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Race Central NASCAR Cup Series news and information

  • Truex Fastest in Second Practice at Chicago

    Truex Fastest in Second Practice at Chicago

    Martin Truex Jr. topped the chart in second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Chicagoland Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 29.892 and a speed of 180.650 mph. Ryan Blaney was second in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford with a time of 30.033 and a speed of 179.802 mph. Chase Elliott was third in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 30.052 and a speed of 179.689 mph. Brad Keselowski was fourth in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford with a time of 179.659 mph. Ryan Newman rounded out the top-five in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet with a time of 30.098 and a speed of 179.414 mph.

    Aric Almirola, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-10.

    Kyle Larson was 14th, Kevin Harvick was 15th, Denny Hamlin was 16th, Jimmie Johnson was 18th, Jamie McMurray was 19th, Austin Dillon was 20th and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the Playoff drivers in 22nd.

    Elliott posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 176.416 mph.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/C1727_PRAC2.pdf”]

  • Kyle Busch Fastest in First Cup Practice at Chicagoland

    Kyle Busch Fastest in First Cup Practice at Chicagoland

    Kyle Busch topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Chicagoland Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 29.325 and a speed of 184.143 mph. Daniel Suarez was second in his No. 19 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 29.441 and a speed of 183.418 mph. Denny Hamlin was third in his No. 11 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 29.521 and a speed of 182.921 mph. Martin Truex Jr. was fourth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota with a time of 29.531 and a speed of 182.859 mph. Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 29.566 and a speed of 182.642 mph.

    Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Danica Patrick, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski.

    Kurt Busch was 11th, Ryan Newman was 12th, Austin Dillon was 14th, Matt Kenseth was 15th, Jamie McMurray was 16th, Jimmie Johnson was 19th and Kasey Kahne rounded out the Playoff drivers in 26th.

    Elliott posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 175.347 mph.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/C1727_PRAC1.pdf”]

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Chicago

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Chicago

    NASCAR heads to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend as the Monster Energy Cup Series Playoffs begin with the Round of 16. For the XFINITY Series and the Camping World Truck Series, it’s the last race of the regular season. The Truck Series Chicagoland 225 kicks off the competition Friday evening on FSl. On Saturday afternoon the XFINITY Series hits the track for the Chicagoland 300 and the Cup Series Tales of the Turtles 400 closes out the activities at 3 p.m. Sunday on NBCSN.

    Please check below for the complete schedule of events. All times are Eastern.

    Thursday, September 14

    On Track:
    3:30-4:25 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Practice (Follow live)
    6:30-7:25 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Final Practice (Follow live)

    Friday, September 15

    On Track:
    12:30-1:55 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – NBCSN (Canada: TSN 2)
    2-2:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
    4-4:50 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO)
    5:05 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
    6:45 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
    8:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Chicagoland 225 (150 laps, 225 miles) – FS1

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    12 p.m.: Cup Series
    1:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    11:30 a.m.: Jennifer Jo Cobb, Matt DiBenedetto, Jeffrey Earnhardt, John Hunter Nemechek, Matt Tifft and Darrell Wallace Jr.
    12 p.m.: Michael Annett, Dakoda Armstrong and Brendan Gaughan
    6 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    7:30 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Qualifying
    11 p.m.: Post-Camping World Truck Series Race

    Saturday, September 16

    On Track:
    11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – CNBC (Canada: TSN GO)
    12:35 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
    2-2:50 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN (Canada: TSN 5)
    3:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Chicagoland 300 (200 laps, 300 miles) – NBCSN (Canada: TSN 5)

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    6 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series race

    Sunday, September 17

    On Track:
    3 p.m.: Cup Series Tales of the Turtles 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles) – NBCSN (Canada: TSN 4)

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    6 p.m. Post-Cup Series Race

    Complete TV Schedule

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

    Race Details:

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 
    Race: TheHouse.com 225 
    Rlace: Chicagoland Speedway
    Date: Friday, Sept. 15
    Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
    TV: FS1, 8 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 225 miles (150 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 35), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 70), Final Stage (Ends on lap 150)

    NASCAR XFINITY Series
    Race: TheHouse.com 300
    Place: Chicagoland Speedway
    Date: Saturday, Sept. 16
    Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
    TV: NBCSN, 3 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 300 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on lap 200)

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
    Race: Tales of the Turtles 400
    Place: Chicagoland Speedway
    Date: Sunday, Sept. 17
    Time: 3 p.m. ET
    TV: NBCSN, 2:30 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio                   
    Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on lap 267)

     

  • Ambulance ruins Kenseth’s night at Richmond

    Ambulance ruins Kenseth’s night at Richmond

    RICHMOND, Va. — An ambulance that came to a stop at the entrance of pit road during the fifth caution of the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway ended the night of Matt Kenseth.

    Following an on-track incident involving Austin Dillon dumping Danica Patrick, most of the field elected to  pit under the aforementioned caution. A number of cars started whoahing up, resulting in Kenseth ramming into the back of Clint Bowyer and pushing in the nose in the radiator area.

    “Well we were all just kind of coming to pit road and I saw an ambulance sitting there and so I looked left of the ambulance at the same time (Jason) Hedlesky (spotter) yelled at everyone to stop there was an ambulance just sitting there,” Kenseth said. “It was an accordion effect and I just couldn’t get stopped. Not really sure why pit road was open with an ambulance parked there, but everybody stopped and I didn’t see it in time and ran into the car in front of me.”

    He retired from the race with a 38th-place finish.

    “Well, I mean I don’t think they should open pit road if there’s an ambulance parked there,” Kenseth added. “It’s a very narrow entry. Pit road speed is pretty fast – 45 miles an hour or something – and, you know, still I shouldn’t have hit the car in front of me, but I can’t say I was expecting to see an ambulance blocking me, so by the time I looked up and saw him parked there and they were stopping in front of me, I tried the best I could to stop and couldn’t.”

    While Kenseth was more restrained with his thoughts of what happened, Martin Truex Jr. was not.

    “I was thinking that somebody that ‑‑ whoever hits the button to open pit road needs to pay attention to what’s going on on the racetrack. That’s what I was thinking,” Truex said. “It’s not like it was a big surprise. It didn’t happen in a split second. The emergency vehicles were riding down the backstretch next to us as soon as we came off of 2, and continued all the way until the opening of pit road, and they just left pit road open. Somebody obviously wasn’t paying attention or wasn’t doing their job properly, and in my opinion at this level, it’s inexcusable.”

    The ambulance incident ruined what was a fantastic race for Kenseth to that point, leading 89 laps, finishing fourth in the first stage and runner-up in the second.

    Despite the misfortune with the ambulance and the poor finish, Kenseth still qualified for the Playoffs. He’ll enter Chicagoland Speedway as the 15th seed.

  • Larson Wins in Overtime at Richmond

    Larson Wins in Overtime at Richmond

    RICHMOND, Va. — While not the dominant driver of the night, Kyle Larson took the race lead when it mattered in overtime to win the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway.

    Exiting pit road ahead of race leader Martin Truex Jr., Larson jumped ahead on the final restart to score his fifth career victory in his 137th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start.

    “I was surprised at how good our car was tonight,” Larson said. “We weren’t as good at the No. 78 (Truex) which nobody really is at any race track. We kept our heads in it. Our pit crew was, oh my gosh, they were so spectacular all night. We gained spots or at least gained time on pit road. Especially that last stop, it was awesome. Can’t thank them enough, this win is all about the and this whole race team really. So, just having a blast this season. We’ve got four wins in the regular season, which is awesome, so hopefully we can go on into the Playoffs and make it through some rounds and hopefully get to Homestead if Irma doesn’t wash it away and go for a championship.”

    Joey Logano finished runner-up and Ryan Newman rounded out the podium.

    “Came up a little bit short overall. Yeah, it stings a little bit,” Logano said. “Last time we were sitting here (in the Richmond Raceway deadline room) after a race, it was after a win, and this time it’s after a second, which overall if you look at our Richmond overall for a season with the two races, you’d say, ‘That’s pretty good, a first and a second.’ But just overall, obviously it stings to come up one spot short and not be able to get into the playoffs. It is what it is. It’s reality, and we’ll move on.”

    “Yeah, I mean on the last lap we were in the best running spot we were the whole race,” Newman said. “Good run for the Caterpillar Chevrolet. I sped on pit road the one time and put us back and then we had one bad pit stop, but other than that we had a great long run car. Struggled on the short runs and just continued to fight and the guys did a good job. It wasn’t easy.”

    Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-five.

    “Our Fords are fast and now we’re finding this handling balance,” Busch said. “I’m really proud of everybody at SHR for working hard, knowing we were kind of going into unknown territory, but we got it switched over and thanks to Doug Yates, Haas Automation, Tony Stewart, Gene Haas, Monster Energy. They’ve been with me the last six years and it’s great to see them as the entitlement sponsor of our series, but it’s great to carry their logo on our car and have all of their vendors at the track. We’re having a Monster time. We’re in the Playoffs and now we’re gonna go execute for these 10 weeks.”

    “We both drove in really, really deep. When I got on the brakes, the splitter slammed down on the ground, shot me up the track into him,” Hamlin said, explaining what happened between him and Truex on the final lap. We weren’t racing for the win or anything. But it’s unfortunate. Didn’t want to get into him. He’s a great teammate of ours. But, yeah, tough day for our FedEx team. Overnight we messed it up pretty good. We struggled all day. Got a little bit better there at the end by just kind of going back to where we started the day. Definitely not a car that could contend.”

    Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott rounded out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Matt Kenseth led the field to the green flag at 7:49 p.m. He led the first 89 laps, before ceding the lead when he pitted under the second caution of the race. Teammate Kyle Busch, who opted not to pit and took over the lead, won the first stage.

    Two laps after the Lap 109 restart, Larson drove underneath Busch to pass him for the lead in Turn 3. Busch took it back exiting Turn 2 on Lap 130. Truex assumed the race lead for the first time, overtaking Busch entering Turn 3, on Lap 154 and won the second stage.

    He held the lead until Austin Dillon dumped Danica Patrick in Turn 1, and then lost it on pit road to Kyle Busch. However, he took it back going into Turn 3 on Lap 289.

    While most cars started pitting with 88 laps to go, Truex waiting until 66 to go to make his original final stop, handing the lead to Dale Earnhardt Jr. Brad Keselowski ran him down on fresher tires and took the lead from him with 51 to go. Truex did the same to Keselowski with 46 to go. Derrike Cope’s crash in Turn 4 brought out the fifth caution of the race and set up the overtime finish.

    CAUTION SUMMATION

    Caution first flew on Lap 34 when Landon Cassill cut his right-rear tire and slammed the Turn 1 wall. The second came out on Lap 87 for, according to the NASCAR race report, “smoke.” The end of the first stage brought out the third caution on Lap 100. The end of the second stage brought out the fourth caution on Lap 200. Cope’s wreck in Turn 4 with two laps to go brought out the fifth and Truex’s wreck in Turn 1 on the final lap in overtime brought out the sixth that ended the race.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted three hours, two minutes and 52 seconds, at an average speed of 99.417 mph. There were 13 lead changes among seven different drivers and seven cautions for 38 laps.

    Truex leaves with a 20-point lead over Larson, as the points reset for the playoffs that commence next week.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/C1726_UNOFFRES.pdf”]

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Richmond

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Richmond

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR XFINITY Series head to Richmond Raceway this weekend. This will be the last race of the regular season for the Cup Series, setting the field for the 16-driver playoffs. Both races will be televised on NBCSN.

    Please check below for the complete schedule of events. All times are Eastern.

    Friday, September 8

    On Track:
    8-9:55 a.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    10-10:55 a.m.: Series Practice – NBCSN
    12-1:25 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN
    4:15 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    5:45 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    7:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Virginia529 College Savings 250 (250 laps, 187.5 miles) – NBCSN

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    11:30 a.m.: Cup Series

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    9 a.m.: Joey Logano
    9:15 a.m.: Matt Kenseth
    11 a.m.: Elliott Sadler, William Byron
    11:15 a.m.: Denny Hamlin
    1:50 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    2:20 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
    3:15: Erik Jones
    6:30 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Qualifying
    10 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series Race

    Saturday, September 9

    On Track:
    7:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 (400 laps, 300 miles) – NBCSN

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    11 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Race

    Complete TV Schedule

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

    Race Details:

    NASCAR XFINITY Series
    Race: Virginia529 College Savings 250
    Place: Richmond Raceway
    Date: Friday, Sept. 8
    Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
    TV: NBCSN, 7 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 187.5 miles (250 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 75), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 150), Final Stage (Ends on lap 250)

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
    Race: Federated Auto Parts 400
    Place: Richmond Raceway
    Date: Saturday, Sept. 9
    Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
    TV: NBCSN, 7 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio                   
    Distance: 300 miles (400 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 100), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 200), Final Stage (Ends on lap 400)

     

  • Truex Finishes Eighth after Blowing Tire in Closing Laps

    Truex Finishes Eighth after Blowing Tire in Closing Laps

    DARLINGTON, S.C. — Martin Truex Jr. put on a strong drive in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 and had the race in check as the laps wound down, but the defending race winner blew a tire in Turn 3, costing him the win, and nursed his damaged car around to an eighth-place finish.

    After the completion of the final cycle of green flag pit stops, Kevin Harvick cycled to the head of the field, with Kurt Busch and Truex in tow. Busch snagged the lead from his teammate with 47 laps to go, then lost it when Truex made a banzai move into Turn 1 with 42 to go.

    The race was in his control from that point on. But then Denny Hamlin, who lost the lead with 55 to go when he overshot the entrance to pit road, moved his way through the running order on much fresher tires and took second with 20 to go. With 10 to go, the gap from Truex to Hamlin was less than two seconds. Coming to five to go, Hamlin was on Truex’s tail.

    Entering Turn 3, Truex suffered a right-front tire blowout and hit the wall.

    He said after the race that it wasn’t a hard hit.

    “It was literally at the end of the backstretch. I was so high getting in the corner anyway that I only had six inches to go to hit it,” Truex said. “I literally stepped on the brake. The car turned right. I was a foot from the wall when the tire popped, and I just kind of glanced off it and glanced around the track. It really wasn’t bad at all, and I was actually able to make two laps with the thing on the inner liner and finish eighth. Not bad, just disappointing more than anything.”

    Hamlin ducked underneath him to take the lead and drive on to victory. Truex, meanwhile, rode out the remaining two and a half laps and brought his car home to eighth.

    While a solid finish nonetheless, Truex said it was “bittersweet” to come up two laps short. Especially on a night when he swept the stages, including edging out Kyle Larson to the line on the final lap of the first stage, which clinched him the regular season championship (and an extra 15 playoff points).

    “Yeah, I mean, it was definitely a bittersweet night for us, to come up just two laps short there, blow a tire at the end after having no issues with tires all night and having such a good race car,” Truex said. “I don’t know if that last run was the longest one we made all night. I’m not really sure to be honest. I was kind of out there caught up driving my guts out at the end trying to hang on. It’s unfortunate we blew the tire, but really proud of everybody on this team for an amazing season so far, and to lock up the regular season points is a huge accomplishment for us, for our team. I feel like we’ve come a long way in just a few years together and continue to climb. Proud of everybody. Wish we could have won, but that’s the breaks. Sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don’t, and tonight we come up a little short. But definitely a lot to be proud of.”

    Truex leaves Darlington with a 107-point lead over Kyle Busch.

  • Hamlin Rallies from Pit Road Overshoot to Win Southern 500 at Darlington

    Hamlin Rallies from Pit Road Overshoot to Win Southern 500 at Darlington

    DARLINGTON, S.C. — Denny Hamlin overcame a botched pit road entry, resulting in him missing the pits entirely, and took advantage of Martin Truex Jr. collecting the wall with three laps to go to win the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

    As the field started hitting pit road on Lap 298 for the final round of green flag stops, Hamlin waited until 55 before making his final stop. He came in too hot and turned his car out onto the track to avoid hitting the sand barrels that line the leading edge of the pit walls.

    However, the high number of cars lapped kept him in contention. As a result, he used his fresher tires to run down the cars in the running order, culminating with his late battle with Truex.

    Entering Turn 3 with three to go, Truex suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall. This allowed Hamlin to moezie on by and score his 31st career victory in his 423rd Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start.

    “Drove our ass off. That’s as hard as I could drive. We got ‘The Flying 11.’ It’s flying.

    “This track is just amazing. I love this race track.

    “This was weird. To go through the adversity we did right there, missing pit lane. I knew I had to drive my tail off to get it back.

    “It’s good to see the entire state of South Carolina in the stands. Thank you so much,” Hamlin said.

    Kyle Busch finished second and Kurt Busch rounded out the podium.

    Austin Dillon and Erik Jones rounded out the top-five.

    Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Truex, Kevin Harvick and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Kevin Harvick led the field to the green flag at 6:20 p.m. After caution flew for the first time on Lap 15 for a two-car wreck in Turn 1, Kyle Busch exited pit road with the race lead. Kyle Larson took the lead going into Turn 1 on the ensuing restart. Truex ran down and passed Larson exiting Turn 4 on the final lap of the stage to win the first stage.

    Exiting pit road with the race lead, Larson led the field to the green on Lap 107. Truex took it back on Lap 148, only to lose it to Denny Hamlin on pit road under caution, a result of a two-car wreck in Turn 2 on Lap 155. But Truex forced a three-wide battle down the backstretch to take the lead exiting Turn 4, and with caution flying for Gray Gaulding spinning out in Turn 2 on Lap 197, the second stage ended with Truex winning the stage.

    Hamlin exited pits with the lead and led the field back to green on Lap 204. A cycle of green flag stops sent Truex to the front, only for a caution for debris in Turn 2 to give the lead back to Hamlin, and setting up the run to the finish.

    CAUTION SUMMATION

    Caution flew first on Lap 15 when Trevor Bayne slammed the Turn 1 wall, followed moments later by AJ Allmendinger spinning and collecting the left-rear of Bayne. Caution flew for the second time on Lap 40 when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. slammed the frontstretch wall. The third caution flew for the end of the first stage on Lap 100. The fourth flew on Lap 125 when Daniel Suarez pounded the wall in Turn 1. Caution flew for the fifth time on Lap 155 for a two-car wreck in Turn 2. Gray Gaulding brought out the sixth caution on Lap 197. David Ragan brought out caution for the seventh time on Lap 206 with his spin in Turn 2. Debris in Turn 2 brought out the eighth and final time on Lap 260.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted three hours, 46 minutes and 34 seconds, at an average speed of 132.761 mph. There were 20 lead changes among eight different drivers and eight cautions for 38 laps.

    Truex leaves with a 107-point lead over Kyle Busch, having mathematically clinched the 15-point regular season points bonus.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/C1725_UNOFFRES.pdf”]

  • Harvick Captures Coors Light Pole for Darlington Southern 500

    Harvick Captures Coors Light Pole for Darlington Southern 500

    DARLINGTON, S.C. — Kevin Harvick topped qualifying in all three rounds for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 in his No. 4 Busch Beer Throwback Ford winning his fourth Coors Light Pole Award this season with a speed of 177.730 mph. It’s his third pole at Darlington Raceway and his 21st career pole. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver also captured one win in 2014 after starting from the pole.

    “It feels pretty good,” Harvick said after winning the pole, “It’s been a good start to the weekend for us and the car is driving good and we’re able to put three laps together. Everything is going well.”

    When asked about the benefits of starting from the pole at Darlington, Harvick commented that “track position is never a disadvantage no matter if it’s high tire wear, low tire wear (track). The biggest advantage here is the first pit stall because the timing line is so close to the pit exit there with the first stall. So that’s really the biggest advantage. I think if your car is handling good, you can make your way through traffic, but having that first pit stall if your car is not handling good, it allows you to make up two or three spots if you have a decent pit stop and hopefully, keep that track position all night. That’s really the biggest advantage.”

    Martin Truex Jr. will start on the outside pole in his No. 78 Toyota after qualifying with a speed of 177.077 mph

    “That was definitely a good, successful qualifying session for us,” Truex said. “It – we thought we were off a little bit the first round then just kept working on the car and kind of adjusted the driving style a little throughout all three rounds and we ended up second. So seems like we’ve been second a lot this year and it’s been a good number for us and hopefully, it’ll be a good one tomorrow night.”

    Kyle Busch will start third after a 176.682 mph lap.

    Busch called his qualifying run, okay, saying, “You know, car felt really, really good first round, second round and then there just made the right adjustments – just the race track wasn’t quite what we expected it to be, so it was just a tick loose the last run and came home with a third, so we’ll take that and be happy with it and start up front.”

    Kyle Larson will begin the race from fourth place in his Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

    “I got through Turn Three and Turn Four better (than previous runs) but I was still too loose to commit to wide-open throttle, which hurt my overall speed,” Larson commented. “It’s a lot better than I’ve ever qualified here, so hopefully that will give us a better pit stall selection for tomorrow’s race. This is a fun place, but it’s definitely tough.”

    Jamie McMurray rounds out the top five in the No. 1 McDonalds Chevy.

    McMurray said, “Qualifying was pretty eventful.  It’s fun here to qualify and it’s maybe one of the funnier qualifying sessions we get to run with the exception of maybe a road course just because the corners are so different and so fast there is not a lot of grip. But, yeah, we were I think like third, fourth and fifth, we were kind of the same in all three sessions. The car was good though. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I thought we were good in race trim.”

    Harvick will lead the field to green Sunday at 6 p.m. ET for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 on NBCSN. Radio coverage can be heard on  MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Darlington-Southern-500-2017-C1725_STARTROW.pdf” title=”Darlington Southern 500 2017 C1725_STARTROW”]

     

  • Busch, Larson Pace Friday’s Practices at Darlington

    Busch, Larson Pace Friday’s Practices at Darlington

    By Staff Report | NASCAR.com

    Propelling his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 173.320 mph, Kyle Busch put his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota atop the speed charts in Friday’s final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Darlington Raceway despite an earlier spin.

    Busch slid his No. 18 Toyota up the track to avoid trouble 30 minutes into the session and appeared to avoid hitting the wall. He returned to the track to post the fastest speed.

    Kevin Harvick came up second in the 85-minute session, his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford recording a speed of 173.070 mph. Jamie McMurray entered the top five for the first time this afternoon, his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet notching the third-fastest speed (172.990 mph). Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota (172.729 mph) and Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (172.632 mph) completed the top five.

    Trevor Bayne earned a Darlington stripe late in the session after his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford became loose in Turn 3 and hit the wall, resulting in significant damage. The team will attempt to repair the damage.

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is back on track Saturday at 1:45 p.m. ET for Coors Light Pole Qualifying (NBCSN).

    Kyle Larson’s Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet topped the leaderboard in the waning minutes of Friday’s opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Darlington Raceway. The No. 42 driver notched a fast lap of 173.064 mph.

    Denny Hamlin was second-fastest in the field, his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota peaking at 172.644 mph.

    Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski ranked third with a top speed of 172.584 mph in his No. 2 Ford, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford recorded the fourth-fastest speed (171.896 mph). Kevin Harvick, rounded out the top five with a fast lap of 171.890 mph in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

    Reigning race winner and current series points leader Martin Truex Jr. was 18th-quickest in the opening session.

    Corey LaJoie’s No. 23 BK Racing Toyota earned its first Darlington stripe this weekend, as LaJoie brushed the wall early in the 85-minute session.

    Reed Sorenson (No. 15 Premium Motorsports Toyota), LaJoie and Michael McDowell (No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet) served 15-minute practice holds for being late to qualifying inspection at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    For final practice, Erik Jones (No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota) will have a 15-minute practice hold for failing pre-race inspection twice at Bristol. David Ragan (No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford) will have a 30-minute practice hold for failing pre-race inspection three times at Bristol.

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