History will tell us Formula 1 cars raced through the streets of Las Vegas, American Josef Newgarden gave car owner Roger Penske his 19th Indy 500 victory and the nomadic ASA late model series was reborn in 2023.
Behind the scenes, there were discussions about NASCAR charters and media rights, while engineers raced to finalize IndyCar’s hybrid-boosted engine package.
It was all part of a nearly constant flow of news that made headlines and kept race fans engaged from January through December.
Continuing a SPEED SPORT tradition that dates back to the early 1980s, here are 10 stories that had a major impact on the industry during the year past.
NORTH WILKESBORO RETURNS
The roar of NASCAR Cup Series engines once again thundered through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains as the 39th NASCAR All-Star Race was run in front of an estimated 30,000 fans at historic North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway on Sunday evening, May 19.
The highlight of NASCAR’s 75th Anniversary celebration, Speedway Motorsports’ Marcus Smith spearheaded the renovation and rebirth of the track that had hosted only a handful of regional races since Jeff Gordon won there on Sept. 29, 1996.
Surrounded by countless safety and facility upgrades, Cup Series competitors raced on the same asphalt surface that their predecessors struggled with 27 years ago.
Kyle Larson led 145 of the 200 laps en route to the $1 million prize, becoming the first driver to win the non-points, special event at three different facilities.
The track has been repaved ahead of the 40th NASCAR All-Star Race on May 19.
ANDRETTI NEARS F-1 DREAM
Michael Andretti’s bid to field a Formula 1 team took a major step forward Oct. 2 when the FIA selected Andretti Formula Racing to proceed to the next phase of the application process.
Applicants had to meet the FIA’s sporting, technical and financial requirements, and Andretti’s submission was the only one among four finalists deemed worthy of joining the Formula 1 grid.
Andretti Global and engine partner Cadillac must now prove their commercial value to F-1 rights holder Liberty Media and the 10 existing teams.
“Andretti Cadillac is honored that the FIA has approved Andretti Formula Racing’s Expression of Interest for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. We appreciate the FIA’s rigorous, transparent and complete evaluation process and are incredibly excited to be given the opportunity to compete in such a historic and prestigious Championship,” the team said in a statement.
MILLION-DOLLAR MAN
Logan Schuchart, the 30-year-old grandson of Hall of Fame sprint car driver Bobby Allen, became racing’s newest millionaire on Thursday night, July 13, when he banked $1,002,023 for winning the Eldora Million at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
Schuchart’s victory in sprint car racing’s richest single-night event – total purse of $1,405,373 — is the latest chapter in a rags to riches story that has seen Shark Racing grow from very humble beginnings.
“I don’t have words to explain it,” said the driver from Hanover, Pa. “We have come such a long way as a team from starting at the very bottom. Jacob (Allen) and I had one engine for each car when we started and we built it from there.”
Schuchart started from the pole and led the full 50-lap distance. California’s Carson Macedo earned $100,000 for his runner-up effort.
NASCAR HITS THE STREETS
Fifty-six years after Fireball Roberts won a 100-mile stock car race inside Chicago’s Soldier Field, the NASCAR Cup Series returned to the Windy City July 2 and raced through the streets surrounding Grant Park and the iconic Buckingham Fountain.
With the Chicago skyline draped in rain, clouds and fog, Shane van Gisbergen, a 34-year-old Supercars champion from New Zealand, shocked the motorsports world by driving the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to victory in the series’ first race on a temporary street course.
“Wow, when we had that back strategy, back to 18th, I started to worry a bit, but the racing was really good,” said Van Gisbergen. “Everyone was respectful. It was tough, but a lot of fun.”
The Kiwi passed Justin Haley for the lead on lap 71 of 78 and beat him to the finish line by 1.259 seconds.
AVEDISIAN MAKES HISTORY
Jade Avedisian, a 17-year-old from Clovis, Calif., made history by becoming the first female driver in 90 years of midget racing to earn a national series championship.
Driving a Toyota-powered midget fielded by Keith Kunz Motorsports in the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series, Avedisian struggled early in the season and was in fourth place, 180 points behind leader Cannon McIntosh, following the summer break.
“When I saw that 180 points, I was like, ‘Oh gosh, this is going to be a big hole to dig ourselves out of,’” Avedisian said. “I really didn’t know if we could. But the wins helped, and running good almost every single night gave us a lot of momentum.”
Avedisian ended up with five feature victories, four coming after the break, and 26 top-10 finishes in 29 series starts. She beat veteran Zach Daum by 59 points.
HIGH LIMIT UPS THE ANTE
For the third time since Ted Johnson founded the World of Outlaws in 1978, sprint car racing is a house divided with two premier series vying for cars, drivers, tracks and fans.
This latest challenge comes from the upstart High Limit Racing, a series formed when Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet combined their midweek High Limit Sprint Car Series with the All Star Circuit of Champions they recently purchased from Tony Stewart.
Sweet and Larson promise High Limit Racing will feature a schedule of 50-plus races across the country with driver payouts increasing to more than $5 million.
“The 2023 High Limit season went well, but we saw room for growth and more opportunities that were out there to make this division of racing stronger,” Larson said.
Both the World of Outlaws and High Limit Racing plan to open their respective seasons in Florida during February.
INTERNATIONAL INTEREST
NASCAR utilized the world’s premier endurance race to introduce its Next Gen Cup Series car to an international audience, with Hendrick Motorsports fielding a Chevrolet Camaro in the 91st running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans June 10-11 at France’s famed Circuit de la Sarthe.
With drivers Jimmie Johnson, Jenson Button and Mike Rockenfeller, the Garage 56 entry ran near the top of the GT field for more than 20 hours until a drive-line issue took more than an hour to repair.
Overall, the car completed 285 laps of the 8.4-mile circuit en route to a 39th-place finish.
“That was unbelievable,” said Jim France, NASCAR chairman and CEO. “That was thousands of hours of hard work by hundreds of people that went into making this thing happen. And then the way the team and the pit crews and everybody performed all week, it was just fantastic.”
THEY’RE PAVING PARADISE
The challenges of operating a motorsports facility continued to take their toll as a pair of iconic ovals and a trio of historic drag strips were among the venues where the engines fell silent and the lights went dark.
Rockford Speedway, in Loves Park, Ill., began hosting auto races in 1948 and was best known for its National Short Track Championships. Operated by the Deery family since 1966, the quarter-mile paved oval ran its final races on Oct. 28.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway, in Mesquite, Texas, hosted the inaugural World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series race on March 18, 1978. Long operated by the late Lanny Edwards and his family, the half-mile dirt track closed after David Gravel won a 30-lap WoO feature there on Oct. 21.
Atco (N.J.) Dragway, Colorado’s Bandimere Speedway and Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas, are among the drag strips that closed.
DAVE DARLAND RETIRES
Dave Darland, one of most popular drivers in the modern era of open-wheel, short-track racing, ran his final race Friday night, Oct. 20, at his home track, Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.
“Now is the time for my family and my five grandkids; my time,” Darland said. “I’m retiring. (There’s) no looking back; the memories have been made. I’ve fulfilled my dreams and plans.”
Known as “The People’s Champion,” SPEED SPORT Insider Pat Sullivan wrote: “What made Dave Darland such a star is that he was innately relatable. Even at the top of his fame, he just seemed to be one of us.”
Successful on both dirt and paved ovals, Darland’s statistics are highlighted by 115 USAC feature victories, including a record 62 in the National Sprint Car Series.
Darland was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2017.
JETT SOARS TO NEW HEIGHTS
Jett Lawrence, a 20-year-old from Landsborough, Queensland, went undefeated during the AMA Pro Motocross Championship season, winning 22 consecutive motos en route to the prestigious 450 crown.
The Australian was the fourth rider to celebrate a perfect 450 record in the outdoor motocross series, but the first to do it as a rookie.
“This is unreal. I never even dreamed of this because we never thought it was possible to be in this position and be where we are today,” said the Honda rider.
“Even with the undefeated season, it’s unbelievable with all the hard times we’ve faced (as a family). I’ve done my best to keep it together and stay focused on the task at hand, but when I crossed the finish line, I was finally able to let it all out.”
Hunter Lawrence, Jett’s older brother, captured the 250 title.
