NASCAR Pole Position 2018 Oct/Nov by A.E. Engine

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NASCAR LEGEND: BOBBY ALLISON

NASCAR VIDEO GAMES

NASCAR’S GREATEST RACES: DECADE-ENDING VICTORIES

5 REASONS TO LOVE THE NASCAR PLAYOFFS

PRESENTED BY OLIVA CIGAR

Q&A WITH UNIVERSITY OF RACING PRESIDENT PHIL BLOUNT P.13 NASCAR ROOTS I FAVORITE FINDS I DRIVER PROFILES I SEAL THE DEAL I NASCAR BUILDS NASCAR PETS I TAILGATING I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW I ON THE ROAD I NASCAR NEWS I TOOLS OF THE TRADE

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■■ Kyle Busch entertaining the crowd during driver introductions at Bristol. ■■ Jimmie Johnson in his car prior to the race at Michigan. ■■ A crew member of the No. 20 team removes the front tire on Erik Jones’ car at Atlanta.

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POLE POSITION 2018

■■ Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 Skittles 1998 Retro Toyota, alongside Jeffrey Earnhardt, during the race at Darlington.

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CONTENT

20. NASCAR’S GREATEST RACES

NASCAR VIDEO GAMES

70. NASCAR LEGEND 71. SEASON REWIND

TO LOVE NASCAR PLAYOFFS 14 5THEREASONS 16. SOUNDS OF NASCAR

NASCAR POLE POSITION RACE FAN GUIDE AN OFFICIALLY LICENSED PUBLICATION OF NASCAR

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NASCAR ROOTS

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76 54

DRIVER PROFILES PRESENTED BY

PIT PASS 74. BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW! 75. BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS 12. GREEN FLAG 18. TAILGATING 22. NASCAR BUILDS 24. SEAL THE DEAL

32. SPOTLIGHT: SYLVANIA

48. SPOTLIGHT: KAZ GRALA

26. ON THE ROAD

34. NASCAR HALL OF FAME

50. TOOLS OF THE TRADE

28. CREW SPOTLIGHT

41. FAVORITE FINDS

52. SPOTLIGHT: KASEY KAHNE

30. NASCAR PETS

46. SPOTLIGHT: ALEX BOWMAN

72. SPOTLIGHT: MSG

GREEN FLAG Former College Athletes Eye NASCAR NASCAR and Rev Racing have selected seven former collegiate athletes as the latest participants in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Development Program. The individuals were selected based on individual performances during a series of crew member assessments and strength-and-agility drills at the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Combine. NASCAR Drive for Diversity provides opportunities for multicultural and female athletes to “go pro” in NASCAR after playing college sports. This year’s class includes: former UNC Charlotte football player Brandon Banks (High Point, N.C.), former Morehouse College football player Evan Clay (Franklin, La.), former Bethune-Cookman University football player Jarren Davis (Jacksonville, Fla.), former North Carolina A&T State University tennis player Keiston France (Amelia, Va.), former Norfolk State University football player Ernest Holden (Hampton, Va.), former Alcorn State University basketball player Jerrick Newsome (Memphis, Tenn.) and former North Carolina A&T State University football player Joshua Patrick (Decatur, Ga.).

he NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Dash 4 Cash program will return to the same four tracks that hosted the bonus-money initiative this season. The 2019 Dash 4 Cash races will be April 6 at Bristol Motor Speedway, April 12 at Richmond Raceway, April 27 at Talladega Superspeedway and May 4 at Dover International Speedway. BY DAN GUTTENPLAN

Perennial NASCAR Xfinity Series title contender Elliott Sadler is ending his run as a full-time racer. The veteran of more than 800 NASCAR national series starts and driver for JR Motorsports posted a statement on his website, ElliottSadler.com. “After much consideration and many conversations with my family, I’ve decided this will be my last season racing full time in NASCAR,” Sadler wrote. “It’s time for me, as dad, to help my kids pursue their dreams.” Kasey Kahne plans to retire from full-time racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series following this season. “I love NASCAR, it’s been a big part of my life, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it,” Kahne said. “We’ll keep watching and keep coming to the races when we can and supporting it, supporting dirt-car racing, supporting all the racing. … [I] needed to back off a little bit because it’s the time I’m missing with [my son, Tanner].”

KYLE LARSON, DRIVER OF THE NO. 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet, and members of the Chip Ganassi Racing team made a pit stop Aug. 14 at Meeting Street Academy in Charleston, South Carolina, to speak with students about teamwork and perseverance. “It was a lot of fun to visit Meeting Street Academy again, seeing the work that’s being done and getting a chance to spend time with the students,” said Larson. “These kids have bright futures and I hope we were able to further motivate and encourage them to work hard and persevere.” Representative of team sponsor Credit One Bank were also in attendance and donated $25,000 to the school’s literacy program. Meeting Street Academy is a charter-type school dedicated to reaching students in under-resourced neighborhoods. 12

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MOTORSPORT NETWORK, WHOSE PLATFORMS REPRESENT THE LARGEST audience of motorsports and auto enthusiasts in the world, has invested in 704Games, NASCAR Team Properties’ exclusive console simulation-style video game licensee. By becoming a strategic stakeholder in 704Games, Motorsport Network is investing in NASCAR gaming for the first time and expanding its esports footprint. 704Games’ newest video game release, NASCAR Heat 3, arrived at retailers in September. “Motorsport Network’s media platforms speak directly to NASCAR fans every day and that is a huge benefit as we continue to grow into competitive gaming and esports,” said Paul Brooks, CEO of 704Games.

Nationwide has extended its relationship with Hendrick Motorsports as part of a new two-year agreement that increases its role as the primary sponsor of Alex Bowman’s No. 88 Chevrolet to 20 races per season beginning next year. In addition, Hendrick Motorsports has signed Bowman to a one-year contract extension through 2020.

THE ENASCAR IGNITE SERIES, THE FIRST YOUTH esports series on iRacing.com, conducted a winner-takeall championship event online at Martinsville Speedway on Sept. 26. This online series was created to provide aspiring racers a platform where their talents can be showcased. Racers between the ages of 13 and 16 have battled online for the past three months. The top 30 in points after the playoffs competed for a $10,000 scholarship, along with other opportunities and prizes. The champion of this inaugural series also receives a one-on-one driver instructional with Max Papis, an introduction to NASCAR racing development personnel, a SimSeat simulation cockpit and seat with monitor stands, a Martinsville Speedway VIP experience, NASCAR Racing Experience Voucher and a VIP iRacing account. “The response to the inaugural eNASCAR Ignite Series season has surpassed our expectations,” said Blake Davidson, NASCAR vice president of consumer innovation.

Q&A with University of Racing President Phil Blount

niversity of Racing creates classic, iconic die-cast replicas and officially licensed racing memorabilia. Phil Blount, president of University of Racing, recently spoke with NASCAR Pole Position about the process of producing such iconic die-cast replicas. How do you decide which cars to replicate? We want to produce iconic die-cast cars that resonate with the race fans … cars that connect with our customer’s passion and emotions. No doubt these race cars performed well on the tracks and were driven by amazingly talented race car drivers. Our sweet spot is cars and drivers between the ’50s and ’70s. How many cars has University of Racing produced? Right now, we have 22 different cars … each one has its own paint scheme, its own legend driver and its own story. We have six new cars coming out in the very near future. Once you decide to replicate a car, what’s the next step? It takes quite a while. We do exhaustive research on the actual race cars, obtain historical photos, and then go out and find and measure by hand all of the details and specifications. These measurements are then reduced down for the 1:24 scale cars. All paint schemes and decals are meticulously reproduced to make the car totally authentic. I wish I had a dollar for every time a so-called industry expert would say to me, “You can take out this or that to get the cost down and the fan will never know the difference.” Well, we believe the fans will know the difference, and that the fans want quality and authenticity. So we decided early on we’d choose the harder right than the easy wrong. We’ve never cut corners on our cars. We think fans appreciate that. Do you have a specific artist that designs the die-cast replicas? Again, we want each car to be authentic in every way, including the original paint scheme design and all of the decals. We primarily use historical photos as our guide. Our artist puts every car under a microscope to make sure we get all the decoration right. What materials are used in the replicas? Metal … die-cast metal. Not plastic. That’s why our cars are so heavy … just like the real race cars back then.

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN

UNIVERSITYofRACING.COM

Where would someone purchase a University of Racing die-cast replica? We sell them online at universityofracing.com and through University of Racing dealers throughout the nation. What’s the most popular replica? In terms of the biggest volume, it’s our very first car. That was the Bobby Allison 1969 Mercury Coke car. We produced it for the 50th running of the Coca-Cola 600 race, which historically, Bobby Allison performed well in. The Allison No. 12 ’69 Mercury had all of the Coke graphics on the car. It was a great marriage … two great winners – Bobby Allison and Coca-Cola. What else can NASCAR fans expect from a University of Racing product? Quality, authenticity, commitment and memorable and meaningful stories. It’s not just the car, although the car has an amazing amount of quality detail. It’s the whole experience. We didn’t set out to reinvent die-casts. Rather, our goal was to elevate the die-cast experience. The historical information we include on each box, the never-before-seen photographs, along with the high-quality die-cast car tell the story. The compelling stories are what connect and build relationships with fans. We love producing our magic for our valued customers. They make it fun.

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

NASCAR PLAYOFFS 5 Reasons to Love the NASCAR Playoffs For many NASCAR fans, the playoffs are undoubtedly the most exciting time of the year. For the drivers in pursuit of a championship, no time is more stressful. Stressors aside, there are many reasons to love the playoffs – especially in NASCAR’s premier division, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Here are the top five reasons:

THE SCHEDULE SHAKEUP. The Monster Energy Series’ Round of 16 has an allnew look this season. Out are Chicagoland Speedway (which hosted the playoff opener from 2011-17), New Hampshire Motor Speedway (which lost its fall race date) and Dover International Speedway (now the first race in the Round of 12). This year, the Round of 16 consists of races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway and a new 17-turn road course formally dubbed the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

POLE POSITION 2018

THE CHAMPIONSHIP 4. It’s one race featuring four championship contenders all on equal points footing, with no bonus points up for grabs. The first driver among the four finalists to cross the finish line when the checkered waves at HomesteadMiami Speedway is the Monster Energy Series champion. Does it really get any better than this? NASCAR knocked a home run with its implementation of a winner-take-all Championship Race in 2014. Expect 2018 to be no exception.

TALLADEGA, AKA ‘THE WILD CARD’. Want intense racing? Try a race at wild, wacky and notoriously unpredictable Talladega Superspeedway situated smack dab in the middle of the Monster Energy Series playoffs. Talladega, a 2.66-mile track widely considered the most treacherous of all venues on the Monster Energy Series tour, is the second race in the Round of 12 and has consistently proven to be a game-changer in terms of which drivers ultimately advance to the Round of 8.

THE ELIMINATION RACES. If you like witnessing aggression, tune in or buy a ticket for any of the three elimination races in which the Monster Energy Series playoff field will be reduced by four drivers. This year’s elimination races are being run at the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and ISM Raceway, respectively. All three tracks are poised to crush some drivers’ dreams while propelling others further down the path to a possible championship.

THE SURPRISES. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs usually produce a major surprise or two. In 2014 – the first year of the elimination-style format and winner-takeall Championship Race – Ryan Newman came one position short of the championship, despite going the whole season without a win. The following year, Martin Truex Jr. – then considered a major underdog – surprised almost everyone by reaching the Championship 4 with a single-car team. Who will be the biggest surprise of this year?

BY JARED TURNER | PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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SOUNDS OF NASCAR Sounds of NASCAR The NASCAR race experience is unlike any other in sports. There are many sounds that make every at-track experience a memorable one. PRESENTED BY

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TAILGATING PRESENTED BY KRISTIN TULL’S

PIMENTO & CHEESE DIP Add the following to a bowl and mix: ■■ 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese ■■ 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese ■■ 1 package of Velveeta shredded cheese ■■ 1 packet of Splenda sweetener ■■ 1 large jar of pimentos, undrained ■■ ½ cup of mayonnaise (may take more to get moist spread) ■■ Salt and pepper to taste

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Tailgating with Lee Tull

nlike many NASCAR tailgaters, Lee Tull reserves his tailgating adventures for one track – Talladega Superspeedway. With Tull living in the neighboring state of Mississippi, the 2.66-mile Alabama venue just makes the most sense for him and his tailgating buddies – who usually include his dad, two uncles, a cousin, two brothers-in-law and multiple friends. “Our group has talked many times about going to other race venues, but I just don’t know how another race can come close to measuring up to the whole Talladega experience,” Tull said. There’s seemingly never a dull moment when Tull and friends tailgate in the Talladega infield. Take, for example, the spring 2017 race weekend. “We decided to load everybody up in the ambulance and take a ride around the infield,” Tull remembered. “We had made it

over to GEICO Red in Turns 1 and 2 when we see a Talladega Superspeedway security truck come flying behind us with lights flashing pulling us over. At the moment, it didn’t occur to me that driving through the infield with red lights flashing and sirens blaring in an ambulance might not be the best idea. But, to be fair, are you going to not use flashers and sirens when you’re driving an ambulance? Absolutely not!” In hindsight, this wasn’t the wisest move. “The friendly track official proceeded to inform us that we needed to shut off the red lights, as they had received a call from one of the race teams questioning why red lights were flashing in Turns 1 and 2,” Tull said. “Turns out Danica Patrick was on track qualifying at the time. Luckily, the debacle was avoided thanks to the nice track official. He ended up talking to us for a little while and even took some time to check out the ambulance. Great success!”

MUST-HAVE GEAR Chase Elliott Commemorative Victory Flag Tailgating NASCAR fans love to proudly fly their flags – and one new flag available at the NASCAR.com Superstore is a must-buy for supporters of one of NASCAR’s most popular drivers, Chase Elliott. For just $44.99, fans can purchase their very own deluxe 3-by-5-ft. polyester flag commemorating Elliott’s first career Monster Energy Series win, which the second-generation driver scored Aug. 5 at Watkins Glen International. The flag, which shows Chase in Victory Lane at The Glen, is appropriately described as a “collectible that will give your fan cave that upgrade you have been looking for.”

POLE POSITION 2018

■■ Add the following to a bowl and mix: ■■ 4 cans of white shoe peg corn, undrained ■■ 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese ■■ 1 cup of mayonnaise (add more to make more creamy) ■■ 1 package of taco seasoning ■■ Diced jalapenos (as desired) “At Talladega, you never want to commit to food that takes too long to prepare, because there are way too many other things going on,” Lee Tull said. “But, you want good food and it needs to be food that is appropriate for any time of the day. With Kristin’s pimento & cheese dip, you get all of that. Easy to prepare, can be eaten after you roll out of the bed in the morning or as late-night munchie food, and on top of all that, it tastes great!”

Q&A WITH LEE WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE DRIVER? My all-time favorite driver would have to be Dale Jr. In my opinion, Junior has always been the most relatable and down-to-earth. If I had to pick a current favorite, it would be Kevin Harvick, mainly because he drives the Busch car. How can you not root for the Busch car? RESIDENCE, AGE AND HOMETOWN? Corinth, Mississippi (both residence and hometown) and age 31. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A NASCAR FAN? Since I attended my first race at Talladega in the spring of 1998. WHEN/WHERE WAS YOUR FIRST TAILGATE? Talladega in 2006. My then-college roommate and I decided last minute to take the trip by ourselves and ended up camping in the bed of my truck under a popup tailgate tent for the entire weekend. WHAT MAKES A GOOD TAILGATE? You have to have a good group of people that like to cut loose and have a good time. Without that, you might as well pack it up. Then, you’ve got to have some good loud music. Finally, you can’t forget some good food.

BY JARED TURNER

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NASCAR’S GREATEST RACES

NOV. 18, 1979

NOV. 19, 1989

DEC. 7, 1969

PRESENTED BY

Ending the Decade in Grand Style

NOV. 21, 1999

POLE POSITION 2018

emorable milestones are established each time a NASCAR season comes to an end. Here’s a look at a few interesting finishes during the final races in four of NASCAR’s seven decades of stock car racing. Dec. 7, 1969: Bobby Isaac scored the last victory of the 1960s during the season-ending event at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas. Isaac, driving a Dodge owned by Nord Krauskopf, ended a six-year superspeedway drought by winning the inaugural Texas 500. The Catawba, North Carolina, driver took the lead with 15 laps remaining as Donnie Allison finished second. Nov. 18, 1979: Benny Parsons, driving an Oldsmobile owned by M.C. Anderson, recorded the final victory of the 1970s by topping the Los Angeles Times 500 at California’s Ontario Motor Speedway. The driver from North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, took the lead with five laps remaining and held off an aggressive Bobby Allison. In that event, Richard Petty collected his seventh NASCAR Cup Series championship. Nov. 19, 1989: Driving the No. 27 Pontiac fielded by Raymond Beadle’s Blue Max Racing, Rusty Wallace claimed his lone Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship by finishing 15th in the final race of the 1980s at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Dale Earnhardt dominated the event, leading 249 laps in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet but could do nothing to keep Wallace from besting him for the title. Nov. 21, 1999: Bobby Labonte, wheeling a Pontiac for Joe Gibbs Racing, led 147 of 328 laps before taking the final checkered flag of the 1990s in the NAPA Auto Parts 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Labonte led the final 27 laps en route to the 12th of his 18 career victories.

BY BEN WHITE | PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF NASCAR

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BACK TO THE GRIND

Computerized Graphics: That’s a Wrap!

he vehicles competing in NASCAR’s three national touring series resemble fast-moving billboards that tout a variety of corporate sponsors. Unlike earlier years when race cars and trucks were painted and hand-lettered, today’s racing machines are covered with vinyl wraps that are designed and produced using computer technology. Nick Woodward, manager of the RCR Graphics Center at Richard Childress Racing, produces colorful graphics for the fleet of race cars built and maintained in the team’s Welcome, North Carolina, shops. “I think we really started seeing the wraps come into NASCAR about 2006, 2007, right in there,” Woodward said. “When we started seeing more multiple sponsors during back-to-back weeks, we started seeing more of the backup cars wrapped. For RCR and other race teams, wraps were probably used 100 percent by 2012. That’s when we started getting more and more multiple sponsors on the cars.” The procedure of transforming a bare car into a rolling masterpiece begins when a team and sponsor agree on a particular race or races in which to showcase their service or product. Marketing managers representing the sponsor work with team marketing personnel to best display their colors. A graphic designer transforms information into a color scheme that goes back to the sponsor and team for final approval. Time and scheduling is vitally important as graphic packages are always being designed and completed. Two crew members strive to fully wrap two cars per day during any given work week. “The process of wrapping really came into play because of the logistics of having to turn the car

POLE POSITION 2018

around from week to week,” Woodward explained. “We used to wrap a week or two weeks in advance. Now we wrap the primary cars every Tuesday. But to do a wrap, the car doesn’t need to be apart. The motor doesn’t have to be out of the car like it would if being painted and going through the heat cycle. It can be wrapped while they’re putting the motor in, the windshield in, putting the seat in, all of the things that need to be done to it.” The entire process of producing and applying a wrap takes about 12 hours, and the vinyl must cure for 24 hours before being applied to the car. RCR’s graphics crew places a wrap on any given Camaro using markers designed into the scheme that line up with marks on the car. Once positioned, heat is used to apply the vinyl wrap, which consists of two sides that meet in the exact center of the deck lid, top and front end of the race car. There’s only one seam at the center of each car. When primary sponsors began sharing quarter panel and hood space, quick turnarounds came into play and time continued to dictate tight production schedules. It’s also about churning out fresh new designs for fans to see. “I think the biggest challenge sometimes can be making the design different,” Woodward said. “It is different so many times now than say, the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway that used to be the only time a scheme was different. There will be many different ones this year for RCR, as well as RCR’s 50th anniversary coming up (in 2019). Then you add to that the Darlington throwback paint schemes. The challenge is keeping them looking good and being noticed on the race track.”

orney Industries continues to innovate products for metalworking enthusiasts with their expansive abrasive line. From cutting to cleaning and grinding to polishing, Forney has you covered from start to finish. Why have one when you can have two? Forney Industries introduced double-sided metal grinding flap discs that efficiently meet the needs of DIY and experienced users alike. The most commonly used flap disc is the 40 grit, so Forney created a 40/40 grit doublesided flap disc for a coarse finish. For a coarse to fine finish, they have a 40/80 grit, and if medium to fine finish is what you’re looking for, they offer a 60/120 grit double-sided flap disc. These discs are secured to a plastic spin-on 5/8”-11 center which allows the job to move with ease. Simply spin to tighten and lock the flap disc in place. To switch to the other side, unscrew the flap disc and flip it over to attain the desired finish. Do you need to grind a tight corner? No sweat! Forney has curved edge flap discs that were designed to get into those hard to reach areas. The unique curved edge takes the annoyance out of grinding a 90-degree angle or other tight spaces where standard discs won’t work. It can also be used for all other standard flap disc applications. These are ideal for mild steel, high-strength steel, hardened steels and stainless steel and perform best with only light to moderate grinding pressure. They’re available in 40, 60 and 80 grits. To purchase these discs and more, visit forneyind.com. –Blair Weilnau

BY BEN WHITE

METALWORKING PRODUCTS FOR ALL YOUR PROJECT NEEDS. Forney Industries continues to innovate products for metalworking enthusiasts with their expansive abrasive line. From cutting to cleaning and grinding to polishing, Forney has you covered from start to finish.

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SEAL THE DEAL FRED LORENZEN RED HOT IN ATLANTA

n April 5, 1964, Fred Lorenzen drove the No. 28 Holman Moody Ford to his third consecutive victory in the Atlanta 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Lorenzen sealed the deal by leading 206 laps, including the final 168 at the 1.5-mile superspeedway located in Hampton, Georgia. Only 10 of the 39 starters were still in competition when the checkered flag was waved over Lorenzen’s pearl white No. 28 Ford. It was his second of eight wins in only 17 NASCAR Cup Series starts that season. Tire issues eliminated many of the favorites, including David Pearson, Glenn “Fireball” Roberts, Darel Dieringer and Paul Goldsmith. All told, there were four caution flags spanning 19 laps. Bobby Isaac was Lorenzen’s closest challenger in a 1964 Dodge but offered little competition over the last 150 miles as Isaac was two laps behind most of the race. Isaac settled for the runner-up money with Ned Jarrett, Junior Johnson and Buck Baker completing the top-five finishers. Lorenzen was fully committed every time he strapped into his ride during his 12-year NASCAR career. “It’s just something I wanted to do,” Lorenzen said in a 2011 Speedway Media article. “When you decide you want to do something, you put your mind to it and you can do it. You’ve gotta really want it, though. I gave up everything to go racing.”

POLE POSITION 2018

PRESENTED BY

MARK MARTIN A CALIFORNIA ROAD WARRIOR Mark Martin guided the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford to his lone victory on the serpentine circuit at California’s Sonoma Raceway on May 4, 1997. He sealed the deal after finishing second in each of the two previous NASCAR Cup Series races at the 2.52-mile track. The native of Batesville, Arkansas, started from the pole and led 69 laps while holding off the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Northern California native Jeff Gordon by a mere .563 seconds. Gordon was only able to pull within four car lengths of Martin’s rear bumper on the final lap. Martin took the lead from Terry Labonte, another Hendrick Motorsports driver, on lap 45 of the 74-lap event and remained out front until the checkered flag. Martin enjoyed 35 of his 40-career victories with Roush Fenway Racing, beginning with the formation of the team in late 1987. “We went through hell building that organization brick-by-brick without technical alliances and team affiliations,” Martin said during his 2016 induction into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame. “[Roush] built his own engines and he had never built NASCAR engines. We got the chassis from Banjo [Matthews] and built the cars in Liberty [North Carolina, where the shop was located]. It wasn’t easy at all. We didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but I never questioned his will to win or his determination.”

BY BEN WHITE | PHOTOS COURTESY OF NASCAR

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ON THE ROAD

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TALES FROM THE ROAD

GET TO KNOW

CHRIS MINTON AGE: 27 HOMETOWN: Lewisville, North Carolina RESIDENCE: Pfafftown, North Carolina CO-DRIVER: ‘Bama’ Williams TEAMS WORKED FOR: Team Penske (Monster Energy Series and Xfinity Series) FAVORITE MEAL ON ROAD: It’s always Subway. If we stop at a Pilot Travel Center, usually nine times out of 10, there’s a Subway. It’s hard eating decent on the road, so I try to stay at the Subway. DAYTIME DRIVING VS. NIGHTTIME DRIVING: Night, because there’s no traffic and you can just get on down the road at a normal rate and not have a lot going on around you. MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: Going to Victory Lane earlier this year after teammate Ryan Blaney won the Can-Am Duel at Daytona. FAVORITE DRIVE TO A TRACK: Sonoma. It’s just real nice scenery. FAVORITE TRACK: Las Vegas has a really cool atmosphere to it. I can’t pick a favorite, to be honest. LIFE BEFORE TEAM PENSKE: Was a spotter at Bowman Gray Stadium, a local short track.

POLE POSITION 2018

Haulin’ with Chris Minton

hris Minton both literally and figuratively took the road less traveled to career as a team hauler driver in NASCAR. Unlike most hauler drivers who wheeled commercial big rigs before making the switch to NASCAR, Minton had virtually no experience at the truck-driving trade prior to becoming a hauler driver at Team Penske in 2017. Instead, he had been a spotter at a local short track – Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina – for eight years. “Becoming a hauler driver was far-fetched, to be honest with you,” Minton said. “To be where I’m at now, to look back on where I was, it’s a dream come true for me. It’s a totally different ballgame, but the way I looked at it was: ‘What could I do to really progress in my career as a spotter?’ My dad had been a spotter for years at Bowman Gray, and I had listened to him on the radio and enjoyed every moment of it. Hauler driving was something I really hadn’t given much thought to.” When Minton applied at Team Penske, he didn’t even have his CDL. “I had driven pickup trucks and trailers a long time and had worked for a construction company and done some local on-the-yard type stuff with trucks and trailers, but I had never driven on the street,” he said. “But I really progressed through the training program Penske had, rather quickly. I went really fast, but I think I showed the bosses it was something that I was very interested in, and I wanted to take pride in what I did, and I think it all worked out.” Minton started at Team Penske as co-driver of the organization’s No. 12 Xfinity Series hauler. He’s been co-driving the No. 2 Monster Energy Series rig since February. He wouldn’t trade his job for the world. “To me, there are two numbers that are iconic in the sport – the No. 2 and the No. 3,” Minton said. “And to get the opportunity to drive the No. 2 hauler, it was just a surreal moment for me.”

TALE NO. 1: “A lot of our trucks have train horns on them. That’s just part of it. Last year, I was in Las Vegas with the No. 12 Xfinity Series team, and those guys were parking the hauler. We were riding down the Vegas strip and got to the race track and my co-driver hit the train horn – the kids just love it and you hear people screaming and hollering and wanting you to do it more. But we were going around the little traffic circle as you approach the infield tunnel at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and my co-driver hit the train horn, and I just remember a fan yelling, ‘Holy crap! That was loud.’” TALE NO. 2: “We were coming home from Sonoma earlier this year and were coming up the road through Nashville and this freight truck comes by us and he blares his horn and out of nowhere you look over and he gets on the CB and he’s like, ‘Y’all are awesome! Brad Keselowski is my favorite driver.’ You get on there and you say, ‘Thank you, sir. I really appreciate that.’ It makes you feel really good that people riding up and down the road realize what you do and who you are. That guy flat-out told us, ‘Man, y’all made my day, just being able to see you guys coming up and down this highway.’”

BY JARED TURNER

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CREW SPOTLIGHT TONY FURR A LIFELONG RACER

JEFF ICENHOUR ON THE ROAD AGAIN RACING HAS BEEN THE ONLY THING I’VE REALLY EVER DONE ALL MY LIFE. IT’S ALWAYS BEEN MY GOAL TO WIN. IF YOU CAN’T WIN, THE GOAL IS TO ALWAYS FINISH IN THE TOP 10. I ENJOY TEACHING PEOPLE AND OFFERING SOME OF THE EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE I’VE LEARNED OVER THE YEARS.”

Tony Furr, crew chief for BK Racing and its rotation of drivers, was introduced to NASCAR when invited to attend a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway as a child. PLAYING “That was with my dad [Henry Furr] FAVORITES back in 1966, and I remember LeeRoy WITH TONY Yarbrough won the race,” Furr said. “My family has been in racing since 1960. VACATION My dad raced on dirt for a couple of SPOT years and owned race cars with other ■■ Sturgis, South Dakota drivers until 1971. Then he began promoting races up until 1996.” SEASON At age 15, Tony Furr began building ■■ Fall and racing his own cars. From 1972 HOLIDAY through 1988, he raced late model ■■ All of them – stock cars on tracks in Florida, it’s a day off! Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina TV and Virginia. ■■ Street Outlaws During 18 years as a NASCAR crew MOVIE chief, stars such as Ricky Craven, ■■ Up in Smoke John Andretti, Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Ward Burton drove cars prepared by MUSIC Furr. He’s been to Victory Lane twice in ■■ Beach music the NASCAR Cup Series – at Daytona International Speedway with Andretti in 1997 and at Atlanta Motor Speedway with Jerry Nadeau in 2000. Furr’s success is based on one simple philosophy. “The biggest and hardest thing to do is to get the right people pulling in the same direction,” he said. “Once you get that, you’ve got it all. Communication with the driver is always a big deal. You have to see eye-to-eye and be on the same page. You can definitely disagree on things. There’s nothing wrong there. But at the end of the day, you have to get to the problem and fix it.”

POLE POSITION 2018

IT’S SO GOOD TO BE BACK WITH RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS. RICHARD AND DALE INMAN HAVE BEEN SO GOOD TO ME. IT’S JUST AN HONOR TO BE WITH THEM. IT MEANS A LOT TO ME PERSONALLY WHEN ‘THE KING’ COMES THROUGH AND CALLS ME ‘COWBOY.’”

Jeff Icenhour, a transport driver for Richard Petty Motorsports and driver Bubba Wallace, was introduced to NASCAR through a Sunday PLAYING afternoon outing. FAVORITES “I saw my first NASCAR race when I WITH JEFF was in high school,” Icenhour said. “It was me and a couple of buddies and VACATION we went to North Wilkesboro SpeedSPOT way, which wasn’t too far from where ■■ Gatlinburg, I was raised in Lenoir, North Carolina. Tennessee That was back in 1983 or ’84.” SEASON While most work on race cars, ■■ Spring Icenhour took a different path into the HOLIDAY sport. It came in 2002 when his son ■■ Christmas was playing football with the son of the TV SHOW shop foreman for a NASCAR Cup Series ■■ Yellowstone team owned by Cal Wells. “I was talking with him and they MOVIE needed a truck driver,” Icenhour ■■ Lonesome Dove recalled. “That was at the time when MUSIC Ricky Craven drove for them and then ■■ Country Bobby Hamilton.” Icenhour has transported race cars hundreds of thousands of miles throughout his career for several teams, including PPC Racing, Team Penske, Evernham-Gillette Motorsports, Richard Petty Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing – before returning to Petty’s operation in January. “I enjoy driving very much but also enjoy being at the track,” Icenhour said. “I do work on the cars some of the time, helping with little things when needed, such as helping with the rear brakes. I help the guys keep the garage cleaned up. “It’s really all about being with friends on this team and other teams. … I love racing because I’m not doing the same thing day in and day out.”

BY BEN WHITE

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NASCAR PETS NASCAR Drivers Who Love Their Dogs

he NASCAR community is a petfriendly bunch. Take a walk through the driver motorhome lot on any given weekend at the race track, and you’ll quickly realize how much Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers and their families especially love dogs. Following are five drivers who are all about their furry, four-legged friends: Alex Bowman: Alex Bowman owns two dogs – Finn, a Lab, and Roscoe, who is a Beagle/Chow mix. The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet has had Roscoe for nearly six

POLE POSITION 2018

years, and brought Finn home about two-and-a-half years ago. “They don’t care how we run on the race track,” Bowman said. “They’re happy that I’m home either way, so it’s always good to have them. They’re nicer than people are. I’ve had dogs my whole life and just always really enjoyed being around them.” Clint Bowyer: Clint Bowyer and his wife, Lorra, are the proud owners of an 8-year-old Australian Shepherd named Trip, who, according to Clint, is “a crazy smart dog” and “doesn’t need a leash.”

PRESENTED BY

The couple welcomed Trip into their family during an Atlanta race weekend before they married in April 2014. “He was just a puppy at the time. It was supposedly a breeder, but we rescued Trip from a disaster,” Clint said. “That’s what we did. It was pretty sad.” David Ragan: David Ragan and his wife, Jacqueline, are the proud owners of an aging Beagle named Oliver who has been in their lives since before they married in December 2012. “I grew up with Basset Hounds in my childhood so I loved Beagles, and Oliver was a rambunctious puppy who didn’t need to be living in a dorm room at UNC Charlotte,” David said. “So he stayed at my house quite a bit when we first got him. He has aged really well. He is still going – a little slower, but still moving.” Ty Dillon: Ty Dillon and his wife, Haley, have a 6-year-old French bulldog, Bubba, who they found at a shelter in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, several years ago. At that time, the puppy had two ear infections and pneumonia. “We got him to the vet and got him all fixed up,” Ty said. “He’s been a really sweet dog. He’s kind of lazy so he likes to sleep, and we carry him and take him everywhere. He’s kind of like a big baby, really.” Gray Gaulding: Longtime pet lover Gray Gaulding is the proud owner of two bulldogs – 3-year-old Maverick and 4-yearold Bella. The two dogs look similar but Maverick is considerably heavier. “Bella is pretty wide open, but Maverick will go for about 10 minutes wide open and then he needs to take a three-hour nap,” Gaulding said. “They’re kind of night and day. Bella just wants to run free all the time, but Maverick just hangs out and eats and sleeps.”

BY JARED TURNER

SPOTLIGHT PRESENTED BY

MAKE A STATEMENT WITH LED LIGHTING

Upgrading to LEDs Enhances Safety

ooking for longer lasting, safer, more aesthetically pleasing lighting for the interior or exterior of your vehicles? Consider switching from incandescent bulbs to LEDs, because compatibility with your vehicle certainly won’t be a problem and the benefits will be quickly seen. SYLVANIA, the world’s leader in automotive lighting, offers 150 mini LED bulbs, 75 each in two LED families, that work in cars, trucks, campers, boats, four-wheelers, ATVs and various other forms of transportation, anything 12V. The ZEVO family of LED mini bulbs comes with a lifetime warranty adding to the benefit of LED. “Upgrading to LED technology on the interior of your vehicle, your lights become brighter and whiter,” said Brian Noble, marketing manager for OSRAM SYLVANIA. “Everything becomes more easily seen. So if you were to drop a pen or your kids’ drop french fries on the floor, you can see them. It’s a big improvement over incandescent bulbs. There’s a safety side of it too; when you open up the car, it is all visible and there are no shadows or dark spots. So that’s the interior side. As we move outside the car, those third brake lights and turn lights on a lot of newer cars are moving to LED. And LED gives you a new style, which can be gained with the new LED replacement bulbs” As great as it might be to have more modernlooking lights, it’s the safety enhancements of LED mini bulbs that really set them apart.

POLE POSITION 2018

“LEDs light up faster, so they’re on/off almost instantly, versus an incandescent bulb that warms up and cools down,” Noble said. “That instant-on/ off, when you’re talking highway speeds, equals about 18 feet that somebody could see your vehicle sooner as you’re hitting the brakes or making a turn. Drivers around you can make a better decision. Eighteen feet is almost the length of an average car, so you look at that and say, ‘We really are affecting people’s lives if you install these LED brake lights.’ Somebody is going to see your action sooner,so they can react sooner – especially in this day and age of distracted driving. Seeing something sooner is always a good thing.” And a safer, brighter option is always better. “I’d rather keep somebody’s front bumper out of my trunk all day long,” Noble said. “When your kids are the ones in the backseat, you definitely don’t want somebody hitting you back there.”

ore and more drivers are making the move from halogen headlights to HID or LED headlights in their brand new cars. In fact, 10 percent of all vehicles on the road now use LED or HID headlights as the original equipment choice. A lot of the newer vehicles may have LED or HID headlights but still come with halogen fog lights because of the difference in cost between technologies. Because of this, SYLVANIA has created ZEVO LED fog lights where drivers can kick the halogen fog light out with the new “plug and play” LED bulbs, as SYLVANIA’s Brian Noble described. SYLVANIA’s new premium ZEVO LED bulb, empowers you to update your vehicle’s fog lights with the stylish look of an LED direct replacement bulb to match your HID or LED headlights. Engineered to provide the ultimate in style and durability, the ZEVO bulbs are guaranteed to turn heads. World-class manufacturing and high quality materials guarantee ZEVO bulbs an extended lifetime, along with a 5-year warranty (5X better than the halogen bulbs warranty). “Put the LED bulb in, and the front of the vehicle will look cleaner as you are driving down the road,” Noble said. “Everything will be a similar color, which is really important for those people worried about the aesthetics of their car. A car is a representation of the driver, in a lot of cases. There’s the ‘I want this car to get me from Point A to Point B, but I also want this vehicle to represent who I am.’”

BY JARED TURNER

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HALL OF FAME Rex White

PRESENTED BY

Even though he stood only 5 feet 4 inches tall and tipped the scale at 135 pounds, Rex White was one of the toughest competitors to ever wheel a NASCAR stock car. Born on Aug. 17, 1929, in Taylorsville, North Carolina, White was driving a neighbor’s truck in the fields around his home by age 6. He fell in love with racing after attending an event at Maryland’s West Lanham Speedway during the early 1950s. White worked as a mechanic before eventually climbing behind the wheel and he became a star on the Maryland dirt tracks. NASCAR’s premier circuit was the next step and White made his debut on the legendary beach/road course in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Feb. 26 1956. Consistency ended up being the hallmark of White’s NASCAR career. He finished among the top five in nearly half of his 233 starts. He was a short-track specialist in an era in which those tracks dominated the schedule. Of his 28 career victories, only two came on tracks longer than one mile in length. White’s most notable season was in 1960. He won six times and posted 35 top-10 finishes in 40 starts that year en route to the series championship. White retired from racing following the 1964 season to pursue other business interests. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015.

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Jerry Cook Jerry Cook, a six-time NASCAR modified division champion, was part of one of the greatest rivalries in the history of American short-track racing. For more than a decade, Cook went wheel-to-wheel with fellow Rome, New York, resident Richie Evans for supremacy in NASCAR-sanctioned modified events at paved race tracks throughout the Northeast. “It was a big rivalry – we had our times where we got along, and we had our times where we didn’t – but the biggest thing is that we were both after the same thing,” Cook told The Charlotte Observer in 2016. Born on June 20, 1943, Cook became a consistent frontrunner at his hometown track, Utica-Rome Speedway. He earned the track’s modified championship in 1969 and graduated to what is now known as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 1970. He earned the division title six times in seven years between 1971 and 1977. The statistics show Cook won 342 times in 1,474 starts during a career that stretched from 1963 through the 1982 season. After retiring from driving, Cook stayed active in the sport and helped shape the series known today as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. He served as the series director when it was formed in 1985 and played an integral role in NASCAR’s competition department until he retired in 2015. Cook was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2016.

POLE POSITION 2018

BY KEITH WALTZ | PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF NASCAR

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NASCAR VIDEO GAMES

NASCAR’s Commitment to Gaming HOW THEY SAW ESPORTS COMING, AND HOW THEY WERE READY FOR IT

wenty years ago, Blake Davidson sat in Bill France Jr.’s office, and listened to him lay out a vision for the future. They would create the first truly international series in NASCAR, and tap into racing talent all over the world. How? Video games. Of course in 2018, esports and competitive gaming is a hot topic in both the bleachers and the boardrooms of every traditional sport. But Davidson, now vice president of consumer innovation at NASCAR, and the sanctioning body are celebrating

POLE POSITION 2018

their 10th year of success in what is, for many of NASCAR’s peers, an entirely new phenomenon. “We were able to achieve that original vision, and it keeps getting better and better,” Davidson said. That tenure has given Davidson a unique perspective on the ebbs and flows of the esports industry. “We follow all the franchises,” he said, name-dropping a veritable who’s who of esports in quick succession. “We’re not trying to build something like that.” Instead, the experience has led NASCAR to a strategy based on two core pillars: “Fan engagement and driver development,” Davidson noted. The first component, fan engagement, is simple. As in most areas, NASCAR focuses on engaging younger, diverse audiences. In practice, this plays out as a robust offering of esports programs spanning multiple gaming platforms. For example, NASCAR Heat 3, the latest NASCAR game for home consoles, features an in-depth online league system. Dedicated players race against the best of the best, competing for ranking, bragging rights, and of course, prizes. The entire program culminates

development and applies it directly to their esports programs. Driver development offers players in the PEAK Antifreeze Series or Ignite Series on iRacing the opportunity to learn the same tools and training as pro drivers. This covers not only the obvious applications, from track knowledge to setting a pace. But it also helps the esports athletes with other pieces of their career, like dealing with teams and sponsors. “Everything in driver development,” Davidson said, “we see as an opportunity to replicate in the digital space.” This is why NASCAR’s place in esports is best described as a commitment. It’s not a new idea, and it isn’t a new space. It is the culmination of years of building and development, and it shows. From the spectacular fan experience to training for a real ride, there has never been a better time to pick up a NASCAR game and chase the dream. in a championship tournament live from Homestead-Miami Speedway. That means any NASCAR fan can pick up an Xbox or PlayStation controller, and in time, find themselves in front of a crowd at the track. It’s the ultimate esports experience, from your home to the bright lights. Fan engagement – check. But the second piece of Davidson’s strategy is where esports gets really bonkers, especially if you’re only used to the typical games. In the ultimate illustration of France’s vision, Davidson takes that fan wish fulfillment offered by esports, and draws a straight line to getting behind the wheel of a NASCAR Cup Series ride. iRacing, for example, is already one of the leading NASCAR simulations for fans on PC, and there’s no end to the list of drivers who use it to train: William Byron, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Newman. Davidson’s team takes this idea of driver

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

NASCAR VIDEO GAMES

NASCAR Heat 3 Is a Game Changer

ASCAR Heat 3 is finally out, and while every entry in 704 Games’ series is reason for fans at home to celebrate, the latest installment is generating a lot of excitement among casual and hardcore gamers alike. What’s driving the conversation around NASCAR Heat 3, and why is it such an important chapter in the Heat franchise? First up is the major addition for solo players: the Xtreme Dirt Tour. This mode takes the same concepts of your usual career mode – winning, gaining contracts, building a reputation – and expands on them dramatically. As fans, we want the excitement of driving in a Cup Series ride. But as gamers, we want the whole journey. Xtreme Dirt Tour is a fantasy league that lets you start as an amateur dirt driver and handle every aspect of your rise to fame. Purchase new chassis, hire staff for your garage crew, and of course, chase wins and sponsors. You’ll race a complete season across several tracks, both real and imagined. Start at the grassroots, and work your way up through each successive series – Camping World Trucks, Xfinity Series and, ultimately, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The expanded career and new dirt tracks are certainly interesting, but what really has the fan base buzzing is the allnew driving physics for dirt. Heat 3’s dirt

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physics have been built from the ground up, resulting in an entirely different racing experience than road cars. Not only do you have the thrill of speeding past your rivals, but it also adds the tactical element of navigating your way around the track. Did we mention 704 Games actually built a dirt road course in the game? But it isn’t just local play that received a major update. For multiplayer, the suc-

cessful esports program from Heat 2 has been dramatically expanded. Weekly tournaments are available, and a huge effort has been placed on balancing the playing field. Participants are grouped by skill level, tiers of A, B or C, so you’re always up for a fair challenge. And even then, race time plays a huge part in your ranking and success in leagues, so practice and dedication can have just as much of an impact as raw skill or coordination. Weekly tournaments also alternate between Xbox and PlayStation, so players

on either console have an equal shot at the esports prizes. In the age of closed networks and console exclusivity, this is a real blessing for NASCAR esports. Sometimes, though, it’s the little things that can have the biggest impact. One small feature buried in the details is the new quick replay system. In addition to the expected full replay of each race, you can now cycle through a series of Quick Replays. These are short replays from all the important parts of your race – your big overtakes, wrecks, cautions, etc. These highlights are complete with auto-generated headlines and graphics, almost as if you’re watching yourself on Race Hub. These clips also happen to be perfect for sharing on social media and YouTube, turning each race into its own story to tell your friends. This is why so many fans are talking about NASCAR Heat 3. Every piece seems designed to be discussed and debated among friends, from the depth of managing your career in Xtreme Dirt Tour, to the radically expansive and accessible esports program, and the fact that even something as minor as replays are engineered to be fun, bite-sized stories. While history will ultimately be the judge, in these early days, it’s easy to see why NASCAR Heat 3 is shaping up to be one of the most definitive entries in the series.

Experiencing the iRacing Community

he words “immersive,” “simulator” and “driver development” typically spring to mind when one thinks about iRacing. While it’s true that NASCAR drivers such as Noah Gragson, Bubba Wallace and William Byron use iRacing to hone their driving skills, it’s also one of the best communities in the online racing universe. Available on Windows, it’s by far the most community-driven racing you’ll experience. Getting Started: While a steering wheel and pedals are recommended, anything from a keyboard to an Xbox or PlayStation 4 controller can be used. Virtual reality systems such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are also compatible but are by no means necessary for a high-quality gaming experience. Once you jump into the software for the first time, you’ll discover the iRacing member’s website, which shows all the races running on iRacing at the moment. As of deadline, there were four types of races: Road, Oval, Dirt Road and Dirt Oval. Each of

BY MATTEO MARCHESCHI

these disciplines has at least one official rookie series in which to compete right away, and some have unofficial series where results don’t impact your safety rating or your iRating. Safety rating measures how many incidents you are involved in while iRating measures driving skill based on how well you finish against your competitors. Both measurements are calculated and used by iRacing in order to place you with similarly skilled drivers. That way you’re always in a competitive race, no matter if you’re just starting out or if you’re a veteran. You’ll want to hop into an official race right away and, since you’re in a rookie series, you’ll be surrounded by other players new to iRacing. You’ll have the opportunity to move up through the ranks with them, and with the built-in radio system, you’ll be making friends in no time. Joining the Scene: Not only will you move up the ranks with your friends, but you’ll also be racing alongside other NASCAR fans worldwide. It’s this feeling of community that keeps players coming back. Many join leagues, which aren’t official iRacing events, but are seasons organized by individual players. There are many of these, and they certainly fit all tastes, no matter what car or type of track one prefers. Some of the more notable NASCAR leagues include the National Online Racing Championship (NORC) and the Championship Online Racing Teams (CORT). There are hundreds more to choose from, and there are always more leagues starting up. Hosted sessions are a laid-back alternative to official sessions or leagues. These are iRacing sessions that one person hosts and other people join in. They can be just practice, which allows drivers to run laps at their leisure without the pressure of a race, or they can participate in practice, qualifying and a race where drivers compete with their friends. The host also has the option to password protect a session if they want to control who enters their session. While iRacing is commonly thought of as a driver-development tool used by the professionals, it’s also built a fantastic community of fans and race car drivers alike.

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NASCAR VIDEO GAMES Your Pit Pass to NASCAR eSports WHO, WHAT AND WHERE TO FIND THE BEST NASCAR GAMING iRacing is known to fans as one of the leading online racing sims. With that reputation, it’s no shock that there’s a ton of interesting and entertaining content coming from the community every day. If you’ve never had the pleasure though, don’t worry. We’ll help you track down the content you want to watch. Not only is the racing great, but the commentators – such as Evan Posocco, play-by-play man for the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series – are fantastic. Watching can even be an educational experience: It allows you to become a better driver, whether you use iRacing or race in real life. The leading NASCAR series on iRacing is the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series. It streams live on the iRacing eSports Network YouTube channel, and on the official iRacing Facebook page. If you just want a quick catch-up, shorter race recaps are found on the official iRacing YouTube Channel. The newly minted eNASCAR Ignite Series, a series launched this summer designed to attract and develop young talent between the ages of 13 and 16, can also be watched live or on the iRacing eSports Network YouTube Channel. Both the Ignite and PEAK Antifreeze Series also upload full race replays on that same channel. In case you’re looking for content

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that’s a little less official, there’s a number of amateur, fan-run league broadcasts. Some leagues are broadcast on iracing.com/ live, but most can be found on YouTube or the National Online Racing Championship (NORC), which has an ongoing NASCAR Series. Countless players also stream their races on YouTube and/or Twitch, whether in official iRacing sessions (A Class, B Class, etc.) or in hosted races or leagues. Some of these players include Jeff Favignano, DLBTV, Empty Box, RealRadman, Rodgersa51 and a boatload of others. All it takes is a quick search of “NASCAR iRacing” on YouTube and you’ll find content from these players and plenty of others, along with content from the official iRacing YouTube channels. When you find a creator you like, be sure to check out the suggested videos. You’ll probably find another user creator you like. It’s incredibly easy to enter the world of NASCAR iRacing content online as a quick YouTube search fetches an incredible amount of content. There’s no shortage of prolific creators, and there always seems to be a live race being streamed. Between that user-created content and the official series hosted by iRacing, such as the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series and the eNASCAR Ignite Series, finding the content isn’t so much the issue; it’s finding the time to watch it all.

FAVORITE FINDS: GAMING THRUSTMASTER RACING WHEELS THE THRUSTMASTER LINE OF WHEELS PROVIDES A GREAT entry point for new racers. It offers full-force feedback, so players get the realistic tug and pull of a real steering wheel without breaking the bank. The TX model includes wheel-mounted sequential paddle shifters, but is also compatible with a variety of gear-shift accessories, depending on how you build your setup. We personally like the Thrustmaster wheels because they work well with all kinds of setups, from cramped office spaces to full-on man cave racing setups. They won’t get in your way and they’re solid and stable in your hands when you do want to use them. As a plus, the Thrustmaster wheels also come in console-compatible versions if you play on Xbox or PlayStation.

XOTIC GAMING PCs XOTIC’S LINE OF GAMING PCS COVERS EVERYONE FROM THE rookie to the old pro. The company’s Optimal series has everything you’ll need to yank it out of the box and start racing. On the other end, the Xotic Ultimate series stays true to the “your rig is your ride” motto and gives you a beast. Not only a beast on day one, but the PC has the upgradability to rival working in the garage on your own race car. Xotic has a fairly robust customization app on their website that allows you to fine tune the rig to your requirements. The key that really puts Xotic over the top is the support. They’re known for their service and they also have an active forum community where you can talk to other gearheads.

DX RACER CHAIRS IT’S SURPRISING HOW MANY GAMERS MISS THIS CRUCIAL piece, but we race for fun, for competition and, most importantly, we race for hours. That means your setup needs to be easy to jump in and play, and it needs to be comfortable for those long endurance races. We like DX Racer because of the sheer variety of customization options. There’s a line of chairs for essentially every body type. The Racing series, for instance, is perfect for a slim body type, while the King line is better for athletic and larger builds. There are accessories available depending on your setup, from armrest mouse pads to neck pillows. Check out the shopping guide on the company’s website to see which one works for you.

SCUF GAMING IF YOU’RE A CONTROLLER USER, WE RECOMMEND SCUF Gaming controllers for both Xbox and PlayStation. These units are perfect for racing because of their design, which has been honed over the years in the first-person shooter esports scene. As a result, the controller feels rugged and comfortable, perfect for a long session of intense racing. With that esports pedigree, comes durability so you can definitely tote these things around to tournaments or your buddy’s house without it giving out on you. What puts Scuf over the top, though, are their paddles and what the company calls Sax Buttons, customizable side-action buttons. These are perfect for manual transmission players in particular.

KINGSTON HyperX THERE’S A REASON WHY EVERYONE FROM GORDON HAYWARD to the World Street Fighter V champion uses Kingston HyperX headphones. There are no “gamer” gimmicks here, just premium designed headphones. This is particularly important for racing because in the heat of the moment, your eyes can only watch so much. You need to hear every last RPM, hear exactly how close your rival is. You need to hear the details. HyperX’s Cloud Alpha line, for instance, uses dual chambers to dramatically reduce distortion, so there’s no missing your gear shifts because your power curve sounded garbled. What seals us on HyperX is how usable they are. The design is subtle enough that you can use the headphones on your commute without embarrassment, but high end enough to feel every ping your sim engine makes.

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FAVORITE FINDS

COOL STUFF FOR SERIOUS RACE FANS

GLACIER COOLERS

SURECAN The award-winning SureCan was designed with all of your gas-powered machines in mind. With patented technology, the SureCan offers its user the best experience they have ever had with a fuel can. The flexible spout rotates down more than 180 degrees and fits perfectly into any machine’s fill location, while the thumb-release trigger on top controls the flow. By pulling straight back on the safety trigger and then down on the thumb button, fuel is released immediately while you stay in complete control. When you notice your tank is almost full, slowly release the thumb button and allow the excess fuel to drain from the top of the spout before rotating it back up. No more bending over, tipping your fuel can forward and holding it in an awkward position. The SureCan is a high-quality fuel dispensing machine. Learn more at surecanusa.com.

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The evolution of GLACIER Coolers has set the new standard for cooler design, construction and insulation. We started GLACIER with big ambitions. Our goal was to design and construct a cooler that would exceed our customers’ expectations. Our coolers are, quite simply, the world’s finest. We created a product that will give you a generation of use. Our commitment to innovation and craftsmanship is built into every cooler. Whether you are camping, fishing or just love the outdoors, GLACIER builds coolers to withstand many years of rugged outdoor exposure. Learn more at glaciercoolers.com.

BUBBA BURGER BUBBA burger® is sold in grocery stores throughout the United States as well as worldwide through the U.S. Military Commissary system. BUBBA burger® is a natural choice for quality and convenience, using only the highest quality meat to produce our uniquely shaped, gluten-free BUBBA burgers®. You can take them right from your freezer to your grill or skillet and BUBBA burgers® come in many varieties to fit any taste. Race to your favorite local grocer’s freezer today and grab a box of BUBBA burgers® so that you are sure to have a winning race weekend! bubbafoods.com

UNIVERSITY OF RACING Behind every Icons 1:24 scale die-cast replica is a memorable story of passion, dreams and commitment to excellence. Our quality materials, uncompromised craftsmanship and attention to detail assure you of the most authentic and best value in the industry. Our University of Racing die-casts bring back the memories of the true race fan, while educating the new race fan about the amazing cars, the legendary drivers and the unbelievable stories that have made NASCAR the fan-favorite sport it is today. Icons’ goal is to recognize these competitors and their amazing race cars that made stock car racing what it is today. They are the true “Legends.” We welcome the opportunity to bring these memories to life in your collection. Learn more at universityofracing.com.

TIGER BALM Whether you’re a world-class athlete or a weekend warrior, you can trust Tiger Balm for proven, pill-free pain relief. It’s the world’s No. 1 selling painrelieving ointment, made from a blend of herbal ingredients, based upon annual sales of ointment sold worldwide. Visit tigerbalm.com or facebook.com/TigerBalmUS for your nearest retailer.

HOWES MULTI-PURPOSE OIL

WALEX PORTA-PAK

Howes Multi-Purpose Lubricator and Penetrating Oil is the ultimate solution to all of your penetrating oil needs. Made from a secret formula of highly refined petroleum ingredients, Howes Multi-Purpose contains no alcohols or harmful solvents, making it safe to use on virtually any surface including electrical wires. With Howes Multi-Purpose, you can dissolve rust, sludge and gunk while displacing water and repelling dust. It permeates, penetrates and does not evaporate so each job lasts. From stopping squeaky door hinges to preventing locks from freezing or getting sticky, the uses are almost never ending! Spray on nuts, bolts, tools and more to remove and prevent rust and corrosion. Lubricate and drive water out of cable housings or spray on wires, leads and distributor caps to start damp engines. Join the likes of national fleets as well as thousands of automotive repair shops and marinas nationwide by grabbing a can of Howes Multi-Purpose today! Learn more at howeslube.com.

The No. 1 RV Holding Tank Treatment. Porta-Pak RV Holding Tank Deodorizer and Waste Digester was introduced by Walex Products Co., Inc., to provide the ease and convenience of the water-soluble drop-in for Recreational Vehicle enthusiasts. Porta-Pak revolutionized the RV industry when it was introduced and is now used globally by millions in a variety of applications, including: Portable Restrooms, RV, Marine, Bus and Trains. Porta-Pak remains the industry’s leading portion control product by offering the best deodorizer and waste digester in the industry at an affordable price. Porta-Pak is formaldehyde free, biodegradable, contains non-staining color and offers the most powerful odor prevention in the market. The ease of use makes Porta-Pak the product of choice for millions of customers around the world. Available in two fragrances: fresh scent and lavender breeze. Check your local retail outlet for your favorite Walex product, or visit Walex at rvsanitation.com.

ALLSHOP PRODUCTS™ ALLSHOP™ Hand Cleaner is the “nextgen” alternative to older, harsh solutions. Our Hand Cleaner is an antibacterial, detergent-based cleaner that features micro-scrubbing polymers. No skin damaging petroleum-based solvents or harsh grit pumice ingredients. You get clean without the dryness, cracking and stinging from waterless products, plus a pleasing fragrance. ALLSHOP™ also offers these fine automotive care family of products: WICKED or X-TREME Tire Shine, Final Detail Spray and Engine Degreaser. These quality products all feature an easy-to-use, high-gloss spray to brighten any rubber, plastic or vinyl. WICKED for Cherry Fragrance or go with X-TREME for a superior high-gloss, long-lasting look. Engine Degreaser is a noncorrosive, spray-on that rinses off with water, leaving no residue. Final Detail Spray cleaner and wax repels water and prevents discoloration, drying and cracking. ALLSHOP™ is a Veteran-Owned company committed to offering our customers superior products for work or home, at affordable prices. allshopproducts.com

HONDA GENERATORS

FOLEX

Honda’s Super Quiet Series generators – the EU1000i, EU2000i, EU3000is, EU3000i Handi and EU7000is – are inverter-equipped, lightweight models that feature extremely quiet performance. Designed for the ultimate in quality, portability and convenience, these models are ideal for tailgating, camping or any trip to the great outdoors. Honda is proud to support several teams such as Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Stewart-Haas Racing, Kyle Busch Motorsports and Rev Racing with EU series generator products that provide smooth, reliable power for their racing needs.

FOLEX® is perfect for removing stains from upholstery, vinyl, clothing and practically any other material that is “colorfast” and “color-stable.” Even hard surfaces, painted surfaces, walls and woodwork that can be safely dampened with water will be quickly and easily cleaned with FOLEX®! Please visit folex.net for a list of retailers in your area and other useful information!

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FAVORITE FINDS CAIN DAYTONA

ADVIL FILM-COATED TABLETS

Goes to work in minutes on tough pain. This Advil® has a Rapid Release formula to stop tough pain before it gets worse – in fact, nothing is proven to work faster.* Use fast-acting Advil® Film-Coated for headaches, muscle aches, toothaches, menstrual cramps, back pain, and aches and pains associated with the common cold. Fastacting Advil® Film-Coated leverages the rapid absorption properties of ibuprofen sodium, which dissolves faster than standard ibuprofen.

Cain Daytona is the latest release from Studio Tobac. The Jalapa Ligero is more refined than other Ligeros. Jalapa Ligero, plus Cain’s triple fermentation, makes Cain Daytona a medium to fullbodied, smooth, rich and flavorful smoke. Making a Straight Ligero cigar requires a unique understanding of the leaf. Ligero comes from the top of the tobacco plant. Its direct exposure to the sun darkens and thickens the leaf. Smaller than leaves lower on the plant,

it also enjoys a concentration of nutrients. Habano Seed Ligero is recognized as the most full flavored leaf. Additionally, the region in which this Habano Seed is grown plays a significant role in its flavor and strength. Jalape Ligero is the smoothest of these powerhouses. Jalapa is the northernmost tobacco region of Nicaragua. Jalapa Ligero is grown in a valley and enjoys less direct sun. The result is a full-bodied leaf with a more noticeable range of flavor. Cain Daytona is exclusively manufactured and distributed by Tabacalcera Oliva Cigar Co. Learn more at CainCigars.com.

GEICO Great news! There’s a quick way you can save money: Switch to GEICO. All it takes is 15 minutes to find out if you could save 15 percent or more on car insurance. And GEICO offers coverage for more than just car insurance. Got a motorcycle? GEICO’s got you covered. Got an RV? Covered. Got a boat? Covered. How about homeowners or renters insurance? You bet GEICO’s got you covered. And there’s so much more GEICO could help with, plus don’t forget the discounts. Go to geico.com today and see how much you could save. That’s geico.com!

The makers of Advil® do not produce store brand ibuprofen pain medicine. * Among OTC pain relievers.

BFGOODRICH RUGGED TERRAIN T/A Are you driver enough? Just because a tire looks good on your truck doesn’t mean you have to hear it on the highway. Introducing the BFGoodrich® Rugged Terrain T/A® tire – it sounds nothing like it looks. Learn more at Walmart.com. BFGoodrichTires.com © 2017 MNA, Inc. All rights reserved.

NEXIUM 24HR Nexium® 24HR is the No. 1 selling frequent heartburn brand*. More than 10 years and millions of prescriptions later, The Purple Pill® you know and trust is available without a prescription for frequent heartburn. Nexium® 24HR works by blocking acid directly at the source, giving you complete protection^ from frequent heartburn – no matter what triggers it. This is Nexium Level Protection®. * Based on IRI sales data 52 weeks ending 2/14/16 among OTC brands. May take 1 to 4 days for full effect. Use as directed. ^ It’s possible while taking Nexium 24HR. Use as directed for 14 days to treat frequent heartburn. Do not take for more than 14 days or more often than every 4 months unless directed by a doctor. Not for immediate relief.

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BOND BEAUTY & BRAINS: Ceiling fans and fireplaces make your home beautiful and comfortable, and BOND makes them smarter! The BOND is a wireless device that connects remote-controlled ceiling fans and fireplaces to Wifi and lets you control them from anywhere using smart phones or tablets, or with voice control using Google Home or Amazon Echo. As demand for smart products skyrockets, BOND is perfect for consumers interested in getting more smart home control. BOND saves you money: use your existing appliances, no need to buy a new expensive “smart device” or modify your appliance; one BOND can control up to six devices; improve energy efficiency and lower your electric bill by connecting BOND to your smart thermostat using IFTTT applets. Set it up in minutes, and never worry about losing your remote control again! (Future use cases: electric window shades, security gates and garage doors.) Learn more at Walmart.com and bondhome.io.

WYLER’S LIGHT® Put a smile on your water and add flavor to your life with Wyler’s Light® drink mixes! Whether you’re looking to cut back on carbonated soft drinks or want to add some excitement to your water, Wyler’s Light is here for you. We know your life gets busy – crazy busy – which is why our convenient, Singles to Go drink mix packets are there for you every step of the way. Simply add one fruit-flavored drink stick to 16 ounces of water to create a tasty, sugar-free refreshment. Open up a world of endless flavor possibilities and visit us at wylerslight. com to find a retail store near you. And don’t forget to share your #WylersLife with us!

SPEED CRATE

POWER AT YOUR FINGERTIP

Your driver, your gear, every month, right to your door! With Speed Crate, you just sign up for your favorite driver, pick your apparel size and awesome boxes of gear come straight to you. Each month we feature all new items such as T-shirts, hats, flags, accessories and so much more. Speed Crate is the first monthly subscription service created by race fans, for race fans. It has never been this easy to keep your racing wardrobe fresh, collect great products and support your favorite driver. The Speed Crate platform allows you full control of your subscription. You can cancel at any time, switch drivers or skip a month if needed. Head over to speedcrate.co for all the information and join Speed Crate Nation today! Use coupon code POLE for 15% OFF your first Speed Crate.

Anytime you need a grip on things, you need the Magnetic Finger. The powerful magnet on your fingertip allows you to hold or retrieve any small ferrous metal object with precise control. Ideal for use in tight spots and hard to reach places – and when you can't afford to drop it! Simply slide our patented Magnetic Finger Tool onto your index finger, place ferrous metal object on the target and go to work! Available at retail locations such as Menards, Sears, Matco and Snap-On tool trucks ... or go to magneticfinger.com and enter RACING18 at checkout for 15 percent off. These make great stocking stuffers for the person in your family who loves to work with their hands! magneticfinger.com

HEARING HELP Rev up your hearing with our Apollo-6200 hearing aid. It’s the perfect FDA registered digital hearing aid for those wanting the best technology for the best price. American-made electronics give you advanced technology in a durable, easy-to-maintain hearing aid. The four-channel compression gives you a crisp, clear sound while feedback cancellation virtually eliminates squeal. The discreet slim-tube design gives you the most natural sound with total comfort. Don’t wait … the typical hearing aid costs at least $2,300 but your price is only $299 with this special offer! Try the Apollo-6200 completely risk-free for 45 days in the comfort of your own home! Order directly online with promo code 24101. Need a payment plan? Call us direct at 1-888-847-1189. HearingHelpExpress.com/ apollo-6200-hawk

MAXX PAIN RELIEF When pain hits hard, fight back with MAXX Relief. Infused with peppermint and menthol, MAXX Relief lotion provides a powerful burst of pain relief for persistent and intense pains. Quick-absorbing MAXX Relief leaves no greasy mess, so it’s perfect for use any time of day. Real Time MAXX Relief is formulated to provide fast, temporary pain relief for back pain, muscle strain, over 100 types of arthritis, sprains, cramps, bruises and more. Available for purchase on Amazon.com and RTPR.com or call 877-787-7180 to buy it right now!

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SPOTLIGHT Alex Bowman Is Just a ‘Regular Guy’

hen Alex Bowman replaced the retiring Dale Earnhardt Jr. as driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet this season, Bowman didn’t know what to expect from Earnhardt Jr.’s massive and intensely loyal fan base known as “Junior Nation.” Would most fans of NASCAR’s 15-time most popular driver give Bowman a chance to earn their support, or would they immediately switch their allegiances elsewhere? While it’s impossible to quantify how many Earnhardt Jr. fans have stuck with the No. 88 team with Bowman as its driver, this much is certain: As much as Bowman admires and respects his predecessor, he’s not trying to walk, talk or tweet like Earnhardt Jr. What Bowman would like to do – which Earnhardt Jr. did 26 times throughout his career in NASCAR’s premier series – is win. As of press time, 24 races into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, Bowman was still waiting on his first trip to Victory Lane. The 25-year-old Tucson, Arizona, native has made strides, however, upping his game considerably in the second half of the season. Bowman won’t be satisfied, however, until he’s a consistent frontrunner. “I feel like it’s been tough to be an 88 fan this year,” Bowman said. “We really haven’t given them much to cheer for. I think if we go out and start contending for wins and getting close to winning races and getting the job done, a lot more of the old 88 fans, I think, will keep cheering for the car. I feel like we kind of have to do our job more on that, to expect a lot of people to keep cheering for the 88 car. But for those who have stuck around, I’m super-appreciative and thankful.” And sometimes he’s amused. That Bowman isn’t concerned about trying to mimic Earnhardt Jr. or do everything just like his predecessor has already gotten him in hot water, at least once, with Junior Nation. This happened when it was announced Bowman would compete with a special Philadelphia Eagles paint schedule during the NASCAR weekend at Pocono Raceway in late July. Earnhardt Jr. is a lifelong Washington Redskins fan. “I had Dale Jr. fans tweeting me and telling me how disrespectful I was to drive the Eagles car since he’s a Redskins fan,” Bowman said. “They are hard core.” Bowman – who admittedly lacks a lot of pop and sizzle – says it’s been “kind of weird” hopping in the seat of a driver who commanded so much attention.

POLE POSITION 2018

“I feel like a lot of people kind of almost expect me to try to be like Dale and do things that Dale did, or whatever,” he said. “I kind of just want to be my own person. It’s tough sometimes. You kind of have to be a little reserved in different situations just based on, really, how the sport works. I try to just represent myself as best I can, but at the end of the day, I’m just kind of a regular guy.” For Bowman, part of being a regular guy is not being afraid to get his hands dirty. “I work on a lot of my own cars and race cars,” he said. “I grew up in auto body shops, so I’m kind of mechanically inclined and am always tinkering with something. But I don’t know. I don’t have anything really different about me or super-unique or really anything like that.” So what says Bowman’s crew chief, Greg Ives? “He’s pretty reserved but, also, he’s a young kid, social media type of guy,” Ives concurred. “He has a sense of humor that can be awkward at times but also is smart and witty. We get along well. He is able to talk cars with about anybody around the area, and that’s kind of fun to listen to and watch. It’s a different dynamic. I don’t think he’s a showy or flashy type of guy maybe like some of the other young guys coming up. He just kind of stays to himself a little bit and lets his driving do his talking.” Bowman has certainly turned it up a notch performance-wise after a fairly slow start to the season. In addition to making the playoffs, he’s become a more familiar face in the top 10 and, occasionally, the top five. “We’re just kind of getting our cars better, and I feel like the team has been working really well together all year,” Bowman said. “Our pit crew has been phenomenal; they’re doing a really, really good job. But, really, just our cars have gotten better.” And, as his cars have gained speed, the low-key driver has felt more at ease in his high-profile seat.

A VALUABLE RESOURCE

ALTHOUGH ALEX Bowman isn’t concerned with trying to emulate Dale Earnhardt Jr., the young driver considers Earnhardt Jr. a valuable resource. After all, it was Earnhardt Jr. – who now works for NASCAR on NBC and recently became a first-time father – who endorsed Bowman to fill the seat of the No. 88 car. That endorsement came after Bowman did an admirable job as a substitute driver for Earnhardt Jr. in 2016 when Earnhardt Jr. was sidelined with a concussion. Today, the two remain in contact. “We talk quite a bit,” Bowman said. “He’s a pretty busy guy, just becoming a dad and starting a new job and all that. But he’s always there if I need him and just superhelpful and always a text message away. So it’s really great to have his advice and his help when I need it.” As impressed as Earnhardt Jr. has been by Bowman, Earnhardt Jr.’s former crew chief – Greg Ives – has been equally so. “I was kind of surprised in 2016 that he jumped into it with both feet and wasn’t really holding anything back and just went after it,” Ives said. “I thought it was going to take a couple more weeks for him to get his legs under him, but I felt his confidence was there right away and quickly, and he then grew with the organization.”

BY JARED TURNER | PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Booming Expansion, Name Recognition Attest to PIRTEK Franchise Success

tarting a business doesn’t have to be a “from-the-ground-up” endeavor. Many successful business owners take the well-traveled route of franchising. After all, it entails several advantages: built-in name recognition, an existing organization and support. In many cases, it’s less expensive than starting from scratch. PIRTEK’s franchises have enjoyed prolific growth across the United States in recent years – 26 new locations since 2015, with more on the way. “It’s been an exciting time for PIRTEK in the United States,” said Glenn Duncan, PIRTEK CEO. “Our business strategies are paying off and we’re seeing widespread success as a result.” PIRTEK provides industrial hose replacement service on-site. When hydraulic or pneumatic equipment blows a hose, a technician is available 24 hours a day to perform the replacement from a Mobile Service Vehicle. There are 76 franchises throughout the United States. Globally, PIRTEK has more than 400 locations and 2,000 Mobile Service Vehicles in 23 countries. Attesting to the success of PIRTEK is its swift climb up the Entrepreneur magazine rankings of franchising companies. In the magazine’s 2015 Franchise 500® list, PIRTEK was at No. 422. Fast-forward to January and the company had cracked the top 100 at No. 78. That same magazine ranks franchising companies around the world in its Global 200 list. As of July, PIRTEK had broken into the prestigious top 50 by placing 42nd. One of the drivers of PIRTEK’s recent success has been its Tier 2 program, a “mobile only” option that allows ownership at a lower point of entry. A contrast to the Tier 1, which requires a brick-andmortar location, Tier 2 allows owners to keep inventory in a storage facility and lease two Mobile Service Vehicles. PIRTEK requires the “mobile-only” locations upgrade to Tier 1 within three years with a complete Service & Supply Center.

“Tier 2 makes franchise ownership more accessible to a larger group,” said Dan Ferretti, owner of PIRTEK Space Coast in Rockledge, Florida, who opened a Tier 2 in Daytona Beach last year. “It also enables existing owners to own multiple franchises – we wanted to take advantage of that benefit.” There have been many Tier 2 success stories since the program’s inception. Some have even entered Tier 1 status ahead of schedule. Oliver Romano, owner of PIRTEK Grand Rapids in Grand Rapids, Michigan, set up his Tier 2 and experienced such strong business, he upgraded two years early. “My customers wanted a physical location, so I set it up,” Romano said. “Having a store, a physical location helps develop the brand.” PIRTEK’s success has enhanced its name recognition in the United States and has sold many on the need for on-site hose replacement. Dean Akin, owner of multiple Texas locations, says he’s definitely seeing a greater awareness of PIRTEK and its services in the industrial marketplace. “It used to be we had to sell businesses on the idea itself, not just the service,” said Akin. “But at least here in the big metro areas, that’s not really the case any longer. … [People] also are starting to pick up on the PIRTEK brand. I walked into a business recently wearing my PIRTEK-branded clothing and someone said, ‘Oh, you’re with PIRTEK.’ That kind of recognition is encouraging.”

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

SPOTLIGHT 10 Things to Know About Kaz Grala

az Grala, driver of the No. 61 Ford Mustang for Fury Race Cars, is a new face in the NASCAR Xfinity Series garage this season. Following a successful rookie effort in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series during 2017, Grala is chasing Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors this season. Despite being only 19 years old, the Boston native has a long history in motorsports and many accomplishments to his – unusual – name. Here are 10 things you should know about the young racer: Yes, Kaz is his real name. Kaz Grala was named after his paternal grandfather, who immigrated to the United States from Poland in 1973. While his grandfather’s full name was Kazimierz (which means “declares peace” in Polish) the young driver’s parents opted for “Kaz” on his birth certificate when he was born in 1998. His father was a racer. Grala’s father, Darius Grala, raced sports cars for many years, including four seasons in what is now the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series. He retired when Kaz was in first grade. His family came to the United States to buy a car. Grala’s father was just 8 years old when he moved to the United States from Slupsk, Poland, and he didn’t speak any English. Kazimierz Grala moved his family to the U.S. in pursuit of the American Dream. For him, that included the ability to own a car, which was very rare at the time in Poland. One year after the family arrived in America, they were able to purchase a Ford Galaxie 500. He once hit pit road for a juice box. Grala began racing go-karts at F1 Boston when he was just 4 years old. At his young age, he was still learning the ropes in racing. This was best demonstrated when he pulled onto pit road with just a few laps remaining in an event and requested a juice box and a snack. He had been leading the race at the time. He knows how to rock. Grala participated in many sports and hobbies before pursuing a professional racing career. In addition to Little League baseball, soccer, tennis and go-karting, Grala played lead guitar in a KISS cover band. The group even played at the Hard Rock in Boston. He was the youngest to do a LOT of things. When you begin racing at such a young age, you can break a lot of records. Some of Grala’s accomplishments include: youngest driver to win a UARA-STARS late model race at Hickory Motor Speedway, youngest driver to lead laps in the Myrtle

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POLE POSITION 2018

Beach 400 at Myrtle Beach Speedway, youngest driver to compete in an IMSA event, youngest driver to run in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, and youngest full-time driver to compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. He’s already a (young) NASCAR winner. Grala kicked off his first fulltime season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in style, capturing two more youth-related records. He was the youngest driver to win a pole at Daytona International Speedway and the youngest driver to win a NASCAR race at the legendary 2.5-mile track. There are some things that are VERY old. Grala has been using the same fireproof balaclava (head sock) since he started racing when he was 4 years old. When asked if he does it because he’s superstitious, he said, “It’s just comfortable.” He’s really good with computers. Grala excelled in all areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) growing up and has been accepted to Georgia Tech’s engineering program. He’s an experienced computer programmer and has written code for games and apps. He keeps things consistent. The circle around the door number on Grala’s race car has been a constant throughout his career. It was originally a style element his father used during his racing career, and when Kaz got his first Bandolero, his crew chief at the time, Mike Gordon, surprised him by including the number style. Since then, no matter how many times his number has changed, it has always has always been surrounded by a circle.

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TOOLS OF THE TRADE A ‘Weight’ and See Proposition

onversations between a driver and his crew chief often focus on weights and balances in hopes of making their car fast and comfortable throughout an entire race distance. The most important tool for setting up a chassis is an electronic scale that consists of four adjustable rectangular steel plates that are positioned under each wheel of the race car. “Our scales are surface plates at the track,” said Billy Wilburn, car chief for JR Motorsports and NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Justin Allgaier. “They give us a flat surface to check our weights, check heights and we can do anything we would do on the surface plate at the shop. The scales are invaluable and the most important things we use. Without them, we couldn’t function.” In order to best position each of the scale plates on a variety of inconsistent surfaces, crew members use a simple bubble level, just as if leveling a concrete pad while constructing a building. Then the scale plates are adjusted to compensate. “You level each one and get them right on the money,” Wilburn said. “That determines your cross [balance] from front to rear, side-to-side percentages and nose percentage. We have a rightside minimum limit and a total overall minimum and that varies with driver weight. Big tracks we run a lot of nose weight. At a short track, you might run 50 percent nose weight.” –Ben White

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POLE POSITION MAG.COM

SPOTLIGHT Kasey Kahne: Top-5 Career Achievements

ith Kasey Kahne set to retire from fulltime racing at the end of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, we look back at the always-popular driver’s top-five career achievements. His Hot Rookie Start. As a NASCAR premier series rookie in 2004, Kahne didn’t face the kind of learning curve that newcomers so often do. Instead, he hit the ground running. After making an early exit from the Daytona 500 due to an engine failure, Kahne qualified third and finished second at Rockingham Speedway in just his second premier series event. The following weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kahne again finished second – this time after starting from the pole in his Ray Evernham-owned Dodge. Kahne then followed up his consecutive runner-up finishes with a third-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Week 4. No matter how you slice it, that’s a darn impressive first month for a rookie driver in NASCAR’s top division. His First Career Win. Despite an impressive rookie season, which included five secondplace finishes, Kahne was unable to snare his first career NASCAR premier series victory until his sophomore season. Finally, the big day – actually it was a night – came under the lights at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, May 14, 2005. After winning the pole at the three-quarter-mile Virginia short track, Kahne led 242 of 400 laps on the way to a convincing victory in his 47th premier series start. Kahne fended off his good friend, Tony Stewart, for the victory, which made it that much sweeter for the Enumclaw, Washington, native. His 2008 All-Star Race Victory. Charlotte Motor Speedway will go down as perhaps Kasey Kahne’s best track. While Kahne has four points-paying wins at the 1.5-mile quad-oval, his most memorable Charlotte performance came in the 2008 running of the All-Star Race – a non-points exhibition that paid $1 million to win. After starting shotgun on the 24-car field in his No. 9 Gillett-Evernham Motorsports Dodge, Kahne passed Denny Hamlin for the lead with 17 laps to go and never trailed the rest of the way. It was a truly unforgettable night for Kahne, who gained entry into the main event only by virtue of winning what was then known as the Sprint Fan Vote. Once voted in, Kahne made sure the fans who supported him did not leave disappointed. His 2009 Sonoma Triumph. The year 2009 was one of transition for Kahne and his team, which became part of the newly formed Richard Petty Motorsports that came about after Evernham Motorsports merged with Petty Enter-

POLE POSITION 2018

prises. Competing in the same familiar No. 9 car but for a new team owner in seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty and Petty’s new business partner, Andy Murstein, Kahne prevailed on the twisty, notoriously treacherous Sonoma Raceway road course in the season’s 16th race. Kahne, who led 37 of 113 laps and withstood a challenge from second-place finisher and then-two-time champion Tony Stewart on the way to his first road course victory, later had the great honor of celebrating in Victory Lane with Petty – the NASCAR legend and sport’s all-time wins leader, known to most as simply “The King.” His 2017 Brickyard 400 Victory. Kahne saved arguably the biggest victory of his career for last when he took the checkered flag to win the prestigious Brickyard 400 at famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 23, 2017. Kahne, who had been winless since the 2014 season, continued the tradition of Hendrick Motorsports’ dominance at the world-famous track, but it would turn out to be his last win for the organization. Before season’s end, team owner Rick Hendrick announced Kahne would not return to the company in 2018, and would be replaced by rookie William Byron.

BY JARED TURNER | PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

NASCAR National Series

Driver Profiles With the NASCAR season headed into the homestretch, get to know drivers Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Ty Dillon, Daniel Hemric and Noah Gragson a little better. You might be surprised what you learn!

BY JARED TURNER | PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

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DRIVER PROFILES

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THE TRAITS THAT CHARACTERIZE HIM

Physical Fitness: At age 43, Jimmie Johnson could conceivably grow weary of the grind that is the lengthy Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Yet, all indications suggest the Hendrick Motorsports driver is in the best shape of his life. It’s no wonder, given Johnson’s devotion to fitness, which for him includes regular swimming, running, cycling and strength training. Johnson also maintains an extremely healthy diet, which, like with exercise, he’s been committed to for many years. This kind of dedication undoubtedly gives Johnson an edge inside the race car, where temperatures can soar to over 100 degrees in the hot summer months. Communication: Johnson has spent his entire Monster Energy Series career with one full-time crew chief, the legendary Chad Knaus. That in itself is remarkable since it’s rare for a crew chief to stay with the same driver for more than a handful of years. Even more remarkable are the incredible things Johnson and Knaus have accomplished together – most notably, seven Monster Energy Series championships and more than 80 wins. Making this success possible has been one constant – virtually flawless communication between driver and crew chief. Car Control: Johnson is a master of wheeling just about any kind of NASCAR stock car, regardless of specs. The ultimate proof of this ability lies in the fact that his seven Monster Energy Series championships have been divvied up among three generations of race cars – The Gen-4 (2006 championship), the Gen-5 (2007-2010 championships) and the Gen-6 (2013 and 2016 championships). As different as each of these cars is, Johnson has managed to achieve an unprecedented level of success that – quite literally – spans “generations.” Precision Under Pressure: Consider it no coincidence that all seven of Johnson’s championships have come since NASCAR began crowning its premier series champion with a season-ending playoff. Johnson’s penchant for excelling under the most pressure-packed of circumstances is a longtime trademark of his, and it only helps that longtime crew chief Knaus has proven just as capable of soaring under the most intense spotlights. Johnson’s all-time greatest playoff performance arguably came in 2016 when he seemingly came out of nowhere to capture the victory and the title in the high-stakes, season-ending Championship 4 showdown at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Humility: Despite his many accomplishments, Johnson has remained humble for a person of his success. Parenthood, which Johnson entered in 2010 with the birth of his first daughter, Genevieve Marie, has no doubt helped the El Cajon, California, native remain grounded. Perhaps Johnson also hasn’t forgotten that had team owner Rick Hendrick not taken a chance on him and hired him in 2002 when he was a littleknown talent, his story could be much different.

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DRIVER PROFILES

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Kyle Busch

THE TRAITS THAT CHARACTERIZE HIM

Aggression: Any driver hoping to cruise to victory in a NASCAR race should heed this warning: If you are winning and Kyle Busch is chasing you during the final laps, look out. Busch is going to hold nothing back in his pursuit of Victory Lane – even if it means getting aggressive with a competitor by nudging or bumping that competitor out of the way. Like several well-known drivers before his time, Busch hates losing with a passion and will go to rare lengths to avoid it. Attitude: One of the most polarizing figures in NASCAR, Busch has long embraced the role of villain to many fans. But why do some not care for Busch? Quite simply, he wins a lot – actually too much, depending on whom you ask. It doesn’t help Busch’s popularity that, when he is unable to win, he tends to take losing hard and is almost always willing to wear his emotions on his sleeve. More recently, Busch has taunted fans with crying gestures as they rained down boos. But, love him or loathe him, Busch has a special passion for racing – and winning – that is not easily matched. Talent: Not convinced of Busch’s immense talent behind the wheel? Consider the fact he doesn’t just win often in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series; he’s a regular to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, too. A winner of more than 191 races among NASCAR’s three major series, Busch has no trouble finding his way to Victory Lane regardless of vehicle type. When all is said and done, he will be considered one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history due in large part to his success at multiple levels. Perseverance: The ultimate testament of Busch’s grit, determination and perseverance came in 2015 when the Joe Gibbs Racing driver rebounded from a broken leg and foot suffered during Daytona Speedweeks to win his first Monster Energy Series championship in thrilling fashion. Busch, who missed the first 11 Monster Energy Series races while recovering from his injuries, went on to capture five victories – the most notable coming in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where four drivers raced straight up for the title. Leadership: In addition to being a tremendous driving talent, Kyle Busch is also a gifted businessman – which is on full display through his leadership of Kyle Busch Motorsports, the company he founded in 2007 and brought to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2010. Busch not only gives his drivers fast trucks to race; he has a proven ability to find and hire young talent that others may be less prone to give a chance.

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DRIVER PROFILES

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Kurt Busch

THE TRAITS THAT CHARACTERIZE HIM

Resilience: Looking for a NASCAR driver whose career has been an all-out rollercoaster ride? Try Kurt Busch. Sometimes as a result of his own doing – other times due to rotten luck – Busch has been knocked down, figuratively speaking, on multiple occasions over the course of his now-lengthy run in NASCAR’s premier series. However, each time it has appeared that Busch’s career might be on the brink of collapse, the Las Vegas native has risen to the challenge and resurrected himself. And knowing Busch, if he’s faced with major obstacles in the future, he will come out on top once again. Clutch Performances: Some of the greatest moments of Busch’s career have come on some of the sport’s biggest stages. Consider, for example, the 2004 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Locked in a close championship battle with Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, Busch emerged victorious by a mere eight points – what was then the closest championship margin in NASCAR history. Another shining example of Busch’s proclivity to excel in the clutch came in the 2017 Daytona 500, a race in which he led only one lap – the final one. Adaptability: Arguably the most impressive accomplishment of Busch’s career came not in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car but in an open-wheel Indy car. Lacking any experience as an Indy car driver, Busch finished a head-turning sixth in the 2014 Indianapolis 500 – the first and only open-wheel race of his career to date. How Busch managed to do so well in a vehicle in which he lacked seat time relative to all of his competitors is a testament to how adaptable the 2004 Monster Energy Series champion is when it comes to racing different kinds of vehicles. Bristol Success: Good luck finding a race track that tests drivers more than Bristol Motor Speedway, a .533-mile high-banked concrete oval known for close-quarters racing, temper tantrums and crumpled sheet metal. Of all the tracks on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule, the Tennessee short track is the place where Busch has by far and away enjoyed his most success. As part of winning at Bristol six times and with three different teams, Busch has won both the day and the night Bristol race on multiple occasions. Consistency: While Busch hasn’t won as many races or championships as some of his peers, the veteran driver has proven to be remarkably consistent over 18 years as a full-time competitor in NASCAR’s top series. Since NASCAR introduced a season-ending playoff format for its premier division in 2004, Busch has failed to qualify for the playoffs only three times. Throughout his career, he’s finished in the top 10 in the standings eight times.

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DRIVER PROFILES

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Denny Hamlin Considered a preseason championship favorite, Denny Hamlin has spent most of the Monster Energy Series season in the shadow of teammate Kyle Busch – one third of this season’s power trio that also includes Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr.

INFO

At press time, Hamlin was guaranteed entry into the playoffs based on his position in the standings but was still searching for his first victory of the season and seemed somewhat pessimistic about his championship prospects. “Luckily for us, they’re letting 16 guys in the playoffs – not 10,” Hamlin said. “We need to start winning right now, running in the top five, leading more laps, and get to work on this season and try to make sure that we put ourselves in contention at the end.” Hamlin is hopeful that if he should advance to the Round of 8, the stars might align for him to earn a berth in the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway – where virtually anything could happen. “We know that it doesn’t matter how many points those other guys accrue; if we can win at Texas, Phoenix or Martinsville [in the Round of 8], we’re part of the Championship 4 and could easily knock one of those guys out [despite] all the hard work that they’ve put in throughout the entire year,” Hamlin said.

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NOT IN THEIR LEAGUE

s much as Hamlin would like to be mentioned in the same breath as frontrunners Busch, Harvick and Truex Jr., he hasn’t had the kind of season that merits him being part of the championship discussion. “I don’t think we’ve been at that level to even be talked about at this point,” the veteran driver said. “I think we’ve got to get better in a lot of different aspects.”

Noah Gragson

As a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie in 2017, Noah Gragson won a race at Martinsville Speedway and finished 10th in points on the strength of 13 top-10 finishes – including four top-five results – in 23 starts. This season, he’s been even better. At press time, Gragson was third in the standings, had a win at Kansas Speedway and looked every bit the legitimate title contender after missing the playoffs as a rookie. “I feel like we can always get better as a team, but I have the most confidence in my team and I feel like we’re the best team in the garage and have the best Toyota Tundras when we get to the race track; and just having that confidence is an important thing to me,” Gragson said. The 20-year-old Las Vegas native is focused on making it to Homestead-Miami Speedway as part of the Championship 4. “I feel like, if we went to Homestead, we would definitely be a contender,” he said. “I have a great group surrounding me at Kyle Busch Motorsports and am just really fortunate to be racing here in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and just trying to do the best I can do when I get out onto the race track and learn the most I can. Once we get into the playoffs, that’s where it really starts, and we have to start capitalizing on opportunities to get to Homestead, and then it’s kind of gloves off when we get there.”

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n addition to a full-time schedule in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this season, Gragson has stuck his proverbial toe in the NASCAR Xfinity Series waters with Joe Gibbs Racing. So far, so good as Gragson’s first three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts yielded as many top-10 finishes – highlighted by a best finish of second in his series debut, which came at Richmond Raceway. Gragson could be poised to make the jump to a full-time Xfinity Series ride in 2019.

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Ty Dillon

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Born into one of NASCAR’s great racing families, Ty Dillon knew from an early age what he wanted to pursue for a career. What he didn’t anticipate – but has come to embrace – was ever driving a vehicle not owned by his legendary grandfather, who is NASCAR Hall of Famer and six-time Monster Energy Series champion team owner Richard Childress. After two seasons in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with Richard Childress Racing, followed by three in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for RCR, Dillon moved to the Monster Energy Series with another organization – Germain Racing – which does happen to be one of several smaller teams that have a technical relationship with RCR. Nevertheless, Dillon is happy to be at Germain, even if it means not competing directly for the company owned by his grandfather and not having his older brother, Austin – an RCR driver – as a teammate in the purest sense. “As much as I love having a brother in the sport and my family in the sport and my grandfather is an owner and how much I would love to win races and championships for him, I think I needed to break out of that grandson-brother shadow that I had,” Dillon said. “Not that it was a negative shadow. I just want people to see me for me. Austin and I can do some great things together, and we do on and off the race track, but for me to grow as a person off the race track is just as important.”

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FAVORITES

THE OUTDOORS Dillon is an avid sportsman who hunts and fishes – often with his brother and grandfather – whenever opportunity allows. He’s also a staunch supporter of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.

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FATHERHOOD

illon joined the growing fraternity of NASCAR driver dads last November when his wife, Haley, gave birth to the couple’s first child, Oakley. Thankfully, Oakley entered the world shortly after Ty returned home to North Carolina from the season’s final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “Having my little girl in the offseason helped put some things in perspective in my life, and I have been trying to change my approach on some things,” Dillon said.

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DRIVER PROFILES

PRE S E N T E D BY

Josh Bilicki

5 FAST FACTS

He’s Super-Active on Twitter: Josh Bilicki has over 5,600 Twitter followers and goes to great lengths to keep them engaged. Bilicki’s Twitter timeline reveals the youngster tweets virtually every day – usually several times. He Is Proudly Representing Prevagen: Bilicki is thankful to have full primary sponsorship this season from Prevagen, America’s No. 1 selling brain health supplement. Prevagen’s support of Bilicki began in 2017 in a more limited role. Road Courses Are His Specialty: As of press time, Bilicki had made three Monster Energy Series starts. Not surprisingly, two came on road courses – the first at Sonoma Raceway and later at Watkins Glen International. He’s a Driving Coach: Heads-up, aspiring racers: Bilicki gives private driving lessons and would love to show you the ropes. Visit joshbilickiracing.com to learn more. His Career Began in Karts: Bilicki started out in kid-karts at age 4 and later spent several years honing his skills in the more advanced Shifter Karts.

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OWNERS JERRY AND PHYLLIS HATTAWAY TEAM JP MOTORSPORTS SPONSOR PREVAGEN MANUFACTURER TOYOTA CREW CHIEF DAVID JONES

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POLE POSITION 2018

Daniel Hemric As a NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie a year ago, Daniel Hemric proved to be the ultimate playoff Cinderella story by qualifying for the Championship 4. Now nearing the end of his sophomore season in NASCAR’s No. 2 division, Hemric is no longer considered a championship longshot. In fact, he’s arguably on the shortlist of favorites. The biggest potential hurdle between Hemric and a championship this season is the fact that winning the championship could require winning the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where four drivers will once again race straight up for the title. As of press time, Hemric had yet to win anywhere in nearly two full seasons of Xfinity Series competition. But Hemric knows that if he continues to perform at a high level, a victory is bound to come – maybe even at Homestead. “I think we’ve done all the right things as a team to be that much better every single week,” he said. “As we’ve done that, that’s put us in a situation where we’re leading more laps, we’ve got more speed through practice and qualifying. When you do that, that’s what you have to do in order to even deserve to win races. I don’t want to win races off of fuel mileage. At this point, I’ll take whatever I can get, but what we’re doing is allowing us when we do win, to win on speed; and that’s something I’m proud of to see the organization take that turn.”

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emric reached a major career milestone in April with his Monster Energy Series debut at Richmond Raceway. Although a 32nd-place finish wasn’t what he had in mind, Hemric was grateful for the experience. And, he obviously hopes to join the Monster Energy Series on a full-time basis in the not-too-distant future. Hemric was scheduled to make his second career Monster Energy Series start when the series visited the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway in late September.

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DRIVER PROFILES

PRE S E N T E D BY

Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace’s season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series began in thrilling fashion as the rookie driver finished second in the Daytona 500, nearly pulling off one of the biggest upsets in the history of The Great American Race. It didn’t take long for Wallace – one of NASCAR’s most likeable and social media savvy drivers – to come back down to earth, however. Like so many rookies, the Mobile, Alabama, native has dealt with his share of growing pains. In the 23 races that followed that amazing outing in the season opener, Wallace posted nary a top-five finish and recorded just one additional top 10. Thankfully, the recently turned 25-year-old racer isn’t overly discouraged. He understands that bumps in the road are part of the process. “It’s a rookie year in Cup,” said Wallace, who prior to joining Richard Petty Motorsports full time this year made his debut in RPM’s iconic No. 43 car a year ago during a four-race substitute role. “We’re going to go through the struggles but none of us, obviously, thought we would be so far behind the eight-ball. But what’s cool to see is that we show up to the shop each and every week, and show up at the race track every week, and our guys are still digging hard, 100 percent, a 110 percent effort, trying to find something. And each weekend it’s like, ‘All right, we think we’ve got something really good for this weekend. Hopefully it translates into something.’” FAVORITES

DRUMMING Wallace absolutely loves the drums and plays them every chance he gets. He’s even been known to use Twitter to share videos of himself twirling some sticks.

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PROMISING FUTURE

espite an up-and-down rookie season in the Monster Energy Series, Wallace is encouraged about the future – as he should be. Richard Petty Motorsports announced in July that the organization had picked up the option to extend Wallace’s contract as driver of the No. 43 Chevrolet. The new agreement runs through the 2020 season. “We have faith in Bubba and in our team that we’ll continue to get better, together,” said team co-owner and NASCAR legend Richard Petty.

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NASCAR HISTORY NASCAR LEGEND

PRESENTED BY

Bobby Allison Bobby Allison entered his first NASCAR premier series event on Feb. 24, 1961, at Daytona International Speedway in a 100-mile qualifying race. Many in the garage saw the newcomer possessed great talent for driving.

orn in Miami, Florida, on Dec. 3, 1937, Allison began racing modifieds in his home state as a teenager. Because he was only 17 years of age, his parent’s signed permission for him to race. When Allison discovered it was only for one race, he began using the alias of Bob Sunderman in hopes of not getting caught. Eventually, his father discovered a photo in the newspaper after a victory and decided to bless his son’s efforts. Numerous short-track wins prompted Allison and his brother, Donnie, to move to Alabama to compete against even tougher competition. Both excelled as drivers and by the early 1960s, each found their way into NASCAR’s top series. By 1965, Bobby Allison was fielding his own Chevrolet on a limited budget. A year later, he enjoyed wins at Islip (N.Y.) Speedway, Oxford (Maine) Plains Speedway and Beltsville Speedway in Maryland as part of NASCAR’s Northern Tour. Those wins opened the door to drive for top organizations such as Holman Moody, Junior Johnson, Bud Moore, DiGard Racing and Stavola Brothers Racing. Allison enjoyed a reputation for quickly adapting to stock cars, open-wheel cars and sports cars on a variety of track configurations. Throughout his 25-year career, he won 84 NASCAR Cup Series races and claimed the series championship in 1983. Highlights of his career include Daytona 500 victories in 1978, 1982 and 1988. Sadly, his driving career ended on June 19, 1988, after suffering a near-fatal head injury in a crash at Pocono Raceway.

I WAS INCREDIBLY FORTUNATE TO HAVE ENJOYED SUCH AN AMAZING AND REWARDING CAREER. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY THAT HELPED ME FIND THE SUCCESS I ENJOYED IN NASCAR. BEST SEASON WHILE DRIVING Mercurys fielded by his own team and the powerhouse Holman Moody operation in 1971, Allison logged 10 victories, 27 top-five finishes and 31 top-10 results. The numbers stand as his overall best season during his storied 25-year career. He is still beloved by fans as one of NASCAR’s greatest superstars.

POLE POSITION 2018

RECORD-SETTER ALLISON’S AVERAGE start of 8.5 and average finish of 11.5 is highly respected by NASCAR historians. From 1981 to 1988, he completed close to 198,000 laps and led 27,551. Twenty-three of his 84 victories came on short tracks, while six came on road courses and 58 on superspeedways.

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SMART DARING TALENTED KNOWN FOR A TOUGH COMPETITOR in everything he drove, Allison was known by his fans for being down to earth. Allison had the ability to get the most out of an ill-handling car. As a result, team owners from a variety of racing organizations called on him to wheel their race cars.

BY BEN WHITE | PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY NASCAR

RACE REWIND

1973: Underdog Parsons Wins In 1973, Benny Parsons overcame difficult odds to become NASCAR’s premier series champion. The native of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, won only one race that year but relied on a game plan of consistency. Parsons was in his third full season as the driver of L.G. Dewitt’s No. 72 Cup Series car in 1973. The Ellerbe, North Carolina-based team was considered an underdog against the highly funded operations of the day. But with crew chief Travis Carter guiding the team, there was reason to expect a strong season. Cale Yarborough, driving Richard Howard’s No. 11 Chevrolet, famously returned to NASCAR that year after racing Indy cars for two seasons. With retired driving legend Junior Johnson managing the team, Yarborough felt he had a good chance to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. Under NASCAR rules used in 1973, laps completed throughout the season served as the foundation for being crowned champion. In addition, points were awarded for the number of laps completed in a race along with finishes within the top-10. Even though Yarborough logged four victories, 16 top-five finishes and 19 top-10 results, crashes at Talladega, Daytona, Bristol and Dover curtailed his title hopes. Parsons nearly lost the title in the season finale at North Carolina’s Rockingham Speedway after being caught up in a multi-car crash on lap 13 of the 492-lap race. He was left with a badly damaged car that looked to be out of the race. Instead, crew members from several teams helped rebuild his car in the garage area. Parsons returned to the race, finished 28th and ended up 67 points ahead of Yarborough in the championship standings. It was the only Cup Series title of Parsons’ 21-year career.

1973

1973 SEASON RECAP DATE CIRCUIT January 21 Riverside International Raceway February 18 Daytona International Speedway February 25 Richmond Raceway March 18 Rockingham Speedway March 25 Bristol Motor Speedway April 1 Atlanta Motor Speedway April 8 North Wilkesboro Speedway April 15 Darlington Raceway April 29 Martinsville Speedway May 6 Talladega Superspeedway May 12 Fairgrounds Speedway – Nashville May 27 Charlotte Motor Speedway June 3 Dover International Speedway June 10 Texas World Speedway June 17 Riverside International Raceway June 24 Michigan International Speedway July 4 Daytona International Speedway July 8 Bristol Motor Speedway July 22 Atlanta Motor Speedway August 12 Talladega Superspeedway August 25 Fairgrounds Speedway – Nashville September 3 Darlington Raceway September 9 Richmond Raceway September 16 Dover International Speedway September 23 North Wilkesboro Speedway September 30 Martinsville Speedway October 7 Charlotte Motor Speedway October 21 Rockingham Speedway

WINNER Mark Donahue Richard Petty Richard Petty David Pearson Cale Yarborough David Pearson Richard Petty David Pearson David Pearson David Pearson Cale Yarborough Buddy Baker David Pearson Richard Petty Bobby Allison David Pearson David Pearson Benny Parsons David Pearson Dick Brooks Buddy Baker Cale Yarborough Richard Petty David Pearson Bobby Allison Richard Petty Cale Yarborough David Pearson

PRESIDENT: RICHARD NIXON NO. 1 SONG: “TIE A YELLOW RIBBON ROUND THE OLE OAK TREE” BY TONY ORLANDO AND DAWN NO. 1 BOX OFFICE: THE EXORCIST

BEST DRIVER DAVID PEARSON, WHEELING THE No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Mercury, won 11 of 18 races entered in 1973. The Spartanburg, South Carolina, driver logged all but one of those wins on superspeedways with his biggest triumph coming in the Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway. His seasonending record featured 14 finishes in the top 10 with eight pole positions. Pearson showcased his talents on a number of track configurations to produce a remarkable season.

BEST RACE ON MAY 27, 1973, BUDDY Baker, driving Nord Krauskopf’s No. 71 Dodge, led 229 of 400 laps to win the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Charlotte native held off challenges from Richard Petty, who led 134 laps, as well as Cale Yarborough and David Pearson, who led 29 and 15 laps, respectively. Crew chief Harry Hyde orchestrated flawless pit stops throughout the 600-mile race that kept Baker in position to claim the victory.

TOP CARS BENNY PARSONS drove L.G. DeWitt’s No. 72 Chevrolet to 21 top-10 finishes on his way to the NASCAR Cup Series title. THE NO. 11 Chevrolet driven by Cale Yarborough and owned by Richard Howard won four times during the 1973 season.

■■ Cale Yarborough

POLE POSITION MAG.COM

SPOTLIGHT PRESENTED BY

MEET MSG ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER DR. ALAN APPLEY

MSG: Making Racing Safer Motorsports Safety Group is a collaboration of innovators in the sport who are determined to improve the safety of racing. MSG shares tips for race car drivers and fans to help avoid injuries during races and practice sessions. Acknowledged as one of the country’s leading neurosurgeons, Dr. Jason Cormier has helped MSG provide a comprehensive, grassroots marketing campaign focused on preventative health care education and wellness training. With an emphasis to educate and engage race fans in their growing role as health care consumers, the objective is to influence behavioral changes, to provide racing’s brand-loyal audience with the medical knowledge to make informed, preventative decisions that directly affect the wellness of their families. For this issue, Dr. Cormier answered a series of questions about his preferred concussion evaluation tool, the I-Portal Portable Assessment System. What impact will the implementation of the I-PAS have on NASCAR? “We always want to make sure it’s more of a help to NASCAR than a scare. We’re not trying to pull drivers out of the car. We’re trying to help them feel better so they perform better.” How does the I-PAS compare with other concussion tests? “From the standard of detecting and diagnosing oculomotor, vestibular and reaction-time deficiencies, it takes the subjectivity out of the hands of the examiner. It gives us good information about what

POLE POSITION 2018

ALAN APPLEY, MD, FACS, FAANS, remains an avid swimmer and the consummate neurosurgeon. After joining Acadiana Neurosurgery in 2010, he jump started Dr. Jason Cormier’s career in the field. Both his fellowship and guidance made Dr. Cormier’s transition the very best anyone could ask for. He brings to MSG a myriad of both knowledge and experience in terms of brain and spinal cord trauma, in addition to many other facets of complex neurosurgery. Operating with Cormier in complex spinal and brain surgeries continues to be an invaluable part of so many great outcomes.

is going on in the brain without the subjectivity of some exams, or without an athlete trying to trick a certain test.” Will a driver go through baseline testing at the start of the season so the test will detect discrepancies from those metrics following head impacts? “You don’t need any baseline testing. The system is able to track and develop a data bank of what’s normal for people of a certain age group. It can alter some of the parameters. When dealing with race car drivers, it considers that their reflex timing and reaction timing is going to be quicker than the average population. Once you establish a normal value for a particular sport, you can test and see variances when there’s some sort of issue.” How is the test administered? “You put these goggles on, and you have the ability to make sure your vision is completely clear. You can see the stimuli. Then you follow the stimuli. It’s testing the functionality of smooth pursuits and looking for stagnants. Blurred vision isn’t a part of it. It will find what’s going on in the microscopic function of the brain. Say you’re having difficulty looking to your left. If we find that’s where the deficit is occurring, then we can focus on those areas to rehab and get where they need to be.” When do you expect to administer this test to race car drivers? “This isn’t necessarily going to take the place of a clinician’s medical acumen. If a driver didn’t lose consciousness and his car wasn’t altered, he’s going to continue to drive. A driver won’t come off the track for testing. If the car flips or collides, then I see the utility in using this. IndyCar has already started to use this at the track. For NASCAR and ARCA, from what we’ve been told, it doesn’t look like it will be an issue, but we haven’t been given the green light yet.”

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN

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I Living the American Dream As a contender for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship, Aric Almirola is living the American dream. That’s exactly what his paternal grandparents envisioned in 1966 when they emigrated from Cuba, sacrificing all of their possessions to find a better life for their family. “It was at a time when Fidel Castro was offering freedom flights to Miami,” said the driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford. “But if you wanted to go, you had to give all your personal belongings to the government. “My grandparents were middle class,” Almirola added. “They made a decent living, but they didn’t like what they saw of the way the country was going. When it was time to make a decision, they made it for their family and themselves.” HOW DO YOU USE MAPLE SYRUP? “I use it to make Maple Chocolate Chip cookies for the holidays” –@DXFlyers “Maple syrup is great as a substitute for artificial sweeteners in coffee, and a lot better for you too!!” –@vandpsc

POLE POSITION 2018

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n addition to owning the Haas F1 team that fields a pair of cars in the Formula One world driving championship and co-owning Stewart-Haas Racing that competes in NASCAR’s top two series, industrialist Gene Haas operates Windshear, one of the world’s most advanced automotive wind tunnels. Located in Concord, North Carolina, Windshear’s centerpiece is a rolling road that allows a full-size car to be restrained in place directly on top of a massive, treadmill-like stainless steel belt rotating at speeds up to 180 mph. The rolling road accurately simulates the dynamics of a car on the race track, unlike traditional fixed-floor tunnels. NASCAR, IndyCar, sports car and NHRA teams utilize the Windshear wind tunnel, which is the only one of its kind in North America.

NASCAR’S NEWEST TRACK

n September, Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL became the first new track to host a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race since Kentucky Speedway joined the schedule in 2013. The 2.28-mile, 17-turn ROVAL combines an infield road course with a majority of the facility’s legendary 1.5 quad-oval that has hosted NASCAR racing since 1960. “There are certain things you do that are temporary,

things like tents and porta-johns. When you pour concrete and lay in steel, it’s permanent,” said Marcus Smith, president and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the track’s parent company. “This is absolutely a directional change for Charlotte Motor Speedway and the fall NASCAR event is going to be a road course.” Charlotte now hosts three distinctly different NASCAR Cup Series events each season.

SIMPLY SOCIAL Social media has developed into an integral part of NASCAR racing, and several drivers and sponsors have complex and extensive social media strategies. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Matt DiBenedetto prefers a more simple approach. “I just like to be myself and I like everything to be organic,” DiBenedetto explained. “We don’t sit and strategize anything. I just like to be active and share my life, share our experiences, share our team and share everything with the fans because that’s what they want to see. I want to let them live through what I’m doing and see how much work it is and how hard we work to be trying to do this.” DiBenedetto’s social media activities have even helped him attract much-needed sponsorship.

BY KEITH WALTZ | PHOTOGRAPHY: ARIC ALMIROLA

Breakfast of Champions In NASCAR, drivers aren’t the only ones who like to indulge a bit for breakfast. Crew chiefs are also big fans of the most important meal of the day. Here’s what several Monster Energy Series crew chiefs eat and drink first thing in the morning: DARIAN GRUBB, CREW CHIEF FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DRIVER WILLIAM BYRON: “I’m a bacon and eggs kind of guy. I love either stopping at a small little diner or fixing them up at home – bacon and eggs. Sometimes I’ll spice it up a little bit with some sauce and some avocado and make a nice omelet. I like to drink black coffee.” PAUL WOLFE, CREW CHIEF FOR TEAM PENSKE DRIVER BRAD KESELOWSKI: “My day has got to start with a couple cups of coffee, for sure. That gets me going, and then from there I believe in starting your day with some energy. So, I’ll eat some big breakfasts – anywhere from eggs and yogurts to cereal and fruit. You name it; after I get my coffee and get going, then I’ll eat a good breakfast to get my day started.”

GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DRIVER ALEX BOWMAN: “I like to eat Toaster Strudels or a bagel. If the Strudel is not available, I’ll get just a regular bagel with cream cheese on it. If I’m at home, that’s usually what I stick with because usually when I get up, there’s not really time for me to grab something to eat. That’s a quick thing to grab and eat. But at the race track, I do like getting hash browns and bacon or something like that. I don’t pile up too heavy on the eggs or anything else. I usually drink a Gatorade or just water.” CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DRIVER JIMMIE JOHNSON: “I eat wheat toast with almond butter, or an English muffin with almond butter.”

BILLY SCOTT, CREW CHIEF FOR STEWART-HAAS RACING DRIVER KURT BUSCH: “It’s usually eggs and they’re normally scrambled. I like them cooked a variety of ways, but more often than not, they’re scrambled. I’ll eat about three eggs and some sort of bread – usually biscuits – and I’ve always got to have a sweet tea. If I’m up five minutes, I’ve got to have some food in my stomach.” CHAD JOHNSTON, CREW CHIEF FOR CHIP GANASSI RACING DRIVER KYLE LARSON: “I normally don’t eat breakfast, but if I do, it’s probably eggs and oatmeal. I like my eggs cooked ‘over medium,’ and I drink orange juice.”

BY JARED TURNER

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NASCAR ROOTS Bubba Recalls His First Go-Kart Race PRESENTED BY

ne of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ most talented and popular young drivers, Bubba Wallace is widely believed to have a bright future in the sport. Any doubts about Wallace’s future were put to rest in late July when Richard Petty Motorsports picked up the option on the rookie driver’s contract and announced a new multi-year agreement for Wallace to remain the driver of RPM’s No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro. Wallace, who made his debut with the organization last season, turned a lot of heads as a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver in 2013 when he became the first African-American since Wendell Scott 50 years earlier to win a NASCAR national series race. More recently, Wallace generated major buzz by finishing second in the 2018 Daytona 500 – his first appearance in The Great American Race. But long before the Mobile, Alabama, native made it to NASCAR’s highest level or even entered his first Truck Series race; he was honing his skills in go-karts – the level where his racing career officially began at the tender age of 9. To this day, Wallace has never forgotten this first go-kart race. “We finished, I want to say, dead last that night,” said Wallace, now 25. “The kart was all beat up, and I asked my dad if we could fix it and get it back out there, so right then we knew we would be back the next week.”

POLE POSITION 2018

Wallace’s interest in racing began by chance when his father purchased a motorcycle and took it to a shop to have some improvements made on it. The man who ran the shop invited the Wallaces to a go-kart race. When Bubba’s dad asked him if he wanted to give karting a try, young Bubba responded in the affirmative. And the rest, as they say, is history. “I started when I was 9 in the WKA Series, running asphalt ovals, and then I ran two years,” Wallace said. “So when I was 10, I got out and moved up to Bandoleros. But our travels covered about a two-hour radius of Charlotte, running local go-kart tracks and everything.” Wallace’s karting career began in 2004. He finished his first season second in overall points in the Carolina Asphalt Racing Winter Series. “Back then, you had a group of young kids that all grew up racing together,” Wallace said. “Like five minutes before we needed to be in the go-kart, we were out in the woods, playing in the creek or playing football, whatever it was. Just no obligations leading up to when it was time to drive, and just having fun and literally getting yelled at because you’re late to the grid getting strapped in.”

FINDING A BASELINE

ooking back, Bubba Wallace can clearly see how his relatively short time in the world of karting helped prepare for him a career in NASCAR. “I think karting just kind of gives you the baseline,” he said. “It’s the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ factor that says whether you have what it takes. You’re still driving at a high rate of speed – 35 or 40 miles per hour at 9 years old is pretty fast. So if you have good car control and have the raw speed, you kind of see that in the go-kart stuff.” While a lot of young aspiring racers these days choose to start in quarter midgets, Wallace remains partial to karting as the best path. “I look at the quartermidget stuff, and kids are leaning their heads out the left side of the car, so it’s a little weird, because if you don’t, then you’ll roll over, you’ll flip,” he said. “So it’s not realistic to me. Go-karts are big about drafting and timing your moves. If you make the wrong move, then you’re getting freighttrained. I haven’t really seen a quarter-midget race before, but I was in the gokart ranks, so I’m sticking with go-karts.”

BY JARED TURNER

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PIT PASS

3 QUESTIONS WITH NASCAR DRIVER

Ryan Preece

Track Food

ccording to Jeff Gordon, Ryan Preece is known as the “modified guy.” Three years removed from winning a bet with Tommy Baldwin Jr. that resulted in him racing in the Cup Series, Preece is excelling in the NASCAR Xfinity Series thanks to car owner Joe Gibbs. How much are you relying on your teammates at JGR? It’s a known thing where they want you to race because each team has pride in wanting to win. But at the same time, you have to be conscious of an organization, especially the drivers’ championship. The owners’ championship is what really pays money at the end of the day. If Christopher [Bell] and I are racing at the end of the season, I really don’t know what the decision will be. But hopefully, we’ll be going for the championship at Homestead. Joe Gibbs has spoken very highly of you. What does it mean to have one of the most respected owners in NASCAR speak like that about you? Having the opportunity to drive his equipment and work with the people I’ve been working around is a huge opportunity. I feel very honored, and hopefully I can keep trying to win races for them. At the end of the day, winning is what the sport is built on. Unless you’re winning, you don’t have that faction. Hopefully, we can keep winning and keep everyone happy. When you took on this role, did you expect to run so well? One-hundred percent – I know whenever I show up with my modified, I feel like I can win. It’s the same thing at the Xfinity level, having the equipment that they have. If I’m going to do this professionally, I need to do my absolute best. I’m just very excited to have the opportunity to go and do it.

POLE POSITION 2018

Texas Motor Speedway’s Hawg Heaven: Each time NASCAR’s premier series visits Texas Motor Speedway, the facility brings out a fresh item under its Hawg Heaven line. In April, the track featured a Hawg Heaven BLT. What’s even crazier is that this all started with none other than the Hawg Heaven bacon cotton candy.

Terminology Spoiler: When looking at a race car, one can see a strip sticking up on the decklid. That’s the spoiler, a piece of aluminum that creates additional downforce on the back of the car. Teams can adjust the spoiler within NASCAR’s limits, such as lowering the angle to gain speed on straightaways.

BY JOSEPH WOLKIN | PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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