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  • Keselowski Earns Sprint Cup Pole for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500

    Keselowski Earns Sprint Cup Pole for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500

    FORT WORTH, Texas (November 6, 2015) – Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski captured the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole Friday for the AAA Texas 500 during Service King Qualifying Days at Texas Motor Speedway.

    Keselowski (No. 2 Wurth Ford) posted a lap of 196.929 miles per hour in the third and final round of knockout qualifying for his third pole of the season and 11th of his career. It also was his first pole at Texas Motor Speedway, topping his previous best of second on two occasions (fall of 2013 and spring of ’14), in 15 races at the venue.

    Keselowski led Eliminator 8 Round Chase contenders in the top four qualifying positions for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500. Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet) was second at 195.993 mph, Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota) third at 195.716 mph, and Joey Logano (No. 22 AAA Insurance Ford) fourth at 195.419 mph. Kyle Larson (No. 42 Target Plaid Chevrolet) rounded at the top five at 195.341 mph.

    In regard to the other four Chase contenders, Kurt Busch (No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet) was seventh at 194.988 mph, Carl Edwards (No. 19 Sports Clips Toyota) was 13th at 195.341, Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet) was 18th at 194.637 mph and Martin Truex Jr. (No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet) was 23rd at 194.000 mph.

    The Sprint Cup Series drivers return to the track Saturday for a pair of final practices, one from 10-10:55 a.m. CT and the other from 1-1:50 p.m.

    Sunday’s AAA Texas 500, the middle race of the three-race Eliminator 8 segment of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, will be broadcast live beginning at 1 p.m. on television partner NBC and radio partners PRN and Sirius XM and KRLD-AM 1080 (local).

    Tickets are available by visiting www.texasmotorspeedway.com or by calling the speedway ticket office at 817.215.8500.

     

  • Keselowski Heads First Practice Session at Texas

    Keselowski Heads First Practice Session at Texas

    Brad Keselowski topped the chart in the first practice session on Friday at Texas Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 27.403 and a speed of 197.059 mph. Kevin Harvick placed his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with a time of 27.492 and a speed of 196.421 mph. Carl Edwards showed his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 27.516 and a speed of 196.249 mph. Kyle Larson brought his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet to fourth with a time of 27.533 and a speed of 196.128 mph. Joey Logano rounded out the top-five in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a time of 27.551 and a speed of 196.000 mph.

    Jamie McMurray finished his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet in sixth. Ryan Blaney finished his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford in seventh. Erik Jones, driving in place of the suspended Matt Kenseth, finished his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in eighth. Greg Biffle finished his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford in ninth. Kurt Busch rounded out the top-10 in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

    Kyle Busch finished 11th, Jeff Gordon finished 19th and Martin Truex Jr. was the lowest-finishing Chase driver in 20th.

    The Sprint Cup cars are back on track this evening for qualifying at 6:45.

    NSCS Practice 1
    Texas Motor Speedway
    11th Annual AAA Texas 500
    Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Fri, November 06, 2015 @ 01:58 PM Eastern
    ===========================================
    Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed Lap # # Laps -Fastest -Next
    ===========================================
    1 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford 27.403 197.059 7 7 —.— —.—
    2 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet 27.492 196.421 8 8 -0.089 -0.089
    3 19 Carl Edwards Sport Clips Toyota 27.516 196.249 18 18 -0.113 -0.024
    4 42 Kyle Larson Target Plaid Chevrolet 27.533 196.128 24 24 -0.130 -0.017
    5 22 Joey Logano AAA Insurance Ford 27.551 196.000 20 20 -0.148 -0.018
    6 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna Chevrolet 27.566 195.893 17 17 -0.163 -0.015
    7 21 Ryan Blaney(i) Snap-On Tools Ford 27.568 195.879 7 7 -0.165 -0.002
    8 20 Erik Jones(i) DeWalt Toyota 27.593 195.702 21 21 -0.190 -0.025
    9 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Ford 27.613 195.560 7 9 -0.210 -0.020
    10 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 27.635 195.404 19 19 -0.232 -0.022
    11 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Crispy Toyota 27.639 195.376 18 18 -0.236 -0.004
    12 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 27.658 195.242 17 17 -0.255 -0.019
    13 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 27.664 195.200 8 10 -0.261 -0.006
    14 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 27.672 195.143 8 8 -0.269 -0.008
    15 15 Clint Bowyer Maxwell House Toyota 27.680 195.087 16 16 -0.277 -0.008
    16 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 27.707 194.897 11 11 -0.304 -0.027
    17 3 Austin Dillon Dow Packaging/H-E-B Chevrolet 27.711 194.868 7 7 -0.308 -0.004
    18 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Sonic Ford 27.728 194.749 9 9 -0.325 -0.017
    19 24 Jeff Gordon Axalta Chevrolet 27.729 194.742 20 20 -0.326 -0.001
    20 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 27.736 194.693 7 9 -0.333 -0.007
    21 31 Ryan Newman Quicken Loans Chevrolet 27.742 194.651 14 14 -0.339 -0.006
    22 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet 27.754 194.567 9 9 -0.351 -0.012
    23 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger/Scott Products Chevrolet 27.765 194.489 19 19 -0.362 -0.011
    24 55 David Ragan Aaron’s Online Dream Machine Toyota 27.770 194.454 17 17 -0.367 -0.005
    25 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 27.780 194.384 10 10 -0.377 -0.010
    26 27 Paul Menard Schrock/Menards Chevrolet 27.783 194.363 13 13 -0.380 -0.003
    27 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 27.815 194.140 20 22 -0.412 -0.032
    28 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 27.815 194.140 7 7 -0.412 -0.000
    29 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 27.943 193.251 11 11 -0.540 -0.128
    30 33 Brian Scott(i) Shore Lodge Chevrolet 27.943 193.251 5 7 -0.540 -0.000
    31 7 Alex Bowman Nikko RC/Toy State Chevrolet 28.004 192.830 17 17 -0.601 -0.061
    32 26 JJ Yeley(i) Overture Promotions Toyota 28.089 192.246 9 9 -0.686 -0.085
    33 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 28.104 192.143 23 23 -0.701 -0.015
    34 95 Michael McDowell Tommy Williams Drywall Ford 28.237 191.238 10 10 -0.834 -0.133
    35 34 Brett Moffitt # Visit Dallas Ford 28.241 191.211 21 21 -0.838 -0.004
    36 23 Jeb Burton # Dr Pepper/Estes Toyota 28.288 190.894 9 9 -0.885 -0.047
    37 51 Justin Allgaier Texas Lottery Chevrolet 28.300 190.813 20 20 -0.897 -0.012
    38 35 Cole Whitt Moen Ford 28.350 190.476 15 19 -0.947 -0.050
    39 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet 28.404 190.114 12 12 -1.001 -0.054
    40 38 David Gilliland Love’s Travel Stops Ford 28.415 190.040 14 16 -1.012 -0.011
    41 40 Landon Cassill(i) CRC/O’Reilly Auto Parts Chevrolet 28.424 189.980 32 32 -1.021 -0.009
    42 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Dustless Blasting Toyota 28.555 189.109 11 11 -1.152 -0.131
    43 32 Joey Gase(i) Zak Products/Donate Life Texas Ford 28.767 187.715 14 14 -1.364 -0.212
    44 62 Reed Sorenson Toyota 28.846 187.201 9 9 -1.443 -0.079
    45 98 Ryan Preece Xyience Chevrolet 29.075 185.727 24 24 -1.672 -0.229

    Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average
    * No driver ran 10 consecutive laps during this practice.
    *Required to qualify on time, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

     

  • AAA Texas 500 Preview

    AAA Texas 500 Preview

    Leave the car at home this weekend, hop on your trusty steed and ride out west because NASCAR is riding into the Lonestar State.

    This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Fort Worth, Texas for the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. It will be the 34th race of the season, eighth of the Chase and second of the Eliminator Round.

    I’m just going to say this up front. If you expect to see a good race at Texas, don’t. Speaking only for myself, Texas is near the bottom of my list of favorite tracks. I’ve seen very few races that could pass as good here. I’ve seen so much nothing here over the years that I’ve set my expectations for Texas at zero. The aero package we used this year didn’t make it any better.

    The only thing that gives me hope that this will be worth watching is that it’s the middle race of this round. As we’ve seen the last two years, the middle race of the Challenger, Contender and Eliminator Rounds have the biggest water-cooler moments.

    The powder keg erupted on pit road last year at Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
    The powder keg erupted on pit road last year at Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington /Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)

    New Hampshire last year had the second half wreck fest, Charlotte had the hauler scuffle between Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski and Texas had the pit road brawl involving Jeff Gordon and his crew fighting Keselowski and his crew.

    This season we saw Kevin Harvick dominate Loudon before running out of gas with two laps to go and needing to win Dover to advance and then we had Joey Logano turning Kenseth to win Kansas.

    Each race of this year’s Chase has given us moments to talk about for days (be it good or bad) and that alone gives me hope that Texas will be watchable.

     

    (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
    Kevin Harvick will look to fire the six-shooters in Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington /Getty Images for TMS)

    Kevin Harvick

    Kevin Harvick enters the weekend at 9/2 as the odds-on favorite (Vegas Insider). While he’s been dominant this season, his stats at Texas are hit or miss. He’s finished in the top-10 in 52 percent of his 25 starts, has 13 top-10 finishes in 25 starts, but he has only finished in the top-five in 20 percent of his starts (five top-five finishes in 25 starts). He’s also only led 104 laps at Texas in his career and until this past April, he never led more than two laps in a single race. In his last two starts at Texas, Harvick has finished runner-up in both and led 96 laps when NASCAR was last in Denton County, Texas. Expect to see the driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet to be up front on Sunday.

     

    Joey Logano will look to climb out of the points deficit he's in. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
    Joey Logano will look to climb out of the points deficit he’s in. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for TMS)

    Joey Logano

    Next is the 5/1 driver that’s been on the biggest hot streak as of late, Joseph Tomas Logano. His stats at Texas technically aren’t stellar (only five top-five and five top-10 finishes in 14 starts) but his five races at Texas with Team Penske have been among his best of any track. In his last five races, he’s finished fifth, third, first, 12th and fourth. That’s an average finish of fifth. While he’s only led 159 laps at Texas, 129 of those were in the last five races. In the nine intermediate races this season, Logano has a 5.1 average finish. With a 37-point hole to dig out of and Phoenix being Harvick’s playground, expect the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford to race like hell for the checkered flag Sunday.

     

    Look for "Bad Brad" to make some noise this Sunday. Photo Credit: Barry Albert
    Look for “Bad Brad” to make some noise this Sunday. (Photo Credit: Barry Albert)

    Brad Keselowski

    Next at 6/1 is Brad Keselowski. Like Logano, his career stats at Texas aren’t great. With only five top-10 finishes and three top-five finishes, you might be quick to write him off. However, in his last five starts, he’s finished ninth, sixth, 15th, third and fifth. That’s a 7.3 average finish. He’s led 273 laps in his career, 164 in the last four races. While he’s not toward the top of my picks to win, I’d expect to see him near the front Sunday.

     

    Jimmie Johnson will look to fire off the six-shooters again this weekend. (Photo by Sarah Glenn/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
    Jimmie Johnson will look to fire off the six-shooters again this weekend. (Photo by Sarah Glenn/Getty Images for TMS)

    Jimmie Johnson

    Finally, we come to the driver who’s both 6/1 and the all-time wins leader at Texas Motor Speedway. His name is Jimmie Kenneth Johnson. In 24 starts, he’s finished in the top-five in half of his starts and 75 percent in the top-10. In the last seven races, he’s finished second, first, sixth, first, 25th, first and first. He’s also won the last three fall races at Texas, and in pretty dominant fashion. In the five races he led a lap in, he led  no fewer than 128 laps. His laps led total in each race has been 156, 168, zero, 255, zero, 191 and 128. That’s an average of 128 laps. I know Johnson hasn’t been up front much since winning at Dover in May and he’s only led 41 laps since Daytona in July, but my money is on the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to continue his streak of being the only driver to have won at least one Chase race every year.

     

    To find out who’ll fire off the six-shooters in victory lane, tune into the AAA Texas 500 Sunday at 2:00 p.m. on NBC. The radio broadcast can be heard on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM radio (subscription required). You’ll hear Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini in the booth, Rob Albright and Pat Patterson in the turns and Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Jim Noble and Steve Richards on pit road. The lineup is always subject to change.

  • Gordon Celebrates Martinsville Win After Kenseth Wipes Out Logano

    Gordon Celebrates Martinsville Win After Kenseth Wipes Out Logano

    By Reid Spencer

    Yes, Jeff Gordon celebrated his 93rd career victory in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

    Yes, Gordon will compete for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    Yes, there were tears of joy in Victory Lane for Gordon, who’s at the tail end of his final season in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

    But Sunday’s race at Martinsville had so much more — most notably, “Matt Kenseth’s Revenge.”

    Long before Gordon held off Jamie McMurray in a two-lap run to the finish as darkness consumed the .526-mile short track, Kenseth ended polesitter Joey Logano’s remarkable run in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by pile-driving Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford, which was leading the race at the time, into the Turn 1 wall on Lap 454 of 500.

    Kenseth’s car was crippled at that point, the victim of a Lap 435 wreck that also involved the No. 2 Ford of Logano’s teammate, Brad Keselowski.

    But when Kenseth clipped the left rear quarter panel of Logano’s Ford and slammed him into the SAFER barrier, it was retaliation for Kansas two weeks earlier, when Logano knocked Kenseth out of the way—and effectively out of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup—in the closing laps of the second race of the Contender Round.

    Kenseth failed to advance to the Eliminator Round, which started at Martinsville on Sunday. And now Logano likewise is in dire jeopardy of seeing his dream season end before the Championship Round.

    “I think what happened at Kansas is a completely different deal,” Logano said after a visit to the infield care center. “We were racing for the win, and he blocks you a few times, and then we raced hard and he blocked me the last time and we spun out. That’s what happened there.

    “Here it was just a complete coward move, especially for a championship race car driver and race team. Just a complete coward. I don’t have anything else to say. It’s a chicken-you-know-what move to completely take out the leader when your race is over.”

    Logano, who was bidding for his fourth straight victory, finished 37th and is eighth in the Chase standings, 28 points behind Kevin Harvick in fourth, the last transfer position into the Championship Round.

    It was clear from Kenseth’s post-accident comments that the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota felt it was important to assert himself.

    “You never like to be in these situations,” Kenseth said. “They really stink, to be honest with you, but sometimes you get put in these spots, and you’ve got to try to keep respect in the garage area. You can’t get yourself ran over.

    “You can’t get in the Chase next year and get ran over for the same reason. Like I said, hate the way it ended. Wish we were out there celebrating or having a shot for the win like we did before we got wrecked, so a disappointing day.”

    NASCAR called Kenseth, crew chief Jason Ratcliff and team owner Joe Gibbs to the sanctioning body’s transporter after the race. Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, said the incident will be reviewed and subsequent action, if any, will be announced later this week.

    None of the Kenseth-Logano drama, however, could mute the elation of Gordon, the first driver to clinch a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead.

    “Yeah, baby, yeah—we go to Homestead!” Gordon screamed after crossing the finish line .335 seconds ahead of McMurray. “That was huge! That was huge! Boys, I love you guys.

    “That’s what I was talking about. We just keep digging and fighting…”

    A few minutes later, in Victory Lane, Gordon couldn’t resist a joke.

    “It was a joke. I’m coming back next year!” Gordon quipped about his impending retirement. “This is the sweetest, most amazing feeling. I am so proud of this team. You want to talk about holding back emotions; right now man, wow, we’re going to Homestead! I can’t believe it.”

    Kyle Busch had a fight on his hands, too, after spinning in Turn 2 on Lap 171 and damaging the front suspension of his No. 18 Toyota during contact with the No. 3 Chevrolet of Austin Dillon. But Busch rallied to come home fifth and is tied with sixth-place finisher Martin Truex Jr. for second in the Chase standings.

    Denny Hamlin recovered from two pit road speeding penalties to run third on Sunday, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ryan Newman and Harvick and were seventh and eighth, respectively.

    Keselowski and Kurt Busch, victims of the same wreck that ended Kenseth’s strong run, finished 32nd and 34th, respectively, and are approaching must-win status at the next two races in the Eliminator Round, at Texas and Phoenix.

    Notes: Before the wrecks that ruined their chances, the Team Penske cars were dominant. Logano led a race-high 207 laps. Keselowski led 143 laps, and at one juncture had built a lead of 8.9 seconds before Kyle Fowler smacked the Turn 3 wall to cause the 12th of 18 cautions. … The victory was Gordon’s first of the season and his ninth at Martinsville, breaking a tie with teammate Jimmie Johnson for most among active drivers.

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500
    Martinsville Speedway
    Martinsville, Virginia
    Sunday, November 01, 2015

    1. (5) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 500, $199836.
    2. (4) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 500, $158301.
    3. (10) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 500, $131335.
    4. (22) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 500, $117160.
    5. (6) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 500, $138391.
    6. (2) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 500, $121985.
    7. (7) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 500, $124615.
    8. (12) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 500, $146715.
    9. (24) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 500, $104790.
    10. (13) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 500, $119004.
    11. (3) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 500, $133298.
    12. (21) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 500, $133051.
    13. (23) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 500, $113973.
    14. (14) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 500, $88865.
    15. (26) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 500, $97065.
    16. (8) Aric Almirola, Ford, 500, $125201.
    17. (19) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 500, $110023.
    18. (30) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 500, $124176.
    19. (9) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 500, $114423.
    20. (31) Cole Whitt, Ford, 500, $98823.
    21. (27) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 500, $85815.
    22. (41) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 499, $95087.
    23. (38) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 498, $85265.
    24. (33) David Gilliland, Ford, 498, $93015.
    25. (28) David Ragan, Toyota, 498, $111954.
    26. (25) Greg Biffle, Ford, 497, $115598.
    27. (35) Jeb Burton #, Toyota, 496, $85365.
    28. (20) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 493, $107560.
    29. (39) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 492, $81090.
    30. (36) Matt DiBenedetto #, Toyota, 492, $82515.
    31. (32) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 491, $125465.
    32. (11) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 490, $129231.
    33. (43) Alex Kennedy #, Chevrolet, 489, $80665.
    34. (15) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 486, $98615.
    35. (34) Brett Moffitt #, Ford, 479, $80565.
    36. (42) Timmy Hill(i), Chevrolet, 459, $80515.
    37. (1) Joey Logano, Ford, 458, $139538.
    38. (18) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, Parked, 443, $112688.
    39. (29) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 423, $79680.
    40. (16) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, Accident, 391, $75680.
    41. (40) Kyle Fowler, Ford, Brakes, 373, $63680.
    42. (37) Ryan Preece, Ford, 365, $59680.
    43. (17) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, Accident, 185, $90338.

    Average Speed of Race Winner: 69.643 mph.
    Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 46 Mins, 35 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.335 Seconds.
    Caution Flags: 18 for 109 laps.
    Lead Changes: 21 among 9 drivers.
    Lap Leaders: J. Logano 1-8; M. Truex Jr. 9-35; J. Logano 36-43; J. Gordon 44-53; J. Logano 54-59; Kurt Busch 60-81; J. Logano 82-158; A. Dillon 159-164; J. Logano 165-198; K. Harvick 199-236; B. Keselowski 237-239; J. Logano 240-255; B. Keselowski 256-282; J. Logano 283-292; B. Keselowski 293-388; J. Logano 389-393; B. Keselowski 394-410; J. Logano 411-453; J. Gordon 454-456; D. Hamlin 457-459; A. Allmendinger 460-478; J. Gordon 479-500.
    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): J. Logano 9 times for 207 laps; B. Keselowski 4 times for 143 laps; K. Harvick 1 time for 38 laps; J. Gordon 3 times for 35 laps; M. Truex Jr. 1 time for 27 laps; Kurt Busch 1 time for 22 laps; A. Allmendinger 1 time for 19 laps; A. Dillon 1 time for 6 laps; D. Hamlin 1 time for 3 laps.
    Top 16 in Points: J. Gordon – 4,047; Kyle Busch – 4,039; M. Truex Jr. – 4,039; K. Harvick – 4,037; C. Edwards – 4,030; B. Keselowski – 4,013; Kurt Busch – 4,011; J. Logano – 4,009; D. Hamlin – 2,251; R. Newman – 2,231; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 2,221; J. Mcmurray – 2,201; M. Kenseth – 2,197; J. Johnson – 2,193; P. Menard – 2,177; C. Bowyer – 2,124.

  • Gordon Captures Career Win No. 93 at Martinsville

    Gordon Captures Career Win No. 93 at Martinsville

    Jeff Gordon has punched his ticket for the Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a win at the “Virginia paperclip,” Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.

    After the race, Gordon joked that he wasn’t going to retire after this season, saying, “This is the sweetest, most amazing feeling. I am so proud of this team. You want to talk about holding back emotions; right now man, wow, we’re going to Homestead!  I can’t believe it. What an incredible battle that was.”

    He also acknowledged second-place finisher, Jamie McMurray, stating, “Those last couple of laps, I give a lot of credit to Jamie McMurray. He raced me hard and clean there. Oh, man, I’ll tell you it’s just never over. What a battle!”

    The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet held off McMurray on the final restart to score his 93rd career victory and ninth win at Martinsville Speedway. He was the beneficiary of what appeared to be Matt Kenseth intentionally taking out Joey Logano with 47 laps to go.

    McMurray, although disappointed that he didn’t win, said it was a “great battle with Jeff. I have looked up to Jeff Gordon since I was a little kid. What a fun way on his last year to get to battle him like that. I wish we could have won. Had a great car just the inside was kind of the preferred line on those restarts.”

    Denny Hamlin rounded out the podium with a third-place finish while Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

    Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart rounded out the top-10.

    Among the other Chase drivers, Carl Edwards finished 14th. Brad Keselowski, who led 143 circuits, finished 32nd after getting caught up in a wreck with 66 laps to go, a wreck that also took out Kenseth and Kurt Busch. Busch would go on to finish 34th. After leading 207 laps, Logano was taken out by Kenseth late in the race and finished 37th.

    Gordon is locked into the championship battle in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead in three weeks. Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. leave Martinsville tied for second, eight points back. Kevin Harvick leaves 10-points back followed by Carl Edwards (-17), Brad Keselowski (-34), Kurt Busch (-36), and Joey Logano (-38).

  • Martinsville Recap of Friday’s Events

    Martinsville Recap of Friday’s Events

    Here’s a recap of the on-track activity Friday at Martinsville Speedway.

    Practice

    Joey Logano was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 19.161 and a speed of 98.826 mph. Jeff Gordon was second with a time of 19.251 and a speed of 98.364 mph followed by Brad Keselowski who was third with a time of 19.256 and a speed of 98.338 mph. Kevin Harvick was fourth with a time of 19.258 and a speed of 98.328 mph. Casey Mears rounded out the top-five with a time of 19.284 and a speed of 98.195 mph.

    Kasey Kahne finished sixth. Jamie McMurray finished seventh. Kyle Busch finished eighth. Clint Bowyer finished ninth and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-10.

    Denny Hamlin finished 12th.

    Carl Edwards was the lowest-finishing Chase driver in 17th.

     

    Qualifying

    Logano won the pole for the race with a time of 19.215 and a speed of 98.548 mph.

    He said that he’s amazed at the “run we’re on right now. I’m just the lucky guy that gets to drive this thing right now. It’s so much fun and we’re doing everything right. But all that can in a blink of an eye, so we all just have to keep our focus. I don’t believe in luck. I believe in hard work, and that’s what this team is doing right now.”

    Martin Truex Jr. will join him on the front row with a time of 19.227 and a speed of 98.487 mph.

    He said that his team “didn’t know going into qualifying we’d have that good of speed. Definitely a good start to the weekend for us.”

    A. J. Allmendinger will start third with a time of 19.309 and a speed of 98.068 mph. Jamie McMurray will start fourth with a time of 19.321 and a speed of 98.007 mph. Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-five with a time of 19.343 and a speed of 97.896 mph.

    Kyle Busch will start sixth. Ryan Newman will start seventh. Aric Almirola will start eighth. Kyle Larson will start ninth. Denny Hamlin rounds out the top-10.

    Brad Keselowski will start 11th, Kevin Harvick will start 12th and Carl Edwards will be the lowest starting Chase driver in 14th.

    Edwards said afterward that he “just wasn’t fast enough the very first run so I put a run on the tires and got us a cycle behind everyone. It’s okay, we’re going to be just fine. I think in my history of qualifying here, this is still about 10 spots better than normal. We have a fast pit crew, the car is a lot better than it was in practice and I think for all these XFINITY guys, I think they’re all excited about the race. It’s one of our strong points at JGR and I’m going to have some fun on Sunday.”

    Kasey Kahne went to his backup car after wrecking out in the first round of qualifying. Because he attempted a qualifying run, he’ll start from the rear of the field.

  • Logano Will Start From Pole in Goody’s® Headache Relief Shot® 500

    Logano Will Start From Pole in Goody’s® Headache Relief Shot® 500

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 30, 2015) –Joey Logano will lead the field to green in the Goody’s® Headache Relief Shot® 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

    Logano’s time of 19.215 seconds was the fastest on Virginia Lottery Pole Day and good for his second straight Martinsville pole.

    “Starting first here, and really anywhere towards the front here at Martinsville, pays off bigger than probably most race tracks,” Logano said. “Having that great pit stall up front, as well as staying up towards the front and keeping your fenders on it the whole race is important, so, like I said, I couldn’t be more proud of my guys right now.”

    Logano is riding a hot streak into the famous half-mile speedway. His three straight wins swept the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

    “I don’t believe in luck. I believe in hard work and that’s what this team is doing right now,” Logano said. “It’s amazing how everyone rises to the occasion together.”

    Martin Truex Jr. will start second.

    “Honestly, I didn’t know we had a car that was that fast today,” Truex said. “We stuck with it. The guys did a good job making adjustments there, and we got quicker each round. That’s what you’ve got to do.”

    A.J. Allmendinger and Jamie McMurray will start in row two.

    Eight-time Martinsville winner Jeff Gordon, who is making his final start as a full-time driver, will roll off fifth.

    The Goody’s® Headache Relief Shot® 500 is Sunday.

    The race is the first race of the Eliminator Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

    Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com.

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Martinsville

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Martinsville

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the Camping World Truck Series travel to Martinsville Superspeedway this weekend while the XFINITY Series is off. On-track action for the Sprint Cup Series can be seen on NBCSN, CNBC and NBC Sports Live Extra. The Camping World Truck Series events will be broadcast on FS1. Radio coverage will be provided by Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Satellite NASCAR Channel 90.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, Oct. 30:

    On Track:

    11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Practice – NBCSN/Live Extra
    1-1:55 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Practice – FS1
    2:30-3:50 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Final Practice – FS1
    4:20 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – Broadcast live on Live Extra, CSN Mid Atlantic, CSN Chicago, CSN Northwest, CSN Bay Area, TCN (Philadelphia) – (Note: On tape delay at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.)

    GarageCam: (Watch live)

    11 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series
    2 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series

    Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    10 a.m.: Stewart-Haas Racing announcement with Danica Patrick
    10:30 a.m.: Joey Logano
    10:45 a.m.: Timothy Peters
    1 p.m.: Carl Edwards
    2 p.m.: Jeff Gordon
    5:45 p.m. Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying

    TV Schedule- Additional NASCAR Coverage:

    2 p.m.: The 10: Greatest Truck Series Moments – FS1

    Saturday, Oct. 31:

    On Track:

    9-9:55 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series Practice – CNBC/Live Extra
    10:15 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
    Noon-12:50 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – CNBC/Live Extra
    1:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Kroger 200 (200 laps, 105.2 miles) – FS1 (Green flag: 1:46 p.m. approx.)

    Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    3:15 p.m.: Post-Camping World Truck Series Race

    TV Schedule- Additional NASCAR Coverage:

    1 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup – FS1

    Sunday, Nov. 1:

    On Track:

    1:15 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 (500 laps, 263 miles) – NBCSN/Live Extra (Green flag: 1:28 p.m. approx.)

    Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    9:30 a.m.: Jerry Cook and David Gilliland
    10:30 a.m.: Ned Jarrett
    10:45 a.m.: Goody’s with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    5:15 p.m.: Post-Sprint Cup Series Race

    TV Schedule- Additional NASCAR Coverage:

    10 a.m.: NASCAR RaceDay – FS1
    11 a.m.: NASCAR America Sunday – NBCSN
    12:30 p.m.: NSCS Countdown to Green – NBCSN
    5:30 p.m.: NSCS Post-Race – NBCSN
    6:30 p.m.: NASCAR Victory Lane – FS1 (Re-air at 3 a.m. – FS1)
    11 p.m.: NASCAR Victory Lap – NBCSN

  • Logano wins at Talladega, knocks Earnhardt out of Chase

    Logano wins at Talladega, knocks Earnhardt out of Chase

    By Reid Spencer

    NASCAR Wire Service

    TALLADEGA, Ala. – Through no fault of his own, Joey Logano may have achieved the most unpopular sweep in NASCAR history on Sunday afternoon.

    Why? Because his victory in the CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway knocked Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup—by a matter of inches.

    When NASCAR threw the third caution of the race moments after the first bona fide attempt at a green-white-checkered-flag restart on Lap 195—with Kevin Harvick’s engine turning sour and cars wrecking behind him—Logano was inches ahead Earnhardt.

    That call ended the race, giving Logano his third straight victory in the Chase’s Contender Round, the first time since the elimination format was instituted last season that a driver has won all three races in a single round.

    The victory was Logano’s series-best sixth of the season, his first at Talladega and the 14th of his career.

    “I had a good start, and then the 24 was pushing me and the plan worked perfectly but the inside lane started pulling back up,” Logano said of the final restart. “I saw the (caution) lights come on when I was still in the lead, and I thought we had it.

    “It’s all about how the timing loops are and the camera makes sure that is what happened. It’s such a crazy race. There were such long green flag runs, you never see that. To pull it into victory lane here at Talladega is so cool.”

    In addition to Logano, Carl Edwards (fifth on Sunday), Jeff Gordon (third), Kurt Busch (10th), Brad Keselowski (fourth), Martin Truex Jr. (seventh), Harvick (15th) and Kyle Busch (11th) advanced to the Eliminator Round of the Chase.

    As formidable as Logano’s achievement was, it didn’t sit well with the heavily partisan Earnhardt crowd in the Talladega grandstands. Catcalls, debris and thumbs-down gestures greeted Logano’s celebratory burnout after NASCAR declared him the winner

    The green-white-checkered-flag restart came four laps after NASCAR extended a yellow-flag period when cars began wrecking in the tri-oval before the leaders crossed the start/finish line coming to green to start Lap 191.

    Though NASCAR had amended a rule before the race, limiting the number of attempts at a green-white-checkered to one (down from three), the sanctioning body ruled the first try was not a bona fide attempt since the yellow waved before the first cars reached the stripe.

    Earnhardt supported the amended rule before the race, and he continued to do so afterward, despite the outcome.

    “Everybody is going to ask me a hundred times how I feel about the green-white-checkered rule now,” Earnhardt said. “I feel good about it. It was a good safe call. The race ended per the rules, and I’m totally OK with that.

    “They decided officially who won the race, and Joey won it. He has had an awesome round. Unbelievable, really. We did everything we could today. Almost perfect, tried really hard.”

    Earnhardt, who needed to win the race to advance to the Chase’s Eliminator Round, wasn’t the only casualty on Sunday. Matt Kenseth, in the same position as Earnhardt entering the race, was bounced from the Chase after wrecking on the green-white-checkered attempt and finishing 26th.

    Ryan Newman (12th on Saturday) and Denny Hamlin were the other two drivers eliminated, Hamlin after the escape hatch above his driver’s seat dislodged during the race, requiring repeated repairs on pit road. Hamlin lost three laps in the process, got wrecked on the last restart and finished 37th to drop from second to 10th in the Chase standings.

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega

    Talladega Superspeedway

    Talladega, Alabama

    Sunday, October 25, 2015

    1. (10) Joey Logano, Ford, 196, $283973.

    2. (5) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 196, $197100.

    3. (1) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 196, $193886.

    4. (11) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 196, $170716.

    5. (15) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 196, $128100.

    6. (13) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 196, $123665.

    7. (43) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 196, $127860.

    8. (29) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 196, $132498.

    9. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 196, $109515.

    10. (14) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 196, $108790.

    11. (16) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 196, $134431.

    12. (18) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 196, $124230.

    13. (33) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 196, $90830.

    14. (26) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 196, $131491.

    15. (7) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 196, $138305.

    16. (25) Aric Almirola, Ford, 196, $129886.

    17. (21) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 196, $113945.

    18. (3) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 196, $132036.

    19. (2) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 196, $102025.

    20. (19) Greg Biffle, Ford, 196, $118233.

    21. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 196, $127350.

    22. (34) Cole Whitt, Ford, 196, $104183.

    23. (35) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 196, $98408.

    24. (23) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 196, $113283.

    25. (12) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 196, $112189.

    26. (4) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 196, $121911.

    27. (20) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 196, $92400.

    28. (27) Michael McDowell, Ford, 195, $81150.

    29. (40) Josh Wise, Ford, 195, $84000.

    30. (22) David Ragan, Toyota, 195, $111539.

    31. (28) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 195, $106328.

    32. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, Accident, 194, $100108.

    33. (37) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 194, $89847.

    34. (41) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 194, $80100.

    35. (42) Travis Kvapil(i), Chevrolet, 193, $79925.

    36. (31) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 193, $97770.

    37. (8) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Accident, 192, $97634.

    38. (30) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 192, $74877.

    39. (24) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Engine, 182, $100796.

    40. (36) Matt DiBenedetto #, Toyota, 177, $68305.

    41. (32) Timmy Hill(i), Ford, Electrical, 168, $62805.

    42. (39) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, Engine, 130, $66805.

    43. (9) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, Engine, 84, $55305.

    Average Speed of Race Winner: 167.311 mph.

    Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 06 Mins, 58 Secs. Margin of Victory: Caution.

    Caution Flags: 3 for 18 laps.

    Lead Changes: 30 among 18 drivers.

    Lap Leaders: J. Gordon 1-7; D. Earnhardt Jr. 8-10; D. Hamlin 11-14; D. Earnhardt Jr. 15; D. Hamlin 16; D. Earnhardt Jr. 17; J. Gordon 18; D. Earnhardt Jr. 19-39; M. Waltrip 40-41; J. Johnson 42-63; D. Earnhardt Jr. 64-79; M. Waltrip 80; D. Ragan 81; P. Menard 82; J. Logano 83-94; C. Bowyer 95-96; K. Harvick 97-100; K. Kahne 101-118; R. Stenhouse Jr. 119-120; G. Biffle 121; J. Johnson 122-133; R. Newman 134; Kurt Busch 135; D. Gilliland 136; M. Kenseth 137-139; Kyle Busch 140-150; D. Earnhardt Jr. 151-169; P. Menard 170; D. Gilliland 171; G. Biffle 172-188; J. Logano 189-196.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): D. Earnhardt Jr. 6 times for 61 laps; J. Johnson 2 times for 34 laps; J. Logano 2 times for 20 laps; G. Biffle 2 times for 18 laps; K. Kahne 1 time for 18 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 11 laps; J. Gordon 2 times for 8 laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for 5 laps; K. Harvick 1 time for 4 laps; M. Kenseth 1 time for 3 laps; M. Waltrip 2 times for 3 laps; C. Bowyer 1 time for 2 laps; R. Stenhouse Jr. 1 time for 2 laps; P. Menard 2 times for 2 laps; D. Gilliland 2 times for 2 laps; R. Newman 1 time for 1 lap; D. Ragan 1 time for 1 lap; Kurt Busch 1 time for 1 lap.

    Top 16 in Points: J. Logano – 3,142; C. Edwards – 3,115; J. Gordon – 3,113; Kurt Busch – 3,112; B. Keselowski – 3,111; M. Truex Jr. – 3,107; K. Harvick – 3,101; Kyle Busch – 3,098; R. Newman – 3,095; D. Hamlin – 3,090; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 3,083; M. Kenseth – 3,054; J. Johnson – 2,161; J. Mcmurray – 2,159; P. Menard – 2,148; C. Bowyer – 2,123.

  • Starting lineup for the CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega

    Starting lineup for the CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega

    Lincoln, Ala. – Here’s the starting lineup for tomorrow’s CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega.

    Row 22: Martin Truex Jr.

    Row 21: Travis Kvapil and Landon Cassill

    Row 20: Josh Wise and Justin Allgaier

    Row 19: David Gilliland and Alex Bowman

    Row 18: Matt DiBenedetto and Bobby Labonte

    Row 17: Cole Whitt and Michael Waltrip

    Row 16: Timmy Hill and AJ Allmendinger

    Row 15: JJ Yeley and Clint Bowyer

    Row 14: Casey Mears and Michael McDowell

    Row 13: Austin Dillon and Aric Almirola

    Row 12: Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson

    Row 11: David Ragan and Sam Hornish Jr.

    Row 10: Danica Patrick and Greg Biffle

    Row 9: Ryan Newman and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    Row 8: Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards

    Row 7: Kurt Busch and Paul Menard

    Row 6: Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski

    And now, the top-10 starters.

    Starting 10th: Joey Logano

    Starting ninth: Ryan Blaney

    Starting eighth: Denny Hamlin

    Starting seventh: Kevin Harvick

    Starting sixth: Trevor Bayne

    Starting fifth: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    Starting fourth: Matt Kenseth

    Starting third: Jimmie Johnson

    Starting second: Kasey Kahne

    And starting on the pole: Jeff Gordon

    That’s the 43 starters for tomorrow’s CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega.

    Michael Annett and Jeb Burton failed to make the race.

    Justin Allgaier will start from the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments.