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Race Central Stories

  • “Bad Brad” Leads the Way in Opening Practice

    “Bad Brad” Leads the Way in Opening Practice

    Brad Keselowski was fastest in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series opening practice on Friday at Kansas Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Team Penske Ford set the fastest lap in first practice with a time of 27.785 and a speed of 194.349 mph. Austin Dillon followed in second in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet with a time of 27.803 and a speed of 194.224 mph. Matt Kenseth placed his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in third with a time of 27.814 and a speed of 194.147 mph. Ryan Newman timed his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in fourth with a time of 27.879 and a speed of 193.694 mph. Brian Scott rounded out the top-five in his No. 33 Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet with a time of 27.885 and a speed of 193.653 mph.

    Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing, Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports, Kurt Busch of Stewart-Haas Racing, Carl Edwards of Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing rounded out the top-10.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Hendrick Motorsports timed in at 11th while teammate Jeff Gordon timed in 13th.

    Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing timed in 14th. Team Penske driver Joey Logano timed in 18th. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick  was the lowest-finishing Chase driver in 27th.

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Kansas Speedway

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Kansas Speedway

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the XFINITY Series travel to Kansas Speedway this weekend while the Camping World Truck Series is off. All of the on-track action will be broadcast on NBC Sports Live Extra. Please see the full schedule below.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, Oct. 16:

    On Track:

    1-2:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Practice – CNBC/Live Extra
    2:30-3:20 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – NBCSN/Live Extra
    4:30-5:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBCSN/Live Extra
    6:15 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN/Live Extra

    GarageCam: (Watch live)

    12:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series
    4 p.m.: XFINITY Series

    Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    11:30 a.m.: Joey Logano
    11:45 a.m.: Chris Buescher
    Noon: Matt Kenseth
    12:15 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
    2:30 p.m.: Carl Edwards
    3:30 p.m.: Jeff Gordon
    7:15 p.m.: Post-NSCS qualifying

    Saturday, Oct. 17:

    On Track:

    11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Practice – CNBC/Live Extra
    12:45 p.m. ET: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN/Live Extra
    2:30-3:20 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN/Live Extra
    4 p.m.: XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 (200 laps, 300 miles) – NBCSN/Live Extra (Green flag: 4:18 p.m. approx.)

    Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    6:45 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series Race

    Sunday, Oct. 18:

    On Track:

    2:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles) – NBC/Live Extra (Green flag: 2:31 p.m. approx.)

    Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    5:45 p.m.: Post-Sprint Series Race

     

     

    TV Schedule- Additional NASCAR Coverage

    Saturday, Oct. 17:

    2 p.m.: NASCAR America Live – NBCSN
    3:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green – NBCSN

    Sunday, Oct. 18:

    11 a.m.: NASCAR RaceDay – FOX Sports 1
    1 p.m.: NASCAR America Sunday – NBCSN
    1:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Countdown to Green – NBCSN
    6 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Post-Race – NBCSN
    6:30 p.m.: NASCAR Victory Lap – NBCSN
    Midnight: NASCAR Victory Lane – FOX Sports 1

     

  • Weekend Schedule for Kansas

    Weekend Schedule for Kansas

    Here’s the weekend lineup for the NASCAR weekend at Kansas Speedway.

    The Sprint Cup Series hits the track first on Friday at 1:00 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. The Sprint Cup practice sessions can also be heard on MRN. I’ve seen some conflicting reports on this with some outlets saying NBCSN and others saying CNBC. The XFINITY Series hits the track at 2:30 p.m. for their first practice session. That can be seen on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. They’ll be on track again for their final practice session at 4:30 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. Sprint Cup Series qualifying begins at 6:00 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. You can also hear the radio broadcast on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (subscription required for the latter). Forty-four cars are entered for the race, so one will fail to make the field.

    The Sprint Cup cars hit the track on Saturday for their second practice session at 11:30 a.m. on CNBC and NBC Sports Live Extra. XFINITY Series qualifying starts at 12:30 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. With 41 cars on the entry list, one will fail to make the show. Sprint Cup Series final practice starts at 2:30 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. Countdown to Green for the XFINITY race starts at 3:30 p.m. on NBCSN. The green flag flies for the Kansas Lottery 300 at approximately 4:18 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. You can also hear the radio broadcast on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

    NASCAR Raceday hits the air Sunday at 11:00 a.m. on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports Go. NASCAR America Sunday starts at 1:00 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. Countdown to Green starts at 1:30 p.m. on NBC. Motor Racing Network hits the air at 1:30 p.m. Pre-race ceremonies begin at 2:00 p.m. The green flag for the Hollywood Casino 400 flies at approximately 2:31 p.m. on NBC and NBC Sports Live Extra. You can also hear the radio broadcast on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. The post-race show starts shortly after the conclusion of the race on NBCSN. NASCAR Victory Lap starts at 6:30 p.m. on NBCSN. NASCAR Victory Lane starts at midnight on Fox Sports 1.

  • ‘Sliced Bread’ Tames the Beast of the Southeast

    ‘Sliced Bread’ Tames the Beast of the Southeast

    In two weeks, Joey Logano will go into Talladega breathing a sigh of relief after taking the checkered flag at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford led 227 of the 334 laps on his way to victory in the Bank of America 500. It was his 12th career win, fourth of the season, first at Charlotte and third at the track for Team Penske.

    Logano said that the team “had a great car.” He continued, saying, “Todd Gordon and this Shell/Pennzoil team, all of Team Penske, you always want to win it. Charlotte is everybody’s home turf and you want to make it happen here.” Logano also added that the win “makes Talladega way easier. I know that’s on everyone’s mind when this round starts and last year we won Kansas when it was the first race of this round and now we were able to get it this time at Charlotte. We’ll get lots of sleep here the next couple of weeks.”

    Kevin Harvick brought his Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) Chevrolet to his 11th runner-up finish this season (an average of 36.7 percent). Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and SHR’s Kurt Busch rounded out the top-five.

    Carl Edwards, Austin Dillon, Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski and Aric Almirola rounded out the top-10.

    Ryan Newman lumbered his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to a 15th-place finish.

    Following contact on pit road under the eighth caution of the race, Kyle Busch finished 20th one lap down.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. made contact with the wall on lap 70, fell back through the race and finished 28th, four laps down.

    “I lost count of how many time we hit it (the wall) today,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t know. We had a pretty decent car. Carl (Edwards) got a great run on me down the front straightaway and just drove in there and the left rear quarter-panel, I have to look at that to see whether that was a racing deal or whatever.”

    Pole-sitter Matt Kenseth led 72 laps before falling back in the field and slamming the wall multiple times which relegated him to a 42nd-place finish. He was the lowest-finishing Chase driver.

    Notable finishes include Greg Biffle, who started fourth, finishing 24th, Jimmie Johnson finishing 39th after blowing an engine with 77 laps remaining and Kasey Kahne who slammed the wall early in the race and finished dead last.

    Logano leaves NASCAR’s backyard with a six-point lead over Harvick. Truex Jr. follows seven back. Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards leave tied for fifth at nine points back. Jeff Gordon leaves in seventh place, 11-points back. Brad Keselowski leaves 13-points back.

    Ryan Newman is six points behind the eighth-place cutoff. Kyle Busch is 10-points back. Earnhardt Jr. is 19 back and Kenseth is 32 back.

    Next week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolls into America’s heartland for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

  • Rain Delays Charlotte Chase Race to Sunday

    Rain Delays Charlotte Chase Race to Sunday

    By Staff report | NASCAR.com

    CONCORD, N.C. — Saturday night’s scheduled NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the Bank of America 500, has been postponed due to rain.

    Originally scheduled for a 7:16 p.m. ET start on Saturday, the race will now go green at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon. NBCSN will televise the 334-lap race, with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    The race at Charlotte is the first event of the three-race Contender Round in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

    Prior to this race, six races had a weather delay of some kind during the 2015Sprint Cup Series season: The Atlanta race in March, the Bristol race in April, the Richmond race in April, the Kansas race in May, the Michigan race in June and the summer race at Daytona.

    Only the Richmond race was postponed from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon while the Michigan race was shortened by rain.

    Matt Kenseth won the Coors Light Pole Award at Charlotte and will start out front. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch joins him on the front row.

    Kevin Harvick, who scored a win at Dover International Speedway last weekend to advance in the Chase, is the defending race winner at Charlotte.

    Twelve drivers remain in play for the championship: Kenseth, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the defending series champion, Harvick.

    Races at Kansas Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway are also part of the Contender Round.

  • Dillon on Fire in Charlotte

    Dillon on Fire in Charlotte

    CONCORD, NC – Austin Dillon was on fire at Charlotte Motor Speedway; at one point, literally. Dillon qualified his No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet on the pole for Friday’s Drive for the Cure 300 by edging fellow cup driver Kasey Kahne with a speed of 183.524 mph. During pre-race activities, one of the fireworks that were set off, misfired and landed on Dillon and his car, burning his fire suit. Dillon laughed it off and went on to win the race, which capped a sweep of both XFINITY races at Charlotte this year.

    “I was actually praying, and the fireworks hit me in the back,” Dillon said. “I didn’t know if it was a sign from God or what. But it got me going right there with a firework in the butt.”

    After the race, Dillon thanked his team and dedicated the victory to two friends who are fighting breast cancer.

    “It’s pretty cool to say we’ve swept both races at our home track,” Dillon said. “We didn’t start the race very strong. I told Danny (Stockman, crew chief) we were really tight and needed to make some adjustments. He made great calls and took big swings at it. Those guys made this Rheem Chevrolet fast. We pulled away there at the end, it was great.

    “This is a special win for us not only as a team but me personally. I know two people close to me that are battling breast cancer and this win is for them. It’s an honor to be able to bring home this trophy for them. I hope it brings a few smiles when they’re having a rough day.”

    Kyle Busch appeared to have the car to beat, leading a race-high 102 laps. He also took the all-time lead in the XFINITY series at Charlotte with 1,288 laps led, breaking the previous record held by Mark Martin with 1,257.

    However, he lost several spots during a lap 147 restart. As he tried to work his way back to the front, he and Kahne got into a battle for third place that saw both cars touch a number of times. Busch eventually got the spot, but Kahne drove deep into Turn 3 and got into Busch which sent him into the outside wall. Both cars were damaged in the incident, but Busch clearly got the worst of it. He pulled his car off the track, finishing 31st and left without commenting.

    When asked about the incident, Kahne said, “Kyle got mad because he got into it with his teammate (Jones) off Turn 2 on the start. “That shuffled him back to where I was,” Kahne continued, “and I’m racing to try to get by him. He started beating on me down the back and on the front, and I overdrove Turn 3 and got into him.”

    Erik Jones was a distant second, followed by Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez and Regan Smith. Series leader Chris Buescher finished seventh and extended his lead in the series to 26 points over Chase Elliott who finished ninth.

    The NASCAR XFINITY Series travels to Kansas Speedway next Saturday for the Kansas Lottery 300.

    Click here for the complete results.

  • Rowdy Heads Final Practice

    Rowdy Heads Final Practice

    Kyle Busch topped the charts in the final practice session.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 28.518 and a speed of 189.354 mph.

    Brother Kurt, who led the way in the earlier second practice session, was second with a lap of 28.572 and a speed of 188.996 in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Joey Logano placed his Team Penske Ford in third at 28.646 and 188.508. The No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Ryan Newman was fourth at 28.649 and 188.418. Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top-five at 28.676 and 188.311 in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

    Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-10.

    Kevin Harvick placed 12th.

    Martin Truex Jr. placed 15th.

    Jeff Gordon finished 16th.

    Pole-sitter Matt Kenseth rounded out the Chase drivers in 20th and continued his under 20th run in the Friday sessions following his 22nd-place run in the earlier session.

    With practice and qualifying in the books, all that remains is to run the race. The Bank of America 500 begins tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC and NBC Sports Live Extra. The radio broadcast begins at 6:00 p.m. ET on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

  • Kurt Busch Leads the Way in Practice

    Kurt Busch Leads the Way in Practice

    Kurt Busch led the way during the second practice session at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet posted a lap of 28.606 and a speed of 188.772 mph to top the charts in the second Sprint Cup Series practice. Carl Edwards was second in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a lap of 28.629. Edwards won the Coca-Cola 600 the last time the series competed at Charlotte in May.

    Ryan Newman was third fastest in the No. 31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing at 28.780. Martin Truex Jr. was fourth at 28.789 and Joey Logano was fifth with a lap time of 28.802.

    Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-10. Johnson, who was eliminated from the Chase after the last race of the Challenger round at Dover International Speedway last week, was the fastest of the non-Chase entrants.

    Pole-sitter Matt Kenseth timed in at 22nd-place and Kevin Harvick placed in 25th. Jeff Gordon rounded out the Chase drivers in 32nd.

    The final practice for the Sprint Cup drivers is scheduled for Friday evening from 6:30-7:20 p.m.ET and will be televised on the NBC Sports Network.

  • Kenseth the Man to Beat

    Kenseth the Man to Beat

    CONCORD, NC – Matt Kenseth has given notice that he is the man to beat when the Chase goes under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500. With a speed of 194.532 mph, Kenseth put his Toyota on the pole for Saturday night. During knockout qualifying, the points leader was the fastest car to take the track in both the second and final sessions. This was Kenseth’s fourth pole of 2015 and follows up his pole run in May at Charlotte when he also set the fast time for the Coca-Cola 600.

    Kenseth was ecstatic with the pole run, giving crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, much of the credit for the car’s performance.

    “I knew it was going to be real fast,” Kenseth said. “I didn’t know we were going to sit on the pole by any means, but it had the feel and everything that I wanted. It’s funny, this place, if you can get it to drive just like you want, you can really perform well here, but it’s so hard to get that feel.

    “But today he (Ratcliff) got it to drive that way. I was going to have to mess it up to not get it, as good as he had it there.”

    Starting next to Kenseth will be the Toyota of Kyle Busch. Busch ran consistent times in each of the three qualifying rounds. A pair of Fords will make up the second row with Chase contender Joey Logano starting third and Greg Biffle in fourth.

    All 12 of the drivers that moved into the ‘Round of 12’ of the Chase made it to the second round of qualifying tonight. Denny Hamlin qualified fifth followed by Kurt Busch in sixth. Carl Edwards was eighth, Ryan Newman 10th, last week’s winner and defending champion, Kevin Harvick was 11th and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 12th.

    Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. failed to make the final round of qualifying and will start 13th and 15th respectively. Jeff Gordon, who is making his final run at Charlotte, a track he has had great success at over the years, also failed to move into the final round and will make his final Charlotte start from the 22nd position.

    It was a hot and humid day in North Carolina and as temperatures cooled, speeds increased. That bodes well for Saturday night when temperatures are expected to drop from today’s highs.

    Click here for the complete starting lineup for the Bank of America 500.

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Charlotte Motor Speedway

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Charlotte Motor Speedway

    This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the XFINITY Series will compete at Charlotte Motor Speedway while the Camping World Truck Series is off. All of the on-track action will be broadcast on NBC Sports Live Extra. Please see the full schedule below.

    All times are Eastern.

    Thursday, Oct. 8:

    On Track:

    1:30-2:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Practice – NBCSN/Live Extra
    3-3:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – NBCSN/Live Extra
    5:30-6:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBCSN/Live Extra
    7:20 p.m: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/Live Extra
    8:40 p.m.: Whelen Southern Modified Tour race (150 laps, 37.5 miles)

    GarageCam: (Watch live)

    1:00 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series
    2:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series

    Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    12:15 p.m.: Regan Smith
    3 p.m.: Carl Edwards
    4 p.m.: Jeff Gordon
    8:20 p.m.: Post-Sprint Cup Series qualifying

    Friday, Oct. 9:

    On Track:

    3:30-4:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Practice – NBCSN/Live Extra
    4:45 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN/Live Extra
    6:30-7:20 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN/Live Extra
    8 p.m.: XFINITY Series Drive for the Cure 300 Presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (200 laps, 300 miles) – NBCSN/Live Extra (Green Flag 8:18 p.m. approx.)

    Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    10:15 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series Race

    Saturday, Oct. 10:

    On Track:

    7 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 (334 laps, 501 miles) – NBC/Live Extra (Green Flag 7:21 p.m. approx.) – RACE POSTPONED TO SUNDAY DUE TO RAIN

    Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    10:45 p.m.: Post-Sprint Cup Series Race

    Sunday, Oct. 11:

    Pre-Race Schedule:

    11:40:00 a.m.: NSCS Drivers Introductions 
    12:30:00 p.m.: Start of the Bank of America 500 (334 Laps, 501 Miles)

    On Track:

    12:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500  (334 Laps, 501 Miles) – NBC/Live Extra (Leaderboard)

     

    TV Schedule- Additional NASCAR Coverage

    Thursday, Oct. 8:

    5 p.m.: NASCAR America Live – NBCSN

    Friday, Oct. 9:

    6 p.m.: NASCAR America Live – NBCSN
    7:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Countdown to Green – NBCSN

    Saturday, Oct. 10:

    4 p.m.: NASCAR RaceDay – FOX Sports 2
    5 p.m.: NASCAR America Live – NBCSN
    6 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Countdown to Green – NBCSN
    11 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Post-Race – NBCSN – Postponed Due To Rain
    11:30 p.m.: NASCAR Victory Lap (tape) – NBCSN – Postponed to Sunday Due To Rain
    12:30 a.m.: NASCAR Victory Lane – FOX Sports 1 – Postponed Due To Rain