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Race Central NASCAR Cup Series news and information

Edwards Earns Coors Light Pole Award at Loudon

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

LOUDON, N.H. — As Carl Edwards put it, “things just feel right.”

That was Edwards’ take on the state of affairs at Joe Gibbs Racing, after he put his No. 19 Toyota on the pole for Sunday’s 5-hour ENERGY 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).

“Right now it just feels right,” said Edwards, who toured the Magic Mile in 28.179 seconds (135.164 mph) in Friday’s qualifying session to earn his first Coors Light Pole Award of the season, his first at New Hampshire and the 14th of his career.

“It’s just cool, man. My expectation is to do the best we can (on Sunday). My hope is that we win this thing. … We’ve been working very hard to bring this team together to be the best that we can be. It just feels right. This is cool. It’s a lot of fun.”

With JGR teammate Kyle Busch winning last Saturday’s event at Kentucky, the organization placed all its drivers in the top five, with Denny Hamlin, Edwards and Matt Kenseth trailing second-placeJoey Logano of Team Penske.

Coincidentally, Logano (135.021 mph) qualified second to Edwards on Friday, withMichael Waltrip Racing’s David Ragan third (also at 135.021 mph) and Busch (134.025 mph) and Hamlin (134.601 mph) fourth and fifth, respectively.

Edwards, who improved dramatically on his previous average starting position of 14.9 at New Hampshire, didn’t believe initially that he had won the pole until he got reassurance from crew chief Darian Grubb.

On the other hand, Logano wasn’t particularly thrilled to run second to a Gibbs driver for the second time in six days.

“Second — it seems like the story of our week, coming off Kentucky with a strong second-place run and then qualifying second here as well,” Logano said. “Not that I’m complaining about it, but it’s not much fun finishing second, being so close to getting trophies and pole flags and all the fun stuff.

“There’s not really much fun that happens when you finish second, but we’re close. We’ve got speed in our race car once again.”

Danica Patrick advanced to the second round of knockout qualifying and will start 20th, one spot behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeff Gordon, still seeking his first victory in his last season of full-timeSprint Cup racing, will start 23rd.

“Yeah, it’s not been a good day for us with the No. 24 car,” Gordon acknowledged. “We’ve been struggling getting the car to do what we need it to do. Just real tight through the center, need to get it to rotate, need some front grip, so we will go to work on it (Saturday in practice).

“It’s disappointing that we didn’t qualify better. We typically qualify well here and perform well here. We’ll put this day behind us and go work on it tomorrow and get it ready for Sunday.”

Reed Sorenson, this week’s driver in the Premium Motorsports No. 62 Chevrolet, failed to qualify for the 43-car field for the fifth time this season.

Complete Starting Lineup:

July 17, 2015
NASCAR Racing Schedule for New Hampshire Motor Speedway

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend. All Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series practices, qualifying sessions and races will be televised on NBC Sports Live Extra as indicated. The full schedule is listed below. The Camping World Truck Series will race on Wednesday, July 22 at Eldora Speedway.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, July 17:

On Track:

11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – NBC Sports Network
1-1:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series practice
3-4:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series final practice – NBC Sports Network
4:45 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBC Sports Network
6 p.m.: K&N Pro Series East Granite State 70 (70 laps, 74.06 miles)

Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

9:25 a.m.: Joey Logano
10:15 a.m.: Greg Biffle
10:30 a.m.: Chris Buescher
10:45 a.m.: Kyle Busch
11 a.m.: Anthony Kumpen
6:15 p.m.: Post-Sprint Cup Series Qualifying Press Conference (Time approx.)

Saturday, July 18:

On Track:

10-10:55 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – CNBC
11:15 a.m.: XFINITY Series qualifying – NBC Sports Network
12:30-1:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series final practice – NBC Sports Network
2 p.m.: Whelen Modified Tour New England 100 (100 laps, 105.8 miles)
4 p.m.: XFINITY Series Lakes Region 200 (200 laps, 211.6 miles) – NBC Sports Network

Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

9:15 a.m.: Kyle Larson
9:30 a.m.: Daniel Suarez
6:15 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series Race Press Conference (Time approx.)

Sunday, July 19:

On Track:

1:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series 5-hour ENERGY 301 (301 laps, 318.46 miles) – NBC Sports Network

Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

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

July 16, 2015
Kyle Busch Masters New Aero Package in Sprint Cup Win at Kentucky

July 11, 2015
By Reid Spencer

SPARTA, Ky. – Adapting adroitly to a new competition package for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars, Kyle Busch sped to victory in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, taking a giant step toward the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with his second victory since returning from an 11-race injury absence.

Busch won for the 31st time in his career and the second time at the 1.5-mile track. Race runner-up Joey Logano was the only interloper in a top five that also included all four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers—Busch, Denny Hamlin in third, Carl Edwards in fourth and Matt Kenseth in fifth.

Busch grabbed the lead from Logano after several laps of intense racing, taking the point at the stripe on Lap 248 and clearing Logano’s Ford through Turn 2 on Lap 249 of 267. From that point, Busch pulled away to win by 1.594 seconds.

The new aero package, in Busch’s view, was a benefit as he closed on Logano in a race that saw a track-record 22 green-flag passes for the lead.

“All the drivers were kind of striving for this,” Busch said. “I felt like it was a positive thing when I was chasing Joey down. Right when I got to him, he moved up and tried to block my lane. With the old package, you’d get stalled out, and get stuck behind the guy. I just moved down and went a little bit lower and got my Camry to stick and was able to power through and get back by him.

“We swapped the lead back and forth a couple times. I thought it was pretty good racing. You don’t want to spend too much time racing around and putting on too good of a show for the fans to take yourself out of a win. I thought that was a really good race, at least it wasn’t a guy who checked out on the last run and you didn’t see a pass for the lead coming down the final stretch.”

Long a proponent of lower downforce, Edwards was even more effusive in his praise of the new package.

“This package, we need to keep going in this direction,” Edwards said. “We could race closer together—I was steering right. We were using the whole car. We just need to keep taking downforce away. It was an awesome show. Just an awesome, fun day and I’m glad Kyle got the win.”

Busch led a race-high 163 laps, scoring a maximum 48 points and moving to 35th in the standings, 87 points behind Cole Whitt in 30th. Busch must finish the first 26 races in the top 30 in order to be eligible for the Chase.

It didn’t take long for NASCAR’s new lower-downforce aero package to have a visible effect on the racing. On Lap 95, after he had trimmed Kyle Busch’s four-second lead to a car-length, Keselowski tucked behind Busch’s Camry, took the air off the shorter 3.5-inch spoiler and shot into the lead.

Three laps later, Kurt Busch spun off Turn 4 when the rear of the No. 41 Chevrolet stepped out.

The new package also had an ostensible effect on brakes, putting more stress on the smaller rotors and calipers that have been in vogue with higher-downforce configurations. On Lap 136, Dale Earnhardt Jr. slapped the wall, unable to slow his car adequately in the corner.

Beyond that, the absolute dominance of the Hendrick Motorsports armada—including the Stewart-Haas Racing affiliates—was nowhere in evidence on Saturday night. Jimmie Johnson struggled and salvaged a ninth-place finish. Jeff Gordon (seventh) fell short in an ill-fated attempt to complete a career sweep of active Sprint Cup tracks.

Kevin Harvick (eighth) was good, but the reigning series champion was not up to his usual untouchable standard. Kurt Busch (10th) was fast, but not fast enough.

Overall, based on a sample size of one race, the new package seemed to shift the balance of power in the series, at least marginally, from the Chevys of Hendrick and Stewart-Haas to the Fords of Team Penske and the Toyotas of Joe Gibbs Racing.

Emblematic was a late-race restart on Lap 192. Logano got past Harvick immediately. Edwards followed in the No. 19 JGR Toyota 12 laps later, right before the race-record-tying 10th caution for Danica Patrick’s crash in Turn 4 (after a tap from Earnhardt, whose brakes were still malfunctioning) brought the field to pit road with 58 laps left.

Hamlin won the race off pit road and led JGR teammates Kyle Busch and Edwards to green on Lap 213. By the time the teammates got back to the stripe, they were three-wide barreling toward Turn 1. Hamlin shot ahead into the lead, Logano surged past Busch and Edwards into second, and Keselowski grabbed fifth place from Kenseth before Kyle Larson’s cut tire caused the 11th caution on Lap 219.

Logano and Kyle Busch roared to the front moments after the restart on Lap 225, and, 23 laps later, Busch had the lead for good.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – Quaker State 400 Presented by Advance Auto Parts

Kentucky Speedway

Sparta, Kentucky

Saturday, July 11, 2015

               1. (9) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 267, $209316.

               2. (4) Joey Logano, Ford, 267, $161118.

               3. (8) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 267, $125335.

               4. (20) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 267, $124295.

               5. (16) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 267, $136511.

               6. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 267, $135256.

               7. (3) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 267, $135176.

               8. (15) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 267, $137640.

               9. (6) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 267, $132151.

               10. (13) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 267, $102715.

               11. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 267, $95890.

               12. (12) Aric Almirola, Ford, 267, $123951.

               13. (28) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 267, $126790.

               14. (7) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 267, $116156.

               15. (14) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 267, $93915.

               16. (27) Greg Biffle, Ford, 267, $116523.

            17. (5) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 267, $111035.

               18. (25) David Ragan, Toyota, 267, $111479.

               19. (30) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 267, $118123.

               20. (26) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 267, $121290.

               21. (10) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 267, $99365.

               22. (18) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 267, $109660.

               23. (21) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 267, $109248.

               24. (32) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 267, $106998.

               25. (11) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 267, $119526.

               26. (24) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 267, $111423.

               27. (19) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 266, $97090.

               28. (36) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 266, $82065.

               29. (34) David Gilliland, Ford, 266, $101523.

               30. (29) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 266, $83290.

               31. (31) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 266, $90772.

               32. (38) Brett Moffitt #, Ford, 266, $80115.

               33. (22) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 265, $105779.

               34. (23) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 265, $86515.

               35. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 265, $112373.

               36. (42) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 264, $78410.

               37. (33) Cole Whitt, Ford, 264, $78352.

               38. (40) Will Kimmel III, Ford, 263, $73752.

               39. (41) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 260, $69680.

               40. (43) Alex Kennedy #, Chevrolet, 247, $65680.

               41. (35) Jeb Burton #, Toyota, Suspension, 175, $61680.

               42. (39) Matt DiBenedetto #, Toyota, Accident, 145, $57680.

               43. (37) Josh Wise, Ford, Accident, 17, $54180.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 129.402 mph.

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 05 Mins, 42 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.594 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 11 for 49 laps.

Lead Changes: 13 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders:    0; B. Keselowski 1-32; R. Sorenson 33; Kyle Busch 34-94; B. Keselowski 95-124; Kyle Busch 125-188; R. Newman 189-190; Kyle Busch 191-208; A. Bowman 209-210; D. Hamlin 211-212; C. Edwards 213; D. Hamlin 214-224; J. Logano 225-247; Kyle Busch 248-267.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Busch 4 times for 163 laps; B. Keselowski 2 times for 62 laps; J. Logano 1 time for 23 laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for 13 laps; A. Bowman 1 time for 2 laps; R. Newman 1 time for 2 laps; R. Sorenson 1 time for 1 lap; C. Edwards 1 time for 1 lap.

Top 16 in Points: K. Harvick – 692; J. Johnson – 624; J. Logano – 624; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 616; M. Truex Jr. – 596; B. Keselowski – 559; J. Mcmurray – 556; Kurt Busch – 542; M. Kenseth – 540; J. Gordon – 537; D. Hamlin – 522; K. Kahne – 513; P. Menard – 509; R. Newman – 497; C. Bowyer – 490; A. Almirola – 473.

July 11, 2015
NASCAR Racing Schedule for Kentucky Speedway

This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, XFINITY Series and the Camping World Truck Series travel to Kentucky Speedway for a tripleheader of racing action. The Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series practices, qualifying sessions and races will be televised on NBC Sports Live Extra. The Camping World Truck Series events will be shown on FOX Sports 1. The full schedule is listed below.

All times are Eastern.

Wednesday, July 8:

On Track:

3-5 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – Postponed
6-8 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – Postponed

Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

5:05 p.m.: Carl Edwards
5:20 p.m.: Jamie McMurray
5:45 p.m.: Greg Biffle

Thursday, July 9:

On Track:

8-10:55 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series final practice – FOX Sports 1 coverage starts at 10 a.m. – Canceled
11 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – Canceled
2-3:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series practice – NBC Sports Network – Canceled
4-4:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series final practice – NBC Sports Network – Postponed
5:10 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 2 – Canceled
5:15-6:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series final practice – NBC Sports Network
7:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series UNOH 225 (150 laps, 225 miles) – FOX Sports 1

Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

11:45 a.m.: Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle
1:00 p.m.: Erik Jones and Matt Crafton
3:15 p.m.: Brendan Gaughan
3:30 p.m.: Brad Keselowski
9:15 p.m.: Post-NCWTS Race Press Conferences (Time approx.)

Friday, July 10:

On Track:

10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – NBC Sports Network
3:45 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBC Sports Network – Canceled
4:25-6 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series final practice
5:45 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole – NBC Sports Network – Canceled
7:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Kentucky race (200 laps, 300 miles) – NBC Sports Network

Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

10 a.m.: Kyle Busch
2:30 p.m.: Chase Elliott
3:30 p.m.: Jeff Gordon
6:45 p.m.: Post-NSCS Qualifying Press Conferences (Time approx.)
9:45 p.m.: Post-NXS Race Press Conferences (Time approx.)

Saturday, July 11:

On Track:

7:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 Presented by Advance Auto Parts (267 laps, 400.5 miles) – NBC Sports Network

Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

10:45 p.m.: Post-NSCS Race Press Conferences (Time approx.)

Additional Information: Per NASCAR

Teams have a four-hour extended practice scheduled for Wednesday at Kentucky to acclimate themselves to the new aero package. (3-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.) Postponed due to rain. The Sprint Cup Series will have an extra practice instead on Thursday 11 a.m.-12:55 p.m.

This weekend’s Kentucky aero package features a shorter spoiler (reduced from 6 inches to 3-1/2 inches) and a splitter extension panel (radiator pan) reduction from 38 inches to 25 inches. The splitter will have 1-3/4 inches less overhang that what has previously been used this season.

Combined, the aero changes are expected to lessen the amount of downforce on the cars by approximately 1,000 pounds.

July 8, 2015
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wins Coke Zero 400

By Bill Speros

Dale Earnhardt Jr. endured a weekend of rain, a three-hour-plus pre-race delay, and nine caution flags to win the Coke-Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway early Monday morning.

The race ended at 2:41 a.m. and concluded with a large crash featuring Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet going airborne and smashing into the catch-fence near Turn 1 after he crossed the start-finish line. Dillon walked away from the wreck, the fourth major crash of the night. After being released from the infield care center, Dillon said he suffered a bruised tailbone and forearm.

Pole-sitter Earnhardt dominated the night, leading 96 laps in his No. 88 Nationwide Stars and Stripes Chevrolet. He also had the convincing support of the fans remaining at the track following the 154-minute rain delay. The delay was a harbinger for the race itself, which included four multi-car crashes and those nine caution flags that covered 43 of the scheduled 160 laps before the green-white checkered finish. It was Earnhardt’s fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup career victory on the 2.5-mile Florida track.

“I had a lot of fun tonight,” a somewhat subdued Earnhardt said after the race. “We have such great motors and good cars. We ran Very fast. I had to block a lot, get a lot of pushes from everybody. I had to run real hard to win this race here. We got shuffled back a few times.”

Driver Paul Menard could have been speaking for everyone at the speedway when he said on his radio during the race that Earnhardt’s No. 88 was “ridiculously” fast. Earnhardt consistently outran the competition on re-start after re-start.

Earnhardt’s crew raced onto the track after the last-lap crash to check on Dillon’s condition. The catch fences at Daytona International Speedway were reinforced following an accident in 2013 during a NASCAR XFINITY Series race.

Denny Hamlin finished third, with Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch rounding out the top five. Harvick leads the Sprint Cup points standings by 63 points over Earnhardt.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to Kentucky Speedway this week where it will debut its new aerodynamic package in the NSCS Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network).

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida
Sunday, July 05, 2015

1. (1) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 161, $308040.
2. (12) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 161, $248616.
3. (35) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 161, $194530.
4. (34) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 161, $196280.
5. (28) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 161, $152130.
6. (23) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 161, $169406.
7. (2) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 161, $166756.
8. (17) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 161, $151320.
9. (5) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 161, $156820.
10. (3) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 161, $149028.
11. (15) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 161, $144843.
12. (8) David Ragan, Toyota, 161, $139049.
13. (22) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 161, $110960.
14. (31) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 161, $137874.
15. (9) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 161, $139701.
16. (4) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 161, $116235.
17. (13) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 161, $154176.
18. (21) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 161, $130818.
19. (30) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 161, $113810.
20. (25) Greg Biffle, Ford, 161, $136493.
21. (7) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 161, $132868.
22. (33) Joey Logano, Ford, 161, $147293.
23. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 161, $139746.
24. (37) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 161, $113743.
25. (29) Cole Whitt, Ford, 161, $110882.
26. (41) Matt DiBenedetto #, Toyota, 161, $102085.
27. (14) Brett Moffitt #, Ford, 161, $99835.
28. (43) Brendan Gaughan(i), Chevrolet, 161, $96210.
29. (32) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 159, $144426.
30. (11) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, Accident, 154, $125655.
31. (42) Josh Wise, Ford, 154, $99135.
32. (10) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 149, $113510.
33. (39) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 139, $95360.
34. (36) Aric Almirola, Ford, 137, $132146.
35. (27) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, Accident, 126, $103035.
36. (40) Jeb Burton #, Toyota, 121, $94885.
37. (18) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 110, $94641.
38. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 105, $115648.
39. (16) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 103, $113148.
40. (6) David Gilliland, Ford, 96, $89240.
41. (24) Carl Edwards, Toyota, Accident, 85, $77240.
42. (26) Brian Scott(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 85, $73240.
43. (38) Bobby Labonte, Ford, Accident, 2, $69740.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 134.941 mph.
Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 58 Mins, 58 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.122 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 43 laps.
Lead Changes: 22 among 12 drivers.

Lap Leaders: D. Earnhardt Jr. 0; A. Dillon 1-8; D. Earnhardt Jr. 9-26; C. Bowyer 27; R. Newman 28; J. Johnson 29; D. Earnhardt Jr. 30-32; J. Johnson 33-54; D. Hamlin 55; J. Yeley(i) 56; D. Earnhardt Jr. 57-75; J. Johnson 76-78; M. Kenseth 79; J. Johnson 80-86; M. DiBenedetto # 87; J. Wise 88; K. Kahne 89-93; D. Hamlin 94-102; D. Earnhardt Jr. 103-111; B. Moffitt # 112; D. Earnhardt Jr. 113-114; J. Johnson 115-116; D. Earnhardt Jr. 117-161.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): D. Earnhardt Jr. 6 times for 96 laps; J. Johnson 5 times for 35 laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for 10 laps; A. Dillon 1 time for 8 laps; K. Kahne 1 time for 5 laps; M. DiBenedetto # 1 time for 1 lap; R. Newman 1 time for 1 lap; B. Moffitt # 1 time for 1 lap; C. Bowyer 1 time for 1 lap; M. Kenseth 1 time for 1 lap; J. Yeley(i) 1 time for 1 lap; J. Wise 1 time for 1 lap.

Top 16 in Points: K. Harvick – 656; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 593; J. Johnson – 589; J. Logano – 581; M. Truex Jr. – 569; J. Mcmurray – 526; B. Keselowski – 520; Kurt Busch – 508; M. Kenseth – 501; J. Gordon – 500; K. Kahne – 496; D. Hamlin – 480; P. Menard – 480; R. Newman – 472; C. Bowyer – 465; A. Almirola – 441.

July 6, 2015
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wins Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Polesitter Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the rain-delayed Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola early Monday, leading a race-high 96 laps en route to the 16th Daytona International Speedway victory of his career.

Earnhardt, driving the No. 88 Nationwide Stars and Stripes Chevrolet, dominated much of the race, leading 40 of the race’s first 80 laps. He took the checkered flag ahead of runner-up Jimmie Johnson and third-place Denny Hamlin – and also ahead of a multi-car incident that began with Hamlin’s car turning sideways as it was crossing the line. It was the second Coke Zero 400 victory for Earnhardt, following up on his 2001 triumph.

A tightly packed sprint to the finish initially was set up by a late-race spin by David Ragan, after which the race was restarted on Lap 152 of the 160-lap event. But then, another set-up: a frontstretch spin by Sam Hornish Jr. with six laps remaining. That resulted in a two-lap, “green-white-checker” finish.

Earnhardt then alternated between pulling away and blocking Johnson to earn his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the season. He also won at Talladega Superspeedway in May.

Despite the race start being delayed three hours, 34 minutes due to rain – the green flag waved at 11:42 p.m. Sunday – virtually all of the fans in attendance waited out the weather, taking advantage of new fan-friendly amenities that are part of the ongoing DAYTONA Rising renovation.

They didn’t have to wait long, however, for the first caution as nine cars were involved in a Lap 3 incident, including the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford driven by this year’s DAYTONA 500 champion Joey Logano. Logano’s hopes for a season sweep at Daytona vanished soon afterward, as consecutive pit stops to repair damage resulted in two penalties – both for having too many crewmen over the wall.

Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest for the latest news throughout the season. Fans also can follow the latest on DAYTONA Rising, the $400 million frontstretch renovation at the “World Center of Racing” by using #DAYTONARising on Twitter or visiting www.daytonarising.com.

July 6, 2015
Coke Zero 400 Qualifying Canceled Due To Rain, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Gets Pole Based On Top Practice Speed
- Austin Dillon Will Start Second in RCR No. 3 Chevrolet
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Qualifying for Sunday night’s Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca Cola was rained out Saturday, giving the pole position to Dale Earnhardt Jr., based on his chart-topping, 200 mph-plus practice speed.

Earnhardt led the first of two practice sessions on Friday in the No. 88 Nationwide Stars and Stripes Chevrolet, with a fast lap of 202.284 miles per hour – one of 14 drivers to post fast laps exceeding 200 mph. Austin Dillon will start second in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, on the strength of his 202.066 lap.

Last season, NASCAR instituted a new procedure, setting fields based on speeds from a weekend’s first practice session, when qualifying is cancelled. Previously, fields were set based on season point standing. Earnhardt said that with rain in the Saturday forecast, there was extra effort to find serious speed in practice.

Tickets for the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola – set for 7:45 p.m. Sunday – can be purchased by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or visiting www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com.

Fans can follow NASCAR on Twitter and stay up to speed on the latest news by using hashtags #CokeZero400 and #SubwayFirecracker250. Fans also can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest for the latest news all season long. Fans can follow the latest on DAYTONA Rising, the $400 million frontstretch renovation at the “World Center of Racing” by using #DAYTONARising on Twitter or visiting www.daytonarising.com.
July 4, 2015
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick Lead Practice Sessions For Coke Zero 400

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick led the two practice sessions Friday at Daytona International Speedway, in preparation for Sunday night’s Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola.

In the first of two practices for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, Earnhardt posted the day’s fastest lap of 202.284 miles per hour (44.492 seconds) on the 2.5-mile tri-oval, driving the No. 88 Nationwide Stars and Stripes Chevrolet. Earnhardt won the Coke Zero 400 in 2001 and has 15 victories at Daytona overall.

“We have a very fast car … a winning car,” Earnhardt said.

Patrick – the 2013 polesitter for the DAYTONA 500 – led the second session chart at 198.133 (45.424), driving the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet.

Early in the first practice there was an 11-car incident, including cars driven by former Coke Zero 400 champions Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle. Earnhardt established the session’s fastest lap prior to the incident, which started with Turn 2 contact involving Busch and Brad Keselowski. All drivers except Keselowski were forced to switch to back-up cars, as a result.

David Ragan Leads Subway Firecracker 250 Practice

There also were two practices on Friday for Saturday night’s Subway Firecracker 250, the annual summer DIS race for the NASCAR XFINITY Series. David Ragan, driving the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota, topped the first session at 190.573 (47.226). The second session was led by Ty Dillon in the No. 3 Yuengling America’s Oldest Brewery Chevrolet (179.978/50.006).

Qualifying for both of this weekend’s events will be held Saturday (NASCAR XFINITY Series at 2:35, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at 4:35), followed by the Subway Firecracker 250 at 7:45 p.m. (ET). Tickets for Saturday night’s Subway Firecracker 250 Powered By Coca-Cola and Sunday night’s Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola can be purchased by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or visiting www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com.

Fans can follow NASCAR on Twitter and stay up to speed on the latest news by using hashtags #CokeZero400 and #SubwayFirecracker250. Fans also can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest for the latest news all season long. Fans can follow the latest on DAYTONA Rising, the $400 million frontstretch renovation at the “World Center of Racing” by using #DAYTONARising on Twitter or visiting www.daytonarising.com.

July 3, 2015
NASCAR Racing Schedule for Daytona International Speedway

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series travel to Daytona International Speedway this weekend. NBC Sports Network will carry each practice, qualifying session and race. The Camping World Truck Series is off. Please check below for the full schedule.

All times Eastern.

Friday, July 3:

On Track:

2-2:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series practice – NBC Sports Network
3-3:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – NBC Sports Network
4-4:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series final practice – NBC Sports Network
5-5:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series final practice – NBC Sports Network

Press Conferences Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

12:45 p.m.: Aric Almirola
1 p.m.: Kyle Larson
1:15 p.m.: Chris Buescher
1:30 p.m.: Daytona Rising Update

Saturday, July 4:

On Track:

2:35 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBC Sports Network
4:35 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBC Sports Network
7:45 p.m.: XFINITY Series Subway Firecracker 250 (100 laps, 250 miles) – NBC Sports Network

Press Conferences Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

2 p.m.: NASCAR Hall of Fame Squier-Hall Award announcement
3:45 p.m.: Kyle Busch
5:45 p.m.: Post-qualifying NSCS press conference (Time approx.)
9:45 p.m.: Post-race NXS press conference (Time approx.)

Sunday, July 5:

On Track:

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

Press Conferences Press Conferences (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

5 p.m.: Clint Bowyer
10:45 p.m.: Post-race NSCS press conference (Time approx.)

Click the link below to find the NBC Sports Network Channel in your area.

NBC Sports Network Channel Finder

July 2, 2015
Kyle Busch Takes the Checkered Flag to Win at Sonoma Raceway

It was a day filled with hard crashes, a day that brought back memories of another crash.

Kyle Busch had a terrible crash at Daytona in February in the XFINITY Series race, breaking his leg and foot. He was out of racing for several months recuperating and rehabbing, to be able to race again. Many critics said he wouldn’t be back at all this year. Even his doctors were not optimistic about a return before mid-July.

But Busch had his own ideas about returning and in 12 weeks he was back. In preparation, he had extra padding and shoes made specifically for him. While still in rehab, Busch even predicted he would win a race this year.

Talk was circulating that Busch would be automatically placed in the Chase by NASCAR. Finally, a medical waiver was issued that released Busch from the stipulation that a driver must attempt to qualify for all 26 regular season races to qualify for a Chase berth. He would, however, have to finish within the top 30 in the point standings to be eligible.

Few thought Busch could win a race. Crew chief Adam Stevens said, “It is a miracle,” and went on to say that, “It was almost impossible to win on a road course, of all things.”

A late race caution had the leader, Jimmie Johnson, staying out while Clint Boyer, Kyle Busch, and Kurt Busch went to pit road for 4 tires. It wasn’t long before Johnson couldn’t hold off the challengers with their new tires. With five laps to go, Kyle Busch passed Johnson for the lead and never gave it up. When Johnson lost the lead, he was losing ground fast.

At the same time, Kurt Busch came from deep in the field and was picking cars off as he drove to the front. Boyer was racing Kurt Busch for second. Busch battled with Clint Boyer and moved passed Boyer for second place. While that was going on Kyle Busch was pulling away.

Kurt then set his sights on his brother and tried to run him down. Kyle was pushing hard to win the race and in the last two laps made mistakes in turn 11, but Kurt was unable to catch his brother.

Kyle was not to be denied, winning the race. Kurt finished second with Bowyer finishing in third place.

After the race, Kurt was somewhat upset because he thought he should have been more aggressive on the final two restarts. By not being aggressive, Kyle was able to race without being challenged.

Kurt was, however, ecstatic about the one-two finish for him and his brother and praised Kyle’s quick return to the track after his injuries.

“I’m very proud of Kyle for getting back in the car as soon as he did. He further stated,” to be competitive at a tough racetrack like Sonoma, I am very proud of him.”

With this win, Kyle tied Kevin Harvick for 23^rd on the all-time wins list. This is Busch’s first win this year; his last victory was March 23, 2014. There are 800 starts between the brothers and this is the first time they finished one-two.

Clint Boyer said it was wild out there.

“We weren’t just able to capitalize,” Bowyer explained. ”I think we were probably a second or third place car. It seemed like for whatever reason the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) came on really good there. The 41 (Kurt Busch) was probably the fastest car all weekend long. We were right there with him. Fun to come out here in wine country and be able to compete like that. This is where we need to be running. We need to be able to go to these regular race tracks and keep this momentum and confidence level up that we have when we come out here. It’s unfortunate, you get that close and you want to get greedy.”

Kyle described his day as “awesome,” and gave credit to his crew chief for making the right call at the end of the race and the team for great pit stops.

“There at the end our best chance to win was coming in and getting 4 tires,” Busch said.

He also spoke about the physical toll the race took on him.

“The hardest thing for me today was the braking,” he stated. “You brake often and hard.”

At his track, drivers only use the clutch to take off. They shift while on the course without using the clutch. He went on to say,”I was sore on Friday, left the track and iced all night. The pain on Saturday was not an issue. Having a win means you don’t have to push as hard. The emphasis will be on finishing third or fourth or even fifth”.

The series returns to Daytona next week, the track where he was badly injured. Is Busch worried?

When asked about it, Kyle smiled and said, “I’m looking forward to it.”

June 29, 2015