“Thank you to everyone who has reached out with condolences on my father’s passing,” Hamlin said on the social media site X.
He also provided a brief update on his mother’s condition after she was badly hurt in the Sunday night fire too. “My mother continues to improve, and our family truly appreciates the outpouring of support and the respect for our privacy during this time,” Hamlin wrote.
Dennis Hamlin, 75, died from “catastrophic injuries” suffered in the fire in Stanley, according to a news release from Gaston County. His 69-year-old mother, Mary Lou, was taken to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Burn Center in Winston-Salem, officials said.
Dennis Hamlin, the father of NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, died after a fire at his and his wife’s Gaston County home. Lucia-Riverbend Fire Department
The fire caused a “complete structural collapse,” The Charlotte Observer previously reported, citing county officials. Investigators are still determining what caused the fire.
First responders arrived at the couple’s home in Stanley just before 6:30 p.m., NASCAR.com reported. They found the couple outside the four-bedroom home and took them to a hospital.
Denny Hamlin previously credited his parents for getting him into racing, according to NASCAR.com. “Sold everything they had,” he said.
Denny Hamlin became a NASCAR icon with 60 wins, including three at the Daytona 500.
In October, Hamlin dedicated his win in Las Vegas to his father, who was home battling a “serious illness,” The Associated Press reported. He believed 2025 would be the last chance for his dad to see him win a championship, according to AP.
Denny Hamlin looks on from the garage area during the Oct. 26, 2025, NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Jared C. Tilton Getty Images
NASCAR grapples with tragedies
NASCAR drivers and others connected with the sport offered support to Hamlin and his family on social media, including from drivers Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson and racing legend Richard Petty.
The tragedy was the second in as many weeks to hit the tight-knit NASCAR community.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
Denny Hamlin’s father, Dennis, died Sunday evening after sustaining injuries in a house fire. His mother also suffered catastrophic injuries.
Jared C. Tilton
Getty Images
NASCAR drivers, teams and other powerhouses in the sport offered an outpouring of support for Denny Hamlin and his family after the passing of his father in a house fire Sunday evening.
Dennis Hamlin, 75, died from “catastrophic injuries” sustained during the fire. His 69-year-old mother, Mary Lou, was transferred to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Burn Center in Winston-Salem where is she actively receiving treatment, according to a press release from Gaston County.
The fire resulted in “complete structural collapse.” The cause of the fire is undetermined and still under investigation.
Denny Hamlin, considered a legend in the sport despite never winning a championship, has had a standout career, winning 60 races — including three at the Daytona 500. It’s a career his father heavily invested in. Dennis Hamlin took out multiple mortgages, maxed out several credit cards and nearly went broke, the Associated Press reported, all in pursuit of the dream to get his son into NASCAR.
In October, Hamlin dedicated his win in Las Vegas to his father who was home battling a “serious illness.” He believed 2025 would be the last opportunity his father would have to watch him, finally, win a championship.
“I know for a fact this is my last chance for my dad to see it. I don’t want him going and never getting to see the moment,” Hamlin told The Associated Press.
The fire comes just weeks after Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan settled a multi-million antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR.
The NASCAR community shared its support widely online.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Denny and his family. It has really been a tough couple weeks on the NASCAR community.🙏🏻
Richard Petty and the Petty family extend their hearts and prayers to @dennyhamlin and the entire Hamlin family during this incredibly difficult time following the passing of his father. They are also praying for strength, healing and peace for his mom.
There are no words that can possible carry enough weight right now. All I can say is that I’m thinking about Denny Hamlin and his family tonight. Sometimes the grand design can feel so cruel and unfair. 🙏
Briah Lumpkins is the emerging news reporter for the Charlotte Observer. In this role, she finds important and impactful enterprise stories impacting the Charlotte-metro region. Most previously, Briah spent time in Houston, Texas covering underrepresented suburban communities at the Houston Landing. Prior to that, she spent a year at the Charleston Post and Courier for an investigative reporting fellowship through FRONTLINE PBS. When she’s not at work you can find her binge reading on her kindle or at the movie theater watching the latest premieres.
A Gaston County home owned by NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin caught on fire Sunday afternoon, leaving two people hospitalized.
Chief David Toomey of the Lucia Riverbend Fire Department did not identify the individuals, but neighbors confirmed to WSOC that Hamlin’s parents lived at the home. Public records show the home is owned by Hamlin’s real estate company, Won One Real Estate, WCNC reported.
Firefighters got a call about the fire at the single family home on Blacksnake Road in Stanley at 6:19 p.m. Ten different fire departments were at the scene fighting the flames, according to WSOC.
When first responders arrived, the home was nearly halfway gone. It took nearly two hours for the fire to be put out because this part of Stanley does not have fire hydrants, Toomey told WSOC.
“Well this house was about 40-45% involved when we got here. Of course where we are located there are no hydrants, so all the water had to be trucked in and there were times we would run out of water and we had to wait for more water to get here,” Toomey told WSOC’s Glenn Counts. “We had to call for more, additional tankers throughout the county.”
Toomey told The Athletic that firefighters were able to save racing memorabilia inside the home and “some really expensive cars.”
Hamlin, in addition to competing as a driver in NASCAR, is a team owner with NBA legend Michael Jordan. Earlier this month, their team settled a multimillion antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR.
This story was originally published December 29, 2025 at 10:24 AM.
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Briah Lumpkins is the emerging news reporter for the Charlotte Observer. In this role, she finds important and impactful enterprise stories impacting the Charlotte-metro region. Most previously, Briah spent time in Houston, Texas covering underrepresented suburban communities at the Houston Landing. Prior to that, she spent a year at the Charleston Post and Courier for an investigative reporting fellowship through FRONTLINE PBS. When she’s not at work you can find her binge reading on her kindle or at the movie theater watching the latest premieres.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — An economist testified in Michael Jordan’s federal antitrust trial against NASCAR that the racing series owes a combined $364.7 million in damages to the two teams suing it over a revenue-sharing dispute.
Edward Snyder, a professor of economics who worked in the antitrust division of the Department of Justice and has testified in more than 30 cases, including “Deflategate” involving the NFL’s New England Patriots, testified on Monday. He gave three specific reasons NASCAR is a monopoly participating in anticompetitive business practices.
Using a complex formula applied to profits, a reduction in market revenue, and lost revenue to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports from 2021-24, Snyder came up with his amount of damages owed. Snyder applied a 45% of revenue sharing he alleged Formula 1 gives to its teams in his calculations; Snyder found that NASCAR’s revenue-sharing model when its charter system began in 2016 gave only 25% to the teams.
The suit is about the 2025 charter agreement, which was presented to teams on a Friday in September 2024 with a same-day deadline to sign the 112-page document. The charter offer came after more than two years of bitter negotiations between NASCAR and its teams, who have called the agreement “a take-it-or-leave-it” ultimatum that they signed with “a gun to their head.”
A charter is similar to the franchise model in other sports, but in NASCAR it guarantees 36 teams spots in the 40-car field, as well as specific revenue.
Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin for 23XI, along with Front Row Motorsports and owner Bob Jenkins, were the only two teams out of 15 to refuse the new charter agreement.
Snyder’s evaluations found NASCAR was in fact violating antitrust laws in that the privately owned racing series controls all bargaining because “teams don’t have anywhere else to sell their services.” Snyder said NASCAR controls “the tracks, the teams and the cars.”
Snyder repeatedly cited exclusivity agreements NASCAR entered into with racetracks after the charter system began. The agreements prevent tracks that host NASCAR from holding events with rival racing series. Prior to the long-term agreements, NASCAR operated on one-year contracts with its host racetracks.
The Florida-based France family founded NASCAR in 1948 and, along with Speedway Motorsports, owns almost all the tracks on the top Cup Series schedule. Snyder’s belief is that NASCAR entered into exclusivity agreements with tracks to stave off any threats of a breakaway startup series. In doing so, he said it eliminated teams’ ability to race stock cars anywhere else, forced them to accept revenue-sharing agreements that are below market value, and damaged their overall evaluations.
Snyder did his calculations for both teams based on each having two charters — each purchased a third charter in late 2024 — and found 23XI is owed $215.8 million while Front Row is owed $148.9 million. Based on his calculations, Snyder determined NASCAR shorted 36 chartered teams $1.06 billion from 2021-24.
Snyder noted NASCAR had $2.2 billion in assets, an equity value of $5 billion and an investment-grade credit rating — which Snyder believes positions the France family to be able to pivot and adjust to any threats of a rival series the way the PGA did in response to the LIV Golf league. The PGA, Snyder testified, “got creative” in bringing in new revenue to pay to its golfers to prevent their defections.
Snyder also testified NASCAR had $250 million in annual earnings from 2021-24 and the France family took $400 million in distributions during that period.
NASCAR contends Snyder’s estimations are wrong, that the 45% F1 model he used is not correct, and its own two experts “take serious issue” with Snyder’s findings. Defense attorney Lawrence Buterman asked Snyder his opinion on NASCAR’s upcoming expert witnesses and Snyder said they were two of the best economists in the world.
Slow pace of trial
Snyder testified for almost the entirety of Monday’s session — the sixth day of the trial — and will continue on Tuesday. The snail’s pace has agitated U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell, who heard arguments 30 minutes early Monday morning because he was annoyed that objections had been submitted at 2:55 a.m. and then 6:50 a.m.
He needed an hour to get through the rulings, and testimony resumed 30 minutes behind schedule. When the day concluded, he asked the nine-person jury if they were willing to serve an hour longer each day the rest of the week in an effort to avoid a third full week of trial. He all said all motions must be filed by 10 p.m. each evening moving forward.
Bell wants plaintiff attorney Jeffrey Kessler to conclude his case by the end of Tuesday, but Kessler told him he still plans to call NASCAR chairman Jim France, NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps and Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress, who was the subject of derogatory text messages amongst NASCAR leadership and has said he’s considering legal action.
NASCAR has a list of 16 potential witnesses and Bell said he wanted the first one on the stand before Tuesday’s session concludes.
Apr 28, 2024; Dover, Delaware, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin celebrates in victory lane after winning the Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway.
Matthew O’Haren
USA TODAY Sports
Denny Hamlin waved his checkered flag to a mix of cheers and boos.
It wasn’t necessarily a chorus of dismay from the spectators in the grandstands at Dover Motor Speedway, as has been the case for the NASCAR Cup Series veteran in recent memory. Sure, Hamlin will always have his haters, but the booing contingent couldn’t help but be overshadowed following Sunday’s race.
Here was Hamlin on Sunday, celebrating his third win of the season. He had a natural smile on his face as he stood on pit road before the crowd, outside his car.
“Just a great team,” Hamlin said. “This whole Mavis Tires and Brakes team did a great job. All the guys on the wall right here, they’re the ones that make it happen. Thank you to them. (Crew chief) Chris Gabehart, the whole team for just giving me great cars.
It wasn’t a dominant afternoon on Sunday, but Hamlin got to the lead with some strong moves on pit road before the final stage and commanded the race from there. Hamlin held off a charging Kyle Larson over the final laps.
Hamlin is the only driver in the Cup Series who has led in all 11 races. He ties Charlotte native William Byron atop the series lead with three wins.
“I couldn’t hold Lee Petty’s helmet,” Hamlin said. “I’ve been blessed with a great race team. This whole FedEx team, Mavis team, Sport Clips, everyone that supports this 11 car, they’re the ones that make it happen.
“I’m the lucky one that gets to drive it.”
Apr 28, 2024; Dover, Delaware, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) crosses the finish line to win during the Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. Matthew O’Haren USA TODAY Sports
“Not in the last 10 (laps),” Larson said. “(Hamlin) was kind of able to out-race me into one. His car was really good on the short runs. I could pace it, get closer to him at the end of the runs. It’s so easy to air block. Not that he was doing anything dirty or anything like that. It’s so easy as the leader, especially at a place like this, to shut off the air on the guys behind you.”
23XI Racing owners Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan congratulate driver Tyler Reddick (45) after he won the NASCAR Cup Series’ GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Michael Jordan, co-owner of the 23XI Racing team that fields the Cup cars of Reddick and Bubba Wallace, was atop the No. 45 team’s pit box as the race ended. He jumped up and down with Reddick’s crew members and made his way to pit road.
The six-time NBA champion who finds himself in every conversation about “who’s the G.O.A.T.?” celebrated on pit road with Reddick’s 4-year-old son, Beau — whom Jordan lifted in the air in celebration — and Reddick’s wife, Alexa De Leon.
“Some of the most special victories and moments in Victory Lane have had a lot to do with my kid, honestly,” Reddick said. “I remember back to Road America. He was just knocked out. … Fast forward a little bit later, he was awake for Indy, and he watched us kiss the bricks. He was like, ‘What is wrong with you guys?’
“To have him wide awake in Victory Lane, celebrating with us. He knows who Michael Jordan is.”
Apr 21, 2024; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick (45) celebrates winning the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Peter Casey USA TODAY Sports
Jordan has been present for many NASCAR races since starting 23XI Racing with Denny Hamlin in 2020, but he hadn’t witnessed one of his drivers win, in-person, until Sunday. Hamlin and members of the team had been joking that Jordan being there was bad luck for their drivers.
Jordan is a big part of his NASCAR team, and it showed on Sunday. Reddick’s crew chief, Billy Scott, explained that Jordan watches every Truck, Xfinity and Cup race and is constantly trying to learn and understand the sport better.
“As you know, this is NBA playoffs right now, so this to me is like an NBA playoff game,” Jordan told the FOX broadcast. “I am so ecstatic — for obviously the fans that support the sport itself. We’ve been working hard, trying to get ourselves up to where we can compete against all the top guys in this sport. But we’ve done a heck of a job just to be where we are. And for us to win a big race like this means so much to me and for the effort the team has done.
“Look, I’m all in. I love it. It replaces a lot of the competitiveness that I had in basketball. This is even worse — because I have no control. If I was playing basketball, I’d have total control, but I have no control. So I live vicariously through the drivers and all the crew chiefs and everybody. I’m very happy for 23XI.”
His owners looked on as Reddick drove to Victory Lane with a Jordan brand paint scheme on his No. 45 Toyota. Hamlin said he was “very envious” when he saw that car in the shop earlier in the week.
Reddick didn’t know if Jordan was at the superspeedway until afterward. He joked that maybe that’s the trick — he pushed too hard when he knew his owner was watching.
“Those are moments that the crew guys get to talk about with their kids for many, many years,” Hamlin said. “We got to celebrate with Michael here winning in his car. These are certainly important memories that these men and women are going to experience for a very long time.”
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Coy Gibbs, the vice chairman of Joe Gibbs Racing for his NFL and NASCAR Hall of Fame father, died Sunday morning just hours after his son won the Xfinity Series championship. He was 49.
“It is with great sorrow that Joe Gibbs Racing confirms that Coy Gibbs (co-owner) went to be with the Lord in his sleep last night. The family appreciates all the thoughts and prayers and asks for privacy at this time,” the team said in a statement released shortly before the start of the NASCAR season finale.
Joe Gibbs has lost both of his sons. J.D. Gibbs died in 2019 of degenerative neurological disease, and was also 49 at the time of his death. Coy Gibbs succeeded his older brother as vice chairman of the family-run NASCAR organization.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Coy Gibbs. On behalf of the France Family and all of NASCAR, I extend my deepest condolences to Joe, Pat, Heather, the Gibbs family and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing on the loss of Coy, a true friend and racer,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France.
NASCAR held a moment of silence for Coy Gibbs before the start of the Cup championship Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, where JGR’s Christopher Bell was racing for the title. Kyle Busch, in his final race after 15 years with the team, was crying on pit road before the start of the race.
“Today we will do what we don’t want to do, but we will unite as a family and race for the name on our chest,” JGR driver Denny Hamlin tweeted.
Ty Gibbs had been scheduled to drive the No. 23 for 23XI Racing but was replaced by Daniel Hemric for what 23XI called “a family emergency.” Jackson Gibbs, son of the late J.D. Gibbs, was on Bell’s pit crew Sunday and worked the race.
Coy Gibbs had just closed a tumultuous week with his 20-year-old son, who won the Xfinity title on Saturday and is soon expected to be named Kyle Busch’s replacement at JGR.
But Ty Gibbs has been criticized this year for aggressive driving and last week wrecked teammate Brandon Jones out of the lead at Martinsville Speedway on the final lap. Jones needed to win the race to make the Xfinity championship and JGR and Toyota would have had two cars in the finale had Gibbs just stayed in second.
“Racing is a family and the relationships within the entire garage go so much deeper than on-track competition. Today, we lost a dear part of our family. The loss of Coy Gibbs is devastating to everyone at Toyota and TRD,” said David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development.
On Saturday, shortly before Ty Gibbs won his title, Hamlin said it had been a difficult week at JGR. He had tweeted after Ty Gibbs crashed Jones “I miss J.D.” and explained he was referring to the atmosphere at JGR established by J.D. Gibbs, which he called a “tight family unit.”
“We really have to treat (teammates) like they’re our brother and our family, and I think at times at JGR, we probably work with each other the least amount of any other team, and that’s just the facts,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s anyone’s fault currently, but J.D. was just different because he really wrapped his arms around everyone. I told Coy, ‘J.D. was my dad.’ He was really my dad as soon as I came into the series, so when you lose that, it changes the culture a little bit, and we just have to get it back.”
Joe Gibbs and Coy Gibbs spent the days after Martinsville defending their young driver, who was resoundingly booed at both Martinsville and Phoenix after his back-to-back victories. Ty Gibbs made his own humbling apology tour before holding off Noah Gragson for the championship.
“Prayers to the Gibbs family,” tweeted Gragson, who had open animosity toward Ty Gibbs most of the Xfinity season before congratulating him following Saturday’s title.
Coy Gibbs played linebacker at Stanford from 1991-94 and served as an offensive quality control assistant during his father’s second stint as the Washington NFL coach. Gibbs had a short racing career, including two years in the then-NASCAR Busch Series and three in NASCAR’s Trucks Series before helping his father launch Joe Gibbs Racing Motocross in 2007.
Coy Gibbs was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and lived in Cornelius, North Carolina, with his wife Heather and four children.
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AVONDALE, Ariz. — The long and unpredictable NASCAR season comes to an end Sunday with a championship race fitting for a year that saw unprecedented parity and never a clear title favorite.
Sure, Chase Elliott led the standings for most of the season while winning a career-high five races and the regular-season title. But everything is equal this year, the first for NASCAR’s new Next Gen car that successfully leveled the playing field.
The Cup Series celebrated 19 different winners — 21 if the non-points races are counted — and five drivers were first-time victors. Momentum was fleeting and shifted throughout the garage weekly and the end result is a unique final four in the winner-take-all finale at Phoenix Raceway.
Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain will race for the championship for the first time in their careers, while Elliott and Joey Logano are seeking their second titles. Logano won in 2018 and Elliott won in 2020 in the first of back-to-back Hendrick Motorsports championships.
Kyle Larson won last year but was eliminated in the second round, leaving Elliott as Hendrick’s only shot to make it three Cup titles in a row. And experience may matter: Logano won the pole in Saturday qualifying, while Elliott was fourth.
“We’ve been the favorite to win since the beginning of the year, if you ask me,” said Logano of Team Penske. His Ford won the first Next Gen race, the exhibition at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in January.
“That’s the way I go to a racetrack and if I don’t go to a racetrack like that, then I shouldn’t show up,” Logano continued. “So I’ve always said what everyone thinks about favorites and odds and all that garbage. I don’t care. I know what my odds should be, and I know what I feel like they are. We’ve proven (in qualifying) we’ve got a good horse and we’re ready to rock and roll.”
The odds according to FanDuel Sportsbook, by the way, favor Elliott to win the title. Logano is trying to give Roger Penske a Cup title in the same season the organization won the IndyCar championship with Will Power.
Chastain qualified 25th, worst of the title contenders, and Bell has struggled since Joe Gibbs Racing unloaded his Toyota and will start 17th. But Bell has been down before in these playoffs and won twice to avoid elimination and make it to his first title race.
“I feel like I’ve got the best team out of the four. I definitely like our chances,” Bell insisted.
If it takes a victory to win, Bell proved he can do it twice, including last week’s dramatic win at Martinsville to save his season. And since the winner-take-all format was established in 2014, the champion has won the final race to claim the Cup.
The Next Gen has shown how many drivers can win each week, and even though Elliott tapered off a bit in the playoffs, he too likes his chances.
“When I sit back and I look at this weekend and the way this format is and the way the final four works (with one race), if you’re in, you have a shot,” Elliott said.
So that includes Chastain, who shot to fame last Sunday with a wall-riding final half lap that gained him five positions and leapfrog nemesis Denny Hamlin by two points for the final spot in the championship race. The video-game style move has been celebrated globally in motorsports but not so much in the NASCAR garage.
His fellow drivers believe what Chastain did in deliberately crashing into the wall, taking his hands off the wheel and flooring it while letting the wall guide his Chevrolet, is a dangerous move. While entertaining, they’ve argued it could have gone terribly wrong and injured someone, including spectators.
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LAS VEGAS — NASCAR champion Kurt Busch will miss the rest of this season with a concussion and will not compete full-time in 2023.
The 44-year-old made his announcement Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his home track and where he launched his career on the bullring as a child. He choked up when he said doctors told him “it is best for me to ‘shut it down.’”
“I know I am not 100% in my ability to go out and race at the top level in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Busch said. “These are the best of the best drivers, and lately, I haven’t felt my best.”
Busch said Tyler Reddick will replace him in the No. 45 Toyota at 23XI Racing next season. Reddick was signed to the team for the 2024 season, but is no longer needed to complete his contract at Richard Childress Racing because RCR signed Kyle Busch, Kurt’s younger brother and a two-time Cup champion, for next season.
“If I’m cleared, maybe you’ll see me at a few select races” next season, Busch said.
Busch was injured in a routine crash in July that exposed a design flaw in NASCAR’s new Next Gen car. He’s so far missed 13 consecutive races. Driver Alex Bowman, who was also injured this year, has missed two straight and said this week he’ll be out at least three more.
Busch is the last active driver who competed in a Cup race against the late Dale Earnhardt, and the last driver who was part of the inaugural 10-driver Chase for the Cup in 2004, the year he upset the Hendrick Motorsports juggernaut and won his only title.
Busch’s retirement leaves Kevin Harvick as the last active driver who raced when NASCAR’s top series was called the Winston Cup Series.
23XI praised Busch’s contributions to the second-year team.
“From the day Kurt Busch joined our team, we knew he was going to elevate our organization in many ways,” the team said. “From earning 23XI our first playoff berth with his commanding win at Kansas Speedway to numerous hours spent off the track helping to grow our program, Kurt has made us better.
“This season took an unexpected turn with his injury. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, Kurt has not stopped being a true professional and a trusted teammate. We fully support Kurt’s decision to focus on his health and are grateful for his guidance as our team builds a strong foundation for the future.”
He’s in his second season with 23XI Racing and team co-owner Denny Hamlin said the organization and Toyota want Busch to remain part of the team. He’s under contract through next season to 23XI.
“Kurt’s decision to step away from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition next year is certainly not something anyone expected when we started the season together and celebrated in victory lane at Kansas Speedway earlier this year,” said David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development
“Unfortunate circumstances led Kurt to a difficult decision, but we know that he will continue to contribute to the entire program at Toyota, TRD and 23XI Racing. He brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and firsthand championship experience to his team and fellow Toyota competitors. We’re here to support Kurt in this next chapter of his career and look forward to continuing to work alongside him.”
Busch made his Cup debut in 2000 with Roush Racing in a Ford, then ran the full season as a rookie in 2001. He was fired after five tumultuous seasons with Roush — a stint that included his 2004 title — and moved to Team Penske to drive a Dodge in 2006.
His Penske relationship also ended poorly after the 2011 season and Busch moved to Phoenix Racing to drive a Chevrolet for James Finch for one season, then went to Furniture Row Racing in 2013 where he revitalized his career — and began to show maturity on and off the track with his notorious temper.
Busch moved to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014 and was suspended by NASCAR for the first three races of 2015 for domestic violence allegations made by an ex-girlfriend. He later landed with Chip Ganassi Racing and finally 23XI to drive a Toyota in 2021.
He is one of the rare drivers to compete in all of NASCAR’s manufacturers. Busch and his brother join Bobby and Terry Labonte as the only siblings to win Cup titles.
Busch won 34 races in 776 starts over 23 years, including the Daytona 500 in 2017 with SHR and sponsor Monster, which has remained with him to this day.
“For more than two decades, we have been privileged to watch Kurt Busch compete. He has proven himself a champion on the racetrack, but perhaps just as importantly, he has grown to become a true ambassador for the sport,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps said. “Kurt’s drive to improve the future of motorsports has set him apart. We are thrilled that he’ll remain in our sport as a leader and trusted resource. Kurt’s unparalleled passion for racing gives us hope that we will see him in a race car again.”
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NASCAR drivers are angry and concerned about their safety in the new Next Gen cars as the playoffs roar into one of the most chaotic and dangerous tracks on the circuit.
Alex Bowman will miss Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway with a concussion diagnosed four days after he crashed. Bowman hit the wall early at Texas Motor Speedway but finished Sunday’s race despite radioing his Hendrick Motorsports crew: “I can’t drive the rest of the day.”
“I don’t understand how (the car) is still rolling. That’s the hardest I’ve crashed anything in my entire life,” Bowman added.
Now he is on the sidelines alongside Kurt Busch, who will miss his 11th consecutive race because of his own concussion. He crashed in July during a qualifying run when he spun and backed his car into the wall. Busch said his vision and balance are not at 100% but he hopes to race again this season.
Complaints about the Next Gen — introduced this season as a cost-saver and a way to bring some parity to the grid — have reached a critical level following four difficult playoff races and three injured drivers. Cody Shane Ware will race Sunday despite a fractured foot suffered in a hard crash.
Drivers amplified their complaints as soon as they learned of Bowman’s concussion. They have been concerned since an exaggerated tale emerged of an ominous NASCAR crash test of the Next Gen at Talladega in 2021. The rumor was that the crash-test dummy had suffered forces in the collision that would have killed a human.
“Completely unacceptable that those in charge have let things get to this point,” Kevin Harvick wrote on Twitter. He said he recalled Denny Hamlin insisting “that the car was too stiff. Data didn’t agree. TIME TO LISTEN TO THE DRIVERS CRASHING THEM!”
Hamlin, who was heard moaning on his radio after a hard crash last month, also directed his anger at NASCAR.
“Pretty disappointing that our sanctioning body refuses to acknowledge or accept any responsibility for drivers getting hurt,” Hamlin wrote. “It’s the same THEY said. WE knew better. It’s wrong these drivers continue to get taken advantage of by the system.”
The Next Gen was an industry-wide collaboration to develop a spec car that would both lower costs and equalize the competition. But part of the cost-cutting came in designing a durable car that can withstand crashes without being destroyed, a step to reduce the fleet sizes needed to compete for a full season.
So the Next Gen is very stiff and the parts and pieces that used to fly off a car during a crash are holding tight, resulting in drivers absorbing more energy from collisions.
NASCAR has been attempting to address issues with the Next Gen as they arise. There has been a rash of problems with the car through the first four playoff races — in the Bristol elimination race, 12 of the 16 playoff drivers had some sort of issue — ranging from unexplained fires to tire and parts failures and now the unyielding nature of the car actually affecting drivers.
After fires during the playoff opener ar Darlington, senior vice president of competition Scott Miller said it was “unacceptable” and NASCAR quickly mandated design changes. The series is also considering monitoring pressure levels to determine if drivers are blowing tires because their teams are too aggressive with the settings.
Andy Petree, vice president of competition at Richard Childress Racing, said NASCAR has been receptive to feedback.
“I think NASCAR is doing a good job of taking input, listening to what we are saying as an industry. I don’t know about the drivers, they may not be getting the response that they feel like they need on these things,” Petree said. “But NASCAR is working on the car. I’ve seen some future design changes that address some of the things the drivers say about the impacts.”
Harvick said Petree’s comment was “very telling as to who has all the say in these processes. NASCAR and the teams.” He also urged NASCAR to pick up its pace in investigating the issues.
Talladega is one of the most chaotic tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of the tight pack racing and high speeds. The pole-winning speed in April was 180.93 mph and speeds top 200 miles per hour (321.9 kilometres per hour) when cars are in the draft.
The spring race was tame by Talladega standards with only four cautions for accidents and the race ended under green with no overtime needed. But Sunday is the middle race of the second round of the playoffs and the stakes are much higher. Additionally, the first four playoff races have been won by drivers not racing for the championship.
BLANEY CREW SUSPENSION
Team Penske dropped its appeal against the four-race suspension for three of Ryan Blaney’s crew members, who were suspended because a left wheel rolled off Blaney’s Ford at Bristol.
The trio of crew chief Jonathan Hassler, jackman Graham Stoddard and rear tire changer Zachary Price all worked last week at Texas as Penske appealed. Team Penske dropped the appeal this week and Blaney goes to Talladega on Sunday ranked fourth in the standings.
The field of 12 will be trimmed to eight after next week’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Blaney will be without his regular crew members at Talladega, Charlotte, Las Vegas and Homestead. By dropping the appeal now, Team Penske hopes Blaney advances into the next round and gets Hassler back for the final two races of the season still eligible for the championship.
Miles Stanley, a longtime Penske engineer, will be interim crew chief for Blaney. He will also get crew members from The Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford to help pit Blaney’s car.
CHILDERS 600th
Rodney Childers began racing to become a famous driver. When it didn’t pan out behind the wheel, Childers moved to the technical side of the sport and began a climb into a crew chief role.
He goes to Talladega on Sunday set to crew chief his 600th race. Childers has been paired with Kevin Harvick since 2014 at Stewart-Haas Racing in the longest active pairing in the Cup Series garage. Childers has run Harvick’s team for 313 races, eighth on the all-time pairings list.
“I think everybody knows that my career definitely changed when Kevin wanted me to do this, and to be able to do it for a long time and win a lot of races has been pretty special,” Childers said.
Childers guided Harvick to his only Cup championship in 2014, their first season together at SHR.
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