May 8, 2017
- Talladega Stats Recap from ESPN Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: 1st Cup Series win in 158 career starts (16th most before a driver’s first win all-time), Roush Fenway Racing: 136th win, first since June 2014 at Sonoma (snaps 101-race winless streak), Jamie McMurray: finished 2nd (won 3 times driving for Roush Fenway Racing, including 2009 at Talladega), – Dale Earnhardt Jr.: finished 22nd; finished 40th in this race last year (missed fall race); after finishing 1st and 2nd in previous 2 Talladega races. See most Starts For First Career Win – MENCS Since 2000 and Most Last-Lap Passes for Win – By Track Since 1980(ESPN Stats / Matthew Willis)[click to continue](5-8-2017)
- Edwards sets SUV speed record Carl Edwards isn’t racing in NASCAR this season, but he’s still going plenty fast. Edwards, who won 28 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races over 13 years first with Roush Fenway Racing and then Joe Gibbs Racing, recently drove a heavily modified Toyota Land Cruiser to a speed of 230.02 miles per hour, making it the World’s Fastest SUV. Edwards made his record run at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, which has a straightaway that is 2.5 miles long. And Edwards said he flew there in his Cessna and landed on the same runway where he set his record. (Jensen) then asked Edwards what his next adventure would be.
“I got about 1,800 acres of soybeans to plant, but that’s about it for right now.”(Tom Jensen / FoxSports)[click to continue](5-8-2017) - Bold move propels McMurray to runner-up finish Race winner #17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wasn’t the only driver who made a strong move on the final lap of Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. After Stenhouse took the lead from #18-Kyle Busch, thanks in part to a push from #48-Jimmie Johnson, #1-Jamie McMurray threaded the needle between Johnson’s Chevrolet and Busch’s Toyota to vault into second place. McMurray held the spot, trailing Stenhouse to the finish line by .095 seconds and beating Busch to the stripe by .004 seconds.(NASCAR Wire Service)[click to continue](5-8-2017)
- Loose wheel dashes Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s hopes at Talladega: #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. lined up third for a restart on Lap 174 of Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, after a massive 18-car wreck on the backstretch thinned the field. The anticipation in the air was palpable, as Earnhardt rolled through the tri-oval toward the start / finish line, but what happened next had fans in the front grandstands ripping the radio headphones off their heads and throwing them to the ground. As the field came up to speed, Earnhardt pulled out of line and moved to the top of the track, coming perilously close to the outside wall. As the pack sped away, Earnhardt’s #88 Chevrolet slowed and rolled gingerly to pit road. “Oh, I had a wheel come off,” Earnhardt said after the race. “The guys said it was real similar to the issue we had at Atlanta, but it was pretty bad. We were about to wreck. And we were lucky to get to pit road and get it changed. The left rear tire come loose. We didn’t change it on the last stop but the glue build-up on the stud didn’t allow them to get the tire tight, and it just kind of worked its way loose. We only had one nut tight when we come down pit road. It was real close to coming off. I hated it, because we were right there in good position to get a great finish-if not win the race-and I had to bail out. That was a hard decision to make. But, knowing what I know now when we come down pit road and they saw the tire, I’m glad I did, because it wouldn’t have made it another lap or two.” Earnhardt lost a lap because of the unscheduled stop but got it back as the highest-scored lapped car when NASCAR called the seventh caution on Lap 179. But over the final few circuits, which included a two-lap overtime, Earnhardt couldn’t make progress and finished 22nd.(NASCAR Wire Service)[click to continue](5-8-2017)
- Danica Patrick had a feeling about boyfriend’s prospects: Danica Patrick said she had positive vibes about boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s chances in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, and not just because Stenhouse had won the pole during Saturday’s time trials. But Patrick was otherwise occupied when Stenhouse took the checkered flag for the first time in his 158th start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Patrick hasn’t won in 164 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races, but she got her only IndyCar victory in her 50th start in the series.(NASCAR Wire Service)[click to continue](5-8-2017)
- Talladega Race and Commercial Breakdown of the 2017 Geico 500For those of you NASCAR fans that like stats and love to hate commercials, here is the breakdown for Sunday’s race. Began recording the times at the Invocation of the race at 2:00 PM, and stopped at the waving of the checkered flag at 6:17 PM (all times are EDT). Did not keep records for the pre- and post-race coverage. Fox was the broadcast team for this event. Total number of commercials: 138; Total number of companies or entities advertised: 82
Number of traditional commercials (not split-screen): 109.(CawsnJaws.com)[click to continue](5-8-2017) - Self to drive for Niece at Kansas Officials from Niece Motorsports and AM Racing jointly announced today that Austin, Texas native Austin Wayne Self will drive the #45 Chevrolet Silverado in next Friday night’s Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway. In addition to Niece Equipment serving as the primary marketing partner at Kansas, AM Racing partner Precision Air Technology will serve as a major associate for the 167-lap race.[More](5-8-2017)
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