NASCAR Pole Position - June-July 2022 by A.E. Engine

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DRIVERS

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BYRON // LOGANO // BUSCH BROS.

NASCAR COLLECTIBLES

BEHIND THE SCENES

SHOW YOUR

AT MISCRAFT’S STOP-MOTION WORKSHOP

STUFF

RACING

JOBS

ROSS CHASTAIN

‘Eat, Drink & Sleep Racing’

NASCAR PETS

SAY HELLO TO

ZOE CREED

CHRISTOPHER BELL

‘WE HAVE ALL

THE PIECES’ NASCAR Salutes

Q&A with Black Rifle Coffee Company CEO Evan Hafer P. 22

For the Record

An exclusive interview with living legend Richard Petty P. 32

WHAT’S YOUR SPEED?

Come for the race, then get your own rush of adrenaline with adventures throughout the state. Plan your trip at VisitArizona.com/Nascar

JUNEJULY

16 06

Green Flag

22 22

Presented by Alka Seltzer

NASCAR Salutes: Black Rifle Coffee Company KGM Technologies: Innovation is the Mission

Retro Rewind

Senior Salute

Favorite FInds

Show Your Stuff

My Favorites

NASCAR Pets

Racing Jobs

Miscraft’s Workshop

Home Tracks: Lee USA Speedway

Health & Wellness Presented by Slo-Niacin

Presented by Prevagen

POLE POSITION 2022

NASCAR Drivers Posterized Presented by Jockey

Austin Hill Q&A

Tanner Gray Q&A

Legend Profile: Buck Baker Presented by Hempvana

Blast from the Past

State Water Heaters: 16 Years in NASCAR

Presented by Forney Industries

Ross Chastain Q&A

Gone But Not Forgotten

Christopher Bell Q&A

Did You Know? NASCAR Facts & Figures

Backstory

Presented by K-Seal

NASCAR Builds

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

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PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

PRESENTED BY

GREEN FLAG

Jockey Partners with Trackhouse Racing There’s a good reason why Trackhouse Racing drivers look comfortable at the front of the NASCAR Cup Series field this season. Not only are their Chevrolets fast, but they are now leading the field in style. Trackhouse Racing recently announced that Jockey International (Jockey), the pioneer of comfort and quality in active, casual and underwear, has signed a multi-year agreement to be a primary sponsor on the NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolets driven by Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez. The Jockey partnership with Trackhouse will be the first such team sponsorship in the 146-year history of the apparel brand. At the core of the partnership will be the launch of the brand’s new Made in America Collection – an effort aimed at delivering

premium quality product; reshoring American manufacturing jobs; supporting families in local communities; and providing a more sustainable option for American consumers. “The ‘fit’ between Jockey and Trackhouse was evident from the start,” said Chris Smith, chief brand officer and EVP, International. “There is a shared vision in delivering a highquality, innovative product to consumers and in pushing boundaries by being a leader in our respective categories. Both organizations also share a dedication to community, and that’s really what drew us together. We are excited to partner with Trackhouse Racing and introduce the Jockey ‘Made in America’ Collection to more race fans across the country.”

SPONSORED UP

SPOTLIGHTING TEAM PARTNERS

MIDNIGHT MOON & JEFFREY EARNHARDT

KING’S HAWAIIAN JOINS RFK

TRACKHOUSE ADDS ANOTHER PARTNER

MIDNIGHT MOON – THE

RFK RACING AND KING’S

WORLDWIDE EXPRESS, A

award-winning moonshine

Hawaiian have announced a

global logistics provider, will serve

inspired by the family recipe

sponsorship that will see the

as the primary sponsor of Ross

of legendary bootlegger and

iconic bread company partner

Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet for 17

NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior

with Brad Keselowski and the No.

races over the next two seasons

Johnson – has joined forces with

6 team for the remainder of the

and four more times on the No.

NASCAR driver Jeffrey Earnhardt,

Cup Series season.

99 Chevrolet of Daniel Suárez.

grandson of Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt will be an official

RFK and King’s Hawaiian

“We are proud to partner with

will collaborate on compelling

Trackhouse Racing,” said Rob

brand ambassador for Midnight

activation programs to engage the

Rose, president of Worldwide

Moon, continuing the brand’s

NASCAR community, and King’s

Express. “Trackhouse has been

celebration of Johnson’s

Hawaiian will also serve as the

one of the most exciting and

bootlegging driving skills that

primary partner on the No. 6 car

interesting teams in 2022.

led him to become one of the

for two upcoming races, including

Everyone wants to win, but

godfathers of NASCAR.

Nashville Superspeedway.

Justin Marks’ approach is setting

QUOTABLE

“He’s just an idiot. He does this stuff all the time. I’ve seen it with other guys.” – W I L L I A M BY R O N A F T E R JOEY LOGANO’S BUMPA N D - R U N AT DA R L I N G T O N

them up to win even bigger in the long term. The obsession with excellence and continuous improvement, down to the last detail, is what sets their program apart. This is directly aligned with the business approach shared by Worldwide Express employees, franchisees and agents.”

POLE POSITION 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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POLE POSITION 2022

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NASCAR COLLECTIBLES

SHOW YOUR STUFF We’ve all got our favorite NASCAR content creators on YouTube, but have you ever wondered where they get all those cool collectibles in their backdrops? Us too, and that’s why we hit up one of our favorite channels – Danny B Talks! You’ve seen his Rise & Fall series, and you can catch him this season covering tracks across the country. Hey Danny, show us your stuff!

Daniel Baldwin (AKA Danny B) has been

From time to time, Danny enjoys hopping on

a longtime collector of NASCAR merchandise. From die-cast cars to sheet metal, Danny is a fan of all things NASCAR when it comes to decorating his NASCAR “Fan Cave.”

his sim racing rig to turn some laps in his favorite racing game. And of course, he’s surrounded by some of his favorite NASCAR memorabilia, including sheet metal off of the Ally No. 48 car of Alex Bowman.

YOU’LL ALSO NEVER FORGET THE FIRST RACE YOU attended, which is why Danny B just HAD to have the race win version of Kevin Harvick’s 2009 Armour Foods No. 33 Chevy that went to Victory Lane in the 2009 Scott’s Turfbuilder 300. Danny B was a fan of Brad Keselowski driving the No. 88 at that time in the Xfinity Series. And because Brad drove the GoDaddy car in that race, he wanted to pair these two cars together in his collection where they reside today.

Danny B will forever have a soft spot for

One of Danny B’s all-time classic pieces in

the 2008 COTs. And he has the full set of Hendrick Motorsports’ 2008 lineup to prove it (along with Tony Stewart and Mark Martin joining the race) in this banked die-cast track display.

his collection is his 2019 Liquid color, autographed die-cast replica of Alex Bowman’s first win at Chicagoland Speedway. It’s complete with a custom-built 1:24 scale replica of Chicagoland’s Victory Lane.

PHOTOGRAPHY: DANIEL BALDWIN

MY FAVORITES

MY FAVORITES WITH

Kurt Busch

NASCAR veteran Kurt Busch is all about having fun these days, and the driver of the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing is enjoying his time as a NASCAR elder statesman. But there are plenty of fans who don’t know the behind-the-scenes story of the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion. Besides his success on the race track, the oldest of the Busch brothers is a dedicated husband who is certainly celebrating life in his 40s. Let’s get to know Kurt Busch. BY JOSEPH WOLKIN

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE VACATION SPOT?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GO-TO DRINK?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF RACING MEMORABILIA?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?

I LOVE THE

the lemonade tea.

I LOVE MY

MY FAVORITE

I’D GO WITH

I WOULD SAY MY

mom’s Italian

racing movie is “Six

Tom Cruise.

islands, whether

championship trophy

cooking.

Pack” with Kenny

it’s the Caribbean

from 2004. That

Rogers back in the

or wherever there

was a lifelong dream

day, running the dirt

is a beach and palm

and challenge, and I

tracks and trying

trees.

made it to the top of

to get to the Grand

motorsports.

National circuit. He

MONSTER ENERGY,

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE?

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ACTOR?

took six kids under his wings to better their lives.

POLE POSITION 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

NASCAR PETS

Say Hello to Zoe Creed BY JARED TURNER

When Sheldon Creed became the owner of a mini Goldendoodle about two-anda-half years ago, the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver and 2020 Camping World Truck Series champion didn’t quite know what to expect. Having never personally been responsible for a dog, he anticipated a considerable amount of training might be necessary for Zoe to acclimate to life at the Creed crib. That’s not exactly how things played out, though. “I’ve honestly probably had to train myself more than her – going from not really having pets since I was a kid to buying a dog and living on my own when I got her,” said Creed, who is now married and will soon be a dad. “You just kind of train yourself on when to

take them out and what they need all the time, and you try to be a good dog parent. That was probably the biggest adjustment for me.” Creed isn’t the only one who has changed since bringing Zoe home at eight weeks old. His cherished canine has too. “She’s full of energy and superhyper, and it took probably two years to get a lot of that out of her,” Creed said. “But now she’s honestly great and listens really well, and we have a lot of fun.” Some of that fun is had on visits to Millbridge Speedway – a dirt track in Salisbury, North Carolina, where Creed often races when he’s not driving the No. 2 car for Richard Childress Racing. “She just wants to run around and play with everyone, but obviously you have to kind of keep her within arm’s reach,” Creed said.

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

RACING JOBS

The NASCAR universe extends well beyond the participants fans see at the track on race day. There are thousands of hard-working men and women behind the scenes who make NASCAR the greatest show on four wheels. Here are some of their stories:

A MAN OF MANY TALENTS

CORRIHER HELPS KEEP TEAM PENSKE SHOP IN PERFECT SHAPE

BY BEN WHITE

Scott Corriher SPECIAL PROJECT & FACILITIES COORDINATOR TEAM PENSKE

POLE POSITION 2022

s a member of the facilities and spe-

cial projects department at Team Penske, Scott Corriher arrives at work each morning knowing nothing about his day will be routine. His workspace measures 430,000 square feet and his workday usually includes a wide variety of construction or maintenance jobs, some of which may include supervising subcontractors. Working with his hands was a large part of Corriher’s formative years. He grew up on a farm where he gained experience with a variety of pieces of equipment as well as with his grandfather’s sawmill. As a teenager, Corriher loved cars and following NASCAR, especially since he is a native of the Charlotte area. “We followed NASCAR as a family but everyone around Charlotte did, as they do now,” Corriher said. “Charlotte has always been the hub of NASCAR with so many race teams based around the area.” Corriher served in the United States Marine Corps from 1983 through 1987, working with avionics while based on Whidbey Island north of Seattle, Washington. His was a very important job upon which flight crews

heavily relied. One wrong signal could spell problems for pilots. “My job in the Marines was to make sure the radar systems were in top working order,” Corriher explained. “We would repair and maintain them and test them. We serviced flight line component issues when they came up.” The jack-of-all-trades eventually discovered another passion that was close to home. Corriher has built race engines alongside some of the best in NASCAR, including Keith Dorton and Larry Wallace, and he has built them himself for drivers Jeremy Mayfield and Rusty Wallace at Team Penske. When engines were no longer being built in-house, Corriher moved to Team Penske’s facilities and special projects department in 2017. Now, his days are filled with a variety of projects that often keep the mental wheels turning as every day brings a new challenge. “When it comes to what we do at Team Penske, we know what’s on the list but a lot of times, we get halfway through our day and new things come up that we weren’t planning on,” Corriher said. “That’s Ok. That’s what we do. There’s always something new and different going on.”

LEADING THE BOW-TIE PR EFFORT DANA HASELHUHN FINDS HER DREAM JOB

BY BEN WHITE

Dana Haselhuhn PUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALIST CHEVROLET

ana Haselhuhn, a trackside public relations representative

for Chevrolet, watched many NASCAR Cup Series races on television while growing up in Knoxville, Iowa. She also attended countless races at the local dirt track, Knoxville Raceway, which has hosted the prestigious Knoxville Nationals sprint car event since 1961. “My dad was a big Jeff Gordon fan,” Haselhuhn said. “He still has a lot of old Jeff Gordon T-shirts, so if feels like it has all come full circle to be able to work with such an incredible team as Hendrick Motorsports now with Jeff being in a new leadership role. My dad is obviously very proud of me. When I go home, it’s fun being able to share with him all the fun things we have going on.” Haselhuhn earned a business management degree from William Penn University in 2018. During her senior year, she worked for a nonprofit organization in Des Moines, Iowa, and she was mentored by Kendra Jacobs, who at the time was the marketing and public relations manager for Knoxville Raceway. That led to Haselhuhn joining Chevrolet’s public relations team where she has worked since the start of the 2019 Cup Series season. It’s her dream job. “Every race weekend is different for me,” Haselhuhn noted. “I have a variety of responsibilities at the track every weekend. Some of that is pitching and coordinating media interviews in each market that we go to. I work with our Chevrolet drivers to get quotes and distribute material to the media throughout the race weekend. I also coordinate our driver appearances throughout the weekend at our Chevrolet display. Race week and race weekends are different at each track, which is probably my favorite part of the job, and that pushes me to continue to learn, grow and be better.” Haselhuhn has a rather busy schedule with 36 NASCAR Cup Series weekends, but she will occasionally take a weekend off. “I’m the lead on the NASCAR side, but I do have a few weekends off during the Cup Series schedule,” she said. “(Laughter) Of course, I have to be at the Knoxville Nationals, so I’m off that weekend. I have a couple off but I’m primarily at every race. I’ll usually be working 33 races of our 36 races each season. But I love it. I would rather be at the track than anywhere else. That’s where I thrive and that’s where I excel. I grew up at a race track, so it doesn’t feel like a job to me.” Haselhuhn enjoys visiting family and friends in Iowa, but she also loves her NASCAR and Chevrolet family. “I’m incredibly fortunate to work with some incredibly smart, driven, talented and motivated individuals at Chevrolet, and they motivate me to be the very best that I can be every day,” Haselhuhn said. “I work with an incredible group of people at Chevrolet, from our public relations people to our engineering team. We all share the same passion for the sport. I would definitely say the people I work with and learn from are one of my favorite parts of what I do.”

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

RACING JOBS

PROGRAMMED TO SUCCEED GREER KEEPS RCR’S TRACKSIDE COMPUTERS OPERATING

BY BEN WHITE

Shane Greer

TRACKSIDE IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING

POLE POSITION 2022

hane Greer, a trackside IT support specialist

for Richard Childress Racing, served in the United States Marine Corps from 1992 to 1999 during which time he was stationed at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune. As an M1-A1 Tank crewman, corporal Greer drove, gunned and manned an M1 tank while working with his unit to be cohesive on the battlefield if they were called upon. Greer also worked for a reserve unit with active staff while stationed in Atlanta. “I enjoyed the people and brotherhood in the military most,” Greer said. “In the military, you roomed with your best friend and that was the person you worked with all day long. Then, you hung out at night and on weekends. There’s a friend that I still talk to that I served with, and I haven’t been in the military in almost 20 years. The traveling crew in NASCAR is a lot like that.” Greer’s keen interest in computers led to him studying computer programming. After his military service was complete, he joined the professional golf tour where he worked with the electronic scoring system for nearly a decade. A friend at Richard Childress Racing told him of an opening there, and he joined the company in 2010. Greer found his second calling 12 years ago when he started working with RCR’s NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series teams. “I’m on the road crew and handle all of the network infrastructure with the day-to-day IT-related issues and responsibilities that happen at the track,” Greer explained. “I’m part of the RCR teams and also support Kaulig Racing and Petty GMS as part of their technical alliance with us. I am also the at-track support person for them, and I help to support their network infrastructure on a weekly basis through our technical agreement.” Greer enjoys his job because, just as it was with his military service, there are new challenges every day. “There are lots of things that happen with these teams and with these cars,” Greer said. “You have to have flexibility and know what each team needs to have happen. Obviously, there’s a time crunch and when cars are on the track, things have to work. There’s the responsibility of ensuring that everything runs correctly and being prepared for it.” PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

NASCAR INFLUENCER

BEHIND THE SCENES AT

MISCRAFT’S WORKSHOP If you watch NASCAR content on YouTube, you’ve almost certainly come across Miscraft. Creator Tyler McDonald spends dozens of hours handcrafting tracks and scripting every event for his Miscraft stop-motion die-cast series. We got a chance to go behind the scenes and get his personal take on every step of the process.

POLE POSITION 2022

Step 1

Step 2

“Before filming a stop-motion race, it is important to be sure everything is in order.”

“All of the track details from prerace staging to foliage must be taken care of.”

PHOTOGRAPHY: TYLER MCDONALD

Step 3 “Most importantly, however, the filming equipment must be set up and ready to film. Lights, tripods and other filming equipment help create a more eye-catching and pleasing product.”

Step 4 “The stop-motion is what people click on the videos for. It’s the highest priority of the whole project. I devote many hours and lots of ‘tender love and care’ into the animation to make sure the quality is the best it can be.”

Step 5 “Taking ample amounts of pictures, creating unique camera angles and putting lots of attention to the movement of the cars helps to create a minireplica of what a real NASCAR race would be like.”

The first season of the fictional Miscraft Cup Series launched in August of 2016, and has since garnered his channel almost 3 million lifetime views. The series is currently in its 8th season, and it’s no mystery why. Tyler shows us here that even when the animation is over, the real project begins - editing! The process itself can take several hours, but fans know the wait is worth it.

NASCAR HOME TRACKS

Lee USA Speedway

Boasting a population of slightly more than 4,500, Lee, New Hampshire, is the quintessential New England community – with one exception. There’s a NASCAR-sanctioned race track located about a mile and a half from the center of town. First opened in 1964 and revamped prior to the 1984 season, Lee USA Speedway has long been a pillar of New England short-track racing. “To be quite honest, there is kind of a pecking order of race fans who are attracted to Lee,” said Joe Bassett, who has been the track’s general manager since 2017. “First and foremost, it’s a big-block supermodified track. That will be hands-down one of our biggest shows of the year. Then, we’re pro stocks. Every fan who is a true, die-hard Lee USA Speedway fan, will tell you they want to see the pro stocks come back – which we are working on and having a few races this year.”

COREY LAJOIE & TYLER REDDICK PLAN TO RACE AT LEE USA SPEEDWAY ON JULY 15. FAMILIAR NAMES

SLIMMER SCHEDULE

FACILITY UPGRADES

LEE USA SPEEDWAY HAS A LONG HISTORY

AS FOR THIS SEASON’S SCHEDULE OF EVENTS,

LONGTIME RACER AND NASHUA, NEW

of hosting events in what is now the ARCA

Lee USA Speedway officials are taking a “less is

Hampshire, businessman Norman Wrenn Jr.

Menards Series East. The nomadic series visited

more” approach.

purchased Lee USA Speedway from Red and Judy

the track 17 times between 1992 and 2010. “The last Cup Series driver to win at Lee USA

“Some people will tell you we have a reduced schedule this year, but I call it a modified schedule,”

MacDonald in 2018. “Since the Wrenns bought the track, we’ve been

Speedway was Bubba Wallace,” Bassett noted.

Bassett explained, noting the 2021 slate included

working on upgrading the lighting, we’ve paved

“He beat out Ryan Truex, Brett Moffitt and Eddie

23 dates. “Now, in 2022, I asked for 13 race dates

some of the pit area and upgraded the sound

MacDonald here in 2010.”

and the 14th date is my Monster Truck show. It’s

system,” said Bassett. “We’ve been doing all of

basically nine racing events.”

the little things that hadn’t been done in the last

Brad Leighton (4) and Andy Santerre (3) are the top East Series winners at the track.

POLE POSITION 2022

Visit leeusaspeedway.com for schedule details.

few years and making the track what it is today.”

WORDS: KEITH WALTZ, PHOTOGRAPHY: RICH HAYES

PRESENTED BY

Detour Bars: These are my eat-first-thing-inthe-morning food when just getting to the track. They’re high in protein and fiber to get you through trekking around the track, including checking souvenir stands and displays.

BE HEALTH-CONSCIOUS WHILE AT THE TRACK Tips from NASCAR Fan Jacob Wisotsky

Great Value Sugar-Free Wild Strawberry Energy Drink Mix: A day at the track is long, and you

BY JARED TURNER

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

need the energy to keep going. These pour into a water bottle and have all the caffeine of a cup of coffee, and they have no calories.

s tempting as it might be to not always

seek out the wisest food options when attending a NASCAR race, it is possible to be health-conscious while having fun and cheering on your favorite driver. Just ask Jacob Wisotsky – a 33-year-old Austin, Texas-based NASCAR fan who’s been going to races for seven years. Below, check out Wisotsky’s top-five healthy choices for a day or weekend at the track – in his own words. Beef Jerky: This is a protein-heavy, calorie-light must that will tide you over. Beef Jerky is my main go-to because it hits that meaty craving I get at a track, especially when everyone else is eating things like hot dogs, pizza with meat, tacos, etc. So this fills in that jealous craving I get without being too salty. Trail Mix: My go-to here is H-E-B Wasabi Wonton Crunch. It’s got a good mix of flavor and crunch that can help replace or stand in for popcorn from the vendors.

Gatorade Lime Cucumber Sports Drink or Gatorade Zero Sugar, Glacier Cherry: It’s weird, but the

Gatorade Lime Cucumber has been my go-to. But for sugar-free, I go straight for the Glacier Cherry. This really all depends on the track. Some only permit water, but staying hydrated is key – be it with a CamelBak or bottle. You’re likely to be in the sun and the heat all day. Stay hydrated. Wisotsky is thankful to have good, clean culinary selections from which to choose. “It’s important to eat healthy, because I can spend upward of 8 to 10 hours at a track as a fan,” said Wisotsky, who supports Martin Truex Jr. “These foods help me enjoy the day without making me feel bloated and nasty – or worse, making me feel ill, which can turn a long day at the track sour quick. One thing that makes NASCAR great is that you can actually control what you eat a thousand times easier than at a ballpark or football game, etc.”

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Health & Wellness Tips from Matt DiBenedetto How does NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and former NASCAR Cup Series driver Matt DiBenedetto stay physically and mentally fit? Check out his five health and wellness tips below. EAT MAINLY NATURAL FOODS

KEEP A BALANCED DIET

you’re eating healthy and you’re still eating terrible because so much stuff is GMOs (genetically modified organisms), processed, synthetic, etc.,” DiBenedetto says. “Due to money and corruption, a lot of things are basically fake food, artificial. Diet is huge – and eating as natural as possible. “My wife and I go to the farmers market now every week, and we have some friends that have farms. So we’re just trying to get stuff that I know is grown right out of the ground and isn’t filled with a bunch of garbage. And that ties in so much with your cognitive ability, being mentally sharper. It’s amazing how much it affects your clarity and, obviously, how you feel and perform in general.”

DiBenedetto, the veteran driver simply seeks to make sensible food choices – which even include some indulgences in moderation. “A lot of my meals are some sort of meat and a vegetable and a carb. It’s not always just chicken, broccoli and rice, because that gets old,” DiBenedetto says. “I love food, and I love cooking food. I’m a food guy. I’ll cook steaks and burgers and things like that; I just make sure I’m staying balanced where I enjoy food, I cook good food, but where I’m not eating the stuff that you find up and down the aisles at the grocery stores.”

“Especially in today’s society, you can think

PURSUE PURPOSEFUL EXERCISE “I try to train functionally,” DiBenedetto says. “I want to train to be an athlete. The way that I want to train is I want to move well. I follow a program that’s mobility focused, sort of like yoga. You’re stretching, you’re functional, moving, working on breathing exercises, mental clarity, all that. That’s a big piece that I used to not put emphasis on, but now that I’m getting a little older and maybe slightly smarter, I put a lot of emphasis on that first and foremost. That’s where I’d say a bulk of my training is focused – moving well and feeling well.”

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GET ADEQUATE SLEEP AND REST “That’s a big priority,” DiBenedetto says. “When you really dig into it and understand how important it is for professional athletes, and how much of a difference it makes in your cognitive ability, your physical ability, it’s so important, and it’s so easy for us to miss out on that.” DiBenedetto tries to get a minimum of eight hours of sleep each night, usually going to bed between 10:30 and 11 p.m. “This sounds like being an old man, but any time I can sneak a nap in as well, I do,” DiBenedetto says. “Sleep is so, so important for everything. You can work out all you want, eat well all you want, but if you’re not getting the rest to recover and rebuild, you’re kind of just spinning your wheels.”

FOCUS ON THE POSITIVES

racing, so if I had a string of bad races, it would be hard on me

“THE MENTAL HEALTH SIDE IS MY NO. 1 BY A LANDSLIDE

and hard on my wife and my everyday life.”

over everything else,” Matt DiBenedetto says. “People who

While no food groups are off limits, per se, for

Prior to his faith journey, DiBenedetto dealt with some

know me know I’m very open about my faith and my faith

mental health struggles. “I hit a low point that people

journey. I’ve had a whole lot of life change on a very expedited

don’t even know the full extent of,” he said. “I felt empty

path that I’m very thankful for. Nobody likes negativity, so

and started asking life-related questions and really deep

for years in racing I tried to be strong and strong-willed and

questions, just to be totally honest. Now when I go to the race

have a good attitude, but I also would get sucked into the

track, it’s fun, and I see how bringing a great attitude affects

roller coaster of emotion of the sport because the sport is so

everyone around me when I can be a positive light that shines

tough and it can be so mentally draining. My life was staked in

bright and enjoy what I do and appreciate it.”

WORDS: JARED TURNER, PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

NASCAR SALUTES

Q&A with Founder and CEO of Black Rifle Coffee Co.

EVAN HAFER

BY DUSTIN ALBINO

hile serving overseas in the U.S. Army Spe-

cial Forces and later working with the CIA, Evan Hafer roasted his own coffee. At the time, he had no idea it would lead to the creation of the Black Rifle Coffee Company. Hafer left the CIA and all governmental services in 2014 to form his coffee brand. He focused it on being a subscription-based coffee company for people who enjoy fresh roasted coffee delivered to their home. Hafer eventually met Johnny Morris, founder and CEO of Bass Pro Shops. Morris was the one who introduced Hafer to motorsports, particularly NASCAR. In 2020, Black Rifle Coffee Company began sponsoring JR Motorsports driver Noah Gragson in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, joining Bass Pro Shops and True Timber Camo. Hafer made his first venture into the Cup Series this year at the Daytona 500, supporting Ty Dillon’s inaugural race with Petty GMS Motorsports. In this interview with NASCAR Pole Position, Hafer discusses his increased involvement in racing and why it fits the Black Rifle Coffee Company brand. Admittedly, he’s having a ton of fun.

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HOW DID YOU GET INTRODUCED TO NASCAR? The one and only, the bright and shining star of American outdoor retail, Johnny Morris. Johnny is a really good friend of mine; I love him dearly. I think he’s a national treasure at this point. He’s the one that turned me on to it. He said I would spend a lot of money, have a lot of fun and that you’re going to love racing. HOW HAVE YOU SEEN A RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR BRCC WHEN IT COMES TO RACING? To be fair, it’s hard to measure NASCAR. You can look at the impressions, the number of viewers, but I really don’t look at all of that. We find it fascinating because we like the racers. Ty Dillon is a great guy, so I want to invest in his success and he has a billboard that he needs to drive and we participate in that. When you look at that from an economics and marketing perspective and say, that’s a wonderful billboard. But really, I don’t (care) about the billboard. I care about Ty and Noah and want to see them succeed. Racing is part of America’s fabric, and I think it’s one of those national pastimes. From the beginning of Black Rifle Coffee Company, it has always been my dream to sponsor racing. Does it return an ROI, I’m sure, but I don’t care all that much because I think it’s way more fun to be involved with all of the people that are involved with racing. WHAT DID IT MEAN TO BE TY DILLON’S PRIMARY SPONSOR IN THE DAYTONA 500? It was awesome. I met (Richard Childress), and he’s another giant. He’s a titan of the racing world, but he’s also very generous, kind and an amazing PHOTOGRAPHY: BLACK RIFLE COFFEE COMPANY

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NASCAR SALUTES human being. I met Richard a couple of years ago at Johnny’s house, and Richard was sitting next to me at dinner and we started talking. I was blown away at how genuine he is, and from that point and time I said anything that Richard or his family is involved in, I’m going to help out. Ty called me and asked if I would sponsor him, so I called Richard and asked if it was a good deal. The backstory in that is awesome. Having a car in The Great American Race is awesome because we’re America’s coffee. I grew up a (poor) kid, so being on the track with guys like Richard Childress, Johnny Morris, meeting their kids and seeing the spectacle of what racing is gives you goosebumps because you don’t think you’re ever going to be this close. You’ve got to pinch yourself when you’re down on the track. IN 2020, BLACK RIFLE COFFEE STARTED SPONSORING NOAH GRAGSON AND JR MOTORSPORTS IN THE XFINITY SERIES. HOW HAS THAT PARTNERSHIP BEEN THUS FAR? That guy is on fire. He’s awesome. I think he’s going to be an icon of racing. He’s already an incredible driver, we know that. Johnny called me three years ago and said, “Let’s do this with Noah, you’re never going to be disappointed.” Johnny knows more about racing than I think 99.9 percent of people that follow racing. He’s a

hardcore racing fan that knows a lot about it. I love Noah because he’s super fun and very talented.When I say things like, “I couldn’t be happier,” it’s true. It’s incredible to be involved because he’s a wild ride. WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE THROUGH YOUR COMPANY’S INVOLVEMENT IN RACING? We like racing, and think racing is important to the fabric of America. A lot of us have to get out there, and instead of spending our marketing dollars in places like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, these are some classic Americana events where we need to start investing more to support drivers, support real traditional American businesses. We’re going to keep supporting drivers and NASCAR in general because we have a big platform and can be instrumental in helping NASCAR and turn more people onto it. I never thought I would be in this situation and be able to do this, but it’s fun. I hope to participate in the growth and the expansion of racing.

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PHOTOGRAPHY: BLACK RIFLE COFFEE COMPANY

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KGM TECHNOLOGIES: INNOVATION IS THE MISSION

generational veteran, with his grandfather serving on the European

front in World War II, and father in the Air Force during the Korean War, Richard Cope decided that the U.S. Marines was his calling. Like NASCAR fans, “Rick” had a longing for speed and technology. This desire led him to the Marine Corps as a fighter pilot before pushing further into researchand-development teams to innovate new capabilities and technologies. One such team helped create the Stinger Surface-to-Air Missile System along with several other weapon systems. Soon, he was tasked to run the Army Surface-to-Air Missile School El Paso Texas. After a year in Okinawa and a few operational tours, he was assigned to work PHOTOGRAPHY: KGM TECHNOLOGIES

with Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf in special operations at the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida. Wanting to return to “R&D,” Rick was assigned to DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the premier research development agency in the U.S. government. While there, he developed hypersonic weapons, rail guns, missiles, batteries, capacitors, flywheels and electronic drive cam components (some of what you see in EVs today). He was lauded by the Hudson Institute for having the best public-private partnership in United States history. After retiring from the Marine Corps, Rick became the CEO of the, at-the-time, largest electric vehicle company in California. Next was running a fuel-cell company, a battery charging company and then Nanolumens – the first in large format flexible displays. These ventures ultimately led Rick to KGM Technologies. Like NASCAR, at KGM he is blending technology, speed and ease of handling into every suppressor the company engineers. Not only do they create amazing quietness, but they increase your accuracy and significantly reduce recoil. KGM suppressors bring the joy back to shooting sports and make you better in the process. At KGM Technologies, innovation is the mission.

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO

Inseparable

PETTY AND INMAN: BEST FRIENDS FOR 85 YEARS

BY BEN WHITE

In NASCAR racing, one would be hard pressed to find two people with a

closer relationship than seven-time champion Richard Petty and eight-time championship crew chief Dale Inman. They are cousins with Inman being one month shy of a year older – and they are closer today than they’ve ever been. The two attended church together as young children, rode bicycles together and played in the woods and fields around their homes in Level Cross, North Carolina. As they got older, they played high school football together for the Randleman Tigers. When they became old enough to turn wrenches on Lee Petty’s Oldsmobiles, son and nephew went to work making sure the race car was ready before anything else was done. Starting in 1949, racing was how the Petty family put food on the table. In 1958, when the boys were in their early 20s, Lee Petty pointed to a car in the corner of the race shop and said that one could be Richard’s to drive. It was in pieces and that’s when Inman officially became Richard Petty’s chief mechanic. Over the next 32 years, the two were inseparable. As driver and crew chief, they earned 193 of Petty’s 200 victories. Throughout that time, there were countless discussions about how cars were performing on the race track and what to do to make them better. Inman was a master at making sure every nut, bolt and screw on the car was doing its job. “When I worked at Petty Enterprises while in high school, I remember Dale was a stickler about having all the screw slots pointed in the same direction,”

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said Kyle Petty, son of Richard Petty and a 10-time Cup Series winner. “It would drive him crazy if he came by and they weren’t done that way. But the fact is he built great race cars and he wanted them to look nice, right down to those screw slots. He says Richard Petty won all those 200 races but don’t let him fool you. Dale was a huge part of those wins. “And another thing was this; Dale Inman was right most of the time. But he wasn’t afraid to say he was wrong. That’s what made him a great crew chief.” Inman is extremely modest about his role in NASCAR and working with Richard Petty and Petty Enterprises. The two are still together today in consulting roles with Petty GMS Racing. In essence, they’ve been together for 85 years, whether in the woods and fields around Level Cross or winning Daytona 500s. “(Laughter) Richard has said many times over the years he would have won a whole lot more races if I hadn’t been his crew chief,” Inman said. “Richard was a great driver throughout his career, that’s all I can say. I was just there to help put all the pieces together. We didn’t set out to win seven Daytona 500 and seven championships. They just came together for us. We were extremely blessed.” Both Petty and Inman have been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. PHOTOGRAPHY: NASCAR HALL OF FAME

Taking a Shine to Style

DAVEY ALLISON’S CHROME WHEELS WERE SHARP IN 1987

BY BEN WHITE

hen Davey Allison began driving the No. 28 Havoline Ford Thunderbird

for team owner Harry Ranier in 1987, his car was painted a mix of black and white with gold numerals and sponsorship lettering on the rear quarter panels. A unique addition to the sleek color combination were the chrome wheels that carried the white Goodyear tire markings of the era. The chrome wheels set Allison’s Thunderbird apart from the other Cup Series cars with painted wheels. Allison’s ride, whether on short tracks, intermediate ovals, superspeedways or road courses, was fast all season, thanks to engines built by the legendary Robert Yates. Yates, who bought the Ranier operation in 1989, was a longtime engine builder for the storied Ford race car factory known as Holman Moody in the early 1960s and earned Cup Series titles with driver Cale Yarborough in 1976, ’77 and ’78. Yates’ engines also powered Bobby Allison to the 1983 series championship. In 1987, the Ranier team encountered an unexpected problem. “We loved having those chrome wheels on the car in 1987 because they looked so good on the car on the track,” said Joey Knuckles, the team’s crew chief during Allison’s rookie-of-the-year season. “We glued the wheel weights on the wheels like we normally would, but we would have an equalized tire and when that happened, our cars were all over the place on the race track. PHOTOGRAPHY: NASCAR HALL OF FAME

“So in 1988, we went with a powder-coated wheel and we didn’t even have to glue the wheel weights. The weights just wouldn’t stay on the chrome wheels. As far as pit stops, we did OK and with the inner liner, they were OK. But because the wheels were chrome in ’87, the wheel weights wouldn’t stick to the wheels and they just wouldn’t work.” During the three years – 1987-1989 – that Allison drove the black-and-white paint scheme, the second-generation racer won twice at Talladega and once each at Daytona, Richmond, Dover and Michigan. “Davey really loved the black-and-white paint scheme we initially ran during those first three seasons,” Knuckles said. “The first time we ran that paint scheme during Speedweeks of 1987 at Daytona in our first race for Harry Ranier, we didn’t have a sponsor. Still, we started on the pole for the Daytona 500. That helped us to land the sponsorship with Havoline and Davey won 19 races for them. We had some incredible wins together and it all started with that memorable paint scheme.” Allison died on July 13, 1993, a day after the helicopter he was piloting crashed at Talladega Superspeedway.

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO

Perfect from the Start PEARSON AND THE WOOD BROTHERS WERE MAGIC

BY BEN WHITE

n April 16, 1972, David Pearson climbed aboard the No. 21 Wood Brothers

Mercury for his very first NASCAR race with the Stuart, Virginia-based team. The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion had just signed a deal with team owner Glen Wood a few days prior to that Sunday afternoon race at Darlington Raceway. Actually, signing was done through a simple handshake that would keep Pearson with the team into the 1979 season. Motorsports icon A.J. Foyt had driven in six NASCAR races for the Wood brothers early in the 1972 season. He won the Daytona 500 and Ontario 500 but was no longer available due to his Indy car obligations. Making his first start with Wood Brothers Racing, Pearson qualified the marron red-and-white ride on the pole at 148.209 mph around the 1.366-mile egg-shaped track. Pearson was immediately fast, proving the chemistry between he and crew chief Leonard Wood held great promise. In the race, Pearson led four times for 202 of the race’s 293 laps, dominating lap after lap in convincing fashion. After the fifth caution period slowed the race on lap 245, Pearson pitted for tires and fuel while being a lap ahead of secondplace Richard Petty. When the race resumed on lap 252, Pearson led the remaining 41 laps. Just after Pearson took the checkered flag, he removed his helmet and circled

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the inside of the track while lighting a cigarette. One of his few requests for taking the job in the Wood brothers’ car was to have a cigarette lighter installed on the dashboard. “David was one of the very best drivers we had in our cars and hardly ever wrecked a car,” said Eddie Wood, son of Glen Wood and co-owner of Wood Brothers Racing. “I’ve said this many times but he would never tell us what was going on with the car during races and kept us completely in the dark about what the car was doing during the race. We would ask him on the two-way radio and he’d say, ‘It’s Ok’ or ‘it’s fine.’ At the end, he would usually come out of nowhere and win. We never knew what we had at the end. He was extremely smart about how he raced. “We knew he was a great race car driver when we got him in 1972, especially after he won in his first start for us. He was so good at Darlington. He was a master of the place and won 10 times there. Everywhere we went with him, we expected to win. He was quite a race driver and a tremendous friend. We really miss him. We remained close friends even after he stopped driving for us.” Pearson passed away on Nov. 12, 2018, at the age of 83. PHOTOGRAPHY: NASCAR HALL OF FAME

SENIOR SALUTE

PRESENTED BY

FOR THE RECORD: RICHARD PETTY

THE KING OF NASCAR

Throughout NASCAR history, no driver has been more successful or more popular than seven-time Cup Series champion Richard Petty. Among the inaugural inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the winner of 200 Cup Series races, Petty, who will celebrate his 85th birthday on July 2, enjoys talking about family history, growing up with legendary crew chief and fellow NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Dale Inman, and the enjoyment of winning races and championships. BY BEN WHITE

WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST RECOLLECTION OF LIVING IN LEVEL CROSS, NORTH CAROLINA? Probably, Christmas as a child. I remember being probably 4 or 5 years old. One of the first things I remember getting for Christmas was a scooter. It was red. And let me say, the house isn’t as big as it looks. On Christmas, grandmother would have all of the family come in. They would all exchange presents. Santa brought me a scooter. Me and Chief (brother Maurice) both. (Laughter) We would run them up and down

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the hallway and I remember they took them away from us until everyone went home. There was just no room to ride them. Over a period of time, we asked for a bicycle and then an electric train. TELL US ABOUT YOUR MOM, ELIZABETH TOOMES PETTY. WHAT WAS SHE LIKE WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP? (Laugher) She was a very stern lady. She was lovable but stern. She just wanted to keep us straight. The big thing would be when Chief and I would get into a fight and daddy (Lee Petty) would be gone. She would make us wait until he

got home. You know what I mean? With our kids (Kyle, Lisa, Sharon and Rebecca), Lynda would take care of it because she wanted us to have quality time with the kids when I came home and not be scared of me. But we were scared when daddy was coming home. There were different philosophies on that. DID YOU PICK TOMATOES AS A KID? This whole place around here (where Petty Enterprises/Petty’s Garage is located) was once covered in tomatoes. Maybe the next year my daddy decided to raise pigs. The next year, it would be

potatoes. I didn’t pick tomatoes or potatoes, but I did pick tobacco for my uncle. When daddy was doing all that, I was pretty young. DID YOU EVER THINK ABOUT BEING SOMETHING OTHER THAN A RACE CAR DRIVER? Driving a race car just happened. I guess I never really thought about being a race car driver until I was 17 or 18 years old. I was initially just satisfied working on daddy’s car. He was winning races and championships and I was just tickled to death to just be able to work on his cars. He’d let me change oil and things PHOTOGRAPHY: NASCAR HALL OF FAME

like that. Back in the day, you really didn’t work on the car all that much. It was a stock car. (Laughter) Then, you kept the oil changed, the spark plugs changed and air in the tires. That was about it. YOU AND DALE INMAN ARE IN YOUR 80S NOW. HE’S NINE MONTHS OLDER THAN YOU. YOU’RE HANGING OUT. WHAT KINDS OF THINGS DID YOU DO AS KIDS? We’d race bicycles. We took some twoby-fours and built carts and got some wheels off wagons and raced each other down hills that we had cleaned off. To begin with, we raced down a straight

line. Then, we built banked corners and raced on them. We’d also go to the creek and go swimming. HOW WAS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND DALE EARLY ON? We were closer than brothers. Chief and I had fights and arguments like brothers do. Me and Dale never had that. I guess we were close as companions. AND YOU BOTH PLAYED HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL FOR THE RANDLEMAN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM, RIGHT? Yes. I played guard and linebacker. Back then, you had 12 or 14 people on the

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

SENIOR SALUTE

PRESENTED BY

whole team. Everybody played the entire game. Dale played halfback and he was really fast. He weighed 145 pound and he was the quickest guy on the team. I weighed 210 to 212 and I was the biggest guy on the team. We played football, baseball and basketball. I was an average player, I guess. There weren’t but 250 in the entire school from first to 12th grade when I was in school. There were only 52 or 53 in my graduating class. It was a small school. The other farmers’ kids would play ball and then go home and milk the cows and work in the fields. I came home and worked on the race car. WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED TO BECOME A RACE CAR DRIVER? One day (in July 1958), I wanted to try it. We went to Columbia, South Carolina. It was myself, Dale and Red Myler. I wound up sixth a couple of laps down. On the way back, between Columbia and Rockingham, I said, “I think I’m going to like this dadgum driving part.” Up to that time, I didn’t know. Once I ran that first race, I said, “This is what I want to do.” ON JUNE 14, 1959, YOU WON YOUR FIRST RACE AT LAKEWOOD SPEEDWAY IN ATLANTA AND YOUR DAD PROTESTED AND HE GOT THE WIN. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THAT? He was in a hardtop and I was in a convertible. At that time, the factories had all left the sport. The promoters were giving $500 if you had a current year model car and won the race. That was daddy’s excuse. He said, “We can make $500 more if I win instead of you winning.” Second-place was the best I had ever run up to that point and I never really thought anything about it, and still don’t. IN 1967, YOU SEEMINGLY COULDN’T LOSE WITH 27 WINS IN 48 RACES WITH 10 WINS COMING IN A ROW USING ONE 1966 PLYMOUTH. HOW AMAZING WAS THAT? (Laughter) We lost Daytona. We took the 1967 Plymouth to four races and fell out of four races. I told Dale to put it in the corner. It doesn’t have a good personality. We went back to the 1966 Plymouth

•• The Petty home in Level Cross, North Carolina. •• Convertible racing in 1959. •• A young Richard Petty. •• Lee, Richard and Kyle Petty

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and ran all those races and didn’t wreck it bad enough that we couldn’t fix it. We only had eight people working on our crew total that year. THERE WERE OTHER GREAT YEARS AS WELL: Oh, yeah. The 1971 season was a good one when we won 21 races, So was 1972 when we won eight, and we won championships both years. So was 1975 with 13 wins that year. Seven championships in all through 1979. YOU WON SEVEN DAYTONA 500S AND THREE FIRECRACKER 400S AT DAYTONA. WHY WERE YOU SO GOOD AT THAT TRACK? There were four or five of those races that I won. There were two or three of those that I lucked into. When I look back, there were a couple, three or four that I should have won that I didn’t win. So It kind of evened itself out. When the seasons were over, everyone started building their cars and went to test a couple of times and you know, things just worked. It was like going to Martinsville (15 wins) or North Wilkesboro (15 wins) where we won so many times. We just knew we were going to win. When we went to Charlotte, we always ran good but we only won four or five races over there. Why? Darlington was the same way. I won three there and never won after that. PHOTOGRAPHY: NASCAR HALL OF FAME

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SENIOR SALUTE

PRESENTED BY

•• Richard Petty, The King. •• Bubba Wallace, Richard Petty and Ryan Blaney.

•• Richard Petty at Daytona.

CONCERNING THE LAST LAP OF THE 1979 DAYTONA 500, NO ONE HAS EVER ASKED YOU THIS QUESTION. WERE YOU REALLY SURPRISED TO SEE DONNIE ALLISON AND CALE YARBOROUGH CRASHED OUT IN THE THIRD TURN ON THE FINAL LAP? Oh, yeah! I was busy racing with Darrell Waltrip and A.J. Foyt, trying to hang on to third. I was trying to figure out how to keep them from drafting back by me. I was busy watching my mirror headed into Turn 3 and all the sudden, there lay the first- and second-place cars down in the infield at the bottom of the turn. They were far enough ahead that they had crashed and stopped. I think they had a 20 second lead. I’m thinking, “Dang, now I’ve really got to keep Darrell back there.” Now we have a chance to win this race. HOW DO YOU SUM UP SUCH AN INCREDIBLE CAREER WITH 200 VICTORIES AND SEVEN CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIPS? (Laughter) I tell Dale all the time I would have won 400 races if it hadn’t been for him. But you know, I won some of the races myself driving. Circumstances won some of the races. Some of the races were won by his strategy. WHAT’S THE OFFICIAL STORY BEHIND THE COWBOY HAT, BOOTS AND SUNGLASSES THAT HAVE BEEN YOUR LONGTIME TRADEMARK? (Laughter) I would wear a cowboy hat from time to time up until 1979. Lynda had a place right down the road here that sold antiques. One day, Kyle came into the store and asked his mother for a corner of the shop to start selling hats and boots. At the time,

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he and his family were deep into horses. She said Ok. One day, a guy came by and asked Kyle to take on his hats. He said to Kyle, “If I give your daddy a hat, will he wear it?” He said, “He probably will.” You know what I mean? This is 1979. One day, we were in west Chicago in the middle of nowhere. We cut a deal and we’re still doing it. As far as the sunglasses, my eyes have always been sensitive to light. I’ve been wearing polarized sunglasses for years and years. I used to wear bubble goggles on the race track but dirt would get behind them. I found that the polarized sunglasses helped me see oil on the track and made the oil look darker. I thought, “Man, this is great.” It was just one of those deals that just happened. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES, NASCAR HALL OF FAME

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BACKSTORY

PRESENTED BY

SCORING SNAFU

DONNIE ALLISON WINS AT ATLANTA AFTER ALL BY BEN WHITE

W •• Richard Petty edges Dave Marcis at the line.

•• Donnie Allison

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hile all eyes were on a spirited battle between Richard

Petty and Dave Marcis for what most thought was the victory in the Dixie 500 on Nov. 5, 1978, at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Donnie Allison had already won the 328-lap race. Driving the No. 1 Chevrolet owned by Hoss Ellington, Allison had made up nearly a two-lap deficit through two late cautions flags, but the score cards mistakenly had him fifth, one lap down, after the checkered flag. Petty beat Marcis to the start-finish line by two feet but that wasn’t the pass for the win, as Allison had actually taken the lead with two laps remaining. After the race, Allison said angrily, “I guess NASCAR needs for Richard Petty to win a race more than they need for me to win. I’m going home.” At that time, two scorers monitored each car with hand-written score cards, using a numbered clock system as each car passed the scoring stand. According to NASCAR officials, if one scorer missed a car, the other would catch the mistake and it would be countered by the other scorer. No mistake initially showed on Allison’s car immediately after the race. Allison’s scorers both missed a lap within three laps and as a result, no correcting factor showed up in the count. “I get the checkered flag, so I go to Victory Lane and Richard goes to Victory Lane.” Allison said. “Richard went to the press box and they didn’t take me to the press box until later on. My scorer wasn’t scoring me. She wanted Richard to win another race. I asked what

the hell she was doing, and she told me she knew I won the race.” Allison stood firm that he was the race winner. NASCAR was set to show him he didn’t win until an unlikely source proved he was right. Sixteen-year-old Brian France, grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France and son of then NASCAR president Bill France Jr., showed officials where the mistake was made. Allison was declared the winner at 7:40 p.m., followed by Petty in second with Marcis third, Dale Earnhardt fourth and Benny Parsons fifth. Allison didn’t learn about the decision until the following day. “Clyde Bolton of the Birmingham News called me and said, ‘They gave you the race,’” Allison recalled. “ I said, ‘No, they didn’t give it to me. I won it.’” Before leaving the track, Petty fired a parting shot, “I’m going home to celebrate second place.” The race marked Earnhardt’s first start with team owner Rod Osterlund. He would go on to win rookie of the year in 1979 and the NASCAR Cup Series championship in 1980 while driving for Osterlund.

PHOTOGRAPHY: NASCAR HALL OF FAME

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Forney Partners with Spencer Boyd & Young Motorsports BY JARED TURNER

embers of the No. 12 Young’s

“If you’re building a hot rod in your •• Kami Lawrence is the truck chief and fabricator for the Spencer Boyd/ Motorsports NASCAR Campgarage, this is the tool you should use, Young’s Motorsports No. 12 team. ing World Truck Series team because, well, we go 200-plus miles are no strangers to heavy-duty weldan hour with it. So if it’s good enough ing. They do lots of it both at the track for us, it’s good enough for you.” and back at the team’s Mooresville, When Boyd wrecked on the dirt North Carolina, race shop. Young’s track at Bristol Motor Speedway in Motorsports driver Spencer Boyd April, he and the team were especialeven enjoys “tinkering a little bit” and ly thankful for their Forney welding “having a little fun” with welding. machines. All these efforts would be in vain, “After a crash, the guys had to fix however, without access to products the rear clip of the truck, and instead from a top-notch welding company, of going to a backup truck, we’re like, and Young’s Motorsports has found ‘Hey, we can fix this, weld the rear one in Fort Collins, Colorado-based clip back on, get it right, and it can Forney Industries. Through a partnerrace in less than 24 hours,’” Boyd ship that will continue for at least the said. “So we didn’t have to go back remainder of this year, Young’s Motorto the shop; we were able to pull out sports is employing Forney welding our big welder right there at the track machines, helmets and gloves – most of them courtesy of Forney and weld it up right there.” Industries – to keep Boyd’s trucks in pristine condition. The team is putting its Forney helmets and gloves to equally In return, Boyd is carrying a Forney logo on his truck in select good use. races, and the veteran driver and his team are promoting Forney “Obviously, these guys want to wear leather gloves when products on their respective Facebook, Twitter and Instagram they’re welding because of the sparks and the heat and all that,” pages. As partnerships in NASCAR go, this one is pretty close to a Boyd said. “Forney makes a few great options for that.” match-made-in-heaven. “Then there’s the helmet – a super necessity right there. You “We’ve been using Forney all year at Young’s,” Boyd said. “And if have to have a welding helmet on, safety first, and protect those you’ve seen how our races have gone at Daytona and Bristol dirt, eyes. Forney has some cool custom designs. A couple of the helwe’re definitely putting their products to work. But it’s just about mets we got from them replicate old U.S. Air Force paint schemes showcasing them on social media and letting people know what and stuff. It’s pretty cool to express yourself through your helmet.” we use in our shop.” Especially a helmet from a dedicated partner like Forney.

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plasma cutter is an essential tool for autobody work, do-it-yourself restoration projects, or even planning a custom car build. Forney Industries carries two quality plasma cutting machines that are sure to fit the needs of any auto enthusiast.

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POLE POSITION 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY: FORNEY, SPENCER BOYD

DRIVER SPOTLIGHT

Q&A WITH

ROSS CHASTAIN

‘WE EAT, DRINK AND SLEEP RACING’

fter years of struggling to be an im-

pact player in the NASCAR Cup Series, Ross Chastain has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the 2022 season. Not that everyone is surprised by his success, though. His newest team owner – former Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck series driver Justin Marks – isn’t. Neither is Chastain’s first NASCAR boss – former Truck Series driver and team owner Stacy Compton. In fact, from the day Chastain first strapped into one of Compton’s trucks in 2011, Compton saw potential for greatness. “This kid is the real deal,” Compton recently said of the 29-year-old driver and eighth-generation watermelon farmer who in his first season with Trackhouse Racing scored Cup Series career victory No. 1 at Circuit of The Americas in March. “He’s a smart, hard racer and crazy competitive. I was impressed after he spent five laps in our truck; he just gets it. He will win

POLE POSITION 2022

BY JARED TURNER

many more races down the road.” Marks also believes this. After purchasing the NASCAR assets of Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of 2021 and making plans to expand to a two-car operation at Trackhouse Racing, Marks needed a driver to fill his new seat. He ultimately looked no further than Chastain, one of two drivers who had competed for Ganassi’s Cup program in 2021 but was left without a ride as a result of the Trackhouse acquisition. Not knowing what his future held, Chastain waited – nervously – to see what Marks would do. “When the Ganassi buyout happened, he texted me … and he just wrote, ‘I want this,’” Marks said. “He had to be patient with me while I let the dust settle, but we all were huge, huge believers in Ross’ talent. We knew what he was capable of doing, and he has proven it.” Indeed he has. After entering this season with nary a win and only three top-five finishes in 115 Cup Series starts, Chastain somehow managed to find the proverbial gear he had been missing since making his Cup Series debut in 2017. A quarter of the way through the season, Chastain had five top-five finishes – including his playoffclinching win at Circuit of The Americas. Over an incredible four-race stretch culminating in his triumph in Austin, Texas, Chastain finished no worse than third. That’s pretty head-turning stuff for a guy who had to return to Xfinity Series competition in 2020 after his first two mostly full seasons in the Cup Series bore little fruit. Even today, Chastain sometimes lacks self-confidence. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

“I don’t view myself as a Cup Series-winning race car driver,” he said. “I just feel like I have to work to get there, and I’m not there yet. There’s so many mistakes I make. There’s mental, and physical. There’s the shifting, the braking, just the feedback in practice. There’s so many ways to mess this stuff up, and I haven’t done it perfect yet.” Perfection, though, isn’t the expectation that Marks or anyone else has for Chastain. They simply want to him to do his best and be committed – which is hardly a problem for a guy who scratched and clawed for years to get noticed in the sport he loves. “I’m a proponent of starting out, you race,” Chastain said. “You just race everything you can. As long as you’re at the track, you just never know, right? I’ve carried around an extra set of driving stuff in case somebody got sick, and I’ve blown up in races and started races and then gotten in somebody else’s truck to finish the race for them. You just have to keep going. You have to buy in.” Even if buying in means making some pretty big sacrifices, which for Chastain includes not visiting his family’s Florida watermelon farm as much as he would like. “You have to give up a lot,” he said. “You have to give up a personal life. Some guys balance both. I’ve never been able to balance both. I’m 29 and single and just chasing race cars. I know it sounds silly to say, but that’s a conscious effort to do that.” Chastain recently sat down with NASCAR Pole Position and answered our questions. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU AS AN EIGHTH-GENERATION WATERMELON FARMER TO CARRY ON YOUR FAMILY’S HERITAGE AND LEGACY? I’m very proud of my family and the work they have done in farming, knowing we are carrying on something that started so long ago. There are many farm families across the country just like mine. WITH ALL YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AROUND RACING, HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET TO VISIT YOUR FLORIDA WATERMELON FARM THESE DAYS AND HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU TRY TO SPEND THERE? I try to get back often as I can, but as everyone knows, we are pretty busy for most of the year in NASCAR. But North Carolina isn’t that far, so I can hop in a car and can be back home in a matter of hours. WHAT’S THE CRAZIEST ITEM OR OBJECT YOU’VE EVER BEEN ASKED TO AUTOGRAPH? I love signing watermelons. That isn’t crazy! HAS THIS SEASON SURPASSED YOUR PERSONAL EXPECTATIONS? IF SO, BY HOW MUCH? IF NOT, WHY NOT? I am thrilled with this season so far. We have run really well. The boys and girls at Trackhouse Racing and Chevrolet are building very fast race cars. Plus, winning at COTA was a lifelong dream come true. It’s been a great year. HOW DID IT FEEL TO GET YOUR FIRST CUP SERIES WIN AND WHAT WAS THE FIRST THING THAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND AFTER TAKING THE CHECKERED FLAG? Just remember all the hard work, everyone who has helped me along the way, and how much my family means to me. WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED TO RACE FOR A LIVING AND WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THE SPORT? Racing just gets in your blood. We all have it. We eat, drink and sleep racing. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE RUNNING COMPETITIVELY ON A REGULAR BASIS AND CONTENDING FOR WINS AFTER STRUGGLING FOR SEVERAL YEARS TO LAND A QUALITY CUP SERIES RIDE? This is a dream come true. I have to pinch myself as a reminder that this is really happening. IF YOU HAD TO PICK BETWEEN WINNING A CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP AND THE DAYTONA 500, WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY? Both. WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF BEING AND HOW DO YOU IMAGINE YOUR LIFE LOOKING 35 YEARS FROM NOW? I hope I have some role in racing and farming.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

DRIVER SPOTLIGHT

‘We Have All the Pieces’ Q&A WITH CHRISTOPHER BELL

rom the moment Christopher Bell entered

the Toyota driver pipeline, he was destined for superstardom – and he hasn’t disappointed. Bell, now 27 years old and in his second NASCAR Cup Series season with Joe Gibbs Racing, has grown into his role with one of the sport’s Goliaths. Dating back to the end of the 2017 schedule when Bell joined JGR’s Xfinity Series program, there’s been an emphasis on getting the Oklahoma native to where he is now, contending inside the top 10 on a weekly basis. During his first two Cup Series seasons, Bell scored just one victory, with it coming as a bit of a surprise on the Daytona International Speedway road course. In his first playoff run last year, the No. 20 team was bounced out after the second round. Admittedly, Bell is still trying to find his footing at the Cup Series level, and he has leaned heavily on veteran JGR teammates Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. Particularly, he has

POLE POSITION 2022

BY DUSTIN ALBINO

a unique relationship with Busch, having driven for the two-time Cup Series champion’s team in the Camping World Truck Series. Recently, Bell discussed being the first driver to win for Rheem in the Cup Series, having Busch as a teammate compared to a boss, his relationship with champion crew chief Adam Stevens and why it was important to give Rheem its first win at the Cup Series level. HOW VALUABLE HAS THE PARTNERSHIP WITH RHEEM BEEN FOR YOU? It’s really cool to be Rheem’s driver. I remember watching them; they’ve been in the sport for a long time. Being able to be their driver is really cool. I remember when (Joe Gibbs Racing) told me they were coming on board in the Xfinity Series and being able to represent an iconic brand like Rheem that I had been watching as a kid growing up. They’ve been with me for several years, and I’m very proud and grateful to be their figurehead. LAST YEAR, YOU GOT RHEEM TO VICTORY LANE FOR THE FIRST TIME AT DAYTONA. HOW SPECIAL WAS DELIVERING THE COMPANY – WHICH HAS BEEN AROUND THE SPORT FOR 15 YEARS – ITS FIRST WIN? That was cool, and they’ve had a lot of great drivers. To be the first one was really special, and I hope there are many more to come. Rheem has been one of my biggest supporters over my entire career. I love them and have a good relationship with all the Rheem (executives) and I hope we’re able to continue our partnership for a while. PHOTOGRAPHY: RHEEM, GETTY IMAGES

THIS IS YOUR THIRD YEAR IN THE CUP SERIES. FROM YOUR ROOKIE SEASON, HOW HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR FOOTING AT THE TOP LEVEL OF THE SPORT? I’m still struggling to be exactly where we want to be. Moving forward with (JGR) was a step in the right direction. I’ve got a great crew chief in Adam Stevens, I have a great team, with good mechanics and engineers with this No. 20 group. We have all the pieces, it’s just a matter of putting it together. The Cup Series is very tough; everyone has good drivers, everyone has good crew chiefs and equipment, especially now with the Next Gen car. I think we’re in a good spot and I think I’ve matured as a driver from 2020 to where I’m at now. My whole Cup career has been very different, to say the least. Myself and all of the young guys moving up: Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer, we haven’t had an opportunity to get seat time outside of a race environment. Even this year is the first year we’ve had practice and qualifying, but it’s 20-minute sessions for most of the races. WE’VE SEEN GUYS LIKE AUSTIN CINDRIC, CHASE BRISCOE AND ROSS CHASTAIN WIN EARLY THIS SEASON. HOW MUCH OF AN EQUALIZER HAS THE NEXT GEN CAR REALLY BEEN? I think the strong teams are still strong, but you see a couple of the other teams that have improved tremendously, like Trackhouse. They’ve become one of the top organizations this year, and they really weren’t last year. I think it’s good for the sport. The only bad thing right now is, it’s putting the teams in a really big box and I can’t speak for an organization like Trackhouse or a team that doesn’t have as many cars, but at Gibbs, running four cars, they are under a tremendous amount of stress and pressure because we can’t get enough parts and pieces to have a four-car team like we have week in and week out. Hopefully, they can get the parts problem sorted pretty quick. HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM TRUEX JR., HAMLIN AND BUSCH AS YOU CONTINUE TO GET ACCLIMATED TO THE CUP SERIES? The biggest difference between a veteran and young guy in the sport is the ability to execute. That’s one of the hardest things in Cup racing because the races are so long. There are so many things that happen during a Cup race, that being there at the end of the race is a skill that is learned over time. My teammates are great at it, and then I look at Kurt Busch, who has just come into the Toyota organization this year and he hasn’t had a ton of speed every week. But he’s up high in the points and had great finishes because he’s a veteran, done it long enough and he gets to the end of these races, has a couple of good restarts, and gets a good finish. Me, on the flipside, I feel like I’ve had more speed than Kurt, but I don’t get the finishes. So just learning how to execute, putting it all together and getting good finishes at the end of the day is something you learn as a veteran. THIS IS ALSO YOUR SECOND SEASON WITH STEVENS AS CREW CHIEF. HOW HAS THAT RELATIONSHIP EVOLVED? Last year, we had rocky moments where we started off strong, won early, and had a rough patch. I was struggling to communicate with him, he was struggling to get me what I needed in the race car. This year, it seems like we’ve been strong week in and week out. We haven’t gotten the finishes, but that’s not relative to how we’ve been running. I’ve been really happy with our chemistry. It seems like he’s really figured out what I need in the race car and we’re showing up to the race track with the setup close enough for me to be competitive. And hopefully, I’m doing a better job communicating with him. WHAT’S KYLE BUSCH LIKE AS A TEAMMATE COMPARED TO A BOSS? Kyle is very much Kyle. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met. He’s not twofaced at all; what you see is what you get. He’s very true, very real and I respect that about him. He’s been a big supporter of mine through the Truck Series, late model racing that I did at (Kyle Busch Motorsports). It’s been a transition phase from being boss/employee to now co-worker/teammate. Kyle has been one of my closest teammates.

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

POLE POSITION 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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DRIVER Q&A

Q&A with

AUSTIN

HILL

‘OUR CONFIDENCE IS VERY HIGH RIGHT NOW’ BY JOSEPH WOLKIN

ustin Hill joined Richard Childress Racing with

high expectations, as the Georgia native knows what he’s doing behind the wheel of a race car. From humble beginnings with Young’s Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to competing for wins week-in and week-out with Hattori Racing Enterprises, Hill became known as a racer who gets the most out of his equipment. Now, he’s competing for the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship with Richard Childress Racing in the famed No. 21 car. Hill started the season with a triumph at Daytona International Speedway, and he’s been racing near the front of the pack ever since. The high expectations, though, are nothing new for Hill. When he joined HRE in the Truck Series, he knew it would be a pressure-packed situation, with a team that had just won a championship. The same can be said about RCR, which is accustomed to dominating in the Xfinity Series. And most of all, Hill is having fun. He’s enjoying life with the No. 21 team, and he’s ready to see how far he can go in the playoffs.

POLE POSITION 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO RACE FOR RCR? It’s been one of those things where going from trucks to Xfinity, there’s a lot more stuff going on. I’m a lot busier. It’s nice to stay in the seat a lot more often. On the truck side, you’d be off two to three weeks at a time. It makes your weekends a little different. Adjusting to RCR has been really easy. Everybody at RCR is great, and we get along really well. It seems like we’ve known each other for a long time. Working with Andy Street, my crew chief, they’ve been bringing stuff to the race track that suits my driving style. When I raced at Hattori Racing Enterprises, it was just a small team with maybe 15 people in the whole shop. At RCR, there’s 350 employees. It’s a really big jump, but it’s been an easy transition. WHAT’S BEEN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN GOING FROM THE TRUCK SERIES TO THE XFINITY SERIES? It seems like on the Xfinity side, there’s less downforce and side force. The Xfinity car actually fits my driving style better than the truck did because the trucks have a lot of on-throttle time. The engine package is different, and in the trucks, you don’t have the wheelspin as much. I’ve gotten very used to being aggressive on the throttle, trying to keep the momentum up. You do it differently on the Xfinity side, being off throttle more and dragging more brakes. When you put the throttle down, especially at a short track, it’s easier to spin the tires off the corners. The transition hasn’t been that bad for me, just because I think the Xfinity cars fit my driving style better.

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HAVE SPONSORS LIKE UNITED RENTALS THAT CONTINUE TO WORK WITH YOU? United Rentals, we’ve worked together for a lot of years, even back in the NASCAR K&N days. They were helping out. They weren’t on the car, but they’d help out here and there. They’ve been a great company to work with and great to get along with. I’ve gotten to know a lot of the people at United Rentals, doing some different things with them. For United Rentals to help me out in my career as long as they have says a lot. It’s hard to find sponsorship and to keep sponsors, so to have a sponsor like United Rentals for so many years says a lot. WHAT DID IT MEAN TO YOU TO WIN AT DAYTONA? It meant a lot. Daytona is not an easy place to win at. Things have to work out just the right way. It’s very mentally draining because you’re trying to position yourself in the right spot for the end of the race. All of the right things need to happen. I’ve been very fortunate to win at the truck level. Going into Daytona, I’ve always had a ton of confidence, but the right things happened with the right circumstances. I knew I had to be aggressive and that’s one of the races that you have to be smart, but also aggressive with your moves. You have to be very methodical. I think starting the year off like we did and now we don’t have to worry about making the playoffs is great, but we definitely want more. We need to be a little more consistent as a group. Our bad days need to be in the top 10 and our good days need to be in the top five.

DRIVER Q&A

Q&A with

TANNER

GRAY

‘I HAVE TO ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES’ BY JOSEPH WOLKIN

anner Gray is unique among NASCAR drivers. He’s

the only current driver to have started his career in drag racing, rather than dirt cars or late models. But Gray was not simply a drag racer. He was a Pro Stock series champion, getting the job done at a younger age than anyone in NHRA history. The New Mexico native always loved NASCAR, and he was determined to find a way into the world of stock car racing. So Gray left his comfortable life in NHRA drag racing, where he would have excelled, for the challenge of NASCAR racing. Ever since, Gray has competed for David Gilliland Racing. His younger brother, Taylor Gray, also drives for the Ford Performance team. The elder of the Gray brothers, though, is just settling into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in his third full season. He’s learned what he needs to work on, and he feels David Gilliland Racing is supporting him to the fullest. With a playoff spot on the line, Gray is ready to prove he’s up to the task.

POLE POSITION 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

IN WHAT AREA HAVE YOU DONE WELL AS A DRIVER OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS? I don’t feel like I’ve done well with anything since I haven’t won a race. I think, when I first started, I was too impatient. I tried to force things and put myself in a lot of bad positions in a lot of the races. That’s something I had to work on a lot. I feel like our trucks are good enough to win, but I haven’t done a very good job at executing. I wouldn’t say I do anything particularly well, but when you bring better people around you, it makes you step up more. When Jerry (Baxter) came over and having all of these people here, it showed me how to prepare. Before, I didn’t know how to prepare as much for these races. We’re working on it. WHAT’S THE BIGGEST THING YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM DAVID GILLILAND AND THE DGR TEAM? Even when I drag raced a couple of years ago, I was pretty hard on myself. I’d say the biggest lesson learned since I started this whole deal is to try to be more even-keeled across the board. I feel like I have a tendency, when things don’t go well, to get really down. I don’t do myself any favors with that. The biggest thing I’m working on to this day is trying to take the good with the bad. When I switched over from drag racing, I knew it was challenging, but I didn’t feel like I was challenged to the level I am now. This is a lot more challenging for me, and I’m adapting to not being a contender week-in and week-out. For the first couple of years, it’s been tough on me because I feel like I haven’t done a very good job. But we’re getting better each week and showing some promise.

WHAT’S BEEN THE TOUGHEST PART OF THE TRANSITION TO NASCAR RACING? The biggest thing is they’re 180 degrees different. The mental aspect of it is, too. You’re going from racing six seconds in drag racing and racing one other guy to two hours against 40 other guys. More so than anything, it’s been the mental aspect. I didn’t do much stock car racing before I switched, so I had to learn the cars, how they drive and everything that comes with it. WHAT PROMPTED THE MOVE TO NASCAR RATHER THAN ADVANCING THROUGH THE DRAG RACING RANKS? I grew up racing micro sprints on dirt, and I always enjoyed dirt racing. I was running go-karts and micro sprints. NASCAR is the highest form of racing here in America. It’s the best of the best. It’s what I wanted to do. I just enjoy it more than drag racing. It’s challenging, but I enjoy the challenge of trying to get better each and every week. I prefer the style more than anything. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE SUCH STRONG SUPPORT FROM FORD PERFORMANCE? Ford has been absolutely incredible to work with. They have opened their arms to not only me, but everyone who has come to DGR. Their main focus is, “What can we do to help you be better?” From a manufacturer, that’s the right mentality. We go to the simulator every Monday and they’re in our competition meetings after the weekend to go over how it went. They’ve been really involved with myself and with my brother. They’ve been awesome to work with.

LEGEND PROFILE

PRESENTED BY

NASCAR Legend: Buck Baker

Buck Baker won 46 NASCAR Cup Series races during a career that ran from 1949 to 1976. His greatest success came at legendary Darlington Raceway, where he won the Southern 500 three times. Baker also earned NASCAR titles in 1956 and 1957.

BY BEN WHITE

Elzie Wylie “Buck” Baker was born March 4, 1919, during the Great Depression near Chester, South Carolina. His parents farmed but the youngster wanted more out of life. As a teenager, he spent time hauling moonshine from South Carolina to Atlanta while trying his hand at boxing and playing amateur golf. A few years later, he began driving a city bus in Charlotte, North Carolina, before settling on a career as a stock car driver in NASCAR. When he wasn’t racing, Baker spent time making money any way he could. Baker entered his first NASCAR race on June 19, 1949, at Charlotte Speedway, a half-mile dirt track. He had found his calling, finishing 11th in the 33-car field. His first NASCAR victory came on April 12, 1952, when he beat Lee Petty to the checkered flag in a 100-mile dirttrack race at Columbia Speedway in South Carolina. During his NASCAR Cup Series career, Baker logged 45 additional victories and 45 pole positions, as well as 372 top-10 finishes. In 1956 and 1957, he became the first driver to win consecutive championships in NASCAR’s premier series. From 1957 to 1959, Baker made 20 starts in NASCAR’s convertible division. He also raced in the NASCAR Grand National East Series during the early 1970s. Baker passed away on April 14, 2002, at the age of 83. He was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Feb. 8, 2013.

“I never won any popularity contests. I was out to win races back then.” –BUCK BAKER

BEST SEASON DURING THE 1956 NASCAR CUP SERIES SEASON, Baker won 14 of the 46 races he entered and claimed the series championship over second-place Herb Thomas. Baker’s stats that season included 31 top-five finishes, 39 top-10 results and 12 pole positions in a Chrysler 300 owned by businessman Carl Kiekhaefer. RECORD SETTER DURING A CAREER THAT RAN FROM 1949 TO 1976, Baker entered 635 NASCAR Cup Series races. His average start was 10.9 and his average finish was 11.4. He is 14th on the list of all-time winners with 46 victories in NASCAR’s premier stock car division.

LEGENDARY

DETERMINED

ADAPTIVE

DIFFERENT BOLD

TALENTED

KNOWN FOR BAKER’S LIFE AS A DETERMINED RACE CAR DRIVER earned him the distinction of being one of the NASCAR’s greatest drivers. He was quick to adapt to a number of race tracks, giving him a reputation for winning. In 1976, he began the Buck Baker Driving School at Rockingham Speedway.

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PHOTOGRAPHY: NASCAR HALL OF FAME

SEASON REWIND

Two in a Row for Yarborough BY BEN WHITE

Cale Yarborough and his Junior Johnson and Associates crew claimed the NASCAR Cup Series championship for the second consecutive season in 1977, as the driver from Timmonsville, South Carolina, visited Victory Lane nine times that year. After enjoying an impressive 1976 Cup Series season that required only firing his engine to secure the Cup Series title in the final race of the year at Ontario Motor Speedway, Yarborough was ready to repeat as champion for 1977. The hard-nosed racer joined Johnson’s team in 1973. He immediately began winning races and established himself as a solid title contender. However, in 1974 and ’75, mechanical issues arose that translated to too many losses in Cup Series points, dashing the team’s championship aspirations. But the magic eventually came together and in 1977 veteran crew chief Herb Nab helped orchestrate the team’s second consecutive championship run. Yarborough scored a total of 5,000 championship points over 30 races, besting Richard Petty by 386 points at season’s end. Amazingly, the No. 11 Chevrolet was running at the checkered flag in every race. Yarborough was virtually unstoppable with his worst finish of the year being a 24th-place result in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Yarborough’s nine wins included the Daytona 500 with six of the triumphs coming on short tracks. His reputation as a tenacious driver shined through, as he completed 9,269 of the 10,010 scheduled laps while leading 3,198 of them. His 427-cubic-inch engines were built by Robert Yates, a future championship team owner. Yarborough’s on-track performance and off-track persona made him a fan favorite.

BEST DRIVER CALE YARBOROUGH, driver of the No. 11 Junior Johnson and Associates Chevrolet, dominated the 1977 season by visiting Victory Lane nine times. The team’s season came together in stellar fashion with nearly flawless execution on the race track and guidance from team owner Junior Johnson, a former driver with 50 wins of his own. With Johnson and Yarborough’s aggressive driving styles closely matched, their personal chemistry was also close. Minimal communication was needed to find success. BEST RACE ON AUG. 7, 1977 AT TalladegaSuperspeedway, Donnie Allison vacated his Hoss Ellington Racing Chevrolet after becoming sick. Darrell Waltrip, who had fallen out of the race with engine issues in his DiGard Racing Chevrolet, was asked to relief drive for Allison with 23 laps remaining. Waltrip won the race but Allison got credit for the victory. It was the last time in

SEASON RECAP DATE

Jan. 16 Feb. 20 Feb. 27 Mar. 13 Mar. 20 Mar. 27 April 3 April 17 April 24 May 1 May 7 May 15 May 29 June 12 June 19 July 4 July 16 July 31 Aug. 7 Aug. 22 Aug. 28 Sept. 5 Sept. 11 Sept. 18 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 23 Nov. 6 Nov. 20

LOCATION

Riverside International Raceway Daytona International Speedway Richmond Raceway Rockingham Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway North Wilkesboro Speedway Darlington Raceway Bristol Motor Speedway Martinsville Speedway Talladega Superspeedway Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville Dover Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway Riverside International Raceway Michigan International Speedway Daytona International Speedway Fairground Speedway Nashville Pocono Raceway Talladega Superspeedway Michigan International Speedway Bristol Motor Speedway Darlington Raceway Richmond Raceway Dover Motor Speedway Martinsville Speedway North Wilkesboro Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway Rockingham Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway Ontario Motor Speedway

WINNER

David Pearson Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Richard Petty Richard Petty Cale Yarborough Darrell Waltrip Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Darrell Waltrip Benny Parsons Cale Yarborough Richard Petty Richard Petty Cale Yarborough Richard Petty Darrell Waltrip Benny Parsons Donnie Allison Darrell Waltrip Cale Yarborough David Pearson Neil Bonnett Benny Parsons Cale Yarborough Darrell Waltrip Benny Parsons Donnie Allison Darrell Waltrip Neil Bonnett

NASCAR history that a driver won a race for another driver. TOP CARS CALE YARBOROUGH’S No. 11 Junior Johnson and Associates Chevrolet won nine times and had 27 top-10 finishes in 30 starts. Richard Petty’s No. 43 Petty Enterprises Dodge recorded five victories in 1977 while accumulating 23 top-10 results.

PRESIDENT

Jimmy Carter N O . 1 AT T H E B O X O F F I C E

Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope NO. 1 SONG

“Tonight’s the Night” by Rod Stewart

1977 P O P C U LT U R E

Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, his Memphis, Tennessee, home. He was 42. GALLON OF GAS

62 Cents

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

NASCAR Involvement Hits Home for

or much of the past two decades,

State Water Heaters has been involved in NASCAR as a primary and associate sponsor for a few different drivers and teams. Along the way, the Ashland, Tennessee-based company has gone to Victory Lane with multiple drivers, participated in all three major NASCAR series and celebrated wins at the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series levels. Below are five key time periods in State Water Heaters’ lengthy NASCAR run – as highlighted by the company’s longtime director of marketing, Jeff Storie.

State Water Heaters

2006

STATE WATER HEATERS ENTERED THE SPORT AS A PRIMARY

sponsor for driver Kevin Lepage in the Cup Series, serving in that role for five events. The company debuted as Lepage’s primary sponsor at Martinsville, striking an entry level deal that created a path for a long involvement in the sport. Lepage failed to qualify for the race, however, so it wasn’t until Talladega a few weeks later that a State Water Heaters-sponsored car took the green flag.

“Based on the reaction from our customers, we said, ‘You know what? NASCAR

hits home really well with those who matter to us. Not only with our State Water Heaters wholesalers and contractors, but there’s also a lot of consumers that watch in person and on TV, so gaining brand exposure from all of those folks is great. Kind of like the cake and icing together in terms of our wholesalers and contractors – and also consumers,’” Storie recalled.

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2007

2006

BY JARED TURNER

2007-2008

STATE WATER HEATERS MOVED ITS PRIMARY

sponsorship to Morgan-McClure Motorsports, a historic Cup Series team, and began a relationship with driver Ward Burton that lasts until this day. When the season ended, the team disbanded so State Water Heaters took its funding to Haas CNC Racing where it enjoyed a solid 2008 as a primary sponsor for driver Scott Riggs. Although State Water Heaters moved on at season’s

end, the Haas CNC and State pairing laid a foundation for partnering with the organization in the future after Cup Series champion Tony Stewart became a co-owner along with businessman Gene Haas and the organization rebranded itself as Stewart-Haas Racing.

Driving Experience, where the 2002 Daytona 500 winner gave driving lessons at various

We’ve been long-term sponsors—and fans—of Burton Racing, first with 2002 Daytona 500 champion Ward and now with his son,

NASCAR tracks to hundreds of

Jeb. That’s because we believe in loyalty. After all, we have some of the most loyal contractors in the industry, including companies who have been selling and installing State water heaters for two

State Water Heaters customers.

and three generations. And that’s proof that durability is not only an attribute of our products but also of our relationships.

On the racing side, State

www.statewaterheaters.com

Water Heaters did sponsor the Nashville-based Baker Curb Racing Xfinity Series team and driver Jason Keller in 2009 – and also began sponsoring Ward’s son, Jeb Burton, in late models – but the wildlife foundation was its core focus and remained

Follow Ward and Jeb at www.stateracing.com

12statei8018 Mpsc Athlon 8x10.5.indd 1

4/25/12 2:55 PM

2019 2009

2009-2011 AHEAD

relationship

Baker ended

WATER

HEATERS

REENTERED

THE

NASCAR

Curb after

over, Ward hopped in the State Water Heaters-sponsored truck at Daytona for what would be his final start in a major NASCAR series.

2009

2009, the relationship with

season, State Water Heaters

the Burtons continued – as it

shifted most of its sponsorship

still does. “The thing about the

dollars to the Ward Burton

Burtons is never once will they

Wildlife Foundation, which owns

pull the (sponsorship) contract

and manages more than 9,100

and say, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa,

acres of land – including 700

we only agreed to X number of

acres of agricultural property

meet-and-greets, or customer

Busch replaced Newman in 2014, State Water Heaters remained as

– in Ward’s hometown of

fishing events,’” Storie said. “If

an associate and primary sponsor of Busch for five seasons.

Halifax, Virginia. The company

you need the Burtons, they’re

“In our experience, Kurt was always a business-minded guy …

NASCAR Pole Position - June-July 2022

Articles inside

Tanner Gray Q&A

Legend Profile: Buck Baker

Blast from the Past

Gone But Not Forgotten

State Water Heaters 16 Years in NASCAR

Did You Know? NASCAR Facts & Figures

Austin Hill Q&A

Christopher Bell Q&A

Retro Rewind

KGM Technologies Innovation is the Mission

Senior Salute

NASCAR Builds

Backstory

Ross Chastain Q&A

NASCAR Salutes Black Rifle Coffee Company

Show Your Stuff

Favorite FInds

Racing Jobs

My Favorites

Green Flag

NASCAR Pets

Miscraft’s Workshop

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