TC Daily Pit Stop: Seven Penalties Issued by NASCAR Post-Homestead; Hacker Reinstated; Jesse Love Moves to RCR in 2024; Bubba Wallace Driving Selfie Car
TC Daily Pit Stop: Thursday, October 26th, 2023
Seven Penalties Issued Across NASCAR’s National Series Following Homestead
On Wednesday, NASCAR issued its post-Homestead penalty report, and boy was it a doozy. In all, seven penalties were included in the report including a $10,000 fine for driver Ryan Newman, who was not wearing the mandated head sock under his helmet in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, CHK Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and Joe Gibbs Racing were all handed penalties for safety violations. Austin Hill will be without crew chief Andy Street for this weekend’s race after the No. 21 car had two unsecured lug nuts at the end of Saturday’s race.
A pair of TRICON Garage crew chiefs in the NASCAR Truck Series were handed monetary fines for one unsecured lug nut, but the biggest penalty of the weekend was for the No. 98 ThorSport team, which was issued an L1-level penalty for an issue with its front suspension.
The No. 98 team and driver Ty Majeski have been docked 10 championship owner and driver points.
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Chris Hacker Reinstated by NASCAR, Will Race Martinsville for Emerling-Gase
Chris Hacker, who was suspended in mid-August following an arrest on charges of a DWI, was reinstated by the sanctioning body on Wednesday afternoon following a successful completion of the Road to Recovery Program.
Hacker says that when he was arrested for DWI, self-reported it to the sanctioning body, and received his suspension he truly felt his racing career was over.
“Honestly, when my situation happened, right away I kind of accepted the fact that I probably would never be a race car driver again,” Hacker explained to TobyChristie.com. “NASCAR put me through the Road to Recovery program, which was super helpful. Going to the classes and learning about how other people struggle with certain things in their lives, how alcohol was their outlet, and what they do to stay away from that really, really helps.”
Hacker will get a second chance this weekend as he slides behind the wheel of the No. 35 entry for Emerling-Gase Motorsports at Martinsville.
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Jesse Love Going Xfinity Series Racing with Richard Childress Racing in 2024
Jesse Love, who scored the 2023 ARCA Menards Series championship driving a Toyota, will move to Chevrolet for the 2024 season. On Wednesday, Richard Childress Racing announced that it had landed the talented young driver as the newest driver of its No. 2 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Love, 18, says the opportunity to race for RCR is incredible.
“I’ve been fortunate to gain a lot of racing experience at a young age, but nothing compares to the opportunity to race for a legendary team like Richard Childress Racing,” said Love. “I have so much respect for Richard Childress and am extremely grateful to be able to race and learn with one of the most successful teams in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.”
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Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Unveil Xfinity Selfie Car to Run in Xfinity 500 at Martinsville
SMILE! Bubba Wallace will have a unique look on his No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota Camry, which will be sponsored by Xfinity, at Martinsville Speedway.
The “Xfinity Selfie Car” will feature the faces of 65 Xfinity Rewards members. The 65 Xfinity Rewards Members were chosen in a sweepstakes containing thousands of entries.
“Working with Xfinity to celebrate the Xfinity 500 and show our appreciation to NASCAR fans and Xfinity Rewards members is something I was excited to lean into,” said Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. “This race provides so much enjoyment, and to be able to provide fans the opportunity to picture themselves on the racetrack by being part of my car is an awesome way to showcase the NASCAR community.”