TC Daily Pit Stop: NASCAR Confiscates Hood Louvers from HMS; Larson Paces Practice; Carpenter Returns to Truck Series; Ty. Reif Wins ARCA Race at Phoenix

TC Daily Pit Stop: Saturday, March 11th, 2023

Mar 11, 2023

Kyle Larson led the way in final practice for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway, but following Friday’s practice session, there was drama in the garage for the Hendrick Motorsports teams.

NASCAR confirmed to TobyChristie.com that it confiscated the hood louvers from all four Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaros following Friday’s practice session and the sanctioning body will take the louvers to the NASCAR R&D Center for further evaluation.

FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass had the first report of NASCAR confiscating the Hendrick Motorsports hood louvers.

Hood louvers, like many components on the Next Gen car, are a single-source supplied part, which is not permitted to be modified per the NASCAR Cup Series rulebook.

Kyle Larson Paces Extended Practice from Phoenix Raceway

PHOTO CREDIT: Craig White, TobyChristie.com

The sole NASCAR Cup Series practice session of the weekend is complete from Phoenix Raceway, and Kyle Larson, last week’s runner-up finisher at Las Vegas, leads the speed charts from the one-mile facility.

Friday’s 50-minute practice session was an ‘extended practice’ session in order to give teams the opportunity to get acclimated to NASCAR’s new aero package for short tracks and road courses.

Larson, driving the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro, put down a time of 27.427 seconds (131.257mph) in Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice session, as he looks to collect his second top-five of 2023.

Ryan Blaney posted the second-quickest time of Friday’s session, with Larson’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman sitting third. Joey Logano and Chase Briscoe completed the top five.

Tyler Carpenter Returns to Niece Motorsports for Bristol Dirt Race

Photo Credit: Niece Motorsports

After making his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Knoxville Raceway last season, Tyler Carpenter will return to the series for another start, this time at Bristol Motor Speedway’s Dirt Track.

Carpenter will pilot the No. 41 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports, with sponsorship backing from Precision Vehicle Logistics, AutoVentive, and Worldwide Express.

“I’m really excited for another opportunity to get back behind the wheel of one of these trucks,” said Carpenter. “I’m thankful for the opportunity from Niece Motorsports, Precision Vehicle Logistics, AutoVentive, and Worldwide Express. I learned a lot about these trucks last season and definitely feel like we have something to prove this year.”

Last season, Carpenter earned the opportunity to make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Knoxville through Niece Motorsports and the team’s “Win and You’re in” promotion, which awarded the winner of the Gateway Dirt Nationals a seat in one of the team’s entries.

Swift Transportation Inks Multi-Race Deal with Blaine Perkins, SS Greenlight Racing

PHOTO CREDIT: SS Greenlight Racing

Swift Transportation, a Phoenix-based trucking company, has inked a multi-race agreement with Blaine Perkins and SS Greenlight Racing, to serve as primary sponsor of the No. 07 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

The newfound partnership was officially announced on Thursday, with a car unveiling ceremony and press event at Swift Transportation’s corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona.

Perkins, who is three races into his first full-season campaign in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will carry the blue and gold colors of Swift Transportation in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Phoenix Raceway, as well as multiple others, which were not part of the announcement.

“We are excited to use this partnership to promote our rewarding career opportunities for shop technicians who share our passion for innovation and excellence. Together with Blaine Perkins and SS GreenLight, we look forward to a winning season,” said Kenneth McBee, SVP of Swift Transportation.

Tyler Reif Makes the Comeback and Takes the Win in the General Tire 150 at Phoenix

PHOTO CREDIT: Kyle Busch Motorsports

After an early spin and contact from Sean Hingorani on lap 10, Tyler Reif took home the checkered flag and his first career ARCA Menards Series win in just his third career ARCA West and first career ARCA Menards National Series start.

The Henderson, NV native took the win in dramatic fashion in a green-white-checkered finish. Reif had a weak final restart at first, but was able to make the last lap pass on the backstretch on the No. 17 of Landen Lewis heading into three and took the win.

“This team did so well to get this car hooked up…just no words to describe this,” Reif said in his post-race interview on FS2.

Landen Lewis came home second with Bradley Erickson third. A strong night for a lot of the ARCA West Series regulars. In his first full race, Andres Perez de Lara came home in fourth and Kyle Keller fifth.

Video: Jack Wood Tagged by Conner Jones, Collects Jesse Love in HARD Crash at Phoenix

Both Jesse Love and Jack Wood have had their nights come to an end in the General Tire 150, just after the halfway point of Friday’s ARCA Menards Series event.

Heading into turn one, Love, Wood, Conner Jones, and William Sawalich looked to be four wide. Jones made contact with the back of Wood’s car and sent him spinning up the track, collecting the No. 20 hard into the outside wall.

This is a major hit for Love in the 2023 ARCA Menards Series championship fight, as the Venturini Motorsports driver will finish in 27th-place, while Greg Van Alst runs inside the top-five.