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  • Teen Byron Holds Off Menard for Historic, Exciting Victory in Lilly Diabetes 250

    Teen Byron Holds Off Menard for Historic, Exciting Victory in Lilly Diabetes 250

    Kyle Busch Repeats as Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 Pole Winner

    INDIANAPOLIS, Saturday, July 22, 2017 – Teenager William Byron held off veterans Paul Menard and Joey Logano over tense final laps to become the youngest winner of a major race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, capturing a victory in a thrilling Lilly Diabetes 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race on Saturday.

    Byron, 19 years, 7 months, from Charlotte, North Carolina, edged Menard by .108 of a second in his No. 9 Liberty University Chevrolet fielded by JR Motorsports, owned by NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    Matheus Leist was the previous youngest winner of a premier or major support series race on the oval at IMS when he won the Freedom 100 Indy Lights event at age 19 years, 8 months in May 2017. Marco Andretti won an Indy Lights race in 2005 and Marc Marquez won a Moto2 motorcycle race in 2011 at IMS both at age 18, but those events were on the road course.

    “This the first time I’ve come here, a couple of days ago,” Byron said. “It’s such a special place, just walking into the place. I’ve watched a lot of races here on TV, and seeing the history and to make laps around here is just really special. To see the front stretch, how narrow it is with grandstands on both sides when you come down the front straight, it’s a really special place. It’s neat to get a win and does a lot for us this year and hopefully propels us to a championship.”

    A new NASCAR rules package for the cars in this race, which included restrictor plates for the engines and aero ducts on the bodywork, was designed to create more passing and closing racing.

    Mission accomplished. Three event records were set in the sixth edition of this race:

    – Lead changes: 16. The previous record was nine.

    – Leaders: Eight. The previous record was six.

    – Margin of victory: .108 of a second. The previous record was .411 of a second.

    “I think a great race is the objective,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Vice President of Competition, after the race. “I think what fans saw today was that. Certainly I think it passed the eye test.”

    Byron started third and won the first stage. He and Logano marched in lockstep around the famed 2.5-mile oval as the top two cars late in the final stage after leader Kyle Busch and second place Erik Jones pitted on Lap 82 of the 100-lap race.

    Busch and Jones figured the other leading cars would pit later for fresh tires. They were wrong.

    “We could make it on fuel, but we were worried about tires,” Jones said. “We were cording tires every run after 15 laps, so we made the conservative call, came in and put tires on. Unfortunately, it was the wrong call.”

    Logano stalked Byron over the closing laps in his No. 22 Discount Tire Ford, never falling more than half of a second behind the leader from Lap 85 to Lap 97. But Menard powered his No. 2 Richmond/Menards Chevrolet past Logano on Lap 98 and set sail for Byron.

    “Yeah, I was nervous,” Byron said about the closing laps. “”I definitely thought he (Menard) and the 22 (Logano) were really strong. Looks like Joey faded at the end. Over the last 15 or 20 laps, I thought the tire was going to go. But it hung on.”

    2011 Brickyard 400 winner Menard pulled to within .119 of a second of Byron after Lap 98 and .112 of a second as the white flag flew to signal the final lap. But Byron drove an inch-perfect final trip around the 2.5-mile oval to earn his third win in just 18 starts in his rookie season, marking him as one of the brightest future stars of the sport.

    “Man, it sucks being that close but the kid is really good,” Menard said. “I was better in (Turn) 2, 3 and 4. Turn 1’s the slowest corner, so I actually had to come quite a bit out of the throttle, and he was able to carry a little bit more speed through there.”

    Logano ended up third. Pole sitter Elliott Sadler, who won the second stage, finished fourth overall in the No. 1 OneMain Financial Chevrolet. Cole Custer placed fifth in the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford.

    Busch, looking to win this race for the third straight year, ended up 12th in the No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Rowdy Toyota after his tire-change gamble failed.

    But Busch earned a bit of redemption two hours after that disappointment. He drove to a dominant second consecutive pole for the Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 after a top lap of 187.301 mph in the No. 18 Skittles Toyota during the third round of qualifying. Busch is trying to become the first driver to win this event three consecutive years.

    2003 Brickyard 400 winner Kevin Harvick will start alongside Busch on the front row after a top lap of 186.332 in the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford.

    Former Brickyard winners Jamie McMurray and Jimmie Johnson occupy the second row. 2010 winner McMurray qualified third at 186.274 in the No. 1 Cessna/McDonald’s Chevrolet, while four-time winner Johnson was fourth at 185.851 in the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet.

    Earnhardt, making his final Brickyard start, qualified 13th in the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet.

    The Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 starts at 2:30 p.m. (ET) Sunday. Visit IMS.com to purchase tickets for all 2017 IMS events, including the Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400, and for more information on all events.

  • Kyle Busch Takes Pole Position at the Brickyard

    Kyle Busch Takes Pole Position at the Brickyard

    Kyle Busch will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow afternoon after winning the pole for the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will start first after posting a pole lap of 48.051 and a speed of 187.301 mph, half a second faster than Kevin Harvick at a speed of 186.332 mph.

    Jamie McMurray will start third with a time of 48.316 and a speed of 186.274 mph. Jimmie Johnson will start fourth with a time of 48.426 and a speed of 185.851 mph. Denny Hamlin will round out the top-five with a time of 48.434 and a speed of 185.820 mph.

    Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney will round out the top-10.

    Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round.

    BJ McLeod’s time was disallowed because, per Dustin Long of NBCSports.com, the driver/cooling naca duct was shut. He goes from 35th to 40th.

    The 40-car field is composed of 20 Chevrolet’s, 13 Ford’s and seven Toyota’s.

    No car failed to make the race.

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  • Earnhardt Receives Piece of Indy’s Scoring Pylon During Retirement Tour

    Earnhardt Receives Piece of Indy’s Scoring Pylon During Retirement Tour

    Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s farewell tour rolled into Speedway, Indiana this weekend and the gift he received from the Brickyard was a piece of the old scoring pylon.

    The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the latest in the line of tracks to present Earnhardt with a going-away gift for his final race at the track of the week. It started with naming a litter of service puppies after him at Sonoma Raceway, a painting documenting momentous races through his career at Daytona International Speedway and a jukebox that was donated in his name to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

    To commemorate his final race at the track, Doug Boles, president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, presented as a gift a panel with the No. 8 from the old scoring pylon during his media availability earlier this afternoon.

    “I like stuff like that. We have a lot of old memorabilia and I’ve got a great spot for that one,” Earnhardt said. “This track, to me, has so much history beyond obviously the stock cars. It’s really interesting what this track has been through and how its survived recessions and wars and initially you know this is where all the guys were bringing their cars that they were building Louis Chevrolet and guys like that were coming here and racing and kind of created the auto industry at Indy. I have a lot of respect and admiration for this race track, for its history, for what it means to American motorsports and what it means to motorsports globally. It’s an honor to have an opportunity to ever race here. So, I appreciate that a lot.”

  • Jones Fastest in Final Practice at Indianapolis

    Jones Fastest in Final Practice at Indianapolis

    Erik Jones topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 48.425 and a speed of 185.854 mph. Kevin Harvick was second in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 48.433 and a speed of 185.824 mph. Ryan Blaney was third in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford with a time of 48.435 and a speed of 185.816 mph. Jimmie Johnson was fourth in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 48.521 and a speed of 185.487 mph. Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-five in his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 48.528 and a speed of 185.460 mph.

    Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-10.

    Johnson posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 180.951 mph.

    First Practice Results

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  • Kyle Busch’s Career at the Brickyard

    Kyle Busch’s Career at the Brickyard

    While Kyle Busch has amassed a higher win total at three other tracks and has led more laps at 19, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is statistically his most consistent race track.

    In 12 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts, Busch has only finished outside the top-10 twice. He’s got five top-five’s, a pole and two wins to boot. His finishes average out to a ninth, only bested by his finishing averages at Kentucky Speedway and Richmond Raceway. He’s finished on the lead lap in 11 of those starts as well.

    With a top-10 percentage of 83.3, it’s surprising that it took him 11 years to win for the first time at Indianapolis. Leading 19 laps on three different occasions, he shot past Joey Logano on the overtime restart (green-white-checkered prior to 2016) to score the victory.

    Last season, he put on a showcase of dominance by sweeping both the XFINITY Series and Cup Series race from the pole. In the XFINITY race, he led all but one lap. The next day, he led 149 of 170 laps, joining Jimmie Johnson as the only back to back winners of the Brickyard 400.

    If he wins this weekend, he’d join Michael Schumacher as the only driver to win three straight races at Indianapolis.

    Despite his success, Busch couldn’t tell you why he’s so great at Indianapolis.

    “I just think the last few years we just really have been able to capitalize on what I’ve been feeling in the race car and to be able to work on it and fix it,” Busch said. “I feel like that’s probably the biggest thing is just there’s times when you’re at race tracks and you’re working on your car, working on your car, working on your car and it just seems to be doing the same thing over again. You just can’t find the niche that will fix it and I think that Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and myself, we were able to find that here a couple years ago and we’ve been able to answer all of our questions, so that’s certainly been the biggest thing, so I think we’re now coming here for three years in a row, three different aero packages with the Cup car and so it’s certainly going to be interested what transpires this year. But one of the most difficult paces about the race here at Indy is just the ability to pass and getting runs on guys and being able to make that move whether it’s off the corner of [Turns] 1, 2 3 or 4. You’ve just got to kind of pick and choose how you can get to a guy and make that moves and not get too tight, you know? There’s a balance of being able to turn through the corners here – they’re really, really flat – and still being able to accelerate with the horsepower we have out of the turns and down these long straightaways.”

  • Hamlin Fastest in First Practice at Indy

    Hamlin Fastest in First Practice at Indy

    Denny Hamlin topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 48.022 and a speed of 187.414 mph. Martin Truex Jr. was second in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota with a time of 48.502 and a speed of 185.559 mph. Matt Kenseth was third in his No. 20 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 48.596 and a speed of 185.200 mph. Kasey Kahne was fourth in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 48.609 and a speed of 185.151 mph. Kyle Larson rounded out the top-five in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 48.648 and a speed of 185.002 mph.

    Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10.

    Kahne posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 182.792 mph.

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  • Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Did You Know?

    Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Did You Know?

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for the Brickyard 400. There are 41 drivers entered into the event and with only seven regular season races remaining before the playoffs begin, expect the competition to intensify.

    Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909 with a track surface consisting of crushed stone and tar but was repaved with 3.2 million bricks for the first running of the Indy 500 in 1911. By October 1961 the bricks were completely covered with asphalt and now only a one-yard strip of bricks remain at the start/finish line.

    The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 was held on August 6, 1994, and was won by Jeff Gordon. It was the first race, other than the Indianapolis 500, to be held at the track since 1916. But did you know it was NASCAR’s most-attended race of the season with an estimated 250,000 plus fans on hand to watch the event?

    While the track is best known for the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR has made its mark there as well. Did you know that “kissing the bricks” was started by Dale Jarrett? In 1996, after winning the Brickyard 400, Jarrett and his crew chief, Todd Parrott, paid tribute to the track’s history by kneeling down and kissing the “Yard of Bricks.” The entire team quickly joined them, starting a tradition that continues today with winners of both the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400.

    There have been 23 Cup Series races at the 2.5-mile track and 13 different drivers have visited Victory Lane. Gordon leads all drivers with five wins and Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers with four. But did you know that only two drivers have captured consecutive Cup Series wins at Indy? Johnson did so in 2008 and 2009 while Kyle Busch won the last two (2015-2016).

    Johnson leads the way as we head to Indianapolis with four victories, the series-best driver rating (105.7) plus six top fives and one pole. He is one of only four drivers who have won from the pole (2008). Johnson also has the distinction of winning from the deepest in the field, starting in 16th place, for his 2009 triumph.

    But did you know that last year at Indianapolis Busch became the only driver in history to win the XFINITY Series and Cup Series races from the pole in the same weekend? Busch, still seeking his first victory of the season, has the series second-best driver rating (105.5) at the track plus two wins, five top fives, one pole and the second-best average finish of ninth. He also has the series-most quality passes with 356.

    Matt Kenseth is another driver to watch as he looks for his first win of the year to guarantee his spot in the playoffs. He is currently 12th in the standings and has never won at Indy. However, he has the fourth-best driver rating (98.3), eight top fives and 11 top 10s. And did you know that Kenseth leads all active drivers at Indianapolis with three runner-up finishes and eight top-five finishes?

    Qualifying well will be crucial this weekend. The Coors Light Pole has produced four winners while two races have been won from second place. Twelve of the 23 Cup Series events (52.2 percent) have been won from a top five starting position.

    The on-track Cup Series action begins Saturday with the first practice at 9 a.m. ET and concludes with Coors Light Pole qualifying at 6:15 p.m. ET. The Brickyard 400 is set for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

    In the meantime, check out the video below to relive a few of the most memorable Brickyard 400 finishes.

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

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Indianapolis

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Indianapolis

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the XFINITY Series head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. Please check below for the complete schedule of events. All times are Eastern.

    Friday, July 21

    On Track:
    1-1:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – NBC Sports App
    3-3:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBC Sports App

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    11:30 a.m., Wayne Auton, Managing Director, NASCAR XFINITY Series
    Noon: Joey Gase
    12:15 p.m.: Dakoda Armstrong, William Byron and Ryan Reed
    2:30 p.m.: Kyle Busch

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    2:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series

    Saturday, July 22

    On Track:
    9-9:55 a.m.: Cup Series Practice – CNBC
    11-11:55 a.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – CNBC
    12:45 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    3:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 (100 laps, 250 miles) – NBCSN
    6:15 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN

    Press Pass: (Watch live)
    10 a.m.: NASCAR Racing Experience Announcement
    10:25 a.m.: Denny Hamlin
    Noon: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    12:30 p.m.: Kyle Larson
    1:30 p.m.: Clint Bowyer
    6 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series Race
    7 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Qualifying

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    10:30 a.m.: Cup Series

    Sunday, July 23

    On Track:
    2:30 p.m.: Cup Series Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 (160 laps, 400 miles) – NBC

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    6 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Race

    Complete TV Schedule

    Race Details:

    NASCAR XFINITY Series
    Lilly Diabetes 250
    Place: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
    Date: Saturday, July 22
    Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
    TV: NBCSN, 3 p.m. ET
    Radio: IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 250 miles (100 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 30), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on lap 100)

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
    Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400
    Place: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
    Date: Sunday, July 23
    Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
    TV: NBC, 2 p.m. ET
    Radio: IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 400 miles (160 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 50), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 100), Final Stage (Ends on lap 160)

  • Matt Crafton Ends Winless Drought At Eldora

    Matt Crafton Ends Winless Drought At Eldora

    Matt Crafton was able to end his winless drought at Eldora Speedway on Wednesday night. It has been over a year since the No. 88 team has won a race. It all started with qualifying, however.

    Crafton won the second heat race, which put him on the outside pole. Alongside him was dirt track veteran, Stewart Friesen, who won the first heat race.

    Forty laps made up Stage 1, while 50 laps made up the second stage and 60 laps wound up the final stage.

    When Stage 1 began, it was action packed early as favorite Bobby Pierce spun out on the backstretch, involving JJ Yeley and Chris Windom.

    On lap 18, the second caution was brought out again as Sheldon Creed went around and caused a huge pile up in Turn 3. Numerous drivers were involved including Norm Benning, Pierce, Harrison Burton, Johnny Sauter, Ben Rhodes, Rico Abreu, Ryan Truex and Austin Cindric.

    Shortly after the restart on lap 32, a caution came out for Christopher Bell and Kaz Grala, who collided with each other off Turn 2. Grala, with heavy damage, was done for the night. As for Bell, he had major right side damage but was able to get back into the race.

    After several caution laps, NASCAR decided to end the first stage under caution, thus giving Matt Crafton the win in Stage 1.

    As Stage 2 took off on lap 40, it was a bit quieter but still, action packed. Just two laps after the restart, a spin by Rhodes, Korbin Forrister and Max Johnston brought out the fourth caution.

    Before the end of Stage 2, there were two more cautions involving Creed on lap 67 and on lap 84 for Ray Ciccarelli spinning on the frontstretch after contact with Creed.  Stewart Friesen went on to win Stage 2.

    After pitting for a flat tire, Friesen was able to retain the lead on the restart with 59 laps to go as the third and final stage began. Bell took the lead a lap later and held on until 37 to go, where Friesen retook the lead. However, the pace was slowed again, as Ty Dillon had a flat right front tire go down with 33 to go.

    A few laps after a restart with 25 to go, Bell pitted for a flat tire and once more, another caution was brought for Ciccarelli.

    Crafton was able to take the lead with 16 to go and held on from there to end his winless drought dating back to June of 2016 at Charlotte.

    “My first dirt win,” Crafton said. “A lot of fun. In the second part of the race, we darn right just stunk. It was my fault, we over-tightened it on the first run, we were pretty good. I thought we were a little bit too free, so we just tightened up and went back to the way we started the race. At the end, I had to either tear up the right side  off or take it to victory lane.”

    Friesen, Chase Briscoe, Grant Enfinger and John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top five. Johnny Sauter’s points lead is now down to seven points over second place Bell.

    This was Crafton’s 13th career Truck Series win and his first of the 2017 season.

    Crafton led twice for 24 laps.

    There were four leaders among 15 lead changes, as well as, 10 cautions for 59 laps.

    Next Up: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series head east for Pocono International Raceway on Saturday, July 29.

     

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Eldora with Format, Rules, Qualifying Procedure

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Eldora with Format, Rules, Qualifying Procedure

    The Camping World Truck Series travels to Eldora Speedway this week for the Eldora Dirt Derby. Please check below for the complete schedule of events. All times are Eastern.

    Tuesday, July 18

    On Track: 7-7:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Practice – No TV (Follow live)
    9-9:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Final Practice – No TV (Follow live)

    Wednesday, July 19

    On Track:
    5 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
    7:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series First Qualifying Race (10 laps) – FS2
    7:39 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Second Qualifying Race (10 laps) – FS2
    7:48 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Third Qualifying Race (10 laps) – FS2
    7:57 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Fourth Qualifying Race (10 laps) – FS2
    8:06 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Fifth Qualifying Race (10 laps) – FS2
    8:45 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Last Chance Qualifying Race (15 laps) – FS2
    9:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby (150 laps, 75 miles/40-50-60) – Fox Business Network

    Race Details:

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
    Race: Eldora Dirt Derby
    Place: Eldora Speedway
    Date: Wednesday, July 19
    Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
    TV: FOX Business, 9 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 75 miles (150 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on lap 150)

    Previous Winners:

    Winner                       Date
    Kyle Larson                07/20/2016
    Christopher Bell          07/22/2015
    Darrell Wallace Jr.       07/23/2014
    Austin Dillon               07/24/2013

    Eldora – Format, Rules, Qualifying

    Eldora’s qualifying and race formats differ from the knockout qualifying seen weekly in the NASCAR Camping World Truck series. Below is a guide to how it works.

    At Eldora, a random draw determines the qualifying order for two-lap, single-truck qualifying that determines the starting positions for the qualifying races (five races in total). The fastest qualifier earns the Keystone Light Pole Award.

    Each of the five qualifying races consists of 10 laps, with only green-flag laps counting. The top five trucks in the two-lap qualifying will start on the pole for their respective qualifying races. The lineups for the qualifying races are filled based on qualifying speeds (sixth competes in the first qualifying race, seventh in the second, eighth in the third, etc.)

    The top-five trucks from each qualifying race will transfer to the race. Upon completion of the qualifying races, 25 trucks will earn spots in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

    When the five qualifying races are completed, there will be a last-chance qualifying race. The lineup will be based on finishing position from the qualifying races and the race will be 15 laps with only green flag laps counting. The top two finishers transfer to the race, where they will start in positions 26-27.

    The 28th-31st starting positions go to the highest-ranking eligible trucks in owner points that have not already earned a starting position through qualifying.

    The 32nd starting position goes to the most recent eligible past series champion; if that position is not filled by an eligible champion, it will be assigned based upon owner points.

    The race will be 150 laps divided into three stages: Stage 1 ends on lap 40, Stage 2 ends on lap 90, and the Final Stage ends on lap 150. During the competition cautions at the stage breaks on Lap 40 and Lap 90, caution laps will not count and positions cannot be improved on pit road.

    Teams are not required to pit during the competition cautions. Those teams that do not elect to pit may remain on the track and start in front of the pitting teams.

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