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Author: Tucker White

  • Five Drivers Advance to All-Star Race

    Five Drivers Advance to All-Star Race

    CONCORD, N.C. — Five drivers have raced their way into the Sprint All-Star Race and a chance at a million dollars.

    Trevor Bayne, Greg Biffle and Kyle Larson raced their way into the main event by winning one of the three segments in the Sprint Showdown. Danica Patrick and Chase Elliott were voted by fans into the All-Star Race.

    Bayne got an excellent restart with one lap to go in segment 1, split Elliott and Ryan Blaney and took the lead to make his way into his second All-Star Race start.

    “That was pretty cool,” Bayne said. “That takes me back to Texas in 2011 in the XFINITY race when I restarted fourth and pushed Carl out before winning the race. I was thinking about what I could do and I timed the restart really good and got right to the 21’s bumper at the line and was able to get three-wide off of turn two. The car was pretty good there. In clean air I was alright. I was a little concerned with dirty air, but I got a run and went through the middle. It was a little sketchy squeezing through that hole, but it worked.”

    Biffle made his way into his 13th All-Star Race start, in part, by taking two tires during the first segment break.

    “Brian Pattie is a very, very smart veteran crew chief in this sport and it was his call,” Biffle said. “I was skeptical of it, trust me, but I tell you what, what really made the difference was we made a chassis adjustment, two left side tires, the car was really fast the last single lap that we made under green and I was able to pass four cars in one lap. Then we came down and the guys ripped off a great two-tire stop like a lot of other cars did and got us out third. Really, that’s what did it. I was being as aggressive as I could be, and I knew it was 20 laps and I knew that was my chance. The 3 car was a little bit loose and so was I, but I made some adjustments on my driving style and was able to get by him.”

    Bayne and Biffle making their way in ensured that a Roush Fenway Racing Ford made the All-Star Race for the 27th consecutive year.

    Larson edged out Elliott and they banged sides coming to the line. Photo: Tucker White/SpeedwayMedia.com
    Larson edged out Elliott and they banged sides coming to the line. Photo: Tucker White/SpeedwayMedia.com

    Larson edged out Elliott coming to the line in the final segment to advance to his first All-Star Race start.

    “Chase got to my inside there with 2 (laps) to go and I was able to run him pretty hard there and get him loose and was hoping I could hold him off to the checkered,” Larson said of the final lap battle. “I knew he’d get close. I didn’t know he would get that close there coming to the line. I had to squeeze him because I knew he was going to get the fan vote. He has a lot of fans. I knew Danica (Patrick) was going to get the fan vote also. And if Chase was to win, I wouldn’t be in. So, I had to do everything I could do to get to the start/finish line in first and luckily it paid off.

    “I was pretty loose there towards the end,” he added. “So, actually, when he got to my right side, my car drove better. I had no more grip or sideforce or whatever. We ran a decent corner but he was able to slow me down enough. And he had the run. I just had to squeeze him. So, I’m sure he’s upset with me. But, it’s a non-points race and we’re going for a million bucks. I felt like I had to get it done; especially knowing that he would be in the race and I wouldn’t.”

    “Kyle did what he had to do to beat us back to the line,” Elliott said. “We had a real good run. I hate to not to race your way in. That’s pretty frustrating on my behalf. I just didn’t do a very good job. Regardless, it was great to have some great fans to get us in this race because I couldn’t get it done for us.”

    Elliott and Patrick will start the All-Star Race after receiving the two fan vote spots.

    “First and foremost, thank you to the fans,” Patrick said. “The only thing that would make this any better is if I could deliver a great finish for them and an exciting race and pass cars and make the car better for next week. I definitely felt like there were some things we could learn from getting out there. Obviously, we got put in the challenging situation of having zero practice with the new package and just going out and racing. So, there were definitely some issues and we had to kind of Band-Aid them for the couple of segments that we had out there. But, I really want to do better. I feel like I was at the wrong place at the wrong time a few times out there.

    “But on the plus side, I felt like we learned about the car. Even if we didn’t make it through, we were going to be more prepared for next weekend. But, it’s just even that much better to know that I have incredible fans that always come through. Don’t think that I don’t see social media fans. And I see all the times that people said they voted for me. So, thank you very much. I hope I give you something fun to watch tonight.”

    The race lasted 54 minutes and 16 seconds at an average speed of 82.924 mph. There were three cautions for four laps and four lead changes among five drivers.

  • Keselowski Fastest in Final Practice

    Keselowski Fastest in Final Practice

    CONCORD, N.C. — Brad Keselowski topped the chart in the final Sprint Cup Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 26.121 and a speed of 192.027 mph followed by Carl Edwards who was second in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 28.121 and a speed of 192.027 mph. Denny Hamlin was third in his No. 11 JGR Toyota with a time of 28.139 and a speed of 191.904 mph. Kurt Busch was fourth in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with a time of 28.155 and a speed of 191.795 mph while Joey Logano rounded out the top-five in his No. 22 Penske Ford with a time of 28.169 and a speed of 191.700 mph.

    Jimmie Johnson was sixth in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Kevin Harvick was seventh in his No. 4 SHR Chevrolet. Martin Truex Jr. was eighth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. Kyle Busch was ninth in his No. 18 JGR Toyota. Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-10 in his No. 20 JGR Toyota.

    Keselowski posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 189.349 mph. Johnson was second at an average speed of 189.181 mph. Harvick was third at an average speed of 188.958 mph.

  • Blaney: ‘You’re just going for a million dollars’

    Blaney: ‘You’re just going for a million dollars’

    CONCORD, N.C. — Ryan Blaney says it’s better that NASCAR would test new aero rules in an exhibition race because the drivers are, “just going for a million dollars.”

    During his media availability at Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier today, the driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford was asked how the results of testing changes to the aero package would turn out in a non-points race versus a points race as NASCAR did last season at Kentucky Speedway and Darlington Raceway.

    “I think the reason why NASCAR wanted to do it in this race rather than a points race like we did last year was to just try it out and really kind of throw the teams a curveball when it doesn’t really have any points implications,” Blaney said. “You’re just going for one million dollars. I’m not saying you’re just going for one million dollars, it’s one million dollars, but I think it’s just better than throwing it out there in a points race. I don’t want to say it’s a test session, but it’s almost that way being a non-points race and everything like that.”

    NASCAR announced changes to the aero package for the All-Star Race. The changes include a reduction in the number of brake cooling fans cars can use, welding the trailing arm of the rear toe and setting the rear toe to zero at the start of the race.

    The brake cooling fan reduction is in response to teams using fans not to cool the brakes, but to suck air from the bottom of the car to increase downforce. The rear toe has been set to zero to reduce the amount of side force the cars generate. It’s only in place for this race.

    The welding of the trailing arm, however, will continue for the remainder of the season.

    “I think NASCAR is always trying to make improvements to racing, and they did that this year with the aero package, and I think they’re gonna do it this week with less skew package and the new rules package,” Blaney added. “The main point is just trying to slow these cars down in the middle of the corner. That makes for better passing, it makes more mechanical grip. You’re always gonna be relying on aero – always. I don’t care if you’re going 70 miles an hour, you’re always gonna have aero troubles and it’s not gonna be as good behind a car. But the more that we can do to try to put more mechanical grip in it and make aero not as big of an issue, the better it’s gonna be.”

    NASCAR has not announced whether the other two changes made will be used again next season.

  • NASCAR is Bringing Back the ‘Heat’

    NASCAR is Bringing Back the ‘Heat’

    CONCORD, N.C. — As part of bringing back the “Heat,” one driver from the Toyota camp will grace the cover of the next NASCAR game based on tomorrow’s race.

    Dusenberry Martin Racing announced today that the highest finishing Toyota driver in tomorrow night’s Sprint All-Star Race will be featured on the cover of NASCAR Heat Evolution. They unveiled some mock covers with all four of the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers and Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing. Carl Edwards was among one of the artist rendering covers.

    “I’m sitting here thinking of how strange this is for all of these things to converge,” Edwards said of the possibility of gracing the cover of the game. “As a race car driver right now at this point in my life and my career I’m out here in the All-Star event racing for a million dollars that Sprint put up and all of the stuff that goes along with it but growing up my only opportunity to drive a stock car like the one I drive now in reality was through video games. So, I played a ton of video games and I really loved driving games so it’s almost surreal to have the opportunity in my real capacity as a race car driver now to be driving for the opportunity to be on the cover of a video game that if a couple things hadn’t worked out that would be the closest I’d ever got to NASCAR.

    “So, it’s really neat, it’s an honor and I don’t think anyone has every partnered in the way Toyota has with a video game licensee and manufacturer the way they have. It’s just a cool opportunity and the game sounds really neat so I look forward to the opportunity to play it. It would be crazy to be on the cover. I hope I’m on it. It’s neat for you guys to have me be a part of this because truly I had so much fun growing up, and I still do, with the video game stuff. It’s such a neat way for the fans to experience our sport. We have a very rare sport or opportunity that’s rare in the sport because the drivers, the participants, all we do is we push the throttle pedals and we turn the steering wheel and people through video game technology experience that as close as any fans can experience any sport because of the simulation properties that you guys are so good at. It’s cool, it’s fun.”

    DM Racing will release the first official NASCAR game for the “next generation” of gaming console (XBOX 1 and Playstation 4) with NASCAR Heat Evolution on September 13, 2016. Being developed by Monster Games, who also made NASCAR Heat and NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona, it seeks to get back to the franchise’s roots with a thrilling racing experience for pros and rookies alike.

    It features all 23 tracks on the Sprint Cup Series schedule with all 36 races as well. It also includes every driver in the Sprint Cup Series right now. It’s unknown if the game will contain any of the classic cheat codes like “shooting tires” and enlarge tires with miniature car bodies.

  • Harvick Staying at Stewart-Haas Racing

    Harvick Staying at Stewart-Haas Racing

    CONCORD, N.C. — In case you missed it, Kevin Harvick is staying put with Tony Stewart.

    Thursday, Stewart-Haas Racing announced that the driver of the No. 4 SHR Chevrolet was signed to a long-term extension. This put an end to rumors that Harvick might leave the team at the end of the season when his contract expired.

    “When you have talented people who consistently deliver results, you hold on to them,” Gene Haas, team co-owner, said. “Kevin Harvick is an exceptional talent and we’re very proud to have him a part of Stewart-Haas Racing for years to come.”

    Harvick joined SHR in 2014 after spending the past 13 years with Richard Childress Racing. In his first season with the team, he won five races on his way to claiming the Sprint Cup Series championship. Last season, Harvick tied Bobby Allison for the most runner-up finishes in the modern era of NASCAR at 13 and finished runner-up in the championship to Kyle Busch.

    To date, Harvick has amassed nine wins, 42 top fives and 57 top-10s in 84 races with SHR.

    “It was a big decision to join Stewart-Haas Racing and it has turned out to be my best decision,” said Harvick. “I came to Stewart-Haas Racing to win championships. We have one, but that only made us hungry for more. I’m very happy to have my future secure with a team so dedicated to winning.”

    He currently sits first in points heading into Charlotte.

  • Chance at ‘perfect season’ for Mercedes ruined on opening lap

    Chance at ‘perfect season’ for Mercedes ruined on opening lap

    What had been a “perfect season” for Mercedes turned into a disaster on the opening lap of today’s race in Spain.

    After locking up the front row in qualifying, the Spanish Grand Prix had the makings of another runaway race dominated either by Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg. On the initial start, Rosberg got off the line better and drove by Hamilton on the outside to take the lead in turn 1. Hamilton pulled back up to his teammate exiting turn 3 and dove to the bottom to make the pass going into turn 4.

    Rosberg moved down to block his advance and he ran onto the grass. Hamilton lost control of his car, spun out, crashed into the back of Rosberg and sent both of them into the sand trap.

    Toto Wolff, executive director of Mercedes AMG Petronas, said that Hamilton and Rosberg were “both upset for themselves and the team. They were both apologetic to the team. We lost a potential one-two, lost 43 points. It was just thrown away.”

    In response to whether Hamilton or Rosberg were fully to blame for the incident, Wolff said “No. It was a very difficult situation and difficult to analyze. There was not a clear cut thing. Coming out of the corner, Nico closed up the door, and then Lewis went on the grass. Definitely not 100% for one and zero for the other.”

    Niki Lauda, three-time world champion and non-executive chairman of Mercedes, laid the blame largely on Hamilton.

    “Lewis was too aggressive,” Lauda said after the crash. For both to be out after two corners is completely unacceptable.”

    Despite the wreck, Rosberg leaves Barcelona as the championship leader. Reigning world champion Hamilton fell to third with a 43-point deficit on his teammate.

    Neither driver has to leave his current residence for the next race, as Formula 1 heads to the streets of Monte Carlo. Rosberg goes into Monaco having won the last three races in one of the crown jewel races of the sport and not having finished worse than second in the last four.

  • Max Verstappen makes history in Spain

    Max Verstappen makes history in Spain

    Max Verstappen, in only his second year of competition, made history in his maiden ride with Red Bull and  took to the top step of the podium in Barcelona.

    Working on a two-stop strategy, the driver of the No. 33 Red Bull Racing car held off a hard charging Kimi Räikkönen for over 20 laps to score the victory in the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. At 18 years, seven months and 16 days old, Verstappen displaced Sebastian Vettel as the youngest winner in Formula 1 history.

    “It feels amazing,” Verstappen said. “I can’t believe it. It was a great race. I have to say thank you to the team for giving me such a great car. To win straight away in the first race, it’s an amazing feeling.”

    Verstappen, who had never turned a lap in a car for RBR, took over the ride formerly occupied by Daniil Kvyat after the Russian Grand Prix.

    Räikkönen brought his No. 7 Scuderia Ferrari home to a runner-up finish. Vettel rounded out the podium in his No. 5 Ferrari. Daniel Ricciardo, who led most of the race, brought his No. 3 RBR car home fourth in spite of a tire puncture with two laps remaining. Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top-five in his No. 77 Williams-Martini Mercedes.

    Carlos Sainz Jr. finished sixth in his No. 55 Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari. Sergio Pérez finished seventh in his No. 11 Sahara Force India Mercedes. Felipe Massa, after failing to advance out of Q1 the day before, finished eighth in his No. 19 Williams Mercedes. Jenson Button finished ninth in his No. 22 McLaren-Honda. After being relegated to the sister Toro Rosso team, Kvyat brought his No. 26 car home to a 10th-place finish.

    As for the Haas F1 Team, Esteban Gutiérrez finished 11th in his No. 21 car and Romain Grosjean exited the race with less than 16 laps remaining and finished unclassified. As of the publishing of this piece, no reason was given for Grosjean’s retirement.

    Championship leaders Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were involved in a lap 1 wreck that took both of them out going into turn 4. As of the publishing of this piece, no actions have been taken by the stewards.

    Rosberg leaves Barcelona with the championship lead. Räikkönen leap-frogged Hamilton for second and tails Rosberg by 39 points. Hamilton trails by 43. Vettel and Ricciardo leave tied for fourth trailing by 52. Race winner Verstappen leaves sixth trailing by 62.

    The next race on the Formula 1 calendar is the Grand Prix of Monaco on May 29.

  • Contenders Taken Out in Late Race Wreck

    Contenders Taken Out in Late Race Wreck

    Several strong cars were taken out of contention in a wreck in the closing stages of last night’s race.

    A lap after the penultimate restart, Denny Hamlin threaded the needle going between Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson entering turn 3. This pulled the air off of the No. 2 Ford and sent Keselowski spinning. Likewise, doing so also sent Hamlin spinning. He got into the side of Larson and put him into the wall. Hamlin continued spinning and rear-ended the wall. Blinded by the enveloping smoke, Joey Logano t-boned the drivers side of the No. 11 Toyota.

    “I had a huge run off of turn two and I was going to go low on the on 2 (Keselowski), but he went to block, so I went through the middle and I didn’t let off into turn three,” Hamlin said on what caused the accident. “I went through the middle of them and I either got touched from the 2 or I got loose underneath the 42 (Larson). I’m not sure really until I get a good look at it honestly.

    “I was going in there three-wide. I wasn’t letting off and the 42 was just too close up there. It wasn’t his fault by any means, but we were both trying to drive in there to clear each other and I just got loose and I mean that’s crazy there was no contact, but both me and 2 (Brad Keselowski) got loose there. Shame – I just screwed us on pit road twice. Our car was a fast car today. Just didn’t show it. We were just in the back because I sped twice. I’ve got to get better on pit lane to give us a chance and then I was just going for it there because I knew our car had some speed. I was on two tires and the guys in front of me were on none or two. I was just going for it. I’ve got the win and that’s part of this format is going for it and that’s what we did.”

    “I think everybody got a glimpse of just how important and how impactful the air is to the race cars,” Keselowski said speaking on the wreck. “We just all went down in the corner and the air spun us all out just with the positioning we had. It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is.”

    “It just looked like the 2 got loose and then the 11 got loose,” Logano said. “I was hoping the 11 would come down the hill and when you’re in the smoke you can’t see anything. I hit the wall, so I knew where that was and I just kept riding and riding and hoping the 11 would come down the hill because I couldn’t see and he stayed up there and I got him right in the door. It’s unfortunate. It’s just racing. Things happen sometimes.”

    Keselowski brought his car home to a 10th-place finish while Larson finished 35th, Hamlin finished 37th and Logano finished 38th.

    Keselowski leaves sixth in points, Logano leaves seventh, Hamlin leaves 13th and Larson leaves 21st.

  • Kyle Busch Bowls Winning Strike at Kansas

    Kyle Busch Bowls Winning Strike at Kansas

    While the yellow brick road didn’t lead to the Emerald City tonight, it did lead Kyle Busch to victory lane in America’s heartland.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 69 laps and was up front when it counted to take the checkered flag in the GoBowling.com 400 at Kansas Speedway. It’s his 37th career victory in the Sprint Cup Series, his third of the season and his first at Kansas.

    “This is pretty big – man, there’s been a lot of rough days here at Kansas, that’s for sure,” Busch said. “A lot of good ones too, but I just can’t say enough about this team and everyone on this M&M’s Camry, this thing was awesome tonight. At the beginning and middle part of the race we weren’t great, but Adam Stevens (crew chief) and the guys, they just kept working on it. The 78 (Martin Truex Jr.) was probably the fastest car, but we kept ourselves in the game. It was pretty impressive.”

    Kevin Harvick finished second in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet while Kurt Busch rounded out the podium in his No. 41 SHR Chevrolet.

    “For whatever reason I got tight, I hit a big piece of debris down there about six or seven laps into the run,” Harvick said of those final laps chasing down Kyle Busch. “From that point on I just got really tight…We overhauled this thing this morning to try to get it close. They did a great job.”

    “We battled hard,” Busch said of his night. “I was trying to find all the different lines on the track to find speed. We did a lot of things good and to win you’ve got to be great. We are right there, we are knocking on the door, but thanks to Haas Automation, Monster Energy, Chevrolet, everybody at Stewart-Haas it’s a great second and third place finish. We always want to win and we have been doing really good with this Tony Gibson (crew chief) led team.”

    Matt Kenseth led three laps on his way to a fourth-place finish in his No. 20 JGR Toyota.

    “It’s our best finish of the year so that’s the bright side,” Kenseth said. “I’m sort of happy for Kyle (Busch) and Adam (Stevens, 18 crew chief), but seriously happy for everyone at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). Martin (Truex Jr.) had them covered and I don’t know what happened to him in the pits or whatever. We were about a second to fourth-place car most of the day. I thought we were as good as the 18 (Busch) if we could have had the position, but it was tough to stick on that bottom. I tried something different there to try to lay back and get the pass, but once they were single file I couldn’t go get them. We were just a little off, but these guys had great pit stops and great adjustments and we seem to be getting closer.”

    Ryan Blaney was the highest finishing rookie as he rounded out the top-five in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford.

    “We started off the race really, really good, and I thought that’s when we were the strongest – when the sun was up and the track was a little bit hotter,” Blaney said. “We were really strong and then as the night came and it cooled off a little bit, we lost a little bit of speed. I felt like everyone kind of gained grip and got better and we lost a little bit. It took us a while to try to get that back. We got it closer towards the end there, but it was still a decent finish for us. We got some spots with that little accident, but we were up there all day. It was just a good day for us, a good night and something to build off of for sure.”

    Austin Dillon finished sixth in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Ryan Newman finished seventh in his No. 31 RCR Chevrolet followed by AJ Allmendinger who finished eighth in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet. Chase Elliott finished ninth in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10 in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford.

    “It was a long night,” Keselowski said. “We had so much long run speed, but weren’t where we wanted to be on the short runs, so we would kind of lose track position and then gain it back at the end. We kind of clawed our way up into that fifth to 10th range and stalled out there a couple times. With about 30 to go we made a great strategy call that got us up to fourth with fresh tires, and it looked like we were gonna have a shot to give Kyle a run for the race win and kind of got caught up there in turn three battling for second, so that kind of put us in the back. We drove back up to 10th in the last 20 laps from 17th or whatever, so it was up and down.”

    Martin Truex Jr., who led race-high of 172 laps, had a loose wheel on his final stop and finished a disappointing 14th.

    “I couldn’t believe it,” Truex said on the loose wheel. “Went around (turns) one and two and I was like, ‘Wheels loose.’ I kept telling myself that maybe it’s not me, maybe it’s just shaking because it has tape on it or something stupid. It was loose and I knew it right away. Frustrating, but that’s how it goes.”

    The race lasted two hours, 49 minutes and 20 seconds at an average speed of 141.909 mph. There were 16 lead changes among 10 different drivers and six cautions for 30 laps.

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  • William Byron wins in Trucks at Kansas

    William Byron wins in Trucks at Kansas

    William Byron was up front when it mattered in the end to score his maiden victory in NASCAR in America’s heartland.

    The driver of the No. 9 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota took advantage of Ben Rhodes getting into race leader Johnny Sauter going into turn 3 on the final lap to win the Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway. It’s the first career victory in the Camping World Truck Series for the 18 year old out of Charlotte, North Carolina.

    Matt Crafton led a race high of 57 laps on his way to a runner-up finish in his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota. Daniel Hemric rounds out the podium in his No. 19 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford. Christopher Bell led five laps on his way to a fourth-place finish in his No. 4 KBM Toyota. Clint Bowyer rounded out the top-five in his No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet.

    Ryan Truex finished sixth in his No. 81 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota. Cole Custer finished seventh in his No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Timothy Peters led one lap on his way to an eighth-place finish in his No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota. Ben Kennedy finished ninth in his No. 33 GMSR Chevrolet. Spencer Gallagher rounded out the top-10 in his No. 23 GMSR Chevrolet.

    The race lasted two hours and 21 minutes at an average speed of 108.511 mph. There were 19 lead changes among nine different drivers and 11 cautions for 47 laps.

    Peters leaves Kansas with an eight-point lead over Hemric in the point standings.

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