Tag: Tony Stewart

Six wins pushed the momentum which carried over for three losses that made a fourth championship possible. That’s racing…

It was 2023 NHRA season closer in Pomona, CA for the In-N-Out Burger Finals in November. Matt Hagan, Robert Hight, and Bob Tasca III came in looking ahead to a possible championship. All three took the first round wins. All three dropped the second round. The racing points math added up with Hagan on top.

Matt Hagan is from Virginia with family ties to the Shelor dealerships in Christiansburg and, yes, the Pulaski County Motorsports Park (Motor Mile Speedway). As such, there was a VIP, fan celebration open house at Shelor Toyota on Saturday, December 16th. Hagan has done this before with championship celebrations but this one was just a little different. This one included NASCAR champion and race team owner, Tony Stewart.

Stewart is a 3 time NASCAR champion, an IndyCar champion, USAC champion and part of Stewart-Haas Racing and NHRA Tony Stewart Racing owner. The latter team includes Matt Hagan and Leah Pruett, who also happens to be Stewart’s wife. Tony is driving, of course, with the SRX series that he has a stake in and is also taking the wheel on the drag strip. When asked about preferences he said it isn’t about that. “It’s not about NASCAR over drag racing or even the speed”, he said. “It is liking the experience of driving and liking the car you’re in and being in that moment of it.”

Tony Stewart and Leah Pruett (center) with fans at Matt Hagan championship party

All three were present and pleasant and the fans came by to talk racing and get some autographs. The food was, in short, marvelous. (Yes, of course I had a few bites…) Hagan’s funny car was there and trophies were staged in rows with a huge Christmas tree at center. Helmets, suits and displays showcased a winning career.

Matt Hagan (right) with James Clay of Bimmerworld (Bimmerworld Racing / Dublin VA

Matt sported a proud mustache and a bright, white cowboy hat. Stewart and Leah sat together welcoming fans and guests as Matt stood center stage with the tree and trophies for photos.

As far as racing Christmas parties go this one was pretty good…

*And yes, there were questions asked about the future of the “Pulaski County” race track. The answers were along the lines of “we don’t know” and there are “still some plans to be settled” and “details are being reviewed”. The definitive answer is that there wasn’t one. We’ll all wait for 2024 and further news.

Thank you, Matt Hagan, Tony Stewart and Leah Pruett… And the folks at Shelor, for opening the doors and allowing the fans and friends to share some of those championships.

Photo Gallery – Matt Hagan Championship Party at Shelor Toyota – December 16, 2023

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Honestly… Well, it was a bit of a surprise. Pulaski County Motorsports Park has its share of history and holds a place for Virginia racing. That does not set aside certain realities of the facility. The season started as Motor Mile Speedway but was changed just weeks in to Pulaski County Motorsports Park.

The pieces fell together with a huge draw and a packed house for Thursday, July 27th. The name change highlights the region and the facility and the variety of attractions all together with a visit from a premiere racing series. The Matt Hagan connection to Tony Stewart / NHRA and the Motor Mile dealership cemented the foundation for the Superstar Racing Experience to wave a green flag over this racetrack with big time racing.

The SRX Racing show came in with a bang. The grandstands were packed. It was a pleasant site after seeing a season of open seating leading in. The showcase of a national spotlight and exiting racing should invite a few more fans to visit this track that does have a lot to offer.

(We’ll set aside some of the staffing issues that created some bottlenecks. We’ll also set aside our assistance for getting fans to their seats in the VIP viewing area housed under the control center. Our impression, after said and done, was that despite a few hiccups, the event went off very well and was quite a crowd pleaser.)

*Thank you, Mark, for getting us set where we were to get some work done on site. Thank you, Jasmine, for stepping up to fill some holes and get the edges smoothed over and for helping us help fans get to their spot. It is quite possible this event may have fallen into its own weight without Jasmine there to herd some cats and wrangle some ferrets…

The racing…? Well… It delivered on many fronts. The Collision Plus Sportsman ran with a 20 car field to start…. And then start again. In short, Kyle Barnes and Kyle Dudley were shuffled to the back but both made moves forward. Drew Bond had the starting pole but fell back as the 50 laps wound down. The shuffle for positions kept the racing lively but it was Brad Foy at the finish for the win with Karl Budzevski in for 2nd and Kyle Dudley racing back up to 3rd. Jacob Porter and Richard Caldwell rounded the top 5.

*Considering the short track attention, it would have been nive for ESPN to roll a 5 minute highlight recap of the support race before they got to the SRX main… But maybe we’re just wishing…

The SRX event was a ringer. Some cars were needing some heavy wrench time after the race was run. The next race is a bit of a haul to Michigan and Berlin raceway so the work on those cars will need as much time as they can get.

The heat races went off OK but Clint Bowyer had an engine go into “mystery mode” after heat 1 but got running hot enough to win heat 2. The car served well enough in the main to bring it in for 2nd place. Tony Stewart raced on for 3rd after being shuffled around a bit and taking a hit or two. Kyle Busch, making his SRX debut, drove it in for the win.

For the most part, the SRX racing is an exhibition, for fun, show for short track fans to see some of the biggest stars of racing turn laps on their home turf. However, the message does not always get to the drivers as the green flag drops and “race mode” is on. In short, some cars were damaged quite well. It made for exciting racing for the fans but an expensive fix for the next week.

A full house at Pulsaki County Motorsports Park was a sight to see. Having top tier racing stars come to the hills of southwest Virginia was a big deal. Some of these same drivers (Hailie Deegan, Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch) were headed to Richmond Raceway for NASCAR weekend. Some fans don’t get a chance to see drivers like this in person so the short track visits with SRX is an exciting boost.

The SuperStar Racing Experience is a short, summer series designed to highlight short tracks and fans. Yes, the drivers bring the name but the fans fill the seats. Let’s hope this attention to this part of Virginia racing boosts some attendance forward for the local stars that make it happen week in and week out!

PHOTO Gallery – SRX at Pulaski County Motorsports Park – July 27, 2023

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The chips fell on the side of Tony Stewart this weekend. He wasn’t driving but had his hand in it from Phoenix to Gainesville.

Stewart-Haas driver Chase Briscoe clocked his first Cup win at Phoenix in the Ruoff Mortgage 500. NHRA driver Matt Hagan notched a win at the Gatornationals for Tony Stewart Racing.

For NASCAR, this new car is still presenting itself. Drivers are still finding the limits and pit crews are still rolling with one lug instead of five. However, for Phoenix the Cup race played out with several drivers keeping their performance running well throughout. Race winner Briscoe was top 10 in both stages one and two. Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick were top 10 at the finish and the stages also.

The Xfinity race held similar even though the car is much the same as the previous season. Noah Gragson, Trevor Bayne and Brandon Jones were top five for the stages and the finish with Gragson taking the final win.

This weekend, of course, NASCAR is back at it in Atlanta. NHRA takes a little time before they go 4-wide in Vegas the first of April. What is big this weekend is IMSA getting back at it after the ROLEX 24 back in January. Mobil 1 – Twelve Hours of Sebring is on this week.

South Boston Speedway – Richmond Raceway – Martinsville Speedway

Virginia is looking ahead for April and NASCAR at Richmond and Martinsville. This weekend, another track with big NASCAR history gets officially under way. South Boston Speedway is on with their Danville Toyota opener. There is no wait necessary to catch real late model racing action. SoBo always has a show and NASCAR AAPWS National Champion and track Division Champion Peyton Sellers is set to defend the titles.

Racing doesn’t have to wait for the NASCAR Cup circus to come along. Great racing tickets are going to be hitting the weekly series short racks throughout Virginia and the USA with weather going into Spring. Don’t wait – Go Racing!

2016 is on the track for racing. The ROLEX 24 opened the season with speed, splendor and color at Daytona and the Daytona 500 is rapidly approaching. Speed Weeks at Daytona always showcase some changes but this year there are some differences the casual, tune in and watch’em go fast’ fan might not catch right away.

For the obvious, let’s look at the #24. The famous driver isn’t the driver anymore. Jeff Gordon is out of the fire suit and into the broadcaster suit. Gordon will be in the booth joining the FOX Sports NASCAR broadcast team. He will still be at the track but out of sight, for the most part, as he adds commentary and insight to the broadcast viewers.

In the seat of the #24 will be Chase Elliott. The son of Cup Champion Bill Elliott is taking the #24 for his full time cross over season from the Xfinity series (2014 Champion). Fans will also see NAPA Auto Parts as a major player on the 24 Chevy.

Tony Stewart. It is his final year as he announced near the end of the 2015 season. The kick is he won’t be there to start the season at Daytona or for a good portion of it. He injured his back quite severely essentially in a dune buggy type vehicle incident in January. Stewart is in recovery but the injury presents a long trek back to the track. To start out at Daytona, Brian Vickers has been tapped to drive the #14. Ty Dillon has also been named to take Stewart’s car out when other series do not conflict.

Danica Patrick and the #10. She will still be out on the track as part of Stewart-Haas but the GoDaddy is gone. That easy to spot green is replaced by another major sponsor for 2016. Nature’s Bakery will take the primary location on the #10 Chevy. We’re looking forward to some free brownie snacks at the track!

Clint Bowyer. You may not notice it as the sponsor and the number remain the same for Bowyer in 2016. The #15, however, is off a Toyota and on a Chevy as Michael Waltrip Racing fell under at the end of the last season and Bowyer caught a ride, with his number and 5-Hour Energy sponsor, at the small HScott Motorsports. It is a one year run for Clint as he has also been tagged to join Stewart-Haas for 2017 and take over the #14 as Stewart steps away to engage further in the owner gig.

As for the actual racing there are two changes that will become more obvious as the season gets under way. First and more noticeable will be a little less traffic on the track. NASCAR has cut the running field down to 40 cars from the 43 that had been running for almost 20 years. This means some of those tag-alongs will have to really step up their game to make the field on any given race day. Most of the fans might not even notice the loss of three cars as they are watching the front anyway.

The other change falls on those races that face late race cautions. In the event of a green-white-checkered finish, NASCAR has set a distance marker so it is clear that the start is indeed fair and clean. If the lead car passes this mark the “green” start will be held to race. If their is another caution before the leader crosses that mark then there will be another shot at a clean start. This could happen as many times as needed. Cautions with just a few laps to go are not uncommon so this will likely be put to the test for the drivers and the fans.

Oh…. One more thing while we’re on it. Look for the Wood Brothers and the #21 Ford at every race this season. They will be running a full schedule for the first time in several seasons. Ryan Blaney has the wheel of the Motorcraft #21 as we give a nod to one of the iconic teams in racing.

Go Racing – and try to keep up…

Injuries. It is probably not the best topic on the eve of the start of NASCAR and the Daytona 500. Reality, however, may take the reigns.

As tough as it may be for some, perhaps even many, in the grandstands, the famed #3 is returning to “Cup” racing. The number may technically belong to Richard Childress but to all those who keep a fading and slanted “3” on their automobile windows it will always belong to Dale Earnhardt. The seven time Champion was killed while in the sport and in the car. It was a fatal injury that changed the way NASCAR races from that day forward.

It is not a matter of whether Austin Dillon, grandson of Richard Childress, can or even should drive the number. It is a matter of injury. The drivers, whatever the number, take a risk for their ride and for the show that the fans pay the money for. (more…)

Tony Stewart. One guy crashes up and the rest of racing gets shaken up. At Watkins Glen, Max Papis was yanked away from his Grand-Am ride to pilot the #14 of Stewart. At Michigan, Austin Dillon was pulled away from his Nationwide duties to drive the #14.

At the center is a focus on non-traditional NASCAR racing. Stewart crashed while racing sprint cars on dirt. The next two weeks had drivers taking attention away from road course racing to drive the #14 and one of those (Papis) was taken from one road course to another. Dillon took attention away from his #1 points position in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the race at Mid-Ohio (road course) to drive for Stewart at Michigan.

Dirt tracks and road courses. Dillon had earlier won the Camping World Series truck race at Eldora which is a dirt tack owned by Tony Stewart. Timing may not have suited Dillon as he stepped away from Mid-Ohio and his first in points position to drive for Stewart but it was an opportunity not to be skipped.

Even if he did have to start at Mid-Ohio in the back for missing qualifying…

Even if he’ll eventually be competing against Stewart as he moves to his own Cup ride, likely to be #3…

(Yes – The #3. He’s in it for Nationwide and will likely have it again. Sorry, Dale Sr. fans… No use boo-hooing so you might as well start pulling out some cheers…)

And even if his grandfather (Richard Childress) is losing Kevin Harvick to Stewart-Haas in 2014… (more…)

Road racing. It was a full weekend of road courses from cheap chumps all the way up the ladder to NASCAR.

Grand-Am and American Le Mans were at Road America which is interesting on several levels. The two series are combining for 2014 and running the same weekend showcased both series in action. They were still split over Saturday and Sunday but fans were shown both through the paddock, practices and racing.

NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup were racing Watkins Glen, the second road coarse on their schedule and the last for the season. There is still debate about a road course in “The Chase” but that is likely several laps away.

Grand-Am and NASCAR were given a bit of a shake for these races as Tony Stewart (Stewart-Haas #14) was injured earlier in the week in a sprint car rollover crash. This left the #14 without a driver at “The Glen” and points hole where Stewart was (11th before Watkins Glen). The rush to fill that seat landed on Max Papis who is currently driving Grand-Am but also has time in Sprint Cup cockpits. That left Papis’ seat as a fill-in at Road America which put Kenny Wilden in as a co-driver with Papis’ usual partner, Jeff Segal.

How did the replacements run? Segal and Wilden put the AIM Autosport Ferrari into a GT Class 4th place. Max Papis drove Stewart’s #14 to a 15th place finish which, all things considered, wasn’t too bad as he started 29th.

Kyle Busch won at “The Glen”. BMW was the big winner at Road America as Starworks put theirs in for the Prototype Class and Turner put theirs in for GT. (more…)