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Category: RC NASCAR Cup

Race Central NASCAR Cup Series news and information

  • Hamlin Fastest in First Practice at Indy

    Hamlin Fastest in First Practice at Indy

    Denny Hamlin topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 48.022 and a speed of 187.414 mph. Martin Truex Jr. was second in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota with a time of 48.502 and a speed of 185.559 mph. Matt Kenseth was third in his No. 20 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 48.596 and a speed of 185.200 mph. Kasey Kahne was fourth in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 48.609 and a speed of 185.151 mph. Kyle Larson rounded out the top-five in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 48.648 and a speed of 185.002 mph.

    Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10.

    Kahne posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 182.792 mph.

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  • Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Did You Know?

    Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Did You Know?

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for the Brickyard 400. There are 41 drivers entered into the event and with only seven regular season races remaining before the playoffs begin, expect the competition to intensify.

    Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909 with a track surface consisting of crushed stone and tar but was repaved with 3.2 million bricks for the first running of the Indy 500 in 1911. By October 1961 the bricks were completely covered with asphalt and now only a one-yard strip of bricks remain at the start/finish line.

    The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 was held on August 6, 1994, and was won by Jeff Gordon. It was the first race, other than the Indianapolis 500, to be held at the track since 1916. But did you know it was NASCAR’s most-attended race of the season with an estimated 250,000 plus fans on hand to watch the event?

    While the track is best known for the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR has made its mark there as well. Did you know that “kissing the bricks” was started by Dale Jarrett? In 1996, after winning the Brickyard 400, Jarrett and his crew chief, Todd Parrott, paid tribute to the track’s history by kneeling down and kissing the “Yard of Bricks.” The entire team quickly joined them, starting a tradition that continues today with winners of both the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400.

    There have been 23 Cup Series races at the 2.5-mile track and 13 different drivers have visited Victory Lane. Gordon leads all drivers with five wins and Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers with four. But did you know that only two drivers have captured consecutive Cup Series wins at Indy? Johnson did so in 2008 and 2009 while Kyle Busch won the last two (2015-2016).

    Johnson leads the way as we head to Indianapolis with four victories, the series-best driver rating (105.7) plus six top fives and one pole. He is one of only four drivers who have won from the pole (2008). Johnson also has the distinction of winning from the deepest in the field, starting in 16th place, for his 2009 triumph.

    But did you know that last year at Indianapolis Busch became the only driver in history to win the XFINITY Series and Cup Series races from the pole in the same weekend? Busch, still seeking his first victory of the season, has the series second-best driver rating (105.5) at the track plus two wins, five top fives, one pole and the second-best average finish of ninth. He also has the series-most quality passes with 356.

    Matt Kenseth is another driver to watch as he looks for his first win of the year to guarantee his spot in the playoffs. He is currently 12th in the standings and has never won at Indy. However, he has the fourth-best driver rating (98.3), eight top fives and 11 top 10s. And did you know that Kenseth leads all active drivers at Indianapolis with three runner-up finishes and eight top-five finishes?

    Qualifying well will be crucial this weekend. The Coors Light Pole has produced four winners while two races have been won from second place. Twelve of the 23 Cup Series events (52.2 percent) have been won from a top five starting position.

    The on-track Cup Series action begins Saturday with the first practice at 9 a.m. ET and concludes with Coors Light Pole qualifying at 6:15 p.m. ET. The Brickyard 400 is set for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

    In the meantime, check out the video below to relive a few of the most memorable Brickyard 400 finishes.

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

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Indianapolis

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Indianapolis

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the XFINITY Series head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. Please check below for the complete schedule of events. All times are Eastern.

    Friday, July 21

    On Track:
    1-1:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – NBC Sports App
    3-3:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBC Sports App

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    11:30 a.m., Wayne Auton, Managing Director, NASCAR XFINITY Series
    Noon: Joey Gase
    12:15 p.m.: Dakoda Armstrong, William Byron and Ryan Reed
    2:30 p.m.: Kyle Busch

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    2:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series

    Saturday, July 22

    On Track:
    9-9:55 a.m.: Cup Series Practice – CNBC
    11-11:55 a.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – CNBC
    12:45 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    3:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 (100 laps, 250 miles) – NBCSN
    6:15 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN

    Press Pass: (Watch live)
    10 a.m.: NASCAR Racing Experience Announcement
    10:25 a.m.: Denny Hamlin
    Noon: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    12:30 p.m.: Kyle Larson
    1:30 p.m.: Clint Bowyer
    6 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series Race
    7 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Qualifying

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    10:30 a.m.: Cup Series

    Sunday, July 23

    On Track:
    2:30 p.m.: Cup Series Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 (160 laps, 400 miles) – NBC

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

    Complete TV Schedule

    Race Details:

    NASCAR XFINITY Series
    Lilly Diabetes 250
    Place: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
    Date: Saturday, July 22
    Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
    TV: NBCSN, 3 p.m. ET
    Radio: IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 250 miles (100 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 30), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on lap 100)

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
    Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400
    Place: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
    Date: Sunday, July 23
    Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
    TV: NBC, 2 p.m. ET
    Radio: IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 400 miles (160 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 50), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 100), Final Stage (Ends on lap 160)

  • Truex dominates, then rallies from flat tire to finish third

    Truex dominates, then rallies from flat tire to finish third

    Until the last 80 laps, the Overton’s 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway had the making of another Martin Truex Jr. clinic performance.

    He earned the pole for the race, thanks to Kyle Larson’s pole time being tossed after failing post-tech, and led the entirety of the first stage, earning his 14th stage victory and 29th playoff point on the season. He pitted under the stage break, having passed up pit road during the competition caution on Lap 36, and drove his way through the field, earning a sixth-place finish in the second stage.

    Truex went back to the lead on Lap 175 and pretty much had the race in check, barring an unforeseen circumstance. That unforeseen circumstance came in the form of a flat right-front tire with 83 laps to go. This forced him onto pit road 20 laps before the rest of the leaders hit pit road for their original final stop and sent him from the lead to a lap down.

    Being on significantly fresher tires than the rest of the field, it only took him 12 laps to un-lap himself the old fashioned way and was back in the lead with 55 to go when pit cycle concluded.

    But while the tire advantage played in his favor, it swung towards the drivers who just pitted, as Matt Kenseth passed him with ease with 41 to go.

    Truex restarted third on the final restart, but didn’t pose a threat to the race lead, thanks to restarting on the bottom, and brought his car home third.

    “We were strong for the majority of the race but at the end we lost some speed and couldn’t get to the leader,” Truex said after leading a race-high of 137 laps. “The last restart we got the inside lane, restarted third. It wasn’t the place to be, obviously. I think the 11 (race winner Denny Hamlin) started fourth and that was really the place I would have liked to have been. And then we just didn’t get a good restart on the bottom and lost a couple spots and had to battle back and then just didn’t quite have the speed at the end of the race.

    “All in all, it was a hard fought day. We had to come from 24th at one point. A good job by everybody and a solid third place effort. Just didn’t have enough there at the end.”

    He leaves Loudon still the points leader, maintaining a 38-point lead over Larson.

  • Jones exits early after wreck at Loudon

    Jones exits early after wreck at Loudon

    Erik Jones’ day ended in last-place following an early wreck in the Overton’s 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Entering Turn 3 just after the Lap 41 restart, he suffered a left-front tire failure. At most tracks, because we run the inner-liner for the left-front, the tire would’ve simply un-chorded. But with Loudon being among the select tracks that NASCAR doesn’t run the inner-liner tires, he wound up veering straight into the Turn 3 wall.

    Video replay showed he made contact with Kasey Kahne exiting his pit stall under the previous caution.

    “I guess we cut a left front or a right front (tire) – I’m not sure,” said Jones. “Just made a little contact on pit road, but didn’t have any marks on the tires. We thought it would be fine but obviously not because we didn’t even make it a lap.

    “It’s just unfortunate. The 5-hour Energy Camry was pretty fast. I thought we had probably an easy top-10 car, if not huge adjustments away from a top-five car.

    “Just really didn’t need a day like this, trying to make the playoffs here. Really gonna have to work hard to try and get a win at this point. We’ll keep at it. We just need some good luck out way and hopefully, we’ll get it soon.”

    He leaves 17th in points, 331 back of teammate Martin Truex Jr.

  • Hamlin holds off Larson in closing laps of Cup race at Loudon

    Hamlin holds off Larson in closing laps of Cup race at Loudon

    Denny Hamlin took the lead shortly after the final restart and held off a hard-charging Kyle Larson in the closing laps to win the Overton’s 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    With all the lead lap cars hitting pit road under the seventh and final caution, race leader Matt Kenseth exited pit road first by taking two right-side tires. This cost him two laps after the ensuing restart with 35 to go when Hamlin got underneath him to take the lead exiting Turn 4.

    With nine to go, Larson cut the gap down to under a second. Lapped-traffic slowed his run towards the front, proving crucial to Hamlin scoring his 30th career victory in 417 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts.

    “I was just trying to do everything I could to pace,” Hamlin said. “I knew he (Larson) had a very fast car. It just seemed like we were able to get off the corner pretty good and I just ran kind of a pace there which I felt comfortable with. And just in case we had a restart, they wanted to burn the tires up.

    “Proud of this whole FedEx Office team, backup car. I put us behind the eight-ball on Friday, but it’s cool to win one like this.”

    Larson and Truex, who led a race-high of 137 laps, rounded out the podium.

    “I thought I was catching him (Hamlin) at a good pace, but once I would get closer to him, I would get in his dirty air a little bit and get tight,” Larson said. “But, I felt like if I had maybe five, eight more laps I could have gotten to his back bumper and maybe did something. He is probably the best short track racer there is out here. Especially, when it comes to short, flat tracks, but for me to get beat by him is not a cool thing, but I’m proud of that because Denny Hamlin, like I said is really good at this stuff.”

    “We were strong for the majority of the race but at the end we lost some speed and couldn’t get to the leader,” said Truex. “The last restart we got the inside lane, restarted third. It wasn’t the place to be, obviously. I think the 11 (race winner Denny Hamlin) started fourth and that was really the place I would have liked to have been. And then we just didn’t get a good restart on the bottom and lost a couple spots and had to battle back and then just didn’t quite have the speed at the end of the race.

    “All in all, it was a hard fought day. We had to come from 24th at one point. A good job by everybody and a solid third place effort. Just didn’t have enough there at the end.”

    Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five.

    Daniel Suarez, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Truex led the field to the green flag at 3:17 p.m. Johnson was handed a pass through penalty for beating race leader Truex to the line on the initial start.

    Truex led from start to finish on his way to winning the first stage. He lost the lead under the stage break to Kyle Busch, who stayed out after pitting under the Lap 36 competition caution.

    It was the same story as the first stage, just with Busch at the lead. He led from start to finish and won the second stage. Teammate Hamlin exited pit road the race leader.

    Truex worked his way back to the lead on Lap 175, only to make an earlier than planned stop with 83 to go for a flat right-front tire. He un-lapped himself with 63 to go by driving past new race leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. He pitted from the lead with 55 to go, cycling the lead back to Truex.

    Busch was handed a pass through penalty for speeding on pit road during this cycle of stops.

    Kenseth drove down and edged out Truex at the start/finish line to take the lead with 41 to go.

    Ryan Newman’s spin in Turn 2 with 40 to go brought out the seventh caution and set up the run to the finish.

    CAUTIONS

    Erik Jones brought out the second caution on Lap 41 when he suffered a left-front tire failure and slammed the wall in Turn 2. Cole Whitt brought out the third caution on Lap 68 when his engine expired in Turn 1. Austin Dillon brought out the fifth caution on Lap 88 when he made contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and spun out in Turn 4. Caution flew for the sixth time on Lap 151 for the end of the second stage.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted three hours and 36 minutes at an average speed of 105.800 mph. There were 11 lead changes among six different drivers and seven cautions for 34 laps. There was also one red flag that lasted five minutes and 29 seconds during the first stage break.

    Truex leaves with a 38-point lead over Larson.

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  • Kyle Busch Fastest in Final Cup Practice at New Hampshire

    Kyle Busch Fastest in Final Cup Practice at New Hampshire

    Kyle Busch topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 29.086 and a speed of 130.950 mph. Martin Truex Jr. was second in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota with a time of 29.171 and a speed of 130.568 mph. Denny Hamlin was third in his No. 11 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 29.171 and a speed of 130.568 mph. Kyle Larson was fourth in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 29.183 and a speed of 130.514 mph. Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 29.192 and a speed of 130.474 mph.

    Jimmie Johnson, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney, Matt Kenseth and Erik Jones rounded out the top-10.

    Truex posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 130.094 mph.

    Second Practice Results

    First Practice Results

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  • Truex Fastest in Second Practice at New Hampshire

    Truex Fastest in Second Practice at New Hampshire

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

    The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 29.000 and a speed of 131.338 mph. Kyle Larson was second in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 29.001 and a speed of 131.333 mph. Jimmie Johnson was third in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 29.034 and a speed of 131.184 mph. Chase Elliott was fourth in his No. 24 HMS Chevrolet with a time of 29.039 and a speed of 131.162 mph. Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-five in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford with a time of 29.059 and a speed of 131.071 mph.

    Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top-10.

    Larson posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 130.624 mph.

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  • Coors Light Pole to Truex After Larson’s Car Flunks New Hampshire Inspection

    Coors Light Pole to Truex After Larson’s Car Flunks New Hampshire Inspection

    By Staff Report | NASCAR.com

    Martin Truex Jr. was declared the Coors Light Pole Award winner Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, taking the No. 1 starting position after Kyle Larson’s apparent pole-winning lap was disallowed.

    Larson’s speed of 133.324 mph was thrown out after NASCAR officials discovered an unapproved rear deck fin on his Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet. That elevated Truex’s Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota (133.077 mph) to the first starting spot for Sunday’s Overton’s 301 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) at the 1.058-mile track.

    Larson, who had swept all three rounds of qualifying, will now start at the rear of the 39-car field.

    Truex had qualified second five times this year, and it initially appeared he would make it six. After the lineup shuffle, he was credited with his first Coors Light Pole of the year, his first at New Hampshire and the 13th in his Monster Energy Series career.

    “Not the way we wanted to get our first pole of the year,” Truex said in a release provided by his Furniture Row team. “But looking forward to starting front and having a good pit selection.”

    Seven-time series champ Jimmie Johnson (132.688 mph) rose to the second starting spot after Larson’s penalty. Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray and Kasey Kahne completed the top five.

    Aric Almirola will start 21st in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford. Sunday’s 301-lap event will mark his first start after missing seven races with a broken back, suffered in a May 13 crash at Kansas Speedway.

    David Ragan forced the only stoppage in qualifying with a lazy spin in Turn 1, shortly after exiting the pits just two minutes into the first round.

    Qualifying results 

  • The Season to Date for Ryan Newman

    The Season to Date for Ryan Newman

    This season for the “rocket man” Ryan Newman is roughly on par with his 2016 campaign.

    He opened his season with a 21st in the 59th running of the Daytona 500. The following week in Atlanta was a stronger showing for him, running as high as first and leading three laps in the process. He was running fourth when he sent to the tail-end of the field, however, for a crew member being over the wall too soon. Adding insult to injury, he took his car to the garage with battery issues and finished 35th.

    The best he did in Las Vegas was a 17th-place finish.

    At Phoenix, Newman chose to stay out for the overtime restart. He powered ahead of Kyle Larson on said restart and ended a winless drought stretching back to the 2013 Brickyard 400.

    The rest of the finishes since then include a 15th at Fontana, eighth at Martinsville, 26th at Texas, 14th at Bristol, seventh at Richmond (where he’s led his most laps on the season with 25), 25th at Talladega, 40th at Kansas, ninth at Charlotte, fourth at Dover, 14th at Pocono, 15th at Michigan, 15th at Sonoma, fifth at Daytona and 22nd at Kentucky.

    He’s got a win on the season (his first since 2013), as well as three-top fives and six top-10s. The former is one greater than his 2016 total, but he’s four short of matching his total from last season. He’s led 37 laps this season, 13 more than his 2016 total, but his 16.3 finishing average is 3.8 percent worse than his 15.7 finishing average from 2016.

    Despite the victory, his season has been mediocre at best. Even Newman agrees that his team isn’t performing at the level it needs to for the playoffs.

    “We’re trying to get our train back on its tracks, so to speak, from where we were in Phoenix,” Newman said. “Our 1.5-mile program has really struggled. Our short track program is not what we need it to be, even in Phoenix we didn’t lead the amount of laps we should have. We led the right one, but we haven’t dominated. We see the No. 78 (Martin Truex Jr.) and the No. 42 (Larson); at times the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson) and the No. 18 (Kyle Busch) have been dominating; maybe not all leading the last lap, but in general, we’re not leading enough laps to be as competitive as we need to be for those last 10 races. So, our focus is like it always is, to make the cars drive better and faster and to put ourselves in better contention for making our way easier, or a chance to be easily progressing through the playoffs.”