Well… Now it’s on! NASCAR has packed the April schedule with a Virginia run on short track racing.

*OK fine… Technically, the Bristol Motor Speedway is in Tennessee. However, Bristol itself is split on the Virginia border…

Richmond is up first. Martinsville the weekend after. Bristol (yeah yeah) is on Easter Sunday. This is reversed from Spring of 2021.

So far, season points races have seen young and newer Cup stars in the victory spotlights. Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski have wins in non-point, pre-season events.

Austin Cindric made his NASCAR Cup points debut in the #2 Penske Ford and won the Daytona 500. Defending Cup Champion Kyle Larson grabbed a win at Auto Club Speedway in California. Alex Bowman took Vegas making 7 career Cup wins. Chase Briscoe also notched his first Cup win with a checkers at Phoenix. William Byron added to his two previous wins (2021, 2020) with a victory in Atlanta. The most recent success came at Circuit of the Americas as Ross Chastain placed his first Cup win.

Ross Chastain places his first Cup win with the new Trackhouse Racing (formed from previous Ganassi team)

Oddly enough, Chase Elliott is currently leading the points with no wins but “top finish position” math adds up. Elliott is, oddly enough, the lone Hendrick driver without a win but is certainly making the effort.

Early season racing has focused on speed, drafting and shaking down the “new generation” car in race conditions. One exhibition short track outing gave a clue but the Virginia sweep will find all the tight pack nuances of how these bigger brakes and sequential shifting play out. The tight quarter pit stops will also make the teams hit all the new marks for tires and fuel.

NASCAR Cup features runs at all three tracks. The Xfinity Series runs at Richmond and Martinsville but skips the “dirt race” of Bristol. Camping World Trucks skip Richmond but run Martinsville and Bristol. Richmond Raceway also will host the Whelen Modified Series with the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150 to fill out the Toyota Owners / Toyota Care weekend.

Xfinity will be on race number seven coming away from Circuit of The Americas. AJ Allmendinger grabbed the road course win. Ty Gibbs has two wins so far with Austin Hill and Noah Gragson holding one each. Cole Custer also has an Xfinity win but is running points in the Cup series. Gragson barely has a points lead in the series.

Noah Gragson wins at Phoenix and carries a slim Xfinity points lead

Camping World Trucks will be running their fifth race of the season at Martinsville. Chandler Smith and Corey Heim have one win. Zane Smith has two wins from Daytona and COTA. The math of finish positions and a win has Chandler Smith currently on top of the points going into Martinsville.

Chandler Smith wins at Las Vegas and holds the current Camping World points lead

Also, Richmond and Martinsville invite fans to the tracks on race week for “Charity Laps”. For Richmond Raceway on March 30, register and drive your car on the track with funds benefiting the Henrico Firefighter Foundation. For Martinsville on April 6, your car on the track benefits Vet Tix (Organization supplying sport and entertainment for United States Veterans).

Another highlight for the season in Virginia is Martinsville Speedway celebrating 75 years of NASCAR racing history at the track. The honors are reflected with a special anniversary display at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. However, Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 weekend at Martinsville is just beyond. We have Richmond Raceway first up for April short track racing. The Whelen Modified race is a welcome return at Richmond with series runs there peppered back to 1990. Modified racing made a NASCAR sanction first for Virginia and Richmond way back in 1948.

Ryan Preece and Ryan Newman racing close at Richmond in the Whelen Modified Series – 2021

It’s time. April is NASCAR in Virginia. Also – Don’t forget to check your short tracks, too. Home tracks, dirt tracks and drag strips are all coming alive this month! Go racing!

Richmond Raceway – Toyota Owner’s Weekend – April 1-3

Martinsville Speedway – Blue Emu Pain Relief Weekend – April 7-9

Bristol Motor Speedway – Food City Dirt Race Weekend – April 15-17

Kyle Busch did not win. The position was there for the advantage but the late race caution shuffled the deck for an “all in” run for the finish.

It was Eric Jones in the #43 that almost had it down on the apron but the car lost traction and slid back on the track in front of Bubba Wallace who clipped it with the #23 and took a dive to the infield safety tire wall. It was Kyle Busch out front racing team mate Truex, Jr before the caution.

With the history and “home town” advantage, one would think a gamble for the win would be second nature. However, it was the Hendrick teams that gambled on two tires at the pit to roll them out in position. It paid off for Alex Bowman as the ALLY #48 took the checkers at Vegas after starting the late race run with team mate Kyle Larson on the front row.

Kyle Busch was left back in fourth place. The caution was not with Busch’s words as post race comments seemed to pull Bowman through the coals of harsh language and criticism of the win. Kyle is not known for constraint at a loss that was so close to a win and reports are that the two drivers have, indeed, spoken following the race. Cooler heads and a sense of humor prevailed as both Bowman and Busch threw down with special sales on their merch.

Animal Shelters benefited from the sale of Bowman “All Luck – No Skill” T-shirts (from Kyle’s comments) and some Kyle Busch items online were marked 48% off (Bowman’s number). Heat of the moment comments were turned to lighter responses and good cause results.

Racing this month is all about big tracks and big speeds. Next month the short tracks will put these new cars to a real test. The drivers and teams have only had a temporary stadium bit of asphalt to get a taste of short track bumping. Richmond and Martinsville are ready to heat up the mix. The Richmond “D” oval track offers some of the speed of the west and mixes it up with some tight turns. Toyota Owners weekend is a good cross over into the short tracks.

Martinsville is tight and quick. Those new bigger brakes and wider tires will get a workout and many drivers will be reaching for the Blue Emu after 500 laps. It’s a track that has been testing cars for a long time and this year with a really new package is going to be very interesting.

Bristol…? They are bringing the dirt back in. These cars are designed to be at home on asphalt. Dirt wasn’t part of the plan when the drawing boards were out on this car. Bristol and dirt came into the mix on the back end. It is going to be a Food City show!

Let’s not forget that weekender racing is also opening up fast. Every home track is looking at schedules and a supply line for tires after many last year had to limit or cancel some events. Tracks of all types are getting under way for 2022 so nobody has to wait for the NASCAR Cup show to catch exciting racing all around the country.

NASCAR is in Phoenix this weekend. Everybody can’t be there… So where are you racing? Check your home track schedule and catch some laps!

It seemed like a good idea. The planning was extensive. The engineering of it was measured to the last bucket.

The wild card, as it can be on a race weekend, was the same as always. After the planning and hauling and making ready, it was the weather that dropped the ball…. Or the water as it is…

Here’s the thing… And it may or may not be a big thing… But dirt on the track at Bristol for a NASCAR Cup race is a gimmick. Granted, it’s a good one. But it is what it is. It’s a twist on a classic race at a historic facility to draw some attention and make a good show.

We’ll see… The drivers couldn’t. Practice went well on the dry surface. Except for the tires wearing really quickly… And the track surface rutting up… And the inconsistency of the racing lines… Traditional dirt races on real dirt tracks are not as long and the track is refreshed at intervals. The Cup race at Bristol doesn’t have these options for a number of reasons.

However, throw in a day of rain and the Camping World Trucks trying to get the qualifying races in and you get two laps of a mess. On the dry side, it was still a bit of a mess… When you look a little closer.

The rain has already pushed the truck race to run after the Cup race on Sunday. (If they run… The weather doesn’t look that great…)

If all had gone without the rain it was still a gimmick that could turn either way. From seeing how the Super Late Models ran the week before the one big drawback is apparent. Put it this way… Reminding fans to wear masks in the stands maybe wasn’t a necessity.

Dirt tracks aren’t surrounded by a stadium several stories tall. The open air of those small dirt tracks lets the dust from lap after lap drift away. The bowl that is Bristol holds all of that in with little means of escape. Cover your beer, and your face…

Now with the rain that hardpack dirt gets tossed up under tires and thrown back on the grills and windshields of every car in the pack. The mud sticks like glue and packs up like brown concrete. Drivers can’t see anything and engines can’t cool. Throw out the radiators and drive blindfolded…

But fans can see and breathe… Every single one of the two laps before the red flag gets thrown.

The practice sessions on the dry track put out so much dust the TV cameras could barely view the other end of the track. Now… Half way through the race the surface would likely be packed and “rubbered” up on the low and high line. The dust would likely ease by then.

We’ll see. It might be Monday… But we’ll see…

Rain and racing. It is not a good mix but Bristol held out and went under the lights for the Food City 500 and the fans that hung in there saw a really good race full of what makes Bristol such a thing.

It is short track racing in a bowl and they mixed it up nicely. Bumps, spins and tangles put some in the garage and everyone that crossed the finish had some kind of battle damage.

The race started a bit late and went 22 laps before a caution and rain during clean up put the covers on and Penske team mates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski in the garage.

Several hours later the lights were coming on and the laps were being run. At the end of the day, or night, it was Matt Kenseth crossing where he started… In front. Other contenders and front runners were caught up in accidents that put them either off the pace or off the track completely.

Kevin Harvick, out front for a lion’s share, saw his run stop quickly when he caught the aftermath of a Jeb Burton spin which was set off by a touch from Jimmie Johnson. Harvick’s #4 Chevy was heavily damaged and out of the run.

Stewart-Haas team mate Kurt Busch was also putting in a run for the front but a late race pit for fresh tires put him in 6th on the restart and with 8 laps to go was suddenly stopped when Carl Edwards lost it running with Gordon near the front. Busch and the #41 had no place to go but into Edward’s #19.

The remaining Stewart-Haas drivers, Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick, managed to roll out with top 10 finishes.
Jimmie Johnson, despite damage and being well in the back at one point, managed to get back to second place with team mate Jeff Gordon right behind. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Ryan Newman filled the top 5.

Bristol was a boost for many in the field. Danica Patrick continues to run well with this top 10. It was Stewart’s best finish this season. Matt Kenseth has his first win since 2013. Gordon also needed a good run with not so hot performance in his last full season. Newman in the top 5 was a good run following the penalties for his team over tire handling issues.

There was also drama around the #11 and Denny Hamlin. The weather, the starting and stopping or just luck put him in a painful situation with a stiff neck. The long rain delay saw no real relief and the decision was made to put Xfinity driver Erik Jones into the #11 which he had never driven and was set, of course, for Hamlin. Jones finished 26th in his Sprint Cup “trial by Bristol fire” debut.

Now the focus rolls into Richmond. The scheduled night race of the Toyota Owners 400 is ramping up. The Xfinity series runs the night before. Some of the drivers will also be rolling out Thursday night in South Boston for the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown with the area’s top late model locals.

Hamlin should be loosened up and ready for his big charity event at SoBo and Richmon for the weekend.
Go Racing!

Bristol. They tinkered with it and made it a race track instead of a bang’em and rack’em horsepower brawl. The re-surface in 2007 removed the groove and put racing over banging. The push and shove inner lane was opened to full track grip giving more lines for drivers to ride. For racing, passing and team strategies it was all good.

Fans, however, fell true to stereotypes and were not impressed with drivers doing their jobs and racing without wrecking. Fans wanted to see the faster guy bump and shove the slower guy out of the groove. If that meant a spin into the wall and sour tempers in the garage then that was just foam on the beer. (more…)

Yes, Virginia, your racing season is on!

The racing season is winding down but the tension is rising. Just have a look at NASCAR. The last few races have seen the variety of winners with circumstances rotating through the points lead. Currently, the lead is on with Greg Biffle who also held it early in the season.

Dale Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth have also rotated through the lead. The last few races have change off on leader points like right front tires on pit stops. The season is in high gear and the state of Virginia gets the lion’s share of the action.

Bristol is this weekend. Anything can happen here as the “Chase” winds through the final points races to get in. Face it, Bristol is a strip of pavement in a fishbowl. Throw in 43 cars looking for a win with a good portion of them looking for “Chase” points and you get eggs in a blender. Bristol is one for Virginia fans.

Yes, Tennessee, we know. But what is a few miles, really? (more…)