Matt Payne’s NASCAR Dream Crushed By His Own Supercars TeamSupercars driver Matt Payne will not be allowed to make his much-awaited NASCAR start, thanks to his own team.The Grove Racing driver was all set to wheel a Richard Childress Racing car in Sonoma. But his Supercars team blocked his dream debut. It wouldn’t have been the first Supercars-NASCAR crossover in the NextGen era. Shane van Gisbergen entered the NASCAR scene back in 2023 and won his debut Cup Series race.Subsequently, he made the Xfinity Series (now known as the NASCAR O’Reilly Series), won four races in two years, and graduated to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025. He has won seven races so far, one of which came at Watkins Glen International earlier this year.Nobody is saying Payne has to follow in the footsteps of van Gisbergen. But had Payne been allowed to drive for Richard Childress Racing, he would have had to wheel a Chevrolet. Whereas Grove Racing, Payne’s Supercars team, is backed by General Motors. This means that Payne would drive for a rival manufacturer in his one-off appearance.“Grove Racing confirms that it did not approve Matt Payne’s request to participate in a NASCAR race for General Motors,”the team said in an official release. “Matt is contracted to Grove Racing until the end of the 2027 season, and during that period, he is not permitted to participate in any driving opportunity that conflicts with his contractual obligations to Grove Racing.” The team explained that they would not do anything to jeopardize their commercial and technical relationship with Ford Racing. It also added that Payne had just returned from a significant wrist injury, and making this one-off NASCAR appearance would make it worse.However, Payne’s manager, Michael Patrizi, has criticized this decision. Speaking with Code Sports, Patrizi said, “It would have been an incredible opportunity not only for Matthew, but for Australian motorsport. Seeing one of our brightest talents compete against NASCAR’s best can only help grow motorsport and inspire the next generations.”For now, all eyes are on the Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA at Pocono Raceway. Scheduled for June 14, the 400-mile event will be televised on Prime Video with radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.NASCAR Names Rusty Wallace As Grand Marshal for Cup Series Race At North WilkesboroNASCAR legend Rusty Wallace will serve as the grand marshal for the upcoming July 19 NASCAR Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. It will mark the 20th event of the 2026 Cup Series season and the first points-paying race at the iconic track since 1996.Throughout his career spanning 25 years, Rusty Wallace has earned three wins at the iconic Wilkes County track. Needless to say, he has great memories at the track with legendary drivers like Dale Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine.“It’s an honor to be named the Grand Marshal at North Wilkesboro,“ Wallace said of the opportunity. “Wilkesboro’s a track that played a big role in the early history of our sport, and it’s great to see what Marcus Smith and the group at Speedway Motorsports have done to bring it back to life. It’s also a place where I had a lot of success as a driver.”Since the reopening of North Wilkesboro in 2023, the track has honored several historic figures in the sport, including Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, and Benny Parsons. Appointing Wallace as the grand marshal of the race only adds to the star power of the show.
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