TC Daily Pit Stop: Interstate Batteries Expands Relationship with JGR, Trackhouse to Preserve 'Hail Melon' Car, Hamlin Competing in SRX at Stafford

TC Daily Pit Stop: Thursday, February 2nd, 2023

Feb 02, 2023

Photo Credit: Joe Gibbs Racing

On Wednesday, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Interstate Batteries will be featured as a primary sponsor on all four of the team’s NASCAR Cup Series race cars at various events during the 2023 season.

The company, which has been a partner of the organization since its inception in 1992, will serve as a primary sponsor of Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota Camry at Circuit of The America, while serving as the sponsor of Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 19 Toyota Camry at Pocono Raceway.

Christopher Bell will be the first to carry the Interstate Batteries this season, at the 2023 Busch Light Clash at the LA Memorial Coliseum, in addition to four other NASCAR Cup Series events.

Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing’s newest Cup Series driver, will see Interstate Batteries adorn his No. 54 Toyota Camry in five events - while also serving as a co-primary sponsor for the season-opening Daytona 500.

NASCAR’s ‘Hail Melon’ Ban Inspires Justin Marks, Trackhouse Racing to Preserve Ross Chastain’s Martinsville Car

Photo Credit: Tim Parks / HPP for Chevy Racing

On Tuesday, in the sanctioning body’s annual competition briefing, NASCAR officially announced that the ‘Hail Melon’ – the name assigned to Ross Chastain’s insane last-lap wall-riding move at Martinsville Speedway – will be completely banned, at all tracks.

The last-ditch move, which ultimately advanced Chastain into the Championship 4, was named the No. 1 play on SportsCenter the night of the race, and generated enormous global buzz surrounding the sport, producing over 100 million video views in two days.

In order to properly honor Chastain’s move, which will likely be remembered for decades as one of the sport’s most insane – and clutch – moves EVER, Justin Marks and Trackhouse Racing have elected to preserve the car, in the state it returned from Martinsville, Virginia.

New for 2023! Introducing the #SrigleyStats Sheet:

From the brain-truss behind Srigley Stats, comes the #SrigleyStats Sheet, a weekly email newsletter, which will contain a comprehensive stat sheet from the previous weekend’s NASCAR National Series events.

The #SrigleyStats Sheet is available to all paid subscribers for $5/month, or $50/year. However, if you’re not feeling a monetary commitment, don’t fret, there’s a FREE alternative, too, where you’ll be emailed the #SrigleyStats that you see on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Denny Hamlin Signed to Compete in Season-Opening SRX Event at Stafford Speedway

Photo Credit: Mike Mulholland | Getty Images

Denny Hamlin, a three-time winner of the Daytona 500, will join the growing list of active NASCAR National Series drivers to compete in the Superstar Racing Experience this season, the series announced on Wednesday.

Hamlin, who competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series for Joe Gibbs Racing, will compete in the season-opening event at Stafford Speedway on July 13.

“I am absolutely fired up to join the SRX season opener at Stafford Motor Speedway,” said Hamlin. “That track has so much history, to finally get to race there will be a bucket list item for me. It’s been fun watching SRX grow over the past two years, and it’s an honor they asked me to join them.”