Category: Crown Jewel

CHICAGO: Avila Steals the Win from Porter at Chicagoland

Johnny Avila takes the win from Cody Porter on a G/W/C Finish.

It was a beautiful Monday evening at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois to turn 134 laps to kick off Split #3 of the Sportsman Truck Series. Johnny Avila led 103 out of the 134 laps and won both stages, securing his second victory of the year.

Mike Burnett took the pole and would lead the first lap before Avila would take the reins and lead until a caution would come out on lap 13 due to Jonthan Leger getting into the wall in Turn 2 which caused him to collide with Robert Fraley and unfortunately myself.

A caution for Pete Morales spinning into the infield collecting Haden Higginbotham on the way would wind up being the last caution in the stage on lap 19. Matthew Owens, Sam Bennett, Allen Phillips and Nathaniel Campbell would try to mix things up by pitting in hopes to gain some positions after the stage. The first stage would end on lap 30 with Avila bringing home the stage win.

The early pit strategy from Sam Bennett would put him in the lead to begin stage two, but he quickly fell back in the field as Avila and Cody Porter would make their way back to the front by lap 37. Avila, Porter, and Zach Saunders would battle throughout stage 2 towards the front with some exciting side by side racing. Porter would give Avila a run for his money but was unable to capture the lead for the stage. Avila would take Stage 1 winning the stage by .044 of a second.

Avila, Porter, and Saunders would lead the pack into the final stage continuing their battle from Stage 2 until a caution flew on lap 71 which would set the trend for the rest of the race. From Lap 71 until the finish, 6 more cautions would keep the field bunched up and racing tight. Mike Burnett the pole sitter was involved in a caution on lap 77 with Oskar Jensen would move Burnett towards the rear of field. Burnett came into the race with the fastest truck, but it wasn’t fast enough to outrun the turmoil that was chasing him. Burnett would be involved in another incident on Lap 96 with Robert Fraley causing Burnett to take the truck to the garage.

Mike Burnett’s night ended after this collision with Robert Fraley. Burnett would finish with a disappointing 26th place finish.

Pete Morales worked his way back towards the front after the early spin in the race and was able to get back to 11th before an atrocious wreck on the front stretch on lap 102 involving Morales, Higginbotham, Aiden Schramm, and Ryan Taft. Morales sustained heavy damage after going airborne. He was cleared from the Infield Care Center, but the #95 Space-X Ford suffered fatal damage and will need a complete tear down and rebuild before next week’s race at Pocono.

This horrifying crash ended Pete Morales night with a 25th place finish.

A late caution with 5 to go involving Nathaniel Campbell would create for a thrilling Green, White, Checkered finish. Porter would lead them to the green flag and hold onto the lead to take the white flag, but Avila took the low line into turn one to take the lead and held off Porter for the win.

The Sportsmans Truck Series will travel to “The Tricky Triangle” of Pocono in Long Pond, Pennsylvania next Monday night July 15th.

If you are interested in racing come join us in our discord at https://discord.gg/cjracing

FONTANA: Cory Mott scores second victory of the season in ARCA

FONTANA, C.A. — Cory Mott leads 19 laps en route to his 2nd win of the ARCA season.

Sunday night kicked off the 12th round of the Grand National Tour (ARCA) for the Crown Jewel Racing community. 13 drivers set the grid for a 75 lap event held at the slick and hot Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

Newcomer Aiden Schramm was able to put himself on pole with a 42.435 holding off Haden Higginbotham’s 42.491. Schramm would end up leading the most laps in the race with a total of 51, but would eventually fall back to 4th by the end of the race.

Chaos started the race early on as on lap 3 Bob Baker and Jonathan Leger came into contact out of turn 4 and would have to use their fast repairs. Just 2 laps later Bill Martin would end up mowing down the outside wall and have to use his fast repair as well.

The race would stay green however until lap 9 where Gordon Fraley would attempt to make a slide job for the lead out of turn 4. He would end up getting turned off the nose of Schramm and crashed down pit road. The next caution would be on lap 14 just off a restart, where Cory Mott would end up sliding too far up in turn 1 and come into contact with Tyler Krawczyk who would also collect Ryan Taft in the incident. Both Krawczyk and Taft would end up over 50 laps down and would not be able to finish the race. After that only two more caution flags flew, one for incident and one for the halfway competition yellow.

At the break, current points leader heading into the race Thomas Villano would end up taking the lead over Schramm, but would end up dropping back in the field after pit stops. The field would go back green with Schramm in front with Haden Higginbotham back on his outside.

An underdog story of the night came from Bill Martin as he would slowly move his way up the field. Martin would start 8th and by lap 46 he found himself up to 3rd, he would hold that position to the end of the race and secure his first top 5 in the Crown Jewel community.

I’m still trying to learn – This is a good confidence booster for me and hopefully I can improve throughout the rest of the year.

Bill Martin, #75 High Rock Vodka Chevrolet

Haden Higginbotham would finish 2nd and secure his 8th top 5 of the season, and close back in to the top 3 in points. The Missile Racing driver was looking to tie the season high of 3 wins held by Thomas Villano and other Missile Racing driver Ryan Persinger. Persinger, however was absent once again from the field and would continue to drop in standings, now sitting currently in 8th.

Well I ran well today, could’ve gave Cory more of a run for his money but it would really help if my teammate Ryan would do a race every once in a while. I’ll have to yell at him a different date about that.

Haden Higginbotham, #10 Missile Racing Chevrolet

Top Tier would pick up another win with Cory Mott as he would dominate the closing laps of the race. Both of the other podium drivers Higginbotham and Martin would go on to say in post race interviews that he was able to save his tires the best out of everyone. With a track temperature of 117 at the beginning of the race, drivers were sure to be slipping and sliding everywhere on the racing surface.

I used the first half of the race to learn – turns out these cars are similar to the cup cars (Next Gen) where you just wrap the bottom for the first 20 laps, and slowly drift up the track. I could tell Haden was really pushing behind me but once I got around Aiden, it would pretty much be just hitting my marks.

Cory Mott, #73 Top Tier Racing Chevrolet

Next week will be an off week for the Grand National Tour so drivers will be well relaxed for their next outing at Phoenix Raceway on the 21st of July. Thomas Villano was able to put 4 more points between himself and current 2nd place Jim Mott. Tonight’s action will kick off at 8:25 PM ET with the Sportsman Truck Series at Chicagoland Speedway.

CHICAGO: Truck Series Split #3 – Who Will Come Out on Top?

The Sportsman Truck Series is kicking off Split #3 on Monday night at Chicagoland Speedway, and the excitement is building. With just 8 races to go, this split will decide the last 6 drivers for the playoffs.

Who is Locked-In

Zach Saunders, Mike Burnett, and Nishil Condoor clinched their spots in Split #1, and Cory Mott, Henry Kalhoff, and John Connor locked their spots last week in Nashville to conclude Split #2. Everyone else is racing to fill the last 3 spots in Split #3 and the 3 wildcard spots based on overall standings.

Who is on the Bubble

Drivers like Jim Mott, Thomas Villano, Ryan Taft, and Connor Wold are currently on the outside looking in for a playoff spot. They will need to get off to a hot start on Monday at Chicagoland Speedway.

MORE: Truck Series Playoff Picture

“The next two tracks are a couple of my favorite to run and I feel like I have a decent possibility of making a run for the playoffs”

Ryan Taft, #86 Indy Auto Sport Chevrolet Silverado

Menke Missing in Action


Stephen Menke who finished tied for 3rd in Split #1, but lost the tie breaker and the locked in playoff spot to Mike Burnett. Is looking to rebound in Split #3 after finishing 19th in Split #2. Menke who is currently ranked 6th in points missed several races in Split #2 and that trend could continue in the Truck Series into Split #3.

“It has been a busy couple of months on the farm. I don’t plan on missing any more cup races now that things have calmed down, but I don’t think I will have the time to be able to run both series full time. I will catch a truck race here and there, but my main focus is on the Cup Series.”

Stephen Menke – Factory Motorsports #6 Ford F150

Tune in on Monday night to see who can start off the leg of Split #3 and find their way to Victory Lane at Chicagoland Speedway in Joilet, Illinois. Racing will begin at 8:30 EST and as always streamed on the Crown Jewel Racing Network. Click the link to start watching https://www.twitch.tv/crownjewelrn.

CHICAGO: CCS Racing on the Wet Streets of Chicago

The upcoming Circuit Cup Series (CCS) race at the Chicago Street Course promises 50 laps of thrilling bumper-to-bumper racing on the vibrant streets of Chicago. With the playoffs around the corner, a race win on the Chicago Streets can hold the golden ticket for some drivers, guaranteeing their spot and leading to some exciting racing.

This will be the first time the Crown Jewel Racing League has visited the Chicago Street Course in the Next Gen Stock Car. These street roads are fast and bumpy, and with the narrow walls in some portions, chaos can ensue in a hurry. Drivers will need to maintain pace while keeping their cars out of the walls to come away with a win.

Zack Saunders ran away with the win at the last road course in Sonoma, with Steven Carlile finishing 26 seconds behind him for second place. I expect Zack Saunders to have another dominating performance in Chicago. Newcomer driver Cody Porter has made his presence known in the league with a fourth-place finish at Sonoma and a sweep at Nashville last week, winning in both the Sportsman Truck Series and CCS. Porter will be ready to capitalize on any mistakes made at the front of the pack.

#94 Thomas Wolfe getting motivated by #04 Cody Porter at Nashville

The Playoffs are looming with 7 races to go. Carlile, Cody Leach, Vince Mitchell, Caleb “The Uberman” Tipton, and Allen Phillips are in the playoffs based on points, but would love to have that race win that guarantees their spot. Nathaniel Campbell and Garth Griswold sit outside the cutline 30 points back and are hoping for some quality finishes and a little bit of luck to sneak into the playoffs. Ben Lawson and Joe Wright are behind by 76 and 85 points, and that race win might be the only thing that can save them at this point.

Don’t miss the green flag on July 10th at 8:30 PM EST to find out who can tame the streets in Chicago. As always, the race will be streamed on the Crown Jewel Racing Network at https://www.twitch.tv/crownjewelrn.

Ushering in a new era: How the MCRL became Crown Jewel

A new era has arrived – but how did we get to this point? What have we learned? And how can we be the best version of ourselves moving forward?

How did we arrive here?

The Sunday Night Showdown held its inaugural race on September 11, 2022 – the Never Forget 165 (how many current league members can you spot?). The SNS was an early success, with an average of 13 drivers per race in the entirety of Season 0. As the SNS expanded to running on multiple days, the name no longer fit the league. The decision was made at that point to rebrand to “THE SHOW” – a slight modification to the SNS.

At this point, the community saw rapid expansion. Season 1 saw great success – with an average of 22 drivers per race in the season, and a top car count of 33 racers taking to the track at Talladega that season. But not all good things last…

MORE: Cup standings / Trucks Schedule

The Season 2 implosion came on the back of the biggest league expansions the league had ever seen. But the expansion was too rapid. The administration team was split, race craft was subpar, and the community was in chaos. With no fallback plan in place, the league had to back out of everything and enter a rebuilding phase. And thus, the Moving Chicanes Racing League was born from the ashes.

The Moving Chicanes era found the rebuilding from scratch, only maintaining a handful of original members from THE SHOW era. A three-month period was spent rebuilding including an invite-only Cup Series to clean up the Cup Series race craft, while incorporating our now second most popular series – the Sportsman Truck Series. These would be the building blocks for the MCRL 2024 project announced in September of 2023 which would see an Indy Car, IMSA, and Touring Car series added to expand the league into a significant amount of road racing for the first time. After some internal struggles relating to participation however, the road racing was later removed in the early parts of the 2024 season. This – however – was the beginning of the end of the nomenclature “Moving Chicanes Racing League”.

READ MORE: (Changes Article)

Why the change?

Competing leagues and disgruntled members would use the league’s own name against itself in times of trouble. This led to an overall negative connotation to the league name and made it an easy target for nay-sayers and competing leagues.

Ah, I see why it is called “Moving Chicanes” now.

Disgruntled League Member c. 2024

In an attempt to move away from negativity, we have decided it would be best to rebrand the league to a name more befitting of the racing we perform. During the brainstorming process, we gathered many ideas about past league events and phrases that related to the league. But, one always came back to us no matter where else we looked – Crown Jewel.

There’s another one of those “Moving Chicanes” again!

Former League Member, c. 2024

When assessing the potential names, Crown Jewel became the obvious choice due to the type of schedule we run in the Circuit Cup Series currently. However, we wanted it to become more than that. We wanted to surpass just the NASCAR Cup Series “crown jewel” events and take a look at motorsports as a whole – so that’s what we did. By implementing the “Crown Jewel” schedule across multiple disciplines of racing, we will be able to provide a taste of all famous motor racing events such as the Rolex 24, Daytona 500, Indy 500, 24 Hours of Les Mans, and many more.

READ MORE: (2024-2025 Crown Jewel Schedule)

Moving into the future, we are looking to bring a more positive outlook to the league and build strong, lasting relationships with the iRacing community. Having a general set of ideas and principles to work around as well as a strong brand that ties into those principles will ensure long-term success for the community as a whole. We hope you enjoy the rebrand, new look website, and all of the other cool features we are “ushering in” with this process!

OFFICIAL: 2024-2025 Crown Jewel Offseason Schedule

With the playoffs looming on the horizon, Crown Jewel is officializing it’s plans for the 2024-2025 offseason for its main Wednesday night series. The community will be running a series of “Crown Jewel” events featuring multiple eras of NASCAR stock cars, IndyCars, late models. We hope you will join us during the winter as we take a break from the NASCAR Next Gen and take trip through history with some iconic races.

Featuring seven separate rounds of modern and classic crown jewel races, your skill will ultimately be tested across this grueling schedule. A mix of pure speed and precision will surely show who the best overall drivers in the league truly are.

1987 Daytona 500

Date: November 20th, 2024
Track: Daytona International Speedway – 2008 Oval
Race Length: 200 Laps (500 mi.)
Cars: NASCAR Cup 1987
Setup: daytona_oval.sto
Tire Sets: 10 Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

2024 Snowball Derby

Date: December 4th, 2024
Track: Five Flags Speedway
Race Length: 300 Laps (150 mi.)
Cars: Super Late Model
Setup: Open
Tire Sets: 4 Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

2005 Indianapolis 500

Date: December 11th, 2024
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway – 2008 Oval
Race Length: 200 Laps (500 mi.)
Cars: Dallara IR-05
Setup: indianapolis_indyovalpit.sto
Tire Sets: TBD Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

2003 Southern 500

Date: December 18th, 2024
Track: Darlington Raceway
Race Length: 367 Laps (500 mi.)
Cars: Gen 4 Cup
Setup: darlington.sto
Tire Sets: TBD Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

2014 Coca-Cola 600

Date: January 8th, 2025
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway – 2008 Oval
Race Length: 400 Laps (600 mi.)
Cars: 2013 NASCAR Gen 6
Setup: charlotte_oval.sto
Tire Sets: TBD Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

2011 Brickyard 400

Date: January 15th, 2025
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway – NASCAR Oval 2008
Race Length: 160 Laps (400 mi.)
Cars: NASCAR Car of Tomorrow
Setup: TBD
Tire Sets: TBD Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

2019 Bristol Night Race

Date: January 22nd, 2025
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway – Single Pit Lane
Race Length: 500 Laps (~250 mi.)
Cars: NASCAR Modern Gen 6
Setup: bristol.sto
Tire Sets: TBD Total
Fuel: 100%
Practice Time: 7:00 PM EST
Qualifying Time: 7:55 PM EST
Race Time: 8:00 PM EST

OFFICIAL: Bob Henry’s BBQ Sauce joins Nextel Cup as title sponsor

Bob Henry’s BBQ Sauce – a Fraley family company – has officially locked in as the title sponsor for the remainder of the 2004 Nextel Cup Series.

Long standing league members Robert Fraley, Gordon Fraley, and Trey Fraley have signed a historic deal to put the Bob Henry’s BBQ Sauce brand on the 2004 Crown Jewel Nextel Cup Series. With the new sponsorship, the league will receive new name, branding, and contingency package for the remainder of the 2004 season.

The 2004 Bob Henry’s Cup Series has received an overhaul in the graphics department to represent the new title sponsor.

The 2004 Bob Henry’s Cup Series is currently 9 races into a 23-race schedule. The schedule follows the schedule of the history 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Season with duplicate races removed. The remainder of the season features historic tracks such as Charlotte Motor Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, and more. Cory Mott currently tops the standings with 1,495 points, followed by Joe Gibbons (1,281) & Jonathan Leger (1,193).

READ MORE: USHERING IN A NEW ERA: HOW THE MCRL BECAME CROWN JEWEL

Not only does the league follow the historic schedule from 2004, but it also follows the ruleset from that era as well. Say goodbye to double file restarts, and hello to lapped cars lining back up on the inside! No NASCAR Overtime to save the end of a race – once it hits the scheduled distance, the race is over! This adds a completely different dynamic to the racing found in this division. Add in a racecar that has 900+ horsepower and you are bound to get a fun and exciting racing experience.

Bob Henry’s is excited to support the future growth of the Crown Jewel community and support the Nextel Cup Series. We hold this era of racing close to our hearts and are excited to see the 2004 Bob Henry’s Cup Series finish out the season. Make sure to buy Bob Henry’s!

Gordon Fraley, Bob Henry’s BBQ Sauce & Rubs

NASHVILLE: Porter sweeps, Villano picks up Kern Raceway

Cody Porter picks up two wins this week, one in the Sportsman Truck Series and one in the rain-delayed Circuit Cup Series race in Nashville. Thomas Villano finds his third win of the ARCA season at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.

Crown Jewel started off the weekend out in Bakersfield, California. A small crowd showed up following the real-life Cup Series Nashville race – seven drivers took to the high banks of Kern County Raceway. Robert Fraley took his first career pole with a qualifying time of 20.286s and lead the field to green. Robert would also bring out the first caution of the race, spinning from the front of the field and collecting Cory Mott. At this point, the race became the Thomas Villano show. Thomas would take the lead and lead 128 laps before claiming his third victory of the season. Villano currently leads the standings by 21 points over Jim Mott heading into Auto Club this upcoming week.

Monday night saw the Sportsman Truck Series returning to action for the Split #2 finale at Nashville Super Speedway. Zack Saunders took the pole with a qualifying time of 30.079s and lead the field to green for 150 laps around the 1.33-mile oval. Saunders would only lead 17 laps however, along with his teammate Mike Burnett – who would go on to win both stages in the race. In the closing laps however, Cody Porter would make his move to the front of the field and lead the field to the checkered flag for his first career win within the Crown Jewel Community.

READ MORE: USHERING IN A NEW ERA: HOW THE MCRL BECAME CROWN JEWEL

As this was the Split #2 finale, three more drivers locked themselves into the Sportsman Truck Series playoffs – John Connor, Cory Mott, and Henry Kallhoff. These three drivers will join Mike Burnett, Zack Saunders, and Nishil Condoor in the playoffs later this season. Split #3 will provide the last 6 playoff spots – three coming from the Split #3 standings, and three coming from the full-season wild card standings. For the current playoff situation, make sure to visit the Sportsman Truck Series Playoff page for a full breakdown.

Disaster struck on Wednesday night. At approximately 7:30 PM EST, iRacing experienced an outage that created a ripple effect, tanking server performance. Circuit Cup Series officials decided to delay the race – a “weather delay” was put on the stream, and server performance was monitored. One final attempt to create the league session occurred at 10:00 PM EST, and it was successful – the race was on.

I set up for the long run – I worked with Oskar Jensen to get the setup dialed in for the long run. Firing off, we were not good – really had to drive our balls off. But towards the end we were mowing them down left and right!

Cody Porter, #04 Money Shift Racing Ford Mustang Darkhorse

After a two-hour and eighteen-minute delay, Thomas Wolfe led the field to green after qualifying with a time of 30.379s. Two quick cautions struck as cars tangled in the middle and back of the field. A 30-lap run ensued where Thomas Wolfe would find himself out front when a caution struck at lap 41 – ending the stage. Stage two saw much of the same dominance from Wolfe, where he would lead every single lap in the stage and win. Backroad Bandit teammate Kristopher Burnham would put up a fight in stage three, leading 51 laps before falling back to Wolfe. However, from the middle of the pack came a surging Cody Porter, taking the lead with just nine laps left in the race. Cody Porter would go on to win the race and sweep the week at Nashville Super Speedway.

NASHVILLE: What to watch for

Hawk Tuah 250 live from Nashville Speedway July,3rd! Green Flag flies at 8:15pm est.
WATCH HERE

HOT DRIVERS

  • CODY LEACH-WRL-FORD: Still winless, but for how long? Moves up to 5th in standings.
  • MIKE BURNETT-BBR-CHEVY: Mike secured his second win of the season and moved up to 3rd.
  • CALEB TIPTON-Uber MS-Ford- The Uberman is out of the shadows and into the top ten after a great run at New Hampshire.

NOT DRIVERS

  • BEN LAWSON-Factory MS-Ford: With the leadership at factory on a mental health leave, the first year cup series driver doesn’t have the guidance needed to truly show his potential.
  • VINCE MITCHELL-Uber MS-Ford- With only 1 top 20 in the last 4 races.(19th) Vince has fallen out of the top 10.

DRIVER NEWS

  • League officials have hinted at a big announcement coming on July 5th.
  • 4 cars were parked at the end of last week’s race due to illegal modifications.
  • Factory drivers(Menke, Short) may be back to race at nashville. Haulers for both drivers showed up this morning but no word from teams on their status.
  • 3 winless drivers still sit in the top 10(Leach,Tipton,Carlile)

FAN PICK OF THE WEEK

  • CORY MOTT-Top Tier-CHEVY
    • Let’s face it he doesn’t get the love he deserves. Some may say he’s a points guy not a win guy. And we don’t disagree with that take but on the other hand his one and only win this season is on a track similar but smaller than Nashville. If he can get up front and control this race we believe taking Mott at +2200 is a good money play. If the number 1’s crew chief can make a play on pit road to get that car to the front we believe he stays there.

REPORT: Circuit Motorsports Club to exit Crown Jewel following 2024 season

Following a newsletter released by Jacob Wiecenski, Circuit Motorsports Club will not be the title sponsor for the Crown Jewel Cup Series in the 2025 Season.

This comes as no surprise, as rumors have been circulating regarding an increase in price for Cup Series naming rights following recent townhall meetings within the community. All signs point to the increase in price for the naming rights being tied directly to a potential new broadcasting deal for the Crown Jewel Cup Series.

Jacob Wiecenski goes on to state that not only have they not been able to come to terms for the 2025 Cup Series naming rights, but they also are struggling to come to terms with Ford Performance that have led to a falling out with the manufacturer. This leads many to believe that they will soon join the Toyota “wave” that seems to be brewing for the 2025 season. Toyota Racing Development has already secured two teams under contract for the upcoming season – Top Tier and WRL Racing. Could Circuit find themselves in the Toyota camp? If so, what does the alliance situation look like within TRD? The recent newsletter has done nothing but create more questions than answers.

READ MORE: Ushering in a new era: How the MCRL became Crown Jewel

All of this speculation has some to believing that Circuit may shut down or rebrand altogether. While this currently only effects part-time drivers Jacob Wiecenski and Archie Williams, this does show that original sponsors and supporters of the Crown Jewel Community may be falling through during this transitionary period.

Decisions will need to be made in the Circuit camp, but per the report – we can all but expect a brand-new title sponsor heading into the 2025 Crown Jewel Cup Series. Who that will be is still unknown at this time.

This is a developing story, and updates will be provided throughout the summer months and heading into the postseason.