Michael McDowell will run the season-opening NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway for Spire Motorsports, the team announced Jan. 9.

McDowell will pilot the No. 7 with sponsorship from Tibbetts Lumber Company.

“I have a great deal of respect for the Tibbetts Lumber team,” McDowell said in a team release. “They’ve helped me on my own property and their team truly combines outstanding service with a high-quality product. It’s special to have them racing with us at Daytona, and earning a win in all three national series is something I’ve wanted to make happen for a long time. I think we’ll have a real opportunity to do that on Friday night in Daytona in our Tibbetts Lumber Chevy Silverado.”

Spire Confirms Truck Return, Announces Promotions

McDowell also drove Daytona for Spire in 2025, steering the No. 07 to a 26th-place finish.

He’s the first driver announced to Spire’s Truck program for 2026. The team previously revealed it plans to field the Nos. 7 and 77 this year.

Executive Editor at Frontstretch

Kevin Rutherford is the executive editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2025 after being the managing editor since 2015, and serving on the editing staff since 2013.

At his day job, he’s a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio — you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.

View the No. 1 Busch Light paint scheme for Trackhouse Racing

Ross Chastain drives the No. 1 car for Trackhouse Racing. The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series paint scheme was leaked several weeks ago.

View the Ross Chastain Busch Light paint scheme below.

Now, the paint scheme has officially been released. Trackhouse Racing posted the following image to social media on Friday.

Ross Chastain
2026 Busch Light Paint Scheme

Ross Chastain will have a new crew chief in 2026

Links

Ross Chastain | NASCAR

With a new NASCAR season so close and sweeping changes already in motion, from horsepower adjustments to an updated playoff format, Hendrick Motorsports has moved to strengthen its foundation away from the racetrack as well. After publicly backing the new Chevrolet body unveiled in December, the organization has turned its focus inward, emphasizing the physical demands on its people as speed increases and the calendar tightens.

To that end, Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) has partnered with Atrium Health, one of the largest hospital networks in the southern United States, to provide integrated medical, wellness, and sports performance services for more than 50 pit crew athletes. The collaboration will also extend care and resources to HMS employees based in the Charlotte area, a move that Jeff Gordon believes could play a significant role in the team’s long-term development.

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The partnership includes the construction of a 35,000-square-foot facility, the Atrium Health Motorsports Athletic Center, which is scheduled to open later this month. Sports facility design firm Forty Nine Degrees played a key role in designing the space. As part of the agreement, Atrium Health branding will be featured across HMS assets, including driver fire suits, team apparel, and track equipment.

Explaining why the collaboration struck the right chord, Gordon, vice chairman of HMS, emphasized that progress in the sport constantly circles back to people. He said, “We’re always looking at how can we make our race teams stronger and better, and it always falls back to people… I love that Atrium is interested in how our athletes train.”

Gordon noted that NASCAR places a unique strain on the body, unlike traditional stick-and-ball sports. “It is different than other sports. It’s a different discipline on your body. Performance, execution, and recovery after an event, you need the experts in those fields to be able to do that properly,” he added.

He further stressed that NASCAR’s grind leaves little room for error. The schedule offers no real pauses, margins remain extremely thin, and success depends as much on preparation as on what happens in the car or over the wall. By housing coaches, performance staff, and Atrium Health clinicians under one roof, the new center would allow training, recovery, and readiness to move in lockstep.

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The layout places athletes and team members at the center, reinforcing the belief that sustained performance is built on consistent, comprehensive care. From HMS’s perspective, the partnership reflects a shared commitment to supporting its people the right way, every day.

Inside the new facility, HMS athletes will have access to state-of-the-art training equipment, modern locker rooms, a race-day operations center, nutrition and recovery spaces, film rooms, therapy and treatment areas, and dedicated sports research zones. The center also features a closed-loop pit stop practice circuit designed to accommodate two teams simultaneously, further enhancing preparation and efficiency.

In fact, support for the partnership arrived quickly from the HMS driver lineup as well. Kyle Larson publicly endorsed the move, resharing Gordon’s post that offered an early look at the facility, including the gym and swimming areas. Larson punctuated his approval with a short message: “Canceling my gym membership now .”

Atrium Health’s ties to NASCAR extend well beyond this agreement. The organization has supported the sport for years through efforts such as the NASCAR Day Giveathon and by providing sports medicine coverage at marquee events, including the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Team owner Rick Hendrick and his wife Linda have also maintained a long history of philanthropic involvement with the health system.

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HMS President Marshall Carlson serves on Atrium’s governing board executive committee, further strengthening the relationship. Atrium Health operates as part of Advocate Health, a nonprofit system ranked third-largest in the United States, serving nearly 6 million patients.

The post “It is Different Than Other Sports”: Jeff Gordon Explains How Hendrick Motorsports’ Partnership Is a Perfect Fit appeared first on The SportsRush.

Viking Motorsports (VMS) announced today two major partnerships that will anchor the team’s expansion to a two-car operation in the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. DUDE Wipes will continue its long-standing relationship with Anthony Alfredo on the No. 96 Chevrolet, while FUNKAWAY extends its partnership with Parker Retzlaff on the No. 99 Chevrolet.

Both partners will serve as the primary sponsors for their respective drivers to kick off the 2026 season at Daytona International Speedway for the United Rentals 300 on February 14, 2026.

DUDE Wipes, the flushable wipes brand that has become a staple in NASCAR, returns to support Alfredo for a seventh consecutive season. The partnership, which began in 2020, has evolved into one of the most recognizable driver-sponsor combinations in the garage. For the 2026 campaign, DUDE Wipes will serve as the primary partner on the No. 96 Chevrolet for over 10 races.

“We have built something truly special with Anthony over the last seven years, and it’s been incredible to watch him grow as a driver while our brand has grown alongside him,” said Ryan Meegan, Co-Founder and CMO of DUDE Wipes. “Viking Motorsports is building a serious program, and we are thrilled to be part of this next chapter with Anthony and the No. 96 team. We can’t wait to get down to Daytona and keep the momentum rolling.”

FUNKAWAY, the extreme odor eliminator brand, returns for its fifth year partnering with Parker Retzlaff. Since first joining forces with Retzlaff in 2022, FUNKAWAY has supported the young driver’s rise through the NASCAR ranks. FUNKAWAY will be featured on the No. 99 Chevrolet for multiple races throughout the 2026 season.

“Parker has been a fantastic ambassador for FUNKAWAY since day one, and it is exciting to see him take this next step with Viking Motorsports,” said Kyle Bolke, President of FUNKAWAY. “Our partnership has always been about performance and reliability—values that Parker demonstrates every time he gets behind the wheel. We are proud to be on the No. 99 car at Daytona to start our fifth season together.”

The announcement solidifies Viking Motorsports’ commercial foundation as it fields two full-time entries in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

“We are incredibly excited to welcome DUDE Wipes and FUNKAWAY to the Viking Motorsports family,” said Jeremy Lange, General Manager of Viking Motorsports. “To have two partners with such deep roots in NASCAR and long-standing loyalty to Anthony and Parker speaks volumes about the character of our drivers and the potential of our program. We are honored to carry these brands on track and look forward to a successful season ahead.”

Viking Motorsports looks forward to sharing future partnership announcements in the coming weeks.

Viking Motorsports PR

Scott Woodruff doesn’t have a title at the nascent International Hot Rod Association but if you have to call him something, ‘Woody’ probably wouldn’t balk at ‘director of fun’ because that is generally what Darryl Cuttell has asked him to do.

For over two decades, he was the brand and media manager at JEGS Performance but he preferred the ‘make stuff happen guy’ title.  

Nevertheless, Cuttell has made quite the splash in the North American Motorsports scene over the past 13 months in acquiring the IHRA brand and then expanding it to nearly every facet of the industry with a dizzying number of acquisitions.

He has purchased nearly a dozen drag strips and began promoting an expanded national tour with larger payouts and increased fanfare. IHRA has acquired a powerboat racing series and launched a Late Model tour set to begin in April.

Read more: Everything you need to know about IHRA Stock Cars

As part of the latter, IHRA leased dormant Pulaski County Motorsports Park in Virgina and purchased Memphis International Speedway in Tennessee. Most recently, it acquired Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina, which brings it into NASCAR’s orbit as they will host a second-year Easter weekend event for the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Craftsman Truck Series.

In short, Woodruff says his job is ‘to make racing fun again’ across all the divisions and properties Cuttell has started to accumulate like Infinity Stones.

“For a lot of endeavors like this, funding is the big issue,” Woodruff told Motorsport.com on Thursday. “Funding is not our issue. It’s got to be the right people in the right place. Right now, we’re in the middle of a big two-day planning session and the questions we get to ask ourselves is ‘what would we want as fans,’ or ‘what would we want as competitors,’ or as partners.”

Funding, by the way, is not an issue because Cuttell is the CEO and president of Darana Hybrid — the electro-mechanical company most famous for doing contract work with xAI, SpaceX and Tesla.

His Stock Car Series race director, Tim Horton, said the acquisition spree is about Cuttell’s personal legacy.

“He’s purchased seven or eight drag strips now, repurposed them, and made deep investments into the infrastructure of the sport,” Horton said. “This is his passion. He views it as a chance to establish a legacy. He’s done really well with his business and this is his idea of fun. He owns several drag cars, power boats. He loves motorsport.”

So, Cuttell absolutely has deep pockets but there also is a natural skepticism that someone that has amassed such a fortune would want to spend it in an industry that doesn’t historically have a high return on investment.

That’s especially true of track ownership and operating regional touring divisions. As the old adage goes, to make a small fortune in motorsports, you have to begin with a large one and Cuttell certainly has the latter.

At face value, spending millions of dollars on nearly a dozen facilities and numerous touring divisions looks like a loss leader by definition.

“Yeah, it’s not a loss leader,” Woodruff said. “It’s an investment. That’s what it is. If you look back and you say, ‘here’s this guy spending in areas that no one really wants to spend on,’ facilities and infrastructure and purses, nobody wants to do that.

“We’ve got someone that sees the power in that, sees the number of tracks with pedigree and history, and they’re going away so let’s get back in and re-energize them.

“He says ‘let’s plug the battery back in and get it recharged.’ We’re building the infrastructure so we can go race. Let’s go exceed people’s expectations, whether it’s on the track or off the track, that’s what our goal is.”

At first, Woodruff was a skeptic too.

Even upon his introduction to Cuttell, he wanted to know what would happen if IHRA failed, just to know what the plan would be as a matter of due diligence.

“One of the questions I asked him, one of the first, was what is your exit strategy or what is your disaster plan,” Woodruff said. “He said, ‘I don’t have one,’ and I asked ‘what do you mean,’ and he said he doesn’t fail.

“So, I said, ‘alright, let’s do this,’ and here we are.”

Why acquire Rockingham?

“Our goal is to use each facility that we have in the best interest of the fans,” Woodruff said. “And obviously, Rockingham, we would love nothing more than to start this long-term partnership with NASCAR, starting this year.

“Our goal is to work together. That’s just how we operate.”

That also means working with Track Enterprises and Bob Sargent, event promoters of the NASCAR weekend, who were also trying to purchase the track from previous owner Dan Lovenheim at the same time.

Doesn’t that make the relationship kind of awkward?

“Well, my last meeting was with Bob and he just walked out of the door and seemed pretty happy,” Woodruff said.

For his part, over text, Sargent agreed with the positive sentiment.  

Memphis International Speedway has a NASCAR national touring history as well. It hosted what is now the O’Reilly Series from 1999 to 2009 and the Truck Series from 1998 to 2009.

Woodruff conceded that NASCAR’s recent post-trial restructuring and the holidays has delayed their initial conversations but he’s looking forward to getting to work with them in a variety of capacities.

“We probably haven’t been high up on their priority list this past month,” Woodruff said. “But I do know that we’ve got a group that is meeting with them in the next week or two.

How has IHRA decided what to acquire out of all the options out there?

“Each situation is different and has different pluses and minuses,” Woodruff said. “We look at it as a group and then we decide ‘okay, on a scale of 1-10, how much do we want do this? Is this facility nice or is it necessary? That’s another conversation too. We’re trying to be good stewards of the sport and some of these tracks, we could have walked away and not purchased them, but a lot of them are crown jewels that just need a little bit of love.”

A skepticism of Cuttell from those who have interacted with him over his first year as IHRA owner is that he is just a free-spender without a vision. Woodruff pushed back on that too.

“There is absolutely a vision,” Woodruff said. “When he first hired me, we were in a side-by-side at Milan Drag Strip and we pulled up next to this pond. Darryl says he wants to ‘get rid of these trees’ and ‘put down some parking spots.’ He says he wants to install plug-ins for motorhomes and water/sewage.

“He immediately told me how far he wanted it to go and painted this detailed picture. I tell you this because he has a vision.

“Last year was just very reactionary. We have these events, and they came up on us fast, but now we have a lot more time to have it planned out for 2026. I think that is going to be a huge benefit for everything we’re doing.”

Full circle, working for Cuttell doesn’t mean meeting a bottom line, either. So how is success defined by the new IHRA?

“By smiles and happy people,” Woodruff said. “Everyone on staff at an IHRA event is wearing a blue shirt. Their job is to be there to help and make sure that everyone is having a good time.

“If you walk up to someone in a blue shirt, they’re going to be able to answer your question and help you out. They are going to be taken care of the way they would want to be taken care of. I know it sounds pretty simple, but it is, it’s really that simple.”

We want your opinion!

– The Motorsport.com Team

Stafford Motor Speedway is once again offering fans, race teams, and businesses the opportunity to be part of one of the most historic events in modified racing through the 2026 NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler® Lap Sponsorship Program.

Each sponsored lap of the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler® puts $100 up for grabs, split among the top three drivers on that lap with $50 to the leader, $30 to second place, and $20 to third place. With 100 laps available for sponsorship, there is a potential $10,000 lap sponsor prize pool, adding excitement and incentive throughout the 100-lap Spring Sizzler® event.

Get Your Spring Sizzler Lap

New for 2026, all lap sponsors will receive an exclusive Stephen Kopcik Spring Sizzler® commemorative trading card, featuring an authentic race-used piece of body panel from Kopcik’s car that captured the 2025 NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler® victory. Kopcik’s triumph in the 2025 Spring Sizzler® earned him his first career win in the prestigious event, adding his name to the elite list of drivers to conquer Stafford’s signature race.

In addition, lap sponsors will also receive a limited-edition “60 Greatest Modified Drivers” commemorative poster, tying into Stafford Speedway’s recently announced celebration of the drivers selected for the expanded Greatest Modified Drivers list.

The 54th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler® is scheduled for April 25–26, 2026, marking the official start of the 2026 racing season at Stafford Motor Speedway. NAPA Auto Parts Opening Day will take place on Saturday, April 25, followed by the 54th running of the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler® (100 laps) on Sunday, April 26.

Lap sponsorships are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and premium laps traditionally sell quickly.

For more information on lap sponsorships or tickets for the 2026 NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®, visit staffordspeedway.com, follow Stafford Speedway on Facebook, X, and Instagram, or contact the Stafford Speedway office at 860-684-2783.

Stafford Speedway PR