Kentuckiana Motorsports Presented By Lucas Oil
Scott Douglass Craig Hoffman
KENTUCKIANA MOTORSPORTS PRESENTED BY LUCAS OIL
The heat is on! It is only going to be magnified when the stars of NASCAR battle this weekend in Talladega! It is the BIG track where the BIG ONE, or multiple BIG wrecks can happen at any time! After winning at Texas, Cup driver William Byron can breathe a sigh of relief. He's advanced to the Round of 8. He only led 6 laps at Texas. It looked like Bubba Wallace might win. Byron had the upper hand on a late restart with a half-dozen laps to go. Nothing is a lock with Talladega ahead. However, Denny Hamlin is 37 points above the cutline, and he normally does well at Talladega, so he's got to like his chances of advancing. Regardless, the mega superspeedway will deliver pressure, tension, and the unknown! Drivers from the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series will both tangle on the 2.6-mile track. As for Cup, you have to like both Hamlin and Keselowski at Talladega. After Talladega the task doesn't get much easier, as the wild Charlotte Roval is the last Cup race before four more drivers get cut from the playoffs, and the field will be down to just eight. Louisville's Ben Rhodes drove his truck to a second-place finish in the event last year. When this weekend is over, it is Homestead for the trucks. After it, four more playoff drivers get the boot. The final four truck drivers who survive will go for the 2023 championship at Phoenix. Rhodes is the 2021 Craftsman Truck Series Champion, and he finished runner-up in 2022. This season he's had challenges while driving for ThorSport Racing. Ben continues to grow and learn. That doesn't seem to be the main issue. Team inconsistency and an overall lack of overall team support has hurt Ben. When you're playing catch-up this late in the year, it is hard to have a shot at being one of the Championship 4 drivers. Where will Ben be in 2024? He's ready for full-time Cup. However, these days it takes money to get a major ride. The days of grabbing a seat on talent alone, is rare. The Xfinity Series, it is off until Charlotte and The Roval.
Before the playoffs we picked our Championship 4 in the NASCAR Cup Series. Craig liked: Logano, Hamlin, Busch, and a longshot but a past champion, Brad Keselowski. Scott picked: Truex Jr., Byron, Logano, and a sentimental choice-Kevin Harvick. Logano and Harvick are out!
It will be a big weekend (Weather permitting) at the Salem Speedway. The NASCAR backed ACRA Series hits the High Banks of Salem! Jesse Love has owned the series in 2023, posting an amazing 9-wins! The 18-year old California born racer drives the #20 for Venturini Motorsports. He just knows how to race, pure and simple! Love has also competed in a few Craftsman Truck Races this year. ARCA driver William Sawalich has 3 wins this season. Southeran Indiana's WIll Kimmel will enter a car at Salem. If there is anyone deserving to get an ARCA win-- it is Will and his father, Bill at Kimmel Racing. The Salem track is about an hour from downtown Louisville. The stands should be packed. Be sure to go online to www.salemspeedway.com for more. It will be fun to see in person.
Other area tracks including the Sportsdome Speedway have events scheduled. Slowly, the 2023 season is closing out. Before the action ends, check out the Ponderosa Speedway in central Kentucky at Junction City near Danville (About an hour and fifteen minutes southeast of Louisville), Beech Bend in Bowling Green (KY), and just outside of Louisville in West Point Kentucky is the Ohio Valley Dragway, a small drag strip on Dixie Highway. We always encourage you to check social media pages for updates, special discount tickets, and weather reports too!
Kentuckiana Motorsports has continued to provide racing coverage for more than two decades. It started with a half hour program and specials on cable, then a major television channel, and as media has transformed, online and social media. Lucas Oil has been a huge part of it. They support local and grass roots. Always have. We remind you to make sure your car, truck, motorcycle, boat, other vehicles, and lawn equipment are all running efficiently. Think Lucas Oil Products. They do so much for racing communities across America. Other sponsors of KMS include PNC Bank (Sponsor of Scott Dixon's Indy Car Series Car), Sportsdrome Speedway (Celebrating more than 75 years of Racing!), locally owned Bright Pest Control and Bright Retail in Louisville, (Offering Do-It-Yourself Professional Pest Products with a retail store), and Knox Ford in Radcliff, Kentucky) (It also has a sister dealership, Tri-County Ford in Oldham County, KY). KMS friends also include: VoiceTel Kentucky (Offering telephone service for low as $25.00 a line per month), Temco Roofing, Jim Ellis/Attorney-At-Law, ICA Dumpsters, Kentucky Raceway Ministries, Nimlok Kentucky, Dynamic Healthcare, Lyndon Mower Repair, and Kentucky Medicare Plans (Serving Kentucky and Southern Indiana with Health and Medicare plans). We also thank our media connections in all series, NASCAR and with NASCAR Media, Indy Car, Monster Jam, ARCA, and NHRA for helping us bring the sport to the fans!
The NHRA Carolina Nationals had a good crowd and some strong competition. It's always interesting this time of year when various racing series go up against college and pro football, and late season professional baseball. The NHRA has several more events before its season ends. This weekend, expect close racing and raw power as the greats of the series see action at NHRA Midwest National in Madison, Wisconsin. Lucas Oil has been a long-time sponsor of the series! Watching the action on Fox Sports or Fox Sports 1 and 2.
We have a NEW FREE Lucas Oil/KMS Giveaway! Be sure to check out the KMS Giveaway page!
Here is the latest Lucas Oil Online Race Report!
Lucas Oil Online Race Report
(Click on Video)
We thank Lucas Oil for all it does in all levels of racing! One huge initiative backed by Lucas Oil is Protect the Harvest. It focuses on farmers and ranchers, and their families. Learn more at: www.protecttheharvest.com.
Some of the biggest names in racing have appeared on Kentuckiana Motorsports over the past two decades: Richard Petty, Buddy Baker, Dan Wheldon, Jeff Gordon, Dennis Anderson, Joey Logano, Sarah Fischer, Tony Stewart, Darrell Waltrip, Morgan Lucas, Benny Parsons, Jim Koehler, A-J Almendinger, Jimmie Johnson, John Andretti, Ron Hornaday, Dario Franchitti, Michael Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, and many more! We'll continue to feature them on Kentuckiana Motorsports! And we'll continue to also showcase local racing!
With Talladega this weekend, we want to look back to 2016. Bill Kimmel Jr. had fun co-hosting our Kentuckiana Motorsports Television Show. His wisdom on Talladega was spot on! Kimmel has won many ARCA Championships as a crew chief and continues to successfully run Kimmel Racing (With his son Will) in Clarksville, Indiana. Will Kimmel has raced all major levels of NASCAR, ARCA, and is a two-time Champion at the legendary Salem Speedway.
Click on the video below to see Bill sounding off about Talladega and more!
Facts & Trivia
One driver who loved Talladega was the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. He won a record setting 10 times at the superspeedway. Tied for second is his son, Dale Earnhardt. Jr. (Jeff Gordan also has six Dega wins).
Let's talk about The Intimidator!
Dale Sr. drove his first ever race car back in 1970 at the old Metrolina Speedway dirt track just outside of Charlotte. He wheeled a "pink" 1956 Ford Victoria Sedan owned by a neighbor. Dale’s cousin was supposed to paint it avocado green, but mixed the paint wrong and it came out pink! He finished 10th!
Dale entered his first NASCAR Cup Race in the World 600 at Charlotte in 1975. About 200 laps into the race, Earnhardt darted into the pits. Not for tires! He ask his pit crew for water. Apparently it was a very hot day and he had run out! Dale Sr. finished 22nd and took home $2,425.
Dale Earnhardt Sr, has 76 Cup wins. There are 8 drivers above him. None of them are still racing full-time today. (Jimmie Johnson who has 83 victories did race part-time this year). Richard Petty is the all-time leader with 200. The closest current and active driver to Earnhardt is Kyle Busch who has 63 Cup wins.
Along with Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Sr. owns 7-NASCAR Cup titles.
One odd fact about Dale Sr. made national headlines! However, it wasn't for his racing skills! He was vacationing with family back in 1999 and went snorkeling. In order to wear the underwater mask correctly, Earnhardt shaved off his famous mustache. Later, a sponsor, Coke, ask him to wear a fake mustache at a TV commercial shoot. He refused. It eventually grew back. Just imagine, what a signed racing picture of him "without the mustache" would be worth today!
Scott Douglass
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