Monday, December 27, 2021

Erik Jones Tops Talented List of Early SpeedFest 2022 Super Late Model Entries

Erik Jones Tops Talented List of Early SpeedFest 2022 Super Late Model Entries

The NASCAR Cup Series competitor hopes to start 2022 with an early win

NASCAR Cup Series competitor Erik Jones tops the talented list of early entries to date for the upcoming Super Late Model event at SpeedFest 2022 Presented by Racing America, that will take place at Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia Friday, January 28th and Saturday January 29th.

 

Erik Jones Tops Talented List of Early SpeedFest 2022 Super Late Model Entries

 

As was announced this past Monday, the SpeedFest 2022 Super Late Model event, which is a co-sanctioned special non-points event for the ARCA/CRA Super Series and the Southern Super Series, will now be 150 laps and will pay the winner $12,000. The entire Super Late Model purse was raised after making it a 150 green flag lap event and an anonymous sponsor added a $5,000 bonus to the winner making the winners payoff $12,000 for the event.

 

Jones was the inaugural JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Champion in 2011. Shortly after that he started his climb in NASCAR, going from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he was the 2015 Champion, to the NASCAR Xfinity Series and moved up to the NASCAR Cup Series where he started racing full-time in 2017. Jones has two NASCAR Cup Series wins to date, one at Daytona in 2018 and one at Darlington in 2019. He was a nine-time winner in the Xfinity Series and a seven-time winner in the NASCAR Trucks.

 

Jones has always loved Super Late Model racing, winning the Winchester 400 three times, including the JEGS Triple Crown in 2015 when he won the Battle at Berlin 251, the Redbud 400 and the Winchester 400 to collect the $100,000 Triple Crown bonus. Jones is also a former Snowball Derby and Governor’s Cup winner. After seven years of not racing in a Super Late Model, Jones returned to make selected starts at the end of the 2021 season and will make selected starts again in 2022, starting with SpeedFest 2022.

 

 

“I’m really looking forward to getting back to SpeedFest at Watermelon Capital Speedway,” remarked Jones. “We’ve had some good runs there and I really enjoy all the people down there as well. We’ve only got a few races in this new super late model and are just coming off a good run at the Derby, so I’m hoping to go to SpeedFest and knock out our first win at the beginning of the season. There is always a great group of drivers there, so it’s definitely another trophy that I want!”

 

Erik Jones Tops Talented List of Early SpeedFest 2022 Super Late Model Entries

 

 

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Merry #NASCAR Christmas

Merry #NASCAR Christmas

Who said it Best
















Sunday, December 19, 2021

Keeping Bob Keselowski in Our Prayers

Keeping Bob Keselowski in Our Prayers UPDATE: Rest In Piece Bob Keslowski
August 1, 1951 - December 22, 2021



 

 

Robert Alexander Keselowski (born August 1, 1951) is a former American professional stock car racer. He owns K Automotive Racing and was a competitor in the ARCA RE/MAX Series and the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. 

 

Robert Alexander Keselowski
Robert Alexander Keselowski

 

 

It has been reported that he is loosing his battle with cancer (see tweet below)

 

 


 

In the ARCA Series, Bob earned twenty-four wins, twenty-six poles, and a 1989 championship.

Bob Keselowski in 1997
Keselowski in 1997

Keselowski was one of the original drivers in the Camping World Truck Series in 1995 when it raced under the name the NASCAR SuperTruck Series.  After finishing 15th in the inaugural season, he finished 16th in the second season. Keselowski won his only NASCAR race when he won the "1997 Virginia Is For Lovers 200" at Richmond International Raceway. He competed one more full season and two part-time season before his NASCAR career was over.

 

Bob Keselowski's sons, Brad and Brian compete in NASCAR. Brad won the 2012 Cup championship and has 35 career victories in NASCAR's premier series.

Thoughts and Prayers to the Keselowski Family.

Front Row Motorsports 2022 Team Lineup

Front Row Motorsports 2022 Team Lineup

Reigning Daytona 500 Champion Michael McDowell to Lead Young Duo

In 2022, Front Row Motorsports (FRM) will again have a mix of veteran leadership and young, winning drivers stepping into new roles.

 

 

Michael McDowell will pilot the No. 34 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series. He will be teammates with Todd Gilliland who takes over the No. 38 Ford Mustang. Two-time NASCAR Camping World Series championship runner-up Zane Smith joins FRM to race the No. 38 Ford F-150 in the truck series.

 

 

Gilliland makes the jump to the NASCAR Cup Series to compete for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title after three full-time seasons in the truck series, the past two with FRM. In 2021, Gilliland had one win, 16 top-10 and 10 top-five finishes, resulting in a career best year. He led FRM to fourth in the owner’s championship. Gilliland will work with crew chief Seth Barbour.

 

 

Gilliland follows his father, David, as a driver of the No. 38 Ford for FRM in the NASCAR Cup Series.

 

“I feel like I’ve found a home at FRM,” said Gilliland (Todd). “I’ve been around the team when I was growing up and watching my dad race. I joined the truck team here and it has been a good place for my career. I can’t wait to step up into the NASCAR Cup Series. I know the challenges ahead, but I’m planning to be here and help grow with this team for a long time.”

 

“Todd has been a part of the FRM family before he even started his own racing career,” added owner, Bob Jenkins. “We know that Todd is committed to helping our No. 38 program. He helped us launch our truck program into a winning team and that’s our goal for him and the 38 Cup team.”

 

McDowell returns to the No. 34 Ford Mustang. This past season he again set new records for the organization with five top-10 and two top-five finishes. Their season was highlighted by winning the Daytona 500.

 

“It was a storybook season for Michael, Drew (Crew Chief) and the 34 team,” continued Jenkins. “They helped elevate us to the next level and now we need to sustain and take the next step. The new car gives us a wonderful opportunity to do that.”

 

“I’m really looking forward to 2022 and the fresh start it brings across the sport,” said McDowell. “It’s an exciting time for the NASCAR Cup Series and for us at FRM. We have proven that we can win and now we want to find that consistency throughout the season to be even better.”

 

 

FRM welcomes Smith to its NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, fresh off consecutive seasons as championship runner-up in the series Smith recorded three race wins and 27 top-10 finishes in his two full seasons in the series. The 22-year-old Huntington Beach, Calif. native will work with crew chief Chris Lawson with the goal of winning the championship in 2022.

 

“I’ve been watching Zane the past few seasons,” said Jenkins. “He’s a young driver who is a proven winner and he shows a lot of promise. We want to get him that championship in 2022, but also, we want to have Zane with us for a long time. We see a bright future for him.”

 

“I competed against Front Row for wins this past season and I know how competitive the team is,” said Smith, the 2021 Most Popular Driver in the NASCAR Camping World Series. “Bob Jenkins has given me a wonderful opportunity to race for the truck series championship again. More importantly, there is an opportunity to grow with them in the future.”

 

The 2021 season will mark its 13th with Ford Performance, the team’s manufacturing partner since expanding to a multi-car organization in 2010.

 

FRM will announce team partners leading into the 2022 Daytona 500 and throughout next season.

 

About Front Row Motorsports

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series and the 2021 Daytona 500 champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team– from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM,  Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports

 

 

Friday, December 17, 2021

Petty GMS Motorsports To Compete With Two Full-Time Teams

Petty GMS Motorsports To Compete With Two Full-Time Teams

NASCAR CUP SERIES With Ty Dillon and Erik Jones

 

Ty Dillon will pilot the No. 42 Chevrolet; Erik Jones will drive the No. 43 Chevrolet
Ty Dillon will pilot the No. 42 Chevrolet
Erik Jones will drive the No. 43 Chevrolet

Maury Gallagher, owner of GMS Racing and majority owner of Richard Petty Motorsports, along with motorsports icon Richard Petty announced today the creation of Petty GMS Motorsports.  The organization will field two full-time NASCAR Cup Series entries in 2022 with drivers Ty Dillon and Erik Jones and be housed at GMS Racing’s current multi-building complex in Statesville, North Carolina.

 

“I’m very excited about this opportunity to work with Richard (Petty), arguably the greatest driver in NASCAR history, and form Petty GMS Motorsports,” Gallagher said. “Petty GMS will have a sole focus of winning. Both teams have a track record of winning and we have a strong desire to continue this legacy in a new chapter. Ty (Dillon) and Erik (Jones) have proven themselves through the years and we are looking forward to the success they will have as teammates.”

 

Richard Petty, a member of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class of 2010
Richard Petty, a member of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class of 2010, will serve as Chairman of the newly formed organization and remain a face of the team at the racetrack. 

 

Affectionally known as “The King,” Petty has accumulated over 200 wins, 123 poles, the most wins in a single season (27), the most Daytona 500 victories (seven), most consecutive wins (10) and was the first of three drivers to win seven championships in the NASCAR Cup Series.

 

“Maury (Gallagher) and Mike (Beam) have built a really solid organization at GMS,” said Petty. “They’ve won a lot of races and a couple of championships in the Truck Series, and I really look forward to doing the same in the Cup Series. Maury’s commitment to competing and winning is obvious in everything he does, that’s something we really needed. The opportunity to combine our two organizations on the Cup front makes a lot of sense for all of us for a number of reasons, one of which is the talent we have between the two organizations; this will make us a lot stronger together.”

 

 

To further the Petty tradition, Dillon will now drive the No. 42 – the original number Lee Petty sported from 1949-1961. The eldest Petty earned three championships and 54 wins in the No. 42. In addition, Kyle Petty raced the number from 1979-1982 and 1989-1996, with Beam as the crew chief of the No. 42 in 1981-1982.

 

 

Jones will continue to pilot the iconic No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Previously announced partnerships and crew chief pairings for both Dillon and Jones will remain in place.

 

“As for the car number for the second car, I don’t know that I can express how special it is to me personally to have the No. 42 number racing alongside the No. 43 again,” Petty continued. “I grew up watching my dad race that car, I worked on cars with that number way before I started racing. Dad had a lot of success winning races and championships with that number. Kyle drove cars and won races with the No. 42 as well. It’s really special to me that Petty GMS will be racing that car number.”

 

Petty GMS Motorsports will be led by President Mike Beam, who will oversee the day-to-day operations. Brian Moffitt will assume the role of Executive Vice President of Sales.

 

“Mike (Beam) will lead the effort as President of Petty GMS,” said Gallagher. “During the seven years we have been together, he has won at all levels, producing hall-of-fame numbers – five championships, 65 wins, and 41 second-place finishes. We look forward to competing at the highest level of motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series.”

 

GMS Racing will continue to compete full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series. Since forming in 2012, Gallagher’s organization has captured two NASCAR Truck Series championships, one ARCA Menards Series title, and two ARCA Menards Series East championships, as well as 65 wins, 235 top-five, and 427 top-10 finishes across six series.

 

“The legacy of GMS Racing has been focused on winning and achieving high success, no matter the series,” added Beam. “Our 25-acre, three-building complex in Statesville has roughly 150,000 square feet and is equal to many current Cup shops in size and sophistication. We are ahead of most of the new Cup entrants this year because of our infrastructure. This highly functioning race shop will allow us to hit the ground running. This facility combined with our race-winning personnel gives me confidence that we can make an impact as soon as this season. I have competed in the Cup Series before and understand how things should work.”

 

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the annual exhibition race on Sunday, February 6.

 

 

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Kyle Larson Celebrates With Teammates

Kyle Larson Celebrates With Teammates

The Victory Bell is back!

2021 #NASCAR Cup Champ - Kyle Larson
2021 #NASCAR Cup Champ - Kyle Larson

 

Kyle Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels brought the Victory Bell around the Hendrick Motorsports campus to celebrate the duo's NASCAR Cup Series title and the organization's 14th championship.

 

 

Photo Gallery

Kyle Larson Celebrates With Teammates  #NASCAR
Kyle Larson Celebrates With Teammates  #NASCAR
Kyle Larson Celebrates With Teammates  #NASCAR
Kyle Larson Celebrates With Teammates  #NASCAR
Kyle Larson Celebrates With Teammates  #NASCAR
Kyle Larson Celebrates With Teammates  #NASCAR
Kyle Larson Celebrates With Teammates  #NASCAR
Kyle Larson Celebrates With Teammates  #NASCAR
Kyle Larson Celebrates With Teammates  #NASCAR
Kyle Larson Celebrates With Teammates  #NASCAR