It has been a long season throughout the racing world. A majority of series have ended for the year, only a handful are still competing. Already owners, teams, crews, and racers are thinking about 2024.
By the way, keep the entries coming for our latest Lucas Oil/KMS Giveaway! We have some cool driver autographs! Be sure to check out the KMS Giveaway page!
In NASCAR, it ends this weekend at Phoenix. Champions will be crowned in the Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck Series. It will take a consistent team effort. Meaning a well prepared car, no pit mistakes, and total driver focus. Toss in some luck too!
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Louisville's Ben Rhodes is ready. Ben has told us, as a driver, he's laser focused. The driver of the #99 truck has had ups and downs, including a tight racing incident with a teammate this season on the track. Such happenings usually center around frustration. We stated towards the end of summer that Ben and his team must come together. Be consistent. We don't want to say they are peaking, as a team, going into Phoenix. But in the past few weeks they've picked up their game. Ben is the only ThorSport Racing driver in the Championship 4. Those battling Ben for the title include Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger, and newcomer Carson Hocevar, Rhodes won the truck championship in 2021 and finished second last year. He knows what it takes. We wish him the best!
After Martinsville we learned the four NASCAR Cup drivers in the hunt for the 2023 title. Ryan Blaney won Martinsville and will joining other playoff winners Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. William Byron edged out Denny Hamlin for the final and fourth spot on points. The favorite has to be Larson, the 2021 Cup Champion.
We picked our NASCAR Championship 4 drivers before the playoffs. 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. Just getting to the final four is tough. Not sure why people want to place a bet in Vegas on stock car racing. Anything can happen at anytime during a race to change driver racing positions. It just seems as if the "house" would win a majority of the time!
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series there was extreme tension at Martinsville. Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed (Richard Childress Racing drivers) both had chances to make the Championship 4. At least one of them was probably a lock after a late race caution, and a overtime green-white-checker restart. The two bumped, rubbed, and slammed into each other. Neither advanced. Creed is leaving the team after this season and came under fire for his actions. Martinsville is a short track. Toss in season-long frustrations and personalities, things can happen. The benefactor of the Hill-Creed skirmish was the eventual race winner and veteran Justin Allgaier. He advances to Phoenix for a shot at the title. Sam Mayer was the only driver before Martinsville who was locked in after winning the previous week at Homestead. Joining Mayer and Allgaier will be Cole Custer and John Hunter Nemechek , both earned a title shot on points.
The big question? There is one race left for all three major series, and that is this weekend at Phoenix, Once over, some drivers will switch teams, run different series, but in most cases racers will get a rest after a long & grinding season. The playoffs have not been without incident. Most seasoned veterans can put tension aside. What about younger, eager racers? Will there be payback at Phoenix?
The Vegas NHRA Nationals did not disappoint. The side-by-side racing was very close, tense. Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) and Erica Enders (Pro Stock) both won and hold strong leads going into the final event of the year in Paloma, California. In Top Fuel, Mike Salinas took the Vegas win. And in Funny Car, the Vegas Event Championship went to Robert Hight. The last NHRA event of the 2023 season is November 9 through the 12. Season-long titles will be up for grabs! Lucas Oil is a huge backer of the NHRA! You can watch the action on Fox Sports, or on Fox Sports 1 or 2.
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!
