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  • Ben Kennedy Named NCWTS Rookie of the Year at Homestead-Miami Speedway

    Ben Kennedy Named NCWTS Rookie of the Year at Homestead-Miami Speedway

    Ben Kennedy
    No. 31 Heater.com Chevrolet
    Homestead-Miami Speedway –  Ford EcoBoost 200
    November 14, 2014

    Ben Kennedy Named NCWTS Rookie of the Year at Homestead-Miami Speedway

    HOMESTEAD, Fla. (November 15, 2014) – In taking the checkered flag in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Ben Kennedy captured the 2014 Sunoco Rookie of the Year title, capping off his season with a top-20 finish. Despite handling struggles which resulted in a disappointing 17th-place finish, Kennedy made history as the first descendant of NASCAR’s founding family to complete a season in one of the sport’s top-three touring series.

    After showing promising speeds in the weekend’s two practice sessions, Kennedy advanced to the final round of knockout qualifying, earning an 11th-place starting spot for the Ford EcoBoost 200. With tight handling on the race’s first long run, the 22-year-old was scored in the 12th position when the caution flag waved on lap 25. Crew chief Doug George called Kennedy into the pits for four tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment, and the Heater.com Chevrolet returned to the track in 11th. When the yellow flag was displayed once again on lap 71, Kennedy had dropped to the 18th spot, struggling with a truck that was tight in the center and exit. Once again, the Turner Scott Motorsports team provided Kennedy with a four-tire stop, earning him five positions on pit road before the field went green on lap 76. The team was able to make a final swing at adjustments under yellow on lap 100, but despite restarting in the 11th position, the Heater.com Chevrolet continued to be plagued by handling, with Kennedy ultimately crossing the finish line in the 17th position.

    Ben Kennedy on Homestead-Miami Speedway:
    “This certainly wasn’t the kind of night on the track we wanted to end our season with, but tonight was really special. We had a great Heater.com Silverado in practice and qualifying, but that just didn’t translate over once the track cooled at night. Regardless, I could not be more proud of everyone on my Turner Scott Motorsports team. We had a lot of challenges and bad luck this year, especially in the second half of the season, but we just kept fighting until the end. We have a lot to look back on and be proud of on the track, but what’s even more important is how this team overcame adversity.”

    Ben Kennedy on winning Sunoco Rookie of the Year:
    “Every driver’s goal is to win Rookie of the Year when they enter a new series, and it’s obviously something you only get one shot at. Earning that title was a testament to our team and how hard every single person worked. It was a blast to compete against Tyler [Reddick] and the other talented guys in this year’s rookie class. I learned so much this year and had a lot of fun; these trucks handle so much different than anything I had ever driven before. I have a lot more to learn and accomplish, and I can’t wait to see what next year holds. It’s going to be a long off-season, because I already can’t wait to get to Daytona.” In addition to clinching the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title, Kennedy ends the season ninth in the NCWTS Driver Point Standings with a total of one pole, one top five, seven top 10s and 58 laps led.

    Practice
    Position: 6th
    Best Time: 32.640
    Speed: 165.441

    Final Practice
    Position: 14th
    Best Time: 32.912
    Speed: 164.074

    Qualifying
    Position: 11th
    Best Time:32.702
    Speed: 165.128

    Race
    Position: 17th
    Laps Led: 0
    Laps Completed/Total Laps: 134/134

  • Darrell Wallace Jr. Wins Truck Race; Matt Crafton Wins Back to Back Championship

    Darrell Wallace Jr. Wins Truck Race; Matt Crafton Wins Back to Back Championship

    In a blur of burnouts, Darrell Wallace Jr. won the EcoBoost 200, Matt Crafton won the Truck Series championship, and Kyle Busch Motorsports won the owner’s championship. Ben Kennedy also secured Rookie of the Year honors for the Camping World Truck Series.

    Darrell Wallace Jr. won the race, his first win at Homestead and his fourth victory of the season. This was also Toyota’s 18th win, tying Chevrolet for the all-time series record of wins in a single season.

    “We came down here and tested and I felt pretty happy with what I found out,” the driver of the No. 54 ToyotaCare Toyota said. “Practice wasn’t great but these guys never gave up on me. I might get a little bratty but we always come together. We’ve strung together four wins and it’s been a lot of fun.”

    “We didn’t have a shot at the title but we wanted it more than anything else,” Wallace continued. “We beat the boss finally.”

    Wallace also said this was one of his most emotional wins of the season and dedicated the race to his engineer’s mother, who passed away.

    “We put her name on top of the door,” Wallace said. “She was our guardian angel.”

    Matt Crafton made history at Homestead by winning back to back championships in the Truck Series.

    “To say I made history is definitely very, very cool,” the ThorSports driver of the No. 88 Jeld-Wen/Menards Toyota said. “It’s all about these guys that are behind me. Without them, I’m just an average race car driver at best.”

    “To say I’m in the history books with Ron Hornaday and all those great race car drivers, it’s great,” Crafton continued. “It’s the best racing in NASCAR.”

    Kyle Busch Motorsports won the owner’s championship and secured its place in history as the only team to win back-to-back owner’s championships in the Truck Series.

    “It’s a great milestone for us and a great accomplishment,” Busch said after finishing fourth. “It’s a true testament to all the hard work and dedication of Eric Phillips (crew chief) and the team. That’s what the Truck Series is all about as a proving ground. Truly to have two drivers to compete and to capture an owner’s championship says a lot about our team and our organization.”

    Ben Kennedy, whose family has been so integral to the sports of NASCAR, scored Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.

    “This is awesome,” Kennedy said. “I think it’s a testament to the team and how hard the guys at Turner Motorsports worked. This Rookie of the Year deal was on my bucket list and I’m humbled by it.”

    “We weren’t really all that great tonight but it pays off for the whole season.”

    Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 42 ParkerStore Chevrolet, and Timothy Peters, behind the wheel of the No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota, finished second and third respectively.

    “We definitely had the best truck,” Larson said. “We had a bad pit stop that last stop and I had a couple bad restarts. It’s hard to find clean air in the trucks as they punch such a hole.”

    “We were so even,” Larson continued. “Bubba did a good job once again. Two tracks he beat me at where he ran the rim. I hate it that we finished second but it was a good run for us.”

    “It was a lot of fun,” Peters said. “What a way to finish and end the season. It feels good to come to Homestead and do this. Wish we had about 20 more laps but we’ll build on it and go to Daytona.”

    “I just wish that the second half of the season was the first half for us as that could have been us celebrating the championship.”

    Ryan Blaney, who was also fighting for the possibility of the championship, battled a shifter issue for much of the race, finishing top-five.

    “We struggled all night,” Blaney said. “It was one of the worst trucks I’ve ever had. I can’t believe we finished fifth.”

    Blaney ended his season 21 points behind the newly crowned champion Matt Crafton.

     

  • Jeff Gordon Scores 200th Hendrick Pole; Announces Spoiler Intention

    Jeff Gordon Scores 200th Hendrick Pole; Announces Spoiler Intention

    Jeff Gordon, who fell out of championship contention last week, scored his first ever pole at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the 200th pole for Hendrick Motorsports. And with that he also announced that he fully intends to pursue the spoiler role in the NASCAR race season finale.

    Gordon scored the pole for the Ford EcoBoost 400 with a speed of 180.747 mph and a time of 29.876 seconds. This was his 77th pole in 761 Cup Series races.

    “I’m just blown away right now,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet said. “I knew we had a pretty good race car. I committed to the top and it stuck well.”

    Gordon also took great pride in being the Hendrick Motorsports driver to score the historic 200th pole for Hendrick Motorsports.

    “It’s a great organization,” Gordon said. “We just never quit. We bring great cars and power to the track and that contributes to wins and poles. This is a great achievement to start the weekend and something that we can smile about.”

    And finally, Gordon admitted that he has his sights set on being the race winner, boxing out the four final contenders for the championship.

    “We want to finish off this season the best way we can,” Gordon said. “We’re disappointed that we are not in the championship hunt but we do want to finish strong, with the pole and a win.”

    “I think everybody wants to come in here and spoil the championship by winning this race. We want to be the spoiler, there is no doubt about that.”

    Kurt Busch, the driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet, will start the race in the outside of the first row. This was Busch’s 17th top-10 start of the season and his eighth in 14 races at Homestead.

    “It was a tremendous set of laps. We came home just a bit shy. Congrats to Jeff Gordon as that was a perfect lap he laid down,” Busch said. “I felt like we laid down a really good lap. To do it with Tony Gibson in our third race together just shows all the signs are pointed in the right direction.”

    “I couldn’t be happier.”

    Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, secured the third starting position for the final race of the season. Kenseth also has winning on his mind to close out the year, something he has not yet accomplished in 2014.

    “It was really good. It wasn’t as good as Kurt’s and Jeff’s but it was good,” Kenseth said of his qualifying lap. “It’s always important to run up front and be competitive. That’s what you show up to do every week.”

    “The longer you go without a win, the more you think about it,” Kenseth continued. “It would be great to end the season on a positive note.”

    The championship contenders Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano all qualified top-10 in the 5th, 8th, and 9th positions respectively. The final contender Ryan Newman qualified a bit more poorly and will start in the 21st position.

    “We had a good day,” Harvick said after qualifying best of all of the championship contenders in fifth. “We should get a good pit stall, have a solid day tomorrow and get prepared for the race.”

    “I think today kind of went like most of the year for us, but better,” Hamlin said of his eighth place qualifying run. “We weren’t blazing fast but we had a nice run at the end there. It’s got the feeling as to what it needs to be successful on Sunday.”

    “We had an OK day today,” Logano said after qualifying ninth. “We made it through the first round, which surprised the heck out of me. Overall, we qualified decent and the car was a little better in race trim.”

    Ryan Newman was the only championship contender that did not advance to the final round of qualifying, with the worst starting position of all of the contenders in the 21st spot. This was also Newman’s worst starting spot since August 3rd at Pocono Raceway.

    “It was actually all good,” Newman said. “It wasn’t what we wanted so we start 21st. I don’t think that’s the end of our day. We have 267 laps to get through the field.”

    “It’s not where you start, it’s where you stop,” Newman said simply. “It’s going to be a crazy race.”

    Brad Keselowski qualified fourth, Clint Bowyer sixth, Kyle Busch seventh, and Martin Truex Jr. had a good effort, qualifying tenth.

    The complete qualifying line up is as follows:

    2014 NSCS Ford EcoBoost 400 Starting Lineup

    Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
    1 24 Jeff Gordon Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet 29.876 180.747
    2 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 29.895 180.632
    3 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 29.951 180.294
    4 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 30.001 179.994
    5 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet 30.009 179.946
    6 15 Clint Bowyer 5-hour Energy Toyota 30.068 179.593
    7 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 30.087 179.48
    8 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 30.109 179.348
    9 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 30.124 179.259
    10 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Chevrolet 30.156 179.069
    11 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard Chevrolet 30.28 178.336
    12 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 30.563 176.684
    13 55 Brian Vickers Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 30.167 179.004
    14 51 Justin Allgaier # BRANDT Chevrolet 30.178 178.938
    15 99 Carl Edwards Fastenal Ford 30.201 178.802
    16 27 Paul Menard Richmond/Menards Chevrolet 30.202 178.796
    17 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford 30.205 178.778
    18 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Foods Ford 30.235 178.601
    19 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna Chevrolet 30.235 178.601
    20 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 30.256 178.477
    21 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 30.296 178.241
    22 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 30.344 177.959
    23 5 Kasey Kahne Great Clips Chevrolet 30.375 177.778
    24 3 Austin Dillon # Dow Chevrolet 30.392 177.678
    25 47 AJ Allmendinger Hungry Jack Chevrolet 30.298 178.23
    26 21 Trevor Bayne(i) Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 30.314 178.136
    27 42 Kyle Larson # Target Chevrolet 30.315 178.13
    28 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 30.333 178.024
    29 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 30.39 177.69
    30 33 Brian Scott(i) Shore Lodge Chevrolet 30.476 177.189
    31 34 David Ragan The Pete Store Ford 30.489 177.113
    32 10 Danica Patrick Florida Lottery/GoDaddy Chevrolet 30.496 177.072
    33 40 Landon Cassill(i) Harvey Gulf Chevrolet 30.622 176.344
    34 83 JJ Yeley(i) Dip Your Car Toyota 30.629 176.304
    35 38 David Gilliland MDS Transport Ford 30.672 176.056
    36 36 Reed Sorenson Feed The Children/Dei Fratelli Chevrolet 30.745 175.638
    37 98 Josh Wise PPR98.com Chevrolet Owner Points
    38 95 Michael McDowell KLOVE Radio/Thrivent Financial Ford Owner Points
    39 7 Michael Annett # Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet Owner Points
    40 32 Blake Koch(i) LeafFilter.com Ford Owner Points
    41 23 Alex Bowman # Dip Your Car Toyota Owner Points
    42 26 Cole Whitt # Speed Stick Gear Toyota Owner Points
    43 66 Brett Moffitt X8 Energy Gum Toyota Owner Points

    (i) Ineligible for Driver Points in this Series, # Denotes Rookie, * Required to Qualify on Time.

    Source: Timing and Scoring provided by NASCAR Media/NASCAR Statistics

     

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Homestead-Miami Speedway

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Homestead-Miami Speedway

    This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series head to Homestead-Miami Speedway for a tripleheader championship weekend as the 2014 season comes to a close.

    All times ET.

    Friday, November14:

    11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series practice – FOX Sports 1
    12:30-2 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
    2:45 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 1
    4-5:55 p.m.: Nationwide Series final practice – FOX Sports 1
    6:15 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – ESPN2
    8:00 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200 (134 laps, 201 miles) – FOX  Sports 1

    SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15:

    Noon-12:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
    1:15 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 1
    3-3:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice – FOX Sports 2
    4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series Ford EcoBoost 300 (200 laps, 300 miles) – ESPN2

    SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16:

    3:00 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles) – ESPN

    Press Conference Schedule:  (Watch live) on Nascar.com (Post race times approx.)

    Friday, November14:

    11:00 a.m.: NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France
    2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace talk Championship 4
    7:15 p.m.: NSCS Post Qualifying Press Conference with all Championship 4 drivers
    10:15 p.m. NCWTS Post Race Press Conference

    SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15:

    11:00 a.m.: Daytona Rising update with Joie Chitwood III
    11:30 a.m.: FDOT announcement
    1:00 p.m.: Jim Campbell (Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, Chevrolet), Jamie Allison (Director, Ford Racing) and David Wilson (President and General Manager, Toyota Racing Development)
    7:30 p.m.: NNS Post Race Press Conference

    SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16:

    6:45 p.m.: NSCS Post Race Press Conference

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Harvick Dominates Phoenix- Gets Final Spot in Championship Race

    Harvick Dominates Phoenix- Gets Final Spot in Championship Race

    Kevin Harvick continued his mastery of the Phoenix International Raceway  today,  winning the Quicken Loans 500 for Heroes. The win also secured him a spot for the championship race next Sunday at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was the only way Harvick could have made the finale since he was tied in points with the runner up in the race, Jeff Gordon.  Gordon was tied for fourth in points with Harvick at the end of the day but the win trumps the points thereby eliminating Gordon from the finale.

    The final four participants are Harvick, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman.

    Harvick was quick all weekend leading  two of the three practice sessions (he was second fastest during the happy hour practice) and started third. Harvick led 264 of the scheduled 312 laps.

    “I guess that is what it feels like to hit a walk off in extra innings there,” Harvick said post race. “This thing both races here has just been bad to the bone. Everybody on our Budweiser team has done a great job and here we come Homestead.”

    
“I could tell that we were probably going to have to win,” he said, “because everybody was running up in the front of the pack that we were racing against. That was our goal coming in here and that’s really the goal every time you come to Phoenix.  This place has just been phenomenal for me personally and for this team this year. To do that in front of all your almost hometown fans and all these people who have been rooting for me since the mid-‘90’s is pretty unbelievable. Man, I think this says a lot about our team. I think we have been through a lot this year. They put our backs against the wall; we put it in Victory Lane and get to go on.”

    The final chase position was not determined until the last turn of the last lap as Ryan Newman made contact with Kyle Larson, sending him up the track thereby giving him the position and the 1 point necessary to beat Gordon.

    Newman said after the race, “I did what I had to do as clean as I could do it. I’m not the kind of guy to turn somebody, so I just drifted as much as I could to get in there.” He also indicated that he remembered when Larson moved him for a win. “But in the end we fought back hard,” he said. “Did what we had to as clean as I possibly could. I wasn’t proud of it, but I will do what I got to, to make it to this next round. That little boy (Kyle Larson) has got a lot of things coming in this sport. He used me up like that at Eldora in a truck a couple of years ago. From my standpoint I call it even, but I think if he was in my position he would have probably done the same thing.”

    Jeff Gordon said, “It’s disappointing. Kevin Harvick was in another zip code. I’m not going to wreck a guy that’s racing me clean all year long just to make it into the Chase. That’s not what it’s all about for me. You’re not going to go win the championship next week by doing that. So, it’s just unfortunate. It’s just unfortunate. We did everything so good this year. That one race, that one race is going to stick with me for a little while. I got over it this week, knowing that we could come here and compete like this. Now it makes it sting that much more. But, I couldn’t be more proud of what this team did this year. What a great season and great race cars. That’s what I’m most disappointed in. I don’t think anybody deserves to be Homestead more than this No. 24 team because of the effort that they put in and the performances that we’ve had. But, you know what? You’ve got to score the points or win the races to get in there and we didn’t do that. So now we’ll go to Homestead and battle hard to try to win that race.”

    Finale participants Joey Logano and pole sitter Denny Hamlin had rough days but managed finishes that allowed them to make the championship race. Denny Hamlin suffered from a flat tire and restarted 37th and eventually went a lap down but he managed to claw his way back through traffic to finish fifth. Logano was penalized for taking equipment from his pit stall when the gas can did not fully detach and the can slid just inches outside his pit stall. Eventually Logano went a lap down to the leader Harvick, not once, but twice. Logano was clearly frustrated when a caution came out just as Harvick put Jamie McMurray a lap down thereby giving McMurray the “lucky dog” lap back. Logano finished 6th.

    Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski, finished third and forth respectively and failed to make the finale as well. Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle and Marcos Ambrose rounded out the top ten.

     

    Unofficial Results

    1. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet,
    2. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet,
    3. Matt Kenseth, Toyota,
    4. Brad Keselowski, Ford,
    5. Denny Hamlin, Toyota,
    6. Joey Logano, Ford,
    7. Kurt Busch, Chevrolet,
    8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet,
    9. Greg Biffle, Ford
    10. Marcos Ambrose, Ford,
    11. Ryan Newman, Chevrolet,
    12. Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet,
    13. Kyle Larson, Chevrolet,
    14. Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet,
    15. Carl Edwards, Ford, .
    16. AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet,
    17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford,.
    18. Aric Almirola, Ford,
    19. Brian Vickers, Toyota,
    20. Tony Stewart, Chevrolet,
    21. Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet,
    22. Danica Patrick, Chevrolet
    23. Paul Menard, Chevrolet
    24. David Gilliland, Ford.
    25. David Ragan, Ford,.
    26. Michael Annett, Chevrolet
    27. Ty Dillon, Chevrolet.
    28. Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet,
    29. Landon Cassill, Chevrolet
    30. J.J. Yeley, Toyota,
    31. Michael McDowell, Ford,
    32. Alex Bowman, Toyota,
    33. Joey Gase, Ford,
    34. Kyle Busch, Toyota,
    35. Casey Mears, Chevrolet
    36. Mike Wallace, Toyota,
    37. Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet.
    38. Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
    39. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet.
    40. Clint Bowyer, Toyota
    41. Josh Wise, Chevrolet
    42. Cole Whitt, Toyota
    43. Mike Bliss, Chevrolet,

     

  • Chase Elliott Becomes Youngest NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion

    Chase Elliott Becomes Youngest NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion

    It’s just a peachy situation for the entire Elliott family, right?

    On Saturday afternoon at Phoenix International Raceway, Chase Elliott started 10th and kept himself solidly in the top-10 throughout the day. He would fall back just outside of the top-10 when he took two left side tires, but would make his way back up through the field after a four-tire change. When the checkered flags were flown, he would be in the fifth spot, but more importantly, ahead of his teammate Regan Smith.

    As a result of holding a 52 point lead heading into next weekend’s final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Elliott clinched the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship.

    “Just honestly disbelief,” Elliott commented. “I’ve never been apart of anything like this, and just to have the opportunity to work these guys has been a blessing to just be here. I don’t know what to think. I don’t even know how to feel right now. I didn’t know if I was allowed to do a burnout, but I did one anyone. This is pretty cool. I really appreciate Regan and the way he raced me all year.”

    Elliott becomes the first rookie to a win championship, as well as the youngest champion at the age of 18 years, 11 months and 18  days. His season has featured three victories, 16 top-fives and 26 top-10s in the 32 races. 

    “I’m so in disbelief right now that I don’t know what to feel,” Elliott continued. “It’s a true blessing to be here. I really can’t believe it. This is really a testament to everybody that works on this car every week. They always make me a look a heck of a lot better than I am.”

    With his father Bill already having won a championship, the Elliott family becomes the fifth father-son duo to be champions.

    “A year ago at this time, we had nothing. Everything just came together with NAPA and JRM,” Bill Elliott said. “To have anything, it was a miracle. Then to come into this year and have the year that he has had, it is just unbelievable. I just hope that he keeps his head on straight. He is really good behind the wheel, and knows what he needs from the car. That’s 90 percent  of the battle. If he keeps that, he’s going to be great.”

    “Unbelievable. I don’t know what to say,” Chase’s mom Cindy commented. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts –everyone out there. I asked Bill this morning when we got up, I asked him if he imagined that we’d be going to the race track and see our son with a NASCAR championship. Its so great to see his dreams come true.”

    The young man is already signed to a developmental contract with Hendrick Motorsports that will see him one day drive in the Sprint Cup Series for Rick Hendrick.

    “At this time a year ago, we were trying to figure out what to do – thankfully NAPA came along,” Hendrick said. “Man, what a great young man and a racer that he is.”

    Hendrick was asked whether the championship would change plans for Elliott in staying in Nationwide for another year or moving up to Sprint Cup next year. “I think we got another year here so we’ll see,” Hendrick commented.

  • Brad Keselowski Steals Win in Final Restart of DAV 200 Honoring America’s Veterans

    Brad Keselowski Steals Win in Final Restart of DAV 200 Honoring America’s Veterans

    Kyle Busch looked to have the race won as he had dominated in leading numerous laps throughout the whole day. He even saw the white flag out of his windshield. Though before he could reach the white flag, the caution would fly due to Alex Bowman running out of fuel. As a result, there would be a green-white-checkered.

    The restart would bring forth a battle between Busch and Brad Keselowski, with Keselowski grabbing the lead with a pass to Busch’s inside through turn one. Keselowski would then lead the rest of the way en route to scoring the victory in the DAV 200 Honoring American’s Veterans at Phoenix International Raceway. It marks Keselowski’s 32nd career victory and his fifth win of the 2014 season.

    “That was kind of a shame. He had the race won before the yellow came out so I can understand him being upset about it,” Keselowski commented. “We never gave up and the yellow came out and we were able to get to victory lane. I’m really proud of everyone at Team Penske. Way to finish it out for the year! I had a lot of fun driving this car, humbled over the last few years of driving this car. Hopefully we can pull this off tomorrow.”

    Kyle Busch would finish second, not scoring his fourth straight victory in a row at Phoenix. For Busch, it’d be another disappointing day with his 24th top 10 of the season. Busch would tell MRN Radio post-race that it’s “pretty pathetic that NASCAR throws these Kyle Busch cautions. It’s old & aggravating.”

    After having to get out of the car early last week due to sickness, Elliott Sadler would be feeling much better this weekend en route to finishing third, followed by Ty Dillon and Chase Elliott. As a result of holding a 52 point lead heading into next weekend’s final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Elliott clinched the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship.

    “Just honestly disbelief,” Elliott commented. “I’ve never been apart of anything like this, and just to have the opportunity to work these guys has been a blessing to just be here. I don’t know what to think. I don’t even know how to feel right now. I didn’t know if I was allowed to do a burnout, but I did one anyone. This is pretty cool. I really appreciate Regan and the way he raced me all year.”

    Elliott becomes the first rookie to a win championship, as well as the youngest champion at the age of 18 years, 11 months and 18  days. With his father Bill already having won a championship, the Elliott family becomes the fifth father-son duo to be champions.

    Erik Jones would finish sixth after winning last night’s truck race, followed by Brian Scott, Brendan Guaghan, Trevor Bayne and Regan Smith.

    At the beginning of the race, the focus was right front tires as both Brennan Newberry and Landon Cassill suffered a flat tire, resulting in heavy contact with the outside wall.

    “I’m fine – I think I am used to it now,” Newberry commented. “I think it’s part of the race track there, it’s real slick in the center. Right off the get go, I think we overused the tire, put too much brake into it and the tire blew. This is my favourite track and unfortunately we’re out of it early, but thankful for the opportunity.”

  • Erik Jones Lights up the Night in the Lucas Oil 150 in Phoenix

    Erik Jones Lights up the Night in the Lucas Oil 150 in Phoenix

    No lights, two red flags, no problem. Not for tonight’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series winner Erik Jones. What a night it turned out to be for Jones after starting on the pole, his second pole in 17 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. The win also brought home team owner Kyle Busch and Kyle Busch Motorsports win number 13 in the series, seven of the victories won by Busch and the third win of the season for Jones.

    At first it was unclear if the race would get underway due to a power outage at the track which affected the lighting. After a delay of about 75 minutes, the lights came on and the racing began but the race ended early after another power outage on Lap 126. The outages were widespread and affected areas other than the track so NASCAR called the race early for safety reasons and decided not to run the scheduled 150 laps.

    Jones dominated in his KBM Toyota, leading 114 of the 126 laps and capturing his fourth career win in the series. He also won this same race last year.

    In his post-race interview Jones stated, “It’s pretty cool to pick up another win at Phoenix. It’s a great way to top off the year for me in this truck and just a good way to start off the 2015 season.” A happy Jones went on to say, “It’s just an awesome night, I feel like we had a dominate truck and could definitely have brought it home.”

    The race had its share of incidents as well, particularly, in the beginning laps, including a wreck at the start of the race on the opening lap that caused an accordion affect that essentially took out John Wes Townley, German Quiroga and Justin Jennings. The race finally went green on Lap 19 but two laps later, Ben Rhodes spun and brought out the second caution. The race restarted on Lap 27 but shortly after, Spencer Gallagher and Timothy Peters made contact, Peters hit the wall and collected Jeb Burton. The result of all these accidents was that out of the first 33 laps, 28 were run under caution.

    The fourth caution of the night came on Lap 39 and brought out the first red flag, after Joey Coulter’s Chevrolet blew a tire and hit the outside wall. His truck had to be taken off the track on a roll-back.

    Bringing home second place was NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points leader, Matt Crafton who also started the race in second. Crafton is in the perfect position to bring home another championship if he can finish 21st or better next week at Homestead. If he does he will be the first driver to win two consecutive championships in the truck series.

    Crafton also was one driver that would have liked to have seen the green flag fly again after that second red flag when the power went out again.

    Crafton commented, “I would have liked to have seen this thing go all the way tonight.” He continued saying, “I know if I could have gotten track position on him we could have beat him, I truly believe it. I’m tired of finishing second to that damn 51 though.”

    Third place went to Cole Custer and fourth place went to Ryan Blaney, who is second in the points. Ben Rhodes finished fifth followed by Darrell Wallace Jr. in sixth and John Hunter Nemechek in seventh place.

    Austin Dillon, Johnny Sauter and Tyler Reddick finished in eighth through 10th, respectively.

    The top five in the championship points standings are:

    1) Matt Crafton  798

    2) Ryan Blaney  -25

    3) Darrell Wallace Jr.  -46

    4) Johnny Sauter  -59

    5) Timothy Peters -93

    The next and final race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be the Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. ET.

     

  • Denny Hamlin Wins Coors Light Pole Award at Phoenix

    Denny Hamlin Wins Coors Light Pole Award at Phoenix

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Phoenix International Raceway

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Phoenix International Raceway

    This week NASCAR travels to Phoenix International Raceway. The Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix is the last chance to advance to the Championship Round next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Only four drivers will make it through to compete for the Sprint Cup Championship title.

    The Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series will also be on track at Phoenix.

    Thursday – November 6:

    3-3:55 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series practice
    5:30-7 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series final practice

    Friday, November 7:

    Noon-1:20 p.m.: Nationwide Series practice – FOX Sports 1
    1:30-3 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
    3:10-4:20 p.m.: Nationwide Series final practice – FOX Sports 1
    4:45 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 1
    6:45 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – ESPN2
     8:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 (150 laps, 150 miles) FOX Sports 1

    Saturday, November 8:

    11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 2
    12:45 p.m.: Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 2
    2:30-3:20 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series final practice – FOX Sports 2
     4 p.m.: Nationwide Series DAV 200-Honoring America’s Veterans (200 laps, 200 miles) – ESPN

    Sunday, November 9:

     3 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 (312 laps, 312 miles) – ESPN

     

    Press Conference Schedule:  (Watch live) on Nascar.com (Post race times approx.)

    Thursday – November 6:

    4:30 p.m.: Erik Jones and Kyle Busch Motorsports announcement

    Friday – November 7:

    11:15 a.m.: Kyle Larson
    11:30 a.m.:  Aric Almirola
    Noon:         Joey Logano
    12:15 p.m.: Ryan Newman
    12:30 p.m.: Matt Kenseth
    12:45 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson
    1:00 p.m.:  Kevin Harvick
    3:15 p.m.:  Carl Edwards
    4:30 p.m.:  Jeff Gordon
    7:45 p.m.:  NSCS Post Qualifying Press Conference, plus Brad Keselowski (if not in top three)
    10:45 p.m.: NCWTS Post Race Press Conference

    Saturday – November 8:

    6:15 p.m.: NNS Post Race Press Conference

    Sunday – November 9:

    6:15 p.m.: NSCS Post Race Press Conference