The NASCAR playoffs continue. Ask any fan, in this current Cup trio of playoff races, which would be the easiest: Texas, Talladega, or the Roval at Charlotte, and nearly all would say: Texas. But what a long, bizarre, rain delayed, and tension filled race at Texas! Temperatures soared near 100 leaving half the seats empty, tires were an issue all day, and then there was plenty of driver frustration and anger. When it was all said and done, another driver "not" in contention took the checkered flag. Tyler Reddick (Who was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs) claimed the victory at Texas. The most consistent driver as of late, #22 Joey Logano, finished second. He leads all drivers in points. When the race ended, Chase Elliott went from the points leader to 8th place. This weekend Talladega, where anything can happen.
Also this weekend, the ARCA 200 Fall Classic at the Salem Speedway (About an hour northwest of Louisville in Southern Indiana). Practice and other events take place Saturday and the ARCA Fall Classic is Sunday. There are many pre-race activities on race day before the green flag drops at 4:00 p.m. Get there early. If the weather cooperates it will be a packed crowd. There is also racing at other tracks in Indiana and Kentucky including the Sportsdrome Speedway in Jeffersonville. Be sure to check all local track websites and social media for last minute changes and ticket specials. By the way, many racing legends have battled at Salem over the years since it opened in 1947. Just a few include: Andretti, Parsons, Stewart, Foyt, and Allison.
Kyle Busch continued his bad luck in the playoff races (Bush was eliminated after the first round of the Cup playoffs). He admitted to pretty much loosing focus at Texas and slamming into a wall. Kyle also admitted 2023 can't arrive fast enough. Next year, the two-time NASCAR Cup champion moves from Joe Gibbs to Richard Childress Racing to drive the car (#8) Tyler Reddick took to Victory Lane at Texas! Reddick joins a team owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin in 2024. Childress says he'll find a ride for Reddick next year in his stable. Time will tell. We should point out, all cars with the RCR are powered by Lucas Oil Products!
Louisville's Ben Rhodes is near getting cut in the NASCAR Truck Series Playoffs. He's sitting 8th in points heading into Talladega this weekend. Based on recent races, Rhodes may soon be eliminated from the playoff championship run. He looked pretty strong in the spring, and has all but fell flat since. Ben has been around long enough and has the experience to get the job done. We're not sure what is going on. But if Rhodes expects to defend his Truck Series title, he must have a win or top 5 at Talladega, and finish very strong the next race at Homestead. The NASCAR Xfinity Series is very tight. Noah Gragson is the leader, but that may not last for long. Veteran A-J Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs are not far behind. We'll find out more after Talladega this weekend!
We've had more response about our interview with NHRA racer and Lucas Oil President, Morgan Lucas. We're going to keep it up longer. Click on the video below to see Morgan with our Scott Douglass. If you like fast action, the NHRA moves from Charlotte to Madison, Illinois this weekend with the NHRA Midwest Nationals Nationals. Lucas Oil has backed this racing series for a very long time. They support all levels of racing, drivers, teams, and series. You can learn more at www.lucasoil.com And you can watch some great motor sports programming on Lucas Owned, MAV TV.
If you've kept up with Kentuckiana Motorsports over the past 20 years, you know Lucas Oil has been a huge backer of all we do. We thank Lucas Oil as a longtime sponsor. We're able to talk racing locally and in other ways, thanks to Forrest, Charlotte, and Morgan Lucas and the entire Lucas Oil Family. Other backers: 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 (KY). KMS supporters also include: VoiceTel Kentucky (Offering telephone service for $25.00 a line, and that includes all taxes and fees), Temco Roofing, Andriots Paint, Flooring, & Blinds, ICA Dumpsters, Kentucky Raceway Ministries, St. Matthews Cycling, Nimlok Kentucky, Dynamic Healthcare, and Lyndon Mower Repair. We also thank our media connections in all series, especially NASCAR and with NASCAR Media for helping us bring the sport to the fans!
Our new Fall KMS Giveaway it up and running! Click on the Giveaway tab for more!
Enjoy the racing!
