A chance to meet NASCAR Hall of Famer Donnie Allison. On Friday, April 26, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series makes its second-ever stop in the state of Delaware with the Melvin L. Joseph Memorial at Georgetown Speedway.
The nation’s top Super Late Model stars converge for a massive $19,049 winner’s share for 49 laps around the progressively banked four-tenths-mile oval.
Legendary Donnie Allison – a 2024 inductee into the NASCAR Hall of Fame – has been named the Grand Marshal for the Melvin L. Joseph Memorial.
Allison, a member of the “Alabama Gang” and ambassador for the sport for more than 50 years, will be on hand to meet fans and share stories from his career.
Allison will sign autographs from 5-6 p.m. in the grandstand area on Race Day. He will also address the crowd prior to Opening Ceremonies.
Allison was the 1967 Cup Series Rookie of the Year after getting his start in Modifieds and working his way to the top level of auto racing. Allison won the 1970 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, N.C., and finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500 the next weekend, the best combined finish in the two-race crossover that still stands today.
Allison, of course, is best known for his role in NASCAR’s most famous moment involving his brother Bobby: the 1979 fight with Cale Yarborough in the Daytona 500 during the first nationally televised NASCAR event.
The record books credit Donnie Allison with 10 victories, 28 poles and 78 top-five finishes on the Cup level, not to mention hundreds of victories on the short tracks of the Southeast.
Last August, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series made its rousing debut at Georgetown with Ricky Thornton Jr. picking up a dramatic victory. Thornton sits atop the standings as the series returns April 26.
The Lucas field will be boosted by NASCAR Cup Series star Ross Chastain, who will sign autographs at 6 p.m.and plans to compete in the event with a Ken Adams-backed Super Late Model in the event.
Recently at Firebird Motorsports Park, John Force gave himself an early 75th birthday present, capturing the rain-postponed final round of the Lucas Oil Winternationals, originally contested in Pomona, Calif., but which was rescheduled to be part of this weekend’s Arizona Nationals.
“Right now, I'm alive,” sad Force, driver of the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car. “I was going to quit this morning and walk out the gate. And now I've changed my mind. I told Prock (young teammate Austin Prock), ‘John don’t quit.’”
The 156th win (4.033 seconds/318.24 mph) of Force’s legendary career came against one of his chief rivals, four-time Funny Car champ Matt Hagan (4.048 seconds/283.61 mph).
“I'm really excited to have pulled this off,” Force said with a big smile on his face. “I didn't imagine there'd be drivers like Prock, Robert Hight, like Hagan, like (Ron) Capps. I mean, I'm too old to even race these kids. It's exciting. I give it all I have and push the limits wherever I can.”
The 16-time Funny Car champion then thanked John Force Racing president and 3-time Funny Car champ Robert Hight, who has been sidelined this season.
“Robert, thank you for everything you've done when I'm struggling, sending me back for new glasses, doing everything to get this old man back in the game,” Force said of Hight.
Force dedicated the win to friend and former sponsor, the late Frank Tiegs, who passed away in February. Force still keeps a sticker from one of Tiegs’ companies, Flav-R-Pac, on his race car to honor his late friend. Force was one of approximately 1,700 attendees of a Celebration of Life in memory of Tiegs a short time back in Kennewick, Wash.
Force has come into the 2024 season with a renewed level of inspiration and motivation, still hungry for his 17th NHRA Funny Car championship (his last was in 2013).
Force will turn 75 on May 4th, but he’s driving – and now winning – as if he was back in his 30s.
“I better take it now,” he quipped when asked if Saturday's win was an early birthday present to himself. “I just realized I'm going to be 75 in another month, May 4, and I'm doing some serious thinking where I'm going. But my mood’s changing right now.”
Force remains the most popular driver in the sport, a lofty position he has held for nearly 30 years. While he’s mulled retirement, Saturday’s wild cheers and standing ovation from fans in the sold-out crowd just may prompt Force to stick around longer.
“Probably the best thing about today was the sold out crowd, yeah, I love that,” Force said. “I told myself, 'How bad do you want to win?' I was mad, mad at myself. I started saying you just need to get out of the seat, you're just too old for this stuff.
“Or you get out there and fight the fight. And I did, things went right and I got the win. So I'm excited.”
Although the win came at Firebird Motorsports Park, it was the conclusion of the Winternationals race that started two weeks ago in Pomona, Calif. As such, it will be credited as the eighth time Force has won the Winternationals in his career.
And if he doubles up and wins Sunday’s Arizona Nationals – as No. 4 qualifier, Force faces No. 13 qualifier Jim Campbell in the first round – it would also be the ninth time the greatest driver in drag racing history has won in the Valley of the Sun.
“I feel once I get in the race car I'm home,” Force said. “That's where I get right, that’s when the stomach aches go away until you lose. But the hard part is thinking about having to give it up and you're going to have to sooner or later, you just can't go till you fall in the dirt.
“What I'm saying is that to have a day like this, first of all at my age, I can't remember the first (win). I think it was in Montreal (June 28, 1987). But then you get something like this and all of a sudden, your life's back. I can see my wife looking at me at the other end (of the track) with the two (grandsons). I can see that gleam back in her eye ‘cuz she was happy for me.
“She knows what I go through in the middle of the night, setting up in the bed and she’ll say, ‘John, the race is three days away, go to sleep.’ I've done it all a million times. And boy, it gets old. But then this fixes you.
“You know, I just can't believe I'm still doing this. But man, I love it so much. And if I quit, that's what really scares me.”
So Force tells himself simply, “Don't quit. I don't want to do that.”
With four races so far this year using the new aerodynamic package for short tracks and road courses, NASCAR has seen enough to know one thing when it comes to the aerodynamic tweaks it has made for those styles of tracks.
"The bottom line is it doesn’t move the needle and the drivers will tell you that," NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer said Tuesday on SiriusXM’s NASCAR channel.
"So there is no need for us to put a lot of energy towards that type of testing."
Is it frustrating to hear that? For sure. When NASCAR tested its new "simplified" diffuser last year in the days following the race at Richmond, there were high hopes that it could change the dynamic of short-track racing. The idea was that the car could potentially improve aerodynamically in traffic, allowing for drivers with a stronger car to make a pass.
It didn’t happen at the test — that’s why there is testing, to see if theory and reality match — and even after another test at Phoenix in the offseason, the changes didn’t produce significantly different results in the racing dynamic at Phoenix, Circuit of the Americas, Richmond and Martinsville.
New cars (the Next Gen was introduced in 2022) are susceptible to growing pains, and despite the science and simulation, surprises can happen in race conditions. Certainly, there is second-guessing going on in the garage, but at least NASCAR understands that going down the path of more changes to the underbody of the car and the rear spoiler appears to be futile.
So where does NASCAR go from here? What does it do for the rest of the season? It can’t just sit still, and Sawyer indicated that the sanctioning body is exploring options.
A significant increase in horsepower remains off of NASCAR’s table — that debate we chronicled last month — so the other main option is tires.
NASCAR wants a tire that wears not as aggressively as what occurred at Bristol earlier this year but close to it. While there has been nothing definitive on why the tires unexpectedly wore out so quickly at Bristol, it seems that track temperature is the leading theory.
That isn’t great news for Goodyear, which brings 1,500 to 2,000 tires for a short-track weekend. Could there be different tire compounds depending on the track temperature? That would create significant labor and manufacturing costs, be a logistical challenge and be difficult for teams trying to come with setups based on simulation (teams use data for that specific tire to help create setups).
So Goodyear has to develop a tire they hope wears within a reasonable range of temperatures.
Goodyear would need at least a month, if not more, to manufacture enough tires for a race weekend that has a new tire compound that hasn’t been used before.
NASCAR has two short-track tire tests scheduled over the next few months, starting in late May at Iowa Speedway, which will confirm the tire selection for that race on the 0.825-mile track. That test will have to be done with tire codes that Goodyear already has constructed for Iowa because the time frame (a couple weeks) doesn’t give it the ability for a wholesale change.
There also will be a test in mid-July at Bristol, which was originally slated for Atlanta.
Those tests likely wouldn’t be early enough for any changes for the New Hampshire race in June (and Richmond in August might be a challenge) but would be possible for changes for playoff races at Watkins Glen, Bristol, Charlotte road course, Martinsville and Phoenix.
If NASCAR doesn’t find a tire that wears better, what’s next?
NASCAR’s main goal with the Next Gen car was to have the same car able to run at Las Vegas and Bristol and Daytona. But it might have to do something more drastic if an answer when it comes to tires isn’t figured out soon.
Stafford Motor Speedway and the Arute Family are pleased to announce that long-time NASCAR team owner and crew chief Tommy Baldwin, Jr. will serve as the grand marshal of the 52nd Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler®, set for April 27-28. Baldwin will send the open modified field on their way for 100-laps of ground pounding action with the most famous words in motorsports, ‘Drivers start your engines.’
“This is pretty cool and very unexpected for sure,” said Baldwin. “As a crew chief, the Sizzler® is the only race that I haven’t won yet at Stafford. We’ve won at New Hampshire, won the Thompson 300 a couple of times, won the Fall Final a couple times, won at Martinsville, but the Sizzler® at Stafford is definitely a race that I have circled.”
Dover Motor Speedway’s longtime connection with the Department of the Air Force and Dover Air Force Base reaches new heights (literally) this week with an addition to the Monster Monument at Victory Plaza.
The 46-foot landmark now sports a true-scale NASCAR Cup Series car wrapped with an operational camouflage pattern, the same design worn by thousands of Airmen at Dover Air Force Base and across the world every day.
The car and new wrap, which was placed in the Monster Monument’s hand today, will be on display during the Monster Mile’s April 26-28 NASCAR tripleheader weekend.
“It is an honor for our Airmen to be recognized with something as prominent and recognizable as the Monster Monument,” said Col Chris McDonald, Commander, 436th Airlift Wing, Dover Air Force Base. “Dover Motor Speedway is a great community partner and always supports our Dover Air Force Base team members throughout their time in the First State. We look forward to visitors enjoying this tribute to the U.S. Air Force at the Monster Mile.”
Dedicated in May 2008 with NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon in attendance, the Monster Monument is marking its 16th birthday this year – old enough to drive!
“Dover Motor Speedway annually hosts America’s best drivers and now we are honoring America’s best service members,” said Mike Tatoian, Dover’s president and general manager. “We can never do enough to recognize the efforts and sacrifice of all this nation’s military members, veterans and their families, including those who have been or are currently stationed at Dover Air Force Base. Placing this special wrap representing their operational camouflage pattern uniforms on the Monster Monument is a small way we can salute their service.”
Plaques at the base of the Monster Monument honor all of Dover’s race winners with marquee plaques dedicated to legendary drivers for their special accomplishments on the World’s Fastest One-Mile Oval. Seven-time Dover champions Bobby Allison and Richard Petty and five-time Dover winners Jeff Gordon and David Pearson are honored with marquee plaques.
The Monster Monument has frequently been lit in special colors to honor and support various causes, including the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation (teal), autism awareness (blue), the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (purple), breast cancer awareness (pink) and frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic (blue).
Negotiations continue on efforts to bring racing to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway
Mayor Freddie O’Connell built much of last year’s bid for higher office on the back of opposition to a plan for the city to help fund the construction of a new stadium for the Tennessee Titans on city-owned land on the banks of the Cumberland River.
Perhaps it seemed obvious then that he would also oppose a plan to help fund the renovation of the city-owned Fairgrounds Speedway to pave the way for the return of NASCAR in Nashville.
Now, despite some assumptions that John Cooper’s departure from the mayor’s office meant the death of the NASCAR deal, discussions between the O’Connell administration and proposed track operator Speedway Motorsports are ongoing.
“The mayor’s office continues to discuss with multiple stakeholders how to improve the remaining facilities at the Fairgrounds,” O’Connell spokesperson Alex Apple said. “This includes [District 17 Metro Councilmember Terry Vo], neighbors and other interested parties.”
Added Speedway Motorsports representative Joe Hall: “We’ve had multiple conversations with the O’Connell administration.”
New for the 2024 racing season at Stafford Motor Speedway, Call Before You Dig will serve as the title sponsor of the June 21 CBYD Senator’s Cup event. The 50-lap extra distance SK Modified® feature event will be the first of two extra distance races for Stafford’s premier SK Modified® division in 2024 with the 11th Annual NAPA SK 5k set to take place on August 2nd. The CBYD Senator’s Cup will feature a purse of over $10,000 with the race winner guaranteed to go home with at least $1,550.
“We’re always looking for an opportunity to be a title sponsor of a race and this year it fell in line for us that the Senator’s Cup event was available,” said Derek Brown, President of Call Before You Dig in Connecticut. “We took the opportunity to sponsor that race and we’re looking forward to awarding the race winner with a special trophy. Being a title sponsor at Stafford gives us the added exposure that we’re looking for to remind everyone the importance of Call Before You Dig.”
The Senator’s Cup is a race that was revived on the Stafford schedule during the 2020 season after a 30+ year absence. The 2020 race was won by Chase Dowling with Dowling being presented with the vintage Senator’s Cup trophy by state senator Dan Champagne. The Senator’s Cup has since yet to see a repeat winner with Keith Rocco winning the race in 2021, David Arute in 2022, and Michael Christopher, Jr. this past season.
CBYD’s title sponsorship of the June 21st Senator’s Cup event continues a relationship with Stafford Speedway that dates back to the 2007 season. Over the past 17 seasons, CBYD has partnered with Stafford in a wide variety of ways, including options such as advertising partner, contingency sponsor, and race sponsor. CBYD has also offered several special contingency programs such as the CBYD 811 Challenge from 2013-2018 and the CBYD Modified Challenge for the 2021 season.
“Stafford Speedway has always been appropriate for us to partner with in order to promote 811 and Call Before You Dig in Connecticut because the demographics of the people who are involved with racing tend to be homeowners that are do it yourself type people and there’s also a lot of contractors,” said Brown. “Between the homeowners and contractors, that is our target audience to reach with our message about 811 and Call Before You Dig.”
Rev your engines and fire up the grill, race fans! The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Racing Series presented by Born2Run Lubricants is thrilled to announce Dusted Steak Seasoning as its "Official Steak Seasoning"! This exciting collaboration comes on the heels of Dusted's partnership with the Almost Home Motorsports' #11 RUSH Late Model driven by 2023 Futures Cup Champion, Davin Kaiser, putting Dusted in the fast lane to flavor supremacy.
Dusted Steak Seasoning is not your run-of-the-mill grill companion. It's a finely tuned blend of salt, pepper, garlic, and activated charcoal- a secret ingredient inspired by the world's culinary champions that enhances the meat's natural flavors without overpowering them. It's the same technique used by top chefs to let the essence of the steak shine through, making Dusted the ultimate finish line for steak aficionados.
Available for pit stops online at OrderitDusted.com, Amazon, and Walmart.com, Dusted is racing into kitchens and backyards with over 60 retail locations in the Northeast. And that's not all; to celebrate our partnership with the RUSH Racing Series, Dusted is gearing up to give away 40 promotional bottles at each of the 22 RUSH Late Model Flynn's Tire/Gunter's Honey Touring Series events during the 2024 season. That's right, 40 lucky fans at each event will get to take home the champion of steak seasonings!
As we look forward to the 2024 racing season, Dusted and the RUSH Racing Series are committed to leaving competitors in the dust, both on the track and at the grill. So, to our racers, we say: buckle up, it's time to leave 'em in the dust. And to our fans, we say: get ready to grill like a champion. Here's to a season of high-octane races and high-stakes grilling. Good luck to all our racers, and may the best steak win! Dusted Steak Seasoning and RUSH Race Series: The Perfect Seasoning for Speed.
About Dusted Steak Seasoning: Dusted is the go-to seasoning for grill masters and food enthusiasts looking to elevate their steak experience. Crafted with care and the perfect blend of spices, Dusted ensures every bite is bursting with flavor. It's not just a seasoning; it's a way of life. Discover the taste that's taking the culinary and racing worlds by storm. Go to www.OrderitDusted.comfor more information. For media inquiries, please contact Chris Abbott at 941-777-5448 or chris@orderitdusted.com
The RUSH Racing Series is brought to you by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply together with Born2Run Lubricants along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Rick Hendrick City Chevrolet, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, Flynn's Tire, Gunter's Honey, Sunbelt Rentals, MSD Performance, Holley Performance Products, FK Rod Ends, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, Landrum Performance Springs, 3C Graphix, Dave Poske's Performance Parts, Velocita-USA, Wieland Metal Services, Frankland Racing Supply, Dusted Steak Seasoning, Ontime Body & Graphic, Sherwood Wheels, D&V Jewelers, Dusted, Heritage Wine Cellars, Precise Racing Products, Wedge Motorsports, Racing Electronics, and Terry Bowser Excavating.
E-mail can be sent to the RUSH Racing Series at info@rushracingseries.com and mail to 4368 Route 422, Pulaski, PA 16143. Office phone is 724-964-9300. The RUSH Racing Series website is www.rushracingseries.com. Like our various Facebook and Twitter pages by searching for the appropriate RUSH Series.
Chase Briscoe becomes brand ambassador for Fleddermann von Riest
Fleddermann von Rieste, an independent Indiana-based watch brand, has partnered with NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe, with the Mitchell, Indiana-native serving as the first brand ambassador for Fleddermann von Rieste and its growing line of watches.
The partnership with Briscoe includes the launch of a signature watch, designed in collaboration between Fleddermann von Rieste and Briscoe, which is set to launch later in 2024. For more updates regarding product launches and the signature Chase Briscoe watch, please visit vonrieste.com.
“Partnering with Chase was an obvious choice for us,” said Dr. Adam Fleddermann, CEO, Fleddermann von Rieste. “From the early stages of our relationship, it was clear that Chase shares the same Hoosier values and traits that our family and brand values.
“With Chase being our first brand ambassador, we wanted to ensure we got it right on all levels. We believe that with Chase and his family, we’ve found the perfect partner and ambassador for our brand and our family. He is a man of the highest values and integrity, on and off the track, always pursuing a winning path. We’re proud and blessed to welcome Chase Briscoe to the Fleddermann family.”
Briscoe is a third-generation racecar driver who has advanced from winning grassroots dirt track events in his home state of Indiana to competing at the highest level of North American motorsports, the NASCAR Cup Series.
“Being someone who has always been attracted to watches and what they symbolize as not only a tool for keeping time but also a piece of family pride, I was naturally drawn to the Fleddermann von Rieste brand,” Briscoe said. “Their Hoosier heritage and faith-based family approach to business made them a perfect fit for me and the brands I want to represent. The Fleddermann family has already become part of my extended family, and I’m excited to introduce their high-quality products to my fans and the entire racing industry.”
Since he was 13, Briscoe has followed in his grandfather’s and father’s footsteps, racing sprint cars on the rough and tumble bullrings of the Midwest. Briscoe has since expanded his family’s name into NASCAR. After winning the NASCAR Cup Series rookie-of-the-year title in 2021, Briscoe won in just the fourth start of his sophomore season. On March 13, 2022 at Phoenix Raceway, Briscoe took the checkered flag in just his 40th career Cup Series start. The victory secured Briscoe’s place in the NASCAR Playoffs and earned him the honor of being the 200th Cup Series winner in NASCAR history.
“Similar to the same attributes teams put into their cars to win at the top level of our sport, I can respect the incredible attention to detail and overall craftsmanship the Fleddermann von Rieste team puts into every watch they design. The watches they produce are attention-grabbing pieces that you truly want to cherish for generations,” Briscoe said.
“Many don’t realize it, but drivers are constantly on the go, both at home and when we’re traveling to races. A reliable watch, that also looks the part, is important in making sure we stay on time during even the most hectic of race weekends.”
