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Richard Childress Racing

NASCAR Website/Blog Weekly Recap with the few best mid-running teams and more from the 2025 Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course

by Sports Benches July 7, 2025

The king of the Chicago Street Course was here to collect yet another again win both Xfinity and Cup by none other than SVG.

He’s not just fast, he also played his cards right where he outsmarted the whole Cup field and never looked back ever since.

Second Cup win of 2025 btw.

Look further with Tyler Reddick in 3rd for the 23XI Toyota who did indeed dominate the third stage alone as if it did not count towards the final race result but still he had a front row afternoon.

So does Kyle Busch in the No.8 for Childress in 5th where he had a flying start up to 2nd in Stage 1 before he lost his way in between but slowly & surely regained a lot of ground with credit to those 2nd half and late yellows.

And the best mid-running Ford driver of the day goes to Roush-Brad K once again but it’s Ryan Preece in the No.60.

Now Ryan would’ve loved nothing more than a front row finish like his team-mate did last week after Brad K finished a close second to race winner Chase Elliott at Atlanta having gone with his own strategy.

Even though that may not have panned out in spite of 2nd half yellows, Ryan still had a Top 10 car to bring that home all afternoon from 7th to finishing 7th.

All in all, it’s been a huge fight both physically and mentally from start to finish with a series of yellows along the way – despite the last lap yellow flag call which is up for debate after Cody Ware crashed into the wall, and it took a while for NASCAR officials to go with that decision.

Although bummer for pole sitter Michael McDowell over in the No.71 Chevy for Spire when he got away with the Stage 1 win but then had problems once he made his way for a stop and that spelled unlucky not long after with a DNF.

Sometimes it’s just unpredictable when a few Cup regulars are being put to test by another Cup regular that knows about road courses all too well both left and right turns & once SVG hugs the lead lap baton, it’s going to be a much tougher fight getting a grip of him to pass from here.

He will have another opportunity to make it win No.3 when road course racing continues next weekend this time out West at Sonoma Raceway. Love his rugby kick victory lap there with the ball where one random fan gets to take that home whichever it lands off the boot as always.

Going off track now and earlier this week, there were also good news from SVG but not so much though in Daniel Suarez when it comes to solving that selection headache going into 2026 by Trackhouse.

That means, Daniel and Trackhouse reached an agreement to mutually go their separate ways that goes back to its foundations back in 2021. He’s so grateful of the good times they’ve achieved over time with two regular-season wins in 2022 at Sonoma and 2024 during the 1st of two Atlanta races.

At the same time, Trackhouse needed a new direction that focuses more on being one of the new Big 3/4 teams. With that said, it makes sense for Trackhouse to bring young gun & Xfinity Series regular Connor Zilisch onboard in his place, which is expected to happen days to weeks from now.

All the best Daniel Suarez either elsewhere within Cup or back to Xfinity.

Plus, glad to hear that Stellantis has re-upped their performance game lately on top of Ram’s return to Track Series racing next year, with thanks to the returning boss Tim Kuniskis in charge.

Here comes the return of the road-going brand SRT aka Street Racing Technology that will apply across its core brands Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram Trucks.

Don’t know when the first models will come out mainly from Ram and Dodge’s side with the 1500 and Charger respectively but should be in a few months time & who knows if those sales go up?

Just like the win on “Sunday, Sell on Monday” approach if Ram can get the ground running.

July 7, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR Xfinity: Daniel Suarez holds off Taylor Gray on what has been a sweet homecoming win following the sport’s first weekend back in Mexico City since 2008

by Sports Benches June 14, 2025

What a race win in the Xfinity Series by Mexico’s Daniel Suarez in front of his home fans – with special stuff right there.

He credits that fast No.9 Chevy by JR Motorsports even though he had to use a back up one from the back & yet Daniel was simply unstoppable having went on to defend his top spot so beautifully towards the checkered flag.

So close from Taylor Gray who almost got it off the back of the last late yellow restart but he still had a fast afternoon off his starting 8th spot with a lot of 2nd place stage and overall points.

There’s a few other drivers that gained or regained some ground at the same time but gotta say Austin Hill ticked off all the boxes both his speed and strategy – he too supercharged & stayed there in 3rd.

Other than dominant Toyota and Chevy day, Harrison Burton was the best-placed Ford driver there out in 9th in the No.25 for AM Racing.

Now his first half run may be quiet through the middle to rear of the pack but he’s another driver who made progress with a mix of good pit stops, strategy and avoiding yellows, as it’s all about getting home with a good result – despite not having the best car to challenge the front-runners.

So hats off to Harrison with a solid Top 10-15 result in Mexico City.

What now for Daniel? He has another race to do when it comes to the Cup race tomorrow where he will start from 10th.

It was actually a good weekend so far from his Trackhouse team with NZ’s Shane Van Gisbergen having a blast too after he was the fastest out of everyone in qualifying & he will lead the line from pole.

This race is all about what’s best for this team going forward like 1-2 years from now when you’ve got the young Connor Zilisch waiting in the wings either for SVG’s or Daniel’s race seat. Justin Marks who is a brilliant team owner and former racer himself with a road course background has a lot of thinking to do before Trackhouse can set sights towards winning a championship someday.

But again will tomorrow’s race be SVG’s time to shine or can Daniel make up another homecoming victory this time at the top level? Bring it on.

Speaking of Mexico, there’s a Gold Cup soccer match to start soon when they will begin their campaign against Dominican Republic at the SoFi Stadium in LA. That’s the swimming venue for the 2028 Summer Olympics where a football stadium will be converted into a swimming pool for the week and then back to the grass again.

Finally, shoutout to Nine for finally putting the WWOS watermark logo on when it comes to free-to-air motorsport for their limited live 24 Hours of Le Mans coverage that went between 12-2am at overnight.

You gotta put the best presentation out there to justify the investment of airing motorsports coverage even if it’s through a paid platform that shares an FTA component but it’s still under the responsibility of Nine and glad they’ve listened.

Whoever saw that in the past with my feedback here, we thank you for this and let’s hope they can stay that way next time.

The race is still ongoing also overnight in France where Stan Sport has the rest of that live access & also highlights/replays on-demand where you can watch it right now until the race finish by the end of tonight.

June 14, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR

NASCAR: Denny Hamlin wins that late with a few best mid-running teams from the 2025 FireKeepers Casino 400 in Michigan

by Sports Benches June 8, 2025

Happy for Denny Hamlin with the Michigan win who knows what it takes to take that opportunity that late with both hands and yet he’s done that again when others eventually fell away on his 701st Cup series start. Am convinced that Chris Gayle his new crew chief will help Denny deliver more wins including the next Playoffs that could finally turn into his drivers’ championship year at season’s end.

I know that win would be worth so much more than anything second best but Chris Buescher had a solid afternoon including all other Roush cars in the Top 10 by Ryan Preece (9th) & Brad Keselowski (10th).

If it wasn’t for those yellows and that little slip up somewhere in Stage 3, the race could’ve been his to take by far just like we saw with Denny en route to the finish line.

Top finishes all day also going to Denny’s 23XI Toyota employee Bubba Wallace who finished the race strong in 4th.

Then Ross Chastain at Trackhouse with a quiet and improved afternoon off the back of the Stage 2 yellows & never looked back since then where he did the best possible to collect them all on track position in 6th.

There’s another Ford that made solid ground especially under green by Zane Smith after he finished 7th for Front Row Motorsports.

Didn’t hear much from Kyle Busch when he rolled off 2nd but stayed out of trouble though all afternoon & regained up to 8th at Childress. He’s happy with the practice and qualifying speed so he can make up those best options available come race day where you never know what to expect other than finishing Top 10s every week.

A win? Yes, that would be awesome when this car needs help to challenge the front runners like RFK & 23XI. But good consistent results and hanging in there through four odd hours shows he’s still got it & maybe he might win again after all.

Lots more drivers also benefitting a good end to the afternoon if you stretch all the way to the Top 15 but again, gotta say the local guy from the Michigan township of Byron, Erik Jones finished 11th in the famed No.43 Toyota with Legacy MC.

He’s another driver like many others as witnessed when others drop off firstly with cautions and later on fuel and race strategy under green. Now things may not have been the same when trying to keep hold of the Top 20 by the looks of his car’s long game although we know Legacy MC can stir up a surprise at the bigger track races but at least he ran not too shabby.

June 8, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR

NASCAR: A few mid-running teams from the 2025 Cracker Barrel 400 in Nashville with Carson Hocevar in 2nd once again this time behind race winner Ryan Blaney

by Sports Benches June 2, 2025

Ryan Blaney may be the race winner but Carson Hocevar is 1st out of the mid-running teams from early Stage 2 cautions to Stage 3 green-flag pit stops where others struggle while he strives for track position.

Lots to be proud from the No.77 with Carson’s 1st career Cup win not too far away as long as he stays Top 10 every week – could’ve been a Spire double Nashville special if you look at Rajah Caruth’s win the other day in Trucks.

Great shift from the Toyota satellite teams like the 23XI pair of Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick who both had the same progress as Carson in between 6th and 9th with Erik Jones able to stay running Top 10 all night long in the No.43 for 7th.

And Kyle Busch after finished 12th having also got away from avoiding yellows that turned into a steady 2nd half run – he’s still hanging in there just within that Top 16 points bubble.

#NASCAR #CrackerBarrel400 #CarsonHocevar #SpireMotorsports #Toyota #23XIRacing #BubbaWallace #TylerReddick #ErikJones #KyleBusch

#LegacyMotorClub #Chevy

#RichardChildressRacing

June 2, 2025 0 comment

Motorsport NASCAR

NASCAR Race Results: Another non-Playoffs winner strikes again with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gifting JTG yet another restrictor-plates win since last year’s Daytona 500 win at the Dega

by Sports Benches October 7, 2024

What a finish & what a day it has been at Talladega by another new non-Playoffs winner. This time it’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the No.47 Chevy Camaro after he gifted JTG Daugherty Racing yet another restrictor-plate event win since his Daytona 500 moment last year. Although it would’ve been any great if this was another regular season race, but at least Ricky & JTG has something to celebrate and he’s here for more – having renewed his multi-year contract earlier this season.

He had a brilliant start from 32nd to 2nd earlier on thanks to an early yellow. Now he may be been running mid-pack for a while, particularly during Stage 2 before that last-lap mini-drama changed everything. But as said, steering clear of yellows alongside some good adjustments were key to dominating this race & he’s done all of that to get what he and the No.47 Team wanted with the win.

Ah, so sorry for RFK Racing’s co-boss man Brad Keselowski (in the No.6 Ford Mustang) who fell so short by 0.006 seconds to Roush’s former long-time employee in Stenhouse. Another last restart would’ve been any better when he couldn’t get much help on the inside line & Stenhouse got the upper hand on the outside. But at least, there’s some positives to take out for 2nd as this is what restrictor-plate racing was all about when it’s so unpredictable full of “The Big Ones”.

What else? It’s been a while from Erik Jones in the famous No.43 Toyota Camry for Legacy Motor Club since this year’s Daytona 500 (8th) & he came off a really good afternoon as the best Toyota placed driver today in 5th behind the two Hendrick Motorsports Chevy cars of Kyle Larson (4th) and William Byron (3rd).

So does Justin Haley in the No.7 Chevy for Spire Motorsports who finished 7th with more to come after his second race back from Rick Ware Racing. Then there’s Austin Dillon in 8th at Richard Childress Racing. Good to see him finish off nice and clean following that Richmond win a while ago & he didn’t make the Playoffs when he wrecked Denny Hamiln at the finish line.

Speaking of Hamlin today, he came out not bad in 10th behind his 23XI employee Bubba Wallace (9th) when he was running up and down for some time & avoiding these yellows saved the day for him. But again, he’s currently in a comfortable middle ground at 4th in Playoffs points with one Round of 12 race left this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval course. All he has to do is keep running Top 5-7 including a win in any three semi-final races if that helps and Denny is sure that a championship can finally come his way when the season finale reaches Phoenix early next month.

And if that’s not enough, how about we give a round of applause to Rick Ware Racing with both Ford cars in the Top 20 – Cody Ware in 12th for the No.15 & Corey LaJoie 18th in the No.51. Plus, don’t forget NZer Shane Van Gisbergen who finished 15th in the shared No.16 Chevy for Kaulig Racing – his current Xfinity Series home.

Looks like SVG is so getting used to this sport ahead of his full-time Cup ride next year at Trackhouse other than his usual road course expertise where he’s getting the benefit of the doubt if he wins any of regular road course races there & a Playoffs spot immediately hands over to him. More to come also as he continues to keep on learning with merit every week.

October 7, 2024 0 comment

Motorsport NASCAR

Thoughts on Triple 8 Supercars driver Will Brown’s NASCAR plans for next season

by Sports Benches August 30, 2024

Before the weekend, current Triple 8 Supercars driver Will Brown says that he’s sure to come back for more cameo NASCAR races next year. However, at the same time he also said that he won’t be looking to move into the US full-time anytime soon like his predecessor Shane Van Gisbergen – that’s fine by him since he’s happy living here.

He still has a part-time job at his family car dealership business while still retaining his top ride where Supercars races tend to race more than 12 events throughout the year, so still lots of time to keep him busy on & off track.

If he wants to go back to NASCAR when it comes to cameo events, he would still like to do road courses with two including an Xfinity race for the first time rather than one at Sonoma and Chicago.

But no word yet though whether if he would like to do oval racing at this stage & if he wants to do an oval race like on a short track to begin with, then he would be in a Trucks car like SVG (Indy) and Cam Waters (Martinsville & Kansas) did over the last 12 months.

For now, Will is having the time of his life right now leading the Supercars drivers’ points going into the Sandown endurance race in the next few weeks.

Both a Bathurst 1000 win and a championship title would mean so much to him and while he may not be willing to leave his life behind here, there’s always others who would love to race NASCAR – don’t forget that when you got Cam Waters (No.6 Tickford Racing Ford) as the next in line after SVG.

I don’t know about Brodie Kostecki right now after a tough off-season when he also made his Cup debut at the Indy road course race for Childress last year, but we’ll have to wait and see having just announced his switch from Erebus’s Chevy for Dick Johnson Racing’s Ford next year.

August 30, 2024 0 comment

Motorsport NASCAR

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 August 15, 2024

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.

August 15, 2024 0 comment

Motorsport NASCAR

NASCAR Race News from the weekend: Austin Dillon spins his way with the Cook Out 400 race win at Richmond Raceway in the No.3 Chevy for Richard Childress Racing

by Sports Benches August 13, 2024

It may have been a dominant Toyota front row fest for the most part other than the Daniel Suarez Stage 2 win in the Trackhouse Chevy but look who’s back in victory lane? It’s Austin Dillon in the No.3 Chevy Camaro with the win for Richard Childress Racing following his race-winning bump past Turn 4 on both Team Penske’s Joey Logano & Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin towards the checkered flag on overtime when Ryan Preece spun out that led to a caution with two to go.

Now for some NASCAR fans, particularly for those who go for Logano & even Hamlin, this last lap restart on the run home was both good and bad. Well, the sport could’ve looked at this one a lot deeper other than post-race inspections but that’s stock car racing unfortunately unlike most other racing series we see on-track. First of all, good to see AD back in victory lane for the first time since the summer 2022 Daytona race with the same previous crew chief of Justin Alexander, who has been in and out of the No.3 pit box as time goes by until sometime earlier this year. Yet, he’s back for the third time now of asking to help turn his form around once again and yes it did work outwell with another lucky charm for him and Justin together like it was a few times before as AD wouldn’t be there to celebrate today or these past victories if it wasn’t for his best crew chief.

Gotta say that 2nd half performance after the first two stages within the Top 6-7 worked well in AD’s favour off the back of these important pit road adjustments beforehand that helped him make a brilliant charge on the front row. He rolled off the line from 6th aftern an excellent run in qualifying, having never looked out of place with a fast race car on his hands while he remained patient while others drop out all along to get what what he wants. RCR hasn’t been bad when it comes to submitting at least one of their cars over the last few years at Playoffs time & if Kyle Busch can at least win the last few regular season races for the other No.8 car, then no doubt they would be a decent threat up front to the other 3/4 car big teams.

Looking at the Toyotas, you gotta feel for them when these cars fired off really well with some promising signs across the first two stages. Then they had some of the problems happening when it comes to the long last stage with Martin Truex Jr. forced to pull due to mechanical issues while some lacked inconsistency on the long runs like Christopher Bell other than a good Denny day except his last lap overtime drama where he finished 2nd. Seeing four Toyota cars in the Top 6 ain’t bad though with Denny’s co-owned 23XI Racing team also having a great field day in 3rd & 4th thanks to the No.45 of Tyler Reddick & No.23 of Bubba Wallace as Toyota needs to continue making that firepower right going into the next Cup round at Michigan.

Meanwhile, the Ford cars also didn’t have a great day either when Joey Logano was unluckily spun out whilst trying to win with fellow Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney being the best driver there just outside the Top 10 in 11th & the rest of these drivers languishing towards the back end of the finish line. And last but not least, shoutout to Carson Hocevar, who finished 8th in the No.77 Chevy for Spire Motorsports. Now he might not have cracked these Top 5 finishes just yet since he went straight from Trucks but a few Top 10 finishes though ain’t bad and he’s even leading the Rookie standings by a small margin.

Three more regular rounds to go with Michigan, Daytona and Darlington to come as good to see NASCAR back following a long two-week Olympics break and we’re almost there to make up the last 16 drivers that will be competing in the 10 week Playoffs campaign for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship trophy starting early next month at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

August 13, 2024 0 comment

Motorsport NASCAR

NASCAR News Today: Thoughts on Michael McDowell leaving Front Row for Spire, the end of NASCAR RaceHub & lots of Australian motorsport links with the sport lately

by Sports Benches May 8, 2024

It’s been a huge week of NASCAR news and its silly season rumour mill so far where one driver will be jumping ship to another team going into next year while a major shake up amongst the media landscape is changing regarding its weekly magazine show and the Australian NASCAR connection extends even further where we could see another Supercars driver having a crack next month & one of the renowned TCR Australia manufacturers might be joining the sport in the next few years.

A huge hole to fill at Front Row Motorsports going into next year

Michael McDowell has been outstanding in the No.34 Ford at Front Row Motorsports over the last seven years, having turned from Top 20-25 into a occasional front row to Top 10-15 challenger that saw him win two races including two Playoffs opportunities off the back from the breakthrough 2021 Daytona 500 as well as the 2023 Indianapolis Grand Prix (road course).

Yes, all great things has to come to an end when he will leave FRM at the end of this season but he will be off to Spire Motorsports though to replace former FRM alumni Zane Smith in the No.71 Chevy from 2025 as this is a team who is also looking to improve their on-track presence with plenty of ambition by turning themselves into a Top-10 outfit.

I’m sure he still has a few more years left to offer going into the 40s by fulfilling their wish with the hope of more good Top 10-15 finishes and race wins before Michael calls a day. Who will replace him? It remains to be seen with Stewart-Haas still on the lookout to sell their two charters and then possibly merging with FRM to make up four Ford cars, so Ryan Preece could be staying after all rather than being given the flick this time in McDowell’s spot for the 34. I don’t know if some of the current sponsors will be joining ship with McDowell but I guess they are tied up with the team as sure Spire has their own $$$ to support three Cup cars & Preece would be the perfect replacement who has a great racing pedigree from the ground up. Yes, he might not be doing things too good when SHR is currently struggling but again he can get things done in a good race car.

FOX Sports ending NASCAR RaceHub next month once their first-half season coverage wraps up

It looks like there won’t be a dedicated daily NASCAR TV show for race fans to tune in on weeknights now ahead of the next TV rights deal next year that incorporates a greater focus on streaming as FOX Sports has today announced that they will be finishing up NASCAR RaceHub on Monday, June 11 after 15 years on the air. It first started back in 2009 when Speed Channel was around with Adam Alexander and Krista Voda.

Over the years, Alexander remained as the original co-host all along while several others have came in and go when Voda moved on after a few years & Speed became FS1 – such as the late Steve Byrnes (who sadly passed away in late 2014) & Danielle Trotta (2013-2016) along with Shannon Spake & Kaitlyn Vincie in recent years. It was also a show that welcomed regular guests both past and present including breaking news announcements, interviews, analysis and many more that included the weekly radioactive segment from each race of the season via the in-car radio by several teams.

Gotta say 6pm won’t the be the same for race fans when there’s no reliable source that is related to NASCAR to tune in on weeknights. But again, there will be several networks airing NASCAR over the next couple of years and with FOX only airing the first-half Cup races and still the entire Truck Series season, they don’t have any other choice but to shut it down when there’s NASCAR.com or other streaming-only NASCAR related shows and even podcasts to tune in online going forward at any time rather than being required to tune in at a certain time or else having to set it up on their DVRs to watch it later.

It doesn’t say whether or not if NASCAR RaceDay will be following RaceHub out the door but I guess it will be at the end of the NASCAR season in November with a brand new pre-show incorporating the network’s race day coverage from 2025. It seems that FOX NASCAR’s days has reached its tipping point, who may be able to celebrate its 30th anniversary come 2031 , but then after that, The CW or CBS in partnership with Amazon or TNT Sports will be looking to take their place for the first half season including the Truck Series package when the next round of TV rights come into market from 2032 & beyond.

A bit of Supercars/SpeedSeries NASCAR links popping up lately

And lastly but not least, here’s some bit of Supercars and SpeedSeries links with NASCAR that you need to know over the last week:

1. Current Supercars drivers’ leader at Red Bull Team Australia and inaugural 2019 TCR Australia champion Will Brown is set to earn his opportunity in NASCAR where he will be driving the partial No.33 Chevy Camaro ZL1 race car for Richard Childress Racing at Sonoma Raceway also early next month.
2. We could see Hyundai and even Honda joining NASCAR later this decade around 2026 or 2027 if the sport can add the hybrid element having seen the sport race with Toyota, Ford and Chevy over the last 11 years after Dodge left despite ending the 2012 season with Brad Keselowski as the champion for Team Penske at the time with no other team left to take their place.

It’s been a while since Brodie Kostecki, who had long-term ambitions to race NASCAR, fell out with Erebus Motorsport over the off-season that saw him sit out the first 1-2 races before he was able to race with them again as several sponsors walked out the door including Boost Mobile. It’s a shame that he won’t be back racing NASCARs any time soon at least in the short term. But that doesn’t mean another Supercars-NASCAR link isn’t all over other than Shane Van Gisbergen racing in the Xfinity Series full-time for Kaulig Racing when the Peter Adderton effect via his MobileX backing with RCR still remains strong by asking his Triple 8 replacement & former Erebus driver Will Brown to take his place at Sonoma, which is really good news.

There’s still a long way to go for Brown if he wants to hold on both his Supercars championship hopes and the potential to win the Bathurst 1000 later this year but if he wishes to race in NASCAR full-time at some point, I’m sure he will be given the right steps like SVG in order to become the next Supercars convert to thrive in the US for the right organization. I hope Brodie can get things back on track but let’s hope this off-season saga won’t hold back his NASCAR ambitions too much.

While we saw a number of Supercars drivers plying their trade in the US initially on a part-time basis including Cam Waters lately at Truck Series level for ThorSport Racing, here’s another SpeedSeries related link that could see one of the major players end up in NASCAR in the years to come if the sport is able to roll out the hybrid element to its race cars. Enter Hyundai into the fold who has a great history of motorsport over the last few years such as the World Rally Championship as well as touring cars that extends to SpeedSeries here via TCR Australia. Now the negotiations haven’t even started yet but Ed Laukes is saying this who used to be a senior executive for Toyota in North America & is a consultant for Joe Gibbs Racing.

I can imagine though with Hyundai’s modern approach to their motorsports program, they could really be a success in NASCAR by having a Sonata sedan onboard in Cup and Xfinity level while they can use the Santa Cruz pick up truck in the Truck Series if they like. Usually a team with manufacturer backing requires 3-4 cars but Trackhouse, Spire or Stewart-Haas potentially partnering up with Front Row would be the perfect landing spots should Hyundai’s desire to join the sport is serious. It’s still early days as we still have three makes currently on track (Toyota, Ford and Chevy) but the manufacturer talk isn’t going away anytime soon with the hope of a fourth one or even a fifth coming in to turn left sooner rather than later.

May 8, 2024 0 comment