April 23, 2016
- Final practice for the Toyota Owners 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is over, after 80 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#48-Johnson 120.849
#5-Kahne 120.622
#18-Busch 120.493
#4-Harvick 120.374
#19-Edwards 119.979
slowest: #46-Annett 115.321 & #30-Wise 114.446
most laps run: #41-Busch 122, #3-Dillon 99
See fastest speeds, laps run, best 10 consecutive lap average on the Richmond Final Practice Speeds page (pdf).(4-23-2016) - Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Toyota Owners 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway have been made.
Pole sitter #4-Harvick chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #2-Logano took pit stall 7.
#48-Johnson, who starts 3rd took the 27th pit stall, just before the start-finish line.
The 42nd and final pit stall was taken by #44-Scott, who starts 20th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on Jayski.com’s Pit Stall Selection chart.(4-23-2016) - Bristol TV Ratings UPDATE: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing from Bristol had a 3.2 overnight rating on FOX Sunday afternoon, down 27% from 2013, the last time it was run as scheduled (4.4). The race was deluged by rain the past two years, with FOX airing just a few laps before handing off to Fox Sports 1. The network’s abbreviated coverage had a 2.9 overnight last year and a 4.1 in 2014. Excluding rainouts, the 3.2 is the lowest for the spring Bristol race since it moved to FOX in 2001. The previous low was a 3.9 in 2011. It is also the lowest overnight for a Sunday Sprint Cup race on FOX, falling below a 3.3 for Dover in 2014. Overall, the 3.2 is tied as the fourth-lowest for any Sprint Cup race on FOX, regardless of day – matching Darlington in 2014 and ahead of only Texas the previous week (2.5), Texas last year (2.9) and Richmond in 2014 (3.0). Head-to-head, #19-Carl Edwards’ win trailed competing coverage of the Pistons/Cavaliers NBA playoff game on ABC (4.1). As NASCAR ratings tend to rise from the overnights to the final, while NBA ratings decline, the race could still come out ahead when the final numbers are released (Spoirts Media Watch / Sports Business Daily)(4-19-2016)
UPDATE: NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Bristol (TN) earned a 3.4 final rating and 5.5 million viewers on FOX last Sunday afternoon, down 26% in ratings and 27% in viewership from 2013, the last time the race was run as scheduled (4.6, 7.5M). Both last year and in 2014, FOX aired only brief snippets of the race due to extensive rain delays. The network drew a 3.3 and 5.1 million for less than 15 minutes of racing last year, and a 4.5 and 7.3 million for 45 minutes of coverage in 2014. Despite the lower numbers, NASCAR on FOX was still the most-watched sports broadcast of the weekend – edging ABC’s Pistons/Cavaliers NBA playoff game (5.4M).(Sports Media Watch)(4-23-2016) - BK Racing owner talks about Bristol finish; hiring DiBenedetto: BK Racing owner Ron Devine talked to the media Friday at Richmond and was asked about #83-Matt DiBenedetto’s 6th place finish at Bristol:
Q: How special was last week’s finish for the entire BK Racing organization?
Devine: “It was special for us and I know you saw it on pit road, we were all so emotional. We have a lot of confidence in this guy (Matt DiBenedetto) right here and I say he’s kind of like, ‘my guy,’ because we found each other along the way. We were excited to put him in a race car and we kind of took a chance on him, but he deserves it and I think he showed it last week. Think about, we’ve been out here for five years and that’s our best finish and it was real emotional. Even that last lap, we’ve taken the white flag in 10th by the way and came back 25th, and this time we took the white flag in sixth and came back sixth. It was really special for us and I can’t say enough about him and about this race team. It really speaks to how hard these guys worked all winter putting the cars together and their commitment to make something happen. Now that we’ve finally had some success with it, it just felt great.”
Q: How insistent was J.D. Gibbs that you hire Matt DiBenedetto to drive for you?
Devine: “I’m glad you asked that, the first person that mentioned Matt DiBenedetto to me was J.D. Gibbs and he said, ‘Ron, this guy is special.’ I have a lot of respect for the Gibbs organization – Joe (Gibbs) and myself have been friends for many, many years so I said, ‘Let’s take a look at him.’ We looked at his test when he was over there and then we started just examining him and J.D. was the first one that said, ‘Hey, we really like this young man and we think he’s something special and you should get him.’ For that, we thank you J.D. Gibbs and we wish you all the best with all that you’re going through. That organization and us both being Toyota, we have a great relationship anyway, but he is just a great friend and he was very kind to send him our way.”
(Toyota Racing PR)(4-23-2016) - Richard Petty Motorsports aligns with Pioneer Technology Group: Richard Petty Motorsports announced an alignment with Pioneer Technology Group for the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The software development company will have associate placement on the #44 Ford Fusion driven by Brian Scott. In their first NASCAR partnership, Pioneer Technology Group looks to grow their client base and provide targeted software solutions and content management solutions that increase productivity, improve delivery and reduce costs across a wide spectrum of institutions in both the public and private sectors. They strive to help companies and local governments do more with less through their state of the art technologies and experienced leaders who have the knowledge to make every client of theirs function better.(Richard Petty Motorsports)(4-23-2016)
- Richmond Driver Notes & Facts:
– NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Richmond with 63. Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers with 33 starts.
– 50 different drivers have won at Richmond International Raceway, led by Richard Petty with 13. Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in wins at RIR with four; all of which were spring races.
– First Career NSCS Win At RIR: James Hylton (1970), Neil Bonnett (1977), Kyle Petty (1986), Tony Stewart (1999), Kasey Kahne (2005)
– Eight drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Richmond International Raceway. Richard Petty leads the series in consecutive wins at Richmond after posting seven consecutive wins from the fall of 1970 – 1973. Jimmie Johnson (2007 sweep) is the only active driver with consecutive wins at Richmond.
– All of the active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Richmond International Raceway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart won at Richmond in their second appearance.
– Greg Biffle leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Richmond without visiting Victory Lane at 27.
– Bobby Allison and Richard Petty are tied for the lead in runner-up finishes at Richmond with nine each. Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with five.
– Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Richmond with 34; Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with 14.
– Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Richmond with 41. Kevin Harvick leads all active drivers with 18.
– Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Richmond International Raceway with a 7.095.
– Two female drivers have competed at Richmond in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Danica Patrick & Janet Guthrie
(NASCAR) - ToyotaCare 250 or ToyotaCare 210? Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY race was billed as the ToyotaCare 250, but many fans noticed that the scheduled laps weren’t 250 this year. There were 2 heat races with 35 laps each and the main event was only 140 laps, for a total of 210 laps run. The XFINITY Series has run 250 laps races at Richmond since the fall race in 1993. Prior to that, race was 200 laps for many years.
The total number of laps changed this year due to the implementation of the Dash 4 Cash. With Dash 4 Cash, NASCAR added a 15 minute break between the two heats and a 15 minute break between the second heat and the main event. To compensate for the additional time it was estimated the race would take, the number of laps was shortened. In addition, according to a press release from the track in January, “The total number of laps at RIR will be 210, which puts the event at nearly 250 kilometers (based on where the line is measured).”(4-23-2016) - Bristol XFINITY TV Ratings: NASCAR Xfinity Series racing from Bristol (TN) drew 1.2 million viewers on Fox Sports 1 last Saturday afternoon, up 6% from last year (1.1M) but down 26% from 2014, the last time it aired on ESPN2 (1.7M). The past three Xfinity Series races have been either flat or up compared to last year.(Sports Media Watch)(4-23-2016)
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wins XFINITY race at Richmond: #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond International Raceway. It is his 24th XFINITY Series win of his career and his first since 2010. He led 128 of the 149 laps.
#2-Ty Dillon finished second and captured the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus. The rest of the top 10: #1-Elliot Sadler, #19-Daniel Suarez, #2-Austin Dillon, #5-Cole Custer, #62-Brendan Gaughan, #11-Blake Koch, #22-Brad Keselowski, and #48-Brennan Poole.
The race ended after one attempt at NASCAR Overtime. A late race accident collected several drivers at the front of the field with less than 10 laps to go.
The first caution of the race did not come until 15 laps to go.
Pole sitter #20-Erik Jones was involved in both of the cautions on the day and finished 34th.
There were 2 cautions for 20 laps and 4 lead changes among 4 leaders.
The average speed was 93.623mph.
Complete results are on the Richmond race results page (pdf).
(4-23-2016) - Richmond XFINITY Race Fast Facts:
Dale Earnhardt Jr.(i) won the 29th Annual ToyotaCare 250, his 24th victory in 137 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2016.
This is his fourth victory and fifth top-10 finish in six races at Richmond International Raceway.
Ty Dillon (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in seven races at Richmond International Raceway. It is his fifth top-10 finish in 2016.
Elliott Sadler (third) posted his 11th top-10 finish in 26 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Brennan Poole (10th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Daniel Suarez leads the point standings by 9 points over Elliott Sadler.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(4-23-2016) - XFINITY Driver standings following Richmond:
1) #19-Daniel Suarez, 279
2) #1-Elliott Sadler, 270, -9
3) #3-Ty Dillon, 260, -19
4) #33-Brandon Jones, 249, -30
5) #20-Erik Jones [1 win], 244, -35
6) #62-Brendan Gaughan, 242, -37
7) #7-Justin Allgaier, 241, -38
8) #48-Brennan Poole, 212, -67
9) #16-Ryan Reed, 210, -69
10) #6-Darrell Wallace, Jr., 201, -78
See complete owner and driver standings on the driver standings (pdf) and owner standings page (pdf).(4-23-2016) - Erik Jones on XFINITY pole for main event at Richmond: Following the two 35 lap heat races, #20-Erik Jones will start from the pole for the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond. He gets the pole by winning the first heat race and being higher in owner points than #2-Austin Dillon (because qualifying was cancelled). Dillon will start second after winning the second heat. The rest of the top 10 starters: #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr, #7-Justin Allgaier, #18-Matt Tifft, #19-Daniel Suarez, #48-Brennan Poole, #22-Brad Keselowski, #1-Elliott Sadler, and #2-Austin Dillon.
The starting lineup is posted on the Richmond starting lineup page (pdf).(4-23-2016) - Ty Dillon wins XFINITY Heat 2 at Richmond: #3-Ty Dillon won the second heat race for the ToyotaCare 250 at International Raceway. He took the lead from #2-Austion Dillon on the first lap and led every lap. The race was caution free.
#7-Justin Allgaier was second, followed by: #19-Daniel Suarez, #22-Brad Keselowski, #2-Austin Dillon, #42-Justin Marks, #4-Ross Chastain, #11-Blake Koch, #16-Ryan Reed, and #39-Ryan Sieg.
Erik Jones, who won the first heat, will start the main event from the pole because he had a better starting position than Ty Dillon in the two heat races. Finishers of this heat race will lineup on the outside of the feature in even-numbered starting positions.
Ty Dillon and Justin Allgaier, the top 2 XFINITY regulars in the heat, will join Erik Jones and Brennan Poole in running for the Dash 4 Cash bonus in the main.
Results are posted on the Richmond XFINITY Series Heat 2 results page (pdf).(4-23-2016) - Erik Jones wins XFINITY Heat 1 at Richmond: #20-Erik Jones won the first heat race for the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond International Raceway. He took the lead from #18-Matt Tifft on lap 1 and lead every lap. The race was caution free.
#88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr was second, followed by: #18-Matt Tifft, #48-Brennan Poole, #1-Elliott Sadler, #6-Darrell Wallace, Jr., #33-Brandon Jones, #62-Brendan Gaughan, #5-Cole Custer, and #44-J.J. Yeley.
After the second heat, the complete lineup will be set for the 140 lap main event.
Erik Jones will start the main either first or second, depending on who had the best starting position in the two heat winners. Finishers of this heat race will lineup on the inside of the feature in odd-numbered starting positions.
Erik Jones and Brennan Poole, being the top 2 XFINITY regulars in the heat, will run for the Dash 4 Cash bonus in the main.
Results are posted on the Richmond XFINITY Series Heat 1 results page (pdf).(4-23-2016) - Allgaier fastest in XFINITY practice: #7-Justin Allgaier was fastest during practice at Richmond International Raceway with a speed of 121.174mph. #2-Austin Dillon was second, followed by: #22-Brad Keselowski, #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr., #19-Daniel Suarez, #20-Erik Jones, #6-Darrell Wallace, Jr., #11-Blake Koch, #1-Elliott Sadler, and #42-Justin Marks. All 40 drivers practiced during the session.
See complete results on the Richmond practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(4-23-2016) - Pocono Raceway, Penn State Working To Eliminate Waste: The goals for Pocono Raceway are set extremely high, especially when it goes to green initiatives. That’s why the 2.5-mile raceway has partnered with Penn State University. Pocono Raceway President & CEO Brandon Igdalsky started a project last year with Penn State to make the raceway a “near zero waste” facility. Meaning that a majority of the waste produced during Pocono’s operating season will be diverted from landfills. Already the first motorsports facility to operate on solar power thanks to its massive three megawatt solar farm, Pocono Raceway is now trying to eliminate waste. Last year, students from Penn State began a partnership at Pocono Raceway. They surveyed fans, explored materials management, identified persistent patterns in fan behavior and learned about sustainability-related infrastructure. The research showed that fans, especially at Pocono Raceway, were concerned about wastefulness and environmental responsibility. The study noted that fans are searching for better options for waste management. Among the immediate changes implemented were additional recycling containers. Working with Pocono Raceway partner Coca-Cola, the raceway is now blanketed with recycling bins. Pocono Raceway, Penn State and new food and beverage provider Spectra will also focus on the goal of near-zero waste. Meetings with area resorts and the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau have begun exploring options to manage biomass with composting or anaerobic digestion as a possible solution.(Pocono Raceway)(4-23-2016)
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