Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Friday morning that MLB will play a regular-season game in 2025 at the historic Bristol Motor Speedway in northeastern Tennessee. The Braves will face the Reds on Saturday, Aug. 2, in the MLB Speedway Classic. Manfred made the announcement at the speedway in a ceremony that included Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.

“Major League Baseball is excited to deliver a special game at Bristol Motor Speedway, a unique setting that sports fans will remember forever,” said Manfred. “The Reds and the Braves form an ideal matchup because of their dynamic talent and the proximity of their markets. We look forward to celebrating our game with a wide array of fans, both on and off the field throughout the weekend, and highlighting the rich traditions of sports, music and community in Tennessee and across the region.”

It will be the first regular-season game in National League/American League history played in Tennessee, and continues a recent push by MLB to play games in unconventional, memorable settings. Other examples in recent years include MLB at Fort Bragg in 2016, MLB in Omaha in 2019, MLB at Field of Dreams in 2021, MLB at Rickwood Field earlier this year, and the annual Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa. Those games were, respectively, the first regular-season AL/NL games in North Carolina, Nebraska, Iowa and Alabama.

After a week off from racing on August 9, Williams Grove Speedway will present a trio of racing programs on August 16, 23 and 30.

August 16 will be another Yellow Breeches 500 event for the Lawrence Chevrolet 410 sprints, presented by Seifert Concrete.

The 358 sprints are also on the program.

The August 23 program will be the York Building Products 42nd annual Jack Gunn Memorial for 410 sprints as part of the 2024 Hoosier Diamond Series.

The Gunn Memorial will pay $8,000 to the winner of the 30-lap main.

The night will also include twin 20s for the winged and wingless sportsman as part of the Sportsman Showdown.

The final show of the month on August 30 will be The Eash Brothers Tribute race, dedicated to late car owner David Eash, another race in the Hoosier Diamond Series.

The 410 sprints will run the event in honor of former sprint car driver brothers Cris and Darren Eash along with their late father, David.

The race, 25-laps in distance, will also pay 8K to the winner.

The HJ Towing & Recovery 358 sprints will also compete in the second Dirty Deeds 25 race of the year, featuring an increased purse.

With the season entering its final two months, Freddie Rahmer currently leads the Lawrence Chevrolet 410 sprint car point standings over Troy Wagaman Jr. while TJ Stutts has moved into third place in the standings.

Stutts is in the midst of the best season of his career at Williams Grove, having won three races to date at the track including a triumph over the World of Outlaws.

Rahmer is gunning for his fourth career track title and second in a row.

NASCAR Holdings has agreed to another Netflix documentary, but exact plans remain unclear with the start of the playoffs just over a month away and as teams try to get a new charter agreement first, sources say.

Costing over $5M, NASCAR last year fully funded the first “NASCAR: Full Speed” documentary that aired on Netflix. The documentary focused on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, with some lifestyle scenes as well.

President Steve Phelps has said another season was likely, and senior NASCAR executives have indeed given their blessing to doing so, according to sources familiar with the matter. But teams remain embroiled in negotiations over a new governing agreement, and some have considered whether to decline to participate in a playoffs-focused show if a new deal isn’t done by that time, sources say. The playoffs begin Sept. 8 at Atlanta.

While some teams have considered not participating in a documentary if a deal isn’t done by the playoffs, others disputed that they would hold out, and its possible the sides could still find a resolution before the playoffs begin to allow for the docu-series to happen.

23XI Racing, in collaboration with the Mobil 1 brand, announced today that Juan Pablo Montoya, a decorated and championship-winning driver in multiple series, will compete in the No. 50 Mobil 1™ Toyota Camry XSE in the NASCAR Cup Series event at Watkins Glen International on September 15. The race will serve as the third and final event for the No. 50 Camry, which has competed at two previous races this season as part of a larger global celebration for the Mobil 1 brand to commemorate its 50th anniversary and as a third entry for 23XI.

The 50th-anniversary commemoration began at Circuit of the Americas in March with Japanese racing star Kamui Kobayashi behind the wheel, followed by rising NASCAR star Corey Heim at Nashville Superspeedway in June. For the final race of the celebration, it’s only fitting to close out with another elite international racing legend. Montoya, a NASCAR regular from 2007 to 2013, will make his first NASCAR Cup Series start since the 2014 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In addition to NASCAR racing, the Colombian-born driver has competed full-time in Formula One, CART, IndyCar, and IMSA. He has won championships in CART (1999) and IMSA (2019) and is a two-time Indy 500 winner and three-time winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Montoya has 12 overall starts at Watkins Glen in four different series. He has one win (2010), a pole award, three top-five, and five top-10 finishes in his seven starts there in the Cup Series.

“I’m looking forward to getting back in a Cup car and racing at Watkins Glen – a track I really enjoy and had the chance to experience earlier in my career,” shared Montoya. “It’s an honor to celebrate the Mobil 1 team’s remarkable legacy in racing and be recognized for my contributions to motorsports. The Mobil 1 brand was one of my first sponsors when I started racing, so to represent the brand again as they celebrate this milestone will be so special. I’m also excited to work with 23XI and experience what the team is building.”

While Watkins Glen is the final on-track NASCAR Cup Series event to celebrate the 50th anniversary for the Mobil 1 brand, fans can get an inside look into each race through a content series that will be released later this year on Mobil 1 Racing’s social channels. The series will highlight Kobayashi, Heim, and Montoya as they prepare for and take on the NASCAR Cup Series events – while driving the No. 50 Mobil 1 Toyota.

“Being able to have such an iconic driver like Juan Pablo Montoya to race the No. 50 car is the perfect way to complete the run of our gold paint scheme with 23XI Racing,” explained Katy Howell, Director of Global Sponsorships and Marketing Services, on behalf of the Mobil 1 team. “We worked with Juan Pablo at the beginning of his career, so to partner with a legendary driver such as himself as he returns to NASCAR is truly a dream come true. It has been an exciting year for our brand globally as we celebrate a historic milestone, and we are thrilled to have an all-star line-up for the third entry of the No. 50 Camry. Each of the drivers and teams showcase our true passion for racing that we celebrate in everything we do as a brand. It has been a privilege to continue to showcase how our products can help race teams and consumers get the most out of their engines.”

 

“Juan Pablo Montoya is a world-class driver who has won in everything he’s driven, and he will be a great closer to the 50th-anniversary celebration we’ve had in NASCAR with the No. 50 Mobil 1 Toyota,” said Steve Lauletta, President of 23XI Racing. “The events have highlighted racing legends as well as what’s next in motorsports, and 23XI has been honored to have been a part of adding to the Mobil 1 legacy and celebrating such a momentous occasion.”

As the Mobil 1 team continues to elevate the sport of racing and create unique experiences for drivers and fans, the brand has unveiled special paint schemes, liveries, and decals to honor its 50-year legacy in a variety of motorsports series around the world including IMSA, Formula One, INDYCAR, NHRA, Moto GP and many more.

With the upcoming Watkins Glen International event concluding the three-race run for the No. 50 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE and NASCAR Cup Series celebrations for the Mobil 1 brand, fans can tune in to cheer on Montoya as he makes his incredible return to the sport and as races towards another win.

In a recently released video, Andretti Global president JF Thormann announced that the team is planning to expand its operation into the NASCAR Cup Series. This comes as the team still has ambitions to join the Formula One grid.

Thormann said the expansion is appropriate given the Andretti name’s history in stock car racing.

“A lot of times when I travel if I have the branding on, the amount of people that will actually ask and say ‘do you work for the Andretti race team, is it Mario, is it Michael?’ You realize the power of the name and how recognized it is,” he added. “It represents that hard work, Mario’s story of coming over with just their shirt on their backs. It’s just pride to wear that.”

At the moment, the team is only in the exploratory phase of expanding to NASCAR.

– For the past 70 years, the NHRA U.S. Nationals has stood as the biggest and most prestigious drag race in the world, and the 2024 NHRA U.S. Nationals, at historic Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, promises to be an event for the record books.

This year’s 70th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals takes place during its traditional Labor Day Weekend, Aug. 28-Sept. 2, and is the 14th of 20 races during the 2024 season. Drivers in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series will be on track competing to lock in their spot for the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs, meaning all the stars in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle will all have their sights set on a legacy-making Indy win and setting their playoff position.

The jam-packed event will also feature the Pep Boys NHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout. The elite field of eight Funny Car drivers will battle it out in the unique callout style event on Sunday, Sept. 1. The previous day will see the final Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge bonus race of the season on drag racing’s biggest stage, while the weekend kicks off with an epic pro qualifying session under the lights on Friday.

 

 

 

The world’s biggest drag race lives up to its name as well. Also competing in Indy will be drivers in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+, NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown™ and NHRA Holley EFI Factory X, as well as the special Sox & Martin Hemi Challenge presented by the McCandless Collection.

Without question, there’s something for every drag racing fan to celebrate when The Big Go turns 70, including these special items:

A special 70th anniversary NHRA U.S. Nationals pennant for the first 8,000 fans in attendance for eliminations on Monday, Sept. 2.

Free parking for all fans in attendance all weekend.

SealMaster Track Walk on Monday and winner’s circle celebration.

An unforgettable Top Eliminator Club experience, including NHRA driver appearances, food and drink, TEC gift bag, starting line seats and much more.

The biggest field in drag racing. Last year, more than 900 cars competed on the hallowed grounds of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

A must-see Hot Rod Junction.

Children 12-and-under get in free to an event offering all-day entertainment.

 Last season, Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all claimed NHRA U.S. Nationals victories. This year’s race will again be broadcast on FOX and FS1, including a special Callout broadcast on FOX at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 1 and eliminations coverage on FOX beginning at 2 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 2.

Brown has back-to-back NHRA U.S. Nationals wins to his credit and with three wins on the 2024 season, he is aiming for his fourth Top Fuel world championship. Leading the points is reigning Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta, thanks to his three wins and two runner-up finishes. Past champs Shawn Langdon and Steve Torrence are also in the mix, as well as Justin Ashley and Indy’s winningest driver Tony Schumacher, who has an incredible 10 Indy wins. Others to watch include Brittany Force and racing legend Tony Stewart, who is making his Indy Top Fuel debut in 2024.

Capps, a three-time Funny Car world champion, sported one of NHRA’s most iconic paint schemes last year with his Don Prudhomme Hot Wheels tribute car. Capps is the back-to-back NHRA U.S. Nationals winner and the rest of the Funny Car class will be pining to end that streak. Funny Car newcomer Austin Prock leads the points while three-time 2024 winner Bob Tasca III, reigning champion Matt Hagan, Daniel Wilkerson  and Gainesville winner J.R. Todd will all be ready for action. Jack Beckman, who will be racing for John Force in Indy, will also be making his return to The Big Go.

Hartford won his first NHRA U.S. Nationals last season over Fernando Cuadra Jr. The eight-time event winner is looking for his first win of the season and has his hopes set on NHRA’s biggest stage. Leading the Pro Stock points is standout Dallas Glenn followed by multi-time champs Greg Anderson and Erica Enders, with Aaron Stanfield and Jeg Coughlin Jr. rounding out the top five.

 

 Smith, a six-time NHRA champ, captured his third NHRA U.S. Nationals win last season when he defeated Hector Arana Jr. Smith has a win on the 2024 season at the most recent race in Sonoma and has his sights set on dethroning reigning world champion Gaige Herrera, who has won six of the eight Pro Stock Motorcycle events this season. Also in the mix is former NHRA U.S. Nationals winner John Hall, Richard Gadson, Jianna Evaristo, Angie Smith, Steve Johnson and Seattle winner Chase Van Sant.

Fans will be invited all weekend long to the Nitro Alley Stage, which is the main entertainment hub in the pits, hosting Nitro School, meet and greets, music and much more. Race fans at Indy can enjoy the special pre-race ceremonies that introduce and celebrate each of the drivers racing for the prestigious Wally on Monday and includes the fan favorite SealMaster Track Walk. The final can’t-miss experience of any NHRA event is the winner’s circle celebration on Monday after racing concludes, where fans are invited to congratulate the event winners.

As always, fans get an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet in Indy. Fans get a unique chance to see teams in action and service their hot rods between rounds, get autographs from their favorite NHRA drivers, and more. They can also visit NHRA’s popular Nitro Alley and Manufacturers Midway, an exciting atmosphere that includes interactive displays, merchandise, food and fun for the entire family.

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature one round at 6:45 p.m. ET on Friday, Aug. 30, two rounds at 12 and 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 31 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 12 and 3:00 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. ET on Monday, Sept 2.

The first round of the Pep Boys Funny Car All-Star Callout takes place at 1:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 1, with the semifinals at 2:40 p.m. and the final round at 4:30 p.m. A special broadcast of the Callout takes place on FOX at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Television coverage also includes qualifying action on FS1 at 1 p.m. ET on Friday and 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, and eliminations beginning at 12 p.m. on FS1 on Sunday, shifting to FOX at 2 p.m.

To purchase tickets to the 70th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals, fans can visit www.NHRA.com/tickets. All children 12 and under will be admitted free in the general admission area with a paid adult. For more information about NHRA, visit www.NHRA.com.

In many parts of North America and where short tracks are located traditional media, newspapers, sports reporters, etc..., have become overlooked, however, where many of our tracks our located in suburban and rural areas, the local county newspaper and Pennysaver type outlets give us an excellent opportunity to reach our constituents. County and community news outlets are still read and looked upon for information and details. Here is a perfect example that traditional media still works.

Tried-and-True Methods Can get the Job done...

In the June edition of the RPM Newsletter, Dennis Gage talked about the state of weekly racing. The piece drew positive reviews from around North America.

For the July edition, we have reached one of our busiest times of the year with racing book-ending many weekends and weeknights as we head toward "the big events" that traditionally close out the season.

 

We wanted to stop and take a look at the "tried and true" things that remain a positive factor in promoting your events. We seem to gravitate directions and get locked in to different directions. For some it may be specifically digital, others streaming and we often lose site of the traditional methods that work for much of our specific demographics.

Many of our paying customers still like the feel of a newspaper in their hand and that doesn't just go for people who reaching up in age, there are younger people who also read actual printed newspapers.

There are also individuals, who actually watch the local news, so work on getting a spot, a driver interview.

Recently, we encountered several of these opportunities and were able to capitalize on them while also using social media and digital marketing and planning to promote events.

We have devised a system for events from big-to-small with somewhat manageable budgets to keep things in line and balanced rather than throw good money after bad. It has taken a lot of experimenting to determine what worked and what didn't.

We would be happy to share those methods with anyone that asks. The challenge is that it may or may not work in your region because not everything is a guarantee.

Geographic location has an incredible amount of impact of what may work for your facility just as much as what type of event you are trying to promote. We adjust for tracks that are just a couple of hours apart due to who we are reaching and what we are trying to accomplish.

It is all unique. It all takes work, but don't forget those "Tried and True" methods of promoting your event to create success. Newspapers, local news, yard signs, flyers and local business visits all work, you just have to be willing to put the time and effort in.

We hope you are all enjoying a successful season filled with great promotions and we look forward to hearing your stories at the upcoming Workshops in Reno and Daytona!

I love this story. I am a lover of animals.

According to writer Mike Adaskaveg whenever modified driver Brett Kressley wins, a homeless German shepherd wins, too. For every victory he donates to the Char-Wills German Shepherd Rescue to cover the cost of one adoption.

Kressley’s own German shepherd, Diesel, came from the rescue organization four years ago.

“Diesel is an excellent dog,” Kressley, of Orefield, Pennsylvania, said. “An elderly lady bought him as a puppy. When the woman developed health problems, she could no longer take care of Diesel. My mom was volunteering at the rescue and connected me with them and that is where I found Diesel.”

Diane Buhl founded the Char-Wills German Shepherd Rescue in New Ringgold, Pennsylvania. Buhl’s mother, Charlotte, taught her daughter how to raise and train dogs for the Leader Dog program for the blind.

 

 

Buhl’s love and knowledge of German shepherds led to the founding of Char-Wills German Shepherd Rescue. The organization has accepted dogs from at least nine states and gave them clean, modern, spacious kennels and needed care until they found their new families.

“These dogs could be hardship cases — abandoned or dumped by previous owners,” said Kressley. “Others are separated from unknown owners in natural disasters. Sometimes it is a good scenario — a dog doesn’t work out in a household, where changes in the family situation, like a new baby, prevents giving a dog the attention needed. These owners prefer to have the Char-Wills German Shepherd Rescue properly place the dog with a new family.”

This season Brett Kressley has won seven times. Five of those victories came at Grandview Speedway, including last weekend, and two came at Big Diamond Speedway. Because of those wins, seven German shepherd owners have had their adoption fees waived thanks to Kressley’s donations.

“I’ve found that people who aren’t even a fan of me will celebrate with us when we win because of the donations we have made,” Kressley said. “Everyone loves dogs. The other drivers and the fans are touched by what the Char-Wills German Shepherd Rescue is doing for dogs.”

One of the best things about racing is that there are so many ways to look at its history. For all the wins and losses, there are people and stories. For every stat that can be analyzed, there are things that happen that nobody will ever see again. Sometimes that’s a good thing.

Here’s a selection of five stats and stories that illustrate just how many ways there are to tell the story of the sport.

1. There are six internationally-born drivers with Cup Series wins

In the spirit of the Olympics, NASCAR’s drivers have come from all corners of the world. OK, no they haven’t. Which makes sense in that stock car racing isn’t as common internationally as open wheel.

All six international winners come from different countries. Mario Andretti (Italy) paved the way, winning the 1967 Daytona 500, his only win in just 14 career Cup Series starts.

He’s joined by Canada’s Earl Ross (1 win), Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya (2 wins), Australian Marcos Ambrose (2 wins), New Zealand’s own Shane van Gisbergen (1 win to date) and Mexican Daniel Suarez (2 wins to date).

It’s a good illustration of why it would be so difficult to make racing an Olympic sport: while racing is popular around the world, there are so many types of vehicles that there’s no one kind that would give an even playing field, and the expense of each country having multiple types of cars compete would be prohibitive and a logistical challenge.

2. Jimmie Johnson’s recent struggles aren’t as uncommon as you might think.

Jimmie Johnson deserves a good amount of slack for the last couple of years. He hadn’t driven the Next Gen before the 2023 Daytona 500 (and learning it while driving part-time is a major obstacle). His team’s equipment is mid-tier, and he’s spent most of the last year dealing with a family tragedy.

 

His final three winless seasons as a full-time driver are more of a mystery, but Johnson is far from alone as a driver who didn’t take his winning ways all the way to the end of his career. Of the drivers in the top 10 of all-time winners, only five won in their last full-time season:

David Pearson (11 wins in 1969, his last full-time effort). Pearson also ran 18 part-time seasons afterwards and was winless in the last seven of them.

Jeff Gordon (one win in 2015). His win at Martinsville sent Gordon to the title race in his last season. He did make eight winless starts in 2016 as a fill-in for an injured Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Bobby Allison (one win in 1987). Allison planned a full-time campaign in 1988 before a career-ending injury derailed him, and he had one win that season as well, before his accident.

Cale Yarborough (six wins in 1980). Like Pearson, Yarborough ran several years part time, winning a total of 14 additional races, though he didn’t visit victory lane in the last three.

Dale Earnhardt (two wins in 2000). Earnhardt raced just once in 2001, in the Daytona 500, and suffered a fatal injury in a last-lap crash in that race.

If you’re wondering, Johnson’s company from among that top 10 includes Richard Petty (winless in his last eight seasons), Darrell Waltrip (also winless in eight seasons before retiring) and Kevin Harvick (no wins in 2023 after a pair in ’22). Kyle Busch is ninth on the all-time wins list but is still active full-time.

3. Also, consistency matters.

It’s not just about winning titles, either. Winning a race is about being in position to capitalize on any situation, whether it be a mistake on track, a fuel mileage situation or an incident. For young drivers, learning to race inside the top 10 and top five are precursors to winning.

It should not be a surprise, then that of those 10 drivers on top of the all-time wins list, nine are also among the top 10 in all-time top fives and eight are on the all-time top 10 list. They won so much because they put themselves in the front of the field, where they could gamble in the right situations, or take advantage of someone else’s gamble in others.

In case you’re wondering (and you know you are), Johnson just misses the all-time top five list (he’s 12th), while Mark Martin (20th all-time in wins) slides in in seventh. Johnson’s back in the top 10 category, but Pearson (12th) and Yarborough (20th) fall off in favor of Martin (third) and Ricky Rudd (10th; 37th in wins).

4. Ford’s first Cup win comes with a hell of a story

Ford took home its first win at Dayton Speedway in Dayton, Ohio, on June 25, 1950. Driver Jimmy Florian beat Dick Linder, the only other driver on the lead lap, by an unknown margin of victory to give Ford its first win in NASCAR’s Grand National division, now the Cup Series.

Florian, who never ran a full-time schedule or won another race, drove his own car to victory lane that day, and in the process, earned a rather dubious nickname: “Shirtless.”

Why, you ask?

 

Well, because when Florian climbed from the car, he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Why, you ask?

Because it was hot, and there was no rule that said he had to wear one. Oh, and also, there was no rule that drivers had to wear a seatbelt, so Florian, who started the race with a shirt but without a seatbelt, took the shirt off at some point.

Funny enough, NASCAR soon made an addition to the rulebook requiring that drivers wear shirts. Go figure.

5. And in truly random fashion…

NASCAR’s historical statistics are stored over at Racing-reference.info, and a thing you can do there is click a link that takes you to a random page.  You might get a specific race, a driver or owner’s stats, or a track’s races. If you like surprises and also racing (and who doesn’t?), the link is at the bottom of the page, on the right.

This time, it hit on the first of two Daytona 500 qualifiers in 1977. And because there’s a story in everything, here are some from that day:

Petty won the first qualifier with Pearson second. Yarborough won the second qualifying race and went on to win the Daytona 500 that year as well.

Both qualifying races boasted 33 starters, a total of 66 entrants at a time when the 500 had 42 cars in the race. Among those who failed to qualify was Hall of Famer Herschel McGriff.

Illustrating just how different the racing at Daytona was before restricted engines were a thing, of the seven drivers who failed to finish in the first 50-lap qualifier, not a single one was due to a crash. Three engine failures headline the list of mechanical woes that caused the DNFs.

The second qualifier featured 11 DNFs, with just two due to crashes, equal to the number designated simply “quit” (AJ Foyt and Buddy Arrington, because I know you want to know).

Engine failures weren’t an uncommon sight in the qualifiers those days as teams used a different engine than they’d race in the 500, and it was designed to put out maximum horsepower, not durability.

The attrition numbers in the 1977 Daytona 500 rival Daytona races today—25 of 42 cars  didn’t make it to the checkers—but the reasons were much different from the laundry list of crash victims we see now. There were three crash DNFs, 15 engine failures, six miscellaneous mechanical failures and one fire (Bobby Wawak on lap three. Because racecar.).

Yarborough’s win in the 500 was just the frosting. The race week has so much to tell.

They all do, if we listen to their stories.