Its time for our weekly Friday tour around the racing world. From hot laps to the main event, heres whats on our mind this week.

Hot Laps: Hall of Famers

The final off weekend before the start of the NASCAR season, will see three individuals inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame tonight in Charlotte.

Modern-era drivers Ricky Rudd and Carl Edwards will share the spotlight with pioneer inductee, team owner Ralph Moody.

Qualifying: Not A NASCAR Race

Have read where many have said Thursdays World of Outlaws finish between Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell looked like a NASCAR race. Granted the two drivers are NASCAR regulars, but the finish looked NOTHING like a NASCAR race.

First Heat: Heartbreaker

Young Emerson Axsom had a heartbreaker on Thursday night, leading 22 laps of the World of Outlaws feature at Volusia Speedway Park before spinning out with three circuits remaining. Axsom, 20, is looking for his first World of Outlaws victory, and were betting he gets one this season. Maybe even before the weekend is over.

Second Heat: Fabulous Stat

Thanks to Brian Walker (Walkapedia) for this fabulous statistic. When Christopher Bell won Thursday at Volusia Speedway Park, he became the 28^th driver to win a World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series feature with at least five different team owners.

Jac Haudenschild leads the way, having earned a WoO victory for 15 different team owners. Sammy Swindell is second with wins with 12 different owners. Look up Walkapedia on social media to see the full list.

Third Heat: Tough Guy

Carson Macedo has placed himself in the same sentence as many of the great sprint car drivers of the past as a true tough guy of the sport. Macedos rapid return from a badly broken leg and subsequent victory on the opening night of the World of Outlaws season is example one.

But it is hardly the first time Macedo has raced (and won) while injured, including after a fiery crash and flip at Knoxville Raceway two years ago.

Fourth Heat: King of the 360s

A staple at the now-defunct East Bay Raceway Park for more than two decades, the King of the 360s sprint car race has moved to Floridas Hendry County Speedway this year. Under the supervision of the United Sprint Car Series, the event begins tonight and concludes with Saturdays $10,000-to-win finale. Watch it on SPEED SPORT affiliate DoneRight.tv.

Dash: Gator Here, Gator There, Gator Everywhere

We used to think the Gator trophies handed out during the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park were unique and difficult to win. Kyle Larson has yet to win one.

But as of Friday morning, 99 different drivers have won Gators in the UMP modified division alone. Twenty different drivers have won a feature in the divisions past week and more than half were first-time DCN victors. With 103 drivers in competition on Thursday night, nearly one-fifth (20) of them have already picked up a Gator trophy this week.

C Main: Advertising Dollars

While it may not be apparent to many, SPEED SPORT is a business and not a service. Complaints are frequent but we received an email this week that was downright insulting. In summary, it was in reference to the HendrickCars.com advertising on our website and in the Daily newsletter. It read in part, So this is what SPEED SPORT has come to. Chris Economaki would be rolling over in his grave.

Thats laughable. I worked for Chris for nearly 30 years and gaining advertising support was always his primary concern. SPEED SPORT would have never become the trusted source for news had it not been for advertisers. Chris would have been elated to do business with a company such as HendrickCars.com and would have talked about it every chance he could.

Advertising money is the lifeblood of all media outlets, SPEED SPORT included. Get it sponsored, was one of Chris catch phrases and one we still use today.

Advertisers are always welcome here.

B Main: Daytona 500 Open Cars

Weve been saying it for decades now, but we sure wish the Daytona 500 was a completely open race and that there were not 36 drivers and teams locked in based on the charter system. Racing into the field through the twin Thursday qualifying races was always the highlight of the week.

Now, multiple cars (looks like nine this year) will compete for the final four slots in the field. That said, thanks to a new NASCAR rule that creates a spot for a star driver from a different racing position, there could be 41 starters this year as four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves would get that spot if he fails to earn one of the four available slots.

Others who will need to race into the field either by setting a fast qualifying time or by outrunning the other open cars include NASCAR Cup Series champions Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. The remainder of the non-chartered Daytona 500 entries are Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith, B.J. McLeod, Anthony Alfredo, J.J. Yeley and Corey LaJoie.

Feature: Larson Vs. Bell

One thing open-wheel fans have missed in recent years have been breathtaking battles between Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.

With Bell absent from dirt-track racing in recent years, tussles like the duo waged in past Chili Bowls seemed like a thing of the past. But with Bells NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs giving him the green light to return to open-wheel machines, the future is now for the Bell vs. Larson rivalry.

Fans got a glimpse of this during the Tulsa Shootout and saw it in full swing Thursday night at Bell, driving Don Kreitz Jr.s winged sprint car, held off Larson by less than a foot (.05 seconds) to earn his first World of Outlaws victory since 2019.

With Larson and Bell both making appearances on the winged sprint car scene this season, theyll no doubt be an extra pain in the rear for regulars on the World of Outlaws and High Limit tours and a thorn in the side of one another.

Heres hoping the two also duke it out on a regular basis in the NASCAR Cup Series.