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By Adam Carabine

Press Release | JR MOTORSPORTS MOORESVILLE, N.C. (March 21, 2024) – JR Motorsports and Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, the number one selling mayonnaise brand, announced today a multi-year extension on their partnership that will carry through the conclusion of the 2026 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, which will mark the 18th-consecutive year that the two organizations have been paired together. In addition to the landmark renewal, JRM today confirmed that NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be making his return to Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, Sept. 20, for his annual NXS event behind the wheel of the Hellmann’s-branded No. 88 Chevrolet, while full-time driver Justin Allgaier will showcase a Hellmann’s primary scheme in six races with the No. 7 team during the 2024 season.   “We are grateful for Unilever and Hellmann’s continued support and partnership,” said Earnhardt Jr. “They have played a huge role in our organization and our success ever since the early days of JR Motorsports, both on and off the track. They are a huge component to every part of our company, and we’re looking forward to seeing what the future holds.”   Unilever began its partnership with JRM in 2009, when the organization was a two-car operation. Now, 16 years later, Unilever is the longest-tenured partner for JRM and one of the longest-running partners in all of NASCAR, where it will continue to utilize JRM’s partnership to market their Hellmann’s brand in key markets across the country. Additionally, Unilever will also become a partner with Dirty Mo Media and their growing library of content.   “On behalf of Hellmann’s and Unilever, we’re honored to continue our partnership with JR Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Jr., and see the Hellmann’s logo around the track for the 2024 season,” said Chris Symmes, Senior Marketing Director for Dressings & Condiments at Unilever North America. “Dale has always been a great supporter of our brand and we’re proud to support him as he returns to the racetrack.”    Earnhardt Jr.’s return to Bristol will further extend his streak of racing a Unilever-branded Chevrolet in every year since the partnership began in 2009. Last season, he drove the No. 88 Hellmann’s Chevrolet in Bristol, where he led for 47 laps.   Allgaier has also continued to find success with Hellmann’s, visiting Victory Lane three times in the Unilever-branded Chevrolet in 2023 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Daytona International Speedway and at Martinsville Speedway. The thrilling victory at Martinsville additionally propelled Allgaier into a Championship 4 appearance.   Details on the schedule and track locations for the races with Allgaier and the No. 7 Hellmann’s team will be forthcoming.

Press Release | BOWMAN GRAY STADIUM DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 21, 2024) – Today, NASCAR announced that it has acquired Winston-Salem Speedway, Inc., the lessee of the historic Bowman Gray Stadium. NASCAR will manage racing operations under the lease with the City of Winston-Salem that runs through Dec. 2050. “As NASCAR’s first weekly racetrack, Bowman Gray Stadium holds a special place in the history of our sport,” said Ben Kennedy, Senior Vice President, Racing Development and Strategy, NASCAR. “We are grateful to the Hawkins family’s multi-generational legacy of leadership at this historic track and we’re thrilled to oversee racing at one of the crown jewels in NASCAR Regional. We look forward to leading the racing operations of the facility in partnership with the City of Winston-Salem to preserve the history and legacy of the racetrack for the next generation of fans and racers.” “Bowman Gray Racing has been a part of the fabric of Winston Salem for many years. In fact, some attribute NASCAR’s beginning to the races held at Bowman Gray Stadium,” said City of Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines. “It is for that and other reasons that the City of Winston Salem is delighted that NASCAR is acquiring Winston-Salem Speedway Inc. I am doubly happy that NASCAR has committed to the continuance of the weekly races at the stadium, that are so popular with our citizens and visitors.” Austin Shuford has been named the new general manager of racing operations for Bowman Gray Stadium. Shuford has worked with Track Enterprises’ Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, where he annually promoted and managed 25 events a year at more than 15 racetracks throughout the south and Midwest since 2020. He is a graduate of Western Carolina University. "As one of racing’s most beloved and enduring venues, it's truly an honor to be named the new general manager of racing operations at Bowman Gray Stadium,” said Shuford. “I look forward to learning from the Garrison, Pinilis, and Hawkins families to preserve and extend the greatness of Bowman Gray Stadium. Thanks to NASCAR for this fantastic opportunity to join their organization and the chance to entertain race fans at weekly events throughout the year." Built in 1937, Bowman Gray Stadium, a quarter-mile short track, holds a special place in NASCAR history as the longest-running weekly racetrack. In 1949, Bill France Sr. and Alvin Hawkins, two founding fathers of NASCAR, brought motorsports to the facility as the first weekly racetrack and first paved racetrack that NASCAR competed on. The racetrack hosted 29 NASCAR Grand National, now NASCAR Cup Series, races from 1958 to 1971. Bowman Gray Stadium has hosted many NASCAR’s legends including Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, Glen Wood, David Pearson, Ned Jarrett, Richie Evans, Jerry Cook, and others. Petty won his 100th NASCAR Grand National race in the 1969 Myers Brothers 250 at the racetrack. More recently, Bowman Gray Stadium hosted several East Series races from 2011 to 2015. Ben Kennedy, great grandson of Bill France Sr., won an East Series race there in 2013. Other winners include two-time NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes and NASCAR Cup Series driver Corey Lajoie. The 2024 Bowman Gray Stadium race season begins on Saturday, April 20. For more information on Bowman Gray Stadium and the upcoming NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series season with weekly modified, sportsman, street stock and stadium stock competition, visit bowmangrayracing.com.

By Adam Carabine Best Oopsie This weekend’s race at Bristol quickly turned into an episode of Tire Wars.  No, that’s not a real thing, but it could be after Sunday's race.  Bob Ross would’ve been proud, because the best part of the whole ordeal is that it was completely a happy accident. Goodyear was asked by NASCAR and by teams to make a tire that would wear out a little faster than what they’d previously run.  Goodyear delivered, and then some.  But even Goodyear officials were left perplexed by the situation. When’s the last time you’ve heard of a Goodyear representative (in this case, director Greg Stucker) holding an impromptu media scrum inside the media centre? Now, luckily for them and everyone involved, the Food City 500 wound up being a really exciting race, and an overwhelming majority of fans enjoyed the craziness that was Tire Wars. But even after the race was over and the stress died down, Goodyear still doesn’t quite understand why the track didn’t take rubber the way they were expecting. Whether they figure it out or not, I hope it can be replicated at other short tracks. Most Interesting Game of Chicken Because Bristol is such a short track, you can run about 170-185 laps just on one tank of fuel.  While it wasn’t necessarily expected that teams would push that fuel run limit, the tires were tapping out at around 45-55 laps. What was really fascinating to watch was what I’m dubbing the Game of Chicken during the final longer green flag run. If you pit under green flag conditions at Bristol, you’re likely going two laps down on the leader.  But if you run too long on these particular tires, you risk it coming apart, which could end your day prematurely. No one wanted to pit, because they didn’t want to lose laps to those who stayed out.  But at the same time, laps were ticking down and tires were wearing out.  At one point, Martin Truex Jr. alerted his team over the radio that the front right had gone down.  They instructed him to baby it as best he could and wait until someone else caused a caution. This is wild! A caution is essentially guaranteed at some point, and it’s a crazy test of mental fortitude - who can stay out the longest and not be the cause of the caution? Eventually at some point, they all had to cave and come to pit road under green flag, because it was getting too dangerous to stay out.  And somehow the entire field cycled through pit stops.  But boy was that fun to watch. Worst Paint Scheme I hadn’t planned on making this a recurring gag in The Freshies, but last week after calling Denny Hamlin out for his terrible Phoenix paint scheme, he went on to win at Bristol.  Naturally, I can’t help but feel responsible. So let’s do it again - this week the designs weren’t too bad.  However, if I had to choose, I’d say the worst paint scheme goes to Ty Gibbs. Best Game of Marbles There was so much talk about marbles this weekend at Bristol, that someone in the next room might’ve thought they were overhearing Marbula One.  (Shoutout Jelle’s Marble Runs) In this instance, it was a case of staying away from the marbles.  Even in qualifying on Saturday they were wreaking havoc.  Everyone was given two laps to get the best time they could for their qualifying runs, but most of them got a time on the first lap and then backed it down immediately. It’s a wonder we didn’t see anyone going to a backup car on Sunday, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen drivers this confused with the track conditions.  It could’ve easily devolved into a wreck-fest. Best Stats Only five cars finished on the lead lap on Sunday, which maybe makes it sound like the race was a snooze, but it really wasn’t.  However, what that means is now that Martin Truex Jr. is the only driver who has finished on the lead lap at every race so far.  He’s got a snazzy best Cup Series average finish to go along with it, too - 8.6. The race also only featured just a single DNF - Zane Smith.  Considering how volatile the tires were, and how slick the marbles could be, that’s really quite the accomplishment. Josh Berry had the most Quality Passes (passes while driving in the Top 15) with 105, and about 90% of them may have come on just one lap - more on that later. I talked about him last week too, but Joey Logano had the worst pass differential on Sunday.  His -33 in that category means he was passed 33 more times than he passed anyone else. Ty Gibbs had the best pass differential of the field with a +44.  Somehow it seemed that even as he pushed harder than everyone else, he managed to keep his tires intact.  Not sure whether that was a Joe Gibbs Racing setup thing, but JGR looked good all day. Best Rookie(ish) Speaking of Ty Gibbs… Okay, he’s not technically a rookie anymore.  But has he looked good through five races or what.  He’s got the second-best average finish, just barely behind MTJ (8.8), he’s 6th in stage points earned (34, buoyed by his two stage wins on Sunday), and he’s comfortably sitting in 3rd place in the points standings. The kid has had to grow up quickly after the passing of his father after his Xfinity Series Championship win, and no one would have faulted him if he’d taken a few steps back in his graduation to the Cup Series. But did anyone see this coming?  He might not look all that different, but he’s come a long way since Phoenix 2022. Best Video Game Mode To finish with a fun one, Josh Berry was one of those drivers that pitted early under the green flag and lost two laps.  But boy oh boy did he get them back quickly. The last time we had a video game moment in the Cup Series, the world was gifted Ross Chastain and the Hail Melon (which was subsequently banned). While this isn’t quite to that level, it sure does look like he set the AI to easy and had his way with them. Here’s an on-board of him on brand new tires against the rest of the field.

Each week here on Racing Refresh we like to look back to the week that was on X. Let's get started! 10. We saw some history Sunday, with plenty of controversies because of tire issues. 9. I wonder if Kasey has any interest in getting back behind the wheel in a NASCAR series? It would be fun to see! 8. One of the true Bristol legends seemed to enjoy Sunday's action. Boogity. 7. It's going to be a diverse field this weekend! I'm excited to see what Kobayashi can do. Hopefully, things go well enough that he has an interest in coming back for years to come. 6. How cool is this? There are few things more valuable in the sport than Four Fresh Mr.Feelgoods! 5. It's been incredibly special seeing NASCAR and Legacy Motor Club celebrate 75 yesrs of the Petty family being in racing. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the well-deserved tributes this year. 4. Speaking of Legacy MC. Jimmie Johnson got another well-deserved honor. We're only a few weeks away from seeing his return to the track! 3. No disrespect to other motorsports but it's great to see NASCAR casting a wider net. It would be wonderful to see NASCAR become a global sport similar to baseball. American football is laying a pretty good blueprint down on how to do it, 2. They should take notes on the parking set up in South Park Colorado. 1. It's a hot take for sure. What did you think of the Food City 500?

By Matt Marr Ryan Blaney led the field to green with Josh Berry alongside him in the front row. The first caution came out on lap 23 for debris that fell off William Byron’s car after he made contact with the wall. Tyler Reddick didn’t pit under caution, and wound up leading the ensuing restart on lap 31. However, his old tires were no match for everyone behind him and it wound up  bringing out the caution one lap later. Reddick spun off of turn 4, creating an accordion effect that collected more cars in the back. Later, Zane Smith blew a tire bringing out the caution with 54 laps to go in Stage One. Ty Gibbs passed Ryan Blaney with 6 laps to go and hung on to win Stage One. On lap 176 there was an incident involving Daniel Hemric, Zane Smith and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. which brought out the caution. Chris Buescher gambled on pit road taking two tires, making him the leader on the restart on lap 190. Kyle Busch spun for the second time of the day bringing out another caution with 23 to go in Stage Two. Gibbs held off Brad Keselowski to win Stage Two. After contact with Austin Cindric, Stenhouse spun right in front of the leader Denny Hamlin, bringing out the caution.  Hamlin made it through unscathed. It came down to a battle of tire management between Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps. Hamlin held on to win the Food City 500. Food City 500 Top 5:  1. Denny Hamlin 2. Martin Truex Jr 3. Brad Keselowski 4. Alex Bowman 5. Kyle Larson

Press Release | BJ MCLEOD MOTORSPORTS Mooresville, NC. (March 18, 2024) – BJ McLeod Motorsports (BJMM), a prominent figure in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, announces their decision to transition to a part-time racing schedule for the upcoming season. This shift reflects the team's commitment to enhancing performance and competitiveness in the highly demanding motorsports landscape. Over the years, BJ McLeod Motorsports has established itself as a formidable force on the NASCAR circuit, garnering respect and admiration for their dedication and hardwork. As the team continues to pursue its mission of achieving success on the track, this move to a part-time schedule signifies a bold step towards optimizing resources and focusing on performance improvement initiatives. “Although we’ve had a great start to the 2024 season, earning two Top-15’s and one Top-20 in the first four races, we’re committed to building a Top 15 contending team week in and week out. Right now, we feel a part-time schedule will allow us the extra time we need to build up our infrastructure to be able to compete at that level for our remaining races in 2024 and beyond. We are optimistic about these changes and look forward to returning to full-time competition in the Xfinity Series for the 2025 season,” said driver and co-owner, B.J. McLeod. The decision to go part-time comes after thorough evaluation and strategic planning by BJ McLeod Motorsports' leadership team. By reducing the number of races on the schedule, the team intends to concentrate its efforts on research, development, and optimization of race car performance, as well as driver training and strategic planning. BJ McLeod Motorsports expresses gratitude to its fans, sponsors, and partners for their unwavering support throughout this journey. The team remains committed to fostering strong relationships and delivering thrilling racing experiences both on and off the track.