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NASCAR Shoutouts after the 2024 season-finale: Chris Buescher the best non-Playoffs driver outside the Top 16 Points, more farewells & a few exciting things to look out for going into 2025

by Sports Benches

And now we roll off with the shoutouts for the final time in season 2024 aside from yet another Team Penske season where Joey Logano got his 3rd Drivers’ Championship there for the Blue Oval Ford as we start with Chris Buescher. Shoutout to Buescher as the best non-Playoffs driver of 2024 after he came home 9th in the No.17 Ford for RFK Racing. Who knows what he could do next year? When Kroger is expected to be onboard soon & he and Brad Keselowski will be able to see their team add a 3rd chartered car imminently.

So does Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford) after they finished their last race as a whole team together with No.10’s Noah Gragson being their best driver of the day in 12th. I know he’s already signed up to Front Row Motorsports next year but we’ll have to wait and see what happens since FRM has been in a court yard fight alongside 23XI Racing with the sport lately re. charters.

Don’t forget Harrison Burton over in 16th even though he wasn’t the best for Wood Brothers Ford over these last three years but still made his first and the team’s 100th win come true at Daytona’s summer race. Although Wood Brothers will be in good hands with a handy racer in Josh Berry next year, but there’s more to come from Harrison when he will step back at Xfinity level with another Ford outfit at AM Racing – wishing him the very best of luck.

Then we look at the 2017 Cup champ Martin Truex Jr. who also competed his last race as a full-time driver. Now he may not have been able to convert into a race win from pole, but still one of the best racers to watch including the last decade over the best of Toyota Cup teams. 

Going down a position in 18th, how about also the best rookie on show Carson Hocevar in the No.77 Chevy for Spire Motorsports? He’s got a bright future ahead straight out of Trucks, especially with Spire growing more and more every race weekend alongside Justin Haley in the 7 — and they’ll soon be joined by veteran Michael McDowell in the 71 next season after his decorated seven-year stint with Ford’s Front Row Motorsports.

And if that’s not enough, how about we give a big shoutout to Australia’s own Leigh Diffey, who now calls America home & also recently became NBC’s lead NASCAR race commentator at least for Cup. We continue to see and hear the best of Leigh at the highest of racing levels whether if it’s Motorsport or Athletics/Track and Field as sure there will be more memorable NASCAR calls by the Diff going into next year and beyond. Well done Leigh & have a well-deserved break.

Yes, we’ve also heard the best of Rick Allen over the past decade up until late August before Leigh took over, having called the Xfinity season-finale race live the other day for The CW under NBC’s production. But again, we thank him for what he’s done as wishing him good luck wherever he ends up next season.

So there we have it, the 2024 NASCAR season is finally over after 36 points races plus two extra weeks of non-points fun and excitement. We cannot wait to go all over again for season 2025 under a new TV rights contract with a huge focus on the streaming part as it rolls on. For now, your champion is Joey Logano for the 3rd time after he fended off Blaney that justified another glorious Team Penske moment with another silverware yet again. 

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NASCAR Race Today: Another Chevy day this time with a different non-Playoffs driver by Ross Chastain at Kansas for Team Trackhouse

by Sports Benches

It’s been another Chevy day but also another non-Playoffs winner’s day this time by Ross Chastain (No.1 Chevy Camaro for Trackhouse) at Kansas Speedway. 

We haven’t heard much from him other than slow and steady starts earlier on but he wasn’t far from the Top 10 before the start of Stage 3 thanks to a number of yellows where things went his way such as his long-run form that got what he wanted at the end of the day including that winning move on Kyle Busch (No.8 Chevy for Richard Childress Racing) with 67 laps to go (out of 267). He does look like and race like a champion indeed as proven many times before having won the season finale race event at Phoenix last time around almost a year ago despite not being eligible for the Championship 4 but his next big opportunity will have to be in 2025 that provided he can win at least one regular event race or always be Top 10 for the first 25 + races.

Not only Chastain was outstanding, there was another non-playoffs driver who also had a great day too in none other than Martin Truex Jr (No.19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing). He always kept a great eye on the front runners thanks to his excellent start from 19th to 8th (both in Stages 1 & 2) & then 3rd behind Hendrick Motorsports’s William Byron. If it wasn’t for that speeding penalty, MTJ would’ve still been in the Playoffs hunt. All we could say that he’s doing the best he can to finish off his full-time Cup record on a high going into October & early November.

Who else? Reigning champion Ryan Blaney was the best lone Ford driver out there  to post a Top 10 after he finished 4th in the No.12 Ford Mustang for Team Penske. Meanwhile at the Spire Motorsports Chevy hub, Zane Smith also had a wonderful afternoon in the No.71 team thanks to his brilliant Stage 3 improvements after he finished 10th. 

Sure he won’t be short of suitors when it comes to Zane’s next Cup ride for 2025 as he’s getting there on-track with time & patience, so he can prove Trackhouse wrong at an organisation that he didn’t even race for them – not even once despite being under contract at the time until his mutual release a few weeks ago.

And last but not least, Corey LaJoie in 15th this time in the No.51 Ford for Rick Ware Racing since that recent driver swap last week, with Justin Haley going the other way into his now former spot at Spire – which is the No.7 team. He too is happy with the race car as reflected earlier during Stage 2 when he was in 20th at the time and as you can see with the Stage 3 yellows, Corey gained some more track position on his first race here for RWR. 

Yeah, things aren’t the same anymore when Spire chose to do things differently for next year by luring Haley back at this bright race shop. But we know he’s good at growing small teams with his experienced track record at Cup level & no doubt he will continue to help make more memories for Rick & Lisa Ware — even a first race win would be nice too for everyone working there including Corey himself.

Two more chances now for those Top 12 Playoff drivers still in the hunt as we’re going back on the high line in Talladega once again for the YellaWood 500 at 5am AEDT next Monday.

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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: Thoughts on Zane Smith being released by Trackhouse as they’re now closer to fulfilling Shane Van Gisbergen’s Cup dream for their proposed 3rd Cup ride next season

by Sports Benches

Earlier this morning our time, Zane Smith confirmed to everyone that he won’t be the one who will be getting the newly-created 3rd Cup ride next season for Trackhouse. Instead, they’ve mutually agreed to part ways at season’s end with the No.7 vacant Spire seat is expected to go to Justin Haley while his current No.71 Spire seat for 2025 has already been taken by Michael McDowell earlier this year & Trackhouse doesn’t have any room left to keep him. 

As per proposed charter rules from 2025-2031 coinciding with the next TV rights contract, every full-time Cup teams other than Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing are capped up to three owned charters each rather than four.

Not even going to another Chevy satellite Cup team under loan would make any difference to change their mind when Trackhouse currently has Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez and New Zealand’s Shane Van Gisbergen, with Connor Zilisch being eyed as one of their young drivers for the future who will be racing for JR Motorsports next year at Xfinity level.

If Smith was to get to another ride since he’s set to become a free agent just after one year into a multi-year deal, it looks he will be coming back to Front Row Motorsports’s Cup program in McDowell’s place of the No.34 or even the newly-created 3rd car (probably the No.36) where Noah Gragson might be slotted in the No.34 car in place of McDowell.

Yes, some say he would need to drop down to Xfinity since his race results straight out from Trucks to Cup this season hasn’t been good for the most part. But he has finished well on some occasions before though so surely he will get some more Cup time at another team, which is likely to be a return to Front Row Motorsports – the team where he won a Truck Series championship back in 2022.

It’s been a real bugger for Smith to be let go by Trackhouse as I would’ve personally kept him for that 3rd Cup car while SVG should get at least one more full season of Xfinity before he steps up. But again, SVG has been a proven Supercars champion before including his immediate impact initially on a part-time basis to NASCAR last year and it would be bad decision if Trackhouse simply ignored someone who wants to fast-track his way into Cup every week like SVG. 

Why throw away that promise to someone who loves batting upfront in Australia when he wants to achieve so lot more in the US that would mean more Supercars drivers inspired to race NASCARs there & in turn add significant exposure to our Supercars competition here? I would understand that from an Australian Motorsport fans’ perspective so we can boost our NASCAR profile here even more, having seen a few regulars race in the US at least on a road course over the last 12 months – such as Brodie Kostecki at Indianapolis (Roval) last year, as well as Cameron Waters & Will Brown this year.

Despite needing more time to make a full on impact when it comes to Zane Smith’s long-term Cup goals, let’s hope he will keep on churning some good results no matter happens like that rare P2 finish at Nashville two months ago & also his P7 run earlier this week at the rain-delayed Michigan event. Wishing him the best of luck wherever he ends as sure he won’t be short of suitors next season.

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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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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

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.

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NASCAR News Today: Thoughts on Spire Motorsports decided to move on from Corey LaJoie next season in the No.7 Chevy team

by Sports Benches

Earlier today, Spire Motorsports have decided to go its separate ways from Corey LaJoie ahead of the 2025 season.

There will be completely new face in the No.7 Chevy Camaro with Rodney Childers coming over from Stewart-Haas Racing (soon to be shut down & replaced by just Haas as a single car team) as crew chief while Ryan Sparks will be promoted within Spire as competition director.

It’s been a kind of surprise considering LaJoie has helped Spire so much with some occasional success up front since he and Ryan first jumped over from the then GO FAS Racing organization at the start of 2021. I’m sure the job isn’t done just yet with a few more regular season rounds to go after the two-week Olympics break resuming in mid-August but then that’s it once the actual Cup season ends in early November. 

So yes, it’s not going to be the same with LaJoie in the No.7 next year but do understand where Spire wants to go competitively off the back of their recent big investments, and they’d like to have all three Cup teams racing at least Top 10-15 including 1-2 race wins every weekend.

We hope that LaJoie will get another good Cup ride somewhere like Kaulig Racing where they too have struggled with a full-time driver at times in the No.16 Chevy since AJ Allmendinger returned to racing Xfinity this year, and he’d be the perfect fit to get themselves back on track. 

Again, they’re another serious organization, who made a name for themselves at Xfinity level, before Kaulig later expanded into Cup level full-time two years ago thanks to the current Next Gen chassis.

Who’s going to be replacing LaJoie? Easy to say Zane Smith but then he’s largely inconsistent so far this season by surprise other than the rare 2nd placed finish last month at Nashville. Looks like they will use their financial muscle to poach Justin Haley away from Rick Ware Racing, even though he’s committed to them right now.

It would be a huge loss from RWR to lose Haley only after one season but if that happens should Spire pay them money Rick & Lisa can’t refuse, then they can always rely on the experienced Ryan Preece who is also on the lookout for another ride with Stewart-Haas also set to shutdown at season’s end. 

Now his time there also may be inconsistent since SHR is no longer on the same level as Team Penske, but he is someone who always had success in the lower tier series – even if it’s through part-time rides like Xfinity, Trucks and even modified cars as well.

For now, we wish Corey all the best in his next move and whoever takes him onboard will give his 100% best that would hopefully prove doubters wrong.

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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

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.

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Motorsport

Motorsport News, Spire Motorsports make another big splash in NASCAR this time buying Kyle Busch Motorsports’s Truck Series team & its engineering assets

by Sports Benches

Image Reference: Zach Catanzareti via Wikipedia, CC BY 2.0

Spire Motorsports have made another big investment today and this time they have purchased all of Kyle Busch Motorsports’s Truck Series team including its race shop/facilities and Industrial engineering division for $25 million. Kyle Busch himself has confirmed it while Spire will be provide more information about their transaction of KBM this Saturday at 10.30am ET during the Fall Talladega race weekend.

What does that mean going forward? They would field up to 2-3 full-time cars where 1-2 of them will be racing for the whole season while the other would feature multiple drivers which could include Kyle Busch. Although it seems that Kyle would fully focus driving the No.8 Chevy Camaro at Cup level for Richard Childress Racing as well as spending more time with his son Brexton.

So at some point we will get to see Kyle race a full season of Trucks to try win a championship there? Yes, let’s hope so as sure Spire would let him fulfil his wish where they’ve got a great business relationship together. Then after that, he can pass it on to Brexton once he’s 18-19, who also signed a big contact with RCR at the same time they hired his dad from Joe Gibbs Racing  (which is a Toyota team) during the announcement a year ago.

Image Reference: Zach Catanzareti via Wikipedia, CC BY 2.0

For now, we could see Spire set its own ladder from Trucks to Cup level where one of their next full-time Truck drivers would go on & drive for any of the three Cup cars in about three years time. We don’t know who might it be but I guess one will be a youngster and another experience in the form of Marco Andretti with thanks to the Gainbridge $$$ backing.

With that being said, I think Spire would be content running three cars after 2024 while keeping all three charters. So for teams like Trackhouse, they would have to buy one of the charters out from Stewart-Haas Racing which is the going to be the No.41 whereas the other No.10 charter would go to Richard Childress Racing & set up a 3rd full-time Cup car there for Austin Hill. Then for Stewart-Haas’s end, they would be happy to settle just running two cars (No.4 & No.14) while looking to run Chevys again once the existing Ford contract expires after the 2024 season.

Image Reference: TaurusEmerald via Wikipedia, CC BY 4.0 International

It’s a crazy and expensive market but Spire is no stranger in making big investments as we hope we can see the next step of Spire being at their best on the race track sooner rather than later. Plus, we thank Kyle Busch for everything at Trucks level mainly as a team owner that led to so many of his young drivers honing their craft that led to wins and championships before they go on & race at the highest levels, while he too can also win Truck races himself from time to time where he hopes to keep on doing it with Spire next year before looking to race a full season there for the championship at some point.

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