Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Author: Angie Campbell

  • Elliott Sadler heads to Darlington Raceway with confidence

    Elliott Sadler heads to Darlington Raceway with confidence

    After a hard fought fifth place finish at Road America last week, Elliott Sadler clinched a spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. As he heads to Darlington Raceway this week he has a new goal – to win.

    Sadler won the VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 in 2016 and feels confident that his JR Motorsports team can visit victory lane at the 1.366-mile track once more. On August 15, he announced that this year would be his last full-time season making this his last chance to repeat and tame the “Lady in Black” again.

    His stats at Darlington paint a hopeful picture. In 14 starts, Sadler has five top-five finishes and six top 10s with one pole award in 1997. In his last five races at the track, he has finished second twice (2013, 2014), earned an 11th place in 2015 and scored a win in 2016. Last year he finished 33rd after being involved in a crash.

    Sadler commented on the upcoming race, saying, “This is one of my favorite race weekends of the year. Darlington Raceway has always been a special track for me and seeing all of the retro paint schemes always brings back good memories. My Armour Chili team has one goal this weekend – of course, aside from winning – and that’s to earn as many points as we can.

    “This is a track where I have previously won and, as a team, we’ve run well in the past. I know this will be a key track to make up some points, and hopefully put us back in the lead with only a few races left before the Playoffs.”

    This year will also be his last opportunity to win the Xfinity Series championship. In 10 years of full-time competition in the series, Sadler has finished in the runner-up position four times – in 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017.

    There are only three races remaining before the series crowns the regular season champion, awarding that driver 15 playoff points. Sadler is currently third in the standings, 12 points behind leader Justin Allgaier. A win and/or playoff points this weekend could propel him to first place and one step closer to a championship.

    Tune into the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 on Saturday, September 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC with MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR providing radio coverage.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Robby Gordon and Matthew Brabham Dominate at Road America

    Robby Gordon and Matthew Brabham Dominate at Road America

    This weekend Road America provided racing fans a one of a kind experience with the NASCAR Xfinity Series race plus two SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Truck Series events.

    While the Xfinity drivers took advantage of the complete 4-mile, 14-turn road course, the Stadium SUPER Truck Series raced on the front half of Road America with four 36-inch tall aluminum ramps positioned throughout the course. It’s a series unlike any other with 650 horsepower trucks flying through the air as they also race down the track.

    This was the first time the series has competed at Road America. Robby Gordon and Matt Brabham battled for the lead in the closing laps of Round 13 on Friday but Gordon prevailed, taking the victory. Brabham finished second followed by Gavin Harlien, Blade Hildebrand and Aaron Bambach to round out the top five.

    Former NASCAR Cup Series drivers Casey Mears and Greg Biffle delighted the NASCAR crowd, finishing sixth and seventh. Cole Potts, Matt Nolan, Tommy Dawson, Adam Andretti and Jeff Hoffman finished eighth through 12th to complete Round 13.

    Brabham took the top spot Saturday in Round 14, after overtaking Hoffman on the final lap to capture his third win of the season. He leads the series standings by 30 points over Gavin Harlien.

    “Guys like Robbie Gordon have their IndyCar experience racing here and it was great to go head to head with him in race one. It was also pretty cool to be able to race with the NASCAR guys like Casey Mears and Greg Biffle,” Brabham told NBC Sports after the race.

    Cole Potts at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Photo by David Yeazell for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Biffle finished second in Round 14, followed by Hildebrand, Hoffman and Harlien, who finished third through fifth, respectively. Gordon finished sixth with Bambach, Potts, Andretti, Nolan, Dawson and Mears completing the finishing order.

    “What a blast running the @SSuperTrucks..today was first time back behind the wheel finished 2nd catching the leader on the last lap!! #fun,” Biffle tweeted after the race.

    Casey Mears was also upbeat about the experience, commenting on Twitter, “Had some fun this weekend in @SSuperTrucks at @roadamerica Bummer to get collected is a wreck early in the race today. Buckled the hood and couldn’t see. If you haven’t been to one of these races get to one fast. Crowd reaction was unreal! Thanks @thethrill57 #mearsgang.”

    There are two race weekends remaining in the season at Gold Coast, Australia  Oct. 19-21 and Glen Helen Raceway in California Nov. 30-Dec. 2.

     

  • Kyle Larson claims Cup Series pole at Bristol

    Kyle Larson claims Cup Series pole at Bristol

    Kyle Larson won his first Busch Pole Award at Bristol Motor Speedway Friday night in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Camaro with a 127.792 mph qualifying lap. It’s his third pole of the season and his seventh Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career pole.

    It will be a Chevrolet front row in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race with Chase Elliott starting second after losing to Larson by .0127 seconds. Kyle Busch qualified third with a 127.639 lap and Paul Menard will start fourth. Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, grabbed fifth place, his best career starting position.

    Larson spoke about the significance of starting up front, saying, “The pole is important here at a short track with this pit road selection, having the first pit stall is huge. You know, it is still a long race, 500 laps here, the pole is important, but it doesn’t mean everything.

    “We had a fast car in practice and race trim I felt like in second practice, so hopefully, that means we will be good tomorrow. The track will still change a lot, tighten up quite a bit, so we’ve just got to be prepared for that to make the right adjustments. I hope we put ourselves in position to get a win finally here at Bristol.”

    Larson and Elliott will have to take advantage of their starting positions if they want to keep Busch, a seven-time Bristol winner, behind them.

    “First, we’ve got to catch up,” Elliott said. We haven’t really even been in the ballpark, at least not in the spring race. I feel like we had a really good car here in the spring and got in a crash there a couple of laps in. So, yeah, I don’t know, to beat him here you’ve got to be perfect because he is perfect here and you’ve got to be perfect. You’ve got to have somethings go your way and at the end of the day, you’ve got to make it happen because that is what he does to win. He does a great job working lap traffic and changing lanes and moving around. So, be perfect or you are not going to beat him.”

    Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top 10 qualifiers and will start the race in positions sixth through 10th, respectively.

    The 500-lap Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race is scheduled for 6:46 p.m. ET Saturday night on NBCSN.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

  • Denny Hamlin sweeps qualifying to capture Busch Pole Award at Michigan

    Denny Hamlin sweeps qualifying to capture Busch Pole Award at Michigan

    Denny Hamlin led all rounds of qualifying Friday evening at Michigan International Speedway to score his 28th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole and his first at the 2-mile track.

    He posted a final-round lap speed of 202.794 mph in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and will lead the field to green in Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400. Teammate Kyle Busch will join Hamlin on the front row, qualifying second with a 202.731 lap in his No. 18 Toyota.

    This was the second time Hamlin and Busch have started 1-2 mirroring last week’s front row at Watkins Glen International.

    “We’re starting to see results,” Hamlin said. “I mean you can definitely see that we’re gaining speed, gaining momentum, very optimistic about this week. You know this is a racetrack that we’ve had success at before. We’ve never qualified on the pole here before but we have a car that has been driving good all day and if we can duplicate that and have it driving the same in race trim it should be a great day for us.”

    Busch described his qualifying effort, saying, “I thought 3 and 4 went OK. Certainly, I don’t think it was my best time through there. The first couple of runs, we’d been fighting ‘loose,’ so you kind of drive a little differently to be ready for the loose situation, and then on the final run, we were tight.”

    “You guard your entry or guard your center or whatever you do for the loose, and that doesn’t happen, and you’re tight, and then you’re too tight because you guarded for the loose. Just ever so slightly just missed it, I guess. Overall, I didn’t think we were going to qualify there, so we’re certainly pleased with that.”

    Kevin Harvick qualified third followed by Erik Jones in fourth. Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and Ryan Newman will start fifth and sixth while Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Alex Bowman round out the top 10.

    Bowman was the only Hendrick Motorsports driver to advance to the final round. Teammates, Jimmie Johnson, William Byron and Chase Elliott will start 19th, 20th, and 21st, respectively.

    Daniel Suarez, who was third fastest in the first Cup Series practice, was unable to post a time after getting loose in the first round of qualifying in Turn 2 and hitting the outside wall. He will start from the back of the field Sunday.

    “We were loose in practice and then it was a little bit tight and I told my guys that I wanted the front to work a little bit better and we just crossed the line,” Suarez said. “We were fast and when we have moments like that, it’s very hard to catch the car. I felt like I actually caught the car, but then once I got to the grey, it was like being on ice. We’re fortunate, the car is still very fast and the car is not too bad. We just have to fix it and hopefully, tomorrow come back for practice and get ready for the race.”

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

    Starting Lineup for the Consumers Energy 400

    1. Denny Hamlin
    2. Kyle Busch
    3. Kevin Harvick
    4. Erik Jones
    5. Austin Dillon
    6. Ryan Newman
    7. Martin Truex Jr.
    8. Ryan Blaney
    9. Joey Logano
    10. Alex Bowman
    11. Aric Almirola
    12. Kurt Busch
    13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    14. Paul Menard
    15. Jamie McMurray
    16. Clint Bowyer
    17. Kyle Larson
    18. Brad Keselowski
    19. Jimmie Johnson
    20. William Byron
    21. Chase Elliott
    22. Bubba Wallace
    23. Chris Buescher
    24. David Ragan
    25. AJ Allmendinger
    26. Trevor Bayne
    27. Ty Dillon
    28. Kasey Kahne
    29. Michael McDowell
    30. Matt DiBenedetto
    31. Landon Cassill
    32. Corey LaJoie
    33. BJ McLeod
    34. Gray Gaulding
    35. Reed Sorenson
    36. Garrett Smithley
    37. Timmy Hill
    38. Jeffrey Earnhardt
    39. Blake Jones
    40. Daniel Suarez

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Who’s In, Who’s Out – Watkins Glen Playoff Preview

    Who’s In, Who’s Out – Watkins Glen Playoff Preview

    With only five regular-season races remaining, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen International this weekend. Only seven drivers are locked into the Playoffs with wins. Kevin Harvick has six victories followed by Kyle Busch with five, Martin Truex Jr. with four and Clint Bowyer with two. Joey Logano, Erik Jones and Austin Dillon have each visited victory lane once this season.

    That leaves nine spots available as the top 16 will move on to compete for the championship when the Playoffs begin. While several drivers will advance based on points, time is running out for everyone else. At this point, a win is the only guarantee. Here’s a look at seven drivers who are vying for those last few coveted positions.

    Drivers on the bubble include Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott who is 129 points above the cutoff and Jimmie Johnson who is 15th in the Playoff standings with 107 points to spare. Alex Bowman is in the final Playoff spot (+56).

    Elliott had his career-best road course finish this past June at Sonoma and has momentum on his side after scoring a fifth at Loudon and a seventh last weekend at Pocono.

    “In the last couple of years, I feel like we’ve run better at Watkins Glen,” Elliott said. “We had a good run at Sonoma earlier this season, so hopefully we learned some things that we can do this weekend. I’ve never really had the results to show (at Watkins Glen), but we usually always have had some speed and pace.”

    He may have a little extra motivation for that elusive first win when he hits the track at Watkins Glen. His father, Bill Elliott, earned his first career victory at a road course, Riverside International Raceway, on Nov. 20, 1983.

    Johnson has never won at Watkins Glen but he has earned four top-five finishes, eight top-10s and one pole. He’s hoping to end the drought this weekend and grab his first checkered flag of the season.

    “I took to the Watkins Glen track pretty quickly in the then-Busch Series days and in the Cup Series, I’ve been a top-three car at times and we have had a few top-fives,” he said. So, I hope to find that little bit extra to hold on with the long-run speed. I seem to be able to be competitive on the short runs so I need to take care of my brakes for the long runs.”

    Bowman has had only two Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen with a best finish of 29th but he brought home a ninth place finish in June at Sonoma Raceway.

    “The tracks are pretty different, but it definitely gives me some road-course confidence at least at being good at Watkins Glen,” he said. “I think Watkins Glen is probably a little easier than Sonoma is from a driver’s standpoint. Excited to get there and be in a really fast car. I know our road course stuff is really strong, so it should be fun.”

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is in 17th place, 56 points outside Playoff contention. In five starts at the track, he only has an average finish of 26th so it’s unlikely the Roush Fenway Racing driver will make any significant gains this weekend.

    “Last year we struggled with our brakes so we have made some changes to our braking package this year,” he said. “Pit strategy usually becomes a factor. Last year it came down to fuel mileage. If we can stay out of trouble and keep our Ford on track, I’m confident that we can have a solid finish this weekend.”

    Paul Menard is also 56 points outside the cutoff for the Playoffs. He made his Cup Series debut at the track in 2003 and this weekend will mark his 15th start at the Glen. With an average finish of 22.4, the Wood Brothers team will have an uphill battle.

    “The Fords overall have been strong, and the No. 21, with the alliance with Team Penske, has historically been fast,” he said. “We should have a good baseline to start from, and I’m anxious to see how the car drives.”

    Ryan Newman is currently 88 points outside the cutoff. In 16 starts at Watkins Glen, the Richard Childress Racing driver has captured one top five and three top 10s with an average finish of 17.8. He discussed the challenges of racing at this unique track and how it compares to Sonoma Raceway.

    “Watkins Glen is definitely the faster of the two road courses,” he said, “so the speed there is definitely up compared to what we felt at Sonoma Raceway. The speed is the biggest adjustment we have to make. I think for our trip this time, it’s all about getting adjusted to the new asphalt, the new grip level and the new tire combination.”

    “We really don’t know how racy the track is going to be,” Newman continued. “Usually new asphalt lends itself to a single groove, so it’s been a while since we’ve been to a road course that’s been repaved. The tire and asphalt combination and how well we can race will dictate our strategy, our pit strategy and what we are planning to do when we race the last lap.”

    Daniel Suarez sits 96 points below the cutoff but he enters the completion at Watkins Glen with momentum after his first career pole and a career-best finish of second at Pocono Raceway. In his only Cup Series start at the track last year, he finished third.

    After his runner-up finish last weekend, Suarez spoke about his confidence going forward.

    “Yeah, actually I was just talking about that,” he said, “how good is this result for our race team and for everyone in the No. 19 group because we know how good we run in The Glen, and we had a good result my first time there in the Cup car. We are not expecting anything less. We have good momentum right now on our side, and hopefully, we can keep that going.”

    As the regular season winds down, the completion will increase as the drivers battle for the ultimate prize, a victory that will catapult them into the Playoffs. Tune into NBC on Sunday at 3 p.m. as the action continues.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

    Standings
    RK DRIVER POINTS WINS POLES TOP 5 TOP 10
    1 Kyle Busch 891 6 3 15 17
    2 Kevin Harvick 843 6 2 16 17
    3 Martin Truex Jr. 762 4 4 14 14
    4 Clint Bowyer 677 2 0 6 10
    5 Joey Logano 690 1 0 5 15
    6 Erik Jones 533 1 0 3 10
    7 Austin Dillon 402 1 0 1 3
    8 Kurt Busch 677 0 3 3 12
    9 Brad Keselowski 644 0 0 5 11
    10 Kyle Larson 626 0 2 6 11
    11 Denny Hamlin 618 0 0 6 11
    12 Ryan Blaney 612 0 2 4 10
    13 Aric Almirola 587 0 0 1 9
    14 Chase Elliott 569 0 1 5 10
    15 Jimmie Johnson 547 0 0 2 7
    16 Alex Bowman 496 0 1 2 8
    *** Monster Energy NASCAR Cup playoffs cut-off ***
    17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 440 0 0 2 3
    18 Paul Menard 440 0 1 1 4
    19 Ryan Newman 408 0 0 0 6
    20 Daniel Suarez 400 0 1 2 5
    21 William Byron 390 0 0 0 2
    22 Jamie McMurray 375 0 0 1 3
    23 AJ Allmendinger 338 0 0 1 3
    24 Chris Buescher 325 0 0 2 2
    25 Bubba Wallace 319 0 0 1 2
    26 David Ragan 308 0 0 0 1
    27 Kasey Kahne 306 0 0 1 1
    28 Michael McDowell 305 0 0 0 1
    29 Ty Dillon 279 0 0 0 1
    30 Matt DiBenedetto 234 0 0 0 1
    31 Trevor Bayne 185 0 0 0 0
    32 Gray Gaulding 113 0 0 0 0
    33 Matt Kenseth 108 0 0 0 0
    34 Landon Cassill 97 0 0 0 0
    35 Cole Whitt 87 0 0 0 0
    36 D.J. Kennington 82 0 0 0 0
    37 Corey LaJoie 75 0 0 0 0
    38 Jeffrey Earnhardt 69 0 0 0 0
    39 Reed Sorenson 41 0 0 0 0
    40 Harrison Rhodes 23 0 0 0 0
    41 Kyle Weatherman 16 0 0 0 0
    42 Mark Thompson 15 0 0 0 0
    43 Chris Cook 6 0 0 0 0
    44 Tomy Drissi 5 0 0 0 0
    45 Derrike Cope 4 0 0 0 0
    46 Danica Patrick 2 0 0 0 0
    47 Cody Ware 1 0 0 0 0

     

     

  • Will the Fearsome Threesome Continue Their Dominance at New Hampshire?

    Will the Fearsome Threesome Continue Their Dominance at New Hampshire?

    Martin Truex Jr. captured his fourth win of the season last week at Kentucky Speedway to cement his position as one of the top three 2018 Playoff contenders. He joins the dominating duo of Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch who have five wins each. To put it simply, 19 races into the 2018 season and three drivers have won 14 of those races.

    They are joined by Clint Bowyer with two wins while Joey Logano, Eric Jones, and Austin Dillon have one victory each. That’s seven drivers locked into the Playoffs with only seven races remaining in the regular season.

    Will the Fearsome Threesome continue their domination at New Hampshire or will a new contender arise?

    The top three have led a combined 2,552 laps this year and Harvick leads the way with a series-best 1,040 laps led. Busch is not far behind with 948 while Truex has led 564 laps. Busch has the second-best driver rating (100.8) at the 1.058-mile track with three previous wins while Harvick has two wins and the fifth-best driver rating (96.5).

    Truex has never won at the track but grabbed the pole last July and has three top 10 finishes in the last three races. A win here would have special meaning for the defending series champion.

    “I would have to call New Hampshire my first home track,” Truex said, “because I have been going there for a long time – back as a kid watching my father (Martin Truex Sr.) race. Winning at New Hampshire would be the biggest one of them all. It’s no Daytona 500 but it ranks right up there for me.”

    We could see a new competitor in victory lane from among the active drivers who are winless this year but have had past success at Loudon, including Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne.

    Hamlin has three previous victories at New Hampshire and is the defending race winner. He also has the series-best driver rating at the track (103.6) with nine top fives and 14 top 10s. Hamlin is currently ninth in the standings but this could be his opportunity to clinch a Playoff spot.

    “We’ve obviously had a strong showing at New Hampshire these past few seasons,” he said, “and our FedEx Racing team is returning with the goal to repeat last year’s success. We were able to come from the back and take home the win last July, and we’ll do whatever it takes to do that again so we can lock in our spot to the 2018 Playoffs.”

    Jimmie Johnson, searching for his first victory this year, has won this race three times but has not claimed the checkered flag here since 2010. But, in his favor, he has scored four top fives in his last five starts at New Hampshire and enters the race with the third-best driver rating (100.5).

    Johnson characterized the track as “one of the three toughest tracks to compete on for me. If you are up front and you have track position on your side, your day will go well. If you are fourth on back, it’s a crazy race. Maintaining your line and racing in traffic is just crazy.”

    There have been 24 different Monster Energy NASCAR Cup drivers who have won at New Hampshire. Could someone new add their name to this list?

    Kyle Larson, who finished in second place at both of the New Hampshire races last year, is poised to break through for his first win of the season.

    “I hope we can keep up our recent solid races at Loudon. Last season we had really good races there, with two runner-up finishes, and ran towards the front most of both races. We’ve been bringing fast Chevy’s to the track and are definitely close to scoring a win.”

    Tune into the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 Sunday afternoon as we get one step closer to the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Win and you’re in. With everything on the line, anything can happen.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Views Daytona as Best Opportunity to Win

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Views Daytona as Best Opportunity to Win

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Daytona International Speedway this weekend to continue the Independence Day celebration with the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Be prepared for fireworks both on and off the track.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. describes the Daytona experience as unique.

    “For a racer, Daytona is special no matter what,” he said. “The Supercross guys think it’s special. We think it’s special. The road course guys back when I raced go-karts and came down, even though I didn’t race inside of this track, but Daytona kart week was always special, so anytime you can win or be a part of a race here at Daytona that’s something that you dream about doing and then obviously pulling in to that victory lane is unlike any other. That’s something we all strive for.”

    Known for its unpredictability, the 2.5-mile track has been host to eight different winners in the past eight races. Stenhouse visited victory lane last year capturing his first checkered flag in the event. Could we see a repeat winner Saturday night? The odds may not be in his favor but his two career victories in the Cup Series, both in 2017, have one thing in common, restrictor plate racing. Stenhouse’s first victory was in May at Talladega Superspeedway. In addition to two restrictor-plate wins, Stenhouse also has six top-five finishes and nine top 10s at these two tracks.

    “I’m really looking forward to this weekend,” he said. “Jimmy Fennig has done a great job building our superspeedway cars. Last year, we were able to get our Fifth Third Ford into victory lane. Anything can happen in typical plate racing but hopefully, we can once again get our Ford into victory lane and clinch a spot in the Playoffs.”

    “It’s a great opportunity for us. We’re still kind of battling there points-wise for 16th and that’s something that we’ve been focused on and have kind of slipped the last couple weeks.” Stenhouse continued, saying, “a win would go a long way.”

    His confidence is high and his goal is clear; he wants to win. Expect a no holds barred attitude, especially in the closing laps, as he attempts to secure a berth in the Playoffs.

    “I think respect kind of goes out the window at the end of every race,” Stenhouse said. “We all want to win and here at Daytona, there’s so many options and so many different things and ways the race can play out. You might think you have it and then all of a sudden you don’t, but I think that goes all the way back through the field. For us, if we can come in here and gain 30 or 40 points on the guys that we’re racing for 16th, then we go into Kentucky next week and all of a sudden we’re inside looking at the Playoffs instead of from the outside.

    “We all go as hard as we can here on these last few laps at the speedways and generally there’s a reason why there are always wrecks at the end because we know it’s a good opportunity for us to win.”

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

  • Dillon battles competition and rain to win Xfinity race at Michigan

    Dillon battles competition and rain to win Xfinity race at Michigan

    Austin Dillon held off his Richard Childress Racing teammate Daniel Hemric to bring home the checkered flag in Saturday’s Xfinity Series LTi Printing 250 at Michigan International Speedway.

    It was his first Xfinity Series victory win since August 2016 at Bristol, ending a 26-race winless streak in the series. Dillon took over the lead on Lap 72 and led the last 18 laps of the rain-shortened event which ended under caution after Lap 91 of 125 scheduled laps. The race start was delayed three hours due to the inclement weather.

    It was Dillon’s first win at Michigan and his ninth Xfinity Series career victory.

    “It’s always amazing to get back to Victory Lane. We’ve been working really hard at Richard Childress Racing to get back into the Winner’s Circle and as an organization, we really thought that if we could put Nick Harrison and myself together we could get there. It worked because this is only our second race together this year and here we are.”

    Hemric’s second place tied his career-best finish but he was disappointed in the result.

    “I am proud of the effort and the strides our team made throughout the weekend in practice to make sure we had a really good-driving race car today. I’m proud of everyone on this No. 21 South Point Hotel & Casino team for giving me the opportunity to drive a fast race car. I just didn’t quite execute on my end to put this team in Victory Lane today.”

    Cole Custer finished third, and said, “Today we were just in the right place at the right time and had great strategy. I think my crew chief had a great strategy and got us track position at the end. Our Code 3 Ford Mustang was pretty solid. It was hard to pass. You don’t want to be on the bottom. We had some things go our way and ended up P3 there.”

    Ryan Reed placed fourth followed by Paul Menard in fifth. Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Kevin Harvick, Justin Allgaier and Ryan Truex rounded out the top 10.

    This was the second straight week that the Xfinity Series ran a high-downforce restrictor-plate package. The result was closer racing action which produced nine cautions during the race.

    Dillon gave the package his stamp of approval, saying, “The new package we ran this weekend worked. The fans had to love how tight we were all running together. It was definitely difficult to pass that lead guy. I thought it was fun. It reminded me of Go Kart racing back in the day.”

    Elliott Sadler, the series point leader, finished 30th after scraping the outside wall on Lap 73 due to contact with Alex Bowman. He retains the lead by 41 points over Custer in second.

    The Xfinity Series heads to Iowa Speedway next Sunday for the Iowa 250 presented by Enogen.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

    Complete results:

    1. (13) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 91 laps, 0 rating, 0 points.
    2. (5) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 35.
    3. (4) Cole Custer, Ford, 91, 0, 42.
    4. (15) Ryan Reed, Ford, 91, 0, 49.
    5. (2) Paul Menard, Ford, 91, 0, 0.
    6. (1) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 91, 0, 0.
    7. (6) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 30.
    8. (24) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 91, 0, 0.
    9. (9) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 28.
    10. (12) Ryan Truex, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 41.
    11. (7) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 91, 0, 28.
    12. (40) Kaz Grala, Ford, 91, 0, 34.
    13. (8) John Hunter Nemechek, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 33.
    14. (16) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 28.
    15. (21) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 22.
    16. (14) Matt Tifft, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 28.
    17. (17) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 20.
    18. (11) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 91, 0, 25.
    19. (18) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 18.
    20. (27) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 17.
    21. (10) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 0.
    22. (34) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 15.
    23. (29) Austin Cindric, Ford, 91, 0, 18.
    24. (25) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 13.
    25. (32) Vinnie Miller, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 12.
    26. (22) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 11.
    27. (33) Josh Bilicki, Toyota, 91, 0, 10.
    28. (38) BJ McLeod, Dodge, 91, 0, 9.
    29. (36) Chad Finchum, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 8.
    30. (3) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 91, 0, 21.
    31. (37) Timmy Hill, Dodge, 90, 0, 6.
    32. (26) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, transmission, 89, 0, 5.
    33. (28) David Starr, Chevrolet, accident, 82, 0, 4.
    34. (23) Caesar Bacarella, Chevrolet, accident, 79, 0, 3.
    35. (35) Brandon Hightower, Toyota, accident, 79, 0, 2.
    36. (30) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, accident, 54, 0, 1.
    37. (20) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, accident, 52, 0, 1.
    38. (39) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, brakes, 34, 0, 1.
    39. (19) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, overheating, 33, 0, 1.
    40. (31) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, vibration, 5, 0, 1.

     

  • NASCAR, America and Hope

    NASCAR, America and Hope

    Can I tell you a secret?

    After spending the Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway reporting on the Coca-Cola 600, the most memorable moment had little to do with racing.

    It happened while I was outside enjoying the pre-race activities as I heard the Star Spangled Banner begin playing. I immediately stopped to show my respect and that’s when it hit me.

    Everywhere I looked, inside the media center, on pit road and in the stands, everything came to a halt.  Conversations stopped as everyone rose in a spontaneous show of support to honor and reflect upon the sacrifices made to ensure the freedoms we often take for granted.

    It wasn’t something new. I’ve seen it countless times at every race I’ve ever attended. But today as I looked around, my heart beat a little faster and I felt a chill as goosebumps rose on my arms despite the warmth of the sun. For those few precious minutes, we were all united. And it gave me hope.

    Hope that our country can rise above political discord and find a common ground to build upon.

    Maybe, just maybe, if fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr. can stand side by side with Kyle Busch fans, if only for a few minutes, there is hope for our great country as well.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Mission Accomplished – Kyle Busch Dominates to Win Coca-Cola 600

    Mission Accomplished – Kyle Busch Dominates to Win Coca-Cola 600

    CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Busch conquered Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday night leading 377 of 400 laps and making history as he became the only driver to win at every track on which he has started.

    He started from the pole, swept all the stages and along the way he managed to reach another milestone. When he led his 122nd lap, he joined an elusive group of drivers who have led at least 15,000 laps during their career. It was his fourth victory this season and his 47th career win.

    “This one’s very special,” Busch said in Victory Lane. “I don’t know if there’s anything that can top Homestead (the 2015 title race), just with the meaning of what the championship is. But the Coke 600 — I’ve dreamt of this race since I was a kid.

    “To be able to come out here and win the Coca-Cola 600, it’s a little boy’s dream come true. Man, I just want to say that I thank NASCAR, for one, for giving me the chance to come out here and have this opportunity to race for my dreams and to accomplish those things.”

    Martin Truex Jr. drove his No. 78 to a runner-up finish and talked about the challenges they faced during the race.

    “I felt early on like we were probably second best to him and then screwed up on pit road, and then we had two pit road penalties in a row. So it was tough to come from the back, but it was one of those nights where we just fought until the end and felt like we had a second-place car to Kyle.  I felt like that last run we were catching him a bit, but he was probably just managing his lead and taking care of his tires.  We were just off a little bit tonight but definitely gaining on it, and hopefully, we can get some more wins here pretty soon.

    Denny Hamlin finished third in his No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota. Hamlin was doubtful that there was anything he could have done differently to become more competitive. He said he “we maximized what we had in our car. It was being driven as fast as it could go.”

    “That No. 1 pit stall kind of saved them a few times,” he continued. “We had such fast pit stops with our team. There was one time we came out right beside him, and I really wanted control of that restart, and it looked like — they said 18 over 11.  So he must have just barely beat me out of the pits, and that maybe would have given him some dirty air to see could he pass. He hadn’t really had to pass anyone all day.

    “Their car looked exceptional from my standpoint.  They were about a half a tenth faster. that’s too much to overcome in the long run, and we didn’t have a good enough long run to really run him back down anyway. They just were a tiny bit faster, so we’ve just got to look at the data and find where we need to gain that speed.”

    Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five while Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman, finished sixth through ninth, respectively. There were only nine drivers on the lead lap at the finish line.

    Kevin Harvick was attempting to win three straight races for the second time this year. Instead, he found trouble on Lap 83 when a flat left front tire sent his No. 4 Ford into the Turn 3 wall, ending his day.

    Next Sunday, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series travels to Pocono Raceway as the regular season continues.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

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