August 2018 News Archives
News from August 31, 2018
Friday Darlington Notebook: More than just winning, Kyle Larson wants to dominate; Matt Kenseth’s 2019 plans are still up in the air; Justin Allgaier wants Cup redemption–under right circumstances.[More](8-31-2018)
Happy Hour (final) practice for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway is over, after 50 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#31-Newman 171.698
#9-Elliott 171.512
#48-Johnson 171.023
#18-Busch 170.922
#41-Busch 170.365
best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 24 drivers): #18-Busch 166.952
slowest: #51-McLeod 157.268 & #23-Gase 154.210
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Happy Hour Practice speeds page (pdf) (8-31-2018)
First practice for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway is over, after 55 minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
#11-Hamlin 172.287
#42-Larson 172.034
#2-Keselowski 171.998
#88-Bowman 171.980
#31-Newman 171.926
most laps run: #31-Newman, 28 laps.
best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 9 drivers): #11-Hamlin, 168.715mph.
slowest: #51-McLeod 158.209 & #1-McMurray 126.339
notes: #1-McMurray lost an engine, which led to a lengthy track clean up. He will have to start the race Sunday from the rear of the field.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the First Practice speeds (pdf) (8-31-2018)
Kurt Busch says he has options: Speaking to the media Friday at Darlington Raceway, Kurt Busch says he has offers for next season: “I do have two contract offers that I’m looking at. It’s kind of the same thing as last year, where the team at Stewart-Haas put me into free agency and it gives me the opportunity to talk to others, and I do have the loyalty and the respect from Monster Energy. We’ll announce things when they get closer.” [More](8-31-2018)
Qualifying Order for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway is posted.
The first driver to be lined up on pit road will be #17-Stenhouse, Jr.
The final driver lined up on pit road will be #42-Wallace.
The order is set by a random draw, how cars park on pit road before they qualify, held about an hour before the first practice.
After the first round, the cars lined up by speed.
For the qualifying order, see the Qualifying Order page (pdf).(8-31-2018)
Rick Ware Racing ‘throws back’ to 1990 at Darlington: Jumping into NASCAR’s official throwback weekend at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, officials from Rick Ware Racing (RWR) announced today they are dialing back their knob to 1990 with their No. 51 JACOB Companies Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Sunday night’s Bojangles Southern 500. Veteran B.J. McLeod will make his Cup debut at the track dubbed “Too Tough Too Tame” but others may mistakenly point him out as Russ Wheeler, the famed rival teammate of Cole Trickle in the 1990 sports action drama film Days of Thunder. [More](8-31-2018)
Pit Boss becomes “Official Grill of NASCAR”: NASCAR and Pit Boss Grills announced a multi-year agreement that introduces one of the fastest growing grill brands as the “Official Grill of NASCAR®.” This new deal marks Pit Boss Grills’ first partnership with a professional sports property and will strengthen the company’s campaign to grow brand awareness on a national scale.[More](8-31-2018)
2019 plans for Roush Fenway’s No. 6 still up in the air: Trevor Bayne is unlikely to return but Matt Kenseth is not guaranteed to be back either.[More](8-31-2018)
Monster Monument at Dover will be lit teal in September to honor the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation: The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation, which raises awareness and funds toward ending ovarian and childhood cancer, will receive a special recognition in September when the Monster Monument at Victory Plaza, presented by Smithfield, is lit in the color teal to recognize the organization’s charitable efforts.[More](8-31-2018)
Lucas Oil Raceway to begin renovations: Lucas Oil Raceway is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar renovation aimed at turning the motorsports park into a multi-purpose facility that can be used year-round. The dragstrip is home to the prestigious U.S. Nationals, NHRA’s biggest race. There is also a 0.686-mile oval that once hosted NASCAR Xfinity, Truck Series and USAC races. The 2.5-mile road course hasn’t been used in 10 years.[More](8-31-2018)
News from August 30, 2018
Darlington Raceway Weekend Preview: Winless Hamlin looks to rebound at Darlington; Time to go for XFINITY.[More](8-30-2018)
Rockingham Speedway sold to investors: A group of Raleigh investors Thursday bought the Rockingham Speedway. The buyer, Rockingham Properties LLC – of which Dan Lovenheim is majority owner – will finalize paperwork on the purchase of the Rockingham Speedway Thursday. Lovenheim could not provide details on the plans for the property Thursday afternoon, but said they are “remarkably encompassing.”[More](8-30-2018)
Richmond partners with the Dominion Energy Charity Classic for Capital City Playoff ticket package: Richmond Raceway (Richmond) and the Dominion Energy Charity Classic (Charity Classic) have partnered to bring race fans and golf fans together as the Capital City becomes a fall playoff city. As part of the partnership, Richmond and the Charity Classic will offer an exclusive package for their playoff events with the Capital City Playoff Ticket Package. Fans will now be able to attend a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Richmond in September, and continue the fall playoffs with a visit to the Charity Classic in October.[More](8-30-2018)
News from August 29, 2018
A look at many news, notes and story lines for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington, see the stats on the NASCAR National Series News & Notes — Darlington Raceway
Furniture Row to sell to GMS Racing? UPDATE: Furniture Row Racing is discussing a possible deal with NASCAR Xfinity/Truck series team GMS Racing that, if completed, would see FRR Owner Barney Visser sell FRR’s assets to GMS.(8-23-2018)
UPDATE: Furniture Row Racing met with team principals from GMS Racing on Tuesday in Denver, but neither party expects a deal between the two organizations to materialize. The defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship team’s intention is to remain on its current course.(8-24-2018)
UPDATE 2: With the GMS talks having apparently collapsed, sources said that another possible option for Truex that has now opened up is for him to go to Joe Gibbs Racing.[More](8-29-2018)
Corey LaJoie to honor his father, Randy, with Darlington throwback: After a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) off-week, Corey LaJoie and the No. 72 team return to competition this weekend at Darlington Raceway. LaJoie brings with him BCT, The Blockchain Terminal as the primary sponsor of the No. 72. As part of the Darlington Throwback initiative, the No. 72 will feature a paint scheme of personal significance to LaJoie. Paying tribute to his father, Randy LaJoie, two-time XFINITY Series Champion (1996, 1997), the No. 72 will mimic the red, white and blue infamous FINA paint scheme.[More](8-29-2018)
Joey Gase to pull double duty at Darlington: Gase announced earlier this morning that he will be pulling double duty this weekend at Darlington Raceway with BK Racing. “I can’t thank BK Racing enough for giving me the opportunity to run the Bojangles’ Southern 500 this weekend,” said Gase. “To race in a classic race like the Southern 500 and on a very tough, slick legendary Darlington Raceway will be an honor.”[More](8-29-2018)
McDowell’s Darlington throwback replicates the first Love’s Travel Stop: “Darlington throwback weekend is always neat. I’m not a history buff on the sport, so it’s really fun when people have the throwback schemes, and I go back and look and read the stories – the who’s, the why’s and the what’s. It’s been very educational for me. And Love’s Travel Stops gets into it, too, with their throwback scheme going back to the look of their first travel stop.”[More](8-29-2018)
JD Motorsports “Throws Back” with Landon Cassill at Darlington:JD Motorsports with Gary Keller is celebrating NASCAR’s Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway in a big way. The team announced Wednesday that Landon Cassill, one of the most successful drivers in JD Motorsports’ history, will return to the team to drive in Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington. Cassill will drive the team’s 01 car, returning to the number he campaigned over two seasons at JD Motorsports, and the racer will carry the colors of Flex Seal, a long-time team sponsor. The car design scheme will duplicate that raced formerly by Cassill.[More](8-29-2018)
Reed honors No. 16’s winning history with Darlington Throwback:Ryan Reed’s No. 16 Ford will take on an iconic look this weekend at Darlington Raceway, as the team honors back-to-back wins made by Greg Biffle in 2005 and 2006 with a patriotic throwback to those victories. Roush Fenway Racing is the winningest team in NASCAR history and the timely throwback comes on the heels of team owner Jack Roush being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019. [More](8-29-2018)
Gragson potentially moving to the XFINITY Series with JRM: Truck Series’ Noah Gragson may be replacing the retiring Elliott Sadler at JRM in 2019.[More](8-29-2018)
Charlotte Motor Speedway rolls out improved Patriot Partners program: Keeping with its long-standing tradition of honoring the nation’s Armed Forces, Charlotte Motor Speedway has rolled out a new-look Patriot Partners program that allows race fans the opportunity to send service men and women to the premier NASCAR events at the iconic 1.5-mile superspeedway, including the inaugural Bank of America ROVAL™ 400 on Sept. 30.[More](8-29-2018)
Carly Pearce to sing National Anthem before Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard: Breakthrough singer-songwriter Carly Pearce will return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a second consecutive year, performing the national anthem before the start of the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line on Sunday, Sept. 9.[More](8-29-2018)
News from August 28, 2018
A look at some of the top statistical performers and top-10 driver ratings at Darlington, see the stats on the Statistical Advance – Analyzing Darlington Raceway page
Ben Kennedy interested in possible NASCAR CEO position: Ben Kennedy, great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., says he could “possibly” be interested in holding the sport’s top job one day. Kennedy, who currently serves as the manager of the Camping World Truck Series, was asked Monday by SiriusXM NASCAR Radio host Dave Moody if he would one day aspire to be NASCAR’s chairman and CEO.[More](8-28-2018)
DEKALB joins Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing: DEKALB corn waved the green flag on the annual Farm Progress Show inside its “Fuel Your Yield” tent by announcing a new partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), the championship-winning NASCAR team. The opening day of the nation’s largest outdoor farm event saw the agricultural brand unveil the No. 14 DEKALB Ford Fusion Clint Bowyer will race throughout the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race weekend Oct. 19-21 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.[More](8-28-2018)
Cindric stays true to Ford roots with Darlington throwback scheme:Austin Cindric will honor Ford’s racing heritage by running a scheme matching the first front-engine Mustang GTP this weekend at Darlington. Ford’s front-engine Mustang GTP made its debut in 1983 in an IMSA series event at Road America. Cindric will make his first career start at Darlington Raceway in this No. 60 throwback featuring the Ford Hall of Fans logo on the hood. [More](8-28-2018)
Road America post-race penalty announced: Cole Custer’s team received a lug nut penalty following the race at Road America. There were no other infractions.[More](8-28-2018)
Sieg to race iconic paint scheme at Darlington RSS Racing is pleased to welcome back ionomy as the primary sponsor for #39 car driven by Ryan Sieg for the NASCAR XFINITY race at Darlington this weekend. The #39 will be participating in throwback weekend running the famous Maxwell House paint scheme driven by Bobby Labonte during the 1993 season.[More](8-28-2018)
Chase Elliott to sub for Gallagher at Darlington and Indianapolis:“Due to Spencer Gallagher’s shoulder injury, Chase Elliott will return to the No. 23 Chevrolet beginning this weekend at Darlington Raceway as well next week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As Gallagher continues to work with his doctor back home in Vegas, we do not have an exact time frame of when he will return to the seat.” – Mike Beam President of GMS Racing [GMS Racing](8-28-2018)
Matt Tifft’s Darlington throwback to honor Dave Marcis: In celebration of the NASCAR Throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway, Richard Childress Racing will honor longtime friend and former test driver Dave Marcis. Matt Tifft’s No. 2 Surface Sunscreen Chevrolet Camaro will sport a throwback paint scheme representing Marcis’ 1976 No. 2 Chevrolet during the NASCAR Xfinity race at the track deemed “Too Tough To Tame.” While Marcis only drove an RCR entry once during an October 1995 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at ISM Raceway, he has been a longtime friend to Richard Childress and had a close connection with Dale Earnhardt Sr., often going hunting and fishing with the pair. Marcis also served as RCR’s favorite test driver and had a large part in helping test and set up Earnhardt’s No. 3 Chevrolet that won the 1998 Daytona 500. [More](8-28-2018)
Darlington Raceway partners with Chevrolet to pace the field Sunday night: In another once-in-a-lifetime moment fans will not want to miss, Darlington Raceway and Chevrolet are partnering to have all six generations of the manufacturers legendary Camaro pace the field prior to the green flag for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500 race on Sunday, Sept. 2. Seven different Camaros will take to the high banks of the track Too Tough To Tame driven by NASCAR Hall of Famers and legends of the sport.[More](8-28-2018)
Could NASCAR return to Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville?: It’s a longshot but there remains a possibility that NASCAR racing could someday return to Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville. After failing to win the lease for the city-owned track in 2017, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. remains interested in bringing a national touring event back to the historic downtown track that has hosted motorsports in some capacity since the early 1900s.[More](8-28-2018)
News from August 27, 2018
Entry List for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway is posted, 41 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some of the drivers entered include: #6-Kenseth, #7-Sorenson, #15-Chastain, #23-Gase, #51-McLeod, #52-TBA, #66-Hill, #72-LaJoie, #96-Earnhardt, #99-Cope.
Drivers that need to make the race on time (do not have a charter): #7-Sorenson, #52-TBA, #66-Hill, #96-Earnhardt, #99-Cope.
Driver that would miss the race if qualifying is canceled (lowest in owner points): #52-TBA.
See the full entry list on the Entry List (pdf)
Darlington Goodyear Tire Notes See complete tire information for the race weekend across all series on the Goodyear Tire Notes – Darlington Raceway page.(8-27-2018)
XFINITY Entry List: There are 41 cars on the preliminary entry list for Saturday’s VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway.
See the complete list on the Darlington Raceway entry list page.
Reddick To Drive No. 9 Old Milwaukee Throwback Scheme at Darlington: Reaching back into one of the most interesting eras in modern-day NASCAR racing, Tyler Reddick will wear the colors of Old Milwaukee beer in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway this weekend. The No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet will wear the red and gold livery of the Blue Max Racing team’s 1983-85 Old Milwaukee-sponsored Pontiac LeMans in the race, paying homage to the 22-year-old California driver’s racing hero, Tim Richmond.[More](8-27-2018)
Talladega offering VIP tailgate experience at the Compound: Bring the tent, fire up the grills and relax at Talladega Superspeedway’s VIP Tailgate Experience at The Compound. The gated tailgate area, located just outside the track adjacent to the start-finish line behind Legends Village, will give race fans plenty of prime real estate for a ton of fun at an affordable price during its doubleheader NASCAR Playoff weekend, Oct. 12-14.[More](8-27-2018)
News from August 26, 2018
Justin Haley wins thrilling Truck Playoff race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park:The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series made the annual trip to Canada to open up their 2018 Playoffs at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Despite missing the 2018 Playoffs, Todd Gilliland seemed almost destined to win his first career truck series race Sunday at CTMP. Taking the lead on Lap 53 from Johnny Sauter, it was smooth sailing for Gilliland, until a late race caution set up a thrilling NASCAR Overtime battle with his Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate and Playoff driver Noah Gragson. In similar shades to the move made by Chase Elliott in the 2013 race, the contact sent both Gragson and Gilliland spinning. The ensuing carnage allowed fellow Playoff driver Justin Haley to sneak through the wreckage and win the Chevrolet Silverado 250. [More](8-26-2018)
Haley wins in Canada: #24-Justin Haley was handed the win at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park when Kyle Busch Motorsports teammates #4-Todd Gilliland and #18-Noah Gragson wrecked driving toward the checkered flag. Thw win locked Haley into the next round of the playoffs.
#8-John Hunter Nemechek, #16-Brett Moffitt, #25-Timothy Peters, #88-Matt Crafton, #21-Johnny Sauter, #52-Stewart Friesen, #02-Austin Hill, #18-Gragson, and #12-Alex Tagliani were the remainder of the top-10.
There were five caution flags for 18 laps and eight lead changes among six leaders.
See results on the Canada race results page(8-26-2018)
Canada Truck Series Race Fast Facts:
Justin Haley (P) won the 6th Annual Chevrolet Silverado 250, his second victory in 44 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
This is his second victory and 13th top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in three races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
John Hunter Nemechek(i) (second) posted his third top-10 finish in five races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It is his ninth top-10 finish in 2018.
Brett Moffitt (P) (third) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Todd Gilliland (11th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Johnny Sauter (P) leads the point standings by 6 points over Brett Moffitt (P).
(NASCAR Statistics) (8-26-2018)
Stage Information:
Stage 1 – 20, winner, #18-Noah Gragson
Stage 2 -40, winner, #18-Noah Gragson
Stage 3 – 64, race winner, #24-Justin Haley
Camping World Truck standings following Canada:
1) #21-Johnny Sauter, 2081 [5 wins]
2) #16-Brett Moffitt, 2075, -6, [4 wins]
3) #18-Noah Gragson, 2070, -11 [1 win]
4) #24-Justin Haley, 2065, -16 [2 wins]
5) #88-Matt Crafton, 2047, -34
6) #52-Stewart Friesen, 2047, -34
7) #41-Ben Rhodes, 2046, -35
8) #98-Grant Enfinger, 2035, -46
See complete standings on Driver points standings page and the owner’s standings are posted on the Owner points standings page. (8-26-2018)
Free Pass – Who got a lap back on each caution at Canada: (and their finish)
Caution 1: #12-Tagliani, 10th
Caution 2: #22-Self, 21st
Caution 3: #3-Anderson, 16th
Caution 4: #45-Fontaine, 18th
Caution 5: #6-Benning, 20th
News from August 25, 2018
Justin Allgaier powers to fourth Xfinity win of 2018 at Road America: Continuing to make the most of his banner year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Justin Allgaier took advantage of a mistake by James Davison in the closing laps of the Johnsonville 180 to cruise to his fourth win of the season at the 4.048-mile road course of Road America. Allgaier who used pit strategy throughout the 45-lap event to keep his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro up front elected to stay out when the final caution waved at Lap 38 when Josh Bilicki crashed in Turn 12. But, a push from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell on the Lap 39 restart, Davison grabbed the lead entering Turn 1 from Allgaier – but the Australian made a mistake and overshot the corner in Turn 8 – handing the lead back to Allgaier who then cruised to a 5.303 second victory over Matt Tifft.[More](8-25-2018)
Allgaier wins Road America XFINITY race: #7-Justin Allgaier won the Johnsonville 180 at Road America for his ninth career win and first win at Road America.
#2-Matt Tifft finished second, followed by #21-Daniel Hemric, #00-Cole Custer, #1-Elliott Sadler, #42-Justin Marks, #4-Ross Chastain, #18-James Davison, #19-Brandon Jones, and #90-Andy Lally.
There were 7 cautions for 10 laps and 10 lead changes among 7 leaders.
The average speed was 75.926 mph.
Complete results are on the Road America race results page (pdf).(8-25-2018)
Race stage winners:
Stage 1 – lap 10 – Winner,#2-Matt Tifft
Stage 2 – lap 20 – Winner, #21-Daniel Hemric
Stage 3 – lap 45 – Race winner, #7-Justin Allgaier
Road America XFINITY Race Fast Facts:
Justin Allgaier won the 9th Annual Johnsonville 180, his ninth victory in 263 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
This is his fourth victory and 18th top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his first victory and fourth top-10 finish in seven races at Road America.
Matt Tifft (second) posted his second top-10 finish in two races at Road America. It is his 11th top-10 finish in 2018.
Daniel Hemric (third) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Road America.
Kaz Grala (11th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Justin Allgaier leads the point standings by 5 points over Christopher Bell #.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(8-25-2018)
XFINITY Driver standings following Road America:
(3 races until the playoffs begin)
#7-Justin Allgaier [4 wins, 3 can be used for playoffs]
#20-Christopher Bell [4 wins]
#9-Tyler Reddick [1 win]
#1-Elliott Sadler, 833, -12
#00-Cole Custer, 832, -13
#21-Daniel Hemric, 812, -33
#19-Brandon Jones, 662, -183
#11-Ryan Truex, 638, -207
#2-Matt Tifft, 634, -211
#22-Austin Cindric, 538, -307
#16-Ryan Reed, 535, -310, 73 pts ahead of 13th
#4-Ross Chastain, 511, -334, 49 pts ahead of 13th
outside the top 12:
#5-Michael Annett, 462, -383, -42 pts behind 12th
See complete owner and driver standings on the driver standings(pdf) and owner standings page (pdf).(8-25-2018)
Free Pass – Who got a lap back on each caution: (and their finish)
Caution 1: none
Caution 2: none
Caution 3: #66-Long, 32nd
Caution 4: #66-Long, 32nd
Caution 5: #38-Henderson, 18th
Caution 6: #45-Bilicki, 30th
Caution 7: #01-Miller, 27th
(8-25-2018)
Tifft on XFINITY pole at Road America: #2-Matt Tifft won the Busch pole for the Johnsonville 180 at Road America with a speed of 109.307mph. #00-Cole Custer will start second. The rest of the top 10:
#18-James Davison, #42-Justin Marks, #20-Christoper Bell, #3-Brendan Gaughan, #11-Ryan Truex, #22-Austin Cindric, #19-Brandon Jones, and #16-Ryan Reed.
Did Not Qualify: None.
The starting lineup is posted on the Road America starting lineup page (pdf).(8-25-2018)
Road America XFINITY Qualifying Notes:
Matt Tifft won the Pole Award for the 9th Annual Johnsonville 180 with a lap of 133.320 seconds, 109.307 mph.
This is his second pole in 67 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
This is his first pole and ninth top-10 start in 2018.
This is his first pole in two races at Road America.
Cole Custer (second) posted his 18th top-10 start of 2018 and his first in two races at Road America.
James Davison (third) posted his second top-10 start at Road America. It is his first this season.
Christopher Bell (fifth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(8-25-2018)
Rhodes on Truck pole at Canada: #41-Ben Rhodes won the pole for Sunday afternoon’s Camping World Truck Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park with a speed at 90.465mph. #18-Noah Gragson, #13-Myatt Snider, #88-Matt Crafton, #25-Timothy Peters, #21-Johnny Sauter, #8-John Hunter Nemechek, #24-Justin Haley, #02-Austin Hill and #12-Alex Tagliani were the top-10.
Did not qualify: none
The starting lineup is posted on the Canada starting lineup page(8-25-2018)
Canada Qualifying Fast Facts:
Ben Rhodes (P) won the Pole Award for the 6th Annual Chevrolet Silverado 250 with a lap of 90.465 seconds, 97.854 mph.
This is his fifth pole in 67 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
This is his third pole and 10th top-10 start in 2018.
This is his first pole in three races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Noah Gragson (P) (second) posted his 14th top-10 start of 2018 and his second in two races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Myatt Snider (third) posted his first top-10 start at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It is his fifth in 17 races this season.
Myatt Snider (third) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(8-26-2018)
Haley fastest in final Canada Truck practice: #24-Justin Haley was fastest in the second Camping World Truck Series practice for Sunday’s race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, with a speed at110.467 mph. #4-Todd Gilliland, #8-John Hunter Nemechek, #16-Brett Moffitt, #52-Stewart Friesen, #98-Grant Enfinger, #18-Noah Gragson, #21-Johnny Sauter, #88-Matt Crafton, and #02-Austin Hill. See complete results on the Practice 2 speeds (pdf)(8-25-2018)
Gragson fastest in Canada Truck practice: #18-Noah Gragson was fastest in the opening Truck Series practice for the Chevrolet Silverado 250, with a speed at 109.852mph. #88-Matt Crafton followed, with #4-Todd Gilliland, #8-John Hunter Nemechek, #41-Ben Rhodes, #51-Harrison Burton, #16-Brett Moffitt, #52-Stewart Friesen, #25-Timothy Peters, and #24-Justin Haley closing out the remainder of the top-10. See complete results on the Practice 1 speeds (pdf)(8-26-2018)
Ryan Blaney, Corey LaJoie scheduled to appear at The Smokehouse at Dover: Ryan Blaney, who clinched a berth in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs last week, will appear at The Smokehouse, benefiting the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, on Oct. 7 before the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Dover International Speedway. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Corey LaJoie will also make an appearance at The Smokehouse.[More](8-25-2018)
News from August 24, 2018
Furniture Row to sell to GMS Racing? UPDATE: Furniture Row Racing is discussing a possible deal with NASCAR Xfinity/Truck series team GMS Racing that, if completed, would see FRR Owner Barney Visser sell FRR’s assets to GMS.(8-23-2018)
UPDATE: Furniture Row Racing met with team principals from GMS Racing on Tuesday in Denver, but neither party expects a deal between the two organizations to materialize. The defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship team’s intention is to remain on its current course.[More](8-24-2018)
‘Fusion,’ powered by GD2 Global, joins Ragan at Darlington: Front Row Motorsports and David Ragan will have a new partner joining them for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. ‘Fusion,’ powered by GD2 Global, will be an associate sponsor on board Ragan’s Dale Jarrett-inspired No. 38 CITGARD 700 Ford. GD2 provides innovative technology services and solutions to support event planning and operational delivery at premier sporting events all around the world. [More](8-24-2018)
Jeffrey Earnhardt’s Darlington throwback to honor his grandfather:The scheme is patterned off Dale Earnhardt, Sr.’s 1978 Cardinal Tractor Ford.[More](8-24-2018)
Austin Dillon to drive second car for Kaulig Racing at Indianapolis:Amid a career-best NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) season, Kaulig Racing will join forces with 2018 Daytona 500 Champion Austin Dillon for the Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Dillon is scheduled to drive the No. 10 Phone Skope/Berry’s Bullets Chevrolet alongside the team’s No. 11 entry. This will be the first time in Kaulig Racing’s history that the small team will field a second car.[More](8-24-2018)
Marks paces final XFINITY practice: #42-Justin Marks was quickest in final practice at Road America with a speed of 109.603mph.
#18-James Davison was second, followed by: #22-Austin Cindric, #7-Justin Allgaier, #2-Matt Tifft, #00-Cole Custer, #90-Andy Lally, #1-Elliott Sadler, #21-Daniel Hemric, and #20-Christopher Bell.
See complete results on the Road America practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(8-24-2018)
Reddick fastest in opening XFINITY practice: #9-Tyler Reddick was fastest during opening practice at Road America with a speed of 92.070mph.
#6-Conor Daly was the only other driver to get on track. He did not complete a full lap.
It rained at the track just before the start of practice. With the forecast looking dry for the afternoon and for the race tomorrow, most teams saw no benefit of getting on track and sat out the session.
See complete results on the Road America practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(8-24-2018)
Rain tires approved for use on Charlotte ROVAL: If the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL gets wet during the Bank of America ROVAL 400, the action on the track is sure to get wild. Goodyear will make wet weather tires available for the first road course race weekend in the history of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, a move designed to keep cars on track in the event of inclement weather at America’s Home for Racing.[More](8-24-2018)
Rocky ROVAL ice cream, Redneck ROVAL burger rev up refreshments at Charlotte : Charlotte Motor Speedway’s inaugural race on the new 2.28-mile, 17-turn ROVAL™ will ignite fans’ senses as the world’s best drivers tackle the track for the most anticipated race of the season. The newest race on NASCAR’s schedule will also feature savory delights only found at America’s Home for Racing. Charlotte Motor Speedway will debut Rocky ROVAL™ Ice Cream and the Redneck ROVAL™ Burger during the Bank of America ROVAL™ 400 race weekend Sept. 28-30.[More](8-24-2018)
News from August 23, 2018
A.J. Allmendinger’s Darlington throwback will JTG Daugherty’s racing roots: AJ Allmendinger and the No. 47 Kroger ClickList team are throwing it back to their roots at Darlington Raceway for NASCAR Throwback, honoring driver Robert Pressley’s 1998 car. Allmendinger’s paint scheme pays tribute to the No. 59 car driven by Pressley for JTG Daugherty Racing in the 1998 NASCAR Busch Series (NASCAR XFINITY Series today). Pressley drove the red white and blue No. 59 Kingsford Match Light car for 18 races in that year with six top-10 finishes and two pole awards (Hickory Speedway and Auto Club Speedway).[More](8-23-2018)
Furniture Row to sell to GMS Racing? Furniture Row Racing is discussing a possible deal with NASCAR Xfinity/Truck series team GMS Racing that, if completed, would see FRR Owner Barney Visser sell FRR’s assets to GMS.[More](8-23-2018)
Front Row Motorsports’ purchase of BK Racing approved: Front Row Motorsports is now a three-car team but the driver, car number and car manufacturer it will field as its third entry at Darlington Raceway next week is still to be determined. U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge J. Craig Whitley approved the sale of the BK Racing charter and most of the assets for $2.08 million Thursday afternoon. The sale is expected to close Thursday afternoon.[More](8-23-2018)
NASCAR announces 2019 changes for XFINITY, Trucks: NASCAR announced several rules for the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series aimed at strengthening both the competition on the race track and the identity of each series. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a maximum starting field will be 38 cars starting in 2019. As part of the restructure, NASCAR will reallocate the purse money previously awarded to the 39th- and 40th-place finishers to the rest of the field.[More](8-23-2018)
Bristol TV ratings UPDATE: NBCSN earned a 1.4 overnight rating for Saturday night’s Bass Pro NRA Night Race.(8-20-2018)
UPDATE: Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Night Race earned a 1.4 rating and 2.33 million viewers on NBCSN, down 39% in ratings and viewership from last year on the NBC broadcast network (2.3. 3.82M) and down a third and 36% respectively from 2015, the last time it aired as scheduled on NBCSN (2.1, 3.61M).[More](8-23-2018)
Road America and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Weekend Preview: It may as well be billed as an “awesome” weekend. NASCAR’s Xfinity Series race Saturday on the famed Road America road course will include a current NASCAR Hall of Famer on its grid for the first time ever, popular driver Bill Elliott, who was nicknamed “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville” during his championship time competing in NASCAR during the 1980s, 90s and 2000s. The 1988 Cup champion will steer the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet in Saturday’s Johnsonville 180 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), making his first start in one of NASCAR’s national series in six years and first start in the Xfinity Series since 2005. His only Xfinity Series win came on a road course – at Watkins Glen, N.Y. in 1993.[More](8-23-2018)
News from August 22, 2018
NASCAR National Series News & Notes – Road America & Canadian Tire Motorsport Park: A look at many news, notes and story lines for all three NASCAR national series.[More](8-22-2018)
Eternal Fan partners with Gase, StarCom to kick off Fan Memories program at Richmond: StarCom Racing partners with Eternal Fan™ and Joey Gase for the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway on September 22, where Gase will pilot the team’s Chevy 00 and Eternal Fan will launch its Fan Memories program. This partnership serves to let the great fans of Richmond leave their legacy at their beloved race track, either in the Eternal Fan Pedestrian Tunnel or the Eternal Fan Racing Piston.[More](8-22-2018)
CorvetteParts.net to run special Halloween scheme featuring Snoopy at Martinsville: CorvetteParts.net, a one-stop shop for everything Corvettes, will be running a special Halloween-themed Peanuts paint scheme in the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway this October. The race will run October 28th, just three days before Halloween.[More](8-22-2018)
Bristol post-race penalties announced: XFINITY and Truck Series teams had lug nut violations, and safety infractions. Penalties vary from fines to suspensions.[More](8-22-2018)
Majeski takes a special guest to Road America: Ty Majeski heads to his home state of Wisconsin with a special name across the passenger side of his No. 60 Lilly Diabetes Ford for the NASCAR Xfinity race at Road America. Majeski’s Grandfather, Dave Romberg, will be riding along with him at Road America. Romberg has played a special role in Majeski’s life and racing career and he has a special tie to the car this weekend that extends beyond his name on the door. Ty’s Grandfather has type 2 diabetes and is one of the over 30 million people in the US living with diabetes.[More](8-22-2018)
Sargeant out of the #25 at GMS: Spencer Gallagher will serve as the fill-in driver of the No. 25 Chevrolet entry beginning this weekend in Canada.[More](8-22-2018)
Richmond Raceway Welcomes M&M’S Neighborhood to the DC Solar FanGrounds: Richmond Raceway and Mars, Incorporated announce a multiyear partnership for exclusive naming rights to the M&M’S Neighborhood in the DC Solar FanGrounds as part of Richmond Raceway Reimagined (Reimagined), the track’s $30 million infield redevelopment project. The new neighborhood will bring the fun M&M’s experience to the modernized infield at Richmond. [More](8-22-2018)
News from August 21, 2018
Germain Racing honor 10 years of partnership with GEICO Germain Racing and primary partner GEICO first raced together in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) in 2009. The 2018 season marks 10 years of their partnership in the series. To celebrate the milestone, Ty Dillon will head to Darlington Raceway carrying the paint scheme that Germain Racing and GEICO debuted in their inaugural Cup season.[More](8-21-2018)
Bid by Front Row earns most of BK Racing’s assets: While disappointed that the BK Racing assets commanded only $2.38 million, the trustee of the team is looking to sell to winning bidder Front Row Motorsports. Front Row submitted the winning bid of $2.08 million on Monday for the charter, most of the assets and titled vehicles. GMS Racing, which had bid $1.8 million, didn’t attempt to match Front Row’s bid.[More](8-21-2018)
Oscar Mayer teams up with Roush Fenway at Darlington: Oscar Mayer continues to go to great heights and great lengths to feed people’s love of meat. And now, Oscar Mayer is going to new speeds-becoming the official primary sponsor of Matt Kenseth’s No. 6 Roush Fenway Ford Fusion at the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, September 2.[More](8-21-2018)
For some, a win is only way to postseason glory as NASCAR’s Playoffs approach: A former multi-time winner at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch is well-experienced in hoisting trophies at the famed short track, but Saturday’s victory there is his first win this season – and first since his 2017 Daytona 500 win. Now three times in the last seven races, “new” winners have assured themselves Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff berths – from Busch to career first-time winners Erik Jones in the Daytona night race and Chase Elliott at Watkins Glen, N.Y.[More](8-21-2018)
See tire codes, pressures, set limits and more for all races at Road America on the Road America Goodyear tire notes page.
XFINITY Entry List: There are 41 cars on the preliminary entry list for Saturday’s Johnsonville 180 at Road America.
See the complete list on the Road America entry list page.
Josh Bilicki heads to home race with high expectations and long list of Wisconsin sponsors: Josh Bilicki heads to his home race, Road America, with high expectations and a long list of Wisoncins based sponsors. The 23-year-old Wisconsin native is looking to improve on his 12th place finish at the 2017 Johnsonville 180. Bilicki’s unique journey into NASCAR began in 2016 at Road America, after contacting Obaika Racing and securing a seat just a few days before the race weekend. He would qualify an impressive 23rd, with just five prior laps in a NASCAR Xfinity Series car. Since his first NASCAR start in 2016, Bilicki has raced three NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races and has signed a full season NASCAR Xfinity Series contract with the newly formed JP Motorsports[More](8-21-2018)
Truck Series entry list:There are 31 trucks entered for Sunday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250. See the complete list on the Canada entry list page (pdf).(8-21-2018)
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs Media Day Notebook: Will lifestyle change pay off with a title for Noah Gragson? Brett Moffitt is a case study of doing a lot with a little; First round of the Playoffs is a great unknown.[More](8-21-2018)
Lt. Jesse Iwuji to make first national series start in Canada: Lt. Iwuji, still an active member of the U.S. Navy Reserves and a graduate of the Naval Academy, will pilot the #34 Reaume Brothers Racing entry.[More](8-21-2018)
Sperber leaving ISM (Phoenix) Raceway: Bryan Sperber’s last act as president of ISM Raceway could be to figuratively spike the ball in Gatorade Victory Lane after the Nov. 11 Can-Am 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. It turns out that celebration will include not only the race winner but the end of Sperber’s 16-year tenure at the former Phoenix International Raceway and completion of a $178 million transformation that many believe will make it the second-nicest track in the country with modern amenities and facilities for fans, sponsors and competitors.[More](8-21-2018)
SkyDeck to bring VIP experience, breathtaking views to Martinsville Speedway: Featuring a panoramic view of the racing action below, casual seating and live music, Martinsville Speedway’s SkyDeck will bring a new feel to NASCAR’s oldest track. The latest fan experience at the Half Mile of Mayhem offers one of the best views in all of racing, atop the suites in turns one and two, along with grandstand tickets, food, drink and pre-race live music.[More](8-21-2018)
News from August 20, 2018
FedEx to honor Hamlin’s racing roots with Darlington throwback:Denny Hamlin’s special #11 FedEx Toyota paint scheme for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway is a throwback to Hamlin’s first-ever race car, a Mini Stock that he drove in 1997 at Langley Speedway and Southside Speedway in Virginia. Hamlin won both track championships that year, and was named the NASCAR Mini Stock Rookie of the Year.[More](8-20-2018)
Bristol TV ratings: NBCSN earned a 1.4 overnight rating for Saturday night’s Bass Pro NRA Night Race.[More](8-20-2018)
DJ Kennington returning to Premium Motorsports for Phoenix Cup race: Premium Motorsports proudly welcomes DJ Kennington back to the team for 2 upcoming NASCAR races. He is set to drive the #49 Chevy Silverado at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ‘Chevrolet Silverado 250’ on Sunday, August 26, 2018. Kennington will also compete for the team later this year in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at ISM Raceway in Phoenix AZ.[More](8-20-2018)
James Davison to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing at Road America: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announces, Melbourne, Australia native James Davison will be behind the wheel of the No. 18 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Toyota Camry for the Johnsonville 180 at Road America.[More](8-20-2018)
News from August 19, 2018
Bristol TV commercial breakdown: For those of you NASCAR fans that like stats and love to hate commercials, here is the breakdown for Saturday’s race. Began recording the times at the Invocation of the race at 6:30 PM, and stopped at the waving of the checkered flag at 9:48 PM (all times are EDT). Did not keep records for the pre- and post-race coverage. NBCSN was the broadcast team for this event.[More](8-19-2018)
Charlotte reveals Bank of America ROVAL 400 trophy: A striking, three-foot-tall trophy made of acrylic and metal and featuring iconic images known to Charlotte residents and racing fans alike will await the winner of the inaugural Sept. 30 Bank of America ROVAL™ 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Speedway officials revealed the Stephen Gould-designed trophy at a press event at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday.[More](8-19-2018)
Sammy Hagar and The Circle headlining Rock the ROVAL party: The speed limit is 55 miles per hour on Bruton Smith Boulevard, but Charlotte Motor Speedway has the answer for those who can’t drive 55. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Sammy Hagar and his supergroup, The Circle, will rock the ROVAL™ with a spectacular Saturday-night concert on pit road prior to the Sept. 30 Bank of America ROVAL™ 400. The Grammy Award-winning Hagar will thrill a captivated crowd of race fans the night before the first road course race weekend in the history of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.[More](8-19-2018)
News from August 18, 2018
Late restarts propel Kurt Busch to victory in wild Bristol race : “Old guys rule!” screamed 40-year-old Kurt Busch after he took the checkered flag in an action-filled Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race on Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch’s first victory since the 2017 Daytona 500 overshadowed a miraculous drive by brother Kyle Busch, whose car came back to life after a Lap 2 wreck like a relentless horror movie villain. Starting on the inside lane, Busch grabbed the lead from Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer on a Lap 478 restart, after Brad Keselowski’s flat-tire-induced spin caused the sixth caution of the night.[More](8-18-2018)
Kurt Busch won the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The win is his1st win of 2018, 6th win at Bristol and 30th career win.
Pole winner, #42-Larson finished 2nd followed by #9-Elliott, #22-Logano, #20-Jones, #14-Bowyer, #12-Blaney, #88-Bowman, #48-Johnson, and #4-Harvick.
Stage 1 was won by #12-Blaney, finished 7th.
Stage 2 was won by #22-Logano, finished 4th.
There were 19 lead changes among 9 drivers and 9 cautions for 70 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 89.538mph.
See unofficial race results, awards, laps led, cautions and more at:
Unofficial Race Results (pdf)
Cumulative Report (pdf)
Penalty Report (pdf)
Race Fast Facts – Bristol
Kurt Busch won the 58th Annual Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, his 30th victory in 636 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and 15th top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his sixth victory and 18th top-10 finish in 36 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Kyle Larson (second) posted his sixth top-10 finish in ten races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his 13th top-10 finish in 2018.
Chase Elliott (third) posted his third top-10 finish in six races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
William Byron (23rd) was the highest finishing rookie.
Kyle Busch leads the point standings by 43 points over Kevin Harvick.
(NASCAR Integrated Sports Marketing)(8-18-2018)
2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Driver Playoff Standings:
[after Bristol, race 24 of 36] – 2 races left until the playoffs.
The following drivers have clinched a playoff spot:
#18-Kyle Busch [6 wins], 1003
#4-Kevin Harvick [7 wins – 6 can be used for playoffs], 960
#78-Martin Truex Jr. [4 wins], 849
#41-Kurt Busch [1 win], 796
#14-Clint Bowyer [2 wins], 776
#22-Joey Logano [1 win], 768
#9-Chase Elliott [1 win], 697
#20-Erik Jones [1 win], 635
#3-Austin Dillon [1 win], 475
#12-Ryan Blaney, 733, -270
#2-Brad Keselowski, 730, -273
#42-Kyle Larson, 729, -274
The following drivers have not clinched a playoff spot:
#11-Denny Hamlin, 707, -296, +214 pts ahead of 17th
#10-Aric Almirola, 658, -345, +135
#48-Jimmie Johnson, 604, -399, +111
#88-Alex Bowman, 573, -341, +79
Outside the top 16:
#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 493, -510, -79 pts behind 16th
#31-Ryan Newman, 481, -522, -91
#19-Daniel Suarez, 479, -524, -93
#21-Paul Menard, 473, -530, -99
See the Unofficial Drivers Points Standings page (pdf) and Unofficial Owners Points Standings page (pdf)
Top-Ten Stage 2 Results (lap 250) of the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway (lap 250/500):
#22-Logano, 10pts, 1 playoff point
#9-Elliott, 9pts
#42-Larson, 8pts
#10-Almirola, 7pts
#12-Blaney, 6pts
#14-Bowyer, 5pts
#20-Jones, 4pts
#48-Johnson, 3pts
#41-Busch, 2pts
#88-Bowman, 1pt
Top-Ten Stage 1 Results (lap 125) of the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway (lap 125/500):
#12-Blaney, 10pts, 1 playoff point
#4-Harvick, 9pts
#14-Bowyer, 8pts
#9-Elliott, 7pts
#10-Almirola, 6pts
#42-Larson, 5pts
#41-Busch, 4pts
#20-Jones, 3pts
#22-Logano, 2pts
#8-Bayne, 1pt
Lucky Dogs, drivers that got a lap back during the cautions (and their finish):
Caution 1: None, no one a lap or more down.
Caution 2: #31-Newman,12th
Caution 3: #78-Truex, Jr., 30th
Caution 4: None. #38-Ragan caused the caution.
Caution 5: #18-Busch, 20th
Caution 6: #2-Keselowski, 16th
Caution 7: #2-Keselowski (2), 16th
Caution 8: #88-Bowman, 8th
Caution 9: #95-Kahne, 15th
Saturday Bristol Notebook: Kyle Larson sees a future full of “Kyle, Kyle and Chris” shows; Roush Fenway’s No. 60 car trying to outlive apparent “curse”; Martin Truex Jr. expects to have 2019 plans in focus soon.[More](8-18-2018)
XFINITY, Truck drivers to test Homestead: On Tuesday, August 21 and Wednesday, August 22, three NASCAR XFINITY series teams and one NASCAR Camping World Truck series team are slated to run testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The track will open up the grandstands for public viewing from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. during the testing sessions. Admission to the testing is free, and fans may park in the parking lot on SW 336th Street, directly across from Gate 4.[More](8-18-2018)
Trucks hit high mark with Bristol ratings: Thursday’s Truck Series race from Bristol scored more than 1,000,000 viewers in the series’ first race scheduled for broadcast TV in primetime. [More](8-18-2018)
News from August 17, 2018
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway have been made.
With 40 cars running, pit stalls 21,22,43 are not in use.
Pole winner #42-Kyle Larson chose pit stall 1, the first stall available [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole winner #9-Chase Elliott took pit stall 23 with an opening in front of it.
#18-Kyle Busch, who starts 3rd, took the 32 stal.
The final pit stall was taken by #4-Kevin Harvick, who starts 4th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on Jayski.com’s Pit Stall Selection chart.(8-17-2018)
Friday Bristol Notebook: Austin Dillon’s performance at Michigan was no fluke; Kasey Kahne discusses reasons for retirement from full-time racing; Christopher Bell is focusing on the present tense-for now [More](8-17-2018)
With sponsorship an issue, Martin Truex Jr. could switch teams for 2019: Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. wouldn’t rule out moving to a new team for 2019 as Furniture Row Racing continues to look for sponsorship. When asked Friday what percentage he put on his chances to remain with the team, Truex was noncommittal.[More](8-17-2018)
Kahne passed on discussions with Stewart Haas: Kahne declined an opportunity to talk to SHR about moving to the #41 Ford.[More](8-17-2018)
Kyle Larson prevails in closely contested Bristol qualifying: Kyle Larson, a close second to Kyle Busch in the 2018 spring race at Bristol Motor Speedway, took the first step toward avenging that loss-and a handful of others-with a pole-winning effort in Friday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series knockout qualifying session at the .533-mile short track. In the final round, Larson covered the distance in 15.015 seconds (127.792 mph) to complete a sweep of the three rounds in the session. [More](8-17-2018)
#42-Larson won the Busch pole for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway with speed of 127.792mph for his third pole of 2018, first at Bristol and seventh of his career. Larson has won two times from the seven previous poles.
#9-Elliott will start 2nd followed by #18-Busch, #21-Menard, #24-Byron, #4-Harvick, #11-Hamlin, #10-Almirola, #41-Busch and #12-Blaney.
#42-Larson was fastest in the second round with a speed of 127.631 mph.
#42-Larson was quickest in the first round with a speed of 127.946 mph.
Driver(s) who will miss the race: #52-McLeod
See round-by-round qualifying results on the Qualifying results page (pdf) and the complete starting lineup on the Starting Lineup page (pdf).(8-17-2018)
Bristol Motor Speedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Kyle Larson won the Busch Pole Award Pole Award for the 58th Annual Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race with a lap of 15.015 seconds, 127.792 mph.
This is his seventh pole in 171 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races.
This is his third pole and 12th top-10 start in 2018.
This is his first pole in ten races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Chase Elliott (second) posted his 13th top-10 start of 2018 and his fourth in six races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Kyle Busch (third) posted his 11th top-10 start at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his 17th in 24 races this season.
William Byron (fifth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(8-17-2018)
Second Round of Qualifying for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is over, after 10 scheduled minutes.
#42-Larson 127.631
#21-Menard 127.123
#18-Busch 126.972
#2-Keselowski 126.863
#11-Hamlin 126.813
the rest of the top 12: 9 41 4 12 24 10 17
out of the top 12 and not advancing to round 3: 48 20 38 14 78 3 22 1 19 88 6 31
(8-17-2018)
First Round of Qualifying for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is over, after 15 scheduled minutes.
#42-Larson 127.946
#9-Elliott 127.098
#12-Blaney 126.955
#17-Stenhouse 126.854
#19-Suarez 126.821
the rest of the top 24: 48 20 1 11 6 10 41 24 18 4 88 22 14 38 78 21 2 31 3
out of the top 24 and not advancing to round 2: 47 95 43 37 32 72 34 13 96 7 15 51 66 99 00 23 52
Drivers who will miss the race: #52-McLeod
(8-17-2018)
Qualifying Order for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is posted.
The first driver to be lined up on pit road will be #9-Chase Elliott.
The final driver lined up on pit road will be #15-Ross Chastain.
The order is set by a random draw, how cars park on pit road before they qualify, held about an hour before the first practice.
After the first round, the cars lined up by speed.
For the qualifying order, see the Qualifying Order page (pdf).(8-17-2018)
Happy Hour (final) practice for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is over, after 70 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#18 Busch 126.729
#78-Truex 126.312
#10-Almirola 126.287
#17-Stenhouse 126.154
#4-Harvick 125.914
best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 32 drivers): #42-Larson 123.684
slowest: #99-Gaulding 120.195
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Happy Hour Practice speeds page (pdf) (8-17-2018)
First practice for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is over, after 80 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
#9-Elliott 126.645
#42-Larson 126.312
#88-Bowman 126.295
#20 Jones 126.187
#12-Blaney 126.146
most laps run: #96-Little 72
best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 25 drivers): #78-Truex 123.290
slowest: #51-Sorenson 119.843
notes: The opening 15 minutes the track was quiet with teams only practicing pit road runs.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Friday Practice speeds (pdf) (8-17-2018)
Kyle Larson gets first Bristol victory in NASCAR Xfinity Series race:Kyle Larson had to go 10 extra laps on Friday night, but the payoff was worth it. Holding off a determined Justin Allgaier in overtime, Larson won the Food City 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, collecting his first victory at the .533-mile high-banked concrete short track. [More](8-17-2018)
Larson wins Bristol Motor Speedway XFINITY race: #42-Kyle Larson won the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway for his 12th career win and first win at Bristol.
#20-Christopher Bell finished second, followed by #7-Justin Allgaier, #00-Cole Custer, #22-Joey Logano, #1-Elliott Sadler, #5-Michael Annett, #23-Chase Elliott, #9-Tyler Reddick and #2-Matt Tifft.
There were 8 cautions for 59 laps and 12 lead changes among 7 leaders.
The average speed was 82.306mph.
Complete results are on the Bristol race results page (pdf).(8-17-2018)
Race stage winners:
Stage 1 – lap 85 – Winner, #42-Kyle Larson
Stage 2 – lap 170 – Winner, #42-Kyle Larson
Stage 3 – lap 300 – Race winner, #42-Kyle Larson
Bristol XFINITY Race Fast Facts:
Kyle Larson(i) won the 37th Annual Food City 300, his 12th victory in 108 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his fourth victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his first victory and eighth top-10 finish in nine races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Christopher Bell (second) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his 14th top-10 finish in 2018.
Justin Allgaier (third) posted his 10th top-10 finish in 16 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Christopher Bell (second) was the highest finishing rookie.
Christopher Bell # leads the point standings by 13 points overJustin Allgaier.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(8-17-2018)
XFINITY Driver standings following Bristol:
(4 races until the playoffs begin)
#20-Christopher Bell [4 wins]
#7-Justin Allgaier [3 wins, 2 can be used for playoffs]
#9-Tyler Reddick [1 win]
#1-Elliott Sadler, 793, -17
#00-Cole Custer, 791, -19
#21-Daniel Hemric, 768, -42
#19-Brandon Jones, 634, -176
#11-Ryan Truex, 618, -192
#22-Austin Cindric, 582, -228
#2-Matt Tifft, 580, -230
#16-Ryan Reed, 534, -276, 77 pts ahead of 13th
#4-Ross Chastain, 479, -331, 42 pts ahead of 13th
outside the top 12:
#5-Michael Annett, 437, -373, -42 pts behind 12th
See complete owner and driver standings on the driver standings(pdf) and owner standings page (pdf).(8-17-2018)
Free Pass – Who got a lap back on each caution: (and their finish)
Caution 1: #11-Truex, 22nd
Caution 2: #5-Annett, 7th
Caution 3: #51-Clements, 13th
Caution 4: #51-Clements, 13th
Caution 5: #12-Cindric, 14th
Caution 6: #36-Labbe, 23rd
Caution 7: #5-Annett, 7th
Caution 8: #4-Chastain, 12th
(8-17-2018)
Busch on XFINITY pole at Bristol: #18-Kyle Busch won the Busch pole for the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway with a speed of 124.686mph. #20-Christopher Bell will start second. The rest of the top 10: #42-Kyle Larson, #22-Joey Logano, #2-Matt Tifft, #1-Elliott Sadler, #19-Elliott Sadler, #19-Brandon Jones, #3-Ty Dillon, #00-Cole Custer and #7-Justin Allgaier.
Did Not Qualify: None.
The starting lineup is posted on the Bristol starting lineup page (pdf).(8-17-2018)
Bristol Motor Speedway XFINITY Qualifying Notes:
Kyle Busch(i) won the Pole Award for the 37th Annual Food City 300 with a lap of 15.389 seconds, 124.686 mph.
This is his 65th pole in 345 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his first pole and seventh top-10 start in 2018.
This is his sixth pole in 26 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Christopher Bell (second) posted his 14th top-10 start of 2018 and his second in two races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Kyle Larson(i) (third) posted his eighth top-10 start at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his sixth in six races this season.
Christopher Bell (second) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(8-17-2018)
News from August 16, 2018
Bristol Motor Speedway Weekend Preview: Kyle Busch has dominated at Bristol; Trucks crown a regular season champion[More](8-16-2018)
Monarch Token joins Rick Ware Racing at Bristol: Rick Ware Racing (RWR) announced that Monarch Token, the world’s dominant cryptocurrency wallet has partnered with Trading View to support Rick Ware Racing’s No. 51 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.[More](8-16-2018)
Bush’s Beans extends sponsorship of JTG Daugherty Racing: As one of the longest standing partners with JTG Daugherty Racing, BUSH’S Beans has signed a multi-year partnership renewal with the race team as a primary partner on the No. 37 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and an associate partner on both the No. 37 and the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.[More](8-16-2018)
Kahne to step away from full-time competition: Kahne pens an open letter, says he wants to spend more time with his son and running his sprint car team.[More](8-16-2018)
Bell paces final XFINITY practice: #20-Christopher Bell was quickest in final practice at Bristol Motor Speedway with a speed of 122.976mph.
#42-Kyle Larson was second, followed by: #18-Kyle Busch, #19-Brandon Jones, #21-Daniel Hemric, #23-Chase Elliott, #00-Cole Custer, #7-Justin Allgaier, #22-Joey Logano, and #9-Tyler Reddick.
See complete results on the Bristol practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(8-16-2018)
Kaulig Racing to run second car at Indianapolis: Kaulig Racing will field a second entry for the first time in its three-year history in the Sept. 8 Xfinity race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, team owner Matt Kaulig told NBC Sports. The entry, the No. 10 Chevrolet, will join the No. 11 that is driven by Ryan Truex. The No. 10 will be driven by a “big driver.”[More](8-16-2018)
Larson fastest in opening XFINITY practice: #42-Kyle Larson was fastest during opening practice at Bristol Motor Speedway with a speed of 124.259mph.
The rest of the top 10: #18-Kyle Busch, #20-Christopher Bell, #22-Joey Logano, #21-Daniel Hemric, #23-Chase Elliott, #1-Elliott Sadler, #00-Cole Custer, #12-Austin Cindric, and #7-Justin Allgaier.
See complete results on the Bristol practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(8-16-2018)
Crew Member Suspension NASCAR announced Wednesday that Adam Nelson has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of the Substance Abuse Policy. Nelson was listed as a crew member for the #36 DGM Racing team earlier in the year.(8-16-2018)
Johnny Sauter wins at Bristol, clinches regular-season title: Passing John Hunter Nemecheck for the lead on Lap 196 of 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Johnny Sauter picked up his series-best fifth victory of the season, along with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season championship, but fellow two-time champion Matt Crafton wasn’t about to begrudge Sauter his success. Thanks to Sauter’s win, Crafton grabbed the eighth and final spot in the NCWTS Playoff on points. Also advancing to the Playoff in Thursday night’s UNOH 200 were race runner-up Stewart Friesen and Grant Enfinger, who clinched the sixth Playoff berth when he took the green flag to start the race. Those three join race winners Sauter, Brett Moffitt, Noah Gragson, Ben Rhodes and Justin Haley in the NCWTS postseason, which starts Aug. 26 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. [More](8-16-2018)
Sauter wins Bristol: #21-Johnny Sauter won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday night, holding off a hungry #52-Stewart Friesen. Sauter was second but with just a handful of laps remaining in the UNOH 200, then-leader #8-John Hunter Nemechek slowed, giving Sauter the position. He picked up two trophies when it was said and done; one for the race win, and the other for claiming the regular season championship.
Nemechek finished third. #75-Parker Kligerman, #4-Todd Gilliland, #24-Justin Haley, #41-Ben Rhodes, #88-Matt Crafton, #18-Noah Gragson, and #98-Grant Enfinger were the remainder of the top-10.
There were five caution flags for 38 laps and six lead changes among four leaders.
See results on the Bristol race results page(8-16-2018)
Bristol Truck Series Race Fast Facts:
Johnny Sauter won the 21st Annual UNOH 200, his 22nd victory in 237 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
This is his fifth victory and 13th top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his first victory and seventh top-10 finish in 11 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Stewart Friesen (second) posted his first top-10 finish in three races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his 11th top-10 finish in 2018.
John Hunter Nemechek(i) (third) posted his fifth top-10 finish in five races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Todd Gilliland (fifth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Johnny Sauter leads the point standings by 84 points over Noah Gragson.
(NASCAR Statistics) (8-16-2018)
Stage Information:
Stage 1 – 55, winner, #8-John Hunter Nemechek
Stage 2 – 110, winner, #8-John Hunter Nemechek
Stage 3 – 200, race winner, #21-Johnny Sauter
Camping World Truck standings following Bristol:
1) #21-Johnny Sauter, 2042 [5 wins]
2) #16-Brett Moffitt, 2027, -15, [4 wins]
3) #18-Noah Gragson, 2022, -20 [1 win]
4) #41-Ben Rhodes,2014, -28 [1 win]
5) #52-Stewart Friesen, 2012, -30
6) #98-Grant Enfinger, 2011, -31
7) #24-Justin Haley, 2009, -33 [1 win]
8) #88-Matt Crafton, 2003, -39
See complete standings on Driver points standings page and the owner’s standings are posted on the Owner points standings page. (8-16-2018)
Free Pass – Who got a lap back on each caution at Bristol: (and their finish)
Caution 1: none
Caution 2: none
Caution 3: #45-Fontaine, 31st
Caution 4: #68-Greenfield, 20th
Caution 5: #22-Self, 13th
(8-16-2018)
Bell on Truck pole at Bristol: #51-Christopher Bell won the pole for Thursday’s Camping World Truck Series at Bristol Motor Speedway with a speed at 125.839mph. Bell wasn’t originally scheduled to run the event, but got the nod to fill in for an ill Harrison Burton. #41-Ben Rhodes will start alongside Bell in row one. The rest of the top-10: #8-John Hunter Nemechek, #21-Johnny Sauter, #98-Grant Enfinger, #75-Parker Kligerman, #18-Noah Gragson, #4-Todd Gilliland, #97-Jesse Little, and #38-Ross Chastain.
Did not qualify: #6-Norm Benning, #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #33-BJ McLeod, #50-Gray Gaulding, and #92-Timothy Peters.
The starting lineup is posted on the Bristol starting lineup page(8-16-2018)
Bristol Qualifying Fast Facts:
Christopher Bell(i) won the Pole Award for the 21st Annual UNOH 200 with a lap of 15.248 seconds, 125.839 mph.
This is his sixth pole in 54 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
This is his first pole and first top-10 start in 2018.
This is his first pole in three races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Ben Rhodes (second) posted his ninth top-10 start of 2018 and his fourth in four races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
John Hunter Nemechek(i) (third) posted his second top-10 start at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his eighth in 12 races this season.
Todd Gilliland (eighth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(8-16-2018)
Friesen fastest in second Bristol Truck practice: #52-Stewart Friesen was fastest in the final Camping World Truck Series practice for Thursday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway, with a speed at 125.716mph. #21-Johnny Sauter, #180Noah Gragson, #16-Brett Moffitt, #24-Justin Haley, #8-John Hunter Nemechek, #13-Myatt Snider, #25-Dalton Sargeant, #4-Todd Gilliland, and #75-Parker Kligerman were the top-10. See complete results on the Practice 2 speeds (pdf)(8-16-2018)
Snider fastest in Bristol Truck practice: #13-Myatt Snider was fastest in the opening Truck Series practice for the UNOH 200 with a speed at 125.379mph. #4-Todd Gilliland, #51-Christopher Bell, #24-Justin haley, #21-Johnny Sauter, #88-Matt Crafton, #38-Ross Chastain, #98-Grant Enfinger, #18-Noah Gragson, #41-Ben Rhodes were the top-10. See complete results on the Practice 1 speeds (pdf)(8-16-2018)
Clay Walker performing pre-race concert at Darlington: Stage-front tickets to see Walker perform the Bojangles’ Southern 500 pre-race concert are on sale now.[More](8-16-2018)
News from August 15, 2018
A look at many news, notes and story lines for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol, see the stats on the NASCAR National Series News & Notes — Bristol Motor Speedway
M&M’S White Chocolate featured on the #18 at Bristol: Debuting this weekend at Bristol will be the M&M’S White Chocolate scheme. In 2017, M&M’S® launched White Chocolate, a delicious, year-round offering that features creamy white chocolate enclosed in a colorful candy shell. But this weekend will be the first time the new candy treats have donned Busch’s No. 18 Toyota.[More](8-15-2018)
NASCAR unveils Regular Season Championship trophies: NASCAR unveiled on Tuesday the three trophies it will hand out to the Regular Season Championship winners across its three national series. Each trophy stands 2 feet tall and weighs approximately 35 pounds, and all three trophies feature a spire for every regular-season race with the name of the track engraved on it (26 for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series, 16 for Camping World Truck Series).[More](8-15-2018)
Wendy Venturini returning to the track at Bristol: Wendy Venturini will return to her duties at the Performance Racing Network this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, almost two months after being struck by a car while running in Novato, California.[More](8-15-2018)
Front Row Motorsports among bidders for BK Racing: Two more groups have since submitted bids [for BK Racing], which much be approved by NASCAR. According to [Mike Beam of GMS Racing], those groups are Front Row Motorsports and one headed up by former BK Racing owner Ron Devine.[More](8-15-2018)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. to drive pace car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Pace Car to lead the field to the start of the 25th Running of the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line on Sunday, Sept. 9 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.[More](8-15-2018)
Elliott Sadler will not drive full-time in 2019: He has over 800 starts across all three NASCAR national series and has driven for JR Motorsports since 2016. He has 3 Cup wins, 13 XFINITY wins and 1 Truck Series win in his career, which started in 1995.[More](8-15-2018)
Christopher Bell returns to Truck Series at Bristol: Kyle Busch Motorsports announced today Christopher Bell will drive the No. 51 Hunt Brothers Pizza Tundra in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, August 16. Harrison Burton was scheduled to compete, but was forced to withdraw due to an illness.[More](8-15-2018)
New two-race sponsor for Rhodes: >FEI World Equestrian Games and Tryon International Equestrian Center will be on the board the No. 41 Ford driven by Ben Rhodes for the upcoming NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events at Bristol and Canada.[More](8-15-2018)
Codie Rohrbaugh leaps ARCA team to prepare for Bristol Truck Series debut On the strength of three consecutive top-10 finishes in the ARCA Racing Series, veteran racer Codie Rohrbaugh and his Grant County Mulch Racing team invade the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) tour this week hoping to earn a starting berth in Thursday night’s UNOH 200 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.[More](8-15-2018)
Chastain to pull triple duty at Bristol: Ross Chastain will pull triple duty this week at Bristol Motor Speedway, racing in all three NASCAR events at the ‘World’s Fastest Half Mile’. Thursday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Bristol Motor Speedway will mark Chastain’s third start in the series at the half-mile track. His Niece Motorsports entry will have sponsorship from Black Rifle Coffee Company.[More](8-15-2018)
News from August 14, 2018
Buescher’s Darlington throwback to celebrate Bush’s 110 year anniversary: Chris Buescher and the No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing team is paying homage to BUSH’S Beans long family history at Darlington Raceway for NASCAR Throwback, driving the No. 37 BUSH’S Best® Since 1908 Camaro ZL1. Buescher’s paint scheme honors the rich history of the Bush Brothers & Company while celebrating 110 years of success.[More](8-14-2018)
A look at some of the top statistical performers and top-10 driver ratings at Bristol, see the stats on the Statistical Advance – Analyzing Bristol Motor Speedway page
ARK custom blockchain solutions sponsoring Corey LaJoie: Known as “The Last Great Colosseum”, BMS provides some of the best action under the lights. Ready to battle, Corey LaJoie will be behind the wheel of the red and black No. 72 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 featuring ARK, custom blockchain solutions as the primary sponsor.[More](8-14-2018)
NASCAR races to Las Vegas headlined by marquee events to launch Monster Energy Cup Series Playoffs: NASCAR heads to the “Entertainment Capital of the World” to kick off the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in grand fashion. Las Vegas will be the scene for an action-packed three days as NASCAR’s 16 best drivers and teams of 2018 begin their championship aspirations quest. To celebrate the start of the sport’s postseason and engage fans, the festivities center around three major events: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Media Day; NASCAR Burnout Blvd Fueled by Sunoco (formerly known as Victory Lap); and a two-day Playoffs Party at Fremont Street Experience culminating in a free concert by platinum-selling recording artist Cole Swindell on 3rd Street Stage. [More](8-14-2018)
Kasey Kahne’s Darlington scheme unveiled: His Dumont Jets scheme is patterned off his #9 Dodge Dealers car from 2006.[More](8-14-2018)
Bristol Goodyear Tire Notes See complete tire information for the race weekend across all series on the Goodyear Tire Notes – Bristol Motor Speedwaypage.(8-14-2018)
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet sponsoring Chase Elliott in Bristol XFINITY race: Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, one of America’s largest retailers of closeouts, excess inventory, and salvage merchandise, signed on as primary sponsor of GMS Racing’s No. 23 Ollie’s Chevrolet Camaro to be driven by Chase Elliott for Friday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.[More](8-14-2018)
2018 playoff outlook as schedule winds down: The truck series playoff field will be set Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway and it is a pretty simple scenario. In trucks, five drivers are in the playoffs with wins — Johnny Sauter, Brett Moffitt, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley and Ben Rhodes — and Grant Enfinger is in as long as he starts the race at Bristol. It leaves Stewart Friesen and Matt Crafton on a little bit of a bubble — each can get knocked out if a driver who is not in the top-8 in the standings wins at Bristol. If a driver outside the top-8 wins at Bristol, Crafton likely would be the driver who would miss the playoffs as he would need to gain 40 points on Friesen. Just 19 points are needed by Friesen to finish ahead of Crafton to clinch the final spot. Friesen can do that with an 18th-place finish even if he doesn’t score any stage points.[More](8-14-2018)
Justin Kunz to drive entry for Cobb in Canada: Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing (JJCR) is pleased to announce that 21-year old full-time NASCAR Whelen Euro Series driver Justin Kunz will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) debut at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on August 26 in the Chevrolet Silverado 250.[More](8-14-2018)
News from August 13, 2018
Civil trial against Greg Biffle underway UPDATES: Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle took the stand Monday in the civil case filed against him. Biffle’s ex-wife and her mother are suing him. They claim Biffle had hidden cameras installed in bedrooms and bathrooms, recorded them and showed that video to other people.(7-31-2018)
UPDATE: Former NASCAR Cup series driver Greg Biffle is defending himself in court this week over claims by his ex-wife that he secretly videotaped her and her mother in their bedrooms at the couple’s $2.7 million mansion on Lake Norman in Mooresville, North Carolina. Nicole Biffle and her mother say in their lawsuit that Greg Biffle “has shown images captured by the hidden cameras to third persons.” In court Tuesday, Biffle “denied doing anything inappropriate” and testified that his wife knew about the cameras, WSOC-TV reported.(8-3-2018)
UPDATE: Jurors reached a verdict Monday in the civil court case involving former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle. The jury found Biffle did “intrude offensively upon the privacy” of his ex-wife. Jurors awarded $1 in damages Monday. The plaintiff was seeking $9 million.[More](8-13-2018)
Entry List for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is posted, 41 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some of the drivers entered include: #6-Bayne, #7-Yeley, #15-Chastain, #23-Jones, #51-TBA, #52-TBA, #66-Hill, #72-LaJoie, #96-Little, and #99-Gaulding.
Teams that must qualify on speed: #7-Yeley, #52-TBA, #66-Hill, #96-Little, #99-Gaulding.
See the full entry list on the Entry List (pdf)
Michigan TV ratings: NBCSN earned a 1.62 overnight rating for the Consumers Energy 400. The race faced big competition from the PGA Championship, which earned a 6.1[More](8-13-2018)
Derrike Cope driving a Bojangles throwback at Darlington: In 1993, former Daytona 500 champion Derrike Cope piloted the No. 98 Bojangles’ ride for NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough. Twenty-five years later, Cope and Bojangles’ are joining forces once again, with the respected NASCAR veteran and popular Southern restaurant brand reuniting for a one-race throwback special at the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, September 2 at 6PM ET. Cope will pilot the Bojangles’ 99 Chevrolet for StarCom Racing.[More](8-13-2018)
Michigan TV commercial breakdown: For those of you NASCAR fans that like stats and love to hate commercials, here is the breakdown for Sunday’s race.[More](8-13-2018)
XFINITY Entry List: There are 40 cars on the preliminary entry list for Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
See the complete list on the Bristol entry list page.
RSS Racing picks up Bristol sponsors: RSS Racing is excited to welcome two primary sponsors to the team for the XFINITY race at Bristol. Cook’s Comfort Systems will be the primary sponsor for Ryan Sieg in the #39 car. Additionally, the team has secured sponsorship from C2 Freight Resources for the #38 car which will be piloted by Jeff Green.[More](8-13-2018)
Truck Series entry list:There are 39 trucks entered for Thursday’s UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway. See the complete list on the Kentucky entry list page (pdf). (8-16-2018)
Pre-race festivities highlight Bristol race weekend: As the rockets red glare on a warm August night in East Tennessee and NASCAR’s most popular drivers prepare to get in their chariots for 500 laps around The Last Great Colosseum, there’s nothing more special than pre-race at the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. There’s something for everyone during pre-race for the upcoming Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race on Saturday, Aug. 18. From the sounds of the State Water Heaters Pre-Race concert featuring country star Joe Nichols to the booming “This is Bristol” command from world famous ring announcer Michael Buffer and the chorus of cheers and boos during driver introductions, there’s energy in the air as day turns to night.[More](8-13-2018)
News from August 12, 2018
Sunday Michigan Notebook: Austin Dillon finds a lot to like at Michigan-despite loose wheel; Run-in with debris spoils solid run by Ty Dillon; After third-place finish at Michigan, Kyle Busch looks to Bristol.[More](8-11-2018)
Kevin Harvick storms to seventh 2018 victory at Michigan: Last week at Watkins Glen, Chase Elliott’s maiden victory on the road course interrupted the season of the Big Three. But on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, Kevin Harvick restored the status quo, winning for the seventh time this season and breaking a tie with third-place finisher Kyle Busch for most victories in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.[More](8-12-2018)
Kevin Harvick won the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway. The win is his 7th win of 2018, 2nd win at Michigan and 44th career win.
He lead 108 of the 200 laps and won all three stages.
#2-Keselowski finished 2nd followed by #18-Busch, #3-Dillon, #12-Blaney, #41-Busch, #10-Almirola, pole sitter #11-Hamlin#9-Elliott, and #22-Logano.
There were 15 lead changes among 9 drivers and 8 cautions for 37 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 140.474mph.
See unofficial race results, awards, laps led, cautions and more at:
Unofficial Race Results (pdf)
Cumulative Report (pdf)
Penalty Report (pdf)
Race Fast Facts – Michigan
Kevin Harvick won the 49th Annual Consumers Energy 400, his 44th victory in 633 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races.
This is his seventh victory and 19th top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his second victory and 17th top-10 finish in 36 races at Michigan International Speedway.
Brad Keselowski (second) posted his 10th top-10 finish in 19 races at Michigan International Speedway. It is his 12th top-10 finish in 2018.
Kyle Busch (third) posted his 10th top-10 finish in 28 races at Michigan International Speedway.
Bubba Wallace (23rd) was the highest finishing rookie.
Kyle Busch leads the point standings by 62 points over Kevin Harvick.
(NASCAR Integrated Sports Marketing)(8-12-2018)
2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Driver Playoff Standings:
[after Michigan, race 23 of 36] – 3 races left until the playoffs.
#18-Kyle Busch [6 wins], 986
#4-Kevin Harvick [7 wins – 6 can be used for playoffs], 924
#78-Martin Truex Jr. [4 wins], 842
#14-Clint Bowyer [2 wins], 732
#22-Joey Logano [1 win], 723
#9-Chase Elliott [1 win], 647
#20-Erik Jones [1 win], 596
#3-Austin Dillon [1 win], 451
#41-Kurt Busch, 750, -236
#2-Brad Keselowski, 709, -277
#12-Ryan Blaney, 687, -299
#11-Denny Hamlin, 684, -302
#42-Kyle Larson, 681, -305, +209 pts ahead of 17th
#10-Aric Almirola, 639, -347, +159
#48-Jimmie Johnson, 572, -414, +92
#88-Alex Bowman, 542, -444, +62
Outside the top 16:
#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 480, -506, -62 pts behind 16th
#21-Paul Menard, 472, -514, -70
#19-Daniel Suarez, 460, -526, -82
#31-Ryan Newman, 456, -530, -86
See the Unofficial Drivers Points Standings page (pdf) and Unofficial Owners Points Standings page (pdf)
Top-Ten Stage 2 Results (lap 120) of the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway (lap 120/200):
#4-Harvick, 10pts, 1 playoff point
#18-Busch, 9pts
#12-Blaney, 8pts
#41-Busch, 7pts
#3-Dillon, 6pts
#22-Logano, 5pts
#14-Bowyer, 4pts
#10-Almirola, 3pts
#2-Keseloski, 2pts
#42-Larson, 1pt
Top-Ten Stage 1 Results (lap 60) of the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway (lap 60/200):
#4-Harvick, 10pts, 1 playoff point
#18–Busch, 9pts
#12-Blaney, 8pts
#41-Busch, 7pts
#78-Truex, Jr., 6pts
#11-Hamlin, 5pts
#10-Almirola, 4pts
#31-Newman, 3pts
#2-Keselowski, 2pts
#88-Bowman, 1pt
Lucky Dogs, drivers that got a lap back during the cautions (and their finish):
Caution 1: #51-McLeod, 31st
Caution 2: #20-Jones, 13th
Caution 3: #24-Byron, 36th
Caution 4: #13-Dillon, 38th
Caution 5: #42-Larson, 17th
Caution 6: #00-Cassill, 29th
Caution 7: #32-DiBenedetto, 24th
Caution 8: #78-Truex, Jr., 14th
Sad News – Kevin Caldwell: Kevin Duane Caldwell, 55, of Altus, Oklahoma, was welcomed into heaven on Thursday, August 2nd, 2018. In 1994, Kevin moved to Mooresville, North Carolina, to pursue his passion for racing. It was this dedication and talent that led him to work for many different racing teams, which included USAir and Smokin’ Joe’s NASCAR Winston Cup Teams. He was Crew Chief for Dupont Chevy Monte Carlo NASCAR Busch Grand National Team, with driver Ricky Craven.[More](8-12-2018)
News from August 11, 2018
Saturday Michigan Notebook: Austin Dillon leads Richard Childress Racing charge at Michigan; Goodyear opts for slight change to tire for Charlotte road course; Short strokes.[More](8-11-2018)
Happy Hour (final) practice for the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway is over, after 65 minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#22-Logano 197.580
#18-Busch 197.520
#4-Harvick 197.212
#42-Larson 197.179
#12-Blaney 197.147
best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 17 drivers): #20-Jones 196.078
slowest: #51-McLeod 189.778 & #23-Jones 182.871.
notes: Practice started 15 minutes early since first practice on Saturday was shortened by fog.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Happy Hour Practice speeds page (pdf) (8-11-2018)
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway have been made.
With 40 cars running, pit stalls 41, 42, 43 are not in use.
Pole winner #11-Hamlin chose pit stall 1, the first stall available [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole winner #18-Busch took pit stall 23, with an opening in front of it.
#4-Harvick, who starts 3rd, took the 2nd stall.
The final pit stall was taken by #78-Truex, Jr., who starts 7th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on Jayski.com’s Pit Stall Selection chart.(8-10-2018)
First Saturday practice for the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway is over, after 17 of the 50 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#20-Jones 200.150
#24-Byron 199.678
#2-Keselowski 199.358
#14-Bowyer 199.242
#22-Logano 198.999
best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 6 drivers): #20-Jones 198.132
slowest: #23-Jones 185.309
notes: Practice was delayed for a heavy fog at the track. Once it cleared, the session only lasted 15 minutes.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Second Practice speeds page (pdf) (8-11-2018)
Justin Allgaier chases down Austin Cindric for Mid-Ohio win: Justin Allgaier pulled off the NASCAR version of a “spin and win” to take the Xfinity Series victory in Saturday’s Rock N Roll Tequila 170 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The JR Motorsports driver of the No. 7 Brandt Chevrolet rallied from late-race contact and a spin to pass Austin Cindric with eight laps remaining, claiming his third win of the season and first at the famed 2.4-mile road course.[More](8-11-2018)
Allgaier wins Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course XFINITY race: #7-Justin Allgaier won the Rock N Roll Tequila 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for his 3rd win of the season and 8th of his career.
Pole sitter, #22-Austin Cindric dominated much of the race but was passed for the lead with 4 laps to go. He finished a career-best 2nd. The rest of the top 10: #21-Daniel Hemric, #2-Matt Tifft, #11-Ryan Truex, #1-Elliott Sadler, #00-Cole Custer, #23-Spencer Gallagher, #36-Alex Labbe, and #16-Ryan Reed.
There were 6 cautions for 18 laps and 7 lead changes among 4 leaders.
The average speed was 73.312mph.
Complete results are on the Mid-Ohio race results page (pdf).(8-11-2018)
Race stage winners:
Stage 1 – lap 20 – Winner, #7-Justin Allgaier
Stage 2 – lap 40 – Winner, #22-Austin Cindric
Stage 3 – lap 75 – Race winner, #7-Justin Allgaier
Mid-Ohio XFINITY Race Fast Facts:
Justin Allgaier won the 6th Annual Rock N Roll Tequila 170 Presented by Amethyst Beverage, his eighth victory in 261 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his third victory and 16th top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in four races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Austin Cindric (second) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. It is his seventh top-10 finish in 2018.
Daniel Hemric (third) posted his second top-10 finish in two races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Austin Cindric (second) was the highest finishing rookie.
Christopher Bell # leads the point standings by 17 points over Elliott Sadler.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(8-11-2018)
XFINITY Driver playoff standings following Mid-Ohio:
(5 races until the playoffs begin)
#20-Christopher Bell [4 wins]
#7-Justin Allgaier [3 wins, 2 can be used for playoffs]
#9-Tyler Reddick [1 win]
#1-Elliott Sadler, 754, -17
#21-Daniel Hemric, 754, -17
#00-Cole Custer, 752, -19
#19-Brandon Jones, 623, -148
#11-Ryan Truex, 596, -175
#22-Austin Cindric, 559, -212
#2-Matt Tifft, 548, -223
#16-Ryan Reed, 514, -257, 109 pts ahead of 13th
#4-Ross Chastain, 454, -317, 49 pts ahead of 13th
outside the top 12:
#5-Michael Annett, 405, -366, -49 pts behind 12th
#39-Ryan Sieg, 354, -417, -100
See complete owner and driver standings on the driver standings(pdf) and owner standings page (pdf).(8-11-2018)
Free Pass – Who got a lap back on each caution: (and their finish)
Caution 1: None, no one a lap or more down.
Caution 2: #19-Jones, 23rd
Caution 3: None
Caution 4: #60-Briscoe, 14th
Caution 5: #40-Finchum, 29th
Caution 6: #90-Lally, 9th
(8-11-2018)
Cindric on XFINITY pole at Mid-Ohio: #22-Austin Cindric won the Busch pole for the Rock N Roll Tequila 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a speed of 96.386mph. #1-Elliott Sadler will start second. The rest of the top 10: #19-Brandon Jones, #00-Cole Custer, #2-Matt Tifft, #11-Ryan Truex, #7-Justin Allgaier, #90-Andy Lally, #21-Daniel Hemric, and #20-Christopher Bell.
Did Not Qualify: None.
The starting lineup is posted on the Mid-Ohio starting lineup page (pdf).(8-11-2018)
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course XFINITY Qualifying Notes:
Austin Cindric won the Pole Award for the 6th Annual Rock N Roll Tequila 170 Presented by Amethyst Beverage with a lap of 84.336 seconds, 96.386 mph.
This is his second pole in 22 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his second pole and 12th top-10 start in 2018.
This is his first pole in one races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Elliott Sadler (second) posted his 14th top-10 start of 2018 and his fourth in six races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Brandon Jones (third) posted his first top-10 start at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. It is his 14th in 21 races this season.
Austin Cindric (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(8-11-2018)
Brett Moffitt nips Johnny Sauter at the line for NASCAR Truck win at Michigan: With a huge run through the final two corners, Brett Moffitt surged past Johnny Sauter right before the finish line at Michigan International Speedway to win Saturday’s Corrigan Oil 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race by .025 seconds.Trailing Sauter at the white flag, Moffitt backed off in Turn 1 to create a gap between his No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota and the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet of Sauter. Moffitt charged into Turn 3, pulled even to the inside of Sauter’s truck as they rolled the corner and won a drag race to the finish line. Moffitt picked up his second victory at Michigan, his fourth of the season-tying Sauter for the series lead-and the fifth of his career. [More](8-11-2018)
Moffitt wins Michigan: #15-Brett Moffitt scored the win at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday by edging #21-Johnny Sauter at the line to score the Corrigan Oil 200 win. Michigan, the site of Moffitt’s first Truck win in 2016, is his fourth victory of the season.
#8-John Hunter Nemechek, #18-Noah Gragson, #4-Todd Gilliland, #41-Ben Rhodes, #98-Grant Enfinger, #52-Stewart Friesen, #24-Justin Haley, and #88-Matt Crafton were the remainder of the top-10.
There were five caution flags for 22 laps and 16 lead changes among 9 leaders.
See results on the Michigan race results page(8-11-2018)
Michigan Truck Series Race Fast Facts:
Brett Moffitt won the 19th Annual Corrigan Oil 200, his fifth victory in 28 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
This is his fourth victory and eighth top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his second victory and second top-10 finish in three races at Michigan International Speedway.
Johnny Sauter (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish in ten races at Michigan International Speedway. It is his 12th top-10 finish in 2018.
John Hunter Nemechek(i) (third) posted his first top-10 finish in four races at Michigan International Speedway.
Todd Gilliland (fifth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Johnny Sauter leads the point standings by 56 points over Noah Gragson.
(NASCAR Statistics) (8-11-2018)
Stage Information:
Stage 1 – 20, winner, #52-Stewart Friesen
Stage 2 – 40, winner, #98-Grant Enfinger
Stage 3 – 100, race winner, #16-Brett Moffitt
Camping World Truck standings following Michigan:
1) #21-Johnny Sauter, 625 [4wins]
2) #18-Noah Gragson, 569, -56 [1 win]
3) #98-Grant Enfinger, 550, -75
4) #52-Stewart Friesen, 536, -89
5) #16-Brett Moffitt, 533, -92, [4 wins]
6) #88-Matt Crafton, 497, -128
7) #24-Justin Haley, 494, -131 [1 win]
8) #41-Ben Rhodes, 492, -133 [1 win]
9) #13-Myatt Snider, 403, -222
10) #2-Cody Coughlin, 380, -245
See complete standings on Driver points standings page and the owner’s standings are posted on the Owner points standings page. (8-11-2018)
Free Pass – Who got a lap back on each caution at Michigan: (and their finish)
Caution 1: #7-Forrister, 24th
Caution 2: #6-Benning,21st
Caution 3: #15-Peck, 26th
Caution 4: #45-Fontaine, 25th
Caution 5: #8-Nemechek, 3rd
(8-11-2018)
Nemechek on Truck pole at Michigan: #8-John Hunter Nemechek won the pole for Saturday afternoon’s Camping World Truck Series at Michigan International Speedway with a speed at 184.044mph. #4-Todd Gilliland, #18-Noah Gragson, #54-Matt Mills, #52-Stewart Friesen, #98-Grant Enfinger, #21-Johnny Sauter, #13-Myatt Snider, #2-Cody Coughlin and #02-Austin Hill were the top-10.
Did not qualify: #0-Camden Murphy.
The starting lineup is posted on the Michigan starting lineup page(8-11-2018)
Michigan Qualifying Fast Facts:
John Hunter Nemechek(i) won the Pole Award for the 19th Annual Corrigan Oil 200 with a lap of 39.121 seconds, 184.044 mph.
This is his second pole in 87 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
This is his first pole and seventh top-10 start in 2018.
This is his first pole in four races at Michigan International Speedway.
Todd Gilliland (second) posted his 10th top-10 start of 2018 and his first in one races at Michigan International Speedway.
Noah Gragson (third) posted his second top-10 start at Michigan International Speedway. It is his 12th in 14 races this season.
Todd Gilliland (second) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(8-11-2018)
Talladega continues “Teacher & Educator Appreciation” ticket program: Talladega Superspeedway will recognize educators and faculty members again this fall with its “Teacher & Educator Appreciation” ticket program, which offers up to 30 percent off on various ticket options for the 1000Bulbs.com 500 and Talladega 250 (Oct. 13-14) during its doubleheader NASCAR Playoff weekend. As the track’s way of showing gratitude to those who work in our school districts and closely with youth to shape them into outstanding individuals, the program, which was introduced earlier this year for the track’s April race weekend, allows anyone who works within the school system to take advantage of the tremendous savings in both the grandstands and towers. [More](8-11-2018)
Numerous events for Speedway Children’s Charities at Bristol: The Bristol chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities (SCC) will feature many events designed to get visitors to experience all that the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race week has to offer while helping raise money for children in need. Some of SCC’s opportunities include the Bristol Ultimate Experiences Online Auction, Memorabilia Live Auction, America’s Night Race 5K, Meade Tractor Charity Cornhole Classic, NRA Shooting Stars Tournament, 20th annual Speedway Children’s Charities Golf Tournament presented by Baker’s Construction Service, the 50/50 Raffle presented by Grand Home Furnishings, Track Laps for Kids, Red Bucket Brigade and the Pub Run and Pint Night on Tuesday, Aug. 14.[More](8-11-2018)
News from August 10, 2018
Friday Michigan Notebook: Kyle Larson looking for progress and a little luck as Playoffs approach; For Grant Enfinger, a win would be nice-but not necessary; Short strokes.[More](8-10-2018)
Denny Hamlin edges Kyle Busch for second straight Monster Energy Cup pole Hamlin edged Busch by .011 seconds to earn his second Busch Pole Award of the season, his first at Michigan and the 28th of his career.[More](8-10-2018)
Ganassi examining options for 2019; Busch rumored to replace McMurray: McMurray’s contract ends at the end of the year; Kurt Busch has reportedly talked to the team. [More](8-10-2018)
Earnhardt to run all but one race through remainder of season:Xtreme Concepts has named Jeffrey Earnhardt as the driver of the No. 96 XCI Racing Toyota Camry entry for the remainder of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, excluding Bristol Motor Speedway.[More](8-10-2018)
#11-Hamlin won the Busch pole for the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway with speed of 202.794mph for his second pole of 2018, first at Michigan and 28th of his career. Hamlin has won four times from the 28 previous poles.
#18-Busch will start 2nd followed by #4-Harvick, #20-Jones, #3-Dillon, #31-Newman, #78-Truex, #12-Blaney, #22-Logano and #88-Bowman.
Hamlin was fastest in the second round with a speed of 202.224mph.
Hamlin was quickest in the first round with a speed of 201.590mph.
Driver(s) who will miss the race: none as 40 were entered for 40 spots
See round-by-round qualifying results on the Qualifying results page (pdf) and the complete starting lineup on the Starting Lineup page (pdf).(8-10-2018)
Michigan International Speedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Denny Hamlin won the Busch Pole Award Pole Award for the 49th Annual Consumers Energy 400 with a lap of 35.504 seconds, 202.794 mph.
This is his 28th pole in 457 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races.
This is his second pole and 15th top-10 start in 2018.
This is his first pole in 26 races at Michigan International Speedway.
Kyle Busch (second) posted his 16th top-10 start of 2018 and his 14th in 28 races at Michigan International Speedway.
Kevin Harvick (third) posted his 16th top-10 start at Michigan International Speedway. It is his 17th in 23 races this season.
William Byron (20th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(8-10-2018)
Second Round of Qualifying for the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway is over, after 10 scheduled minutes.
#11-Hamlin 202.224
#4-harvick 201.896
#18-Busch 201.782
#41-Busch 201.692
#78-Truex 201.641
the rest of the top 12: 88 20 22 31 10 3 12
out of the top 12 and not advancing to round 3: 17 21 1 14 42 2 48 24 9 43 37 38
(8-10-2018)
First Round of Qualifying for the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway is over, after 15 scheduled minutes.
#11-Hamlin 201.590
#41-Busch 201.207
#88-Bowman 200.966
#10-Almirola 200.955
#22-Logano 200.949
the rest of the top 24: 14 21 2 12 20 78 31 18 9 17 42 3 1 4 37 48 24 43 38
out of the top 24 and not advancing to round 2: 47 6 13 95 34 32 00 72 51 99 15 7 66 96 23 19
Drivers who will miss the race: none, 40 entered
(8-10-2018)
Qualifying Order for the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway is posted.
The first driver to be lined up on pit road will be #66-Hill.
The final driver lined up on pit road will be #12-Blaney.
The order is set by a random draw, how cars park on pit road before they qualify, held about an hour before the first practice.
After the first round, the cars lined up by speed.
For the qualifying order, see the Qualifying Order page (pdf).(8-10-2018)
First practice for the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway is over, after 50 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
#11-Hamlin 202.230
#41-Busch 201.901
#19-Suarez 201.850
#12-Blaney 201.794
#18-Busch 201.782
most laps run: 15, #13-Dillon
best 10 consecutive lap avg : no driver ran consecutive laps
slowest: #66-Hill 182.168
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Friday Practice speeds (pdf) (8-10-2018)
Gaughan paces final XFINITY practice: #3-Brendan Gaughan was quickest in final practice at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a speed of 87.738mph. Only six cars practiced after weather delayed the start of the session. #42-Justin Marks was second, followed by: #20-Christopher Bell, #89-Morgan Shepherd, #74-Stephen Leicht, and #00-Cole Custer. See complete results on the Mid-Ohio practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(8-10-2018)
Reed fastest in opening XFINITY practice: #16-Ryan Reed was fastest during opening practice at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a speed of 94.709mph. The rest of the top 10: #90-Andy Lally, #18-Kyle Benjamin, #22-Austin Cindric, #7-Justin Allgaier, #1-Elliott Sadler, #00-Cole Custer, #9-Tyler Reddick, and #20-Christopher Bell. See complete results on the Mid-Ohio practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(8-10-2018)
Sargeant fastest in final Michigan Truck practice: #25-Dalton Sargeant was fastest in the final Camping World Truck Series practice for Saturday’s race at Michigan International Speedway, with a speed at 186.766mph. #16-Brett Mofftt, #88-Matt Crafton, #51-Spencer Davis, #13-Myatt Snider, #18-Noah Gragson, #21-Johnny Sauter, #41-Ben Rhodes, #4-Todd Gilliland, #24-Justin Haley were the top-10. See complete results on the Practice 2 speeds (pdf)(8-10-2018)
Gragson fastest in Michigan Truck practice: #18-Noah Gragson was fastest in the opening Truck Series practice for the Corrigan Oil 200, with a speed at 187.227mph. #88-Matt Crafton, #4-Todd Gilliland, #25-Dalton Sargeant, #51-Spencer Davis, #98-Grant Enfinger, #21-Johnny Sauter, #52-Stewart Friesen, #3-Jordan Anderson, and #22-Austin Wayne Self followed in the top-10. See complete results on the Practice 1 speeds (pdf)(8-10-2018)
News from August 9, 2018
Michigan International Speedway and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Weekend Preview: Michigan favors repeat winners in Cup while XFINITY gets first-time winners at Mid-Ohio. Meanwhile, only two races remain until the playoffs start for Trucks.[More](8-9-2018)
Ford unveils new NASCAR Mustang: Ford today revealed its all-new Mustang NASCAR Cup race car, the first time Mustang – the world’s best-selling sports car – will compete in NASCAR’s top-level Cup racing series. “Mustang has raced since it was first sold in 1964,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s executive vice president, Product Development and Purchasing, who was on hand to help unveil the car. “After more than a half-century, it feels great to finally let Mustang run in the top echelon of America’s most popular stock car racing series.”[More](8-9-2018)
Driver changes at JTG Daugherty Racing next season? Ryan Preece and Daniel Hemric have been mentioned as possible replacements.[More](8-9-2018)
Harvest Investments, Harvest-Properties.com join DiBenedetto at Michigan: Harvest Investments and Harvest-Properties.com will be the primary sponsors of the No.32 Ford and Matt DiBenedetto at Michigan International Speedway for the Consumers Energy 400.[More](8-9-2018)
Boyd to honor SS Green Light owner’s father at Darlington: Spencer Boyd will run a throwback paint scheme honoring three-time ARCA Champion, Bob Dotter, at the NXS race at Darlington on September 1st.[More](8-9-2018)
Larue Snowblowers adds two more road races with Labbe: Quebec City-based Larue Snowblowers will once again be featured on the No. 36 Chevrolet at Mid-Ohio and Road America. [More](8-9-2018)
Speedway Motorsports, Inc. announces weather guarantee: As part of the company’s new weather policy, if a NASCAR race is postponed due to weather and the ticket holder is unable to attend on the rescheduled date, a ticket credit can be issued toward a qualifying NASCAR race at any Speedway Motorsports venue. [More](8-9-2018)
News from August 8, 2018
A look at many news, notes and story lines for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan, see the stats on the NASCAR National Series News & Notes — Michigan International Speedway
Stenhouse, Jr.’s throwback scheme revealed: John Deere returns to the team with a scheme similar to Chad Little’s #97 Ford from the late 1990s.[More](8-8-2018)
Watkins Glen TV ratings UPDATE:NBC earned a 2.3 overnight rating for the Go Bowling at the Glen, up from a 1.9 for last year’s race which was on NBCSN.(8-6-2018)
UPDATE: Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Watkins Glen 355 had a 2.3 rating and 3.67 million viewers on the NBC broadcast network, up 15% in ratings and 13% in viewership from last year on NBCSN (2.0, 3.25M) and flat and down 4% from 2016, when the race aired on USA Network opposite the Olympic Games (2.3, 3.83M).[More](8-8-2018)
Garrett Smithley driving for Premium Motorsports at Michigan:Garrett Smithley will make his 3rd cup series career start this Sunday in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He will take the wheel of the Premium Motorsports’ #7 Chevrolet Camaro with primary sponsor, Victory Lane Quick Oil Change.[More](8-8-2018)
A look at some of the top statistical performers and top-10 driver ratings at Michigan, see the stats on the Statistical Advance – Analyzing Michigan International Speedway page
Buescher running Slim Jim scheme at Michigan: Slim Jim makes the appearance due to their partnership with Kroger.[More](8-8-2018)
Special scheme for Menard at Michigan: Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing driver Paul Menard will be sporting a special paint scheme for the August Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway. The Wood Brothers will enter the No. 21 Earn While You Learn/NewFordTech.com Ford Fusion in the Consumers Energy 400 at MIS. The paint scheme was chosen to promote Ford Motor Company’s commitment to training automotive technicians. Graduates of Ford’s Technical Career Entry programs are immediately eligible to join the workforce as technicians, the specialists employed by Ford & Lincoln dealers, as well as Quick Lane Tire and Auto Centers, to repair and maintain customers’ vehicles.[More](8-8-2018)
Marks to drive three road courses for Ganassi: Marks will compete at the NXS road-course races at Mid-Ohio, Road America and Charlotte with Chevrolet Accessories as sponsor.[More](8-8-2018)
Coughlin to race in honor of veterans at Michigan: Coughlin’s No. 2 JEGS Chevrolet truck will feature logos from DAV, GOD BLESS THE BROKEN ROAD and #BlessAVet during his race on Saturday.[More](8-8-2018)
NBA Legend Ben Wallace to drive pace car for the Consumers Energy 400: The start of the Consumers Energy 400 will showcase three individuals who know about the adrenaline of being in high energy moments. NBA Legend Ben Wallace will be the pace car driver; Tom Hunt, the Jackson County Teacher of the Year, will serve as the grand marshal; and Michigan hero Jason Potter will drop the green flag as the honorary starter.[More](8-8-2018)
First Tennessee Bank extends partnership with Bristol Motor Speedway: The financial services institution, one of Bristol Motor Speedway’s longest active partners, will continue as the “Official Bank of Bristol Motor Speedway” and provide ATMs at select locations on property for race fans.[More](8-8-2018)
Few reserved camping spots remain at Talladega Superspeedway:The anticipation is growing for Talladega Superspeedway’s NASCAR Playoff doubleheader weekend, Oct. 12-14, and the most coveted real estate in motorsports is filling up fast in the iconic infield. Officials at NASCAR’s most competitive track announced today that fewer than 30 reserved RV camping spots remain.[More](8-8-2018)
News from August 7, 2018
Solomon Plumbing joins Chastain at Michigan: Ross Chastain is excited to make his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Michigan International Speedway this weekend for Premium Motorsports in the #15 Chevrolet. Chastain is equally excited about welcoming first time primary sponsor, Solomon Plumbing Company to the sport to join him for the ride.[More](8-7-2018)
Michigan Goodyear Tire Notes See complete tire information for the race weekend across all series on the Goodyear Tire Notes – Michigan International Speedway page.(8-7-2018)
Trident Seafoods partners with Ragan for two races: Front Row Motorsports will introduce another new partner to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, announcing Trident Seafoods as the primary sponsor of David Ragan’s No. 38 Ford for upcoming races at Michigan International Speedway and ISM Raceway (Phoenix, Ariz.). The company’s Louis Kemp Crab Delights will be featured on the No. 38 for Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400 at the Brooklyn, Mich., track. The Nov. 11 Phoenix race will showcase Trident Seafoods’ brand and the Wild Alaska Pollock species.[More](8-7-2018)
StarCom Racing and Landon Cassill partner with Mane ‘n Tail:Straight Arrow Products, Inc., the makers of the Original Mane ‘n Tail Shampoo and Conditioner, is partnering with StarCom Racing and Landon Cassill for the first time at Michigan International Speedway for the Consumers Energy 400 on Sunday, August 12 at 2:30 p.m. The car features a new color scheme to reflect one of the most popular duos in our line, Color Protect Shampoo and Conditioner. The horse to human crossover shampoo brand came out of the barn, into the shower and now onto the racetrack once again! After such a great experience last year for the Throwback 2017 Darlington race with Derrike Cope, Straight Arrow decided to do it again.[More](8-7-2018)
Entry List for the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway is posted, 40 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some of the drivers entered include: #6-Bayne, #7-Smithley, #15-Chastain, #23-Blake Jones, #51-McLeod, #66-Hill, #72-LaJoie, #96-Jeffrey Earnhardt, #99-Gaulding.
Since only 40 cars are entered, all drivers will make the race.
See the full entry list on the Entry List (pdf)
XFINITY Entry List: There are 40 cars on the preliminary entry list for Saturday’s Rock N Roll Tequila 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
See the complete list on the Mid-Ohio entry list page.
Parsons to make Truck debut at Bristol: Premium Motorsports is proud to welcome Stefan Parsons, NASCAR Whelen All American Series and CARS Tour Series driver, to the team as he makes his NASCAR Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway. Parsons will pilot the #15 Chevy Silverado in his first ever NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Phoenix Construction Services, Inc. will serve as Parsons’ primary sponsor in Thursday night’s UNOH 200.[More](8-7-2018)
JJL Motorsports announces partners for Bristol: Set to continue their impressive presence on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) tour, JJL Motorsports officials announced today that the Wings Over North Georgia Air Show (WONG) presented by Parker FiberNet will return as the team’s primary marketing partner for Jesse Little at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, August 17th.[More](8-7-2018)
Truck Series entry list:There are 34 trucks entered for Saturday’s Corrigan Oil 200 at Michigan International Speedway. See the complete list on the Michigan entry list page (pdf). (8-7-2018)
News from August 6, 2018
Brian France taking indefinite leave of absence from NASCAR following arrest: NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France will take an indefinite leave of absence following his arrest Sunday night on charges of aggravated DWI and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. Jim France will be interim chairman and CEO.[More](8-6-2018)
Watkins Glen TV ratings:NBC earned a 2.3 overnight rating for the Go Bowling at the Glen, up from a 1.9 for last year’s race which was on NBCSN.[More](8-6-2018)
Watkins Glen television commercial breakdown: For those of you NASCAR fans that like stats and love to hate commercials, here is the breakdown for Sunday’s race.[More](8-6-2018)
News from August 5, 2018
Sunday Watkins Glen Notebook: After pit road snafu, Kyle Busch fights his way to third at the Glen; Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez score top fives at Watkins Glen; The numbers line up for father and son in Chase Elliott’s win.[More](8-5-2018)
Chase Elliott wins thriller at Watkins Glen to score first Cup victory:History will record that Chase Elliott won his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race by a whopping 7.560 seconds over reigning champion Martin Truex Jr. That description, however, doesn’t do justice to Elliott’s magnificent drive over the final 32 laps of Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen, with Truex hounding him every inch of the way before running out of fuel with two corners left. “Holy cow, I don’t know what to say-just so thrilled, so emotional, so much relief,” said Elliott, who notched his first win in NASCAR’s foremost series in his 99th start, after recording eight second-place finishes. “Working on three years, I hadn’t won one.[More](8-5-2018)
Chase Elliott won the Go Bowling at the Glen Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International. The win is the first of his career in his 99th start.
#78-Truex, Jr. finished 2nd followed by #18-Busch, #19-Suarez, #20-Jones, #42-Larson, #1-McMurray, #24-Byron, #41-Busch, and #4-Harvick.
Elliott led 50 of the 90 laps, including the final 32. He held off a hard charge by Truex, Jr over the final laps of the race before Truex ran out of gas on the final lap.
Pole sitter #11-Hamlin finished 13th after late pit stop problems.
There were 9 lead changes among 5 drivers and 4 cautions for 11 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 98.928mph.
See unofficial race results, awards, laps led, cautions and more at:
Unofficial Race Results (pdf)
Cumulative Report (pdf)
Penalty Report (pdf)
Race Fast Facts – Watkins Glen
Chase Elliott won the 33rd Annual Go Bowling at The Glen, his first victory in 99 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and 11th top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in three races at Watkins Glen International.
Martin Truex Jr. (second) posted his eighth top-10 finish in 13 races at Watkins Glen International. It is his 15th top-10 finish in 2018.
Kyle Busch (third) posted his 12th top-10 finish in 14 races at Watkins Glen International.
William Byron (eighth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Kyle Busch leads the point standings by 70 points over Kevin Harvick.
(NASCAR Integrated Sports Marketing)(8-5-2018)
2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Driver Playoff Standings:
[after Watkins Glen, race 22 of 36] – 4 races left until the playoffs.
#18-Kyle Busch [6 wins], 934
#4-Kevin Harvick [6 wins – 5 can be used for playoffs], 864
#78-Martin Truex Jr. [4 wins], 813
#14-Clint Bowyer [2 wins], 703
#22-Joey Logano [1 win], 691
#9-Chase Elliott [1 win], 619
#20-Erik Jones [1 win], 572
#3-Austin Dillon [1 win], 412
#41-Kurt Busch, 691, -243
#2-Brad Keselowski, 670, -264
#42-Kyle Larson, 660, -274
#11-Denny Hamlin, 650, -284
#12-Ryan Blaney, 639, -295
#10-Aric Almirola, 602, -332, +141 pts ahead of 17th
#48-Jimmie Johnson, 563, -371, +102
#88-Alex Bowman, 523, -411, +62
Outside the top 16:
#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 461, -472, -62 pts behind 16th
#21-Paul Menard, 451, -483, -72
#19-Daniel Suarez, 434, -500, -89
See the Unofficial Drivers Points Standings page (pdf) and Unofficial Owners Points Standings page (pdf)
Top-Ten Stage 2 Results (lap 40) of the Go Bowling at the Glen Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International (lap 40/90):
#9-Elliott, 10pts, 1 playoff point
#18-Busch, 9pts
#11-Hamlin, 8pts
#20-Jones, 7pts
#78-Truex, Jr., 6pts
#1-McMurray, 5pts
#4-Harvick, 4pts
#42-Larson, 3pts
#12-Blaney, 2pts
#19-Suarez, 1pt
Top-Ten Stage 1 Results (lap 20) of the Go Bowling at the Glen Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International (lap 20/90):
#78-Truex, Jr. 10pts, 1 playoff point
#48-Johnson, 9pts
#24-Byron, 8pts
#34-McDowell, 7pts
#2-Keselowski, 6pts
#31-Newman, 5pts
#88-Bowman, 4pts
#37-Buescher, 3pts
#21-Menard, 2pts
#6-Kenseth, 1pt
Lucky Dogs, drivers that got a lap back during the cautions (and their finish):
Caution 1: None, no one on track a lap or more down.
Caution 2: #10-Almirola, 22nd
Caution 3: #38-Ragan, 26th
Caution 4: #00-Cassill, 31st
Rick Ware Racing welcomes JACOB Companies: Officials from Rick Ware Racing (RWR) announced today that West Palm Beach, Fla.-based JACOB Companies will support the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) team for the remainder of the season beginning with Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. Road course veteran and Xfinity Series regular Josh Bilicki will make his third career Cup start aboard the No. 51 JACOB Companies Ford Fusion.[More](8-5-2018)
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Go Bowling at the Glen Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International have been made.
With 37 cars running, pit stalls 6, 12, 18, 24, 31, 43 are not in use.
Pole winner #11-Hamlin chose pit stall 1, the first stall available [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole winner #18-Busch took pit stall 25, with an opening in front of it.
#9-Elliott, who starts 3rd, took the 38th stall, with an opening in front of it.
The final pit stall was taken by #22-Logano, who starts 6th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on Jayski.com’s Pit Stall Selection chart.(8-4-2018)
Kahne sees potential to remain at Leavine Family Racing UPDATE:Kahne says he sees improvements, would like to stay at LFR.(8-1-2018)
UPDATE: Team owner, Bob Leavine, confirmed to Frontstretch on Saturday that LFR is looking to extend their relationship with Kahne. Ideally, Leavine would like the deal to be finalized within the next month so the team can work on a 2019 manufacturer.[More](8-4-2018)
News from August 4, 2018
#11-Denny Hamlin won the Busch pole for the Go Bowling at the Glen Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International with speed of 125.534mph for his 1st pole of 2018, 1st at Watkins Glen and 27th of his career. Hamlin has won 4 times from the 26 previous poles.
#18-Busch will start 2nd followed by #9-Elliott, #78-Truex, Jr., #42-Larson, #22-Logano, #10-Almirola, #47-Allmendinger, #20-Jones, #95-Kahne, #12-Blaney, and #34-McDowell.
#9-Elliott was quickest in the first round with a speed of 125.126mph, will start 3rd.
Driver(s) who will miss the race: none as 37 were entered for 40 spots.
Note: The starting lineup will be finalized Sunday morning after post-qualifying inspection. Pit stalls will be picks Sunday morning once inspection is complete.
See round-by-round qualifying results on the Qualifying results page (pdf) (8-4-2018)
Watkins Glen International – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Denny Hamlin won the provisional Busch Pole Award Pole Award for the 33rd Annual Go Bowling at The Glen with a lap of 70.260 seconds, 125.534 mph.
This is his 27th pole in 456 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and 14th top-10 start in 2018.
This is his first pole in 13 races at Watkins Glen International.
Kyle Busch (second) posted his 15th top-10 start of 2018 and his 12th in 14 races at Watkins Glen International.
Chase Elliott (third) posted his second top-10 start at Watkins Glen International. It is his 12th in 22 races this season.
William Byron (17th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(8-4-2018)
First Round of Qualifying for the Go Bowling at the Glen Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International is over, after 25 scheduled minutes.
#9-Elliott 125.126
#18-Busch 124.689
#20-Jones 124.657
#78-Truex, Jr. 124.613
#22-Logano 124.476
the rest of the top 12: 11 42 47 10 12 34 95
out of the top 12 and not advancing to round 2: 48 21 1 4 24 2 14 31 41 37 19 88 17 3 38 6 96 32 43 13 72 15 51 23 00
Drivers who will miss the race: none, 37 entered.
(8-4-2018)
Denny Hamlin charges to provisional pole at Watkins Glen: Denny Hamlin blitzed the Watkins Glen road course with the fastest lap of the day on Saturday to win the provisional pole for Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), pending post-qualifying inspection on Sunday morning. Hamlin covered the 2.45-mile distance in 70.260 seconds (125.534 mph), edging Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch (125.427 mph) by .060 seconds. First-round leader Chase Elliott was third fastest in the final session at 125.421 mph, just .003 seconds slower than Busch. [More](8-4-2018)
Saturday Watkins Glen Notebook: Karting has accelerated Daniel Suarez’s road course learning curve; Is Martin Truex Jr. a bona fide road course ace? Short Strokes.[More](8-4-2018)
Happy Hour (final) practice for the Go Bowling at the Glen Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International is over, after 75 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#9-Elliott 124.520
#11-Hamlin 124.365
#10-Almirola 123.979
#24-Byron 123.977
#34-McDowell 123.750
most laps run: #42-Larson, 35 laps.
best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 8 drivers): #18-Busch 122.345
slowest: #23-Gallagher 119.580 & #00-Cassill 117.955
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Happy Hour Practice speeds page (pdf) (8-4-2018)
First practice for the Go Bowling at the Glen Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International is over, after 75 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
#20-Jones 125.165
#18-Busch 124.255
#22-Logano 123.654
#14-Bowyer 123.545
#78-Truex, Jr. 123.434
most laps run: #48-Johnson, 25 laps.
#48-Johnson was the only driver to run 10 consecutive laps. His average speed was 121.944mph.
slowest: #23-Gallgaher 118.796 & #00-Cassill 118.386
notes: #11-Hamlin and #31-Newman each made contact with outside walls in separate incidents, but the teams will repair the cars.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Friday Practice speeds (pdf) (8-4-2018)
Bill Elliott to drive Road America XFINITY race for GMS Racing:GMS Racing official announced today that veteran driver, Bill Elliott will drive the No. 23 ISM Connect Chevrolet Camaro at Road America in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Johnsonvill 180.[More](8-4-2018)
Joey Logano continues Watkins Glen domination with NASCAR Xfinity win: Joey Logano reaffirmed his mastery of the road course at Watkins Glen International, but it took a three-wide restart late in Saturday’s Zippo 200 for the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford to get the job done. After winning his fourth straight NASCAR Xfinity Series pole at the 2.45-mile track, Logano took teammate Brad Keselowski and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ryan Preece three-wide into Turn 1 after a restart on lap 75 of 82.[More](8-4-2018)
Logano wins Watkins Glen International XFINITY race: #22-Joey Logano won the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International for his 30th career XFINITY win and 2nd of the year.
#23-A.J. Allmendinger finished second, followed by #7-Justin Alllgaier, #18-Ryan Preece, #98-Aric Almirola, #00-Cole Custer, #19-Brandon Jones, #16-Ryan Reed, #20-Christopher Bell, and #12-Brad Keselowski.
Logano took the lead from Keselowski on a restart with 8 laps to go. Keselowski spun late and Logano pulled away for a victory of more than 3 seconds.
There were 7 cautions for 20 laps and 13 lead changes among 7 leaders.
The average speed was 81.685mph.
Complete results are on the Watkins Glen race results page (pdf). (8-4-2018)
Race stage winners:
Stage 1 – lap 20 – Winner, #22-Joey Logano
Stage 2 – lap 40 – Winner, #23-A.J. Allmendinger
Stage 3 – lap 82 – Race winner, #22-Joey Logano
Watkins Glen XFINITY Race Fast Facts:
Joey Logano(i) won the 24th Annual Zippo 200 at The Glen, his 30th victory in 173 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his second victory and third top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his third victory and eighth top-10 finish in 11 races at Watkins Glen International.
AJ Allmendinger(i) (second) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at Watkins Glen International. It is his first top-10 finish in 2018.
Justin Allgaier (third) posted his fifth top-10 finish in eight races at Watkins Glen International.
Christopher Bell (ninth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Christopher Bell # leads the point standings by 22 points over Cole Custer.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(8-4-2018)
XFINITY Driver playoff standings following Watkins Glen:
(6 races until the playoffs begin)
#20-Christopher Bell [4 wins]
#7-Justin Allgaier [2 wins, 1 can be used for playoffs]
#9-Tyler Reddick [1 win]
#00-Cole Custer, 715, -22
#21-Daniel Hemric, 714, -23
#1-Elliott Sadler, 711, -26
#19-Brandon Jones, 609, -128
#11-Ryan Truex, 556, -181
#60-Austin Cindric, 508, -229
#2-Matt Tifft, 505, -232
#16-Ryan Reed, 487, -250
#4-Ross Chastain, 426, -311, +40 pts ahead of 13th
outside the top 12:
#5-Michael Annett, 386, -351, -40 pts behind 12th
#39-Ryan Sieg, 351, -386, -65 pts behind 12th
See complete owner and driver standings on the driver standings(pdf) and owner standings page (pdf).(8-4-2018)
Free Pass – Who got a lap back on each caution: (and their finish)
Caution 1: #45-Bilicki, 32nd
Caution 2: #16-Reed, 8th
Caution 3: #35-Gase, 22nd
Caution 4: #0-Smithley, 23rd
Caution 5: #17-Gonzalez, 31st
Caution 6: #39-Sieg, 26th
Caution 7: #90-Henderson, 21st
(8-4-2018)
Logano on XFINITY pole at Watkins Glen: #22-Joey Logano won the Busch pole for the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International with a speed of 122.995mph. #12-Brad Keselowski will start second. The rest of the top 10: #42-Kyle Larson, #23-A.J. Allmendinger, #21-Daniel Hemric, #3-Austin Dillon, #11-Ryan Truex, #18-Ryan Preece, #98-Aric Almirola, and #7-Justin Allgaier.
Did Not Qualify: #74-Stephen Leicht.
The starting lineup is posted on the Watkins Glen starting lineup page (pdf).(8-4-2018)
Watkins Glen International XFINITY Qualifying Notes:
Joey Logano(i) won the Pole Award for the 24th Annual Zippo 200 at The Glen with a lap of 71.710 seconds, 122.995 mph.
This is his 35th pole in 173 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his first pole and fourth top-10 start in 2018.
This is his fourth pole in 11 races at Watkins Glen International.
Brad Keselowski(i) (second) posted his fourth top-10 start of 2018 and his ninth in ten races at Watkins Glen International.
Kyle Larson(i) (third) posted his fourth top-10 start at Watkins Glen International. It is his fifth in five races this season.
Christopher Bell (11th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(8-4-2018)
Iowa XFINITY TV ratings: NASCAR Xfinity Series racing from Iowa delivered a 0.5 rating and 815,000 viewers on NBCSN last Sunday, down 55% in ratings and 51% in viewership from last year on NBC (1.1, 1.7M) but up 17% and 23% respectively from 2016 on NBCSN (0.6, 1.05M).[Sports Media Watch](8-4-2018)
News from August 3, 2018
Friday Watkins Glen Notebook: Search for speed continues for Joey Logano and Team Penske; Quest for four straight wins presents major challenge for Christopher Bell; Watkins Glen voted top NASCAR track for third straight year. [More](8-3-2018)
Cummins joins Stewart-Haas Racing: Global power leader Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) is returning to motorsports with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), the championship-winning NASCAR team. Cummins will debut on the No. 14 Ford Fusion of driver Clint Bowyer in the Aug. 18 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, sharing the primary sponsorship with Rush Truck Centers, the premier solutions provider for the commercial vehicle industry. Cummins will return to the No. 14 Ford for the Oct. 14 race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.[More](8-3-2018)
Civil trial against Greg Biffle underway UPDATE: Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle took the stand Monday in the civil case filed against him. Biffle’s ex-wife and her mother are suing him. They claim Biffle had hidden cameras installed in bedrooms and bathrooms, recorded them and showed that video to other people.(7-31-2018)
UPDATE: Former NASCAR Cup series driver Greg Biffle is defending himself in court this week over claims by his ex-wife that he secretly videotaped her and her mother in their bedrooms at the couple’s $2.7 million mansion on Lake Norman in Mooresville, North Carolina. Nicole Biffle and her mother say in their lawsuit that Greg Biffle “has shown images captured by the hidden cameras to third persons.” In court Tuesday, Biffle “denied doing anything inappropriate” and testified that his wife knew about the cameras, WSOC-TV reported.[More](7-31-2018)
Pocono TV ratings UPDATE: NBCSN earned a 1.8 overnight rating for Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway.(7-30-2018)
UPDATE: Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Pocono 400 earned a 1.7 rating and 2.75 million viewers on NBCSN, down 23% in ratings and 25% in viewership from last year and down 35% and 36% respectively from 2015 (2.6, 4.3M). The 2016 race was postponed due to rain.[More](8-3-2018)
Skeen paces final XFINITY practice: #15-Mike Skeen was quickest in final practice at Watkins Glen International with a speed of 95.620mph.
#61-Kaz Grala was second, followed by: #36-Alex Labbe, #66-Timmy Hill, #35-Joey Gase, #76-Spencer Boyd, #40-Chad Finchum, #01-Vinnie Miller, and #78-Tommy Joe Martins. They were the only 9 drivers on track.
See complete results on the Watkins Glen practice 2 speeds page (pdf).(8-3-2018)
Reddick fastest in opening XFINITY practice: #9-Tyler Reddick was fastest during opening practice at Watkins Glen International with a speed of 98.533mph. He was followed by #60-Austin Cindric, #24-Justin Haley, #20-Christopher Bell, and #18-Ryan Preece. They were the only 5 drivers to get on track during the session. It rained throughout practice and with the forecast tomorrow looking clear, teams didn’t feel there were any advantages to getting on track.
See complete results on the Watkins Glen practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(8-3-2018)
Bristol announces Neighborhood Heroes to be honored during Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race: Four Neighborhood Heroes representing first responder groups from cities throughout the region will be honored during pre-race ceremonies on Saturday, August 18 prior to the start of the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The four honorees – Bristol Police Sgt. Matt Cousins, Tennessee Highway Patrol officer Russell Bernard from Nashville, Chattanooga City Fire Dept. Captain Steve Everett and Knoxville City Police Officer Jay Williams – will be introduced to the crowd at the main trackside stage during pre-race festivities, receive a commemorative plaque and take an official parade lap in a Chevy Silverado truck prior to NASCAR driver introductions, among other planned activities.[More](8-3-2018)
Martinsville interested in Cup night race: According to Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell, “There’s nobody that wants a night race here more than I do.” But in a video posted on the track’s Twitter page in response to a fan question, Campbell said, “The earliest it would happen is in 2020.”[More](8-3-2018)
News from August 2, 2018
Hendrick Motorsports extends relationships with Nationwide and Alex Bowman Nationwide has extended its relationship with 12-time NASCAR Cup Series champions Hendrick Motorsports with a new two-year agreement that will increase its majority sponsorship of Alex Bowman and the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team to 20 races per season beginning in 2019. In addition, Hendrick Motorsports has signed Bowman to a one-year contract extension through 2020.[More](8-2-2018)
Watkins Glen Weekend Preview: Truex looks to continue road course success; Bell eyeing Sam Ard’s mark of four consecutive Xfinity Series victories.[More](8-2-2018)
M&M’S Crunchy Mint on Busch’s car at The Glen: M&M’S Crunchy Mint gets to ride along with Busch on the Watkins Glen road course for Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen. [More](8-2-2018)
College athletes set to join NASCAR Drive for Diversity pit crew program: This year’s participants will relocate to North Carolina and train as tire-changers, carriers and jackmen with Rev Racing.[More](8-2-2018)
Katherine Legge to run two Xfinity Series road course races:Katherine Legge will make her NASCAR debut in a two-race Xfinity Series deal with JD Motorsports. The open-wheel and sports car veteran will race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America in Wisconsin. Legge will drive the No. 15 Chevrolet with sponsorship from Maryland-based aviation and technology integration company Airtec.[More](8-2-2018)
Talladega Superspeedway’s Kids VIP Experience Presented by Children’s of Alabama is better than ever: The Kids VIP Experience presented by Children’s of Alabama provides exciting, behind-the-scenes, up-close access for kids on race morning before the drivers strap into the cockpit of their race car for 500 nail-biting miles of action.[More](8-2-2018)
News from August 1, 2018
NASCAR National Series News & Notes – Watkins Glen: A look at many news, notes and story lines for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and XFINITY Series races at Watkins Glen International.[More](8-1-2018)
Pocono post-race penalties announced:Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne were docked 10 points after failing post-qualifying inspection three times at Pocono Raceway.[More](8-1-2018)
Kahne sees potential to remain at Leavine Family Racing: Kahne says he sees improvements, would like to stay at LFR.[More](8-1-2018)
Nationwide Children’s Hospital scheme for Bowman: Nationwide will be back on the No. 88 Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Watkins Glen with the special Nationwide Children’s Hospital scheme. This weekend will mark the second time that the Nationwide colors have been on the No. 88 car at Watkins Glen since joining Hendrick Motorsports.[More](8-1-2018)
A look at some of the top statistical performers and top-10 driver ratings at Watkins Glen, see the stats on the Statistical Advance – Analyzing Watkins Glen International page
Midstate Basement joins Sieg at Watkins Glen: RSS Racing is pleased to welcome back Midstate Basement Authorities as the primary sponsor for the race Watkins Glen this weekend. This is the third year in a row the company has joined RSS Racing and driver Ryan Sieg as a primary sponsor.[More](8-1-2018)
Bubba and Blaney ticket packages available at Homestead-Miami Speedway: As Homestead-Miami Speedway prepares for its 17th consecutive year of crowning NASCAR’s champions, the Speedway continues to host unique and interactive events during Ford Championship Weekend. This year, fans attending Ford Championship Weekend will have the rare opportunity to take part in an insightful Q&A session with two of NASCAR’s most promising young drivers, Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace.[More](8-1-2018)