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NASCAR Race Review: Chris Buescher def. Shane Van Gisbergen on what has been a signature road course race finish with the win for Ford’s RFK Racing team at Watkins Glen

by Sports Benches

Plenty of twists and turns with some stunning side-by-side racing including that last lap on overtime from Watkins Glen International in New York where it was full of race/pit strategy as well as a mix of mechanical and contact drama into the wall. The winner you’re looking right now at is Chris Buescher from the No.17 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing even though he may have missed the Playoffs bubble by 1-2 spots when the regular season finale ended at Daytona a few weeks ago.

Haven’t heard much from him earlier on from 24th but he’s been flying high when he restarted in Top 7-8 at the start of Stage 3. From there, Buescher got a real sniff up front for the whole time alongside a good pit strategy thanks to another early Stage 3 yellow including the race lead off Joey Logano with 17 laps to go. 

Despite having go through a series of late yellows, Chris Buescher successfully fought off Shane Van Gisbergen on the run home that signalled the best of road course racing so far in 2024 of NASCAR at The Glen – congrats to Chris & the No.17 RFK crew. Commiserations to SVG for the runner-up spot but he too had a great day out up front for Kaulig Racing (No.16 Chevy) as sure we’ll see more of him right now at Xfinity level as well as Cup full-time next season with Trackhouse (3rd car).

What else? Spire Motorsports also had a terrific afternoon with all three (Chevy) cars in the Top 10. We begin with the No.77 of Carson Hocevar (3rd) followed by No.71’s Zane Smith (5th – even though Michael McDowell was upset with him post-race who finished 7th in the No.34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports) & No.7’s Corey LaJoie (8th). Gotta say future is bright indeed thanks to their big money investments over these past 12 months.

So does the No.41 Ford of Ryan Preece who posted a Top 10 finish in a while & his third overall of 2024 since Nashville back in late June in 9th for Stewart-Haas Racing. And despite losing his way when he was stuck on the gravel late in Stage 2, Daniel Suarez is well and truly safe into the Round of 12 (currently 5th on Drivers’ Playoff points) after he managed to rebound through a couple of Stage 3 yellows in 13th for the No.99 Trackhouse Chevy team. All he has to do is keep up the good faith & Daniel will probably see some good breakthrough moments like racing in the semis & even the Final ASAP.

Other than Daniel, the next Cup race this weekend (a night race) at Bristol Motor Speedway on the short track will be the last chance for those languishing outside the Top 12 Playoffs bubble. With the likes of Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. & Harrison Burton — they are all stuck in a must-win situation or else be eliminated & have try again next season when the 3 x Round of 12 events begins towards the end of this month in Kansas.

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NASCAR News Today: Joey Logano the first driver to make it into the Round of 12 with the win after a great day for Team Penske & the Blue Oval at Atlanta Motor Speedway

by Sports Benches

It was massive Ford (Mustang) & even Team Penske day to light up the opening 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race at Atlanta Motor Speedway where each of their three drivers won each stage (Ryan Blaney in Stage 1 for the No.12 followed by Austin Cindric in Stage 2 for the No.2) as today’s winner was all about Joey Logano in the No.22 side for Team Penske. 

It’s been a while since his last win in Nashville back in late June where he had a really top day upfront – mainly in the Top 5 – before more late cautions went his way to reach top spot, and there goes Joey Logano with his 2nd win of 2024 & also being the first driver now to advance into the second Round of 12 Playoffs. So nothing to worry about there until Kansas at the end of this month where he will either need to win again or stay consistent with his results up front on the road to the Championship 4 Finale as it’s party time for Joey & his No.22 Team Penske crew right now on the way home.

What else? Oh so close from Daniel Suarez there who finished 2nd in the No.99 Chevy Camaro for Trackhouse & he too loves racing at this track off the back of his early-round win back in late February. As long as he can stay consistently in the Top 5-10, then sure we will get to see more of him when it comes to the next round and even semi-finals round of Playoffs – keep your head up!

Meanwhile, Christopher Bell continues to be so good in the No.20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing as he finished 4th & is currently 2nd on drivers’ points behind reigning champ & 3rd-placed finisher in this 2nd Atlanta race Ryan Blaney. This is the man who has made it to the last two season-finale races and he would love to make his 3rd season-finale attempt being his championship-winning breakthrough at Cup level.

And hats off to a few others that got away with some good finishes just outside the Top 10 mark. We begin with Daniel Hemric in 11th for Kaulig Racing (Chevy), Justin Haley 12th for Rick Ware Racing (Ford), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 14th for JTG Daugherty Racing (Chevy) & don’t forget the Spire Motorsports Chevy duo of Corey LaJoie (No.7) and Carson Hocevar (No.77) who both came home in 15th and 16th respectively.

Next stop: Watkins Glen International where we will be going road course racing albeit in a slightly different time of the year next Monday rather than always August in New York as the Round of 16 is still up for grabs for some drivers if they really want to be in to win until the first cut-off ends with the Bristol Motor Speedway night race on Saturday 21st September 2024.

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NASCAR Race Review: Chase Briscoe def. Kyle Busch for the best of the final Playoffs spot following his Southern 500 win at Darlington

by Sports Benches

Lots to look back from a long night of racing in the Labor Day weekend Cup race from Darlington Raceway with Kyle Larson so dominant for the most part, but a couple of late Stage 3 cautions saw Larson beginning to slip away while the centre of attention up switched over to best of the last Playoffs spot up front between Chase Briscoe & Kyle Busch.

The winner of that battle belongs to Chase Briscoe over Kyle Busch who won them all in the No.14 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing – both the Southern 500 win as well as that 16th and last Playoff spot. 

Great to see Briscoe get his moment when his car was solid all-night long with Chase unable to get around Larson under green long enough before a series of late yellows went his way & now he wants to finish off Stewart-Haas Racing’s tenure with another championship exactly 10 years on from Kevin Harvick’s one & only 2014 championship-winning Cup season.

Meanwhile, Gotta feel for Larson where he had the best performing race car on show & he would’ve defended that win if it wasn’t for these yellows, but still more to come though if he wants to win his 2nd Cup championship so bad since 2021.

What else? The Toyota race cars continue to be always Top 5-10 material with Christopher Bell in 3rd yet again thanks to his long-runs, Spire also had another Top 10-15 weekend this time from Corey LaJoie’s No.7 Chevy in 9th, No.45’s Tyler Reddick in 10th who just won the regular-season championship for Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing as all eyes on the co-owner Hamlin now to hopefully win a first championship for himself over the next few weeks, and another Stewart-Haas Ford driver came home not bad by the No.41’s Ryan Preece after he finished 12th.

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NASCAR News Today: More on Zane Smith if he doesn’t secure a return to Front Row Motorsports next year with Ford standing in his way after his release from Trackhouse

by Sports Benches

While it’s great having Shane Van Gisbergen fulfill his wish to race Cup full-time next year for Trackhouse under the No.88 numberplate that meant lots to both Dale Jr. and SVG’s former Supercars team at Triple Eight Race Engineering (although he raced the No.97 there all along up until last year), but there’s still a lot more talk about Zane Smith who already announced his release ahead of 2025 from Trackhouse the other day.

As it stands, under the proposed seven-year charter rules, each Cup team can only hold up to three charters except Joey Gibbs Racing & Hendrick Motorsports.

So no room for Zane to come back at Trackhouse since they only have three Cup rides instead of trying to keep 4 or even 5 drivers while his current seat in the No.71 at Spire Motorsports has already been taken by former Front Row Motorsports team-mate Michael McDowell next year. 

Yes, Spire still has a spot available in the No.7 to replace Corey LaJoie but they most certainly won’t put Smith in there either due to his predominantly poor season, and would rather have Justin Haley in there from Rick Ware Racing with Rodney Childers coming along from the soon-to-be former Stewart-Haas team.

Image Reference: Zach Catanzareti via Wikipedia, CC BY 2.0

Same goes to Kaulig Racing even though they might replace Daniel Hemric in the No.31 but Kaulig and Trackhouse has a great business relationship when it comes to talent and there’s no way Kaulig would want to use someone who has already been dumped by Trackhouse like Smith. 

Also, whatever happens with the No.31 for at least next year, it will most likely be a pay driver where it could be Ty Dillon instead of Hemric & Smith doesn’t have his own sponsorship anyway.

The only other place he could end up within Cup is a return to Front Row Motorsports where he won a Truck Series championship back in 2022. Sure, he will have unfinished business with FRM as his proven Cup experience and his long-term ambitions will mean a perfect match for the pair like it was before – even though he skipped or barely raced Xfinity but we’re beginning to see more of this now.

However, there’s a catch and according to Kevin Harvick via his Fox Happy Hour podcast, it’s up to Ford to make this happen & since he left FRM for Trackhouse/Spire after the 2023 season, management wasn’t very pleased about this move at all. So looks like that 3rd FRM Cup ride is still taking so long but a different Smith could be jumping over from Joe Gibbs Racing’s Toyota Xfinity Series team in Chandler and not Zane. 

He also said that the No.34 car for 2025 would be filled by Noah Gragson in place of Spire-bound Michael McDowell rather than put Gragson in a 3rd car and put the underperforming Zane in there.

I think both Chandler’s enormous talent and even his sponsors may have ticked every box to FRM’s plans of closing the gap upfront as Ford would agree with this 100% & so would Chandler who no doubt wants to race on Sundays soonest in a Blue Oval – despite being in a Toyota again this year & many years before in Trucks when he was with Kaulig in a Chevy last season.

If it’s not for FRM, he might be better off going to Rick Ware Racing if Rick is happy to put faith in him & Ford agrees to this or else he should get a top Xfinity ride like JR Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing, so he can try win another championship there but in NASCAR’s second tier. Then we’ll know by then he can win Cup as well but I hope they don’t screw him up next time.

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Thoughts on Brodie Kostecki set for a Supercars switch from Erebus to Dick Johnson Racing in 2025 and how this impacts his NASCAR plans if he wants to race there again

by Sports Benches

We haven’t heard much of Brodie Kostecki’s NASCAR goals since his off-season stoush with Erebus Motorsport so far in 2024 as he won’t be coming back to race in the US at least for now according to Paul Morris a few months ago around April.

If it wasn’t for that off-season saga, then he would’ve done a couple more Cup races this year under Erebus with the support of Richard Childress Racing rather than directly for Childress as a third partial Cup team.

However, his pending Supercars move to Dick Johnson Racing next year could shake things up a bit when Anton De Pasquale just confirmed his 2025 ride yesterday as a replacement for Mark Winterbottom at Team 18. He too will switch over to Chevy having last driven a GM brand chassis formerly known as Holden back in 2020 with Erebus. 

Speaking of Erebus, looks like Kostecki is going the other way round and possibly take the spot of another Erebus alumni as the last time Kostecki raced a Ford car was back in 2017 in the Super2 feeder series for Matt Stone Racing.

If he wishes to come back racing in the US, then he would be better off racing for a Ford-powered NASCAR team unlike Richard Childress Racing – who previously viewed him as a great squad member thanks to the team’s Australian connections with Erebus. Both teams race Chevy in their respective race series and it’s highly unlikely RCR would want someone who is racing that isn’t Chevy. 

Plus, Will Brown raced for RCR back in June at Sonoma anyway as sure he’ll be given a warm welcome back in 2025 if Will wishes to make his NASCAR goals serious in the path like we’ve saw with 2025’s Trackhouse full-time Cup driver & former Triple 8 team-mate Shane Van Gisbergen.

Maybe Xfinity would be a good start again still part-time but RSS or AM Racing would suit him well or a good Trucks ride wouldn’t be bad either. Yes, he made his debut in a Cup car for Childress last year much like SVG also in a road course but at Indianapolis rather than Chicago. But again, he’s had a tough first half of the season or off-season as his proven Supercars track record should not go unnoticed. Therefore, Xfinity or even Trucks would be the way to go if Kostecki feels ready to race in the US again before he can think about Cup when the time is right; Maybe he’s happy living here with Supercars after all.

I hope Kostecki is well wherever he ends up ahead of next year’s Supercars season after his unexpected few months off where things will have to take time before we can see the best of him again from 2022-23.

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NASCAR Race Review: Harrison Burton holds off with the big Daytona summer win over Kyle Busch following a last-lap shootout on Wood Brothers Racing’s 100th win milestone

by Sports Benches

It was a huge night full of The Big Ones for the Ford cars upfront where they dominated each and every stage but tonight’s Cup race at Daytona was about Harrison Burton in the No.21 for Wood Brothers Racing. 

He was the one who just got away with his first career Cup win, his first Playoffs opportunity and also his team’s 100th race win – even though he won’t be coming back there next season with Josh Berry already confirmed to replace Harrison due to his underwhelming regular race results since he first replaced Matt DiBenedetto back in 2022. 

But that doesn’t mean he isn’t that bad in Cup after all when you look back at some good Top 5/10s before. He was battling mid-pack from the start before a series of yellows particularly throughout Stage 3 went his way with lots of track position & extra adjustments on pit road. All he had to do is get that race lead ahead of the final lap restart & hold off through the checkered flag and there he is holding off Kyle Busch (No.8 Childress Chevy) to get that breakthrough moment he was hoping for in a race that was so unpredictable twice a year at this same Daytona race track.

Wishing Harrison all the best wherever he ends up next year as it’s his night tonight in victory lane.

Shoutout to Cody Ware following a brilliant night to bring his No.15 Rick Ware Ford home in 4th, so does Parker Retzlaff in 7th for the part-time No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevy; Meanwhile, Daniel Hemric continues to be so good at the big tracks in 9th for Kaulig also in a Chevy & there was bunch of Toyotas filling in the Top 10 with Christopher Bell (No.20 Joe Gibbs) in 3rd behind Kyle and Harrison.

One more regular race now to go before the Playoffs going into the Labor Day weekend next week at Darlington Raceway with another two special shoutouts – Leigh Diffey in his debut at NBC’s new lead NASCAR Cup caller & his co-commentator and former NASCAR racer Jeff Burton who also celebrated his son’s big breakthrough moment from upstairs.

As said, his time at Cup for the most part hasn’t been that great other than a handful of Top 10s prior to this as we would’ve liked but he’s grateful for the sponsors backing him every step of the way like Dex Imaging.

Again, I’d like to see him end up at Rick Ware Racing & stay being a two-car team since Justin Haley is most likely going to Spire Motorsports to replace Corey LaJoie despite Haley being around here for one year but he’s a top asset to them anyway with lots of $$$ or a returning top Xfinity ride would do it if Harrison wants it – it’s up to him.

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SpeedSeries August 2024: Catch up Interview with Dream Racing’s Jackson Rice from Trans-Am Australia – No.7 Ford Mustang

by Sports Benches

Yes, SpeedSeries so far this year may have been completely different compared to 2022-23, especially at a time during the mixed paid/free TV experiment on Stan and Nine (via 9Gem and 9Go) before Motorsport Australia took back the rights at season’s end for the competition to return on Seven once again. 

But that doesn’t mean SpeedSeries can be completely forgotten when times have changed since then as fortunate to catch up with one of the drivers competing there via the competition’s series of race categories in Trans-Am Australia. 

His name is Jackson Rice who currently races the No.7 Ford Mustang for Dream Racing & hails from Albury-Wodonga – right in between the NSW-Victoria border.

This interview is available both in written and video/audio form below:

SpeedSeries/Trans-Am so far of 2024

1. First of all, it’s great to hear from you as it’s been a long while for me to catch up since the end of last season. How is SpeedSeries going on right now compared to the last 1-2 years?

Really good, I feel like the Seven Network coverage has been fantastic this year with the support of Seven (via 7mate on TV) and the 7 + app. For us personally, it gave us fantastic value to our sponsors & our supporters. It also gave us track time and vision & I think it really boosted our (Trans Am Australia) category that brought really good incentive for other people to join us, especially going into 2025.

2. How much do you miss the International drivers coming here as well as the S5000 open-wheel category?

I think this year’s Bathurst International event is the last year they’ve proposed (with the event not returning next year) & I think the International drivers we have coming here are awesome. They brought a different perspective of class that gave an International and world view of the categories they’ve competed (from Sports cars to World Touring Cars & the likes).

The S5000 open-wheel category are awesome machines & it’s said those guys (the drivers who competed last year) couldn’t have the numbers (on the grid) to compete. But I think all those categories (like the GT World Challenge, GT4 Australia Series & TCR Australia) with the organisers involved are really cool to watch. It’s a shame it’s going to be the last hurrah that they (the S5000 open-wheel organisers) won’t continue with it.

3. Speaking of the journey you’ve had so far this season, what was your 2024 like so far if you can describe it in just a few words?

It’s been positive with a huge learning curve. So yes, it’s been an all-round positive.

4. I looked at your Facebook/social media page lately & there’s a quite a few related to Supercars, how much preparation of you driving these race kind of touring cars or sedans have benefited your Super2 opportunity? 

Massively…I think the Trans-Am is a fantastic category that opens doors to a lot of avenues including working towards Supercars & those high-end performance categories. 

So Trans-Am where it’s at right now has fantastic value with some of the guys in there who are true professionals that previously raced in V8 Supercars before through co-driving (at Endurance Races like the Bathurst 1000) or full-time.

Guys like myself – who are young and trying to make a name for our ourselves – I think that mix (of both youth and experience) presents really well for those who are scouting for talent including Super2 (Supercars main feeder category), and it’s been a massive help for me to step  from a Trans-Am into a Super2 by driving a high-powered rear wheel drive race car.

5. Looking at the present when it comes to Trans-Am, what would be the No.1 thing you wished you could’ve done any better & how you will apply this to your next set of Trans-Am races later this year in November?

I think the biggest thing we like to improve on is finishing our races. 

We have very consistent pace with the guys at Dream Racing giving me a consistent race car but we’ve been really unfortunate to have some mechanical failures which sort of put us a bit on a damper with our season’s race results. 

But we had a couple of podiums where we’ve been consistently inside the Top 8 or 6 before we were able to finish consistently to then drag more podiums at the end of the race and not having a DNF towards the end of the 2024 season would probably make a big difference for us.

6. Other than Trans-Am wait until November, do you have any other races you got lined up like the TA2 Muscle Car Series you’ve competed in the past?

I’m planning to, I like to race some more other than the usual Trans-Am. We’ve been fortunate with our sponsors and budget this year, so I won’t definitely rule it out to come back and compete in the TA2 events to keep me busy & in the seat for the next round at Bathurst in Trans-Am.

Being present at Sandown Raceway while talking a couple of other race tracks across Australia

Other than his ongoing Trans-Am season, there’s more to life from Jackson who is currently helping out at Sandown Raceway this weekend where we will pick it up from here.

1. Great to hear you’re in Sandown for the weekend, I was wondering if it was an different event you’re competing there?

I’m just down here with a couple of guys who are new drivers that come in to the team we compete for racing such as meeting them before they compete on the new Toyota 86 races. But I’m business where I don’t have to drive which is alright.

2. How’s the atmosphere like at Sandown Raceway?

It’s fantastic! I love coming to the Victorian VMRC (Victorian Motor Racing Championships). They have good grassroots & state-level racing with a great variety of categories & it’s really good being involved & see grassroots racing. To come back especially post-COVID, the atmosphere’s really good.

Pause

Link of the weekend’s events LIVE and on-demand on BlendLine TV’s YouTube Channel here.

3. Speaking of Sandown, I hear they are going to knock the place down while looking to build a new race track next to Avalon Airport. I was wondering if this was true?

I’m unsure at the moment. I know there were proposed plans (of Sandown being knocked down for housing) but unsure if it’s going ahead. But Sandown is such an iconic venue that in the end, there was so much support behind it to keep it now that I think it will be pretty harsh to get rid of.

4. I heard there’s a different SpeedSeries category event going on at Phillip Island within Victoria in the GT World Challenge as wondering if they’re hosting this alone or a part of the main event support bill?

Yeah, I believe it’s a standalone event with the GT Festival with just GT3, GT4 and other Production Car categories.

Pause

Link to watch the GT Festival weekend race at Phillip Island also on GT World’s YouTube channel here.

5. With Wakefield Park over in Goulburn, they were also being under threat at one stage due to the noise but now they still get to keep the track?  

It’s interesting that they’ve come back and made provisional changes to keep the noise down. I think they’ll definitely come back to run events with no issue. With the noise restrictions, I think they’re going to run less events and it will just be selected to certain race cars to make sure that they don’t break that noise barrier they’ve set.

His best moment of racing and even the Olympics also in 2024

And other than racing cars, what’s your favourite moment of 2024 so far across motorsport and even the Olympics when our Aussie team had their best campaign recently at Paris? I’m also wondering which Olympic sport you’d be best competing in if it was for gold?

I think our podium at The Bend Motorsports Park (South Australian Round between May 31-June 2) was a great achievement for us & the team. We had real pace we showed that we competed with the big teams like GRM (Garry Rogers Motorsport), TFH & The Racing Academy.

So that’s been a fantastic sort of point for me personally.

Then you know throughout the Olympics, the Australians really had our best campaign at Paris 2024. So it’s really cool to be Aussie and to be pretty proud when your country does well.

And for myself if I was to compete in a sport, that’s a hard one, I enjoy doing water sports so maybe I’ll probably go with Rowing since being by the water was pretty cool. I think the guys have endurance who use a lot of upper body & core strength which a lot of stuff really translates to racing cars, so something similar I reckon I would give it a crack.

Post-Notes

We wish Jackson all the best of luck as he will be back for the back-to-back November Trans-Am Australia races at Bathurst and Adelaide. He is so someone who loves watching NASCAR, especially on a Monday morning with the Cup races.

As said, if you want to keep a good eye on his driving progress – Seven & 7 + is the place to be for everything SpeedSeries.

You can also follow him and his Dream Racing team across social media:

And yes, He sure gave a wonderful shoutout also to none other than our Aussie own Leigh Diffey, who is set make his full-time commentary debut in the NASCAR Cup Series for the US NBC network, starting with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 race at Daytona tomorrow morning our time at 9.30am AEST. You can tune in live on Fox Sports via Foxtel/Kayo Sports back here who has the live local NASCAR TV rights.

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More on the RFK Racing 3rd charter hunt this week this time on Rick Ware Racing

by Sports Benches

There’s a bit more to it in RFK Racing’s 3rd charter venture this week since they will be expected to get a significant sponsorship and financial boost from Kroger any minute from now, with Tad Geschickter also expected to leave JTG Daugherty Racing as part-owner at season’s end who is currently sponsored by them right now thanks to Tad’s business links. 

Should RFK purchase a 3rd charter regardless of the sport’s new charter model from 2025-31, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Preece is the primary candidate to fill in the newly-created RFK 3rd Cup car for Ford full-time. 

He too is currently without a job for next season once SHR shuts down come November with three of his other SHR Cup team-mates already secured new rides elsewhere, such as Josh Berry at Wood Brothers, Noah Gragson at Front Row and Chase Briscoe at Joe Gibbs Racing. Yes, his race results here at Cup haven’t exactly set the world alight since he first replaced Cole Custer in the No.41 Ford Mustang last season, but then that’s more a team issue who is on its last legs ahead of SHR’s shutdown as we know it.

The question is though where they could purchase that 3rd charter from? They can use the Kroger money to fulfil that expansion worthwhile if this sponsorship deal comes out true.

One would say Kaulig Racing when the team’s owners look to buy 51% stake of Richard Childress Racing but that’s for Richard to consider since he’s 78 right now while we don’t know what JTG will look like despite Ricky Stenhouse Jr. recently signed a contract extension there when Tad walks out the door.

If it wasn’t for these two teams, why not enter Rick Ware Racing?

Rick Ware Racing

First of all, they’re currently happy running two Ford Mustang Cup cars right now with Justin Haley currently in the No.51 alongside Kaz Grala and the returning Cody Ware sharing in the other No.15 team. 

With Haley onboard, RWR has grown so much so far in 2024 and you gotta thank him for fulfilling the team’s much-needed potential. But Haley is also in demand with the likes of Spire and even Hendrick & it would be very difficult for him to say no going into next year as Haley is expected to replace Corey LaJoie in the No.7 Chevy alongside the chance to work with veteran crew chief Rodney Childers.

With that being said, RWR could not only take a significant financial package from Spire or Hendrick for Haley but also give the one charter away to RFK under a season-long lease for 2025. 

Good for them to get even more $$$ but how are they going to use it? The plan for RWR would be is run one full-time car (The No.51) while the 2nd car likely to be scaled back on a part-time basis. Not even the return of Grala is a guarantee since he doesn’t have the same calibre as Haley & neither does Rick’s son Cody as the best possible scenario is to get a good enough replacement for Haley in LaJoie. 

Then come 2026, RWR could either get it back or see themselves get a significant new partner involved like Gordon Smith & Brad Daugherty or Haas if RFK wishes to purchase one permanently without them having to pay $40 million to get a completely new second charter.

Although I wouldn’t be too surprised if RWR chooses to leave altogether at some point – should they make that RFK charter lease as a permanent sale while they sell the other remaining charter like to Haas or some other new Cup team. 

Post-Notes

RFK Racing is high flying once again with two Cup cars under co-owner Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher but they would still like to wish more success and a third charter with a third full-time Cup car is the perfect next step to bridge their way back up front like it once was before.

Another new big sponsor will be a great get with Preece set for one last opportunity to prove himself in a more good Ford Mustang race car being provided by Roush & Keselowski unlike SHR. 

For now, that mystery 3rd charter seller or leaser for RFK remains to be seen with the Kroger money.

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NASCAR News Today: Thoughts on Justin Haley rumored to leave Rick Ware Racing just after one year for a better ride either at Spire or even Hendrick Motorsports in a Chevy

by Sports Benches

Image Reference: TaurusEmerald via Wikipedia, CC BY 4.0 International

First of all, having Justin Haley onboard with Rick Ware Racing has made such a huge difference in the No.51 Ford Mustang so far this season. He had two Top 10s RWR couldn’t believe they could do it on top of some normal Top 15-20 finishes, such at Darlington back in May as well as Gateway a month later. But that doesn’t mean the silly season rumor talk is gonna take the focus off him when it comes to his future, even though he came to RWR under a multi-year contract from Kaulig Racing at the end of last season. 

Sure, if RWR wants him to stay then that’s fine as he wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t long-term. However, you got some established Cup teams who are way more ambitious and also has lots more money to bring out the check book for him. 

Now that’s something RWR cannot refuse when Spire Motorsports would like to have him back as a full-time driver in the No.7 Chevy Camaro next year with the opportunity of working with veteran crew chief Rodney Childers. If not Spire, even Hendrick Motorsports would be a good get when they would need a bit of a fresh change and Haley would be the perfect replacement for Alex Bowman in the No.48, with Bowman going to Spire.

No matter what happens, it’s going to be a huge hole to fill for someone whose owners invested a lot into bringing Haley onboard from an established two-car Cup team like Kaulig. But again, things come and go you know as maybe RWR can use the Haley contract windfall to improve their Cup equipment – that’s what matters to continue that progress where Haley has built this & left off at the end of the day. 

You could also think Corey LaJoie would go the other way but then I think he is someone who likes to win races, having made some stunning moments for Spire over these last few years at this team wants to move onto the next level without him. Maybe a top Xfinity or even Trucks team would it, so he can enjoy racing a bit more competitively upfront every week.

The same goes to Ryan Preece who is still on the outlook for a ride next year once Stewart-Haas Racing shuts down after the Phoenix season finale race in early November. He’d be a great get at RFK Racing either as a part-time driver to begin with while racing Xfinity/Trucks again also part-time throughout the season like he did two years ago or even full-time depending on their 3rd charter hunt thanks to Kroger, so he can be kept within the Ford Performance family. He hasn’t been so inconsistent for the most part since last year in the No.41 Ford for Stewart-Haas but then that’s a team’s problem who no longer feel they can compete with other top four-car teams anymore as seen in recent seasons.

With that being said, the No.15 would go to Kaz Grala full-time since he had some good results so far this year on a part-time basis, and Cody Ware coming back to replace Haley in his formerly usual spot in the No.51 prior to his suspension for most of last season before he was reinstated because he’s related to his father Rick. 

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Motorsport

NASCAR News Today: Thoughts on Austin Dillon stripped of his Playoffs eligibility despite keeping his controversial win from the Cook Out 400 weekend in Richmond 

by Sports Benches

So there we have it, after a long few days out from that Richmond race finish controversy, Austin Dillon of the No.3 Chevy Camaro for Richard Childress Racing – who intentionally wrecked both Team Penske Ford’s Joey Logano and then Joey Gibbs Racing Toyota’s Denny Hamlin following the final two turns for the race win – can keep his win but his Playoffs berth though will not count as a result of this investigation by NASCAR. 

RCR on the other hand is still furious about this decision with the plans of an appeal over the next coming days – good luck with that! But what RCR and No.3 of AD needs to do now is not make up any more shortcuts in order to cleanly win races next time with only three regular rounds to go. Should he win either one of the last three regular races, he will enter the post-season Playoffs with zero Playoff points meaning he will have to also win another Round of 16 races to keep his hopes alive.

Gotta say it’s being well said at last as this should’ve been taken action immediately after the race unlike post-race inspections with race cars. You can defend AD and RCR all you like when the No.3 crew would like him to spin and win that race and he did that to make this happen but then this shouldn’t be acceptable in the world of Motorsport at all including NASCAR, so again AD needs to now learn that lesson & not upset everyone in anyway like he did to both drivers at the overtime white flag.

Another party that is worth consider appealing is Joey Logano who verbally unleashed into AD post-race for intentionally spinning him out into the wall that ultimately cost Joey his race win where he finished down in 19th rather than a front row finish as hoped for the Blue Oval. He received a fine of $50,000 USD by NASCAR for his mis-conduct and it’s not fair on him to walk away empty handed that isn’t his own fault other than being so frustrated to see someone who wrecked him celebrate in victory lane at the same time. Maybe NASCAR should take away the penalty fee off Joey and not let RCR give a free pass appeal anymore after all this chaos that took them so long. 

Enough said and we move onto the next Cup race this weekend for the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway & this 3rd last regular season race is expected to be Rick Allen’s last as NBC’s NASCAR lead commentator, with Aussie Leigh Diffey to take over from next weekend’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 night race at Daytona International Speedway.

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