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A look at raw numbers of Twitter followers tells only a partial story, and that’s particularly true with NASCAR. Many of the sport’s most prominent social media personalities have left the competitive sphere (or will soon do so) but are exerting influence on other platforms. As you’ll read later in this magazine, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is launching his own media empire with his company Dirty Mo Media. Junior, the 15-time Most Popular Driver during his racing career, still wields a lot of social media power, boasting 2.4 million Twitter followers. Veteran Kevin Harvick, who made an emotional appearance on the “Dale Jr. Download” podcast in 2021, has more than a million. Jeff Gordon, who last raced in 2016, has 1.2 million. Among the youngsters, reigning Most Popular Driver Chase Elliott…

BEST: Bristol Night Race. Before Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick went at it, this race had it all. Its 23 lead changes were the most for any short track last season, and the Round of 12 cutoff race served up drama from start to finish. Up front, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson swapped the lead early before Harvick emerged as a contender in the final stage. He and Elliott went toe-to-toe for the lead, contact cutting Elliott’s tire and putting Harvick in the driver’s seat. But NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver was angry, pulled in front of the No. 4 when back on track and made it his mission to block Harvick down the stretch. It worked, allowing teammate Larson to sneak a slide job with four laps remaining. “I just…

First things first. Let’s ask and answer everybody’s primary question about Jeff Gordon being named vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports: Is Gordon replacing Rick Hendrick? The answer is an emphatic no. Hendrick, the founder of the most successful team in NASCAR history, isn’t going anywhere. “He’s not backing down,” Gordon told Athlon’s Matt Crossman in a wide-ranging interview a few days after Kyle Larson won Hendrick’s 14th Cup championship and 280th overall race, both the most ever in NASCAR. “He’s very involved, very engaged.” Gordon, who won 93 of those races along with four championships as a driver and seven as co-owner of Jimmie Johnson’s car, did not offcially start as vice chairman until January 1, but he was working behind the scenes at Hendrick long before that, showing up…

1 WHAT WILL NASCAR LEARN FROM RACING IN THE LOS ANGELES COLISEUM? Last season, NASCAR made schedule changes that had once been utterly unimaginable. The Cup Series shelved visits to intermediate tracks like Chicagoland Speedway and Kentucky Speedway, hosted an inaugural event at Nashville Superspeedway and went road course racing for the most times in a season in history (seven). Even the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was scrapped in favor of an event at the famed track’s road course. But none of those changes hold a candle to the change NASCAR made to its annual preseason event for 2022. For the first time, defending champ Kyle Larson and NASCAR’s other stars will contest their season preview event on a quarter-mile track inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.…

In soccer, participants trade uniforms. In NASCAR, they trade paint. Advantage, NASCAR. The two sports collaborated last fall, as Alex Bowman’s car featured sponsorship from Charlotte FC, the city’s new team in Major League Soccer. Ally, Bowman’s sponsor, is a founding partner of the soccer team, and their name will appear on the team’s jerseys, much like it appears on Bowman’s car. In a promotional video, Charlotte FC defender Christian Fuchs put Bowman through soccer drills. Fuchs participated in practice pit stops and got a ride-along. “It’s a very cruel sport. I said in the car when we were on a nice, slow lap that I banged my head about 30 times in 30 seconds,” says Fuchs, who is Austrian and spent most of his career in Europe. “It shows…

ABOUT BRISTOL BRISTOL, TENNESSEE .533-mile oval • Banking/Turns: Variable (24-28º) • Banking/Straightaways: 4-9º SEPT. 17, 2022 2022 Race Length: 266.5 miles/500 laps Track Qualifying Record: 132.075 mph (Ryan Blaney, 2019) Race Record: 101.074 mph (Charlie Glotzbach, 1971) FANTASTIC FINISH The defining moment of the Bristol Night Race took place in 1999 and was actually a rematch of a similar instant classic between Terry Labonte and Dale Earnhardt in 1995. In that race, Earnhardt had spun Labonte as they crossed the finish line with Labonte emerging victorious. This time, Earnhardt wouldn’t be denied. He sent Labonte around in Turn 2 on the final lap and claimed the win, causing the Intimidator to be showered with rare vitriol from a sold-out crowd exceeding 153,000 fans. As the boos rained down on him…

ABOUT CHARLOTTE ROVAL CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA 2.28-mile Roval • 17 Turns, 45’ change in elevation throughout course OCT. 9, 2022 2022 Race Length: 248.5 miles/109 laps Track Qualifying Record: 106.868 mph (Kurt Busch, 2018) Race Record: 82.125 mph (Ryan Blaney, 2018) FANTASTIC FINISH If it wasn’t for how the inaugural Charlotte Roval 400 ended, it very well could have become a one-and-done experiment. Ultimately, the finish ensured that the race would become a fixture on the schedule for years to come. A fairly procedural race first turned chaotic with six laps to go when leader Brad Keselowski overshot the first corner and drove straight into a tire barrier. Martin Truex Jr. emerged with the lead and was leading entering the final corner. Looking to snap a 51-race winless streak, Jimmie…

ABOUT DAYTONA DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA 2.5-mile tri-oval • Banking/Turns: 31º Banking/Tri-oval: 18º Banking/Backstretch: 2º FEB. 20, 2022 • AUG. 27, 2022 2022 Race Lengths: 500 miles/200 laps; 400 miles/160 laps Track Qualifying Record: 210.364 mph (Bill Elliott, 1987) Race Record: 177.602 mph (Buddy Baker, 1980) FANTASTIC FINISH The 1979 Daytona 500 was the race that established NASCAR as a national pop culture phenomenon. The final lap saw leaders Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison collide on the backstretch while racing for the win. The contact sent both drivers into the wall, onto the infield grass and out of the race. This allowed the legendary Richard Petty, a half-lap behind the leaders, to claim his sixth Harley J. Earl trophy. As Petty took the checkered flag, Yarborough and Allison climbed out of…

ABOUT INDIANAPOLIS ROAD COURSE SPEEDWAY, INDIANA 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course Minimal change in elevation JULY 31, 2022 2022 Race Length: 200 miles/82 laps Track Qualifying Record: 100.044 mph (William Byron, 2021) Race Record: 69.171 mph (AJ Allmendinger, 2021) FANTASTIC FINISH The inaugural Cup Series event on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course certainly didn’t lack for controversy and excitement. The bolt-on curbs in Turns 5 and 6 had taken a beating throughout the race, with track officials needing to repair them multiple times as race car splitters continually became lodged in the temporary track borders, repeatedly creating a de facto razor blade for tires. Drivers then changed their lines to hit the curb at a different angle, which launched cars into the air over the final several restarts. Race control…

ABOUT MARTINSVILLE MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA .526-mile oval • Banking/Turns: 11º APRIL 9, 2022 • OCT. 30, 2022 2022 Race Lengths: 263 miles/500 laps Track Qualifying Record: 100.201 mph (Joey Logano, 2014) Race Record: 82.223 mph (Jeff Gordon, 1996) FANTASTIC FINISH Joey Logano was on a three-race winning streak and appeared destined to claim a fourth at Martinsville that would have clinched a spot in the 2015 Cup Series championship race, but bad blood with Matt Kenseth resulted in dire consequences. Two weeks prior, Logano had spun Kenseth out of the lead at Kansas, contributing to his Playoff elimination the next week at Talladega. Kenseth was livid, and the two drivers never spoke about it. Kenseth was crashed out of contention at Martinsville but took his damaged car back onto the track…

ABOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE 1.058-mile oval • Banking/Turns: Variable (2-7º) • Banking/Straightaways: 1º JULY 17, 2022 2022 Race Length: 318.5 miles/301 laps Track Qualifying Record: 140.598 mph (Brad Keselowski, 2014) Race Record: 117.134 mph (Jeff Burton, 1997) FANTASTIC FINISH Jeff Gordon had already claimed the 2001 Cup Series championship the week before at Atlanta Motor Speedway and appeared poised to cap the campaign with one final victory at New Hampshire. Gordon led 257 laps from the pole but was losing time to Robby Gordon (no relation) over the final 30 laps. Robby caught Jeff with 16 laps to go and initiated contact that sent the newly crowned four-time champion around and into the wall. While Jeff gestured his displeasure under the caution, Robby was unfazed, holding off Sterling…

ABOUT RICHMOND RICHMOND, VIRGINIA .75-mile D-shaped oval • Banking/Turns: 14º Banking/Frontstretch: 8º • Banking/Backstretch: 2º APRIL 3, 2022 • AUG. 14, 2022 2022 Race Lengths: 300 miles/400 laps Track Qualifying Record: 130.599 mph (Jeff Gordon, 2013) Race Record: 109.047 mph (Dale Jarrett, 1997) FANTASTIC FINISH The 2013 Cup Series regular-season finale produced one of the most controversial moments in NASCAR history. With seven laps to go, Clint Bowyer appeared to have intentionally spun in Turn 4 to bring out a caution in order to prevent leader Ryan Newman from winning the race. A Newman win would have knocked Bowyer’s Michael Waltrip Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr., out of the playoffs. Instead, the results of the final restart (Carl Edwards won) eliminated both Newman and Jeff Gordon from playoff contention. NASCAR…

ABOUT TALLADEGA TALLADEGA, ALABAMA 2.66-mile tri-oval • Banking/Turns: 33º Banking/Tri-oval: 16.5º • Banking/Backstretch: 2º APRIL 24, 2022 • OCT. 2, 2022 2022 Race Lengths: 500.1 miles/188 laps Track Qualifying Record: 212.809 mph (Bill Elliott, 1987) Race Record: 188.354 mph (Mark Martin, 1997) FANTASTIC FINISH With five laps remaining in the 2000 Winston 500, Dale Earnhardt found himself mid-pack in the 16th position while his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. sat comfortably out in front looking to earn his third career Cup Series victory. What followed was one of the greatest drives in Earnhardt’s storied career, as he used the draft to quickly carve his way through the field and overtake Earnhardt Jr. and Richard Childress Racing teammate Mike Skinner for the lead coming to the white flag. Earnhardt earned a reputation…

ABOUT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY MADISON, ILLINOIS 1.25-mile oval • Banking/Turns 1, 2: 11º Banking/Turns 3, 4: 9º • Banking/ Straightaways: 3º JUNE 5, 2022 2022 Race Length: TBA Track Qualifying Record: N/A Race Record: N/A FANTASTIC FINISH The Cup Series will make its long-awaited debut at WWT Raceway in June, but its history with NASCAR dates back to the venue’s inception in 1996. The Xfinity Series contested events at the oblong-shaped oval from 1998-2010, and its most famous finish occurred in 2010. Four months after Carl Edwards sent Brad Keselowski airborne into the outside retaining wall in the Cup Series race at Atlanta, the two were at it again in the Xfinity Series race at Gateway. Keselowski used the bumper to take the lead from Edwards on the final…

1 NOAH GRAGSON A ball of emotions and talent, Gragson has taken advantage of the mentorship of his car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and developed into a consistent threat to win. If he continues on this track, he can become a threat for the title as well. 2 TY GIBBS The only thing that will keep Gibbs from celebrating a championship is inexperience, but he has shown to be a quick study with 18 ARCA wins in just three years. He also finished 13th in Xfinity points starting just 18 of the 33 races, with four wins. Gragson earns the role of favorite because of the experience factor, but Gibbs could very well be the dominant force all season. 3 AJ ALLMENDINGER No one had a better season in 2021…

1 JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK Bad luck is the only thing that kept JHN from celebrating the championship in 2021, and it’s likely the only thing that will keep him from it in 2022. He could meet or even surpass 2021’s five series wins. 2 GRANT ENFINGER A driver with something to prove is always one to watch, and Enfinger will want to prove that his 2020 Playoff run was no fluke and that his relegation to part-time status in 2021 was unwarranted. His return to GMS should produce results immediately. 3 BEN RHODES The 2021 series champion has always been an electric personality, and his championship celebration only fortified his standing as one to watch off the track as well as on it. Rhodes is happy to be a contender…

From the time the green flag flew on a thrilling Daytona 500 until the checkers dropped at the finale in Phoenix, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season was action-packed. Here are a few of the highlights from the year that was.…

It’s been a part of the sport for as long as anyone can remember — until now. NASCAR Cup Series cars of 2021 barely resembled the Fords, Chevys and Toyotas you drove on the street, but there was one thing you still had in common with your favorite race team when you had a flat tire. You’d have to take five lug nuts off the wheel. Pit crews have done that for decades, at least a half-dozen times per race each week in NASCAR. That’s five lug nuts apiece, painstakingly glued in the perfect spot by crewmen to get drilled into place in a matter of seconds. It’s why we should take a moment to appreciate their existence as NASCAR transitions to one giant lug nut per tire with the…

Zoo boxes on the screen pop to life, as they do thousands of times a day every day all over the world. The faces filling my cell phone belong not to yawning co-workers but to NASCAR personalities I see on my TV screen on a weekly basis. It’s 10 a.m. on a Sunday in May, the Cup race at Kansas Speedway starts in four hours, and the men and women from FOX Sports who will broadcast it have gathered in front of their devices to talk about their coverage plans. There’s Jeff Gordon, sitting in his motor coach. There’s Clint Bowyer, his eyes ever dancing with the glee that made him an instant success as a commentator. There’s Regan Smith, the driver turned pit reporter, his face covered in a…

With 35 laps to go at the Bristol night race, Kevin Harvick passed Chase Elliott for the lead. They made contact, which cut Elliott’s tire. When Elliott returned to the track, he raced Harvick hard to get one of his laps back. Once he did that, he blocked Harvick’s line on the track, which slowed Harvick down enough that Kyle Larson — Elliott’s teammate — caught and passed him for the lead and went on to win the race. Harvick and Elliott got in a verbal confrontation after the race. Harvick called Elliott’s block a “chicken-s---move.” Said Elliott: “I don’t care who he is or how long he’s been doing it. I’m going to stand up for myself and my team.” The feud continued the following weeks, with Harvick comparing…

When Brad Keselowski straps into the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford to start the 2022 season, he will begin the second phase of his racing career — and with that, he’ll face a daunting task as co-owner of the team. Keselowski will drive and play a leadership role with team founder Jack Roush and John Henry, the Boston Red Sox owner who bought a 50 percent stake in the team in 2007. “I am optimistic about what Jack, John and I can accomplish together, especially with a new era for our sport on the horizon (with the Next Gen car),” Keselowski says. “Our goal is to win races and compete for championships at NASCAR’s top level. I feel like I’m buying into a stock as it’s going up.”…

ABOUT ATLANTA HAMPTON, GEORGIA 1.54-mile quad-oval • Banking/Turns: 28º Banking/Straightaways: 5º Repaving project: narrowed turn width from 55’ to 40’ MARCH 20, 2022 • JULY 10, 2022 2022 Race Lengths: 500.5 miles/325 laps; 400 miles/260 laps Track Qualifying Record: 197.478 mph (Geoffrey Bodine, 1997) Race Record: 163.633 mph (Dale Earnhardt, 1995) FANTASTIC FINISH The 1992 Hooters 500 is often regarded as the greatest race in NASCAR history. The final race that season featured six drivers with a shot at the championship. It was also the final start for seven-time champion Richard Petty and the Cup Series debut for heralded prospect Jeff Gordon. While Mark Martin, Kyle Petty and Harry Gant each had a mathematical shot at the championship, the most likely candidates were Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki and Bill Elliott.…

ABOUT BRISTOL DIRT BRISTOL, TENNESSEE .533-mile oval • Banking/Turns: 19º Banking/Straightaways: 4-9º APRIL 17, 2022 2022 Race Length: 133.25 miles/250 laps Track Qualifying Record: n/a Race Record: 46.313 mph (Joey Logano, 2021) FANTASTIC FINISH When Joey Logano first won the Bristol Night Race in 2014, he called it “Biggest Mamma Jamma of them all.” So, what does that make winning the inaugural Bristol Dirt Race and the first NASCAR Cup race on dirt since 1970? “I don’t know the words that come out of my mouth sometimes,” Logano said, laughing and wiping a tear from his eyes. “I should think more before I talk.” It was a big deal, and Logano certainly had to earn it, as the race was decided by a green-white-checkered finish. Denny Hamlin had a chance…

ABOUT CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS AUSTIN, TEXAS 20-turn, 3.410-mile road course Elevation change: 133 feet MARCH 27, 2022 2022 Race Length: 231.88 miles/68 laps Track Qualifying Record: 92.363 mph (Tyler Reddick, 2021) Race Record: 59.024 mph (Chase Elliott, 2021) FANTASTIC FINISH Sure, there has only been one Cup Series race at Circuit of The Americas, but that one will stand the test of time for years to come. The race was contested in the midst of a torrential downpour. The deluge resulted in poor visibility and a pair of ugly crashes that eliminated a combined five cars from contention. Kevin Harvick called it “the most dangerous thing” he has ever done behind the wheel of a racecar. NASCAR attempted to contest the second half with single-file restarts, but the rain…

ABOUT DOVER DOVER, DELAWARE 1-mile oval • Banking/Turns: 24º • Banking/Straightaways: 9º MAY 1, 2022 2022 Race Length: 400 miles/400 laps Track Qualifying Record: 166.984 mph (Denny Hamlin, 2019) Race Record: 135.734 mph (Kyle Larson, 2019) FANTASTIC FINISH The 1997 Miller 500 was essentially a game of hot potato but with 180 mph stock cars, and the leaders kept getting burned. The chaos began 30 laps into the race when Bobby Labonte was spun by Kyle Petty. Dale Jarrett would go on to lead a race-high 255 laps before he and Jeff Gordon made contact after a spin in front of them. Jarrett’s engine let go, shifting the lead to Robert Yates Racing teammate Ernie Irvan for nine laps until he lost control of his car in Turn 1 and…

ABOUT KANSAS KANSAS CITY, KANSAS 1.5-mile tri-oval • Banking/Turns: Progressive (17-20º) • Banking/Frontstretch: 9-11º Banking/Backstretch: 5º MAY 15, 2022 • SEPT. 11, 2022 2022 Race Lengths: 400.5 miles/267 laps Track Qualifying Record: 197.773 mph (Kevin Harvick, 2014) Race Record: 152.057 mph (Chase Elliott, 2018) FANTASTIC FINISH Entering the 2015 Hollywood Casino 400, Matt Kenseth had crashed out of the race the previous week at Charlotte and could only advance into the next round of the Playoffs with a win. The 2003 champion did everything required of him by leading a race-high 153 laps after starting outside the top 10. Meanwhile, Joey Logano had won that race at Charlotte and was already locked into the next round of the Playoffs but saw an opportunity to eliminate one of his toughest challengers…

ABOUT MICHIGAN BROOKLYN, MICHIGAN 2-mile D-shaped oval • Banking/Turns: 18º Banking/Frontstretch: 12º • Banking / Backstretch: 5º AUG. 7, 2022 2022 Race Length: 400 miles/200 laps Track Qualifying Record: 206.558 mph (Jeff Gordon, 2014) Race Record: 173.997 mph (Dale Jarrett, 1999) FANTASTIC FINISH Jeff Gordon had dominated at Dover the week before, and he took that momentum to Michigan for the 2001 Kmart 400. Gordon once again had a dominant car, but late cautions kept Ricky Rudd in contention. On the penultimate lap, Rudd took the lead out of Turn 4 but couldn’t get his car to stick after completing the pass. Gordon retook the lead into Turn 1. Rudd was unable to mount another charge, and Gordon’s margin of victory was .085 seconds as he earned Hendrick Motorsports’ 100th…

ABOUT PHOENIX AVONDALE, ARIZONA 1-mile D-shaped oval • Banking/Turns 1-2: (8-9º) • Banking/Turns 3-4: (10-11º) • Banking/Frontstretch: 9º (0-11º in Dogleg) • Banking/Backstretch: 3º MARCH 13, 2022 • NOV. 6, 2022 2022 Race Lengths: 312 miles/312 laps Track Qualifying Record: 143.158 mph (Jimmie Johnson, 2015) Race Record: 118.132 mph (Tony Stewart, 1999) FANTASTIC FINISH Jeff Gordon had accumulated five top-5 finishes through the first seven races of the 2007 Cup Series season but had yet to reach Victory Lane. There was great anticipation for his next victory, wherever and whenever it would come, as Gordon was sitting on 75 career victories, one behind the late Dale Earnhardt. Gordon led the first 28 laps from the pole at Phoenix and once again raced within the top 5 throughout the night. The…

ABOUT ROAD AMERICA ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN 14-turn, 4.048-mile road course 150’ change in elevation JULY 3, 2022 2022 Race Length: 250 miles/62 laps Track Qualifying Record: 111.132 mph (Austin Cindric, 2021) Race Record: 86.271 mph (Chase Elliott, 2021) FANTASTIC FINISH It’s how you expect every Rocky Balboa underdog achievement to play out. Driving for his underfunded, family-owned team, Jeremy Clements took advantage of a rain race at Road America at the 2017 Xfinity event to run up front with a car that typically ran mid-pack. The wet conditions were an equalizer, and he found himself running second to Joe Gibbs Racing’s Matt Tifft, closing on fresher tires with two laps remaining. This was potentially his only shot to win a NASCAR national touring event, and he went for it. Clements…

ABOUT TEXAS FORT WORTH, TEXAS 1.5-mile quad-oval • Banking/Turns 1, 2: 20º • Banking/Turns 3, 4: 24º Banking/Straightaways: 5º MAY 22, 2022 • SEPT. 25, 2022 2022 Race Lengths: 500.5 miles/334 laps; All-Star Race TBA Track Qualifying Record: 200.915 mph (Kurt Busch, 2017) Race Record: 160.577 mph (Greg Biffle, 2012) FANTASTIC FINISH Texas Motor Speedway hasn’t traditionally offered photo finishes, but the 2004 Samsung Radio Shack 500 was an exception. Elliott Sadler had gone three years since winning his first Cup Series race and had since left the Wood Brothers for Robert Yates Racing. Prodigy Kasey Kahne was seven starts into his Cup career and was a superstar in the making. Kahne had led the most laps but lost the lead to Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on a…

Are you a bettor who likes to find big paydays? Well, what if we told you that you could do that on a weekly basis in NASCAR if you’re patient, shrewd and oftentimes lucky? Spoiler alert: You can and have been able to for years now in the Cup Series. In 2022, NASCAR will be ushering in the Next Gen racecar. It is expected to level out the competition to a degree, meaning that more longshots will have an opportunity to cash in, especially early in the season. This makes the 2022 season very appealing to bettors of all ability levels. HOW TO BET ON NASCAR The most obvious and longstanding way of betting NASCAR has been to predict the race winner. Sounds easy, right? Well, if you bet on…

GENERATIONAL RIVALRIES There’s a big-time rivalry brewing between Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick, one that exploded at Bristol Motor Speedway in the fall of 2021. A closer look reveals that the Elliott-Harvick feud is a symptom of a changing of the guard between generations. Harvick is the last of a dying breed, age 46 and carrying the banner for a mostly retired group of successful drivers from his era: Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth. Elliott is at the forefront of fresh young talent, NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver who surpassed a nine-race winner in Harvick to capture the 2020 Cup Series championship. In the end, Father Time will decide this battle once and for all: Harvick is signed for just two more seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing.…

So how does Kyle Larson’s 2021 season stack up with the best in NASCAR’s modern era? Last year, Larson became the first driver both to reach 10 wins and earn the championship under NASCAR’s current playoff format. Doing both is a little more difficult than it might seem. Bill Elliott, despite winning 11 races and the Winston Million in 1985, lost the championship to Darrell Waltrip. Rusty Wallace earned a career-high 10 victories in 1993 but trailed Dale Earnhardt in points for nearly the entire season. In the last 35 years, only three drivers in addition to Larson have earned double-digit wins and won a championship in the same season. (Jeff Gordon actually did it twice, in 1997 and 1998; we’ve listed his better season.) Here’s a closer look at…

It’s a cliché when drivers say they want to succeed for their fans. But at the Truck Series race in Knoxville, Iowa, last July, Chase Briscoe meant that quite literally because his fans were his sponsors. More than 450 fans who follow him on Reddit shelled out $10, $25 or $50 apiece to have their names on the bed of his truck. Alas, Briscoe did not find success — he crashed. Afterward, the truck’s livery designer, Daniel Asher, posted a thread on Reddit with pictures of names that had been on the truck, as if they had been cut out of a newspaper. He offered to send the sheet metal clippings to their name-sakes. Many were snapped up quickly. Briscoe’s sessions on Reddit stand out relative to other drivers’ forays…

ABOUT AUTO CLUB FONTANA, CALIFORNIA 2-mile D-shaped oval • Banking/Turns: 14º Banking/Tri-oval: 11º • Banking/Back Straightaway: 3º FEB. 27, 2022 2022 Race Length: 400 miles/200 laps Track Qualifying Record: 188.744 mph (Kevin Harvick, 2018) Race Record: 160.166 mph (Tony Stewart, 2012) FANTASTIC FINISHES At Bristol the week before the 2013 Cup race at Fontana, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin were involved in a post-race shoving match resulting from a crash, and it carried over into Southern California. Logano vowed to race his rival “the way he races me,” and the tone was set. The two were battling for the lead at nearly 200 mph on the final lap when Logano got loose and drifted into Hamlin; the contact sent Hamlin hard into a section of the wall without SAFER Barriers.…

ABOUT CHARLOTTE CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA 1.5-mile quad-oval • Banking/Turns: 24º Banking/Straightaways: 5º MAY 29, 2022 2022 Race Length: 600 miles/400 laps Track Qualifying Record: 198.771 mph (Kurt Busch, 2014) Race Record: 160.655 mph (Martin Truex Jr., 2016) FANTASTIC FINISH “One Hot Night” remains the standard by which every race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is judged. The 1992 All-Star Race was the first speedway event in NASCAR history to be contested under the lights, and it delivered a show made for prime time. Davey Allison and Kyle Petty had the two best cars, but Dale Earnhardt worked his way to the front by passing Petty with six laps remaining. Petty made an aggressive move underneath Earnhardt on the backstretch on the final lap. The two made contact, and Earnhardt spun at…

ABOUT DARLINGTON DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA 1.366-mile oval • Banking/Turns: 25º and 23º • Banking/Frontstretch: 3º • Banking/Backstretch: 2º MAY 8, 2022 • SEPT. 4, 2022 2022 Race Lengths: 400.2 miles/293 laps for May race; 501.3 miles/367 laps for September race Track Qualifying Record: 184.145 mph (Aric Almirola, 2014) Race Record: 141.383 mph (Matt Kenseth, 2013) FANTASTIC FINISH “Have you ever?” asked Mike Joy. “No, I’ve never,” Darrell Waltrip said incredulously. The response to the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 was entirely authentic and representative of the broadcast booth’s disbelief over what they had just called. Kurt Busch had control of the lead within the final 20 laps, but a power steering failure allowed Ricky Craven to start cutting the deficit. Craven took his shot in Turn 1 with two laps…

ABOUT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA 1.5-mile oval • Banking/Turns: Variable (18-20º) • Banking/Straightaways: 3º OCT. 23, 2022 2022 Race Length: 400.5 miles/267 laps Track Qualifying Record: 181.238 mph (Brad Keselowski, 2014) Race Record: 142.654 mph (Kyle Busch, 2019) FANTASTIC FINISH Of the seven NASCAR Cup Series championships earned by Jimmie Johnson, his last in 2016 was the most improbable of them all. The 2016 Playoffs were decided under the current “Final Four” format in a showdown that also included Joey Logano, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. Johnson was forced to start at the rear of the field due to a pre-race technical infraction. He spent most of the race outside of the top 10 as Edwards and Logano looked like the obvious winners. Then came a restart with nine laps to…

ABOUT LAS VEGAS LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 1.5-mile tri-oval • Banking/Turns: 20º Banking/Tri-oval: 9-12º Banking/Backstretch: 9-12º MARCH 6, 2022 • OCT. 16, 2022 2022 Race Lengths: 400.5 miles/267 laps Track Qualifying Record: 196.378 mph (Kurt Busch, 2016) Race Record: 154.849 mph (Joey Logano, 2019) FANTASTIC FINISH The closest finish in Las Vegas Motor Speedway history was triggered with three laps remaining in the 2006 UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 when Denny Hamlin slammed into the back of Kenny Wallace and littered debris all across the track. This set up a green-whitecheckered duel between Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth. Kenseth led at the white flag, but Johnson had momentum on the outside and carried it all the way to the lead out of the final corner. It became a drag race across the nearly…

ABOUT NASHVILLE LEBANON, TENNESSEE 1.33-mile tri-oval • Banking/Turns: 14º Banking/Frontstretch: 9º Banking/Backstretch: 6º JUNE 26, 2022 2022 Race Length: 399 miles/300 laps Track Qualifying Record: 161.992 mph (Aric Almirola, 2021) Race Record: 113.792 mph (Kyle Larson, 2021) FANTASTIC FINISH The mid-2000s was arguably the peak of the Truck Series, and the 2006 race at Nashville featured each of the would-be championship contenders in an overtime finish that would play a role in the final standings. Todd Bodine used the bumper to take the lead from Mike Skinner with two laps to go, and the roles were reversed on the final lap. As a result of the retaliation, Bodine and Skinner slid up the track and into the wall. That allowed Johnny Benson to drive by both and take the win.…

ABOUT POCONO LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA 2.5-mile Tri-oval • Banking/Turn 1: 14º Banking/Turn 2: 8º • Banking/Turn 3: 6º JULY 24, 2022 2022 Race Length: 350 miles/140 laps Track Qualifying Record: 183.438 mph (Kyle Larson, 2014) Race Record: 145.384 mph (Jeff Gordon, 2011) FANTASTIC FINISHES Dale Earnhardt famously said, “I didn’t mean to wreck him — I only meant to rattle his cage” after spinning Terry Labonte to win the 1999 Bristol Night Race. Unintended consequence: New rules of engagement with Earnhardt had been established. Rusty Wallace had the dominant car of the 2000 Pocono 500 after leading a race-high 107 laps, but he found himself mid-pack on the final restart after electing to take four tires while drivers such as Earnhardt and Jeremy Mayfield took two. Mayfield patiently rode behind…

ABOUT SONOMA SONOMA, CALIFORNIA 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course 160’ change in elevation JUNE 12, 2022 2022 Race Length: 226.8 miles/90 laps Track Qualifying Record: 95.901 mph (Kyle Larson, 2019) Race Record: 83.922 mph (Martin Truex Jr., 2019) FANTASTIC FINISH After two consecutive seasons without winning a race, Tony Stewart declared that 2016 would be his final campaign in the NASCAR Cup Series. He then missed the first eight races of the season after suffering a back injury stemming from an off-season ATV incident. In other words, Stewart would only qualify for the playoffs with a victory, something he hadn’t accomplished in 84 races entering the June weekend at Sonoma. A well-timed caution allowed Stewart, who qualified 10th, to use an alternate pit strategy to get to the front. Denny Hamlin…

ABOUT WATKINS GLEN Watkins Glen, New York 7-turn, 2.45-mile road course • 115’ change in elevation • Variable Banking: 6-10º AUG. 21, 2022 2022 Race Length: 220.5 miles/90 laps Track Qualifying Record: 129.491 mph (Marcos Ambrose, 2014) Race Record: 104.132 mph (Martin Truex Jr., 2017) FANTASTIC FINISH Kyle Busch had a victory all but assured at Watkins Glen in 2012 with a commanding lead in the closing laps, all while Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose were left to battle for second place. The complexion of the race changed when Bobby Labonte began leaking oil on the track with three laps remaining, creating treacherous track conditions that enabled Keselowski and Ambrose to catch up to Busch at the white flag. What followed was one of the most dramatic finishes in NASCAR…

If names are made in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, then no one has made a bigger name for himself over the past two seasons than Noah Gragson. A lightning rod for fans and critics alike, Gragson has put himself squarely on the radar screen for proponents and detractors. But unlike many who would shy away from criticism after a controversial moment on or off the track, that commentary has fueled the 23-year-old Las Vegas native. Gragson’s on-track stats may not quite match the level of attention he’s received — yet — but very few can question his ability. From his days chasing dual championships in what is now known as the ARCA Menards Series East and West, to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and now the NASCAR Xfinity Series,…

It will be another season of stability for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2022, with familiar faces returning to their rides and the majority of the schedule remaining unchanged from 2021. Two things that will not change: Defending series champion Ben Rhodes and his longtime ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton are both back in their familiar rides. Rhodes, a 24-year-old from Louisville and the 2014 ARCA Menards East champion, started the season with a pair of victories at Daytona — one on the superspeedway and one on the road course — and punched his ticket to the Playoffs. After an up-and-down run in the early rounds that saw him barely eke his way through to the final round at Phoenix, Rhodes outdueled fellow contender Zane Smith on a…