Bobby Gunther Walsh is ready to compete in 2024 at Grandview Speedway and schedule permitting plans a few appearances at Big Diamond Speedway in 2024. Bobby hopes this is the season that he wins an elusive feature victory. He has been to victory lane several times in qualifying events.

Bobby is thrilled to welcome back all of his sponsors from the 2023 season. Including ResQ Natural Supplements of Palm, PA, Dr. Eric Lebby & Dr. Thomas Dibenedetto, Orthopedic Specialists, at LVHN.org; Agentis Kitchen and Bath in Allentown, Agentis Mr. Rooter Plumbing, Eden East Design & Landscape, Paul Wright Roofing, and Zongora Comfort Solutions top the list of almost three dozen sponsors. In fact he probably has the most sponsors of any racer at the Berks oval.

Included in returning sponsors are such iconic brands as Just Born Candies and Herr’s Snack Foods. That means Gunther will once again be featuring tasty handouts for the fans after the races, like those famous Just Born Marshmallow Peeps, Mike & Ike Candies, Hot Tamales, and from Herr’s a variety of chips, pretzels, cheese curls and more. Gunther does a meet and greet after the races and every week fans are treated to goodies from those two iconic sponsors, and then additional handouts from each week’s featured sponsor, this is something that the fans have come to look forward to and Bobby looks forward to meeting the fans.

Gunther is happy that he has Crew Chief Jeff Paulson returning. Paulson is responsible for Gunther’s two best back-to-back seasons ever. Including Gunther’s first appearance in the Freedom 76er in a decade. Joining Jeff will be Bobby’s brother Joe Walsh, Bill Ohmacht and long-time team members, Randy Miller and Paul Ruppert. Like last year it’s hard for Gunther to put into words the difference Jeff Paulson has made to the team.

Gunther once again will be driving a 2022 Bicknell and his backup car is a 2024 Bicknell, and his motors are done by KB Performance, and his shocks are done by Fast Four Shocks, and once again Bobby thanks both of those partners Kit Kahm of KB Performance and Ronnie Seltman of Fast Four for providing him with top notch equipment.

Bobby has now completed his 40th year as an on-air personality and talk show host in the Lehigh Valley. He has been a fixture behind the microphone for 40 years and his show can also be seen on Service Electric Cable TV and Blue Ridge Cable. 40 years on one station, on one show is nearly unheard of in the radio business, and Gunther is proud of his accomplishment and all of the people who have helped him achieve it including his co-workers at WAEB and his incredible supportive listeners.

His work with charities makes him standout to fans. Bobby is active with many charities including Animals in Distress which raised over $218,000 last year. There was $115,000 raised for the Folds of Honor in 2023, which was a record. The annual Christmas Party for The Children’s Home of Easton was able to produce over $200,000 last year. And last year was the second year he brought back his infamous spaghetti dinner with his own homemade meatballs that he makes and serves to his listeners, and in so doing he has raised over $100,000 two years in a row for Love Ran Red, an organization that helps young adults with autism.

 

2024 is off to a great start with Bobby and his listeners raising over $105,000 for the Center for Animal Health & Welfare at the annual bowl-a-thon. Bobby rolls one ball for people pledging per pin, and this year with all that pressure of $105,000 on the line Bobby rolled a nine. Bobby continues to support other charities and is honored to be the MC for the last 15 years for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Student of the Year Awards Program, as well as their Man and Woman of the year program, now known as the Visionary Awards Program.

Last year, Gunther won one heat race, made a majority of the features, was thrilled to have made the three biggest races of the season, the Bruce Rogers, the Forrest Rogers, and the Freedom 76er. He is also thankful to the fans, the Grandview track officials, the ambulance crews, and everyone for their professionalism and outpouring of support for his wild ride last year on Labor Day weekend when his race car get pretty well busted up. He had injuries but one that were significant.  He will never forget the kindness and concern shown to him and appreciates it. 

As indicated Bobby Gunther will be kicking off his 30th season of racing at the very popular NASCAR sanctioned track with the Seventh Annual Bruce Rogers Memorial at Grandview, which he qualified for the last two years and with his best finish in this classic race being 9th place finish two years ago.

The complete schedule of Grandview events for 2024 can be found at www.grandviewspeedway.com. The track telephone number, for information, is 610.754.7688.

NASCAR announced that it has acquired Winston-Salem Speedway, Inc., the lessee of the historic Bowman Gray Stadium. NASCAR will manage racing operations under the lease with the City of Winston-Salem that runs through Dec. 2050.

“As NASCAR’s first weekly racetrack, Bowman Gray Stadium holds a special place in the history of our sport,” said Ben Kennedy, Senior Vice President, Racing Development and Strategy, NASCAR. “We are grateful to the Hawkins family’s multi-generational legacy of leadership at this historic track and we’re thrilled to oversee racing at one of the crown jewels in NASCAR Regional. We look forward to leading the racing operations of the facility in partnership with the City of Winston-Salem to preserve the history and legacy of the racetrack for the next generation of fans and racers.”

“Bowman Gray Racing has been a part of the fabric of Winston Salem for many years. In fact, some attribute NASCAR’s beginning to the races held at Bowman Gray Stadium,” said City of Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines. “It is for that and other reasons that the City of Winston Salem is delighted that NASCAR is acquiring Winston-Salem Speedway Inc. I am doubly happy that NASCAR has committed to the continuance of the weekly races at the stadium that are so popular with our citizens and visitors.”

Austin Shuford has been named the new general manager of racing operations for Bowman Gray Stadium. Shuford has worked with Track Enterprises’ Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, where he annually promoted and managed 25 events a year at more than 15 racetracks throughout the south and Midwest since 2020. He is a graduate of Western Carolina University.

"As one of racing’s most beloved and enduring venues, it's truly an honor to be named the new general manager of racing operations at Bowman Gray Stadium,” said Shuford. “I look forward to learning from the Garrison, Pinilis, and Hawkins families to preserve and extend the greatness of Bowman Gray Stadium. Thanks to NASCAR for this fantastic opportunity to join their organization and the chance to entertain race fans at weekly events throughout the year."

 

Built in 1937, Bowman Gray Stadium, a quarter-mile short track, holds a special place in NASCAR history as the longest-running weekly racetrack. In 1949, Bill France Sr. and Alvin Hawkins, two founding fathers of NASCAR, brought motorsports to the facility as the first weekly racetrack and first paved racetrack that NASCAR competed on.

The racetrack hosted 29 NASCAR Grand National, now NASCAR Cup Series, races from 1958 to 1971. Bowman Gray Stadium has hosted many NASCAR’s legends including Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, Glen Wood, David Pearson, Ned Jarrett, Richie Evans, Jerry Cook, and others. Petty won his 100th NASCAR Grand National race in the 1969 Myers Brothers 250 at the racetrack.

More recently, Bowman Gray Stadium hosted several East Series races from 2011 to 2015. Ben Kennedy, great grandson of Bill France Sr., won an East Series race there in 2013. Other winners include two-time NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes and NASCAR Cup Series driver Corey Lajoie.

The 2024 Bowman Gray Stadium race season begins on Saturday, April 20. For more information on Bowman Gray Stadium and the upcoming NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series season with weekly modified, sportsman, street stock and stadium stock competition, visit bowmangrayracing.com.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. has announced he will once again compete in the Food City 300 (7:30 p.m., USA Network, PRN Radio) on Friday night, Sept. 20, under the lights at the high-banked all-concrete short track that races like a superspeedway.

Earnhardt Jr. will again drive the blue, yellow and white Hellmann’s No. 88 Chevy Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season finale race.

It’s the 20-year-anniversary of when the two-time Xfinity Series champ famously coined the phrase “It’s Bristol, Baby!” after winning the 2004 Night Race in the Cup Series at BMS. That year he also won the Xfinity Series race a night earlier to sweep both events in a single weekend. At the time, he was the first driver to accomplish that feat.

In last year’s Food City 300, Earnhardt Jr. brought the fans to their feet inside The Last Great Colosseum by leading and running in the top-five of the race for most of the night. A small electrical fire in his dash with 29 laps remaining in the race forced him to park his car early, and he settled for a 30th place finish.

“We had a positive wire short up in the top of the dash, and the casing on the wire melted down onto the leg brace and caught the foam in the leg brace and the cloth cover of the leg brace on fire, so it burnt the leg off my uniform,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “It was like another lap, and I was probably gonna be blistered up. But, no burns on my leg. Just barely escaped. I was disappointed to have to get out. We were gonna run fourth or better.”

The Food City 300 will continue an important streak for Earnhardt Jr. He has run at least one Xfinity Series race each year since his retirement in 2017 to get his racing fix. Earnhardt, 49, says he feels competitive anytime he puts on his driving suit.

 

“I’ll run as long as I can,” Earnhardt said last year following his Bristol effort. “I like running one here and there. I think I still feel young. I overachieved tonight in my eyes in terms of how I ran, so I guess that gave me some confidence to try do to one here and there for a couple more years.”

Earnhardt Jr. has a solid Xfinity Series record at Bristol. In 13 career starts he has posted 10 top-10 finishes and 7 top-fives, which includes the memorable ’04 sweep. Prior to last year’s 30th place effort, his worst Xfinity finish at BMS was a 22nd place finish in his first attempt in 1997 where he started the race on the outside pole for local team owner Ed Whitaker.

“There was a tremendous atmosphere and buzz around Bristol Motor Speedway when Dale Jr. was leading the Food City 300 last fall,” said Jerry Caldwell, president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “We are thrilled that he is returning to take care of some unfinished business this September. He is such a legend in the sport and has meant so much to fans in our region. We can’t wait to see him back in action on the high-banks in his No. 88 Hellmann’s Chevy.”

In addition to Earnhardt’s return to the cockpit in the Food City 300, the race is also the regular season finale for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, so the stakes will be high for his four full-time team cars as they work to grab a Playoff spot. Those drivers include defending Food City 300 winner Justin Algaier (No. 7); Sam Mayer (No. 1); Sammy Smith (No. 8) and Brandon Jones (No. 9).

On Saturday evening, the crown jewel Bass Pro Shops Night Race will showcase the Cup Series Round of 16 Playoff elimination race (7:30 p.m., USA Network, PRN Radio) under the lights as tensions will be high. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will get the fun started on Thursday night, Sept. 19, with the running of the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics (8 p.m., FS1 and MRN Radio). The ARCA Menards Series will open Thursday’s racing to make it a doubleheader night with the Bush’s Beans 200 (6 p.m., FS1 and MRN Radio).

For tickets, please visit the BMS website or call the BMS Ticket Sales Center at (866) 415-4158.

 NASCAR saw the expected incremental improvements to its short track package at Phoenix Raceway.

“There were a lot of passes during the race from the data standpoint,” Cup Series managing director Brad Moran told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “The way these races play out, you never know what you’re going to get. But I think we had – and again, it’s still early on, we’re going to dig into everything and talk to all the drivers and teams and do quite a bit of digging here at the R&D Center – like 2,800 green flag passes, which is the most with the Next Gen car at Phoenix. So, it did deliver that.

“But we’re never done looking at improvements and adjustments. Christopher Bell, he didn’t really seem [to have] too much of a problem passing, that’s for sure. He had a dominant race. It was a pretty interesting race from the tower.”

Moran also acknowledged that adding horsepower has been discussed, but warned that it’s not a simple solution.

“Once we open up the horsepower, we have to have all three manufacturers on board,” he said. “As soon as you open that up, there’s going to be development, there’s going to be reliability issues and putting that cost back into the engine builder’s category, where they certainly will develop the engine. As soon you open any horsepower, they’re automatically going to do that. They’re the best at it, and that’s what they do.

- Grandview Speedway along with Astound Broadband are releasing several dates that will see select Saturday Night race programs televised during the 2024 racing season.

Astound Broadband has finalized their schedule of television dates for racing at Grandview Speedway. The Astound TV Network (ATVN) will once again be returning for their 22nd season at Grandview to record the race events on six selected Saturday nights, and then show the broadcasts on a tape-delayed basis. The professionals at ATVN have been covering local auto racing since the early 1970’s, sending them into their 42nd year of auto racing coverage.

Astound TV Network (ATVN) will once again produce the race events and broadcast those races on a tape-delayed basis, with each program this year being split into two separate shows. The heat races will be a complete program shown on the following Tuesday night at 7:30 pm. The features will air the following Friday evening at 7 pm. with further replays to follow.

The six selected Saturday night events, which all include the T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds and T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, are on May 11 (plus the USAC East Sprints), May 25, June 22, July 13(Sportsman Firecracker 40), July 27, and the final one will be the 54th annual Forrest Rogers Memorial for Modifieds on August 10.

As has been the case for many seasons, Mike Feltenberger and Randy Kane will be returning as the announcing team for all ATVN broadcasts.

Grandview Speedway management welcomes ATVN back for another season, as participating race teams enjoy having the race events shown on ATVN, since it is yet another way to get their race team sponsors additional and expanded exposure.

John Force Racing, one of the winningest organizations in National Hot Rod Association history with a record 22 championships and more than 225 national event wins, enters the 2024 NHRA season with a new Force-ful theme that highlights the organization’s overall efforts, as well as offers a vision for JFR’s future.

That theme, #2024ORCE (a metaphor for twenty-twenty-Force), is centered around the leadership of team patriarch and 16-time Funny Car champion John Force, along with daughter and two-time Top Fuel champion Brittany Force, plus Austin Prock, filling in for sidelined three-time Funny Car champ Robert Hight. All three drivers hope to make 2024 one of their best years yet, and to cap things off with the championship in their respective classes for JFR. Hence, the #2024ORCE theme.

“John Force Racing is ready to turn it around this season in 2024. We are calling it 2024ORCE,” Brittany Force said. “We have the most championships in NHRA history and our goal is to get right back on top, where we belong."

Added John Force, "Well, it's 2024, but we're looking at it like 24s (meaning JFR could win its 23rd and 24th championships). “My daughter is in this, and of course, our new kid, (Austin) Prock, replacing Robert Hight while he gets through some personal stuff. But it's exciting. A new major series sponsor with Mission Foods is coming on board. We're already out promoting it.”

Prock previously drove a Top Fuel dragster for JFR before being tabbed to fill in for Hight, who finished second in the Funny Car class last season. Prock has been licensed for Funny Car for the last several years.

Prock also embraces the #2024ORCE theme.

“Races are won and lost as a team,” Prock said. “The structure of JFR has been built off of the ‘one team’ mentality, meaning all teams have each other’s back and share information. I believe the countless race wins and championships is derived from this approach.”

After Prock won his first-ever start in a Funny Car last month in Bradenton, Fla., he and John and Brittany, as well as their teams, are looking forward to getting off to a strong showing in this weekend’s 2024 season-opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Force, who earned his NHRA Funny Car license in 1974, turns 75 years old this May and is closing in on 50 years of full-time competition in NHRA. But the driver of the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS is not retiring or slowing down. Rather, he still hopes to capture several more Funny Car national event wins and championships.

But Force, who is the winningest individual driver in NHRA history with 155 national event victories, is also looking ahead to growing JFR’s future as an organization and brand in the coming years, both before and after he closes out his legendary racing career.

Among the initiatives Force hopes to eventually bring to fruition include a book and a movie deal about his incredible life and career, possibly another reality TV show (following the breakthrough A&E real life series “Driving Force” that debuted in 2006), an in-studio TV show similar to Jay Leno’s tenure with “The Tonight Show,” and possibly a regular podcast.

Force also has hopes to essentially one-up Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who has said he will delay retirement so as to get the chance to play in the NBA with his son Bronny. After spending several years of racing with three of his daughters – Ashley, Brittany and Courtney – Force is now looking forward to see his grandchildren move up in the NHRA ranks, including granddaughter Autumn Hight, and grandsons Jacob and Noah Hood.

Autumn Hight is the daughter of JFR President Robert Hight, while her mother is Force’s oldest daughter, JFR Chief Financial Officer Adria Hight. Autumn is currently 19 years old and is expected to race in the NHRA Super Comp class this season.

Jacob and Noah Hood, meanwhile, are the sons of John Force’s crew chief, Danny Hood, and JFR Vice President and Creative Director Ashley Force Hood.

Others who also play vital roles in JFR’s overall operation include Director of Business Operations Bob McAleer, Director of Public Relations Jerry Bonkowski, the team's new Social Media Manager Cole Wilgus, Communications Coordinator A.J. England, Social Media Assistant Darin Williams Jr., Graphic Designer Armando Villa, and veteran drag racing consultant Dave Densmore.

Given the organization’s new theme for 2024 and all the plans he has for the future, while retirement is inevitable, Force still has plenty more to accomplish in his life.

Or as he emphatically says with a smile, “It isn’t over till I say it’s over.”

Officials with the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Pro All Stars Series (PASS) have announced the nine division slate, schedule and pricing for the opening weekend of the 2024 New England racing season with the iconic 50th Icebreaker at Thompson Speedway. Following Practice Day on Friday, April 5, the 50th Icebreaker starts in earnest on Saturday, April 6 before wrapping up on Sunday, April 7.

Saturday’s exciting opener to the New England racing season is headlined by the much-anticipated debut of the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series at Thompson Speedway. The Icebreaker 75 is the first event for the popular Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series at the 5/8-mile oval with many of the Northeast’s biggest open wheel stars expected to battle for the honor of being the series’ first winner at the Big-T!

Saturday is also headlined by the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models following their annual mid-March excursion to North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway. The Sunoco 604 Modifieds make their much anticipated debut, going for two features on opening weekend with one 30-lapper on Saturday and a second 30 on Sunday. The Evolve Bank & Mortgage Pro Truck Tour also makes its return to Thompson Speedway on Saturday, April 6 alongside the beginning of track championship action for the Street Stocks and Mini Stocks!

Sunday, April 7 brings the exciting return of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour to Icebreaker weekend for the Icebreaker 150. All the NASCAR stars will be in attendance following their season opener at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida and their return to Richmond Raceway in Virginia. Sunday will also feature track championship action for the Sunoco 604 Modified, Thompson Late Model and SK Light Modified divisions.

Pit admission is set for $25 per person for Friday-only with single day pit passes on Saturday and Sunday available for $50 for adults and $30 for children 12 and under. Weekend pit passes good for Friday through Sunday will also be available at $100 for adults and $60 for children 12 and under.

General admission is available at $45 for adults and $15 for children aged 6 to 12 for single day tickets on both Saturday and Sunday while kids aged 5 and under are free. Two-day tickets are also available at $80 for adults and $25 for kids aged 6 to 12.

For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com.  You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.

One of the toughest moments of the offseason for many motorsports fans was the announcement that the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) would not return in 2024. However, one of its founders seemed to know it was heading downhill. Ray Evernham joined the Dale Jr. Download, and he discussed the downfall of the SRX and why he left.

The Superstar Racing Experience was founded by Ray Evernham and Tony Stewart in 2021. It was originally conceived as a modern version of “IROC” contested on short tracks with retired motorsports stars competing against one local legend.

The series evolved and changed over time with more modern drivers being included, and getting rid of the local hero. However, the races were still contested on local short tracks, routinely selling out these venues.

Fans were very upset to see SRX go. Many do not know exactly what happened, but, Evernham offers some insight into where the series went wrong.

Ray Evernham opened up to Earnhardt Jr. about what the original concept of the SRX was. Unfortunately, the series evolved to something that did not fit his original vision.

When I designed that series I wanted it to be a mini IROC for drivers guys like [Earnhardr Jr.] and Jeff [Gordon] and Tony [Stewart]. Guys that are retiring from the sport younger and younger, didn’t really want to race, but wouldn’t mind doing something like this that was safer and have a little bit of fun and made it Motorsports entertainment made for TV

Ray Evernham

Obviously, as the SRX evolved, there were elements of Evernham’s original vision, but, there were also aspects that changed. The series continued to be contested on local short tracks, but, the fields changed drastically.

In 2021, year one of the SRX, only one part-time driver was full-time in NASCAR or IndyCar, and that was Hailie Deegan. Even looking at the guest drivers, Chase Elliott was the only full-time NASCAR driver of that list. That’s a total of only 2 of 20 (10%) drivers.

Fast-forward to 2023, and 11 of 27 (41%) drivers were full-time in NASCAR or IndyCar. The series evolved to including more current drivers, and not as many drivers that were retired or semi-retired. It’s fair to say that, particularly the participants in the series, did not fit Evernham’s original vision.

Where Things Went South

Evernham gave some insight into the split between him and those involved with the SRX. It seems there was a disagreement about what the path forward was on the series. At the end of the year when there’s no moving forward financially or things like that, you have to have a hard conversation with the partners like, wait a minute, this is what we agreed on. This is what I think it’s going to take to be successful, and, at that time, the other partners felt like it was going to take something else for it to be successful or they could be successful a different way. I didn’t want to do that, so I said, okay well you probably need to have somebody else run this then because I don’t believe that that path that you’re going will be successful, so I stepped aside and you unfortunately it’s not been successful.

Ray Evernham

As we went into earlier, the series did take a much different direction in the last few seasons. It went where Evernham seemed like he did not want it to go. He doesn’t seem to be happy that the SRX has failed after just three seasons either.

He went into more detail about where the SRX and he split off. Specifically, he talked about the driver rosters and the heavy emphasis on NASCAR.

I think um once it got off to being a bunch of current cup guys, it became something much different than I started.

Ray Evernham

When we wrote about what went wrong with the SRX back in January, we noted how much more of an emphasis there was on NASCAR as the series progressed. NASCAR drivers made up 37% of the grid in 2021, compared to 71% of the grid in 2023. It did take a turn, and it took one that Evernham did not want.

Evernham was not happy about having to leave SRX. He described the scenario he went through as similar to a breakup, along with knowing that the path the series was going down wasn’t going to work long-term.

I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t I mean it’s like watching your old girlfriend going on a date with somebody else, and you keep thinking man that that’s not going to be good for you…It did bother me to see some of the changes that were made and some of the things they said, some of the things that it was becoming that we had never intended it to do. I watched some of the turns that they made, and I thought to myself ‘it’s just not going to make it’ and unfortunately they didn’t

Ray Evernham

Frankly, Evernham was seemingly proven right at the end of the day. The SRX ended up failing after just three seasons.

Would it have succeeded if they followed the original vision Evernham had? We won’t know ultimately, but, it doesn’t seem that Evernham took any joy in seeing the series fall either.

Will the Series Ever Return?

Earnhardt Jr. directly asked Evernham if the series would ever make a return. Evernham did provide a slightly optimistic outlook on the future of the SRX and series like it.

I think there’s a place for a series like that if it’s done properly, and there’s a business case. That business case has to be really looked at, and I don’t think you can go from point A to point D like a rocket ship. You have to go B, C, and D. I think that there’s 100% a place for something like what IROC was or SRX was that is a form of Motorsports entertainment.

Ray Evernham

Now that Evernham has bought IROC, it seems the wheels are already turning for a potential new SRX or IROC. It may not come anytime soon, but, it does not seem that the hopes of a series like this are dead yet.

The SRX went down a path that Ray Evernham did not want it to go down, and it ended up failing. Would it have succeeded if they stayed the course? We may never know.

We will have news about where SRX is headed next column.