NASCAR Pole Position | February-March 2024 by A.E. Engine

POLEPOSITIONMAG.COM

THINGS TO WATCH FOR

IN 2024

READY TO STEP UP 10 DRIVERS

5 TO WATCH

IN THE CUP, XFINITY AND CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES

NASCAR

CHAMPIONS POSTERIZED

Q&A WITH

JUNIOR

JOHNSON

FROM THE SCENE VAULT’S ARCHIVE

PARKER

RETZLAFF

IS READY FOR A BREAKOUT SEASON

RHODES // CUSTER // BLANEY

Silly Season Summation The NASCAR Silly Season was so busy that it was actually hard to keep up. We compiled the moving pieces here. P. 10

My Favorite: Thad Moffitt The grandson of Richard Petty is heading into his first full season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. P. 06

All of the biggest families in NASCAR under one roof. Bring your family to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and make new memories in our racing simulator and pit crew challenge or get up close with the iconic cars along Glory Road. With over 850 artifacts and 50 interactive exhibits that span generations, everyone will find something for the scrapbook. THIS IS OUR SPORT. THIS IS OUR HOUSE.

FEBRUARYMARCH

POLE POSITION 2024

NASCAR Schedules

NASCAR Builds

NASCAR Outdoors

My Favorite: Thad Moffitt

NASCAR Careers

5 to Watch in the Cup Series

CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Profile: Ben Rhodes

5 to Watch in the Xfinity Series

NASCAR Drivers Posterized

Mike’s Weather Page at Daytona

Presented by Forney

Presented by Norfolk State University

Presented by Aluma

NASCAR Collectibles

Up-and-Coming Driver: Dawson Cram

Silly Season Summation

The Scene Vault Podcast Archive

Remembering Iconic Race Tracks

5 to Watch in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

10 Drivers with Something to Prove

FIRMAN Power Equipment’s FAST Team

The Hurricane Awareness Machine

Favorite Finds

NASCAR’s Greatest Drivers Profiles

Presented by Pristine Auction

Presented by K-Seal

24 Things to Watch for in 2024

Cup Series Profile: Ryan Blaney

The Foundation Fighting Blindness

Xfinity Series Profile: Parker Retzlaff

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Q &A S

BEHIND THE SCENES

Q& A S

MOTORSPORTS SOCIAL-MEDIA

CHRISTIAN

SENSATIONS

ECKES

I J U N E - J U LY 2023

MCLEOD SAMMY

ALLISON

UP-AND-COMER

SMITH

PARKER RETZLAFF

AN INSIDE LOOK AT

PLAN B SALES

The Spotter-Driver Dynamic

WILLIAM BYRON & LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

RICHARD

A NATURAL

PAIRING

CHILDRESS

JUSTIN

MY FAVORITE

ALEX

MARKS

BOWMAN

MATT

RUBBIN’ IS RACING

TIFFT

NASCAR PODCAST

SCHOOL YOU!

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The Playoffs Promise to Teach the Best Some Serious Lessons

Racing At Home

NASCAR Fan Rewards

The Complete History of NASCAR Video Games – from Richard Petty’s Talladega (1984) to NASCAR Arcade Rush (2023).

Read this article and earn points toward prizes, autographed merchandise and tickets. P. 16 NASCAR POLE POSITION

Friendship fuels Joey Logano and Coleman Pressley’s success on the race track. P. 28

OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2023

B.J.

BOBBY

FOR THE RECORD

NASCAR POLE POSITION

LIVE FAST

THINGS TO WATCH FOR

Meet Toni Breidinger With more than 2.1 million TikTok followers, this ARCA Menards Series driver is one of the sport’s most popular.

IN 2024

READY 10 DRIVERS TO STEP UP

Q&A WITH

I FE BRUARY-MARC H 2024

JUNIOR

5 TO WATCH

IN THE CUP, XFINITY AND CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES

JOHNSON

FROM THE SCENE VAULT’S ARCHIVE

2023 NASCAR

PARKER

CHAMPIONS POSTERIZED

POLEPOSITIONMAG.COM

RETZLAFF

@NPPMAG

POLEPOSITIONMAG.COM

@NPPMAG

IS READY FOR A BREAKOUT SEASON

RHODES // CUSTER // BLANEY

Silly Season Summation

5 BEST NASCAR RVING

ARCA ROOKIE

EXPERIENCES

FRANKIE MUNIZ

NASCAR

EARNHARDT

DAVID

LARSON TRUEX JR. REDDICK

PEARSON

JEFF

GORDON My Favorite: Chris Buescher From Happy Gilmore to Travis Pastrana, the driver of the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford is full of surprises. P. 5

College Comes to the Track The inside story on a partnership that will place 11 University of Kansas student-athletes on a livery at Kansas. P. 14

NASCAR AT

APRIL - MAY 2023

DALE

DRIVER POSTERS

Thad Moffitt, grandson of Richard Petty, is heading into his first full season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. P. 06

AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2023

LEGENDS OF

FEVER

My Favorite: Thad Moffitt

NASCAR POLE POSITION

The NASCAR Silly Season was so busy that it was actually hard to keep up. We compiled the moving pieces here. P. 10

MEET THE 53-YEAR-OLD

Q&AS

KIRK

MY FAVORITE

SHELMERDINE

PARKER

JEB

KLIGERMAN UP-AND-COMER

BURTON

NICK

SANCHEZ

POSTERIZED!

COOL STUFF FOR RACE FANS

BLANEY // STENHOUSE // BUSCH // + MORE Q&A with Ryan Preece

Mod maven gets a second chance at Cup Series competition with Stewart-Haas Racing. P. 48

LEGO Joins NASCAR

The LEGO Technic NASCAR NEXT Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is now available. P. 16

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2024 NASCAR

SCHEDULE

NASCAR Cup Series Sun., Feb 4 Thu., Feb 15 Sun., Feb 18 Sun., Feb 25 Sun., Mar 3 Sun., Mar 10 Sun., Mar 17 Sun., Mar 24 Sun., Mar 31 Sun., Apr 7 Sun., Apr 14 Sun., Apr 21 Sun., Apr 28 Sun., May 5 Sun., May 12 Sun., May 19 Sun., May 19 Sun., May 26 Sun., June 2 Sun., June 9 Sun., June 16 Sun., June 23 Sun., June 30 Sun., July 7 Sun., July 14 Sun., July 21

Sun., Aug 11 Sun., Aug 18 Sat., Aug 24 Sun., Sep 1

Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum // Los Angeles Coliseum 8:00pm FOX Daytona 500 Duels // Daytona International Speedway 7:00pm FS1 DAYTONA 500 // Daytona International Speedway 2:30pm FOX Ambetter Health 400 // Atlanta Motor Speedway 3:00pm FOX Pennzoil 400 // Las Vegas Motor Speedway 3:30pm FOX Shriners Children’s 500 // Phoenix Raceway 3:30pm FOX Food City 500 // Bristol Motor Speedway 3:30pm FOX EchoPark Texas Grand Prix // Circuit of The Americas 3:30pm FOX Toyota Owners 400 // Richmond Raceway 7:00pm FOX Cook Out 400 // Martinsville Speedway 3:00pm FS1 Autotrader EchoPark 400 // Texas Motor Speedway 3:30pm FS1 GEICO 500 // Talladega Superspeedway 3:00pm FOX Würth 400 // Dover Motor Speedway 2:00pm FS1 AdventHealth 400 // Kansas Speedway 3:00pm FS1 Goodyear 400 // Darlington Raceway 3:00pm FS1 All-Star Open // North Wilkesboro Speedway TBA FS1 All-Star Race // North Wilkesboro Speedway 8:00pm FS1 Coca-Cola 600 // Charlotte Motor Speedway 6:00pm FOX Enjoy Illinois 300 // World Wide Technology Raceway 3:30pm FS1 Toyota / Save Mart 350 // Sonoma Raceway 3:30pm FOX Iowa Corn 350 // Iowa Speedway 7:00pm USA Crayon 301 // New Hampshire Motor Speedway 2:30pm USA Ally 400 // Nashville Superspeedway 3:30pm NBC Grant Park 165 // Chicago Street Course 4:30pm NBC HighPoint.com 400 // Pocono Raceway 2:30pm USA Brickyard 400 // Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2:30pm NBC OFF WEEK OFF WEEK Cook Out 400 // Richmond Raceway 6:00pm USA FireKeepers Casino 400 // Michigan International Speedway 2:30pm USA Coke Zero Sugar 400 // Daytona International Speedway 7:30pm NBC Southern 500 // Darlington Raceway 6:00pm USA

PLAYOFFS ROUND OF 16

Sun., Sep 8 Sun., Sep 15 Sat., Sep 21

Quaker State 400 // Atlanta Motor Speedway Go Bowling at the Glen // Watkins Glen International Bass Pro Shops Night Race // Bristol Motor Speedway

3:00pm 3:00pm 7:30pm

USA USA USA

Hollywood Casino 400 // Kansas Speedway 3:00pm YellaWood 500 // Talladega Superspeedway 2:00pm Bank of America ROVAL 400 // Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL 2:00pm

USA NBC NBC

PLAYOFFS ROUND OF 12

Sun., Sep 29 Sun., Oct 6 Sun., Oct 13

PLAYOFFS ROUND OF 8

Sun., Oct 20 Sun., Oct 27 Sun., Nov 3

South Point 400 // Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dixie Vodka 400 // Homestead-Miami Speedway Xfinity 500 // Martinsville Speedway

CHAMPIONSHIP RACE

Sun., Nov 10

NASCAR Cup Series Championship // Phoenix Raceway

NASCAR Xfinity Series

2:30pm 2:30pm 2:00pm

NBC NBC NBC

3:00pm

NBC

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Sat., Feb 17 Sat., Feb 24 Sat., Mar 2 Sat., Mar 9

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PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

CHAMPIONSHIP RACE

Sat., Nov 9

Phoenix Raceway

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

6:00pm

CHAMPIONSHIP RACE

Fri., Nov 8

Phoenix Raceway

8:00pm

MY FAVORITE

MY FAVORITE WITH

Thad Moffitt Thad Moffitt, grandson of “The King,” Richard Petty, is

heading into his first full season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Not only is the 23-year-old Petty a fresh face on the Truck Series grid, but his race team, Faction46, is stepping up to run the complete 23-race schedule for the first time. Moffitt grew up around the Petty race shop in Level Cross, North Carolina, and often went to the race track with the family and crew. He will drive the No. 46 truck, as an homage to being a fifth-generation racer in the Petty family. Get to know the Craftsman Truck Series’ newest driver, who happens to be a member of NASCAR’s “Royal Family.”

BY JOSHUA LIPOWSKI

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE? ANYTHING

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF RACING MEMORABILIA?

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ATHLETE OUTSIDE OF RACING?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORKOUT?

WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN A NASCAR MOVIE?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?

RUNNING – I LIKE

MATTHEW

FILET STEAK –

to run, and I run a lot.

McConaughey –

Steak is something I

JORDAN SPIETH – I

I find it relaxing, so I

Even though we

could eat every single

watch a lot of golf,

just put my earbuds

don’t look alike, I just

day … I like it to be

and Jordan Spieth is

in and, depending

like watching his

more lean protein

gave me a bunch of

maybe my favorite

on the weather, I’ll

movies. He has a fun,

when I’m eating it.

Stroker Ace and

Adam’s stuff, so I have

athlete outside of

run outside or I’ll run

energetic attitude all

Especially when

Talladega Nights.

a shadow box in my

racing. However,

on an elliptical or

the time, and that’s

you’re trying to stay

To explain that, I

room filled with Adam

my favorite sport to

treadmill inside.

kind of the way I like

in shape. The more

guess it would just

Petty shoes, Adam

watch is football. I’m

to envision myself.

protein you eat and

be because I love

Petty gloves and an

a big Clemson Tigers

Even in the worst

the less carbs, the

NASCAR. I love racing

Adam Petty helmet.

guy in NCAA, and

moments, I can try

better off you will be.

so much that when I

I’m a big Green Bay

to bring some light to

watch, I can relate a

Packers fan in the

the surface and some

lot better.

NFL.

happiness to it.

NASCAR – I like a lot

ADAM PETTY

of movies, but, of

Shadow Box – When

course, I’m partial

I started racing, my

to NASCAR movies

cousin, Austin Petty,

like Days of Thunder,

POLE POSITION 2024

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

NASCAR COLLECTIBLES

Sensational Sights SOME OF NASCAR’S COOLEST COLLECTIONS

NASCAR fans have something over fans of stick-and-ball sports – they have some of the coolest memorabilia collections. Sure, there are the typical shirts, jackets and hats associated with all sports, but that’s where the similarities end. Fans of stick-and-ball sports can’t buy a game ball or bat, but NASCAR fans can purchase parts from a race car – or even an entire chassis. What are some of the best NASCAR collections? Take a look.

CONOR ON X SHOWS OFF HIS COLLECTION

DAVE MARCIS ON X MIGHT HAVE EVERYBODY

of JTG Daugherty No. 47 mementos, mixed with

beat with this incredible find: The pink window

Kaulig Racing gear. With all the sheet metal

net from A.J. Allmendinger’s Charlotte ROVAL

and body panels in the room, a race car could

win last fall. The signature, which is to the right of

practically be built from scratch. Plus, cases upon

the net and below the tag of authenticity, along

cases of die-cast cars will always be a NASCAR

with the various pictures and stickers make this

fan’s dream.

spectacular.

SHOP SIGNED DIECASTS FROM YOUR FAVORITE DRIVERS

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POLE at Checkout LET’S GO PERSONALIZED

FINALLY, WHAT IS A NASCAR

vintage, shall we? Patrick

IT’S SAFE TO SAY GARY

fan’s collection without loads

Weseman on X has this classic

Bowyer on X is a Kyle Larson

upon loads of die-cast cars? The

Dale Earnhardt Jr. blanket from

fan. Take a look at all of the

CEO of Talon Gang on X showed

his DEI days. It was made by

Larson win die-cast cars on

off the numerous die-casts in

Weseman’s son. The red No.

the bottom shelf. Plus, there’s

their collection. Note the 1:24

8 car is always recognizable

a helmet on the shelf to the

scale cars to the right, including

and prominent here, alongside

right, a classic NASCAR sign

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final ride. Can

Junior’s signature in various

and part of a Larson quarter

you pick out your favorite car in

spots on the blanket.

panel.

this picture?

LOOKING TO ADD TO YOUR OWN NASCAR COLLECTION?

VISIT PRISTINEAUCTION.COM TO FIND YOUR NEW FAVORITE PIECE OF NASCAR HISTORY.

prstn.co/racing

UP-AND-COMING NASCAR

Q&A with

Die-cast

Dawson Cram Dawson Cram was born into a racing family and inherited a passion for the sport from his father, former NASCAR Cup Series crew chief Kevin Cram. Now, after years of honing his driving skills in various grassroots divisions, Cram is set to run the full NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule in the No. 4 Chevrolet fielded by JD Motorsports. The 22-year-old driver recently sat down with Pole Position to talk about his big opportunity.

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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE A FULLTIME NASCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER? It means a lot of things because it shows that hard work is paying off, things are going as planned, and you can make it in this sport if you really want to and you dedicate yourself to it. HOW INVOLVED WAS YOUR FAMILY IN THE MOVE TO JD MOTORSPORTS? My dad was very involved in the move to JD Motorsports as he goes to all the races with me and comes to pretty much all the meetings that we have in person. He was very influential in the decision to go to JDM. WHO ARE YOU GOING TO BE LEANING ON FOR ADVICE? I’m for sure going to be leaning on my team. My crew chief is Kase Kallenbach and I’ll be leaning on him. I’ll be leaning on some drivers that I’ve tried to learn from, some of the veterans who reach out and try to help me. I’ll be leaning on my trainer as well to make sure that I’m in the best physical shape that I can be in to get behind the wheel of a race car. I’ll be leaning on Johnny (Davis) to make sure I understand all our plans correctly for the season. I’ll be leaning on my dad as well. WHAT IS YOUR NORMAL ROUTINE OF RACE PREP, AND DOES THAT CHANGE NOW THAT YOU’RE COMPETING FULL TIME? I think there will be some new challenges that come up. I tried to go to every race last year, so I really do have a taste of what it’s like to be at the race track every week. For the majority of my NASCAR career, I try to go to every race I can, which usually equals out to 50 races per year.

I’m used to the travel, but it’ll definitely be something unique to know that I’ll be in a car 33 times and a lot of weekends back to back. I’ll try to stay up on my health. It’s hard to stay hydrated every single week. You have to drink a gallon of water almost every day, every single week. I’m ready for the new challenges that it’ll bring. There’ll be a lot of studying involved for the new tracks I’ll go to. Fortunately, I’ve been able to make a start at a lot of the race tracks that we’re going to, so I’ll have some notes to go back on. I’m excited for the challenge. WHAT WOULD IT MEAN FOR YOU TO WIN A RACE? It would mean the world. It’s every kid’s dream that’s racing or in NASCAR, they’ve dreamt of winning a race. I don’t wanna say too much but (JD Motorsports) has had great speedway packages in the past, so maybe we’ll pull something off. WHAT ARE YOUR SHORT-TERM GOALS? My short-term goal is to stay in the top 30 in points when they change over to the owners’ points for this year, which will be three races into the year. Our other shortterm goals are to keep our nose on the car, collect some points and be smart about everything we do. WHAT ARE YOUR LONG-TERM GOALS? I just hope to be in a race car as long as I possibly can. Fortunately, NASCAR drivers are one of the longest-lasting athletes in the world. They get to have really long careers that last almost into their 50s sometimes. There’s a lot to plan for if it’s at all attainable, but I’d like to one day be a Cup Series driver. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

SILLY SEASON

Silly Season Summation A RECAP OF NEARLY EVERY MAJOR OFFSEASON MOVE

BY JOSHUA LIPOWSKI

The NASCAR Silly Season was so busy that it was actually hard to keep up. There were numerous moving pieces during the brief offseason, some of which were expected while others caught fans and media members by surprise. Here’s a look who ended up where as the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series prepare to open their schedules at Daytona International Speedway:

NASCAR CUP SERIES SHR Inks Josh Berry: Longtime Late Model racer Josh Berry is finally getting his chance at the sport’s highest level as he moves to Stewart-Haas Racing to drive the No. 4 Cup Series car. Kevin Harvick has retired to the NASCAR on FOX booth, which opened the seat for the five-time NASCAR Xfinity Series winner. Haley to Rick Ware Racing: In a shocking announcement, Justin Haley revealed he is moving from Kaulig Racing to Rick Ware Racing. Many assumed Haley would stick with Kaulig Racing, but Rick Ware Racing’s stock has risen over the last year due to its

POLE POSITION 2024

alliance with RFK Racing. Can Haley take RWR to the next level? New Contract for Hamlin: Denny Hamlin’s contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing took far longer than many expected, and it even caused some crazy speculation about 23XI Racing, the team he co-owns with Michael Jordan, potentially switching manufacturers. However, Hamlin eventually reupped with JGR, and 23XI will stay with Toyota – at least for now. Status Quo at Front Row: Front Row Motorsports attracted a lot of silly season attention as officials had three available drivers but only two seats. They finally opted for the status quo, returning Michael McDowell

and Todd Gilliland. Zane Smith was the odd man out, but he found a ride elsewhere. Legacy Motor Club Revamps: After a chaotic and difficult 2023 campaign, Legacy Motor Club enters the new season with a new driver, a new manufacturer and new expectations. John Hunter Nemechek moves up from the Xfinity Series to team with returning veteran Erik Jones, while the team switches from Chevrolet to Toyota.

Hemric Returns to the Cup Series:

Team executive Chris Rice teased a “surprise” replacement for Justin Haley in Kaulig Racing’s No. 31 car, but Daniel Hemric was not the surprise fans anticipated. Rice opted to PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

promote Hemric after two years with the team’s Xfinity Series program. He previously ran the Cup Series schedule in 2019 for Richard Childress Racing.

Finally, Smith Gets an Opportunity:

Trackhouse Racing signed 2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Zane Smith, but he will drive for Spire Motorsports this season. The two teams have formed a technical alliance and Spire will field a third car using a charter purchased from Live Fast Motorsports. The bottom line is that Smith is finally going Cup Series racing. Hocevar on Spire’s Roster: Truck Series racer Carson Hocevar was the hot pick to land this ride, and he officially PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

announced a multiyear contract with Spire Motorsports on “NASCAR Race Hub.” The move means Spire will have a three-car Cup Series team. It’s also the end of an interesting road for Hocevar, who had not won a NASCAR national touring series race prior to 2023. Almirola Steps Back: Aric Almirola confirmed what had been rumored for months, that he would be retiring from full-time Cup Series competition. However, the Florida native is not retiring from racing. He later revealed plans to run a partial NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule this season for Joe Gibbs Racing, sharing the No. 20 Toyota with John Hunter Nemechek.

SVG’s Packed Schedule: Three-time Australian Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen will run the full Xfinity Series schedule with Kaulig Racing alongside a seven-race Cup Series slate. WeatherTech will sponsor the majority of SVG’s races this season. The New Zealander hopes to run the Cup Series full time in 2025. Gragson Lassos SHR Ride: Stewart-Haas Racing signed Noah Gragson to replace Aric Almirola in the No. 10 Ford. Gragson, a 13-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, endured a tumultuous 2023 Cup Series season in which he was temporarily suspended by NASCAR and then asked for an early release from Legacy Motor Club. POLE POSITION MAG.COM

SILLY SEASON • Hailie Deegan

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES Austin Hill Renews with RCR: Many people tabbed Austin Hill as a candidate to land a Cup Series ride during Silly Season, but he instead decided to re-sign with Richard Childress Racing and remain in the Xfinity Series – at least for now. Smith Switches to Chevrolet: After months of speculation, it was finally revealed that Sammy Smith will replace Josh Berry in the No. 8 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. Formerly a top prospect among Toyota’s development drivers, Smith ran the full NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule last year for Joe Gibbs Racing and visited Victory Lane at Phoenix. Deegan Jumps to Xfinity Series: Hailie Deegan has had limited success during her time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, so she is moving to the Xfinity Series. It normally doesn’t work like that, but her performance in a lone Xfinity Series start last year has provided some optimism. The Champ’s Back at SHR: Cole Custer announced he is returning to Stewart-Haas Racing in an effort to defend his Xfinity Series title aboard the No. 00 Ford Mustang. In fact, SHR’s Xfinity Series driver lineup remains the same as last season with Riley Herbst also back in the No. 98 entry. Sunshine for Weatherman: Kyle Weatherman finally gets the opportunity to race full time for the same team, DGM Racing. He wheeled Xfinity Series cars for three different operations – DGM Racing, JD Motorsports and Our Motorsports – last year, recording a best finish of 13th. Alpha Prime Plans Two Cars: Alpha Prime Racing has signed Brendan Poole as the team’s second full-time driver for the upcoming season. Poole spent last year driving for JD Motorsports and also ran a part-time Cup Series schedule for Rick Ware Racing. He will be teammates with Ryan Ellis. Cheers for the Underdog: A major surprise during NASCAR Silly Season was Josh Williams’ move from DGM Racing to Kaulig Racing. Williams replaces Daniel Hemric in Kaulig’s No. 11 Xfinity Series car, as Hemric graduates to the Cup Series operation also owned by Matt Kaulig. This is a true underdog story and it will be fun to follow Williams’ progress. Allmendinger Eyes Crown: Kaulig Racing’s full-time Xfinity Series driver lineup is now set with A.J. Allmendinger joining team newcomer Josh Williams. Allmendinger returns to the

• Sammy Smith

POLE POSITION 2024

Xfinity Series after two seasons with Matt Kaulig’s Cup Series operation. The 42-year-old Allmendinger is also expected to run select Cup Series races. JD Motorsports Adds Cram: Dawson Cram expects to run the full season for JD Motorsports. Sources tell Daily Downforce that team owner Johnny Davis was impressed with the 22-year-old Cram’s Xfinity Series runs late in the 2023 season. Just Like Old Times: Anthony Alfredo returns to Our Motorsports to drive the renumbered 5 car. Alfredo spent 2022 with the team, recording four top-10 finishes. This will be Alfredo’s third full-time Xfinity Series season. A Full House at JGR: Joe Gibbs Racing will expand from three to four full-time Xfinity Series cars. Sheldon Creed and Chandler Smith will run all of the races in the Nos. 18 and 81 Toyotas respectively. John Hunter Nemechek and Aric Almirola will split the 20 car for “the majority” of the races. Meanwhile, Ryan Truex, Joe Graf Jr. and Taylor Gray will drive the No. 19 car before William Sawalich takes over for the final three races following his 18th birthday. Three Cars for RSS Racing: Blaine Perkins completes RSS Racing’s three-car lineup as he’ll race alongside brothers Ryan and Kyle Sieg. Honeyman Has a Ride: Leland Honeyman Jr. joins Young’s Motorsports as it ventures into the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Young’s Motorsports has raced full time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since 2014, but this will be its first Xfinity Series season. Alpha Prime’s Third Car: With two full-time teams already confirmed, officials of Alpha Prime Racing announced their third car, the No. 45 entry, has been reduced to a part-time schedule. Caesar Bacarella is slated to run the four superspeedway races, including the season opener at Daytona, while Brad Perez is expected to be behind the wheel at Circuit of The Americas in March. Bilicki Back at DGM: Josh Bilicki returns to DGM Racing where he will run a partial schedule this season alongside the team’s full-time driver, Kyle Weatherman. Bilicki is slated to open his season at Daytona and then compete in select races according to sponsorship. Hunt Hires Heim: In addition to competing for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title, Corey Heim will run a parttime Xfinity Series schedule for Sam Hunt Racing, starting with the spring race Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Heim is part of Toyota’s Driver Development program. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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THE SCENE VAULT PODCAST

Q&A WITH NASCAR LEGEND

JUNIOR JOHNSON AS RECORDED IN 2009 BY RICK HOUSTON FROM THE SCENE VAULT PODCAST

The name will live forever in NASCAR lore and for incredibly good reason. As good as he was behind the wheel of a race car, Junior Johnson’s biggest contributions to the sport were as a mover and shaker in the industry. It was Johnson who put NASCAR together with its first major title sponsor. Johnson brokered the deal to first team Dale Earnhardt with Richard Childress. He won six championships as a team owner, including three in a row. Rick Houston, currently the host of The Scene Vault Podcast, sat down with Johnson at his shop in Hamptonville, North Carolina, in late 2009 to discuss the legendary figure’s career. From hauling liquor and winning the Daytona 500 to running a race team and the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Johnson was in fine form. YOU WERE RECENTLY ELECTED TO THE FIRST CLASS OF INDUCTEES INTO THE NASCAR HALL OF FAME, AND JUNIOR, FIRST OF ALL, CONGRATULATIONS. Thank you. It’s an honor to have that put on you not expecting it and stuff. So I’m just elated by it. HAS IT SUNK IN YET? Well, not really. You know, people, thank me for what I’ve done and stuff like that. And, you know, I’m a kind of person I didn’t do it for anything other than the sport. And I didn’t expect nothing back. Payback like this is certainly worth what I did. WERE YOU IN CHARLOTTE WHEN THEY

POLE POSITION 2024

MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT? OR WERE YOU BACK HOME? I was almost home, and I was listening to it on radio. IS THERE ANY WAY TO PUT INTO WORDS WHAT YOUR REACTION WAS? I’m not a real emotion person, but Lisa, my wife, was with me and also the man that runs a distillery that we have. Both of them said they was sure there’s tears come to my eyes. ARE YOU DENYING OR CONFIRMING? (Laughing): I’m not real sure. YOU SAID THE NIGHT BEFORE THAT IF YOU WERE ELECTED TO THE NASCAR HALL OF FAME THAT IT WOULD BE PRETTY MUCH

THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR LIFE. IS THAT STILL THE CASE? That is the case. You know, everything that’s ever happened in NASCAR was behind me winning the Daytona 500. But not anymore. Getting inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame took that away. HOW DID HAULING MOONSHINE ON THE ROADS TRANSLATE INTO WHAT YOU DID ON THE RACE TRACK? It gave me so much advantage over other people that didn’t know and had to train and learn how to drive. When I sit down in that seat the first race I ever ran, it was a backseat to what I’d already been doing. I had did all them spinning deals and sideways and stuff like that. It just made my job so much easier than anybody that I had seen come along and go into it. Never, ever did I see a guy could take a car any deeper than I could and save it as long as I raced. YOU RAN A RACE ON THE OLD DAYTONA BEACH AND ROAD COURSE. DO YOU REMEMBER HOW MUCH YOU WON FOR THAT RACE? No, I don’t. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

JUNIOR JOHNSON ■ The Last American Hero ■ Named by Sports Illustrated in 1998 as the greatest driver in NASCAR history ■ Charter member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame ■ Kingmaker

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS. (Laughing): The fun I had was worth every dime of it. YOU OBVIOUSLY WON THE 1960 DAYTONA 500. IN THAT RACE, YOU WERE CREDITED WITH DISCOVERING THE DRAFT. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT? Well, it was an accident on my part. It was something that I didn’t know what I’d done. I knew I had something that nobody else had but I didn’t know what it was. Ray Fox had two weeks to build a car and have it at the race track. You can imagine how you know how much of a race car it really was. It was almost a street car, but that wasn’t the worst part. It had a 409 engine in it and that was really a truck engine. It wasn’t a race engine. It was for pulling heavy loads, not running fast. It was a pretty big disadvantage, but when Cotton Owens came by, I ducked in behind him. All of a sudden, going down the backstretch, I could run all over him at half-throttle. I really thought Ray had got the car fixed. We was … I don’t know … 20 miles an hour slow. I went back in and Ray said, “Well, we got it running now.” I didn’t say anything because it did run fast. I told him to put me on a brand-new set of tires on it to see how much faster it would run. I went out and I run three laps and here come Jack Smith. He was the fastest Pontiac of the whole bunch. I picked him up at about the flag, and at the end of the backstretch, I could’ve passed him. I was all over him going in the turn. I pulled off and went into pits. I didn’t say anything to anybody … nothing about it. I almost came home. I almost didn’t stay down there because the car was so slow, but then I thought, “If I stay and can do this all day long, I might come out of here with a pretty good finish.” So I just kind of shut up about the car and went on with my business. I knew what I was going to do when that race started. I was gonna go to the front through using the draft of the people that was out there … and it wasn’t long before I was up there. OTHER THAN YOUR DAYTONA 500 WIN, WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE RACE AS A DRIVER? I don’t know that I had one that compared to win the Daytona 500 because of the way I won it and

the disadvantage I had when I went into it. I don’t know what you would call it. It was just an absolute miracle that I was able to win that race. NASCAR’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY IN 1998, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED NAMED YOU THE GREATEST DRIVER IN NASCAR HISTORY. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THAT? They had a lot of great race drivers. Curtis Turner, Buck Baker and different ones like that came along through the sport. I don’t know if I was the greatest race car driver in racing, but I know I could outrun anybody that come on that race track. YOU RAN A FEW RACES IN 1966, BUT THEN RETIRED FOR GOOD. WHAT WAS THE REASONING BEHIND THAT? Racing wasn’t my whole life. I could run or leave it, either one. It didn’t make any difference to me. I knew that I was the most trained, most physical person to drive one of them cars through my bootlegging days of anybody out there. It wasn’t exciting to outrun any one of them. YOU SEEMED TO HAVE A VERY DEFINITE STYLE OF RUNNING A RACE TEAM. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS A TEAM OWNER? (Slowly and very deliberately): Vicious. I can’t stand a job half done. When I went to the race track and got beat, it was because the car wasn’t finished when it left the shop. That was not my style. HOW DID YOU TRANSLATE THAT TO YOUR EMPLOYEES. A lot of times they got fired. It starts at the top and it comes down. Work is what it takes. If you go to the race track and you hadn’t done your job back at the garage, you might as well have stayed home. Sometimes we was at a disadvantage with the car or the motor or something of that nature. I could accept that, but I didn’t accept it very long. I got the problem fixed and went and won races. I’d be with Oldsmobile today and tomorrow I’d be with Buick or Ford or just a different car completely, not knowing what it was going to act like. I didn’t care because I knew we could fix it. It was a better deal for me. I had to have the best deal going because I didn’t have the money to run him out of my pocket. I had to have good sponsors and a good relationship with the motor companies. Saying that, I had to have the efficiency out of the people to get it done. POLE POSITION MAG.COM

BACKSTORY PRESENTED BY

ONLY THE MEMORIES REMAIN Time Passes and Race Tracks Come and Go BY JOSHUA LIPOWSKI

After years of sitting idle and surviving the elements, historic North Wilkesboro Speedway is once again part the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. It’s a truly unique story as many other race tracks have come and gone and today are not much more than memories. Here are five of them:

• Texas World Speedway

Texas World Speedway

NASCAR’s first superspeedway race in the state of Texas was at Texas World Speedway in College Station. Nearly identical in design to Michigan International Speedway, the two-mile, Dshaped track hosted eight Cup Series events between 1969 and 1981 with drivers such as Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip winning there. Following multiple attempts to revive the facility, Texas World Speedway closed in 2017. The track eventually fell into disrepair and is slowly being demolished.

Old Atlanta Motor Speedway

Atlanta Motor Speedway has been part of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule since 1960, but it is not the same race track it once was. Originally, a 1.522-mile oval, the racing surface was redesigned into a 1.54-mile quad-oval in 1997. The surface was repaved and reconfigured again 2021, resulting in superspeedway-style racing. While modern Atlanta is gaining traction with NASCAR fans, many ponder how the Next-Gen cars would race on the previous layout.

Riverside International Raceway

Nazareth Speedway

Located 50 miles east of Los Angeles, Riverside International Raceway opened in September 1957 and was the lone road course on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule for many years. Eddie Gray won the first Cup Series race there in June 1958 and Rusty Wallace topped the series’ 48th and final visit to the 2.62-mile serpentine circuit in June 1988. The track closed in 1989 and was bulldozed to make way for commercial and residential development.

Although it never hosted a NASCAR Cup Series event, the NASCAR Xfinity Series (17 races) and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (6 races) competed at Pennsylvania’s Nazareth Speedway between 1988 and 2004. With the Andretti family calling Nazareth home, it was only natural that a major race track be built there. The unique layout had five turns and measured just under one-mile in length. It closed in 2004 and is now abandoned with no hope of being revitalized.

• Old Atlanta Motor Speedway

POLE POSITION 2023

California Speedway

Built by Roger Penske on the site of a Kaiser Steel Mill, California Speedway opened in 1997 as NASCAR racing returned to Southern California for the first time in more than a decade. Eventually, rebranded Auto Club Speedway, the two-mile oval in Fontana became known for its five-wide restarts and its high speeds. NASCAR has sold much of the property surrounding the facility and a large portion of the track has been demolished. Its future is unknown. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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24 THINGS TO WATCH

THINGS TO WATCH FOR IN 2024

While NASCAR celebrated its 75th anniversary, the sanctioning body’s 2023 season showcased intense racing, a bit of nostalgia and an occasional controversy – all of which fueled ticket sales and fired up social media users. But it’s a new year and a lot has happened since Ryan Blaney first hoisted the Cup Series championship trophy in November. It’s time to catch up, so here are 24 things to watch in 2024: BY JOSHUA LIPOWSKI

POLE POSITION 2024

Hailie Deegan Gets a Chance After three years in the NASCAR Craftsman

Truck Series, Hailie Deegan is moving to the NASCAR Xfinity Series with AM Racing. She will be the first woman to compete full time in the series since Danica Patrick in 2012. While Deegan did not win a race during her time in the Truck Series, her lone Xfinity Series start in 2022 was impressive. She finished 13th at Las Vegas for Bobby Dotter’s SS GreenLight Racing, giving her legions of fans hope for her future. Others, however, are skeptical of her potential. Can she prove that she truly belongs?

A Talladega Tripleheader In October, Talladega Superspeedway will host a tripleheader weekend of NASCAR playoff action. Traditionally, Talladega only has two races in a weekend, but the Xfinity Series was added to the fall event in 2023. It all starts on Friday, Oct. 4, with the Truck Series Round of 8 opener. On Saturday, the Xfinity Series has the middle race of its Round of 12. And finally, on Sunday, the Cup Series drivers have the second superspeedway race in the playoffs. This was the weekend that started Ryan Blaney’s run to the 2023 title, and it’s sure to offer even more exciting moments this year.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

24 THINGS TO WATCH

StewartHaas Racing’s New Look This is definitely a new year for Stew-

art-Haas Racing. Kevin Harvick is in the NASCAR on FOX TV booth and Josh Berry is driving the No. 4 car. Aric Almirola is gone from the No. 10 as well. He’s been replaced by Noah Gragson, leaving the team’s Cup Series lineup relatively untested. However, some familiar faces do return. Chase Briscoe inked a multi-year extension before 2023, and modified graduate Ryan Preece is also back. It’s going to be something old and something new for SHR, as the team looks to rebound following a difficult season.

The Next MultiTime Cup Series Champ?

Five full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers – Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney – have a single series championship. Only 17 drivers all time have earned multiple Cup Series crowns, so which of these current drivers has the best shot at joining that exclusive club? Owner/driver Keselowski has RFK Racing on the upswing and that team could be a contender. How about a savvy veteran like Truex Jr., or could it be a younger driver like Elliott, Larson or Blaney who adds a second championship trophy to their collection?

POLE POSITION 2024

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Justin Haley’s New Ride In a move that surprised many in the NASCAR Cup Series garage area, Justin Haley is now driving for Rick Ware Racing. Haley goes from Kaulig Racing, where he spent his first two Cup Series seasons, to a team that recently aligned with RFK Racing. With these moves, Rick Ware Racing may be on track for its best season since becoming a series regular in 2017. Haley scored a major upset at Daytona in 2019 and he nearly won last year at the Chicago Street Race, so it’s clear he knows how to run up front. Will this new combination emerge as a contender?

Rhodes Aims for Number Three Ben Rhodes won his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship in 2023, making him one of only five series drivers to win multiple titles. If he earns a third, Rhodes will join an even more exclusive club. Ron Hornaday Jr., Jack Sprague and Matt Crafton are the only Craftsman Truck Series drivers to win a trio of titles. Those drivers are Truck Series royalty, and Rhodes has a shot at making the group a quartet. Rhodes will defend his title in the familiar confines of the No. 99 ThorSport Racing Ford with Brian Ross as the crew chief.

18 A Revamped Spire Motorsports

Spire Motorsports dominated the headlines during the 2023 Silly Season. They bought a Cup Series charter, purchased Kyle Busch Motorsports, extended veteran Corey LaJoie’s contract and signed rookies Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar. All of this combines to make Spire one of the most interesting NASCAR teams heading into the new season. The organization is growing quickly, and officials seem to have big goals. Could this be the year Spire takes that big step forward? The team appears to have all of the pieces in place, including a big sponsor in Gainbridge, a great facility and entertaining drivers. Definitely keep an eye on this crowd. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

24 THINGS TO WATCH

Martin Truex Jr.’s Swan Song? Martin Truex Jr. was reportedly mulling retirement last year, but he’s back for another season in the No.19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. His plans for 2025, however, remain a mystery and likely depend on performance. Could this year be Truex Jr.’s swan song? Maybe it is and maybe it’s not. Capturing the regular-season title in 2023 shows the 43-year-old is still primed to win races and contend for championships. A second-generation racer, Truex has fought and clawed for everything he has achieved, including taking a small team based in Denver, Colorado, to a NASCAR Cup Series championship. Don’t forget he’s also a two-time Xfinity Series champ.

A Tough Nut to Crack How difficult is it to win the Daytona

500? Just ask Tony Stewart, Rusty Wallace or Mark Martin, as each of them ended their Hall of Fame driving careers without winning NASCAR’s premier race. And they’re not alone as several of today’s stars have repeatedly come up short in The Great American Race. Kyle Busch (18 attempts) and Martin Truex Jr. (19 attempts) have gone the longest without winning the 500. Chase Elliott has not won it in eight tries, and Kyle Larson has come up short 10 times. Even Brad Keselowski (14 attempts) has not won Daytona 500 despite being one of the sport’s best superspeedway drivers. The last three Daytona 500s have seen surprise winners, so is it time for one of these accomplished veterans to have their name added to the prestigious Harley J. Earl Trophy?

POLE POSITION 2024

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

The Introduction of Stage 60 RFK Racing is introducing a third car to its lineup with a historic car number. The team plans to field the No. 60 Ford Mustang in a limited schedule of NASCAR Cup Series races as part of a new program known as Stage 60. David Ragan will run the Daytona 500 in the car alongside teammates Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher. As this went to press, no remaining races or drivers had been confirmed for the Stage 60 effort. Roush Racing formerly used the No. 60 primarily on its NASCAR Xfinity Series car with drivers such as Mark Martin, Carl Edwards and Buescher winning a bunch of races during their time in the seat. Much like Trackhouse’s Project 91, Stage 60 will be interesting to follow.

A Pair of Second Chances Second chances are rare in motorsports, but John Hunter Nemechek and Daniel Hemric will both have a second opportunity to prove themselves at stock car racing’s highest level. Hemric moves from the Xfinity Series to the Cup Series with Kaulig Racing. His last full-time Cup Series effort was a one-year stint with Richard Childress Racing in 2019. Nemechek joins Legacy Motor Club, Toyota’s newest Cup Series team. After one Cup Series season in 2020, the second-generation driver returned to the Truck Series and has worked his way back up the ranks through the Toyota pipeline. Keep an eye on these two as they attempt to prove they belong.

One More Step for William Byron

William Byron had a career year in 2023. He won six NASCAR Cup Series races and made the Championship 4 for the first time. However, he fell short of the ultimate goal. It may be a tough year to follow, but Byron is well positioned to do so. He drives the No. 24 car for Hendrick Motorsports and has veteran crew chief Rudy Fugle back atop the pit box. For years, fans waited for Byron to have his breakout season and it finally happened. Now, winning the championship is his next step.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

24 THINGS TO WATCH

Will Blaney Go Back-toBack? An incredible playoff run carried third-

generation racer Ryan Blaney to his first NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2023. Can Blaney and the No. 12 Team Penske operation become the first repeat champion since Jimmie Johnson claimed his fifth straight in 2010? Hendrick Motorsports drivers William Byron and Kyle Larson enter the season as the early championship favorites, while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin will certainly be among the contenders when the playoffs hit high gear. In order to repeat, Blaney will even have to deal with teammate Joey Logano, who is looking for redemption following a disappointing season. It should be noted that no driver has earned back-toback championships under the current points format.

Legacy Motor Club to Toyota Toyota has two additional cars this season after bringing Legacy Motor Club into the fold. The former Chevrolet team, whose ownership group includes Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty, joins Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing in upping Toyota’s NASCAR Cup Series effort to eight cars. Erik Jones is back in the No. 43 car with John Hunter Nemechek taking over the No. 42 entry. Both drivers have had success with Toyota in the past. Jones won a Truck Series title with Toyota in 2015, and Nemechek won seven Xfinity Series races with Toyota last season. Despite a tough 2023, Legacy Motor Club seems primed for a turnaround.

POLE POSITION 2024

No More Dirt at Bristol The dirt is all cleaned up and the traditional Food City 500 is back on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. This means there are two races on the concrete high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway this season, ending – at least for now – the series’ brief foray into dirt racing. Plenty of Bristol’s most memorable moments have come during the track’s spring NASCAR weekend. From Jeff Gordon bumping Rusty Wallace out of the way in 1997 to a photo finish between Mark Martin and Davey Allison in 1990, there is something unique about racing at Bristol on a late Sunday afternoon. So mark your calendar for Sunday, March 17, as NASCAR restores another short-track tradition.

s e k a C r e t t u B y e o o G y e with Oo

24 THINGS TO WATCH

Regular Season Ends at Darlington NASCAR hopes to bring a new level of drama and intrigue to an event that has been a cornerstone of its premier stock car series since Johnny Mantz won the inaugural Southern 500 at South Carolina’s Darlington Raceway on Sept. 4, 1950. This year, the 75th running of the Labor Day weekend classic will be the regular-season finale for the NASCAR Cup Series. Drivers desperate to make the playoffs will have to dance with “The Lady in Black” if they want to be title contenders all the way to the Championship 4 race at Phoenix. There could be plenty of bent fenders, bruised egos and broken hearts when the dust finally settles on this instant classic.

RCR Fans Will Love This Jesse Love won 10 of 20 races en route to the 2023 ARCA Menards Series championship, and the teenager from Menlo Park, California, was rewarded with a contract to drive for Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Love is one of the hottest young prospects in NASCAR, and he joins an RCR team that narrowly missed putting both Xfinity Series drivers in last year’s Championship 4. Austin Hill, a four-time winner in 2023, was one of those drivers and he’s back for his third season in the No. 21 Chevrolet, while the 19-year-old Love will drive the No. 2 entry. The future is definitely bright at RCR.

POLE POSITION 2024

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

A Trio of Cup Series Tyros The NASCAR Cup Series rookie class is one of the most interesting in years. At press time, it was comprised of two drivers who have patiently waited for their shot, along with one young hotshot who has some fences to mend. Josh Berry, a longtime Late Model competitor who made the most of his opportunity to run the NASCAR Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports, replaces the retired Kevin Harvick in Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 4 Ford. Meanwhile, Spire Motorsports has two rookies among its three-car lineup with 2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, who needs to work on his reputation following a controversial ending to the 2023 Truck Series season. Berry is 33 years old, Smith is 24 and Hocevar is only 21, so it will be interesting to see if age or youth wins this battle.

The Brickyard 400 Is Back! After three years of being contested on the serpentine infield circuit at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the track’s annual NASCAR weekend returns to the 2.5-mile oval that hosted the Brickyard 400 from 1994 to 2020. The popularity of NASCAR racing skyrocketed during the 1990s and the annual visit to Indianapolis was a contributing factor. The Brickyard 400 was once included among NASCAR’s crown jewel events, but it had lost much of its prestige prior to Roger Penske buying the Indy facility in November 2019. NASCAR’s Next-Gen cars have yet to race on the 2.5-mile oval so there will be a lot riding on the July 21 event. In addition, every driver still wants to kiss the bricks.

Supercars Star Shifts Gears

New Zealand Supercars legend Shane van Gisbergen sent shockwaves around the world last July when he won the inaugural Chicago Street Race. His NASCAR Cup Series victory on the rain-soaked streets of the Windy City inspired the 34-year-old racer to relocate to the United States and pursue a NASCAR career. SVG has signed a developmental deal with Trackhouse Racing, the team with which he went to Victory Lane in Chicago. His schedule will reportedly include select races in each of NASCAR’s three national series along with a handful of Late Model starts. We know he has talent, so it’ll be fun to see how quickly Van Gisbergen learns the intricacies of oval-track racing. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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24 THINGS TO WATCH

Who’ll Stop the Rain? The inaugural Chicago Street Race was one of most-anticipated races in recent history, and NASCAR and the residents of Chicago are anxiously awaiting the encore performance on July 6-7. The hope this year is for a dry weekend. Rain wreaked havoc on the 2023 event with the NASCAR Xfinity Series race and the NASCAR Cup Series race both being shortened due to weather. Despite the soggy conditions, the Cup Series’ first street race introduced the sport to thousands of first-time spectators and energized existing fans with a thrilling race and an unexpected winner. Sunshine was the only thing missing.

The Petty Legacy Continues

The racing legacy of the legendary Petty family shifts to a new generation this season as Thad Moffitt joins the new Faction46 team to compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Moffitt is the grandson of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty. He is the first Petty descendant to race full time in NASCAR since Kyle Petty made his final Cup Series start in 2008. Moffitt spent last season driving in the Trans Am Series, where his best finish was second in the Detroit Grand Prix. Like Moffitt, Faction46 is also new to the Truck Series, as it becomes the only NASCAR team currently based in Oklahoma.

POLE POSITION 2024

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

START YOUREngiNeS CLASH AT THE COLISEUM

NASHVILLE

DUEL AT DAYTONA

CHICAGO STREET RACE

DAYTONA 500

POCONO

ATLANTA

INDIANAPOLIS

SUN | JUL 21 | 2:30 PM | NBC

CHAMPIONSHIP

LAS VEGAS

RICHMOND

SUN | NOV 10 | 3 PM | NBC

PHOENIX

MICHIGAN

BRISTOL

DAYTONA

COTA

REGULAR-SEASON FINALE

SUN | FEB 4 | 8 PM | FOX THU | FEB 15 | 7 PM | FS1

SUN | FEB 18 | 2:30 PM | FOX SUN | FEB 25 | 3 PM | FOX SUN | MAR 3 | 3:30 PM | FOX SUN | MAR 10 | 3:30 PM | FOX SUN | MAR 17 | 3:30 PM | FOX SUN | MAR 24 | 3:30 PM | FOX

RICHMOND

SUN | MAR 31 | 7 PM | FOX

SUN | JUN 30 | 3:30 PM | NBC SUN | JUL 7 | 4:30 PM | NBC

SUN | JUL 14 | 2:30 PM | USA

SUN | AUG 11 | 6 PM | USA SUN | AUG 18 | 2:30 PM | USA SAT | AUG 24 | 7:30 PM | NBC

DARLINGTON

SUN | SEPT 1 | 6 PM | USA ROUND OF 16

MARTINSVILLE

ATLANTA

TEXAS

WATKINS GLEN

TALLADEGA

BRISTOL

DOVER

ROUND OF 12

SUN | APR 7 | 3 PM | FS1 SUN | APR 14 | 3:30 PM | FS1 SUN | APR 21 | 3 PM | FOX SUN | APR 28 | 2 PM | FS1

KANSAS

SUN | MAY 5 | 3 PM | FS1

SUN | SEPT 8 | 3 PM | USA SUN | SEPT 15 | 3 PM | USA SAT | SEPT 21 | 7:30 PM | USA

KANSAS

SUN | SEPT 29 3 PM | USA

TALLADEGA

SUN | MAY 12 | 3 PM | FS1

SUN | OCT 6 2 PM | NBC

ALL-STAR RACE (N. WILKESBORO)

CHARLOTTE ROVAL

DARLINGTON

SUN | MAY 19 | 8 PM | FS1

CHARLOTTE

SUN | MAY 26 | 6 PM | FOX

WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY SUN | JUN 2 | 3:30 PM | FS1

SONOMA

SUN | JUN 9 | 3:30 PM | FOX

IOWA

SUN | JUN 16 | 7 PM | USA

NEW HAMPSHIRE

SUN | JUN 23 | 2:30 PM | USA

SUN | OCT 13 2 PM | NBC

ROUND OF 8

LAS VEGAS

SUN | OCT 20 | 2:30 PM | NBC

HOMESTEAD- MIAMI

SUN | OCT 27 | 2:30 PM | NBC

MARTINSVILLE

SUN | NOV 3 | 2 PM | NBC

PHOENIX

*ALL TIMES ET

24 THINGS TO WATCH

Smile for the Camera With his NASCAR Cup Series driving career in the rearview mirror, Kevin Harvick will transition to the NASCAR on FOX television booth this season where he will work as an analyst alongside former driver Clint Bowyer and play-by-play veteran Mike Joy. The 2014 Cup Series champion has long dabbled in television. For several years, he honed his broadcasting skills by serving as a guest analyst for select NASCAR Xfinity Series races televised by FOX. Harvick is also part of the ownership group that oversees the zMAX CARS Tour, a sanctioning body that organizes and promotes Late Model racing in the Southeast.

Iowa Speedway Here We Come Opened in September 2006, Iowa

Speedway has finally secured a coveted date on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. The seven-eighths-mile D-shaped oval in Newton, Iowa, will host the Iowa Corn 350 on Sunday, June 16, and tickets for the 24,000-seat grandstands sold out more than six months in advance. NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace helped design the track, which is often compared to Richmond Raceway. However, Iowa’s aged racing surface means low grip and high tire wear, while its progressive banking allows for multiple racing grooves. The three-day Iowa weekend also includes events for NASCAR Xfinity Series and the ARCA Menard Series.

POLE POSITION 2024

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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FIGHTING BLINDNESS

THE FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS

• Jason Menzo, Chief Executive Officer at the Foundation Fighting Blindness

PROVIDES RESEARCH FUNDING, INCREASES AWARENESS

VOLUNTEERS PLAY KEY ROLE

ith roughly one in 33 people in the

United States – more than 10 million Americans – affected by blinding diseases, the Foundation Fighting Blindness carries a clear and urgent mission. “We are really the driving force behind the global development of treatments and cures for blinding diseases,” said Chris Adams, the Foundation’s vice president of marketing and communications. “We’ve been around for over 50 years and started with one of our co-founders who has retinitis pigmentosa, which is one of the inherited retinal diseases we focus our research efforts on. And ever since then, it’s just taken off.” Since its establishment in 1971, the Foundation Fighting Blindness has raised over $915 million to drive research that provides treatments and cures for blinding diseases. The world’s leading private funder of retinal disease research, the Foundation supports projects conducted by more than 95 research investigators at more than 70 institutions, eye hospitals and universities in the United States. In addition, the Columbia, Marylandbased Foundation has a patient database called the “My Retina Rracker® Registry,” where more than 25,000 people impacted by vision loss have signed up in hopes of advancing research. “The more information we’re able to acquire and the more members that join the

The Foundation Fighting Blindness reaches internationally as its funding also supports research in Australia, Belgium, Brazil and numerous other places around the globe. In the U.S. alone, the Foundation boasts more than 45 volunteer-led local chapters that play a key role in

Registry, the more opportunity they have to be aware of clinical trials that are coming up that they may qualify for,” Adams said. “If they don’t join the Registry, it may take them a little bit longer to know that their disease may actually have a treatment or a trial out there.” Having evolved from placing its initial research and fundraising efforts on retinitis pigmentosa, the Foundation now focuses on an increasing number of blinding diseases. These diseases include inherited retinal diseases – which are genetic – along with dry AMD (age-related macular degeneration), which causes one’s central vision to become more blurred over time and is of particular concern to people who are advanced in age. “One of the big things for us, really, too, is that if an individual has been diagnosed by an eye care professional to likely have a blinding disease, we insist they get genetic testing and counseling to see if there is indeed a mutated gene that is causing the issue for their eye disease,” Adams said. “That way, we can see if there’s a potential clinical trial that they may qualify for.” As recent as just a few years ago, only a handful of clinical trials were being actively conducted with the goal of discovering treatments for blinding diseases. That number has since morphed to more than 45, according to Adams. “There’s around 270 genes linked to retinal diseases,” he said. “The more information we find, the more we have individuals genetically tested. So, our hope as an organization is that funding and communities help us not only increase awareness about the work that we do but also help us fund that research. “That’s really the challenge that we have: There’s so much research that can be done, but not enough money there to fund all the scientists doing that research.”

To donate to the Foundation Fighting Blindness, please visit donate.fightingblindness.org/give

POLE POSITION 2024

PHOTOGRAPHY: FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS

helping the Foundation connect with people who experience varying levels of vision loss. “Part of our job as an organization is to educate individuals that blindness is not a light switch,” said Chris Adams, the Foundation’s vice president of marketing and communications. “It’s not like on and off where you can see 100 percent and cannot see 100 percent. It is a spectrum. “So there’s so many different degrees of blindness or vision loss. Some people may lose their central vision; some people may lose their peripheral vision. As a fingerprint, I would say that no one has the same diagnosis as where they are from a vision-loss perspective.” The work of the local chapters includes hosting annual “VisionWalks” that take place in more than 30 cities across the U.S. Since the Foundation’s inception, more than 200,000 walkers, donors and sponsors have raised over $65 million through the VisionWalk program alone to help people impacted by vision loss. “There are many times that individuals feel that they’re alone in this diagnosis, but we want to reassure them that there are others within their community that they can engage with and interact with and kind of go through the experience together,” Adams said. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

NOTHING CAN STOP TYLER’S DRIVE ( N OT E V E N A B L I N D I N G E Y E D I S E A S E )

Tyler | Undiagnosed Blinding Disease Being blind doesn’t always look how others may think. With innovative research, educational resources and a supportive community, the Foundation Fighting Blindness is leading the charge in ﬁnding treatments and cures for blinding diseases. To learn more about the Foundation or how you can make a difference, visit FightingBlindness.org

NASCAR BUILDS PRESENTED BY

THE HISTORY OF

Forney Industries

Forney Industries, one of America’s oldest family-owned welding and metalworking companies, welcomes the 2024 new year with a look back on its 92 years in business. BY BLAIR WEILNAU

1930s

IT ALL STARTED IN 1932 WHEN JAMES DONOVAN

“J.D.” Forney created the first Instant Heat Soldering Iron. He went door-to-door selling his invention across the nation. J.D. was a pioneering inventor all his life creating the first 110-volt welders, vacuum systems, airplanes, and even a two-man water ski sled.

1940s-50s

2000s-Present

in 1945 when the Rural Electric Associations (REA) began

relaunched and rebranded to the Forney

delivery of 230-volt service to farms and ranches. The Forney

green trademarked color. By 2015, the

sales staff acquired permission from the REA to climb utility

company’s Atlanta warehouse was closed

poles to connect welders on-site for demonstrations and Forney

and replaced with a new distribution

added metal repair and tool hardening to farmers’ capabilities.

facility in Fort Collins, Colorado, near the

That year, Forney moved its headquarters and warehouse

company’s headquarters. To better serve

into a larger space in Fort Collins, Colorado, expanding to 500

its customers, the company moves its

employees and turning out 500 welders a week.

eastern warehouse facility from New York

THE COMPANY’S GROWTH RECEIVED A MAJOR BOOST

IN 2009, FORNEY WELDERS WERE

to a larger warehouse in Ohio. Dane Anderson, fourth generation,

1960s-90s

joined the Forney team in 2019 and

IN 1963, FORNEY ADDS METALWORKING SUPPLIES TO

currently serves as Forney Industries

its line of welding machines. The product line jumped to

Chief Operating Officer. In 2020, Forney

1,400 products and Forney opened an additional warehouse

launched their next generation of welding

in Atlanta, Georgia. By the late 1960s, Forney moves from a

and cutting machines that reflect the

direct door-to-door business to now calling on the hardware,

company’s roots of innovative and

automotive aftermarket, and farm & ranch stores.

dependable products.

J.D. Forney passed away in 1986 after 54 years in the business he created. Second-generation Jack D. Forney is the new CEO, and Ted G. Anderson is named President. Through the 1990s and 2000s, Forney continues to grow as a leading manufacturer and distributor of welding and metalworking supplies, expanding to $30 million, and requiring additional warehouse space in Horseheads, New York. In 2007, Steven G. Anderson, the third generation to lead the business, takes over as the company’s President and CEO.

Forney continues to evolve and innovate welding and metalworking products to support the everyday metalworker. With an experienced and talented group of engineers and product managers leading the way, each product released has been intentionally created For Welders, Built by Welders™. From solving

POLE POSITION 2024

the simple need to repair metal in the 60s, to crafting thousands of products for a wide spectrum of metalworkers today, adapting to the ever-changing needs of their customers continues to be paramount to Forney Industries. Find your next machine and metalworking supplies at forneyind.com or a dealer near you. PHOTOGRAPHY: FORNEY INDUSTRIES

SERVING EVERY GENERATION OF NASCAR FANS FOR OVER 90 YEARS. We’re your one-stop shop for high-quality welding and metalworking products whether you’re a professional or DIY enthusiast. We’ve got the top-notch welding equipment you need for precision and efficiency. VISIT YOUR LOCAL FORNEY DEALER OR FORNEYIND.COM

NASCAR CAREERS PRESENTED BY

NASCAR CAREERS TIRE CARRIER: LAMAR NEAL BY JARED TURNER

hen Lamar Neal joined the football team at Virginia’s Norfolk State University in

the fall of 2012, his goals were no different than those of most college athletes: win games and set himself up for a possible pro career. However, Neal’s focus shifted dramatically early during his senior season when it became apparent the NFL wasn’t in the cards. As it turned out, neither was playing out his final year of collegiate football. After leaving the team when he and the head coach had a difference of opinion related to some of his on-the-field responsibilities, Neal considered pursuing a career in the military after graduation. But his plans took a major turn a few months later when the same coach with whom he’d amicably parted ways sent him a text message recommending he attend an upcoming pit crew tryout hosted by the NASCAR Drive for Diversity (D4D) on the campus of Norfolk State. At first, the former standout linebacker wasn’t sure what to think. “I had never pitted a car,” said Neal. “I hadn’t even changed a tire; I had changed one tire, and it was prom night. I had never watched a NASCAR race, so I wasn’t super-excited about having the opportunity to go and possibly be a pit crew member.” Neal ultimately chose to attend the tryouts – albeit somewhat reluctantly. But what he discovered shortly upon his arrival would ultimately change the course of his career. “I’m doing the drills, man, and they’re just like football,” Neal said. “It’s agility, it’s strength, it’s endurance and it’s competitive non-stop. And right then and there, I fell in love.” That was in April 2016. The following month, Neal and two other student athletes who participated in the D4D combine at Norfolk State were invited to NASCAR’s national Drive for Diversity combine in Concord, North Carolina, where former student-athletes from all over the country would compete for a select few spots in NASCAR’s D4D Crew Member Development Program. One of those spots went to Neal and he enrolled in the program – which provides hands-on training to drivers and pit crew members who hope to land a permanent job with a team in one of NASCAR’s national series. While working out of the Rev Racing shop in Concord, Neal

POLE POSITION 2024

received coaching from Phil Horton, who was the director of athletic performance for the D4D and Rev Racing and remains in that role today. “His determination to succeed, his work ethic, his concentration – all of that was on a high level,” Horton said of Neal. “We liked that about him – as well as his loyalty.” To say Neal was a workhorse during his time with Rev Racing would be an understatement. Some nights, he would head over to the shop to hang tires and end up sleeping over until the following morning when pit crew practice officially started. On other occasions, he would stay back at the shop and continue to refine his craft while most everyone else took a lunch break. “I think that caught the eye of some of the guys that were there, because they were like, ‘Look, man, if you’re going to do it, that’s what it takes. The biggest thing in this career is consistency and not quitting,’” Neal said. About four-and-a-half months into the six-month program, Neal received a job offer from Richard Childress Racing – one of NASCAR’s elite organizations – and he’s served as a tire carrier in NASCAR’s big leagues ever since, having started out with an RCR-affiliated Xfinity Series team and worked his way up the ladder to RCR’s No. 8 Cup Series team. As much as Neal still enjoys the game of football and is thankful for his playing days at Norfolk State, he’s never regretted the day he traded in tackles for tires. “When I get up on that wall or I grab my tires and they call the driver to pit road, there is a type of rush that you get that you have to fall in love with it,” he said. “You’re free as a bird. No matter what you think is going to happen, in that moment, before he gets in that box, you’re invincible. And I love that feeling.”

PHOTOGRAPHY: NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY

NURTURING DREAMS

TRANSFORMING LIVES. For more than 88 years, Norfolk State University has had a mission to provide a transformative educational experience to our students. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), like Norfolk State, play an important role in nurturing dreams, shaping futures and transforming lives. NSU is, and has always been, a place of access, opportunity and success for all. A state-of-the-art institution, offering 1 Associate, 31 Bachelor’s, 16 Master’s and 3 Doctoral degrees, NSU prepares our students to compete in the modern world with degrees in Cybersecurity, Nursing, Social Work, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, CyberPsychology, Computer Science, Optical Engineering, Health Services Management, and Drama and Theatre. Norfolk State University serves a vital purpose for our students, their families and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

WE SEE THE FUTURE IN OUR STUDENTS. ▶ Learn more at nsu.edu

Norfolk State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, baccalaureate, master's, and doctorate degrees. Questions about the accreditation of Norfolk State University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, by calling (404)-679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC's website (www.sacscoc.org).

TRACK SNACKS

5 TO WATCH NASCAR CUP SERIES

The NASCAR Cup Series driver roster is stacked with those looking to redeem themselves following difficult seasons, while others hope to build on successful efforts from a year ago. There are also new faces in new places, with some getting their first chance on the sport’s biggest stage. Here are five drivers to watch in 2024.

Ryan Blaney: Despite an up-and-down regular season, two clutch wins during the playoffs vaulted Blaney to his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. This year, Blaney looks to become the first driver to claim back-to-back titles since Jimmie Johnson won five in a row beginning in 2006. Blaney is not the “Hot Pick,” however, due to his lackluster regular-season performance in 2023. But he proved as long as a driver is in the playoffs, he has a chance. William Byron: A career year with six wins and 21 top-10 finishes was not enough for Byron to capture the Cup Series championship. However, he returns this season with crew chief Rudy Fugle and one of the top pit crews in the sport. For Byron, it will come down to how he finishes the playoffs. He struggled at Martinsville and was slightly off the pace during the Phoenix finale, which ultimately cost him.

POLE POSITION 2024

Kyle Larson: It felt like Larson was either celebrating in Victory Lane or emerging from the care center, but it got him to the doorstep of his second title in 2023. Outside of NASCAR, Larson will attempt the Indianapolis 500 on the same day as the Coca-Cola 600. Cliff Daniels, one of NASCAR’s top crew chiefs, returns for another season which, combined with Hendrick Motorsports equipment, will once again make Larson tough to beat. Bubba Wallace: Despite not winning a race, Wallace had a career year in 2023. He made the playoffs for the first time and finished 10th in the point standings. From road course racing to just overall speed, it’s been nothing but steady improvement for Wallace since he joined 23XI Racing. The next step is advancing deeper in the playoffs. His car is capable, and Wallace’s steady improvement makes that goal even more realistic. Josh Berry: After years of toiling in Late Models and the Xfinity Series, Berry is finally getting his big break. He is replacing Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Ford, and veteran Rodney Childers will be Berry’s crew chief. Those two definitely have the talent, but are the team’s cars capable of finding Victory Lane? Stewart-Haas Racing went winless in 2023 for the first time since Tony Stewart bought into the operation in 2009. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

The OOTG Power Hour is a new video podcast hosted every month by YouTuber Eric Estepp and Xfinity Series driver Brennan Poole. Each episode, the two will cover the current events of NASCAR, interview a fan favorite driver, and host a special interactive segment where fans can have their voices heard.

ORDER THE LATEST NASCAR DIECAST CARS AT

CIRCLEBDIECAST.COM

USE CODE OOTG FOR DI SCOUNTE D SHIPPING

TRACK SNACKS 5 TO WATCH

marching across the infield. He’ll be fun to watch.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

SHELDON CREED: Creed and Richard Childress Racing had the ugliest divorce of any driver/team

THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES HAS ONE OF THE

combo during the recently completed Silly Season.

most intriguing driver rosters since the series debuted

Creed felt the cars at RCR were holding him back. In

in 1982. From grizzled veterans finally getting their

a surprise move, the 26-year-old driver from Alpine,

shot in top equipment, to young drivers auditioning

California, has joined Joe Gibbs Racing where he’ll drive

for the Cup Series, to a Supercars champion trying

the No. 18 Toyota in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. All of

his hand at NASCAR, there are plenty of reasons for

this means it’s time for Creed to put up or shut up.

fans to buy tickets or kick back and tune in to some

HAILIE DEEGAN: After a trying time in the Truck

Saturday racing.

Series, Deegan is making a fresh start in the Xfinity

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: SVG burst onto the

Series with AM Racing. She impressed in her lone

NASCAR scene with his victory in the inaugural

Xfinity Series start in 2022, finishing 13th. AM Racing

Chicago Street Race. This year, the New Zealander

finished 17th in the owners’ standings with Brett

joins Kaulig Racing thanks to an alliance with

Moffitt one year ago, so running inside the top 20 is

Trackhouse Racing. His long-term goal is to compete

expected. Deegan brings a legion of fans to the series,

in the Cup Series full time in 2025. Fans are expecting

but will she give them something to cheer about?

SVG to tear it up on road courses, but if he wants to

A.J. ALLMENDINGER: After racing in the Cup Series

compete and win consistently in NASCAR, he must

full time in 2023, Allmendinger steps back into

master oval racing.

the Xfinity Series where he has some unfinished

JOSH WILLIAMS: After years of scraping and clawing

business. He won the series’ regular-season

for everything in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Williams

championship in 2021 and 2022 but could not take

finally has his opportunity in top equipment. He will

home the big prize. Allmendinger and Shane van

drive the No. 11 car for Kaulig Racing this year, and

Gisbergen should be a two-headed road-course

fans are ecstatic about this move. Williams gained

monster this year for Kaulig Racing. Can Allmendinger

notoriety at Atlanta for protesting a call by parking

finally bring home that elusive Xfinity Series title while

his car on the track during a caution, climbing out and

mentoring SVG on ovals?

POLEPOSITIONMAG.COM

NASCAR POLE POSITION

THINGS TO WATCH FOR

IN 2024

READY TO STEP UP 10 DRIVERS

5 TO WATCH

FE BRUARY-MARC H 2024

IN THE CUP, XFINITY AND CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES

NASCAR

CHAMPIONS POSTERIZED

Q&A WITH

JUNIOR

JOHNSON

FROM THE SCENE VAULT’S ARCHIVE

PARKER

RETZLAFF

IS READY FOR A BREAKOUT SEASON

RHODES // CUSTER // BLANEY

Silly Season Summation The NASCAR Silly Season was so busy that it was actually hard to keep up. We compiled the moving pieces here. P. 10

My Favorite: Thad Moffitt The grandson of Richard Petty is heading into his first full season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. P. 06

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NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES

races for McAnally-Hilgeman Racing last season. He

THE NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES HAS

when he emerged from the chaos of the Phoenix

an enthralling mixture of veterans and young guns

finale to finish second to teammate Christian Eckes.

competing for the series championship. Only 10

This year, he replaces Hailie Deegan at ThorSport

playoff spots, the fewest among NASCAR’s national

Racing, and the 18-year-old driver from Monroe,

touring series, make this series very competitive.

Georgia, is poised to make waves. This is a major

Which drivers are expected to make a splash in 2024?

opportunity for Garcia, who will drive the No. 13 Ford.

JAKE GARCIA: Garcia participated in 22 of the 23 was impressive with nine top-10 finishes, including

COREY HEIM: Heim was the top driver in the Truck

THAD MOFFITT: The latest race car driver from

Series throughout the 2023 season. Unfortunately,

NASCAR’s royal family, Moffitt joins the Truck

a heartbreaking finish during the Phoenix finale kept

Series’ newest team, Faction46. This will be the first

him from hoisting the big trophy. Many predicted

full season of competition in a NASCAR national

he would move up, but Heim returns to TRICON

series for Moffitt, the grandson of NASCAR legend

Garage to drive the No. 11 truck. This makes him the

Richard Petty. Faction46 is also new to the Truck

championship favorite heading into the new season,

Series garage, but through an alliance with Niece

as very few drivers will be as motivated as this

Motorsports, the team will have solid equipment.

21-year-old charger from Marietta, Georgia.

Moffitt is a dark horse to make the playoffs.

LAYNE RIGGS: The 2022 NASCAR Advance Auto

GRANT ENFINGER: A highly motivated Enfinger

Parts Weekly Series national champion, Riggs has

moves from GMS Racing to CR7 Motorsports

made quite the name for himself in Late Model

for the season ahead after narrowly missing the

competition. He joins Front Row Motorsports, which

championship at Phoenix Raceway last fall. He is

claimed the Truck Series title in 2022 with Zane Smith

very familiar with CR7, as he competed in two ARCA

driving. Riggs comes from a racing family, as his

races with the team in 2023. CR7 has yet to win a

father, Scott, made 383 starts across NASCAR’s top

Truck Series race, but Enfinger is the best driver the

three series. Expect the 21-year-old Layne Riggs to

team has put in the seat. Keep an eye on this new

contend for race wins, and perhaps a championship.

combination.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

NASCAR ANALYSIS THE COMEBACK TRAIL

DRIVERS WHO NEED TO STEP UP

While many drivers, most notably 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, had a lot to celebrate last season, not everyone went into the winter feeling upbeat. In fact, a number of drivers headed into the short offseason downright unhappy and hoping that 2024 would bring much brighter days. Let’s take a look at 10 drivers with a lot to prove this year on the heels of a 2023 campaign that didn’t go according to plan. BY JARED TURNER

Chase Elliott

A PRESEASON FAVORITE A YEAR AGO, ELLIOTT missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years as a fulltime Cup Series driver. Due in large part to sitting out six races early in the season to nurse a broken tibia he suffered in a snowboarding accident, Elliott found himself in a mustwin situation over the final weeks of the regular season as it became obvious the points he lost during his prolonged absence would be too much to overcome (Elliott also served a one-race suspension for wrecking Denny Hamlin in the Coca-Cola 600.). That win never came, though, and Elliott finished a career-worst 17th in the standings. To say the Hendrick Motorsports driver is motivated to vindicate all that went wrong in 2023 is likely an understatement.

Harrison Burton

TWO SEASONS AS A CUP SERIES DRIVER WITH the legendary Wood Brothers have borne very little tangible fruit for the second-generation driver whose father, Jeff, is a 21-time Cup Series winner turned NASCAR on NBC broadcaster. After posting only one top-five finish during his rookie season of 2022, Burton was unable to snare a single top-five in his second season as a Cup Series driver and actually finished four positions worse – 31st – in the standings. To earn a fourth season in the iconic No. 21 Ford, Burton will almost certainly need to show major improvement, and it’s possible that nothing less than a race win and playoff appearance will be good enough to keep him employed for another year. In short, Burton is on the hot seat.

POLE POSITION 2024

Alex Bowman

Austin Dillon

MUCH LIKE THE MAJORITY OF his career in NASCAR’s top division, Dillon accomplished little of note in 2023 on the way to a career-worst 29th-place finish in the standings. Making Dillon’s struggles all the more glaring was the fact that first-year Richard Childress Racing teammate Kyle Busch captured three early wins and made the playoffs. If Dillon – the 33-year-old grandson of NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress – doesn’t turn it around in a major way in 2024, it’s hard to imagine him continuing to compete full time at the Cup Series level for that much longer. Although Dillon owns four career Cup wins, including a Daytona 500 triumph, he’s yet to enjoy the breakout season he’s been seeking since his rookie year of 2014.

NO ONE ENDURED A MORE unsatisfying 2023 season than Bowman, who started strong but for the second year in a row missed multiple races due to injuries and fell well short of the gold standard upheld by Hendrick Motorsports for its four Cup Series drivers. Unlike 2022, however, Bowman failed to win a race and his injury was the result of his involvement in an extracurricular activity – a sprint car race – as opposed to his day job as driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet in NASCAR’s top division. If Bowman doesn’t pick it up considerably this year by winning at least a couple of times and returning to the playoffs after a one-year absence, it’s hard to imagine the powers that be at Hendrick being satisfied.

Noah Gragson

THE BEST DESCRIPTION FOR GRAGSON’S rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series? Try “a total train wreck.” Not only did Gragson struggle to be remotely competitive in his No. 42 Chevrolet for the Jimmie Johnson co-owned Legacy Motor Club organization, but his season ended abruptly when he parted ways with the team shortly after NASCAR suspended him indefinitely for liking a racially insensitive post on social media. The sanctioning body reinstated Gragson in September upon his completion of racial sensitivity training, but Gragson never returned to competition. However, Gragson received some good news later in the year when Stewart-Haas Racing hired him to take over its No. 10 Ford following the departure of Aric Almirola.

Ty Gibbs

AS A FIRST-YEAR FULLtime NASCAR Xfinity Series driver in 2022, Gibbs recorded an impressive seven victories en route to a championship with the organization founded and owned by his NASCAR Hall of Fame grandfather, Joe Gibbs. Ty Gibbs didn’t find the going nearly as easy in Year One as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver, however, as he failed to win and missed the playoffs. Although Gibbs showed flashes of his former Xfinity Series self on the way to earning the Cup Series’ rookie-of-the-year honors, he still underachieved in the win/loss category. Illuminating the now 21-year-old’s absence from Victory Lane was the fact his three Joe Gibbs Racing teammates – Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell – all won multiple times and reached the playoffs.

Carson Hocevar

RARELY HAS A NASCAR CUP SERIES ROOKIE entered his first full season in the sport’s top division with as much to prove as Hocevar. As a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver in 2023, Hocevar proved to be quite the wrecking ball as he angered competitors at an alarming rate with his super-aggressive driving that led to him being personally responsible for numerous accidents and getting entangled in multiple run-ins. Perhaps the worst of it came in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway where Hocevar spun fellow Championship 4 driver Corey Heim, which played a role in Heim not winning the title. Later, after falling out of the race, Hocevar took full responsibility and apologized, but it didn’t stop him from being chastised throughout the NASCAR world.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Chase Briscoe

AFTER WHAT amounted to a breakout 2022 campaign in NASCAR’s top series, Briscoe took a step back in 2023 as he failed to win a race or make the playoffs on the heels of a season in which he did both for the first time. Whether it was due to the struggles of Stewart-Haas Racing as a whole or the nagging effects of a broken finger he suffered in an April dirt Late Model race, the driver of the No. 14 Ford was unable to establish any real consistency. With Kevin Harvick retiring and Aric Almirola stepping away from full-time competition at the end of 2023, Briscoe will be the senior driver with SHR this year, and with that will come more pressure to up his game.

Austin Cindric

WHEN CINDRIC topped the 2022 Daytona 500 with Team Penske, the sky seemed to be the limit for the then Cup Series rookie who was making his first start in the organization’s iconic No. 2 car. However, since his victory in NASCAR’s most prestigious event 72 races ago, Cindric has been very much an afterthought while teammates Joey Logano (2022) and Ryan Blaney (2023) have each won a Cup Series title. After finishing 12th in the standings, making the playoffs and recording five top-fives as a rookie, Cindric slipped all the way to 24th in the 2023 standings and posted only one top-five finish. As amazing as winning the Daytona 500 is, even it can only take a driver so far.

Ryan Preece

OUT OF A CUP SERIES RIDE FOR A YEAR AFTER AN unremarkable three-year stint with JTG Daugherty Racing, Preece made a comeback to NASCAR’s premier division in 2023 with Stewart-Haas Racing in hopes of capitalizing on his second chance. It didn’t happen. Preece rarely whiffed the front of the field and finished the season with only two top-10 finishes. Missing the playoffs, Preece ended up 23rd in the standings – a mere four positions better than where he ranked in his final season with JTG Daugherty. With SHR bringing in two new drivers this season in rookie Josh Berry and second year Cup Series regular Noah Gragson, Preece – now one of the organization’s two senior drivers alongside fourth-year man Chase Briscoe – will undoubtedly be expected to make significant strides.

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CUP SERIES SPOTLIGHT

RYAN BLANEY EMBRACES THE MOMENT

BY DUSTIN ALBINO

Ryan Blaney entered the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs as the No. 12 seed, matching the number on his Team Penske Ford. It appeared the playoffs would be an uphill battle as the third-generation racer hadn’t been to Victory Lane since late May and he was rarely mentioned among possible championship contenders. Throughout Blaney’s first seven seasons as a full-time Cup Series driver, he experienced plenty of heartbreak. Four times, he reached the Round of 8, only to be knocked out of title contention in the round’s elimination race. This time, he wasn’t going to be denied. While the No. 12 team limped through the opening round of the playoffs, Blaney’s second win of the season came in the middle race of the Round of 12. The team, led by crew chief Jonathan Hassler, then avoided disaster following the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, when NASCAR rescinded a penalty after discovering an issue with the damper template used during post-race inspection. Blaney had the best race he’s ever had at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Round of 8, leading 53 laps and finishing runner-up to Christopher Bell. He entered the cutoff race with a solid point buffer over Denny Hamlin, as the circuit went to Martinsville Speedway, one of Blaney’s best tracks. Martinsville is where Blaney became a championship threat. He punched his ticket to the Championship 4 by stepping up to the pressure and winning the elimination race.

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The hard part of making it to the championship race was complete. Blaney took control at Phoenix when he emerged from a late-race battle with Kyle Larson and went on to secure the championship. With Joey Logano having won the 2022 title, Team Penske made it consecutive Cup Series championships for the first time. Blaney certainly embraced the moment. He told the No. 12 crew members repeatedly to live in the moment, as many of them also earned their first championship. “The week immediately after was pretty fastpaced,” Blaney recalled. “The week of Thanksgiving was kind of nice being home and not doing much. I think it kind of sank in and then you’re with your family for Thanksgiving, so it’s kind of nice to relive it. “The parade (in Nashville during Champion’s Week) was fun. All of my guys had a blast on Broadway. You get re-reminded of it, so it’s been fun. I’ve been trying to take it all in and trying to slow everything down. That’s what I keep telling people. Even at Phoenix I was like, ‘We need to slow this stuff down and try to enjoy it and remember it and embrace it.’” Blaney doesn’t know if winning a Cup Series championship at just 29 years old will change his life. Internally, it’s gratifying. It will also give him a new level of confidence when he walks into the garage area at Daytona in February. “You’re a champion and you succeeded, and you did well in your job and your sport, but outside of that it doesn’t change,” Blaney said. “You’re still who you are and you’re still a person, but I think internally, it gives you a good feeling of solidifying that you achieved the ultimate accomplishment goal.” Team owner Roger Penske describes Blaney’s trip to becoming a champion as a journey. It started in 2012 when a 19-year-old Blaney and his father, Dave, had a meeting with Penske in his motorhome. The youngster was looking for an opportunity and he also had conversations with officials from Joe Gibbs Racing and JR Motorsports, while running a handful of Xfinity Series races for Tommy Baldwin Racing. He ended up taking the wheel of the No. 22 Xfinity Series car for Team Penske for seven races during that same season, finishing a best of second at Texas Motor Speedway. Brad Keselowski, who drove for Team Penske at the time, had a major influence on Blaney’s career. Blaney spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons battling in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Keselowski’s team, where he won a pair of races and PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

impressed Team Penske executives. “We bought into his package at that point and he won with Brad in trucks. He won in our Xfinity car early on in 2013, so we saw that he knew how to be a winner,” Penske recalled. “I think that’s one of the first things we try to do is, ‘Can you be a winner?’ And then, you’ve got to gel with the team and I think as he moved on in his career with our technical partner, the Wood Brothers, we really saw what his capability was in 2017, when he won the race at Pocono. “I think it was a journey that he was on starting back a decade ago as a young guy. I think everyone has to understand that. It takes time.” More impressively, Blaney claimed the Cup Series title in a season that was dominated by Chevrolet and Toyota. After winning the Coca-Cola 600 at the end of May, the No. 12 team went 16 races without a top-five finish. Just one of those results was better than ninth and it came immediately following the 600 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. The championship was Team Penske’s 12th in various racing series over the last six seasons. On top of that, the team has visited Victory Lane 148 times. While those numbers are wildly impressive, it’s also the Penske way. “It makes it tougher to do more because you set a standard,” Penske said. “The expectations, I mean it’s no different than Hendrick and Gibbs and maybe ourselves in that group at the moment, but the expectations are you’ve got to be a winner. We don’t really want to finish second. We want to win, and I think that is the commitment.” With a strong stretch to close the 2023 season, Blaney is a NASCAR champion. Only 36 drivers have earned Cup Series titles, and now it’s his job to carry the torch. “I want the sport to be healthy,” said Blaney, who grew up in High Point, North Carolina. “I’m part of this sport and I want this sport, its reach, its product on track, the outlook of it from the fan perspective, internal perspective from the media, I want this sport to do well because I want to be a part of this sport for a long time, and you don’t want to be part of a sport that’s in a rut. I think they’ve done a great job of getting to where we need to be. I think it’s positive for the future, so my mindset on that stuff is, ‘Hey, I’m growing myself. I’m growing the sport.’ “If it’s available for you to do it and it’s not taking you away from your duty, your job on the track, do all the stuff you can to grow the sport because you want it to be healthy and you want to leave it better than when you came into it, and that’s all working toward the future. That’s just kind of how I’ve always been.” POLE POSITION MAG.COM

XFINITY SERIES SPOTLIGHT

PARKER RETZLAFF

EXPECTS A BREAKOUT SEASON

BY DUSTIN ALBINO

Growing up in rural Wisconsin, Parker Retzlaff developed an early passion for World Championship Off-Road Racing, a unique form of motorsports that annually hosts a majority of its events in the Badger State. But a career in off-road racing appeared financially prohibitive, so the Retzlaff family initially opted to satisfy their son’s need for speed through mini sprint competition. The youngster eventually found himself racing on dirt every Tuesday and then switching to a paved track on Thursdays. The goal was to hone his skills by competing as often as possible. The 2014 season proved pivotal for Retzlaff and his family, as they began traveling to regional and national Bandolero races. At the same time, Retzlaff picked up a hobby of racing competitively on iRacing. Nearly a decade later, he has more than 1,350 wins in roughly 3,000 starts. His winning percentage hovers around 40. “Switching weekends, I was racing a dirt truck and an asphalt truck,” Retzlaff recalled. “Around that time is when I started taking it more seriously, doing the iRacing stuff more seriously, trying to do that at a high level as well as racing in real life.” While enjoying success at the local level, Retzlaff wanted to take the next step. He, his father and the president of Ponsse (his longtime sponsor) flew to North Carolina to assess options. Retzlaff settled for a pair of starts in the ARCA Menards Series East division, finishing 10th in his debut at Memphis International Raceway. In his lone ARCA Menards Series West start of the season, he rounded out the top five at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

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On that initial flight to North Carolina, Retzlaff met team owner Bruce Cook. They made a deal for Retzlaff to run the full 2020 schedule, but that ended up being a mere six races as the season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Five of those races resulted in top-10 efforts, but that was a stressful season for the teenager. “I think the hardest part was that I was only racing that many times per year,” Retzlaff explained. “I was racing against people who were racing every weekend out of the year and that’s where it made it harder for me. Those ARCA races were all I was racing for the year. It makes it harder to get better when all you’re doing is five, six, seven races per year when everyone else is racing 20 to 30 races per year.” With more time at home, Retzlaff shined on iRacing. His name spread like wildfire because of his success, but it took a toll on him mentally. “I raced seven days per week on iRacing for probably seven months,” Retzlaff said, noting that he picked up plenty of wins. “I did a race every night of the week. I went on a hot streak of winning everything that I competed in on iRacing. But I realized that I was doing it way too much and not leaving the house or even going outside. “I feel happier as a person now that I’m not playing iRacing seven days per week and going outside and hanging with friends.” All the while, Retzlaff was projecting his racing future. He spent more time on the sidelines in 2021, competing in six of the eight ARCA Menards Series East races, scoring his lone top-five finish of the season at Southern National Motorsports Park. Two of the three drivers who finished in front of him were highly rated prospects Sammy Smith and Rajah Caruth. In December 2021, Retzlaff announced he would jump to the Xfinity Series in a partial schedule with RSS Racing. He showed immediate speed, qualifying sixth for his series debut at Phoenix Raceway. He ultimately had a fuel pump issue during the race and finished last. The next time out at Richmond Raceway, Retzlaff proved he belonged in the series. After another impressive qualifying run of 10th, he maintained track position, scoring stage points in both stages. He rounded out the top 10 in an impressive performance driving the No. 38 Ford. His final three starts for RSS all resulted in top-20 finishes, with a pair of 12th-place efforts at Martinsville Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway. He made four additional starts with Our Motorsports during the playoffs. “The beginning of the year started well,” Retzlaff reflected, looking back to the 2021 season. “I qualified sixth at Phoenix and we broke a fuel pump, and I didn’t even finish the race. At Richmond, I got stage points in both stages and finished 10th after qualifying 10th. That was a good race for my second start. That gave me a lot of confidence going forward. “I think we were right around the 10th to 15th range in all the other races with RSS. I went to Our Motorsports PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

and I struggled with not connecting with everyone there and struggling at these bigger places that I wasn’t familiar with. I struggled at the end of the year with making mistakes by trying to drive hard.” Until late December 2022, Retzlaff didn’t know what he would be doing for the 2023 season. Through Team Dillon Management, he finally inked a deal to race with Jordan Anderson Racing as the team expanded to two full-time cars. Retzlaff wanted to be in the Xfinity Series, believing the competition is among the best in NASCAR. He did make one Truck Series start in 2021, but never had a conversation about possibly running more. “I thought the Xfinity Series had the best racing and is a little bit longer races with a lot of competition,” he said. “A lot of it you can make up with a driver in Xfinity that you don’t have with a car or budget. Xfinity, for me, gave me a couple of shots to prove myself without an unlimited budget. That’s what I was always focused on.” In an Xfinity Series campaign that featured a stout lineup, Retzlaff shined as a rookie. He kicked off the year by scoring his only top five of the season, a fourth at Daytona International Speedway. He ended the schedule with seven top-10 finishes, besting his veteran teammate Jeb Burton, who had six but was locked into the postseason following his win at Talladega Superspeedway – Jordan Anderson Racing’s first triumph – in April. Retzlaff ended his rookie campaign 16th in the standings. It was a solid foundation for what Retzlaff hopes is a breakout sophomore season, though he reflects on how it could have been even better. “Looking back on it, I would be the first one to tell you that I made mistakes,” Retzlaff noted. “I did stuff that I didn’t know and didn’t learn from before. Different stuff happens during the races – and it’s so much different when you do it every week. There are much bigger chances that you run into something that you’ve never seen before.” Retzlaff watched video during the offseason in an effort to learn from his mistakes. He pinpoints an early miscue at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on a restart that snowballed into additional issues throughout the race, a broken axle at Pocono Raceway and driving too hard into the corner at the treacherous Texas Motor Speedway and slipping out of the groove. If the No. 31 team can clean up those mistakes on top of continuing to put fast cars underneath Retzlaff, he believes the team will be battling for a playoff spot for the duration of the coming season. “I think the goal is still the playoffs,” said Retzlaff, who will celebrate his 21st birthday in May. “I think that I need to be better. I’m going to be pushing everyone there and we know that we can make it if we do stuff right. At the end of the year, we showed that when we were contending for top 10s every week. If we can do that from Daytona until the end of the year, there’s no reason why we can’t be in the playoffs and trying to fight our way through the playoffs.” POLE POSITION MAG.COM

NASCAR OUTDOORS PRESENTED BY

5 Tracks to Visit THESE NASCAR VENUES BOAST

‘MUST-SEE’ STATUS BY JOSHUA LIPOWSKI

Every race track that hosts a NASCAR Cup Series event provides an incredible fan experience, but there are a few facilities that rise above the others. It’s a combination of history, character, amenities and great racing that earn these tracks “must-see” status among both neophyte and longtime NASCAR fans. Here are the five tracks that made our list:

Martinsville Speedway Enjoying a race at Martinsville Speedway is similar to attending

a baseball game at Fenway Park or Wrigley Field. Tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains of southern Virginia, the half-mile track oozes history. While most modern racing facilities are located on a flat piece of property surrounded by paved parking lots and manicured dirt, Martinsville Speedway was carefully carved from the rolling countryside that serves as its backdrop. Part of the NASCAR Cup Series since the inaugural season of 1949, Martinsville is a blast from the past, and its history cannot be ignored. Also the $2 hot dogs are delicious. When sitting in the grandstands, fans can close their eyes and envision Lee Petty tearing it up with the Grand National cars of the 1950s, Richard Petty wrestling with the land yachts of the 1960s and ’70s, Darrell Waltrip winning with the boxy cars of the 1980s or Jeff Gordon cruising to victory during the sport’s booming 1990s. Martinsville Speedway will again host the event that decides the Championship 4, and it’s traditionally one of the best races of the season.

4 3

Darlington Raceway NASCAR’s first superspeedway, Darlington Raceway, is fittingly

located in Darlington, South Carolina. The home of NASCAR’s legendary Southern 500 since 1950, the track now also hosts the sport’s Throwback Weekend. Just like Martinsville, it’s a blast from NASCAR’s past. The oval is egg-shaped thanks to a minnow pond outside of Turn 4 that the owner refused to sell. Those who enter the track walk through trees and over a creek behind the front straightaway. Add to that, the track repeatedly produces great races and it is especially appealing to those who appreciate driver skill. It’s incredible to watch the drivers rip it at 160 mph just inches from the wall in Turns 1 and 2, only to be forced to slam on the brakes and finesse the car through the banking of Turns 3 and 4. There is a reason why the list of Cup Series race winners at Darlington features the sport’s best drivers. If you appreciate great driver skill and NASCAR history, this is the track for you. In addition, both of its races are can’t-miss events with Throwback Weekend in the spring and the Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend.

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Talladega Superspeedway No race track leaves fans on the edge of their seats quite like

Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway. The 2.66-mile, high-banked tri-oval strikes fear in some, and excitement in others. Let’s start with the racing. Talladega is a little bit longer and wider than Daytona, with banking just a little bit steeper. Massive packs of cars just inches apart lap after lap after lap means there is always action at Talladega. Drivers are only one small mistake away from potentially taking out half of the field. Off the race track, the campgrounds at Talladega have stories that are best left untold. Regardless, Talladega Boulevard is one of the most popular infield party scenes in NASCAR. For those more interested in the racing, there are plenty of other camping options at Talladega, including three free campgrounds during Cup Series weekends. This is the track for adrenaline junkies and those who enjoy having a good time. Races at Talladega Superspeedway are always must-see events, and they are the type of races that can make someone an instant NASCAR fan.

Bristol Motor Speedway Massive grandstands tower above a .533-mile bullring in

the hills of eastern Tennessee. When the sun goes down and the lights come on during an early autumn evening, nothing compares to NASCAR racing at Bristol Motor Speedway. The track boasts banking of as much as 28 degrees, almost as steep as Daytona International Speedway. This means the track can stake its claim as the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.” The sense of

speed at Bristol is truly remarkable. In addition, the noise is intense as the roar of the engines reverberates through the bowl-shaped grandstands, which also provide the best sightlines of any NASCAR track. Every seat has a full view of the action. This is the track for those who want to see and feel the unadulterated power of a NASCAR Cup Series car. The atmosphere is also unlike anything else in the sport. Only one word will leave your lips in describing the Bristol experience – “Wow!”

Daytona International Speedway “The World Center of Racing” is what they call it, and there is no

more appropriate nickname for Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR was organized in Daytona Beach, Florida, prior to the 1948 racing season. The fledging sanctioning body promoted stock car races on the Daytona Beach and Road Course until 1959 when NASCAR founder “Big Bill” France opened the gates to his massive 2.5-mile superspeedway that would forever change the sport of stock car racing. France wanted a marquee event for his new track that would endure the test of time. Today, the Daytona 500 is still NASCAR’s biggest race. Grandstand tickets routinely sell out and the race has a history of producing many of the sport’s most memorable moments. Recent renovations have made Daytona International Speedway one of the world’s premier sports facilities. For those who love big events, glitz and glamour, Daytona is the place – and the Daytona 500 is the biggest race of the year, creating an unparalleled race-day atmosphere.

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CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES SPOTLIGHT

BEN RHODES IS IN RARE AIR

BY DUSTIN ALBINO

Ben Rhodes is known to have a good time. After winning the 2021 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship, his memorable press conference was one for the ages. Now, the 26-year-old racer from Louisville, Kentucky, claims to have topped that after capturing his second series title in November. “Phoenix (2021) was rough on me, but I did make it to bed that night,” Rhodes recalled. “Phoenix (2023) was not good. I’ve got a kid now, so I don’t get much sleep. I got back to the room at 3; I got back out of the room because I was in so much pain that I went to the lobby at 5:45 or 6 and met the truck drivers down there, who went in the hauler and got a bunch of BodyArmour, Gatorade and ibuprofen.” Many celebratory beverages were consumed by the crew members of the No. 99 team on that crisp November night in the Arizona desert. A fifth-place finish in the Championship 4 race was just enough to edge Grant Enfinger for the 2023 championship. It marked the fifth series title for ThorSport Racing – the longest tenured team in the Truck Series – in the last 11 seasons. Rhodes became the fifth driver to claim multiple Truck Series championships since the series debuted in 1995. He and Todd Bodine each have two titles. They trail only Matt Crafton and Jack Sprague, who have three championships each, and NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday, who has hoisted the championship trophy a record four times. “That’s the funny thing, those guys are guys that I have looked up to tremendously for years,” Rhodes said of the quartet of drivers that he joined with multiple championships. “Especially Bodine, because I’ve been able to get to know him over the years with his role at FOX Sports. That has put him on a pedestal for me because he’s had a lot to say and a lot to teach me. “These guys have so much knowledge that to think they have two, three, four championships and I’m somehow in their company, doesn’t feel right,” Rhodes continued. “They have so much wisdom and knowledge on me.”

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CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES SPOTLIGHT During NASCAR Champion’s Week in Nashville nearly a month removed from popping champagne corks and consuming those aforementioned beverages, Rhodes was still coming to terms with the fact he has multiple NASCAR titles. Afterall, he considers it a miracle that he’s still relevant in the sport. Following a 10-race stint with JR Motorsports during the 2015 Xfinity Series season, Duke Thorson, co-owner of ThorSport Racing, made the leap of faith in hiring the then-18-year-old to drive full time during the 2016 season. During a year in which ThorSport trucks won two races, both by Crafton, Rhodes scored only a pair of top-five efforts and paced the field for only 55 laps. It took until the playoffs got underway in 2017 for Rhodes to find Victory Lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He went on to finish fifth in the standings, best among the drivers who didn’t qualify for the Championship 4. But then, the questions began to set in. “At the end of 2017, we had nothing left,” Rhodes mentioned. “Each year, it was finishing something up in January, ‘OK, we’re racing again.’ Ever since then with Duke and Rhonda Thorson, it’s been, ‘We’re going to be racing, let’s get everything set and be focused.’ It was never being focused on if we were going to get to the track; we’re going to the track, so let’s focus on how to win.” The investment in Rhodes began paying off for ThorSport when he notched a monumental victory at his home track of Kentucky Speedway. Then, a 48-race winless streak ensued, which he snapped at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day Weekend in 2020. The start of the 2021 season couldn’t have been better for Rhodes, as he swept the opening two races. He didn’t win again during the year, but a third-place finish in the finale at Phoenix was sufficient to claim his first championship. “I’m living my dream,” Rhodes noted. “Whatever that is, if I’m doing it for a living, racing. That was the goal when I set out to race for a job was to get to NASCAR. That was the dream and I’m doing it.” Dating back to 2021, Rhodes has made the most of each playoff stretch, qualifying for the past three Championship 4 races. He

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narrowly missed out on the 2022 championship, finishing runnerup to Zane Smith. “It’s funny because if I could go back and do that again last year, I know some things that I would have changed that maybe we could have won,” Rhodes said of 2022. “I was on two (tires) versus four, but there were certain things that I learned in that moment where if I could go back, I might have been able to alter some history.” Over the past few seasons, Rhodes has consistently been in the championship hunt. Both of his titles have come with Rich Lushes calling the shots, as he became one of six crew chiefs in series history to earn multiple titles. Last season was a tumultuous one for the team, with Rhodes having two other crew chiefs before reuniting with Lushes ahead of the Round of 8 opener at Bristol Motor Speedway. “We’ve had our share of downs, but we’ve been fortunate enough to have our ups at the end of the season with these championship campaigns,” Rhodes said of his time with Lushes. “He has become a close friend of mine. I feel like away from the track, he’s the closest that I’ve been to a crew chief in a long time. I’ve had my fair share of different crew chiefs since 2016 in the Truck Series; I’ve worked with a lot of people. I can say that we’ve bonded a lot, completely understand each other.” The No. 99 team has a fresh outlook for the new season ahead. In addition to trying to secure a third championship trophy, Lushes wants to achieve new milestones, while Rhodes mainly wants to be more consistent across the board. “We haven’t won the regular-season championship yet, so we need to have the season start as good as we can so we can win that,” Lushes noted. “We have a goal that we set to win three races and the goal is always to make it to Phoenix. I feel like with the team that we have, we can do that again. We’ve made it the last three years, so why not make it a fourth.” If so, that would make Rhodes the first driver in Truck Series history to qualify for four consecutive Championship 4 races. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

MIKE’S WEATHER PAGE BRINGS HURRICANE AWARENESS TO NASCAR FANS BY JARED TURNER

With untold numbers of website visitors and more than 2 million followers across five major social media channels, Mike’s Weather Page (spaghettimodels.com) has made quite the splash on the state of Florida and the Southeast weather scene. But it’s Florida – specifically Oldsmar, located in the west-central part of the state – where Mike Boylan, the website’s founder/ operator and a self-proclaimed storm chaser, lives and started the popular site in 2004. A 50-year-old alumnus of the University of South Florida where he studied marketing, Boylan has no formal training in meteorology but possesses an uncanny knack for connecting with a vast online audience. He’s built his community in large part through a down-to-earth but thorough weather-forecasting approach that involves presenting numerous weather models for ma• Mike Boylan (left) with FDEM jor storms but not overhyping Executive Director Kevin Guthrie worst-case scenarios. “It’s so crazy the amount of people that follow what I do,” Boylan said. “Everybody’s got the same access to the same resources and weather maps. It’s just how you present them to the public. “I think what people have liked about me over the years is that I’m just an average Joe and drink beer and I’m out there at baseball games, football games and NASCAR races, and I’m kind of one of them.” Boylan – whose most popular website offering is a weather-focused show dubbed “The Daily Brew” that’s streamed each weekday morning at 9:19 a.m. (EST) – likes to present his viewers with the facts about various weather possibilities and let them decide for themselves where exactly the next big storm might be headed or make its biggest impact. “Every storm has a story,” Boylan said. “I don’t really predict. I decipher what I’m seeing and show it to people, and the people like to make up their own minds.” Boylan’s ability to grow an audience and resonate with viewers earned him Florida’s Tropical Meteorology Award in 2021, and in the last few years he’s made appearances on national TV networks such as FOX News, CNN and NewsNation to share his expertise when major hurricanes were Florida bound.

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One of those weather events, Hurricane Ian – a Category 4 storm that struck Florida’s Gulf Coast with deadly force in late September 2022 – catapulted Boylan’s sphere of influence to another level when the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) contacted him to ask if he’d be interested in doing a Facebook Live to discuss the hurricane and Mike’s Weather Page. In short, the state wanted to use Mike’s Weather Page to educate people about the hurricane and provide important information on resources the state could provide those in the path of the storm. Boylan has since teamed with FDEM, led by executive director Kevin Guthrie, to get the word out about other tropical events, including Hurricane Idalia in late August 2023. “It was a partnership that I never would’ve dreamed would have happened, and it just kind of happened,” Boylan said. “It’s a blessing for me to have an official entity like the State of Florida to come to partner up with little ole me.” For the second year in a row, Guthrie and others from FDEM are set to join Boylan in February at Daytona International Speedway for the season-opening NASCAR Xfinity Series race, which takes place roughly 100 days before the official start of hurricane season. As they did in 2023, FDEM and Mike’s Weather Page are among several co-primary sponsors on the No. 4 JD Motorsports car. In addition, Boylan, along with Guthrie and other Florida officials, are meeting with fans at the track to offer important educational materials on hurricanes and what the state can do for residents when bad weather strikes. “It’s solidified Mike’s Weather Page to have the state proud enough to join us,” Boylan said. “It’s brought a lot of awareness to the page, and I think it’s brought a lot of positive awareness to the State of Florida, too, because they’re constantly on TV when we have these hurricanes and Kevin Guthrie is always on TV during these hurricane events. “So seeing him at Daytona alongside Mike’s Weather Page, I think, just makes people feel comfortable that they can trust us and we’re there for them.”

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SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

FIRMAN POWER EQUIPMENT’S FAST TEAM

THERE TO HELP WHEN DANGEROUS WEATHER THREATENS The largest seller of portable generators in the United States and Canada, FIRMAN Power Equipment has a broad reach that actually began internationally before the company expanded to the U.S. around eight years ago. In more recent years, a group of individuals who make up what the company refers to as its FIRMAN Active Support Team – FAST, for short – has joined forces with the Lowe’s home improvement chain and Mike’s Weather Page to do some important work in support of those affected by major weather events. One such event was Hurricane Ian, which slammed Florida’s Gulf Coast in late September 2022, destroying and damaging dozens of homes and resulting in the loss of more than 160 lives. While selling generators for profit is certainly a goal of FIRMAN Power Equipment, the FIRMAN FAST team is focused on achieving a far greater mission. This mission is typically carried out more than five times a year in response to tropical events – when FIRMAN dispatches members of its FAST team to Lowe’s stores in hopes of getting store patrons set up with a working generator if they’ve lost power due to a major storm. “We’ve got our technicians there, and we have parts and tools, and we’ll help them get their generator running,” said Jason Sutton, FIRMAN’s director of brand. “We advertise that opportunity on social media in those geographic areas we can target, and we let people know, ‘We’re here. We’re here to support you. There’s no cost involved.’” In addition to providing these services free of charge, the FAST team offers them to both FIRMAN customers and non-FIRMAN customers. “We’re there to help everybody,” Sutton said. “Of course we love getting the FIRMAN name out there, but that’s not what this is about. It’s way more about just being there to do our part and help how we can.” Mike’s Weather Page founder Mike Boylan, who along with Lowe’s is a strategic partner of FIRMAN, witnessed the kindness of the FAST team firsthand after Hurricane Ian when the team placed boots on the ground at a Lowe’s store in Fort Myers, Florida, and another Lowe’s in Port Charlotte, Florida – both areas that had been impacted significantly by Ian.

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BUILT FOR SERVICE “I was very impressed with their willingness to help every brand,” Boylan said. “They didn’t care whose generator it was. People were bringing other brands. They didn’t care. It wasn’t about that. It was about helping people with generators. I was really impressed with their willingness to do whatever it took.” Along with helping storm victims power up their generators, the FAST team works to ensure the safety of generators once they’re up and running in homes. Most FIRMAN generators come with a built-in Carbon Monoxide alert system that will alert the user when CO levels are high and then shut the generator down when they become too concentrated. Not all generators are equipped with this technology. “You really need to run it at least 20 feet from your home to stay safe,” Sutton said. “We try to push that message but, sadly, people think, ‘I can run it in my garage, and it’ll be fine. Or I’ll run it in my garage with the door open, and that’ll be fine. Or I’ll run it in my car port or on the porch.’ “Carbon monoxide weighs essentially the same as air, so it concentrates the same as air. So even if you’re running it in your garage with the garage door wide open, it can still get in your house and concentrate in fatal amounts – sadly.” The FIRMAN FAST team is so committed to making sure that generator users don’t suffer from the effects of carbon monoxide that team members drive through neighborhoods and stop at homes where they see that generators haven’t been properly placed. “They’ll go knock on the door and say, ‘Hey, let us move your generator for you where it’s 20 feet from the house,’” Sutton said. “If we need to, we’ll give you an extension cord for free to make that happen so you can keep using the generator safely. We’ve really actually been able to save some lives that way, which is very rewarding for us as a company.”

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# E V E R Y G E N E R A T O R T E L L S A S T O R Y

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

JD Motorsports, Mike’s Weather Page and FIRMAN Power Equipment Return to Daytona with the Hurricane Awareness Machine Once again, popular weather content creator Mike’s Weather Page is bringing hurricane awareness to this year’s Daytona 500 weekend. The No. 4 Mike’s Weather Page powered by FIRMAN Power Equipment Chevrolet will be driven by Xfinity Series driver and rookie of the year candidate Dawson Cram on Saturday, February 17. In addition to Mike’s Weather Page and FIRMAN Power Equipment, the Hurricane Awareness Machine features Coastal Claims, Paratec Door Solutions and the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM).

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SECTION TITLE FAVORITE FINDS

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Last season, some of your favorite content creators partnered with the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevy for a sweet Cup Series experience when the Podcast Party Bus car raced at Darlington. Now, the official 1:24 die-cast car from Lionel Racing that prominently features Out of the Groove, Black Flags Matter, Danny B Talks and The Iceberg is available for immediate shipping. This is a must-add to any die-cast collection and supplies are going fast, so place your order today. The diecast is available now for immediate shipping.

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POLE POSITION MAG.COM

NASCAR’S

GREATEST DRIVERS

fIreball roberts

Few people have made a bigger impact on the sport of NASCAR in as short of a time as the late, legendary Glenn “Fireball” Roberts, who, sadly, left this world at the young age of 35.

Born in Daytona Beach, Florida – the birthplace of NASCAR – on Jan. 20, 1929, Roberts

didn’t plan to have a career in racing when he enrolled at the University of Florida to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. But during his time as a college student, Roberts – who had done some amateur racing – experienced a change of heart. Instead of graduating, he dropped out of college and decided to chase his high-speed dreams. He made his NASCAR premier series debut on the old beach course in Daytona Beach on Feb. 5, 1950, and went on to enter nine races that year – winning on the 1-mile dirt track at Occoneechee Speedway in Hillsborough, North Carolina, in just his third career start. Although Roberts never won a premier series championship and may be the best driver to have never done so, he recorded 33 wins and 32 poles in just over 200 starts in what today is known as the NASCAR Cup Series. In addition, the driver whose nickname “Fireball” came from his days as a baseball pitcher at the sport’s lower levels finished in the top 10 over half of the time, a significant portion of which he spent driving for the legendary Holman Moody outfit. Roberts appropriately enjoyed some of his greatest moments at his home track of Daytona International Speedway, which opened for business in 1959. He earned an impressive seven victories – most notably, the 1962 Daytona 500 – at the 2.5-mile superspeedway built by NASCAR founder William H.G. “Big Bill” France. One place where Roberts never won was Charlotte Motor Speedway, which opened in 1960. In his 10th and what would be his final start at this track, or any track, Roberts suffered second- and third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body when he wrecked to avoid another crash and his car burst into flames on lap seven of the 1964 Memorial Day weekend race. Although Roberts survived, he had to be airlifted to a hospital, and he passed away more than a month later. Roberts has since been inducted posthumously into multiple motorsports Halls of Fame, including the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte where he was permanently enshrined as part of a five-member class in 2014.

A lot of the fans will root for a certain make of car, rather than be a fan of the driver. It’s really putting down a man’s individual effort, but I think this is the basis for the sport’s popularity. People identify with what they drive to the supermarket in. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 22 CAR

BELOVED

CHARISMATIC

FEARLESS KNOWN FOR

ROBERTS ENTERED ONLY

AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS

EVEN WITH ALL THAT HE

10 races in the 1958 season

career, Roberts had a knack

accomplished, Roberts is most

but went to Victory Lane

for setting track records. He

widely known for his career-

an incredible six times and

set no fewer than six major

ending fiery crash in the 1964

finished 11th in the standings

track records in 1962 – a

World 600 at Charlotte Motor

of NASCAR’s premier series

season when he won three

Speedway where he suffered

despite his absence from most

races, captured eight poles

severe burns that forced him to

of the races. Roberts finished

and led 960 laps in spite of

be hospitalized for roughly five

second, third, ninth and 30th in

running only 19 of the 53

weeks. While still in the hospital,

his other four starts.

races held for NASCAR’s

Roberts died after contracting

premier division.

pneumonia and sepsis.

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SECTION TITLE NASCAR’S GREATEST DRIVERS

a.j. foyt

Widely considered the most formidable race car driver the world has ever known, A.J. Foyt boasts an unrivaled and highly diversified list of motorsports accomplishments and accolades that will in all likelihood never be matched. Born on Jan. 16, 1935, in Houston, Texas, Foyt began his racing career at age 18 on dirt

tracks around his hometown but has since competed on four continents – gaining international acclaim in the process. With a record 67 victories and a record seven championships in what is now known as the NTT IndyCar Series, Foyt’s greatest success came in open-wheel racing. His crowning achievement was being the first four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 at fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway where he sipped the ceremonial winner’s milk in 1961, 1964, 1967 and 1977. As a part-time NASCAR driver, Foyt also won NASCAR’s biggest race – the Daytona 500 – in 1972 when he led 167 of 200 laps in the Wood Brothers’ iconic No. 21 car. Although this was by far Foyt’s biggest NASCAR victory, it was by no means his only success in the world’s premier stock car series. Foyt made 128 Cup Series starts over 30 years and took the green flag for at least one Cup Series race every year from 1963 to 1990, going to Victory Lane seven times and claiming nine poles. He also earned 36 top-10 finishes, including 29 top-five results, and led 1,518 laps. Foyt’s best NASCAR track was the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, where he triumphed in three points races and rang up 17 top-10 finishes – including 15 top-five efforts – in 54 starts. The only other track Foyt competed at more than 20 times as a Cup Series driver was Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he made 22 starts and recorded a win from the pole in 1971. Foyt’s three Cup Series wins outside of Daytona and Atlanta all came in the state of California – two, both from the pole, at Ontario Motor Speedway (in 1971 and 1972), and one at the now-extinct Riverside International Raceway road course where he prevailed in the 1970 season opener. Appropriately, Foyt logged his final NASCAR Cup Series start at Indianapolis in 1994 during the inaugural Brickyard 400, an event in which he finished 30th while driving a No. 50 Ford campaigned by his own AJ Foyt Racing team.

WHEN I WAS RUNNING, ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS WIN, AND THAT’S THE REASON I PROBABLY WON AS MUCH AS I DID. I NEVER DID WANT TO SETTLE FOR SECOND OR THIRD. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

FIERCE

CONFIDENT

OUTSPOKEN VERSATILE DRIVEN KNOWN FOR

FOYT’S BEST SEASON IN NASCAR

FOYT IS THE ONLY DRIVER TO

FOYT IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS

was easily 1972. Making six starts

claim victories in the NTT IndyCar

ability to win in different types of

in the No. 21 Mercury fielded by

Series’ most prestigious race (the

vehicles, including open-wheel

Wood Brothers Racing, Foyt posted

Indianapolis 500), NASCAR’s most

cars, NASCAR stock cars and sports

five top-five finishes that included

prestigious race (the Daytona 500)

cars. A winner of multiple races in

his NASCAR career-defining win in

and the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans

all three genres of motorsports,

the Daytona 500, a race in which he

– the world’s most famous sports-

Foyt has been enshrined in several

lapped the field and spent the final

car and endurance race, which Foyt

motorsports Halls of Fame and was

120 laps out front.

captured in 1967 at the age of 32.

voted Driver of the Century.

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kasey kahne

Kasey Kahne enjoyed a solid NASCAR career highlighted by wins in some of the sport’s marquee events. He also secured multiple victories in all three national NASCAR series: the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. Born in Enumclaw, Washington, on April 10, 1980, Kahne advanced through the open-wheel

ranks in his home state before becoming a USAC champion and eventually working his way up to the Cup Series in 2004. Despite never coming all that close to winning a Cup Series championship due to his inconsistency, Kahne was widely considered one of the sport’s top stars in most of the years from his rookie season through his 15th and final year on the circuit. Kahne was typically at his best on the 1.5- and two-mile “intermediate” tracks that made up the largest portion of the Cup Series schedule during his years behind the wheel. Ten of his 18 Cup Series trophies came from these venues. He was a three-time winner of the Coca-Cola 600 – NASCAR’s longest race, held at Charlotte Motor Speedway – and his last Cup Series victory came in 2017 Brickyard 400 on the legendary 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kahne drove for multiple organizations throughout his career, but only one of them – Hendrick Motorsports – is still in existence. Rick Hendrick hired Kahne to drive his No. 5 Chevrolet beginning in 2012, and the team newcomer promptly went out and recorded a career-best championship finish of fourth that year. But Kahne never again finished this high in the standings over six seasons with the organization, which he left at the end of 2017. Kahne joined Leavine Family Racing for the 2018 season but, due to issues with dehydration inside the race car, called it quits from Cup Series competition with 11 races still remaining. Other than the lack of a championship, the biggest blemish on Kahne’s résumé is the absence of a victory in the Daytona 500 – unquestionably NASCAR’s most important race — but his Brickyard 400 triumph and multiple Coca-Cola 600 wins make him one of the elite drivers from his time in the sport. At 43 years old, Kahne is still active as a sprint car driver and team owner. His Kasey Kahne Racing team has won five consecutive World of Outlaws sprint car championships with driver Brad Sweet.

ANYONE WHO QUESTIONS MY COMMITMENT DOESN’T KNOW ME VERY WELL AND DOESN’T KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS SPORT.

SOFT-SPOKEN

RESERVED

POPULAR

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

KAHNE WAS VIRTUALLY

IN 2006, KAHNE ACHIEVED

THE NO. 9 CAR

ONE OF THE MOST

KNOWN FOR

unstoppable at times in 2006,

something only six others

reserved drivers of his era,

a season when he posted a

had in the 48-year history of

Kahne somehow managed not

career-high six Cup Series wins

Charlotte Motor Speedway

to ruffle many, if any, feathers

in the No. 9 Dodge for team

when he won both Cup Series

during his decade-and-a-half

owner Ray Evernham. Working

races points races at the fast

as a NASCAR Cup Series driver.

with crew chief Kenny Francis,

quad-oval. In recognition

Appropriate given his boyish

Kahne also rang up 19 top-10

of Kahne’s season sweep,

good looks and easy-going

finishes – a career high at the

Charlotte president and

nature, Kahne was especially

time, and a number he would

general manager H.A. “Humpy”

beloved by the sport’s female

match just once more and

Wheeler presented the young

fan base.

never eclipse.

driver with a golden broom.

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

NASCAR’S GREATEST DRIVERS

ralph earnhardt

Long before “Earnhardt” became one of the most legendary names in the sport’s history, Ralph Earnhardt, of Kannapolis, North Carolina, was making a name for himself – and his family – in NASCAR.

Born Feb. 23, 1928, Ralph Earnhardt could never have foreseen the dizzying heights to which his family name would one day rise. It’s the ultimate rags-to-riches American Dream that began on tiny bullring race tracks around the Southeast and continues into its third generation today. From Ralph to Dale to Dale Jr., racing is a part of the Earnhardt family DNA. “We didn’t talk about a whole lot of things, but if we needed to talk, we talked,” Dale once said of his father. “He influenced my racing a lot. He didn’t encourage me when I got started, but after I did, he had his influence. He gave me the positive attitude. He guided me and set the stage for what kind of driver I am.” Dale Earnhardt was keenly aware of the impact his father had on his career. “The driving skill comes naturally. He knew that,” said the second-generation racer. “He would make me aware of my mistakes and try to guide me in the right direction. He wanted me to take a good look at things and be open minded.” Did Dale stray from the path forged by his dad? Absolutely. “He would have kicked my ass several times during my career for things I’ve done, probably,” Dale admitted. “Racing on credit – borrowing money.” Here’s how taboo credit was to Ralph Earnhardt. “I wanted him to sign for me to borrow some money,” Dale said. “He told me he didn’t have any credit, because he didn’t owe anybody. He never charged anything. Sure enough, I went to the bank and daddy couldn’t sign for it. “He bought a house, bought cars, bought trucks – and he saved up his money to buy them. He never made a payment. We thought we were rich. I was rich in a lot of ways, too, buddy.” Sadly, the elder Earnhardt died as the result of a heart attack on Sept. 26, 1973.

IF THERE WAS A WHOLE LOT OF DIRT AND STUFF ON THE FRONT OF (MY FATHER’S RACE CAR), HE RAN SECOND OR THIRD TO SOMEBODY. IF THERE WAS VERY LITTLE ON THE FRONT, HE PROBABLY WON. RIGHT BEFORE I’D GO TO SCHOOL, HE’D BE UP AND I’D FIND OUT WHAT WENT ON. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 8 CAR

PATRIARCH

PIONEER CHAMPION KNOWN FOR

RALPH EARNHARDT WON

HE NEVER MADE MUCH

DALE EARNHARDT WAS

the 1956 national

of a mark in what is

known far and wide as “The

championship in the NASCAR

now known as the

Intimidator.” The example

Sportsman Series, which

NASCAR Cup Series, but

had been set many years

would today be akin to the

Ralph Earnhardt was

before by his father.

Late Model Stock division at

nevertheless a fearsome

numerous NASCAR Weekly

force on more short tracks

tracks across the country.

than anyone could ever count.

POLE POSITION 2024

greatest drivers NASCAR’S 75 GREATEST DRIVERS COLLECTOR’S MAGAZINE This 116-page magazine is packed with the stories that made each of these drivers the greatest we have ever seen.

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NASCAR’S GREATEST DRIVERS

cale yarborough

Having grown up just miles from the storied 1.366-mile superspeedway, Cale Yarborough entered his first NASCAR race at South Carolina’s Darlington Raceway on Sept. 2, 1957. Yarborough went on to claim three series championships and 83 victories in 560 starts.

Born in Timmonsville, South Carolina, on March 27, 1939, Yarborough is the oldest of three boys born to Julian and Annie Yarborough. His family made their living through owning a local store and farming tobacco and cotton. After his father died in a private plane crash during the late 1940s, young Cale began working hard to help his mother manage the family business. Yarborough famously slipped under a fence to see the inaugural Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in September 1950 at age 11. He began his fledgling driving career with one event in 1957. Seven years later in 1965, Yarborough logged his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Georgia’s Valdosta Speedway for team owner Kenny Myler. The victory shifted his career into high gear, prompting several of the sport’s iconic team owners, such as Banjo Matthews, Glen Wood, Junior Johnson, M.C. Anderson and Harry Ranier, to hire him as their driver. While driving for Johnson from 1973 through 1980, Yarborough collected 55 of his 83 Cup Series victories and championships in 1976, ’77 and ’78, becoming the first driver to win three consecutive titles in NASCAR’s premier series. Yarborough also drove Indy cars with limited success in 1971 and 1972 for team owner Gene White. He made two starts in the Indianapolis 500, finishing 16th in 1971 and 10th the following year. In addition to his racing, Yarborough engaged in various business ventures, including his longstanding Honda dealership in Florence, South Carolina. His present-day passion is his 4,000-acre farm and a six-acre lake he built himself at age 76.

I’VE BEEN BLESSED TO HAVE ENJOYED A VERY SUCCESSFUL NASCAR CAREER, BUT I DEFINITELY DIDN’T DO IT ON MY OWN. I HAD SOME GREAT PEOPLE HELP ME ALONG THE WAY.

DETERMINED

STRONG PATIENT

BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

IN 1978, THE YEAR OF

ONE OF YARBOROUGH’S

DURING A CAREER

Yarborough’s third Sprint

greatest accomplishments

that spanned 31 years,

Cup Series championship,

as a NASCAR driver came

Yarborough was

he logged 10 victories, 23

on March 25, 1973, during

considered to be one of

top-five finishes, 24 top-10s

the Volunteer 500 at

the sport’s toughest and

results and claimed eight

Bristol Motor Speedway.

most determined drivers.

pole positions while driving

While driving for team

He had a reputation for

for Junior Johnson. He also

owner Richard Howard, he

driving cars to better

enjoyed a 10-win season

miraculously led every lap

positions than expected,

four years earlier in 1974

of the 500-lap race and

giving his very best effort

in Johnson’s famed No.11

logged his 15th of 83 series

during every lap of the

Chevrolet.

victories.

race.

POLE POSITION 2024

THE NO. 11 CAR

QUIET TOUGH SMART

KNOWN FOR

EARLY. ON TIME. A LITTLE LATE. JUST GET THERE SAFELY.

Leave the

Speeding

to the professionals

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