NASCAR has informed its Cup Series teams that additional safety updates need to be implemented on the Next Gen chassis effective early next month at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Updates to the center and front clip of the car announced Thursday: Plated …
NASCAR has informed its Cup Series teams that additional safety updates need to be implemented on the Next Gen chassis effective early next month at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Updates to the center and front clip of the car announced Thursday:
Plated right-side door bars
Front clip softening
Front strut softening
Front ballast box softening (must be empty)
Modified cross brace
Center section updates:
Two left-side door plate gussets
0.060” thick right-side steel door plate installed
Additional tube in the left side of the main cage
Front clip updates:
Upper rail triggers
Removal of upper control arm longitudinal tube behind engine mount
Front ballast softening (must be empty)
Upper frame horns
New front cross member
Front bumper strut updates:
Four main slots in the right and upper struts
Two minor triggers on the longitudinal leg
Eight main slots in the right and left lower struts
Two minor triggers on the longitudinal leg
NASCAR’s focus remains on the center section and front clip of the car. These additional changes are meant to increase the amount of crush the front clip is capable of during a crash. It’s an effort to reduce the acceleration the center section with the driver is exposed to during a frontal impact.
The changes to the right side of the car are an effort to strengthen the car against intrusions during crash impacts. Some of the updates have been in the works since January. However, officials wound up with additional data and a fresh perspective at the right-side door bars after the crash between Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece at Talladega Superspeedway in April.
NASCAR announces significant safety updates to the Next Gen car following the crash involving the Nos. 5 and 41 cars at Talladega.
Official recreated the crash between Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet and Preece’s No. 41 Ford Mustang, determining it was a 55-degree impact angle. Through four different video angles and GPS data, it was estimated that there was a 59mph difference in speed between Larson and Preece.
It was a right-side impact to the door when Preece t-boned Larson, who was sliding back up the racetrack, during a crash.
NASCAR previously had Cup Series teams make two changes going into the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Those updates concerned the right-side door bars and removing the front clip v-brace. Both of those changes remain in effect.
Toyota Gazoo Racing driver and team principal Kamui Kobayashi will make his first start in the NASCAR Cup Series this August at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 2021 Le Mans overall winner and two-time Rolex 24 At Daytona winner will drive an 23XI …
Toyota Gazoo Racing driver and team principal Kamui Kobayashi will make his first start in the NASCAR Cup Series this August at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The 2021 Le Mans overall winner and two-time Rolex 24 At Daytona winner will drive an 23XI Racing-run No. 67 Toyota Camry in this year’s 200 Miles at the Brickyard on Aug. 13 — part of a doubleheader weekend with IndyCar in which both series will share the IMS road course.
“NASCAR is something different in the culture of motorsports compared to Japan and Europe — as a driver, it’s the American dream,” said Kobayashi at today’s announcement at Le Mans, where he is hoping to help score Toyota its sixth win in a row at the Circuit de la Sarthethis weekend.
“I was lucky to be able to race in IMSA the last couple of years. It’s a different form of racing, but I think the racing technology is at a high level. I really appreciate this opportunity from TRD USA and of course Toyota Motor North America and Toyota Gazoo Racing. Toyota has been racing in NASCAR for a long time, but I don’t think any other Japanese driver has raced a Toyota in the Cup Series. I’m very proud of this opportunity.”
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In fact, it will mark the first time in 20 years that a Japanese national will start a NASCAR Cup Series race. The last to do so was Hideo Fukuyama, who made four starts in the Cup Series between 2002-03 — and who, like Kobayashi, was also a successful driver at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a GT class win in 2000.
David Wilson, president of TRD, U.S.A., driver Kamui Kobayashi of Japan and Jim France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO, with the No. 67 Toyota Camry TRD car Kobayashi will drive at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“It’s truly an honor to have Kamui want to participate in our NASCAR Cup Series program, and we’re thrilled that we could work with our partners at 23XI Racing to give him a competitive Camry TRD for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course event,” said David Wilson, president of TRD USA. “Kamui shares the passion for motorsports that all of us at Toyota and TRD USA live every day so it will be exciting to show him our NASCAR program with him behind the wheel of one of our TRD Camrys.”
Kobayashi’s one-off appearance follows those of Jenson Button, Mike Rockenfeller and Jordan Taylor who have all made recent guest NASCAR starts.
Memorial Day weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 was postponed a day because of rain. Sunday’s trip to World Wide Technology Raceway didn’t have any moisture, but it was hit with just about everything else before polesitter and race leader Kyle Busch finally …
Memorial Day weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 was postponed a day because of rain.
Sunday’s trip to World Wide Technology Raceway didn’t have any moisture, but it was hit with just about everything else before polesitter and race leader Kyle Busch finally crossed the start/finish line for the last time, securing his third victory of the season more than five hours after the race’s 3:47 p.m. ET start.
“That was pretty awesome,” Busch said under cover of darkness. “Man, to sit on the pole, lead a lot of laps and have my guys do such a great job today was pretty phenomenal for us. Great for RCR — just win, baby! Thanks to Team Chevy, appreciate 3Chi. We’re going to have a great time with this one. This one is pretty cool.”
The NASCAR Cup Series’ second trip to the Illinois oval, located in the shadow of St. Louis, saw its first stoppage after just one lap of green flag action.
Tyler Reddick went for a spin under Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to bring out a caution on the second lap of the race. As the field was preparing for a restart, pop-up showers in the St. Louis area drew near the track. The clouds never actually reached the oval, but they generated lightning strikes in close enough proximity to force NASCAR to adhere to its lightning policy. Cars were brought to pit road and the race was red flagged.
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Lightning holds require only a 30-minute break when strikes are within a given proximity of the track. But any hopes of a quick delay were squashed by intermittent strikes that continually reset the clock.
In the end, the delay went on for 1h45m, pushing the planned mid-afternoon race well into the evening hours.
Once the event did resume, the opening 45-lap stage went by without issue. Early in Stage 2, though, a new issue began to pop up — brake rotor failures.
With the long straightaways and heavy braking loads at WWTR, drivers risked overheating their brakes, shattering rotors. The debuting Carson Hocevar was first to face the issue, ending his day with a trip into the outside wall after 90 laps.
Additional rotor failures would follow, but a separate problem arose moments after Hocevar’s crash. As the replay was being shown on TV, everything went dark. All broadcasts stopped, as did timing and scoring.
The culprit? An issue with AT&T Fiber at the facility, as confirmed by track director of media relations John Bisci Jr.
FOX Sports 1 quickly resumed their feeds, saving NASCAR from a difficult decision over whether to continue the race or hold until the connection could be resumed. The Motor Racing Network radio feed was out for most of Stage 2, but returned ahead of the final stage. Not everything returned as planned, though. Teams lost the bulk of their data processing capabilities.
After the internet woes came a chaotic affair, filled with additional brake rotor troubles and chaos throughout the field.
Reddick was the next to endure a brake failure, crashing out on lap 174. Rookie Noah Gragson was next on the list, suffering a hard crash that led to a second red flag on lap 197.
“It was a hard (expletive) hit for sure,” Gragson said. “I went and hit the brakes into (Turn) 1 and then the car (sat) down and blew the left-front brake rotor, I think, out of it.
“At that point you’re like ‘(Expletive), what do I do?”
“I tried to hook it through the infield; I’ve seen guys do it at Pocono, obviously. Once I went through the infield, I’m like, ’That’s the wrong thing to do.’
“But it’s that or go head-on into the fence, so I tried to scrub a little bit of speed. “
That wouldn’t be the end of the difficulties for Legacy Motor Club. The front tire changer for Erik Jones, Thomas Hatcher, suffered an injury after colliding with the tire carrier as the car slid to a stop. FOX Sports reported that he was awake, alert and transported to a local hospital for further observation and treatment.
Brake troubles weren’t done either — even factoring into the end of the race. Bubba Wallace joined teammate Reddick in suffering issues, bringing out a caution on lap 235 that pushed the race into overtime.
Before the field could get to Wallace’s crash and the overtime issues, there was a third red flag to endure. A trio of cautions after lap 200 was capped off by a crash involving Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. that required a third stoppage for SAFER Barrier repairs.
In total, Sunday’s race saw a track record 11 cautions, including three red flags totaling over 119 minutes.
The chaos had little effect on the winner. Busch dominated virtually the entire race, denying all challengers from pole and leading 120 laps.
Carson Hocevar’s NASCAR dream Cup Series debut came to an abrupt end in Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300. Now he’s just hopeful that another one will come. The Craftsman Truck Series regular was called up for a shock Cup start by Spire Motorsports early …
Carson Hocevar’s NASCAR dream Cup Series debut came to an abrupt end in Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300. Now he’s just hopeful that another one will come.
The Craftsman Truck Series regular was called up for a shock Cup start by Spire Motorsports early in the week, filling in for Corey LaJoie in the No. 7 Chevrolet while he substituted for the suspended Chase Elliott at Hendrick Motorsports. It continued a relationship between Hocevar and Spire that’s seen him make a pair of Xfinity Series starts that ended in top-10s this season, while also competing full-time in Trucks for Niece Motorsports. Hocevar entered with high hopes but minimal expectations, hoping just to put together a clean race, be competitive and reach the checkered flag.
For 90 laps, the Michigander impressed. Hocevar out-qualified LaJoie in 26th on Saturday and climbed inside of the top-20 with a strong opening run. He was running 16th on lap 90 when a broken brake rotor sent him into the outside wall in a race-ending crash.
The stat sheet will show Hocevar as a last-place finisher in his debut. But the 20-year-old prospect was just happy to have been competitive after he was cleared at the infield care center.
“I had a blast,” Hocevar said. “I’m just so thankful for the opportunity.
“I don’t have a job for next year. I know (Niece Motorsports co-owner) Al Niece and (general manager) Cody Efaw are sitting there, (wanting) me to run for them. And I’ll forever run a race, or however many.
“But man, I’m just so thankful. Premier Security (Solutions, sponsor) gave me the opportunity to drive an Xfinity car. Now I was driving a Cup car and I was running 16th. It’s just so surreal. First time ever. I thought we were going to have a good day and be in a good spot.”
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With his one-off Cup run complete, Hocevar will return his focus to NASCAR’s other national series. He has four Xfinity starts remaining with Spire and sits eighth in the Truck Series standings with a win at Texas Motor Speedway.
But Hocevar will also keep wishing for another opportunity to showcase his talents at the Cup level.
“(Thanks to) Schluter (Systems). Celsius. Spire. (crew chief) Ryan Sparks,” he said. “Hopefully that call for a Cup ride isn’t the only one I get in my lifetime.”
When he first got the call, Carson Hocevar couldn’t believe it. A year ago World Wide Technology Raceway was the site of a brutal accident for the young Craftsman Truck Series star. He suffered a broken right tibia in a last-lap crash that hampered …
When he first got the call, Carson Hocevar couldn’t believe it.
A year ago World Wide Technology Raceway was the site of a brutal accident for the young Craftsman Truck Series star. He suffered a broken right tibia in a last-lap crash that hampered him for weeks.
The track will be equally memorable for Hocevar in 2023, but this time in a positive way. Hocevar will be making his Cup Series debut in the Enjoy Illinois 300, piloting the No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports.
Spire’s normal lead driver, Corey LaJoie, is driving Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 9 Chevrolet in place of Chase Elliott, who’s been suspended one week for an intentional crash with Denny Hamlin in the Coca-Cola 600.
The organization was happy to let LaJoie take the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it left the No. 7 team with an opening. Spire elected to fill it with Hocevar, who has two top 10s in as many starts for the company’s Xfinity Series program this year.
Hocevar got a call from Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson to discuss the move while in a competition meeting with Niece Motorsports on Tuesday. It went to his voicemail as he focused on his full-time team, but Hocevar rang Dickerson back afterward and was told of the plans. An announcement would come at 5 p.m. ET.
His response?
“Honestly, I just answered ‘No,’” he said. “’No. Really? Like, you serious?’
“In my mind, I was just trying not to oversell it and think it’s a done deal, (because) they weren’t sure where they were at.”
Hocevar spent the rest of the day anxiously waiting for the announcement and refreshing his phone “700 times” until 5 p.m. came, wanting to see his name get announced. When the time finally came, his dream came true.
The days since have been a bit of a blur. Spire tried to fit one of LaJoie’s Schluter Systems driving suits for Hocevar, but they didn’t fit the tall Michigander. He’ll be wearing his Xfinity Series drivers suit and use his Xfinity seat and insert for the race. Spire even had to tilt the No. 7 Chevrolet’s seat to allow Hocevar to see more in the cockpit.
The 20-year-old called fellow Truck competitor Zane Smith, who made his debut at the same track last year, to get advice about the opportunity. He also rang his dad to tell him the news, hopeful that he’ll be able to attend the race.
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“We have two puppies at home and he’s trying to figure out how he can (come),” Hocevar said. “They have a small little coin and jewelry shop and there’s only like four or five employees, so they’re trying to figure out how to close the store and (have) somebody watch the puppies so he can come. He doesn’t get to come a lot, and I really want him to go.”
In the past few days Hocevar’s participated in pit stop practice at Hendrick Motorsports, spent hours in the simulator and tried to learn the art of sequential shifting, while also going through the standard preparation for Saturday’s Truck race.
Learning to compete against Cup regulars isn’t easy – Hocevar joked that he had “about three days” to figure out “about two years worth of catching up.”
But the Chevrolet prospect does have one thing assisting with his learning curve — He’s spent the past year-and-a-half moonlighting as a simulator driver for Trackhouse Racing.
“I do a lot of the work when Ross (Chastain) and Daniel (Suarez) can’t get in,” he said. “So I’ve gotten to learn this car a lot. I’ve been in the sim and talking about how the car has progressed and the difference from start to finish. I really wanted to drive a car once, whether it was a wheel force test or something (else), just (because) I wanted to be able to give them (good feedback).
“I feel like I take my role seriously as a sim driver and want to be as good as I can. The first thing they texted me (after the announcement)…they’re like, ‘Man, you finally got your wish.’
“I’ve already sort of got a hint of what I’d like for the car to drive like, which I think is helping me a lot,” Hocevar later added. “I feel like it’s helped prepare me a lot. All the credit to Josh Wise to be able to put me in that role and let me do sim for Trackhouse. Huge thanks to Schluter Systems and Celsius too, to let me drive their race car. But I feel like I’m as prepared as I can be and not going into this really blind.”
Hocevar proved that initial confidence valid on Saturday, qualifying ahead of LaJoie and Spire teammate Ty Dillon in 26th, but he’s keeping his goals simplistic and attainable for the race.
Seeing the checkered flag with a clean car is all he wants from his Cup debut.
“I’m not running for points and I don’t have any other start scheduled,” he said. “I want to see a checkered flag and I’m hoping I’m on the lead lap. I want all four fenders on the race car. No tire marks. No rub marks.
“I just want to be able to finish the race and enjoy every second of it. How we shake up, you know, if it’s a top-15 day, if it’s a top-20 day, if it’s top-25 or I’m running 31st because Sunday is tough… Regardless of what the case may be, I want to run around those guys.
“If they come around to me and (say), ‘Man, I had a good time racing you and appreciate the help or appreciate you letting me go or giving your space…’ I think that will go (further) than if I try really hard to get them and make a mistake.”
Kyle Busch will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to green at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. The two-time 2023 winner laid down a lap of 32.802 seconds in the final round of qualifying to secure the pole for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois …
Kyle Busch will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to green at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill.
The two-time 2023 winner laid down a lap of 32.802 seconds in the final round of qualifying to secure the pole for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300. It was Busch’s first pole for Richard Childress Racing and his first from qualifying since the penultimate race of 2019 at Phoenix Raceway.
“I’m proud of everybody on this 3Chi (Chevrolet) Camaro,” Busch said. “I knew there was speed in it, it was just a matter of being able to hit it right and do everything that I needed to do behind the wheel.
“I got everything I could get out of it in (Turns) 1 and 2 and seemed to be just good enough in 3 and 4 to beat the (No.) 12.”
Coca-Cola 600 winner Ryan Blaney gave Busch a scare with the final run of the day, but fell 0.008s short of pole at the line. He’ll start second for Team Penske.
Denny Hamlin (32.870s), Kevin Harvick (32.903s) and Martin Truex Jr. (33.001s) rounded out the top five, with Joey Logano (33.006s), William Byron (33.030s), Ross Chastain (33.090s), Tyler Reddick (33.140s) and Austin Cindric (33.203) completing the top 10.
Hamlin led Group A with a time of 32.877s. He was followed into the final round by Reddick, Byron, Busch and Logano. Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski, Michael McDowell, Kyle Larson and Justin Haley were the top drivers that failed to advance.
Blaney was quickest in Group B, slotting ahead of Chastain in the final run of the group. Harvick, Cindric and Truex also advanced. Just missing out on the final group were AJ Allmendinger, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez, Harrison Burton and Ty Gibbs.
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Corey LaJoie struggled in his qualifying session for Hendrick Motorsports, slotting the No. 9 Chevrolet 16th in Group B after hitting the wall on his run. He’ll start 30th in Sunday’s race.
LaJoie’s replacement at Spire Motorsports, Craftsman Truck Series regular Carson Hocevar, qualified 26th for his Cup Series debut.
Logano led the way in the preceding practice session, setting a best time of 32.881s. Larson, Byron, McDowell and Reddick followed. LaJoie was 30th in the No. 9 Chevrolet, while Hocevar sat 16th. Gibbs completed a session-high 30 laps.
There are 36 cars entered in the Enjoy Illinois 300.
Ahead of the biggest opportunity of his NASCAR Cup Series career, Corey Lajoie has been sleeping well. A bit too well, in fact. He missed the initial call from Rick Hendrick that made his dreams come true on Wednesday morning. A voicemail from a …
Ahead of the biggest opportunity of his NASCAR Cup Series career, Corey Lajoie has been sleeping well.
A bit too well, in fact. He missed the initial call from Rick Hendrick that made his dreams come true on Wednesday morning. A voicemail from a number he didn’t have saved began with Hendrick saying he was excited, appreciated the help, and knew LaJoie would do a good job.
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“I told the wife, ‘Honey, I missed the call,” LaJoie said during a Saturday media availability.
But thankfully Hendrick answered when LaJoie called him back and confirmed the news. With Chase Elliott sitting out with a suspension for an intentional crash at the Coca-Cola 600, LaJoie was given the opportunity to drive his No. 9 Chevrolet at World Wide Technology Raceway. A full 25 years after his dad, Randy LaJoie, had filled in for the injured Ricky Craven at Hendrick Motorsports, Corey’s opportunity to drive for the NASCAR juggernaut had arrived.
In the moment it felt like something from the NASCAR video games in the mid-2000s.
“In NASCAR (2004), you would start your career mode in the bottom team,” he said. “Then you’d get the call up for the next team, and the next team. And then you’d get a notification on your phone from Rick Hendrick to drive that car.
“That’s what I felt like laying in bed on Wednesday morning talking to the wife. I was like, ‘My life is a video game right now.’
“It’s just non-stop progression and failure. Just falling short time-and-time again, but (I) keep taking steps forward to the goal of getting to the position that I am (in) right now. It’s been wild.”
The son of a two-time Xfinity Series champion, LaJoie has spent most of the past seven years competing in the Cup Series. Along the way he’s made slow, steady progress, rising from times as a back marker into a consistent midfield competitor.
This season has been his best to date. LaJoie sits 19th in points after 14 races, his 19.1 average finish a full 5.2 positions better than the 24.3 average he managed in 2022. The 31-year-old finished fourth at Atlanta Motor Speedway and has eight top-20 finishes so far for Spire Motorsports – a team that’s traditionally filled the back of the grid since its arrival.
LaJoie’s improvement has been notable, catching the eye of many in the series. With the Xfinity Series racing in Portland, far from the Cup date at World Wide Technology Raceway, Hendrick needed a new option from recent super-sub Josh Berry.
The call went to LaJoie, whose No. 7 will be filled by Craftsman Truck Series regular Carson Hocevar. LaJoie found out on a call while he was at the NASCAR offices recording his podcast on Tuesday, then he received the call from Hendrick himself on Wednesday morning.
LaJoie will take over Elliott’s No. 9 for one weekend. Rusty Jarrett/Motorsport Images
Between those two calls were creeping doubts. “You’re wrestling with these emotions, scared and nervous,” he said.
But when he got to the shop on Wednesday morning, the doubt turned to confidence. Seeing how Hendrick operates gave LaJoie optimism and lessons that will extend far beyond his one-off drive in the No. 9.
“I left with much more confidence Wednesday from seeing the process and just the system that those guys have,” he said. “That you could plug in somebody with good talent, and that’s how they become great in the process, with those tools and resources. Those guys build champions for a reason, because they can extract the best.
“I’ve been here three days. My philosophy of how I approach a weekend, how I prepare, how I am going to engage with my team at Spire going forward is going to change. I think I’m going to be able to come in there and apply and share some of the things I’ve learned over the course of the week with (crew chief Ryan) Sparks, Roy (Gangdal, engineer) and the No. 77 team as well. And I think we’re all going to be stronger for it. “
LaJoie first tried to drive for Hendrick three years ago. Then a driver for Go Fas Racing, LaJoie penned Hendrick a hand-written letter expressing his interest in a top-tier ride. He delivered it in person at the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s induction night.
It didn’t help his case at the time. The vacancy he was interested in ultimately went to eventual champion Kyle Larson in 2021. But LaJoie doesn’t consider that a bad thing – he actually believes it’s for the best that the letter didn’t work out.
“I’m glad that call didn’t come a couple months after that letter, because I wouldn’t have been ready for it,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t have been ready for the opportunity. My maturation level, my skills behind the wheel. It’s taken six years of grinding and stacking pennies to feel confident enough to be able to plug into this 9 car and run it to its true potential.”
Now that he has this one-off chance, LaJoie feels ready to make the most of it.
He’ll have to return to Spire after this weekend, where the expectations will be different. LaJoie now realizes just how much Spire is lacking compared to the sport’s top teams. He texted co-owner Jeff Dickerson after visiting Hendrick’s shop Wednesday and admitted that he “can’t believe Spire and Hendrick race in the same series.”
“Like, we are closer to a good Truck team than we are to (Hendrick),” he said. “If that’s what a Cup team is, then holy cow. We’ve got a long way to go.”
But that’s a challenge for another week. This weekend, LaJoie is just happy to race with a rare opportunity in top equipment.
“It’s fun sometimes to carry that chip on your shoulder and try to be the one beating the Goliaths,” LaJoie said. “But it’s definitely a cool opportunity this week to be one of the Goliaths sitting in (a top car).”
Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team has been issued the strictest penalty in the NASCAR rule book for an infraction with the Next Gen car. Both Briscoe and the No. 14 team were docked 120 points and 25 playoff points Wednesday. Johnny …
Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team has been issued the strictest penalty in the NASCAR rule book for an infraction with the Next Gen car.
Both Briscoe and the No. 14 team were docked 120 points and 25 playoff points Wednesday. Johnny Klausmeier, Briscoe’s crew chief, has been suspended for the next six NASCAR Cup Series races and fined $250,000.
NASCAR found a counterfeit part on Briscoe’s Ford Mustang. The sections of the rule book cited included the underwing and engine panel, and the infraction found on Briscoe’s car pertained to an engine panel and counterfeit NACA duct.
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“When we bring cars post-race to the R&D Center, they are completely stripped down to basically nuts, bolts, washer laid out on the floor,” NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer said. “The engine panel NACA, which is basically under the engine of the car, and the NACA duct, which allows air to travel through the NACA.
“(To) back up through the development process of the Next Gen car, we basically put an opening in the windshield as well as slots in the back glass and a NACA duct in the engine panel to allow air to get in areas of the car to help keep the car cool. So, it’s a single-sourced part that you cannot fabricate, you cannot mess with, you cannot counterfeit, and we’ve been very clear with that.”
Teams are not to modify single-sourced supplied parts of the Next Gen car. Briscoe’s team was issued an L3 penalty, the first one issued to a team under the Next Gen deterrence system.
L3-level penalties cover:
Counterfeiting of modifying Next Gen single source vendor supplied parts and/or assemblies.
Engine infractions not meeting the rules.
Engine performance enhancements.
Altering/modifying tires and/or fuel.
Violating the vehicle testing policy.
The penalty drops Briscoe to 31st in the Cup Series championship standings.
Briscoe’s Ford Mustang was one of four taken to the NASCAR R&D after Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. NASCAR chose Briscoe’s car and Justin Haley’s car for teardown and engine dyno. Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 19 and Alex Bowman’s No. 48 were taken for engine dyno. No issues were found with the other three cars.
Stewart-Haas Racing will not appeal the penalty to its No. 14 team.
“To be honest, I was a little surprised that they would go down this path,” Sawyer said. “Talking with the race team, they have some process and procedure within their race shop that they feel like they need to button, and they will. So yeah, we were a little surprised just knowing and them knowing as well the severity of it and that it would rise to an L3 penalty. Modifying a single-sourced part, as we’ve seen, that falls into an L2 bucket. But when you counterfeit a part, it falls into a bucket with engine and messing with tires and things, fuel, that isn’t going to be tolerated.”
Chase Elliott has been suspended from the next NASCAR Cup Series race in St. Louis after his contact with Denny Hamlin in the Coca-Coca 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Elliott and Hamlin wrecked off Turn 4 on lap 186 in Monday’s postponed race, …
Chase Elliott has been suspended from the next NASCAR Cup Series race in St. Louis after his contact with Denny Hamlin in the Coca-Coca 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Elliott and Hamlin wrecked off Turn 4 on lap 186 in Monday’s postponed race, which ended the event for both drivers. The two were racing side-by-side through the corner when Hamlin slid up the track and made contact with Elliott. It was enough contact to lead Elliott to bounce off the wall.
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After hitting the wall, Elliott came left and hit Hamlin in the right rear quarter panel. The hook sent Hamlin head-on into the outside wall.
“We take this very seriously,” said NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “After looking at all the available resources: in-car camera, data, SMT, which basically gives us steering, gives us throttle, gives us braking, it was an intentional act by Chase in our opinion and our view after reviewing all the available resources there.”
Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal the penalty. However, the organization will request a playoff waiver from NASCAR.
Corey LaJoie will drive the No. 9 Chevrolet in St. Louis. Carson Hocevar will make his Cup Series debut by filling in for LaJoie at Spire Motorsports.
“Just watching the optic of it immediately from the tower, it was like, wow, it looked like a hard left-hand turn into the right-rear corner of the 11, which obviously turned the 11 into the front straightway wall there head-on,” said Sawyer. “So, then you … start looking at the data. There was some conversation about maybe a broken toe link on the right rear, and as you look through all that, nothing gave us the indication that on that particular contact with the fourth turn wall that anything was broke by looking at the steering, looking at in-car camera with hand position on the steering wheel and the way the steering wheel was turned hard to the left.
“It just supported what the optics were, and again, that’s why we landed on the penalty we did.”
While there were never any thoughts from Ryan Blaney that he wasn’t going to win again in the NASCAR Cup Series, the driver who admits he lacks self-confidence did doubt himself during a winless drought. “Like, am I good enough to compete?” Blaney …
While there were never any thoughts from Ryan Blaney that he wasn’t going to win again in the NASCAR Cup Series, the driver who admits he lacks self-confidence did doubt himself during a winless drought.
“Like, am I good enough to compete?” Blaney reflected late Monday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “Am I as good as I was a year ago? Can I still do this? Am I progressing and getting smarter as a race car driver and still have the same skills I had two years ago?
The 59-race winless drought in points-paying races was finally snapped in the postponed Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was the first crown jewel win of Blaney’s career and his first drive into victory lane since the summer of 2021 when he won back-to-back races in Michigan and Daytona.
Nigel Kinrade/Motorsport Images
“I don’t think I ever thought, like ‘I will never win a race again,’” Blaney continued. “It’s just sometimes you doubt your abilities when things don’t go your way or you make mistakes. Like, ‘Gosh, I’m getting kind of messy with the way I’m doing things.’
“I was very excited because I haven’t won in a long time, and it was the 600. So, I was pretty pumped up. There were multiple reasons there, but no, I didn’t think that we could never win again.”
The typically calm and cool Blaney admitted he might shed a tear after getting from his car on the frontstretch. And so pumped up from the win and the fans still in attendance, Blaney pulled an uncharacteristic move of going into the grandstands like his Team Penske counterpart and Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden had done Sunday.
“A big weekend, and obviously, winning the 600 is massive,” Blaney said. “I grew up coming here watching my dad race for a long time as a kid. It’s just what we did every summer. (It’s) really cool, and it was cool for my parents to be here as well. So, that was a special moment.
“Fun night, that’s for sure. Monday races seem to go really well for me. I don’t know what it is, but definitely a fun night.”
There were no mistakes made by Blaney or his team through 600 miles. Unlike other races that slipped through their fingers after strong performances or cruel misfortune not of their doing, the No. 12 was locked in at Charlotte.
No penalties were called on Blaney or his team on pit road. Each restart went according to plan, and there were many. And many where Blaney lined up on the front row either as the leader or in second place.
Blaney and his No. 12 Penske team were all in sync at CMS. John K Harrelson/Motorsport Images
Blaney’s Ford Mustang looked as good as it did before the race as it did after 400 laps. Whereas Blaney — and the team — have been criticized in the past for not closing races, this time the group was perfect and left no room for condemnation.
“I’m really proud of the effort of our whole group tonight of doing everything right and not making any mistakes,” said Blaney. “Yeah, I’m used to disappointment, especially after the last year and a half, and it’s nice to be able to pull one off and have the speed that deserves to win – and actually win. A handful of times last year, I thought we had plenty of speed to win, and just something happened. That definitely gets tiresome. Tonight, I’m really happy it was able to work out.”
At times, Blaney acknowledged, it could feel like an eternity between career win number seven and eight. He won three races in 2021 — the first time in his career he won multiple races in a single season. The 20 top-10 finishes Blaney earned that season were also a single-season best.
The same execution lacked in 2021: three DNFs, no wins, and three fewer top-10 finishes. But the opportunities were there, as shown by the laps led (636) and average finish (13.6). Winning, however, doesn’t come easy in NASCAR, and Blaney learned it the hard way over the last year and a half.
When a win does come, though, it really does cure a lot.
“Sometimes you just get in these streaks where things just aren’t going right,” said Blaney. “And then you feel like you’re doing everything right, maybe your cars aren’t fast enough to win races or you’re making too many mistakes. It can definitely be frustrating.
“It’s easy to get down on yourself when you don’t win. You’ve got to think to yourself, can I still do it? Can I still compete at a winning level? So it’s easy to kind of doubt yourself. But at the end of the day, we all pulled together, and everyone in the 12 group did a good job of working on things that we could get better.
“Yeah, it does feel like an eternity. I told Jonathan [Hassler, crew chief] and those guys what a cool first one to get together. Winning the 600. That’s a super cool one to win.”
