Friday 5: Memorable moments from 2023 NASCAR season

As NASCAR prepares to close the 2023 season with next week’s Awards celebrating Ryan Blaney’s championship, this is a time I go through my phone and pick out memorable photos I’ve taken from the past season.

Here’s a look back at the 2023 racing season through photos.

1. Kevin Harvick’s farewell

Kevin Harvick toasted his team on pit road after the completion of the season finale at Phoenix — Harvick’s final Cup start.

That race capped a Cup career that began in 2001, taking over what had been the No. 3 car at Richard Childress Racing a few days after Dale Earnhardt’s death in the Daytona 500. Harvick scored an emotional victory at Atlanta a few weeks after Earnhardt’s death. That was the first of 60 career Cup victories for Harvick. He also won the 2014 series title, his first season at Stewart-Haas Racing.

Harvick matured as the seasons progressed and became a key leader in the garage, offering advice and counsel to younger drivers and raising issues about safety, as he did last season. He was the final full-time Cup driver born in the 1970s, ending that generation’s successful run in the sport.

“I’ve just got to thank all the fans and NASCAR and my family and everybody for all of the support,” he said after exiting the No. 4 car for the final time. “It’s been a great ride, and I can’t complain.”

2. Racing’s return to North Wilkesboro

For years, North Wilkesboro Speedway decayed, a rotting relic to a past that fans longed to see again. Some visited the track and were allowed in by the facility’s caretaker Paul Call, whose kindness created lasting memories for fans. Call passed away last week.

The track might have stayed empty had Dale Earnhardt Jr. not led an effort to clean the track in December 2019 so it could be scanned by iRacing and preserved digitally. That started a string of events that led to reviving the track and NASCAR holding its first Cup event there since 1996 in May.

As part of NASCAR’s return to North Wilkesboro for the All-Star Race was the announcement that the Cars Tour would run there a few days ahead of the NASCAR weekend. Earnhardt competed in the Cars Tour Late Model race.

Standing in Victory Lane — on the roof of the media center/concession stand/driver’s lounge — I snapped this shot of Earnhardt speeding past the fans on the frontstretch the night he raced.

3. A moment of truce

Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain had numerous run-ins during the 2022 season. A new season was a chance to turn the page, but they found each other on the last lap at Phoenix in the fourth race of the season.

Hamlin admitted on his podcast that he forced Chastain into the wall as they raced for position on the final lap. Hamlin’s action was in retaliation for an incident with Chastain in the Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. NASCAR fined Hamlin $50,000 and docked him 25 points for his admission of forcing Chastain into the wall at Phoenix.

After that Phoenix race, Hamlin and Chastain were on pit road together discussing the incident.

Hamlin said on his podcast: “We talked, and I think we’re in a better place where I think we’re willing to put the past behind, and I think that we’re going to judge each other from this point forward. I think that’s the fairest way to do it.”

4. William Byron’s resolve

An ill-handling car, temperatures in the 80s and hot air blowing into his helmet made for a miserable day for William Byron at Martinsville in October.

Byron entered the Round of 8 cutoff race 30 points above the first driver outside a transfer spot. Byron saw his advantage slip away, as he failed to score points in either stage and Ryan Blaney won the race.

That meant that Byron held the final transfer spot late in the race as he fought the extreme conditions in his car.

“It was so blurry in the car and I just wanted to pull in, but you’re not going to do that,” Byron said afterward.

He made it through the race and advanced to the Championship 4 for the first time. After climbing from his car, Byron sat on the ground. He later moved to the pit wall to do interviews with the media but even then his face remained flush.

5. So close again for Justin Allgaier

This season marked the sixth time Justin Allgaier has reached the Championship 4 race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

The JR Motorsports driver continues to seek his first series championship. He finished third in the race. Cole Custer won the race and the championship.

After the race, team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. consoled his driver on pit road.

“Disappointing, but I walked out of here last year really bummed about the way the night went because I felt like I didn’t do a good job,” Allgaier said after this year’s title race. “Tonight I walked out of here, I gave 100 percent. We did everything right. Just didn’t work out for us.”