Category: Racing

NASCAR driver Corey LaJoie’s car crossed the Talladega finish line on its side and flipped after a huge wreck

Corey LaJoie is OK after what he described as a “pretty wild ride” at Talladega.

NASCAR driver Corey LaJoie is thankfully OK after going for a wild ride — and a wild sideways finish — at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.

Chaos and big wrecks at Talladega are fairly common at NASCAR’s longest track, and Sunday’s Geico 500 was no different, and the race ended with a huge wreck as Tyler Reddick crossed the finish line for his first win of the year — and 23XI Racing’s first win with team co-owner Michael Jordan in attendance.

On the last lap of the 500-mile race, leader Michael McDowell was throwing multiple blocks while trying to maintain his position, but he ultimately ignited a multi-car crash just as cars were coming to the finish line.

During the wreck, LaJoie’s No. 7 Chevrolet was hit against the outside wall of the 2.66-mile track and turned on its side. The sideways car had so much momentum that it kept sliding around the track and amazingly crossed the finish line for an 18th-place finish.

The car then slowed down, flipped entirely upside down and then rolled upright again.

And here’s LaJoie’s view from inside the car:

LaJoie is thankfully OK, and he explained what happened from his perspective to FOX Sports after being cleared by the in-field care center, calling it a “pretty wild ride” and noting he couldn’t see much beyond smoke.

He said, via FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass:

“Just never could quite get it in the right spot at the right time there at the end, and then you just know you’re just waiting to pile ’em up. Good thing I gave the belts a good ol’ tug with about three [laps] to go so I didn’t bounce around too much. …

“I did a full rotation. So I did like, left side on the ground for a bit. Then it kind of stopped. Then it flipped over, hit the roof and then landed on all fours, and the all-four hit was pretty big. Glad I slipped past the start-finish line though, so I didn’t have to run past it like I was Carl Edwards.”

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IROC returns to Lime Rock Park for exhibition event in July 2024

IROC announced it will return to Lime Rock Park for an exhibition event in July 2024. Find out more details about IROC’s return!

On Friday morning, IROC announced that it will return to Lime Rock Park from July 19 to 20 for an exhibition event and more. The event will reunite original IROC competitors with cars actually raced in the legendary series. Also, fans will have the opportunity to see nearly every generation of IROC race cars, with many being driven by former IROC drivers.

This comes as IROC previously hoped to return in 2024, and that has officially come to frution with the news. Along with the exhibition event, car display, and IROC competitors, there will also be a fan-forward display, appearances by some of the original IROC racers, Q&A sessions, and IROC-branded merchandise.

This is a surprising development, as many thought IROC would never return. The process started in early 2024 and finally reached an announcement on April 19. It’s unclear which former IROC drivers will be at the event, but many will be excited to experience the atmosphere again. Hopefully, this event will lead to more IROC-related activities soon.

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How a North Carolina race track discovered a possible secret moonshine cave under its grandstands

Yes, you read that right.

NASCAR and moonshine go way, way back. So while it may seem incredible, it’s not totally surprising that North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina recently may have discovered a secret moonshine cave underneath its grandstands.

And it’s all thanks to cracks in the grandstands’ foundation.

But let’s back up for a second.

Prohibition in the 1920s and 1930s contributed to the development of stock car racing in the U.S. And after prohibition, moonshine runners still needed to enhance their cars to evade authorities, laying the groundwork for NASCAR’s eventual inception in 1948.

Even racing legend Junior Johnson — who went to prison for a year for running an illegal whiskey still — once said: “If it hadn’t been for whiskey, NASCAR wouldn’t have been formed. That’s a fact.” And his whiskey still is now in the NASCAR Hall of Fame too.

OK, so back to North Wilkesboro’s stunning discovery.

The track — which was recently renovated and current host of NASCAR’s All-Star Race (May 19) — noted in a release Tuesday that operations staff found cracks in the concrete grandstands on the frontstretch of the 0.625-mile oval last week. After removing seats to figure out the extent of the damage, they discovered “an open area of approximately 700-square-feet” underneath the concrete.

And it could be an old moonshine cave. More via North Wilkesboro:

“When we began renovating and restoring North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2022, we’d often hear stories of how an old moonshine still was operated here on the property under the grandstands,” said Steve Swift, senior vice president of operations and development at Speedway Motorsports. “Well, we haven’t found find a still (yet), but we’ve found a small cave and an interior wall that would have been the perfect location to not only make illegal liquor, but to hide from the law as well. We don’t know how people would have gotten in and out, but as we uncover more, there’s no telling what we might find.”

According to the track, about 600 seats have now been removed from the area, and North Wilkesboro staff is figuring out how best to address it before the All-Star Race weekend in May.

If you want to learn more about NASCAR and its history with moonshine, check out The Sneak, a serialized true crime podcast with a sports angle from For The Win and USA TODAY.

In the third season, we explore the life of former NASCAR crew chief Mario Rossi, a brilliant engineer and innovator, and we investigate his mysterious 1983 disappearance, which could be connected to a $300 million drug-smuggling ring that infiltrated motorsports.

Binge every episode of our true crime podcast, The Sneak: The Disappearance of Mario Rossi

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NASCAR at Atlanta: See the starting lineup for the Ambetter Health 400 with Michael McDowell on the pole

Some cool paint schemes lined up for NASCAR’s Atlanta weekend too.

Following Monday’s rain-delayed Daytona 500 — which William Byron won after some mild controversy from NASCAR officials at the very end — the NASCAR Cup Series is racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend.

The 2024 Ambetter Health 400 is set for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on Fox at the 1.54-mile track, and Michael McDowell will start on the pole after having the best performance in qualifying Saturday. It’s the first pole in McDowell’s 17 Cup seasons for his 467th career start, and he edged out Joey Logano to start first.

Here’s a look at the starting lineup for the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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NASCAR official explains the late Daytona 500 caution and how William Byron was declared the winner

What NASCAR looked at and how it determined when to throw the late caution, making William Byron the Daytona 500 winner.

No one wants a NASCAR race to finish under caution and definitely not the Daytona 500. But sometimes, it’s necessary, and that’s exactly what happened Monday night at the end of the rain-delayed 2024 Daytona 500 when William Byron took the checkered flag at Daytona International Speedway.

Finishing a race under caution — when the yellow flag is out and yellow lights are flashing — is hardly ideal because drivers aren’t actually racing. They’re maintaining their track positions and driving at a slowed, set pace, which doesn’t produce thrilling finishes.

But fans may want to know how and why NASCAR reached the decision to throw the caution flag at the end of Monday’s Daytona 500.

Here’s what happened: With a little more than one lap to go in the 200-lap race, Byron was leading the field on the inside lane ahead of Austin Cindric with Ross Chastain leading the outside lane. When Byron moved up to the outside lane, Chastain and Cindric made contact, which sent them both sliding off the track.

Unscathed, Byron and teammate Alex Bowman continued in the outside lane and crossed the start-finish line as the white flag was waving, signaling the last lap. But because of the crash, NASCAR threw the caution.

And because the caution came out after the last-lap white flag, and because Byron was the leader at the time of the yellow flag, he would be declared the winner once he completed the final caution lap.

Though Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet edged out Bowman’s No. 48 at the time of the caution flag, it was close.

So how did NASCAR officials come to this decision? NASCAR senior vice president of competition, Elton Sawyer, explained what factors were taken into consideration. He said, via NASCAR.com:

“At the end of a race, we use all available resources. So we’ll use [the time the] caution comes out. We’ll use video, timestamps. At the time of caution, it was the 24 [car] over the 48 [car].

“Obviously, we would love to have left it green and let it finish naturally. But once the [No.] 2 car had spun and started back up the race track and was going to be into traffic and oncoming traffic there, there was no choice but to throw the caution at that time.”

As Sawyer noted, the race likely would have continued under green if not for Cindric in the No. 2 Ford sliding back up the track into oncoming traffic. Understandably, that situation was dangerous, and NASCAR had throw the yellow flag.

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12 awesome photos of William Byron celebrating his 2024 Daytona 500 victory

William Byron won the 2024 Daytona 500 as cars around him wrecked.

The race started a day late and basically ended a lap early, but it all worked out pretty well for William Byron, who won Monday’s rain-delayed Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway’s iconic 2.5-mile track.

Coming to the white flag signaling the last lap of the race, Byron was racing hard to hold onto his lead the rest of the field, including Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman. But contact between Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric brought out a caution flag.

Because NASCAR officials determined Byron, the race leader, crossed the start-finish line to begin his final lap before the caution came out, the race was over, Byron was declared the winner and the No. 24 Chevrolet was back in Victory Lane at the Daytona 500. Bowman finished second, Christopher Bell third, Corey LaJoie fourth and Bubba Wallace fifth.

The season-opening win is the 11th career checkered flag of Byron’s career, as he begins his seventh full-time Cup Series season. And it comes on the heels of a standout career-best six-win 2023 season.

Here are 12 of the best photos from the end of the race and Byron and his team celebrating their 2024 Daytona 500 win.

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Twitter reacts to William Byron winning the Daytona 500 in a wild finish

William Byron escaped a massive accident at the end of the Daytona 500 and went on to win.

Hendrick Motorsports returned to victory lane in the Daytona 500 on Monday night, as William Byron finished ahead of teammate Alex Bowman at the line in a chaotic ending to the race.

The race for the win changed drastically inside of the final 10 laps, when a series of pushes from Bowman to Byron caused a massive accident that affected more than half of the field.

Byron was unable to keep his car straight and veered into the side of Brad Keselowski at the front of the pack. Keselowski shot up the track into Joey Logano, creating a huge pileup as cars had nowhere to go.

Crucially for Byron, he drove through unscathed, as did his teammate Bowman. Byron controlled the inside line coming to the white flag – but just as they were about to cross the line, a collision between Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric brought out a race-ending caution. As Byron had crossed the line to start the final lap before the caution began, he sealed his first Daytona 500 victory.

Here’s what fans were saying:

NASCAR history: Every Daytona 500 champion since 2000 (2024 edition)

The Daytona 500 is the biggest NASCAR race on the schedule, and drivers would do anything to win it.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2022 and has been updated.

The Daytona 500 is one of the NASCAR Cup Series’ crown-jewel races. It’s the crown jewel of crown jewels and a race casually referred to as the Super Bowl of NASCAR. It is, by far, the biggest race of the NASCAR schedule, and it opens the season every year.

Drivers would do just about anything to take NASCAR’s most coveted checkered flag, and it has and continues to elude many of the sport’s best competitors.

RELATED: Why NASCAR’s Daytona track has its own massive lake

Winning the Daytona 500 can be a career- and life-changing moment, securing a driver’s permanent place in NASCAR history and hoisting the massive Harley J. Earl Trophy. So here’s a look back at all the Daytona 500 winners since 2000.

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2024 Daytona 500 starting lineup: Joey Logano starts season on pole

See the full starting lineup for Sunday’s Daytona 500, with broadcast info and green flag time.

A new NASCAR Cup Series season will begin on Monday afternoon with the sport’s biggest race: the Daytona 500.

Although the weather forecast could wreak havoc on festivities at Daytona International Speedway, the green flag is scheduled to fly at 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will give the command to start engines, and DJ Khaled will wave the green flag.

Team Penske’s Joey Logano won the pole position in qualifying, and will be joined on the front row by former Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell.

Here’s the full lineup of 40 drivers for Sunday’s race. Follow along with Motorsports Wire for full coverage of NASCAR’s opening weekend.

 

10 NASCAR drivers share what they love — and don’t — about the Daytona 500

“It’s one of the few things that — having been in the Cup Series for 13, 14 years now — still give me chills.”

LOS ANGELES — The Daytona 500 is unlike any other NASCAR race. It’s the biggest event on the 36-race schedule, and it kicks off the season each year at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR’s iconic 2.5-mile track.

It’s a crown-jewel race in the sport, and drivers would do just about anything to take NASCAR’s most coveted checkered flag. But it has and continues to elude many of the sport’s best competitors.

Before the start of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, For The Win caught up with several drivers at the Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a preseason exhibition race, to talk about the Daytona 500. We asked them what their favorite and least favorite things are about the race, and their answers didn’t disappoint.

@forthewintok

NASCAR drivers weigh in on the #daytona500 #nascar

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