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Tag: NASCAR Xfinity Series

  • Chase Briscoe battles with Kyle Busch and wins at Darlington in dramatic fashion

    Chase Briscoe battles with Kyle Busch and wins at Darlington in dramatic fashion

    A final restart would bring an entertaining end at Darlington Raceway as Chase Briscoe held off a hard-charging Kyle Busch to take the race win. It was Briscoe’s fourth career win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and his second win of the season.

    An emotional Briscoe said, “This is the number one win. Honestly, winning the Daytona 500 couldn’t even top the feeling of just, like I was saying earlier, the ups and downs. This is what my family needed and what my wife needed.”

    Noah Gragson led the field to green after a random draw gave him the pole position. His JR Motorsports teammate, Michael Annett, would be on his inside. As the two got the green flag, Annett’s No. 1 would spin the tires, miring him backward in the race.

    Ross Chastain would reach near the top 5, and Busch would climb his way upwards into the Top 10. Ryan Sieg’s No. 39 would showcase some good pace as he closed in on Gragson’s No. 9 before the competition caution would fly on Lap 15.

    With everyone’s positions maintained, Gragson would lead the field down for the restart. Austin Cindric would benefit from a quick launch, moving up to third. Myatt Snider found trouble off Turn 2 as he hit the wall after contact with Timmy Hill, giving the No. 93 damage to the back end, bringing out the yellow.

    Busch had some right-side damage to his No. 54 due to contact with the wall during the green flag stint.

    Gragson would continue to hold his ground on the restart, Chastain would look to challenge but would not be able to reach the No. 9 as Gragson would cruise to take victory in Stage 1.

    Chastain, Sieg, Busch, and Cindric would round out the Top Five while Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric, Briscoe, Annett, and Justin Haley would round out the Top Ten to end the stage.

    Busch would be the first one off pit lane, putting the No. 54 in the lead.

    As Stage 2 began, the intensity began to pick up. Gragson would lose out to Busch and Allgaier on the restart, dropping to third.

    Chastain and Briscoe would go at it for multiple laps for a handful of laps before the No. 98 would loosen the Kaulig car off Turn 2, costing Chastain several spots as Hemric and Annett would rocket past him. Later, Annett would kiss the Turn 1 wall but would keep on going without much of an issue.

    Nobody would be able to challenge the No. 54 as Busch won Stage 2. Allgaier, Gragson, Briscoe, and Annett would be in the Top 5. Hemric, Chastain, Cindric, Sieg, and Jeremy Clements would round out the Top 10.

    Busch, however, was caught speeding on pit road, sending him to the rear of the field. With Busch at the back it allowed many of the regulars to pounce on a potential win as the final stage begun. Allgaier took the lead but the No. 7 would spin his tires, allowing Briscoe to take the first position.

    Brandon Jones would experience a vibration with his No. 19, bringing his car down pit lane.

    With 30 to go, Busch had made his way up to the eighth position, passing teammate Harrison Burton off Turn 2. The distance between Briscoe and Allgaier would dissipate as the No. 7 closed in.

    Hemric would try and pass Gragson on the outside, but his teammate would push up the track, allowing Annett to take both spots. Hemric later would overtake the No. 1 to take third back.

    The lead would swap as Allgaier would pass Briscoe off Turn 2. Then, Briscoe would pull the crossover and when the two were side by side into Turns 1 and 2, Allgaier would slap the wall.

    A caution would fly with 15 laps to go when Annett’s No. 1 would go for a spin. Annett was trying to get around Joe Nemechek’s No. 47 in Turn 3 while battling Hemric. The No. 1 would get loose and spin on the apron, bunching the field back together.

    Briscoe would have a better stop than Allgaier and the No. 98 would become the race leader. Busch would gain multiple spots in pit lane, putting the M&M’s Toyota in the third position. Briscoe and Allgaier would the field down with 10 laps to go. The two would make contact but Briscoe would hold his ground. Busch would then pounce on the No. 7, taking over the runner up spot.

    However, the fun was not over.

    Coming to the white flag, Briscoe hit the Turn 4 wall and Busch pounced on the inside. The two would go side by side into Turn 1 and Briscoe would keep his foot in it, holding the lead as both of them rubbed fenders.

    Into Turn 3 Busch would have one final look to the inside and they were side by side momentarily before the No. 98 edged out Busch to take the checkered flag.

    Race results:

    1. Chase Briscoe
    2. Kyle Busch – Stage 2 Winner
    3. Justin Allgaier
    4. Austin Cindric
    5. Noah Gragson – Stage 1 Winner
    6. Daniel Hemric
    7. Ryan Sieg
    8. Ross Chastain
    9. Harrison Burton
    10. Justin Haley
    11. Brett Moffitt
    12. Jeremy Clements
    13. Brandon Brown
    14. Anthony Alfredo
    15. BJ McLeod
    16. Josh Williams
    17. Alex Labbe
    18. Riley Herbst
    19. Joe Graf Jr
    20. Brandon Jones
    21. Ray Black Jr.
    22. Timmy Hill
    23. Jeffrey Earnhardt
    24. Chad Finchum
    25. Michael Annett – one lap down
    26. Tommy Joe Martins – one lap down
    27. Colby Howard – one lap down
    28. Joe Nemechek – one lap down
    29. Vinnie Miller – two laps down
    30. Mason Massey – four laps down
    31. Ronnie Bassett Jr. – four laps down
    32. Kody Vanderwal – five laps down
    33. Bayley Currey – five laps down
    34. Matt Mills – 12 laps down
    35. Myatt Snider – 18 laps down
    36. Jesse Little – OUT
    37. Colin Garrett – 36 laps down
    38. Landon Cassill – OUT
    39. Stephen Leicht – OUT
  • Kaulig Racing salvages top-10 results at Darlington

    Kaulig Racing salvages top-10 results at Darlington

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series return to on-track racing at Darlington Raceway for the Toyota 200 was a challenging day for Kaulig Racing’s Ross Chastain and Justin Haley, both of whom dealt with handling issues from the drop of the green flag. In the end, both were able to survive a late-race restart and walk away with top-10 results while earning valuable points towards the postseason.

    The race was postponed to Thursday at noon ET from its scheduled date on Tuesday, May 19, due to persistent rain, but faced another delay of more than four hours on the postponed race date. Nonetheless, the jet dryers were able to dry the track to have the race prepared at 4:20 p.m. ET. 

    When the race commenced, Haley started third based on a random draw while Chastain started ninth. Throughout the first stage, spanning 45 laps, Chastain displayed early speed and was able to drive his No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet as high as second despite battling tightness. Haley, meanwhile, fell back to ninth while reporting to his crew chief Alexander Yontz that his car was tight and needed more stability. 

    Following a late caution that established a six-lap dash to the conclusion of the first stage, Chastain restarted on the front row alongside pole-sitter Noah Gragson and made a brief challenge for the lead, but Gragson was able to maintain the lead through Turn 4. At the stage’s conclusion, Chastain would finish second behind Gragson while Haley managed to finish 10th, which was enough to earn one stage point.

    The second stage was where both Kaulig Racing competitors started to battle on-track handling issues to their respective Camaros. Restarting under green, Chastain restarted third while Haley restarted 11th. As the race progressed into a long run, Chastain started to struggle for grip through the turns and while on the throttle. With 11 laps remaining in the stage, he slipped in Turn 2 when Chase Briscoe got Chastain aero loose and slipping sideways. The light contact caused him to fall back as low as eighth while Briscoe, Gragson, Daniel Hemric, Michael Annett and Austin Cindric were able to pass Chastain. Haley, meanwhile, had fallen back to 15th at the start, but managed to work back to 12th through the long run.

    When the second stage concluded, which was won by Kyle Busch, Chastain salvaged a seventh-place result after outlasting a back-and-forth, lap-by-lap exchange with Cindric for position while Haley finished 12th after continuing to battle with loose conditions to his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet. 

    Under pit stops, both pitted for four fresh tires and fuel with Chastain receiving wedge adjustments and Haley receiving adjustments to the right rear of his car along with air pressure changes.

    When the race resumed in the final stage, Chastain restarted sixth and Haley restarted 11th. They remained in the top-11 for the majority of the final run. Both teammates appeared to have top-10 runs established when Annett spun in Turn 4 and drew the race’s fifth caution with 15 laps remaining.

    During the caution, Chastain and Haley joined the leaders in making a final round of pit stops. Chastain received air pressure and track bar adjustments to restart ninth while Haley received air pressure and wedge adjustments and restarted 11th despite opting to not take fuel.

    In a nine-lap dash to the finish, Chastain and Haley were each able to gain one position for themselves, but were unable to mount a further charge to the front. When the checkered flag flew, Chastain finished eighth and Haley settled in 10th. They watched from a distance as Chase Briscoe withstood a last-lap battle against Kyle Busch to win.

    Chastain and Haley each claimed their fourth top-10 result of this season. With the result, Chastain is fifth in the Xfinity Series regular-season standings and trails race winner and new points leader Briscoe by 35 points while Haley is eighth and trails by 55.

    Chastain and Haley, along with their fellow competitors, will return for the next Xfinity Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway scheduled on May 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.

  • Rain postpones Xfinity Series’ return at Darlington Raceway

    Rain postpones Xfinity Series’ return at Darlington Raceway

    Staff Report | NASCAR.com

    Rainy weather led to the postponement of Tuesday night’s race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Darlington Raceway.

    The Toyota 200 was scheduled for a 6 p.m. ET start, a time moved up Monday by two hours because of the threat of inclement weather. Persistent rain forced the 147-lap event to move to Thursday at noon ET (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).

    The race is the Xfinity Series’ first event since March 7. All of the circuit’s races since mid-March were placed on hold by the outbreak of COVID-19. The Darlington event and subsequent races in May and June are scheduled to be held without fans in attendance and without practice or qualifying.

    NASCAR officials had 10 Air Titans to lead the track-drying delegation at the 1.366-mile oval, but persistent storms made it impossible to race.

    When the race does get going, Noah Gragson — winner of the Xfinity season opener at Daytona in February — will start from the No. 1 spot after a structured draw for starting positions. He’ll line up alongside JR Motorsports teammate Michael Annett on the front row. Points leader Harrison Burton starts 12th.

  • A new wave of firsts in NASCAR’s revised schedule

    A new wave of firsts in NASCAR’s revised schedule

    With NASCAR set to embark on its first wave of the revised 2020 racing schedule this weekend, a second wave has been revealed that will follow suit at the conclusion of May. Compared to the original wave, the new one is bigger and features additional twists from the sanctioning body’s original approach to this year’s schedule.

    In a continuous effort to make up the two-month hiatus of racing amid the Coronavirus pandemic, NASCAR revealed the next five Cup races that will occur following the May 27 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Also revealed were the upcoming five Xfinity Series races, two Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races and one ARCA Menards Series race. Tracks that includes Bristol Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway have racing dates established after originally being postponed. From the upcoming tracks that are featured in the revised schedule, beginning on May 30, Martinsville and Homestead will provide a first of its own in NASCAR history.

    When the original 2020 schedule was revealed in March 2019, Martinsville Speedway, one of NASCAR’s ancient tracks raced on since 1949, was set in making its highly anticipated debut as a night race for the Cup Series. While the first night race at the half-mile Paper Clip track will proceed as planned, it will occur on a Wednesday night, June 10, from its original date, May 9, during Mother’s Day weekend. The last time Martinsville raced on a weekday was in 2018, when rain and snow pushed all on-track activities scheduled for Saturday and Sunday to Monday. This, however, will be Martinsville’s first time hosting a midweek race for NASCAR’s premier series. Martinsville becomes the third Cup event to race on Wednesday night this season, joining Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. This will also be the only NASCAR activity at Martinsville scheduled in June as the Whelen Modified Tour’s return to the track, scheduled on May 8, has been cancelled.

    For Homestead-Miami Speedway, as originally announced, this season will mark the first time since 2001 where NASCAR’s weekend finale will not occur at the 1.5-mile track. Prior to the pandemic, however, Homestead was set to host a triple-header on March 20-22. In NASCAR’s revised schedule, Homestead will host a quadruple-header for NASCAR’s three major touring series, a first in the sport, with two races a piece. In this occasion, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will have back-to-back races at the track on the same weekend, a first in the series’ history. The Xfinity Series will run its first race at Homestead on Saturday, June 13, at the conclusion of the Truck Series race the same day before returning on Sunday, June 14, prior to the Cup Series. Saturday’s Xfinity race at Homestead will also serve as a makeup race for Iowa Speedway, originally scheduled for June 13, as NASCAR canceled its events at Iowa this season.

    The three additional venues announced in NASCAR’s second scheduling phase, (Bristol Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway), will provide a first in the sport. Bristol, which is scheduled to host a doubleheader between the Xfinity and Cup Series on May 30-31, will feature a NASCAR event in May for the first time since 1983. Atlanta, which will hold a triple-header between NASCAR’s major touring series for a sixth consecutive season on June 6-7, will host NASCAR in June for the first time since 1965. Talladega, which will feature the ARCA Menards Series return to racing along with the Xfinity and Cup Series on June 20-21, will feature racing in June for the first time in the track’s history.

    Overall, the second phase of the 2020 NASCAR schedule features 13 races spanning 22 days.

    The announcement of the sanctioning body’s second phase of a revised schedule comes as NASCAR prepares to return to on-track racing on May 17 in its first of an 11-day span across the Carolinas, from Darlington Raceway to Charlotte Motor Speedway. All scheduled races through mid-June will air on FOX or FOX Sports 1 and occur without fans in attendance as a safety precaution amid the Coronavirus pandemic as NASCAR continues to work with public health officials in monitoring and providing a safe, healthy environment for the drivers and teams for the upcoming races.

    Further announcements for the remainder of this year’s NASCAR schedule will be announced at a later date.

  • Back to almost normal

    Back to almost normal

    With a deep breath, we will see live racing on Sunday. No, you will not hear the roar of the crowd, and you won’t see much of a victory lane celebration, but in these days of pandemic, it’s still much better than virtual racing, that depended on how well the driver had experienced the computer program. I had grown tired of the “computer racing.” I’m glad to get back to man and machine. I’m looking forward to real racing.

    It’s going to be different, though. Most events this month will probably be one-day events and qualifying based on a draw. Media availability will be shortened to only a few outlets, and driver reactions after the race will be done remotely. Yes, it won’t be the same. Races at Chicagoland, Richmond, and Sonoma will be replaced with the Darlington-Charlotte marathon this month. My sources tell me that Fox will have all races as it stands.

    NASCAR is the first major sport trying to do this, so they will be under the microscope, thus the harsh requirements. All must wear masks. Teams are allowed fewer people. Big fines or punishments will follow. Yes, the days of old are gone. Cleanliness is important. Following the rules will depend on whether we see a season or not. MLB, the NBA, and all major sports are watching us. Our success means their success. We must make this work.

    So, we head to Darlington, as far as I can tell, the series’ second-oldest track, and have a race. I love Darlington. I’ve covered races there, even when the little red press box used to feel the vibrations when drivers hit the wall in front of it and you had to run to the back of the press box to post stories. It’s altogether good and proper we start this new experiment there. The good news is the statement that we will have a fall race – a throwback race at the track in September if all goes well. It must, not only for NASCAR but all big-time professional sports. Cross your fingers and pray, if you pray, for success this weekend for these races.

  • NASCAR realigns 2020 schedule, shifts events from Chicagoland, Richmond, Sonoma

    NASCAR realigns 2020 schedule, shifts events from Chicagoland, Richmond, Sonoma

    Staff Report | NASCAR.com

    NASCAR officials announced Friday three tracks will have races reassigned to Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway later this month as the sport attempts to hold its first events since the COVID-19 outbreak.

    The realignment shifts events away from Chicagoland Speedway, Richmond Raceway (spring) and Sonoma Raceway on the 2020 calendar. According to officials from the sanctioning body, future adjustments to this season’s schedule “will be released in the near future.”

    NASCAR initially announced portions of a revised May schedule on April 30, adding national series events at Darlington and Charlotte. Those tracks were chosen for NASCAR’s return to competition in part because of their proximity to the industry’s Charlotte-area hub, as officials try to minimize travel demands and limit the amount of at-track personnel with one-day events.

    “Due to the current pandemic, NASCAR has faced several difficult decisions, including realigning race dates from several race tracks,” the NASCAR statement read. “These decisions were made following thorough collaboration with local and state government officials from across the country, including the areas of the affected race tracks. We thank all our fans for their support, and we look forward to our return to racing.”

    Further details about the changes to the 2020 racing schedule:

    • Chicagoland’s NASCAR Cup Series race — originally set for June 21 — has been reassigned to Darlington on May 17. The 1.5-mile Illinois track’s Xfinity Series race that was scheduled June 20 will be held May 19 at Darlington. Chicagoland was also set to host the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (June 19) and ARCA Menards Series (June 18); officials indicated those races will be reassigned at a later date.

    • Richmond Raceway’s springtime Cup Series event on the initial schedule for April 19 has been moved to Darlington on May 20. A Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race that was to be run April 18 remains postponed, with officials saying details would come later for rescheduling. The .75-mile Virginia track’s Sept. 11-12 race weekend remains on the schedule.

    • Sonoma Raceway’s Cup Series date for June 14 has been moved to Charlotte on May 27. Officials for the road course said in a release they had worked with NASCAR to find an alternate date on the schedule, but a suitable replacement could not be reached, “given the ongoing uncertainty around large events in California.”

    Each of the three tracks released statements, saying ticketholders for the canceled races would receive a full refund or a 120-percent credit toward a future event.

    • Chicagoland Speedway president Scott Paddock: “The difficult decision to realign our race events was a combination of where we fell on the schedule, proximity to NASCAR’s teams and the safety and well-being of our community and larger NASCAR industry. We will miss the roar of the engines at Chicagoland Speedway this season, but we will be rooting for and supporting our NASCAR colleagues at Darlington Raceway as competition returns on Sunday, May 17.”

    • Richmond Raceway president Dennis Bickmeier: “As a sport, we continue to be united in the best interests of the safety and well-being of our fans, competitors, stakeholders, and track personnel. There will be brighter and healthier days ahead in the greater Richmond region when NASCAR returns to Richmond Raceway for the NASCAR Playoff Race Weekend on Sept. 11-12. We look forward to NASCAR’s best getting back on the track at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 17 as we launch a new countdown to the return of racing in RVA this fall.”

    • Sonoma Raceway president and general manager Steve Page: “We work all year for this event, so this is a huge disappointment for us, for our fans and our sponsors, but we realize it’s part of a larger challenge facing our nation and everyone in the live events business. We are excited that NASCAR is coming back to broadcast television and are ready to support the upcoming events at our Speedway Motorsports tracks. We look forward to NASCAR’s return to Sonoma in 2021.”

  • Xfinity regulars look to extend momentum in 2020

    Xfinity regulars look to extend momentum in 2020

    Potential milestones are in the making for this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season in its resumption at Darlington Raceway in mid-May. 

    Through the first four races of the 2020 Xfinity season, each event has been won by non-NASCAR Cup Series regulars. The last time the exact achievement was made was in 2012, when NASCAR Truck Series contender James Buescher opened a new year by claiming an upset victory at Daytona followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. winning at Las Vegas and Elliott Sadler notching two wins at Phoenix and Bristol. The early streak ended the following week when Cup regular Joey Logano won at Auto Club. 

    With the series heading to Darlington, Xfinity regulars have a chance to extend the winning streak to five races, a feat last made in 1995. In that year, Chad Little won the first two races of the season at Daytona and Rockingham followed by Kenny Wallace winning at Richmond, Johnny Benson Jr. at Atlanta and David Green at Nashville.

    The recent success of the Xfinity Series regulars stretches to not only the first four completed races this season, but also includes the previous two seasons. In 2018, 20 of the 33 scheduled races have been won by non-Cup competitors, which includes part-timers Ryan Preece, Chase Briscoe and John Hunter Nemechek. Last season, 28 of 33 races were won by Xfinity competitors, including AJ Allmendinger winning at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Of the 28 events, 21 were won between championship contenders Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer and Christopher Bell. With all three having graduated to the Cup Series this season, it opens opportunities for their fellow competitors and new faces to shine and make a bid for this year’s championship.

    It also opens one of two scheduled opportunities for a 2020 Xfinity regular to win at Darlington for the first time. Only three series regulars have won at the venue in the previous 10 seasons: Chase Elliott in 2014, Elliott Sadler in 2016 and Cole Custer in 2019. 

    Currently, Joe Gibbs Racing has the most victories at Darlington with 10, two from Kyle Busch and five from Denny Hamlin. JGR’s current lineup, featuring Brandon Jones and rookies Harrison Burton and Riley Herbst, aims to extend the team’s recent dominance at the historic circuit. Jones is the most recent winner of this season, having won at Phoenix, and has made four previous starts at Darlington, earning two top-10 results. Burton is the points leader and is coming off his first career win at Auto Club. He, however, will make his first start at a track where his father, Jeff, and uncle, Ward, have won a combined eight times between the Cup and Xfinity Series. Like Burton, Herbst will make his debut at Darlington. He has earned three top-10 results, including a career-best runner-up finish at Auto Club this season. Should either Burton or Herbst win, it would mark the first time an Xfinity event at Darlington was won by a newcomer since Chase Elliott did in 2014 with a last-lap pass.

    Speaking of first-time winners, Darlington is no stranger in making winning aspirations come true. It has not, however, been done since 1984 when Ron Bouchard won. Other competitors to do so includes Geoffrey Bodine in 1982 and Neil Bonnett in 1983. Including Herbst, among other competitors looking for their first Xfinity career win this season, are Ryan Sieg, Justin Haley, Brandon Brown, Alex Labbe, Josh Williams, Ray Black Jr., Jesse Little, Joe Graf Jr., Daniel Hemric, Anthony Alfredo and Myatt Snider.

    In addition to Harrison Burton and Brandon Jones, Chase Briscoe and Noah Gragson have won a race this season and look to extend their strong start throughout the Carolinas, starting with Darlington, in an effort to contend for their first NASCAR title. Those who have won within the last three seasons but are winless in 2020 includes Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett and Jeremy Clements.

    In a series where names are made, this year’s Xfinity field, featuring a mix of new and familiar notables aiming to outcompete one another and emerge as future NASCAR stars, will set their sights and proceed with the competition in the sport’s return at Darlington on May 19 followed by Charlotte on May 26. The remainder of the schedule is to be determined.

  • NASCAR is back or is it?

    NASCAR is back or is it?

    The news all NASCAR fans were waiting to hear came this past Thursday when the sanctioning body announced the next race would be held on Sunday, May 17 at Darlington Raceway. This 400-mile race would be televised on FOX and begin at 3:30 p.m., Eastern time. Then came the rest. There would be no fans in the stands. I would assume the network’s media people would be attending, but it’s not clear about print and other media. There will be strict rules dealing with social distancing, of course.

    The rest of the initial schedule is equally different. The next race is an Xfinity Series race two days later on May 19 at Darlington. The third race would be a Cup race on Wednesday, March 20 and would be 500 km in length. Both races will air on FSI. The Xfinity race would be broadcasted at 8 p.m. and the race at 7:30 p.m. Then, the stagiest thing happens.

    Four days after the second Darlington Cup race, we get the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24 at 6 p.m. on FOX and the Xfinity race the next day at 7:30 p.m. on FS1. A Gander Outdoors race would be the next day, March 26, also on FS1 and another 500km Cup race on May 27 at 8 p.m. on FS1.

    The reason given was the two tracks are in proximity to most team’s Charlotte-area shops. Count them, folks. That is seven races at those two tracks in 8 days. I cannot imagine this is going to be easy for drivers, teams, and media. All would be run with empty bleachers. This cannot be normal, and results would probably not be what fans are used to seeing, but as someone who lost interest in the computer races, I welcome this.

    I am proud of NASCAR keeping fans teams safe with these measures. It will be interesting how fans, teams, and tracks react.  Four races at Charlotte and three at Darlington with the promise of the Southern 500 on Labor Day? Stay tuned.

  • NASCAR returns with three points-paying races at a single track

    NASCAR returns with three points-paying races at a single track

    Five months into 2020, NASCAR’s 72nd season of existence has been a bizarre season in the making highlighted with a hiatus in racing spanning two months due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. With the season two weeks away from resuming, a major twist to the racing schedule is in the making.

    For the first time since 1981, a NASCAR season will feature three points-paying races at a single track as the sport strives to make up the lost time of on-track racing.

    On April 30, NASCAR disclosed that Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway will host additional NASCAR national series races throughout the second half of May, totaling to seven in a span of 11 days across the Carolinas.

    Darlington will feature two additional Cup races (May 17 & May 20) and an extra Xfinity Series event (May 19) to go along with the Labor Day Weekend events that still includes the Southern 500 for the postseason opener (September 5). Charlotte, additionally, will host an extra Cup race on May 27 three days after the Coca-Cola 600 past Memorial Day Weekend. The NASCAR XFinity Series (May 25) and the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (May 26) will follow coincidentally while the Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval remains as scheduled (October 11).

    The last time NASCAR raced at a track three times in a season was at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, CA, in 1981, where the season raced its opener in January, returned midway into the season in June and added another event in November to conclude the season. This does not, however, mark NASCAR’s only time pulling this feat.

    The first track to host three points-paying races in a season was at Carrell Speedway in Gardena, CA, in 1951 during NASCAR’s third season of racing. Among other examples where a track featured three racing events in a season includes:

    • Langhorne Speedway (1953). 
    • Columbia Speedway (1955, 1958-1960).
    • Charlotte Speedway (1956). 
    • Hickory Speedway (1956). 
    • Portland Speedway (1956-1957). 
    • Southern States Fairgrounds (1957 & 1959). 
    • Concord Speedway (1957 & 1962).
    • Bowman Gray Stadium (1959-1963). 
    • Asheville-Weaverville Speedway (1959).   
    • Martinsville Speedway (1961).

    The featured events at Darlington and Charlotte will mark NASCAR’s return to on-track racing since the week of March 6-8 at Phoenix Raceway. NASCAR was also intent on racing the following week at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but the racing activities for the weekend were postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Other postponements that followed suit in the spring included Homestead-Miami Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway, Dover International Speedway and Martinsville Speedway.

    An announcement for the remainder of this year’s NASCAR national series schedule has not been determined, though the sanctioning body intends to hold all 36 Cup races this season, including the postseason as originally scheduled from September through November.

  • Quarantined with Jeremy Clements

    Quarantined with Jeremy Clements

    It’s been a month since NASCAR had to postpone the 2020 racing season due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While the current plan is to resume competition on May 3, it seems likely that it could be much longer before we once again see cars on the track.

    In the meantime, NASCAR has implemented the iRacing Pro Invitational Series to fill the gap. While many of the current drivers are participating, it is, at best, a substitution for the real thing.  

    This week we caught up with Xfinity Series regular Jeremy Clements to find out how he’s coping during the stay-at-home order that most states have issued.

    SM: Are you enjoying the time off or going stir crazy while you wait to get back to racing?

    JC: I’m definitely going stir crazy and can’t wait to get back to the track to race.

    SM: Are you typically the kind of person who enjoys alone time or do you miss being around people?

    JC: I miss being around people and just doing things like going to a restaurant together, a bar, movies, etc. Things that before you took for granted, I guess, now thinking about it. 

    SM: What’s the one thing you miss most other than racing?

    JC: Going out and not worrying about getting too close to people and touching things thinking it has the virus on it. 

    SM: If for some reason you couldn’t race anymore, what career would you choose and why?

    JC: I don’t know really, that’s a tough one. I would say I would be an Uber/Lyft driver or move to a Caribbean island to do excursion tours. 

    SM: What has been your favorite thing to do while you’re stuck at home?

    JC: My favorite thing to do at home is play with our dog Molly. She keeps me entertained most of the time. I’m always chasing her around messing with her and taking her for walks. 

    SM: What is your least favorite thing to do?

    JC: My least favorite thing to do at home is take my wife’s pictures and videos for her social media. Ha Ha, she’ll probably get mad I said that. 

    SM: Have you started any new projects around the house?

    JC: The projects around the house just consist of organizing, cleaning up, and some maintenance. My wife wants to repaint the bathroom since she doesn’t like the colors I’ve picked so I’m sure I’ll be doing that soon. 

    SM: Have you picked up any new hobbies or gotten back to a hobby you didn’t have time to pursue before?

    JC: I haven’t picked up on any new hobbies really. I try and stay active working out, playing basketball, and running. I’ve been catching up on some Xbox too as well as some Netflix series and movies. 

    SM: I noticed you digitally signed a lot of photos on Twitter and it seemed to be a big hit with the fans. Have you thought of any more new ways to interact with fans until you can get back to the track?

    JC: Yeah I did sign a lot of digital photographs for fans. That just kind of happened and was really cool to do. I haven’t really thought of anything else yet but I’ll get on that.

    SM: Are you cooking for yourself at home? If so, what’s the one thing you can cook well?

    JC: I do a lot of cooking. I really like these healthy homemade banana pancakes I’ve been making. I put blueberries and strawberries in them too. I always have enough for a few days as well. I also love to grill out on my charcoal grill. Anything from steak, ribs, fish, shrimp, chicken, pork. I’m always looking at something else to try. I’ve been looking at pellet grills so I’m probably going to get one of those soon since they seem so much easier to control the temperature and still get that smoky taste. 

    SM: What’s your favorite music or band to listen to while you’re isolated at home?

    JC: I generally listen to hard rock a lot. I like to listen to The Rise Guys which is a local radio show in the morning or catch their podcast if I don’t wake up in time. There’s also one channel on XM I like, which is Octane. I listen to it a lot. 

    SM: What are you doing to stay active and keep in shape?

    JC: Trying to stay in decent shape by lifting some weights, doing a few sets of this workout I found online and running, along with basketball. 

    SM: Are you participating in iRacing? If so, is it a good substitute for the real thing?

    JC: I haven’t gotten to do any iRacing, unfortunately. I have a rig but I need a new PC and going to have to spend some money to get it back going. It’s definitely a good tool to use especially going to road courses to learn the tracks. 

    SM: What are you doing to keep positive and motivated?

    JC: Trying to stay as much positive as can be and just rely on my faith in the good Lord knowing he’s got a plan. We’re in a storm now but it won’t last forever. 

    SM: What’s the first thing you will do when the quarantine is over?

    JC: The first thing I do after quarantine is hopefully get some friends and go to Topgolf to have some fun to celebrate. 

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