Fresh off a dominant performance at Shakedown XXII at M-Town at US 131 Motorsports Park, Jeff “The Sheriff” Rudolf joined The Wes Buck Show to reflect on the weekend, break down the key moments of his Pro Mod victory, and share plans to compete at the NHRA U.S. Nationals.

“I told you a couple years ago, Wes — there’s a new sheriff in town,” Rudolf joked, channeling his signature swagger after securing the $20,000 win at one of the biggest independent races of the year.

Rudolf rolled through a stacked field of 25 Pro Modified entries in the combined Mid-West Drag Racing Series and Radial Outlaws event, which was broadcast live on FloRacing. He was quick to credit his team’s consistency, the track crew’s prep efforts, and standout tuner Brandon Stroud.

“We made every single lap,” said Rudolf. “We shook the tire one time in Q3, and that was only because we tried to swing for the fence. We were already sitting fifth. Brandon’s like, ‘Listen, if it makes it five feet, we’re in good shape.’ It didn’t make it five feet.”

Despite the aggressive tune-up early on, Rudolf’s car came alive when it counted. In addition to taking the win, he recorded low ET of the event with a 3.596, top speed at 208.24 MPH, and best reaction time at .023.

“Round two, I think I had a .03 light,” he said. “I told Brandon to pull five out of the box. He pulled ten and didn’t tell me. That last round, we ran a .024 light. He goes, ‘That was actually a .014.’ We’ll still take it.”

The win marked a career highlight for Rudolf, but he made it clear he’s not done yet. He revealed that his team is building a new Precision Built Race Cars Camaro — “Ghetto Sleigh 2” — with intentions to debut it at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, just miles from his home.

“We’re building one, and the plan is to run it at the U.S. Nationals,” said Rudolf. “If it’s not done, we’ll be in someone else’s car. Either way, we’ll be there.”

As one of the more colorful characters in Pro Mod, Rudolf embraces the entertainment side of the sport. From his nickname “The Sheriff” to his viral front-end man, Shooter mimicking an aircraft carrier launch, he knows fans connect with personality as much as performance.

“You’ve always preached it’s the person, not the car,” said Rudolf to Buck, who won the second chance Pro Mod shootout at WSOPM in 2024. “I think it’s both. You gotta have a little of both.”

Looking ahead, Rudolf plans to continue with MWDRS while also maybe hitting PDRA events and possibly the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod this winter. For now, his sights are firmly set on Indy — a bucket list race that’s been years in the making.

“It’s two miles from my house,” he said. “That’s a no-brainer.”

This story was originally published on June 5, 2025.

Thursday, news broke that the U.S. Court of Appeals plans to overturn the preliminary injunction that allowed 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to compete with charters while suing NASCAR over the 2025 Charter Agreement. Should the ruling go uncontested, it will take effect on June 26th and both teams will lose their charters ahead of the Atlanta race weekend, but what does this mean? We’re here to explain it all.

Contracts voided, qualify on time, and loss of income

The most glaring issue involves guaranteed grid spots. Chartered teams are guaranteed a spot on the grid each week while Open teams have to qualify on time. However, only one race this year has had more than a full field of entries, sending cars home (the Daytona 500). The Coca-Cola 600 was the only other race that reached the cap for field size with 40 cars starting.

Open teams will not benefit from the financial aspect of the Charter Agreement either, meaning that they will earn far less money than chartered teams every race weekend, regardless of where they finish. Part of that is revenue from NASCAR’s multi-billion dollar broadcasting deal, and only Chartered teams get a slice of that pie. While exact figures aren’t made public, it’s clearly several million dollars.

As pointed out by 23XI/FRM attorney Jeffrey Kessler, this will also compromise and void contracts with sponsors and drivers. Drivers such as Tyler Reddick can move to other teams while sponsorship deals that were locked in will suddenly be in jeopardy. There are clauses in some contract that nullify any previously existing agreements. 

With no charters, teams will have to rely heavily on sponsorship dollars and in the case of 23XI, funding from team co-owner Michael Jordan. In this situation, things would likely be tighter for a FRM team owner and restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins. Either way, they will surely be operating in the red as even chartered teams have spoken about struggling to make a profit due to the cost of business. 

Michael McDowell, Front Row Motorsports Ford; Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing Toyota

Photo by: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Now, what it does not have an impact on is the championship. The points system is identical for both open and chartered entries. Open teams are eligible to compete in the playoffs and run for the championship. And if an open team fails to qualify for a race but is competing full-time, they do not need a playoff waiver because they attempted the race.

This won’t compromise on-track speed other than being a possible distraction, but an open entry hasn’t won a Cup race since Shane van Gisbergen’s 2023 victory in the Chicago Street Course race in Trackhouse’s Project 91 entry.

Contrary to what some mistakingly believe, losing charters does not mean a team will lose their car numbers. Charters are numbered, yes, but that is not tied directly to actual car numbers. 

What becomes of the charters

Another interesting question in this specific scenario is what becomes of the six charters the teams now hold. If this ruling holds, NASCAR could choose to just run with 30 charters, increasing the payout for the remaining teams. 

However, no one is sure what will happen in the case of the charters that helped create the third teams for both 23XI and FRM. They each purchased a charter from Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of the 2024 season, a team that has since shut down. The deal only went through because 23XI and FRM used the courts to push it through. These charters cannot be returned to SHR because SHR doesn’t exist. Gene Haas continues to race, but only as a single-car team in the Cup Series.

NASCAR driver Kyle Busch has put his 35-acre estate in Cleveland, North Carolina, on the market for $4.5 million. The expansive property features multiple off-road tracks, as well as luxury amenities across a custom-built 15,000 square-foot barndominium.

The property boasts four bedrooms, six full bathrooms, and two half bathrooms. The racing-focused amenities make it particularly appealing to motorsports enthusiasts. It features underground garages, private fuel storage facilities, and multiple off-road tracks that weave through the trees and into the open air.

The 40-year-old driver shared the listing on social media, writing, “We love this piece of land and the amazing barndominium but right now we just don’t have enough time to spend there. We can’t wait for someone to love it as much as we have!”

Busch and his family bought the estate in 2023 from the Deegan family, who are also heavily linked to the motorsports world. Brian Deegan, a professional motocross rider and racing driver, and his family including Hailie Deegan, who previously raced in NASCAR and is currently racing in IndyNXT, built the property in 2020 after relocating from California.

This comes after the Richard Childress Racing driver signed a contract extension with the team, which will see him in the No. 8 Chevrolet through the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. 

Commenting on the new contract, which was announced on 24 May, 2025, Childress explained that, “This has extended our contract out another year, and we’re really excited. You know, Kyle has been great to work with. Everybody had questions going in. I love a driver that (doesn’t) like to lose, and we’ve worked hard. We’ve got some exciting things coming up.

“He and I are both alike in one area that we don’t like to lose; we want to win races. I still think that Kyle will win him a championship, and we want it to happen at RCR and that’s our plans. We got a lot of new things coming. This car is a lot different. It’s so engineer-driven that we’re stepping our engineering up more, and I’m excited about the future.”

Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

“I give a lot of credit to Richard and him believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be able to come over here and have a chance to drive his car,” Busch added. “So for me, rewarding him with that and having the success on the race track is paramount. Being able to continue on when I first joined, I feel like there were some things that we were doing within the rules at that time that got us some extra speed, and then, there was definitely some things that came down that they didn’t like us doing.

“So that’s sort of where we’ve lost a little bit if people are wondering, why have we not been able to win like we did in the first 16 races. It’s just a matter of being able to continue to work with the people that are there. It’s a great culture. I enjoy working there. I fit in well there. They enjoy having me there.”

Kyle Busch puts North Carolina barndo property on the market

Kyle Busch is a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. He currently races for Richard Childress Racing driving the No. 8 car.

Busch: “There is no fixing what we’ve got going on right now”

The Busch family has listed their North Carolina barndo for sale. It’s built like a barn but with a modern living space and massive garage space attached.

The complex features 15,000 sq ft of space. It’s a fully custom estate sitting on 35 acres of land.

The barndominium features two fully independent living spaces. That includes two kitchens and two living areas, one of each side.

This complex is ideal for auto enthusiasts. It features private fuel storage and underground garages.

It comes with a load of unique spaces such as a rock climbing wall, basketball court as well as a private bar and club.

The property sits close to Moorseville and it’s nearly an hour North of Downtown Charlotte, NC.

Kyle Busch posted via X, “We love this piece of land and the amazing barndominium but right now we just don’t have enough time to spend there. We can’t wait for someone to love it as much as we have!”

Last month, another NASCAR champion listed their Lake Norman mansion for sale. Martin Truex Jr retired from full-time competition following the 2024 season.

NASCAR driver Martin Truex Jr puts mansion up for sale

Kyle Busch
Barndo Specs

Built
2020

Beds
4

Baths
6

Acres
35.23

Address:
1525 Shinnville Road
Cleveland, NC 27013

Price:
$4,500,000

Click here to view the full listing

Kyle Busch Barndominium Photos

Kevin Harvick sells Charlotte mansion after buying ‘Talladega Nights’ home

Links

Kyle Busch | NASCAR

A big shock to the ARCA Menards Series field tonight. Corey Heim is replacing Jake Finch for Venturini Motorsports in the No. 25 car. Heim, a favorite to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship this year, is going to test these ARCA drivers like never before.

Corey Heim is going to be a great test for the rest of the field. Drivers like Brenden “Butterbean” Queen will get a shot to go up against a driver that many consider ready to take on the Cup Series.

This race also features Gio Ruggiero, a Truck Series full-timer. Butterbean, Isabella Robusto, Lavar Scott, and the usual suspects are going to be pushed to their limits tonight in Michigan if they want to keep up with Ruggerio and Heim.

A NASCAR insider had a message for the fans who have been complaining about races being on Prime Video. After the Nashville Cup Series race, Jeff Gluck of The Athletic went to X/Twitter to sound off on the fans who don’t like live racing being on a streaming service.

“The people in my mentions bitching about races on Prime are so exhausting,” Gluck wrote. “OH NO, possibly the best NASCAR TV coverage ever is on a streaming service with a free 30-day trial! But I wanted to watch more ads and have no post-race and pay for my Amazon shipping. You bastards!”

Prime Video coverage of NASCAR has received rave reviews from critics and fans. But there are some people who either don’t have Prime or don’t want to subscribe to the streaming service, leading to some complaints. It’s no different from what we have seen with the NFL streaming games on Prime, Netflix and Peacock.

The good news for the non-Prime lovers is that NASCAR will have just three more races before TNT takes over. In NASCAR’s new media deal that was signed in November of 2023, Prime Video will cover five races each year until the end of the 2031 season.

More on NASCAR’s coverage on Prime Video

“NASCAR is the most popular motorsport in the country, and we can’t wait to deliver Cup Series racing to Prime members in the U.S. for the first time,” Jay Marine, vice president and global head of sports at Prime Video, said in November 2023. “We are excited to find ways to get NASCAR fans closer to the racing than ever before, and we are proud to contribute to the growth of the sport in the years ahead.”

After Prime Video made its NASCAR coverage debut last month, Jeff Gluck praised the streaming service. “People across my feed have just been raving,” Gluck said on The Teardown podcast. “Even when NBC took over and everybody’s really excited about them coming in, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen my social media feed rave about a NASCAR broadcaster to that level. People were just thrilled with the product that they got from every facet, it seemed like.

“…It was such a high-quality product, and you could tell that they put a lot into it, and it was just really great. I also think it’s very important in a sense for NASCAR to see that the fans do like something and will all love something when it’s worth loving. There’s a narrative in NASCAR that the fans hate everything, they’re so cynical and they’ll complain about everything. There’s a lot of complaints, but when you see something like you saw with the Prime broadcast the other night, people just genuinely loved it.”