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ARCA Menards Series

Dominique Van Wieringen fastest on Day 2 of Daytona ARCA test

By Daniel McFadinJan 11, 2020, 5:40 PM EST
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The ARCA Menards Series capped off a two-day test at Daytona International Speedway Saturday in preparation for its Feb. 8 race at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.

Dominique Van Wieringen posted the fastest speed of the day at 181.397 mph. She only made four laps.

“I was really surprised when (owner) Mark (Rette) said we went to the top of the charts,” Van Wieringen said in a media release. “I was practicing trying to time the draft for qualifying and I didn’t get it times just right. Hopefully when we come back for the race I can time it out a little better in qualifying and get even more.

“It’s been a good experience. It’s really intimidating because you go really fast and when things go wrong they go wrong really fast. For the first time out, it was better than I thought it would be. It was actually really relaxing. I don’t know how to explain it, it was just really relaxing.”

Out of 41 cars to make a lap, the top five was completed by David Gravel (181.236 mph), Sean Corr (181.174), Michael Self (181.145) and Drew Dollar (181.134).

Gravel, a World of Outlaws driver, will make his series debut next month.

Hailie Deegan was 16th on the speed chart after recording 62 laps throughout the day, which was the most.

 

Top 19 moments from the 2019 NASCAR Season

By NBC Sports StaffDec 20, 2019, 12:00 PM EST
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We’ve spent the last four days looking back at NASCAR in the 2010s through its most memorable quotes, its 10 best driver, best finishes and most memorable moments.

Now it’s time to look back at 2019 and the moments that defined the sport.

In chronological order, here are the top 19 moments from the 2019 season (watch the above video for more).

 

February 17, 2019 – DAYTONA 500

Following a restart on Lap 191, Matt DiBenedetto spun (after contact from Paul Menard) and sparked an accident that collected a total of 21 cars. This was the first of three multi-car wrecks in the closing laps of the race (Lap 195, Lap 199). Only three of the race’s 40 cars were not involved in crashes during this race (Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain). In the end, it was Hamlin taking home the victory, leading a 1-2-3 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing. The victory took place just over a month following the passing of team president J.D. Gibbs.

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Hailie Deegan’S TWO WINS

Rising star Hailie Deegan earned two wins in 2019 in NASCAR K&N Pro Series West competition. Both wins came on exciting last-lap passes: Feb. 28 on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, June 8 at Colorado National Speedway

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March 8, 2019 – CUP SERIES AT PHOENIX

After the first round of qualifying, Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell were involved in a scuffle on pit road. Suarez was upset with McDowell for getting in his way during the session. McDowell was unhappy because he felt Suarez tried to wreck him. McDowell’s crew chief, Drew Blickensderfer, rushed in and shoved Suarez onto the hood of McDowell’s car. Suarez tried to kick McDowell while still on the car.

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March 17, 2019 – CUP SERIES AT FONTANA

Kyle Busch led a race-high 134 laps in his victory at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The victory was Busch’s 200th across NASCAR’s three national touring series (Cup, Xfinity and Trucks), becoming just the second driver to reach that milestone. Richard Petty had 200 wins during his career, all in the NASCAR Cup Series.

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April 13, 2019 – CUP SERIES AT RICHMOND

Martin Truex Jr. held off a late challenge from Joey Logano to earn the win. It was Truex’s first Cup Series victory on a short track, having gone winless in his previous 80 attempts. This was the first of Truex’s series-leading seven victories in 2019.

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May 18, 2019 – ALL-STAR RACE AT CHARLOTTE

Kyle Larson took home a check for $1 million by winning the All-Star Race. His victory was overshadowed a bit when Ryan Newman made contact with Clint Bowyer during the race’s cool down lap. Afterwards, an angry Bowyer rushed over to Newman’s car and threw multiple punches before crew members hauled him away. Neither driver was hurt.

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FIRST-TIME WINNERS IN CUP SERIES

The NASCAR Cup Series saw its only first-time winners of 2019 in consecutive weeks. First, Alex Bowman passed Kyle Larson with six laps to go and held on to win at Chicagoland (June 30). The following weekend at Daytona (July 7), crew chief Peter Sospenzo had driver Justin Haley stay out during a caution following a massive multi-car accident, earning his first Cup Series win when the race is called due to weather.

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July 13, 2019 – CUP SERIES AT KENTUCKY

Kurt Busch went from fourth to first during the overtime restart. He would then battle his younger brother Kyle on the final lap, passing the eventual Cup Series champ coming out of Turn 4 to take the checkered flag.

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July 21, 2019 – CUP SERIES AT NEW HAMPSHIRE

Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin engaged in a classic last-lap duel at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Harvick held off the hard-charging Hamlin in one of the best finishes of the year.

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August 4, 2019 – CUP SERIES AT WATKINS GLEN

Following their epic duel the previous year at Watkins Glen, Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. went head-to-head again on the historic road course. Their battle came down to the final stage, and once again, Elliott was victorious. The race also featured Bubba Wallace spinning out Kyle Busch on Lap 62 after the two drivers engaged in some aggressive racing on the front stretch. On the previous Lap (61), Ryan Blaney spun Jimmie Johnson, leading the seven-time champ to confront Blaney after the race.

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August 17, 2019 – CUP SERIES AT BRISTOL

Matt DiBenedetto was in pursuit of his first Cup Series win and led a career-high 93 laps at Bristol. However, he could not thwart the effort of Denny Hamlin, who made the winning pass with just 12 laps to go. During the NBC Post-Race Show, Hamlin and DiBenedetto embraced in a show of sportsmanship.

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THROWBACK WEEKEND AT DARLINGTON (AUG. 31 & SEP. 1)

NASCAR honored its past during Throwback Weekend at Darlington as many drivers sported retro paint schemes belonging to the heroes of the past. Fans also welcomed back Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the driver’s seat just two weeks after a plane crash involving himself and his family. The weekend was capped by Erik Jones’ victory in the Southern 500.

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September 29, 2019 – CUP SERIES PLAYOFFS AT CHARLOTTE ROVAL

Chase Elliott overcame his miscue on the Lap 65 restart on the Charlotte Roval, when he crashed into the Turn 1 tire barrier. Elliott rallied to pass Kevin Harvick with six laps to go and held on for the win. Alex Bowman, who finished second, grabbed the final transfer spot into the Round of 12. The event also featured a post-race altercation between Bubba Wallace and Bowman, who were involved in an on-track incident during Stage 2. Wallace walked up to Bowman, who was sitting next to his car, and splashed what appeared to be an energy drink in his face.

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October 14, 2019 – CUP SERIES PLAYOFFS AT TALLADEGA

In a race determined by just .007 of a second, Ryan Blaney advanced to the Round of 8 with a thrilling victory over Ryan Newman at Talladega. The race featured three large multi-car wrecks, with the third and final one on Lap 182. During this crash, Brendan Gaughan‘s No. 62 car completely flipped, landing on its tires. Incredibly, Gaughan walked away from the crash.

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October 19, 2019 – XFINITY SERIES PLAYOFFS AT KANSAS

A heated conversation between title contenders Tyler Reddick and Cole Custer turned physical following the playoff race at Kansas Speedway. The two drivers fell to the ground as they were swarmed by members of both teams. Reddick sustained a red mark above his right eye following the altercation.

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October 27, 2019 – CUP SERIES PLAYOFFS AT MARTINSVILLE

Martin Truex Jr. secured the first ticket to the Championship 4 with a dominant performance, leading 464 of the race’s 500 laps. The bigger story took place after the checkered flag when Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin got into a heated argument that led to a physical altercation. Team Penske crew member Dave Nichols Jr. was suspended one race for violently pulling Hamlin to the ground.

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November 10, 2019 – CUP SERIES PLAYOFFS AT PHOENIX

Entering the Round of 8 elimination race at ISM Raceway outside Phoenix, Denny Hamlin was 20 points below the Championship cut line. As the race played out, Hamlin needed to win to advance to Miami. Hamlin pitted from the lead with seven laps to go and took just two tires only, winning the race off pit road. The decision paid off as Hamlin won to secure his spot in the Championship 4. Kyle Busch finished second to advance on points, joining Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick.

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November 16, 2019 – XFINITY SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP AT MIAMI

Tyler Reddick became the sixth driver to earn back-to-back Xfinity Series Championships, and the first to achieve the feat while driving for different teams (JR Motorsports in 2018, Richard Childress Racing in 2019). The highlight of the race took place with 19 laps to go as Reddick and Cole Custer exchanged the race lead three times in one lap.

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November 17, 2019 – CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP AT MIAMI

Kyle Busch earned his second Cup Series Championship with a hard-fought victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Following the race, he shared a victory lap with his son Brexton as the two cruised into Victory Lane.

 

Hailie Deegan looking forward to being a ‘focus’ of attention at Ford

Photo by Daniel McFadin
By Daniel McFadinDec 17, 2019, 3:45 PM EST
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CONCORD, N.C. — Hailie Deegan‘s future with Ford started in style.

The 18-year-old began the next chapter of her career Tuesday at the Ford Performance Technical Center by slowly piloting a blue Ford Shelby 350 through a set of dark curtains before taking questions from the media.

That followed a hype video showing Deegan doing donuts in another Ford car.

Hailie Deegan emerges from a Ford Shelby 350 as part of her introduction as a member of Ford’s driver development program. (Photo by Daniel McFadin)

The theatrics on her behalf are one of the reasons why, after a few years with Toyota, she’ll be be spending “a lot of birthdays” as a Ford development driver.

But it mostly came down to there not being enough rides for her in Toyota’s stable to properly propel her up the ladder.

“At the end of the day, Toyota, they introduced me to the NASCAR world … they pushed me into it, they gave me a really good base and that’s something I’m super thankful for,” Deegan said. “But at the end of the day, there’s so many Toyota drivers and there’s not many seats. I think we made the best decision for my career long-term.”

Deegan joins a development program that boasts Chase Briscoe as its founding driver.

“There’s going to be more of a focus,” Deegan said. “That’s something I was super adamant about. I want to be focused on, I want to have the attention over here to be a better driver and get developed and that’s something that stood out to me and I think that’s going to help my career.”

Ford recently entered a partnership with the David Gilliland co-owned DGR-Crosley that will add to its efforts.

A three-time winner on what’s now the ARCA Menards Series West, Deegan will compete full-time with DGR-Crosley in the ARCA Menards Series while also competing in select IMSA races, beginning with the Jan. 24 Michelin Pilot Challenge endurance race at Daytona International Speedway.

The looming ARCA season won’t be Deegan’s first interaction with DGR-Crosley. She competed in one ARCA Menards Series East race with the team this year at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“I got used to the team, I got to feel everyone out, see what I liked, didn’t like and there was a lot of things that I liked about them,” Deegan said. “I saw how hard their work ethic was. I really like how David, he was a racer. He understands it. He has a son (Todd Gilliland) that races, he knows the game of trying to build your kid into the ranks of NASCAR and running a team at the same time while still being a racer. That’s something I think is a really good combo that’s just going to help his team get better and better. Especially with how much Ford is supporting them, getting behind them.

“The resources they’re giving them is insane.”

Among those resources now at her disposal is Ford’s “marketing push.”

“That’s something I didn’t really have in the past with the team I was with and the manufacturer, that’s something (Ford wants) to push more,” Deegan said. “Push more stuff that’s away from racing, that’s ‘OK, let’s gets you in a Mustang, lets get you in a truck and let’s do some cool videos and stuff like that’ and that’s something I’m big into. I love social media. I love doing stuff like that and that’s definitely a push they want to connect us with.”

All this is work towards one goal: reaching the NASCAR Cup Series.

Both Deegan and Ford Performance Motorsports’ global director, Mark Rushbrook, preached the importance of Deegan moving up each step on the stock car racing ladder when she’s ready.

“We want to make sure, and Hailie wants to make sure, her team wants to make sure, she progresses to those levels when she’s ready to ensure success at each step,” Rushbrook said.

While Ford didn’t announce an expected plan for her progression, Deegan’s father, action sports star Brian Deegan, hopes the opportunity arises for her to “dabble” in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series at some point this year.

“I think she needs that,” Brian Deegan said. “She wants to race Eldora for sure, just because it’s a dirt race.”

He even mapped out the ideal structure for his daughter over the next few years.

“It would be ARCA (in 2020), 2021 trucks, 2022 trucks, 23′, 24′ (in) Xfinity is kind of what we’re hoping and laying out, is kind of our goal for her to have that path and then get to Cup,” Brian Deegan said. “By then I think she should have enough experience on everything to be ready, to be competitive.”

Hailie Deegan admitted it’s been difficult to see her fellow competitors from the ARCA East and West Series get a shot at the Truck Series before she does.

“It’s been really hard, just going to ISM (Raceway) at Phoenix (in November,)” she said. “It was so hard for me because my teammate (Derek Kraus at Bill McAnally Racing), he was racing in the truck race and I was sitting there on pit road and I was like, ‘Man, if he can do it, I want to do it.’ Seeing all my friends reach trucks, that’s something hard for me to kind of hold back on, ‘Ok let’s race ARCA, let’s gain experience, let’s get better before I go there.'”

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Hailie Deegan is Ford’s newest development driver

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By Daniel McFadinDec 17, 2019, 12:09 PM EST
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CONCORD, N.C. — Ford Performance Motorsports revealed Hailie Deegan as its newest development driver Tuesday at its Technical Center, with her joining Chase Briscoe in the program.

Deegan will compete in multiple series in 2020, including the full ARCA Menards Series season with DGR-Crosley driving the No. 4 Ford and select events in the Mustang GT4 with Multimatic Motorsports in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.

Neither Deegan or Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance Motorsports global director, would say how long her deal was, but Deegan said she’s be with Ford for “a lot of birthdays.”

At the unveiling, Deegan said all of her funding is focused on the ARCA Series, but if the opportunity to race in other series comes up this year, they will pursue it.

Photo by Daniel McFadin

“I could not be more excited to join Ford Performance and DGR-Crosley,” Deegan said in a press release. “It became clear quickly that I align with the Ford Performance vision of driver development and our shared drive to win.  It is also extra special to get to race with Ford, a family company, that already had ties to my family. Growing up watching my dad race a Ford, and now to be able to do the same thing is very cool.

“It’s also important to me to be teamed up with a hardworking group such as DGR with like minded vision and goals. We are all committed to work as hard as it takes to finish on top.  I look forward to the upcoming season and learning as much as possible to get me closer to accomplishing my goals of winning races.”

Deegan, 18, will be leaving the vaunted Toyota Racing Development pipeline, which has helped groom Erik Jones and Christopher Bell for NASCAR’s premier series. But with Toyota’s Cup and Xfinity rides mostly filled for the foreseeable future, Ford’s larger team lineup might offer Deegan a better path for accelerating through NASCAR’s national series if she can improve on her two wins and 11 top 10s in 14 K&N Series (now the ARCA Menards Series) starts last year.

“Hailie has shown in her brief time behind the wheel of a stock car that she’s got what it takes to be successful,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, in a press release.  “Our goal is to put her on a path to realize our shared goal of winning championships and part of that is gaining experience on tracks such as road courses and superspeedways.  We feel this year will serve as a good foundation for what lies ahead.”

The daughter of action sports star Brian Deegan, Hailie Deegan is just the second woman to win a NASCAR sanctioned race, following Shawna Robinson. She’s earned three wins in 28 ARCA Menards Series West races over the last two years, and she has a knack for winning in dramatic fashion. She finished third in the K&N West standings in 2019.

One of her ARCA Menards Series East starts this year was with DGR-Crosley, which recently announced its switch from Toyota to Ford with the intent of being part of the company’s development program.

Deegan made six ARCA Menards Series starts this year, earning one top five and four top-10 finishes.

MORE: Hailie Deegan on the Dale Jr. Download: “I’m a racer, not a model”

MORE: Hailie Deegan on the struggles of finding sponsorship

Friday 5: Youth movement expanding in NASCAR

Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
By Dustin LongNov 29, 2019, 6:30 AM EST
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While the focus during the offseason is on which drivers will fill what seats in Cup, Xfinity and Trucks, there’s also a lot taking place for younger drivers seeking to reach NASCAR’s top levels someday.

Toyota Racing Development spends the end of the year evaluating talent and seeing what roles those drivers can have in the coming season.

“When I look at kind of that 16- to 21-year old group … there’s some pretty fantastic talent in that group,” Jack Irving, whose duties at Toyota Racing Development include overseeing the organization’s driver development program, told NBC Sports earlier this month. “(Also) we’ve literally tested 14- and 15-year olds that I’m extremely excited about in the same way.”

The question is where might that talent go if it remains in Toyota’s pipeline.

Toyota has five Cup seats with three filled by drivers who competed in the championship race this season — 2019 champion Kyle Busch, runner-up Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin, who placed fourth in the points. Toyota’s other two Cup seats are filled by budding stars Erik Jones (23 years old) and 2020 Cup rookie Christopher Bell (24).

Joe Gibbs Racing’s 2020 Xfinity lineup includes Brandon Jones, who turns 23 in February. This will be his third consecutive season with JGR. Joining him is Riley Herbst, who turns 21 in February, for his first full season with the team, and 19-year-old Harrison Burton for his rookie campaign.

Kyle Busch Motorsports will have 18-year-old Raphael Lessard compete full time in 2020 after running five races for the team this past season. The team also will have 19-year-old Christian Eckes, who won the ARCA title this past season, drive full time. He made eight starts in 2019 and four starts for the organization in 2018. A third truck will feature several drivers. Chandler Smith, who doesn’t turn 18 until June and is limited in what tracks he can run before then, likely will run some races for the team.

Then there’s Derek Kraus, the 18-year-old who won the title in what is now known as the ARCA West Series. There’s also 18-year-old Hailie Deegan, who finished third in points in the ARCA West Series and shows signs of climbing NASCAR’s ranks. And Ty Gibbs, the 17-year-old grandson of car owner Joe Gibbs, who won twice in ARCA and once each in what is now ARCA East and ARCA West Series in 2019. Many others are in the pipeline, which stretches to the formidable Keith Kunz Motorsports midget teams.

As each season nears an end, the work increases for Toyota Racing Development to evaluate drivers and where they will race for next year. The competition can be intense.

“I think there is a point here somewhere quickly where you get pushed pretty hard to start winning and competing,” Irving said, “to compete for top five in all the races and not have wrecked cars and do all these things and then also be a good teammate and a good person and all those kinds of things that you don’t necessarily always talk about that are pretty important for what we do from a structure perspective.”

Another key factor can be how a young driver ends a season, even if it doesn’t end in a championship.

“You typically want to see them under pressure, so the end of the season really does matter in the whole scheme of things,” Irving said. “If they’ve had a tough season, how are they finishing? If they’re having a good season, then how are they finishing?

And there’s more that is examined.

“We typically go through an analytics run through with the group,” Irving said. “A few of us will get together and kind of go through … some of the things from the coaches, some of the things from the engineers who work with them and what they’ve done with the team, so we’ll start talking to the individuals in the team, if it’s the team owner, if it’s crew chief, car chief.”

It’s all about seeking to find the next talent for the Cup Series.

2. New Generation

Based on what driver lineups that are set for next year, the 2020 Daytona 500 could see half the field age 29 and younger.

Drivers who will be age 29 and under as of next year’s Daytona 500 (Feb. 16) and have rides announced are:

Age 22: William Byron, Cole Custer, Quin Houff

Age 23: Erik Jones

Age 24: Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick

Age 25: Christopher Bell

Age 26: Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace

Age 27: Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, Kyle Larson

Age 28: Matt DiBenedetto

Age 29: Austin Dillon, Joey Logano, Ryan Preece

One also can add Corey LaJoie (age 28), Ross Chastain (27), Parker Kligerman (29) with the expectation they will each be in a Cup car for next year’s season-opening race. That would put the list at 20 drivers age 29 and under in next year’s Daytona 500. And there could be even more, including Daniel Suarez, who turns 28 in January, and John Hunter Nemechek, 22.

Compare that to 2015 when there were 13 drivers age 29 and under in that year’s season opener.

3. 99 Club

Five drivers completed at least 99% of the 10,255 laps run this season in Cup, the first time any driver has reached that mark since 2015.

Joey Logano led the way, completing 99.67% of the laps (10.221). That’s the highest percentage of laps completed by a driver since 2010 when Matt Kenseth ran 99.93% of the laps. Kenseth ran all but eight of the 10,778 laps run that year.

Also completing more than 99% of the laps this Cup season were Paul Menard (99.63%), Ty Dillon (99.18%), champion Kyle Busch (99.14%) and series runner-up Martin Truex Jr. (99.00%).

4. Ticket deals

With all the sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, many tracks also have announced special deals for tickets to NASCAR races this coming season.

NBC Sports’ Daniel McFadin has compiled what deals many tracks have starting today. You can find the information here.

5. Banquet week

The NASCAR Awards Show, which will celebrate Kyle Busch’s championship, takes place next week in Nashville, Tennessee. Festivities will be Dec. 3-5 with the Awards show taking place Dec. 5.

NBCSN will air Burnouts on Broadway at 11:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 4. and replay it at 7 p.m. ET Dec. 5. NBCSN will air the Cup Awards show from 8-10:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 5 with a replay immediately afterward.

The Xfinity Awards show will air from 9-11 p.m. ET on Sunday (Dec. 1) on NBCSN.