After two decades of coverage on ESPN, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) announced that they would move to competitor FOX for their nationally televised events in 2015. At the time, the president of NHRA referred to the move as a 'Game Changer '.Today they announced a several year extension for broadcasting rights said per Sports Business Journal's Adam Stern to last through the middle of the decade. The next event on the NHRA Fox Schedule will be in Gainesville for the Gatornationals. (September 25th through 27th)

Last week Darrell Wallace Jr announced his decision to leave Richard Petty Motorsports at the conclusion of the 2020 season. It was a decision that many weren't surprised by but to an RPM fan like myself, it left a bitter feeling and made us question Bubba’s loyalty. I know many of you will say It’s a business and there isn’t much room for loyalty and typically I’d agree. in this case, I feel it runs deeper. The 2020 season has been the most unique in NASCAR’s history. Along with the rest of the world, they have dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve also dealt with trying to address racial inequality. While that has been a challenge for all sports, you could easily argue that NASCAR has had the toughest time balancing being more inclusive without alienating old school fans. At the center of that movement in NASCAR has been Wallace. He is the sport's only full-time African American driver. He called for NASCAR to ban the confederate flag and NASCAR enhanced their enforcement of flag policies. The decision has been met with a lot of pushback from longtime fans and that was made very clear when Wallace was booed at this year’s All-Star Race. Richard Petty is the owner/face of Richard Petty Motorsports. His resume doesn’t need to be listed here. He’s considered by many to be the greatest driver in the history of the sport. He is 83 years old and is fairly outspoken when it comes to political issues in our country. He’s very publicly supported Donald Trump. Petty publicly criticized NFL star Colin Kaepernick for taking a knee during the national anthem. I don’t bring any of this up to take sides on these issues. I mention this because one could assume that Bubba Wallace and Richard Petty probably don’t see eye to eye on a lot of these issues. Despite this, Petty allowed Wallace to run a Black Lives Matter scheme during this year’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500. The scheme only became possible after Blue-Emu dropped Wallace and RPM when Wallace quit during a Pro Invitational Series event during the height of the pandemic. Sponsorship losses hurt every team but those losses are magnified for a smaller team like RPM. Many people have forgotten Wallace has been under fire for behavior in the past. The most noteworthy being his now-infamous encounter with Alex Bowman after last year’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 . Despite plenty of public outcries, RPM stayed quiet and supported their driver. There are several other incidents I could list to show that Wallace hasn’t always been the easiest to support, I’m not here to put Wallace down, though. Richard Petty, and company and have always done their best to publicly support Wallace. That became abundantly clear when Petty flew to Talladega this summer to support Wallace after a noose was found in his garage stall the week prior. Luckily it was a garage pull down that had been there for at least a year prior. The NASCAR community was thankful for the false alarm in terms of meaning any harm towards Wallace. Richard Petty’s track prescience though was significant. He hadn’t been to a racetrack since before the pandemic and to my knowledge hasn’t been back since. While the social climate in NASCAR must be incredibly difficult for Wallace to navigate through, it also likely hasn’t been easy for Petty, who no doubt has lost some fans because of his support of Wallace this season. Combine all of this with the fact that the momentum felt like it was finally starting to turn for Wallace and RPM this season, at the time of this article, the team is 23rd in standings and they spent most of the 2020 summer right around the “playoff bubble”. This was a great improvement for a team that finished 28th in the standings in 2019. Darrell has added plenty of personal sponsorship in recent months; companies like DoorDash, Cash App, Columbia, have all signed on to sponsor RPM via Wallace. I can’t help but feel that Wallace is doing the wrong thing by leaving RPM at this time. I understand he has to do what is best for his career as we all do...but to leave after all that has taken place this season just leaves a bitter taste in a lot of fan’s mouths. To leave during this time feels like he lacks loyalty towards Petty and the team. They went out of the way for him during a time when it wasn’t easy to do so. Couldn’t he have stayed one more season with all the funding and see what happens? I’ve heard people say that Wallace couldn’t take that chance and that he has to snag a top ride while he can. Well, money talks in this sport, and with the kind of money Wallace is rumored to be able to bring on with his sponsors, there will always be teams willing to make room for him. How much longer does Kurt Busch drive? A year, maybe two? The Wood Brothers are seemingly in need of a new driver every few years. Options are always out there. Would a bigger team have allowed him to be such an outspoken advocate? That’s debatable. What isn’t debatable is that RPM got the short end of the stick on this. Bubba could be replacing Jimmie Johnson in the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Other options could include Denny Hamlin’s reported investing in a Toyota team and putting Wallace in that ride. No matter what happens, Wallace’s future looks bright and it looks as though he’ll be driving for a top team next season. What about RPM, though? What’s next for the team getting left behind in all this? Allow me to speculate on a few names who could be driving for “The King” next season. Daniel Suarez: Suarez recently announced he and Gaunt Brothers Racing will part ways at the end of the season. RPM co-owner Andrew Murstein has long been committed to bringing more diversity to the sport and Suarez would certainly fit the bill. He’s struggled to be consistent at the sport’s top-level since his 2016 Xfinity Championship. He, like Wallace and Petty, is sponsored by Coca-Cola so it’s a seamless transition on that front. He’s also personally sponsored by CommScope (Formerly Arris) so Suarez could be the perfect fit at RPM. Corey Lajoie: The son of two-time Xfinity series champion Randy Lajoie, Corey announced he will be leaving Go Fas Racing at the end of the season after spending two seasons with the team. He has gotten respectable results out of the 32, including 6 top 20s this season, which featured an 8th place finish at this year’s Daytona 500. He was formerly a development driver at RPM. With their familiar history, Lajoie in the 43 could be a safe landing for both parties. Ty Dillon: With German Racing looking to sell, Dillion is looking for a ride. The former ARCA champ is talented but has never been in great equipment in the Cup series. While RPM doesn’t classify as “great” It would almost certainly be a step up for Dillion. Assuming RPM and RCR’s alliance continues next season Dillon being Richard Childress’s grandson makes the potential move a natural transition. Landon Cassill: Cassill has kind of been forgotten about this season. He ran a very limited schedule for Morgan Shepard this season in the Xfinity Series. He finished 15th in Shepard’s 89 car in the Xfinity season finale in 2019. That should tell you all you need to know regarding his talent. The issue could be sponsorship depending on what RPM is left with once Wallace officially departs. Kyle Larson: Larson is looking for a second chance from NASCAR and while there are rumors swirling that Larson could return next season in a top ride, you have to wonder if he can get major companies to sign off on him this soon. Say what you will regarding him personally but he would bring a level of raw talent not seen in the 43 since Bobby Labonte. The downside is you’d be replacing a controversial driver with a new controversial driver and no matter where you stand on Wallace or Larson it doesn’t take a genius to understand that RPM is likely looking to keep a lower profile when it comes to non-racing related topics for a while. Erik Jones: Jones has been a Toyota staple since the beginning of his career and feels like any transition to Toyota for RPM is much less likely now that Wallace will no longer be with the team. Jones also has something that is seemingly hard to come by this silly season and that is experience winning in a cup car. His two career wins, and playoff experience is a valuable addition for a team like RPM who’s looking to be more consistently competitive. The problem could be the price tag, Jones is arguably the crown jewel of this silly season and RPM may not be in a position to agree to the cost it would likely take to land Jones. Ross Chastain: The Watermelon Man and “The King” could no doubt make some cool ads together. He once was thought to be a shoo-in for a full-time cup ride in the not too distant future, but his status at Chip Ganassi Racing has been in limbo since Matt Kenseth took over the #42 Chevrolet. There are other drivers that could be considered as well. Clint Bowyer comes to mind; he’s at an odd spot at Stewart-Haas Racing, in part due to Chase Briscoe’s recent Xfinity Series success... Bowyer’s may be too costly as well. He would also likely be a stop-gap driver. He’ll turn 42 in 2021 and it’s unlikely that he’ll want to spend much of his future trying to help a team build their program and sacrifice results. He wants to win a championship. There are always Xfinity drivers looking to make the jump even when it’s not well advised, could a Brandon Jones or Justin Allgaier make the leap? Allgaier does have 77 career Cup starts, but has never been given much help at the top level. When it comes to Bubba Wallace's decision I will always feel like RPM deserved better as far as timing goes. My only hope is whoever takes over the iconic 43 next season is someone that is willing to be with the organization for the foreseeable future. There’s no doubt it’ll be a challenge and uphill battle for whomever it is, and I hope they’re willing to climb. It’s not insanity.....It’s Loganity Works Cited: Jacobs, Caleb. “Richard Petty Says He Will Fire Anyone Who Protests the National Anthem.” The Drive, 25 Sept. 2017, https://www.thedrive.com/article/14593/richard-petty-says-he-will-fire-anyone-who- protests-the-national-anthem

NASCAR has given us fans a massive gift. The Bristol night race has been moved from a late summer classic to an early playoff must watch. I will preview each of the 16 playoff drivers and rank them into one of four categories. The categories are a favorite, a good bet, a long shot, and save your money. Kevin Harvick - The regular season champion enters Bristol having already advanced to the Round of 12 via his win at Darlington. Harvick has been one of the two dominant drivers this season. Bristol however is good but not great track for him. He has three wins, and an average finish of 13.8. Between the SHR short track program being less competitive than others, and Harvick already advancing via the Darlington win, but it's 2020 Harvick is a favorite. Brad Keselowki - Keselowski has already advanced via his win at Richmond last Saturday night. Brad won the spring race through one of the craziest finishes in Bristol history. He's been the best driver with the 750 horsepower package this season with wins at New Hampshire, Richmond, and Bristol earlier in the year. Throughout his career Brad has three wins, and an average finish of 16.5 at Bristol. Penske has had the best short track package in the Cup Series this season, and when you combine that with his win earlier this season that makes Brad one the favorites. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin is the other half of the two most dominant drivers this season. He has had a disappointing start to his playoffs so far, though. A first round built with Hamlin in mind has finished 13th at Darlington, and 12th at Richmond; however Hamlin has advanced on points. Hamlin's career at Bristol is stellar with two wins, and an average finish of 14.5. Coming into Bristol as the reigning night race winner, and the best car in the spring Hamlin is absolutely a favorite. Joey Logano - Logano enters Bristol with back to back top 3 finishes. He was one of the best cars in the spring Bristol race until a end of race incident with Chase Elliott. Logano has been solid at Bristol throughout his career with 2 wins, and an average finish of 15.3. Between being one of the best cars in the spring, and the Penske short track program Logano is a favorite. Martin Truex Jr.- Truex is one of the playoff drivers who truly struggles at Bristol. It feels like Truex is regularly caught up in the big one at Bristol, and that has given him an average finish of 20.6. Truex is riding some momentum after the second place finish at Richmond, but even with that momentum I would say save your money here. Austin Dillon - The biggest surprise of these playoffs so far. Austin Dillon is riding back to back top 5 finishes, and arguably could have won Richmond or Darlington. Coming into Bristol Austin Dillon has all the momentum in the world, however he has historically been rather average at Bristol. Between his average finish of 17.4, and having a solid points advantage makes him a long shot for the win. Chase Elliott - Elliott has been dominant at Bristol this year. He won both stages in the spring race as well as the All Star race. Elliott who could have won the spring race, until the previously mentioned incident with Logano. He has an average finish of 12.7, the best of any playoff driver makes him a favorite if not the favorite. Alex Bowman - Bowman has had a relatively quiet yet solid start to the playoffs. He is in a solid points position, but Bristol is a track he struggles at. Due to his average finish of 22.7, and his solid points position I would expect Bowman to play it conservatively and I would save my money here. Kyle Busch - Without a win in 2020, Kyle Busch is the first driver where I mention strictly points standings. Currently Busch is 18 points above the cutoff. Busch's best track is Bristol. An impressive eight wins, and average finish of 13.1 makes him a virtual lock to advance. No matter the car, no matter the season its a Busch brother at Bristol, and he is a favorite. Aric Almirola - One of the least discussed playoff drivers, Almirola has been incredibly consistent all season. His consistency tends to run out at Bristol with a career average finish of 25.0. He is seven points above the cutoff line and I expect him to have an average night to advance, but he is a driver I would save my money on. Kurt Busch - The elder Busch has been a solid top-ten threat all season, but we are heading to Bristol. Historically, this is his best track. Kurt Busch is also seven points above the cutoff. He has an astounding six wins at Bristol with an average finish of 14.0. As I said with Kyle Busch "it's a Busch brother at Bristol, he is a favorite.." this still holds true here. Clint Bowyer - Bowyer has had an up and down season, but one of his ups was the Bristol spring race, he finished second. A traditionally great short track racer I expect Bowyer to run really well Saturday night, and he needs it. A mere three points above the cutoff line, his 13.7 average finish should help power him into the round of 12. I would say Bowyer is a good bet. William Byron - After having a great Darlington race, Byron struggled at Richmond and enters Bristol three points below the cutoff. Byron has not been particularly great at Bristol. His best finish came in the spring race, where he finished 8th. He has an average finish of 17.2, but I don't think he runs particularly well this time. Byron's inconsistencies lead me to believe he will struggle a bit and I would save my money here. Cole Custer - Outside of his shocking win at Kentucky Cole Custer's rookie season has been rather rough, and Bristol is no different. After being involved in an accident, he finished 35th in the spring race. Due to Custer being a rookie, facing an 8 point mountain, and the pressure being on at Bristol I expect him to struggle, and I would save my money here. Matt DiBenedetto - We all want DiBenedetto to find a win after the heart warming yet equally saddening Bristol night race last season. Looking at his 25 point hill DiBenedetto needs to have a performance like that to advance, but his performance this season has lead me to believe it will not happen. His 19.1 average finish does not help my feelings. However it is Bristol, and he's done it before. I'd say he is a long shot. Ryan Blaney- A mess of a playoffs has Blaney 27 points out, and seemingly in a must win situation. Ryan Blaney has all the speed at Bristol with almost none of the finishes to match that speed. His 20.7 average finish is deceptively bad. He always seems to have a fluke or a wreck when he's in the lead. I'm banking on the same this time around and I would deem Blaney a long shot.

NASCAR expanded their sponsorship and marketing platform tenfold at the end of the 1990's due to a multi-billion dollar contract for national race syndication with Fox, NBC, and TNT. This interested nearly every fortune 500 company to be a part of sports marketing on a major level. In year 2000, historic Cup Series owner Robert Yates announced that Dale Jarrett was going to begin driving the #88 UPS Ford Taurus. It was the first time that UPS, or anybody from the logistics industry had entered the sport at this level. In addition to having a near monopoly in the relationship that freight companies had with NASCAR fans, UPS went above and beyond in pushing their 'Dale Drive The [UPS] Truck' campaign. The commercials were well received, and UPS became one of NASCAR's most recognized brands. In 2005, Dale Jarrett won his final career race at Talladega SuperSpeedway. He was driving the UPS sponsored Ford. This ended up being one of Dale's most popular victories. That same year, Joe Gibbs Racing unveiled their new #11 FedEx Team to be driven by the late Jason Leffler. After a dreadful start to the season, J.J. Yeley took over the ride temporarily, followed by rookie Denny Hamlin. It was only six weeks after Dale Jarrett's prior mentioned win at Talladega, that Hamlin would end up stealing the spotlight. Hamlin claimed the pole at the penultimate race of the season that year at Phoenix. Overnight, Denny took over as the leading driver in his sponsor's category. Dale Jarrett was no longer the number one shipping ambassador. As the season headed to an end, it was announced that 2006 would be Jarrett's final with Robert Yates and that he was moving to Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007. UPS changed the direction that they were headed and finally allowed for Jarrett to 'Drive Their Truck' in commercials moving forward. It was too late. While the great marketing heads at UPS worked diligently to have their brand noticed by race fans, FedEx and Hamlin were now leading the way. Jarrett's lack of performance on track made his car less visible in broadcasts. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin became the first rookie to win the Budweiser Shootout to start the 2006 campaign. Over the next few years, UPS would settle for a part time sponsorship at Roush Fenway Racing's #6 Ford Team, and a marketing strategy that left NASCAR almost entirely on the back burner. They did become the official shipping service of NASCAR, in the late 2000's, but their product just wasn't emphasized on track or TV like in the past. The FedEx Toyota on the other hand earned 22 Cup wins and a second place finish in the standings by 2010. They also aired creative shipping ads including the 'Dear Denny' letters commercials at that time. In 2013, Denny injured himself in an aggressive late race incident with rival Joey Logano. He crashed front-end first into the inside retaining wall. He crushed his L1 vertebra, and was sidelined for several cup events. This put FedEx and Joe Gibbs Racing in an interesting spot. How were they to handle the vacancy? Drivers Mark Martin and Brian Vickers were selected to fill in for a total of four events. They finished in the top 10 one time each. Vickers also had 2 finishes outside of the top 30. Hamlin recovered faster than they expected and has only missed one race since that accident due to an unusual eye injury. His success on track has improved and he has won 3 of the last 5 Daytona 500's, a feat only previously accomplished by Richard Petty in such a short span of time. His FedEx Camry is recognizable to any fan, and he is a threat to win as often as anyone. In regards to the Shipping War, We give this one to FedEx. Despite their late entrance into the sport, their consistent support and long-tenure with a high caliber driver such as Hamlin will continue this legacy far into the future.

There had been rumors for about a month that the Richard Petty Motorsports #43 entry may be switching to Toyota in the off-season. After the closure of Leavine Family Racing at the end of the 2020 season, Toyota will have lost 6 full-time Cup Series teams since 2015. (3 from Michael Waltrip Racing, 2 from Furniture Row, 1 from Leavine) Speculation that Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan may be attached to a new investment backed by Toyota swirled around at first, but more recent gossip is that it may be a Denny Hamlin investment without others. It has now been reported by Bob Pockrass that Richard Petty Motorsports will not be switching manufacturers in 2021. No announcement from the team has been made in regards to who their driver may be after the departure of Darrell Wallace Jr., but we now know the team will remain with Chevrolet.

The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs are finally here. The playoffs begin Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. It has been a wild 2020 truck series season, and the playoffs only prove to be crazier. Ten drivers made the truck series playoffs featuring some of the best tracks in the series. The first round has races at Bristol, Las Vegas, and Talladega. The second round includes Kansas, Texas, and Martinsville. The championship race is at Phoenix. The series has raced at Las Vegas, Kansas, and Texas already this season. GMS Racing : Drivers - Sheldon Creed, Zane Smith, Brett Moffitt, and Tyler Ankrum. The GMS trucks have been good all season, but the shocker from this group is that 2018 series champion Brett Moffitt is winless. Second year driver Sheldon Creed has been on a roll here at the end of the season with wins at Kentucky, Gateway, and the Daytona Road Course. Rookie Zane Smith has won two races late in the season at Michigan. ThorSport Racing : Drivers - Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes, and Matt Crafton all made the playoffs. It has been a season of many highs for these ThorSport drivers. Crafton, the 3x and defending series champion won at Kansas. Grant Enfinger won at Daytona, Atlanta, and last week at Richmond. Ben Rhodes won the first truck race at Darlington since 2011. Hattori Racing : Driver - Austin Hill has one win at Kansas. Hill has been the most consistent driver throughout the season with 8 Top 5's, and 14 Top 10's. However, he has left a few wins on the table, so it will be important to see of he can win in the playoffs. Kyle Busch Motorsports : - Christian Eckes is KBM's only playoff driver. Although winless, Eckes has been close multiple times this season, and with entirety of KBM behind him he could make a run at the championship. The shock of the season is Todd Gilliand and Front Row Motorsports. FRM a tenured Cup Series team started up their truck program in 2020, and Gilliland has been amazing with them. Joining FRM after rough stint at KBM expectations were low, but he has been a delightful surprise. Here's my championship 4 predictions Austin Hill, Sheldon Creed, Zane Smith, and Brett Moffitt. Going to Phoenix I think Austin Hill, and his consistency earns him his first truck series title.

Mexican NASCAR driver and 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion Daniel Suarez posted to Twitter today that he will not be returning to the #96 Gaunt Brothers in 2021. He shared a video thanking Toyota primarily, who he has driven for since 2013. In his video post, he emphasized that he is unsure what ride he may be driving next year, but he would update his friends, family, and fans as soon as there was an update. Daniel has 8 Top-5 finishes in 135 career Cup Series starts. He also is a 3-Time winner in NASCAR's Xfinity Series and has 1 win in NASCAR's Truck Series.

Current Drivers Edge Development Driver Sam Mayer is said to announce later today that he has signed a contract extension with JR Motorsports for his immediate future. Mayer, who has driven for both GMS Motorsports and JR Motorsports in the past is considered to be one of the most anticipated and talented young drivers in Chevrolet's development chain. Details on the agreement with JR Motorsports include a part-time debut in the Xfinity Series in the 2021 campaign, followed by full-time racing in the Xfinity Series in 2022. The Wisconsin native is currently only 17 years old but already has three years of national racing under his belt. He races in the ARCA Menards Series where he has 4 wins. He also raced in the Arca Menards East and West regional touring divisions, and has made 6 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series starts in last two seasons with a best finish of 4th this season at Gateway.

NASCAR announced this morning that Camping World Holdings has decided to switch back to the Camping World branding in their sponsorship of the touring truck series. For the last two seasons, the truck series has promoted the Gander Outdoors and RV branding. Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis announced informally the decision on Twitter . “The transition back to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series demonstrates the continued power of NASCAR’s brand-loyal fan base and creates a broader touchpoint with fans who are RV and Outdoor enthusiasts, “ said Marcus Lemonis in a press comment provided by NASCAR. The 2020 season will remain known as the Gander Outdoor and RV Truck Series. The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series was formerly known as the SuperTruck Series by Craftsman (1995), the Craftsman Truck Series (1996-2008), the Camping World Truck Series (2009-2018) and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series (2019).

Saturday night short trackin' under the lights! The traditional late season Richmond night race was an interesting one. It was a race with three cautions, but zero for incident. The Cup series stars put on a display of clean, competitive short track racing. Saturday's race was refreshing in my opinion. A race that had actual strategy was a nice change of pace. Although one driver dominated the entire back half of the event, the racing product still sufficed. To me a good race has the best cars in the front, and if they get stuck in the back they can recover. Richmond had that. I would rate the race a 7/10. It wasn't a race I'll remember forever, but a good race in the moment. Stage one was won by local favorite Denny Hamlin, however after a pit road speeding penalty at the stage break, he had to restart in the back. Unfortunately, Hamlin never really recovered. His team struggled with the car's handling all night. He finished the race with a 12th place finish. The lack of cautions helped eventual winner Brad Keselowski dominate the race. Keselowski lead 192 of the 400 laps and won stage two. His win automatically advances him to the next round of the playoffs with Darlington winner Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin advanced on points after Saturday's race. Team Penske as a whole was the story of the race. Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano were upfront all night. This is a performance statement from the two past champions, showing their current championship threat level. If they can continue this type of speed, they will be in the mix for the title in Phoenix. Through it all the biggest surprise of the night was Austin Dillon's performance. After finishing second at Darlington he finished fourth on Saturday. He appeared to be the only driver capable of challenging Brad Keselowski. Dillon also got a pit road penalty at the end of stage one. He was, however, able to rebound to the top-5 and a legitimate threat all night. In conclusion Richmond was a good race to further prove a few things from Darlington. Austin Dillon has upped his game, Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto are almost in must win situations heading into Bristol, and it highlighted drivers who just might make the final 4 and win it all.

From the arcade to the cell phone, video games have taken the world by storm. The arcade and simulation racing genre has grown just as large as others. Many of the drivers in the motorsports community have played console and pc-based racing sims for the last two decades. Our team has as well. Below is a list of our Top-5 Favorite NASCAR Video Games. 5. NASCAR Thunder 2004 EA Sports' Thunder Gaming Engine introduced in 2002 was the the first major gaming experience to include full fields of Cup Series drivers and a full racing schedule. Their inclusion of multiple driving paint schemes with each driver made the game even more realistic to the passionate NASCAR fans. The 2004 installment featured then 1x Winston Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart on the cover and was known for the in-depth career mode that it offered. In career mode, the player would invest money into R+D, employees, sign sponsors and even work on property development. The game allowed players to participate in a 20 year career in hopes of winning the Cup Series Championship and included online play for Playstation, Xbox, and PC users. 4. NASCAR 2000 "Go Buddy, Go Go Go!" the spotter would yell at the start of the NASCAR 2000 video game presented by EA SPORTS. This new millennium game was the first of a new generation, featuring the EA 'Cyber' Athlete. In the game, pit crews were fully animated and had the possibility of making mistakes. This variable made for an interesting evolution of gameplay between the player and the AI. Multiplayer split-screen mode was included and legend commentary duo Bob Jenkins and Benny Parsons were in the booth to call all of the action. A somewhat limited roster was included in this game, but all three major racing manufacturers of Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Ford made the cut. NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Sr. was in the game as the cover athlete, as were retired legends including Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough. 3. Gran Turismo 5 (2010) Sit back and relax as Sony's Polyphony Digital studio straps you into Gran Turismo, 'The Real Driving Simulator'. The fifth generation of Turismo was the first to include a license from NASCAR. In the NASCAR portion of the game, which was exclusive to the Playstation 3 console, drivers were able to go through a driving school led by 4-Time Cup Champion Jeff Gordon. A limited amount of drivers were included in the first patched release and only Daytona and Indianapolis were included as tracks from the Cup Series Schedule. Despite this limited availability of drivers and track, the physics and online stability of this game were exceptionally popular with fans. The draft/wake effect was able to be modified from somewhat ineffective to over-exaggerated which made for a variance of both tandem and pack style drafting. Sony would extend the license with NASCAR to future releases and are expected to be continuing their relationship heading into the release of Gran Turismo 7 this holiday season. 2. NASCAR Thunder 2003 Thunder 2003 from EA SPORTS was their first game to have a fully animated experience. From the cars to the pit crews, to the fans, to the flying aircraft after the national anthem. Their pre-race festivities included MRN's legendary team of Barney Hall and Joe Moore and the presentation was as if you the player were living the race weekend. The game included legendary drivers and lots of Busch Grand National drivers as well becoming the first game to include then young-guns Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne amongst others. The career mode has the player seeking the opportunity to earn the seat of a retiring racer en route to their first championship and was known for realistic difficulty from rookie to champion. Added game modes including the Thunder Plate Licenses and Lightning Challenges put the player into a must win scenario for new unlocks including paint schemes, free pole positions, extra race tracks. Players could also unlock exhibition events such as the All-Star and the Shootout Event at Daytona. The game didn't cut corners and had graphics superior to most racing games at the time. Every time we listen to 'Steppenwolf' we think of NASCAR Thunder 2003's great album of rock music as well. Dale Earnhardt Jr. graces the game's cover and many drivers including Jeff Gordon and Richard Petty have video cameos in the arcade sim. Honorable Mentions NASCAR Rumble NASCAR Racing 2003 Season NASCAR 98' NASCAR 2005 : Chase For The Cup 1. NASCAR HEAT 4 (2019) 704Games' production of NASCAR HEAT 4 isn't necessarily the best game ever made, but it falls in line as our favorite. This game is responsible for cleaning up years of growth on a low-income studio attempting to give racing fans what they want in a motorsports experience. Their continued support of the teams and drivers and fans was apparent in this release and the expansive career mode was the closest a game had come to the Thunder Series games in nearly 20 years. Their marketing team's success in including every major driver across multiple series has been unmatched. They helped fund the release through an expansive DLC package that included hundreds of paint schemes to the player, and alcoholic branded sponsors. The online play of this release eliminated long-time glitch lags and 'bumper-car' effects in which players were unable to make casual contact with one-another in previous releases. NASCAR Heat 4's soundtrack included a variety of rock, country, and folk music from independent artists and allowed players to compete for a spot in the annual NASCAR PRO LEAGUE. The major graphics improvements in the Heat 4 release from the previous installments of the Heat series were notable from the start. It was a win from the day it released. Did we match your picks? Tell us your thoughts on where we got it right and wrong.

Segments: Intro, Race Review, Pit Road Picks, NASCAR News, Virtual Hot Lap, What Year Was It?, Race Preview, eSports Invitational Interview, Closing Time HOST(s): AJ Appeal On-Air: Tyler Lawler On-Air: Logan Morris Guest(s): Zachary Bell What Year Was It: Daniel Foster Virtual Hot Lap: The Setup Man Writer: Peyton Lohr Producer: AJ Appeal Director: AJ Appeal Source: Syndication / Live Via Facebook and YouTube

(Photo Source : Twitter.com/Team_Penske) Brad Keselowski's #2 Alliance Parts Team Penske Ford finished the evening in victory lane after leading nearly half of the scheduled 400 laps on Richmond's .75 mile oval. Pre-race favorite Martin Truex Jr. was not as fortunate, finishing 2.568 seconds behind in second place. Pole sitter Kevin Harvick finished 7th. Every caution in Saturday night's event was predetermined. There was one competition caution, and a caution at the end of the first and second stage of the event. No wrecks or debris caused the race to break. The win tonight is Brad's fourth of the 2020 season, second at Richmond Raceway, and 34th career win in the NASCAR Cup Series. With the win, his team has now advanced into the next round of NASCAR's playoffs. (UPDATE) - Post-race inspection is complete. The win is official. Top 5 : 1. Brad Keselowski 2. Martin Truex Jr. 3. Joey Logano 4. Austin Dillon 5. Chase Elliott Notables 6. Kyle Busch 7. Kevin Harvick 12. Denny Hamlin 31. Jimmie Johnson

Two time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has his work cut out for him this weekend at Richmond. The 6 time Richmond Raceway winner has yet to finish in first in his 2020 campaign, and the opportunity just became a little more challenging for Saturday's event in Virginia. His Mars Brands Toyota failed the scanning inspection system on two separate attempts and he will start the race from the rear of the field as punishment. The #18 team also failed post race inspection a week ago today at Darlington's Southern 500.