results and 24 top-10 results along with an average-finishing result of 9.8.

    The 2020 Cup Series season, which marked Truex’s 15th full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series, also marked the first time since 2015 where Truex achieved only a single victory throughout the season, where he won at Martinsville in June. Despite this, he earned a total of 14 top-five results and 23 top-10 results. Qualifying for the Playoffs for the eighth time in his career, Truex was eliminated from title contention following the Round of 8 and settled in seventh place in the final standings.

    This past season, Truex achieved three victories throughout the 26-race regular season stretch: Phoenix Raceway in March, Martinsville in April and Darlington in May. As he made the Playoffs for the ninth time in his career, he then won at Richmond in September to transfer to the Round of 12. Three top-10 results during the following six Playoff events were enough for Truex to transfer all the way to the Championship Round and campaign for his second Cup title. During the finale at Phoenix in November, he had the championship lead late until a late caution and pit stop, where he lost the lead, relegated him back to a runner-up result behind Kyle Larson. Despite finishing in second place in the final standings for the third time in four seasons, Truex capped off his 16th full-time Cup season with four victories, 13 top-five results and 20 top-10 results.

    Through 599 previous Cup starts, Truex has achieved one championship, 31 career victories, 19 poles, 131 top-five results, 254 top-10 results, 10,851 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.8. He is currently ranked in fifth place in the 2022 driver’s standings on the strength of two top-five results and six top-10 results through the first 14 events of the 2022 regular season stretch.

    Truex is primed to make his 600th Cup Series career start at the World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, June 5, with coverage to start at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Brian Pattie to call 500th Cup career race as crew chief at Martinsville

    Brian Pattie to call 500th Cup career race as crew chief at Martinsville

    A significant milestone achievement is in the making for Brian Pattie, crew chief for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s 400-mile Cup event at Martinsville Speedway, Pattie will call his 500th event as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series. 

    A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, Pattie made his debut as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief at Watkins Glen International in August 1999, where he was paired with Canadian Ron Fellows and the No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet team. By then, he was in his fifth season working for NEMCO Motorsports and had made select starts as a crew chief for the organization between the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series. In Pattie’s first event as a Cup crew chief, Fellows started seventh and notched a runner-up result behind Jeff Gordon.

    Pattie spent the following two seasons working as a crew chief for NEMCO Motorsports that was campaigning on a part-time basis in the Xfinity Series and making limited Cup Series starts on the road course events (Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen). Paired with Fellows, Pattie and Fellows made a total of three starts between 2000 and 2001, where Fellows did not finish during his three starts.

    Then in 2002, Pattie reunited with Hendrick Motorsports and worked as a crew chief in a total of 22 events for the team’s No. 25 Chevrolet entry that started the season with driver Jerry Nadeau. Making his first appearance of the season at Darlington Raceway in March, Pattie led Nadeau and the No. 25 team to only one top-10 result, which was an eighth-place at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, through seven events, which concluded at Richmond Raceway in May. Prior to the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Nadeau was replaced by Joe Nemechek due to performance issues. Pattie and Nemechek, however, struggled through the following 15 scheduled events as they finished no higher than 18th place before Pattie was replaced by Peter Sospenzo for the rest of the 2002 season.

    From 2003 to early 2008, Pattie scaled back to the Xfinity Series. During the 2003 season, he took over as the team manager for NEMCO Motorsports before joining Chip Ganassi Racing in mid-2004 and reassuming his role as crew chief for CGR’s “all-star” entry that was shared between Reed Sorenson, Casey Mears and Jamie McMurray. During the following five seasons at CGR, Pattie achieved three victories and tallied his win column to 11, with his previous eight victories occurring at NEMCO.  

    Then in June 2008, Pattie returned to the Cup Series as a crew chief for Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Dodge team. By then, Montoya had undergone his third crew chief change of the season after posting a single top-five result (second place at Talladega Superspeedway in April) through the first 16 scheduled events. Making his first appearance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Pattie led Montoya and the No. 42 team to a single top-five result, which was a fourth-place result at Watkins Glen in August, and a 25th-place result in the final driver’s standings.

    Remaining as Montoya’s crew chief in 2009 as Chip Ganassi Racing merged with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and swapped manufactures from Dodge to Chevrolet, Pattie and Montoya had a breakout season, where they achieved two poles, 12 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch. They nearly won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July before Montoya, who led a race-high 116 of 160 laps, was penalized for speeding on pit road during a cycle of green flag pit stops with 35 laps remaining, which relegated him back to 11th place in the final running order. Nonetheless, Pattie led Montoya and the No. 42 Chevrolet team into the 2009 Cup Playoffs and with an opportunity to compete for the title. The duo earned four consecutive top-four results at the start of the Playoffs, but only two top-10 results during the remaining six events as the No. 42 team settled in eighth place in the final standings.

    Through the first 21 events of the 2010 Cup season, Pattie and Montoya achieved three poles, four top-five results and eight top-10 results, but a series of inconsistent results prevented the team from returning to the Playoffs. Nonetheless, the duo scored a breakthrough victory at Watkins Glen in August after Montoya led 74 of 90 laps en route to his second Cup career victory as Pattie achieved his first win in NASCAR’s premier series as a crew chief. Pattie and Montoya went on to record five additional top-10 results through the remaining 14 scheduled events before settling in 17th place in the final standings. By then, Pattie surpassed 100 career events as a Cup Series crew chief.

    Pattie initially commenced the 2011 Cup Series season as Montoya’s crew chief for a third full-time season, where they achieved two poles, two top-five results and six top-10 results during the first 19 scheduled events. Following New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, however, Pattie was replaced by Jim Pohlman for the remainder of the season.

    Then five months later, Pattie was named a full-time Cup Series crew chief for the No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Camry team piloted by Clint Bowyer for the 2012 season. Following two top-five results and eight top-10 results during the first 15 scheduled events, Pattie and Bowyer achieved their first victory with MWR after Bowyer led a race-high 71 of 112 and fended off the field during a two-lap shootout to emerge victorious at Sonoma Raceway in June. Ten races and an additional five top-10 results later, the duo rallied from a midway spin and survived a late fuel mileage battle to claim a second victory of 2012 at Richmond Raceway in September, which marked the regular season finale before the Playoffs commenced. 

    Pattie, Bowyer and MWR began their charge for the 2012 Cup championship by posting three consecutive top-10 results during the first three Playoff events. After being involved in a last lap multi-car wreck at Talladega Superspeedway in early October, they rallied the following weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway by claiming a third victory of the season after Bowyer fended off Denny Hamlin in another fuel mileage battle to the finish. Four races later, Pattie and Bowyer, both of whom were coming off three consecutive top-six results, were within striking distance of narrowing the deficit of the championship battle. Then at Phoenix Raceway in November, their title hopes evaporated after Bowyer was involved in a late controversial incident with Jeff Gordon, where Gordon retaliated from an earlier contact with Bowyer by wrecking Bowyer head-on into the Turn 3 wall and igniting a scuffle between the two respective crew members in the garage area. Pattie and Bowyer managed to record a runner-up result in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but settled in second place in the final standings and 39 points shy of the title to Brad Keselowski. While they did not emerge as the champions, Pattie and Bowyer collected a total of three victories, 10 top-five results, 23 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.9 in their first campaign with MWR

    The 2013 Cup Series season saw Pattie and Bowyer return to the Playoffs, but only achieve 10 top-five results, 19 top-10 results and a seventh-place result in the final standings as they were unable to record a single victory. The consistent season for the duo, however, was overshadowed with their involvement in manipulating the final results at Richmond in September, where Bowyer spun intentionally late in the event and gave teammate Martin Truex Jr. an opportunity to capitalize on a three-lap shootout and make the 2013 Cup Playoffs. A few days after Richmond, MWR was fined $300,000 and docked 50 driver/owner points, which knocked Truex out of the Playoffs while Bowyer, who had secured a Playoff spot prior to Richmond, remained in the postseason. In addition, all three MWR crew chiefs, including Pattie, were placed on probation for the remainder of the season. In the midst of the controversy, Pattie surpassed 200 Cup events as a crew chief.

    Following two consistent seasons at MWR, Pattie and Bowyer struggled in 2014, where they only achieved five top-five results and 15 top-10 results as they did not make the Playoffs and fell back to 19th place in the final standings. Pattie then spent the first 16 events of the 2015 season with Bowyer, where they recorded four top-10 results, before MWR underwent a crew chief swap to the team’s two-car effort that saw Pattie move to the No. 55 Toyota team piloted by David Ragan while Billy Scott took over as Bowyer’s crew chief. Pattie’s best result with Ragan in 20 races was 12th place at Daytona in July. When the 2015 Cup Series season concluded, MWR ceased operations.

    The 2016 Cup Series season marked a new beginning for Pattie, who joined Roush Fenway Racing as a crew chief for the No. 16 Ford Fusion team piloted by veteran Greg Biffle. The new duo, however, struggled with consistency as they managed a single top-five result together throughout the 36-race schedule, which was a fifth-place result at New Hampshire in July. Failing to make the 2016 Cup Playoffs, Biffle settled in 23rd place in the final standings. Despite being absent for four events, two of which stemmed from post-race violations discovered at Charlotte Motor Speedway between late May and early June, Pattie surpassed 300 Cup events as a crew chief.

    The following season, Pattie, who remained at RFR, was paired with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 17 Ford Fusion team. Pattie and Stenhouse collected four top-10 results through the first nine scheduled events and were coming off a fourth-place effort at Richmond Raceway in April. Then during the following event at Talladega in May, the duo, which started on pole position, emerged victorious after Stenhouse outlasted a late battle with Kyle Busch during an overtime restart to claim his first Cup career victory. The victory snapped a three-year winless drought for Roush Fenway Racing and a five-year winless drought for Pattie.

    Seven races later, Pattie and Stenhouse went to Victory Lane for a second time in 2017 after Stenhouse survived another overtime restart to win at Daytona in July. The pair of superspeedway victories were enough for the No. 17 RFR Ford team to qualify for the 2017 Cup Playoffs. Despite finishing no higher than 15th place during the Playoff’s Round of 16, Pattie and Stenhouse earned valuable stage points to transfer to the Round of 12 by a mere margin. Their 2017 title hopes, however, came to an end during the Round of 12 after finishing no higher than 13th place during the round’s three events. Nonetheless, they capped off their season with two top-10 results during the final four scheduled events and a 13th-place result in the final standings.

    Compared to the 2017 season, the 2018 and 2019 Cup seasons were difficult seasons for both Pattie and Stenhouse as they accumulated a total of four top-five results and eight top-10 results, with their best result in the standings being 18th in 2018. In the midst of the two seasons, Pattie surpassed 400 Cup events as a crew chief. 

    In 2020, Pattie and Stenhouse both departed RFR and joined JTG-Daugherty Racing, where Stenhouse took over the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. They commenced the season on a high note by claiming the pole position for the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February. During the main event, however, Stenhouse was penalized late for advancing his position below the double yellow line “out of bounds” zone. He was then involved in a late collision while trying to pit under green and relegated back to 20th place in the final running order. Despite posting three top-five results during the following 12 scheduled events, a series of inconsistent results prevented the duo from making the 2020 Cup Playoffs in their first campaign with JTG-Daugherty Racing. Finishing no higher than 12th place during the 10 Playoff events, Pattie and Stenhouse finished in 24th place in the final standings.

    Remaining at JTG-Daugherty Racing in 2021, Pattie and Stenhouse commenced the season with six consecutive top-20 results before notching a strong runner-up result at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in April. They managed a sixth-place effort at Nashville Superspeedway in June before enduring another inconsistent season as they missed the Playoffs and settled in 22nd place in the final standings.

    Through 499 previous Cup events, Pattie has achieved with six victories, nine poles, 56 top-five results and 127 top-10 results while working with eight different competitors. He and Stenhouse have finished no higher than 10th place during the first seven events of the 2022 season and they are ranked in 28th place in the regular season standings.

    Pattie is scheduled to call his 500th Cup Series event at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, April 9, with coverage to occur at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • McDowell to make 400th Cup career start at Richmond

    McDowell to make 400th Cup career start at Richmond

    Competing in his 16th season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Michael McDowell is scheduled to achieve a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s event at Richmond Raceway, the driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang will make his 400th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Glendale, Arizona, and a former champion of the Star Mazda Championship region, McDowell had made five career starts between the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series before being announced as a Cup Series competitor and in Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 00 Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing, beginning at Martinsville Speedway in March 2008. McDowell’s promotion to NASCAR’s premier series came after Dale Jarrett, the 1999 Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer, retired from competition while David Reutimann took over Jarrett’s No. 44 Toyota. Starting in 34th place, McDowell finished 26th in his Cup debut after cutting a tire in the closing laps.

    The following weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, McDowell was involved in a horrific accident during his qualifying session, where he got loose entering Turn 1, veered into the outside SAFER barriers head-on at over 180 mph, rolled over on his roof and barrel rolled seven times down to the apron before coming to rest on all four wheels. Despite the wild ride, McDowell was able to emerge uninjured as his wreck exemplified the effectiveness of modern safety enhancements made, from the SAFER barriers to the HANS device and the 2008 Car of Tomorrow stock car, to keep the competitors safe in the event of an on-track incident. McDowell went on to finish 33rd in the main event.

    Following the Texas incident, McDowell continued to drive MWR’s No. 00 Toyota in the Cup Series from Phoenix Raceway in April through Kansas Speedway in September. During this span, his best on-track result was 20th at Richmond Raceway in September. McDowell, however, was released by the team for the rest of the season after he failed to qualify at Kansas Speedway in September.

    The following season, McDowell campaigned on a full-time basis in the Xfinity Series, starting with JTG Daugherty Racing before transitioning to MacDonald Motorsports and Whitney Motorsports. His first Cup Series start of the 2009 season did not occur until September at Richmond, where he drove the No. 36 Toyota for Tommy Baldwin Racing to a 41st-place result after retiring early due to an engine issue. He competed in seven additional Cup races with Tommy Baldwin, where he did not finish in all of them and was credited with a result no higher than 38th place.

    McDowell started the 2010 season on a high note by driving the No. 55 Toyota Camry for Prism Motorsports to a 14th-place result in the first of two duel races at Daytona International Speedway in February. The result rewarded him with one of two transfer spots to the 52nd running of the Daytona 500. During the main event, however, he finished 33rd due to a drive shaft issue. He competed in 23 additional events throughout the 36-race schedule, where he failed to finish in all but one race, which was at Talladega Superspeedway in October as he finished 35th, two laps behind the leaders.

    McDowell competed in 32 of the 36-race schedule in 2011 with nearly all of his starts occurring with HP Racing. His best result with HP Racing was a 30th-place result at Sonoma Raceway in June. Then in November at Texas, he served as an interim competitor in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Camry and in place of Kyle Busch, who was suspended by NASCAR throughout the weekend as a result of intentionally wrecking NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. in the early stages of the Truck Series event at the Lone Star state two days prior to the Cup event. During the event, however, McDowell, who struggled with pace, finished in 33rd place, three laps behind the leaders. He went on to conclude the season in 36th place in the final standings.

    In 2012, McDowell remained with HP Racing that was renamed to Phil Parsons Racing. Driving the team’s No. 98 Ford Fusion in all but six of the 36-race Cup schedule, his best result was a 23rd-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in August as he settled in 37th place in the final standings, one spot lower from 2011. By then, McDowell surpassed 100 career starts in the Cup Series.

    Following the 2013 Cup season, where he competed in all but three races between three organizations (Phil Parsons Racing, Front Row Motorsports and HScott Motorsports) while achieving his first top-10 career finish during the 55th running of the Daytona 500 in February (ninth place), McDowell joined Leavine Family Racing to pilot the No. 95 Chevrolet SS for the 2014 season. He failed to qualify for the 56th running of the Daytona 500, but went on to compete in 19 of the 36-race schedule. His best on-track result during this span was seventh place in the rain-shortened Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in July.

    McDowell continued to drive for Leavine Family Racing in 2015, where he made 16 starts with the team and finished no higher than 20th place at Watkins Glen International in August, and in 2016 when LFR formed an alliance with Circle Sport and changed manufacturers from Ford to Chevrolet. Starting the 2016 Cup season in the No. 59 Chevrolet SS, McDowell finished in 15th place in the 58th running of the Daytona 500. He then split driving responsibilities of the No. 95 LFR Chevrolet with Ty Dillon throughout the season, where he finished 10th at Daytona in July, 12th at Richmond in September and 14th at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October. He concluded the season by finishing in 10th place at Homestead-Miami Speedway and a career-best 30th place in the final standings. By then, McDowell surpassed 200 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    The 2017 Cup Series season marked McDowell’s first time competing the entire 36-race schedule as he remained at Leavine Family Racing for a fourth consecutive season. Throughout the season, he earned his first top-five career result after finishing fourth at Daytona in July along with 14 top-20 results before finishing in 26th place in the final standings, which marked his first top-30 result in a driver’s standings.

    In 2018, McDowell moved to Front Row Motorsports to pilot the No. 34 Ford Fusion, where he replaced Landon Cassill. He commenced the season with a ninth-place finish in the 60th running of the Daytona 500 in February. He went on to record nine additional top-20 results, a career-high 33 laps led and a 26th-place result in the final standings for a second consecutive season.

    Returning to Front Row Motorsports for the 2019 season, McDowell started the season by finishing in fifth place in the 61st running of the Daytona 500. This marked his third top-10 result in the 500. He then achieved three additional top-15 results over the next 29 Cup races before he logged in another fifth-place result at Talladega in October. He went on to finish in 27th place in the final standings. Following the 2019 season, McDowell surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

    In 2020, McDowell notched a career-high four top-10 results throughout the 36-race schedule with his best on-track result being a seventh-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. He ended the season improving four spots from his result in the 2019 driver’s standings by settling in 23rd place in the 2020 standings.

    Then in 2021, McDowell, who returned to FRM for a fourth consecutive season, pulled off the upset by claiming his first elusive Cup Series victory in the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 after dodging a multi-car wreck on the final lap while running in third place. The victory snapped McDowell’s 358-race winless drought, which marks the second-largest winless streak in NASCAR history prior to a first victory and right behind Michael Waltrip’s 463-race drought prior to claiming his first win in the 2001 Daytona 500. With the victory, McDowell became the 40th different competitor to win the Daytona 500 and the 196th different competitor to win in the Cup Series as he recorded the first 500 victory for Front Row Motorsports. The 500 win guaranteed McDowell and his No. 34 FRM team a spot into the 2021 Cup Playoffs.

    The early momentum into 2021 for McDowell did not stop there as he finished eighth during the following weekend at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, which was followed by a sixth-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Seven races later, McDowell collected a strong third-place result at Talladega in April following a late battle with eventual winner Brad Keselowski. He went on to collect a seventh-place result at the Circuit of the Americas in May before entering the 2021 Cup Playoffs for the first time in his career. His title hopes, however, came to an end during the Round of 16 after finishing no higher than 24th during the opening round’s three events. Nonetheless, he finished a career-best 16th place in a season where he claimed his first victory, a career-high five top-10 results and a career-best average result of 20.5.

    Through 399 previous Cup starts, McDowell has achieved one victory, five top-five results, 18 top-10 results, 118 laps led and an average-finishing result of 29.0. His highest-finishing result through the first six scheduled events of 2022 is seventh, which occurred in the 64th running of the Daytona 500 in February, and he currently sits in 26th place in the regular season standings.

    McDowell is scheduled to make his 400th Cup Series career start at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, April 3, with coverage to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Truex to remain at Joe Gibbs Racing following new contract extension

    Truex to remain at Joe Gibbs Racing following new contract extension

    With a new season of NASCAR competition underway, Martin Truex Jr. has inked an undisclosed extended contract agreement to continue to drive the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

    The 2017 Cup champion is coming off his 15th full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series, second with JGR, where he recorded a lone victory throughout the season at Martinsville Speedway in June. In addition, he achieved five stage wins, 14 top-five results, 23 top-10 results and a final points result of seventh place. It was also his first season with crew chief James Small, a former lead engineer for Truex who took over following the departure of Cole Pearn.

    “I’m happy to get this news out there so we can focus on this season and the future with Joe Gibbs Racing,” Truex said. “This is where I wanted to be and to continue building on the success we have had together the past two years. I appreciate Coach [Gibbs], my team, everyone at JGR and all of our partners like Bass Pro Shops, Auto-Owners Insurance, Reser’s Fine Foods, Stanley Black & Decker and Toyota for making this possible and I look forward to continuing those relationships as we move forward.”

    “Extending Martin’s agreement has been a big priority for us this off season,” Joe Gibbs, Owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, added. “Martin brings so much to our organization. Obviously he’s talented and shown he can win at any racetrack but his insights also helps to make all our teams better.”

    The 2021 Daytona 500 will mark Truex’s 17th attempt to win his first Harley J. Early Trophy. His best result in the 500 was a runner-up result in 2016, where he lost the battle against Denny Hamlin by a mere 0.010 seconds.

    In addition, Truex, who enters his 16th full-time season in the Cup circuit and third with JGR, will make his 550th Cup career start in this year’s Daytona 500. In his previous 549 starts, Truex has won 27 Cup races and one championship (2017). He has also achieved 19 poles, 116 top-five results and 228 top-10 results, all while competing for organizations that include Dale Earnhardt Inc., Michael Waltrip Racing, Furniture Row Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing.

  • McDowell to make 350th Cup start at Bristol

    McDowell to make 350th Cup start at Bristol

    A significant milestone is in the making for Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 34 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. By taking the green flag for this weekend’s Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway, McDowell will reach 350 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Glendale, Arizona, McDowell was in the early stages of his racing career in NASCAR when he was selected as driver of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing at Martinsville Speedway in March 2008. The move came as David Reutimann, who started the season as the No. 00 driver, moved over to drive MWR’s No. 44 UPS Toyota Camry for the remainder of the season when the 1999 Cup champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett retired as a competitor. Starting in 34th place, McDowell finished 26th in his Cup debut after sustaining a flat tire in the closing laps.

    On April 4 at Texas Motor Speedway, McDowell was qualifying for the upcoming Cup weekend race at the Lone Star state when he got loose entering Turn 1. Trying to straighten the car, the car turned back to the right and made heavy head-on contact into the outside SAFER barriers at over 180 mph as the car rolled over. With the car spinning sideways while upside down across the barriers, the car rolled back over and proceeded into a series of barrel rolls down to the apron before coming to rest on all four wheels with fire bursting out at the front. Despite the accident that left the No. 00 Aaron’s Toyota demolished, McDowell was able to escape uninjured and make the mandatory trip to the infield care center. His wreck was a prime example of how the safety enhancements and features made within the sport throughout the modern era, from the SAFER barriers to the HANS device and the Car of Tomorrow, keep the competitors safe in the event of an on-track incident. The cause of the accident was later revealed due to a loose sway bar on McDowell’s car.

    From Phoenix Raceway in April through Dover International Speedway in September, McDowell continued to drive Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 00 Toyota in the Cup Series, where his best result was 20th place at Richmond Raceway in September. After failing to qualify for the following race at Kansas Speedway, McDowell was released from the team.

    Starting the 2009 season as an Xfinity Series competitor for JTG-Daugherty Racing, McDowell did not make a Cup start until September at Richmond. Driving the No. 36 Wave Energy Drink Toyota for Tommy Baldwin Racing, McDowell started and finished 41st in his first Cup start of the season. He competed in seven additional Cup races with Tommy Baldwin, where he finished no higher than 38th.

    McDowell started the 2010 season by driving the No. 55 Toyota Camry for Prism Motorsports. He finished in 14th place in the first of two duel races at Daytona International Speedway in February and earned one of two transfer spots to the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 along with Max Papis. He went on, however, to finish 33rd in the main event due to a drive shaft issue. Throughout the 2010 Cup season, he competed in 24 of the 36-race schedule and he failed to finish in all but one race, which was at Talladega Superspeedway in October as he finished 35th and was two laps behind the leaders.

    Throughout the 2011 Cup season, McDowell competed in 32 of the 36-race schedule, 31 with HP Racing. His best result with the team was 30th place at Sonoma Raceway in June. In November at Texas Motor Speedway, he drove the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in place of the suspended Kyle Busch, who was parked by NASCAR throughout the weekend as a result of intentionally wrecking NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. in the Truck Series race at Texas at the start of the weekend. McDowell finished in 33rd place, three laps behind the leaders, in his lone Cup start with JGR.

    In 2012, McDowell remained with HP Racing, which was renamed to Phil Parsons Racing. Competing in 30 of the 36-race Cup schedule and in the No. 98 K-Love Radio Ford Fusion, his best result was 23rd at Bristol Motor Speedway in August while he sustained 25 DNFs. Prior to the conclusion of the 2012 season, McDowell reached 100 career starts in the Cup Series.

    Following the 2013 Cup season, where he competed in all but three races while achieving his first top-10 career finish in the Daytona 500 in February (ninth place), McDowell was named driver of the No. 95 Ford Fusion for Leavine Family Racing for the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series season. He failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, but went on to compete in 19 of the 36-race schedule. His best result was seventh place in the rain-shortened Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway in July.

    McDowell continued to drive for Leavine Family Racing in 2015, where he made 16 starts with the team and finished no higher than 20th place at Watkins Glen International in August, and in 2016 when LFR formed an alliance with Circle Sport and changed manufacturers from Ford to Chevrolet. Starting the 2016 Cup season in the No. 59 Thrivent Financial/K-LOVE Chevrolet SS, McDowell finished in 15th place in the 58th running of the Daytona 500. He then split driving responsibilities of the No. 95 LFR Chevrolet with Ty Dillon throughout the season, where he finished 10th at Daytona in July, 12th at Richmond in September and 14th at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October. He concluded the season by finishing in 10th place at Homestead-Miami Speedway and a career-best 30th place in the final standings. By the time the 2016 season concluded, McDowell had surpassed 200 career starts in the Cup Series.

    Following the 2017 Cup season, where he competed the entire 36-race Cup schedule with Leavine Family Racing, achieved a career-best fourth-place finish at Daytona in July and finished a career-best 26th place in the final standings, McDowell moved to Front Row Motorsports to pilot the No. 34 Ford in 2018. He started the season by finishing in ninth place in the 60th running of the Daytona 500 in February. For the remainder of the season, he achieved nine additional top-20 results, led a career-high 33 laps in total and he concluded the season in 26th place in the final standings.

    Remaining with Front Row Motorsports for the 2019 season while paired with former Daytona 500-winning crew chief Drew Blickensderfer, McDowell started the season on a high note by finishing in fifth place in the 61st running of the Daytona 500. He achieved three additional top-15 results over the next 29 Cup races before he logged in another fifth-place result at Talladega in October. He went on to conclude the season in 27th place in the final standings. Following the 2019 season, McDowell surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

    This season, which marks his third with FRM, McDowell has achieved three top-10 results and nine top-15 results through 28 Cup races. He is ranked in 22nd place in the standings, he holds a career-best average result of 19.9 and is coming off a 25th-place result at Richmond while he also continues to pursue his first elusive victory in NASCAR’s premier series.

    Catch McDowell’s milestone start at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 19. The race will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Bowyer and Truex to move into 15th place on all-time Cup consecutive starts list at Daytona

    Bowyer and Truex to move into 15th place on all-time Cup consecutive starts list at Daytona

    A unique milestone is in the making for Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr., former NASCAR Xfinity Series champions and current Cup Series competitors, approaching this weekend’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway. By the time both Cup veterans complete this Saturday’s event at Daytona, both will surpass former NASCAR veteran Kasey Kahne and move into a tie with one another in 15th place on the all-time Cup consecutive starts list with 530 consecutive starts.

    For Bowyer, his current streak of 529 consecutive starts in NASCAR’s premier series spans all the way back to the 2006 Daytona 500 in February. By then, Bowyer was prepared to run his first full-time season in the Cup Series and in the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing with support from crew chief Gil Martin. In addition, he had made one previous start in the Cup Series at Phoenix in April 2005, where he started 25th and finished 22nd in RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet.

    From 2006 to 2008, Bowyer made 108 consecutive starts in the No. 07 Chevrolet for RCR, where he earned his first two Cup career victories in 2007 and 2008. He also achieved two poles, 16 top-five results, 45 top-10 results and a best result of third place in the 2007 standings.

    From 2009 to 2011, he remained at RCR, but assumed driving responsibilities of the No. 33 General Mills/BB&T Chevrolet led by crew chief Shane Wilson. During his three seasons in the No. 33 car (108 consecutive races), Bowyer achieved three wins, 15 top-five results and 50 top-10 results. His best result in the final standings while driving RCR’s No. 33 car was 10th place in 2010.

    From 2012 to 2015, Bowyer changed gears as he moved to Michael Waltrip Racing to pilot the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry led by Brian Pattie. During his four-year run with MWR (144 consecutive races), Bowyer achieved three victories, 27 top-five results and 69 top-10 results with a best result in the final standings being second place in 2012. Following the closure of MWR, Bowyer spent one season racing with HScott Motorsports, where he only achieved three top-10 results and concluded the 2016 Cup season in 27th place in the final standings.

    Since 2017, Bowyer drives the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1/PEAK/Haas Automation/One Cure Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing. From 2017 to 2019, where he worked with crew chief Mike Bugarewicz and made 108 consecutive starts, he achieved two wins, one pole, 22 top-five results and 47 top-10 results. His best result in the final standings during the three seasons he drove SHR’s No. 14 car was ninth place in 2019.

    This season, through the first 25 Cup races and his first season with crew chief Johnny Klausmeier, Bowyer has achieved three stage wins, two top-five results and seven top-10 results. He is currently in 11th place in the regular-season standings and with a 57-point cushion above the top-16 cutline in the standings, he can secure a spot for the 2020 Cup Playoffs should he notch three or more points at Daytona.

    Ironically, Truex’s current streak of 529 consecutive starts in the Cup Series also spans back to the 2006 Daytona 500 when he entered the season as a full-time Cup Rookie-of-the-Year candidate and in the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. with support from crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion. By then, he made a total of nine previous Cup starts in DEI’s No. 1 Chevrolet in 2004 and 2005.

    From 2006 to 2009, Truex made 144 consecutive starts in DEI’s No. 1 Chevrolet. During his four-year run, he earned his first career win and notched three poles. In addition, he recorded 13 top-five results and 36 top-10 results. His best result in the standings during the four seasons with DEI was 11th place in 2007.

    From 2010 to 2013, Truex competed in 144 consecutive races in the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing, first with Pat Tryson before Chad Johnston came on board midway in 2011. During his four-year run with MWR, Truex achieved one win along with three poles, 18 top-five results, 53 top-10 results and a best result in the standings of 11th place in 2012.

    After departing MWR due to sponsorship issues, Truex joined Furniture Row Racing to drive the No. 78 Furniture Row car in 2014, first with Todd Berrier before Canadian Cole Pearn was assigned crew chief in 2015. From 2014 to 2018 (180 consecutive races), Truex’s career skyrocketed as he notched 17 wins, 12 poles, 56 top-five results and 91 top-10 results. In 2017, Truex won his first NASCAR Cup Series championship with Pearn after winning the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He also finished second and fourth in the final standings in 2018 and 2015.

    Since 2019 and after Furniture Row Racing ceased operations following the 2018 season due to a lack of funding and sponsorship, Truex has been driving the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops/Auto-Owners Insurance/SiriusXM Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Last season, Truex won seven races and recorded 15 top-five results and 24 top-10 results throughout the 36-race schedule before he concluded the season as the championship runner up in the final standings behind teammate Kyle Busch.

    This season, through the first 25 Cup races and his first season with new crew chief James Small following Pearn’s departure from NASCAR, Truex has won once and has also recorded two stage wins, 10 top-five results and 16 top-10 results. He is ranked in fourth place in the regular-season standings. Compared to Bowyer, Truex is one of 10 competitors that have already clinched a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs based on winning throughout the regular season.

    In addition to Kasey Kahne (529 consecutive starts), both Bowyer and Truex surpassed Richard Petty (513) and Tony Stewart (521) on the all-time consecutive starts list in the Cup circuit earlier this season. They also hold the second longest active streak in consecutive starts of the current Cup field behind Kevin Harvick, who just completed his 665th consecutive start and surpassed Jimmie Johnson to move into the top five in the all-time starts list.

    Catch Bowyer and Truex’s milestone start at Daytona on August 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • In NASCAR, tenacity inherits a charter spot while success means absolutely nothing

    In NASCAR, tenacity inherits a charter spot while success means absolutely nothing

    Sometimes you earn by doing, sometimes you earn by succeeding. In NASCAR, perseverance seems to trump performance as it announced the Charter teams heading into 2016 and beyond. It has everything to do with how tenacious a team has been in at least attempting to run, and absolutely nothing to do with their success, be it yesterday, today, or even at some future date.

    Thirty-six teams need not worry, at least for the next three years, whether or not they will be racing each week in Cup action after NASCAR granted charters to 19 racing organizations. The agreement, which is slated to run for the next nine seasons, means that the holders of those charters will have no concerns, regardless as to how their seasons have gone or how they qualify. Good news for those seeking some guaranteed stability in their operation, knowing that they can tell sponsors and vendors that they will be running no matter what.

    While 36 will be locked in, only four open slots will be available to anyone else. The field will be reduced from 43 to 40 cars, though when you consider that only a couple a dozen of them have any realistic chance of success any given week, the fans have not lost much.

    Where they lose is that there are some bad teams that will not be going anywhere or replaced by anyone until at least 2025. The only way to lose a Charter is to finish among the three worst Charter teams for three straight years, and even then that would be at NASCAR’s discretion. If you want a Charter, you either got rewarded with one this week or you have to buy it. No Charters can be earned through racing performance. You can get the loan of one from a team for a single season, and that could happen with that particular Charter only once every five years. In addition, the maximum number of Charters an organization can have is four, the same number of cars they actually can own and operate.

    NASCAR came up with the 36 charters after going over the past three seasons to determine which outfits were making the weekly commitment. The Wood Brothers No. 21, driven by Ryan Blaney, did not make the cut as that organization has been running part-time in recent seasons. Performance alone did not cut it, as the Kurt Busch ride, the Stewart-Haas No. 41 and the Joe Gibbs’ No. 19 team of Carl Edwards, also failed to qualify due to their relatively recent formations. Though Clint Bowyer’s entry made it, thanks to a million dollar Charter loan from Premium’s Jay Robinson, Harry Scott’s other car, the No. 46 of Michael Annett did not. With Michael Waltrip Racing going the way of the dodo, its two charters can be purchased from what is left of MWR. It is expected that Busch and Edwards will wind up as the beneficiaries of that.

    Eight organizations, which include Petty, Hendrick, Roush, Gibbs, Childress, Penske, Stewart-Haas and Ganassi, have combined for a total of 942 victories. Two other teams, Front Row and Furniture Row, have a win each. That leaves eight, a list that includes such franchise entities as JTG Daugherty, Baldwin, Germain, Go Fas, BK Racing, Circle Sport and Premium Motorsports, all which have yet to taste the champagne. Meanwhile, the owners of cars driven by Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards, who both won twice in 2015, have to buy Charters to be locked in. Wood Brothers, returning to full-time operations after nine seasons, is an outsider. Those 98 wins, 116 poles over 1405 races since 1950 do not mean squat.

    If one day all this equates into some sort of equality amongst teams, where today’s weak sisters grow and compete with the big boys, then fine and good. However, if we are left with a band of weak sisters at the expense of those who can demonstrate an ability to succeed, we shall all be the poorer for it.

  • The Final Word on 2015

    The Final Word on 2015

    The gifts are open, the tree is on borrowed time, and a New Year is almost upon us. Seems like a good time to reflect on the year that was, as we embark on the one that will be.

    Once again, 2015 brought us a satisfying champion. He might not have been the one you were cheering for, Junior fans, but you cannot quibble about the great story that was Kyle Busch. Hurt in the opening junior series race, he missed the opening 11 of the Cup schedule. In the old days, he would have been an also-ran, but that was before a win and a Top 30 position in the standings forgave such things.

    With just 15 races to accomplish what needed to be done, Busch won some. No surprise there. The fact he got into position to make those wins count was in doubt, at least, we thought so. We of little faith. It would appear that those who really have what it takes to challenge for the title need not bother to appear until May, which helps explain why NASCAR insists drivers run all the races rather than pick and choose.

    Not only did Busch win the title, as he and Kurt join the Labonte brothers as champion siblings, but he also came up with a rule change that makes sense. If you lead the pack entering the Chase, you should get a free pass into the second round. Other sports give a bye or, at least, home field advantage to those with the best record entering the playoffs, why not NASCAR? Some might argue the front trio should have such an advantage, but I would settle for one. Like Kyle’s championship, that driver would have earned it.

    Four-time king Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart have earned their eventual invitations to enter NASCAR’s Hall of Fame. Gordon left his famed No. 24 only after his 93rd career victory at Martinsville and finishing third in the battle for the championship. Stewart has one more round left in him, as he embarks on his farewell tour at Daytona. The three-time champion lost the magic suddenly in 2013 after a pair of sprint cup race mishaps, one that broke his leg, the other that took the life of another driver in 2014. May 2016 bring him some deserved satisfaction.

    It was also a tough season, at least at the start, for Kurt Busch. A domestic violence accusation got him a three-race suspension to start the year. Matt Kenseth ended on a sour note, as he was gone for two after delivering some on-track justice that left Joey Logano’s title hopes about as shot as Kenseth’s own. Michael Waltrip Racing went the way of the dodo, as the outfit never recovered from Clint Bowyer’s 2013 spin that almost got Martin Truex Jr. a Chase place. Instead, after the controversy they lost the NAPA sponsorship and the Truex entry, and during this season, Waltrip’s financial backer backed out.

    That means Bowyer moves to the seat of Harry Scott’s No. 51 for a season before taking over Stewart’s No. 14 in 2017. Brian Scott replaces Sam Hornish Jr. in the Petty No. 9 while Chase Elliott replaces Gordon in Hendrick’s No, 24. Jeffrey Earnhardt will drive most of the season in the GoFAS Racing No. 32, with the Front Row No. 34 taken over by Chris Buescher. Ryan Blaney returns with the Wood Brothers No. 21, which returns to running a full schedule in 2016.

    2015 was when we had to say goodbye to broadcaster Steve Byrnes. We lost Buddy Baker over the past year. Red Farmer mourns his wife Joan, and Bobby Allison lost his wife Judy. My own mother, Mae, passed away this past August.

    As for 2016, it will bring us a new rules package, supposedly making the cars slower, less comfortable to drive, and closer in some regards to the XFINITY model. It is hoped this will make the racing more exciting, which we have heard before, but could also see more Cup guys in the XFINITY series to tune up. If so, that would, in the parlance of my youth, blow chunks.

    I am sure you would agree that would be something to avoid come New Year’s Eve as we have just seven weeks to go before they go again in Daytona.