May 8, 2015
- Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway have been made.
Pole sitter #22-Logano chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #5-Kahne took pit stall 38, the first pit stall with an opening in front of it.
#2-Keselowski, who starts 3rd took the 18th pit stall, also with an opening in front of it.
The 43rd and final pit stall was taken by #1-McMurray, who starts 9th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on Jayski.com’s Pit Stall Selection chart.(5-8-2015) - Logano wins Kansas pole: #20-Joey Logano won the Coors Light pole for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway with speed of 192.397mph for his 4th pole of 2015, 1st at Kansas and 12th of his career.
#5-Kahne is on the outside pole followed by #2-Keselowski, #78-Truex, Jr., #19-Edwards, #4-Harvick, #16-Biffle, #41-Busch, #1-McMurray, and #42-Larson.
Missing the race was: #62-Gaughan.
See the starting lineup, qualifying results, pole progression, qualifying order and more on Jayski.com’s Kansas Qualifying Page.(5-8-2015) - Qualifying Fast Facts – Kansas:
Joey Logano won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 5th Annual SpongeBob SquarePants 400 with a lap of 28.067 seconds, 192.397 mph.
This is his 12th pole in 230 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his series-leading fourth pole and ninth top-10 start in 2015.
This is his first pole in 12 races at Kansas Speedway.
He is the youngest pole winner in Kansas Speedway history (24 years, 11 months, 8 days).
Kasey Kahne (second) posted his eighth top-10 start of 2015 and his 10th in 16 races at Kansas Speedway.
Brad Keselowski (third) posted his fifth top-10 start at Kansas Speedway. It is his sixth in 11 races this season.
Jeb Burton (33rd) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(5-8-2015) - Second Round of Qualifying for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway is over after 10 scheduled minutes.
#78-Truex, Jr. 191.986
#19-Edwards 191.857
#2-Keselowski 191.503
#1-McMurray 191.367
#24-Gordon 191.293
the rest of the top 12: 4 18 22 5 42 16 41;
out of the top 12 and not advancing to round 3: 11 43 31 14 88 20 48 17 15 27 55 13.
(5-8-2015) - First Round of Qualifying for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway is over, after 20 scheduled minutes.
#19-Edwards 192.342
#22-Logano 191.904
#1-McMurray 191.836
#88-Earnhardt, Jr. 191.652
#78-Truex, Jr. 191.510
the rest of the top 24: 4 18 2 41 14 11 43 5 48 24 20 17 15 42 16 31 27 55 13;
out of the top 24 and not advancing to round 2: 51 9 10 3 47 6 95 33 26 35 83 7 23 38 34 98 40 32 62 46
Driver who will miss the race: #62-Gaughan.
(5-8-2015) - Final Practice for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway is over after 55 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
#18-Jones 191.306
#24-Gordon 191.184
#22-Logano 190.732
#78-Truex, Jr. 190.490
#88-Earnhardt, Jr. 190.396
slowest: #83-Dibenedetto 182.205 & #40-Cassill 180.240.
notes: Qualifying is scheduled for 6:45pm/et on FS1.
#46-Annett hit the wall on a mock qualifying run. He will have to go to a backup car.
#4-Harvick had the best 10 consecutive lap average at 185.058 and ran the most laps – 33.
See best speeds, laps run, Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average on the Kansas Practice 2 Speeds page (pdf).(5-8-2015) - First Friday Practice for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway is over after 85 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
#4-Harvick 190.772
#22-Logano 190.375
#19-Edwards 190.268
#14-Stewart 189.188
#88-Earnhardt, Jr. 187.637
slowest: #32-Gase 179.880 & #62-Gaughan 179.057
notes: There is a second Cup practice scheduled for 2:30-3:25pm/et. Qualifying will be at 6:45pm/et on FS1.
#18-Jones had the best 10 consecutive lap average at 185.065. Most laps run: #88-Earnhardt, Jr. – 55.
See best speeds, laps run, Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average on the Kansas Practice 1 Speeds page (pdf).(5-8-2015) - Qualifying Order for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway is posted. 44 cars/drivers are listed.
The first of the drivers scheduled to go out is #34-Moffitt.
The final driver scheduled to go out is #3-Dillon.
Qualifying order is set by a random draw, held about an hour before the first practice.
See the full qualifying order on Jayski.com’s Kansas Qualifying Page.(5-8-2015) - Fire damages Leavine Family Racing shop UPDATES: Firefighters were busy Friday morning putting out flames at a NASCAR team’s race shop in Harrisburg. Crews from Harrisburg and Concord were called to #95-Leavine Family Racing’s shop on Victory Lane around 7:00am and encountered flames and smoke coming from the building. Fire officials said crews were able to get the fire under control around 8:30am. Officials with the race team confirmed there was a fire at their shop and that nobody was hurt.(WSOC)
UPDATE: The cause of the blaze is not yet known. LFR field a single-car effort in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the #95 Ford that is piloted by Michael McDowell. “Everyone is safe and cars were involved,” McDowell told Motorsport.com. When asked by Lee Spencer if the cars were a ‘total loss,’ he replied via text, “We are not sure yet … Still working through all that. Majority of our team is here. We only have two people that stay back at shop.”(Motorsport)
UPDATE 2: WSOC has updated their original story: The fire marshal told Channel 9 that they did not know how the fire started but that four race cars in the building were destroyed and there was extensive damage to an 8,000-square foot section of the shop. Officials with the race team confirmed there was a fire at their shop and that nobody was hurt.
UPDATE 3: Statement from Leavine Family Racing: “After receiving more information from a restoration company that inspected the fire damage at the shop today, we were informed that structural damage may cause us to move our racing operations. We are currently exploring all options. We do not anticipate this to impact the team’s competition schedule. Our next race is the Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Four race cars were damaged in the fire – these were primarily back-up cars. A complete investigation is taking place to access the overall damage and cause of the fire.(Leavine Family Racing)(5-8-2015) - Gase, Go Green pick up Kansas sponsor UPDATE: Joey Gase and Go Fas Racing announce their sponsorship line up for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway. Tri State Tower, the premier cell phone and data National Turnkey Construction and maintenance company in the Midwest, will be the hood sponsor on the #32 Ford Fusion. Construction Materials, Inc., elicitherbalchew.com, and pci-ia.com will all be associate sponsors. Joey will also be representing his hometown track, Hawkeye Downs Speedway, on the bumper of his car.(Gase PR)(5-7-2015)
UPDATE: Joey Gase’s underdog story went national this week, and more folks are getting behind the NASCAR driver from Iowa with their checkbooks. The Cedar Rapids native signed three sponsors Wednesday after word spread that Gase needed funding for his sixth Sprint Cup Series start this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Gase, 22, gained attention by racing his #52 Chevy to a shocking fifth-place finish in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Folks were drawn to the story of a driver whose mother died suddenly when he was 18 and whose team budget is so dwarfed by larger outfits that he handles his own PR and sponsorship sales. Gase often drives on used Goodyear tires, because his team can’t afford many new ones (priced at more than $2,000 per set), and typically uses a volunteer pit crew. TV reporter Krista Voda, an Iowan, was one of many national figures to spread word of Gase’s story. She tweeted to her 140,000 followers: “I hope a co. steps up & sponsors Joey for @kansasspeedway. Tons of Iowa fans there!” Gase, whose best Sprint Cup finish is five starts is 33rd (four laps down) at Phoenix Raceway in November, heads to Kansas City with more confidence and resources. The Go Fas Racing team will even have a developmental pit crew from Roush Fenway Racing, instead of volunteers. “There will definitely be a few more eyes on us this week than we would have other weeks, for sure,” Gase said.(Des Moines Register)(5-8-2015) - What is the future of NASCAR Mexico? After three races of the season 2015 NASCAR Mexico season, we’ve seen some thrilling battles on the track, giving few reasons for anyone to doubt the future of the series. However, rumors have been going around since last year that its days days are numbered. But the whispers of demise continue in the paddock. NASCAR Mexico has no title sponsor at the moment. Toyota supported the series until 2014 and has carried out budget readjustments to take on the first part of the schedule with fewer staff operating and a smaller group of officials. The COO of NASCAR Mexico, Juan Carlos Ortiz, admitted in an interview with Motorsport.com that the situation is not ideal, but neither are they close to dying out. “The series is healthy. Like everywhere there are ups and downs and we are now in a difficult time, but eager to move forward. We are united and convinced that this will be a successful championship again,” said Ortiz. Joe Balash, responsible for NASCAR’s international series, has no doubt that its subsidiary in Latin America will still remain for several years and as he said to Motorsport.com “are ups and downs” and recognizes the commitment of the France family to keep this series for the long term, “just last year we renewed with Mexico. There is no reason to think otherwise.” However, ICD group, who leads the series, now had a greater concern than the regional category and that is the return Formula One to Mexico. The Inter Corporate Entertainment has a five-year contract with Bernie Ecclestone that starts this 2015. The company’s efforts have focused on making it as profitable as possible with this race after the annual investment of $72 million. For that reason, perhaps it has made it more difficult to find a new sponsor or because companies want to invest their money in the highest category of motorsport.(Motorsport)(5-8-2015)
- Kansas Speedway Notes & Facts – Friday – poles:
· Jason Leffler won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Kansas Speedway in 2001 with a speed of 176.499 mph.
· 11 drivers have Coors Light poles at Kansas, led by Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne with three each.
· Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick are the only two drivers to win consecutive Coors Light poles at Kansas Speedway (Johnson – 2007, 2008 and Harvick – fall 2013, spring 2014 and fall 2014).
· Four of the 18 (22.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway have been won from the Coors Light pole; Joe Nemechek (2004), Jimmie Johnson (2008), Matt Kenseth (spring 2013) and Kevin Harvick (fall 2013).
· Five of the 18 (27.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway have been won from the front row: four from the pole and one from second-place.
· 11 of the 18 (61.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position.
· Two of the 18 (11.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
· Joey Logano leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Kansas Speedway with an 10.818.
· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Kansas Speedway was 25th, by Brad Keselowski in the spring of 2011.
· Qualifying has never been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kansas Speedway.
(NASCAR)(5-8-2015) - McClure returns to TriStar UPDATE: TriStar Motorsports and Team McClure Inc. announced that Eric McClure will return to the TriStar Motorsports organization for the remainder of the 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series season, piloting the #24 Toyota Camry. McClure and JGL Racing amicably parted ways following last weekend’s event at Talladega Superspeedway. Additionally, McClure’s longtime partners, Reynolds Wrap and Hefty, will follow suit.(TMI)(5-8-2015)
UPDATE: JGL Racing officials announced that after last weekends event at Talladega Superspeedway they have parted ways with driver Eric McClure and Team McClure. McClure had piloted the team’s #24 Toyota for the first nine races of the 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series season. “I have a lot of respect for Eric and his family and we wish him nothing but the best as he continues his racing career with TriStar Motorsports,” said James Whitener, owner of JGL Racing. “We have a vision of what we want to build with this race team and it just wasn’t working out with Eric for the direction that we wanted to go. We are committed to the continued growth of JGL Racing and will do everything in our powers to progress that forward.” JGL Racing, Tri-Star and Team McClure have worked out an agreement for Eric to continue using the #24 number managed by Tri-Star Motorsports. JGL Racing will field the #26 Toyota in place of the #24 for the remainder of the 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series season. JGL Racing has fielded two full time entries for the first nine races of the season and will continue to do that for the remainder of the 2015 season. While JGL Racing announced that it will rebrand the #24 Toyota to the #26 Toyota, the team will also continue to field a third entry (#93) at select events throughout the remainder of the 2015 season as the growth process continues.(JGL Racing/Integrity Sports Marketing)(5-8-2015) - Congrats: to Eric and Miranda McClure on the birth of their 6th daughter, Meraline Everleigh McClure. Meraline was born Friday morning.(5-8-2015)
- Crafton wins at Kansas: #88-Matt Crafton won the Toyota Tundra 250 at the Kansas Speedway on Friday night after fuel mileage came into play in the closing laps. #8-Ryan Newman finished second followed by: #98-Johnny Sauter, #17-Timothy Peters, #13-Cameron Hayley, #51-Daniel Suarez, #54-Justin Boston, #31-Scott Lagasse, Jr., #15-Mason Mingus, and #14-Daniel Hemric.
There were 4 caution flags for 19 laps and 11 lead changes among 5 leaders.
#4-Erik Jones started the race from the pole and led 151 laps before running out of fuel five laps from the finish. He ended the race11th.
Complete results are on the Kansas race results page (pdf). (5-8-2015) - Kansas Race Fast Facts:
Matt Crafton won the 15th Annual Toyota Tundra 250, his seventh victory in 342 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
This is his second victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2015.
This is his second victory and seventh top-10 finish in 15 races at Kansas Speedway.
Ryan Newman(i) (second) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at Kansas Speedway. It is his first top-10 finish in 2015.
Johnny Sauter (third) posted his fifth top-10 finish in seven races at Kansas Speedway.
Cameron Hayley (fifth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Matt Crafton leads the point standings by 17 points over Tyler Reddick.
(NASCAR Statistics) (5-8-2015) - Driver standings following Kansas:
1) #88-Matt Crafton, 175
2) >#19-Tyler Reddick, 158, -17
3) #4-Erik Jones, 157, -18
4) #98-Johnny Sauter, 153, -22
5) #13-Cameron Hayley, 123, -52
6) #05-John Wes Townley, 122, -53
7) #17-Timothy Peters, 121, -54
8) #54-Justin Boston, 114, -61
9) #07-Ray Black, Jr., 112, -63
10) #23-Spencer Gallagher, 111, -64
See complete standings on the driver standings page (pdf).(5-8-2015) - Owner Standings following Kansas are posted (pdf).(5-8-2015)
- Jones on pole at Kansas: #4-Erik Jones will start from the pole for the Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway after setting a track record with a speed of 179.396mph. #88-Matt Crafton will start second, followed by: #33-Brandon Jones, #8-Ryan Newman, #11-Ben Kennedy, #14-Daniel Hemric, #98-Johnny Sauter, #13-Cameron Hayley, #54-Justin Boston, and #51-Daniel Suarez. #29-Austin Theriault and #19-Tyler Reddick wrecked during the final round and will both use backup trucks. See complete lineup on the Starting lineup (pdf) page.(5-8-2015)
- Kansas Qualifying Notes:
Erik Jones won the Keystone Light 21 means 21 Pole Award for the 15th Annual Toyota Tundra 250, setting the qualifying record with a lap of 30.101 seconds, 179.396 mph.
This is his third pole in 21 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
This is his first pole and fourth top-10 start in 2015.
This is his first pole and start at Kansas Speedway.
Matt Crafton (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2015 and his sixth in 15 races at Kansas Speedway.
Brandon Jones (third) posted his first top-10 start at Kansas Speedway. It is his second in two races this season.
Erik Jones was also the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(3-8-2015) - Earnhardt interested in running trucks, Custer auditioning for Xfinity ride UPDATE: Kelley Earnhardt Miller appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Wednesday. Among other topics, she discussed JR Motorsports’ first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Earnhardt Miller, co-owner of JR Motorsports, said earlier this year that there were no plans at that time to field the organization’s Camping World Truck Series team for any races beyond the 10 currently in place with driver Cole Custer. On Wednesday she said that was still the case, but also said Sprint Cup Series Dale Earnhardt Jr. had broached the subject of driving the truck. “He’s definitely mentioned that that’s something he might be interested in,” Earnhardt Miller said. “I think he would want to see how the program is going to do, and make sure we have the resources and the capability to do that. Let Cole the team get off the ground first and see how that goes.” Earnhardt Miller, Earnhardt Jr. and Sprint Cup Series team owner Rick Hendrick share ownership of JRM. One of the organization’s three full-time XFINITY Series teams features multiple Sprint Cup drivers, Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne, behind the wheel for select events. Two other full-time teams feature drivers Chase Elliott and Regan Smith, who finished 1-2 in points, respectively, last season.”He (Earnhardt Jr.) and some others have expressed interest in running the truck,” Earnhardt Miller said. “We’ve actually gotten calls from other people saying ‘do you want to fill out the balance of your schedule and run it full time?’ “We really don’t want to do that. We want to focus on Cole. If the opportunity exists to put a couple of the Cup drivers in there to make our program stronger, (that’s) really why would we want to do that… “I won’t say it’s not going to happen but there aren’t any concrete plans for it to happen right now.”Custer, 17, made his NCWTS debut last season with Haas Racing Development and became the youngest winner in a NASCAR national series event when he won the UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In only nine starts, he scored six top-10s and two poles. Elliott, the defending XFINITY Series champion, will attempt to make his Sprint Cup Series debut in Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville. The 19-year-old is scheduled to step into the Hendrick Motorsports #24 Chevrolet in 2016, replacing four-time series champion Jeff Gordon. With Elliott already tabbed for the move to Sprint Cup next season, Custer could be auditioning for a full-time XFINITY Series ride with the organization. “Hopefully, that (truck effort) will roll into an XFINITY Series ride for Cole, depending on how he performs,” Earnhardt Miller said. It will be the first start of the season for Custer, who is limited to competing on road courses and tracks 1.1 miles or less in length due to his age.(NASCAR.com(3-26-2015)
UPDATE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. says that he “probably won’t run” a Camping World Truck Series race this season for JR Motorsports but might next year. The team announced this week that Kasey Kahne would drive its truck May 15 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, leading to questions of if Earnhardt might make his Camping World Truck Series debut later this season. “I probably won’t run the Trucks this year,” Earnhardt said Friday morning at Kansas Speedway. “If I run Trucks, I want to run Martinsville and it will probably be next year if I run. I love Martinsville. I watched the Truck race there this year in the pit stall and just wanted to be out there. It just looks like a lot of fun.”(NBC Sports(5-8-2015) - Save Mart Supermarkets offers free kids’ tickets for Sonoma: For the first-time ever, Sonoma Raceway and Save Mart Supermarkets have teamed up to offer free admission to young race fans for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, June 28. For the fifth straight year, the raceway and supermarket chain will offer fans the lowest-priced Sunday reserved-seat ticket for NASCAR’s only stop in Northern California for just $45. New for 2015, kids (12 and under) are free with the purchase of an adult ticket at Save Mart Supermarkets or Lucky stores. That means a family of four could enjoy NASCAR in Sonoma for as little as $90. The reserved seats are located in the Turn 9 Terrace, known for providing some of the best views of the road course. Toyota/Save Mart 350 tickets are now on sale in all Save Mart and Lucky Supermarkets locations.(Sonoma Raceway)(5-8-2015)
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