A tradition in the making. Kingsport Speedway to host their first Fall Festival. We hope to continue this tradition for many more years to come!
This Saturday, October 26th, from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Drivers and their cars will be on hand to hand out candy and sign autographs. This a FREE event that requires no tickets. Everyone is welcome! This event will take place at the track, 2961 N. John B Dennis Hwy. Kingsport, TN
➖Racecar Trunk or Treat!
➖Costume Contests!
➖ Cake walks!
➖ Games!
Notes:
- Our 2020 schedule will be out soon!
- Stay tuned for more information on the Kingsport Miniway.
- Track banquet dates will be announced soon. NASCAR Awards in Charlotte – November 23rd.
- Kingsport Speedway is a Contingency Connection Racer Rewards track. Contingency Connection offers nearly $150,000 in national contingency awards.
For more information on Kingsport Speedway, visit our website at -www.kingsportspeedway.com
Fresh content and updates can also be found on the tracks Facebook page (@KingsportSpeedway), Twitter (@KpSpeedway), Instagram (@KingsportSpeedway), Snapchat (@KptSpeedway), and YouTube (@KingsportSpeedway)
KPS PR
Country Music Superstar Luke Bryan To Headline Firestone Legends Day Concert May 23 at IMS
23 Oct 2019 Written by Speedway Digest StaffAward-winning country music superstar Luke Bryan will headline the Firestone Legends Day Concert on Saturday, May 23, the day before the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
The concert, which also will feature additional acts to be announced, starts at 3:30 p.m. on the Firestone Stage inside Turn 4 of the IMS oval.
Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. (ET) Friday, Nov. 1 at IMS.com, by calling 800-822-INDY or 317-492-6700, or by visiting the IMS Ticket Office at the IMS Administration Building. Fans can get early pre-sale access by joining the mailing list at IMS.com/LegendsDay .
General admission tickets start at just $35. A limited number of concert pit tickets are available starting at $75. For the first time in 2020, a limited number of tickets in a new temporary grandstand are available starting at $115, including concert pit access. A very limited supply of exclusive VIP platform tickets also is available for $250, including pit access, snacks, two complimentary drinks and dedicated bars. Ticket prices will increase as the concert draws closer, so fans are encouraged to buy now.
All concert tickets include admission to the concert and all Legends Day presented by Firestone activities that day at IMS, including autograph sessions with current and past Indianapolis 500 drivers, the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge public drivers meeting, historic race car laps and more.
"The Firestone Legends Day Concert continues to attract the top names in country music every year, and 2020 will be no exception with Luke Bryan headlining the show," IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. "Luke's high-octane performances will charge up our fans for Race Weekend, and we know they'll sing along with hit after hit. This show will be a perfect match for 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.'"
This will be Bryan's second concert at IMS, and first in a decade. He performed as a rising young talent in the Pagoda Plaza on Brickyard 400 weekend in 2010. Since then, Bryan has emerged as one of the biggest stars in the history of country music.
Bryan is a two-time Academy of Country Music and a two-time Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year, a five-time host of the ACM Awards, a celebrity judge on ABC's "American Idol," a NSAI Artist/Songwriter of the Year and was named a CMT Artist of the Year six consecutive years.
He has more certified digital singles than any other country artist, with 46 million tracks and 12 million albums with 4 billion music streams. Bryan has now placed 23 singles at No. 1, 12 of which he co-wrote.
In May 2019, Bryan launched his "Sunset Repeat Tour" with special guests Cole Swindell and Jon Langston and played for 50,000 fans during its opening weekend. He followed that success with a sold-out show in Boston's Gillette Stadium, bringing his career headline stadium concert tally to 35.
Last summer, Bryan also opened Nashville's only six-floor entertainment facility in the heart of Music City, LUKE'S 32 BRIDGE FOOD + DRINK. The name was inspired by Bryan's childhood home near Route 32 Bridge in Lee County, Georgia.
Visit www.LukeBryan.com or follow Luke on Twitter @LukeBryanOnline, Instagram and Facebook.
As the Official Tire of Country Music™ and the Official Tire of the Indianapolis 500, Firestone has served as the presenting sponsor of Legends Day since it debuted in 2014. The partnership brings together two platforms - racing and country music - that have played significant roles in the rich history of the time-tested Firestone brand.
The 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 24. Tickets are on sale now at IMS.com or by calling or visiting the IMS Ticket Office.
IMS PR
NASCAR National Series News & Notes - Martinsville Speedway
23 Oct 2019 Written by Speedway Digest StaffMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: First Data 500
The Place: Martinsville Speedway
The Date: Sunday, October 27
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN, 2:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 263 miles (500 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 130),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 260), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 263)
2018 Race Winner: Joey Logano
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: O'Reilly Auto Parts 300
The Place: Texas Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, November 2
The Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN, 8 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
2018 Race Winner: Cole Custer
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Next Race: NASCAR Hall of Fame 200
The Place: Martinsville Speedway
The Date: Saturday, October 26
The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 1 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 105.2 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 50),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 100), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
2018 Winner: Johnny Sauter
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Team Penske gears up for Martinsville Speedway
Team Penske has won three of the past five races – including the last two – at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, home to Sunday’s First Data 500 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) Monster Energy NACAR Cup Series Playoff race.
Penske’s Brad Keselowski has won two of those Martinsville races – including one of the most dominating victories in the 141-race history at the famous half-mile paperclip-shaped track. He led 446-of-500 laps en route to the March trophy. Only four other times has a race winner led more. And while Keselowski has fallen out of championship contention – missing the Playoff cutoff by a mere three points last week – certainly his two Playoff-eligible teammates – Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney – can take some positive energy from the Penske organization’s performance at Martinsville.
Logano, driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, is the defending Martinsville Playoff race winner, leading 309 laps en route to the victory last October.
In the last five Martinsville races, at least two Team Penske drivers have finished among the top 10.
In March, Keselowski won the race and Blaney finished fourth. In this race last year, Logano won and Keselowski finished fifth. In Spring 2018, Blaney was third, Logano placed sixth and Keselowski finished 10th. In the 2017 Playoff race, Keselowski was fourth and Blaney was eighth. Keselowski won the Spring 2017 race and Logano was fourth.
Only five-time Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin (9.6) has a better average finish than Keselowski’s 11.3. Logano (13.4) and Blaney (14.0) are third and fourth best, respectively, among the eight Playoff drivers in that important statistic.
Logano, 29, has nine top-10 finishes in 21 Martinsville starts, including the 2018 Playoff win. He’s started from the pole position a series-best five times among active drivers – including this March – and has four top-10 finishes in the last six races.
Blaney, 25, has three top-10 finishes in seven Martinsville starts, including a fourth this March. He’s finished in the top-10 in three of the last four races including a career-best of third in 2018.
Kyle Busch could use a rally
It’s been 18 races since Kyle Busch last held a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series trophy, but the four-race winner this season arrives at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway as the series championship leader again – four points up on six-race winner, Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. and nine-points ahead of Sunday’s Kansas winner, another JGR teammate, five-race winner Denny Hamlin.
For most people in the garage and in the grandstands, Busch heads into this final three-race stretch to determine the Championship 4 drivers, a competitor “on the verge” of winning. Certainly, his past performance at these three upcoming tracks would confirm that.
Busch is the only driver among the eight with multiple Cup Series wins at all three venues – Martinsville (two), Texas (three) and ISM Raceway in Phoenix (three). For good measure and further consideration, Busch has won an additional nine times at Texas and 11 times at Phoenix in the Xfinity Series giving him double-digit trophies from those tracks.
At this week’s Martinsville half-miler, Busch has wins in Spring 2016 and in the 2017 Playoff race. He was runner-up three more times, including both spring races in 2017 and 2018. Most telling, perhaps, is that of his 17 top-10 finishes – 16 of them are top fives. When he’s on, he’s on.
He’s finished fifth or better in the last eight Martinsville races – including two victories and two second-place finishes. He led a race-best 274 laps and finished runner-up to Brad Keselowski in 2017. In the last seven races, Busch has led 937 laps – 65.8 percent of his 1,424 lap-total at Martinsville. Seven times he’s led at least 100 laps in a race. His average finish (12.0) is second only to five-time Martinsville winner Hamlin among the Playoff-eligible drivers.
“I really look forward to this round,’’ Busch said. “I feel like it’s our best round. We run well at all three of those places and we’ve won a few at Texas, we won Martinsville twice and Phoenix has been getting better for us too, winning the last two races there.
“We just need to continue to execute and do a good job and make sure that we mind our Ps and Qs.’’
Hamlin’s time to shine
Denny Hamlin earned his fifth win of the season Sunday at Kansas Speedway and he’s already turning in career statistical numbers, such as his 17 top fives and counting total. But there’s a stat he would like to own, and it comes with a trophy too – Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion.
The 38-year-old Virginian is undeniably the prince of the Martinsville short track among his eight remaining Playoff competitors. His five wins at the half-miler are most among the Playoff field. Only seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson’s nine Martinsville victories are more than Hamlin’s among this week’s entrants.
From 2009-10. Hamlin won three consecutive races at the historic half-miler – a feat done by only a handful of drivers, all champions: Richard Petty (1968-69), Cale Yarborough (1976-77), Darrell Waltrip (1988-89), Rusty Wallace (1994-95) and Jimmie Johnson (2006-07). Fred Lorenzen holds the all-time mark of four straight Martinsville wins between 1963-65.
In addition to his trophies, Hamlin has finished runner-up three times and third place on three more occasions. He’s led 100 laps or more five times at Martinsville. Statistically, when Hamlin’s good, he’s great. He led 502 of his 1,001 career laps out front at Martinsville in just two races – 296 laps in a runner-up finish in Spring 2009 and 206 laps in his Fall 2009 victory.
He has five top-10 finishes in the last seven Martinsville races and the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was runner-up to Joey Logano in last year’s Playoff race. He was fifth in March and boasts the best average finish (9.6) among Playoff drivers. His 20 top 10s at Martinsville are best among Playoff competitors and second only to Johnson’s 24 in this week’s starting field.
Truex still looking for first win at Martinsville
The season’s most prolific winner, six-time race winner Martin Truex Jr. goes into Martinsville (Va.) Speedway still looking for his first career victory at the notoriously finicky half-miler.
He has five top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 27 starts. And his recent work has been his best. He has finished eighth or better in seven of the last nine races – including the last four. He was runner-up to Kyle Busch in 2017 and went on to win his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup championship. He was third in the 2018 Playoff race and finished eighth this March.
Truex trails his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch by only four points in the championship standings heading into Martinsville.
“We know what we need to do,’’ Truex said. “Now it’s just a matter of going out and doing it. I know [crew chief] Cole [Pearn] and the guys have a good plan every week, so I’m confident we can do that. We have been fast, ran up front and led laps at all of these tracks in this round.
“All eight [playoff] guys would love to go into Martinsville this week and win the race to move on. That’s our goal, but we also feel good about the other tracks too.’’
And, he added, “We’ve got a great team. We just have to go out and execute.’’
CHASE-ING
Chase Elliott pulled off one of the most dramatic Playoff-extending performances of the season on Sunday in Kansas, racing to a runner-up finish to Denny Hamlin, which along with some poor luck from fellow contender Brad Keselowski, propelled him forward in the championship hunt.
As the standings are reset to reflect bonus points, Elliott vaults from just earning a spot among the Top eight (three points over Keselowski) to now being ranked sixth among the eight drivers. And Elliott has reason to be optimistic about optimizing his chances.
Elliott has four top-10 finishes in eight Martinsville Speedway races, including a pair of top-five runs. His best showing came this March when he was runner-up to race winner Brad Keselowski and led 49 laps on the evening.
He’s finished in the top 10 in the last three races at The Paperclip. And just for good measure, he does own a Martinsville trophy. He won the 2017 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race from the pole position, leading a race-best 92-of-250 laps.
This season, on tracks less than one mile in length, Elliott has a pair of top-five finishes (runner-up at Martinsville in March and fifth at Bristol, Tenn. in September.). He’s finished 15th or better in all five previous short track races and won the pole position for the April Bristol race.
Harvick ready to step up
Kevin Harvick is a three-race winner in 2019 and a former Monster Energy Series champion (2014), but he is adamant his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team will keep its eyes forward.
He advances to the Round of 8 for the sixth consecutive season and arrives at Martinsville Speedway a former winner (2011) – one of only four current Playoff drivers that has won a series trophy on the challenging venue.
Harvick would like, however, to claim another and ensure his position in the Championship 4 round for the third straight season. He starts this penultimate round of the Playoffs ranked fifth – one position behind where he will need to be to earn that championship opportunity Nov. 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
He has seven top-10 finishes in the 11 Martinsville races he’s competed in for Stewart-Haas Racing, bested by a pair of fifth-place finishes in the 2017 Playoff race and the 2018 Spring race.
He’s been among the top 10 in the last four races, but hasn’t led a lap at Martinsville since March 2016. His average finish of 15.1 is sixth best of the remaining eight title contenders.
Harvick has reason to be confident, however. He’s finished seventh or better in three of the five previous short track races and is averaging a 13.8-place finish at short tracks this year He is a two-time Bristol, Tenn. winner and a three-time Richmond, Va. winner so this style of competition suits the 2014 Cup champion.
The Standard: Jimmie Johnson
Although seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is ineligible for the series championship for the first time in his certain NASCAR Hall of Fame career, he does have plenty of motivation to play spoiler this weekend at Martinsville.
Johnson is enduring his longest career winless streak – his last victory was June 4, 2017 at Dover, Del. – but this week he will be competing at a venue where he is the winningest active driver and on the verge of making more NASCAR history.
The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet can become only the third driver in NASCAR history to have earned 10 or more wins at more than one track. He is an 11-time winner at Dover and has nine victories already at Martinsville Speedway.
Only NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip have won 10 or more races at more than one race track. Petty won 15 times at Martinsville; 15 times at North Wilkesboro, N.C.; 13 races at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, 11 races at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway and 10 times at Daytona International Speedway
Waltrip won 12 times at Bristol, Tenn., 11 times at Martinsville, Va. and 10 times at North Wilkesboro.
Johnson is easily the most successful driver at Martinsville this weekend with a series-best 19 top fives and 24 top 10s to go with his nine wins. He’s led a series-best 2,962 laps. Thirteen times he’s led at least 100 laps in a Martinsville race. Four times he’s led at least 200 laps and twice he’s led at least 300 laps.
He’s one of only seven drivers to ever win three consecutive races at Martinsville (2006-07) and from 2006-2009, he won five-of-six races. Not bad for a driver who finished 35th in his first start at the track.
His last top-10 finish at Martinsville was a victory in the 2016 Playoffs, when he went on to win the series championship.
Johnson currently holds a 15-point advantage over Stewart-Haas Racing’s Daniel Suarez for 17th position in the championship standings – tops among those who did not qualify for the Playoffs.
Sunoco Rookie Race
With only four races remaining in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the competition for Sunoco Rookie of the Year is as close as it’s been.
JTG-Daugherty Racing driver Ryan Preece leads Richard Childress Racing’s Daniel Hemric by a mere six points going into Sunday’s race at Martinsville.
Hemric earned his first career series pole last weekend at Kansas Speedway but was collected in a crash and finished the day 31st. He has a season best showing of fifth at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in May and is ranked 25th in the standings. He’s led 22 laps in seven races, including a season high of seven laps at Charlotte in May.
Preece finished 12th-place at Kansas – his third consecutive top-20 run. His best finish of the year is third-place in that same May Talladega race. He’s led one lap – at Daytona in July.
Hemric was 27th at Martinsville earlier this season and Preece was 16th.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Up Next for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs: Texas Motor Speedway
Following some great action at Kansas Speedway, the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads into the final off-week of the season to prepare for Texas Motor Speedway and the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 on Nov. 2 at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Just two races remain (Texas and Phoenix) in the Playoff’s Round of 8 to decide who makes it to the Championship 4 round at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Texas Motor Speedway has hosted the fifth race of the seven-event NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs since its inception in 2016. Three different drivers have won the Texas Xfinity Playoff race but only one was an Xfinity Series Playoff driver. The first two years of the event, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers took home the checkered flags – Kyle Larson (2016) and Erik Jones (2017). But last season, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer won the Texas Playoff race and guaranteed his spot in the Championship 4; ultimately finishing runner-up to Tyler Reddick in the points.
In total, Texas Motor Speedway has held 37 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, producing 23 different pole winners and 18 different race winners. Kyle Busch leads the series in poles (four) and wins (nine) at the 1.5-mile track.
Berserk Big 3 has Xfinity Playoff competition tensions running-high
With the close action on the track and heated exchanges on pit road, tensions have run high following the epic NASCAR Xfinity Series race last weekend at Kansas Speedway. Now the series has a weekend to cool off, but don’t expect the exceptional competition to slow when they return next week at Texas Motor Speedway for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 (Nov. 2 at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I thought we had a shot to win. Just, a lot of things went wrong (at Kansas),” said Cole Custer. “I went up just to yell at him (Tyler Reddick). But when I put my arm on his shoulder, he went berserk. So, I guess, you don’t want to do that to Tyler.”
The two drivers (Reddick & Custer) made contact in the closing laps at Kansas last weekend, Reddick finished second while Custer fell to an 11th-place finish. Christopher Bell rebounded from an accident on Lap 185 to finish 12th.
“Not the end of the race that our guys are looking for,” said Reddick. “But I think a lot of Cole and his driving ability and a lot of that team. It’s just the heat of the moment. We’re pissed off. I’m sure we’ll talk about it here soon. Maybe today, tomorrow. Who knows, maybe have a beer over it. We’ll talk about it then.”
The Big 3 are now separated by just 12 points with two races left in the Round of 8 to decide who will move on to the Championship 4 in Miami. Christopher Bell holds the Playoff standings lead with 3,106 points; followed by Cole Custer (-11) in second and Tyler Reddick (-12) in third.
Who can catch the Big 3 in the Xfinity Playoffs at Texas?
The Big 3 are currently 1-2-3 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs standings 35 points up on fourth place Justin Allgaier; which has many posing the question, ‘Who can catch them?’. Just two races left in the Xfinity Playoff’s Round of 8 to decide who moves on to Miami.
Justin Allgaier (No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet)
Allgaier is currently in the fourth and final Championship 4 transfer spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff standings; 35 points behind third place Tyler Reddick and only two points up on fifth place rookie, Chase Briscoe. In 30 starts this season, he has put up 15 top fives, 22 top 10s and an average finish of 9.2.
Stats at Texas:
Playoff Rank | Driver | Starts | Poles | Wins | Top Fives | Top 10s | DNFs | Avg Start | Avg Finish |
4 | Justin Allgaier | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 13.6 | 13.1 |
Chase Briscoe (No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing with Fred Biagi Ford)
Briscoe is currently fifth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff standings the first spot outside the Championship 4 cutoff – just two points behind fourth place Justin Allgaier. In 30 starts this season, Briscoe has posted one win (Iowa), 12 top fives, 24 top 10s and an average finish of 7.9.
Stats at Texas:
Playoff Rank | Driver | Starts | Poles | Wins | Top Fives | Top 10s | DNFs | Avg Start | Avg Finish | |
5 | Chase Briscoe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18.0 | 7.5 |
|
Michael Annett (No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet)
Annett resides in the sixth position in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff standings following Kansas; 12 points back from his JR Motorsports teammate in fourth, Justin Allgaier. In 30 starts this season, Annett has gathered one win (Daytona), six top fives, 18 top 10s and an average finish of 10.0.
Stats at Texas:
Playoff Rank | Driver | Starts | Poles | Wins | Top Fives | Top 10s | DNFs | Avg Start | Avg Finish |
6 | Michael Annett | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 23.9 | 15.3 |
Noah Gragson (No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet)
Gragson finds himself seventh in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff standings following Kansas, 17 points behind his fourth place JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier. In 30 starts this season he has collected eight top fives, 20 top 10s and an average finish of 8.8.
Stats at Texas:
Playoff Rank | Driver | Starts | Poles | Wins | Top Fives | Top 10s | DNFs | Avg Start | Avg Finish |
7 | Noah Gragson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.0 | 13.0 |
Austin Cindric (No. 22 Team Penske Ford)
Cindric is currently in the eighth and final position in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff’s Round of 8 standings following an incident at Kansas on Lap 71 that relegated him to a 25th-place finish. As a result, the Team Penske standout dropped four spots in the Playoff standings and now has a 30 point mountain to climb over the next two races to make his way into the Championship 4. In 30 starts this season, Cindric has posted two wins (Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio), 13 top fives, 21 top 10s and an average finish of 9.3.
Stats at Texas:
Playoff Rank | Driver | Starts | Poles | Wins | Top Fives | Top 10s | DNFs | Avg Start | Avg Finish |
8 | Austin Cindric | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11.0 | 7.7 |
New winners are the norm in Xfinity
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones became the latest winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with his victory last weekend at Kansas, and the second first-time winner of the season joining Austin Cindric (Watkins Glen & Mid-Ohio). If you don’t know, new winners are the norm in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Every season since its inception in 1982 has seen at least one new winner, totaling 160 different drivers. In fact, over the last 10 seasons (2011-2019) the series has produced 32 different new winners (list is below in chronological order from most recent):
Rank | First-Time Winners | Track | Date | Rank | First-Time Winners | Track | Date |
1 | Brandon Jones | Kansas | 10/19/2019 | 17 | Erik Jones | Texas | 4/10/2015 |
2 | Michael Annett | Daytona | 2/16/2019 | 18 | Ryan Reed | Daytona | 2/21/2015 |
3 | John H. Nemechek | Kansas | 10/20/2018 | 19 | Chris Buescher | Mid-Ohio | 8/16/2014 |
4 | Chase Briscoe | Charlotte RC | 9/29/2018 | 20 | Ty Dillon | Indianapolis | 7/26/2014 |
5 | Ross Chastain | Las Vegas | 9/15/2018 | 21 | Brendan Gaughan | Road America | 6/21/2014 |
6 | Spencer Gallagher | Talladega | 4/28/2018 | 22 | Chase Elliott | Texas | 4/4/2014 |
7 | Cole Custer | Homestead | 11/18/2017 | 23 | Kyle Larson | Auto Club | 3/22/2014 |
8 | Christopher Bell | Kansas | 10/21/2017 | 24 | Ryan Blaney | Kentucky | 9/21/2013 |
9 | Alex Bowman | Charlotte | 10/7/2017 | 25 | AJ Allmendinger | Road America | 6/22/2013 |
10 | Tyler Reddick | Kentucky | 9/23/2017 | 26 | Regan Smith | Homestead | 11/17/2012 |
11 | Jeremy Clements | Road America | 8/27/2017 | 27 | Austin Dillon | Kentucky | 6/29/2012 |
12 | Ryan Preece | Iowa | 7/29/2017 | 28 | Nelson Piquet Jr | Road America | 6/23/2012 |
13 | William Byron | Iowa | 6/24/2017 | 29 | James Buescher | Daytona | 2/25/2012 |
14 | Michael McDowell | Road America | 8/27/2016 | 30 | Sam Hornish Jr | Phoenix | 11/12/2011 |
15 | Justin Marks | Mid-Ohio | 8/13/2016 | 31 | Trevor Bayne | Texas | 11/5/2011 |
16 | Daniel Suarez | Michigan | 6/11/2016 | 32 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Iowa | 5/22/2011 |
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year Update: Just two Xfinity rookies remain eligible for the end of the season honors as only Stewart-Haas Racing with Fred Biagi’s Chase Briscoe and JR Motorsport’s Noah Gragson have advanced to the Round of 8 in the Playoffs. Briscoe currently holds a 37 point lead on Gragson heading into Texas.
Xfinity Manufacturers’ Standings Update: Chevrolet (eight wins) currently holds the lead in the NASCAR Xfinity Series manufacturer standings following Kansas with 1,076 points; just 14 points up on second place Ford (10 wins) and 20 points up on third place Toyota (12 wins).
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Back to “The Paperclip”
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series makes its return trip to Martinsville Speedway for the second race in the Round of 6 in the Playoffs. Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the first race there earlier this year.
Three former Martinsville race winners are entered in Saturday’s showdown – but only one is a championship contender.
Johnny Sauter leads the field – and drivers overall – with four wins (Fall 2018, Fall 2016, Spring 2013, Spring 2011) at the half-mile circuit and will be looking to play the spoiler as he was eliminated from the Playoffs after the opening round.
His ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton is still in championship contention and has a pair of wins himself (Fall 2015, Spring 2014) at Martinsville.
John Hunter Nemechek, who is declared for points in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, won at Martinsville in the spring of last year. He is scheduled to drive the NEMCO Motorsport’s No. 8 this weekend.
The race on Saturday is scheduled for 200 laps with stage breaks at 50 and 100 laps.
The Championship 4 grid is still blank
With non-Playoff contender Spencer Boyd taking the win in the opening race of the Round of 6, that means all four spots in the championship battle at Homestead-Miami Speedway are still up for grabs with Martinsville and ISM Raceway looming.
Defending champion Brett Moffitt sits in the best position – holding a 45-point advantage over fifth-place Tyler Ankrum, one spot outside the Championship 4 cutoff.
After that, however, the cushion diminishes significantly – making each of the next two races especially important.
Stewart Friesen is in second, 22 points ahead of Ankrum, while Austin Hill is third – 12 points ahead of the cutoff. And just one point separates Matt Crafton in the fourth and final championship-contending slot from Ankrum.
And despite a late-race crash from the lead at Talladega, Ross Chastain is only two points behind Crafton.
How they have fared at Martinsville
With the points standings so tightly bunched after the opening race of the second round of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs, the six drivers still in championship contention have their sights set on the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Here’s a breakdown of the Martinsville track record for each of the six drivers, in order of points standing:
Brett Moffitt – No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet: The leader of the points has competed four times at Martinsville, never finishing worse than sixth – which he did in his first trip to the track in the spring of 2017. Since then he put up finishes of third and second last year and was third again earlier this season on the half-mile circuit. Moffitt also competed in two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville during his Sunoco Rookie of the Year season in that series.
Stewart Friesen – No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Chevrolet: Friesen, an ace on the dirt short tracks, has raced five times at Martinsville, putting up mixed results. He’s had two finishes of 20th or worse alongside a pair of top 10s (sixth in the fall of 2017 and fifth earlier this season). Friesen started from the pole in the spring race this year.
Austin Hill – No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota: In eight starts at "The Paperclip," Hill has managed just two top-10 finishes – 10th in the fall of 2016 and ninth in the spring race last year. He has posted an average finish of 16.2 at Martinsville.
Matt Crafton – No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford: Crafton is the lone remaining Playoff contender who has recorded a win at Martinsville – in fact, he has two – in the spring of 2014 en route to his second series championship and then in the fall of 2015. In 35 starts at Martinsville, Crafton has recorded nine top-five and 20 top-10 results, as well as an impressive average finish of 10.2. He’s suffered only two DNFs there, both a result of mechanical issues.
Tyler Ankrum – No. 17 DGR-Crosley Toyota: Ankrum has the smallest sample size at Martinsville out of the Playoff drivers, having competed in just two races at the short track. He finished 18th last fall and was 19th earlier this season.
Ross Chastain – No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet: Chastain has made seven starts at Martinsville, posting a 12.7 average finish at the track. His best finish, and his lone top-five result, came earlier this year when he crossed the line fourth. He also had three top 10s, two of them coming in the most recent two races. Chastain has also competed in three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville.
The remaining Round of 6 tracks
After opening with the high-speed, high-banked, 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway the Gander Trucks head to the much shorter and flatter 0.52-mile Martinsville Speedway this Saturday after taking a week off.
With two races to go to determine the four drivers who will race for the championship in Miami, here’s a look at the two tracks remaining in the Round of 6:
Martinsville Speedway – Saturday, October 26: Martinsville, affectionately known as "The Paperclip" due to its shape, is a .52-mile short track. It has 12 degrees of banking in the turns and is perfectly flat in the straights. Each straightaway is 800 feet long. The race will be 105.2 miles (200 laps) long. Johnny Sauter won this race last year while Kyle Busch won the spring race this season. Matt Crafton has two wins at Martinsville (Spring, 2014; Fall, 2015) and is the only remaining Playoff contender with a win at "The Paperclip."
ISM Raceway – Friday, November 8: ISM Raceway, located near Phoenix, Arizona, is a one-mile track that was recently reconfigured (prior to the 2018 fall race) to move the start/finish line to the former backstretch, just before the dog leg. The banking in Turns 1 and 2 are 11 degrees while it’s nine degrees in Turns 3 and 4. The frontstretch is 1,179 feet long and banked at three degrees and the backstretch is 1,551 feet long and has nine degrees of banking. Brett Moffitt won this race last year. He is the only remaining Playoff contender with a victory at the track.
Look for Tanner Gray to make a fast start
If it appears the No. 15 DGR-Crosley Toyota has considerable straightaway speed, there’s a reason for it.
The driver behind the wheel is the 2018 NHRA Pro Stock champion.
Tanner Gray will be making his NASCAR national series debut on the half-mile Martinsville short track, a mere eight months after making his first stock car start in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series at New Smyrna Speedway during Speedweeks.
And if there’s anything that the 20-year-old Gray has shown in his short racing career, it’s that he adapts quickly. He started in the NHRA Pro Stock division in 2017 and became the youngest NHRA national event winner in April of that year. He then won the championship in 2018, his second year in the division.
After making his stock car debut in February, Gray then earned his first pole and first victory while making left turns in just his third race – at another Virginia track, South Boston Speedway, that is just shy of Martinsville in length.
Gray is scheduled to finish up the 2019 schedule in DGR-Crosley Toyotas, running at Martinsville, ISM Raceway and Miami.
K&N Pro Series East champ to make second Gander Truck start
After winning the 2019 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship and rookie of the year on the strength of four wins, Sam Mayer is set to take on his second NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race.
The 16-year old will be behind the wheel of the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet this weekend once again, having made his NASCAR national series debut earlier this year at Bristol. He started 18th and finished 21stt after being involved in a crash just shy of the finish.
This year in the K&N Pro Series East, Mayer swept the series’ pair of visits to Bristol, won the Iowa stop in July and concluded the season in Victory Lane at Dover. And he was extremely consistent while driving for GMS Racing – finishing in the top-five in 11 of the 12 races this season. His worst finish this season was an 11th-place result in the second stop at South Boston.
Mayer also made eight ARCA Menards Series starts this season, finishing in the top five in seven of those efforts. That included a second-place finish in his second start at Salem Speedway.
Parade Laps: Insights ahead of this week’s driver media breakouts
Six drivers from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series – Niece Motorsport’s driver Ross Chastain, ThorSport Racing’s Matt Crafton, Hattori Racing Enterprises driver Austin Hill, GMS Racing’s Brett Moffitt, Young’s Motorsports driver Spencer Boyd and DGR-Crosley driver Tyler Ankrum - will participate in the media breakout sessions this weekend at Martinsville Speedway as they prepare for the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 this Saturday, October 26, at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Austin Hill (No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota Tundra)
Birthdate: April 21, 1994
Driver’s Age: 25
Hometown: Winston, Georgia
Hobbies: Hunting, spending time with family and boating
Team: Hattori Racing Enterprises
Crew Chief: Scott Zipadelli
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Career Highlights:
- Scored first three career NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series wins in 2019 (Daytona, Michigan, Las Vegas).
- Finished 11th in 2018 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Championship points, his first full season.
- In 2017, he joined Young’s Motorsports and made 12 starts finishing a then career-best 23rd in the final standings.
- In 2016, he posted his first top-10 finish in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (Martinsville).
- In 2014, he made his NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series debut at Martinsville Speedway.
2019 Season Highlights:
- Heads to Martinsville Speedway seeded third in the Gander Trucks Playoffs Round of 6 standings; 33 points behind standings leader Brett Moffitt
- This is his first career Gander Trucks Playoff appearance.
- Through 20 races this season, Hill has put up three wins (Daytona, Michigan, Las Vegas), six top fives, 12 top 10s and two poles (Chicago, Pocono).
- Has led 153 of 2,911 laps completed.
- 2019 average starting position, 8.8 and average finishing position, 12.5
Martinsville Speedway Performance:
- Has eight starts at Martinsville, posting two top-10 finishes (2016, 2018).
Tyler Ankrum (No. 17 DGR-Crosley Toyota Tundra)
Birthdate: March 6, 2001
Driver’s Age: 18
Hometown: San Bernardino, California
Team: DGR-Crosley
Crew Chief: Kevin Manion
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Career Highlights:
- Clinched the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors by becoming the only rookie to make the Playoffs.
- Due to age restrictions, Ankrum missed the first three races of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season before turning 18-years old in March.
- Made NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series debut on Oct. 27, 2018 at Martinsville Speedway driving for DGR-Crosley; he started 19th and finished 18th.
2019 Season Highlights:
- Heads to Martinsville ranked fifth in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Playoff standings with 3,040 points, 45 points behind the Playoff standings leader Brett Moffitt and just one point behind fourth-place Matt Crafton in the final Championship 4 slot.
- Through the first 20 races of the season Ankrum has only competed in 17 of the events due to being too young to compete at the beginning of the season.
- In his 17 starts this season, he has posted one win (Kentucky), three top fives and eight top 10s.
- Has led 58 of 2,168 laps completed.
- 2019 average starting position, 11.3 and average finishing position, 13.7
Martinsville Speedway Performance:
- Has made two series starts at Martinsville including his series debut, posting two top-20 finishes (2018, 2019).
Brett Moffitt (No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado)
Birthdate: August 7, 1992
Driver’s Age: 27
Hometown: Grimes, Iowa
Team: GMS Racing
Crew Chief: Jerry Baxter
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Career Highlights:
- Last season, Moffitt drove Hattori Racing Enterprise’s No. 16 Toyota to six wins, leading the way for the first career NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship for both Moffitt and HRE.
- Won his first NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race in 2016, taking home the checkers at Michigan for Red Horse Racing.
- Made the most of his six NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series starts in 2016, with three top-three finishes and four top 10s.
- In 2013, entered the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series scene with a pair of starts (Kentucky and Michigan).
2019 Season Highlights:
- Currently the top seed in the Round of 6 with 3,085 points – 23 points ahead of second place Stewart Friesen and 45 points up on fifth place Tyler Ankrum.
- In 20 starts this season he has posted four victories (Iowa, Chicago, Bristol and CTMP), 12 top fives and 15 top 10s with an average starting position of 4.2 and finish of 8.0.
- Has led 369 of the 2,911 laps completed this season.
Martinsville Speedway Performance:
- Moffitt has four starts at Martinsville - recording three top-five and four top-10 finishes.
- Finished third at the famed short track in the spring and runner-up in this race last season.
Ross Chastain (No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado)
Birthdate: December 4, 1992
Driver’s Age: 26
Hometown: Alva, Florida
Hobbies: Farming watermelons
Team: Niece Motorsports
Crew Chief: Phil Gould
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Career Highlights:
- Chastain has raced part-time over nine seasons competing in 79 series races, recording three wins (Kansas, Gateway, Pocono – all in 2019), 13 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes.
- In 2012, he ran his only full-time season in the Gander Trucks. He tallied a top five and four top 10s.
2019 Season Highlights:
- Seeded sixth in the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs, 46 points behind Playoff standings leader Brett Moffitt and just two points behind of fourth place Matt Crafton.
- This is Chastain’s first career Gander Trucks Playoff appearance.
- Through 20 this season, Chastain has posted three wins (Kansas, Gateway, Pocono), eight top fives, 16 top 10s and a pole (Michigan).
- Has led 487 of 2,819 laps completed
- 2019 average starting position, 10.8 and average finishing position, 9.2.
Martinsville Speedway Performance:
- Has made seven series starts at Martinsville posting one top-five and three top-10 finishes.
- Has an average start of 15.6 and average finish of 12.7.
Matt Crafton (No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150)
Birthdate: July 11, 1976
Driver’s Age: 42
Hometown: Tulare, California
Hobbies: Riding Glamis dunes in sand rails, karting
Team: ThorSport Racing
Crew Chief: Carl Joiner Jr.
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Career Highlights:
- In 2018, he finished sixth in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series points standings, his 12th consecutive season inside the top 10 in points. He also clinched his third-straight Playoff berth based on points performance but was eliminated in the Round of 6.
- In 2017, he finished fourth in the Gander Trucks championship point standings making the Championship 4 for the second straight season.
- In 2016, he scored a berth in the inaugural NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs and made it into the Championship 4 but ultimately finished runner-up in the final standings.
- In 2015, he led series with career-best six wins, finishing third in the championship point standings.
- In 2013 and 2014, he became the first driver in NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series history to win back-to-back championships.
- In 2008, he earned his first career NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series win at Charlotte.
2019 Season Highlights:
- Currently fourth in the Gander Trucks Playoff standings; 44 points behind the series standings leader Brett Moffitt and just one point up on fifth place Tyler Ankrum.
- This is Crafton’s fourth consecutive career Gander Trucks Playoff appearance.
- Through 20 races this season, Crafton has posted six top fives, 16 top 10s and three poles (Kansas, Charlotte, Talladega).
- Has led 35 of 2,814 laps completed
- 2019 average starting position, 7.3 and average finishing position, 8.6.
Martinsville Speedway Performance:
- Crafton has made 35 series starts at Martinsville posting two wins (2014, 2015), nine top-five and 20 top-10 finishes.
- Has led 385 laps at the famed short track
- Average starting position of 11.6 and average finish of 10.6.
Spencer Boyd (No. 20 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado)
Birthdate: June 26, 1995
Driver’s Age: 24
Hometown: Creve Coeur, Missouri
Team: Young’s Motorsports
Crew Chief: Buddy Sisco
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Career Highlights:
- Captured his first NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series victory at Talladega in 2019
- Boyd made his series debut at Martinsville in 2016 for Mike Mittler and MB Motorsports.
2019 Season Highlights:
- Won his first NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway this season.
- Through 17 starts this season, Boyd has posted one win (Talladega), two top fives and two top 10s.
- 2019 average starting position, 22.8 and average finishing position, 19.0.
Martinsville Speedway Performance:
- Has made two series starts at Martinsville posting a best finish of 27 earlier this season.
- Made his series debut at Martinsville in 2016.
NASCAR PR
Emotions, action run high during Martinsville playoff races
23 Oct 2019 Written by Speedway Digest StaffThey say good things come in small packages. Great things do, too. Martinsville Speedway, the only track to host NASCAR premier series races for 71 consecutive seasons, is proof enough of that.
At .526 mile, the legendary layout is the shortest of the short tracks that hosts Monster Energy NASCAR Cup races. But when it comes to action on the track, particularly during NASCAR’s Playoffs, few sites can muster the excitement Martinsville has provided throughout the decades.
Fans can expect more of the same when the series returns for the Oct. 27 running of the First Data 500 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, SiriusXM NASCAR).
Once again, the race kicks off the Round of 8 in this year’s championship Playoff battle. Seeking a victory and an automatic berth in the Championship 4 next month at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing), the series’ most recent winner and a five-time Martinsville champ; Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing) and Kyle Busch (JGR), Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing), Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr. (JGR) and Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports).
Busch, Harvick and Logano are also previous Martinsville winners. Harvick, Busch, Truex and Logano are former series champions as well.
Martinsville’s fall stop has always been memorable, even more so since 2014 when it became the opening stop of the third round. Playoff participants have claimed four of the five victories.
That wasn’t the case in ’14 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. piloted his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the win. Earnhardt had been ousted from playoff contention the previous week, but the victory couldn’t have been any more meaningful - it came 10 years after an HMS plane crashed while en route to the track, killing all 10 on board.
“I could feel how important it was to him,” Earnhardt Jr. said of the victory lane celebration with team owner Rick Hendrick. “You just know there’s a genuine hug and there’s a hug – his was the real deal.”
Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon scored the win the following season in a race that was just as emotionally charged. The 44-year-old, heading toward retirement, earned a shot a fifth championship with a Martinsville victory that punched his ticket to the title race. His path to the winner’s circle was helped by an on-track incident between Matt Kenseth and race leader Logano.
“Yeah, we had a few things that fell in our favor,” Gordon said. “But you’ve got to be there and be ready for that moment when It comes, and we were.”
The 2016 race will be remembered as the catalyst that propelled HMS driver Jimmie Johnson into the championship battle where he won a record-tying seventh series title. It was the fifth consecutive fall Martinsville win by a Hendrick team and Johnson’s ninth career win at the popular Virginia stop.
In 2017, Busch moved teammate Hamlin out of the way during an overtime restart to capture the win and earn a berth in the championship race. Post-race fireworks between Hamlin and Chase Elliott concerning an earlier incident again had the crowd on its feet.
“He’s not worth my time,” Elliott, currently the series’ most popular driver, said of Hamlin. “I got punted from behind and wrecked in Turn 3 leading the race.”
Tempers were still running hot last fall when Logano wheeled his No. 22 Ford to the win after moving leader Truex Jr. out of the way on the final lap of the race.
“This was our shot, maybe our only shot, so we had to make it happen,” Logano said of the close-quarters contact.
With this year’s field of Playoff teams whittled to eight and a berth in the championship once again on the line, the 2019 First Data 500 promises yet another memorable chapter in NASCAR’s popular playoffs.
In addition to the First Data 500 on Sunday, Martinsville will also host the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 for the Gander Outdoors Truck Series this Saturday.
Advance ticket prices for the First Data 500 begin at $47 with youth tickets for fans 17-and-under just $25 regardless of location. Tickets for the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 on Saturday are just $35 and youth 17-and-under are admitted free to the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series 200-lap race on Saturday. Friday’s practice day is free to everyone.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com.
MVS PR
New 'Thrill Zone' will get fans up close to the NASCAR action at AMS
23 Oct 2019 Written by Speedway Digest StaffNASCAR fans will be able to hear the roar, feel the rush, and see the exciting action like never before at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2020.
That’s because all ticket holders will get access to a brand new “Thrill Zone” located at the exit of turn four in front of the Petty Grandstands. The Thrill Zone puts fans just feet away from the racing surface where NASCAR’s best will be sliding off the banking and onto the frontstretch – and it’s available free of charge to ticket holders.
“Nothing stimulates the senses like a NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and our new Thrill Zone takes that to a whole new level,” said AMS Executive Vice President and General Manager Brandon Hutchison. “Standing just a few steps from the track, the raw sights and sounds of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 weekend will be more visceral than ever for our fans.”
The Thrill Zone is the eighth fan enhancement announced as part of the Speedway’s 20 in 20 Initiative, which will see 20 individual improvements made to increase the value and fan enjoyment of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 NASCAR weekend on March 13-15, 2020.
AMS PR
NASCAR Driver Ross Chastain visits home town of Fort Myers ahead of Ford Championship Weekend
23 Oct 2019 Written by Speedway Digest StaffAs Ford Championship Weekend approaches at Homestead-Miami Speedway November 15-17, driver Ross Chastain visited Fort Myers, Florida on Tuesday, October 22. Chastain, who grew up in nearby Alva, was welcomed by the local community throughout various stops during the day.
Chastain began his day at South Fort Myers High School, where he checked out their automotive and welding programs. Chastain met with the students and spoke to them about how NASCAR ties in with their studies.
While at the school, Chastain also got a look at the South Fort Myers’ farming and agriculture program. Having grown up on a watermelon farm, Chastain discussed with the students his own experiences with different crops and animals.
“They’ve taken South Fort Myers High School to levels I didn’t know were possible with these programs,” Chastain said. “They’re setting these kids up to succeed. These kids are going to be so far ahead in the real world and I’m jealous to be honest.”
Following South Fort Myers High School, Chastain’s day culminated at Golisano Children’s Hospital where he visited with children and assisted in animating their day. Chastain went room-to-room in the hospital, where he handed out signed hero cards, hats and teddy bears and took pictures with the patients.
Chastain is currently competing in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs (NGOTS), where he is in the Round of 6. This season he has won three NGOTS races and led 487 laps. If Chastain advances to the Championship 4, he will compete for a NGOTS title at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
“Now that I’ve won races, I want to win championships and be successful,” said Chastain. “We’re only two points out of the cutoff so that can swing in one stage at Martinsville or Phoenix. We just need to go win.”
Tickets for 2019 Ford Championship Weekend, which consists of the Ford EcoBoost 200 (NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship race), Ford EcoBoost 300 (NASCAR Xfinity Series championship race) and Ford EcoBoost 400 (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship race), are now available and can be purchased by calling (866) 409-RACE (7223) or visiting www.HomesteadMiamiSpeedway.com.
Tickets are also available for fans who want to meet Ross Chastain. Homestead-Miami Speedway is offering a Melon Man Ticket Package, which includes a meet & greet with Chastain, a ticket to the Ford EcoBoost 400 and a Melon Man hat. For more information visit www.HomesteadMiamiSpeedway.com.
HMS PR
Texas Motor Speedway to host race night at the Fort Worth Zoo exclusive to 2020 season ticket holders
23 Oct 2019 Written by Speedway Digest Staff
For the sixth consecutive year, Kevin Harvick has made it to the final eight of the NASCAR playoffs and, for the fifth time in six seasons, he’s looking to make the final four.
Harvick is hoping he can heat things up by scoring a win in Sunday’s Round of 8 opener at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and locking himself into the Nov. 17 winner-take-all Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has one win, five top-three finishes, 18 top-10s and has led a total of 628 laps in his 36 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville. His average start there is 14.0, his average finish is 15.1 and he has a lap-completion rate of 98.1 percent – 17,696 of the 18,039 laps available.
His only Martinsville Cup Series win came in April 2011, when he started ninth and led only six laps en route to the victory.
While he’s looking for his second Cup Series win at Martinsville, his sponsor, Hunt Brothers Pizza, is looking for its first at the .526-mile, paperclip-shaped oval.
Hunt Brothers Pizza has sponsored Harvick in NASCAR for 10 years and last visited victory lane with him when he won last year’s Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Harvick has also won two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races with Hunt Brothers as a sponsor at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth and at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, both in 2011.
Sunday’s event at Martinsville is the third and final race of 2019 in which Hunt Brothers Pizza is sponsoring. The company also sponsored him in the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race in 2014 and 2015, which were conducted at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Harvick finished second in both races.
With more than 7,800 locations in 30 states, Hunt Brothers Pizza is the nation’s largest brand of made-to-order pizza in the convenience store industry. Hunt Brothers Pizza offers original and thin crust pizzas available as a grab-and-go Hunk, perfect for today’s on-the-go lifestyle, or as a customizable whole pizza that is an exceptional value with “All Toppings No Extra Charge.” Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Hunt Brothers Pizza is family owned and operated with more than 25 years of experience serving great pizza to convenience store shoppers through its store partners.
Harvick, Hunt Brothers Pizza and the rest of the No. 4 team are hoping they can “cook up” a victory this week – and lock themselves into the final four.
TSC PR
Sizable Increase in Ratings for ARCA Menards Series Finale at Kansas Speedway on FS1
23 Oct 2019 Written by Speedway Digest StaffA rising star battling a seasoned veteran down to the last race for the ARCA Menards Series championship resulted in unprecedented content consumption of the 2019 season finale from Kansas Speedway on Friday night.
The ARCA Kansas 150 on FS1 averaged 420,000 viewers, representing a sizable increase year over year for the same day delayed airing, as 18-year-old Christian Eckes won the race and edged teammate Michael Self for the title. The race also had 13,600 live streams as the series streamed on NASCAR.com for the first time and received extensive coverage through ARCA and NASCAR social and digital channels. Video of the final lap of Eckes’ victory has garnered more than 19,000 views on Twitter via @ARCA_Racing.
Friday night’s race followed ALCS Game 5 on FS1 due to a last-minute programming conflict on FS2.
“What a great way to close out our 2019 season,” said Mark Gundrum, ARCA vice president of corporate partnerships. “Mother Nature threw MLB a curve ball and everyone at FOX Sports and NASCAR did what they could to hit it out of the park. We had a great championship battle decided in an exciting race that went down to the wire.
“Our partners at FOX Sports did a great job throughout their part of the 2019 broadcast schedule and we look forward to kicking off 2020 with them at Daytona next February.”
FOX Sports will again broadcast ARCA Menards Series races in 2020, continuing a relationship that dates to 1997. MAVTV will enter its fourth consecutive season of broadcasting ARCA Menards Series races next season, while NBC Sports will air coverage of the ARCA Menards Series East and West. The complete television schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
AMS PR
Codie Rohrbaugh, CR7 Motorsports prepared to step up short track game at Martinsville Speedway
23 Oct 2019 Written by Speedway Digest StaffNASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) rookie Codie Rohrbaugh and his CR7 Motorsports team head to their penultimate race of the season prepared to step up their short track game in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 at the famed Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
Make no mistake about it, Rohrbaugh and his Doug George-led team have certainly showcased a lot of speed in their No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet – including a career-best qualifying effort of 11th in their recent outing at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
However, with just two races left on their docket, the Mooresville, N.C.-based team is ready to let their speed also to transition in their results as they aim for their first career top-10 in the penultimate short track race of the year.
“I’m so proud of this CR7 Motorsports team,” said Rohrbaugh. “It’s a shame we were caught up in someone else’s mess at Talladega – but our team showcased a lot of speed from practice to qualifying and throughout the race.
“I’m confident that we can continue to showcase that same speed in our trucks and look forward to doing that on Saturday at Martinsville.”
The Petersburg, West Virginia native will attempt to make his NASCAR debut at the tight 0.555-mile paperclip oval. After missing the race in the spring, Rohrbaugh and his team went back to work identifying their weak points and prepared to step up to the challenges in the highly contested fall challenges.
“We’ve been through leaps and bounds this year,” offered Rohrbaugh. “But even with the disappointments, there are positives to everything. We’re a better team because of the hiccups we faced throughout the season. The energy and leadership from Doug (George, crew chief) have made me a better drive and the guidance from my spotter Tim (Fedewa) has allowed me to enhance my craft.
“Martinsville is a tough short track – but I cut my teeth in the Pro Cup and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East on the short tracks and I hope I can apply some of those skills during Saturday afternoon’s race.”
“Martinsville is what we’re focused on this week, but we’re already looking ahead too. Homestead should be a good race for us and I’m already getting excited about 2020 – especially how well we ran on a superspeedway at Talladega.
“We’ll use Martinsville this week to gather as many notes as we can to continue to make steady gains in all aspects of our race team that we hope can be beneficial not only for Homestead but next year too. I want to get better as a driver and the best way to do that is to be on the track racing competitively and finishing races.
“Martinsville seems to be a lot about track position. It’s going to be a crowded field with not a lot of for error. I can’t wait to embrace that. We need track position to be on our side and make sure we’re managing our tires too. If we can keep up with that, we should be a good shape near the end of the race.”
CR7 Motorsports has nine NGOTS starts to their credit with a career-best finish of 14th at Kentucky Speedway (July 2019). An 11th place qualifying effort at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (Oct. 2019) is the team’s best time trials effort to date.
In 20 career ARCA starts, Rohrbaugh has a best finish of seventh twice at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (July 2018 and Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (February 2019). He has qualified a career-best fourth on four different occasions most recently at Kansas Speedway (Oct. 2018).
Marketing partnership(s) opportunities are available for the No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet and No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet for the 2019 ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series seasons and beyond. Interested inquiries are encouraged to contact at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 304.257.8783.
Following Martinsville, CR7 Motorsports plans to return to the Gander Truck Series scene at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway for the Gander Trucks season-finale Ford EcoBoost 200 on Fri., Nov. 15, 2019.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 (200 laps | 105.2 miles) is the 21st of 23 races on the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series schedule. Practice begins on Fri., Oct. 25 from 12:05 p.m. – 12:55 p.m. A final practice has been etched in from 2:05 p.m. – 2:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Sat., Oct. 26 beginning at 10:05 a.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 1:30 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).
CR7 Motorsports PR
