Auto Racing Digest

2024 Speedweeks hasn’t gone on without a hitch, to say the least.

After two straight days of clear skies and full days of NASCAR competition, the past two days have been washed out due to uncooperative weather, resulting in a Monday doubleheader featuring the season-opening races for the Xfinity and Cup Series.

Weather permitting, that is!

The races will feature an 11 a.m. ET start time for the Xfinity Series and a 4 p.m. ET start time for the 66th running of the Daytona 500.

While the races won’t commence until Monday, there is still a lot of excitement and intrigue, especially leading up to the 500, which will have a few keys to keep an eye on.

Manufacturer Superiority

Leading up to the week, the question of which manufacturer would be the strongest was one of the talking points even going into Monday's rescheduled Great American Race.

Obviously, Chevy brings strength in numbers, and Ford has always had fast entries on the grid, but the Toyota triumph that we saw in both Duels on Thursday presents the wonder of how Toyota may blend into this battle for the Harley J. Earl Trophy.

There is no denying the speed that Toyota has brought to tracks such as Daytona or Talladega, winning three 500s with Denny Hamlin. But since the introduction of the Next Gen car, Toyota’s pace hasn’t been consistent.

However, with the addition of another team to the Toyota family in Legacy Motor Club, there is a chance that a Toyota could be celebrating the 500 in victory lane for the first time since 2020.

The addition of Legacy to the Toyota camp is a big deal in more ways than one.

It provides extra support for the top teams, such as Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing, even if the team doesn’t have any affiliation with the established Toyota groups, and gives Toyota more resources when it comes to the draft.

However, this can also be the downfall.

Not having affiliation with with the other Toyota teams makes Legacy a group of their own, even with the same manufacturer, and after seeing the pit incident with the Toyotas and Truex Jr. in Duel 1 on Thursday, being on the same page will be interesting.

Nevertheless, regardless of affiliation between manufacturer and teams, the chance to win the 500 will make this race more of a driver-minded event, potentially throwing out the door the chance for manufacturers working together.

Never say never.

Every year, there is always a wonder as to who may be that one driver who could surprise and win the Great American Race.

It is what makes this race special, but it is also what makes this race what it is, which is open to anyone.

Last season, we saw Ricky Stenhouse Jr. play the underdog roll and win the Daytona 500, while Michael McDowell took home the 2021 500 in a fiery explosion, leading to a caution-swarmed finish. And there was Austin Cindric, who won the 2022 Daytona 500.

There is no shortage of unlikely winners based on previous finishes, but it brings up who can be that underdog story this season.

In terms of open entries, Jimmie Johnson wouldn’t be a surprise winner given his speed and obvious success in NASCAR -- including two wins in the Daytona 500 during his time with Hendrick Motorsports -- but Anthony Alfredo put together a really solid qualifying run on Wednesday that could make Alfredo and Beard Motorsports an unlikely tandem to win.

Others on the radar could also be Kaz Grala in the #36 Front Row Motorsports entry and the #60 RFK Racing entry of David Ragan, both fielding potentially strong superspeedway Ford teams. And keep your eyes on Spire Motorsports' Corey LaJoie.

In regard to chartered teams, there may not be as many surprise winners that can jump out, but Rick Ware Racing, Kaulig Racing, and Spire Motorsports all have shown speed at points even this week, with Riley Herbst in the #15 running very well in qualifying.

We could always see a young gun rookie grab a win, such as Josh Berry or even Zane Smith, similar to what Cindric did in 2022. But with only four rookies, the potential of it happening may be slimmer.

Regardless, just thinking about the potential of an underdog story prevailing at Daytona for the fourth straight year adds to the hype and excitement that this race brings, along with the uncertainty.

It will be double duty for A.J. Allmendinger this weekend at Daytona.

In fact, it will be the first of many double duty weekends this year for the Kaulig Racing driver. This weekend, like many more to come this year, Allmendinder will be behind the wheel of the No. 16 CELSIUS energy drink Chevrolet in both Saturday’s Xfinity Series race and Sunday’s 66th running of the Daytona 500.

But unlike last year, Allmendinger will run only a partial Cup Series schedule this year. His main focus will be the Xfinity Series, where he will run all 33 races for Kaulig and compete for the title.

On the Cup side of things, Allmendinger expects to run “anywhere from 12-15 races” this year, with Josh Williams and former Australian SuperCars champ (and winner of last year's debut Cup race on the streets of downtown Chicago) Shane Van Gisbergen picking up the remainder of the races. While Allmendinger would have preferred to stay in Cup full-time, he accepted the decision out of loyalty to his team.

“I made no bones about it, if I had a choice, I wanted to stay in Cup,” Allmendinger, who starts 28th Sunday, said in an interview with Auto Racing Digest. “But my allegiance is with Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice and all the men and women here at Kaulig Racing. Whatever they want me to do, I am very fortunate and very lucky that they still want me to drive their race cars.

“I’ve always told them ‘whatever you want me to do, I’m willing to do.’ There’s no secret, the motto of Matt Kaulig and Kaulig Racing is ‘trophy hunting’ and in the Xfinity Series we have equipment that can win races and win a championship. That’s what our ultimate goal is.”

But there was one race Allmendinger wanted to make sure was on his 2024 Cup schedule.

“It’s the Daytona 500,” Allmendinger said. “ It’s the biggest race that we have in the sport. It’s the pinnacle. You can use all the adjectives you want. But you have an opportunity to win this race and become part of an iconic list of drivers and you become a legend.

“Not doing the Cup Series full-time this year, (the Daytona 500) is a race I told Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice that I have to be in. That’s how important that this race is. I want an opportunity to go and try to win this race and be part of that list.”

Hunting for the champion’s trophy

Allmendinger has won twice in the NASCAR Cup Series for Kaulig, but in the Xfinity Series, his numbers are far more impressive.

Since joining Kaulig in 2019, Allmendinger has scored 15 race wins, 10 pole positions, 47 top-five finishes and 65 top-tens in the Xfinity Series. He also was credited with the regular season championships in 2021 and 2022.

So, does Allmendinger think he can finally win a NASCAR title for Kaulig in 2024?

“We can for sure,” Allmendinger said. “I feel like since 2019, when I became part of this organization we have had flows during the season of being really good and then where we struggle a little bit. I will always say that when we’re at our best, nobody can beat us.

"I think we’re the elite team to beat. I do feel like when we’re not at our peak, we’re a little bit off compared to Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas and JR Motorsports.

“That’s the ultimate goal through the process of the season, to try to make our weaknesses better and be contending every race. The regular season championships the last two years that we’ve been full-time have been amazing and the way these championships work in NASCAR now, it’s down to one race. You can win 32 out of 33 races and if you don’t beat the three right drivers in that final race, you don’t win the championship.

“The ultimate goal is always the championship. That’s what our long-term goal is. But for me, I always look at the process. If we can go out and win 8-10 races during the year, no matter what happens at Phoenix it’s a great year. But we have to get to Phoenix first, and the easiest way to do that is win a lot of races during the year.”

A first championship for all parties involved

If Allmendinger is able to win the Xfinity Series championship this year, it would not only be the first for himself, but also the first for Kaulig. Since joining the team six years ago, Allmendinger has been instrumental in its growth.

“Why I love Kaulig Racing, part of it is that I’ve always enjoyed being part of the growth (of the team) like that,” Allmendinger said. “You come into something established, it’s like when I drove for Team Penske, you just want to be a small part of that team and be a little successful just to be a part of that. But when you can be part of a brand that may not be as well-known but then starts to grow and being a huge part of it now makes it very enjoyable for myself.“

Additionally, Allmendinger has been able to give CELSIUS their first wins in both Xfinity and Cup Series competition as a sponsor. Their involvement in motorsports has also grown over the past few years, growing to the point where the energy drink brand just announced a multi-year sponsorship of Scuderia Ferrari in Formula One.

Allmendinger, a former open-wheel racer himself, was open to the idea of his sponsor using cross-promotion between both series.

“I mean, if they want to fly me to Monaco, I’m not racing the 600 this year, so If they need me in Monaco to hang out there and promote some things, I’m willing to do that,” Allmendinger said with a laugh. “It will be very fun to see where the partnership grows to and all the different types of things we can do.”

It will be double duty for A.J. Allmendinger this weekend at Daytona.

In fact, it will be the first of many double duty weekends this year for the Kaulig Racing driver. This weekend, like many more to come this year, Allmendinder will be behind the wheel of the No. 16 CELSIUS energy drink Chevrolet in both Saturday’s Xfinity Series race and Sunday’s 66th running of the Daytona 500.

But unlike last year, Allmendinger will run only a partial Cup Series schedule this year. His main focus will be the Xfinity Series, where he will run all 33 races for Kaulig and compete for the title.

On the Cup side of things, Allmendinger expects to run “anywhere from 12-15 races” this year, with Josh Williams and former Australian SuperCars champ (and winner of last year's debut Cup race on the streets of downtown Chicago) Shane Van Gisbergen picking up the remainder of the races. While Allmendinger would have preferred to stay in Cup full-time, he accepted the decision out of loyalty to his team.

“I made no bones about it, if I had a choice, I wanted to stay in Cup,” Allmendinger, who starts 28th Sunday, said in an interview with Auto Racing Digest. “But my allegiance is with Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice and all the men and women here at Kaulig Racing. Whatever they want me to do, I am very fortunate and very lucky that they still want me to drive their race cars.

“I’ve always told them ‘whatever you want me to do, I’m willing to do.’ There’s no secret, the motto of Matt Kaulig and Kaulig Racing is ‘trophy hunting’ and in the Xfinity Series we have equipment that can win races and win a championship. That’s what our ultimate goal is.”

But there was one race Allmendinger wanted to make sure was on his 2024 Cup schedule.

“It’s the Daytona 500,” Allmendinger said. “ It’s the biggest race that we have in the sport. It’s the pinnacle. You can use all the adjectives you want. But you have an opportunity to win this race and become part of an iconic list of drivers and you become a legend.

“Not doing the Cup Series full-time this year, (the Daytona 500) is a race I told Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice that I have to be in. That’s how important that this race is. I want an opportunity to go and try to win this race and be part of that list.”

Hunting for the champion’s trophy

Allmendinger has won twice in the NASCAR Cup Series for Kaulig, but in the Xfinity Series, his numbers are far more impressive.

Since joining Kaulig in 2019, Allmendinger has scored 15 race wins, 10 pole positions, 47 top-five finishes and 65 top-tens in the Xfinity Series. He also was credited with the regular season championships in 2021 and 2022.

So, does Allmendinger think he can finally win a NASCAR title for Kaulig in 2024?

“We can for sure,” Allmendinger said. “I feel like since 2019, when I became part of this organization we have had flows during the season of being really good and then where we struggle a little bit. I will always say that when we’re at our best, nobody can beat us.

"I think we’re the elite team to beat. I do feel like when we’re not at our peak, we’re a little bit off compared to Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas and JR Motorsports.

“That’s the ultimate goal through the process of the season, to try to make our weaknesses better and be contending every race. The regular season championships the last two years that we’ve been full-time have been amazing and the way these championships work in NASCAR now, it’s down to one race. You can win 32 out of 33 races and if you don’t beat the three right drivers in that final race, you don’t win the championship.

“The ultimate goal is always the championship. That’s what our long-term goal is. But for me, I always look at the process. If we can go out and win 8-10 races during the year, no matter what happens at Phoenix it’s a great year. But we have to get to Phoenix first, and the easiest way to do that is win a lot of races during the year.”

A first championship for all parties involved

If Allmendinger is able to win the Xfinity Series championship this year, it would not only be the first for himself, but also the first for Kaulig. Since joining the team six years ago, Allmendinger has been instrumental in its growth.

“Why I love Kaulig Racing, part of it is that I’ve always enjoyed being part of the growth (of the team) like that,” Allmendinger said. “You come into something established, it’s like when I drove for Team Penske, you just want to be a small part of that team and be a little successful just to be a part of that. But when you can be part of a brand that may not be as well-known but then starts to grow and being a huge part of it now makes it very enjoyable for myself.“

Additionally, Allmendinger has been able to give CELSIUS their first wins in both Xfinity and Cup Series competition as a sponsor. Their involvement in motorsports has also grown over the past few years, growing to the point where the energy drink brand just announced a multi-year sponsorship of Scuderia Ferrari in Formula One.

Allmendinger, a former open-wheel racer himself, was open to the idea of his sponsor using cross-promotion between both series.

“I mean, if they want to fly me to Monaco, I’m not racing the 600 this year, so If they need me in Monaco to hang out there and promote some things, I’m willing to do that,” Allmendinger said with a laugh. “It will be very fun to see where the partnership grows to and all the different types of things we can do.”

Michael McDowell may be one of the more diverse drivers in the NASCAR field leading up to the official start of the 2024 season.

The NASCAR veteran has seen it all in his career, but over the past few seasons, he has been riding in a great spot with Front Row Motorsports, bringing the team two wins over the past three seasons -- including the 2021 Daytona 500 -- and new life.

“Yeah, it's definitely the start of it,” McDowell told AutoRacingDigest.com in an exclusive interview. “I mean, there's way more to it and it would take me an hour to break it down, but I'll give you a real quick snapshot.

"We've always had good people and we were getting better and better as an organization with people and with our processes and procedures. Then COVID happens and then they lock down development, so you can't build any new parts and pieces. You can't develop any new sway bars or clips or anything new and fancy.

"And then we had time to sort of regroup and catch up a little bit because the big teams were always developing the latest and greatest, newest thing. Well, if you remember the Next Gen car was supposed to come out in 2021, not 2022. It got delayed a year due to COVID. So, there was a spending freeze. There was a parts freeze. There was a development freeze. That's what let us to kind of catch up to the competition a little bit and then we got a brand-new car and everybody's back to square one.

"And then we've been able to kind of stay with it. So those factors are what really allowed us to close the gap to the competition. And lots of hard work and lots of changes over the years. But those two years is what kind of reset us to be able to contend with the bigger teams.”

Last season would end up being a career season for McDowell, but the journey to get to being one of the contending drivers in NASCAR has been a striving one for the Arizona-born 39-year-old.

“Yeah, for sure,” says McDowell. “When I first got into NASCAR, for me it was a little bit of a starting over and I was really fortunate to have good advice from Scott Pruett and Boris Said and guys like that, that had already done what I was trying to do. They had already gone from IndyCar or sports cars to NASCAR and the common thing that those guys are telling me is you have to go and not be a road racer.

"Like you can't enter as a road racer. You have to go and do what they do and run the short tracks and do it the right way and come up because it's so hard to learn that style of racing and it really was. It was a hard transition. I came in when (Jacques) Villeneuve came in and (Dario) Franchitti came in and Patrick Carpentier was coming in and Juan Pablo Montoya was coming in and there was all these guys kind of transitioning at the time, and Scott Speed, AJ Allmendinger and others.

"There were a lot of guys kind of transitioning in and it just shows how hard it is and how challenging it is. I mean, Franchitti's world-class, an unbelievable driver. But, without doing that path where you really learn the short tracks and kind of the grassroots, it's hard to just jump in an Xfinity car and be switched on. So, I do think that it was a bit of a learning curve.

"When I got into the ARCA series, I felt like, 'Oh, this is going to be easy. I can do this.' And then when I got in the Cup Series, it was a lot of humble pie. It's just so challenging at this level. But I really feel like this Next Gen has helped me out a ton. Not that I wasn't good in the other car, it was more of not having the equipment I needed to run where we run now.

"So the Next Gen car did two things: It really leveled the playing field so small teams could contend and really. it's very similar to sports car racing and the idea of the platform of the chassis and parts and pieces and all that when I was running it in prototypes, Daytona prototypes.

"The cars drive more like a sports car now than they did back then. So that helped a little bit, but you know getting the same equipment and having the same parts and pieces was a big part of helping us get to that next level.”

Michael McDowell hopes to earn his 2nd Daytona 500 win in the last four years. Starting on the outside of the front row for Sunday's race (weather permitting), he has a very good chance of doing just that. Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

McDowell’s background will always be credited to his roots in road racing, whether that be open-wheeled or four-fender cars. But the connections he has made in his career have compared in success, such as the likes of Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron, both of whom have ties with the 2021 500 Champion.

"It was really two parts to that," McDowell said. "You know not my first, but Felipe’s first 24 Hours was really his first race I believe in a sports car. He had a scholarship program through, I believe at the time Sunoco, and came over and did the 24 hours with me and we ended up getting on the podium that 24 Hour, the first one out-of-the-box.

"So, I've always paid really close attention to his career. Obviously, he went on to Formula One and then came back and all those things. But, I stayed in contact with him and have seen him throughout the years. But you know, Dane Cameron, his father Ricky Cameron was my engineer for several years and his uncle, Steve, was the team manager of Finland Motorsports when I drove sports cars.

"So that family's just been a big part of my career and helping really launch my career. So you know, Dane was a little kid when I got started with his dad and with his uncle and he wasn’t even racing go-karts yet, he wasn't old enough. So, I'm aging myself (he said with a laugh). But just to see Dane and Felipe get that monumental win, obviously a Rolex 24 is a huge win. It definitely was exciting and fun, but it is hard for me to watch. It is just like any of those races that you have on your bucket list.

"I've done it, I think, six or seven times and I have been on the podium, but you know haven't won the overall in the 24 being so close. I would love to have more opportunities at it. But you know as your career goes on and things happen, it just hasn’t worked out. But I'm hoping that whenever my NASCAR run is over, I'll have an opportunity to go back to sports car racing because I love it. I love the different tracks and just the challenges and intermingling and classes and traffic and how hard that is to navigate.

"And it's so different now too. I mean it's so different. The GTD and GTD Pro and the LMP2 guys. It's not like the old days where guys get out of the way and they are making room. Those guys are battling so hard for their own classes that it really makes traffic a challenge. So, it's fun to watch. The cars are great. It's just good to see the series strong and obviously with the international splash of being able to take those cars and run them in WEC and run them at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a big deal, because in years past when I ran Daytona prototypes, it was just in IMSA. There really wasn't anything else you could do with that car. So, I'm glad to see that sports car racing as a whole is healthy and doing good.”

McDowell’s racing pedigree obviously features a long list of racing legends as mentors but the win at the Daytona 500 became what would make the veteran a legend himself at hallowed banks at Daytona.

In a race that was filled with drama and suspense, McDowell had studied how things would potentially play out in the race.

“We had weather," McDowell said, similar to what may be on tap for Sunday's Daytona 500. "So the race started, and then I think it was delayed when it started. Then we had another big rain shower. And I mean tons of rain. I was like, 'There's no way we're going to go back racing again.'

"I've sort of learned over the years that you just want to stay locked in, like you're gonna race mentally, and also to like hydration and all that stuff because the bottom line is that I wouldn't do on Monday what I do on Sunday for the race cars. How you prepare and how much you drink and all the supplements and all the stuff that you're taking. So just staying locked in, not allowing too many distractions. I don't go back to the bus. I go back to the hauler and I just kind of stay in that race mode because if I go back to the bus, my wife and my kids are there and for me I'm just staying locked in until they call it and say we're not going to go racing.

"I just stay prepared like we're going to go racing and one thing that I do is being that we had some lapse there is go back, study data, study film and see if anybody did anything new or cool that you can learn from. I just kind of stay locked in. That was definitely a long night and right before the rain came, there was a big crash and we were in it a little bit and we had some damage and so that was the thing is we were looking at the damage, looking at pictures, looking at videos, figuring all right: How bad is it? Can we fix it when we go back green? Because obviously, you're gonna have a pit stop and so the car obviously wasn't too bad. And some of the damage that we had was probably good damage and a decent spot.

"So yeah we kind of knew that if we got back rolling again that we were in a good spot and Daytona for me has been a strong track, not just the win, but you know, I don't know exactly the stats -- I probably should -- but I would say I'm probably in the top five in the top 10 categories over the last five to seven years of how many top tens we've scored there. So, it wasn't so much a fluke for us. It was more of a building of like, we ran 6th and then we ran 4th and then we ran 5th and then we ran 3rd and being sort of always in that picture, but just never able to get those last few spots.

"So, when we were getting down to five to go and I was running 5th and I was like, “Oh, I did not want to be 3rd, 4th, 5th.' And so, luckily Brad (Keselowski) and I were able to make a move to kind of jump a row of cars there and get into that second and third spot, and once I was in that third spot, I really felt like I was in the right spot. I felt like I knew I was going to wait until the white flag. I have studied Joey (Logano) and Brad so much, I just knew exactly what they were going to do.

"And I'm not saying that to be cocky or arrogant, but there's four or five guys that I've studied really, really hard at Daytona and superspeedways and it's Denny (Hamlin), Joey (and others). Those are the guys that I study all the time because they're the best at it. I mean, Brad's won like seven or nine times at Talladega. And Joey is always in contention to win those races, and I’ll throw (Ryan) Blaney in that mix too, but this was prior to Blaney really breaking out in superspeedway racing. Those were the guys that I would study. And I just knew that I was in the right spot.

"So the hard part in superspeedway racing is getting into that spot, maintaining it, and not having anything happen leading up to it. So yeah, it all worked out.”

For McDowell though his love and passion for racing in sports cars is still there.

Even once his NASCAR days are done, McDowell said he would love to be back racing in the style of racing that has provided him so much to his career, even citing his desire to race at Le Mans.

But for the two-time Cup Series winner, 2024 is looking like a season of checking off the list of accomplishments, starting with his impressive qualifying finish at Daytona ... or as you might say, he's starting on the front row for Front Row.

Chase Elliott recently sat down with AutoRacingDigest.com's Christopher Everidge to discuss many aspects of his 2024 season at Hendrick Motorsports and the challenges that may come with it.

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The 2023 season for Chase Elliott came with many challenges that the Hendrick Motorsports driver had not previously faced in his NASCAR Cup series career, outlined by the absence of multiple races and the failure to make the 2023 playoffs.

But that's all in the rearview mirror. Elliott believes 2024 will be a completely different story that aligns more with his 2020 championship season. Let's find out why in this question-and-answer repartee with the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott.

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ARD) To kick things off just like we will in Daytona this weekend, Chase is one of the most successful drivers to not win the Daytona 500. He had the following to say about putting his name on that list with many of the greats this weekend.

Chas Elliott: "I'd love to win like everyone else! It would be a great way to start the season. It's a big event, a meaningful one in NASCAR. I think like most people, it's a race that's really hard to win, with a lot out of your control. There's a lot of guys who have been trying for a long time. It would be great to end your career and say you won that race [Daytona 500] and check that box. I would certainly love to do it."

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ARD) Something that may have gotten lost in the offseason silliness was quite an important change for the No. 9 team in the personnel department. With Eddie D'Hondt moving to Stewart-Haas Racing, Elliott's team needed to replace its long-term spotter. That change could be pretty smooth though, considering Trey Poole will spot for Elliott in 2024, has spotted him before and is the driver's cousin. This is what Chase had to say about his 2024 spotter change.

CE: " I think he's going to do a good job. He did a good job at the Clash last weekend, we worked together quite a bit throughout my career in other forms of racing like short tracks, and has done some NASCAR stuff with me here and there. He's got more experience than I think people realize and he has been familiar with our team and how we operate. The speedway stuff may be a greater challenge and he hasn't done much plate racing spotting, but I think he will adapt quickly. We have the duel Thursday night to help prepare, but I think with all those things combined, we will be ready!"

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ARD) We asked Elliott his thoughts on the schedule change that happened over the offseason that tweaked many aspects of the 2024 calendar, including the playoffs, and the potential challenges that come from that. With a new schedule that comes with different runs of tracks, Chase was asked if this calendar comes with any new challenges.

CE: "Yes, the schedule has changed a little bit but I don't think it changes how you prepare, to be honest. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think it has changed enough to restructure how you go about your season."

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ARD) Chase was asked if he had any goals for the 2024 season that weren't based on any number or stat, just personally. Here's what he had to say:

CE: "My goal this year and what is the goal every year is to be a contender on a weekly basis and win. I'd love to win 15 races and get 15 poles like everyone else does, but to be satisfied I just want to be a contender each week. Whether the (racing) surface is brand new or 15 years old, I just want to show up with a shot."

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ARD: Contending on a weekly basis is something that Hendrick Motorsports does almost every year. Chase was asked about the improvements the teams have made behind the scenes to give their drivers a championship ride.

CE: " I've seen it first hand. They're always pushing, putting the cars on diets, to get things as light, as low, and far to the left as possible. I think they did a really good job at some of those fundamental items in the winter. That I have personally seen firsthand and as a team, we are in a good place. You always get through the winter and feel like you've done a great job but until you get that report card over the course of the first month, you really don't know where you stack up. We'll have to wait and see if we've done our homework as good as everyone else."

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ARD) It's apparent that HMS brings a solid car every year and according to Elliott, 2024 will be much of the same, if not better. But it's about the driver in the car, as well. With a couple of years down our belts with the next-gen car, Chase was asked what a driver could do in this car to gain an advantage, especially with the amount of parity we see in the sport now.

CE: "Everyone is shifting. It's hard to find an advantage. Everything matters, you can't have any weak areas, and a bad practice bleeds over into qualifying, which means you have a bad pit pick which means your pitstops are going to be slow all day long. Everything matters. With this car, it's more and more the same and harder to be different. It puts a lot of emphasis on the little details throughout the weekend and that's going to become even more relevant the more we become the same."

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ARD) Elliott was asked about the pressure he will face this year. Not only because of his status in the sport, but with missing the 2023 playoffs, as well as multiple races in 2023, talk about the pressure to come back with a "bounce back" season of sorts, to put 2023 behind him, and if he feels that pressure.

CE: "I just want to be, and we as a team just want to be, competitive each week and be contenders. We don't care about opinions or expectations outside of our room, our little office that we work in every week. That is the expectation that matters and that's really all we're focused on. It's just keeping things simple and being a contender and that's all we are worried about. If we're doing that the rest of the stuff will figure itself out."

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ARD) Finally, after mentioning the 2023 season plagued by injury, Chase reassured fans and viewers alike that he is 100% for the new season.

CE: " My shoulder after the Clash really felt better than I was anticipating. Anytime you have surgery, mobility is really a big deal, and the way you sit in those cars is a hard thing to recreate in physical therapy. Anytime you get into an environment you can't 100% recreate, you are a little unsure what that will feel like. But everything felt really good. The doctors all feel really good about it. My approach has been if they aren't worried about it then I'm not worried about it. They know way more than I do."

With all that being said, Elliott and HMS will be looking forward to a successful 2024, and a championship come the season finale in Phoenix. The work has been done in the offseason, and Chase feels more confident than ever for a successful year. AutoRacingDigest.com thanks Chase for his time in answering these questions.

The 2024 NASCAR season begins this weekend with the opening events for Cup, Xfinity and Trucks, including the 66th edition of the Great American Race, the sold-out Daytona 500.

AutoRacingDigest.com's schedule guru, Jay Wells, brings you this weekend's list of events, TV times and more. Enjoy!

MAIN REEL (1) (0:54)

Aspen, Colorado is known for several things: very wealthy residents, the Aspen Film Festival, lots of snow in the winter and world-class competitive and recreational skiing.

But this past weekend, Aspen added yet another element to its rich history with the F.A.T. Ice Race, the first time such a race of this nature to be held in North America.

With primary sponsorship to kick off the 50th anniversary for Mobil 1, the event featured nearly 50 specialty and rare race cars competed for prizes and trophies on a very slick and snowy track.

F.A.T. International is a lifestyle brand centered around motorsports, with the company’s home base in both France and Austria. The Aspen race, according to promotional material, featured “some of the world’s most exquisite cars racing on snow, embodying the spirit and excitement of the 1980s and 1990s Motorsport era.”

Mobil 1 Brand & Partnerships of North America Manager Ryan Allen explained why the event was so important to the brand, as well as serving as the kickoff for a year-long celebration of Mobil 1’s legacy not only as a motor oil brand for consumer cars, but also for its outstanding history in auto racing and all forms of motorsports.

“As part of our 50th (anniversary), we were looking for unique ways to share both our legacy and our future,” Allen said. “The team at F.A.T. International made short work of a tough question.

“We live for the love of driving, and we’re always eager to create memorable experiences for enthusiasts of all kinds. We (brought) some of the most legendary Mobil 1 cars into a totally new environment, unlike anything the world has seen, made possible by our products.

“This is truly a showcase of how far our brand has come over the past 50 years and how we’re looking to the future – from both a brand experience and product performance standpoint.”

The three-day event was contested primarily on the Tree Farm RFV in nearby Carondale, Colo., and featured both amateur and professional racers who showcased their skills behind the wheel on arguably one of the most challenging track layouts and racing surfaces they’ve ever competed upon.

Among the most renowned race vehicles were the 1998 Le Mans-winning Porsche GT1-98 – which won on a slippery, snowy track surface that day – and the Hoonipigasus, a 1,400-horsepower Porsche 917//20.

The Porsche brand has been synonymous with the Ice Race, which began in Zell am See, Austria in 1952 to honor Porsche founder Prof. Ferdinand Porsche. Mr. Porsche’s great grandson, Ferdi Porsche, is deeply involved with the F.A.T. brand and helped revive the ice race five years ago after several years of being on hiatus.

Other cars that took part in the event included the 914 Safari, Formula Supra, Toyota GR Cup car, Toyota Stout, the Nissan Safari Rally Z Tribute, the Mobil 1 Eurowise UA Overlander Porsche Cayenne, Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, and the 2025 Cadillac CTV-5.

All photos by Stephan Bauer.

One of the chief drivers on hand for the event was Pat Long, longtime Porsche factory driver for more than 20 years. Long is one of the winningest drivers in Porsche annals on a wide variety of racetracks, but the ice race was a first for him.

“The ice discipline is about as far from my background is as it gets,” Long said. “But that part of it is the magic for me. It's a challenge. I always enjoy the technical side of racing, where it's a bit of a chess game. It's a thinking man sport, and it's very much strategic.

“For me, you go out there and you want to attack. You want to have big sideways moments and be sort of creating a show. But the fast way is to know when and where to slide. And I've just been sort of picking up little tips from a lot of guys that I raced with that did learn in the snow.

“I'm a Southern California native, so I never saw snow in my house once in my first 20 years. But excuses aside, I think that I was able to kind of pick it up today and make it to the finals in the all-wheel-drive class and super honored to (earn the pole).”

Having the career he’s enjoyed racing around the globe, it’s hard to find something new that impresses Long – but the ice race certainly did that for the veteran racer now turned race car builder, not to mention a collector of numerous Porsche’s from the 1960s through 1990s.

“There's so many great cars here,” Long said. “I mean, one of the parts I love about the spirit of this race is that they're icons (the variety of cars entered). They're vintage, they're modern, they're electric, they're combustion.”

But there was more to the event than slipping and sliding on snow and ice.

“This is a cultural event,” Long said. “It's about community. It's about people linking up from all over the world, and really creating a pinnacle diverse experience. I think Aspen in itself is an international town. it's somewhere that I haven't spent much time and I've been really blown away by the culture, the cuisine, the diversity.”

Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona, Ken Roczen took home his second win on the Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki RM-Z450 and the 22nd win of his career.

Roczen left Honda and went to the much smaller Suzuki team two years ago in a move that shook the industry. But now, two years later, Roczen is still performing upfront and battling for wins. At Glendale, Roczen barely had a battle as he captured the holeshot and ran a near-flawless race, leaving the rest of the field to contend for second.

“I haven’t won much in the recent years, so I take these moments in so much," Roczen said. "My start was really good. I got a super good jump. I may have shut the throttle off a little bit too early, so I almost got swallowed up there. But I had the inside and as I went around the first turn, I’m like, ‘This is what I need.'

"The track was really tricky, it just got so slippery. I made so many micro-decisions on the track in certain areas that I picked out. As I ran through some of the first few laps, I just noticed some of the key spots that are really tricky and can really bite you. So I just managed the race the whole way. I tried to not look at the time, I just clicked my laps, lap after lap.”

Ken Roczen celebrates after Saturday night's Supercross win in Glendale, Arizona.

Roczen’s triumph was his 22nd career victory, which ties him with current Yamaha competitor Copper Webb. Webb, Roczen and Eli Tomac are the only current riders to hold a position in the top-10.

With only two wins in the last two years, the climb up the ladder gets slower with age, but Roczen has talked for the past year about a mentality shift that he’s gone through as he approaches his 30s. He’s content and happy to be on a bike, happy to be competitive, and happy to talk about the sport that he loves.

Championship Points Ranking

With the parity at the top of the 2024 season, Roczen became the fifth winner in six rounds. This is his second podium in a row after finishing third during Round 5 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The German-born rider currently sits sixth in the standings, but only 15 points behind points leader Jett Lawrence. In years past, a 15-point difference could easily be what separates first from second place.

Jason Anderson, who is currently one position ahead of Roczen in the championship points, finished second at Glendale. The start of this year has been a big bounce-back year for the New Mexico native who considers Glendale to be one of his home races.

Jett and Eli Battle

Jett Lawrence battled back to a podium finish and maintained ownership of the Red Plate after battling with Webb for fourth position early on and being forced off-track.

During the Lap 1 battle, Webb was slow to give up any space to the Supercross 450 rookie and where Lawrence thought that he saw a hole, the space was not large enough. Lawrence would rejoin the group around Lap 8 and have to battle past the likes of his former teammate Chase Sexton, San Diego winner Aaron Plessinger, his brother Hunter Lawrence and a much-anticipated pass on Eli Tomac.

Due to Tomac’s Round 16 injury last year, fans didn’t have the luxury of watching Tomac and Lawrence go head-to-head in the outdoor season. Then as the 2024 Supercross season took off, A1 became an establishment race for Tomac as he struggled to get comfortable, then two back-to-back mudders, and a triple crown format.

“I didn’t give myself the best opportunity to go on for a win today with just getting a terrible start, " Lawrence said in the podium press conference, “But it was cool to climb my way through. It was a cool accomplishment to catch and pass Eli… So it was a cool accomplishment and just happy I was able to fight back to a podium position”

Tomac finished one position behind Lawrence in fourth for his second-best finish of the year, after his second place in A2’s Triple Crown.

Hunter Lawrence had his best finish of the season in fifth, which means that the Australian brother duo pulled off a new piece of history as the first brothers to both finish in the top-five of a 450SX race.

250SX Standings Before the Break

After five races in six weeks, the 250 West riders have a reprieve between next week’s league-wide break and run of East Coast rounds. Going into the evening, Jordan Smith and Levi Kitchen shared the red plate with R.J Hampshire a few points behind in third.

Smith and Kitchen battled early and during a red cross caution, Smith was slow to see the flashing light and accidentally jumped into Kitchen, pushing Smith off track and losing valuable positions. Kitchen later lost the lead to Hampshire but had enough positions between him and Smith to secure sole ownership of the championship lead going into the break.

RJ Hampshire leads Levi Kitchen in the 250 class Saturday at Glendale, Arizona.

“I don’t know,” Kitchen said when asked about the collision with Smith, “That’s a bad situation. I feel really bad, I’m glad Smitty’s okay. But yeah, you come around and they’re blinking. I didn’t know if I could jump on, and he jumped on behind me and we hit. Luckily we’re both okay.

"That’s a weird thing with the lights and everything. I just didn’t want to be in the wrong, and get docked. Glad I’m healthy, glad he’s healthy, and yeah, stoked to go into this long break with the red plate, obviously.”

Also, after a tough start to the season, Jo Shimoda secured the first podium finish for Honda thus far this season. 

250 Podium (from left to right): Hampshire, Kitchen, Shimoda.

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The series now takes a week off before resuming Feb. 24 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Austin Prock in his Funny Car debut raced to victory at the inaugural SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout presented by Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage, at Bradenton Motorsports Park, on Saturday, Feb. 10.

Reigning Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta and six-time Pro Stock world champion and winningest woman in history Erica Enders also picked up wins worth $250,000 and $125,000, respectively.

The sportsman classes at the PRO Superstar Shootout also raced for big payouts, with Darian Boesch (FTI Performance Top Sportsman), Matt Dadas (Super Stock), and Monty Bogan Jr. (Stock Eliminator) collecting checks for $50,000 (Top Sportsman) and $30,000 (Super Stock and Stock Eliminator).

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Austin Prock was outstanding in his Funny Car career debut.

FUNNY CAR

In the Funny Car final round, Prock put together a run of 3.845-seconds at 332.42 MPH in his Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro SS to defeat defending world champion Matt Hagan, who ran a 3.872 at 329.75. Prock, who was also the No. 1 qualifier and collected a $10,000 bonus award from Lucas Oil Friday night during the chip draw session, received a payday of $250,000.

“I can't even put it into words. It's like I said, it still doesn't even feel real,” said Prock. “This team is just so exceptional and I was just happy to not mess it up for them. This is a championship-caliber team and a race-winning team, and I just had to hang on to the wheel and make sure I got the data for them and we did that today.

"This win is huge. I had a quote before we came in here that if I ended up winning my first ever race and it was the PRO Superstar Shootout it would be legendary and I guess we did that today.”

Hagan had the starting line advantage, but Prock chased him down for the win in the finals. Prock defeated Alexis DeJoria in round one and then his teammate John Force in round two, conquering the early rounds with the starting line advantage.

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Reigning NHRA Top Fuel champ Doug Kalitta picked up where he left off at the end of last season: with a win in Saturday's Top Fuel Finals at the PRO Superstar Shootout.

TOP FUEL

Doug Kalitta picked up right where he left off at the end of the 2023 season. Kalitta powered his Applied Innovation Top Fuel dragster to claim the inaugural SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout presented by Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Top Fuel title.

Kalitta threw down a 3.706 at 325.14, while final-round opponent Clay Millican slowed to a 4.22 at 196.39.

“The first thing that I thought of when we won this thing was how proud Don Schumacher would be of the PRO group putting this together,” said Kalitta. “We've never really seen this kind of money and the whole deal was it was pretty cool. I know a lot of people worked real hard to make this happen.”

Kalitta’s crew chief and PRO President, Alan Johnson, was just as excited for the win that shows that backed up their championship season.

“It's really great for Doug but it's also great for these crew guys who worked all winter long to maintain this thing because there's some things we had to change,” said Johnson. “We're going to a different chassis. There are things we had to change to be able to come out at the first event and run well and win. It is just a testament to how good a job they did over the winter.”

Kalitta had the starting line advantage in the finals, never trailing for the win and the $250,000 check. Millican started to lose traction and clicked off his Top Fuel dragster. Justin Ashley had the starting line advantage over Kalitta in the first round, but lost traction. Kalitta pedaled his car for the win. He then used a 3.709 at 330.63 to take down Leah Pruett’s 3.941 in the semifinals.

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Erica Enders is No. 1 again as she captures the Pro Superstar Shootout Saturday in Bradenton, Fla.

PRO STOCK

Erica Enders put together a memorable weekend in Pro Stock at the PRO Superstar Shootout, making a clean sweep at Bradenton Motorsports Park with her victory over Dave Connolly in the final round.

The reigning world champion bested Connolly with a 6.531 at 210.05 in her JHG/SCAG/Melling Camaro. Connolly recorded a 6.577 at 208.81 in the runner-up effort.

“Dave [Connolly] and I have a lot of history and that final round, I'd be lying if I told you my heart rate wasn't a little bit higher than normal,” said Enders. “I called my dad before that final round, and I'm like, ‘Alright, help me with my neuro program.’ I had to disregard the emotion behind it because I just want to knock their teeth out, but I just have to go out there and do what we do best.

"I know I have the best guys in the business standing behind me and it's a group that I can trust and I cannot emphasize that enough. That means the world to me, but that pressure right there, I’d put it up against a world championship because of who was in the other lane.”

On Friday night, Enders qualified in the No. 1 position in the final qualifying session of the event after struggling throughout qualifying. The throwdown run set a positive tone for Saturday eliminations at an event supported by her Elite Motorsports team’s key partners.

"To have the partners that we have with JHG and SCAG – they dove in headfirst and supported this race, not just our race cars, but this entire event and the sense of pride that I feel having partners that believe in what we believe in it, you can't compare it,” Enders said. Before collecting the $125,000 check in the final round, Enders also defeated teammates David Cuadra, Aaron Stanfield, and Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the first three rounds.

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TOP FUEL VS. FUNNY CAR SHOOTOUT

Rather than head home early, the drivers who didn’t qualify in Top Fuel and Funny Car participated in the Top Fuel vs. Funny Car Shootout with the Don Schumacher Nitro Superstar Award and a $10,000 bonus from Red Line Oil up for grabs.

The format paired up Top Fuel dragsters versus Funny Cars in the first round, with the quickest of each returning for the final round. A two-tenths staggered tree in favor of the Funny Cars evened the playing field.

Recent first-time Funny Car winner Chad Green and four-time Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence coincidentally were the quickest in the first round when they faced each other, so they came back for a rematch in the final round.

Green was first to the finish line both times in his Bond-Coat ‘23 Ford Mustang. He cut a .064 reaction time to Torrence’s .186, then laid down a 3.977 at 318.17 to finish ahead of the CAPCO Contractors dragster’s 3.729 at 333.41.

Top Fuel Funny Car Shootout winner Chad Green.

“I did something today I definitely thought I would never do, and that's race against a Top Fuel dragster,” Green said. “And on top of that, when I heard I was gonna be doing this last night when we got bumped out, I was like, ‘Oh, I just I hope I get Steve Torrence.’

"That's what I went home telling all my crew last night because he's my buddy, and just to get a chance to race against a Steve Torrence, right? Or Brittany [Force], for sure. I was like, ‘If I don't get Steve, I want Brittany.’ I went up to Steve after the first round and said I'll probably never get a chance to do this again, and then, boom, we get to race each other in the final. So I got to beat him two times. I think got a holeshot both times. I'm just really proud of that.”

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Top Sportsman winner Darian Boesch

TOP SPORTSMAN

Kenner, Louisiana-based driver Darian Boesch took home the big prize in Saturday’s Top Sportsman category after qualifying second in the class’s 28-car field. Boesch had an impressive .002 final-round reaction time in his supercharged Haas-built ’18 Camaro, running 6.285 at 220.91 on a 6.27 dial-in. Boesch took down Sandy Wilkins in the finals, who had a .024 reaction time and ran a 6.490 at 201.61 on a 6.47 dial-in.

On Boesch’s road to the winner’s circle, he also took down Brian Heath, Chris Arnold, Mark Buehring, and Brandon Miller. Part of Boesch’s success might be attributed to the fact that he’s no stranger to Bradenton Raceway Park. In fact, he’s raced here three times over the last month, making more than 40 runs down the track. But Saturday’s race was a bit different, with $50,000 on the line.

“The money makes a big difference. It’s a little bit different, letting go of the button for $50,000. It’s a bit of added pressure,” Boesch said. Boesch thanked Wes Buck, FTI, Mark Micke, and Jerry Haas Race Cars for his successful weekend. Boesch will be back at Bradenton Motorsports Park in a few weeks for the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod on March 1-3, competing in both Top Dragster and Top Sportsman.

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Super Stock winner Matt Dadas

SUPER STOCK

Driving for car owner Bo Butner, Matt Dadas delivered a huge Super Stock victory for the past Pro Stock world champion when he defeated Jeff Adkinson in the final round. With a $30,000 check on the line, Dadas was first off the starting line with his .014 reaction time to Adkinson’s .039 before running a 9.532 at 136.91 on a 9.53 dial-in in Butner’s FSS/K ‘12 Ford Mustang. Adkinson, in his FSS/F ‘15 Camaro, recorded a 9.29 at 132.18 on a 9.28 dial-in.

Making the win even more memorable was the fact Dadas had never driven the car before the weekend and was tapped to drive less than an hour before qualifying began.

“Oh man, this is super special,” said Dadas, who thanked Bo and Randi Lyn Butner, crew chief Gage Green, girlfriend Carly, his parents, and Jason Johnson of Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage. “About 20 minutes before Q1 of Super Stock, Bo comes in the trailer after turning in his tech card and he goes, ‘Well, I made an executive decision while I was up there.’

"I was like, ‘What's that?’ He said, ‘You're driving.’ I was like, OK, so I got in it. I had never made a run in this thing. I mean, I loaded it in the trailer for him, but it's just unbelievable how this stuff happens. I'm super, super thankful, super blessed, and it's very special.” Dadas, from Vermilion, Ohio, raced past Jay Storey, Ryan Montford, Kevin Helms, and Hayden Trumble on his way to the final round.

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Stock Eliminator winner Marty Bogan Jr.

STOCK ELIMINATOR

Monty Bogan Jr. drove his ’67 Camaro to the winner’s circle in Stock Eliminator after a final-round finish over Michael Brand II. Bogan left the starting line first with a quick .004 reaction time, compared to Brand’s .018, and ran a 10.715 at 119.80 on a 10.71 dial-in. Brand’s ’13 Cobra Jet recorded a 8.663 at 156.19 on a 8.67 dial-in. In his five rounds of competition, the Boiling Springs, SC driver said he had luck on his side in the semifinal round when his carburetor broke during his run, but his opponent, Brett Candies, red-lit, giving Bogan the win.

“You’ve gotta have one lucky round – and that was my big round,” said Bogan, who also took down Dave Bares, Tyler Bohannon, and Jay Storey during Saturday’s eliminations. “We’ve had a ball,” Bogan said. “This is a fun race, and I wish there were a bunch more!”

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For detailed results from the SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout presented by JHG, visit www.DragRaceCentral.com.

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ABOUT THE PRO SUPERSTAR SHOOTOUT

On February 8-10, 2024, the Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO) in collaboration with Drag Illustrated and Bradenton Motorsports Park, will host the inaugural SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout presented by Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage. With a combined purse exceeding $1.3M, the PRO Superstar Shootout will pay $250,000 to the winners in Top Fuel and Funny Car and $125,000 to the winner in Pro Stock. For event details, visit www.SuperstarShootout.com.

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ABOUT PRO

The Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO) is a trade organization providing services and other benefits to professional drag racing team owners and drivers. Veteran nitro crew chief and former team owner Alan Johnson is the president of the organization, and board members include active team owners and drivers.

--- Press release from DragIllustrated.com

Toni Breidinger is set to make the biggest start of her racing career this coming Friday night.

Driving the No. 1 CELSIUS energy drink Toyota for Tricon Garage, the 24-year-old California native will make her fourth career start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in the Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

While she’s raced at Daytona before in an ARCA car, Friday night’s race will be her first Truck Series start at a superspeedway.

“I feel like there’s a lot of excitement and a whole bunch of mixed emotions going into the race,” Breidinger said in an interview with Auto Racing Digest. “Now I have my favorite energy drink sponsor on the truck and ARCA car so now I feel like there’s even more excitement from my end. I can’t wait. I’ve run Daytona a few times now, but this is the most excited I’ve ever been for it.”

she cute🧡 @CelsiusOfficial @TRICONGarage pic.twitter.com/lPmcRuvllH

— Toni Breidinger (@ToniBreidinger) February 2, 2024

Being her first Truck Series start on a superspeedway, Breidinger expects Friday night’s race to be a “big learning experience.” In preparation, Tricon teammate Corey Hiem has been giving her advice about the main differences between how a truck and ARCA car handle at Daytona.

Breidinger’s finished 15th in her Truck Series debut last May at Kansas Speedway. She made two more Truck Series starts in 2023, finishing 24th at Gateway and 17th at Nashville.

“I think my (Truck Series) debut had a big question mark because I didn’t know how I was going to stack up in the Truck Series,” Breidinger said. “I think I almost had less pressure on myself because I didn’t really know where I should finish. I really didn’t know what to expect and I just went into it super open-minded.

“But now that I have a few races under my belt, I feel like there is a little bit of added pressure for myself. I think that this is a big moment for me where I need to step up and show some improvement from last year, which I think I’m definitely capable of.”

On the ARCA side of things, Breidinger will drive the No. 25 Toyota for Venturini Motorsports in Saturday’s ARCA Daytona 200, the first of 20 races in what will be a full-time schedule for the team.

While she had a part-time schedule in 2023, Breidinger picked up four top-five finishes last year – including her career-best finish of third - which came at Kansas in September. Of her 45 career starts in the ARCA Series, Breidinger had her best season overall last year, not only the four top-five showings, but also seven top-10 outings (which followed up on six top-10s in 2022).

“I’m very excited,” Breidinger said of her 2024 ARCA plans. “I ran a full season back in 2022 and it was my first time going to a lot of the tracks. I wasn’t all that familiar with the ARCA car yet.

“Last year, there were a lot of things I wanted to improve on the race craft end, just kind of building off the previous year. Now this is kind of like my third year really at it. I’m excited. I think the third time’s the charm, so we’ll see what we can do.”

beyond grateful to join the @CelsiusOfficial family! this is definitely a full circle moment for me. I’ll be driving the No.1 @CelsiusOfficial Tundra TRD Pro with @TRICONGarage at Daytona! pic.twitter.com/5Q8x2tlm4n

— Toni Breidinger (@ToniBreidinger) February 1, 2024

Raising Cane’s will serve as Breidinger’s primary sponsor in ARCA, with CELSIUS as an associate sponsor. Both sponsors join a variety of major brands that have sponsored Breidinger, including Hairclub, PitViper, Victoria’s Secret (whom Breidinger had modeled for) and Hot Wheels (which sponsored her in Toyota GR Cup).

Not many young drivers can say that they’ve been sponsored by such names so early in their career, but Breidinger – who has amassed a reported five-plus million followers on social media– has already built a brand that is attractive to potential partners.

Of course, being a legitimate fan of each sponsor just makes the pairing even better.

“All those brands are brands that I genuinely love and use,” Breidinger said of her sponsors. “I feel like with brands, they want to work with someone that actually likes their product and they really want authentic content and partnerships.

“I think for me, using social media and having a platform to say ‘I’m drinking a CELSIUS right now. I love CELSIUS.’ I think social media is a huge tool. It’s something that I’ve been working on building on for many years. Also, I have a great team behind me that kind of helps connect the dots for partnerships. Luckily, I have been able to work with brands I love and they’re definitely household names. It’s cool. I feel like I’m in a really good spot in my career.”

Breidinger’s Daytona Truck Series debut will take place this Friday, February 16 at 7:00 pm ET. The ARCA season opener will take place on Saturday, February 17 at 1:30 pm ET. Both races will be broadcast live on FS1 and MRN.

🚨 CARD REDEMPTION HUNT! 🚨 with the release of these new Toni Breidinger auto cards from Panini Prime Racing, Pristine is offering a $5,000 site credit bounty for anyone who finds this card and reaches out to us! These just released so let the hunt begin 😎 @ToniBreidinger… pic.twitter.com/RxWcy5owar

— Pristine Auction (@PristineAuction) February 3, 2024

Formula E announced the unveiling of a new developmental support series that will be run this season in 2024, set to feature the “LRT NXT1—a 1150kg machine based on an electric MINI Cooper SE road car,” the NXT Gen Cup.

The NXT Gen Cup will provide up-and-coming male and female drivers the chance to develop themselves in their motorsports careers in what will be the first ever 100% electric junior touring car series, according to a press release from the series.

The inaugural supporting season will kick off in conjunction with Formula E’s latter half of the season, beginning the 2024 campaign at the Misano circuit (April 13 and 14) before hitting the track at the famous Monaco street circuit (April 27).

The series will also see two stops in Germany (Berlin and Norisring) and a stop in London before returning back to Germany for the series finale in Hockenheim.

While it has yet to be announced as to who we could be seeing competing in the series as far as drivers and team pairings, the partnership for this additional series adds to the future that has been built by Formula E in electric-based racing.

“We are delighted to welcome the NXT Gen Cup after their hugely successful debut last year,” says Formula E Co-Founder and CCO, Alberto Long. “The addition of an all-electric junior category to the European part of our calendar will further contribute to the essential nurturing of young talent, a key part of our sport, and give them the opportunity to race on the same stage as our world-class drivers and teams.”

Long added, "For the NXT Gen Cup to go from an idea on paper less than two years ago to racing together with the ABB FIA Formula E and DTM this year is mind-boggling and an inspiring proof of the hard work by everyone involved. We have, together with Formula E and DTM, created a spectacular calendar that will provide our junior drivers with a robust foundation to start their racing careers and show their talents to some of the best teams and partners in the world.”

In terms of the layout of race weekends for the new support series, there will be two 20-minute practice sessions, a 20-minute qualifying session, and one 20-minute timed race to culminate what should be an exciting opportunity-filled series.

A fortnight spent building features, practicing jumps, chasing light, and waiting. A lot of waiting has accumulated into Brandon Semenuk’s newest Freestyle video. Located deep in Alberta, Canada farmland, the landscape drops out and you’re transported away from feedlots and truck stations down into a miniature version of Virgin, Utah.

Just 10 miles outside of Brooks, Alberta, and directly south of the Dinosaur Provincial Park world heritage site lies a beautiful vista of otherworldly barely touched terrain. This is where Red Bull runs Outliers, one of the only two North American locations on the Hard Enduro tour and also where Semenuk invested the peak weeks of his Fall riding time to create Afterlife.

The American Rally Association (ARA) two-time reigning champion and four-time Red Bull Rampage winner’s October is a logistical landmine as he found himself pulled between the end of the Rally Car season and the premier big-mountain freestyle event.

In 2022, Semenuk balanced the two and released a video exploring the struggle called “Balancing Act”.

In 2023, instead of having a week in between Rampage and the Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR); the final race of the ARA season, both events were held the same weekend of October 13-15, 2023. While it was a hard decision to not compete at Rampage, having the opportunity to create Afterlife on a piece of land that Semenuk has long had an affinity for helped the dual-athlete with his decision.

Instead of Semenuk, his dig crew, and his camera crew spending September in Utah building and planning jumps they had the chance to take to the Badlands and create.

Semenuk had the idea for this project years before he found the land to shoot it on. In 2022 he found the right land and made a deal with the landowners to shoot on the property. But with that there was just enough of a time crunch that Semenuk and his team felt that it would be better to push off the project one year to give it the window that it truly deserved.

“Last year, this property came up it was the right fit for this project that we wanted to do but felt a little rushed so we decided to push it a year and give ourselves some time," Semenuk told Auto Racing Digest in between a morning and evening shoot last September. "We could make sure that the landowners understand what we’re doing and everyone’s happy. It’s a big project and we [didn’t] want to rush it and feel like we left something on the table.”

The Crew, The Shoot, and The Concept

Luckily for the crew and semi-unluckily for me, the first few days of shooting were extremely productive for Semenuk and his crew, with each morning and evening light new features were shot and practiced while the dig crew powered through each day. There were just a few remaining features to be shot by the time I made it to Alberta just a day after covering the inaugural SuperMotocross Final at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

With so much done, two of the builders, Justin Wyper and Kane Boyce were able to head back to civilization and get going on other projects and competition and only Evan Young, the lead, remained.

The largest drop, featured around the :55 mark of the video, a few smaller features, and B-roll remained. Here is where the storytelling part of the video also came into play.

************************

During a major windstorm that halted production, I sat in the truck with filmers Isaac Wallen and Nic Genovese as dust swirled around the vehicle and we dove into their connections to Semenuk and views of the project.

Nic Genovese grew up around Semenuk in the same industry and the same town and has been documenting Semenuk’s events since the early days.

“It all goes back to this idea that time is temporary and this idea that at some point we will all go back to the dust," Wallen said. “We’re in this location where some of the craziest and biggest ever dinosaur bones have been found in the world. It adds this cool element of how everything eventually settles and goes into this organic state.”

Wallen first met Semenuk when he was around 16 years old in his hometown of Santa Cruz, Calif. where Brandon tends to escape the Canadian winters. They became riding buddies and years later once Wallen had started to cement himself as an action filmer, he started working on projects for Semenuk in his early 20s.

Wallen, Genovese, and the rest of the crew have a unique opportunity when working with Semenuk, through the creation of his own production company, Rad, is able to hold on to more creative control than others in the industry. Much of this also comes from the carefully dug-out niche Semenuk has built for himself.

“There's never been an athlete that's produced and created all this content on his own," Wallen said. “He's the one that organizes the whole thing, which is something that I feel like no other athletes have really done.

"He comes up with all these locations and crazy ideas, and he spends all the time at his house learning all these tricks and thinking up all these features that he can do those tricks on and it's stuff that no one's ever done, so he's just fully pioneering the entire thing.”

Added Genovese, “The shoots allowed him to be his full creative self. He’s now able to express himself to the fullest. The events were really good for him to shine and get all the experience and credibility but this is what he wanted the whole time.”

“It’s almost like the contests were steps to get to this next thing where he can fully do what he wants to do and show what he’s interested in,” Wallen chimed back in. “It’s crazy, he’s not just a mountain biker, he's one of the most creative dudes I’ve ever met. He’s an artist.”

Why Brooks, Alberta?

While technically the site sits closer to the same town as Patricia, Brooks is the slightly better-known city. And by known, I mean by long haul truckers and those in the cattle fields. The rural nature of this land brings to question why here and why now?

Once I saw this property, it was so unique and so cool. It carries a lot of the aspects of good riding areas and good building areas, but in its own unique form. We knew it would be good but it would also be different, so that when people watch it, it won’t be ‘This looks like Virgin, Utah' or other popular mountain biking locations.

"It felt like a no-brainer," Semenuk said. "It opens up the doors for a lot of things that you don’t find everywhere and obviously, the landscape is really beautiful. If we can capture it at the right time of year and the right light you can bring this cinematic vision to the vision I had for the riding project.”

The vastness of desert spaces is often scouted by freestyle riders to attempt their tricks and film videos but this land, outside of Outliers, has been practically untouched. Plus its northern and inland location brings different weather and light patterns than viewers are used to.

Semenuk and other riders have filmed a plethora of videos along the British Columbia coast where he’s located, or in the mountains and valleys of the Utah desert, but Albert provided something different.

“It all goes back to this idea that time is temporary and this idea that at some point we will all go back to the dust,” Wallen said in explaining the video concept, “We’re in this location where some of the craziest and biggest ever dinosaur bones have been found in the world. It adds this cool element of how everything eventually settles and goes into this organic state.”

“The light is incredible, since we’re not on the coast anymore and (because) we’re inland, we get these really colorful sunrises and sunsets,” Semenuk explained, “There’s a river with the fog in the morning and certain aspects that you can’t always bring in. In BC [British Columbia], when you’re in the forest, you can’t always capture what’s going on behind the trees -- but here it’s so vast.”

The night before I left back to the U.S., the remaining members of the crew sat around the Patricia Hotel, a small inn and restaurant, where the crew had become staples over the last week. In-between bites of roast beef and storytelling, it was disproved that the next two days and nights would have limited wind and lead right into the huge September Full Moon, known in parts of the world as the Harvest Moon, the Corn Moon, or the Barley Moon as is the first moon after the Autumn Equinox.

With the film’s themes of cycles and life and death, it was decided that the team would stay a couple of nights longer to capture shots of Semenuk riding against the rising full moon.

Now four moon cycles later, we're ready for the start of the ARA season this weekend as the drivers and co-drivers take to Sno*Drift Rally in Atlanta, Mich. On Friday and Saturday, Semenuk will begin his trek to defend his title with co-driver Keaton Williams and attempt to collect a hat trick of championships for Subaru Motorsports USA.

They will be rejoined by former teammate Travis Pastrana in the second WRX ARA24 Subaru entry as he returns to the series full-time along with co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino. It appears that Pastrana will be ready to race after his off-season knee surgery.

*****************************

Authors Note: Thank you to Brandon Semenuk, Red Bull Canada and the Alberta crew of Evan Young, Justin Wyper, Kane Boyce, Isaac Wallen, Nic Genovese, and Toby Cowley for allowing me to observe the creation of Afterlife.

A fortnight spent building features, practicing jumps, chasing light, and waiting. A lot of waiting has accumulated into Brandon Semenuk’s newest Freestyle video. Located deep in Alberta, Canada farmland, the landscape drops out and you’re transported away from feedlots and truck stations down into a miniature version of Virgin, Utah.

Just 10 miles outside of Brooks, Alberta, and directly south of the Dinosaur Provincial Park world heritage site lies a beautiful vista of otherworldly barely touched terrain. This is where Red Bull runs Outliers, one of the only two North American locations on the Hard Enduro tour and also where Semenuk invested the peak weeks of his Fall riding time to create Afterlife.

The American Rally Association (ARA) two-time reigning champion and four-time Red Bull Rampage winner’s October is a logistical landmine as he found himself pulled between the end of the Rally Car season and the premier big-mountain freestyle event.

In 2022, Semenuk balanced the two and released a video exploring the struggle called “Balancing Act”.

In 2023, instead of having a week in between Rampage and the Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR); the final race of the ARA season, both events were held the same weekend of October 13-15, 2023. While it was a hard decision to not compete at Rampage, having the opportunity to create Afterlife on a piece of land that Semenuk has long had an affinity for helped the dual-athlete with his decision.

Instead of Semenuk, his dig crew, and his camera crew spending September in Utah building and planning jumps they had the chance to take to the Badlands and create.

Semenuk had the idea for this project years before he found the land to shoot it on. In 2022 he found the right land and made a deal with the landowners to shoot on the property. But with that there was just enough of a time crunch that Semenuk and his team felt that it would be better to push off the project one year to give it the window that it truly deserved.

“Last year, this property came up it was the right fit for this project that we wanted to do but felt a little rushed so we decided to push it a year and give ourselves some time," Semenuk told Auto Racing Digest in between a morning and evening shoot last September. "We could make sure that the landowners understand what we’re doing and everyone’s happy. It’s a big project and we [didn’t] want to rush it and feel like we left something on the table.”

The Crew, The Shoot, and The Concept

Luckily for the crew and semi-unluckily for me, the first few days of shooting were extremely productive for Semenuk and his crew, with each morning and evening light new features were shot and practiced while the dig crew powered through each day. There were just a few remaining features to be shot by the time I made it to Alberta just a day after covering the inaugural SuperMotocross Final at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

With so much done, two of the builders, Justin Wyper and Kane Boyce were able to head back to civilization and get going on other projects and competition and only Evan Young, the lead, remained.

The largest drop, featured around the :55 mark of the video, a few smaller features, and B-roll remained. Here is where the storytelling part of the video also came into play.

************************

During a major windstorm that halted production, I sat in the truck with filmers Isaac Wallen and Nic Genovese as dust swirled around the vehicle and we dove into their connections to Semenuk and views of the project.

Nic Genovese grew up around Semenuk in the same industry and the same town and has been documenting Semenuk’s events since the early days.

“It all goes back to this idea that time is temporary and this idea that at some point we will all go back to the dust," Wallen said. “We’re in this location where some of the craziest and biggest ever dinosaur bones have been found in the world. It adds this cool element of how everything eventually settles and goes into this organic state.”

Wallen first met Semenuk when he was around 16 years old in his hometown of Santa Cruz, Calif. where Brandon tends to escape the Canadian winters. They became riding buddies and years later once Wallen had started to cement himself as an action filmer, he started working on projects for Semenuk in his early 20s.

Wallen, Genovese, and the rest of the crew have a unique opportunity when working with Semenuk, through the creation of his own production company, Rad, is able to hold on to more creative control than others in the industry. Much of this also comes from the carefully dug-out niche Semenuk has built for himself.

“There's never been an athlete that's produced and created all this content on his own," Wallen said. “He's the one that organizes the whole thing, which is something that I feel like no other athletes have really done.

"He comes up with all these locations and crazy ideas, and he spends all the time at his house learning all these tricks and thinking up all these features that he can do those tricks on and it's stuff that no one's ever done, so he's just fully pioneering the entire thing.”

Added Genovese, “The shoots allowed him to be his full creative self. He’s now able to express himself to the fullest. The events were really good for him to shine and get all the experience and credibility but this is what he wanted the whole time.”

“It’s almost like the contests were steps to get to this next thing where he can fully do what he wants to do and show what he’s interested in,” Wallen chimed back in. “It’s crazy, he’s not just a mountain biker, he's one of the most creative dudes I’ve ever met. He’s an artist.”

Why Brooks, Alberta?

While technically the site sits closer to the same town as Patricia, Brooks is the slightly better-known city. And by known, I mean by long haul truckers and those in the cattle fields. The rural nature of this land brings to question why here and why now?

Once I saw this property, it was so unique and so cool. It carries a lot of the aspects of good riding areas and good building areas, but in its own unique form. We knew it would be good but it would also be different, so that when people watch it, it won’t be ‘This looks like Virgin, Utah' or other popular mountain biking locations.

"It felt like a no-brainer," Semenuk said. "It opens up the doors for a lot of things that you don’t find everywhere and obviously, the landscape is really beautiful. If we can capture it at the right time of year and the right light you can bring this cinematic vision to the vision I had for the riding project.”

The vastness of desert spaces is often scouted by freestyle riders to attempt their tricks and film videos but this land, outside of Outliers, has been practically untouched. Plus its northern and inland location brings different weather and light patterns than viewers are used to.

Semenuk and other riders have filmed a plethora of videos along the British Columbia coast where he’s located, or in the mountains and valleys of the Utah desert, but Albert provided something different.

“It all goes back to this idea that time is temporary and this idea that at some point we will all go back to the dust,” Wallen said in explaining the video concept, “We’re in this location where some of the craziest and biggest ever dinosaur bones have been found in the world. It adds this cool element of how everything eventually settles and goes into this organic state.”

“The light is incredible, since we’re not on the coast anymore and (because) we’re inland, we get these really colorful sunrises and sunsets,” Semenuk explained, “There’s a river with the fog in the morning and certain aspects that you can’t always bring in. In BC [British Columbia], when you’re in the forest, you can’t always capture what’s going on behind the trees -- but here it’s so vast.”

The night before I left back to the U.S., the remaining members of the crew sat around the Patricia Hotel, a small inn and restaurant, where the crew had become staples over the last week. In-between bites of roast beef and storytelling, it was disproved that the next two days and nights would have limited wind and lead right into the huge September Full Moon, known in parts of the world as the Harvest Moon, the Corn Moon, or the Barley Moon as is the first moon after the Autumn Equinox.

With the film’s themes of cycles and life and death, it was decided that the team would stay a couple of nights longer to capture shots of Semenuk riding against the rising full moon.

Now four moon cycles later, we're ready for the start of the ARA season this weekend as the drivers and co-drivers take to Sno*Drift Rally in Atlanta, Mich. On Friday and Saturday, Semenuk will begin his trek to defend his title with co-driver Keaton Williams and attempt to collect a hat trick of championships for Subaru Motorsports USA.

They will be rejoined by former teammate Travis Pastrana in the second WRX ARA24 Subaru entry as he returns to the series full-time along with co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino. It appears that Pastrana will be ready to race after his off-season knee surgery.

*****************************

Authors Note: Thank you to Brandon Semenuk, Red Bull Canada and the Alberta crew of Evan Young, Justin Wyper, Kane Boyce, Isaac Wallen, Nic Genovese, and Toby Cowley for allowing me to observe the creation of Afterlife.

It's almost the start of the 2024 NASCAR season with its three major series kicking off in Daytona with Speedweeks, Feb. 14-18. With the season fast approaching, we thought it would be a good time to catch everyone up on the driver moves for full-time rides across all three series.

It was a busy off-season for all series, indeed. Here's the drivers who moved from one series to another in the offseason, as well as drivers who made lateral moves in their respective series.

****************************

2024 Craftsman Truck Series

* In terms of teams changing in the Truck Series, the biggest here is that GMS is off the grid. After shutting down in 2023, the following cars are no longer in the series: #23,#24, and #43.

However, things aren't necessarily over for GMS in NASCAR.

"While the ending of an era with the closing of the race team is undeniably a difficult circumstance, bright futures lie ahead. Heading into 2024, Legacy Motor Club co-owners Maury Gallagher and Jimmie Johnson look to strengthen the team on all fronts with their NASCAR Cup Series efforts to become a force to be reckoned with for years to come." -- From a GMS press release on August 23rd.

* Grant Enfinger makes a lateral move to stay with Chevy and his long-term sponsor "Champion." Enfinger signed a multi-year deal with CR7 Motorsports to drive the No. 9 truck.

* Jake Garcia will take the vacated spot of Hailie Deegan in the No. 13 ThorSport truck. After a very solid rookie season, a championship-caliber truck ride for Garcia makes him one to watch in 2024. Due to this, Tyler Ankrum takes the open spot at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in the No. 18 truck.

* One of the biggest off-season moves was Cup Series driver Ty Dillon taking over Matt DiBenedetto's ride. In a not-so-great season for Matty D, Rackley W.A.R. had the following to say about Dillon joining the team: "We are excited to announce Ty Dillon as the driver for Rackley W.A.R. in the NASCAR Truck Series. Ty's exceptional talent is a perfect fit for our team as we elevate our engineering and technological capabilities to new heights." High expectations will be coming from the No. 25 camp.

* With Zane Smith jumping to the Cup Series, Layne Riggs -- son of former NASCAR driver Scott Riggs -- gets his big break by piloting the No. 38 Ford full-time for Front Row Motorsports. After making appearances in the Truck Series and Xfinity Series, a full-time truck ride -- and one that has championship potential -- was the next logical step for the younger Riggs.

* With another driver moving up to Cup, that driver being Carson Hocevar, Matt Mills takes over the open Niece Motorsports ride. A lateral move into top-tier equipment means that this is a great opportunity for the 27-year-old.

Niece Motorsports also lost young driver Lawless Alan to Reaume brothers this offseason.

* Floridian Daniel Dye joins McAnally Hilgemann Racing for 2024. With both driver and organization on the rise, this partnership could be one to watch out for.

* Thad Moffit joins a new team, Faction 46, which has an alliance with Niece Motorsports. This is a new challenge for Moffit, and a new team can either come out hot or cold. We'll see what happens here, but the grandson of Richard Petty has put all his poker chips into one hand here.

* After the folding of GMS, Spencer Boyd carried over some of that legacy by forming Freedom Racing Enterprises, which uses GMS equipment. We'll have to see if the solid equipment can help this new team hit the ground running.

****************************

2024 Xfinity Series

The Xfinity series probably was the quietest in terms of offseason moves, but the moves that did happen were big ones. Let's break them down:

* Blaine Perkins joins RSS Racing for 2024. He takes over the No.29 Ford ride after racing for Chevy last year.

* After a rough breakup, Sheldon Creed no longer races for RCR. He is replaced by Jesse Love, who is someone to definitely keep your eyes on. One of the youngest drivers in NASCAR this season, the 18-year-old ARCA champion jumps straight to a top team.

* As for Creed, he jumps ship to Toyota and will race for Joe Gibbs in the No. 18 car. He stays at a relatively equal-performing car so we expect much of the same for Creed. He'll have to try to put a rough ending to 2023 behind him and hit the ground running with both his new team and new manufacturer.

* The new driver for JD Motorsports is a touching tale. Dawson Cram will drive the No. 4 car going forward, Cram used to work for the team as a mechanic three years ago. He has plenty of starts in various series and with that mechanic's background, he may be able to diagnose issues with the car easier and quicker than fellow drivers who may not have such a mechanical background. We're very interested to watch this partnership.

* Sammy Smith takes over the No. 8 JR Motorsports car after Josh Berry moved to Cup. Smith is obviously a rising talent and this move should further help his chances of joining a Cup team in just a few years. The 19-year-old has a very bright future and we think JR Motorsports hit the nail on the head here with this signing.

* Another replacement for a newly promoted Cup Series driver goes to Josh Williams, who takes over the No. 11 Kaulig Chevrolet after Daniel Hemric moved to Cup. Williams has raced with various teams throughout his career, but this has to be his best opportunity for him to really take things to the next level.

* One of the more questionable yet understandable moves belongs to Haillie Deegan, who moves to the No. 15 AM Racing Ford Mustang in 2024 in the Xfinity Series. After racing in the Truck Series with ThorSport, a lackluster season means she got promoted? Sort of. We all know results aren't everything in the Truck Series.

Performing better in Xfinity is more of a judge of how well you'll do in a Cup car rather than the truck series. So this move makes sense. Deegan will be out of the Truck Series and jumps into a series that is cleaner and overall has a better talent pool. This will be the judging factor on whether or not she'll be in the Cup Series in the future.

* A new team will hit the grid in 2024 with Leland Honeyman Jr. racing in the No. 42 for Young's Motorsports, which expands to the Xfinity Series. Honeyman and Young's Motorsports had a previous partnership in ARCA in the past so reuniting makes sense for this season.

* Brennen Poole joins Alpha Prime Racing and will pilot the No. 44 Chevy.

* After a fantastic 2023 season at Kaulig Racing, Chandler Smith transitioned to Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 81 Toyota. Smith has gotten better every year and is no stranger to the Toyota family, harkening back to his previous time in the Truck Series. Expectations are high for the former Kyle Busch Motorsports driver.

* Finally, Shane Van Gisbergen will run a full season in the No. 97 car for Kaulig Racing in 2024. After winning his debut Cup Series race in Chicago last summer, SVG's move to a full-time ride was not a surprise for the former Australian Super Cars champion. It ends up being in the Xfinity Series with a top-tier team. SVG will be expected to win road course races and improve on the ovals. If all this happens, you can probably pin him in a Kaulig Cup ride for 2025. SVG will also run road course races for the Kaulig Cup Series team in 2024.

****************************

2024 NASCAR CUP SERIES

Stewart-Haas Racing made the most changes to their 2024 roster so let's dive into that lineup first.

* Josh Berry takes over the ride Kevin Harvick retired from. Berry has big shoes to fill, but his long career in Xfinity plus the select Cup races he ran for the injured Chase Elliott last year, means Berry joins SHR with all the experience he would need. Some questioned the move, but after a solid Xfinity career, while filling those large shoes may not necessarily come easy for Berry, he still was one of the best picks for the job.

* Noah Gragson also joins SHR, taking over for another retired racer, Aric Almirola. After being released last year, and now back in NASCAR, Gragson joins a strong team at SHR. Even though SHR hasn't been the same for a few years, Almirola still managed victories before retiring. Gragson will need to perform better than last year at Legacy if he wants to keep his stake in the Cup Series.

* Speaking of Legacy, John Hunter Nemechek was brought up from the Xfinity Series to potentially be the face of Legacy now that they are partnered with Toyota. After a fantastic 2023 Xfinity season for Nemechek, he joins a Legacy team that might not have the highest expectations, but with their new partnership could be a sneaky team. We don't think expectations will be too high for JHN, but we could easily see him achieve more than a few top 10s.

* At 20 years old, Carson Hocevar will stay in the Cup Series and will race for Spire Motorsports in the No.77 car, while teammate Zane Smith will pilot the No. 71 car. It's about time Smith got a full-time ride.

* Justin Haley joins Rick-Ware Racing in 2024. After being forced out of Kaulig, this move is a bit questionable. Could it be a project for Haley?

* Finally, Daniel Hemric will return to the Cup Series and race for Kaulig Racing in the No. 30 car formally occupied by Haley. It's another opportunity for Hemric and he'll need to take advantage of this chance, unlike his last attempt in the Cup Series. Hemric will have chances at good race results if we base it off of Haley's performances last year.

So that wraps up everything, a lot to unpack. All three NASCAR series look to be exciting this year and you can stay in the loop on Autoracingdigest.com.

Ty Gibbs had the ball in his hands, but he fumbled it.

Not literally, but figuratively for the NASCAR driver and grandson of three-time Super Bowl winning coach Joe Gibbs.

The 21-year-old driver led a race-high 84 laps in Saturday night’s Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. But a late-race caution with 10 laps to go setup a shootout between Gibbs and teammate Denny Hamlin for the win.

Hamlin took the lead in the restart and was about to take the white flag when Gibbs, still trying to hold on for a respectable finish, crashed - ending his night and creating an overtime finish where Hamlin held off defending Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney to win the first NASCAR race of the 2024 season.

Gibbs was officially scored as finishing 18th out of 23 starters in the 150-lap race, which took place on a temporary quarter-mile oval inside the home of USC football.

Following the race, Gibbs was seen outside of the hauler arguing with fellow Cup Series competitor Joey Logano, whom he hit before spinning out.

Ty Gibbs on what Joey Logano was mad about after the Clash and having led 84 laps before Denny Hamlin was able to get by him on the restart with 10 laps remaining. pic.twitter.com/NeH33gYBrV

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 4, 2024

“He’s just mad that I ran him up (the track),” Gibbs told Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass about his testy conversation with Logano. “But if you go back and look at the replay, the 12 (Ryan Blaney) kind of chucked him out of the way too. It’s hard racing at the end.

"This place is really hard to get your tires warm once the caution comes out. I just got in there deep and launched up into them and we just all got tangled up after that.

“It just was unfortunate. I guess I have to get better at restarts.”

NASCAR takes the next week off as the sports world focuses on the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. But at least Gibbs will have the chance to score a winning drive of his own when stock car racing’s Super Bowl - the Daytona 500 - takes place on February 18.

**********************************

Daniel Suárez wins in first Mexico Series start in nearly a decade

A disappointing afternoon turned into a great evening for Daniel Suárez. The Monterrey, Mexico native failed to qualify for the Clash but redeemed himself by winning the 150-lap NASCAR Mexico Series race that was run later Saturday night.

A 10-time race winner in the Mexico Series before eventually becoming a regular in the Cup Series, Suárez has been a long-time advocate for the international series that races on ovals and road courses south of the border. On Friday, he stated he considered the Mexico Series race at the Coliseum was as important to him as the Daytona 500.

Suárez started the race in third place and was able to take the lead in the final restart with seven laps to go.

"Man, this really means a lot," Suárez said. "Thank you fans for coming last-minute. It really means a lot. The people who know me, they know that this race means a lot to me. All these drivers, all these teams. I grew up with this.

"If it wasn't for this series - NASCAR Mexico - I wouldn't be in the Cup Series today. So, thank you NASCAR Mexico, thank you all the drivers, thank you to the fans. You make me feel at home.”

And to that, we can add a hearty "Ole!"

LOS ANGELES—The final restart was the difference for Denny Hamlin.

A day earlier than planned—the result of a devastating weather forecast for the Los Angeles area—Hamlin got the jump he needed on an overtime restart and won Saturday night’s third edition of the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.

Smoking his tires in every corner after grabbing the lead on a restart on Lap 141 of a scheduled 150, Hamlin was a few yards away from the finish line when his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Ty Gibbs, spun off the bumper of Kyle Larson’s Chevrolet to bring out the seventh caution and force a two-lap overtime.

In a two-lap shootout for the win, Hamlin stayed clear of runner-up Kyle Busch and crossed the stripe with a 0.610-second advantage, earning his fourth victory in the season-opening exhibition race—most among active drivers—with the first three coming at Daytona International Speedway.

Given the prediction of heavy rain and possible flooding from Sunday through Tuesday, NASCAR made the unprecedented and provident call to move the start of the race from 8 p.m. ET on Sunday to the same time on Saturday.

The decision allowed the NASCAR Cup Series competitors to complete the event without extreme disruption to the schedule.

“I got a really good run off Turn 2 and just got position and was able to hang on from there,” Hamlin said of his run to the lead after the Lap 141 restart. “It’s so chaotic on the restarts, with everyone bumping and banging, but it’s great to win here in L.A.

“It’s just a great momentum boost. It doesn’t do much more than that, but I clean off all the trophies every January 1 in the entryway to the house, and now we get to add one pretty quick, so I’m really happy about that.”

2024 Busch Clash winner Denny Hamlin (middle), second-place finisher Kyle Busch (right), and third-place finisher Ryan Blaney (left), pose on the podium in victory lane at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday night. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Busch restarted behind Hamlin in the overtime, but Hamlin pulled away to a lead of nearly two car-lengths, and Busch couldn’t get to his bumper after that.

“I felt like the first half (of the race), I had a better car, better than the 11 (Hamlin), but some of the adjustments we made weren’t as good, some of the adjustments they made were better,” said Busch, who has finished second, third and second in the three events at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

“All in all, just glad to have a good night. Glad to come out of here in one piece with all the bumping and banging and everything else that happens.”

With a remarkable run from the rear of the field, 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney finished third after using a provisional just to make the field. Blaney started 23rd and made steady progress throughout the race.

Joey Logano came home fourth, with Kyle Larson claiming the fifth position. Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and William Byron completed the top 10.

Denny Hamlin celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday night. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Hamlin led 58 laps, second only to Gibbs, who was out front for 84 circuits and led by nearly three seconds before catching the back of the field in a green-flag run from Lap 78 to Lap 140. The yellow that ended the run—the result of Michael McDowell’s spin in Turn 3—bunched the field and gave Hamlin a shot at the victory.

Clearly, Hamlin took full advantage.

--- By Reid Spencer

************************************

EDITOR'S NOTE: Because of severe inclement weather forecast for Sunday, the Busch Light Clash and the NASCAR Mexico Series undercard have been rescheduled for tonight (Saturday night) at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Clash will begin at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT, and the NASCAR Mexico event will follow upon completion of the Clash.

NASCAR’s roots may be in the south, but the sport’s influence has expanded south of the border.

Despite the fact Sunday's Clash and NASCAR Mexico race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum were rescheduled to Saturday night, it is expected that there will be a strong Hispanic presence in the stands, as both races have been heavily marketed to the Mexican-American community.

What's more, not just for Hispanic NASCAR fans, but rather for ALL NASCAR fans, both of tonight's races will have free admission, and those fans who already purchased either tickets or prepaid parking for the originally scheduled events on Sunday will have their money completely refunded.

BREAKING NEWS: If you have tickets for Sunday's #BuschLightClash, you better GET MOVING to @lacoliseum RIGHT NOW! @NASCAR has rescheduled the race to TONIGHT (8 pm ET/5 pm PT), followed by the @NASCARMex race. The reason for schedule change: severe weather forecast for Sunday.

— Jerry Bonkowski (@JerryBonkowski) February 3, 2024

MORE BREAKING NEWS ABOUT TONIGHT'S RESCHEDULED #BUSCHLIGHTCLASH: There will be FREE ADMISSION for tonight's rescheduled races. Those who hold prepaid tickets or prepaid parking will have your money refunded, per NASCAR:https://t.co/xERCbThEq9

— Jerry Bonkowski (@JerryBonkowski) February 3, 2024

For those of you who may not be aware, NASCAR indeed has a Mexican racing series, one of several international series, as the sanctioning body also hosts races in Canada, Europe, and Brazil. But the introduction of the Mexico Series in 2006 marked the sport’s first international championship.

Mexico Series cars, which are built by Five Star RaceCar Bodies, are very similar to late models. Each car utilizes a 350 crate engine that is able to produce 400 horsepower.

The Mexico Series competes on a variety of tracks, including multiple ovals. Saturday’s race will mark the furthest teams have ever traveled for a race, having traveled approximately 1,947 miles from the series headquarters in Mexico City (similar to the distance from Los Angeles to Chicago). Even with the rescheduled events, both the Clash and NASCAR Mexico races will still be broadcast live on FS1.

However, this Saturday night's race won’t be the first time the Mexico Series has raced in the United States. The Series also previously raced at Phoenix from 2013-15.

Saturday night's King Taco La Batalla en El Coliseo (Battle at The Coliseum) will feature 22 of Mexico’s best stock car drivers, including a name all NASCAR fans should be familiar with.

Cup Series regular Daniel Suárez is still scheduled to pull double duty Saturday night, driving the No. 99 Quaker State Chevrolet in the Mexico Series race after hopping out from behind the wheel of his No. 99 Cup Series car in the Clash.

A native of Monterrey, Mexico, Suárez won the 2010 Mexico Series Rookie of the Year title and won 10 races in the series. He then went on to become the first foreign-born champion of the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2016 and first Mexican Cup Series winner in 2022, when he took the checkered flag at Sonoma.

“I really want to emphasize how big of a deal it is for the NASCAR Mexico Series to be here,” Suárez, who will make his first Mexico Series start since 2014, said in a press conference Friday afternoon. “I know that because I was part of this series for a long time and the way that this series and the organization views NASCAR Cup Series or Xfinity Series or Truck Series is nothing but admiration.

"For NASCAR Mexico to have the opportunity to share a weekend with the Cup Series in a place like Los Angeles in the Coliseum is a big deal. I know that because I’ve been in those shoes before and it’s a huge opportunity. I really want to praise everyone in the organization of NASCAR Mexico and NASCAR here in the United States for making this event happen.”

Saturday night’s race is such a big deal for Suárez that he said it was just as important to him as the Daytona 500. But he does not believe that competing in the Cup race before the Mexico Series race will give him any major advantages. Instead, he’s racing in it for another reason.

“I’m doing this because I love to compete,” Suárez said. “And for me there is no better opportunity than to compete with my old mechanics and my old team. Some of these guys I used to work with. For me it’s a big deal, and I think that it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Joining Suárez in Friday’s press conference was Jose Blasco-Figueroa, a fellow NASCAR Mexico alumnus and Suárez’s race engineer at Trackhouse Racing, who was a crew chief in the Mexico series for over a decade.

“I know a lot of the guys (in NASCAR Mexico) so coming back and competing against them is kind of fun,” Blasco-Figueroa said. “You know, going back to your roots and competing against the people you started with, that’s very exciting.

“But the cars have changed. I haven’t seen those cars in eight years so my old tricks might not work now (he said with a chuckle). But it’s real exciting to be here with the guys. Like Daniel mentioned, they look up to the Cup Series. I had the opportunity to go up to the Cup Series. All the guys down there want to do that. It’s very important for us to put on a show and show that we can do a good job so other people can look up to us and say ‘Hey, they started here (in the Mexico Series)’.”

Travis Pastrana (right) puts his money where his mouth is at -- even if it's just a simple dollar bill -- and Brian Deegan (left) says "You're on, that's a bet." Photo: Long Nguyen.

Travis Pastrana and Brian Deegan continue to duke it out three decades since their initial grunge. The two star athletes bet each other a dollar for their recent desert race in twin Can Am Maverick-Rs.

This past December, in the hills of California, Deegan and Pastrana celebrated their joint history and rivalry. Twenty years after one of their most explosive battles during the 2003 X Games, the duo met to rip it in the desert outside of Ocotillo Wells, Calif.

Both athletes were provided with Can Am’s new Maverick-R to settle a score three decades in the making. With age comes knowledge and grudges that once might’ve been settled on a dirt bike with each rider trying to push the other, now have the safety of a cage.

Voila, that explains "With Age Comes Cage" means, in other words, having the safety of a roll cage in a vehicle as compared to nothing but air around you on a motorcycle.

Brian Deegan (right) and Travis Pastrana (left) go through their pre-race strategy before flying through the sand dunes in Southern California. Photo: Long Nguyen.

Can Am, Deegan, and Pastrana used Nitrocross Round 6 and 7 at Glen Helen as a backdrop to stoke the rivalry, as both athletes were presented with liveries and fire suits based on their 2003 dirt bikes and riding suits.

The yellow 199 and black 38 have become synonymous with the two personalities.

"The rough dirt bike dudes,” Deegan described himself and his persona at the time. “The all black, spikes on our shoulder pads, heavy metal was our vibe.”

Deegan continued, saying of Pastrana, “He was the howdy doody dude. I get it he was young and we were two opposites when we first started. It started through competition and it was built through X Games for many years. It just continued to go back and forth and then we got into car racing.”

They've been rivals for 30 years, but more importantly, Brian Deegan (left) and Travis Pastrana (right) have been friends first. Photo: Garth Milan.

Select members of the media came out to meet with Pastrana and Deegan before the Nitro round and took to the short course in the Mavericks. Auto Racing Digest was lucky enough to be one of the organizations invited and my first ride-along came with Pastrana’s hands on the wheel.

When I first walked up to Travis, I instinctively tried to shake his right hand, not noticing the cast around his wrist. This, along with every ‘good luck’ I got from friends of the daredevil in the weeks leading up to the event, could’ve been viewed as a red flag. But I went into the evening with full faith knowing the safety of the vehicle and the caliber of the driver.

A quick two laps around the short course proved to be exhilarating and oddly calming. It was not until I watched footage back that I really understood how fast we were going and how high we were jumping.

Auto Racing Digest's Victoria Beaver (left) gets set to go play in the sand with Travis Pastrana behind the wheel (right). Photo: Long Nguyen.

A few days later the athletes, each with a dollar on the dash, took to the desert to race and perform tricks in the newly released Maverick-R.

There are two versions of the “With Age Comes Cage” videos, one edited for Pastrana’s Channel 199 and the other for “The Deegans” YouTube channel. Both were produced in the image of the athletes as a way to show how their rivalry made them two sides of the same coin.

A Rivalry Remembered

Before strapping in with Pastrana I heard the story of the rivalry from Deegan’s point of view.

“The deal with Travis has been going on since the beginning of Freestyle Motocross,” Deegan explained. “I’m talking about the mid-90s, almost three decades.

"It’s pretty sad because that means we’re getting old, but it started at the beginning of Freestyle Motocross. He was young, he was probably 14 or 15. It all started out when we were filming for Crusty Demons of Dirt, which was the first real action sport movie.

"That showed free riding and having fun on dirt bikes besides the racing aspect. It was the first big action sport video that came out with free riding. We were out in the hills and I had heard of Travis because of amateur motocross, but he was in a different generation, a younger generation.”

Nine years separate the two athletes and at the time it felt like an ocean separated them in personality.

“We were out in the hills jumping and we found this crazy downhill jump they called it the diving board. It was this massive step down, like 100-feet down this mountain. No one wanted to jump it, and I think he says he jumped it first, (but) I think I jumped it first. I hit it and then he hit it and tried to do a trick but ended up a little long and ended up breaking his arm. That’s how it all started.”

A few years down the line once Pastrana made his AMA Motocross debut in 1999 the duo would face each other again with the addition of the Freestyle into the X Games.

“We went into the X Games in '99, it was our first year at X Games. (Brian) ended up winning the first event.” Deegan recalled. “He was quick to learn a ton of tricks. He was the guy to beat when it came to freestyle motocross. It really came down to he was the good guy. I was part of the Metal Mulisha, the guys in black. The rough dirt bike dudes, the all black, spikes on our shoulders pads, heavy metal was our vibe.”

Brian Deegan (left) talks about his race strategy with Auto Racing Digest's Victoria Beaver. Photo: Garth Milan.

The ‘99 X Games were the first time that there was a MotoX Freestyle event, and Pastrana became the first winner, with Deegan taking bronze in the competition.

Five years later Pastrana was attempting to reclaim his throne on top of X Games freestyle after missing ‘02 with an injury. Before this forfeit he had won the three years prior. Deegan entered the event driven to get his first gold in MotoX Freestyle at any cost. Night one took place at the LA Coliseum, the site of Deegan’s first and only Supercross win where he infamously ghost rode his dirt bike at the finish line.

Deegan went for it and was the first rider to complete a 360 in competition, a skill that he had only practiced in a foam pit and never attempted on dirt.

“I came around to the last jump and I knew my run wasn't enough to win, and I was like, ‘Alright, I'm going for it;’ I was all or nothing and I went for a 360 off the last jump, and I'd done it in a foam pit before I went to X Games, but never on dirt.”

Now that same kid, the kid that could pick up skills so quickly during the 1999 X Games, what were the chances that he wasn’t going to try the same thing?

When Pastrana went for his final run he attempted and pulled off a 360 as well, becoming the second rider to successfully complete one in competition -- but the first to secure a gold from it.

“I was able to land it and then he came out and had to do it,” Deegan explained. “He was like, ‘I gotta do it’, went out and, you know, he tried it, fell the first time, ended up coming around and doing it again and landing it, which I thought it was just a cool night, you know, overall. I feel like I should, I probably should have won.”

Deegan went on to win best trick the next night with a 360 a few miles down the road at the Staples Center. Moments like these are what fuel a rivalry for three decades. While Deegan and Pastrana might not care, or care to the same extent, who beat who when and where, you bet the fans do.

“It was such a cool moment,” Deegan said. “And it was one of those epic moments where two guys are head-to-head. It wasn't about the piece of the gold medal, it wasn't about winning the trophy, it was about old school who is going to throw down the gnarliest trick first. And that's what it was about.”

Travis Pastrana will not be behind the wheel for the near future, recovering from recent surgery. Photo: Garth Milan.

Deegan and Pastrana: the Golden Years

Now both athletes are focused on different but similar endeavors and show support towards the other whenever possible.

As the founder of Nitrocross, Pastrana tries to steer it into a new sustainable direction, trying to keep the high octane vibes of the series while championing electric vehicle racing and development. He also travels the country running Nitro Circus with his wife, fellow action sports star Lyn-z Pastrana, with two competitive cheer daughters in tow.

A week after the videos above were shot, Pastrana went into a scheduled surgery for a knee replacement and has announced he will be away from bikes for the foreseeable future. This also means that he will not be racing Round 8 of Nitrocross this weekend in Calgary but will be at the event as an ambassador.

Travis Pastrana leads Brian Deegan in their jaunt through the Southern California desert. Photo: Long Nguyen.

Earlier this year Pastrana told ARD that he would be returning to the Subaru factory team full-time to attempt to capture the ARA Championship in 2024 against his teammate and two-time defending champion Brandon Semenuk.

Deegan’s focus is largely taken up by his children’s endeavors as his two eldest are making headway into the top of their respective motorsports. Hailie Deegan makes the jump from NASCAR Trucks to the NASCAR Xfinity Series this year with a full-time ride with AM Racing.

Brian’s middle child, Haiden Deegan is primed to start his sophomore season in SuperMotocross when takes on the 250 East opener this weekend in Detroit. Haiden’s sophomore year is highly anticipated after he secured the inaugural 250 SMX championship last August. The youngest of the racing Deegan brood, Hudson, is currently racing Amateur Motocross with the hopes of turning professional. 

Top NASCAR Cup drivers are eager to start 2024 season with the Clash

It truly will be a Clash of the Titans.

No, that’s not a reference to the 1981 film steeped in ancient Greek mythology. It concerns the third iteration of the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, a short-track NASCAR Cup Series exhibition race that features the titans of stock car racing, whose talent is no myth at all.

On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, a field of 23 qualifying Cup drivers will compete for bragging rights on a quarter-mile, purpose-built race track inside iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. As an addition to the program this year, the rising stars and veterans of the NASCAR Mexico Series will run a 150-lap race at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The Clash will be broadcast on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“This is a tremendous win for our fans and our sport,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president, racing development and strategy, and the principal architect of NASCAR’s expansion into stadium-based racing.

“Not only will the fans see the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series in action, they will also bear witness to the talent and skill that is found within the NASCAR Mexico Series. I can’t think of a better way to begin our 2024 season.”

Though this is the third running of the Clash in Los Angeles, the event as the kickoff to Speedweeks in Daytona dates to 1979. Among active drivers, Denny Hamlin is the only three-time winner of the Clash, starting with his rookie season in 2006 and adding victories in 2014 and 2016.

The bullring in the L.A. Coliseum, however, is a far cry from 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, where Hamlin scored his three Clash wins.

“It’s a unique atmosphere and a fun race to kick the season off,” said Hamlin, who finished ninth after leading 26 laps of 150 last year. “It doesn’t really translate to anything else we do because the track is so small, but it’ll be fun to knock some of the rust off from not being in the car since November.

“I’m looking forward to it. Our team is looking forward to it. So, we’ll just see what we unload with on Saturday and hopefully get ourselves locked into the main event with a good starting spot. From there, you have to stay up front and stay out of trouble to have a shot at the end.”

That’s exactly what Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr., did last year. The driver of the No. 19 Toyota started second, took the lead from Ryan Preece on Lap 126 and won the Clash by .786 seconds over runner-up Austin Dillon.

The triumph put Truex in a two-driver club with Joey Logano, winner of the inaugural Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum in 2022.

If the size of the track is unique to Cup racing, so is the race format. The starting field will be set from four 25-lap heat races on Saturday, with the starting lineups for the heats based on practice speeds earlier in the day.

The top five finishers in each heat transfer to Sunday’s main event, with the winners of Heats 1 and 2 making up the front row for the Clash. The top two finishers in a 75-lap Last Chance Qualifier on Saturday will be added to the field in positions 21 and 22, with the final starting spot in the Clash going to the driver finishing highest in 2023 championship points who does not transfer into the main event though the heats or Last Chance Qualifier.

Short-track ace and Sunoco rookie Josh Berry, who succeeds Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, is looking forward to his first appearance in the Clash.

“I’m definitely excited to go to the Coliseum,” Berry said. “I think it’s a really cool event—having watched the races there, it’s really fun to get the chance to compete there. I think, for the race, it’s a good opportunity for us to run well.

“Obviously, with my background being in short-track racing, I think it should help, but I definitely think it will be a unique experience.”

--- By Reid Spencer

"New and improved” could be the unofficial slogan this season for 22-year-old IndyCar sophomore Sting Ray Robb.

The Payette, Idaho native will be driving for a new team in A.J. Foyt Racing this year and will have a new engine with Chevrolet power -- quite fitting considering Robb was named after the Corvette Stingray.

Robb will also look to improve in his second season after a difficult rookie campaign. However, he’s expecting anything but a sophomore slump this season.

The Foyt team recently began a technical alliance with Team Penske, which the team hopes will translate into better on-track results. Additionally, Robb will be able to share data with new teammate Santino Ferrucci and will have the support of veteran race engineer Michael Cannon.

“I am very excited,” Robb told AutoRacingDigest. “All those things I’m looking at very much as positives. The team seems like they are very excited to get the season going. I can understand because of the season they had last year.

"They’re kind of on the upswing, especially with Santino finishing third at the Indy 500 last year and both cars qualifying towards the front (Ferrucci qualified ninth while Benjamin Pedersen qualified 11th). Obviously, the partnership with Team Penske and also getting two engineers from another team (is also a big plus).

"All in all, I think it’s going to be a good package just based off the knowledge floating around the team and the experience they have and the personnel they have in place.”

Historically, Robb has been able to improve upon his performance in his second season. In 2020, he won seven races and the Indy Pro 2000 championship after failing to win a single race in the same series the year prior. He also finished second in the Indy Lights standings in 2022, picking up a win and two poles after failing to do either in 2021.

Robb is hoping to continue this trend in his second IndyCar season.

“For myself, I’m really excited because my tendency as a driver is to be better in the sophomore season,” Robb said. “I don’t know why that is, but my rookie stripes seem to be a lot more than others for some reason.

"I think that everyone is looking forward to the season. I’m very much excited about having the shop here in Indianapolis just because I can go in, do pit stop practice, meet the guys and get that relationship built before we even get to the racetrack.”

The IndyCar season starts the weekend of March 8-10 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Robb is also excited to drive for one of the most legendary names in racing. While he hasn’t had the chance to meet with A.J. Foyt yet, he recently was gifted an item he’ll have to bring when he does.

“One of my best Christmas presents that I ever got was this year,” Robb said. “My grandma went online to Ebay and found an old unopened box of Wheaties with A.J. Foyt on them and I’m hopefully going to get that signed at some point and put that on the shelf.

“It’s kind of cool to have an Indy legend as the team leader. A.J. Foyt is obviously a name that is synonymous with racing and winning so I’m very honored to feel like I’m part of that legacy in some way just by being one of his drivers.”

Robb has credited his faith as being a major inspiration to push forward as a driver and he brings new sponsorship from pray.com to the team this season. The sponsorship - rumored to be worth several million dollars - will bring a new level of funding to the Foyt team.

“I’ve been looking for brands to align with since the beginning of my career that I could not only share my passion with but also my faith and values with,” Robb said. “Having pray.com step on board this year is something that is very exciting. They’re helping us create a program that is going to hopefully allow me to have a long career in IndyCar.”

With a new team, engine manufacturer and primary sponsor as well as an experienced teammate and race engineers, the 2024 IndyCar season could be a big one for Robb.

“I'm hoping that it will very much contrast with the season that I had last year,” Robb said. “I’m hoping that we can reverse that narrative this year and with the promise that they’ve (Foyt) shown and the experience that the team has, I think everyone is looking forward to it. They’re already making improvements.

“They’re already saying that they’re going to be better this year than last year and they know the reasons why. I think that is much more important than last year’s results. I think that clarity and understanding which direction is going to lead to success and making those steps happen in the offseason is what’s going to make the team good. For myself, I’m looking forward to learning from the team and seeing what they can do.”