Category: Race Central

Race Central Stories

  • Kyle Busch fastest in final practice

    Kyle Busch fastest in final practice

    Kyle Busch topped the chart in final Sprint Cup Series practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 48.749 and a speed of 184.619 mph. Kevin Harvick was second in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with a time of 48.842 and a speed of 184.268 mph. Kyle Larson was third in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 48.975 and a speed of 183.767 mph. Ryan Newman was fourth in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet with a time of 49.000 and a speed of 183.673 mph. Carl Edwards rounded out the top-five in his No. 19 JGR Toyota with a time of 49.032 and a speed of 183.554 mph.

    Austin Dillon was sixth in his No. 3 RCR Chevrolet. Jimmie Johnson was seventh in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Martin Truex Jr. was eighth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. Danica Patrick was ninth in his No. 10 SHR Chevrolet. AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top-10 in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet.

    Denny Hamlin, who fastest lap was 17th fastest overall, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 177.938 mph.

    The Sprint Cup Series will be back on track tomorrow afternoon at 1:45 for qualifying.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/C1620_PRACFINAL.pdf”]

  • Kyle Busch says he’d give the Indy 500 a shot

    Kyle Busch says he’d give the Indy 500 a shot

    During his media availability earlier today, Kyle Busch mentioned he’d like a try at the Indianapolis 500.

    “Sure, I’d give it a shot and see what it’s all about, but obviously you’ve got to have funding to go run that race,” he said. “It’s a big race for all those teams that come here to run that race and putting on a good effort for myself means that you want to get with a top-tier team that has success here and that you know can run well and you can have good stops on pit road because it seems as though pit road is a big deal in those car here at Indy and just being able to learn as much as you can, so trying to get a little bit of track time in the times that we’re not busy doing what we’re doing is awfully hard to do.”

    He started off by saying, however, that plans would have to be made long in advance.

    “Yeah, you definitely can’t do it a month before for sure,” he added. “There’s got to be planning involved and you’ve got to be ahead of the curve and probably this is about the start time in which you need to get some things started planning and definitely have all those plans solidified probably by the end of the NASCAR season in November.”

    NASCAR drivers running the Indianapolis 500 isn’t new. Bobby and Donnie Allison, and Cale and Lee Roy Yarbrough all ran the Indy 500 in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Since 1994, four NASCAR drivers have run both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. John Andretti 10th in the Indianapolis 500 and 36th in the Coca-Cola 600 in 1993. Tony Stewart ran both races in 1999 finishing ninth in the 500 and finishing fourth in the 600 after starting from the rear of the field. He’s the only driver to run both races to completion when he did so in 2001 finishing sixth in the 500 and third in the 600. From 2002 to 2004, Robby Gordon ran both races. Kurt Busch attempted both races in 2014 finishing sixth in the 500, but losing an engine and finishing 40th in the 600.

  • Johnson fastest in first practice

    Johnson fastest in first practice

    Jimmie Johnson topped the chart in first Sprint Cup Series practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 48.864 and a speed of 184.185 mph. Denny Hamlin was second in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 49.298 and a speed of 182.563 mph. Casey Mears was third in his No. 13 Germain Racing Chevrolet with a time of 49.904 and a speed of 180.346 mph. Kevin Harvick was fourth in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with a time of 50.043 and a speed of 179.845 mph. Ryan Newman rounded out the top-five in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet with a time of 50.060 and a speed of 179.784 mph.

    Carl Edwards was sixth in his No. 19 JGR Toyota. Chase Elliott was seventh in his No. 24 HMS Chevrolet. Tony Stewart was eighth in his No. 14 SHR Chevrolet. Jeff Gordon, subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr., was ninth in his No. 88 HMS Chevrolet. Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-10 in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota.

    No driver posted a 10 consecutive lap average during the session.

    The Sprint Cup Series cars are back on track later today at 4:00 for final practice.

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  • Jeff Gordon: ‘I was asked to drive Tony Stewart’s car in Daytona’

    Jeff Gordon: ‘I was asked to drive Tony Stewart’s car in Daytona’

    Jeff Gordon revealed today that he was asked to drive in place of Tony Stewart at Daytona.

    During his media availability at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the substitute driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was asked if he would’ve been available to drive in a substitute role had this been during the FOX portion of the season.

    “Well the crazy thing about all this I was asked to drive Tony Stewart’s car in Daytona to start the season out with his injuries and the incident that happened there,” Gordon said. “No, I wasn’t able to do it because of my commitments to FOX. Now, Rick has some amazing ways to convince people into things that the average person might not be able to. So, I don’t know maybe he could have called Eric Shanks (president, COO and executive producer of FOX Sports) or something, but no I don’t think so.”

    Following the conclusion of the 2015 season, Gordon moved to the broadcast booth to work the first 16 Sprint Cup Series races of the 2016 season for FOX Sports.

    He was on vacation with his family in France while the Sprint Cup Series was in New Hampshire when he was contacted by Rick Hendrick about driving the No. 88 car.

    “I was in the South of France at that time,” he said. “I get that text (from Hendrick), and I looked at her (Ingrid) and said ‘Oh boy, here we go.’ I had no idea. When Rick said to me ‘Are you coming to Indianapolis?’ I said ‘Yes I am. I am coming on Saturday.’ He said ‘Well, you better bring your uniform.’ I asked what he was talking about and he started to tell me about what was going on.”

    It was announced last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway that if Dale Earnhardt Jr. was unable to compete at Indianapolis, Gordon would drive in his place.

    “Honestly I didn’t have to think twice about it,” Gordon said. “When Rick calls, he has that confidence in me, and asked me to step-up and do something for the organization – whether it was driver, or other responsibilities. The way he has been there for me. The way this team and organization has been there for me over the years, I didn’t anticipate this. This is certainly the last thing that was going to happen. But I knew it was Indianapolis. I didn’t think about it. I felt like if there was one place that I was capable of doing it, it would be here.”

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Indianapolis

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Indianapolis

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. Please check below for the complete schedule of events.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, July 22:

    On Track:
    Noon-1:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series First Practice – NBCSN
    1:30 p.m.-2:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series First Practice – NBCSN
    3-3:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBCSN
    4-5:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN 

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    11:30 a.m.: XFINITY Series
    1 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    10:30 a.m.: Jeff Gordon
    11 a.m.: Wood Brothers
    11:30 a.m.: Kyle Busch
    11:45 a.m.: Roush Fenway Racing
    12:15 p.m.: Ryan Newman
    12:30 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson
    12:45 p.m.: Tony Stewart

    Saturday, July 23:

    On Track:
    11:45 a.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    1:45 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    3:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 Heat #1 (20 laps, 50 miles) – NBCSN
    4:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 Heat #2 (20 laps, 50 miles) – NBCSN (time approx.)
    5:05 p.m.:  XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 Main (60 laps, 150 miles) – NBCSN (time approx.)
    Radio: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and IMS Radio Network

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    12:15 p.m.: Danica Patrick 
    3 p.m.: Sprint Cup Post-Qualifying
    6 p.m.: XFINITY Post-Race

    Sunday, July 24: 

    On Track:
    3 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal Presents The Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard (160 laps, 400 miles) – NBCSN
    Radio: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and IMS Radio Network

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    6:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup Post-Race

    Race Notes via NASCAR:

    7 To Go: Only 5 Chase Berths Remain With 7 Races Left Until NASCAR’s Playoffs

    Only seven races remain for drivers to lock up one of the final five Chase berths.

    A visit to Victory Lane gets a winless driver into the Chase as long as he/she is in the top 30 of the points standings.

    The drivers who likely would get into the Chase because of wins are: Brad Keselowski (4 wins), Kyle Busch (3), Carl Edwards (2), Jimmie Johnson (2), Matt Kenseth (2), Kevin Harvick (1), Kurt Busch (1), Joey Logano (1), Martin Truex Jr. (1), Denny Hamlin (1) and Tony Stewart (1).

    McMurray, Menard and Newman are the only currently winless drivers who have visited Victory Lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – the site of Sunday’s race.

    Below are the remaining tracks after Indy and winless drivers who have visited Victory Lane at them:

    Pocono: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman
    Watkins Glen: AJ Allmendinger
    Bristol: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne
    Michigan: Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne
    Darlington: Greg Biffle, Regan Smith


    *Complete NASCAR TV Schedule*


  • Larson Slides to Victory at Eldora

    Larson Slides to Victory at Eldora

    While he didn’t have the dominant truck all night and was at one point trapped down a lap, Kyle Larson regained his lost lap, passed the dominant truck late in the going and scored the victory on the dirt of Eldora.

    After being penalized a lap for “intentionally bringing out a caution” early at Eldora Speedway, the driver of the No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet rallied back to take the lead from Bobby Pierce late in the race to win the Aspen Dental Dirt Derby. It’s his second victory in 12 Camping World Truck Series starts, his second top-10 finish of the season and the second in three starts at Eldora.

    Christopher Bell came home runner-up in his No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota. It’s his seventh top-10 finish of the season and second top-10 in two starts. Rico Abreu rounded out the podium in his No. 98 ThorSport Racing Toyota. Jake Griffin finished fourth in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota while Tyler Reddick rounded out the top-five in his No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford.

    Cole Custer came home sixth in his No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet followed by Cameron Hayley who finished seventh in his No. 13 TSR Toyota. Daniel Hemric finished eighth in his No. 19 BKR Ford. Austin Wayne Self finished ninth in his No. 22 AM Racing Toyota as Matt Crafton rounded out the top-10 in his No. 88 TSR Toyota.

    Pierce, who led 102 laps, found his car stuck in fourth gear just as he was leading the race late in the going, finished 25th and exited the race after crashing out.

    Fifteen trucks finished the race on the lead lap and 27 were running at the finish.

    The race lasted one hour, 47 minutes and 13 seconds at an average speed of 41.971 mph. There were three lead changes among two different drivers and nine cautions for 52 laps.

    William Byron leaves Rossburg, Ohio with a nine-point lead over Crafton in the points standings.

    The next race for the Camping World Truck Series is July 30 at Pocono Raceway.

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  • NASCAR Racing Schedule and Format for Eldora Speedway

    NASCAR Racing Schedule and Format for Eldora Speedway

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Eldora Speedway this week. Please check below for the complete schedule of events.

    All times are Eastern.

    Tuesday, July 19:

     On Track- Eldora Speedway:
    6:30-7:55 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series First Practice
    9-9:55 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Final Practice

    Wednesday, July 20:

    On Track – Eldora Speedway:
    5:15 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
    7 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series First Qualifying Race (10 laps) – FS1
    7:09 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Second Qualifying Race (10 laps) – FS1
    7:18 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Third Qualifying Race (10 laps) – FS1
    7:27 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Fourth Qualifying Race (10 laps) – FS1
    7:36 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Fifth Qualifying Race (10 laps) – FS1
    8:15 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Last Chance Qualifying Race (15 laps) – FS1
    9 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Aspen Dental Eldora Dirt Derby (150 laps/40-50-60, 75 miles) – FS1

    Race and Qualifying Notes:

    Qualifying: The qualifying order will be set by a random draw. Qualifying will consist of a two lap run by a single truck. The driver with the fastest time will win the Keystone Light Pole Award, but they are not guaranteed the pole position in the race. Instead, qualifying will determine all starting positions for the five qualifying races and the qualifying races themselves will set the lineup for the race.

    Qualifying Races: There will be five qualifying races, 10 laps each race. Only green flag laps will count. The lineup for these races is based on the speeds from the Keystone Light Pole Qualifying. The top five finishers from each of the qualifying races will automatically transfer to the race, for a total of 25 trucks.

    Last Chance Qualifying Race: This race will consist of 15 green flag laps. The lineup will be based on finishing positions from the qualifying races. The top two trucks will transfer to the race and will fill positions 26 and 27 for the race.

    Lineup for Remaining Positions: Positions 28-31 will be filled by the highest-ranking eligible trucks as determined by owner points for those who have not already earned a position through the qualifying process. The 32nd and final spot will go to the most recent eligible past series champion. If it is not filled by an eligible champion, it will be filled based on owner points.

    The Race: The race will be divided into three segments of 40, 50 and 60 laps. There will be competition cautions after the first and second segments. Caution laps will not count during the competition cautions and positions cannot be improved on pit road. The teams are not required to pit during these competition cautions. Trucks that remain on the track and do not pit will restart in front of those that pit.

    HOW ELDORA RACE LINEUP IS DETERMINED
    STARTING SPOT HOW DETERMINED
    1 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #1
    2 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #2
    3 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #3
    4 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #4
    5 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #5
    6 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #1
    7 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #2
    8 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #3
    9 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #4
    10 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #5
    11 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #1
    12 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #2
    13 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #3
    14 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #4
    15 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #5
    16 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #1
    17 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #2
    18 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #3
    19 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #4
    20 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #5
    21 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #1
    22 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #2
    23 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #3
    24 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #4
    25 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #5
    26 Top finisher in Last Chance
    27 Second finisher in Last Chance
    28 Owner points
    29 Owner points
    30 Owner points
    31 Owner points
    32 Past series champ/owner points

     

  • Cut Tire Ends Impressive Run for Bowman

    Cut Tire Ends Impressive Run for Bowman

    Alex Bowman surprised a lot of people running in the top-10 most of the back half of the Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire before a tire blowout in the closing laps relegated him to a back half finish in his substitute drive for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    With 29 laps to go, Alex Bowman was running eighth, but contact on pit road with Carl Edwards and further contact with Kurt Busch caused a tire rub on his left-rear that resulted in a blowout and contacting the wall on the frontstretch going into Turn 1.

    “I think the No. 19 was backing up because he was blocked in as I was leaving the pit box,” Bowman said of what he thought led to his tire going down. “My left-rear hit his right-rear as I was leaving.  It caved it in enough, we thought we would be fine, but obviously, when I got into the No. 41 it was already going down. I got really loose, got up the race track and got into him. I hate that for Kurt. Obviously, just got loose had a tire going down and then it went down at about the start/finish line, I just tried to hang on to it. It is really unfortunate. They knew we were here for sure and I had a blast.”

    Bowman was chosen to drive the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on Thursday after Earnhardt was declared medically unclear to race this weekend with symptoms of a concussion.

    “When I got the call I’m like, ‘Oh, Loudon? Really? Okay, well, I’ll try,’” he said. “And they were so welcoming. Such great people to get to work with. Greg (Ives) and all the guys. I had so much fun working with everybody. And I’ve got to thank Mr. ‘H’, too; it was just an absolute blast. I was off a little bit in practice and qualifying, so I feel like I got my act together for the race and it definitely showed.”

    The lackluster finish didn’t stop him from saying the experience “was amazing. I can’t thank Hendrick Motorsports and all these guys enough. They took me to my worst race track by far and made me look good. I just have to thank Mr. H. I had such an amazing time. Everybody, Greg (Ives, crew chief) and all the guys were so welcoming.”

    “I hate the circumstances and really hope Dale is feeling well, but I had so much fun today.  Obviously, I hate that we didn’t get the finish we deserve, but I’ve raced with a lot of these guys for a long time, I raced around them (but) I’ve never got to actually race with guys like Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, all those guys.  I had a lot of fun passing really good cars. Just really thankful for Nationwide and all of Hendrick Motorsports for letting me be here.”

    Because Earnhardt didn’t start the race, he didn’t collect points for Bowman’s 26th-place finish. His absence dropped him to 15th in points at the Chase cutoff heading to Indianapolis.

  • Matt Kenseth Scores the Victory at Loudon

    Matt Kenseth Scores the Victory at Loudon

    Matt Kenseth will be dining on lobster following enduring a flurry of cautions late in the going to score the victory at the Magic Mile.

    The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota took the lead from Martin Truex Jr. in the closing stages of the race and held on with the rush of cautions in the remaining laps to win the New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    “You’re always pleased to be in victory lane,” Kenseth said. “The farther down the road you get, the better they feel for sure. Thanks to everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing. I’ve said it a million times, but I’m blessed with this opportunity to be over here with the guys I get to work with and my great sponsors, Dollar General and of course, can’t do it without Toyota, TRD (Toyota Racing Development), Interstate Batteries, WileyX, Gatorade. Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and the team over there made great, great adjustments today. I didn’t do a very good job qualifying and after round one today it was pretty much money, we just had to get there. It was a fun day.”

    It’s his 24th career victory in 597 career Sprint Cup Series starts, second of the season, third at Loudon, the eighth top-10 finish of 2016 and 18th in 33 starts at Loudon.

    His car failed post-race inspection at the Laser Inspection Station (LIS). Any penalties resulting from this will be announced on Wednesday.

    Tony Stewart came home to a runner-up finish in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

    “It was fun,” Stewart said of his day. “The hardest part of the restarts was just which line you were in. If you were on the bottom you were at a huge disadvantage. You needed to be on that top line and needed to be able to hold them down when they got there. We restarted sixth on the outside that last time and that really was the key to getting us up where we were at the end.”

    It’s his 19th top-10 finish in 34 starts at Loudon and fifth of 2016.

    Despite being a non-factor for the whole race, Joey Logano edged out Kevin Harvick at the line to round out the podium in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

    “We were awful at the beginning of the race,” Logano said of his race. “We tried some new things and apparently they didn’t work so we aborted mission in the middle of the race and got some speed back in the 22 but not enough to beat the 20. I thought we would have something since we had four tires but we didn’t have the car to get up there with him. Overall, to recover to third after running 15th or 16th most of the race is pretty good for this team. We have a never quit attitude and it paid off today.”

    Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 SHR Chevrolet, wasn’t too happy with his race, saying he was “disgusted to tell you the truth. It’s the same thing every week. We just make mistake after mistake and until we clean that up we don’t have a chance to win races putting ourselves in a hole every time we make a mistake. It sucks because the cars are plenty fast, but we are just not executing.”

    Greg Biffle rounded out the top-five in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

    “It was a great run with the 18 car there toward the end,” Biffle said. “We finally had a chance to race with those guys a little bit. We are still working hard on these cars to get them faster.”

    Jamie McMurray finished sixth in his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Ryan Newman finished seventh in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet as Kyle Busch led 133 laps, the most of any driver, on his way to an eighth-place finish in his No. 18 JGR Toyota.

    “Our Interstate Batteries Camry was fast today we just didn’t need all of those cautions at the end,” Busch said of his race. “The car was strong on a long run. We still seemed to battle the balance and just kept going loose and tight at different points on the track. Given how much we led we are a little disappointed with eighth but we’ll take it and look to Indy next weekend.”

    Denny Hamlin led five laps on his way to a ninth-place finish in his No. 11 JGR Toyota and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-10 in his No. 17 RFR Ford.

    Jimmie Johnson, who led one lap, finished 12th. Brad Keselowski, who led one lap, finished 15th while Truex, who led 123 laps, finished 16th.

    Alex Bowman was running in the top-10 toward the end of the race before a tire blowout relegated him to a 26th-place finish.

    “It was amazing,” Bowman said of his day. “I can’t thank Hendrick Motorsports and all these guys enough. They took me to my worst race track by far and made me look good. I just have to thank Mr. H (Rick Hendrick). I had such an amazing time. Everybody, Greg (Ives, crew chief) and all the guys were so welcoming. I hate the circumstances and really hope Dale is feeling well, but I had so much fun today. Obviously, I hate that we didn’t get the finish we deserve, but I’ve raced with a lot of these guys for a long time, raced around them (but) I’ve never got to actually race with guys like Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, all those guys. I had a lot of fun passing really good cars. Just really thankful for Nationwide and all of Hendrick Motorsports for letting me be here.”

    Twenty-six cars finished the race on the lead lap and 38 were running at the finish.

    Michael McDowell and Josh Wise were the only two retirements from the race.

    The race lasted two hours, 57 minutes and 53 seconds at an average speed of 107.416 mph. There were 13 lead changes among six different drivers and seven cautions for 36 laps.

    Harvick leaves Loudon with a 14-point lead over Keselowski in the points standings.

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  • Kyle Busch holds off Erik Jones for NASCAR XFINITY Series win at New Hampshire

    Kyle Busch holds off Erik Jones for NASCAR XFINITY Series win at New Hampshire

    By Reid Spencer

    LOUDON, N.H. – Another NASCAR XFINITY Series race, another set of milestones for Kyle Busch.

    Leading 190 of 200 laps in Saturday’s AutoLotto 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Busch held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones in the closing laps to claim his 82nd career victory, extending his own series record.

    In the process, Busch raised his total of XFINITY laps led to 17,064, once again extending his own record. Busch won for the fifth time in 11 races at the Magic Mile and the sixth time in 10 starts this season.

    “I guess they’re big numbers,” said Busch, who ran the entire race on one set of left-side tires and arrived at the finish line 1.499 seconds ahead of Jones, who had taken four tires on his final pit stop under caution on Lap 178. “I really don’t know what big numbers are, and records are made to be broken.

    “There may be somebody like me that comes along down the road that does the same thing that I’ve been fortunate enough to do… Running in this series is something fun for me to do, cool for me to do, and it also helps me out and gets me a little more experience.”

    Brad Keselowski ran third but didn’t have an answer for the top two JGR cars. Daniel Suarez came home fourth, followed by Austin Dillon.

    “We had a decent day,” Keselowski said. “A little better than where we have been, which was something to be proud of, but of course we want to get to Victory Lane with the (No. 22 Team Penske) Ford. We aren’t quite there, but we’ll keep pushing.

    “That was a step in the right direction overall for sure.”

    Busch may have been dominant up front, but there were compelling subplots behind him, the most noteworthy between Ty Dillon and Alex Bowman.

    Bowman, who will sub for ailing Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, turned left into Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet off Turn 2 on Lap 76, sending Dillon’s car into the outside wall.

    Dillon was convinced Bowman wrecked him on purpose. Bowman asserted his car was forced wide, and the contact was unintentional. Dillon returned to action 55 laps down after repairs in the garage and twice tried to impede Bowman’s progress on the track.

    “He tried to wreck me about four times after (the accident),” Bowman said after the race. “I don’t blame him for being upset. He has every right to be upset…

    “He drove me way up the race track (right before the contact). He obviously got tight underneath me. I had a ton of wheel in it, and it finally caught. I barely came off the wall. You come off the wall six inches and you tag somebody in the right rear. I hate that for the 3 car, but I definitely didn’t do it intentionally. He can think what he wants.”

    Bowman was able to continue despite damage to the left front of his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and posted an eighth-place finish. Dillon, on the other hand, was scored 33rd and held third place in the XFINITY standings but fell 48 points behind Suarez, who also expanded his series lead to 15 points over second-place Elliott Sadler, who ran 10th on Saturday.

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – AutoLotto 200
    New Hampshire Motor Speedway
    Loudon, New Hampshire
    Saturday, July 16, 2016

    1. (1) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 200.
    2. (2) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 200.
    3. (3) Brad Keselowski(i), Ford, 200.
    4. (4) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 200.
    5. (7) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 200.
    6. (9) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 200.
    7. (8) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
    8. (5) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 200.
    9. (17) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 200.
    10. (6) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200.
    11. (13) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 200.
    12. (15) Darrell Wallace Jr, Ford, 200.
    13. (18) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 200.
    14. (22) Ryan Reed, Ford, 199.
    15. (16) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 199.
    16. (26) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 199.
    17. (19) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 199.
    18. (14) Justin Marks, Chevrolet, 199.
    19. (12) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 198.
    20. (27) BJ McLeod #, Ford, 197.
    21. (30) Ray Black Jr #, Chevrolet, 197.
    22. (34) Timmy Hill(i), Dodge, 197.
    23. (29) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 196.
    24. (33) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 196.
    25. (36) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 195.
    26. (35) Scott Heckert, Ford, 195.
    27. (31) TJ Bell, Chevrolet, 194.
    28. (39) Matt Waltz, Chevrolet, 191.
    29. (40) Chris Cockrum, Chevrolet, 191.
    30. (38) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 188.
    31. (21) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 170.
    32. (11) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, Transmission, 159.
    33. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 144.
    34. (24) Jeff Green, Toyota, Brakes, 109.
    35. (32) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, Suspension, 99.
    36. (25) David Starr, Chevrolet, Overheating, 82.
    37. (20) Corey LaJoie, Toyota, Accident, 64.
    38. (28) Carl Long, Toyota, Brakes, 38.
    39. (37) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Handling, 25.
    40. (23) Matt DiBenedetto(i), Toyota, Vibration, 3.

    Average Speed of Race Winner:  98.789 mph.
    Time of Race:  02 Hrs, 08 Mins, 31 Secs. – Margin of Victory:  1.499 Seconds.
    Caution Flags:  7 for 37 laps.
    Lead Changes:  3 among 3 drivers.
    Lap Leaders:   K. Busch(i) 1-92; E. Jones # 93-95; A. Bowman 96-102; K. Busch(i) 103-200.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Busch(i) 2 times for 190 laps; A. Bowman 1 time for 7 laps; E. Jones # 1 time for 3 laps.

    Top 10 in Points: D. Suarez – 574; E. Sadler – 559; T. Dillon – 526; E. Jones # – 520; B. Gaughan – 509; J. Allgaier – 506; B. Poole # – 489; B. Jones # – 489; D. Wallace Jr – 459; R. Reed – 405.