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  • Joey Logano Wins Cheez-It 355 at The Glen; Sweeps Weekend

    Joey Logano Wins Cheez-It 355 at The Glen; Sweeps Weekend

    WATKINS GLEN, NY – The 30th running of the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen is in the books, and yet again, Watkins Glen International has produced an exciting race weekend. The Glen solidified their spot atop the polls after announcing all reserved grandstand tickets for Sunday’s running of the Cheez-It 355 had sold out.

    Watkins Glen International commented on the sell-out, stating, “A reserved grandstand sell-out shows just how dedicated and passionate Watkins Glen International fans are.”

    Dedicated is one way to describe it, as WGI announced earlier in the week that they had created additional campsites to accommodate the enormous demand for camping at the facility.

    Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen was as eventful as we’ve seen over recent years at Watkins Glen International. Instead of the large crashes and flared tempers, fans saw a clean race out of some of the top contenders for the championship. The race on Sunday progressed as many recent races at the 2.45-mile road course, with fuel strategy coming into play. This year was different in the sense that there was no caution within the last 20 laps.

    Fast forward through the first five cautions, and you have the top 10 cars stacked up as follows: Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Ragan, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Greg Biffle and Sam Hornish Jr. Final pit stops were made over the course of the final yellow of the afternoon between laps 58 and 60, and the only car with a glimmer of hope to make the finish on fuel was the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford driven by Joey Logano.

    Slowly but surely over the course of the final 20 laps, Logano, followed closely by Kyle Busch, picked their way through the field and into the top five. With seven laps remaining, Logano was shown in second, lurking behind the No. 4 of Kevin Harvick.  Harvick, whose radio chatter was not mentioning anything about having enough fuel to make the finish of the race, sealed the most laps led (29), but would come up short in the end.

    As the laps wound down, radios were full of talk about who could make it, who would be short, and predictions of a late race caution ran rampant. There was no late race caution, and on the final lap it looked like Harvick had done what he needed to to save fuel and stay in the lead, and when Logano overshot turn one, a win for the No. 4 team became all but inevitable.

    The only caveat in the formula for a third victory this season for Harvick was the amount of fuel in his gas tank. Though he had a clear track in front of him and space between him and Logano, Harvick’s luck would run out between turns six and seven when he finally ran out of fuel. Logano made the pass on the outside in turn seven and took the checkered flag for the 10th time in his career.

    Logano was ecstatic in Victory Lane following his sweep of both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series races this weekend at Watkins Glen International.

    “This is the coolest weekend of my life,” Logano exclaimed. “Every driver wants to add a road course victory to their resume. This is a dream come true to win at this place.”

    The win marks Logano’s second victory and 16th top-10 finish in 2015. It was the first time in track history for a driver to sweep both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series races at Watkins Glen International.

    Kyle Busch, who led once for three laps, finished second in the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen and moved into the top 30 in points, the stipulation for him making the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

    “We knew we would be (in the top 30 in points), which is probably a reason we played it safe on the fuel strategy,” Busch said. “I could have had a chance and raced the 22 (Logano), but we wanted to make sure we made it to the end.”

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Kevin Harvick, who barely missed the win at the end, had enough fuel to make it to the start-finish line in third.

    “I thought I did a pretty good job of saving fuel,” Harvick explained, “and I was only running as fast as I needed to to stay in the lead. Once the No.22 got to me, I had to pick up the pace a little bit. We were in position for the win, two corners away, but that’s just how the middle of this season has gone for us.”

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves on to Michigan International Speedway next weekend for the Pure Michigan 400 on Sunday, August 16.

  • Penske Dominates, Tempers Flare after XFINITY Race at The Glen

    Penske Dominates, Tempers Flare after XFINITY Race at The Glen

    Another Zippo 200 for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is in the books, and in traditional form, this afternoon’s edition was nothing less than exciting. When the dust settled, it was Joey Logano overcoming adversity and taking the checkered flag here at Watkins Glen International.

    Starting from the pole, Logano quickly jumped out to an early lead ahead of the likes of teammate Brad Keselowski, defending NASCAR XFINITY Series Champion Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson running double duty this weekend, and Chris Buescher.

    It only took 23 laps for the fireworks to start when the No. 12 Snap-on Ford hit pit road from the lead. What looked to be a solid pit stop for Logano ended in disaster when the gas can was left in the car as he exited his pit box. The gas can came to rest in the middle of pit road, resulting in the second caution of the day. The mistake gave him a trip to the rear of the field for the restart on lap 26.

    Over the next 20 laps, Logano would pick his way through the field from 29th, making his way to the bumper of the race leader and his teammate, Brad Keselowski, by lap 28. The No. 12 would take the lead on the next lap, and never turned back. He was able to weather the storm of two late-race restarts and win the 2015 edition of the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International.

    Logano talked about Penske’s domination at The Glen and his trip from the front, to the back, and to the front again in Victory Lane, stating, “It’s fun to have a car that is that fast. When you’re out there racing your teammate for the win, it shows a lot about our organization. I was a little bit worried I wasn’t going to get back to the front after that penalty. I was mainly nervous about accidents and crashes that happen here and you get caught up in a lot of times. I felt like my car was fast enough to get to them, but I didn’t know if I was going to get by them all.”

    The win today is Logano’s fourth victory of 2015, the 25th of his career, and his first at Watkins Glen International.

    The Penske domination wasn’t the only headline of the day. As they generally do, tempers flared once again at Watkins Glen between a few drivers who were jockeying for position on the late-race restarts. Regan Smith, who started eighth and ran toward the front all day, took issue with a few fellow competitors after the race. Smith exited his car on Pit Road immediately following the race with his sights set on Brendan Gaughan and Ty Dillon. After a few words in the cockpit window of the No. 62 South Point Chevrolet, he headed for Dillon who had been finishing up an interview.

    Smith’s discussion with Dillon was short, immediately turning into a shoving match. Dillon, who was apologetic about the late-race incident where he dove underneath Smith on the final restart, spinning the No. 7 car as a result. Following the scuffle, Smith, who is in the heat of a points battle with Dillon, had this to say about the incident.

    “I got dumped in Turn 1,” Smith said, “and I wasn’t the only one who got dumped today either. I may have lost the championship today, but he did too. There is zero chance that No. 3 car wins this championship. We’re going to make sure of it.”

    Chris Buescher remains the NASCAR XFINITY points leader after his third place finish today in the Zippo 200. He leads Chase Elliott by 24 points going into the second of three road course races in a row for the Nascar XFINITY Series. Elliott finished a rocky day in seventh.

    Be sure to follow all the action tomorrow as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series takes the stage for the 30th Annual Cheez-It 355 at The Glen.

  • AJ Allmendinger Wins Pole for Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen

    AJ Allmendinger Wins Pole for Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen

    Last year’s winner at Watkins Glen will begin his quest to repeat in 2015 from the point position in tomorrow’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen. AJ Allmendinger won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 30th Annual Cheez-It 355 at The Glen with a lap of 68.993 seconds, 127.839 mph.

    The driver of the No. 47 Kroger/Bush’s Beans Chevrolet posted his first ever pole in seven tries at Watkins Glen International early this afternoon in prime conditions for speed. The overcast skies made for an exciting 10 minute round two of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying. The No. 47 car has successfully swept both pole positions on road courses this season.

    The No. 47 team has found some speed overnight as the car was only 28th fastest in Final Practice on Friday afternoon. Allmendinger spoke to the media about the turnaround the team saw from practice to qualifying following Saturday’s qualifying session.

    “I didn’t know what to expect going into qualifying,” he said. “I was pretty down after the second practice yesterday. I wasn’t good. I got frustrated from it. We sat down after, debriefed, and picked through everything throughout the course of the day and said what is good, what isn’t good. Overall it was a strong day going into the day to see the changes we made to have that much speed. Rarely do you ever lead the (qualifying) sessions by over a tenth. Hopefully, we just do the right things tomorrow and give ourselves a chance to win. The guys did a great job from yesterday to today.”

    Allmendinger went to the top of the boards with less than a minute left in round two, edging out Martin Truex Jr. by just two-tenths of a second as the clock ran out. Truex posted his 11th top-10 start of 2015, and his fourth in 10 races at Watkins Glen International.

    Tony Stewart will start Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen from his best starting spot all season. He will roll off third on Sunday, marking his third straight top-five starting spot.

    Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, Kevin Harvick will roll off fourth on Sunday, and the car that was fastest in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ final practice on Friday, Jeff Gordon, will start fifth. Gordon, making his final start at Watkins Glen, a place where he’s won four times, set the pace in final practice on Friday, but couldn’t secure a spot in the first two rows to start Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen.

    Kyle Larson will roll off sixth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. seventh, Kyle Busch eighth, Jimmie Johnson ninth, and Austin Dillon rounds out the top-10.

    Stay tuned for more from The Glen all weekend.

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Watkins Glen

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Watkins Glen

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series travel to Watkins Glen International this week while the Camping World Truck Series is off. All Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series practices, qualifying sessions and races can be seen on NBC Sports Live Extra. The full schedule is listed below.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, August 7:

    On Track:

    11:30 a.m.-12:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice – NBCSN
    1-2:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice – NBCSN
    3:30-4:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBCSN
    4:40-5:55 p.m..: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN

    Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    9:45 a.m.: AJ Allmendinger
    10 a.m.: Chris Buescher
    10:45 a.m.: Kyle Busch
    11 a.m.: Regan Smith
    11:15 a.m.: Eddie Cheever III
    1:45 p.m.: Jeff Gordon

    Saturday, August 8:

    On Track:

    11:15 a.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    1:15 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    2:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Countdown to Green – NBCSN
    3 p.m.: XFINITY Series Zippo 200 (82 laps, 200.9 miles) – NBCSN
    (Scheduled Green Flag – approx: 3:16 p.m.)

    Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    2:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying Press Conference
    5:30 p.m. (approx.): Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series Race Press Conference

    Sunday, August 9:

    On Track:

    1:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Countdown to Green – NBCSN
    2 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Cheez-It 355 (90 laps, 220.5 miles) – NBCSN
    (Scheduled Green Flag – approx: 2:18 p.m.)
    5 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Post-Race Show – NBCSN
    11 p.m.: NASCAR Victory Lap – NBCSN

    Press Conferences ((Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    4:45 p.m. (approx.): Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Press Conference

  • Matt Kenseth Wins At Pocono As Kyle Busch Runs Out Of Fuel

    Matt Kenseth Wins At Pocono As Kyle Busch Runs Out Of Fuel

    By Reid Spencer

    LONG POND, Pa. – Matt Kenseth, the unexpected winner of Sunday’s Windows 10 400 at Pocono Raceway, had to do a double-take.

    So did second and third-place finishers Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon.

    Kenseth got a gift on the final lap of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race when Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch ran out of fuel halfway through the final lap at the 2.5-mile triangular track.

    Seeking his fourth straight victory in the series, Busch didn’t save quite enough fuel on the last green-flag run to complete the 160-lap event, but he still gained 10 points toward his goal of reaching the top 30 in the series standings.

    Busch, who finished 21st after getting a push toward the finish line from Reed Sorenson, is now 13 points behind 30th-place David Gilliland. Busch has five races to crack the top 30 to become eligible for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

    Because Busch was pushed by another car, he did not get credit for completing the final lap, but that did not affect his finishing position.

    Collectively, the top three finishers led seven laps. Joey Logano, who handed the lead to Busch when the No. 22 Team Penske Ford ran out of fuel with fewer than three laps left, led 97.

    But Kenseth wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially after the driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota did what others failed to do—save enough gas to get to the finish. Kenseth’s second victory of the season locked him into the Chase.

    “There’s nothing like wins,” said Kenseth, who collected his first victory at Pocono and the 33rd of his career. “We had a lot of wins in 2013 and were pretty spoiled and last year we had a big dry spell, and this year we were able to win Bristol.

    “We’ve been up front a lot, so just really, really thankful to be with these guys and to get the win. I never thought I’d ever win at Pocono, and I never ever thought I’d win a fuel mileage race, so we did both today.”

    Despite coming tantalizingly close to a fourth straight win, Busch was philosophical about the near miss.

    “Man, that’s a bummer,” said Busch, who ran out of fuel on the Long Pond straightaway approaching the Tunnel Turn, less than a mile-and-a-half from the finish line. “I wish I would’ve saved a little more there that last run.

    “I wish I would’ve known that the 22 (Logano) was that far away from making it. He was way far away from making it. Man, that was just a shame that we weren’t able to get it done there.”

    Busch took a moment to reflect on what might have been. The empty fuel tank also cost him entry into the top 30.

    “We would be celebrating a win and a Chase berth,” he said ruefully. “We got greedy. I don’t know how greedy, but that’s the position we’re in.

    “If it came down to other things that we haven’t had the success that we’ve had here lately, we would’ve had to have pitted and just made the opportunity of it and made the best finish that we could. But, we went for broke today and come up a little bit short, so can’t fault the team.”

    Keselowski, who ran out of fuel as he approached the finish line, recovered from an early penalty for sliding through his pit, knocking his jack man off his feet and knocking a tire out of his front carrier’s hands.

    The No. 2 Ford lost a lap, regained it and came home second, 9.012 seconds behind Kenseth, as lack of fuel took its toll on the frontrunners. The outcome left Keselowski with mixed feelings.

    “Unfortunately, just another race where I kind of feel like it didn’t all come together for us, and this one certainly on my end with having problems on pit road and kind of sliding through the box,” said the 2012 series champion. “That dug a hole, got us a lap down with the penalty and so forth.

    “I think the last restart with, had to be somewhere around 60 or 70 to go (actually 63), we restarted 12th and we were able to drive up to sixth and looked like we were going to be able to get to fifth, and then the fuel play came in there at the end. We were able to take care of it to bring home second, which is a very respectable day. Certainly probably not where we were going to finish without the fuel, but I guess that’s sometimes how it works.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran fourth and Greg Biffle fifth, as none of the top five finishers were threats to finish that high before the varying fuel strategies scrambled the final order.

    “There at the end we were one of the last ones to pit which allowed us to run hard all the way to the finish not having to conserve or save fuel,” said Gordon, smiling at the stroke of good fortune. “I thought we were trying to get maybe 10th or 12th and all of a sudden they said you’re third, and I think I was probably the most shocked person out there on the race track when I found that out.

    “I knew cars were peeling off, but I just didn’t realize that many were either running out or coming to pit road.”

    Note: Both Martin Truex Jr. and Logano, who along with Busch had the strongest cars all afternoon, were cited for speeding on pit road after running out of fuel and were dropped to 19th and 20th, respectively, in the finishing order, the last two cars on the lead lap.

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – Windows 10 400
    Pocono Raceway
    Long Pond, Pennsylvania
    Sunday, August 02, 2015

    1. (7) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 160, $233601.
    2. (9) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 160, $205166.
    3. (10) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 160, $181686.
    4. (15) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 160, $134375.
    5. (25) Greg Biffle, Ford, 160, $139908.
    6. (12) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 160, $144851.
    7. (22) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 160, $125323.
    8. (19) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 160, $124073.
    9. (5) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 160, $116279.
    10. (8) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 160, $87915.
    11. (18) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 160, $94440.
    12. (27) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 160, $112908.
    13. (4) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 160, $120611.
    14. (29) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 160, $82250.
    15. (17) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 160, $111541.
    16. (20) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 160, $89125.
    17. (24) David Ragan, Toyota, 160, $107539.
    18. (21) Aric Almirola, Ford, 160, $116956.
    19. (13) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 160, $106015.
    20. (3) Joey Logano, Ford, 160, $128853.
    21. (1) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 159, $140811.
    22. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 159, $93645.
    23. (14) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 159, $110670.
    24. (31) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 159, $102528.
    25. (28) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 159, $92203.
    26. (39) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 159, $77895.
    27. (33) Cole Whitt, Ford, 159, $88853.
    28. (26) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 159, $92092.
    29. (36) Matt DiBenedetto #, Toyota, 159, $75895.
    30. (35) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 159, $75745.
    31. (32) Brett Moffitt #, Ford, 158, $74095.
    32. (40) Travis Kvapil(i), Ford, 158, $73920.
    33. (37) David Gilliland, Ford, 158, $81720.
    34. (41) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 157, $73520.
    35. (38) Jeb Burton #, Toyota, 157, $73370.
    36. (43) Timmy Hill(i), Ford, 156, $73120.
    37. (6) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 150, $90931.
    38. (42) Alex Kennedy #, Chevrolet, 126, $68102.
    39. (30) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 123, $90375.
    40. (23) Trevor Bayne, Ford, Overheating, 91, $104605.
    41. (34) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, Accident, 27, $64030.
    42. (2) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, Engine, 20, $104855.
    43. (16) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, Accident, 3, $66530.

    Average Speed of Race Winner: 132.159 mph.
    Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 01 Mins, 36 Secs. Margin of Victory: 9.012 Seconds.
    Caution Flags: 8 for 32 laps.
    Lead Changes: 18 among 13 drivers.

    Lap Leaders: Kyle Busch 1-16; K. Harvick 17-19; Kurt Busch 20-32; M. Truex Jr. 33-38; J. Logano 39-51; Kyle Busch 52; D. Hamlin 53-54; B. Keselowski 55-57; D. Patrick 58-62; J. Logano 63-87; M. Kenseth 88; K. Larson 89-93; J. Logano 94-123; D. Ragan 124; G. Biffle 125-126; J. Gordon 127-128; J. Logano 129-157; Kyle Busch 158-159; M. Kenseth 160;.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): J. Logano 4 times for 97 laps; Kyle Busch 3 times for 19 laps; Kurt Busch 1 time for 13 laps; M. Truex Jr. 1 time for 6 laps; K. Larson 1 time for 5 laps; D. Patrick 1 time for 5 laps; B. Keselowski 1 time for 3 laps; K. Harvick 1 time for 3 laps; M. Kenseth 2 times for 2 laps; D. Hamlin 1 time for 2 laps; G. Biffle 1 time for 2 laps; J. Gordon 1 time for 2 laps; D. Ragan 1 time for 1 lap.

    Top 16 in Points: K. Harvick – 780; J. Logano – 734; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 717; J. Johnson – 713; M. Truex Jr. – 694; B. Keselowski – 681; M. Kenseth – 662; J. Mcmurray – 631; Kurt Busch – 620; J. Gordon – 617; D. Hamlin – 614; P. Menard – 591; R. Newman – 584; C. Bowyer – 574; K. Kahne – 559; C. Edwards – 553.

  • Blaney Holds On To Win In Overtime At Iowa

    Blaney Holds On To Win In Overtime At Iowa

    By Rob Gray

    NEWTON, Iowa – As the cautions — and wreckage — piled up, Ryan Blaney didn’t blink.

    Trouble reigned for most in the late tension-filled stages of the U.S. Cellular 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Iowa Speedway, but the driver of the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford remained calm and poised.

    Seemed so, anyway.

    “It’s not ideal,” Blaney said of four cautions in the final 20 scheduled laps that interrupted his stirring Saturday night run to Victory Lane. “At all. You have a great car and those late cautions are just chances to give it away.”

    Not Saturday.

    Blaney’s turn at the wheel put the Team Penske No. 22 in Victory Lane at Iowa for the third straight August. Brad Keselowski drove it to wins each of the past two seasons.

    Blaney led an astounding 252 laps of 260, churning out the most dominant performance in his young career and first series win of the season after three runner-up finishes.

    “It’s crazy that you lead more laps than the race is actually scheduled for,” Blaney’s crew chief, Greg Erwin, said.

    Crazy indeed, but fitting for Blaney, who felt he had “given away” last weekend’s Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Kyle Busch, who made a last-lap pass.

    “It really speaks a lot to this team,” Blaney said. “(They gave me) a great race car.”

    Regan Smith finished a season-best second and Brian Scott took third. Ty Dillon and Brendan Gaughan — who took a late shot at Blaney that slightly damaged both cars — completed the top five.

    Blaney simply shined from the start.

    He swiftly passed Coors Light polesitter Daniel Suarez after the green flag flew and led the first 146 laps — or 50 more than his previous best total he amassed while notching his first series win at Kentucky in 2013.

    The first hiccup: Trailing Smith for four laps after easing off pit road on Lap 147 slightly behind him.

    The next green flag erased that issue.

    On Lap 151 Blaney surged to the front again and set a blistering pace in clean air, virtually unchallenged.

    But one more pit stop was required and Chase Elliott — who powered to second during the late stages— beat Blaney off pit road.

    A change in the evening’s balance of power?

    Hardly.

    Blaney quickly swept past Elliott and never looked back — except to survey the misfortunes of others.

    Eight cautions marred the event, with six coming after Lap 205.

    Elliott drew one after contact with Brandon Jones sent him spinning into the wall on Lap 231.

    He recovered to finish ninth and sits 20 points behind standings leader Chris Buescher, who was collected in the multi-car wreck that came on the first attempt at a green-white-checkered finish.

    Buescher settled for 13th.

    Kenny Wallace, who made his record 547th and final appearance with the series, spun twice. He ended up 15th.

    Blaney’s No. 22 sustained some damage on the first green-white-checkered attempt as Brendan Gaughan tried to make a run to his low side, but didn’t clear his left rear.

    No hard feelings, Blaney said. Just good, hard racing.

    “Wouldn’t want it any other way,” Blaney said.

    Still, the twisted metal gave Smith hope — until he missed his mark on the final restart.

    “He went a lot earlier than I anticipated,” said Smith, who notched his best finish this season. “It was my fault for not being ready.”

    No one could mount much for Blaney all night.

    Blaney led every green flag lap. He led 160 more laps than he’s ever led in an XFINITY Series race.

    And his first win of 2015 came at a track where he snared his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win in 2012.

    “Just a fun place,” said Blaney, whose 252 laps led, unsurprisingly, proved to be a track record. “We’ve always had good runs here.”

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – US Cellular 250 presented by New Holland
    Iowa Speedway
    Newton, Iowa
    Saturday, August 01, 2015
    1. (2) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 260, $89509.
    2. (9) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 260, $68370.
    3. (11) Brian Scott, Chevrolet, 260, $53788.
    4. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 260, $42216.
    5. (3) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 260, $36711.
    6. (1) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 260, $39537.
    7. (5) Erik Jones(i), Toyota, 260, $32686.
    8. (15) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 260, $33336.
    9. (12) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 260, $31106.
    10. (18) Ross Chastain #, Chevrolet, 260, $30123.
    11. (8) Darrell Wallace Jr. #, Ford, 260, $28617.
    12. (17) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 260, $28062.
    13. (6) Chris Buescher, Ford, 260, $27532.
    14. (14) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 260, $27003.
    15. (7) Kenny Wallace, Toyota, 260, $27073.
    16. (16) Dakoda Armstrong, Ford, 260, $26321.
    17. (26) Dylan Lupton, Chevrolet, 260, $26094.
    18. (20) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 260, $25842.
    19. (21) Ryan Reed, Ford, 260, $25615.
    20. (4) Brandon Jones(i), Chevrolet, 260, $25888.
    21. (22) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 258, $25261.
    22. (23) David Starr, Toyota, 258, $25130.
    23. (25) Cale Conley #, Toyota, 258, $24978.
    24. (24) Blake Koch, Toyota, 257, $24828.
    25. (29) Matt Wallace, Toyota, 256, $24852.
    26. (31) Eric McClure, Toyota, 254, $24575.
    27. (28) Johanna Long, Chevrolet, 254, $18449.
    28. (35) Anthony Kumpen, Chevrolet, 250, $18298.
    29. (36) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 240, $18171.
    30. (13) Ben Rhodes, Chevrolet, Accident, 239, $24345.
    31. (37) Matt Frahm, Chevrolet, 234, $17889.
    32. (19) Michael Self, Chevrolet, Accident, 179, $23778.
    33. (33) Jimmy Weller, Chevrolet, Clutch, 136, $23662.
    34. (27) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, Transmission, 131, $23551.
    35. (34) Harrison Rhodes #, Chevrolet, Electrical, 94, $17436.
    36. (39) John Jackson, Chevrolet, Overheating, 34, $15678.
    37. (30) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Brakes, 29, $14678.
    38. (40) Zachary Bruenger, Chevrolet, Brakes, 20, $13678.
    39. (38) Josh Reaume #, Dodge, Overheating, 19, $12678.
    40. (32) Jeff Green, Toyota, Vibration, 3, $11678.
    Average Speed of Race Winner: 103.383 mph.
    Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 12 Mins, 02 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.321 Seconds.
    Caution Flags: 8 for 41 laps.
    Lead Changes: 6 among 4 drivers.
    Lap Leaders: 0; R. Blaney 1-146; R. Smith 147-150; R. Blaney 151-205; R. Sieg 206; C. Elliott 207-209; R. Blaney 210-260.
    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): R. Blaney 3 times for 252 laps; R. Smith 1 time for 4 laps; C. Elliott 1 time for 3 laps; R. Sieg 1 time for 1 lap.
    Top 10 in Points: C. Buescher – 682; C. Elliott – 662; T. Dillon – 661; R. Smith – 643; E. Sadler – 630; D. Wallace Jr. # – 601; D. Suarez # – 596; B. Gaughan – 576; B. Scott – 568; R. Reed – 551.

  • Kyle Busch Scores 43rd Career Truck Win at Pocono

    Kyle Busch Scores 43rd Career Truck Win at Pocono

    After three green, white, checkered attempts, Kyle Busch was again the one to reign victorious, scoring his 43rd Camping World Truck Series win at Pocono Raceway. This was Busch’s first Truck victory for the 2015 season and his first at Pocono Raceway in the Trucks.

    With the victory, Busch has now won at least one race in all three of NASCAR’s national series for the tenth time in his career.

    “This is really, really cool,” Kyle Busch said. “Great to win and put Toyota in Victory Lane and my first win here as well.”

    In spite of the three restarts he had to contend with, Kyle Busch felt that he managed them well.  Unfortunately, his young teammate Erik Jones did not fare so well, getting spun and suffering damage on one of those fateful restarts.

    “The restarts weren’t too bad from my seat,” Busch said. “But behind me it looked crazy. I hate it that Erik Jones got washed out on that restart. The restarts didn’t go his way today.”

    Busch also was running low on fuel at the end of the race and had to nurse his race track during through cautions.

    “One of the biggest things we did was to shut the engine off during yellows,” Busch said. “The more you can shut it off, because these things are gas guzzlers, the better off you are.”

    Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Chevrolet, finished in the runner-up position, after taking tires late in the race.

    “We had an interesting weekend, to say the least,” Harvick said. “But I signed up to give some feedback and help Cole (Custer) and JR Motorsports get situated on the bigger tracks. The great part is that the guys kept working and they didn’t get mad.”

    “So, we made something out of the weekend. IT’s not where we want to be performance-wise, but that’s why you run the race.”

    “Yeah, I just want to thank everybody on our Haas Automation Chevrolet.”

    Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 19 Draw Tite Ford, finished third. And thanks to the misfortune that befell Matt Crafton, who tangled with Brad Keselowski to finish 28th, Reddick also became the new points leader in the Truck Series.

    “Our guys did an outstanding job,” Reddick said. “These guys have been working really hard. We didn’t have the speed we needed to compete with the 51 and the 4, but the truck was very raceable in traffic.”

    “But we still came home with a top three finish.”

    Reddick is now officially eleven points ahead of Matt Crafton in the championship point standings.

    “We need to stay aggressive,” Reddick said. “It’s always been race to race as far as the points If we run the best we can every weekend, it will all end up right at the end.”

    Cameron Haley scored his best career finish to date, finishing fourth in his No. 13 Cabinets by Hayley/Carolina Nut Co. Toyota.

    “I had Cup drivers on all sides and that was a hell of a feeling,” Haley said. “Learned a ton from him and my spotter Eddie D’Hondt (Jeff Gordon’s spotter) up on the stand.”

    “I will do lots of celebrating tonight. This was a good top five finish for sure.”

    Austin Dillon, who also pitted late in the race finished fifth in his No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet, in spite of an incident with Erik Jones.

    “We had a good run at the very last second, but it didn’t work,” Dillon said. “I hate it for Erik Jones, but we had a good conversation afterward.”

    Johnny Sauter, Timothy Peters, Matt Tifft, Daniel Hemric, and Erik Jones rounded out the top ten finishing order for the 6th annual Pocono Mountains 150.  The full results are as follows:

    015 NCWTS Pocono Mountains 150 Race Results

    Fin Str Trk Driver Team Lap Pts BPts Status TLd LLd
    1 2 51 Kyle Busch(i) Dollar General Toyota 69 0 Running 2 53
    2 7 0 Kevin Harvick(i) Haas Automation Chevrolet 69 0 Running
    3 6 19 Tyler Reddick Draw Tite Ford 69 41 Running
    4 16 13 Cameron Hayley # Cabinets by Hayley/Carolina Nut Co. Toyota 69 40 Running
    5 5 33 Austin Dillon(i) Rheem Chevrolet 69 0 Running
    6 17 98 Johnny Sauter Nextant/Curb Records Toyota 69 39 1 Running 1 4
    7 12 17 Timothy Peters Red Horse Racing Toyota 69 37 Running
    8 14 54 Matt Tifft ToyotaCare Toyota 69 36 Running
    9 15 14 Daniel Hemric # California Clean Power Chevrolet 69 35 Running
    10 1 4 Erik Jones # Toyota 69 35 1 Running 1 9
    11 8 11 Ben Kennedy Local Motors Toyota 69 33 Running
    12 11 15 Mason Mingus Call 811 Chevrolet 69 32 Running
    13 9 8 John H. Nemechek # D.A.B. Constructors Inc. Chevrolet 69 31 Running
    14 13 23 Spencer Gallagher # Allegiant Travel Chevrolet 69 31 1 Running 1 3
    15 20 2 Tyler Young Randco Industries/Young’s Building Systems 69 29 Running
    16 18 63 Garrett Smithley SegPay/Mittler Bros Machine & Tool/Ski Soda 69 28 Running
    17 10 5 John Wes Townley Zaxby’s Chevrolet 68 27 Running
    18 21 74 Jordan Anderson SRGFX.com Chevrolet 67 26 Running
    19 32 50 Kyle Martel Finish Line Express Chevrolet 67 25 Running
    20 25 28 Ryan Ellis FDNY/Julie’s Cause Chevrolet 67 24 Running
    21 23 40 Todd Peck Arthritis Foundation/OSS Health Chevrolet 66 23 Running
    22 30 6 Norm Benning Chevrolet 63 22 Running
    23 19 1 Travis Kvapil Burnie Grill Chevrolet 56 21 Running
    24 31 7 Ray Black Jr. # ScubaLife.com Chevrolet 52 20 Accident
    25 26 94 Wendell Chavous # Lilly Trucking Chevrolet 51 19 Accident
    26 24 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet 49 18 Running
    27 29 8 Korbin Forrister # Trump for President Chevrolet 24 17 Accident
    28 3 88 Matt Crafton ChiChi’s/Menards Toyota 13 16 Accident
    29 22 45 BJ McLeod Tilted Kilt Chevrolet 12 15 Overheating
    30 4 29 Brad Keselowski(i) Cooper Standard Ford 5 0 Accident
    31 28 36 Justin Jennings Mittler Bros Machine & Tool/Ski Soda Chevrolet 3 13 Vibration
    32 27 0 Caleb Roark Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet 3 12 Suspension

    # = Rookie, Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led. (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

     

     

     

  • Kyle Busch Keeps It Rolling With Pocono Pole

    Kyle Busch Keeps It Rolling With Pocono Pole

    Kyle Busch, who has been on a tear winning four races and three in a row most recently, has continued that roll at Pocono Raceway. The driver of the No. 18  M&M’s Crispy Toyota scored the pole for the 42nd annual Windows 10 400 with a speed of 178.416 mph and a time 50.444 seconds.

    This was Busch’s 17th pole in 375 Cup Series races and his second pole in 22 races at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    “It certainly is nice to feel this way,” Busch said. “I certainly have been through some down times as well but this year the tides are 180 degrees different. We’re just trying to ride that wave as long as it will carry us. I hope it carries us on through the rest of the season.”

    “I wasn’t sure we had a shot for the pole,” Busch continued. “We had good speed but we couldn’t get the balance quite right. But we did and to get a pole here today is cool.”

    “I enjoy getting poles, wins, anything but if I look back at old school NASCAR, you have to win a pole to get into the Sprint Unlimited. One is all you need.”

    Kevin Harvick, behind the wheel of the No. 4 Jimmy Johns/Budweiser Chevrolet qualified second, posting his 13th top-10 start of 2015 and his ninth in 30 races at Pocono.

    “From our goals to what we did in qualifying, I feel like we definitely overachieved today,” Harvick said. “We needed that last round to go the way it did, running our fastest lap of the day.”

    “I knew we did a good job,” Harvick continued. “That’s what we needed to do.”

    “I feel like we’ll be even better when we get into the Chase. Today was important. As a team, we’re doing a great job. We just have to keep plugging along, with your head down and keeping your eyes plugged.”

    Joe Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford, qualified third, posting his sixth top-10 start at Pocono.

    “I feel good anytime we come to Pocono. This is one of our best race tracks here as a team,” Logano said. “Good qualifying run. We haven’t gotten the poles that we want. We want to take pictures and get stickers and banners and all that stuff, but I’m proud of what our team has done here lately, picking up from practice to qualifying to the race.”

    “I’m proud of the improvements we make on our race car. The communication is there and the teamwork is there. Just are coming up a little bit short here lately.”

    Austin Dillon and Tony Stewart both had good runs to round out the top-five qualifiers.

    Jeff Gordon rebounded from his tough finish at the Brickyard, making it to the final round of qualifying to start in the tenth position.

    “You have three unique corners that you have to drive different and set up different,” Gordon said of the track. “When I think of Pocono, that’s what I think of. I know they call it the ‘Tricky Triangle,’ but it’s true. It is a very challenging and tricky place to compete at.”

    The rest of the starting lineup is as follows:

    2015 NSCS Windows 10 400 Starting Lineup

    Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
    1 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Crispy Toyota 50.444 178.416
    2 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet 50.514 178.168
    3 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 50.608 177.837
    4 3 Austin Dillon American Ethanol Chevrolet 50.659 177.658
    5 14 Tony Stewart Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 50.667 177.63
    6 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 50.672 177.613
    7 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 50.691 177.546
    8 19 Carl Edwards Stanley Toyota 50.75 177.34
    9 2 Brad Keselowski Alliance Truck Parts Ford 50.764 177.291
    10 24 Jeff Gordon AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet 50.787 177.211
    11 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 50.833 177.05
    12 48 Jimmie Johnson Kobalt Tools Chevrolet 50.948 176.651
    13 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 51.007 176.446
    14 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 51.03 176.367
    15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Microsoft Chevrolet 51.038 176.339
    16 5 Kasey Kahne Aquafina Chevrolet 51.06 176.263
    17 1 Jamie McMurray Lexar Chevrolet 51.061 176.26
    18 27 Paul Menard Sylvania/Menards Chevrolet 51.153 175.943
    19 15 Clint Bowyer Maxwell House Toyota 51.202 175.774
    20 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 51.262 175.569
    21 43 Aric Almirola United States Air Force Ford 51.39 175.131
    22 47 AJ Allmendinger Bush’s Grillin Beans Chevrolet 51.409 175.067
    23 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 51.504 174.744
    24 55 David Ragan Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 51.524 174.676
    25 16 Greg Biffle Roush Performance Ford 51.51 174.723
    26 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 51.614 174.371
    27 42 Kyle Larson Suave Men Chevrolet 51.621 174.348
    28 7 Alex Bowman FW1 Wash and Wax Chevrolet 51.723 174.004
    29 40 Landon Cassill(i) Chevrolet 51.771 173.842
    30 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Medallion Bank Ford 51.803 173.735
    31 51 Justin Allgaier FraternalOrderofEagles/SwitchHitch Chev 51.895 173.427
    32 34 Brett Moffitt # A&W All American Food Ford 51.924 173.33
    33 35 Cole Whitt MDS Transportation Ford 51.949 173.247
    34 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford EcoBoost Ford 51.971 173.174
    35 23 JJ Yeley(i) Dr. Pepper Toyota 52.125 172.662
    36 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Burger King Toyota 52.137 172.622
    37 38 David Gilliland Love’s Travel Stops Ford Owner Points
    38 26 Jeb Burton # Maxim Toyota Owner Points
    39 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet Owner Points
    40 32 Travis Kvapil(i) Skuttle Tight Ford Owner Points
    41 98 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet Owner Points
    42 33 Alex Kennedy # MediaCAST Chevrolet Owner Points
    43 62 Timmy Hill(i) Ford Owner Points

    (i) Ineligible for Driver Points in this Series
    # Denotes Rookie

    Source: Timing and Scoring provided by NASCARMedia/NASCAR Statistics

     

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Pocono and Iowa

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Pocono and Iowa

  • Kyle Busch Sweeps The Brickyard

    Kyle Busch Sweeps The Brickyard

    Kyle Busch continued his amazing comeback on Sunday at the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard winning his first Sprint Cup Series race at the track after also winning the NASCAR XFINITY race on Saturday and sweeping the weekend. Busch, driving the No. 18 Skittles Toyota, started in the ninth position and recorded his third consecutive victory in the Sprint Cup Series and fourth win in the last five races.

    Busch has made only nine starts in the series this year following a leg injury at Daytona in February. NASCAR has waived the rule that a driver must attempt to qualify for all races in order to qualify for the Chase in the last 10 races of the season. A driver must also win a race and finish in the top 30 in points to qualify. Busch’s win puts him in 32nd position just 23 points out of the 30th position.

    “It’s a testament to what this team’s all about. I knew we had a really good car when I was out there practicing Friday. I knew we’d have a good shot if we could get out front. I knew we had a good car. We had a lot of fun today. To come home with a victory at the Brickyard 400, there’s nothing else like it. It’s probably the biggest win of my career so far”, said Busch following his 32nd career win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

    Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford led 28 laps during the race and finished in second place after challenging Busch late in the race during a green-white-checkered finish.

    “We’re going so fast and we don’t have much motor, so when I go to the gas, it just wasn’t going to accelerate underneath him. It wasn’t happening. That was my last-ditch effort. I tried one more time, and we got loose off of one and that was the end of it. Overall, it was a good day, but second hurts. It always does, but it’s always better than third,” said Logano following his second place run.

    Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet, started sixth and led a race-high 75 out of 164 laps run in the event. Harvick continues to lead the championship standings after scoring his 14th top five finish in 20 starts this season.

    “The 18 (Kyle Busch) and 22 (Joey Logano) got hooked up on the restart there and got by us in turn 1. The No. 78 (Martin Truex, Jr.) and I didn’t really get together and weren’t able to keep the lead,” said Harvick.

    “All in all, a pretty good day for us. After the last four weeks we’ve had – we’ve had a lot of tough luck. We had tough luck today, but it was early enough in the race that we could overcome it,” said fourth place finisher, Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet.

    Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five in his No. 11, Joe Gibbs Racing, FedEx Express Toyota.

    Jeff Gordon, winner of five NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, made his 22nd and final start at the famed speedway. Gordon started in the 19th position and finished a disappointing 42nd after spinning into the wall on lap 50 to avoid a spinning Clint Bowyer.

    “My memories are always going to be spectacular. I am very upbeat bout Indianapolis. Some of the greatest memories of my life are here at Indianapolis, starting with the inaugural Brickyard 400. There were too many good ones that won’t get overshadowed by a race like today. The whole week and weekend has been incredible,” said Gordon after the race. The driver of the No. 24, 3M Chevrolet is still seeking his first win of the season and hoping to secure a spot in the Chase.

    Kyle Busch’s win in a Toyota puts an end to a 12 race win streak for Chevrolet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.