Ok. Here is the annual All-Star Race topic. Throwback style from North Wilkesboro Speedway. Man that felt awesome just getting to type that. Anyway all points are bonus points. Picks must be in before each event. If you make your picks separately please post as a reply and not an edit of your picks. If you want to know what the format is this year. Jayski has a pretty good breakdown of the format.
https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2023/4/6/2023-AllStar-Format-v5.jpg
 
Here is each category you can pick to score points.
 
2023 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race: Who do you think will win the All-Star Race. Pick 1 Driver
Award: 15 Bonus Points for overall winner, 10 for 2nd place, 8 for 3rd place, 7 for 4th place, decreasing by 1 point per position until 1 for 10th place. If your pick is leading at the competition caution they will earn an extra 1 Bonus Point.
 
2023 Pit Stop Competition: Which driver do you think will have the crew with the fastest pit stop. Pick 1 All-Star Crew and 1 Open Crew
Award: 3 Bonus Points for picking the winner for the All-Star Race. 1 Bonus Point for picking the winner for the Open Race.
 
2023 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open Winners: Who do you think will win the Open race and finish 2nd in the Open race to make the main event. Pick 2 drivers.
Award: 5 Bonus Points for picking the winner of the Open, 2 Bonus Points for picking 2nd place, and Additional 1 Bonus Point for picking the driver leading at the competition caution
 
2023 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Heats: Pick which driver you think will win each heat race. Pick 1 driver from each Heat.
Award: 3 Bonus Points for picking a Heat Race winner. 2 Bonus Points if your driver finishes 2nd in a Heat Race. 1 Bonus Point if your driver finishes 3rd in a Heat Race.
 
Fan Vote: Pick the driver you think will win the fan vote. Pick 1 Driver.
Award: 1 Bonus Points for picking who advances from the Fan Vote.
 
List of Due Times:
 
All-Star Race: Sun 5-21 ~8:00pm
Open: Sun 5-21 5:00pm
 
Fan Vote Winner: Sun 5-21 5:00pm
 
All-Star Race Heat Races: Sat 5-20 ~7:30pm
Pit Stop Competition/Qualifying: Fri 5-19 ~5:30pm
 
Here is an empty template so please make your picks on to make it easier for me.
 
All-Star Race Winner:
 
Open Pick 1:
Open Pick 2:
 
All-Star Heat Race #1 Winner:
All-Star Heat Race #2 Winner:
 
Pit Stop Competition All-Star Winner:
Pit Stop Competition Open Winner:
 
Fan Vote:
 
If you have any questions just ask. Points from this weekend will be posted tomorrow night.

• Opportunities available at Rising Dragon Motorsports: Opportunities are available to funded drivers at Rising Dragon Motorsports for the ARCA test and race at Daytona International Speedway. The team won last year's event with Rising Dragon Mororsports. (11-10-11)
• ARCA returns to Pocono for two race in 2012: The ARCA Racing Series will visit Pennsylvania's Pocono Raceway for two event dates in 2012. Both races on the 2.5-mile triangular track will take place as companion events, one day before NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. The first, an 80-lap, 200-mile event, is scheduled for Saturday, June 9. The second, at 50 laps or 125 miles, will take place Saturday, August 4. 2012 . (ARCARacing.com) (11-10-11)
• Frank Kimmel joins Rising Dragon Mororsports for 2011: Rising Dragon Motorsports, the longest tenured team in Arca with over 500 active entries since 1996, announced today its plans to continue its growth model by fielding a 2012 full-season. 9-time ARCA Racing Series Champion Frank Kimmel will pilot the No. 46 Costco Chevrolet in 2012. "I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to work with Rising Dragon Motorsports in 2012," said Kimmel. "It's a great opportunity to work with the best in class - from a world-class shop and staff to resources of such a strong organization. These guys know how to run for championships, and I think I've shown a few times that I can do the same. I'm ready to get back into the seat in Daytona and charge for the 2012 ARCA Racing Series championship together! (Rising Dragon Motorsports PR) (11-21-11)
• 2012 ARCA Schedule slowly being released UPDATE RELEASED: Thrilling short track action will dot the summer schedule for the ARCA Racing Series in 2012. Adding to 11 races previously announced for next year's schedule, ARCA officials released four more event dates as the unveiling of 2012's entire race slate approaches. Those dates include Winchester, Iowa, Berlin, and Madison. (In part from ARCARacing.com) (11-22-11) RELEASED: The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) has released the 2012 schedule for the ARCA Racing Series. Twenty events - up from 19 in 2011 - will comprise the diverse combination of speedways, short tracks, dirt tracks, and a road course in the series' 60th Anniversary Season. "Each of the venues on the 2012 schedule is very important to the identity and industry position of the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards," said ARCA president Ron Drager. "The geographic coverage represented by the markets we'll be racing in and the overall number of races are good fits for the series." (ARCARacing.com) (11-23-11)
• Exient Racing returning in 2012: Exient Racing will return to the ARCA Racing Series next season. Andy Belmont was on RaceTalkRadio's ARCA Thunder radio show on November 8th and stated that he was 99% sure that the team would have Ford back. Belmont was unsure of his driver lineup, as Youster is expected to "graduate" next season from ARCA. (RaceTalkRadio.com) (11-23-11)
• Ryan Reed joins Jarvis Racing: Ryan Reed will be making the next step in his racing career as he joins Jarvis Racing for the 2012 ARCA Racing Series season. Ryan will compete in 2012 events under the Jarvis banner in preparation for a full season effort. (Ryan Reed Racing PR) (12-10-11)
• SPEED Channel to broadcast 10 races in 2012: Officials from ARCA and SPEED jointly announced the 2012 SPEED television schedule for the ARCA Racing Series, comprised of 10 events to be televised live or same-day delayed on the network at ARCA's annual end-of-season press conference. SPEED will kick off its live flag-to-flag ARCA coverage at Daytona with the 49th running of the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at 4 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, February 18. In addition to Daytona, other events scheduled for live and/or same-day coverage in 2012 include Talladega on May 4, Toledo on May 20, events at Pocono on June 9 and August 4, Michigan on June 15, Iowa on July 13, Chicagoland on July 21, and the season finale at Kansas on October 19. The late July race at Lucas Oil will also be televised; series and track officials have not yet determined the race's exact date. (ARCARacing.com) (12-10-11)
• Joy Fair passes away: Joy Fair, the winningest driver in ARCA-sanctioned history, died Saturday morning, December 10. Fair was 81. Fair, who began his racing career in 1949, competed at many tracks, including Mount Clemens and Flat Rock. He drove in several different series, including ones sanctioned by NASCAR, USAC, ASA and ARCA. "Joy was a legend not only in Michigan but also in the entire Midwest as the driver of the school bus-yellow #1 car," said Dave DeHem, president of the Michigan Auto Racing Fan Club. (Jayski.com) (12-11-11)
• James Hylton back full-time in 2012: James Hylton will return to the ARCA Racing Series full-time in 2012. “I’m just not ready to walk away yet,” Hylton said. “There are still things I want to do. I’ll be getting another physical the first of the year. I had three full physicals in 2011 so I could race, and I passed them all, and as far as I can tell, nothing’s wrong. I have 20-20 vision, still have all my hair, except it’s gray now. And I still haven’t given up on the idea of making the Daytona 500 in a NASCAR Sprint Cup car,” he said, something he very nearly did in a 2007 comeback effort. (In part from NYTimes.com) (12-21-12)

This is your chance to make your back-up picks. These picks will be used if you forget or miss picking during a week. Likewise with your race picks you will select 2 drivers for each series you compete in. These will be locked in until the end of the season. The due date for picks is March 12th The Phoenix race weekend. You can either pick a driver or a specific team number. IE a few years ago you could picked the #98 Thorsport truck and it would have counted either Enfinger or Eckes during the season. If you selected to carry over your info from 2022 or previous year, this does include your back-up picks should they still continue to work. If a driver has moved to a different team the driver pick will carry over. If a driver has moved to a different series but the team is still around I'll mark you down for that team unless you otherwise say so. If you make new back-up picks those will override your picks from last season.
 
Here is a template for back-up picks. You can just leave any series your not racing in blank or delete that part of the template. All I ask is that you please use at least a last name so I don't mess up who you want with all the driver changes.
 
Here are the team charts from Jayski to get a idea of who's driving in what series and for who they are driving for. I've also included a link to the Wikipedia page for each series and the teams running for a little more bare bones list. But it is Wikipedia so I would double check anything just to be safe. As Reagan was fond of saying trust, but verify.
 
Cup
https://www.jayski.com/nascar-cup-series/2023-nascar-cup-series-team-driver-chart/
or
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_NASCAR_Cup_Series#Teams_and_drivers
 
Xfinity
https://www.jayski.com/xfinity-series/2023-xfinity-series-team-driver-chart/
or
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_NASCAR_Xfinity_Series#Teams_and_drivers
 
Trucks
https://www.jayski.com/truck-series/2023-craftsman-truck-series-team-driver-chart/
or
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_NASCAR_Craftsman_Truck_Series#Teams_and_drivers
 
ARCA (Drivers competing full time are listed as "All" under the rounds column and teams planning on competing full time have their numbers listed in the rounds column add up to 20, ie the #18 team has 6, 1, and 13 races. If anything changes before the deadline I will let you know)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_ARCA_Menards_Series
 
NASCAR Cup Series
Back-Up 1:
Back-Up 2:
 
Xfinity Series
Back-Up 1:
Back-Up 2:
 
Craftsman Truck Series
Back-Up 1:
Back-Up 2:
 
ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards
Back-Up 1:
Back-Up 2:
 
If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask.

It's that time again the 2023 NASCAR season is upon us. We are less than 1 week away from the 2nd annual exhibition race at the LA Coliseum. So here is where you can select your picks for the Clash. Already posted is a sign-up topic shortly. If you are a returning player and make picks for the Clash you will be automatically be signed up with your information from last season. If you wish to change anything or if you are new please fill out the sign-up form. The Daytona topics will be posted during the upcoming week. Once again we will have a fantasy league for Cup, Xfinity, Trucks, and ARCA.
 

2023 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum Information

 
Pick Format: Pick 1 Driver that you think will do the best. Picks are due when the green flag falls for the first heat race. If you pick the winning driver of any one of the four heat races you will get 2 bonus championship points to start out the season. For the A-Main the breakdown for bonus points will be 10 points for 1st, 5 points for 2nd, 3 points for 3rd.
 
Due: Picks are Due by 5:00 PM Eastern on Sunday February 5th (The green flag for the first heat race)
 
Entry List: https://www.jayski.com/nascar-cup-series/2023-busch-light-clash-at-the-coliseum-entry-list/
 
Welcome back and best of luck everyone.

A year or so ago, I made a post ranting about the problems of NASCAR's website. In it I made several points: (quoting directly)
"NASCAR's page has, in contrast:

• A tab on the top left that you have to click through and scroll to find what you're looking for
• No readily findable team links
• Silly season, all news, standings, schedule are all relegated to the "quick links" on the left of the screen and while you do have a bottom panel with some of these links, I don't care about fantasy or race center throughout the offseason and I think most people don't either
• Watching videos is a chore, with having to click on the link and sit through the most obnoxious ads for a video that you're only going to watch for maybe 45 seconds
• The live-view is buggy af
• Did I mention the ads???? The website triple-dips on ad bucks and has this extremely obnoxious ad blocker notifier that you have to reload the page multiple times to get rid of (or you could disable Javascript but that disables a lot of other things on the web page). I'm sorry but I'm not disabling my ad blocker so you can multi-dip on shoving ads in my face NASCAR.
• Videos that are flash-based (or whatever encoder they're using) that cannot be played natively on Safari at least which is obnoxious as hell"

Well, today, they updated their website. And let me tell you, the website is clean. When I made my original post, I compared and contrasted NASCAR's website with that of the MLB's website, which I think is honestly the gold standard of sports league websites (at least in the United States, Bundesliga has a fire website too). I remember that a web developer for the site was in the comment's of my post taking criticism in the lead-up to building this new site and I feel like he (or she) directly took my criticisms to heart. Some of the changes they did that I absolutely love:

• The web page itself is significantly shorter, its not a long scroll down to read the content of the website. It uses more lateral spacing by flicking through major stories horizontally. I love that.
• Standings are directly in your face, Schedule is directly in your face, easy access to information that is relevant to anybody who might be coming onto the site for the first time, or perhaps getting into NASCAR for the first time
• Love the font, maybe its the simplicity of the color palette on the site but I love how easily readable and non-intrusive everything looks. The series' logos are easily identifiable in the top left hand corner, and the font for the headers are super clean.
• Videos is so so so so much better. Race rewind on the website, the videos are much more cleaner and larger to see along with a preview, I don't think the ads so far are intrusive. And speaking of
• No ad blocker notice constantly clogging up the page, they're embracing that its 2023 and people have adblocker. Its a series with millions of dollars thrown around with ridiculous amounts of profits and sponsorships, triple and quadruple dipping on viewers is not needed. Thank you web devs for recognizing that.
• Team links are easily viewable and findable. Not just the cup teams, but NXS and CTS teams as well.
• Driver pages look significantly better, bios are well representative of the drivers in my opinion and they're complete. Even backmarkers have a dedicated page that is equal in quality. Maybe its a pie-in-the-sky future idea to have the drivers themselves design their own pages or contribute a little sum-sum but that is absolutely not a necessity. They killed it with this.
• And the best part: Direct link to Jayski and Racing Reference they listened to my request

Honestly they killed this redesign. I absolutely love it. It genuinely feels cohesive, complete, and genuinely substantial. If there is one more change I would recommend, is to introduce stats on the website itself. NASCAR owns that loop data and I'm sure they can publicly release all sorts of data on green flag passes, passes for the lead, "attacks", "defends", etc. If NASCAR is going to fully embrace sports gambling, then giving potential gamblers reference material to make informed decisions I think is important above all else.
I want to give a gigantic shoutout to u/timclark3 who worked on the website and directly commented in my post to give not only his feedback, but to implement some of my suggestions. I don't know if what I said directly influenced the website's design but I'm so glad you and the rest of the devs combined your design aesthetic with content suggestions by the fans. I think this now feels like a legit sports website whereas in the past, it didn't really.
9.5/10 love all of it

Helio Castroneves to run NASCAR race? UPDATES – Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site

Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced today that it will field two full-time teams in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the 2023 season. Chase Purdy will compete for the driver’s championship in the No. 4 Chevrolet as part of a multi-year deal, while Jack Wood will compete in a minimum of 10 races alongside KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch and other later to be announced NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series drivers as part of the team’s owner’s championship effort with the No. 51 Chevrolet. Additionally, KBM has formed a technical alliance to support Rev Racing’s expansion into the Truck Series with 2022 ARCA Menard’s Series champion Nick Sanchez driving the No. 2 Chevrolet.
Purdy finished fourth in the 2018 ARCA Menard’s Series championship standings after recording 84 laps led, 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes before turning his focuses to finishing his education at the University of Mississippi in 2019. He returned to racing full-time in in 2021, moving up to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Across 51 career Truck Series starts, the 22-year-old driver has produced 17 laps led and five top-10 finishes. The Mississippi native earned the 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East rookie of the year honors and finished fourth in the championship standings after posting four poles, 200 laps led, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes across 14 starts.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the No. 4 truck and my goal is to join the long list of winners that KBM has produced,” Purdy said. “KBM has great people that build really fast trucks and I’m confident we can do big things together the next two seasons. I appreciate everyone involved that helped put me in this position and I can’t wait for next season to start!”
Wood finished ninth in his ARCA Menards Series debut at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in 2021 and recorded one top-five and four top-10 finishes across eight starts that season. He was elevated to the Truck Series in May of 2021, where he posted one top-10 and three top-15 finishes while competing in 12 of the last 13 races on the schedule. He returned to full-time Truck Series action in 2022 and currently ranks third in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.
“Growing up racing on the west coast I never would’ve dreamed that I’d be racing for Kyle Busch Motorsports and sharing a truck with Kyle — it’s truly the opportunity of a lifetime and I can’t even put into words how excited that I am,” Wood said. “To have the chance to learn from arguably one of the best to ever do it is going to be an incredible experience for me and I’m extremely thankful to everyone at Chevrolet and KBM that made this possible. I know that I have a lot of hard work ahead of me, but KBM will be surrounding me with everything I need to continue to grow as a driver and I can’t wait to get started.”
Busch is the winningest driver in Truck Series history having won 37.6% (62/165) of the races he has entered and finished first or second in 56.4% (93/165). In addition to his Truck Series leading 62 wins, ‘Rowdy’ also ranks first all-time among Truck Series drivers in average finish (6.5) and second in laps led (7,636).
“Obviously there will be a lot of change at KBM in 2023, but our goal as an organization remains the same that it always has been and that’s to go out and win races and provide the young drivers in our lineup everything they need to reach their full potential,” Busch said. “We have the right people in place to be able to accomplish those goals for our two trucks as well as being able to provide technical support to Rev Racing as they expand into the Truck Series and create a pipeline for young drivers in their program to advance their careers to the next level.”
Further announcements on the driver schedule for the No. 51 team as well as crew chiefs and sponsors for both teams are forthcoming.
— Kyle Busch Motorsports —
Source

Toyota Racing Development (TRD) is pleased to announce a partnership with TRICON Garage, formerly David Gilliland Racing, beginning with the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series seasons. TRICON will run three full-time and one part-time Toyota Tundra TRD Pros starting at Daytona International Speedway in February.
“Toyota is pleased to rejoin TRICON with this expanded partnership,” said David Wilson, president, TRD. “We are excited for this new opportunity for our Toyota development drivers and partners to experience TRICON’s success and winning culture. The Truck Series is very important to Toyota, and we know TRICON is going to continue to deliver for us as we begin our 20th season in the series.”
“We are thrilled to return to Toyota and compete in the new Toyota Tundra TRD Pro next season,” said TRICON Partner David Gilliland. “I’ve seen Toyota’s dedication to the sport firsthand, and we are excited to partner with them going forward. I’m sure this new partnership is going to help TRICON reach our goals of consistently competing for race wins and championships.”
TRICON’s name change is based on the word’s tri and icon, encompassing the partners in the organization and their plans to compete and win three titles – the driver, owner and manufacturer championships. The team is also involved in three different industries – racing, fabrication and transportation.
“Our goal in the truck series is to create future racing icons,” said TRICON Partner Johnny Gray. “We’ll know we did our job when several years from now our drivers are racing for Cup championships. As for Garage, what we do is more than just field a race team. We build chassis, we build bodies. We have a transportation company. We are marketers and content creators. We are teachers and mentors. It’s bigger than simply ‘motorsports’ or ‘racing.’ But what it all has in common is that it takes place in our garage. So, TRICON Garage just seemed to encompass what we’re all about.”
Toyota development driver and leading 2022 Truck Series Rookie of the Year candidate Corey Heim will run for his first Truck Series championship aboard the No. 11 Toyota Tundra. Heim has run just 15 races so far this season but has been impressive throughout, as he scored a hometown win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, before adding a second victory at Gateway in June.
Tanner Gray will continue to compete in the No. 15 as he runs his fourth full-time season for the team in 2023. The youngest champion in NHRA Pro Stock history is looking for his first career Truck Series win but began the season with back-to-back top-five finishes and is on-track for his second top-15 final points finish in three full-time seasons.
Taylor Gray will begin his championship run in the Truck Series starting at Circuit of the Americas in March aboard the No. 17 Toyota Tundra. The 17-year-old will miss the first three races of the season due to NASCAR’s age restriction policy. Taylor has made 12 career Truck starts with a best finish of sixth in Richmond in August. He has competed throughout the ARCA ranks this season and has scored multiple victories on the national, East and West tours.
The fourth truck, the No. 1 Tundra, will feature several drivers throughout the season on a part-time schedule.
TRICON, then known as DGR-Crosley, previously fielded Toyotas from 2018-2019. Tyler Ankrum delivered the first championship for the team in 2018 as he drove to the ARCA Menards Series East championship before joining the Truck Series program in 2019. It was another successful year for the team as it earned its first ever Truck Series victory at Kentucky Speedway.
TRD official partners JBL, Mobil 1, Safelite AutoGlass and SiriusXM will join TRICON Garage and their existing partners to sponsor various Tundras throughout the season. Toyota and TRD, who clinched its 13th Truck Series manufacturer title at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, will also continue to provide manufacturer support to Halmar Friesen Racing, Hattori Racing Enterprises and ThorSport Racing in the NASCAR Truck Series.
The No. 1 truck drivers, full partner and crew chief line-up, complete ARCA Menards Series season plans along with the driver who will fill in for Taylor Gray at Daytona, Atlanta and Las Vegas will be announced at a later date.
Source