NASCAR Features – Page 5 – Inside Circle Track

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Might the Next Gen call for the use of the tandem draft at Daytona?

The words ‘tandem drafting’ will almost certainly elicit one response or another among those who followed the NASCAR Cup Series a few years ago. There was a time when two cars could run in tight nose-to-tail formation and gain significant speed for a short time at the venues then known as ‘plate tracks’. As a result, drivers found partners early on in races held at the Daytona International Speedway and the Talladega Super Speedway and rode right in front of or right behind that buddy for most of the day. The racing in those two-by-two formations looked a bit odd…

Jacques Villeneuve: Formula 1 champ hoping to achieve goal of Daytona 500 start

During his racing career, Jacques Villeneuve has accomplished what many racers can only dream about. The 50-year-old Canadian has succeeded at the highest levels of motorsports in terms of both race wins and championships. However, there is still one goal he hopes to achieve, and in 2022, he is taking steps toward doing exactly that. Villeneuve’s 1995 season was a remarkable one as the son of legendary racer Gilles Villeneuve earned the CART Series championship along with a win in the racing’s most prestigious event- the Indianapolis 500. From there, he stepped onto the world stage and earned the much…

How might a shortage of cars in the shop impact racing on the track?

While some fans may have concerns about how the Next Gen car will look or handle, there could be an even bigger issue regarding the new NASCAR Cup Series machine looming on the horizon. And that possible worry is that the sport’s teams may not have a deep enough inventory of the cars they will use during the 2022 season should they experience catastrophic disasters, especially during the early races on the schedule. It’s enough of a worry that some drivers addressed the situation during a recent NASCAR Media availability held during the test session last week at the Daytona…

How long will the ‘Kyle Larson Effect’ be felt in dirt racing?

There is little doubt that all forms of dirt racing have, over the past two years, received more attention within the world of motorsports than at any other time in history. Mentions of dirt races have been made during NASCAR television and radio broadcasts as well as in racing related news shows and various other types of programing. And more, social media posts by the sport’s biggest stars and most followed accounts have brought racing on clay to the forefront. Whether it be Late Models, Sprint Cars or Modifieds, there has probably never been a time when the names of…

Late Model winner of Gateway Nationals could receive NASCAR Truck Series ride

This weekend will see the three-day Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals play out in The Dome of the America’s located in St. Louis, Missouri. This will be the fifth running of the event held in the former home of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams before that franchise moved back to Los Angeles. The Thursday and Friday night Late Model shows will pay out $5,000 each to the victor while Saturday’s main event will award the winner a hefty $30,000 first prize. But on Wednesday evening, a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team announced that there could be an even bigger prize…

Penske crew chief Jeremy Bullins having fun in the dirt while prepping new car, driver

Being a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief is one of the most demanding and stressful jobs in sports. A long 36-race schedule, endless travel, and the constant pressure of trying to get ahead of the competition can be exhausting both mentally and physically. Almost certainly, each of those who hold that title have to find some sort of release from the grind of leading a team in the most high-profile form of American motorsports. Team Penske crew chief Jeremy Bullins has indeed found a way to leave the day-to-day worries of having to prepare cars capable of competing for race…

Brad Keselowski making moves to reassert Roush organization as “top-tier team”

The organization led by Jack Roush was a perennial contender for NASCAR Cup Series race wins and championships earlier in its history. Drivers such as Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards were frequently seen at the front of the field and near the top of the standings just over a decade ago. However, the company that was long the standard bearer for Ford Motor Company’s stock racing efforts has over the past few years fallen to the level of a mid-pack runner. The organization’s last wins came in 2017 when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. scored victories at the…

Noah Gragson earns Xfinity Championship 4 spot with dramatic Martinsville win

October 30, 2021 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – To get to the Championship 4, you have to drive like a champion. That’s what Noah Gragson did on Saturday night in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff race Dead On Tools 250 at Martinsville Speedway. Faced with the necessity of winning the race to keep his NASCAR Xfinity Series title hopes alive, Gragson did just that, pulling off a dramatic pass of Daniel Hemric from the outside lane in the first attempt at overtime and holding off series leader Austin Cindric in the second extra period. With Cindric’s…

Zane Smith captures wild Truck Series race at Martinsville; Championship 4 set

October 30, 2021 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. – On a track strewn with spinning trucks and broken hearts, Zane Smith catapulted into the Championship 4 with a thrilling overtime victory in Saturday’s United Rentals 200 at Martinsville Speedway. In a no-holds-barred race that featured 14 cautions for 89 laps, Smith won under yellow after he, Stewart Friesen and Todd Gilliland raced three-wide—yes, three-wide at Martinsville—off Turn 4 on the first lap of overtime. Contact from Friesen’s Toyota sent Gilliland’s Ford spinning across the start/finish line to start the final lap. As Friesen moved down the track…

Stewart Friesen looking forward to testing NextGen car at Wythe Raceway

With the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series campaign winding down and the first season with the NextGen car fast approaching, the testing of that new machine has ramped up. Well documented practice sessions on the Charlotte Roval and the quarter-mile paved oval of Bowman-Gray Stadium have recently taken place. But those are not the only types of tracks the NASCAR’s top division will compete on in 2022. As was the case in 2021, there will be one race for the sport’s premier series on a dirt surface. Once more, the Bristol Motor Speedway will be covered in clay for its spring…