This weekend, the NASCAR traveling carnival made it's annual October stop at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500. It was the 30th race of the season, fourth race of the Chase and first of the Contender Round.
Austin Dillon was on fire at Charlotte Motor Speedway; at one point, literally. Dillon qualified on the pole for Friday's Drive for the Cure 300 by edging fellow cup driver Kasey Kahne with a speed of 183.524 mph. During pre-race activities, one of the fireworks that were set off, misfired and landed on Dillon and his car, burning his fire suit.
Kyle Busch topped the charts in the final practice session. The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 28.518 and a speed of 189.354 mph.
The motto for the 24 team in the Challenger Round struck me as simply "survive and advance." While he had a dominant car at Chicagoland, he was a 10th-place car at best in Loudon and Dover. Now that Gordon has moved on to the Contender Round, he'll find the track lineup of Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega to his advantage.
Matt Kenseth has given notice that he is the man to beat when the Chase goes under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway. With a speed of 194.532 mph, Kenseth put his Toyota on the pole for Saturday night.
I get it. Racing cars can be dangerous. We have lost people in NASCAR, and one sad day, despite all the advances that have been made regarding safety, we just may lose somebody else. I hope not, but that is the reality we must face. All we can do is greatly reduce the odds.
Recently crowned and seven-time ASCS (American Sprint Car Series) champion, Sam Hafertepe Jr broke the news on Wednesday afternoon that he will be joining a new team for the 2027 Sprint Car season.
