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Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Jack Baldwin embracing new challenge of World Series of Asphalts Modified class
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — For as ubiquitous as the Baldwin name is to Modified competition in the Northeast, the family has also developed a reputation for success at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida. That tradition started in the 1980s with the family patriarch, Tom Baldwin, who tallied four Modified championships during the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing during his storied career. Baldwin's grandsons Luke and Jack have since carried on the family's winning ways at New Smyrna with titles in the 602 Modified class in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Jack, the eldest of the two Baldwin brothers, is taking the next step in his development by jumping into the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing's Modified division one year after his 602 Modified championship. Given his family's past New Smyrna success, running a Modified at the track brings both apprehension and excitement for Jack. 'I love seeing my family succeed and learning about the legacy my grandpa left,' Jack said. 'There's also a lot of added pressure because my grandpa was so good and Luke is succeeding so much. I don't race as much as they do. We know they cars are good, so I've got to perform.' RELATED: Watch the World Series of Asphalt on FloRacing Since beginning his own career, Jack has sought to emulate the resilience and efficiency displayed by Tom and his father Tommy Baldwin Jr., bringing the family's iconic No. 7NY with him nearly every step of the way. Those qualities are prevalent each time Jack straps into his car. Jack has quickly started adding to the No. 7NY's storied legacy with several accolades in Crate Modifieds, including a consistent campaign that yielded him the 602 Modified title in last year's World Series of Asphalt. Jack adheres to all the fundamentals instilled into him by his father, particularly when it comes to patience and taking care of the car. This methodical approach has translated into consistency for Jack even though a good portion of his time is devoted to furthering his college education. Because of school, Jack initially viewed racing as a devoted hobby, all while Luke established himself as a touted NASCAR prospect. Despite being four years younger than Jack, Luke already has a handful of Pro Late Model starts on his resume and will run a part-time schedule on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with his father's team. Now fully committed to motorsports, Jack wants to keep tallying victories so he can embark on a similar developmental trajectory to his younger brother. 'Luke's been getting a lot of opportunities,' Jack said. 'He's young, very marketable and a very fast driver. He's been working trying to move up through the ranks at home while I'm still going to Appalachian State University. He's capitalized on the opportunities, but here [at New Smyrna] last year was when I decided I wanted to be all in on this.' Jack's schedule for 2025 includes a full-time commitment to Modifieds in the Southeast with Tommy Baldwin Racing. One car that will obstruct his path towards claiming a championship is another 7NY, piloted by Luke under the Sadler-Stanley Racing banner. The two brothers got a preview of their year-long battle during the World Series of Asphalt on Tuesday by taking part in the evening's Modified feature. Luke utilized his knowledge from Saturday's NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race to claim a solid fourth-place run, while Jack settled for 13th. With Tommy Jr. shifting his focus over to his general manager duties for Rick Ware Racing ahead of the Daytona 500, Luke is now serving as Jack's crew chief to close out the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. Luke is familiar with the intricacies of being a crew chief, having worked with Tommy Jr. in the shop and listened to his experiences during his time in the NASCAR Cup Series. Despite this, Luke has worked closely with Tommy Jr. leading up to the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing so he knows how to make the right adjustments and exchange feedback with Jack in race conditions. Being on top of Jack's pit box is a refreshing change of pace for Luke. He enjoys rubbing fenders with Jack every time they share the track, but he also wants to put his brother in the best possible position to excel over the rest of the week. 'It's always fun when we're having a family ordeal,' Luke said. 'Racing with [Jack] is a blast. We've gotten into it a couple of times, but that's part of it. There's a lot of talking off the track and there's a lot of competitiveness between us. We're probably the two most competitive brothers you'll see in racing. 'To get away from that, work together and chase a championship at New Smyrna is special.' Although Luke previously served as Jack's crew chief in Crate Modifieds for two races, he has never experienced this much free reign in the role. Tommy Jr. is still a resource for Luke to rely on just a few miles away, but he intends to stick with a basic set of adjustments he knows will optimize the performance of Jack's car. Luke also anticipates a brief learning curve for his Jack as he ascertains the difference between a regular Modified and the 602 Modifieds. Once his older brother finds his comfort zone in the Modified, whether that is at New Smyrna or afterwards, Luke is confident Jack will start contending for victories on the regular. Outside of the cars, another difference Jack is adjusting to is the elite caliber of drivers in the Modified division, which consists of names like Matt Hirschman, Patrick Emerling and Austin Beers. Jack knew it would be challenging to hold his own with the established veterans, but felt confident a strong car could help him make gradual progress. 'The difference in competition is massive,' Jack said. 'There's better drivers and there's more depth in the field. At this point in racing, if you got your car dialed in, you can compete with any of them. The [regular] Modified is not that much different [from the 602 Modified]. When you get used to them, you drive them the same way except with more grip and more motor.' Despite Jack's optimism, he and Luke have struggled to find an ideal balance since first unloading. The car the Baldwins brought only previously competed at flat tracks like Riverhead Raceway and Wall Stadium, which has required them to devise a setup that can navigate New Smyrna's fast, high-banked layout. Qualifying remains a prevailing issue for Jack, but he is seeing significant progress with the race setup. After finishing where he started on Monday evening in the 20th position, Jack is more comfortable with passing other cars, though his best showing remains the 13th from Tuesday. Now that their father is at Daytona, responsibility falls primarily on Luke to ensure Jack's car keeps trending in the right direction. Only a couple of days remain for the Modifieds at New Smyrna, but Luke is keeping his strategy with the setups simple 'Don't over adjust,' Luke said. 'Obviously, [Tommy Jr.] is going to bring a really good car to the race track, and I'm not exactly a mastermind. I haven't been at this for very long, so there's no big adjustment I plan on throwing in there. Sticking to the script will give me some options, and I'll choose between them.' The slow start for Jack prevented him from extending the Baldwin championship streak in the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing to three years, but he is not letting the circumstances deter him. Jack is adopting a big picture mindset to close out the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing, but he is still determined to leave New Smyrna with at least one additional trophy. 'I'd like to keep the car clean and in one piece,' Jack said. 'This is the car I'm racing the whole year, so I don't want to tear it up. The goal is to get this thing dialed in and where we want it to be heading into the season. If we run good because of it, then we run good. 'A ton of people have roped me because of how successful Luke has been, so I'm really looking to surprise people this week.' The Baldwin family's refusal to back down from adversity is one reason why their name is synonymous with short track racing in the U.S. today. That trait is prevalent with Jack, who is primed to continue his family's winning heritage alongside Luke well beyond New Smyrna.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Christopher Bell enjoys an impromptu taste of Super Late Model racing at New Smyrna Speedway
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — Christopher Bell's first start at New Smyrna Speedway in a decade proved to be more eventful than he had anticipated. Bell's Hart to Heart 200 was dominated by adversity, as two separate early incidents and a pit road penalty forced him to repeatedly drive from the rear of the field. Despite this, Bell never wavered from the challenges in front of him and battled his way back to sixth by the time the checkered flag was displayed. The decision for Bell to race Tuesday was last-minute, which left him a limited amount of time to acclimate to the track conditions and a car that was originally a backup for his teammate Cole Butcher. He enjoyed climbing back into a Super Late Model but knew his showing could have been much better. 'It was fun and frustrating,' Bell said. 'We tried to keep an open mind. Obviously, I didn't qualify well. Moved up through the field and was in a pretty good spot up until [the penalty], and that was a bummer to go to the back again after halfway. It was up and down.' RELATED: Follow the World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna New Smyrna was an ideal track for Bell to make his surprise late entry. His lone previous attempt at the World Series of Asphalt back in 2015 saw him prevail in a 100-lap Super Late Model feature over names like Harrison Burton, Zane Smith and others. The years since that victory have seen Bell emerge as one of the best competitors in both NASCAR and the world. Among the accomplishments Bell has on his growing resume are a Coca-Cola 600 victory, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title and three consecutive triumphs in the Chili Bowl from 2017-19. Bell initially balanced out his stock-car commitments with dirt-track racing, but he has explicitly focused on NASCAR in recent years. The status quo changed at the start of the 2025 season with Bell attempting his first Chili Bowl since 2022 while also running sprint cars at Volusia Speedway Park earlier in February. A return to Super Late Model competition also crossed Bell's mind. With the World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna ongoing just 20 minutes away from Daytona International Speedway, Bell contacted Donnie Wilson Motorsports about potentially entering the Hart to Heart 100. The deal was quickly put together in time for the event, reuniting Bell with his old Super Late Model car owner Bond Suss, who is now the general manager for Donnie Wilson Motorsports. 'I didn't have anything else going on,' Bell said. 'We've got [Daytona 500] practice [on Wednesday], but Bond Suss and I had been talking for a while about putting something together. It ended up working out.' Joe Gibbs Racing Director of Competition Chris Gabeheart also accompanied Bell to New Smyrna as his crew chief for the Hart to Heart 200. The presence of Suss, Gabeheart and Wilson gave Bell plenty of confidence about his chances to win despite the expedited schedule. Finding a rhythm proved to be a challenge for Bell with no practice prior to Wednesday. With his teammates being the only source of information available from the previous day's practice, Bell could only post a quick time of 18.229 seconds, which placed him 30th of 32 cars on the starting grid. The two early wrecks only compounded Bell's struggles, but he only sustained minimal damage and gradually grew more comfortable as the race progressed. An onslaught of cautions led to diverging strategies amongst the leaders, enabling Bell to climb his way into the top 10 by the halfway point. All of Bell's progress would be erased when he was assessed a penalty on pit road during a controlled caution. Now at the tail end of the lead lap again with fewer laps at his disposal, Bell began methodically picking off his competition, all while attempting to avoid any further collisions with the ASA STARS National Tour regulars. 'I'm just trying not to create enemies,' Bell said. 'I'm out here racing for fun, but for these guys, this race is a big deal to them. This is what they do, and I'm trying to stay out of people's way.' When the dust settled on a chaotic night of racing at New Smyrna, Bell's red No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota was still intact and comfortably inside the top 10 once again. The comeback from Bell capped off an efficient night for Donnie Wilson Motorsports, as Bell's 17-year-old teammate Gavan Boschele took home the checkered flag. Although Bell wanted to park his car in New Smyrna's Victory Lane again, he found plenty of positives to take away from his impromptu visit to the facility. One highlight for Bell was sharing ideas with Suss again, the same person who helped Bell with his initial transition into stock cars many years ago. Every opportunity to compete in pavement races outside the Cup Series carries immense value for Bell. Dirt races are the focal point of Bell's non-NASCAR schedule, but he is not ruling out another Super Late Model collaboration with Suss and Wilson at some point in 2025. 'This is a blast,' Bell said. 'It's fun to broaden your horizons and get to race with different people. We'll have to see what the schedule allows [for Super Late Models], but I enjoy these one day shows for sure. Hopefully I get to keep it up.'
