FORT WORTH, Tex. - With Friday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race already in the books as another Kyle Busch victory, series director Wayne Auton already is turning his full attention toward next Saturday’s race at Bristol and its inaugural heat race format.
Though the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash remains an integral part of the series, the conduct of the competition is brand new, and as Auton explained, many of the ideas for the new format came from the garage itself, particularly when it comes to cost-saving measures.
For the first time, an Xfinity Series event will consist of time trials to determine the field, two heat races (with the field split by odd-numbered and even-numbered qualifiers) to determine starting order and a main event to determine both the race winner and Dash 4 Cash winner.
Here are the germane points:
The two highest-finishing eligible drivers in each heat race (with eligibility confined to drivers earning points in the Xfinity Series) will compete for the Dash 4 Cash prize in the main event. The highest finisher among the four Dash 4 Cash drivers (signified by a red sticker on each of their windshields) gets the $100,000 bonus.
No backup cars are allowed. If a driver wrecks during a heat race, his or her team may work on the car only until the checkered flag for that heat. If a driver fails to transfer from a heat to the main event, he or she will still be assigned a finish in the main, with commensurate points. No points are awarded for heat races.
“We really feel comfortable with the criteria we’ve come up with,” Auton said. “This was a lot of legwork done before anybody knew anything about it.”
There’s also a substantial incentive for any driver who can win two Dash 4 Cash bonuses, given that two Dash 4 Cash wins totaling $200,000 count as a race win toward eligibility into the Xfinity Series Chase. Under the circumstances, late-race action is likely to be frenetic.
“For $100,000 I’d turn my mama,” Auton said with a chuckle. “If I’m running third, and I need to get in that second spot to get a chance, hold on, baby, for that last lap, because I might move you around a little. That’s the reason we think it’s going to be so exciting.”
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Campaigning For Rally Edition Silverado
Appropriate for an election year, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. appeared at the Chevrolet display in the Texas Motor Speedway Fan Zone on Saturday afternoon to “campaign” for the Chevrolet Silverado Rally Edition, which will be available later this month.
“We introduced several special editions in 2015 – each combining equipment and appearance packages designed for specific enthusiasts in mind,” said Sandor Piszar, Chevrolet truck marketing director. “They clearly resonated with buyers, selling in one-third the time – and attracting new, younger, and more affluent buyers to the brand – than the industry average.
“They also helped make Chevrolet the fastest-growing truck brand in the industry. In 2015, total Chevrolet truck sales increased 27 percent – double the increase for the total truck market. As we expand our lineup of special editions for 2016, we expect to continue that momentum.”
The unveiling of the Rally Edition at TMS illustrates the successful leveraging of Chevrolet’s relationship with NASCAR, Texas Motor Speedway and the NASCAR pace car program.
Three other prominent Chevrolet drivers join Earnhardt in campaigning for other special editions–Austin Dillon for the Realtree Edition, which will be available later this spring; Kyle Larson for the Silverado 1500 Midnight Edition and Kasey Kahne for the Silverado 2500 Midnight Edition.
Both Midnight Editions are currently available. But, given that Earnhardt is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ perennial most popular driver, the smart money is on the Rally Edition.
