SAD DEPARTURE: Kyle Larson Has Officially announced His is departing from NASCAR and Reason Why……..
SAD DEPARTURE: Kyle Larson Has Officially announced His is departing from NASCAR and Reason Why……..
Track Enterprises is the official promoter of the upcoming April 18-19 triple-header race weekend at the iconic track.
The promoter is tickled to see the Rockingham Speedway promotion featured on a NASCAR Cup Series race car.
“Track Enterprises is thrilled to partner with Spire Motorsports and Michael McDowell to showcase NASCAR’s return to Rockingham Speedway,” said Bob Sargent, President of Track Enterprises.
“NASCAR has a very rich history at both tracks and Martinsville is just a couple of hours drive from Rockingham. We thought it made great sense to take advantage of a NASCAR Cup Series race in such close proximity to Rockingham.
We want fans to know that we’ll have an exciting weekend of racing in store and that tickets are still available, but they are going fast and we expect a great crowd both days.
In addition to the NASCAR Xfinity Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 on Saturday, April 19, and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event on Friday, April 18, the ARCA Menards Series East will compete at the track in a 125-lap event prior to Saturday’s Xfinity Series event.
Tickets for the NASCAR Race Weekend at Rockingham Speedway can be purchased on racetherock.com, or tickets can be obtained in person at Rockingham City Hall.
The track is offering both single day, and weekend ticket packages for the race weekend.
“Rockingham is a historic and iconic racetrack,” said McDowell in a team press release.
“Even though I haven’t raced at it, I did a lot of testing there. When you’re a rookie in the Cup Series in 2008, you did a lot of testing, and Rockingham was one of those places.
So, I have a lot of laps there – not racing – but a lot of laps.
Rockingham is a great racetrack, iconic and historic, and it shows NASCAR’s continued effort to get back to its roots.
The penalties came down after a contentious final battle Sunday at the Virginia track in which Christopher Bell initially qualified for the championship final four but his move to hit the wall and use it for momentum violated a banned safety rule and was disallowed.
That gave the final spot in this week’s winner-take-all finale at Phoenix Raceway to William Byron.
Drama continued to encompass NASCAR ahead of its championship-deciding season finale as the sanctioning body issued $600,000 in fines and suspended nine team members from three different teams on Tuesday for alleged race manipulation at Martinsville Speedway.
The penalties came down after a contentious final battle Sunday at the Virginia track in which Christopher Bell initially qualified for the championship final four, but his move to hit the wall and use it for momentum violated a banned safety rule and was disallowed.
These team disruptions come in the wake of NASCAR’s disciplinary actions following allegations of race manipulation at a Martinsville event. Key figures within 23XI Racing, including competition director Dave Rogers and Bubba Wallace’s crew chief Bootie Barker, were suspended, presenting a formidable challenge for the team at an important part of the season.
Despite the absence of these colleagues, he still has confidence in the team’s ability to perform.
“I feel like we have good depth, we’ve got great people,” Reddick stated. “Personally, I wish Dave and Bootie were here for sure. But I don’t know, I think Dave does a really good job with his role, Bootie is a great leader of his team.”
Bubba Wallace was at the center of the controversy, and was found to have feigned a flat tire. This action was allegedly designed to assist his teammate, Christopher Bell. The penalties have undeniably altered their morale just ahead of what is 23XI Racing’s inaugural appearance in the Championship 4.
The Championship 4, a climactic drive featuring Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, and William Byron, was directly influenced by the Martinsville incident. William Byron secured his spot due to Bell’s disqualification.
Bootie’s just an awesome guy to be around, so yeah, you know, I certainly will miss him this weekend. And getting to know Dave over the years, yeah, I like having him around, too. But there’s been weekends we’ve gone to the track and Dave isn’t there.”
Reddick remains focused on the immediate challenge, drawing on Bubba Wallace’s data and displaying a positive outlook as he prepares to compete.
The 28-year-old will be enjoying some well deserved down-time after the 2024 season, and recently shared his NASCAR break plans.
“I don’t know if ‘reflect’ is really the word that comes to mind for me,” Reddick said via NASCAR.com.
“I have plenty of good notes to go back through. We all do. I think at some point we’ll review the season as a whole. But yeah, I think at moments I probably have, but not for long periods of time. I’ve just been doing other things outside of racing that’s taking up all my day.”
“Working on other things outside of racing, catching up on life, honey-do’s, whatever you want to call them,” he added.
“So yeah, once I get all that stuff in a good place, I feel like I’ll be decompressed and ready to get back just focused on racing.”
The two individuals involved are Cordell Cahill, an IT support worker from 23XI Racing, and RJ Otto, who formerly acted as the interim crew chief for Bret Holmes Racing last season but is not part of the current year’s roster. While specific details have not been disclosed, NASCAR’s policy mandates such sanctions when members fail substance checks, aiming to maintain a safe and fair competitive environment.
Reinstatement for Cahill and Otto is contingent upon completing a tailored recovery plan, a common practice that grants crew members a structured path back to the sport, assuming adherence to prescribed rehabilitation steps.
In another NASCAR league, the Craftsman Truck Series noted a minor infraction with Ross Chastain’s vehicle. A loose lug nut led to a $2,500 fine for Phil Gould, crew chief for the No. 45 Niece Motorsports truck.
However, in a more contentious issue, an incident involving drivers Corey LaJoie and Kyle Busch during the same series did not result in penalties, despite the apparent intentional nature of their collision.
Amidst these regulatory actions, NASCAR is preparing for the much-anticipated return of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The event marks a significant shift back to the oval track after.
