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  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Daytona

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Daytona

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series head to Daytona International Speedway this weekend while the Camping World Truck Series is off. Please check below for the complete schedule of events.

    All times are Eastern.

    Thursday, June 30:

    On-Track:
    2-2:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series First Practice – NBCSN
    3-3:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series First Practice – NBCSN
    4-4:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBCSN – Canceled Due to Rain
    5-5:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN – Canceled Due to Rain

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    1:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series
    2:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    12:15 p.m.: Joe Gibbs Racing
    2:15 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    4:20 p.m.: Denny Hamlin

    Friday, July 1:

    On-Track:
    9:45 – 10:30 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN
    2:10 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    4:10 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    7:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Subway Firecracker 250 Powered by Coca-Cola (100 laps, 250 miles) – NBCSN

    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    12:45 p.m.: Bobby Labonte
    1:35 p.m.: Aric Almirola
    5:15 p.m.: Post-Sprint Cup Qualifying (time approx.)
    9:45 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series Race (time approx.)

    Saturday, July 2:

    On-Track:
    7:45 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola (160 laps, 400 miles) – NBC

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    11 p.m.: NBC America Post-Sprint Cup Race Show (time approx.)

    *Complete NASCAR TV Schedule*

     

    NOTES – NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES:

    NASCAR to Honor Victims of Orlando Tragedy

    Following the recent attack in the Orlando community, NASCAR has shared plans to remember the victims of this tragedy during the race weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

    An #ORLANDOUNITED decal will be placed on the A-Post of all cars in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

    NBC to Air First NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Broadcast of Season

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to NBC for the second straight season of NASCAR and NBC’s 10-year landmark broadcast agreement on Saturday, July 3 with the airing of the Coke Zero 400 presented by Coca-Cola.

    Coverage starts with the pre-race show at 7 p.m. ET and the race broadcast begins at 7:45 p.m. ET.

    Rick Allen (play-by-play), 21-time NSCS winner Jeff Burton (analyst) and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte (analyst) will commentate from the booth while Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast will report from pit road.

    Krista Voda will host the pre-race show with NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett and eight-time NSCS winner Kyle Petty providing analysis.

    NASCAR: An American Salute™

    (#NASCARSalutes) is the industry’s collective expression of reverence, respect and gratitude for those who have served and continue to defend the United States today.

    “NASCAR’s long-standing tradition of honoring the U.S. Armed Forces will never waver – it is woven into the fabric of our sport,” said Brent Dewar, NASCAR chief operating officer. “We have a unique opportunity with the NASCAR XFINITY Series to pay tribute to the military units and bases integral to preserving our country’s freedom.”

    The race track will again host and recognize three recipients of the Medal of Honor, the highest award given to military service members, continuing a tradition dating back several years. The Medal of Honor recipients in attendance this weekend will include Staff Sergeant Ty Carter, Command Sergeant Major Gary Littrell and Captain Florent Groberg, each representing the U.S. Army.

    NASCAR together with Daytona International Speedway and race teams will host hundreds of active military and veterans, and their families, during the race weekend. Among them will be the 65th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army, nicknamed “The Bourinqueneers,” a Puerto Rican regiment that was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in April.

    Several active military members present for Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola will take part in a special moment of recognition for the U.S. Armed Forces before the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

    Pre-race activities will also feature a flyover of four F-16s from the 93rd Fighter Squadron from Homestead Air Reserve Base during the national anthem, which will be performed by the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence Band from Fort Benning, Georgia. The national anthem will be performed as 200 military members unfurl a giant American flag in the infield.

    Retired U.S. Air Force Sergeant Kelly Miller will be grand marshal for Friday’s Subway Firecracker 250 Powered By Coca-Cola. A Subway franchisee, Miller served as an aeromedical service specialist, responsible for the healthcare of Air Force pilots and flight crews. Retired Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Fred Gardner, also a Subway franchisee, will serve as the honorary starter. Gardner operated the Terrier missile first control system during Mediterranean tours.

    Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith will serve as the race’s honorary pace car driver. A former Florida State standout, Smith owns the NFL’s longest active streak of 16 straight games with six-plus tackles.

    NOTES – NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Salutes U.S. Military Units With Tribute At Daytona

    In a show of appreciation for the United States Armed Forces, NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers will bear the names of active military units and installations on their race car windshields during Friday’s Subway Firecracker 250 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN)

     

  • Smoke Beats and Bangs his Way Back to Victory Lane

    Smoke Beats and Bangs his Way Back to Victory Lane

    After about losing the race running wide in turn 7a on the final lap, Tony Stewart capitalized on Denny Hamlin locking up in Turn 11, made contact with him, hit the wall and scored the victory at Sonoma.

    The driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet snapped an 84-race winless streak as he won the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

    When asked if this win is significant because of its timing, he said “They’re all good; it doesn’t matter where you get them. But, we ran close to those guys all day. We just got stuck back in traffic. It’s pretty ironic the last one we got was in a Code 3 car and I’m proud to do it again. I’m proud of Mobil 1 and Bass Pro and everybody. It’s just an awesome job.”

    It’s his 49th career win in 598 Sprint Cup Series starts, first of 2016, first since Dover in June of 2013, third at Sonoma Raceway and first since 2005.

    He currently sits 32nd in points nine points back of the Chase cutoff.

    Hamlin brought his wounded No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota home to a runner-up finish.

    “Tony was doing a good job maintaining his tires, a good job of running consistent laps there,” Hamlin said. “Really he gave me an opportunity to get close. On the second to last lap, he wheel-hopped into (turn) seven, allowed us to get close and I just did a poor job of getting through 11. I was expecting to really drive in deep and I really thought that was going to happen and he did, but I also left the bottom open and that was a bad mistake on my part.”

    It’s his seventh top-10 finish of the season and third in 11 races at Sonoma. He earned the bonus point for leading the most laps at 33. Joey Logano rounded out the podium in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

    “We had a hard-fought third-place finish today, which is no easy finish here at Sonoma at any point,” Logano said.

    It’s his fourth top-10 finish in eight races at Sonoma.

    Carl Edwards led 24 laps on his way to a fourth-place finish in his No. 19 JGR Toyota.

    “We had a really fast Stanley Toyota, this was the most fun I’ve had in a long time, really good car,” Edwards said. “It was fun to race. Congrats to Tony, I know he drove his heart out there. It’s pretty neat to see him in victory lane. We just had some fun today, it was a good time.”

    After losing second to Hamlin going into turn 7a with 12 laps to go, Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-five in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota.

    “We just burned it up at the end trying to get Smoke (Tony Stewart) and I gave up a couple spots, but I had to try to go for it,” Truex said of the closing laps. “The rear tires were gone at the end. It was a good race and congrats to Tony, it’s good to see and it’s been a long time coming for him.”

    Kevin Harvick led three laps on his way to a sixth-place finish in his No. 4 SHR Chevrolet. Kyle Busch led two laps on his way to a seventh-place finish in his No. 18 JGR Toyota. Ryan Newman finished eighth in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Kasey Kahne finished ninth in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Kurt Busch rounded out the top-10 in his No. 41 SHR Chevrolet.

    Despite leading 20 laps and being a front-runner for most of the afternoon, an uncontrolled tire penalty relegated AJ Allmendinger to the tail-end of the longest line during the fourth caution of the race and he finished 14th. Paul Menard, who led three laps, finished 16th. Danica Patrick, who led three laps, finished 19th.

    Thirty-five cars finished on the lead lap and 37 finished the race. Josh Wise exited the race with 14 laps remaining due to engine failure. Michael McDowell left the race with 18 laps to go for rear gear failure and Clint Bowyer exited the race on lap seven for an electrical fire in the dashboard of his car.

    The race lasted two hours, 42 minutes and 13 seconds at an average speed of 80.966 mph. There were 12 lead changes among eight different drivers and four cautions for 10 laps.

    Harvick leaves with a 35-point lead over Kurt Busch in the points standings.

    The next race for the Sprint Cup Series is the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway this Saturday night.

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  • Christopher Bell Endures Carnage to Win at Gateway

    Christopher Bell Endures Carnage to Win at Gateway

    On a night of wrecks, angry drivers, more wrecks and a DDT, Christopher Bell endured it all to score the victory at Gateway.

    The driver of the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota led 38 laps and took advantage of the misfortunes of other drivers in the closing stages to win the Drivin’ 4 Lineman 200. It’s his second career victory in 16 Camping World Truck Series starts, the first of 2016 and his first on asphalt. The win ties KBM with Roush Fenway Racing for most wins by any organization in the Truck Series.

    Ben Rhodes led four laps on his way to scoring a career-best finish of second in his No. 41 ThorSport Racing Toyota. It’s his fourth top-10 finish of 2016. Daniel Hemric rounded out the podium in his No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford. Johnny Sauter led 29 laps on his way to a fourth-place finish in his No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet. Reigning series champion Erik Jones rounded out the top-five in his No. 51 KBM Toyota.

    John Hunter Nemechek finished sixth in his No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet. Germán Quiroga finished seventh in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota. Kaz Grala finished eighth in his No. 24 GMSR Chevrolet. Ben Kennedy finished ninth in his No. 33 GMSR Chevrolet. Timothy Peters rounded out the top-10 in his No. 17 RHR Toyota.

    William Byron, who led a race-high of 47 laps, came home 17th.

    Twenty cars finished on the lead lap and 23 finished the race.

    The race lasted two hours, 14 minutes and 48 seconds at an average speed of 89.021 mph. There were eight lead changes among six different drivers, nine cautions for 44 laps and three red flag periods. The first red flag was for a three-car wreck in Turn 3 that resulted in Austin Wayne Self being t-boned by Jennifer Jo Cobb. The second was for a multi-car wreck in Turn 4. The last was for a two-car wreck in the closing laps in Turn 1 involving Spencer Gallagher and John Wes Townley that resulted in a fight. During this scuffle, Townley delivered a DDT to Gallagher onto the racing surface.

    Byron leaves with a one-point lead over Matt Crafton in the points standings.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/T1609_UNOFFRES.pdf”]

  • Edwards Takes the Pole in Sonoma

    Edwards Takes the Pole in Sonoma

    Carl Edwards will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow afternoon after claiming pole position in wine country.

    The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota scored the pole for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 after posting a time of 1:14.799 and a speed of 95.777 mph.

    “That was good,” Edwards said of his pole lap. “My first lap was amazing, the car was really good and then I wasn’t sure about the second lap. It was good enough and that tells you how good the car is. I just can’t say enough about Stanley and all the things they’re doing for us. We had a dinner last night for us and this will be really exciting for them to have their Stanley Toyota up on the pole for the start of the race and hopefully we can stay there and get another win.”

    It’s his 19th career pole in 425 Sprint Cup Series starts, the third pole of 2016 and his first at Sonoma Raceway.

    AJ Allmendinger will start second in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 1:14.878 and a speed of 95.676 mph while Martin Truex Jr. will start third in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota after posting a time of 1:14.881 and a speed of 95.672 mph.

    “Honestly, for where we were yesterday; it was a struggle yesterday,” Allmendinger said. “We just never could really find the direction of the car. All my guys did a great job to get to work and get this Kroger/Kingsford Chevy closer to the front. When I saw Carl first lap, I kind of said I don’t care what kind of lap I run. If he runs that again, I’m not going to get close. And then I saw it was less than a tenth. I always nitpick, but it was a big gain from where we were yesterday. We’ve still got to go to work and we’ve still got to figure out what we need for race trim, but a good start at least.”

    “I thought we had it, thought we had a shot at it – I know we had a shot at it obviously being second in the first round,” Truex said of his qualifying run. “Knew a few spots on the track I could do a better job driving. Made a few adjustments on the car and felt like I could make up some time. Really had it all put together going into turn 11 and just missed it by six inches down there and got it a little bit tight and had to wait on the gas. If you don’t get off that corner, you lose a lot of time coming to the start-finish line…All in all, it was my best qualifying effort here and this is typically a place we race well, just don’t qualify well so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

    Kurt Busch will start fourth in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 1:14.895 and a speed of 95.654 mph followed by Kyle Larson who will round out the top-five starters in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 1:15.124 and a speed of 95.362 mph.

    Denny Hamlin will start sixth in his No. 11 JGR Toyota and Joey Logano will start seventh in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

    Logano said afterwards that his run was “better than where we were last year. We were 17thor 18th last year, so we’ve improved. I thought I had a shot after the first round, but lost some grip the second round and tried harder at the same time and all of that just didn’t work out. It’s unfortunate that we lost a little bit from the first round to the second round, but we’re still in good shape. I still think we have a top-five car and we proved that today in qualifying. We were really close to that, so now we’ll just work our way through it and see where we end up. At this race you never know what’s gonna happen. It’s about strategy and the fastest car doesn’t always win. A lot of times if you have a top-5 car you can figure out ways to win and I feel like we have that, so it’s just all about executing the race strategy and getting through the race by keeping your cool and doing all of that right.”

    Kyle Busch will start eighth in his No. 18 JGR Toyota, Paul Menard will start ninth in his No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet as Tony Stewart rounds out the top-10 starters in his No. 14 SHR Chevrolet.

    Danica Patrick will start 11th in her No. 10 SHR Chevrolet. Brad Keselowski will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying in his No. 2 Penske Ford.

    Among the cars that didn’t advance out of the first round included all four cars of Hendrick Motorsports.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was fastest in final practice the day before, said his team “just didn’t see what everybody had yesterday. We ran the same times as we did yesterday. The car drove the same. There were just some guys out there that were faster and they just never really made a mock run or showed that speed yesterday. We do have a good race car as far as race trim speed against everybody else. I still feel like this is the best car I’ve had at this race track. The car drove good. I made a couple of mistakes that cost me enough time to get into the next round. But, I make a mistake every lap I run here and that’s just the way it’s going to be. The guys have done a good job of giving me a good race car to cover me every once in a while and I’m pretty excited about tomorrow. I didn’t think we’d get the pole. I know everybody was excited. All the fans were excited about how we ran yesterday. But, I knew there were some guys that just get around this place no matter what car they’re in. They’re fast and when it came to pole day they were going to show up and they did.”

    Cody Ware is the lone DNQ for this weekend.

    Dylan Lupton will make his first career Sprint Cup Series start tomorrow driving the No. 93 Toyota for BK Racing.

    Twenty Chevrolets, 11 Fords and nine Toyotas will comprise the 40-car field for tomorrow’s race.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/C1616_STARTROW.pdf”]

  • Dale Jr., Larson Lead Friday Practices at Sonoma

    Dale Jr., Larson Lead Friday Practices at Sonoma

  • Jimmie Johnson says there have been talks about changes to plate package

    Jimmie Johnson says there have been talks about changes to plate package

    Speaking before the media earlier today, Jimmie Johnson says the Driver’s Council has discussed changes desired for the upcoming trip to the “World Center of Racing” next week.

    During his media availability at Sonoma Raceway this afternoon, the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was asked whether there have been any discussions on making changes to the restrictor plate aerodynamic package ahead of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

    “Yeah, I think we had one Driver Council meeting since,” he said. “I don’t remember spending a ton of time talking on it. I know following Talladega there were a lot of suggestions made.”

    He also added that he made some suggestions right after last month’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, in which he was caught in a 21-car wreck in turn 1 with 26 laps to go.

    “I certainly had some opinions of why passing was as difficult as it was and the energy that it created in the pack and the need to kind of bump-draft and slam-draft and then crash, like that whole process that took place. I know that they don’t want to over-react and we’re going to a different track in Daytona that works a little bit differently than Talladega does. So, I feel comfortable with it. I think, ideally, we would love to have the side draft be less impactful. We’d love to have a push from another car be more beneficial. And with the gear and horsepower reduction, I think that took away some of that offensive opportunity that existed. But, we’ll see how Daytona races and take it from there. I know that there’s another Driver Council meeting down in Daytona. It will probably be top of mind for everybody then.”

    The current restrictor plate aero package has been in place with minor changes made to it since the 2013 Daytona 500. For the most part, the only real change to it is usually the size of the holes in the restrictor plates in order to add or reduce horsepower.

    NASCAR has announced that the package as it was used at Talladega in May and the Daytona 500 in February will be used next weekend. This is in spite of three cars getting airborne in the most recent race at Talladega.

    “The one car that got in the air on its own was the 20 car (Matt Kenseth) and we looked at that,” said NASCAR Executive Vice-President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell earlier today at Sonoma. He added that NASCAR is “satisfied with the race package we have.”

    Despite the lack of major changes, Johnson says the drivers still notice the more minor ones.

    “They don’t change a ton. There’s some sensitivity change to the dynamics and how it works, but the package is still very similar. You just notice or feel like last time you could clear a car more easily, or I could get up and push somebody a little bit harder and give them a run around a car. So, it’s more subtle things that we notice. Certainly, when you’re in the car after 300 or 400 miles, you can’t complete a pass, the little bump turns into a nudge and into a slam and then we have chaos like we did at Talladega. So, I guess it if gets off to a slow start, you can probably bank on a wild finish.”

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Sonoma and Gateway

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Sonoma and Gateway

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Sonoma Raceway this weekend while the Camping World Truck Series will compete at Gateway Motorsports Park. The XFINITY Series is off. Please check below for the complete schedule of events.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, June 24:

    On-Track – Sonoma:
    3-4:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series First Practice – FS1
    6:30-7:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – FS1

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

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    2 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson
    2:15 p.m.: Kyle Larson
    5:30 p.m.: Joey Logano
    5:45 p.m.: Kyle Busch

    Saturday, June 25:

    On-Track – Gateway:
    9:30-10:25 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series First Practice
    11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Final Practice – FS1
    5:45 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS2
    8:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Drivin For Linemen 200 Brought to you by Altec (160 laps, 200 miles) – FS1 – Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    On-Track – Sonoma:
    2:15 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    12:30 p.m.: Jeff Gordon
    3:30 p.m.: Post-Sprint Cup Qualifying (time approx.)

    Sunday, June 26:

    On-Track – Sonoma:
    3 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Toyota – Save Mart 350 (110 laps, 218.9 miles) – FS1  
    Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

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

    Notes:

    • Actor Luke Wilson will serve as the official pace car driver for the Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Best known for his comedic roles in “Old School,” “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and “Legally Blonde,” the Texan currently stars in Showtime’s new series “Roadies,” premiering on June 26.
    • Patrick Carpentier of Ville LaSalle, Quebec, Canada will make his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start since 2011 in the No. 32 GO FAS Racing Ford. A five-time winner in the CART Series, Carpentier’s last NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start came at Kansas where he finished 30th. His top career finish was an 11th-place showing at Sonoma in 2009. Carpentier won the Coors Light Pole at New Hampshire in 2008.
    • Tony Stewart and Ernie Irvan will join Sonoma Raceway’s Wall of Fame this weekend, joining fellow NASCAR figures, Rusty Wallace (2005), Mark Martin (2005), Jeff Gordon (2006), Ricky Rudd (2007) and Rick Hendrick (2010). Stewart and Irvan each won twice at Sonoma. Stewart will go for his third victory in his final race at the 1.99-mile track on Sunday.

    *Complete NASCAR TV Schedule*

  • Hornish reigns victorious in the heartland

    Hornish reigns victorious in the heartland

    You would never have guessed this was the first time Sam Hornish Jr. had been in a car this season with his dominant performance and victory in America’s heartland.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 183 of the 250 laps on the way to winning the American Ethanol E15 250 at Iowa Speedway.

    “It doesn’t get much better than that,” Hornish said of his win. “I’ve just got to thank Toyota and everybody from Joe Gibbs Racing for getting me out here and giving me this opportunity. Got my wife and kids here and it’s the first time the kids have got to be here for one of dads wins so — I can’t tell you what this means to me. You work so hard to try to get a win when I have my kids here and the fact of how all of this went on and I’ve just got to thank God. He makes things happen. I was so nervous on Friday getting into the car thinking I’m going to make a mistake and man, to go out there and win the way we did I just can’t say anything more about it. Thank you TRD (Toyota Racing Development). I hope Matt (Tifft) is doing well. I definitely want to thank the fans and happy Father’s Day to everybody. This is definitely one of the best ones I’ve ever had I can guarantee you that.”

    It’s his fourth career win in the XFINITY Series in 111 starts, first of 2016, second at Iowa and first since May 2014.

    “Anytime you get an opportunity to strap into a JGR car you know that you’ve got an opportunity and the car they told me as soon as I got here they’ve done a lot of work since we were here last time and man, this car was so good over the long run,” Hornish added. “I’d be remised if I didn’t thank Brad Keselowski because I picked both lanes that I could to get in front of him on those restarts because I knew that’s one guy that would give me a push. I was just happy about that – thanks to him. And, just man, I just can’t believe it. You always wait for when you have a car that’s this good for something to happen — run over a piece of debris or whatever. I love coming here to Iowa – the fans. I was worried it was going to be too hot and I was going to get all sweaty in the car, which I did, but man it was just put it on cruise once we got about 40 laps into a run. Car was good and I got a good idea of what it takes to be fast around here to keep the tires underneath it. Just fantastic day.”

    Ty Dillon finished runner-up in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

    “I gave it just about everything I could there at the end,” Dillon said. “We had a heck of a battle for second place with Brad (Keslowski) and I felt I could have run down the 18 car if we hadn’t of had that late caution. Wow what a race. Second place is still a great finish and I know our guys worked hard. They earned it. On Friday in practice we were not where we wanted to be, but we made some great adjustments and moved forward. Today was an overall great day for us, and even better, we got American Ethanol and Kum & Go a solid finish in their home state.”

    It’s his ninth top-10 finish of the season and fourth in five starts at Iowa.

    Brad Keselowski rounded out the podium in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. It’s his sixth top-10 finish in six starts at Iowa.

    Daniel Suárez led 62 laps on his way to a fourth-place finish in his No. 19 JGR Toyota.

    “We just needed a little bit better long run right there,” Suárez said of his performance. “At the beginning of the race we were super strong for 10 or 15 laps and for the second part of the race we had to start making bigger changes and adjustments to try to help the long run but we ended here on the short run. That’s part of racing. We’ll keep working and come back in a couple weeks.”

    Alex Bowman rounded out the top-five in his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

    Elliott Sadler finished sixth in his No. 1 JRM Chevrolet. Justin Allgaier finished seventh in his No. 7 JRM Chevrolet. Brennan Poole led one lap on his way to an eighth-place finish in his No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Darrell Wallace Jr. led four laps on his way to a ninth-place finish in his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. In his XFINITY Series debut, Ben Kennedy rounded out the top-10 in his No. 2 RCR Chevrolet.

    “Man, this was a blast,” Kennedy said. “I had so much fun. We had a fast Ruud Chevrolet. My goal at the beginning of the weekend was to finish in the top 10 and we achieved that. We were just a little too tight there at the end. I learned a ton on those restarts, what to expect throughout the run and how the lines change during the race. We could really utilize that top line as the run went on. I think we were one of the first teams to make that work. Overall, it was a great learning experience and I’m happy to go home with a top 10 finish. I can’t thank everyone at Richard Childress Racing and Ruud enough for this opportunity. It’s been a great weekend.”

    Drew Herring, Ryan Preece and Derrick Cope retired from the race due to accidents. Jeff Green retired from the race due to transmission issues. Timmy Hill retired from the race due to engine issues. Dexter Bean retired from the race due to vibration issues. Morgan Shepherd, Carl Long and Tyler Young retired from the race due to brake issues. Josh Reaume retired from the race due to electrical issues.

    Thirty of the 40 cars finished the race and 16 finished on the lead lap.

    The race lasted two hours, seven minutes and 51 seconds at an average speed of 102.659 mph. There were 10 lead changes among four different drivers and six cautions for 33 laps.

    Suárez leaves Newton, Iowa still the points leader.

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  • Byron Wins Truck Series at Iowa, Moves to Second in Points

    Byron Wins Truck Series at Iowa, Moves to Second in Points

    William Byron continued his streak of successes in 2016 by winning the Speediatrics 200 at Iowa Speedway, his third win in nine career starts. Unlike his other victories at Kansas and Texas, Byron had the dominant truck this time, starting fifth and leading 107 laps. Cole Custer finished second in his JR Motorsports Chevrolet, while ThorSport drivers Cameron Hayley and Ben Rhodes took third and fourth, respectively. Rounding out the top-five was Brad Keselowski Racing driver Tyler Reddick, who led 37 laps.

    With this win Byron moves to second in the Camping World Truck Series points behind Matt Crafton, who has an 11-point cushion. But with this being the first year of the CWTS Chase system, based off of the Sprint Cup playoff format, Byron currently holds the top seed in the Chase with his three wins.

    Custer’s first race with new Crew Chief Marcus Richmond paid off, taking the lead on lap 188 and hanging on for three laps until Byron took over the lead for good on lap 191. Said Custer of his race, “For the first 10 laps or so, the others were probably better than us on four tires. After that it kind of equaled out. I thought I had them there when I took the lead. I can’t thank Marcus and everyone enough. They worked their tails off all weekend. I really appreciate that. I think we’re going in the right direction.”

    Custer sits 11th in points, 65 points out of first. His runner-up finish is his best result of 2016, previously trumping his season-best of fifth at Dover in May.

    Another notable in the top-five was fellow rookie Ben Rhodes, who took his No. 41 ThorSport to a fourth-place finish after contending for the lead on the lap 188 restart. Rhodes and third-place finisher Cameron Hayley were a pair of bright points in the week for the ThorSport Racing organization.

    On Monday a fire demolished the shop the organization operates out of, causing damage to several trucks and equipment. The organization is one of the longest-running teams in the CWTS, and with two trucks in the top-five at Iowa and a third truck in eighth, the team will take this momentum and carry it to Gateway while the team continues the process of rebuilding.

  • Ben Kennedy Leads Both XFINITY Series Practices in Iowa

    Ben Kennedy Leads Both XFINITY Series Practices in Iowa

    By Staff report | NASCAR.com | June 17, 2016

    Practice 1 results | Practice 2 results

    Ben Kennedy topped the leaderboard in Friday’s final XFINITY Series practice at Iowa Speedway at 133.809 mph in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

    Kennedy, who is making his XFINITY Series debut in Sunday’s American Ethanol E15 250 (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), also led Friday’s first practice, for a practice session sweep.

    In the final practice, Brendan Gaughan was second-fastest in the No. 62 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet at 132.542 mph.

    Rounding out the top five were Sam Hornish Jr. in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Erik Jones in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and Alex Bowman in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

    Teammates Suarez and Jones made contact about midway through the second practice, causing some damage to both the front bumper of Suarez’s No. 19 Toyota and to the rear bumper of Jones’s No. 20 Toyota. Both were able to continue.

    Just a couple hours earlier, Kennedy led the first practice at 132.448 mph, followed by Hornish Jr. at 131.772 mph.

    Rounding out the top five in that session were Jones, Elliott Sadler in the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and XFINITY Series points leader and recent race winner Daniel Suarez in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.