Inside Circle Track

ARCA Menards Series set to take on the high banks of Winchester

By Charles Krall of the ARCA Menards Series There will be a lot on the line when the ARCA Menards Series takes to the 37-degree banks at Winchester Speedway on Saturday night. The Calypso Lemonade 200 is first and foremost a part of the ARCA Menards Series championship, and that championship battle is turning into a war between new leader Ty Gibbs and now challenger Corey Heim. Gibbs assumed the championship lead with his sixth victory of the season last Saturday night at Iowa Speedway, while Heim, who has four wins of his own this season, now sits second just…

Ty Gibbs vs Corey Heim rivalry set to continue this weekend in Iowa

It’s been a season to remember for Ty Gibbs and Corey Heim. The two 18-year-old ARCA Menards Series phenomenons have combined to win each of first nine races of the 2021 season. Gibbs holds the advantage with five wins to Heim’s four, but Heim leads the series championship standings by seven heading into the tenth race of the season at Berlin Raceway. Gibbs, the grandson of Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach and NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Joe Gibbs, has excelled not only in the ARCA Menards Series, but he’s won twice in the NASCAR Xfinity Series…

Brad Keselowski takes on ownership role as new Roush Fenway Racing partner

July 20, 2021 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Brad Keselowski says he feels like an investor buying a stock that’s about to go up. That was the optimistic attitude all parties expressed Tuesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, where Keselowski was announced as the new minority partner and driver with Roush Fenway Racing (RFR), effective at the end of the 2021 season. A former team owner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Keselowski is purchasing a piece of RFR, jointly owned by founder Jack Roush and the Fenway Sports Group. At the end of…

Aric Almirola shakes up NASCAR Cup Playoffs with unexpected win at New Hampshire

July 18, 2021 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service With a stunning victory in Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Aric Almirola sent shock waves through the NASCAR Cup Series’ Playoff standings. With hard-charging Christopher Bell closing behind him, Almirola crossed the finish line at the 1.058-mile track .657 seconds ahead of the Joe Gibbs Racing driver to win the third race of his career and give Stewart-Haas Racing its first ostensible Playoff berth of the 2021 campaign. After battling Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney—who waged their own internecine war shortly after the…

Matt DiBenedetto relies on faith to deal with the stress of racing, life

One might think a NASCAR Cup Series driver who is working in the last year of his contract and who is essentially in a must-win situation in terms of making the NASCAR Playoffs would be under a tremendous amount of stress. Add to that, the same driver is in the midst of putting the finishing touches on and moving into a new home which, as anyone who has ever taken on that task knows, is not an easy chore. Those circumstances describe the current life situation of Matt DiBenedetto. But even with all of those things going on, the 29-year-old driver…

Did Ross Chastain really do anything wrong?

Rarely has a driver who finished 21st been the topic of so much conversation following the conclusion of a race as has been Ross Chastain since the checkered flag waved over the Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart. During the closing laps of the NASCAR Cup Series event held at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, Chastain’s No. 42 car was in the process of being lapped by then leader Kyle Busch when Kurt Busch caught and passed his younger brother on his way to a victory and an almost certain spot in the upcoming NASCAR Playoffs. After the race,…

Austin Hill survives to win NASCAR Trucks race at Knoxville

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series took to the track at the Knoxville Raceway on Friday night to contest its second dirt race of the 2021 season. After a full night of racing in the Corn Belt 150 Presented by Premier Chevy Dealers that featured heat races and the 150-lap main event, it was Austin Hill who claimed the win on the historic half-mile track located in the state of Iowa. It was a survival of the fittest type win for the Hattori Racing Toyota driver from Winston, Georgia. There were four heat races with drivers accumulating points in those…

Chase Briscoe sees NASCAR on dirt as an opportunity to bridge the gap between the disciplines

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will hit the dirt on Friday at the historic Knoxville Raceway. The Corn Belt 150 Presented by Premier Chevy Dealers will serve as the first ever event for one of NASCAR’s top-three divisions held on the historic Knoxville, Iowa half-mile clay oval. This race, held at a venue more noted for Sprint Car and Late Model competition, will be the second dirt race of the season for this series after having already raced on the clay covered high banks of the Bristol Motor Speedway earlier in 2021. The NCWTS previously raced on dirt at…

NASCAR Truck Series regulars looking to use the front bumper in Knoxville

Racing on dirt is not a particularly new thing for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. However, racing at the historic Knoxville Raceway located in Knoxville, Iowa is a new thing. This Friday night the series will make its first appearance on the clay-surfaced half-mile track noted for the Knoxville Nationals event for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the Knoxville Late Model Nationals for competitors on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The Knoxville Raceway facility also serves as the home for the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum. But this…

Christopher Bell points out the uniqueness of Road America

In the world of oval track racing, there isn’t always the greatest amount of variety. While the lengths of the tracks and the degree of banking may vary, the shape from one to another is relatively simple as there are basically four left turns and two straightaways. While yes, one of those “straights” may sometimes be bent to form a D-shape or a tri-oval, the differences among them are only slightly greater than subtle. Fans, media, and the competitors themselves have acknowledged the sameness of oval tracks by sometimes applying the term “cookie cutter” to them as a descriptor. However,…