Drive for Diversity Class Set

Netspend Backs Kyle

NETSPEND, A LEADING provider of payments and financial solutions for consumers and businesses, will sponsor two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team this season.

“Both Richard Childress Racing and Kyle Busch are living out their dreams every day, having won multiple championships and some of the most prestigious races in motorsports,” said Kelley Knutson, president of Netspend. “We’re looking forward to seeing the No. 8 Netspend Chevy on race tracks across America and delivering our key marketing and business objectives through this unique platform with the RCR team partnership.”

CHASTAIN’S STRIPE REMAINS

RACING WILL RETURN TO Martinsville Speedway April 14-16 with three days of NASCAR action.

Until then, the “stripe” in Turns 3 and 4, put there last fall by Ross Chastain’s incredible move, will remain for fans who want to stop by the track and see where the milestone moment took place.

“It’s going to stay up until race week in April,” track president Clay Campbell told the Martinsville Bulletin.

“We’ve got so many people stopping by here, taking pictures. It’s an historical moment, and we’re going to do our best to preserve it all that we can.”

Official Tequila Sponsor

CABO WABO TEQUILA HAS been named the first Official Tequila Sponsor of NASCAR. As part of a wide-ranging, multi-year agreement, the brand will also serve as the Official Tequila of Daytona International Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Michigan International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.

Cabo Wabo is all about living, working and playing hard. That’s why it is giving fans 21 and older a new way to level up their racewatching experience. The Cabo Wabo Smokeshow combines the bold flavors of Cabo Wabo Blanco Tequila with smokiness of Montelobos Espadin Mezcal and is served over ice with a lime wheel garnish.

NASCAR AND REV RACING introduced the next generation of drivers participating in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program. Eight drivers were selected to the newest class after participating in the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine.

The 2023 class features the following drivers:

■ Andrés Pérez de Lara (Mexico City, Mexico) / ARCA Menards Series

■ Lavar Scott (Carney’s Pointe, N.J.) / ARCA Menards Series East

■ Justin Campbell (Griffin, Ga.) / NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model

■ Jaiden Reyna (Cornelius, N.C.) / NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model

■ Paige Rogers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) / NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model

■ Caleb Johnson (Denver, Co.) / INEX Legend Car Series

■ Nathan Lyons (Concord, N.C.) / INEX Legend Car Series

■ Eloy Sebastián López Falcón (Oaxaca, Mexico,) / INEX Legend Car Series

NASCAR Hall of Fame Inducts Matt Kenseth, Kirk Shelmerdine and Hershel McGriff

THE NASCAR HALL OF FAME WELCOMED A FORMIDABLE CHAMPION of the stock car racing’s premier division, one of the NASCAR Cup Series’ most successful modern-era crew chiefs and a driver who competed in NASCAR events during seven different decades as the Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

Matt Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR Cup Series champion; Kirk Shelmerdine, who guided Dale Earnhardt to four Cup Series titles; and Hershel McGriff, who won four Cup Series races in 1954 and competed in NASCAR racing in 2018 at age 90 were inducted into the Hall of Fame on Jan. 20.

In addition, NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton, a fixture in the sport for nearly five decades, was honored with the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.

In 18 full-time seasons at NASCAR’s highest level, Kenseth won 39 races, tied with Hall of Famer Tim Flock for 21st all time. Driving for team owner and Hall of Famer Jack Roush, Kenseth was the last champion of the Winston Cup era.

Shelmerdine’s star shone brightly during a relatively short tenure as a toplevel crew chief. After a three-year stint with driver James Hylton, Shelmerdine moved to Richard Childress Racing. In 1983, at age 25, he got his first Cup Series victory – and the first-victory for Childress – with driver Ricky Rudd on the road course in Riverside, Calif.

The following year, Shelmerdine was paired with the driver who would help to define his career. With driver Dale Earnhardt at RCR, Shelmerdine won twice in 1984, four times in 1985 and five times in his first championship season of 1986. Three more championships with Earnhardt would follow – in 1987, 1990 and 1991.

McGriff’s storied NASCAR career began in 1950 when he raced his own car in the Southern 500 at newly built Darlington Raceway.

That was the first of 87 NASCAR Cup Series starts and the first chapter in a stock car racing tenure that wouldn’t end until 2018 (for the time being), when McGriff made the last of his 271 NASCAR ARCA Menards Series West starts at Tucson Speedway – at age 90, as the oldest driver to race in NASCAR-sanctioned competition.

Helton has earned universal respect as a larger-than-life figure in the NASCAR garage. In a racing career that started with a stint as public relations director at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Helton advanced to the role of NASCAR president in 2000 – as the first person outside the France family to hold that position.

As part of the ceremonies, the late T. Taylor Warren became the first photojournalist honored with the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence. — NASCAR Newswire