BATAVIA, OH (April 3, 2020) – On Sunday, March 29th, President Donald Trump extended federal social distancing guidelines through the end of April due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This announcement forces the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series officials to postpone and cancel additional events.
This extension now also affects events at Hagerstown Speedway, Port Royal Speedway, Tri-City Speedway, and Macon Speedway. The series hopes to resume the original schedule on May 1st at Ponderosa Speedway and May 2nd at Florence Speedway.
Port Royal Speedway’s Rumble by the River, originally scheduled for April 19th, has been postponed until Thursday, August 27th. 
The Nininger Tribute at Hagerstown Speedway, scheduled for April 18th, has now been canceled. Also canceled are the Budweiser 50 at Tri-City Speedway scheduled for April 24th and the April 25th event at Macon Speedway. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series officials look forward to the return to Tri-City Speedway on July 17th for the NAPA Know How 50; and to Hagerstown Speedway and Macon Speedway in 2021. 
With the ever changing guidelines set forth by the federal, state, local, and public health officials, along with information that is based on guidelines from the CDC, the series has begun discussion with promoters to create alternative dates for races through the end of May. Please note, at this time, all May series events are set to take place as originally scheduled, the alternative dates are only there in case the need were to arise. The alternative dates can be viewed by visiting:  https://lucasdirt.com/events/schedule.

BATAVIA, OH (April 2, 2020) – Join us tonight on MAVTV Motorsports Network, to see the third different driver and team take the checkers on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2020. The original airing on MAVTV from Tuesday night of the Wrisco Industries Winternationals, happens at 6 PM EST, with a re-airing at 9 PM EST. 
The February 4th event from “The Clay by the Bay” saw passing all throughout the field, with the Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race, passing an average of two cars per lap. The broadcast will include driver interviews, in-car cameras, and various technical segments.
Owned and operated by Lucas Oil Products, MAVTV Motorsports Network is a television network deeply rooted in the automotive world. MAVTV is available to over 35 million homes on U-verse, DIRECTV (channel 214), Fios by Verizon, Vidgo, TIKILIVE, fuboTV, Spectrum, and other nationwide providers. MAVTV will broadcast 5 live events and 34 original tape-delayed airings. To find a full list of providers, visit: mavtv.com/get-mavtv/providers.
The entire 2020 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series TV schedule can be found on the series website at: www.lucasdirt.com/schedule/tv-schedule/.

After a disappointing finish in the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang at the virtual Texas Motor Speedway last Sunday, Matt DiBenedetto now turns his attention to the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway, where he’ll pilot the No. 21 REESE/Draw-Tite Mustang in the third round of the NASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series.

At Texas, DiBenedetto was running 11th and poised to move up when he bounced off the wall and damaged his car on a long green-flag run late in the race.

Still he managed to salvage a 15th-place finish, one spot better than where he qualified.

“I was saving my right-front tire, driving smart and smacked the wall all by myself,”

DiBenedetto said. “I was faster than a big group ahead of me and had a top-five car, but I messed it up.”

Now he’s focused on Bristol and preparing himself to race the No. 21 adorned in the blue and white REESE and Draw-Tite colors for the first time, on the virtual version of the track where he finished second in last year’s night race after leading 93 laps late in the race.

 “Bristol is my best track in real life,” DiBenedetto said. “But iRacing has a different feel to it.

“It takes a lot of practice to get more comfortable with it and to have the precision you need.”

He said that in addition to working out to keep himself in shape for his eventual return to traditional racing, he’ll spend hours this week in front of his computer preparing for Sunday’s virtual run on the high-banked, half-mile asphalt track.

“I’ll definitely put a lot of practice into it,” he said.

Eddie Wood said he and his family team are proud to have their virtual Mustang carry the universally known REESE and Draw-Tite brands, which have been providing heavy-duty and custom hitches and towing equipment since their inceptions in 1952 and 1946.

“As NASCAR’s oldest continuously operating race team, it always feels special to be associated with companies that have similar histories to ours,” he said.

The Bristol race is set to get the green flag on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, with TV coverage on FOX, FOX Sports 1 and the FOX Sports app. 

NASCAR CUP SERIESTEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPTMARCH 31, 2020 
BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, spoke with media via teleconference to discuss the upcoming eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at virtual Bristol Motor Speedway, the Richard Petty Motorsports 43 Crew Challenge presented by U.S. Air Force, and more. Full Transcript: CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE UPCOMING 43 CREW CHALLENGE YOU HAVE GOING ON?“That is different from iRacing; that’s actually on Nintendo Switch. We have been playing religiously about every weekend. We’ve actually gotten super competitive, almost unhealthy the way we play. We decided to make it fun. We’ve always kind of had this idea in the back of our heads, but it was always tough throughout the regular work week before all this coronavirus stuff happened. Now that we have some downtime, we decided to create a little challenge where fans get to race myself and five of my guys that are on my Richard Petty team. We feel like we’re pretty good. We definitely give each other a run for our money, so it’s tough for us to become teammates because all we want to do is talk crap to each other. At the end of the day, it makes it fun. We are going to change it up a little bit. I think we’re going to try to get the other competitors in our chat room as well and be able to stream that to hear everyone’s audio. So, it’ll be pretty cool.” WHAT IS THE FOCUS THAT IT TAKES TO RACE ON THE VIRTUAL TRACKS? “It’s kind of crazy how focused and determined we are. On a sim, I don’t know if it’s my setup or my combination of wheel and pedals, but it’s super sketchy. You can make one little twitch in the wheel in real life and you know what’s going to happen. On this, you don’t know when it’s going to spin out. So, it’s kind of hard to judge that. By the time you find out, it’s almost a little too late. My wrists hurt so bad on virtual versus real life because I’m just trying not to do anything crazy or stupid with the wheel. Like I said, I don’t know what it’s going to do. You saw Ryan Preece go through the grass there and it was crazy how he saved in. I did the same thing, I don’t know at what point of the race it was, and I was about to break my whole simulator because I was shaking so hard to keep it underneath me. You definitely have to be focused. You saw Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) hit the wall in turn 4 and I was doing that a lot in the practice races, just because you’re like ‘OK, I’m going to exit the corner, I’m good’, but no it’s different. You have to stay focused the whole time.” WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE FOR BRISTOL? IF BOUNCING OFF THE WALL IS SO DIFFERENT ON THE SIMULATOR, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FOR BRISTOL?“Bristol is going to be tough. You can kind of get away with it in real life. It’s tough; you hit the wall, you’re cutting a tire quick. But here, it depends on where you hit with the car, it really affects your performance pretty bad. So, it’s going to be tough. There are going to be a lot of close quarters racing. The guys on the bottom may have a little bit of an advantage because it’s so easy to get in contact. Still looking back at the replay of my wreck last weekend at Texas, it was so close that you’re dealing with lag and I felt like I wasn’t there underneath him, and all of a sudden, he was spun around. It’s those things that will take you out of contention quick. There’s definitely going to have to be a lot of give and take.”  LOOKING AT YOU GUYS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, IT SEEMS LIKE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT’S CREATING A GOOD DISTRACTION AND POSITIVE DISTRACTION THROUGH THIS. DO YOU THINK THIS IS GOING TO MOVE THE DRIVER COMRADERY FORWARD IN THE SERIES AT ALL?“No, because you’re still going to get mad at each other. You see (Danial) Suarez, for an example, when he spun, he pulled right back up on the race track. Obviously, he wouldn’t do that in real life, so it’s like why in the heck are you doing it on virtual. Yeah, it’s not going to hurt anybody, but you ruin somebody’s race. I don’t know if it’s going to make the comradery better. We still get mad and frustrated, so it’s just virtually versus real life.” WHAT DOES YOUR NORMAL DAY LOOK LIKE NOW?“Man, it’s been tough. I’ve been very, very bored. I’ve been getting a lot done around the house actually. Amanda (Carter) has been here and she’s been working; she has to work everyday from home. So, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., she’s on the computer downstairs. She gets a little time away. In the last few days, we’ve been able to go out on walks throughout the neighborhood here. My allergies are really bad and it’s pollen season. I told her I’m not going outside again for like the next week; let me get through my allergies and we’ll be alright. Other than that, it’s a lot of time on iRacing. There are a bunch of different leagues that I’m joining in. I’m playing a lot of Call of Duty. I’m still kind of being a big kid at home. We’ll try to come up with dinner and lunch plans. We stay at the house as much as possible. I think we’ve quarantined ourselves pretty good. We were able to go over to her mom’s house yesterday for Amanda’s birthday. That’s about the only time we get out of the house, unless we need to go to the grocery store or something. Other than that, just trying not to go crazy. Keep your options open on whatever there is to do. We’ve been working on photography. I’ve been asking Amanda if I can take pictures of her. She was like ‘I brought some cute clothes’, so we were able to do that and just have fun. At the end of the day, you start to run out of ideas. You can only watch so many TV shows, you can only watch so much Tiger King. I only watched like thirty seconds of that and I was like ‘this is ridiculous’ (laughs). But all in all, just trying to keep it fun and light-hearted.” WHEN THIS IS OVER THIS, BACK TO RACING AND THE WORLD IS WORKING IT’S WAY BACK TO NORMAL, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE NEW NORMAL?“Yeah, it’s tough. Obviously, just interacting with people, whether it’s pit crews, fans, whatever it is. We spread germs like no other. Before this pandemic, we were washing our hands and trying to be as clean as we could. But still, it’s crazy just how quick this spread and how quick the outbreak was, I think we’re going to be a lot more on top of things now. So, the interactions may decrease a little bit, which I think people understand that. We don’t want to shoo away anybody, but when you’re not feeling alright or something, we’ve got to do a better job of social distancing ourselves to not let this happen again. I think as far as racing, it’s going to be action-packed. NASCAR is doing everything they can to get a full season in. I know states are pushing different boundaries and adding new rules. Virginia just announced theirs until June 10th, which is crazy, but that’s what we’re following. We’re following the CDC and what the government says. So, it’s going to be tough, but hopefully we can get it all in and get going.” AS THE IRACING GOES ON, IT SEEMS TO BE GETTING MORE COMPETITIVE. DO YOU THINK TEMPERS MIGHT FLARE A LITTLE MORE?“Yeah, for sure. At the end of the day, we’re all competitors. It’s funny, I can sit there and try to become third perspective for a second while I’m driving, and be like ‘Man, we’re taking it super serious’. But at the end of the day, I hope the next time we interact with somebody in real life, that’s not going to carry over. It would be like ‘Hey man, you wrecked me on iRacing’. But it’s like, ‘Cool bro, you had a reset button. Did you get hurt? Did it cost you any money?’. No, so at the end of the day, it’s a video game and there’s no blood, sweat or tears. But you do put a lot of time into it, so to have somebody wreck you out or cost you a race is frustrating. But we’re putting on a show for the fans and doing some things that wouldn’t really happen in real life, so it’s a little bit different. Definitely a lot of people are getting more serious, practicing every day. So, it’s pretty cool and shows how competitive we are.” WITH NASCAR INTENDING TO GET ALL THE RACES IN, THAT LIKELY MEANS SOME COMPRESSION IN THE SCHEDULE. JUST CURIOUS OF YOUR ANTICIPATION OF TRYING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN TALKED ABOUT FOR AWHILE, BUT NOW IT MIGHT BE FORCED UPON US. MAYBE MID-WEEK RACES, MORE DOUBLEHEADERS.“Yeah, for sure. I think it would be sick, honestly. Just for example, Martinsville, obviously with the new rules throw that out the window, but say start at Martinsville. Then, that Wednesday we go to Atlanta and come back and run Charlotte. Then, the next Wednesday, run Bristol or something. I know we have to keep it in the same area because it would be really tough on teams getting to and from the race track. If we went from Martinsville to California, that would not work. But yeah, it’s going to be tough. I definitely don’t want to be in NASCAR’s shoes and the tracks’ shoes trying to figure all that out. All kudos to them for going through that headache. But I think the plan they will come up will be good and best suited for us and the fans. I think it would be cool; action-packed and worn out. But that’s kind of how it was. I remember during the summer months, being 9 or 10 years old, we were in Charlotte Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we were in Atlanta, and Friday and Saturday it was either Kentucky or Nashville. Those were the fun days of just sleeping in the back of the pickup truck and the next thing you know, you wake up at a new race track and do it all over again.” CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH ALL THE PIECES TO YOUR SIM SETUP AND HOW MUCH DID YOU GET THAT FOR?“I had a room above my garage that was completely empty when I bought it from the previous house owner. They were like we didn’t really know what to do with it, and I was like ‘Man, I can turn this into a game room’. It’s isolated for the rest of the house, so I can be as loud as I want. I had bought a counter-top from IKEA. My neighbor actually helped me cut it up and get the dimensions right so I could have one part of my desk where I can sit down and play Call of Duty and stuff like that. Then, off to the side in the corner, there’s another part of the desk with another monitor set up for iRacing. I have my sim rig over there. I bought my rig a couple of years ago. I can’t remember the exact brand of it, but it was a couple hundred bucks. Then, my steering wheel and stuff is pretty expensive. That’s up in the couple grand or so. All in all, I’m in the $4,000 to $5,000 range, if you think about my computer and monitor setup. It’s funny, because you see these guys’ sims. I was actually able to meet Chad Wheeler and he does a lot of rigs for a lot of guys; Clint Bowyer, he does the FOX one, he’s got Dale Jr.’s. I was able to meet him and I was like ‘Man, I might need to be talking to you’. My rig is completely fine, but these are super nice. But we’ll see.” WHAT ARE YOU HEARING FROM YOUR FRIENDS IN ALABAMA ABOUT THE SIM RACING?“Alabama, I have no idea. I haven’t been to Alabama since I was two-years-old. My uncle still lives down there, and him and my aunt tune in every Sunday to watch it virtually. It’s crazy; I was sitting here talking to Amanda. The first race that was at Homestead, all we knew was FOX was going to air it and whatnot. We sat there and watched the broadcast of the race; they’re doing the National Anthem, they have Billy from MRO come through and do the invocation. We were like ‘holy cow, this is serious, this is awesome!’. It’s cool how we are transitioning into the world and putting on a show. We were really doing it just to have fun and give the fans something to watch. We’ve been doing this for a while, but for FOX to step up and broadcast it. You joke about it now, but TV runs the schedule in real life. We’re sitting there waiting for command and commercial breaks. It’s the same thing. All in all, it’s good for the sport and a good time. They enjoy it.” IS THERE A TRACK THAT IS YOUR FAVORITE VIRTUALLY? “The road courses are a lot easier on virtual because you can crash, reset, know what to do now and get new tires every time. It’s definitely not that easy in real life. But it’s different; some of the favorite tracks I have in real life are based off of the feel, speed and whatnot. Examples would be Bristol and Dover. Going through the corners there at Martinsville, you can show up there, have a lot of success and feel good. It’s different, going against guys that I know I can out-run in real life. You jump on the sim and they’ve been doing it everyday for the last three years, they go out and out-run you. So, it’s different; it’s totally different. You figure out the ins and the outs of being fast and good at these tracks virtually. But all and all, all of them are fine because you get the reset button and you get to try new things that you wouldn’t try in real life.” THE NUMBER OF LAPS IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE A FEW MORE LAPS OR DOES IT SORT OF TIGHTEN UP THE INTENSITY OF THE COMPETITION?“No, I think the number of laps have been good. To be honest with you, I hadn’t been on iRacing in about six to eight months. It’s been kind of the cycle where I’ll jump on for a week and then I’ll get burnt out, and I won’t jump on for six to eight months. It’s been like that for a couple of years. That’s the point where I’m getting right now. I jumped on when we first announced that we were going to run for Homestead. I started racing every night with sprint cars, late models, all that stuff. Now, the only time I’ll get on is to practice a little bit and run the official races that we run on Sunday’s. It’s definitely good for me; I like the number of laps. It’s just long enough because you get to play a little bit of strategy, so we go 100 percent for the full race.” DO YOU SEE THIS AS A VENUE TO BE ABLE TO COMPETE WITH DRIVERS THAT HAVE HAD SUCCESS IN THE SPORT, BUT NOW YOU CAN DO IT VIRTUALLY WHEN IN THE REAL WORLD, IT WOULDN’T BE PRACTICAL?“Yeah, it gives them an opportunity to jump back in and jump into the sim world to give them a taste of that. It’s cool to have Bobby (Labonte) in there and whatnot. Racing against Dale (Earnhardt Jr.), I know he’s been doing it for a while. Still, it’s cool to see that. It just gives them a chance to be a kid and get the action for racing underneath them.” A FEW WEEKS AGO, AT CALIFORNIA, YOU AND A COUPLE OTHER DRIVERS WERE ABLE TO HONOR KOBE BRYANT AND THE OTHER VICTIMS OF THE HELICOPTOR CRASH. OVERALL, WHAT DID THAT TRIBUTE AND THAT WHOLE WEEKEND MEAN TO YOU? “That was a special weekend. (Ryan) Blaney had his car, and so did (William) Byron. We had the names and decals on our car. It was special. I remember when it happened, my mom had called me. You could tell she was very upset with just the tone in her voice. She was like ‘hey, did you hear the news’, and I was like ‘no, what happened’. I think I had just woken up from a nap to be honest. She was like Kobe Bryant died and I hung up immediately, got on social media, saw the news and immediately started sobbing. Seeing all the hits on Sport Center and all the news outlets about Kobe Bryant, how it impacted globally, just really makes you think about how big of an icon and person that we was to everybody, not just the sports world. We definitely lost a great one; one of the greatest of all-time for sure. It was super sad to see and just unfortunate. All of the other victims and his little girl, that was tough to swallow. The whole accident was just super tough, so we thought it would be cool for us to honor everybody there on our race car and show that we’re still thinking about them. There’s not a day that goes by that you get on Instagram or Twitter and there’s some Kobe highlight or some kind of Gigi highlight that brings you back and puts you in your feels again. So, it’s still tough to think about. It was cool to see the impact that he had globally; it just makes you want to try that much harder to be that type of person when you retire and leave your legacy behind.” ABOUT THESE MID-WEEK RACE POSSIBILITES, TALK ABOUT PHYSICAL FITNESS OF DRIVERS AND ENDURANCE, DO YOU THINK THAT MIGHT BREAK YOU DOWN A LITTLE BIT OVER THE COURSE OF TRYING TO SQUEEZE IN ALL 36 RACES IN?“Yeah, it will for sure wear you out. It’s definitely going to be tough on the physical side of things and mental side of things too. You’re really going to have to position yourself to have the endurance. I’ve definitely been hitting the gym here at the house more than I have in a year or so. We don’t know the exact schedule yet and what’s going to happen, but we have to plan for the most strenuous schedule as possible. Getting the upper body right, getting the cardio right and just making sure we can last. It shouldn’t be a problem; we’ll get that day or two reset in between to gain your stamina, confidence and your physical abilities back. It’ll definitely be tough, but it’ll get myself in shape and that’ll be nice.” TALK ABOUT THE MARIO KART RACING.“You definitely learn a lot. It’s funny; it’s like who are we racing against this week? You’ll seem them take a shortcut and it’s like ‘whoa, where did that come from?’. Or they’ll somehow get to that corner better than you. So, for me, I’m always analyzing the people I’m racing around, how they’re doing this and how they’re doing that. When are they drifting, when are they using their mushrooms, you’re always analyzing. It’s almost unhealthy how much we’re taking a game like Mario Kart into consideration of how to be better at, but hey I’m competitive and I want to win in everything. I don’t care if it’s Mario Kart, iRacing or real life, it’s a racing game that I have a huge passion for.”

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang will return to competition on network TV this weekend as the sport’s iRacing wing steps up to deliver live content to a sports world starved for entertainment due to the coronavirus.

Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at virtual Texas Motor Speedway is the second event held this season featuring mostly Cup drivers but the first to be carried on FOX. Last week’s race at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway was broadcast on FOX Sports 1, which also is airing this week’s race.

The Invitational races might seem on the surface like a hastily assembled affair, but they are made possible by iRacing’s infrastructure already in place.

Drivers participate via computers in their own homes, with their consoles varying from $40,000 rigs to some costing just a few hundred dollars.

The Wood Brothers, with backing from the dockless electric scooter rental company Spin, a Ford Motor Co. property, already were involved in on-line racing and fielded four drivers last year.

Two competed in the 18-race NASCAR Peak iRacing League, and two more in the 16-race season for the NASCAR Heat Pro League.

Jon Wood, senior vice president and co-owner of the Wood Brothers team, said the foundation already laid by iRacing is the reason NASCAR fans can watch Cup drivers in action even though the traditional cars are idled indefinitely. 

 “iRacing took a chance before anyone else in being a NASCAR eSports league,” Wood said, giving much of the credit to iRacing Executive Vice President and Executive Producer Steve Myers, and to Otto Szebeni, who is iRacing’s director of sales and marketing. “We met them at Homestead in 2018 and they mentioned the idea of having an esports league. 

 “We really knew nothing about what they were planning, but the notion of an iRacing league, made up of some Cup teams seemed like a really good idea. 

“We joined in and were actually the first team to commit, not knowing if it would be a total flop or a booming success.”

After some initial difficulties explaining the concept of online racing to the old-school members of his family’s race team, Wood said his team now fully supports a venture that has become a leader in a sports world scrambling for ways to deliver content.

And, as with their traditional Cup team, the Woods have strong support from Ford in their iRacing venture.

Wood credited Brett Wheatley, who once oversaw the Motorcraft sponsorship and now oversees the company’s mobility and autonomous vehicle businesses including Spin, with recognizing the potential of esports like iRacing.

“Brett wanted to be a part of our esports venture, seeing it for what it could be at some point down the road,” Wood said. I think he accurately called that shot.”

Now, with few sports broadcasting options other than re-runs, the vision of folks like Wheatley and the iRacing execs is paying off.

 “The shutting down of all of America has kickstarted the e-sports revolution, but iRacing was already there and totally killing it long before this virus took hold,” Wood said. “If not for last year’s Peak Series and this year’s Coca-Cola iRacing Series, I can almost guarantee we wouldn’t be talking about iRacing in the way we are now.” 

 “The infrastructure and relationships were already there because of team involvement.”
 Wood said it took no more than a single text message relating to last Sunday’s Homestead race. From letting the team know the race would happen to making sure Matt and his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang would be involved was a single back and forth text. No contracts, no delays.  

 “That level of trust and knowing whatever they do, we know it will be done right.  That wouldn’t exist had it not been for the already existing relationships we have, and I think many other teams probably have very similar experiences,” Wood said. 

The O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 race at virtual Texas Motor Speedway takes place on Sunday, March 29, at 1 p.m. Eastern Time and is available on FOX, FS1, and the FOX Sports app.

NARC NEWSLINE – March 25, 2020, By Jim Allen …  And just like that, racing season and every other sport in America gets slam dunked by a China-borne virus named after a popular Mexican beer, which is hawked by a former Dallas Cowboy quarterback!  What are the odds?  Who saw that one coming?  I didn’t!  You didn’t!  And that unique scenario led to school closures, mass panic, pantry raids at Costco, the instant demise of the travel industry, shelter in place, and toilet paper being hawked on the streets like it’s crack!

So how does that effect all of you fanatic sprint car fans?  Just scroll through the social media site of your choice and it rates somewhere between totally pissed off to predicting an open wheel apocalypse (whatever that is!)   Many have wanted to revolt and race no matter what politicians and safety officials preach.  That got even more complicated when many fans lost their minds after watching California’s very own Carson Macedo win at Williams Grove in Pennsylvania.  If they’re racing, why can’t we race?  I get it.  We all get it.  But on the other side of the coin, nobody wants to actually get “it” – most specifically the COVID-19 virus.

The bottom line is it’s pretty hard to stage a “successful” open wheel event with less than 250 people, all of whom must be social distanced by at least six feet, while all of the veteran (older) race fans are quarantined at home surfing Amazon for hand sanitizer and face masks.  Yes, several promoters and sanctioning bodies have considered running renegade and staging racing events anyway.  But deep down, short track promoters know they will take a financial bloodbath in the process and that is probably more dangerous for our sport than the actual coronavirus itself. By the way, in the time it took to read that, the recommended group body count has already dropped to 100 …, no wait …, make that 50.  Now another press conference by the governor and it’s down to 10 people, who now have to prove they haven’t sneezed since the third grade.  Heck, by the time you’re done reading this piece, it will be highly recommended, suggested and legislated that you and your significant other can’t sleep in the same bed.

At this point, promoters are between a hard place and a harder place because while we do this for fun and an entertaining break from reality, their livelihood is probably at stake.  They are being forced to cancel everything, batten down the hatches, cut every expense, and sit tight and hope they can outlast the storm.  That is pretty depressing because a lot of work goes into preparing a track, negotiating a schedule and sponsorships and gearing up for any season.  And this knife cuts on both sides, because as of right now, the State of California is still expecting their facility lease payments to be mailed in a timely fashion.  If a concession isn’t made, we might be worrying about ALL tracks like we perpetually do about Calistoga (which may now be the most stable track of the pack after contracts were signed.)

Which brings us full circle to the slam dunk portion of the NARC King of the West Fujitsu Racing Series.  Two races schedule, two races postponed indefinitely (which is Latin for cancelled.)  And now that the State has mandated that no activities are to take place on any fairgrounds until May 10th, that officially scrubs the 30th Annual Dave Bradway Jr. race at Silver Dollar Speedway until 2021.  Keep in mind that the May 10th date is the “best case scenario” timeline.  That would tentatively make the May 16th Peter Murphy Classic the season opener, which is coincidental because it’s Mr. Murphy who has been preaching for years to “Bring a Friend” to the track.  Motorsports is going to need a lot of friends to recover from this.  Let’s hope that all of your friends are still employed by then.

Speaking of Murphy, everybody figured that Peter Murphy was one of the luckiest men alive when he took over the reigns at Keller Auto Speedway.  I did!  You did, we all did!  He marched in with a new vision and passion, new paint, new sponsors, and a healthy bounce in his step.  That resulted in an awesome season opener in front of a packed house at the Kings Fairgrounds.  He also has some great plans lined up to help grow 410 sprint car racing in California with some additional non-KWS competing races.  Fast forward a month and now he is in a permanent holding pattern over the Central Valley until the Fair Board and Health Department deems he can turn the lights on again.  That stinks worse than being stuck on a quarantined cruise ship.

In the meantime, we all need to be patient and go out of your way to support all of those in your family and our racing family – while properly maintaining social distancing.  Let’s get through to the other side of this global catastrophe without having to perform any memorial laps for anybody.  If you want to do something nice, send your local track promoter lunch (DoorDash or GrubHub); try to support the people and sponsors whose names adorn your favorite racing heroes cars, and with some luck, the 2020 season will not have a big asterisk next to it.

NARC NOTES:  I nominate car owner/former NARC president Walter T. Ross to be inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.  #justsaying  …  We are planning to honor the legendary LeRoy Van Conett at our March 21st event.  That doesn’t mean we can’t acknowledge him now!  The eight-time NARC champion claimed 65 feature events and was a dominating force any time he slipped into a sprint car. Those are some great memories, even if one can only remember a portion of them. … Geoffrey Strole recently announced that he will be chasing the NARC King of the West schedule this season.  The “G-Man” from Hanford cut his teeth as a series rookie in 2012 and finished 12th in points.  He’s aiming to improve that to the top 10 this season! …  While we are on the subject of nicknames, “Wild Bill” Anton will also be a frequent flyer this season. …  The cancellations have actually helped a few NARC-KWS teams.  Chico’s Kenny Allen wasn’t going to be ready for the NARC season until May.  Now he will be rolling in with with a new racing program, car and updated motor. …  Same thing with car owner Clayton Snow, who was tooling around in Arizona. …  And one of the newest teams who really appreciated the extra time was none other than Willie Croft.  The Roseville driver has literally built a new team from scratch for the 2020* season.  This includes everything from building a new hauler to buying the wrenches to put inside it. …

RANDOM THOUGHTS:  iRacing may become the most popular sport in America this year.  Desperate times bring desperate measures. … Do we take it for granted that every driver who buckles up in a sprint car has some kind of medical insurance?  Not to single anyone out, but why would anyone even consider getting into one without insurance?  All of us are invincible – until we get hurt – and then hindsight is the worst kind of reality check.  For those of you without an option, take a look at stida.com, which stands for the “short track independent drivers and associates.”  For less than $300 bucks you can buy a policy.  If you need it, I’ll lend it to you.  If you don’t pay me back, I’ll send Vinnie to break your kneecaps, which means you’ll need insurance anyway. …  Have you every wondered how Cornhole Tournaments get televised on ESPN, but not many, if any dirt track races? …  Since most of us are spending a ton-o-time on social media these days, start posting some of your favorite racing memorabilia and photos. … Wishing new Antioch Speedway promoter Chad Chadwick the best in his efforts to improve that facility.  Like Peter Murphy, he has big plans to take motorsports to the next level at his Contra Costa Fairgrounds race track. We would like to plan a return trip. …

… What do you with all of your spare time?  I agree, you can only watch Netflix reruns of Breaking Bad, Rake, Dexter and Narcos so many times before you go bats**t crazy!  For that reason, your NARC King of the West racing series entertainment guide highly recommends a subscription to SpeedShiftTV.com and/or MillsVideo.tv.  Pick a random race, pour yourself a beer in a plastic cup and see if you can predict (if you are young) or remember (if you are old) the top three finishers.  Make sure you throw some dirt in your face every few minutes for the full effect.  Or take it to the next level and do it naked when the kids are in bed.  What?  I just threw that in to see if you were still paying attention! … This is also a good time to surf the libraries of some of our great photographers; many of who have websites showcasing their work.  Others you can reach on social media.  I’m sure they would love an order for a nice photo of 2019 series champion DJ Netto to mount above your bed. …  There are also some great podcast available, a couple of which I’ve been on recently (sprintcarunlimited.com & Across the Groove.) … Support those who support sprint car racing.

So let’s steal a page from the Disney playbook, which is to end every story/movie on a positive note.  There will be good news ahead – if we’re patient.  We will still be alive if we do the right thing.  Race cars will be ready to go and your favorite dirt track(s) will be anxious to open their ticket booth.  And when we finally take the first green flag in qualifying, we will have an 80-way tie for the NARC King of the West Fujitsu Racing Series championship point lead late in the racing season.  A battle for the ages!

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA.  See ya!  Stay healthy and start lining up your friends for when this show gets on the road again.

Giovanni Scelzi Earns Back-to-Back Runner-Up Results in California and Arizona

Inside Line Promotions – PEORIA, Ariz. (March 2, 2020) – Giovanni Scelzi produced a pair of top-notch performances in his family owned sprint car during the last two weekends.

Scelzi earned a runner-up result on Feb. 22 at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif., before duplicating that result last Friday at Canyon Speedway Park, which hosted a Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour doubleheader that featured more than 50 drivers. Continue reading Giovanni Scelzi Earns Back-to-Back Runner-Up Results in California and Arizona →

Race Wrap: 26th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA Spring Break Shootout

(March 2, 2020 Santa Ana CA) Kicking off the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals season in fine style, the 26th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA Spring Break Shootout roared into Bradenton Motorsports Park, drawing a crowd of fans and a horde of racers. All in attendance enjoyed cool weather, fast race cars and everything an NMRA event has to offer, including a huge car show and a manufacturer’s midway brimming with performance parts. Racers established a foothold in the season’s championship points chase and an elite group headed for the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle to celebrate the spoils of victory. Continue reading Race Wrap: 26th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA Spring Break Shootout →

Rachel Doubles-Up at Lucas Oil Regional Event in Louisiana

Mar 2, 2020 | Featured, Race Results, Rachel Meyer

For the second year in a row, Rachel Meyer dominated the Top Alcohol Dragster class at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana this past weekend. Rachel defeated number one qualifier, Jackie Fricke, in the final round. Continue reading Rachel Doubles-Up at Lucas Oil Regional Event in Louisiana →

DiBenedetto Finishes 13th In Auto Club 400

March 1, 2020

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Quaker State team capitalized on some mid-race adjustments to earn a 13th-place finish in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway. DiBenedetto picked up six positions on the final green-flag run of the race and moved up to eighth place in the Cup Series standings.
Continue reading DiBenedetto Finishes 13th In Auto Club 400 →

DiBenedetto, Menards/Quaker State Team Set To Start 12th At Fontana

February 29, 2020
Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang qualified 12th fastest at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday as Fords swept eight of the top 15 starting spots for Sunday’s Auto Club 400.

“I held it wide open and didn’t lift,” DiBenedetto told reporters at Auto Club after his qualifying run. “That is good.”

He pointed out that the Menards team’s main goal on Saturday was to have a Mustang that would be fast in the race, not just for one lap in time trials. Continue reading DiBenedetto, Menards/Quaker State Team Set To Start 12th At Fontana →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES & QUOTES
FEBRUARY 29, 2020

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
2nd Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
3rd Alex Bowman, No. 88 Cincinnati Camaro ZL1 1LE
4th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
9th Kyle Larson, No. 42 McDonald’s Camaro ZL1 1LE
10th Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. No. 47 Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE
Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Auto Club Speedway–Qualifying →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY BREAKOUT SESSION HIGHLIGHTS
FEBRUARY 28, 2020

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1 1LE BREAKOUT SESSION HIGHLIGHTS:

ON THE ‘KYLE BUSCH CHALLENGE’, WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT YOUR ‘CHERRIES TWEET’ SPARKED ALL THIS?
“Yeah, I guess. It was really a joke. I’m not offended with Kyle Busch wins Truck races. I actually like it a lot because I feel like it helps expose the guys that are good and the ones who aren’t. I think when he does win and he has to battle for the wins, I think it shows which kids are really good. So, I just dropped some cherries on there because when I do win dirt races, I do get a lot of that as well. It was more of a dig at the NASCAR fans and dirt fans who give me crap also, but in a different series. But, I guess it upset (Kevin) Harvick enough that he put a bounty up, which is cool. I think it’s great for the sport and great for the Truck Series. Hopefully the ratings are even better for these races coming up and hopefully it’s exciting, too.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Auto Club Speedway–Kyle Larson →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY BREAKOUT SESSION HIGHLIGHTS
FEBRUARY 28, 2020

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW COATINGS CAMARO ZLI ILE MEDIA BREAKOUT SESSION HIGHLIGHTS:

ABOUT RUNNING TRUCKS FOR GMS THIS YEAR: “I don’t have a relationship with GMS. I never ran one of their trucks. It would be fun to run five or six races this year but I don’t have the sponsorship it takes to run a truck and no one has come to me about it.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Auto Club Speedway–Austin Dillon →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY BREAKOUT SESSION HIGHLIGHTS
FEBRUARY 28, 2020

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA 24 TRIBUTE CAMARO ZL1 1LE BREAKOUT SESSION HIGHLIGHTS:

WOULD YOU EVER SLEEP IN A TEEPEE LIKE RYAN BLANEY, OR IS THAT NOT YOUR SCENE?
“No. That’s not my scene. I went back home. We’re testing the Next Gen car here on Monday and Tuesday. So, I’ll be out West the rest of next week.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR– Auto Club 400–William Byron →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. NOTES & QUOTES
FEBRUARY 28, 2020

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO, 48 ALLY CAMARO ZLI ILE met with media and discussed racing at his hometown track and what his last year as a full-time Cup drivers means to him, what NASCAR and the state of California mean to each other, advice he would offer up & coming drivers, and more.

Auto Club Speedway president, Dave Allen, presented Johnson with a helmet by Troy Lee Designs, a moto 3 helmet with ‘Too Hip’ written on the back, thanking Johnson for the memories. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Fontana–Jimmie Johnson →

Trent Hindman and Shelby Blackstock Team Up In NSX GT3 Evo To Run 2020 SRO GT World Challenge Americas
• Acura Motorsports development drivers coming together in 2020
• The pair will compete in full 13-round SRO GT World Challenge America season
• Duo demonstrates HPD’s commitment to helping young drivers progress
Santa Clarita, CA (February 28, 2020) – Trent Hindman, the 2019 International Motor Sports Association GT Daytona class champion, will pair with Shelby Blackstock, a multi-race winner in his Civic Type R TCR, for a full-season effort in the 2020 SRO GT World Challenge America Series in an Acura NSX GT3 Evo, it was announced today.
Blackstock and Hindman will compete for Racers Edge Motorsports as a Silver Cup team in the 13-round GT Championship that features world-class competition. The pairing is a natural fit for both drivers, as each has enjoyed success while competing in Sports Car and Touring Car endurance classes. Continue reading Trent Hindman and Shelby Blackstock Team Up In NSX GT3 Evo To Run 2020 SRO GT World Challenge Americas →

DiBenedetto/Menards Team Hoping To Continue Strong 2020 Start At Fontana

February 27, 2020

Matt DiBenedetto and his Wood Brothers team, fresh off a second-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, are headed to Auto Club Speedway with their iconic No. 21 Mustang carrying the green colors of Menards and Quaker State for the first time this season.

And DiBenedetto, who enters the weekend 10th in the Cup Series point standings, carries with him the confidence that comes from having a fast Ford at Las Vegas.

“Daytona is really its own animal,” DiBenedetto said. “Las Vegas was our first of what I’d call a normal weekend and a pretty good indicator of how we’ll be going forward.” Continue reading DiBenedetto/Menards Team Hoping To Continue Strong 2020 Start At Fontana →