NASCAR Archives - Auto Services

April 5, 2023

Advance Auto Parts Offers $50,000 to Most Popular NASCAR Home Track through “Advance My Track Challenge”

Progress will award money prize to nearby NASCAR limited track receiving the most supporter votes on AdvanceMyTrack.com

RALEIGH, N.C., April 04, 2023–(Business WIRE)–Progress Car Components (NYSE: AAP), a top automotive aftermarket parts company and the official vehicle sections retailer of NASCAR, declared that voting is stay for its 3rd-annual Advance My Track Challenge. The plan encourages race supporters to vote for their local NASCAR-sanctioned short observe, with the monitor obtaining the most votes successful a $50,000 grand prize.

This push release options multimedia. Check out the comprehensive launch here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/dwelling/20230404005373/en/

Beginning these days, followers can take a look at AdvanceMyTrack.com to vote for 1 of 25 NASCAR House Tracks found in the U.S. or Canada. Tracks that are part of the plan showcase a variety of NASCAR Progress Automobile Sections Weekly Sequence (NAAPWS) racing disciplines, together with late product stock vehicles, open wheel modified automobiles and avenue stock race automobiles.

The first spherical of voting concludes Friday, May perhaps 5. A single keep track of for every region (West, Midwest, Southeast, Northeast) plus the keep track of with the subsequent-optimum complete of votes will transfer to a final round of voting on May possibly 9-15. Each of the five finalist tracks will acquire $5,000, with the track obtaining the most votes in the remaining round winning $50,000. Teams at profitable tracks are inspired to use prize funds for track facility upgrades or to set up programming with colleges or nonprofits that gain their neighborhood group.

“We are passionate about giving race followers a platform to progress local grassroots racing,” mentioned Jason McDonell, Advance’s govt vice president of merchandising, promoting and eCommerce. “The Progress My Keep track of Challenge spotlights the great importance of community racing and how NASCAR Residence Tracks have been liked by fans for generations. Limited track racing is aspect of NASCAR’s previous, present and future, and this method assures that neighborhood venues will keep on to offer entertainment for fans and a probability for racers to are living out their desires.”

“Progress Vehicle Parts’ motivation to strengthening facility infrastructure and supporter knowledge by way of the Advance My Keep track of Obstacle carries on to enhance grassroots racing throughout the state,” mentioned Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president, racing advancement & tactic. “As NASCAR celebrates our 75th Anniversary period this calendar year, it is extra important than at any time to place a emphasis on racing at the area degree, which is the foundation of our sport.”

Progress will activate the plan alongside its companions at Group Penske. Progress My Observe Obstacle “Vote Now” branding will be showcased on Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Progress Car Elements Ford for the NASCAR Cup Sequence race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, April 16 (3 p.m. ET, FOX Sports activities 1).

“It’s essential for grassroots racing to be obtainable for fans and motorists,” explained Blaney, a 3rd-era race car driver and 7-time NASCAR Cup Collection race winner. “I’m very pleased to perform with a companion like Progress who is centered on supporting NASCAR’s Household Tracks and community race supporters through packages like Advance My Monitor Obstacle. We couldn’t decide on a far better place to kick off the method than Martinsville, one of NASCAR’s most enjoyment and aged-faculty design race tracks. We’re hunting forward to a great trip in our No. 12 Ford Mustang this weekend.”

The Progress My Monitor Challenge initially released in 2021. In its two yrs, Advance and NASCAR celebrated Berlin Raceway (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and Jennerstown Speedway (Jennerstown, Pa.) as its two winners of the $50,000 grand prize.

Advance’s help of the NAAPWS involves its “House Track Highlights” system. The retailer is applying its year-prolonged sponsorship of Blaney’s No. 12 Ford to highlight numerous local NASCAR monitor champions across the U.S. and Canada. Every week, unique Weekly Collection motorists are highlighted on Blaney’s vehicle. For every single Blaney Cup Series victory, the profitable driver(s) showcased on his car every single receive a $1,200 Progress present card.

About Advance Auto Elements

Progress Auto Elements, Inc. is a major automotive aftermarket parts supplier that serves both expert installer and do-it-your self customers. As of December 31, 2022, Advance operated 4,770 outlets and 316 Worldpac branches mostly within the United States, with more areas in Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company also served 1,311 independently owned Carquest branded outlets across these locations in addition to Mexico and various Caribbean islands. Supplemental information about Advance, which include work prospects, purchaser services, and online browsing for components, extras and other offerings can be discovered at www.AdvanceAutoParts.com.

Perspective supply variation on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/information/property/20230404005373/en/

Contacts

Advance Automobile Pieces Contacts:
Trader Relations:
Elisabeth Eisleben
T: (919) 227-5466
E: invrelations@advanceautoparts.com

Media Relations:
Darryl Carr
T: (984) 389-7207
E: darryl.carr@advance-auto.com

March 16, 2023

NASCAR hits Hendrick Motorsports with historic $400K combined fine for unapproved parts modifications

NASCAR announced Wednesday a number of penalties stemming from the most recent Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway. Most notable is an L2-level penalty assessed to all four Hendrick Motorsports teams for unapproved parts modifications. NASCAR assessed a similar penalty to Kaulig Racing.

Following practice on Friday, NASCAR confiscated the hood louvers belonging to all four Hendrick Motorsports cars, as well as the No. 31 Kaulig Racing car, which were then brought back to the sport’s Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. According to the sanctioning body, the teams were found to have illegally modified a single-source vendor-supplied part in violation of Sections 14.5.4.2.A of the NASCAR rulebook, which deal with how the radiator duct is assembled.

As a result, the following penalties were handed out:

All four Hendrick Motorsports teams and the No. 31 Kaulig Racing team have been penalized with the loss of 100 owner points and 10 playoff points
Crew chiefs Cliff Daniels, Alan Gustafson, Rudy Fugle, Trent Owens and Blake Harris have all been fined $100,000 and suspended for the next four Cup Series races
Drivers Kyle Larson, William Byron, Justin Haley and Alex Bowman have all been penalized 100 driver points and 10 playoff points

According to Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports, the $400,000 combined fine to Hendrick Motorsports makes it the largest one ever assessed to a single organization in the history of NASCAR (though the sanctioning body has issued larger individual fines to teams in the past).

Hendrick driver Chase Elliott, who is recovering from a leg injury suffered in a snowboarding accident, was not subject to penalty, nor was substitute driver Josh Berry, who does not earn Cup Series points.

Hendrick Motorsports cars have won the past two Cup Series races with William Byron, but the confiscation of their hood louvers marked a major concern by the end of last weekend. NASCAR Hall of Famer and Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon admitted as much in a post-race press conference.

“I can tell you it was weighing on all of our minds coming into today. Certainly will continue,” Gordon said. “We had some conversation, will continue to have conversations, with NASCAR. Every situation is sort of unique, but this is a more unique one than I’ve seen in a while where there’s been a lot of communication back and forth on this particular part, especially for this racetrack because they did a parity test in the wind tunnel.

“I think it really opened up the door for some miscommunication. I don’t want to go any further than that. We’ll continue to just share all the facts and be transparent with NASCAR as we have been so far.”

Beyond NASCAR’s penalties for technical infractions, the sanctioning body also penalized driver Denny Hamlin after he admitted on his podcast that he intentionally put Ross Chastain in the wall on the final lap while racing for position.

Hamlin claimed that once his car pushed up the track in Turn 1 and he realized he was going to lose position, he decided to let go of the wheel and pin Chastain — who had been running to his outside — into the wall to take him back through the field with him. As a result, Hamlin has been penalized 25 driver points and fined $50,000 for violating Sections 4.4 of the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct, which includes “wrecking or spinning another vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is removed from competition as a result.”

Hamlin and Chastain have had a number of on-track run-ins over the past year, including incidents at Gateway, Atlanta and Pocono — and of course the Hail Melon at Martinsville where Chastain used a wall ride to beat Hamlin for the final spot in the Championship 4.

The two also came together during the Busch Light Clash at the L.A. Coliseum in February, with Chastain spinning Hamlin.

Hamlin claimed that Phoenix was not retaliation for any past incident, and he admitted that he cost himself and his team positions in doing it anyway because his car ended up getting pinned against Chastain’s. The two spoke on pit road after the race, with Hamlin recounting that he wanted Chastain to take accountability for past incidents and that he did not want to have any further issues racing with him.

“He came up to me and he says ‘I guess I deserved it?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I think so,'” Hamlin said. “I’m not gonna sit here on this podcast and ever lie to you guys and say ‘Well, this is an accident’ when it’s not. It wasn’t an accident, I meant to put him in the fence, but I didn’t mean to screw my team in the process.

“… We talked and I think that we are in a better place where I think we’re willing to put the past behind us. And I think that we’re gonna judge each other from this point forward, and I think that’s the fairest way to do it.”

The final team included in NASCAR’s swath of penalties was the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing team, which was assessed a safety violation after an improperly installed wheel fell off of Aric Almirola’s car at Phoenix. Crew members Ryan Mulder and Sean Cotten have been suspended for the next two races.

February 19, 2023

NASCAR Reveals the Modified Camaro Stock Car That Will Race at Le Mans

This year’s 24 Hrs of Le Mans will see a modified NASCAR Cup Sequence Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 inventory motor vehicle operate in the Garage 56 entry designated for experimental race cars and trucks.
The car or truck, unveiled now ahead of the Daytona 500, continue to packs a 5.8-liter V-8 motor, but provides a huge fuel cell, upgraded brakes, and exclusive aerodynamics.
The embellished driver lineup features Jimmie Johnson, Jenson Button, and Mike Rockenfeller, and the workforce has currently racked up above 3600 miles of testing.

NASCAR is going to the 24 Several hours of Le Mans. Wait around, what?! Yep, you study that right—a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 inventory vehicle is taking on the grueling and legendary day-extensive race at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France, this yr. The NASCAR racer will run in the Garage 56 location, an entry reserved for experimental motor vehicles, and the auto was disclosed right now at Daytona Worldwide Speedway in advance of this weekend’s Daytona 500.

Because 2012, Garage 56 has provided vehicles like the unorthodox, triangle-shaped DeltaWing and a modified LMP2 automobile piloted by two motorists who are paralyzed from the waistline down. This calendar year, even so, the entry will be occupied by a muscular Cup Series–spec Camaro run by a snarling 5.8-liter smaller-block V-8. The project is becoming operate by Hendrick Motorsports, the most productive Cup Collection workforce with 291 race victories to day.

NASCAR

The Garage 56 Camaro stays close to its roots, but several variations have been essential for 24-hour race responsibility. Practical headlights and taillights substitute the imitation stickers commonly plastered on to the inventory auto bodywork, and the crew also in good shape a more substantial 32-gallon fuel cell and carbon brake discs. The motor vehicle will journey on exceptional Goodyear Eagle tires, and will use exclusive aerodynamic things with a revised front splitter, dive planes on the entrance bumper, a new rear diffuser, and a unique rear spoiler protruding out of the bodywork.

While a regular Cup vehicle weighs 3200 lbs ., the Garage 56 automobile has shaved that down to 2960 kilos and tacks on an additional two inches of size. The Le Mans–spec racer retains the entrance and rear double wishbone suspension with adjustable coil-over shocks.

Powering the wheel will be 3 best-notch motorists. Jimmie Johnson brings his huge working experience in inventory cars and trucks as a seven-time NASCAR Cup Sequence winner, although two-time 24 Hrs of Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller knows the observe like the back again of his hand. When he has under no circumstances pushed a stock vehicle and only has a single Le Mans start out, 2009 System 1 planet champion Jenson Button is no slouch, either.

The team has been testing the Garage 56 Camaro due to the fact past August, racking up about 3600 miles at Street Atlanta, Virginia International Raceway (the place we operate out once-a-year Lightning Lap competitiveness), Goodyear Proving Grounds, Carolina Motorsports Park, Sebring Worldwide Raceway, and Daytona Global Speedway. The group will return to Sebring this Monday for an endurance examination, and the staff hopes to have its entry permitted by the race’s regulatory entire body in the up coming number of months. The 24 Hours of Le Mans will get started on Saturday, June 10, 2023.

January 29, 2023

NASCAR Provokes Fanbase Yet Again With Noticeable Change to Car, Resulting in Some Fans Claiming Modification Will Hurt Overall Experience

With the 2023 NASCAR Cup Collection time quickly approaching, drivers and supporters are counting down the days right up until the Clash at the Coliseum. Nonetheless, ahead of that exhibition in L.A., NASCAR officers are diligently doing the job at the rear of the scenes to enhance on the 2nd-12 months Next Gen vehicle by a round of tests in Phoenix, focusing in distinct on aerodynamics and audio at shorter tracks.

All admirers can get guiding increasing the car’s aero, primarily on the shorter circuits, the place it was typically one-groove racing and difficult for anybody to move final calendar year. Unsurprisingly, transforming the audio of the autos has been met with resistance from some admirers, who recommend it will not be the identical and will impact the in general working experience. But will it?

NASCAR divides fans with modifications for Clash at Coliseum awards ceremony

Last yr NASCAR took the Clash out west to the historic L.A. Coliseum. By all accounts, it was a success. In this, the next edition of the exhibition race close to the quarter-mile track, the governing human body not too long ago introduced it resolved to alter it up a little bit, altering the awards ceremony.

Instead of the regular 1-winner-takes-property-the-trophy solution, the prime three drivers will be acknowledged in a podium ceremony, which is commonplace in other sorts of motorsports, like F1. And in the spirit of the Olympics, which have held occasions in the storied location two times in the previous and will yet again in 2028, the motorists will receive gold, silver, and bronze medals.

The response was divided. A single sad and vocal team of fans advised NASCAR is hoping too a great deal to replicate F1. A further established authorised the alter as extended as it was minimal to the Clash, which was always the prepare. And then a 3rd team desired to go all the way and adopt podium finishes in all Cup Collection races in the future.

NASCAR tests new mufflers for Clash and Chicago

With the offseason coming to a near, NASCAR has been ramping up its screening attempts in modern weeks, such as a Goodyear tire exam at Circuit of the Americas earlier this month, and this 7 days out at Phoenix with an aerodynamics and muffler exam specific to limited tracks.

The challenge of solitary-groove racing on circuits like Bristol and Martinsville has been perfectly-documented. NASCAR is actively in search of alternatives to the difficulty by modifying the car’s aerodynamics.

But a lesser publicized challenge previous yr with the new motor vehicle was the sound. It was significantly louder from many years previous. That’s simply because in its place of the exhaust exiting only on the remaining side, it now arrives out on both sides.

Some motorists past yr reportedly improved their earplugs due to the enhanced volume. And followers at venues like Bristol experienced a tough time speaking to the man or woman up coming to them during the occasion. In an hard work to deal with those people concerns, NASCAR was reportedly making an attempt to minimize the decibel stage by 6 to 10 decibels with a muffler package created to be utilised only at the Clash and through the streets of Chicago in the summertime.

Drivers and followers give responses

Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell were being a pair of drivers in the desert for the two-day testing session. The 2012 Cup champion was encouraged by the muffler check.

“The total muffler offer was pretty superior,” Keselowski explained to Fox’s Bob Pockrass. “It appeared to make the automobiles really audio a small far better devoid of type of neutering them. I assumed it was really productive and there’s a little something to function with in the potential.”

Bell also remaining Phoenix emotion excellent about the muffler and its influence on the sound.

“They assisted a large amount as a result of the garage region, just remaining all-around the autos when they started off up — they absolutely manufactured that a lot extra silent,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver claimed. “Inside the seat, environmentally friendly-flag conditions, I could not explain to the variance.”

Despite the motorists seeing the muffler as a net positive, some followers weren’t as excited about the modify.

“Yep, I stand by my before statement that they audio muffled,” wrote just one admirer, responding to a online video exhibiting the distinction in seem. “To me it seems a great deal like the change concerning at the observe vs. staying exterior the keep track of. Can you feel the big difference in your chest?”

“It doesn’t sound appropriate with the mufflers it have to have extra sharp notes in it,” a further replied.

“When will Phelps have to have convert signal use ahead of NASCAR Racecar Motorists can improve lanes on the observe? WHEN?” questioned one more discouraged admirer.

It is comprehensible for admirers to specific issue that the transform in audio could have an impact on the general encounter. But the modification must be taken in suitable context, which is it is: 1) a reduction of seem from a vehicle that was definitively louder from preceding years because of a radical transform in the exhaust process, and 2) only relevant in LA and Chicago. There are no designs as of now for it to be included afterwards at other quick tracks like Bristol or Martinsville. Even while for those supporters who sat in the stands very last yr and had to go through lips of the person sitting next to them through the whole race, it would probable be a welcomed transform.

December 29, 2022

How Racing’s First Superteam Won the Inaugural NASCAR Cup in 1949

The biggest bootlegger in Atlanta, if not Southeast, and always flush with funds, group proprietor Raymond Parks, pictured earlier mentioned still left, favored profitable.
A flight engineer, driver Red Byron, suitable, tended to look at racing from an engineering point of view.
An obsessive perfectionist, NASCAR’s initially master mechanic Crimson Vogt, middle, was renowned for generating prodigious horsepower from flathead Ford V8s in Modifieds.

There would by no means be a different driver, mechanic and car or truck operator trio quite like Crimson Byron, Red Vogt and Raymond Parks, the a few guys who put together to get NASCAR’s initially Strictly Stock championship in 1949.

World War II veteran Byron experienced a shrapnel wound on board a B-24 bomber, which left him with some metal in his still left leg, a limp and regular discomfort. But he obtained on perfectly with his mechanic not only because Vogt crafted a specific clutch pedal with pegs where by he could relaxation his remaining foot.

A flight engineer, Byron tended to glance at racing from an engineering standpoint. He claimed the eight-race Strictly Stock details title on board an Oldsmobile, successful at Martinsville and Daytona. But when his details ended up docked for competing in non-NASCAR events for the duration of the 1950 period although contending for one more title, the gentle-spoken, tricky-driving Byron switched to athletics vehicles.

Red Byron racing in a Strictly Stock (NASCAR Cup) race in 1949 on his way to the 1st Cup Series championship.

RacingOneGetty Visuals

An obsessive perfectionist, Vogt was renowned for developing prodigious horsepower from flathead Ford V8s in Modifieds. A cam expert, he certainly employed some tips of his trade in the motor of the successful “stock” Oldsmobile.

At his two-car or truck garage on Spring St. in Atlanta, Vogt had been creating vehicles for bootleggers on one particular side and for Revenuers on the other given that the 1930s. “The bootlegger cars and trucks had been normally more quickly,” he reported, “because there were being so lots of rules you experienced to comply with on the governing administration cars.”

The biggest bootlegger in Atlanta, if not Southeast, and constantly flush with hard cash, Parks favored successful and the attendant publicity. In 1948, his crew captured NASCAR’s “other” to start with factors championship, this a person for Modified vehicles, with Byron profitable 11 of 52 races.

Crimson Byron gained the Strictly Inventory race at Martinsville in 1949 in a Raymond Parks entry.

RacingOneGetty Images

A male of couple words and phrases who constantly dressed in a suit, tie and fedora, Parks was a inventory car racing pioneer, a male of quite a few firsts. He bought hooked on racing when Lloyd Seay, a single of his whiskey trippers and a fellow Dawsonville, Ga. native, gained the very first stock vehicle race on Atlanta’s Lakewood Mile in 1937 on board a 1934 Ford Roadster ordered by Parks. “If he hadn’t received,” reported Parks, “I may not have at any time gotten the racing fever.”

The initially multi-vehicle staff operator, Parks started barnstorming the East Coast with a trio of Modified Ford entries organized by Vogt just before and soon after the war, when Alabaman Byron first caught his awareness, and was a mainstay in NASCAR founder Monthly bill France’s attempts to boost the Seaside & Street Program races in Daytona with his 3-automobile entries.

France himself often drove one particular of Parks’ Fords to victory. Driver Gober Sosebee and the late Parks’ spouse Violet afterwards confirmed that the bootlegger on situation equipped France with a briefcase loaded with income to support his advertising initiatives.

Generally wanting to be in the middle of the racing action, for the duration of the to start with Southern 500 at Darlington in 1950 Parks helped change tires on his Cadillac entry driven by Byron when carrying his at any time-current costume shirt and tie. But he quickly retired from racing owing to enhanced general public scrutiny of bootlegging, a business he unrepentantly ongoing to pursue in shot homes all around Atlanta—until he briefly grew to become a guest of the federal federal government at the massive house in Chillicothe, Ohio.

In this 1952 picture, Raymond Parks demonstrates off his early racing trophies. The man beloved successful.

RacingOneGetty Photos

December 19, 2022

NASCAR penalizes Kevin Harvick 100 points for modifications to car found after Talladega

NASCAR announced Wednesday that Kevin Harvick experienced been penalized 100 details and his crew main Rodney Childers would be suspended for four of the five remaining races of the year simply because of unlawful car or truck modifications at Talladega.

Harvick’s motor vehicle was a single of the two automobiles from Sunday’s race taken back to NASCAR’s R&D heart for more inspection. NASCAR, as usual, did not supply details relating to Harvick’s penalty and the penalty report only referred to the infraction as violating parts of part 14.1 and 14.5 of the rule e book.

People elements of the rule e-book relate to the modification of single-source pieces on the vehicles such as an entry that claims “except in cases explicitly permitted in the NASCAR regulations, installation of added parts and/or modifications of current areas to impact the aerodynamic properties of the car or truck will not be permitted.”

Harvick was eliminated from the playoffs in the to start with spherical and this penalty will go a extended way to guaranteeing that he finishes 16th between the 16 playoff motorists. Harvick was in 16th and 18 factors out of 15th in advance of the penalty. Now he’ll be 118 points back of Kyle Busch in 15th if the team does not efficiently enchantment the penalty.

Childers was also fined $100,000 for the violation.

Harvick made a cryptic tweet in the minutes in advance of the violation was announced. The veteran driver has gotten again on the social media platform in current months and has made use of his voice to chime in on myriad NASCAR matters such as the Cup Sequence schedule and the security of NASCAR’s new cars.

Childers also feigned surprise at the penalty.

Penalties for modifications to the 2022 Cup Collection vehicle are considerable for the reason that of the various single-resource parts made use of. Teams are essentially developing kit autos from the exact same parts and items as an alternative of building vehicles from sections they designed in-household. Brad Keselowski became the initially driver to get penalized for illegal pieces modifications early in the time and was also docked 100 details for the way his team illegally modified pieces on his damaged automobile at Atlanta.

A 100-stage penalty is 40 additional than the highest total of points a driver can earn in a solitary race. Harvick scored two wins more than the summer to make the 16-driver playoffs but was rapidly eradicated following finishes of 33rd and 36th in the first two races of the postseason. Harvick finished 33rd in the playoff opener mainly because his auto randomly caught fire as he was racing on track. He was compelled to pull around to the within of the track and park his vehicle as the fireplace came through his dashboard and after the race blamed NASCAR’s “crappy-ass parts” for the trouble.

Wednesday afternoon, NASCAR president Steve Phelps advised the Associated Push it was “absurd” to think that Harvick’s vehicle had been taken back again to the R&D centre and inspected and penalized for his new criticism of NASCAR.