EVARTS, Ky. (WYMT) – Backroads of Appalachia was awarded an ARC ARISE (Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies) grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

The organization’s goal is to use motorsports tourism to drive sustainable economic revitalization across Eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia.

The $3,809,250 grant will support the expansion of Backroads of Appalachia’s adventure tourism corridor, connecting rural towns across Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. This funding will be used to develop infrastructure, launch regional workforce training programs, and further promote Appalachia as a motorsports and outdoor recreation destination, with a headquarters located on Sturgeon Creek in Owsley County, Kentucky.

“This is more than a grant—it’s a vote of confidence in the people and potential of Appalachia,” said Erik Hubbard, Founder and Executive Director of Backroads of Appalachia. “We are proud to showcase what happens when grit meets opportunity. With ARC’s support, we’ll build stronger roads—not just asphalt, but pathways to prosperity.”

Among the Backroads of Appalachia initiatives are:

· The build-out of a 199-acre site as a training facility for overland, off-road motocross, and rally car testing and design.

· Over 2,000 square feet of renovated space for training facilities and administrative uses.

· Additional square footage for maintenance workshops and storage.

· Support for RV parking and overnight stays.

· Water and wastewater infrastructure, along with 2,500 linear feet of access roads for emergency services.

For more information, visit www.backroadsofappalachia.org

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Rookie Brady Golan secured the Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) pole at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday afternoon. After a rained-out practice session, Golan (No. 80 Attire / Toney Driver Development Ligier JS F3) set the fastest lap in qualifying, a 1m22.227s, to lead the field down the grid for race one on Saturday at 1:10 p.m. ET. 

Representing Toney Driver Development, Golan led a pair of Kiwi Motorsport teammates, as Jett Bowling (No. 22 Bullhorn / Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) qualified second with a 1m22.410s lap, and Nicolas Ambiado (No. 55 Velox USA / Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) followed in third.

Coming off a weekend sweep at Road America, Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Rayne Nutrition / Ronald McDonald House Charities / Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3) qualified fourth for his Crosslink Motorsports team. Kiwi Motorsport driver Bruno Ribeiro (No. 01 Alfa Cem / Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) rounded out the top five. 

Just before the race, fans are invited to join the stars of FR Americas on pit lane for an exclusive fan walk, giving them an opportunity to meet the drivers, collect autographs, see the cars and even walk across the Yard of Bricks. Fans can enter pit lane near the Pagoda or at Gasoline Alley beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. 

Race one from the Indy SpeedTour will stream on SpeedTour.TV, and be broadcast live on SPEED SPORT 1. Live timing and scoring is available on Race Monitor, and additional news and updates from the weekend will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

RESULTS

What’s Happening?

Ron Devine, the former owner of NASCAR Cup Series Team BK Racing, pleaded guilty for failure to pay payroll taxes in federal court Wednesday. Devine has yet to be sentenced.

• Devine, who owned NASCAR Cup Series team BK Racing, was accused of not paying payroll taxes and instead transferring over $2 million to other businesses under his control.
• This is just the latest blow to the former NASCAR team owner, who has spent a lot of time in court since his team was closed in 2018. In January, an appeals court upheld a 2022 ruling that Devine must pay $31 million to the trustee who manages BK Racing’s bankruptcy proceedings.
• Though the team supplied recognizable names like Corey LaJoie, Matt DiBenedetto, and Alex Bowman, with some of their first starts in the Cup Series, BK Racing is mostly remembered as a disappointment to fans. Throughout its history, BK Racing has failed to achieve lofty goals in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• The team mostly fielded underdogs and drivers past their prime, only scraping together three top-ten finishes in 520 starts, finishing no better than sixth. This poor performance came to a head in 2018, and it shuttered its operation during the season. Its assets and Charter were sold to Bob Jenkins’ Front Row Motorsports.

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside the United States was off to a bumpy start Friday with several teams yet to arrive in Mexico City because of travel issues in North Carolina.

At least one chartered flight to Mexico City was grounded Thursday with an engine issue, leaving teams scrambling to find alternative routes to get to Mexico. Some drove to Atlanta to catch a commercial flight.

But when the track opened Friday, many were not at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Trackhouse Racing was among them — Daniel Suarez arrived Tuesday with some support personnel so he was not affected — but the communications director for the Cup team had been summoned to help unload the Trackhouse cars off the truck because no crew members were available.

The trucks came directly from last Sunday’s race in Michigan and arrived at the Mexico City track on Thursday.

NASCAR said only “a select few” teams aren’t on site Friday morning. But, it seems most are Xfinity Series teams based on a revamping of the weekend schedule.

“Due to two aircraft issues that grounded multiple race teams in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, NASCAR has adjusted the on-track schedule for this weekend’s activities at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez,” NASCAR said in a statement.

NASCAR delayed Friday’s originally planned Cup Series practice to later in the afternoon. NASCAR also pushed all Xfinity Series practice sessions from Friday to Saturday. And, the first of two NASCAR Mexico Series races will run earlier than originally scheduled on Friday.

The Xfinity Series will lose some practice time, with just one 50-minute session on Saturday morning, right before qualifying. There are other slight adjustments as well, but Cup teams will not lose any practice.

Jeff Gordon may be a former professional race car driver, but he’s just like any other dad when it comes to teaching his kids how to drive.

On Tuesday, June 10, Gordon appeared on an episode of Today and spoke about what it was like teaching his daughter, Ella, 17, how to drive. Gordon shares Ella and son Leo, 14, with wife Ingrid Vandebosch. When asked how he teaches them how to get behind the wheel, Gordon cheekily replied, “Very carefully.”

“Very carefully. I mean, you get ‘em started young. You go to the parking lot,” he joked. “You get in the driveway.” 

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He was then asked if he’d taught his kids how to drive stick, which is how one historically drives a race car.

“My goal this summer is to get both of my kids to learn how to drive stick,” the dad of two said. “So it is definitely a goal.”

“But I will say, one of the most terrifying moments I’ve had is being in the passenger seat. I’m not a very good passenger to begin with, when my daughter was first getting her permit. Oh boy.” 

Although Ella is now driving, getting her license wasn’t the first time she was behind the wheel. When she was 6, Gordon introduced her to the world of racing. “Ella driving a quarter midget for the first time yesterday,” he captioned an Instagram post in April 2014. “The smile says it all.”

However, Gordon later shared that racing didn’t seem to be something she was interested in.

“[Racing] didn’t seem to stick,” Gordon shared on The Charlotte Observer podcast in November 2023. Instead, her interest in speed came in another form: running.

“My daughter is the athlete in the family,” he said. “She’s the speed demon. She runs track.” He went on to call her “a tremendous athlete” in track and field.

“She [also] plays field hockey. She can play about anything, honestly. She can high jump, pole vault,” he said proudly.

His son also learned how to drive a quarter midget early on, at the age of 7. In 2017, Gordon shared a video of his son driving laps for the first time on his website. “He had a lot of fun!” he wrote.

Similar to his sister, though, Leo didn’t want to follow in their dad’s footsteps. “They just have other interests and that’s fine,” Gordon said on The Charlotte Observer podcast. “I want to support them and whatever they’re passionate about.”

In fact, Gordon’s son seemed to be more interested in the entertainment industry. “I think he might want to be a YouTube star one day, you know, an influencer,” he said with a laugh.

Todd Gilliland was fastest in the final NASCAR Cup Series practice at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

It was a traditional 25-minute session, but came after teams had 50 minutes on track earlier in the day.

Gilliland clocked in at 93.181 mph (93.396 seconds). He only ran a total of six laps in his Front Row Motorsports Ford.

Ross Chastain was second fastest (93.041 mph). Ty Gibbs was third fastest (92.865 mph), Ryan Blaney was fourth fastest (92.837 mph), and Chris Buescher was fifth fastest (92726 mph).

The rest of the top 10 in practice saw Ryan Preece at sixth fastest (92.669 mph), Austin Cindric seventh fastest (92.651 mph), Joey Logano eighth fastest (92.641 mph), and Daniel Suarez ninth fastest (92.633 mph). And then it was Shane van Gisbergen in 10th place (92.601 mph).

Cup Series point leader William Byron was 16th fastest. Ryan Truex was 34th fastest for Joe Gibbs Racing as he substituted for Denny Hamlin.

There were no significant incidents during the session aside from Gibbs hitting a curb and having a solo spin early in the running.

Noah Gragson was the only driver who did not participate in final practice. Gragson’s team is preparing the backup car after he hit the wall entering Turn 4 in the first practice session.

NEXT: Cup Series qualifying at 2:05 p.m. ET Saturday.