Zane Smith has been fined $5,000, and he and team owner Doug Fuller have been penalized with the loss of 100 championship points (Driver, Owner, Short Track Challenge) as well as corresponding special awards points.

The penalty

That 100 point penalty sets Zane 405 points behind leader Sheldon Creed with 2 races to go. Assuming Creed starts that race at Lucas Oil Raceway on October 6th he will be the 2018 ARCA champion. The race winner in ARCA earns 200 points, even with bonus points assuming Creed starts the race he will have enough points to be crowned champ following the race.

A suspension is what most people were expecting for Zane. With two races left in the season and the championship all but decided a 1-2 race suspension would have been logical. You can’t have drivers deliberately waiting on other drivers.

What Led Up To This

After Smith and Michael Self, both wrecked each other and the retaliation seemed equal the #41 car went back on track and ended the #55’s night. A blatant move that you would see every Saturday night at Bowman Gray Stadium. Essentially Zane went all Matt Kenseth/Scott Speed on Michael Self.

After the race, we talked to Michael Self on the podcast who explained his side of the story. Give it a listen here.  Self said he thought they were even after he turned Zane off turn 2 earlier in the race. Obviously, Zane had a different idea.

It’s an unceremonious way for Zane Smith to end his championship battle but if you’re going to go out you might as well go out in a blaze of retaliation glory.

The post ARCA Hands Zane Smith A Light Penalty appeared first on Apex Off.

Report–For those who have speculated the GoDaddy Girl may be going somewhere else, think again. Stewart-Haas Racing team owner Gene Haas told Motorsport.com on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that he’d like to get Danica Patrick’s deal signed “as soon as possible” — and he expects to do just that.

“We expect her to stay with Stewart-Haas Racing,” Haas told Motorsport.com. “We have some very good sponsors that are in the process of signing up. But we knew that. We knew going in that there’s just a lot of demand for her. Let’s face it, she’s the only woman on the whole grid so she’s going to get a lot of press, and that’s what sponsors want to see. We told her we wanted her to come back. She’s been very flexible about everything. It all has to happen at the same time. You can’t really sign a driver until you have a sponsor. You have to know how much money you’re going to get from the sponsor and that kind of translates into the deal you make with the driver. I think it’s all going good.”

Somewhat surprising news? Danica Patrick is apparently going to be back at SHR in 2016 regardless of the fact that she has done nothing in a car that should be running Top 10 like her teammates the #4 and #41 every week. Danica Patrick is not going to be a top level cup driver, she is a 25th-40th place runner who is taking away a competitive ride from someone who could actually do something with it.

In her three year cup career she has a best career points finish of 28th in her rookie season. That means in 2014 she did worse than that, worse than 28th and she gets to keep her ride. This season she sits 22nd in points and continues to slide. She has 6 career top 10’s. S-I-X, in three years. Martin Truex had 14 in the first 15 races this year, just a little perspective. She averages 2 a year an Darrell Waltrip thinks that is progress. It’s really unbelievable the rope she is given in terms of what other drivers are given.

So in 2016 she’ll be back at SHR taking away a competitive ride from someone who more likely deserves it. She is obviously a media darling and a very marketable driver but at what point does mediocre results effect marketability. This is SHR’s decision but the team has to question the decision when they could have a driver that puts them at the front.

The post Danica Patrick Set To Stay At SHR, Somehow appeared first on Apex Off.

According to Robin Miller the NASCAR Xfinity Series will test the infield road course this June.

That’s massive news that the series likely didn’t want out in the public yet. If anyone knows what is happening at IMS it’s Robin Miller. This bit of news also goes along with other things we’ve heard. NASCAR has reportedly told IMS it’s the road course or nothing going forward post 2020. We’ll see if that’s true but for now the fact a test is happening leads evidence to those rumblings.

The infield road course at IMS has seen numerous changes since it’s inception in 2000 when it was constructed to host the United States Grand Prix. MotoGP joined the track in 2008 when the turn one complex was constructed. IndyCar has hosted a Grand Prix on the road course since 2012 to kick off the month of May.

Now NASCAR could be joining those ranks and it wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. The current road course runs clock-wise (the opposite of an oval for you mouth breathers) which is perfect considering all teams already build cars for Watkins Glen. Fueling is done on the opposite side, that’s why it’s a big deal.

One of the biggest questions is will NASCAR use the complex down in oval turn 1. Or will they skip that complex and run the opposite way through turn 1 like F1 did? Both have upsides, but they’ll likely settle for running the complex to lengthen lap times and keep speeds down headed into road course turn 1.

No word if this test will be open to the public.

The post NASCAR Will Test On The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course appeared first on Apex Off.

Excuse me, the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard presented by Florida Georgia Line doesn’t matter anymore.

In fact, it hasn’t mattered for the better part of a decade. NASCAR and its media partners have tried relentlessly to convince drivers and fans alike that this race remains a Crown Jewel race on the calendar. All while completely ignoring the putrid racing and atrocious attendance.

When NASCAR came to the speedway for a test in 1992 some 20-25k spectators showed up to watch them turn pointless laps. A Goodyear tire test boosted the excitement that NASCAR was coming to the crossroads of America.

A success for NASCAR

Just two years late in 1994 the first Brickyard 400 was held in from of 350,000 fans. An astronomical amount of fans, more fans than any other NASCAR race. The Daytona 500 hosted about 130,000 fans at its peak and currently still hosts 100,000 fans each February. It was a resounding success for NASCAR and it was only amplified by the fact a Hoosier in Jeff Gordon won.

The Brickyard 400 carried some massive weight for the better part of a decade. Every driver wanted to win there, fans wanted to watch a race there. If there is a cathedral for racing, it’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway. NASCAR was so popular the race was only 400 miles so it wouldn’t take away from the prestige of the 500. Things have certainly changed back since 1994 but at the time this was the biggest race in NASCAR next to the Daytona 500.

Flashforward to 2019 and the Brickyard 400 isn’t even a shell of its former self. Moved from it’s traditional August date to the cut-off race for the playoffs last season in hopes of boosting attendance didn’t help. Indy 500 qualifying likely had more fans in the stands than the Cup race last season. In 2020 the race will once again move dates this time to the Fourth of July weekend taking Daytona’s traditional summer spot. It once again will not help ticket sales. Indy in July is abysmal and the Cup race at the speedway isn’t a vacation destination for many.

Indianapolis track

Some folks in Indianapolis have mentioned that the track has sold less than 20k tickets for the Brickyard 400 this season. The tire debacle of 2008 combined with the sports incessant need for more downforce has killed fans interest at the track. If fans wanted to watch a parade there’s a lovely one every Thanksgiving morning.

The fans no longer care.

In the lead up to this race, some of the sports media personalities have done everything but beg fans to come out to the speedway. “We need people in the stands, we don’t need to see empty seats” is what one member said.

Outside of 2017, there hasn’t been a memorable race at the speedway since 2008. Both of the races named here were chaotic completely abnormal races. For the most part since the introduction of the CoT and Gen 6 cars, the racing has been sleep-inducing and the fans responded.

The greatest race in the world

NASCAR would be better served to visit the short track 7 miles away in Brownsburg. Or maybe take some turns on the IMS road course. The Indy 500 is the greatest race in the world, let them have the oval. NASCAR needs to lick their wounds and move on or debut the Gen 7 car with less front downforce. One thing we do know is the stands this Sunday will be baren.

The post The Brickyard 400 Doesn’t Matter Anymore appeared first on Apex Off.

Weeks after the ARCA Series was scheduled to race at Berlin the series finally got mother nature to cooperate long enough Saturday night. With the rain staying away the ARCA series put on a classic Saturday night short track race.

At only .4 miles Berlin is the perfect short track for ARCA or any series. And Saturday night was no different as guys and girls were beating and banging on one another. The final laps for the lead were more reminiscent of a shootout at Bowman Grey Stadium.

While Riley Herbst was bouncing off anything and everything on track with Carson Hocevar the series championship contenders put on a show. Sheldon Creed led early with Zane Smith in pursuit. As the race progressed, however, Chandler Smith asserted himself as the leading contender Saturday night. If someone wanted to win they were going to have a 16-year old to deal with.

In the closing laps

Smith was slowly sliding back into the grasps of Joe Graf Jr. in the #77. Graf was looking for his first win after Zane Smith nabbed him at the line earlier in the season at Talladega like Graf was Elliott Sadler.

With Graf charging and hungry for that first win he did what everyone does on a short track that can’t pass cleanly. He decided to drive right through Chandler Smith like he was Chase Elliott in a truck race at Canada. As Graf came out of turn 4 expecting to see the checkered flag he was instead met with a caution flag. The ARCA series guarantees a green flag finish and Graf wrecked Smith too soon, he’d have to earn this win on a G-W-C.

On the ensuing restart

Graf got the trophy but he didn’t make any friends. “Joe Graf is the biggest dumb ass out here. I’m sure everyone here agrees with me. Chandler Smith should have won. He tried to wreck both of us” said an annoyed Zane Smith.

ARCA has a dirt race followed by two short tracks before ending the season at Kansas in October. Joe Graf Jr. could have a rough time at Lucas Oil Raceway Park and Salem Speedway should Zane Smith or Chandler Smith want to repay him for his aggressive driving.

The post Joe Graf Jr. Steals ARCA Win At Berlin appeared first on Apex Off.

Adam Stern tweeted out a snippet this weekend that once again indicates Dodge is looking to rejoin NASCAR. Will they team up with Andretti Autosport this time only to have the deal squashed two days later? One other manufacturer is also interested in joining NASCAR as well.

NISSAN. NISSAN wants to join NASCAR? Nissan couldn’t succeed in V8 Supercars, they tried to revolutionize the WEC LMP1 class, they pulled out of IMSA. Now they might want to go NASCAR racing. A Nissan Altima would infuriate the diehard fan base, it’d draw in the inner city crowds. A Nissan Altima Cup car would do more for the sport than NASCAR could ever have imagined.

One thing NASCAR should mandate if both of these manufacturers want to join the Cup series they must also field truck series teams as well. Nissan Titan’s and Ram Ram’s (stupid Dodge spun off Ram into its own brand and just calls their trucks Ram, very confusing) those would look phenomenal fighting with Ford, Toyota, and Chevy.

Will either of these OEM’s join the series? Right now there’s a 70% chance Dodge rejoins and a 45% chance Nissan joins. Dodge knows what it takes and would likely have an easier time convincing an established team to switch manufacturers.

Hybrid Technology and NASCAR?

Fewer things will trigger a deep southern NASCAR fan than the words hybrid or electric in reference to race cars. That could be the future however for NASCAR and their competitors. Manufacturers are pushing for more uses for their hybrid technology despite how many threatening emails Jimmy Spencer sends them. Applicable road applications are big for OEM’s. It’s hard to look at the technology on a cup car and but that in a Camry. V8 Camry sedans simply don’t exist, hybrid Camry sedans do, however.

Formula 1 currently uses a hybrid engine system and while Mercedes has dominated the fight for reliability at the beginning was exciting and infuriating. Ultimately one manufacturer (Honda) won’t figure it out and be the storyline for the better part of three years. F1 is the perfect place for hybrid technology, NASCAR might not be.

Unless of course, they want to use the ARCA series as a hybrid series or an electric series. Imagine a world of Chevy Volts, Nissan Leafs, Ford whatever they make, and Toyota Prius pounding around short tracks across America. People in the sport are talking about it, the plans might not be in place yet but in the not so distant future electric tech will be in NASCAR. Goodyear is going to have nightmares trying to build slicks for electric stock cars.

The post Dodge & Nissan Interested in Joining NASCAR, Hybrid Tech Coming? appeared first on Apex Off.

It’s a story of ruthless cutthroat capitalism. Out price the competition until they can’t sustain that business model anymore and go out of business. Joe Gibbs Racing did just that to Furniture Row Racing.

Furniture Row Racing cited “the rising costs of continuing a team alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing.” Joe Gibbs Racing reportedly DOUBLED the cost of the alliance FRR had with the team.

Financials in NASCAR are impossible to come by unless someone forgets to pay their bills and goes to court so we don’t know what FRR was paying. However, doubling the cost of anything will almost always have ramifications.

Back Story 2016-2018

Furniture Row Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing entered an alliance starting in 2016. The #78 car was viewed as a 5th JGR entry. FRR used cars built by JGR and over the wall guys provided by JGR. In return, FRR paid handsomely for this alliance and increase in on-track performance.

Combine the performance of JGR Toyota’s with Cole Pearn’s mastermind brain and you have a championship winning team, literally. The combo of journeyman Martin Truex Jr. and Pearn resulted in 17 wins over the last three seasons and a NASCAR Cup Series Championship. Beating JGR’s Kyle Busch for the title last season.

As FRR continued to outrun JGR the relationship seemed to strain. Last summer at the Brickyard 400 the tension rose to an all-time high as the #78 and #18 tangled on a restart and both cars slammed the wall (the 45 person crowd erupted, it was magical). Instead of having an easy 1-2 finish the teams were left exchanging words in the #78 pit box. Adam Stevens was still in the wrong there and JGR dropped the ball. That was the first visible sign of strain in the relationship.

Around late spring of this season, rumblings started in the garage area that FRR had not re-signed Truex for 2019. Not only that but the team also didn’t have a new deal in place with JGR or TRD. That was the beginning of the end combined with 5-Hour Energy leaving the team after the 2018 season and taking half a season of funding with them.

If You Can’t Beat Them, Put Them Out of Business

Joe Gibbs Racing ultimately wanted Furniture Row Racing to go away. Being embarrassed in 2017 by the satellite team wasn’t in the cards when this alliance was born. So doubling the cost of their alliance deal was the easiest way to dispose of FRR.

Furniture Row Racing could have formed an alliance with another team. Barney Visser ultimately decided he didn’t want to take a step back and that’s his prerogative. The notion that the state of NASCAR put FRR out of business is a bit overblown. FRR could have survived with an RCR alliance and asking for less from a potential sponsor. It comes back to not wanting to take a step down.

Gibbs took a no discretion, cutthroat approach. TRD’s flagship team wanted Truex and Cole Pearn in-house. A combination of Pearn and the resources at JGR should terrify the rest of the garage. JGR bolstered their lineup and their engineering staff with this move.

The fallout from this could be damaging for JGR and TRD in the future. Not only with potential teams that want to form an alliance but also with fans. NASCAR fans are a fickle bunch and if they feel someone was wronged they’ll be vocal. Thankfully JGR employs Kyle Busch so being booed is nothing new.

The post Joe Gibbs Racing Ultimately Killed Furniture Row Racing appeared first on Apex Off.

Take a look at what the grid COULD look like for the 2021 season;

Hendrick Motorsports

#9 Chase Elliott – The present and the future, he’s not going anywhere.

#24 William Byron – Byron is on thin ice but HMS doesn’t want to replace two drivers in one year.

#48 Tyler Reddick – Rick Hendrick wants talent, and wants the future of HMS secure. Reddick gets bought.

#88 Alex Bowman – 1-year deal for Bowman, he needs a stellar 2021 to attract sponsors.

Gibbs

#11 Denny Hamlin – Ole’ runner up isn’t going anywhere, he’s never been better.

#18 Kyle Busch – This is like the Chiefs letting Patrick Mahomes go, KB is here forever.

#19 Martin Truex Jr. – 2021 could be Martin’s last at JGR.

#20 Christopher Bell – Bell has a three-year deal with JGR, he moves to the big team in 2021.

Penske/Wood Brothers

#2 Ryan Blaney – Brad K. is out at Penske, Blaney moves to the Captain’s marquee ride.

#12 Matt DiBenedetto – Matty D. did so well with The Wood Brothers he moves to big Penske.

#21 Chase Briscoe – Briscoe is asserting himself as a force in the Xfinity Series. People are pointing at Austin Cindric for this ride but he has to beat Chase Briscoe first. Briscoe’s Ford connections put him in the #21.

#22 Joey Logano – Joey Slowgano isn’t going anywhere.

Stewart-Haas Racing

#4 Kevin Harvick – SHR can’t afford to lose Harvick so he’s signed for three more years.

#10 Brad Keselowski – Brad K. stays in the Ford camp but he’s over at Tony Stewart’s team now and the SHR looks to secure their competitiveness outside of Harvick.

#14 Kyle Larson – Rusty Rush won’t have a problem with Larson taking over for Clint Bowyer. Larson and SHR is a match made in heaven.

#41 Cole Custer – Custer is the future of SHR.

Chip Ganassi Racing

#1 Kurt Busch – Kurt is on the last year of his deal in 2021, he remains competitive and CGR may try to keep him another year.

#42 Ross Chastain – Ross has a deal with CGR, he moves up to Cup in 2021.

Richard Childress Racing

#3 Austin Dillon – AD is keeping his seat warm for Ace in 18 years.

#8 Noah Gragson – Gragson replaces the departed Reddick with help from Bass Pro and others.

Roush Fenway Racing

#6 John Hunter Nemechek – Newman retires and JHN moves up to a more competitive ride.

#17 Chris Buescher – Buescher is being held hostage at RFR.

Front Row Motorsports

#34 Michael McDowell – Don’t think he’s ever going to leave. At least not until he tweets “fake news” at a rumor and then actually gets replaced.

#38 Corey LaJoie – LaJoie wanted the #48 car, he got the #38.

Richard Petty Motorsports

#43 Bubba Wallace – Bubba would like a more competitive car but will be back with RPM.

Leavine Family Racing

#95 Erik Jones – That Jones boy moves to LFR in 2021 but remains in the Toyota camp.

JTG-Daugherty Racing

#37 Daniel Hemric – Hemric returns to a full time ride replacing the struggling Ryan Preece.

#47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – He and Brian Pattie will find a way to victory lane.

And just like that the competitive grid for the 2021 season is set.

Let us know what we got wrong and where your sources say people are going.

The post Let’s Get Crazy: Here Is What The 2021 NASCAR Grid Could Look Like appeared first on Apex Off.

Turns out while I was wondering what the hell the 95’s sponsor “Darkmatter” this weekend is the Leavine Family Racing team might have some plans up their sleeve for 2019. They fired crew chief Travis Mack three races ago due to differences between himself and ownership. They hired Kasey Kahne this year and they’re looking to take the #95 to the next level. What’s the best and easiest way to do that?

Follow the Furniture Row Racing mold.

LFR could easily become a Toyota team next year with a Joe Gibbs racing alliance. Currently, Furniture Row Racing has an alliance with JGR. However, there is speculation surrounding that arrangement considering the two sides haven’t agreed on anything for 2019 and the future. Could the LFR rumors be linked that that? There is certainly a possibility of that.

Will LFR continue to field on or two cars?

There are a number of questions that arise if this switch in manufacturers does in fact happen. Will LFR continue to be a one-car team or will they field two cars? Is Kasey Kahne going to be a one and done destined to follow the World of Outlaws across the country in 2019? Or is Christopher Bell not ready yet? A lot of questions and no real answers outside of Stern saying JGR expects Bell back in the Xfinity Series in 2019.

Joe gibbs racing drivers

For now, though Silly Season is ramping up in July. There is an empty grandstand worth of questions that need to be answered for 2019 and we should start to get some answers over the next few weeks and months. For now though, we’re all here for the rumors.

The post Leavine Family Racing Exploring A Switch To Toyota W/Joe Gibbs Racing appeared first on Apex Off.

Sunday after Michigan’s monotonous race Steve hopped on the old Twitter machine and answered some questions for fans. One question asked by this Zach character regarded the Gen 7 car. The next generation of Cup car that NASCAR has talked about, that was supposed to debut in 2021. The next car with technology built into it, whatever that means for a Cup car.

Steve answered Zach with 2022 as the earliest! That means at minimum we have three more years of racing with the Gen 6 body.

Honestly, this is terrible news. Instead of debuting the new car sooner NASCAR wants to make teams spend enough money a Nigerian Prince would be jealous on converting their current Gen 6 cars into plate cars for 2022. Cutting air duct holes, doing the R&D, replacing oil pans and splitters doesn’t come from NASCAR, that comes from the teams. And then in three years, you have to have a completely new car. Sick.

The next question that came up was “will there be a splitter.”

Everyone should hate the splitter on the car. All it does is seal these cars to the track and make them so much easier to drive. Look at Harvick. His car was so planted to the race track he held the wheel steadier than anyone I’ve ever seen in the middle of the corner. That doesn’t create for good racing.

So what did Steve say?

HE SAID NO!

Which means that there will definitely be one. But if he’s telling the truth that is a win for fans and Dale Jr. everywhere.

Instead of having teams modify the noses of cars for 2021 by cutting holes in them and what why not just take the splitter off cars? Put the valence back on, shorten the side skirts and make these guys figure out how to go fast again. It seems like a better use of money than a package that fans have bemoaned and drivers have openly mocked.

Need to get Bren Dewar’s thoughts on this too.

The post NASCAR Will Debut New Gen 7 Without Splitte in 2022 appeared first on Apex Off.