MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Dec. 8, 2020) – Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced today the crew chief lineup for its three full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams in 2021. (more…)
GMS Racing
Track Talk: Tyler Majeski Scores First Snowball Derby Win / Brett Moffitt Announcement Has Title Implications
The 53rd Annual Snowball Derby provided another finish that fans will remember for a long time. Ty Majeski prevailed in a back-and-forth battle with Derek Thorn in a five-lap shootout for his first win in Super Late Model racing’s biggest race. (more…)
Connecticut and Massachusetts Are Well-Represented on the NASCAR Racing Scene
The MotorSportsNews.Net(work) would like to welcome back columnist Lou Modestino, who will be writing a a weekly motor sports column with a New England focus of competitors in NASCAR’s top four series, NHRA, World of Outlaws, DIRT, Flat Track and Supercross, National MX, No. American Rally Series and the like. Lou last contributed to the site with his “TV Times” columns in 2015. Welcome back, Lou! (more…)
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series News & Notes – Atlanta Motor Speedway
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
Next Race: Vet Tix/Camping World 200
The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, June 6
The Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 12:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 200.02 miles (130 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 134)
2019 Winner: Kyle Busch
Bounty acquired
The bounty hunter, Chase Elliott, set out to capture the win on Tuesday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway and on the first try, he was successful.
In the closing laps of the North Carolina Education Lottery 200, Elliott held off a hard-charging Kyle Busch to earn the victory and a $100,000 bounty, to be paid to a COVID-19 relief charity of his choice, offered to any full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver who could beat Busch in a Gander Trucks race.
Elliott, who hadn’t been behind the wheel of a truck since 2017, made it happen despite the fact that Busch had won each of his last seven races started in the Gander Trucks.
The idea of the bounty all started when Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick and chairman and CEO of Gander RV & Outdoors, Marcus Lemonis, each put up $50,000 following the Las Vegas event for any Cup driver who could beat Busch in a Gander Trucks race. The money is being donated to coronavirus relief in Elliott’s name.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Zane Smith finished third in his first national series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Brett Moffitt finished fourth and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top five. John Hunter Nemechek, who was also going after the bounty, finished sixth, Johnny Sauter finished seventh followed by Ty Majeski, Austin Hill and Ben Rhodes.
Tuesday’s race marked the return for the Gander Trucks, which had been off since Feb. 21 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
They enter another off weekend while the Xfinity Series and Cup Series head to Bristol Motor Speedway, but return on June 6 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Starting lineup, pit stall selection process updates
NASCAR recently announced how the lineup will be set for the two Gander Trucks races through mid-June (Atlanta, June 6; Miami, June 13).
• Positions 1-10: Random draw of teams in those positions in owner points
• Positions 11-21: Random draw of teams in those positions in owner points
• Positions 22-32: Random draw of teams in those positions in owner points
• Any vehicles that are eligible for the Event in position 33rd – 40th will be assigned starting positions based on their order of eligibility.
Like the other two series, pit stall selections will be ordered based on finishing positions from the series’ previous race, followed by new entries in order of points.
Here is a look at the Gander Trucks points standings:
| DRIVER | POINTS | BEHIND | WINS |
| Austin Hill | 120 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnny Sauter | 103 | -17 | 0 |
| Zane Smith | 103 | -17 | 0 |
| Ben Rhodes | 99 | -21 | 0 |
| Brett Moffitt | 98 | -22 | 1 |
| Sheldon Creed | 90 | -30 | 0 |
| Grand Enfinger | 81 | -39 | 1 |
| Christian Eckes | 78 | -42 | 0 |
| Tyler Ankrum | 76 | -44 | 0 |
| Codie Rohrbaugh | 12 | -48 | 0 |
Brandon Jones – No. 19 Menards/Pelonis Toyota Supra Race Advance – Bristol Motor Speedway (NXS)
No. 19 Menards / PELONIS Toyota Supra News and Notes:
- NASCAR UPDATE: Due to travel and setup challenges, NASCAR announced that the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Cheddar’s 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway has been moved to Monday, June 1 at 7 p.m. ET.
- IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Jones and the 19 Menards/Pelonis team head to the last great colosseum, Bristol Motor Speedway. This will be Jones’ 10th NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) career-start on the 0.533-mile high-banked concrete oval. Jones is locked into the playoffs. He is coming off a strong run at Charlotte and Bristol is one of his strongest tracks. The team has had a couple of tough finishes in the first two races after the 10 week hiatus, but they have had a very strong Toyota Supra and they are focused on getting back to their early season form and are very motivated, confident and are focused on getting back in victory lane. Bristol is the perfect track to make it happen.
- XFINITY TO SALUTE EMPLOYEE HEROS: On Monday, June 1 during the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Xfinity will salute a variety of military veteran frontline employees for their efforts in response to the crisis, including 23 employees across the company that are actively serving on the frontlines in the National Guard and reserve to keep communities safe and connected. These employee names will replace the Xfinity logo that typically adorns the windshield headers of each race car and be featured in a special patriotic red, white and blue design that showcases the support Xfinity provides to military veteran employees that are holding true to the company’s core service values.
- “Our 19 team is honored to have Freddy Canales riding along with us at Bristol,” stated Brandon Jones. “He works for Xfinity and is actively serving in response to the pandemic through the Army National Guard.”
- JGR AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY: JGR has 99 total starts at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NXS, earning 13 wins, 32 top-five finishes, 47 top-10 finishes and 10 pole-starting positions. The team has led 3,177 laps and earned an average start of 11.2 and an average finish of 14.5.
- RACE INFO: Cheddar’s 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile) begins at 7:00 p.m.ET on Monday, June 1, 2020. The race will be broadcast live on FS1, SiriusXM Channel 90 and PRN Radio.
Jones’ Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats at Bristol Motor Speedway:
| Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 136 | 10.1 | 14.8 |
Jones’ 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:
| Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 97 | 5.7 | 14.7 |
Jones’ Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:
| Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| 143 | 2 | 11 | 53 | 3 | 437 | 12.6 | 15.8 |
From the Cockpit:
Brandon Jones: “We had a very strong Toyota at Charlotte Motor Speedway this past Monday. We certainly had a winning car but unfortunately were presented with a few challenges that prevented us from having the strong finish we were capable of having. Now it’s time to respond with a strong showing this weekend at Bristol. I am really looking forward to racing on one of my favorite tracks. It’s a unique short track with a concrete surface and very steep banking that can reach high speeds. Bristol is one of my best tracks where I have a lot of confidence and have led several laps there, with multiple close wins. I have had this race circled on my calendar all year. As drivers we are constantly weaving in and out to avoid lap traffic and competitors which I know makes for a good race to watch for fans. The track is constantly changing as rubber builds up. Lines will be alternating and trying to be the first to figure out which lane is the fastest will be a challenge; but a challenge we are highly capable of. Our team keeps bringing fast cars and everyone on the team is working extremely hard. There is no better track to be going to this weekend and our Menards team is very motivated.
TRD has done a great job recreating the track on their simulator all the way down to the traction compound that gets put down on the surface. This week I put in another great amount of work and effort between the simulator, training and getting myself prepared for Bristol. Our No. 19 team will have Menards and Pelonis back on our Supra. We are focused on giving it a fight and getting our team back in victory lane to give Menards the strong finish that they deserve.”
About Menards: A family owned company started in 1958, Menards is headquartered in Eau Claire, WI. Menards has more than 300 retail stores located throughout the Midwest in the states of IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI and WY. Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low price leader. It’s famous slogan “Save Big Money at Menards” is widely known and easy to remember. For more information, visit Menards.com, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.
Kyle Busch / No. 54 App State Class of 2020 Toyota Supra Preview Alsco 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
No. 54 APP State Class of 2020 Toyota Supra News and Notes:
- BUSCH AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY: For his third NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) start of the 2020 season, Kyle Busch will make his 26th career start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The veteran driver has eight wins, 18 top-five finishes, 21 top-10 finishes and two pole positions at the 1.5-mile oval. He also has a starting average of 8.4 and a finishing average of 6.6.
- 2020 NXS STATS: In two NXS starts this season, Busch has two second-place finishes, one pole and has led 123 laps of competition.
- 2020 KYLE BUSCH NXS SCHEDULE: Busch will run five races in the NXS this season. The five races include: March 7 at Phoenix Raceway, May 21 at Darlington Raceway, May 25 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, June 20 at Chicagoland Speedway, July 18 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and August 15 at Watkins Glen.
- BUSCH’S CAREER TOTALS IN THE NXS: Busch has 96 wins, 68 poles, 218 top-five finishes, 256 top-10s and 19,626 laps led in 354 career NXS starts. His most recent NXS win came in September at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Busch’s most recent pole, the 68th of his career, also came in September at Indy.
- 209 and Counting: Busch enters Monday night’s race at Charlotte with 209 career wins among NASCAR’s top three divisions – Cup (56), Xfinity (96) and Truck (57) – following his Truck Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway back in February.
- JGR AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has 96 total starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In those starts, the team has earned eight wins, 37 top-five finishes, 56 top-10 finishes and six pole starting positions. The team has led 1,742 laps, completed 18,457 of 19,187 attempted laps (96.2%) and earned an average start of 10.6 and an average finish of 12.1. Kyle Busch leads the team with five wins followed by Mike Bliss, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin with one win each.
- THIS WEEK ON THE NO. 54 SUPRA: This week, the No. 54 will honor the graduating class of 2020 from Appalachian State University.
- RACE INFO: The Alsco 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is scheduled for Monday, May 25, 2020. Coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1, PRN Radio and SIRIUS XM Channel 90.
Busch Career Xfinity Series Stats at Charlotte Motor Speedway:
| Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| 25 | 8 | 18 | 21 | 2 | 1,381 | 8.4 | 6.6 |
Busch 2020 Season NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:
| Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 123 | 8.8 | 13.2 |
Busch Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:
| Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| 354 | 96 | 218 | 256 | 68 | 19,626 | 7.5 | 9.0 |
Christopher Bell – No. 95 Rheem Toyota Camry Preview – The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway
No. 95 Rheem Toyota Camry News and Notes:
- Bell at Darlington: The NASCAR Cup Series returns to live racing action Sunday at Darlington Raceway and Christopher Bell will be making his Cup debut at “The Lady in Black.” Bell has two NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts under his belt at the 1.366-mile track, earning one top-five and one top-10 finish. For both NXS starts at Darlington Bell qualified second, narrowly missing starting on the pole at Darlington both times.
- #TheRealHeroes: Christopher Bell will replace his name on the No. 95 Rheem Toyota Camry with J.T. Corbitt for Darlington as part of honoring and thanking the front-line workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic. J.T. is a Respiratory Therapist Supervisor out of Austin, Texas and was instrumental in helping to setup and train employees on how to care for COVID-19 patients.
- Phoenix Recap: Christopher Bell qualified 15th and battled a tight handling car from the start. After suffering three speeding penalties on pit road during stage one, Bell and the No. 95 team got the timing lights corrected on the dash. Bell rebounded from being sent to the tail end of the field as a penalty for speeding on pit road, but was tagged from behind and into the wall, resulting in damage to his Camry. The team worked to repair his car and Bell was able to stay on the lead lap to finish 24th at Phoenix.
- RACE INFO: The NASCAR Cup Series Race at Darlington Raceway begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 17, 2020. The race will be broadcast live on FOX, Sirius XM 90, and MRN Radio.
Bell’s Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats at Darlington Raceway:
| Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 19.0 |
Bell’s 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:
| Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19.0 | 29.0 |
Bell’s Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:
| Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
| 74 | 16 | 41 | 46 | 12 | 2920 | 6.4 | 10.2 |
From the Cockpit:
Christopher Bell: “I’m really pumped to get back behind the wheel, this is probably the longest stretch I’ve gone without being in a race car. Darlington is a super challenging track under normal circumstances and now going back with no practice and not being in a car for so long will be really difficult. I’ve been able to spend a few hours on the sim preparing and I know Jason (Ratcliff) and the team has been working hard on the car. I can’t wait for the green flag Sunday.”
About Rheem
Founded in 1925, Rheem® innovates all-new ways to deliver just the right temperature while saving energy, water and supporting a more sustainable future. Today, Rheem is America’s #1 water heating brand, and its products are available in more than 50 countries. Paloma Co., Ltd. of Nagoya, Japan, acquired the iconic Rheem brand in 1988, and today the company’s portfolio of premium brands include Rheem®, Raypak®, Ruud®, Eemax®, Richmond®, Splendid®, Solahart® and EverHot™ as well as commercial refrigeration brands Russell®, Witt®, ColdZone® and Kramer®, which are part of the Heat Transfer Products Group (HTPG®) division.
*All are Trademarks of Rheem Manufacturing Company.
About Leavine Family Racing
Leavine Family Racing is an organization competing in the NASCAR Cup Series focused on growing competitively and providing results-driven partnerships for its sponsors. The single-car team was founded in 2011 by Bob and Sharon Leavine, two individuals who are passionate about NASCAR and started the team to make a positive impact on the sport and community. Christopher Bell will pilot the No. 95 Toyota Camry for the team starting with the 2020 season. In alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota Racing Development, the team operates out of their Concord, N.C.-based race shop with a veteran group of racing personnel driven by their desire for progress. For more information, please visit www.LFR95.com.
NASCAR NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series News & Notes – Atlanta Motor Speedway
Next Race: Georgia 200
The Place: Atlanta Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, March 14
The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 1 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 200.02 miles (130 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 130)
2019 Winner: Kyle Busch (more…)
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series News & Notes – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Next Race: Strat 200
The Place: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
The Date: Friday, February 21
The Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 8:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 134)
2019 Winner: Kyle Busch (more…)
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series News and Notes – 2020 NextEra Energy 250
Next Race: NextEra Energy 250
The Place: Daytona International Speedway
The Date: Friday, February 14
The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 250 miles (100 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 100)
2019 Winner: Austin Hill (more…)