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  • France’s Arrest Damaging to NASCAR’s Image

    France’s Arrest Damaging to NASCAR’s Image

    This week should have been a good week in NASCAR. Chase Elliott, the second coming of Dale Earnhardt Jr., finally won a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race after 99 starts, of which eight of them ended with Elliott in the runner-up spot.

    A young, personable, talented individual finally made it to Victory Lane and the whole racing world rejoiced. It certainly helped that the win was attained in dramatic fashion, as Elliott held off last season’s Cup champion Martin Truex Jr., who is arguably one of the best in the business right now. This was a win that could have been marketed to NASCAR’s benefit, drawing in numbers the sport needs.

    Instead, on Monday, the racing world receives a report that NASCAR Chairman and CEO (and the grandson of the founder of NASCAR, might I add), was arrested on a DUI charge in the Hamptons; he also happened to be in possession of Oxycodone to boot. Allegedly, according to TMZ.com who first reported the arrest, during the stop France acted in a belligerent manner, name-dropping his relationship with President Donald Trump and asking, “Do you know who I am?”

    France doesn’t hold an ownership stake in NASCAR, serving instead at the behest of his uncle Jim France and sister Lesa France Kennedy. But on the business side of things, France is the face of the sport. He is the face of a sport that touts a rigorous drug testing program, a sport that involves driving vehicles at high rates of speed, mind you, a sport that several Fortune 500 companies have poured billions of dollars in over the course of the years, at that.

    The arrest report of France’s traffic stop

    Some of these sponsors may stay, and if so, great. They may pay at a lower cost because there is no question that on the business side of things, considering that NASCAR is up for sale, all hands are on deck in damage control mode to keep as many advertisers as possible involved in the sport. It’s easy to speculate how much money this arrest has cost the sport, because who wants to be involved in a motorsport where the Chairman has no qualms about operating a vehicle under the influence? What does that tell potential buyers and advertisers?

    It’s easy to be angry, to spout doom and gloom on what was supposed to be a happy week. It’s easy to be angry at France because each year thousands are injured or killed in accidents caused by drivers who are under the influence. But it’s also easy to have pity on France. Rumors have carried on for years that he had a substance abuse issue, and although they were easy to dismiss as rumors, this arrest does add a validity to them. This may have been an isolated incident. It may have been a sign of his rumored addiction. But given his conduct and questionable decisions over the course of his tenure as NASCAR CEO, it can be speculated that France does need help and on that note, he should take it.

    The ramifications of this arrest have yet to be seen, but they will arrive and they will not be pretty. Aside from the obvious jokes and vitriol across social media (let’s keep in mind that the target demographic NASCAR’s been trying to reach will be too busy laughing at them to even care), there will be the ever-present loss of money, another problem that the sport does not need.

    NASCAR has been quick and efficient with the damage control so far, issuing this statement shortly after news of France’s arrest broke:

    “Brian France has taken an indefinite leave of absence from NASCAR as chairman and chief executive officer. Effective immediately, NASCAR Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President Jim France has assumed the role of interim chairman and chief executive officer.”

    Shortly after, Brian France issued this statement:

     “I apologize to our fans, our industry and my family for the impact of my actions last night. Effective immediately, I will be taking an indefinite leave of absence from my position to focus on my personal affairs.”

    It looks that NASCAR has realized that instead of carrying on like everything is okay, it would be best for all involved if France were to step down. He needs to step away, seek help or treatment, and tend to his own issues. NASCAR will need recover from this, meanwhile, and if they play their cards right they will.

     

  • Elliott Scores Much Anticipated First Cup Win at Glen

    Elliott Scores Much Anticipated First Cup Win at Glen

    After 98 career starts in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Chase Elliott finally got the proverbial monkey off his back at Watkins Glen.

    Much like his famous father Bill back in 1983, the Dawsonville, Georgia native scored his first career MENCS race at a road course. Just like his father, he had to endure many runner-ups before celebrating that inaugural Cup victory.

    This time, the 22-year-old racer made his magical moment happen at the legendary 2.45-mile road course in his 99th start.

    Starting third, Elliott was a factor throughout today’s GoBowling at the Glen despite finishing 19th in Stage 1.

    Parlaying pit strategy with a fast No. 9 SunEnergy 1 Chevy Camaro, Elliott battled defending race winner Martin Truex Jr tenaciously before taking the lead en route to a Stage 2 win.

    From there on, it was a cat and mouse game between Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. in the final laps.  Needless to say, Elliott had to earn his first win in the premier division.

    Surely, Elliott tried mightily to hold off one of the title threat triumvirates in the final 15 laps.

    “Holy cow!” Elliott exclaimed after the race. “What a thrill. I don’t know what to say. I’m so thrilled. So much relief. Worked on it for three years. I was able to get it done!”

    Not surprisingly, the No. 9 team has showcased some speed in recent weeks. In fact, Elliott has won at least one stage in a race since the Foxwoods Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    All told, Elliott soaked in the moment and reflected on the struggles that led to his team’s recent rejuvenation.

    “Man, it’s such a relief,” Elliott said. “Had some hard times to get here and learned a lot personally and had to have a good group around me to keep pushing me. This is a helluva day.”

    The final laps played out like an action film or a thriller, as fans stood on their feet, particularly on the final lap. Forced to make a split second decision going into turn one, Elliott’s choice proved to be the correct one on this day.

    “I was starting to wheel hop and I knocked it out of gear to not spin out,” Elliott observed. “I had a big enough gap where Martin (Truex Jr) wasn’t near me. What a day.”

    Elliott’s first Cup win was truly special as he got to celebrate it with his father Bill in Victory Lane.  Notably, the Georgian also snapped a 37-race winless streak for Hendrick Motorsports that dated back to the spring race at Dover in 2017.

    Meanwhile, race runner-up Truex was able to cross the finish line on fumes while third-place finisher Kyle Busch overcame a fueling issue. Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, William Byron, Kurt Busch, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-10.

    Next up for the MENCS drivers and teams will be the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway (Sunday, August 12 at 2:30 p.m. on NBCSN). Fellow Chevrolet racer Kyle Larson hopes to return to the winner’s circle as he bids for his third straight summer race victory at MIS.

  • 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

     

     

  • Tom Higgins, longtime reporter and Squier-Hall honoree, dies at 80

    Tom Higgins, longtime reporter and Squier-Hall honoree, dies at 80

    Zack Albert | NASCAR.com

    Tom Higgins, who told the stories of stock-car racing for decades as a reporter and author, has died. He was 80.

    Among his many accolades, Higgins was the 2015 recipient of the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence. He had been in declining health since suffering a stroke last year.

    Higgins is credited as the first writer to cover every race on the NASCAR schedule. He joined the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer as a reporter on outdoor recreation and transitioned into the motorsports beat full-time. He was a mainstay at the Observer until his retirement in 1997.

    “For more than five decades, Tom Higgins was an ever-present figure in the NASCAR garage,” said NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France. “Within the industry, he built a reputation as a trusted and fair voice who delivered our sport to the fans. To those fans, he was a must-read journalist whose reporting was rightly taken as gospel. Simply put, he defined what it meant to be a NASCAR beat reporter.

    “As such, his outstanding career earned him NASCAR’s top honor for journalists, the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence, in 2015. On behalf of the France Family and all of NASCAR, I extend my deepest condolences to the friends and family of Tom Higgins, a true NASCAR media giant.”

    Higgins was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 2011. He also was recognized with the Henry T. McLemore Award for lifetime achievement in motorsports journalism from the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1980.

    “He was very well-respected with the racing crowd, from the Allison (family) all the way to Jeff Gordon,” Richard Petty told the Observer years ago. “He probably covered more racing than any one individual.”

    Drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon were among several in the NASCAR community to offer condolences to the Higgins family on social media.

    Higgins was raised in the mountain community of Burnsville, North Carolina, and became a two-sport standout in baseball and basketball. His connection to the outdoors spurred him to take on his first writing jobs in the Blue Ridge towns of Canton and Asheville.

    “Once I got to Asheville and heard the clacking of those teletype machines and was part of putting out a daily newspaper, I was hooked,” Higgins told the Asheville Citizen-Times in 2014.

    Higgins was also won over by stock-car racing, covering his first NASCAR event on July 1, 1956, at the former Asheville-Weaverville Speedway. Hall of Famer Lee Petty was the winner. Higgins said he initially balked at the assignment, but became enamored by the sounds, smells and the personalities.

    “I thought it was the wildest thing I had ever seen,” Higgins told the Asheville paper. “Those people were crazy.” But his bonds with the sport’s earliest stars only grew through the years. “When I started, the drivers and I were the same age, and they had the same background as me,” he said. “Small towns, just regular fellas, and we hit it off.”

    From the sport’s pioneers to the most recent generation of drivers and mechanics, Higgins covered them all with a homespun style. He chronicled the life of original NASCAR hero Junior Johnson in a book he co-authored with Steve Waid, the 2019 Squier-Hall honoree.

    After his retirement from the Observer, Higgins remained active as a writer on a freelance basis and in his personal blog. He said later that his philosophy for covering the sport and cultivating relationships was borrowed from his mountain upbringing, a code among the community to treat people fairly and with respect.

    “I really, really enjoyed the people,” Higgins told the Citizen-Times. “I’m tickled to say I got invited to a lot of (drivers’) parties and poker games, and not many people in the press were afforded that opportunity. They trusted me, and they did throughout my career, and I’m proud of that.”

  • Kyle Busch Drives to Sixth Win of 2018 at Pocono

    Kyle Busch Drives to Sixth Win of 2018 at Pocono

    Despite starting 28th due to failing post-qualifying inspection, Kyle Busch was a man on a mission in today’s Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono.

    Finishing fourth in Stage 1, Busch and his crew parlayed some pit strategy at the end of Stage 2 for track position in Stage 3.

    All told, Busch’s path to the front was not without some hardy challenges from his Joe Gibbs Racing stablemates.

    “(Daniel) Suarez, man, I can’t say enough about my teammates,” Busch excitedly said.  “What an awesome race! He was probably the third best car. He gave us a run for our money on the restarts. Last one, I spun my tires a bit too much and he got a good run. That gave (Erik) Jones a good opportunity.”

    Certainly, as Busch took the field to green on lap 163, Suarez equaled the 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion’s restart effort.

    Running side-by-side heading into turn one, Jones saw a possible chance at victory as he ran inside of Suarez to make it three wide between the JGR clan.

    However, Busch’s experience and powerful No. 18 Caramel M&M’s Toyota Camry was just too much on this race day.  Drawing daylight between himself and Suarez, the 33-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native drove his way to his sixth win of the 2018 MENCS season.

    “Can’t say enough about Adam Stevens and all my guys,” Busch acknowledged.  “Man, we fought it all weekend.”

    Remarkably, Busch continued the winning ways of the MENCS triple threat.  By all means, this season has turned into a regular season heavyweight match among NASCAR’s most aggressive veterans.

    “What’s crazy is how this year keeps going,” Busch observed.  “Harvick gets one, we get one, Truex gets one. We’re back and forth. We answered the fight this weekend without the fastest car.”

    Meanwhile, Suarez made earnest challenges to prevent Busch from repeating his Pocono victory from last year.  In the end, the Monterrey, Mexico native recognized how close he was to his first MENCS win.

    “We lost the balance a little bit (in the beginning) and made some adjustments,” Suarez said. “We made the car better. I thought we were a solid top-five car. In a short run, I felt like we were the best car. It hurts to be close.”

    Perhaps the biggest scare of the race was Bubba Wallace’s lap 155 crash. The rookie racer reportedly lost his brakes heading into Turn 1, resulting in a savage hit that destroyed both ends of his No. 43 Mile 22 Chevy Camaro.

    Fortunately, the mild-mannered Wallace expressed gratitude and his trademark sense of humor following his horrifying accident.

    “I’m OK,” Wallace said.  “That was a huge hit. Everyone, back at home, I’m okay. Hardest one of my career.  I was just telling them here, ‘There’s no feeling like being helpless in that situation going off into Turn 1.’  It scared the hell out of me.

    We’re good.  Bit my cheek, banged my foot off the pedal.  I’m okay though.  I’ll wake up tomorrow and I’ll be a little sore. The safety has come a long ways. It’s good to be able to climb out of the car. They gave me an ultrasound. No twins or anything.”

    Ultimately, Busch prevailed with Suarez, Alex Bowman, Kevin Harvick, Jones, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, and Denny Hamlin taking top-10 finishes from the “Tricky Triangle.”

    From scenic Long Pond, Pennsylvania to the Finger Lakes region of New York State, the MENCS tour prepares for next Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and MRN Radio.

  • Inspection alters Pocono lineup, moves Harvick, Kyle Busch to rear

    Inspection alters Pocono lineup, moves Harvick, Kyle Busch to rear

    Staff Report | NASCAR.com

    Post-qualifying tech dealt a Saturday shake-up to the starting lineup for Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400 after the cars driven by the five of the top six qualifiers — including the initial front row of Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch — failed inspection at Pocono Raceway.

    Harvick was fastest in the first and final round of Busch Pole Qualifying, but his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford did not pass the body scan portion post-qualifying inspection. The same fate occurred with the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of second-fastest qualifier Kyle Busch, but his car failed at the chassis station of the inspection process.

    The ruling elevated Daniel Suarez, third on the original unofficial speed chart, to a first-time pole winner in the Monster Energy Series. His speed of 176.988 mph in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota stands as the pole-winning lap of record.

    A total of 13 cars failed the inspection process the first time through. Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, explained the process in a media gathering as inspection was nearing its conclusion.

    “It’s pretty obvious what’s happened here. There was 13 cars that didn’t pass the post-qualifying inspection,” Miller said. “Most of the problems were centered around the body scan, but not all. Some were mechanical measurements with the rear toe. But quite heavy on the body scans, 13 cars. We’re disappointed in this, but we’re certainly confident in our process and the teams didn’t do a real good job here today.”

    In addition to Harvick and Busch, the qualifying speeds for Kyle Larson (initially the fourth-fastest qualifier), Joey Logano (fifth) and rookie William Byron (sixth) were disallowed. Others further back in the field with qualifying speeds thrown out: Clint Bowyer’s No. 14 Ford, Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Ford, Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Ford, Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet, Paul Menard’s No. 21 Ford, Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet, Bubba Wallace’s No. 43 Chevrolet, Kasey Kahne’s No. 95 Chevrolet.

    All 13 will start from the rear of the 40-car field in Sunday’s 400-miler (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM), ranked in order of their rank in the Monster Energy Series standings.

    Both Harvick and Kahne’s car failed three times and the penalty for that is the loss of their car chiefs — Robert Smith (No. 4 team) and Ben Leslie (No. 95 team) — and a 10-point penalty in the driver and owner championship standings. Logano and Menard’s cars failed twice and both of their respective car chiefs — Raymond Fox (No. 22 team) and William Curwood (No. 21 team) were ejected as well.

    It’s the first season for the new inspection process and NASCAR’s Optical Scanning Station, which maps and checks vehicle bodies for conformance to the rules. It’s also the second time this season that the Monster Energy Series has been subject to inspection immediately after qualifying under the enhanced weekend schedule. The other occurrence was at Chicagoland Speedway, where only four cars lost their starting spots.

    “This is only the second time we’ve done this and I don’t think the teams want to be sitting here in this situation, either,” Miller said when asked if the severity of the penalties might change after Saturday’s issues. “But I think they tested the waters and it didn’t work out too good for them today. So, hopefully, the next time we have one of these inspections, they’ll be able to get closer to right and we won’t have this.”

    RELATED: Starting lineup 

    Contributing: Jessica Ruffin from Pocono

  • 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.

     

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Ranking-Eldora

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Power Ranking-Eldora

    Eldora Speedway was home of the 13th race of the season for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In one of the most anticipated races of the season, this standalone event certainly did not disappoint. The field included Truck Series regulars and dirt regulars but it was a not a dirt regular but a former series driver that stood atop the victory circle Wednesday night.

    Here’s a look at this week’s power rankings.

      1. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger and Chase Briscoe certainly put on quite a show in the last remaining laps. Enfinger, who was looking for the second win of his career, his first since Talladega in 2016, had to settle for second by .038 seconds. The win would have locked him into the Playoffs, but with the consistency and strength that Enfinger has shown in the past remaining races, he sits sixth in the playoffs standings, 120 points. In Wednesday night’s race, he finished seventh and second, respectively in both stages. His second-place finish earned him his fourth top five of the year. Previous Week Ranking: 5th
      2. Stewart Friesen – Friesen came up short once again at Eldora, but it wasn’t due to lack of effort from the No. 52 Canadian driver. He was in the fifth heat race and led all 10 laps to score the win, which led him to a third-place starting position. The race was somewhat of a struggle early on for Friesen, as he ran as low 31st but was able to advance with pit stop strategy and cautions helping out the team. But, it wasn’t until the end of Stage 2 when he placed inside the top-10 to finish 10th. Friesen found himself in competition for the win in the final five laps of the race with the multiple race cautions. On one of the restarts, he went four-wide with the top leaders until another caution came out. However, Friesen rallied after being a caution on Lap 29 and earned a third-place finish, giving him his fifth top-five of the year. He’ll have to be careful in the three remaining races until the Playoffs begin as he sits on the bubble in seventh per Playoff standings, 111 points behind, considering no new driver wins until then. Previous Week Ranking: 3rd
      3. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt had a good night at Eldora, considering this was his first time racing on dirt. Based on qualifying results, he was placed in heat race #2 and ended up finishing third, giving him a 12th place starting position. The three-time race winner in 2018 had to fight his way to the front after fighting in dirty air and heavy traffic. He wasn’t able to earn stage points which will hurt the team just a little bit, but Hattori Racing team already has three wins this year and is good for the Playoffs, if they continue to get sponsorship throughout the season. In the end, Moffitt was helped out with the cautions and race strategy to give him a third-place finish. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked
      4. Matt Crafton – It has now been one year since Crafton has won a race in the Truck Series. After last night’s race, he has three more races remaining to earn a win to solidify himself into the Playoffs and compete for the championship. Crafton didn’t have a bad night, but it certainly didn’t come without troubles. On Lap 55, he and Tyler Dippel got collected with each other, and Crafton got tipped from behind by Ryan Newman who tore the back end off Crafton’s truck. However, not all was lost, as he and the No. 88 ThorSport team finished eighth and seventh respectively in both stages, ultimately giving him a fourth-place finish. But Crafton and the team are hungry for a win as he sits right on the cut line for the playoffs. He may have to get in on points if he wants to be a championship contender. Previous Week Ranking: 2nd
      5. Justin Haley – Like Briscoe and Crafton, Haley often competes in dirt racing when his schedule allows. It was second race at Eldora and it was almost the same identical finish for the No. 24 GMS Racing team. In last year’s race, he started 13th and finished eighth. Haley was placed in the fourth heat race and finished fourth after starting sixth. This gave him a 19th starting position, meaning it was going to be a long night for the series regular. But the No. 24 took the entire race to get to the front. He didn’t earn any stage points, but with his Gateway win, Haley is locked into the Playoffs. After a wild finish and race, he finished ninth for his ninth top-10 finish of the year. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares in the Playoffs. Previous Week Ranking: Not Ranked

    Fell Out

    1. Noah Gragson – Gragson had a quiet night at Eldora and didn’t make too much noise. He was placed in the last chance qualifier but had points to fall back on to make it into the race. He didn’t finish inside the top-10 at all for either stage after starting 27th, but Gragson did finish sixth after battling handling conditions all night long. He’ll look to Pocono and try to continue to close the gap on Johnny Sauter’s points lead.
    2. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes was having a good race going until a few laps after the Stage 2 restart. On Lap 45, he hit the wall and continued to slip all the way back in the field, ultimately having to bring the truck to pit road as the tow was knocked out of the truck. This gave the Kentucky winner a 29th place finish, but he is locked into the playoffs.

  • Chase Briscoe Fends off Teammate Grant Enfinger in Last Lap Thriller at Eldora

    Chase Briscoe Fends off Teammate Grant Enfinger in Last Lap Thriller at Eldora

    In a green-white-checkered race to the finish line, Chase Briscoe was able to fend off his ThorSport Racing teammate Grant Enfinger for the win in a last-lap thriller at Eldora Speedway. It was the closest finish at Eldora for the Truck Series with a margin of victory of .038 seconds.

    After a series of late race cautions near the end, Briscoe, with fresher tires than race leader Logan Seavey, was able to restart up front alongside his teammate Grant Enfinger. Both of them battled side-by-side all the way to the checkered flag after the restart and even banged the wall at the finish.

    “It means so much,” Briscoe said. “You know, I think Eldora, just in general, means a lot to people, but when you grow up with Sprint car roots and Sprint car backgrounds; I mean this place is our Daytona for dirt guys. So to be able to win this race, this is so special. There was one race that I wanted to win, it would definitely be this one. So it’s kind of surreal to me. Two years ago or three years ago, whenever (Christopher) Bell won, I came over (victory lane) here and was standing here, pumped that he won. We went to Waffle House later and maybe we’ll do that again tonight. Just unbelievable.”

    “Thank you so much to these Ford guys for allowing me to come do this,” he said. “The ThorSport guys worked their tails off. I hate how I had to race the (Grant Enfinger) 98. We definitely roughed him up a little bit and this is not how I race, but part of it, I guess. Just thankful for the opportunity. It’ll probably be the only truck race I’m going to do this year. It’s good to end on a good note.”

    Earlier in the day, there were five heat races including a last chance qualifier to set the 32 truck field. Last weeks winner, Ben Rhodes, and Todd Gilliland set the front row after winning the first two heat races.

    Stage 1 was 40 laps and there were only three incidents that occurred. One on Lap 9 for 2016 Champion Johnny Sauter who spun around in Turn 2 and went a lap down. On Lap 20, Justin Fontaine in the No. 45 spun out and brought out the second caution, giving Sauter his lap back. Then the final incident in the first stage came on Lap 27, when Stewart Friesen was spun by Chris Windom with other trucks involved as well including Sheldon Creed and Cody Coughlin.

    Kentucky winner, Ben Rhodes was able to win the first stage. The race was restarted on Lap 41 and went to lap 90 for Stage 2. On lap 45, Rhodes smacked the wall hard and had to come down pit road, eventually ending his night. He would ultimately finish 29th.

    Then a little foreshadowing occurred for what the end of the race might be, as Briscoe held off teammate Enfinger for the stage win.

    The final stage took place with 59 laps to go.

    Briscoe and Enfinger made pit stops for fresh tires and were sent to the back of the field. During the early stages of the final stage, this saw dirt standout star, Logan Seavey, lead for a total of 53 laps until a late race caution came with 21 to go. This saw Tyler Dippel and Austin Self make contact in the turns, thus bunching the field up once more.

    Seavey tried all he could to hold off the hard-charging Enfinger and Briscoe, but the late race cautions continued to hurt him as he had no tires. There were two more cautions near the end with less than five to go.

    In the end, there was a green-white-checkered overtime finish. Enfinger and Briscoe pulled away from the rest of the field. The other 30 drivers had to watch a thrilling finish between Briscoe and Enfinger which ended by a .038 seconds margin with Briscoe as the winner.

    Friesen, Matt Crafton and Noah Gragson rounded out the top five finishers in the Sixth Annual Eldora Dirt Derby.

    It was Briscoe’s first win in the Truck Series since his victory at Homestead-Miami last year for the Brad Keselowski Racing team. This was his second career Truck Series win.

    Briscoe led three times for 54 laps with seven lead changes among five drivers. There were nine cautions for 41 laps.

    Sauter, who finished 16th, continues to lead the standings by 32 points over Gragson.

  • Hot 20 – Getting down and dirty, be it at New Hampshire or Eldora

    Hot 20 – Getting down and dirty, be it at New Hampshire or Eldora

    On Wednesday, the pick-up trucks race on dirt at Eldora. Some figure we need some dirt track racing in NASCAR. The fact is that in these times such a race would be a novelty, just as Eldora is, but does it need to be a feature in Cup?

    Why not? The fact that NBC has finally returned television coverage that actually keeps one glued to the action, entertained and informed with real insight, allows me to watch Loudon without any complaint or the use of the fast-forward feature on my PVR. Finally, I am content with what I watch on the pavement. Being different, though, is not a bad thing.

    Bristol is different. Daytona and Talladega are different. Sonoma and Watkins Glen are different. So will be the road-course feature coming up at Charlotte. Why not a little dirt? Just no gimmicks. We do not need any more gophers. I have had it up to here with “boogity, boogity, boogity.” No more draft tracks. You can even toss out the wild sound laps, where we get to hear the roar of the engines as the announcers take a time-out. It comes nowhere close to being at the live event.

    No more gimmicks. Just tracks that are different. Dirt is good. I have high hopes the New Hampshire experience on Sunday will be as well.

    1. KYLE BUSCH – 5 WINS (799 Pts)
    To be the man, you have to beat the man…more times than he has beaten you.

    2. KEVIN HARVICK – 5 WINS (740 Pts)
    This fall, the Magic Mile will magically look a lot like Las Vegas. Hey, it’s magic.

    3. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 4 WINS (689 Pts)
    Has never won at Loudon…yet.

    4. CLINT BOWYER – 2 WINS (629 Pts)
    Like Harvick, the pit road experience at Kentucky fell short of the standard set on the track.

    5. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (648 Pts)
    A single win locks one into the Chase this season.

    6. ERIK JONES – 1 WIN (480 Pts)
    Earned his golden ticket, so when does he get to visit the Chocolate Factory?

    7. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN (362 Pts)
    After Daytona, he went into Witness Protection and has not been seen since.

    8. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 630 POINTS
    “We’ve been good, not great this year, and this is a sport of great.”

    9. KURT BUSCH – 601 POINTS
    Three career wins at Loudon ties him with his brother, Jimmie, Ryan, Denny, and Matt.

    10. KYLE LARSON – 581 POINTS
    On Tuesday was at the Lernerville Speedway winning a World of Outlaws event.

    11. DENNY HAMLIN – 559 POINTS
    The defending race champion returns, but will the checkered flag?

    12. RYAN BLANEY – 546 POINTS
    Might find Loudon too easy after testing this week at Charlotte.

    13. ARIC ALMIROLA – 534 POINTS
    Did the former driver of this car ever threaten to make the Chase? Ever?

    14. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 484 POINTS
    Only a true disaster will keep even a winless Johnson out of the Chase.

    15. CHASE ELLIOTT – 469 POINTS
    William Clyde’s nickname features his season goal. Next year, he wants to be known as Champ.

    16. ALEX BOWMAN – 427 POINTS
    Spent his Tuesday spinning in Turns 3 and 4 of the Charlotte infield road course. It is sketchy.

    17. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 418 POINTS
    He has a standing offer to Kyle Busch to help him stop running his mouth. Jimmy Spencer, Jr.?

    18. PAUL MENARD – 404 POINTS
    23 points between him and a playoff spot, but he averages a 23rd place finish at Loudon.

    19. RYAN NEWMAN – 348 POINTS
    Pick-up racing is cute. Now, European Truck Racing is for the big boys with the big toys.

    20. DANIEL SUAREZ – 344 POINTS
    Two Loudon starts, two Top Tens. Unfortunately, only a win gets him to where he wants to be.