By Kaleb Vestal

When NASCAR 25 was announced last year, most figured it would be based around the NASCAR Cup Series, and hoped it included the Xfinity Series or Craftsman Truck Series. But a recent announcement by iRacing on Wednesday states that not only will NASCAR’s top three national series be in the game set to release this fall, but will also include the ARCA Menards Series for the first time in a console game. 

“It’s always great to be included in anything that involves the national touring series,” stated Charles Krall, Communications Manager for ARCA, “from race weekends to media opportunities and television to video games. This is a big win for the ARCA Menards Series for sure.”

While no drivers have been announced for the game, Krall did state that many of the drivers were in direct communication with Steve Myers at iRacing when he put the call out on social media. 

Krall said, “It will be interesting to see which tracks are available and which drivers are included.”

One driver who could be in the game is Alex Clubb, who drives the No. 03 Ford Fusion, who said, “I think it is great for the series and our fans and drivers to be included in the game. It’s a bigger selling point for our sponsors.” 

NASCAR 25 is set to be released this fall. 

By Kaleb Vestal

Four-time Indy 500 winner Hélio Castroneves will be tackling something new come February. Castroneves will be driving a stock car around the famous two-and-a-half-mile superspeedway in Daytona Beach, competing in his first Daytona 500 for Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91, in his nearly 40-year racing career. 

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would enter a NASCAR race and certainly not the Daytona 500 with a team like Trackhouse Racing,” Castroneves stated. 

“This is an opportunity that nobody in their right mind could ever turn down. I am so thankful to Wendy’s for allowing me to wear their uniform and drive their car, (Trackhouse owner) Justin Marks, and everyone that made this happen. I wish the race were tomorrow!”

The Brazilian had competed in just three races in IndyCar for the 2024 season, including the Indianapolis 500 last May. Although Castroneves will carry rookie stripes by the time the green flag waves on Feb. 16th, he does have some stock car experience in the former SRX series and the International Race of Champions (IROC).

“I know how much of a challenge this is going to be, but I also know the type of people and team Trackhouse Racing will bring to the effort,” said Castroneves. “I can’t wait to get to the Trackhouse race shop in North Carolina to meet everyone and prepare for Daytona. There is so much I must learn and I’m ready to get started.”

Castroneves will have former Daytona 500 Crew Chief Darian Grubb on top of the pit box for the No. 91 Wendy’s Chevrolet for Speedweeks at Daytona. 

Trackhouse Racing team owner Justin Marks said adding Castroneves to the PROJECT91 program is a “no-brainer.”

“Hélio is one of the greatest drivers of all time and exactly the type of driver we want to bring to NASCAR,” said Marks. I think race fans around the world will be excited to see Hélio in NASCAR’s most prestigious race. It also exposes our sport to a global audience and allows them to see just how great of a series we have in NASCAR.”

Castroneves will have Ross Chastain, Shane van Gisbergen, and Daniel Suárez as teammates to help the No. 91 make it into Daytona’s 40-car field. 

By Kaleb Vestal

Welcome to KalebVestal.com. Does it sound like I’m copying Jeff Gluck and Toby Christie? Maybe, but only because those two have been crucial players in the NASCAR media scene. Gluck, Christie, and many others have set the standards on how to run a NASCAR news site, and hopefully, KalebVestal.com will turn into something special. 

Why now? Well, to be honest, it was the right timing. For those who don’t know, I have been with SpeedwayDigest.com since the day I started Motorsports journalism. They took a chance on a random 19-year-old from Southwest Missouri who was the only kid in school who loved racing. They gave me opportunities that I could only dream of and allowed me to meet people that I’d never thought I would. But as of late, I wanted to create something of my own and make my path to the NASCAR beat scene. I wanted something to create for this sport because it’s given me so much happiness for me. 

So what will KalebVestal.com provide content-wise? Just about a little bit of everything. I plan to do race recaps for each race weekend, as well as start a column called ‘Katchin’ Up with Kaleb’ that will focus on various news topics throughout the week, as well as voice my opinion on things. I also plan to start some stuff just for the ARCA/NASCAR Truck series, as those two series might be overlooked in retrospect. 

KalebVestal.com will be a work in progress. You don’t just start with a perfect racing website your first go around. I’ve never done anything like this before, so I will be learning throughout the weeks how to give the readers what they want. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the content on this page, feel free to email me at kalebvestal51@gmail.com. 

Before I’m done, I just want to thank you all who have followed my work for the past three seasons. I try to write pieces that people will be interested in and that they can’t find anywhere else. I hope to continue this on my new adventure. 

Thanks again, and hope you stick around to see KalebVestal.com grow.