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NASCAR Cup Series

  • Germain Racing: Crew chief Matt Borland suspended for violating Substance Abuse Policy

    Germain Racing: Crew chief Matt Borland suspended for violating Substance Abuse Policy

    Staff Report | NASCAR.com

    Matt Borland, crew chief of the No. 13 entry driven by Ty Dillon in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, has been indefinitely suspended for a violation of the sanctioning body’s Substance Abuse Policy, according to Germain Racing.

    The organization made the announcement Monday, and NASCAR officials confirmed the suspension later in the morning. Borland said in a statement released by the team that he was notified last weekend of a positive test for the banned substance DMAA (2-amino-5-methylhexanamine). He and team owner Bob Germain Jr. said a derivative of the substance was an ingredient in a diet coffee that he had been using regularly for the last six months.

    “I gave the doctor all of the details of the coffee and ingredients, and after he researched it, he said he thought that this was the cause,” Borland said in a statement provided by the organization. “Even after doing my due diligence, I felt comfortable in drinking the coffee. I plan to work with NASCAR to figure out what exactly has happened and resolve this issue as quickly as we can. I will cooperate with them and do whatever is requested of me to make this situation right.

    “I have worked in the NASCAR garage for 20 years now and have never been a part of anything like this in my life. I take full responsibility for this incident and want to get it taken care of completely.”

    Borland will need to complete the NASCAR Road to Recovery program to be reinstated. Justin Alexander, who was crew chief for Austin Dillon’s Daytona 500 win last season, will step in as interim crew chief for Ty Dillon.

    Borland is in his second season with the Germain team. He has 13 victories at the Monster Energy Series level — all paired with driver Ryan Newman.

    Germain said he supported his crew chief in his efforts to return to the sport.

    “Based upon the ingredients label we do not believe that Matt had reason to know that the coffee contained a banned substance,” Germain said. “However, we also understand and respect NASCAR’s decisions to strictly uphold their policies for each and every owner, driver and crew member in the garage. As an organization, we stand behind Matt. He has been and remains an integral part of our race team and we look forward to his return to the garage and pit box.”

  • Season, as well as opportunities, far from over for DiBenedetto and Leavine Family Racing

    Season, as well as opportunities, far from over for DiBenedetto and Leavine Family Racing

    When it comes to Bristol, it is usually a story of hot tempers that trumps out whoever it is that won the race. Surprisingly, though, the biggest storyline to come out of Saturday night’s event was instead one of heartbreak and admiration in regards to Matt DiBenedetto’s performance in the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota, as he managed to not only lead the most laps (93) but also narrowly missed taking the checkered in a battle with eventual winner Denny Hamlin.

    Despite Hamlin’s fourth win tying teammates Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. for most wins this season, the entire NASCAR community was focused on DiBenedetto’s performance as the 28-year-old Californian had a career night not only in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series but in his entire NASCAR national touring series career. Fans, media, and peers all reached out to DiBenedetto to congratulate him and offer him support, as earlier in the week it was announced that he would not be returning as driver of the No. 95. A lot of backlash was aimed at team owner Bob Leavine despite it being made clear that the decision was purely business related.

    Although the loss and DiBenedetto’s post-race reaction were heart-rending, something a lot of people are neglecting to realize is that the 2019 season isn’t over. DiBenedetto still has plenty of racing to do this season, and if anything, his Bristol performance may be the momentum his team needs to contend for more wins before the checkered flag flies at Homestead.

    One thing to note about DiBenedetto’s recent surge in performance is that he’s gotten to be strong on tracks where he must muscle the car. All three of his top-fives this season have come on such hard-driving tracks, as he finished fourth at Sonoma, fifth at Loudon, and second at Bristol. Going into Darlington he has an average finish of 29th, but with the way his team has performed recently that may be a statistic worth disregarding. Darlington is also a track where a driver has to drive hard and muscle the car around, and DiBenedetto is big enough to get the job done.

    Similar tracks where the No. 95 may shine include Richmond, the Charlotte Roval (where he finished 13th a year ago), Dover, Martinsville, and Phoenix. None of those tracks are handled with finesse; if anything they’re tracks where a driver has to manhandle their car to get the results they want. However, DiBenedetto has also shown himself to be an adept restrictor plate racer. He led the most laps in the Daytona 500 earlier this year (49) and has three top-10s at Daytona, including an eighth in July. He’s yet to score a top-10 at Talladega, but he has momentum from a string of strong runs in recent weeks, and that could very well carry on for plenty of weeks to come.

    It’s true that the revitalized LFR organization is without a question the best Cup team that DiBenedetto has driven for in his young career, and it’s likely that his previous averages at the upcoming tracks can change for the better. He’s still learning and growing as is LFR, and it is likely that there are other top-20 Cup teams who are currently eyeballing DiBenedetto for their seats. The general consensus it that he’ll end up in a race car in 2020 for better or worse.

    At this point in time, there’s no need to fret. If Alex Bowman can go from BK Racing backmarker to race-winning Cup standout, then DiBenedetto’s trajectory may not be all that different. He’s got it all: Charisma, talent, passion, and a strong relationship with the fans. He’s a humble driver who knows his worth in the sport and he has the drive needed to make it work at the top level. Team owners will get their money’s worth by hiring him.

    But more importantly at this moment, he’s got the final leg of the Cup season to race through, and he’ll have plenty of racing and plenty of opportunities to build off of his Bristol performance. His season isn’t over by a long shot, and with Mike Wheeler on the pit box anything is possible. He’s got plenty of good runs left in the No. 95 this season. That’s where his focus and the NASCAR community’s focus should be lying right now.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Bristol

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Bristol

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Busch: Busch fell a lap down early but recovered to post a fourth-place finish at Bristol.

    “Unlike Denny Hamlin,” Busch said, “I would never apologize to a driver whom I passed for the victory. I don’t want anyone to ever say, ‘Kyle Busch puts the ‘ass’ in ‘compassion.’”

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole at Bristol and overcame a number of impediments, including a loose wheel, contact with Jimmie Johnson, and falling a lap down at one point.

    “That’s called ‘beating adversity,’” Hamlin said. “As we all know, adversity is not even close to being undefeated. In fact, it’s the only thing Kurt Busch has ever beaten in a fight.”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 13th at Bristol, two laps down.

    “Congratulations to Denny Hamlin,” Truex said. “But let’s face it, the night belongs to runner-up Matt DiBenedetto, who just recently lost his ride. Fans gave him a standing ovation. And while all those fans were standing, Matt was the one looking for a ‘seat.’”

    4. Joey Logano: Logano found himself in an early hole after an unscheduled pit stop left him three laps down. He battled his way back to the lead lap, but damage in a Lap 364 accident damaged the nose of his No. 22 Penske Mustang. He finished 16th and is second in the points standings, 39 behind Kyle Busch.

    “It was an up and down night,” Logano said. “Not only for me but for many drivers. There were more ‘uppers’ and ‘downers’ than a sleepover at Tim Richmond’s house.”

    5. Chase Elliott: Elliott took fifth at Bristol to post the best finish for a Chevrolet.

    “I don’t think the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports car was good enough to win,” Elliott said. “But I’m happy to give Chevy their best finish. It’s a small victory. I guess that’s the result when you ‘manufacture’ a win.”

    6. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished last at Bristol.

    “Nothing beats a victory burnout with your son in the car,” Harvick said. “I experienced that after winning at Michigan. Bristol was another story. After my performance at Bristol, my son Keelan called a ride-share, because he was ‘Uber-disappointed.’”

    7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took third in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, recording his first top-five since a fifth at Chicagoland in late June.

    “I think fans and drivers alike love night racing,” Keselowski said. “Ask anyone and they’ll tell you, ‘Night racing is way ‘cooler’ than day racing.’”

    8. Kurt Busch: Busch finished ninth at Bristol, posting his 13th top 10 of the season.

    “I think Matt DiBenedetto’s performance will certainly get him another job,” Busch said. “But really, he probably would have won the race if stubborn old Ryan Newman had gotten out of his way. Thanks to Newman, DiBenedetto got ‘jobbed.’”

    9. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 10th, one lap down, at Bristol, posting his 11th top 10 of the season.

    “I cut a tire and triggered an accident that collected several cars,” Blaney said. “Sparks were flying out of the rear end of my car. ‘Sparks’ and ‘rear end’ are never a good combination anywhere, especially at Martinsville after one of their hot dogs.”

    10. Kyle Larson: Larson won Stage 1 at Bristol and finished sixth.

    “How about J.J. Yeley pulling Slayer as a sponsor for his car?” Larson said. “Apparently, some other sponsors didn’t want to be associated with the band. I guess these other sponsors must have a lot of influence, but I think they should mind their own business. It’s a case of ‘heavy meddle.‘”

  • Keselowski frustrated with top-five finish at Bristol

    Keselowski frustrated with top-five finish at Bristol

    Although he led laps early in Stage 3 and finished third at Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday night, Brad Keselowski was disappointed with his top-five outing.

    “We had a car capable of contending for the win, we were leading and got tore up,” Keselowski told PRN Radio. “Got the most speed out of the Miller Lite Ford but had to settle for third which isn’t what we wanted, but not a bad day, just not the win I thought we could have been able to get.”

    Keselowski qualified 13th on Friday afternoon and it didn’t take him long to get to the front in Stage 1. The Team Penske driver finished eighth in Stage 1 and eighth again in Stage 2.

    The No. 2 driver worked hard all night to get the front dodging accidents. It wasn’t until the final stage when we saw Keselowski up front for good, swapping the lead multiple times with Kyle Busch. Keselowski managed to get out front on Lap 265 and led for 85 laps. He took the lead three more times while battling side-by-side with Busch.

    From that point on, he was trying to catch the race leaders in search of this third Bristol victory. However, Keselowski will have to wait another year to do so as he wound up with a third-place finish. He is currently fourth in the playoff points standings, -138 behind leader Kyle Busch.

  • Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney score solid runs at Bristol

    Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney score solid runs at Bristol

    Chase Elliott debuted a new paint scheme featuring Hooters Spirits Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway in his eighth start at the track. He was hoping to bring home a popular win for the fans.

    It all started with qualifying on Friday afternoon with Elliott qualifying sixth. He was consistently strong throughout the race, even leading at some points.

    In Stage 1, the Georgia native finished second while he finished sixth in Stage 2. Elliott avoided the accidents and kept his car clean for the most part. On Lap 131, he took the lead and led for 33 laps, the only time he led the race. However, Elliott was up front late on the final restart, before making slight contact with Erik Jones.

    Elliott had to slow down and swerve to miss Jones which caused him to lose some momentum and he was never able to get back up to the front to fight for the win. In the end, the Hendrick Motorsports driver finished sixth for his 10th top-10 of the 2019 season.

    “We were a little off from being perfect all weekend,” Elliott said to PRN Radio. “The guys did a great job in the pits. you know we had track position all night long, I just never did anything with it really. Executed really nice, just needed to do a little bit better to do something. We kept lining up on the top, kept gaining spots on pit road, that’s all you could ask for.”

    While it was a quiet night for Elliott, Ryan Blaney had an adventurous night that saw him finish 10th.

    Blaney fought multiple challenges throughout the night. The first challenge came on Lap 231 when he had to check up to avoid making contact with the 52 of Kyle Weatherman. Blaney was also involved in a big wreck on Lap 373 as he shot straight up the track when a right-front tire went down.

    Despite Blaney being caught up in a wreck, he was able to rebound to a 10th place finish in what had been a long night.

    “Multiple things, but not wrecking,” Blaney explained to PRN Radio about his night. “Got in a big wreck right there, cut a right front (tire). Just misjudging where the 8 (Hemric) was. Throughout the race, I just kind of got loose and cut my right front. I think it blew his left rear too. I got into a big pileup there, but luckily we were able to fix it. Just keeping up with the racetrack and struggling a little bit, I’ll have to do better next time.”

    The 10th place finish was Blaney’s 11th top-10 finish of 2019.

  • Matt DiBenedetto falls short at Bristol with runner-up finish

    Matt DiBenedetto falls short at Bristol with runner-up finish

    In what could have been a crowd-pleasing moment at Bristol Motor Speedway, Matt DiBenedetto and the fans were left disappointed as he came up one spot short of victory.

    With the final restart coming with 113 laps to go, DiBenedetto rocketed to second place as race leader Kyle Busch slid back when he got caught up in the PJ1. From there, the No. 95 driver chased Erik Jones down and took the lead on Lap 396.

    For much of the race, he had the best car on the racetrack. DiBenedetto was weaving in and out of lapped traffic in what was likely the best car he has driven in a long time.

    The Grass Valley, California native was determined not to let anything get in the way of his first career Cup Series win. That is, until he caught up to the No. 6 of Ryan Newman. DiBenedetto was struggling to get around him and trying to put him a lap down while keeping on pace.

    He finally managed to get around Newman but at that point, DiBenedetto’s car had begun to go away and he was suddenly not the best car on the track. It was now his affiliate teammate Denny Hamlin who had the car to beat.

    Trying to be consistent, DiBenedetto was doing everything he could to keep Hamlin in his rear-view mirror. Unfortunately, Hamlin got to the left side of him and made contact with left front fender.

    This eventually cost DiBenedetto the win and what might have been the most popular victory in NASCAR in quite some time.

    “I don’t even know what to say, I’m so sad we didn’t win but proud of the effort,” DiBenedetto told PRN Radio. “I got tight there from the damage and trying to get by Newman. I immediately flipped the switch and got tight. This opportunity, this is what I want everyone to know, how thankful I am that I got this opportunity and work with great people like Wheels (Mike Wheeler), my crew chief.”

    “I’m so thankful to everyone on this team who gave me an opportunity, all of our sponsors, Procore, Dumont Jets and Toyota for backing me this year, everyone at Leavine Family Racing. I want to try and not get emotional but it’s been a tough week and I want to stick around and I want to win. That’s all I want to do is win in the Cup Series. It’s so hard to be that close but it’s neat to race door-to-door with Denny Hamlin, someone who I’ve been a fan of since I was a kid.”

    “It’s amazing, a great day but this one is going to hurt for sure.”

    The second-place finish was DiBenedetto’s career-best finish of his Cup Series career.

  • Hamlin scores emotional win at Bristol

    Hamlin scores emotional win at Bristol

    Start first, finish first for Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing, but it wasn’t all that easy.

    Hamlin was dominant in the first stage, swapping the lead back and forth with Kyle Larson six times before Hamlin had a right-rear tire go down after contact. The JGR driver was quiet after Stage 1 until he made contact with race leader Matt DiBenedetto for the lead with 12 to go. Hamlin was able to hold off DiBenedetto for his fourth win of the season.

    “It feels good,” Hamlin said to PRN Radio. “My first reaction was, I’m sorry to Matt (DiBenedetto). I mean I know those guys really wanted to win and Matt (DiBenedetto) really deserves to win. Watching him (DiBenedetto) do an interview, I get emotional for him. I just hate that I had to take it from him.”

    Hamlin sat on the pole Friday afternoon, which gave him his first pole of the season.

    Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 125

    Hamlin was strong early leading 14 laps before getting stuck in lap traffic, allowing Larson to close in and take the lead. Both drivers would swap the lead a couple of times before a caution on Lap 81 when Hamlin was involved in an accident with Austin Dillon and Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin had to pit under caution for a flat right-rear tire that went down.

    There were no more cautions and Larson took the stage win. Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, DiBenedetto, Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Aric Almirola rounded out the top-10 finishers for Stage 1. Hamlin finished 11th after pitting for the right-rear tire.

    Under the stage break, Larson, Truex, Elliott, Harvick, Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Blaney, Jones and Clint Bowyer were among the ones to pit.

    Stage 2: Lap 135 – Lap 250

    The second stage has more incidents than Stage 1. On Lap 160, Chicago winner Alex Bowman had a left front tire rub but no caution was warranted. The battle for the lead heated up four laps later with last week’s winner, Harvick and Truex followed suit. Johnson went two laps down on Lap 169. More issues arose for Hamlin on Lap 178 when he reported a loose wheel and he eventually went in to pit on Lap 186. The problem later turned out to be the right-side tire.

    The third caution came out on Lap 191 as Almirola made contact with the 54 of J.J. Yeley. Replays later showed that Almirola tried coming down to pass the 54 before being clipped by Yeley. Almirola would later bring out another caution on Lap 214 after being involved in an accident with the 51 of B.J. McLeod. It was a big moment for Kyle Busch as he had been struggling all night and received the free pass to get back on the lead lap. Busch was running 19th at the time of caution.

    A close call took place with Blaney on Lap 231 with the 52 of Kyle Weatherman. Blaney may have received right front damage. A caution came out again on Lap 242 as Quin Houff made contact with Bowyer which sent Bowyer spinning up the track in Turn 2. Bowyer escaped without any major damage. The caution would be a huge break for Hamlin as he received the free pass.

    This would set up a late Stage 2 restart with three laps to go. The top six of Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, Newman, Daniel Hemric and Kyle Busch stayed out under caution. Under the caution, Harvick who had led 28 laps, went behind the wall with clutch problems. The No. 4 driver would not return to the race and wound up with a disappointing last-place finish.

    By staying out, Kurt Busch was able to win the second stage. Suarez, Newman, Kyle Busch, Byron, Elliott, Jones, Keselowski, Hemric and Truex rounded out the top-10 in Stage 2. Hamlin was 18th in the second stage.

    Stage 3: Lap 260 – Lap 500

    In the early part of Stage 3, Kyle Busch, who had been struggling earlier, was able to take the lead and led for 11 laps before Keselowski took over for a short while. Both would take the lead several times creating an interesting battle up front. Keselowski eventually took the lead and led 85 laps before battling with Busch again.

    On lap 313, Reed Sorenson was out of the race with a clutch problem. The race started to get interesting on Lap 360 as Truex came down pit road with a right front tire down. Just two laps later, Bowman brought out the seventh caution of the night after blowing a left front tire. Joey Logano and Byron would also be caught in the crash with Logano receiving the most damage.

    The night would go from bad to worse for Logano as he was caught with a safety violation under caution. Race leaders Kyle Busch, Jones, Larson and Hamlin, among others, made a pit stop as well.

    The eighth caution came out for a big wreck on Lap 374. Blaney shot straight up the track in Turn 1 as he couldn’t turn due to a right front tire that went down. He took Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, David Ragan and Johnson with him. McDowell had heavy damage as did Johnson who had the right side sheet metal torn apart with styrofoam coming out of the side.

    After that, there was a long green-flag run with 113 laps to the finish. Race leader Kyle Busch hit the dusty part of the PJ1 which slowed him down and eventually cost him the win. At that point, fan-favorite DiBenedetto skyrocketed to second trying to catch Erik Jones for the lead.

    It wasn’t until a few laps later on Lap 396 when DiBenedetto finally passed Jones for the lead. On the same lap, Jones got loose and made contact with the wall and collected Elliott. Jones later had to pit for the damage.

    From that point on, DiBenedetto set a blistering pace in search of his first career win. He was lapping cars left and right until he caught Ryan Newman, who is a hard driver to pass on the racetrack. Newman gave DiBenedetto a run for his money.

    With DiBenedetto and Newman racing for the lead, Hamlin was able to close in on him, lap by lap. With 12 to go, Hamlin was side-by-side with race leader DiBenedetto. Both made contact on the backstretch, giving the 95 some left front tire damage.

    Unfortunately for DiBenedetto, he ran out of time and laps as Hamlin went on to win at Bristol.

    “Yeah, he was good,” Hamlin said in describing DiBenedetto’s run. “It was probably the setup I ran last year. Mike Wheeler has a great set up for this place. Matt was just doing a phenomenal job, that’s all you could say. He’s a helluva racecar driver and he’s going to land on his feet in a better ride then he’s got now.”

    Despite getting damage early on, Hamlin was able to come back and take home his second win at Bristol.

    “It means a lot, it’s emotional for a lot of reasons,” Hamlin added to PRN Radio. “The team is on a roll like I’ve never seen before. It hasn’t been this good in a long time.”

    Hamlin led four times for 79 laps before picking up the win at Bristol. He also collected five playoff points in the process.

    There were eight cautions for 61 laps and 23 lead changes among 10 different drivers.

    Up Next: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series takes their final off weekend before returning to Darlington International Raceway on Sunday Sept.1.

    Playoff Standings

    1. Kyle Busch – Four wins
    2. Denny Hamlin – Four wins
    3. Martin Truex Jr. – Four wins
    4. Brad Keselowski – Three wins
    5. Joey Logano – Two wins
    6. Kevin Harvick – Two wins
    7. Chase Elliott – Two wins
    8. Kurt Busch One win
    9. Alex Bowman – One win
    10. Ryan Blaney +95
    11. Kyle Larson +74
    12. William Byron +73
    13. Aric Almirola +63
    14. Erik Jones +63
    15. Ryan Newman +12
    16. Daniel Suarez

    Official Results

    1. Denny Hamlin – led 79 laps
    2. Matt DiBenedetto – led 93 laps
    3. Brad Keselowski – led 91 laps
    4. Kyle Busch – led 30 laps
    5. Chase Elliott – led 33 laps
    6. Kyle Larson – led 62 laps, won Stage 1
    7. Clint Bowyer
    8. Daniel Suarez – one lap down
    9. Kurt Busch – won Stage 2
    10. Ryan Blaney – one lap down
    11. Ryan Newman – one lap down
    12. Daniel Hemric – one lap down
    13. Martin Truex Jr. – two laps down, led 52 laps
    14. Bubba Wallace – two laps down
    15. Alex Bowman – three laps down
    16. Joey Logano – three laps down
    17. Chris Buescher – three laps down
    18. Ryan Preece – three laps down
    19. Jimmie Johnson – four laps down
    20. Ty Dillon – four laps down
    21. William Byron, four laps down
    22. Erik Jones – five laps down
    23. Paul Menard – five laps down
    24. Corey LaJoie – six laps down
    25. Landon Cassill – 10 laps down
    26. Ross Chastain – 10 laps down
    27. Matt Tifft – OUT, Suspension
    28. J.J. Yeley – 15 laps down
    29. Aric Almirola – 18 laps down
    30. Quin Houff – 22 laps down
    31. Kyle Weatherman – 26 laps down
    32. B.J. McLeod – OUT, Front Hub
    33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, DVP
    34. Austin Dillon – 113 laps down
    35. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Fatigue
    36. David Ragan – OUT, Crash
    37. Michael McDowell – OUT, Crash
    38. Reed Sorenson – OUT, Crash
    39. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Clutch, led 28 laps

  • DiBenedetto reveals he is not returning to Leavine Family Racing

    DiBenedetto reveals he is not returning to Leavine Family Racing

    By Staff Report | NASCAR.com

    Matt DiBenedetto revealed Thursday on social media that he will not return to Leavine Family Racing for the 2020 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

    This is DiBenedetto’s fifth full-time season in the Monster Energy Series, but his first with LFR. The Grass Valley, California, native had 163 Monster Energy Series starts at the time of his announcement.

    Four of DiBenedetto’s eight career top-10 finishes have come this season with LFR, including his only two top-five finishes in NASCAR’s premier series. The top fives came at Sonoma Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Plus, he finished sixth at Watkins Glen International earlier this month.

    Leavine Family Racing is affiliated with Joe Gibbs Racing, an alliance that began this season with LFR switching manufacturers to Toyota.

  • Weekend Schedule for Bristol-2

    Weekend Schedule for Bristol-2

    NASCAR heads to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend. The Gander Outdoors Truck Series will feature the first race in Round 1 of their championship Playoffs while the Xfinity Series has five races remaining in the regular season. The Monster Energy Cup Series will close out the weekend with three to go.

    Kurt Busch is the defending Cup Series race winner, Kyle Larson won the Xfinity Series Food City 300 last year and Johnny Sauter will be trying to repeat his August 2018 win at Bristol in the Truck Series.

    All times are Eastern.

    Thursday, August 15

    9:05 a.m. – 9:55 a.m.: Truck Series First Practice – No TV
    10:05 a.m. – 10:55 a.m.: Xfinity Series First Practice – NBC Sports App
    11:05 a.m. 11:55 a.m.: Truck Series Final Practice – No TV
    1:35 p.m.2:25 p.m. Xfinity Series Final Practice – NBC Sports App
    4:35 p.m. Truck Series Qualifying Impound (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions) – 7 p.m. Tape Delay on FS1
    8:30 p.m.: Truck Series UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics (Stages 55/110/200 Laps = 100.6 Miles) – FS1/MRN

    Friday, August 16

    11:05 a.m. 11:55 a.m.: Cup Series First Practice – NBCSN
    1:05 p.m. 1:55 p.m. Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN
    4:05 p.m. Xfinity Series Qualifying Impound (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions) – NBCSN
    5:35 p.m. Cup Series Qualifying Impound (Single Vehicle/Two Laps All Positions) – NBCSN/PRN
    7:30 p.m. Xfinity Series Food City 300 (Stages 85/170/300 Laps = 159.9 Miles) – NBCSN/PRN

    Saturday, August 17

    7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race (Stages 125/250/500 Laps = 266.5 Miles) – NBCSN/PRN

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

  • Breaking Down The Consumers Energy 400 Race

    Breaking Down The Consumers Energy 400 Race

    Are you a fan of NASCAR? If the answer is yes, there is a good chance that you were glued to your television yesterday. After all, you couldn’t let yourself miss the Consumers Energy 400. This is one of the most exciting races of the season and it was intense this time. Remember that the race was a part of the Monster Energy Series. It took place on Sunday at 3 PM. The race was held at the Michigan International Speedway. Below, you’re going to learn all about this race, its outcome, and the biggest winners.

    Kevin Harvick

    First and foremost, you’ll want to know who won the race. Well, you should look no further than Kevin Harvick in the number 4 car. This isn’t surprising. After all, Harvick won the race last year too. Just remember that the season has already seen 20 races. This is the first win for Harvick this season. He led 22 laps before finally passing the finish line in first place. Denny Hamlin came in second after leading 6 laps. Kyle Larson came in third after leading 0 laps.

    Kevin Harvick will take hone 45 points for his win. The win for Harvick is his third at Michigan. It is also his 47th Cup Series win during his career. So, what helped him overcome the competition? Well, much of it had to do with Harvick’s fuel strategy.

    The Fuel Strategy

    So, what propelled Harvick to victory? What gave him the slight edge over rival Hamlin? As mentioned above, much of it had to do with fuel. Harvick was very wise to conserve his fuel until the end of the race. This is something that Denny Hamlin did not do. Instead, Hamlin was forced to let off the throttle a little bit in the last laps to save fuel. Harvick wasn’t obligated to do so. In return, he managed to win the race. With that being said, it is easy to see that NASCAR racing has a lot of strategy behind it. This is similar to the games that can be found at Casino Guru.

    One has to think about their choices before putting the pedal to the floor.

    Brad Keselowski

    It would be impossible to talk about this race without mentioning Brad Keselowski. After all, Brad managed to lead the race for 66 laps! He was doing great until the very end of the race. At that point, ht was forced to begin conserving fuel. Initially, it looked like Brad would be able to finish in the top five. That did not happen. Instead, he had to pit with just 11 laps remaining to get fuel. In return, Brad was passed by almost everyone. In the end, he came in at 19th. That just isn’t good enough. Still, Brad and his team did a great job pushing the pace and staying out in front of the pack.

    Johnson And Bowyer

    While you’re at it, you should take a glance at Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson. After all, the two racers are stuck in the playoff bubble. They needed a good performance and both of them failing to get it. Sadly, both men will need to do a lot more to rank higher before the season draws to a close. Jimmie ran into trouble early on. He was forced to make a pit stop during lap 15. After that, he was never able to come back. He ended up finishing the race in the 34th spot.

    Things were worse for Boyer. On lap 139, Bowyer was doing well. He was in 14th place at the time. However, he hit a wall pretty hard and that spelled doom. Bowyer ended up finishing in the 37th place. At this point, Bowyer is holding onto the playoff spot. However, Johnson is still on the outside. He remains in the 18th spot and could lose out.

    What Is Next?

    There is still plenty of racing ahead. For instance, you’ll definitely want to watch the next race on Saturday. The Cup Series will be hosting a race at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Races at this track are always very exciting. It will also be interesting to see if Johnson is able to climb the ladder and reclaim a playoff position.