Kyle Busch on NASCAR Parity

The State or Condition of being Equal, especially Regarding Status or Pay.

 

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and Richmond Raceway’s winningest active driver, Kyle Busch (six victories) says the overall parity in the sport since the introduction of the Next Gen race car last year is not a bad thing. There have been five different winners in the opening six races of 2023 with Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron (Las Vegas and Phoenix) the only repeat winner.

 

“Parity is always good, right,’’ said Busch, who drives the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and scored a victory at California’s Auto Club Speedway in February.

 

“Last year we had 19 different winners. Every manufacturer, obviously. I think the guy who won the most races, it was four or five that they won and it’s been a while since it’s been that few races won by the top winner of the series. Typically, you see seven, eight, nine 10 race wins.

 

“It just showed good parity and I feel like a lot of that has more to do with this Next Gen race car than it does the manufacturers, but they are all working hard and doing best we can with what we continue to build on our program with RCR and Chevrolet and hopefully keep heading in the right direction.”

 

When comparing the NASCAR Cup Series competitiveness to other series, such as Formula One, Busch grinned.

 

“If you look at F1 I don’t think there’s much parity,” he said. “So you could argue, that you turn on NASCAR races and you kind of don’t know whose going to win each week. You know who’s good at particular racetracks but sometimes those guys, like myself, only win one race a year so they’re not winning every single week.”

 

“Where you turn on an F1 race and you’re just wondering if anybody’s going to beat Red Bull right now. It was Mercedes. So, there’s obviously a distinct difference between our two series.’’

 

Don’t miss a minute of the action at @RichmondRaceway this weekend!

AstraZeneca | #Partner | @3ChiCanna | @austindillon3 | @KyleBusch | @WhelenMTRS | @UnitedRentals pic.twitter.com/sxQ914lodJ

— RCR (@RCRracing) March 31, 2023

Kyle Busch is off to a solid start for Richard Childress Racing with a victory, two top-10 finishes and sitting fourth in points through six races.

 

 

 

source: NASCAR Media

Crafton, Smith Highlight ‘Fast Five’ Storylines for NCTS Speedycash.Com 250

 

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series continues its “Texas Two Step” as the two-race swing through the Lone Star State culminates with Saturday’s SPEEDYCASH.COM 250 at Texas Motor Speedway.

 

The series competitors will shift from last week’s twisting, 3.41-mile Circuit of The Americas permanent road course in Austin to the ultra-fast, high-banked 1.5-mile oval in Fort Worth for the fourth race of the season. 

 

The one-day show opens Saturday with a 30-minute practice beginning at 9:35 a.m. CT followed by qualifying at 10:05 a.m. Once the field is set, the SPEEDYCASH.COM 250 will get underway at 3:30 p.m. (TV: FS1, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM). 

 

The SPEEDYCASH.COM 250 is the companion event for Sunday’s PPG 375 (11:15 a.m., TV: NBC & Peacock. Radio: SiriusXM, INDYCAR Radio Network, 95.9 The Ranch-local). 

 

Here’s a look at the “Fast Five” storylines for the SPEEDYCASH.COM 250 NCTS race: 

1. ThorSport Racing’s Matt Crafton will extend his record for most career starts of any series that has competed at Texas Motor Speedway in Saturday’s SPEEDYCASH.COM 250. The 47-year-old Crafton, in his 23rd full NCTS season, will be making his 43rd TMS start, which dwarfs the career leaders in NASCAR’s other two national series and INDYCAR. 

 

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick owns the NASCAR Cup Series mark with 38 while Jeremy Clements of Jeremy Clements Racing holds the top spot in the Xfinity Series at 28. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, the INDYCAR career leader, will be making his 25th start in Sunday’s PPG 375. 

 

Crafton is a two-time winner at Texas and has the track records for career top-five finishes (17) and top 10s (30). He also ranks second for career laps led at 444. 2. 

 

2. Defending series champion Zane Smith of Front Row Motorsports is producing a carbon copy of his run to last year’s title and is hopeful the script finishes out the same way. 

 

A year ago, he won the season-opening race at Daytona and followed with his second victory of the season at Circuit of The Americas. He has done so again, winning last week at COTA by 5.451 seconds over runner-up Kyle Busch after a season-opening win at Daytona. 

 

Smith, however, does find himself in a much better position in the NCTS points standings at this stage. Smith, who was 31 points behind leader Chandler Smith last season, exited COTA with the top spot, three ahead of ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski. 

 

He is hopeful that he doesn’t mirror his 2022 result at Texas Motor Speedway, where he finished six laps down and in 32nd place. 

 

3. ThorSport Racing’s driving trio of Ben Rhodes, Majeski and Crafton have combined for one win through the first four races of the season, but there is no need to fret for the organization. 

 

ThorSport Racing currently holds three of the top six positions in the NCTS points standings heading into the SPEEDYCASH.COM 250. Majeski is two points behind Smith in second, Rhodes is 18 back in third and Crafton is 38 out in sixth. 

 

Consistency has been the key as the group has combined for eight top-10 finishes, including four among the top five. Majeski and Rhodes have registered top 10s in three of the four races, including both having a pair of top-five performances, while Crafton has two top-10 finishes. 4. 

 

4. The NCTS may want to issue directions to Victory Lane leading into the SPEEDYCASH.COM 250. 

 

Of the expected 36 drivers in the field, only two current fulltime NCTS drivers have recorded victories in the series’ 26-year history at Texas Motor Speedway. Crafton is one as expected, with the ThorSport Racing veteran winning at Texas in 2014 and again the next season. 

 

Joining Crafton is Stewart Friesen of Halmar Friesen Racing. Friesen earned his victory last season in overtime, marking his first win in 53 races dating to November of 2019. 5. 

 

5. The most productive drivers in the last 10 races at Texas Motor Speedway include some of the usual suspects. 

 

Crafton leads the way with nine top-10 finishes, including four among the top five. Grant Enfinger of GMS Racing has seven top-10 finishes, including five top-five efforts. Friesen has four top-five finishes and five top 10s overall. Rhodes has four top-10 finishes, including two among the top 10. 

 

Interestingly, Friesen is the only one among the group with a win during the timeframe.

Leading the pack to green!@Nicksanchez080 wins the #CometicGasket Pole at @TXMotorSpeedway. https://t.co/CDRaibmhk8

— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) April 1, 2023

 

source: Texas Motor Speedway Media

Richmond Raceway Hosts NASCAR Xfinity and Cup

Practice and Qualifying Canceled

 

“As NASCAR celebrates its 75th anniversary, Richmond Raceway, one of the sport’s most historic tracks, will honor the sport’s legacy throughout next season’s two NASCAR race weekends,” said Lori Collier Waran, Richmond Raceway President. “We look forward to welcoming fans back to RVA for our Toyota Spring Race Weekend and one of the biggest NASCAR parties of the summer.”

 

In the spring, Richmond will host the Toyota Spring Race Weekend featuring the Xfinity Series’ ToyotaCare 250 on Saturday, April 1, 2023 and the 68th annual spring Cup Series race, Toyota Owners 400, on Sunday, April 2, 2023.

 

The spring Cup Series race at Richmond has been held in the month of April since 2011. The track originally hosted April Cup races in 1953, 1956, 1961-1963, 1967, and 1969. Lee Petty won the first-ever Cup race at Richmond on April 19, 1953.

 

Richmond previously hosted spring Xfinity Series races from 1982-1984 and 1990-2019, 2022.

 

Racing Virginia will be active in the month of April as the Commonwealth will host two Cup Series races in the same month for the third consecutive season as Martinsville Speedway will host a race on April 16, 2023.

 

Cup Series practice & qualifying have been cancelled. The lineup will be set per the rulebook. #ToyotaOwners400 pic.twitter.com/T4LQ0QDCsq

— Richmond Raceway (@RichmondRaceway) April 1, 2023

 

source: Richmond Raceway