Inside Circle Track

Kurt Busch, Ross Chastain look to lift Chip Ganassi organization in 2019

Every NASCAR off-season is filled with driver, sponsor, manufacture, and crew member moves and the 2018-19 version of “silly season” has been no different. And every year, those who follow the sport attempt to decipher those moves for the purpose of determining which organizations have most improved themselves with their maneuvering. This off-season there is one organization that almost certainly has lifted itself into an even stronger position as it prepares for the 2019 campaign. With the addition of Kurt Busch to its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team and Ross Chastain to its NASCAR Xfinity Series effort, Chip Ganassi…

Red Farmer and Jeff Gordon chosen for NMPA Hall of Fame honors

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Legendary drivers Charles “Red” Farmer and NASCAR Cup series champion Jeff Gordon make up the National Motorsports Press Association’s Hall of Fame Class of 2019. Each will be officially inducted during ceremonies scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 27 in Charlotte, N.C. Farmer, 86, was a NASCAR competitor from 1953 to 1975 and again in select events in 1991 and 1992. The Florida native and Hueytown, Ala. transplant won a Modified championship in 1956. Though he preferred racing in the Late Model Sportsman division, Farmer did run 36 premier series races, with a best finish of fourth (twice). Even…

Derek Griffith anxious to make Snowball Derby debut

The Snowball Derby held each year at the Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. is one of the crown jewel events in the world of Asphalt Late Model racing. Dating back to 1968, some of the most legendary names in American racing have graced victory lane at the conclusion of the main event. Darrell Waltrip, Donnie Allison, Butch Lindley, Jody Ridley, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott are just a few of the recognizable figures to have taken the checkered flag from this historic race. Just making the show is a remarkable accomplishment for many of the entrants. And one driver…

Brandon Setzer making his own way in short-track racing

Dennis Setzer won races on what are now called the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series as well as taking scores of checkered flags from short-tracks all over the southeast and other parts of the country. And now, Brandon Setzer is picking up right where his father left off as a driver and by earning a living within the racing industry. The 25-year-old Setzer has been a frequent visitor to victory lane at Hickory Motor Speedway, which is just minutes from his Newton, NC home. And more, the second generation driver has earned trophies racing with…

Matt Craig enjoying his racing life as a PASS South champion

For seven consecutive years between 2009 and 2015 the Pro All Stars Series South division had seven different drivers to claim the season-long championship for the pavement-based Super Late Model circuit. But beginning in 2016 Matt Craig began a streak that has now reached its third straight season in which he has laid siege to that touring series title. On Saturday at the Hickory(NC) Motor Speedway the Kannapolis, NC driver placed third in the Mason-Dixon Mega Meltdown 200-lap race which was good enough to secure yet another championship for the driver of the No. 54 machine. While Craig and his…

Brett Moffitt, Hattori Providing Great Story in CWTS Playoffs

It is believed by many that only teams with major sponsors that are affiliated with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams and drivers can succeed in the sport’s two lower divisions. However, independent Hattori Racing Enterprises with driver Brett Moffitt have gone a long way toward proving that theory wrong throughout the entirety of the 2018 season and during the playoff rounds in the Camping World Truck Series. Over the course of the season Moffitt has scored five wins along with 12 top-5 results. And more, the No. 16 team roars into the ‘Championship 4’ race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on…

Derek Ramstrom claims PASS victory at Hickory; Griffith, Craig earn titles

The Pro All Stars Series South for pavement Super Late Model machines made its way to Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon to contest its final race of the 2018 season. At the end of the 13th annual Mason-Dixon Mega Meltdown it was Derek Ramstrom of Worcester, Mass. who came away with the win on the historic North Carolina track. Matt Craig was crowned as the 2018 PASS South Series champion while Derek Griffith took PASS National Series honors for the season. Kodie Connor led the way in PASS qualifying as he turned a lap of 14.536 seconds around the…

If NASCAR Really Wants Rules Violations to Go Away …

There have to be rules in racing. And consequences for violating those rules must be enacted by those in charge of overseeing the sport. While the report on Wednesday that Kevin Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 team had been slapped with a penalty for a violation regarding the car’s rear spoiler was certainly newsworthy, it was not necessarily surprising. While this same team has been hit with penalties before(earlier this season at Las Vegas), it’s not that just one team is committing all the rules violations in NASCAR. Several teams have been hit with one form of penalty or another…

Stewart Friesen Enjoys Just Being Himself … And Going Fast

Stewart Friesen came close to picking up that elusive first win on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this past Friday night at the Texas Motor Speedway. However, a pit road speeding penalty forced the No. 52 Chevrolet to rear of the pack on a restart, but the Canadian driver was eventually able to get back up to 11th place when the checkered flag waved to end the event. But winning has not be so elusive for the 35-year-old driver when he competes in his Big-Block Modified machine on the Super DIRTcar Series. Friesen scored a series-leading five wins in…

The Big-Three Are Not Assured of Championship Invitations

Kurt Busch recently admitted that he feels as if the “Other Five” drivers are racing for one position in the final round of the NASCAR Playoffs. Throughout the 2018 season drivers Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, Jr. have dominated as those three competitors have collected a total of 18 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victories and currently occupy the top-three positions in the series standings. And more than just winning races and leading the standings, the so-called “Big-Three” have accumulated so many playoff points during the year-long campaign that they hold a significant lead over their competition in…