NASCAR Pole Position - August-September 2022

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Q&A

A LIFE OF RACING:

BOBBY

LABONTE NASCAR LEGEND

Harry Gant

NASCAR

HOME TRACKS

SEASON REWIND

JENNERSTOWN SPEEDWAY

1964

DRIVERS

POSTERIZED GRAGSON // BOWMAN // SUAREZ // + MORE

Driver Throwbacks

Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart + more P. 62

THE BUSINESS

OF RACING

WOOD BROTHERS KAULIG RACING THORSPORT

NASCAR Tracks App

Download now to plan your next NASCAR adventure P. 08

AUGUSTSEPTEMBER

20 05

NASCAR Defined

06

Green Flag

Presented by Alka Seltzer

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40

18

NASCAR Home Tracks: Jennerstown Speedway

36

Spencer Boyd’s Partnership with Freedom Warranty

19

Retro Rewind: NASCAR’s Youngest Champion

38

Q&A with Noah Gragson

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NASCAR Drivers Posterized

54

For the Record: Bobby LaBonte

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NASCAR Tracks App

09

Show Your Stuff

20

The Business of Racing

10

Favorite Finds

22

11

Health & Wellness

NASCAR Legacy: Wood Brothers Racing

Presented by Slo-Niacin

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NASCAR’s Great Owners

12

Gone But Not Forgotten

28

14

My Favorites: B.J. McLeod

NASCAR Newcomer: Kaulig Racing

15

NASCAR Pets: Ross Chastain & Copper

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ThorSport: Truck Series Powerhouse

16

Behind the Scenes with Out of the Groove

34

NASCAR Builds

Presented by Forney Industries

D I E TA R Y S U P P L E M E N T

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POLE POSITION 2022

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Presented by Prevagen 58

Backstory: Tony Stewart Presented by K-Seal

60

Legend Profile: Harry Gant Presented by Hempvana

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Blast from the Past: 1964

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Did You Know?

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Ty Dillon with his daughter Oakley Ray and son Kapton Reed.

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Tyler Reddick with Alexa De Leon and son Beau.

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Josh Berry with his wife Ginny, and daughter Mackenzie.

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Austin Hill with son Barrett Edward.

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Kevin Harvick and daughter Piper.

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

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PRESENTED BY

GREEN FLAG

INTRODUCING TWO NASCAR BOARD GAMES

S

tart your engines! NASCAR fans can now expe-

rience the thrill of the race while tailgating or watching at home with the new NASCAR Car Racing Game by Across the Board.

This game will have your adrenaline pumping as your race car makes its way around a beautifully handcrafted wooden oval race track. Line up the race cars, deal the cards and begin rolling the dice to disqualify cars and start building the “pot.”

Across the Board also handcrafts a NASCAR Farkle game that includes a wooden rolling dish, which can double as a valet tray. Choose when to risk more points and when to save your points.

Both games are perfect for any race fan and will be a sure hit for that perfect gift or party. Oh yeah, and they are Made in America.

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THE WOOD BROTHERS ON BROTHERHOOD LEN WOOD

EDDIE WOOD

LEN WOOD, THE YOUNGER

EDDIE WOOD ISN’T EXACTLY

brother of Eddie by four years,

sure how he and his younger

struggles to recall a time when he

sibling have managed to

and his older sibling weren’t on the

avoid the spats in which

same page.

brothers who spend a lot of

“I think we’ve always gotten along,”

time together tend to engage.

said Len, who officially went to work

“If we’ve ever had a cross

for Wood Brothers Racing in the

word or an argument, I don’t

mid-’70s shortly after his brother.

remember it,” he said. “We

“I think it took all of us pulling in the

just haven’t. I’m 4 years older

same direction to make it work.

than Len, but we’ve just kind

There was no time for an argument.

If we go back to when we started

• Eddie Wood

of always stuck together.

It’s just the way it’s always

running all the races – around 1985

been. We even got COVID

– I started working on engines and

together. We noticed it within

stuff, and Eddie worked more on the

hours of each other, and both

car stuff.

of us tested positive within

“I felt responsible for the motor side,

minutes of each other, and

where Eddie felt responsible for the

there we were.

car side. He would never say, ‘You’ve

“We’ve stuck together and

gotta fix the motor.’ It was never

never really had arguments.

anything like that. It was like, ‘Do you

I guess we just looked at

need help with the motor? Can we

things the same way. Being

help?’ Stuff like that. We never had a

a small team, we had to stick

cross word. If one piece of it doesn’t

together. And you had to kind

work, the whole thing doesn’t work.

of believe in the same goals

It took everybody pulling in the same direction.”

• Len Wood

or whatever you were trying to do.”

READ MORE ABOUT WOOD BROTHERS RACING INSIDE THIS ISSUE.

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POLE POSITION 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

QUOTABLE “It’s hard to put into words (what this means).

I was pretty emotional on the cooldown lap because this whole team, it’s like a team of second chances.

“Two years ago, I thought my driving days were done. This team gave me a call, wanting to get back racing and it’s just been a steady improvement.

“It’s just unbelievable when you put a talented group of humans together, what they achieve. And we’re doing this on absolutely a fraction of the trucks we run against.”

HENDERSON RACING DRIVER PARKER KLIGERMAN

ON WINNING HIS FIRST NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES RACE SINCE 2017 AT MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE IN JULY. HENDERSON RACING EMPLOYS ONE FULL-TIME CREW MEMBER

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AT THE TRACK

DOWNLOAD THE NASCAR TRACKS APP

BY JARED TURNER

Heading to a NASCAR Cup Series track but need a road map to guide you after arriving?

Say hello to the NASCAR Tracks app, a property and creation of NASCAR Digital Media that debuted in December 2021 and replaced individual track apps with a broader, more all-encompassing user experience for the NASCAR fan.

Key features of the NASCAR Tracks app – available for free download through the Apple App Store and Google Play – include easy access to your already purchased mobile tickets, the full race weekend schedule and track information such as camping locations, venue and parking maps, fan guides and access to unique experiences.

In addition, fans can use the app to purchase tickets to upcoming events (even non-NASCAR events) at Cup Series tracks, as well as follow the race with a live leaderboard and affiliate radio playback.

It all adds up to making the NASCAR Tracks app a one-stop shop for anyone attending a race weekend at a Cup Series facility.

“Our position with the app was for it to be fans’ at-track companion,” said Wyatt Hicks, managing director of NASCAR Digital Media. “Whereas the NASCAR mobile app is a second screen for news and information at home or on the go, the Tracks app is specifically for the users attending a race track. We really wanted to get the fans familiar with using it so it could be the primary resource for when they attend an event.”

The app isn’t a static tool just full of baked-in information; it also provides important news updates throughout a race weekend.

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POLE POSITION 2022

“To get the full experience, we recommend fans share their location and opt into receiving messages, because we do send out a lot of information through geo-targeted push messages and actual on-site weekend updates, informing fans on everything from schedules and weather alerts to special programs and partner activations,” Hicks said, noting that the app also has a virtual assistant where fans can ask questions and get quick answers. “We’re messaging a lot through the app to proactively provide fans with useful information, rather than them always having to search for it. But when they are looking for something, it’s loaded with modern AI tools to make search really easy and efficient.”

Forthcoming versions of the NASCAR Tracks app may include all NASCAR tracks – not just those hosting Cup Series events – and various other enhancements.

“I think you’ll see this app probably change a lot from year to year,” Hicks said. “It gives NASCAR a mobile platform to really build on things for the user experience such as augmented reality (AR) capabilities or live audio and video feeds.”

The Apple App Store version of the NASCAR Tracks app carried a 4.1 out of 5 user rating as of the publish date for this article.

“We’re certainly happy with anything above 4, right out of the gate here in the first few months,” Hicks said. “We’re trying to learn from some of the reviews where we can, and one of the areas where we’ve gotten feedback is linking of the actual NASCAR.com app account with a user’s ticketing account. So that’s in our sights to continue to improve. I’d encourage all fans to continue sharing that feedback so we can deliver the best experience possible.”

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

NASCAR COLLECTIBLES

SHOW YOUR STUFF What Are Your Most Prized NASCAR Collectibles?

Out of your collection of NASCAR memorabilia, what means the most to you? That’s the question we put to YouTuber Jaret Lundberg, better known to his fans as “The Iceberg.” The creator behind many NASCAR video essays, Jaret’s favorite pieces run the gamut from the personal to the jaw-dropping.

2005 Dale Jr. Chicagoland Race-Winning Die-Cast Car: This race was the first that I saw Dale Jr. win on TV. After such a bad season, it was fun being able to celebrate anything in 2005. It was a rough year to become a member of Junior Nation.

2019 Bristol Night Race Hot Pass: The 2019 Bristol Night Race will always be a special race to me. This race was the first that I ever had garage access to, and was also the race that I met about a dozen friends that I only knew from online up to that point.

2006 DALE JR. RALPH EARNHARDT THROWBACK: This car doesn’t only look good but it also was a special scheme for Dale Jr. as he was paying respect to his grandfather Ralph.

The race was on Father’s Day and, fittingly enough, I would go with my dad to this race for both of our first NASCAR races.

1968 Curtis Turner Sports Illustrated Magazine: Not only was this a magazine with my favorite pioneering NASCAR driver on it, but it also is the first Sports Illustrated to have a NASCAR driver on the cover.

PHOTOGRAPHY: DANIEL BALDWIN

My Winston Cup Hat: This is my favorite NASCAR hat. My grandfather gave it to me as a gift so it holds a special place in my heart to the point that I wear it to every race I attend.

Signed Dale Jr. Axalta Hat: Dale Jr. was always my idol when I was growing up, so it was special in 2017 to finally meet him. This hat was the only thing I had for him to sign.

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POLE POSITION 2022

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Health & Wellness Tips from Bayley Currey

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Bayley Currey started the well-known keto diet over a year ago, and it’s changed his life. Now weighing 35 pounds less than when he began his lowcarb journey, the 25-year-old Texan is a lot happier with the reflection he sees in the mirror.

Uncover five health and wellness tips from Currey – in his own words. BY JARED TURNER Commit to Keto: Springtime last year I was

dinner. And they change each week. It’s usually like chicken of some kind or sometimes a burger with no bun, and you pop them in the microwave.

Establish a Workout Routine: I work out 3 or 4 days a week. I usually go for an hour or a little bit more. I have one day that I don’t like doing, but I make myself do it. I’ll do like 30 minutes on the treadmill, which isn’t a lot, but I try to go really hard at it. I’ll try to run like 3 miles in 30 minutes.

Don’t Drink Sugar: As long as there’s no sugar in it, I’ll drink it – even if it’s like a Coke Zero. If I go to a restaurant, I might get an unsweetened tea and throw some Splenda in it because I love sweet tea, but that’s one of the most sugar-packed drinks you can have. The thing I’ve found is that there’s always an alternative, and half the time, it’s just as good.

eating really bad and felt like I just wasn’t what I wanted to be. I saw some bad pictures of myself, and my dad had started doing the diet and working out a lot, and he had lost a bunch of weight. We’re pretty competitive, so I was like, “If he can do it, I can do it.” So I started, and once you start seeing results, it just makes you want to keep going.

Avoid Junk Food: I don’t even look at the candy aisle now. You’ve gotta stay away from it. As much as you want to go get a Snickers and some SweeTARTS and everything else, I know it’s bad for me. There’s usually a protein bar aisle, and I use that as my candy aisle now.

Find a Meal Plan: I try to eat the same thing every day. I have a meal subscription, and that makes it pretty easy. The meals are essentially like a healthy version of a Hungry-Man

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NASCAR HISTORY

T O N T ON E B U

N E T T O G R FO G

Over the years, many competitors have left their marks on the sport through perseverance, dedication, desire and even antics, and each of them deserves to be remembered as a part of NASCAR history.

BY BEN WHITE DICK HUTCHERSON: During a four-year period starting in 1964, Dick Hutcherson collected 14 Cup Series victories while driving for Holman Moody.

He was also a noted car builder for many top drivers.

EARL ROSS: The Canadian-born champion joined team owner Junior Johnson and won a Cup Series race at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway on Sept. 29, 1974. Earl Ross was also named rookie of the year that season.

MARK DONOHUE: In the early years of Team Penske’s Cup Series operation, Mark Donohue earned the organization’s first NASCAR victory at Riverside International Raceway on Jan. 21, 1973.

LENNIE POND: The independent driver started 234 races and won only once at Talladega Superspeedway in 1978 for team owner Harry Ranier. The Virginia native retired from driving in September 1989.

HARRY GANT: Gant began his career driving NASCAR Late Model Sportsman cars and eventually became a star on the NASCAR Cup circuit winning 18 races between 1973 and 1994.

JIMMY PARDUE: Jimmy Pardue competed in 217 NASCAR Cup Series races between 1955 and 1964. He won twice – at Southside Speedway in Richmond, Virginia, in May 1962 and in April 1963 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, South Carolina. Pardue finished fifth in the Cup Series points in 1964.

SAM MCQUAGG: Over eight seasons from 1962 through 1974, Sam McQuagg drove for many top teams, winning the 1966 Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway for team owner Ray Nichels.

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PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

GET

%

MY FAVORITES

MY FAVORITES WITH

B.J. McLeod

B.J. McLeod is a big and bold figure in the NASCAR garage and, physically, it’s hard to miss the co-owner of Live Fast Motorsports. Not only does McLeod pilot the No. 78 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series on most Sundays, but he and wife Jessica also own and operate B.J. McLeod Motorsports, which fields cars in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

To say McLeod is a busy man is an understatement, but even then, he still has time to enjoy life outside of racing.

BY JOSEPH WOLKIN

WHAT IS YOUR GO-TO DRINK? COCA-COLA.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF RACING MEMORABILIA?

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ACTOR?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE VACATION SPOT?

HEATH LEDGER

FRIED STEAK AND

NACHO DADDY IN

A DAVEY ALLISON

because of his role

mash potatoes.

Las Vegas because

LAS VEGAS

model truck and

in Dark Knight.

they play music

because you never

trailer because I

videos and I love

run out of stuff

remember it from

the buffalo chicken

to do.

when I was a kid and

nachos.

it’s really cool.

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POLE POSITION 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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NASCAR PETS

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Chastain Loves Being a Dog Dad

BY JARED TURNER

Ross Chastain has enjoyed a breakout season this year, winning two races in the first 10 weeks and punching his ticket to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs for the first time.

Away from the track, the eighthgeneration watermelon farmer has continued to have a hand in the family business – even making the occasional trip to his family’s farm in Punta Gorda, Florida, when his schedule allows.

But when Chastain isn’t wheeling a race car or harvesting watermelons, he likes spending time with his 6-year-old dog – a mid-sized mutt whose mother showed up pregnant at the family farm one day and eventually gave birth to puppies.

“I took one and named him Copper, and the others went to

7/15/22 4:31 PM

family and friends,” Chastain recalls.

Chastain, whose family raised dogs when he was growing up, has loved life as a pet owner.

“Copper is easy-going, just a happy dog who loves to run and jump,” Chastain said. “Copper doesn’t know if I have a good day or bad day; he’s always just happy to see me.”

Chastain sees the biggest challenge of pet ownership as juggling that responsibility with all the running involved with being a full-time driver at NASCAR’s highest level.

“For me, it’s the travel schedule, but Copper gets to spend part of the year down in Florida on the farm with my family,” Chastain said.

Chastain has some advice for anyone thinking of buying a dog.

“Be ready for the commitment, but they’re a lot of fun,” he said.

As for the best part of being a dog dad, Chastain summed it up succinctly.

“The unconditional love,” he said.

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

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SECTION TITLE NASCAR INFLUENCER

BEHIND THE SCENES AT

“How’s it goin’ y’all, my name is Eric, and welcome to Out of the Groove.”

You know that iconic intro, the breaking news and the hottest takes of Eric Estepp’s Out of the Groove YouTube channel.

In this edition of Show Your Stuff, we’re not following Eric around the track, instead we’re following him home to his studio in Texas.

Let’s see what goes into making an episode of Out of the Groove.

Step 1

Step 2

SHOOTING AN EPISODE BEGINS WITH

LIGHTING IS MORE

the camera setup, and Eric utilizes one

important than you might

perfect for capturing high-quality footage

think – NASCAR is such a

inside his studio, with enough portability to

colorful sport, and you have

carry around and work at the track. Angles

to make sure it all pops

and focus have to be perfect. The Groovy

on camera. A professional

Gang, Eric’s dedicated audience of NASCAR

lighting setup and a little

news junkies, experience the show across

film school magic make the

a variety of platforms, so the right camera

entire range of NASCAR

setup ensures the show will look crisp and

colors look great on screen.

clear no matter what size screen they’re on.

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PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Step 3 ONCE THE FILMING ACTUALLY starts, sometimes more than double the needed footage is shot. Most of it won’t see the light of day; it’s all part of the process to get the exact take he’s looking for. We at home just get the good stuff – all the flubs and bloopers wind up on the cutting-room floor.

Step 4 THE 15-MINUTE EPISODES WE SEE on YouTube can actually take upwards of an hour to produce in editing. This includes all the details like dropping in B-roll footage, screenshots from social media and, of course, iconic graphic elements like the Groovy Gauge.

Step 5 And it’s all said and done but the thumbnail.

See you on YouTube!

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

NASCAR HOME TRACKS

Jennerstown Speedway

Opened in the late 1920s as a half-mile dirt oval, Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway is one of the nation’s oldest motorsports facilities that’s still in operation.

Today, the .522-mile paved track is enjoying a renaissance after it closed following the 2008 season and sat dormant for several years.

“Jennerstown Speedway has a rich history, a rich legacy, but that was lost when the speedway was closed for eight years. Sometimes people don’t realize what they have until it’s gone” said Billy Hribar, who has served as the facility’s general manager since 2017. “When we were able to revitalize the track, bring it back to life, it’s re-energized the community and the local fans are really excited to come out each and every week.

“But Jennerstown isn’t just good racing,” added Hribar. “It’s excellent food; it’s a beautiful facility, extremely clean; and it’s a familyfriendly environment.”

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AWARD WINNER

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IN MAY, JENNERSTOWN SPEEDWAY CLAIMED

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the $50,000 top prize as winner of the Advance My

Jennerstown Speedway is part of NASCAR’s short-

Mountain Masters is Jennerstown Speedway’s

Track Challenge, a community engagement-based

track family.

headline race.

program led by Advance Auto Parts, sponsor of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.

“It’s an outstanding opportunity for our fans and

“It’s a 150-lap pro late model race that pays

drivers to showcase the Jennerstown success to

$10,000 to win and $800 to start, Hribar

the entire country,” Hribar said. “Additionally, we

explained. “We get a huge turnout from the

felt the timing was right to bring Jennerstown

Northeast, as well as the South. Last year, there

back to its NASCAR roots, opening up marketing

were 13 different states represented in that

done by so many people at Jennerstown,” Hribar

opportunities for both the track and drivers as

event. That’s a homegrown event; it’s not an

said. “Our community, our fan base, everybody, it

well as allow the drivers to compete back on the

outside series, It’s something we do from the

was just unbelievable the response we got.”

national level.”

ground up.”

An online fan vote determined the top-three tracks.

“The award recognizes the hard work that’s been

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POLE POSITION 2022

WORDS: KEITH WALTZ, PHOTOGRAPHY: JOE CIFERNO/JENNERSTOWN SPEEDWAY

Out of the Spotlight

YOUNGEST CHAMP HAD A SHORT CAREER

BY BEN WHITE

Today’s race fans may look to Jeff Gordon, Chase Elliott or possibly Kyle Larson when asked about who has the honor of being NASCAR’s youngest Cup Series champion.

However, one must travel all the way back to 1950 to find the correct answer, as Bill Rexford, of Conewango Valley, New York, holds that special distinction.

Rexford was born March 14, 1927, and raced on local short tracks before NASCAR founder Bill France put out the word in December 1947 that he was forming NASCAR, a new opportunity calling for professional stock car drivers.

Over a five-year period starting in 1949, Rexford logged 36 Cup Series starts, driving cars owned and prepared by New York auto dealer Julian Buesnik In 1950, Rexford enjoyed his best season, including a victory at Ohio’s Canfield Speedway on May 30. Rexford led 80 laps in his No. 60 Oldsmobile, holding on to the lead from lap 121 until the checkered flag waved on lap 200. Glenn Dunnaway, Lloyd Moore,

Lee Petty and Bill Blair chased him across the finish line.

“Rexford won the 1950 championship competing in 17 of 19 races. At age 23, he remains the youngest winner ever of a Cup Series championship,” said Ken Martin, director of historical content for NASCAR Productions.

By season’s end, Rexford was crowned champion but not without controversy.

The young, rising star benefited from NASCAR penalizing defending champion Red Byron and Petty, father of future seven-time Cup Series champion Richard Petty, with point deductions for running in non-NASCAR events. Rexford won the 1950 title by 111 points over Fireball Roberts and 369 over Petty.

Rexford retired from NASCAR racing in 1953 at age 26 but raced briefly in ARCA competition before retiring from driving altogether in the mid-1950s. He passed away on April 18, 1994, at the age of 67.

NASCAR OWNERS

THE BUSINESS

OF RACING

BY BEN WHITE

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Team ownership in NASCAR actually began as car ownership. Either the car was raced by the person who owned it, or someone was hired to sit behind the steering wheel. But over seven decades of NASCAR racing, single-car trailers being loaded from backyard garages have given way to powerhouse business operations that carry charters worth millions of dollars.

Lee Petty, a three-time premier series champion, was the first to treat NASCAR racing as a business to support his family. He won 54 Cup Series races from 1949 to 1964. He continued to oversee Petty Enterprises and helped manage the team as his son Richard earned seven series championships and the majority of his 200-career victories.

“Lee started Petty Enterprises in 1949 from nothing,” said Dale Inman, longtime crew chief for Richard Petty. “He expected perfection because that’s the way he made a living. Everything depended on it. There was nothing else to fall back on. He expected you to win every time out.”

During the mid-1950s, the Chryslers owned by Carl Kiekhaefer and later the Fords of Holman Moody brought sophistication to NASCAR. Tim Flock and Buck Baker won NASCAR championships in 1955 and ’56 for Kiekhaefer, while John Holman and Ralph Moody kept Ford owners supplied with parts and strong engines.

Kiekhaefer’s team won 52 of 190 races entered while Ford Motor Co. showcased its strength on the race track through Holman Moody. All told, Holman Moody won 96 races in 574 starts before closing in 1973.

“Holman Moody brought a standardized business model to NASCAR,” said NASCAR historian Ken Martin. “They basically ran a race car factory. In the past, guys could be a little bit of everything. Holman Moody brought in specialists for different areas of the race car. They had designers, engineers and engine builders that were dedicated to different parts of the race car.

They’d bring a car in the back door and drive a new one or repaired one out the front door.”

Richard Childress began his driving career at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston Salem, North Carolina, before graduating to the NASCAR Cup Series in 1969. He entered 285 Cup Series races with no wins but logged six top-five finishes and 76 top-10 results over 12 seasons.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

After starting 20 Cup Series races in 1981, Childress elected to step away from the driver’s seat.

NASCAR was quickly becoming a rich man’s game and he needed help.

“In the late 1970s, I could see the future coming with (team owners) Warner Hodgdon, Rod Osterlund, M.C. Anderson and Harry Ranier putting a great deal of money into it,” Childress said.

“I was used to top-10 finishes as a driver but all the sudden I found myself running 12th or 15th and it just wasn’t fun for me anymore. I knew if I wanted to stay in the sport, I had to find a driver to continue doing it.”

Dale Earnhardt collected 67 of his 76-career wins with Childress as well as six of his seven Cup Series championships.

Beginning in 1984, Rick Hendrick fielded a Chevrolet and hired northern modified standout Geoff Bodine to drive the full 29-race schedule.

His business model has always been to use his race teams to help sell cars among his car dealerships around the nation. Currently, his team has won 285 Cup Series races and earned 14 Cup Series drivers’ titles.

“The success we’ve had on the track has always worked to help us sell cars within the Hendrick Automotive Group,” Hendrick said. “Both have always worked hand in hand from the day we started the race team in 1984.”

Team charters, as well as the current Next Gen race car, have been the most radical changes to the team ownership picture in NASCAR. In 2016, NASCAR analyzed which teams showed a longterm commitment to the sport.

“Before team charters came into play, a team owner would spend an incredible amount of money and then close the doors and have nothing to show for it,” said Bobby Allison, NASCAR’s 1983 Cup Series champion. “Now, a team charter guarantees there’s money to be gained when the team is sold. I wish that would have been in place when I was a team owner.”

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SECTIONSPOTLIGHT OWNER TITLE

NASCAR LEGACY:

WOOD BROTHERS RACING

‘THERE HAVE BEEN BUMPS IN THE ROAD, BUT WE’RE STILL HERE’

BY JARED TURNER

Birthed in the rural southern hamlet of Stuart, Virginia, in 1950,

So, what’s been the key to the legacy and longevity of Wood BrothWood Brothers Racing holds the Guinness World Record for the ers Racing? In short: A devoted partner in Ford Motor Co. and a famlongest continuously operating NASCAR team. ily whose members have had each other’s backs even when their As its name implies, the team began when brothers – part of a backs were against the wall and it appeared their days in racing five-sibling clan that included team founder Glen Wood and future might be numbered. fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood – decided to go racing.

“We’ve got great support from Ford Motor Co., and that’s the reaHowever, the fabled organization has been run by the next generason we’re still here,” said Eddie Wood, who is now 70 but has played tion of Wood siblings since the mid-1980s an active role in the team since he was a when Glen handed over equal ownership teenager. “It’s the things they’ve done for us stakes and most of his managerial duties through the years. Things will get to lookto sons Eddie and Len, and daughter Kim. ing really gloomy, and all of a sudden, it’ll Today, Eddie Wood’s two children – Jon work out. You look around, and most of the and Jordan – own a modest portion of the time, Ford is what’s responsible for making company where they both work full time, it work out.” and Len Wood’s son Keven – also a team Since almost the very beginning, Ford employee – does the same. has been a big believer in the Wood brothIn more than 70 years of existence, the ers’ racing efforts — and Wood Brothers team has endured tragedy, financial hardRacing has stood by Ford. The relationship LEN WOOD ON WOOD BROTHERS’ PARTNERSHIP WITH FORD MOTOR CO. ships and many ups and downs on the goes back as far as the 1950s when Glen race track – despite winning 99 races in Wood – who along with being the team’s NASCAR’s premier series with a mix of drivers that includes some of founder was its first driver – established a relationship with 1925 the greatest to ever sit behind the wheel of a race car. Among them Indianapolis 500 winner Peter DePaulo, who was then in charge of have been those so legendary that their first names aren’t even needrunning Ford’s stock car program. ed: Pearson, Yarborough, Foyt, Lorenzen, Turner, Lund, Roberts and Glen Wood also knew Henry Ford II, the grandson of Ford Motor Weatherly. There was also Ralph Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, Bill Co. founder Henry Ford.

Elliott, Mark Martin and both Ned and Dale Jarrett – all legends of “Along about 1970, Ford pulled out of racing, and we ran for 10 years the sport and most of them champions of NASCAR’s premier series. without manufacturer support from them, but we had one of the top

Things will get to looking really gloomy, and all of a sudden, it’ll work out. You look around, and most of the time, Ford is what’s responsible for making it work out.

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• NASCAR legend David Pearson started racing for the Wood Brothers’ team during the 1972 season.

• Leonard Wood inducted his brother, Glen Wood, into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2012.

two NASCAR drivers ever in David Pearson,” Len Wood recalled. “We won 43 races with him so that helped the finances and stuff get through it without the manufacturer support. When Ford came back in around ’81, I think us sticking with Ford (through Ford’s Mercury brand) that whole time without any support is what kind of still carries on today.”

During the recession of 2007 and 2008, Wood Brothers Racing fell on particularly hard times. Struggling to find the sponsorship dollars to compete for wins, or even compete at all, the team made the difficult but necessary decision to cut back to a 13-race schedule in 2009. The low point came in the previous season when the team failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 with two-time Daytona 500 winner Bill Elliott. It was in that dark place that the Woods heard from longtime family friend Edsel Ford II – the fourth-generation leader of the Ford family dynasty.

“We were testing at Pocono and I got a phone call from Mr. Ford and he was like, ‘How come I haven’t talked to you lately? Where you been?’” Eddie Wood recalled. “I said, ‘Mr. Ford, we’ve been running so bad I’ve been ashamed to call you.’ He said, ‘You’re telling me my No. 21 car is broken?’ I said, ‘Yeah, it’s pretty well broke.’ And he said, ‘Well, we’re going to fix that.’

“They started working on it, assigned some engineers to us, changed some personnel around, and Bill Elliott had come in to help us, and all of a sudden, three years later, we won the Daytona 500 with Trevor Bayne. I can’t tell you how we got from Point A to Point B, but it started with Ford Motor Co. It started that day that Edsel called me.”

Even after winning NASCAR’s biggest race with Bayne in what was only the second Cup Series start for the 20-year-old driver, Wood Brothers Racing continued to field a part-time entry through the 2015 season – the same season they teamed up with young driver Ryan Blaney and entered

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES, NASCAR ARCHIVES & RESEARCH CENTER

into a key technical alliance with the farbetter-resourced Team Penske organization, another Ford team. The team returned to full-time competition the following season and was back in Victory Lane – with Blaney at the wheel of the team’s iconic No. 21 car – at Pocono in June 2017.

Wood Brothers Racing hasn’t won a race since, but remains competitive these days with rookie driver Harrison Burton at the controls.

“It hasn’t been easy,” Len Wood said.

“There have been bumps in the road, but we’re still here.”

Since January 2019, the Wood brothers have suffered the loss of three beloved family members and pillars of the racing organization: team founder Glen Wood, Glen’s wife Bernece – the family matriarch – and Len’s wife Nancy, who died in December 2021 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

The Wood Brothers Museum – located in Stuart at the site of what was the team’s race shop before Wood Brothers Racing relocated to the Charlotte area after the 2003 season – features a plaque on the outside of the building dedicated to Glen and Bernece. Seeing that plaque inspires later generations of the Wood family to remain dedicated to the family’s trade.

“You just go by and look at that, and it’s like, ‘That’s why I’m doing this,’” Eddie Wood said. “It just feels like this is a tribute to both of them – and Nancy, who went to a lot of races and was one of the biggest cheerleaders. My mom and dad were as well.”

Although Eddie and Len Wood spend a fair amount of time in Charlotte at the race shop, they also make frequent trips to Stuart – the place they still call home and the place where the Wood brothers’ story began more than seven decades ago.

“That’s actually where I’m at right now – I’m at my mom and dad’s house, which is like two houses down from ours,” Eddie Wood said. “It’s still like it was when they were here. It’s kind of special, and it kind of makes you think. You ask yourself, ‘If they were still here, what would they want you to be doing?’ Well, they would want us to race.

And so would Nancy.

“Losing them has been hard. But going racing, you know they’re looking down at you like, ‘You’re doing what you’re supposed to do.’ We’re supposed to race. That’s what we’re supposed to do.”

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OWNER Q&A

• Eddie Wood

• Len Wood

Q&A with Eddie & Len Wood Eddie and Len Wood recently sat down with NASCAR Pole Position and answered our questions.

WHEN IS THE FIRST TIME YOU REMEMBER BEING AT A RACE TRACK? Eddie: I know I was at Bowman Gray Stadium in 1960, and I have a memory I can’t really piece together. It would have had to have been in the mid-to-late ’50s at Richmond. I remember a ’54 Ford. I just remember being there. For some reason, I remember that. You’re looking at 5 or 6 years old.

Len: When I first got into the pits would have been when I had just turned 15. It was the 1971 World 600 at Charlotte. I must have had some kind of license for minors.

WHAT WAS SOMETHING YOU DID AROUND THE RACE SHOP IN THE EARLY DAYS? Eddie: We both worked at the race shop after school and at night. I remember cleaning the bathroom and sweeping the floors. Whatever they told me to do, I did it if I could. I can remember washing wheels and cleaning the race car. When you became a senior, at that particular time, you could get out of school at 12 o’clock if you had a job. Well, of course, you were going to do that. I went to school – and Len did as well – just up the hill from the race shop.

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It was less than a mile probably, and we lived close to it, anyway. We both were just cleaning up, sweeping floors. You’d almost invent something to do to be over there.

DOES IT EVER BLOW YOUR MIND THAT A TEAM FROM SUCH HUMBLE BEGINNINGS COULD ACCOMPLISH SO MUCH IN RACING? Len: I don’t really stop and think of it and look at it that way. We just keep looking forward. Don’t get me wrong; we tie everything we can back to history, but I guess I’m too deep into it to really realize it. When you think of the drivers – (David) Pearson, (A.J.) Foyt, (Dan) Gurney, Parnelli (Jones), Tiny Lund – we’ve had a hell of a ride. Daddy and Leonard created it as a hobby, and we’ve managed to help them, and they’ve helped us, and we’ve made it work.

WHEN DID IT FIRST CLICK WITH YOU THAT YOU WERE PART OF A LEGACY? Eddie: I don’t know. Being a part of it was such a gradual thing, and it was just like what you did or what you were supposed to do. You never really questioned it. You didn’t want to go to school to be a doctor or a lawyer or anything like that; you wanted to work on race cars. When I turned 16, I

got a racing uniform with my name on it. It was like, “You’ve got the stuff like your dad and your uncles.” I can remember before that when they would come in from the race track with their white pants on, white shirts, and I’d hear the stories of what went on. I would listen to it on the radio, of course. I just looked up to those guys. It was like they were heroes – as well as the drivers. I just always wanted to be one of those guys. You wanted to grow up and change a tire or whatever. The driving part never really went anywhere with us. We weren’t encouraged at all to drive. … If drivers are born to race, they will. Well, we weren’t. I think we were just born to work on race cars. And that’s OK. IS THE PLAN FOR YOUR CHILDREN TO RUN WOOD BROTHERS RACING ONCE BOTH OF YOU RETIRE? Len: That could happen.

Eddie: Yeah, that’s kind of the plan. Our kids know everything that’s going on.

They know all the business side of it, so that would be a question for them, because it’s a lot to it, but they know that. … It’s almost like if you’re born in a racing family, it’s kind of expected that’s what you’re supposed to do. That’s my plan or dream or whatever. When we get to where we can’t go to the race track or would rather just stay home – and we’re not at that point – I think they can handle it. I think it’ll be just fine.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

NASCAR’S GREATEST OWNERS Carl Kiekhaefer: During the 1955 and ’56 seasons, team own-

TEAM OWNERS DRIVE THE SPORT

Hundreds of team owners have entered cars in NASCAR events since the organization sanctioned its first stock car race in 1948. Some of those cars carried what are considered the greatest drivers in motorsports history. Without the owners’ financial support and continued sacrifice, the sport simply could not exist. Here’s a look at some of the sport’s top owners:

BY BEN WHITE Raymond Parks: During the 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock season, Raymond Parks entered a Ford for that year’s champion, Alabama native Red Byron. He also entered similar models for drivers Bob Flock, Roy Hall, Fonty Flock and Curtis Turner. Parks is considered a founding car owner and he played a significant role in building the sport’s foundation.

Ted Chester: In 1952, Ted Chester fielded a Hudson for driver Tim Flock, who captured NASCAR’s premier series championship that season. In 33 starts, Flock won eight times and logged 25 top-10 finishes. Flock won only on short tracks that year as he earned the first of his two series titles.

Petty Enterprises: Lee Petty, a three-time NASCAR champion, won 54 races between 1949 and 1964. He operated Petty Enterprises in Level Cross, North Carolina, and managed his son Richard’s career that led to seven Cup Series championships and the majority of his 200-career victories. The organization won 10 championships and 268 Cup Series races.

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• Lee, Richard and Kyle Petty.

• Linda and Rick Hendrick, Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus.

er Carl Kiekhaefer came to NASCAR to advertise his Mercury Outboard Engines. Tim Flock and Buck Baker won NASCAR Cup Series championships during those two seasons. Kiekhaefer was considered the Rick Hendrick of that era, far ahead of his competition with quality equipment.

Holman Moody: Holman Moody, a factory operation guided by John Holman and Ralph Moody, built turn-key Ford race cars to sell while fielding its own cars in 574 NASCAR races between 1956 and 1973. David Pearson won Cup titles in their cars in 1968 and ’69.

Junior Johnson and Associates: After buying controlling interest from team owner Richard Howard, former driver Junior Johnson began Junior Johnson and Associates in 1973 and won Cup Series championships with Cale Yarborough in 1976, ’77 and ’78 and Darrell Waltrip in 1981, ’82 and ’85. All told, his team collected 132 victories.

Wood Brothers Racing: Formed in 1953, Wood Brothers Racing is known for its list of top drivers who have won in the team’s cars over seven decades. The team has 99 Cup Series victories. Team owner Glen Wood’s legacy has been carried on by sons Eddie and Len Wood and daughter Kim Hall since his death on Jan. 18, 2019.

Richard Childress Racing: Richard Childress began his driving career in the mid-1960s at North Carolina’s Bowman Gray Stadium. He joined the Cup Series in 1969 and has 285 starts as a driver. He turned his cars over to Dale Earnhardt in 1981 and again in 1984 and won six Cup Series championships from 1986 to 1994.

Hendrick Motorsports: Starting in a boat shed in 1984 with driver Geoff Bodine and veteran crew chief Harry Hyde, Rick Hendrick has seen his multi-car organization claim 14 Cup Series drivers’ championships and 285 series victories. Championships have come with Jimmie Johnson (7), Jeff Gordon (4), Terry Labonte, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson.

RFK Racing: Brad Keselowski, Jack Roush and John Fenway make up the leadership of RFK Racing. The team began as Roush Racing in 1988 with Mark Martin as its sole driver.

They have 137 wins to date with a variety of drivers. Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch won titles in 2003 and ’04.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES, NASCAR ARCHIVES & RESEARCH CENTER

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OWNER SPOTLIGHT

NASCAR NEWCOMER:

KAULIG RACING

ENTREPRENEUR CHARTS OWN COURSE IN BUILDING A POWERHOUSE

BY JARED TURNER

Hanging on the wall of team owner Matt Kaulig’s office at Kaulig Racing headquarters in Kernersville, North Carolina, is a quote that reads, “Either you continue to grow or you begin to die.”

So far, so good.

From a one-car NASCAR Xfinity Series team in 2016 – the year Kaulig started the organization with fewer than 20 employees – to an organization that now employs nearly 100 and fields three Xfinity Series teams along with pair of NASCAR Cup Series teams, Kaulig Racing has remained true to the vision of its founder and sole owner.

For this reason, it’s fair to say Matt Kaulig – a successful entrepreneur long before sticking his proverbial toe into the NASCAR waters – has no regrets about starting a NASCAR team from scratch, as big of an undertaking as that was and continues to be. Nor does Kaulig harbor any regrets about his decision to add a pair of full-time Cup Series teams to his fleet of cars this season, after competing almost exclusively in the Xfinity Series the past six years.

“We’ve made a really good transition,” said Kaulig, whose organization is fielding one Cup Series entry for young up-and-comer Justin Haley and a second Cup Series entry being shared by veteran A.J. Allmendinger, reigning Xfinity

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Series champion Daniel Hemric and Noah Gragson. “Last year, we ran eight or nine Cup races, so we’ve been in the garage. We did that on purpose to kind of get a feel for what it would be like in Cup, or the difference between Cup and Xfinity. And there is a really big difference. … Especially having two teams, I think we’ve transitioned very well. We’ve been competitive enough to win the race in a few of these races, so we’ve been proud of that, and that’s really, really, really hard to do, but we’re doing it.”

While Kaulig Racing has a lone Cup Series victory courtesy of Allmendinger, who triumphed last year in a cameo outing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, the organization has been to Victory Lane no fewer than 15 times since joining the Xfinity Series ranks. Kaulig Racing’s 2022 Xfinity Series driver lineup features Allmendinger, Hemric and Landon Cassill – all in full-time rides. And, unlike in NASCAR’s premier division where Kaulig Racing has often struggled this year, the organization has contended on a semi-regular basis for Xfinity Series wins. As of press time, Allmendinger sat atop the Xfinity standings with a pair of victories, while Hemric and Cassill were 10th and 11th in the standings, respectively, and both winless.

“We knew we needed a Cup team to be able to win PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

championships in Xfinity,” said Kaulig Racing team president Chris Rice, a garage area veteran and former crew chief who has been with the company since its inception. “It just flows down the path. You have to have a Cup team to be able to make your Xfinity team continuously run fast. I think you’ll see that in a couple of years with our Xfinity program.

“I think the first couple of years, it hinders the Xfinity program a little bit, but I think over the next couple of years, you’ll really see that a Cup team really makes an Xfinity team better. So we felt like that was something we needed to do.”

Kaulig Racing has similarly charted its own course in how it entered the Cup Series. Unlike 23XI Racing and Trackhouse Racing – a pair of second-year Cup Series teams that like Kaulig Racing are each fielding two cars – Kaulig Racing didn’t immediately ascend to NASCAR’s premier division. Instead, the organization methodically worked its way up, laying a foundation for Cup with its Xfinity Series success over several years. Early on, though, expanding into a Cup Series operation wasn’t even on Matt Kaulig’s radar.

“We never had the intention, honestly, of going to Cup,” Kaulig said. “I think Chris Rice and I even said at one point, ‘Hey, if we ever have thoughts about doing that, don’t let us.’ We were enjoying where we were in life, just running Saturdays in Xfinity. It was good to do on Saturdays, it was fun, the amount of money that you have to spend even to get into Cup is a whole different ballgame, and then you’re racing all day Sunday, too.”

But with Cup Series charters available for purchase ahead of the 2022 season and the Cup Series moving to a new model race car dubbed the “Next Generation,” Kaulig thought it made sense to spread his organization’s wings, which meant not only adding a pair of full-time Cup Series teams but also more than doubling Kaulig Racing’s personnel to accommodate the expansion.

“We just had amazing timing for what we were able to do with the Next Gen car in that everybody had to basically start from scratch,” Kaulig said. “That had a lot to do with our ability to be able to run two Cup cars. … Businesswise, we just had the opportunity to make that move.”

While both Trackhouse and 23XI have gone to Victory Lane this year, Kaulig has endured some growing pains in its new venture. It should be noted, however, that Kaulig has one less season than Trackhouse and 23XI as a full-time Cup Series program, and, unlike Trackhouse – which purchased the assets of Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of 2021 – Kaulig had no such infrastructure to lean on.

“We know we’ve got a lot of building to do,” Rice said. “We didn’t go out and buy a big company.

We didn’t do our stuff like some other people have done it. We’re building it ourselves PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

and everything’s in-house, and we’ve gotta hire people and get the infrastructure we need to be able to run for wins and different things.

“To do that, you’ve just got to continue to build, and we’re going to build this program just like we did the Xfinity program. Hopefully, in three years, four years, we’re competing for top-fives and top-10s all the time.”

Matt Kaulig – whose days of building successful companies predate his time in racing – had no desire to jump right into the Cup Series, especially considering that starting a Cup Series team wasn’t even part of the original plan.

“We did it slowly on purpose,” he said. “I like building things that way. I’m the sole owner of Kaulig Racing, I started it from scratch, and I prefer to do things like that. I prefer to build it, I enjoy it, I have 100 percent control of everything that’s going on, and you have to slowly build it. It’s hard, especially with charters nowadays, to go ahead and jump right in head first. That’s a really hard situation.

Trackhouse did things a little bit different where they bought an existing team, so that makes it real easy.”

Kaulig, who resides in Ohio where he runs other businesses outside of his motorsports ventures, typically only visits the team’s North Carolina race shop about twice a month. However, he’s at the race track almost every weekend, supporting the efforts of his drivers and the crew members who work on their cars.

“He is absolutely one of the best leaders that I’ve ever been around,” said Rice, who’s been involved the sport since 1989. “He’s 100 percent my best friend and a guy who knows how to motivate you when you’re down and push you when you’re up. Matt Kaulig is a unicorn; they don’t make them like him. He’s a very special human being and a very special man. One thing about Matt Kaulig: When he decides to do something, he’s going to live it out until he does it 100 percent.”

Just like Kaulig didn’t rush into starting a Cup Series program, he’s in no rush to throw in the towel on his goal of making his organization a perennial contender at the Cup and Xfinity Series levels.

“It’s definitely a longterm investment,” he said. “We jumped in with two Cup charters and now we have three Xfinity teams, and we continue to grow. I think in life and in business or in competition, you have to continuously grow, and you have to push yourself to be better.

“I could see us someday with four Cup cars and running for wins and running for championships, and that’s definitely our goal and really our long-term plan. So it’s just a matter of when we can do that and how we get there.”

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SECTIONQ&A OWNER TITLE

Q&A with Matt Kaulig Kaulig Racing team owner and founder Matt Kaulig recently sat down with NASCAR Pole Position and answered our questions.

WHAT LED YOU TO JUMP INTO NASCAR WHILE WORKING AS CEO OF LEAFFILTER, A COMPANY YOU FOUNDED? It was fun, you know? I started as a sponsor, so really it was the branding of LeafFilter. I was expanding that business, and we were getting farther down South and opening offices in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida – what we thought of as more NASCAR country. We just started to get more involved that way, had an opportunity to be a sponsor on a car – the primary sponsor – so we took advantage of that. Then, as I got to be in the sport as a sponsor, got to know the sport and got to know other owners and some of the executives at NASCAR, and being entrepreneurial myself, I started to look into what it would take to actually do this myself as opposed to just being a sponsor on a team.

WHAT’S BEEN THE MOST GRATIFYING PART OF THIS WHOLE PROCESS? Really just seeing the team grow. I’m sitting in my office right now and looking at, I mean, trophies. We’ve won a bunch of races and have been able to have success, so it’s really gratifying just to see how the men and women at Kaulig Racing have really progressed. You like seeing businesses grow, and I’ve had LeafFilter and all of our other businesses just grow and grow from one location. I started a business at my house in 2005 – and now it’s 150 locations in the U.S. and Canada. It’s the same as a race team. We started out with one car in the Xfinity Series in a 25,000-square-foot race shop, and now we’ve got two 50,000-square-foot race shops and five cars — two Cup cars and three Xfinity Series teams. So just seeing the amount of people it takes and seeing the size and the growth have been extremely gratifying and satisfying.

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WHAT’S BEEN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF BUILDING A TEAM FROM THE GROUND UP? The biggest challenge, really, is finding people. We feel like we know the process. We’ve had a great road map and a game plan and a business plan, really, to be able to do this over the last several years, and we continue to do it. It almost feels like sometimes that it’s been really hard, but it also feels and looks sometimes like it hasn’t been that hard.

It’s been fun, we’ve had fun with it, we have had success, and we’ve had really good success. So in one way it’s been really hard and really challenging to break into, but at the same time, we’ve actually done it and have done a great job.

WHAT KIND OF CULTURE HAVE YOU TRIED TO ESTABLISH AT KAULIG RACING? It’s about the people. You want to have people that are happy and that are having fun and enjoy it. That’s our biggest thing. That’s one of the things I say to the drivers before they put the window net up every race. I fist bump them and say, “Hey, have fun.” They need to have fun in the car, and it’s a sport that should be fun. I know a lot of teams that don’t have fun. They’re stressed out, sometimes it’s just a culture of you have to perform and your job’s on the line. That creates more of a stressful type environment. You’ve got to make it fun, and it’s got to be fun for me. I said getting into the sport that if I wasn’t having fun, I just wouldn’t do it. I don’t need to do. We literally do it for fun.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE? I’ve benefited as a business leader to run businesses and get people to follow, and I think that stems from being a quarterback. I’ve played sports my whole life, but I played quarterback in college. When you’re the quarterback of the team, you’re typically a leader and you’re the one that’s directing traffic and telling everyone where to go and what to do, and you’re firing them up.

And the best quarterbacks and the best leaders have the ability to get people to follow and then treat them not as just your followers but in a way that says we’re doing something special all together.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

OWNER SPOTLIGHT

ThorSport: From an Idea to Truck Series Powerhouse

BY DUSTIN ALBINO

L

ike most good ideas, ThorSport Racing had a

unique beginning. The team’s existence came together at a restaurant over a few napkins and notepad pages in 1996.

While promoting SealMaster, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of pavement sealer and sealcoat at a trade show, Duke Thorson had an idea: start a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. At Thorson’s booth was a painted truck and, from there, he wanted to go racing.

Thorson went to Sandusky Speedway – the team is based in Sandusky, Ohio – to find the most elite talent the track had to offer. Back then, Terry and Jerry Cook were beating up on the competition. Thorson found his driver.

“I want to take this truck to Milwaukee and see how we do and go truck racing,’” team manager David Pepper said, telling the ThorSport story secondhand.

“Right off the bat, we finished 12th, which to a lot of people wouldn’t be a big deal – and we would be disappointed with that now. But you finish 12th and it’s like, ‘This is pretty cool, maybe we should do another one of these.’”

Two years later, ThorSport went NASCAR Truck Series racing full time with driver Terry Cook, who picked up the team’s first win at New Jersey’s Flemington Speedway. Matt Crafton joined the company in 2000 and became the team’s primary driver in 2001. Over the last 22 seasons, Crafton, a three-time Truck Series champion, has been with the team for all but the 2004 season, when he drove for Kevin Harvick Inc. With Crafton on the team for an extended period, it gave ThorSport the stability it needed before expanding.

“It’s always good to have the constant guy that you know you’re building around,” Pepper said. “He’s been a fantastic race car driver, won a handful of races for us, three championships. He’s done a great job.”

That same 2004 season is when Pepper moved from Bobby Hamilton Racing to be ThorSport’s team manager, while also working as a spotter for other teams in the garage. Despite getting his start in the Truck Series during its inaugural season in 1995, Pepper had never met Duke or Rhonda Thorson

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POLE POSITION 2022

before taking the job.

Since Pepper took the helm, the team has increased from one full-time truck to four this season with Crafton, Christian Eckes, Ben Rhodes and Ty Majeski as drivers. Johnny Sauter also runs a fifth No. 13 truck on a part-time basis.

“Duke had a long-term plan and I was lucky enough to get tabbed for that,” Pepper noted. “I loved his plan, and we’ve been here ever since just trying to execute it and build the team. We started with one good person, then two, and tried to get the snowball going down the hill with quality people. Over the years, we built a competitive organization with great people that execute every week to try to win at a high level.”

ThorSport didn’t win its second race until 2008, when Crafton earned his first series victory at Charlotte. That win came 10 years after Cook’s only victory and 345 starts later. That season, the No. 88 truck went on to claim the team’s first top-five finishing position in the championship standings. Though going winless in 2009, Crafton scored 21 top-10 finishes in 25 starts, moving up to second in the championship standings, behind only Ron Hornaday.

That consistency established ThorSport as a competitive team, and it was the catalyst for a turning point. Pepper hired employees like Dennis Connor, who won three truck championships as crew chief for Jack Sprague, and Bud Haefele, who scored two wins with Crafton.

“It’s getting the right people, putting the right motor program together, buying new trucks,” Pepper added. “When (they started), they had four or five trucks. Now we’ve got 50 trucks that are in our building. It’s building the infrastructure, or building from one small race shop at the end of a sealer department from when Duke PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

• Ben Rhodes,

pictured above, has raced with the ThorSport team since the 2016 season, and won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship in 2021.

started to his vision over the last quarter of a century – it’s gone from that two- or three-car garage at the end of the sealer department to a state-of-theart, 55,000-square-foot, fully functional, everything built in-house.”

It wasn’t long before Crafton would win his first championship in 2013.

Despite leading only 87 of the 3,391 laps he completed – Crafton is the only driver in series history to turn every lap of a single season – his 19 top-10 finishes with an average result of 7.9 was enough to secure the title.

“We finished every race on the lead lap; finished every mile,” Pepper said.

“We’re the only team – to my knowledge – in NASCAR history that’s been able to say that. We’re probably equally as proud of winning the championship as holding that milestone during the championship-winning season because it speaks to how good Carl Joiner and all of the guys on that team were preparing those Menards trucks.”

Crafton won his second straight championship in 2014, picking up two wins. His breakout season came the following year when he won a careerhigh six races.

Since then, ThorSport Racing has seen multiple drivers come and go, while establishing Rhodes as a weekly contender who claimed the 2021 series title. That was a big milestone in team history, given the fact it was the first time ThorSport was crowned as both the drivers’ and owners’ champions.

“That was a trophy that we wanted so desperately for Duke and Rhonda Thorson because it validates that they had the very best team and worked 26 years to get to that point,” Pepper noted. “I think when we saw Ben flash across the stripe at Phoenix and win both of those titles for us, it was a really special moment.”

Rhodes, who’s in the midst of his seventh full-time season with ThorSport, is humbled to know his name will forever be tied to ThorSport history for delivering its first NASCAR owners’ championship.

“I’m racing for somebody that has all this experience and all of these people that they’ve surrounded themselves with, and I’m one of the small people that have done it,” he said. “I don’t know if there’s a good way to describe it.”

This season, the team added Majeski, a standout short-track racer who was an engineer for ThorSport last year. It also has Eckes, who earned his first victory for the team at Las Vegas in 2021.

In that Vegas race, ThorSport bettered its record of being the only team to finish 1-2-3 (2020 at Richmond) by finishing 1-2-3-4. Certainly, the team isn’t shy of breaking records.

“It’s weird because, when you finish 1-2-3-4, you’ve got one team that’s really excited and three teams that are disappointed because they weren’t the first,” Pepper said. “That’s a good problem to have. We got back home and it started sinking in.”

As ThorSport continues to be a staple of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Pepper hopes to have the same drivers around for years to come. He believes, with stability, the team can further a lot of drivers’ careers.

“We welcome these guys to get great opportunities to go other places, but we also welcome them to be here and be part of the ThorSport story and part of our success and family,” he said. “We hope Ben is here for another 20 years before he wants to retire in his 40s or early 50s. The perfect scenario is if we’re doing this interview in 2025 and I’m sitting here with these same five guys running the same schedule and being the organization to have five champions. We’re trying to do things that are historic.”

And while ThorSport is one of the few teams located far from NASCAR’s Charlotte hub, the team has no intentions of moving closer. As Pepper said, “The race cars have no idea where they’re built.”

Q&A with Ben Rhodes WHAT’S IT BEEN LIKE DRIVING FOR THORSPORT? I’ve enjoyed the heck out of it. I can’t believe it’s been seven years; it doesn’t feel like it. It’s funny how things have changed, but they’ve still stayed the same over that time period. ThorSport Racing has gone through a lot of growth since I started. Matt Crafton got a championship; I’ve got a championship and we’ve seen a lot of drivers come and go.

One thing that’s stayed the same is the team’s commitment to the Truck Series and that steady growth that they are committed to. Now, you see us having five trucks out of ThorSport, occasionally. Last year, was the first time with Paul Menard, and now they’re doing it with Johnny Sauter. I think that speaks volumes to how they’re building everything – and trying to build everything in-house now – and having a steady program year after year. I think ThorSport has been in it for 27 years now – a very long time. I’m pretty proud to be part of that history.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE DELIVERING THORSPORT RACING A CHAMPIONSHIP LAST YEAR? I haven’t really thought of it in that sense, that we were the one to give them the owners’ and drivers’ (championships), as much as I enjoy hearing the stories about what ThorSport was and what it is today. I’ll bring up random trivia about racing to Duke or whoever at ThorSport that’s been there a long time, and they’ll come back with things I never knew about the team, drivers that drove for them almost 30 years ago. It blows my mind because they’ve had such high-level talent that have raced for them.

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

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NASCAR BUILDS

PRESENTED BY

Meet Young Motorsports’ Kami Lawrence

A

s the truck chief and a fabricator

for Young’s Motorsports, Kami Lawrence is one of the few women working on the shop floor of a NASCAR team. While being a female in a shop full of males might make some women feel out of place, Lawrence feels right at home.

Not only is she respected by her peers, but the 21-year-old native of Flagstaff, Arizona, is in a job she truly loves – even if it requires a lot of time, effort and travel, and means being outnumbered by her male counterparts.

“You can definitely do whatever you dream of doing,” Lawrence said. “Three years ago, I would have never seen myself working in NASCAR, and now I’m a truck chief and a fabricator in a NASCAR series, and I would have never believed it. I think it’s the coolest thing ever.”

Rest assured that Lawrence has absolutely earned her role, having started at Young’s Motorsports as a tire specialist in August 2021 before being promoted to truck chief for Spencer Boyd and the No. 12 team just before the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Prior to joining Young’s, Lawrence worked for the truck team of driver Jennifer Jo Cobb and also spent time performing tire specialist duties for JD Motorsports’ NASCAR Xfinity Series program.

It took Lawrence only about six months on the job at Young’s Motorsports before she moved into a more prominent role.

“Going from tire specialist to truck chief has required some steep steps, but it’s all been fun,” Lawrence said.

“Learning has been a huge thing. Instead of having one job, you have a couple different jobs and you’re making

sure that everybody you rely on and everybody that relies on you gets their job done. At the end of the day, the team succeeds and it seems to work out, and I’m glad it does. We all put in our best effort.

“It has been a learning curve, but it’s also been very enjoyable, and I enjoy working with Spencer and the guys at Young’s Motorsports. I definitely wouldn’t trade it for a whole lot. It’s something I’ve longed to do for a while.”

One area where Lawrence has particularly excelled within the shop is welding – a trade she began learning during her high school days in Flagstaff before taking additional courses and eventually becoming the welding aficionado she is today.

“When other people think about welding, they usually think there’s a lot of sparks and bright lights,” Lawrence said. “When I think about welding, I just think, ‘What can I do with two pieces of metal that make them more efficient and more usable than somebody has done in the past? How can I forge them together? How can I make them work in a way that makes more sense than it’s been done before?’

“It’s like arts and crafts to me, in a sense. … It’s a sense of craftsmanship, and you kind of display yourself in the craftsmanship that you produce. You always kind of autograph your work with excellence.”

Helping make that excellence possible is the brand of welder used by Young’s Motorsports. The organization is partnered with Fort Collins, Colorado-based Forney Industries – a premier welding company – but Lawrence’s experience with Forney welders actually predates her time at Young’s.

“I’ve always just kind of favored Forney welders,” Lawrence said. “They always just work, whether it’s at the race track or in the middle of the desert. … I’ve had a couple of welders from another brand break down on me, but I’ve never had a problem with Forney, so that’s why I’ve always kind of just chosen Forney.”

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POLE POSITION 2022

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SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

TRACKING SUCCESS WITH NASCAR’S SPENCER BOYD W

hen up-and-coming NASCAR

driver Spencer Boyd reached out to Chris Miller in late 2018 about becoming a sponsor, he wasn’t the first race car driver to pitch Freedom Warranty.

Miller is the CEO of Freedom Warranty, a fast-growing company that manages vehicle service contracts sold mostly through auto dealerships, insurance agencies, and repair shops.

“I am a huge NASCAR fan, and when Spencer pitched the idea of me becoming a sponsor, I was thrilled,” said Miller. “I get sponsorship offers for all kinds of things but being a part of this racing franchise is exciting. What really sold me was Spencer’s personality and enthusiasm. That was the closer.

“One of our first races was the Gander Outdoor Series at Talladega in 2019,” added Miller. “The Freedom Warranty logo was on the bottom rear panel of Young’s Motorsports’ No. 20 Chevrolet Silverado. Spencer won that race.

Standing in the winner’s circle, even though at the time we were one of his smallest sponsors, I was sure everyone in the stands and on FS1 was focused on my three-foot-wide logo.”

Not only did Miller and his employees find themselves in the VIP box and trackside for big-name races, but down on the track was that gorgeous truck

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POLE POSITION 2022

emblazoned with the Freedom Warranty brand.

Two years later, Freedom Warranty’s involvement with Boyd has grown as has the company’s visibility with NASCAR. “Our association with Spencer Boyd has been more than just an advertising and branding opportunity. Spencer has been a guest at our last two company Christmas parties, and by now just about every employee at our corporate headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has had a chance to meet him,” said Miller.

This year Freedom Warranty worked with Lionel Racing NASCAR Collectibles to produce a limited-edition 1:24 Color Chrome ARC Truck die-cast of the No. 20 Chevrolet Silverado. There is also a very limited number autographed by Spencer Boyd. It is available at lionelracing.com.

Miller said the benefit to the Freedom Warranty brand has been positive in building his company’s visibility with consumers and credibility with automotive dealers. And while that is the primary purpose of the sponsorship, Miller adds, “Being a part of the NASCAR world, the thrill of the races and the people I’ve met is a big part of that association.”

• NASCAR driver Spencer Boyd and Freedom Warranty CEO Chris Miller trackside at Talledega.

• The officially licensed Lionel Racing NASCAR Collectible No. 20 Chevrolet 1:24 Color Chrome ARC Truck die-cast is available at lionelracing.com.

PHOTOGRAPHY: FREEDOM WARRANTY

DRIVER Q&A

Q&A with

NOAH

GRAGSON

HAVING FUN, LEARNING AND WINNING RACES

BY JOSEPH WOLKIN

N

oah Gragson is definitely unique. Simply put: the

24-year-old racer is a one-of-a-kind personality that literally comes along once in a generation.

The Las Vegas native is a fan favorite for his fun, outgoing way of living life. Gragson is in his fourth full-time season in the Xfinity Series, each with JR Motorsports. Every year, he’s grown as a racer, becoming more consistent.

Now, with some Cup Series experience thanks to a part-time ride at Kaulig Racing in the No. 16 Chevrolet, Gragson believes the time is now to excel.

If he succeeds at both levels this year, opportunities for the short- and long-term are endless. Combining his success with his popularity, Gragson is undoubtedly one of NASCAR’s top prospects.

It’s all about seizing the opportunities, and Gragson is an ace at that. If he can win the Xfinity Series championship, not only will he climb the fence, but he’ll probably end up throwing the biggest party NASCAR has ever seen.

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POLE POSITION 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

HOW DOES YOUR ABILITY TO HAVE FUN SEPARATE YOU FROM OTHERS IN THE NASCAR GARAGE? I like to be me at the end of the day, and I want to have as much fun as possible. I try my best to be prepared when I get to the race track. You never know when your last race is going to be or what it’s going to be like. You could have one more race or 10 more years. I try to take every race like it’s my last and have as much fun as possible.

WHAT’S THE EXPERIENCE IN THE CUP SERIES WITH KAULIG RACING BEEN LIKE? It’s been a challenge to say the least. Moving up to the Cup Series is a big change, with the amount of talent. There are a lot of guys who are really good. The top 30 are really good. It’s just a lot better quality of drivers that you’re racing against. I think we can have strong runs. I just need to do more races and figure the car out.

It’s really hard to go from the Xfinity car to the Cup car. I feel really comfortable in the Xfinity car. Driving the Cup car will take some time. Luckily, I have a great opportunity with Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice. I’m really fortunate to drive their car. This year is about learning and understanding the car to get the general feel of it.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT YOURSELF AS A DRIVER WHILE DOING DOUBLE DUTY? They’re long weekends. I’m drinking the most water I’ve ever had in my life on those weekends. In all seriousness, it’s a good challenge.

It’s fun to jump from one car to another and be in the Cup car.

You’re relearning how to drive. The Xfinity car feels so natural to me that I can just jump in it and go fast, even after getting out of the Cup car. Getting into the Cup car after the Xfinity car, I have to be

CUP SERIES

cautious about what I’m doing. I have to make sure all of my actions are right and focused on learning this new car.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN THE XFINITY SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP? Playoff points, playoff points and playoff points. You get playoff points for a win and winning stages. We want to rack those points up. You want to win every race, and we could win a lot. I feel like we’re in a great position with our team right now. It’s been a busy year thus far. I’ve been racing on the Xfinity off weekends in the Cup car. I’m just running a lot of races.

WORKING WITH DALE EARNHARDT JR. AND KELLEY EARNHARDT MILLER MUST BE GREAT. WHAT’S IT LIKE TO KNOW THESE HIGHLY RESPECTED PEOPLE BELIEVE IN YOU? It means a lot. They put a lot of trust in not only myself, but all four of us drivers at JR Motorsports. I hope we’re making them proud. I hope Dale, Kelley and L.W. (Miller) are all smiling. It takes a lot of hard work. It starts from the top down. It’s such a family environment. Everybody enjoys going to work and we’re all friends outside of the race track and outside the 7-4 workday. If you can have that culture, it’s key. I’m happy with where I’m at.

WHAT’S IT BEEN LIKE TO BE PART OF THIS INCREDIBLY STRONG JRM GROUP? It’s cool having Justin (Allgaier), Josh (Berry) and myself win races and contend up front each and every week. There’s been a lot of hard work that’s been put in. It hasn’t been easy, but confidence in this sport and momentum puts you on a roll. That’s where we are as a company right now. We have a ton of confidence in our race cars and a ton of speed.

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SENIOR SALUTE

PRESENTED BY

Bobby Labonte A LIFE OF RACING

BY BEN WHITE

From the time Bobby Labonte was 4 years old, he’s been slipping a helmet over his head while looking deep into the first turn of the speedway he’s set to conquer.

Even though he retired from the NASCAR Cup Series in 2016, the native of Corpus Christi, Texas, is still turning left in the SRX Series as well as competing in more than 20 modified races this summer.

The NASCAR Hall of Famer is enjoying life, and he recently took time to reflect on growing up with older brother Terry, winning races and claiming the 2000 Cup Series championship.

• Bobby Labonte was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2020, joining his brother Terry who was inducted in 2016.

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POLE POSITION 2022

TELL US ABOUT WORKING AS A MEMBER FOR YOUR OLDER BROTHER TERRY’S CUP SERIES CREW DURING THE EARLY 1980S. (Laughter) I was going to high school and needed a job. I think it was one of those deals where you went to school a half-day and worked a halfday. So that’s what I did. I did odd jobs. I asked if I could sweep the floors. On Saturdays, I would mop the floors, and I would hang around and learn things. I also stacked parts in the parts room. Then I washed

the cars. I started getting paid when I got out of high school. I joined the team full time as a crew member.

YOU HAD YOUR OWN DRIVING CAREER AT A YOUNG AGE. HAD YOU DREAMED OF DRIVING A CUP SERIES CAR WHILE GROWING UP? It just developed, really. When I was a mechanic working with Terry’s Cup team, I had no idea where that path would take me.

At that age, you don’t have money to have your own car

to race. You say, “Well. I guess I’ll work. Whatever happens, happens.” I didn’t know what was going to be around the corner for me.

HOW MUCH DID TERRY INFLUENCE YOUR DECISION-MAKING WHEN YOU DID GET INTO THE CUP SERIES AS A DRIVER? I always ran things by him in the Busch Grand National days and once I started in the Cup Series. At first, he definitely advised me more. I was new at it and didn’t know what to expect. He knew the PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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SENIOR SALUTE lay of the land, so to speak, better than I did. Obviously, later on, he wasn’t quite as deeply involved.

Definitely to start, I always wanted to get his advice on the next move and how to handle things. He was very influential to me.

YOU HAD A VERY SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN THE CUP SERIES WITH 21 VICTORIES. DOES ONE THING STAND OUT AS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY? I think you land on different ones at different times when you’re asked the question. Globally, I think you have to lean back to the first one. For me, nothing against any other track, but when you win the first and for me, it was the Coca-Cola 600 in 1995. It’s like winning the Daytona 500 or the Southern 500 at Darlington. For me, it’s the Coke 600. That was the first one.

That started the whole thing. It was great in so many ways.

ANOTHER ONE COMES TO MIND. IT WAS NOV. 10, 1996, AT ATLANTA. YOU WON THE RACE AND TERRY WON THE CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP. HOW COOL WAS THAT, ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU COMPLETED THE COOL DOWN LAP TOGETHER? Yeah, for sure. We hadn’t won a race all year and needed to win. Also, knowing that Terry had a chance to win that championship was big as well.

After qualifying on Friday, we started talking about it. We were parked beside one another in the motorhome lot, and we said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if I win the race and you win the championship?”

We laughed about it and said, “Wouldn’t that be fun?” I remember someone saying, “If Terry wins the championship, make sure you go to Victory Lane.” So as it turned out, our parents had two sons in Victory Lane the same day. Both of us couldn’t win the race. Both couldn’t win

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POLE POSITION 2022

PRESENTED BY

the championship. How can you try any harder than you’ve always tried. It turned out like a movie script. For our parents, it was like, “How lucky can you be?”

IT’S BEEN 22 YEARS SINCE YOU WON YOUR CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP. WHAT KIND OF SEASON WAS THAT FOR YOU? We felt good all year. In 1999, I made one mistake at Sonoma that cost me the chance to be a contender. We were so fast all year, but something always seemed to happen. Then in 2000, I cleaned up all of my mistakes. I took the point lead at Rockingham in the second or third race of the year and we were finishing laps and finishing races with four wins, 19 top-five finishes and 24 top-10s.

Some years it was such a grind, but 2000 just wasn’t. Media members were asking me if I was getting nervous and I really wasn’t.

I just felt confident that we could continue our great season. We were winning and having great races. We won the championship a race early at Homestead and then went to Atlanta. It was just our year.

WHAT DID BEING INDUCTED INTO THE NASCAR HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2020 MEAN TO YOU? When I heard the news, in my mind, my entire career just flashed before my eyes from beginning to end. I thought about all the people and how I got there.

Until that happened, I never really talked about it. I didn’t really converse about, “Hey, I raced quarter midgets and go-karts and late models and moved on up and all of it.” You put your whole life and racing career in front of you and now it’s all of what you talked about.

It made me reflect and made me thankful for how I got there. What being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame did was to say, “Here’s your accolades for what you did in racing.” It just puts it all in perspective.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES, NASCAR ARCHIVES & RESEARCH CENTER

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BACKSTORY

PRESENTED BY

A BORN CHAMPION STEWART WINS AS A CUP SERIES ROOKIE

BY BEN WHITE

• Tony Stewart won two additional races after Richmond during his rookie season, at Phoenix and Homestead.

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POLE POSITION 2022

T

ony Stewart, who was in his rookie season behind the

wheel of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac in 1999, originally had his sights set on Indy car racing.

Growing up in Columbus, Indiana, Stewart claimed his first go-kart championship in 1980 and earned a World Karting Association title seven years later. He moved to the United Midget Racing Association where he competed in threequarter midgets until 1991 before graduating to USAC’s various open-wheel series.

Stewart captured the USAC midget title in 1994 and became the first driver to win USAC’s version of the Triple Crown in 1995, earning championships in the midget, sprint car and Silver Crown divisions.

He began racing Indy cars in 1996 and qualified for his first Indianapolis 500. That same year, Stewart made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut, driving for team owner Harry Ranier.

In the 1997 Indianapolis 500, Stewart led 64 laps and finished fifth. He notched an Indy car victory at Pikes Peak

Raceway, leading 193 of 200 laps, and went on to claim the 1997 IndyCar Series championship.

Stewart ran the majority of the NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 1998 for team owner Joe Gibbs. The following year, he collected his initial NASCAR Cup Series victory at Richmond Raceway, becoming the first rookie driver to win in the series since Davey Allison in 1987.

“I may be a rookie in this series, but I’ve been racing more than 20 years, learning how to win,” Stewart said in post-race interviews, according to the Winston Yearbook Series. “When you win in the NASCAR Cup Series, you beat the best. It’s no secret that it’s still the No. 1 racing series in the country right now, and in my opinion, the world. When you beat the guys you’ve watched on TV for years, it just means a little extra. It’s unbelievable. I would have never dreamed I would have gotten here first of all, let alone gotten to win a race. To win in my rookie season, I think it’s going to hit me even harder tomorrow morning.”

Stewart led 333 of the race’s 400 lap.

In the photo, Stewart holds his first of 49-career NASCAR Cup Series trophies.

Stewart also earned Cup Series championships in 2002, 2005 and 2011 and is still involved in the series as an owner of Stewart-Haas Racing.

PHOTOGRAPHY: NASCAR ARCHIVES & RESEARCH CENTER

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LEGEND PROFILE

PRESENTED BY

NASCAR Legend: Harry Gant

Harry Gant won 18 NASCAR Cup Series races between 1973 and 1994. His biggest victories came in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway with team owners Hal Needham (1984) and Leo Jackson (1991).

BY BEN WHITE

Gant was born in Taylorsville, North Carolina, on Jan. 10, 1940. He was raised on a farm before working in construction during his early 20s. He later formed his own construction company that he continues to operate at age 82.

Gant became interested in stock car racing during the mid-1960s. He and a few friends built a hobby class car that they took turns driving at Hickory Motor Speedway. Gant eventually became the full-time driver and won his first race in the track’s Sportsman division during the 1967 season.

Gant won more than 300 races with car builder and crew chief Kenneth Sigmon in NASCAR’s Sportsman division, earning national championships in 1972, ’73 and ’74.

In 1973, Gant entered his first NASCAR Cup Series race with team owner Junie Donlavey and made six starts over the next four years with two top-10 finishes. His first full season of Cup Series racing was in 1979 when he competed for rookie-of-the-year honors against Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte.

In 1982, he moved to the No. 33 Skoal Bandit Pontiac owned by movie director Hal Needham and actor Burt Reynolds with his first win coming at Martinsville Speedway on April 25 of that year.

Gant joined car owner Leo Jackson in 1989 and remained with the team for the remainder of his career. All told, he logged 474 starts and recorded 18 victories.

“I built houses before I started racing. If racing stopped, that’s what I’d do again.”

–HARRY GANT

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BEST SEASON LATE IN THE 1991 NASCAR CUP SERIES SEASON,

Gant won consecutive races at Darlington, Dover, Richmond and Martinsville, prompting the nickname “Mr. September” from the media and his fans. His No. 33 Leo Jackson Racing Oldsmobile was seemingly unstoppable in each of those races.

RECORD SETTER GANT’S CAREER AVERAGE START WAS 12.5 AND

average finish was 15.9 over a period of 22 Cup Series seasons. His highest finish in points came in 1984 when he ended up second to Terry Labonte in the Cup Series standings. Gant led 8,446 laps during his 474 starts in NASCAR’s top division.

TALENTED CALCULATING

AGGRESSIVE HANDSOME QUIET

DETERMINED KNOWN FOR THROUGHOUT HIS LONG AND REWARDING CAREER, Gant was identified through various nicknames such as “Handsome Harry,” “The Bandit” due to his longtime SKOAL sponsorship and “High Groove Harry.” Gant was also known for his ability to keep a car in contention for the win throughout a race.

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POLE POSITION 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY: NASCAR ARCHIVES & RESEARCH CENTER

SEASON REWIND

Richard Petty Claims First Title

BY BEN WHITE

In 1964, Richard Petty and his familyowned team, Petty Enterprises, proved best, collecting the coveted NASCAR Cup Series championship after logging nine wins, 37 top-five results, 43 top-10 finishes and eight pole positions in 61 starts.

BEST DRIVER DRIVING NO. 11 Fords for a pair of owners, Ned Jarrett won 15 of 59 races during the 1964 NASCAR Cup Series season. He was consistently the best driver with 40 top-five finishes and 42 top-10 results as well as nine pole positions. Jarrett’s quest for a third series championship was derailed by failing to finish 23 races, primarily due to a rash of engine failures.

BEST RACE ON JULY 4, A.J. FOYT and Bobby Isaac exchanged the lead 16 times in the final 56 laps of the 160-lap Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Driving a

The 1964 season actually began in November 1963 with four races being run before the new year. The series also visited the serpentine circuit in Riverside, California, prior to the prestigious Daytona 500 in February. Petty, at the young age of 26, won at Savannah Speedway on Dec. 29 and then collected the first of seven Daytona 500 victories at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway.

It was the first superspeedway victory of Petty’s career.

Having suffered a horrendous crash during a qualifying race prior to the 1961 Daytona 500, Lee Petty entered only two races in 1964 and retired from driving to concentrate on his son’s championship effort. Richard Petty’s brother, Maurice, built engines for the team’s Plymouths with strength enough to win seven additional short-track races.

Ned Jarrett, driving the No. 11 Fords owned by Charles Robinson (4 races) and Bondy Long (55 race), entered 59 races that season, winning 15 Times. His biggest victory came June 7 at Atlanta Motor Speedway over Petty after leading 66 of 267 laps. Petty bested Jarrett in the championship standings by 5,302 points at season’s end.

Tragically, NASCAR stars Joe Weatherly, Fireball Roberts and Jimmie Pardue died in crashes. Weatherly lost his life in Riverside, California, on Jan. 19. Roberts was involved in a multi-car crash at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24 and succumbed to his injuries on July 2.

Pardue died after crashing during a tire test at Charlotte on Sept. 22.

Dodge owned by Ray Nichels, Foyt claimed the win after passing Isaac just before reaching the startfinish line to record his first of seven NASCAR triumphs. Foyt’s victory was marred by the announcement that Fireball Roberts had died after a lengthy hospital stay.

TOP CARS RICHARD PETTY’S NO. 43 Petty Enterprises Plymouth won nine times in 1964 with 43 top-10 finishes and eight pole positions in 61 starts.

Ned Jarrett’s 1964 No. 11 Long/Robinson Ford went to Victory Lane 15 times and had 42 top10 results in 59 races.

SEASON RECAP DATE

Nov. 10 Nov. 17 Dec. 1 Dec. 29 Jan. 19 Feb. 21 Feb. 21 Feb. 23 Mar. 10 Mar. 22 Mar. 28 Mar. 30 Apr. 5 Apr. 11 Apr. 12 Apr. 14 Apr. 16 Apr. 19 Apr. 26 May 1 May 9 May 15 May 16 May 17 May 24 May 30 May 31 Jun. 7 Jun. 11 Jun. 14 Jun. 19 Jun. 21 Jun. 23 Jun. 26 Jul. 4 Jul. 8 Jul. 10 Jul. 12 Jul. 15 Jul. 19 Jul. 21 Jul. 26 Aug. 2 Aug. 7 Aug. 9 Aug. 13 Aug. 16 Aug. 21 Aug. 22 Aug. 23 Sept. 7 Sept. 11 Sept. 14 Sept. 18 Sept. 20 Sept. 27 Oct. 9 Oct. 11 Oct. 18 Oct. 25 Nov. 1 Nov. 8

LOCATION

Concord International Speedway Augusta International Raceway Jacksonville Speedway Savannah Speedway Riverside International Raceway Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway Richmond Raceway Bristol Motor Speedway Greenville-Pickens Speedway Bowman Gray Stadium Atlanta Motor Speedway Asheville-Weaverville Speedway Orange Speedway Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds Columbia Speedway North Wilkesboro Speedway Martinsville Speedway Savannah Speedway Darlington Raceway Langley Field Speedway Hickory Speedway South Boston Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway Greenville-Pickens Speedway New Asheville Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway Concord International Speedway Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville Chattanooga International Raceway Birmingham International Raceway Valdosta 75 Speedway Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds Daytona International Speedway Old Dominion Speedway Old Bridge Speedway Bridgehampton Raceway Islip Speedway Watkins Glen International Lincoln Speedway Bristol Motor Speedway Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville Rambi Raceway Asheville-Weaverville Speedway Dog Track Speedway West Virginia International Speedway Columbia Speedway Bowman Gray Stadium Roanoke Raceway Darlington Raceway Hickory Speedway Richmond Raceway Old Dominion Speedway Orange Speedway Martinsville Speedway Savannah Speedway North Wilkesboro Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway Harris Speedway Augusta Speedway Jacksonville Speedway

WINNER

Ned Jarrett Fireball Roberts Wendell Scott Richard Petty Dan Gurney Junior Johnson Bobby Isaac Richard Petty David Pearson Fred Lorenzen David Pearson Marvin Panch Fred Lorenzen Marvin Panch David Pearson Ned Jarrett Ned Jarrett Fred Lorenzen Fred Lorenzen LeeRoy Yarbrough Fred Lorenzen Ned Jarrett Ned Jarrett Richard Petty Jim Paschal LeeRoy Yarbrough Ned Jarrett Ned Jarrett Richard Petty Richard Petty David Pearson Ned Jarrett Buck Baker Richard Petty A.J. Foyt Ned Jarrett Billy Wade Billy Wade Billy Wade Billy Wade David Pearson Fred Lorenzen Richard Petty David Pearson Ned Jarrett Ned Jarrett Richard Petty David Pearson Junior Johnson Junior Johnson Buck Baker David Pearson Cotton Owens Ned Jarrett Ned Jarrett Fred Lorenzen Ned Jarrett Marvin Panch Fred Lorenzen Richard Petty Darel Dieringer Ned Jarrett

PRESIDENT

Lyndon B. Johnson N O . 1 AT T H E B O X O F F I C E

Mary Poppins NO. 1 SONG

“I Want To Hold Your Hand”

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1964 P O P C U LT U R E

The Warren Commission concludes that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President Kennedy.

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FAST FACTS

DID YOU KNOW?

Wow Your Friends with These NASCAR Facts and Figures NASCAR POLE POSITION

AN OFFICIALLY LICENSED PUBLICATION OF NASCAR 23110 STATE ROAD 54, SUITE 293 LUTZ, FL 33549 EMAIL: INFO@AE-ENGINE.COM WEB: POLEPOSITIONMAG.COM; AE-ENGINE.COM

THE CREW

PUBLISHER: CRAIG BARONCELLI COMMERCIAL VICE PRESIDENT: DAVID WATSON DIRECTORS: JUSTIN HAND, MARK MORALES CONTENT CREATIVE DIRECTOR: JOE RABUCK DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR: NICOLE COOPER DIGITAL CONTENT DIRECTOR: JOSH MULL EXECUTIVE EDITOR: ERIC ESTEPP COPY EDITOR: KEITH WALTZ CONTRIBUTORS: JARED TURNER, KEITH WALTZ, BEN WHITE, JOSEPH WOLKIN, JERRY BONKOWSKI, DUSTIN ALBINO SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATORS: AIDAN ANDERSEN, ETHAN ANDERSEN, SHOGUN SPECIAL THANKS TO: GREG CARTY, ANDREW ENGEL (NASCAR)

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MAIL ORDER: TO RECEIVE A SUBSCRIPTION TO NASCAR POLE POSITION MAGAZINE, SEND A CHECK OR MONEY ORDER FOR $29.95 TO: A.E. ENGINE, 23110 STATE ROAD 54, SUITE 293, LUTZ, FL 33549. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR RETURN MAILING ADDRESS AND AN EMAIL ADDRESS AND MAKE THE CHECK PAYABLE TO A.E. ENGINE. ONLINE ORDER: SUBSCRIPTIONS AND INDIVIDUAL COPIES CAN BE ORDERED ONLINE AT POLEPOSITIONMAG.COM.

BY BEN WHITE At 96 years of age, Paul Goldsmith, who won four Cup Series races during his driving career, is the longest living legend among NASCAR drivers.

Richard Petty won the 100th of his 200-career wins on Aug. 22, 1969. The milestone victory came on the quarter-mile asphalt oval at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, during the Myers Brothers 250.

In 1987, Dale Earnhardt’s best career season included six wins in the opening eight races of the year, including four in a row at Darlington, North Wilkesboro, Bristol and Martinsville.

Jeff Gordon’s seven wins in a nine-race stretch during 1998 was one of the best efforts in NASCAR’s Modern Era. All told, Gordon rattled off 17 consecutive top-five finishes that year.

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Bobby Allison used the No. 22 on his own cars in 1969. He also carried the number in 1970 with team owner Mario Rossi, 1983 to 1985 with DiGard Racing and 1986 through 1988 with Stavola Brothers Racing.

Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion David Pearson won 10 races at Darlington Raceway for four different team owners – Holman Moody, Wood Brothers Racing, Rod Osterlund and Hoss Ellington.

Joe Weatherly, the 1963 NASCAR champion, won the title that season while driving five different makes of cars for eight different team owners. Most of his starts were with Bud Moore.

Ty Dillon, Austin Dillon, Taylor Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt stand in Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway after Earnhardt won the 1998 Daytona 500 for Richard Childress Racing. Austin Dillon won the 2018 Daytona 500 for RCR.

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PHOTOGRAPHY: NASCAR ARCHIVES & RESEARCH CENTER

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