Don’t discount Ty Gibbs because of who he is related to

It would be easy to look at the record Ty Gibbs has achieved in the relatively short period of time he has competed at the higher levels of racing and attribute at least some of his success to the equipment he drives. But anyone who would do that simply isn’t watching closely enough. Yes, the 19-year-old rising star is the grandson of legendary NFL coach and NASCAR team own Joe Gibbs but there has to be more to his story than simply the fact that he has the right relatives. After all, he is not the first driver in NASCAR…

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Kyle Larson: “Every time I get in a race car I get better”

Once the peak of Mt. Everest has been reached, the only way to go is downhill from there. In the minds of many, accomplishing the feat of claiming the NASCAR Cup Series championship is equivalent to reaching the peak of the tallest mountain in motorsports. But at least one driver does not necessarily see it that way. For those who might have wondered just how much dirt racing Kyle Larson would be able to to in 2022 as NASCAR resumes practice and qualifying, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion demonstrated this past weekend that he plans to do quite a…

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Trevor Bayne “expects to win” in JGR Xfinity ride

Although some inside the sport of racing knew who he was already, Trevor Bayne exploded onto the motorsports radar of everyone who evenly remotely followed the sport in 2011 when he won the Daytona 500 in only his second NASCAR Cup Series start. It appeared to be a Cinderella story that was too good to be true for the then 20-year-old driver, and in some ways, it proved to be exactly that. The Knoxville native had, before 2011, spent a little more than a full season driving Toyotas in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Michael Waltrip Racing. It was following…

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Daniel Hemric ready to face the challenge of his new opportunity

For the better part of a decade, followers of NASCAR racing have thought that Daniel Hemric was a highly talented driver who was on the cusp of a major breakthrough season. That big win or that groundbreaking moment was due at any time was the belief of many. But when the Kannapolis, North Carolina driver landed a full-time ride in the NASCAR Cup Series in the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing in 2019, the results fell short of expectations. Hemric’s one and only full season at the top level of the sport netted no wins and only one…

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What might the Clash teach teams about the Next Gen car?

The time has finally come. After years of talk and speculation followed by months of testing, the Next Gen car to be used this season and beyond in the NASCAR Cup Series will turn its first competitive laps this weekend at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. The 150-lap exhibition main event held on a makeshift quarter-mile track will truly be an event filled with firsts. Not only will the car be new but the race will be contested at place not originally intended for auto racing. The L.A. Coliseum has hosted the…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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