Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Category: RC XFINITY

Race Central NASCAR XFINITY Series news and information

  • Pair of No. 4 Teams, Others Facing Post-Atlanta Penalties

    Pair of No. 4 Teams, Others Facing Post-Atlanta Penalties

    The action and on-track drama at Atlanta Motor Speedway caused some teams to face post-race penalties across all three major NASCAR touring series.

    In the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the race-winning team of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driven by veteran Kevin Harvick had one unsecured lug nut in post-race inspection. Crew chief Rodney Childers was fined $10,000 for the safety violation. No further fines or suspensions were placed on the team.

    Childers stated on Twitter his focus was on the win. While he knew his pit crew missed one lug nut, he understood what was on the line with that final pit stop.

    In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, two teams faced penalties for the same actions as Harvick’s team. The No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet and the No. 52 Means Motorsports Chevrolet were caught with one unsecured lug nut during post-race inspection on Saturday. Crew chiefs for both teams, Mike Shiplett and Tim Brown respectively, were each fined $5,000 with no further penalties. John Hunter Nemechek made his Xfinity series debut in the No. 42, finishing in the fourth position, while David Starr drove the No. 52 car to a 28th place result.

    However, it seems Kyle Busch received the most attention from the weekend. In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, his No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota received the biggest penalty across all three series.

    With six laps to go in the Active Pest Control 200 at Atlanta, Josh Reaume hit the wall, bringing out the yellow flag and sending the leaders to pit road in preparation for a two-lap overtime. Busch’s pit crew had trouble on the right-front tire, causing a delay with the pit stop. The rear tire changer came around to the left side and loosened the lug nuts already, as the team had already prepared to change all four tires. However, once the issue was corrected on the right front and the jack dropped, Busch and his crew chief called an audible for just right-side tires, leaving his pit box to keep his lead. He pulled away before the crew could place lug nuts back on the left rear tire. Ultimately, the tire came off while Busch was on the apron of turns 1 and 2, and had to back up onto pit row with sparks flying from underneath the truck. Busch ended the race in the 21st position, one lap down.

    Busch’s misfortune resulted in Brett Moffitt’s improbable win Saturday.

    According to the NASCAR Camping World Truck series, the rulebook states: “Any loss or separation of an improperly installed tire(s)/wheel(s) from the vehicle after exiting the team’s assigned pit box will result in a three-race suspension of the crew chief, tire changer of the lost wheel(s), and the jack man.”

    While Busch’s crew chief, Marcus Richmond, is an employee of Kyle Busch Motorsports, the jackman and rear tire changer were both from Stewart-Haas Racing. Coleman Dollarhide is a rear tire changer on Cole Custer’s Xfinity team and Kurt Busch’s Cup team. Jackman Ernie Pierce services Clint Bowyer’s Cup car at SHR. The main concern was how the penalty would affect Dollarhide and Pierce for their responsibilities to the other teams in the other NASCAR series.

    To Dollarhide’s and Pierce’s relief, NASCAR announced Wednesday morning that they both would still be eligible to perform their duties in both the Xfinity and Cup series and that their penalty would only affect the Truck series.

    When asked about the penalties issued to the various crew members, Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s chief racing development officer, shared in an interview on Monday the process they took to reach this conclusion.

    “I think that’s really the discussion, not so much will they be penalized; it’s should it just apply to the Camping World Truck Series. I think that’s where we’re leaning but (series officials) wanted to take the time to get through the weekend and have that dialogue internally.

    “We want to be as fair as we can. We want the penalty obviously to have some teeth into it. We think it does in terms of the suspension. We want to make sure it possibly just applies to that series and who is working on that race.’’

    Marcus Richmond, who was also suspended and faced fines, shared his disappointment in himself in a tweet on Wednesday morning.

    All three major touring series return to racing action this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Tickets are still available and can be purchased through the speedway’s website at http://www.lvms.com/tickets/pennzoil_400/.

  • John Hunter Nemechek Places 4th in Xfinity Series Debut

    John Hunter Nemechek Places 4th in Xfinity Series Debut

    After a flat tire during Stage 1, John Hunter Nemechek battled back to finish fourth in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Saturday’s Rinnai 250.

    Chip Ganassi Racing announced back in December that Nemechek would make his debut in the stock car series. His performance, however, made it seem as if he was a veteran in the series. His first qualifying attempt for a Xfinity race placed him in the third overall position to start Saturday’s race with a speed of 180.769, one of only six drivers to break the 180 mph barrier.

    As for the race, the first 35 laps were eventful for Nemechek to say the least. On Lap 10, Kevin Harvick, Elliott Sadler and John Hunter Nemechek bumped through Turns 3 and 4. The unfortunate victim was Cole Custer, who would crash into the wall with heavy damage and end his day early. On Lap 33, Nemechek would blow a right front tire. Miraculously, he saved the car from crashing, which allowed his team to change tires and get him back to racing action. Even though he fell a lap down early in the event, he would battle back to put himself in the Lucky Dog position and place himself back on the lead lap. His and the team’s hard work paid off as they finished in the fourth position, claiming the highest finish of any Chevrolet in the field.

    Nemechek shared his perspective of his weekend during a post-race interview.

    “I’m happy with the outcome that we had, finishing fourth there. My goal was to come here and run all the laps, learning as much as I could and hopefully bring home a top-five run. After we unloaded yesterday [Friday], my first ever lap in an Xfinity car was lap one of practice. I have definitely learned a lot from both practice sessions, qualifying and the race.

    “We blew a right front at the end of the first stage. It seemed like tire wear was really big today, and we were victim to circumstances. Luckily, we were able to get the Lucky Dog, get back on the lead lap and rebound from the back to come back to the front. At that last pit stop, we were able to get by Elliott [Sadler] to bring it home fourth.

    “I’m looking forward to getting in more races as the year goes on.”

    When asked about his performance during the final run of the race, Nemechek credited his spotter for his guidance and his crew chief for their relationship.

    “Listening to Mike Shiplett and Derek Kneeland. Derek up on the spotter’s stand just telling me to be patient. I feel like myself and Mike Shiplett have created a good communicational bond so far this year, being able to make adjustments on the race car and trying to fix what we need to fix to make it faster at the end.”

    Nemechek does come from a racing family. His father, Joe who is nicknamed “Front Row Joe,” made a solid career in the Monster Energy Cup Series with four wins and 10 poles across 23 years. He also gathered over a dozen victories in the Xfinity series. His uncle, John Nemechek, was also a NASCAR competitor, primarily in what is now the Camping World Truck Series. He competed in 43 events over three years until 1997 when he suffered a fatal crash at Homestead-Miami Speedway during a Truck race.

    John Hunter shared his excitement on his official Twitter account shortly after the race.

    Nemechek will pilot the No. 42 Chevrolet in multiple Xfinity Series races throughout the year, sharing the ride with Kyle Larson.

    “I feel like going over to Chip Ganassi Racing, an established team who have won races, has helped as well,” declared Nemechek. “I feel like going over there, being able to talk with the guys and create relationships definitely helps. Any lap that you’re on the track, you’re gaining experience, and experience is key. Nothing can outweigh that.”

    Chase Briscoe also made his debut in the Xfinity Series, finishing in the 15th position.

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will race next at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 3 for the Boyd Gaming 300. You can order race tickets on the speedway’s website at http://www.lvms.com/tickets/pennzoil_400/.

  • Ringing the Bell

    Ringing the Bell

    Atlanta was only the second race of this season but we already saw a glimpse of who can be a threat for the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship this season.

    Although Christopher Bell did not dominate Atlanta nor win the race, he turned some heads after Saturday’s race. Last year’s Truck Series champion only led 12 laps in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota but finished third and presented speed and experience behind the wheel.

    With five laps to go Bell gave up the second position to Joey Logano after tagging the wall.

    “I just got really loose there on the last run,” Bell said.

    Racing around experienced drivers like Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano, the rookie displayed intelligence and patience behind the wheel. Throughout most of the second half of the race, Bell observed the dominance of Harvick as he controlled the race as the leader.

    But is Bell going to be as dominant as he was last season in the Truck Series?

    Despite wrecking out of Daytona and not winning Atlanta we can’t say that just yet. His performance at Atlanta Motor Speedway was impressive but not surprising.

    Last year Bell won five Truck Series races and a championship. The youngster also took home a trophy after winning the XFINITY race at Kansas.

    Bell began the season with momentum after winning a championship which can truly prosper his success this season in the XFINITY Series.

    The NASCAR youth movement is not only taking over the top three national series but is also bringing in talent that we may not have seen in past years.

    Many of these young drivers that have succeeded in the Truck Series and XFINITY Series have already leaped into the Cup Series. Some of those drivers that were just starting out their NASCAR careers have already been able to race for a Daytona 500 trophy.

    It seems like Bell is already headed toward that track. If he continues to build success this season, Bell can certainly be the guy to beat for the championship in the final race in Miami.

     

  • Kevin Harvick Wins Rinnai 250

    Kevin Harvick Wins Rinnai 250

    HAMPTON, Ga. (Feb. 24, 2018) – Kevin Harvick surged to the front on a one-lap shootout to end Stage 1 and rolled to a dominating win in Saturday’s Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Harvick has won the Xfinity Series race at AMS four of the last six years and five times overall.

    Only seven cars finished on the lead lap as Harvick set a strong pace after starting fifth. The No. 98 car led 137 of 163 laps.

    “It’s just been a really good place for me,” said Harvick, whose first ever Cup Series win came at Atlanta in 2001. “The race track has stayed very similar to what it’s been for a number of years. It’s been a great race track for us. I was frustrated last year when we didn’t leave here with a trophy on either day and that’s always our goal.”

    Joey Logano was second but never seriously challenged Harvick and finished 4.183 seconds back.

    “I don’t think we were even close,” Logano said with a head shake. “Kevin played with us all day long. He ran a few hard laps when he needed to. It doesn’t matter what car he’s driving, Kevin’s just really good at Atlanta.

    “Second always stings a little bit.”

    Pole-sitter Christopher Bell, a rookie in Xfinity after winning last year’s Camping World Truck Series championship, led 11 laps and ended up third. His rear tire tagged the wall with five laps to go, and the No. 20 car lost a spot to Logano.

    “I just got really loose there the last run,” Bell said. “I don’t know. I wish I would have been able to hold off a little longer and been second instead of third, but overall a really good points day for us to start out the 2018 season. This place is a ton of fun.”

    Chevy drivers occupied the next three spots. John Hunter Nemechek was fourth in his series debut, followed by Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier. Austin Cindric was seventh and the rest of the field finished a lap, or more, off the lead.

    For more information or to purchase tickets today, contact the Atlanta Motor Speedway ticket office at (770) 946-4211, (877) 9-AMS- TIX or visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com.

  • Full Weekend Schedule for Atlanta

    Full Weekend Schedule for Atlanta

    By Staff Report – NASCAR.com

    After taking on the high banks of Daytona to kick off the season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series are off to Atlanta Motor Speedway for a tripleheader weekend. Check out the tentative full schedule below, subject to change.

    Note: All times are ET

    Friday, Feb. 23

    ON-TRACK
    11:35 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, FS1 (Follow live)
    1:05 p.m.-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, FS1 (Follow live)
    2:05 p.m.-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice, FS1 (Follow live)
    3:05 p.m.-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1 (Follow live)
    4:05 p.m.-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS1 (Follow live)
    5:15 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, FS1 (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    10 a.m.: Austin Dillon
    10: 30 a.m.: Brad Keselowski
    10:45 a.m.: Darrell Wallace Jr.
    1 p.m.: Jordan Anderson, Johnny Sauter and Ben Rhodes
    1:20 p.m.: Chase Elliott
    1:35 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
    1:50 p.m.: Ryan Blaney
    2 p.m.: Folds of Honor/QuikTrip
    2:15 p.m.: Justin Allgaier, Kaz Grala, Brandon Jones, Tyler Reddick
    6:30 p.m. (approx.): Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series post-qualifying

    Saturday, Feb. 24

    ON-TRACK

    9:10 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, FS1 (Follow live)
    10:35 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS1 (Follow live)
    12 p.m.-1:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1 (Follow live)
    2 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Rinnai 250 (163 laps, 251.02 miles), FS1 (Follow live)
    4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Active Pest Control 200 benefiting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (130 laps, 200.2 miles), FS1 (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    4:15 p.m. (approx.): NASCAR Xfinity Series post-race
    6:30 p.m. (approx.): NASCAR Camping World Truck Series post-race

    Sunday, Feb. 25

    ON-TRACK
    1 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (325 laps, 500.5 miles), FOX (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    4:45 p.m. (approx.): Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series post-race

     

  • Tyler Reddick Wins XFINITY Race by Inches at Daytona

    Tyler Reddick Wins XFINITY Race by Inches at Daytona

    Tyler Reddick came out on top in the PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway. In what became NASCAR’s version of ‘Survivor’ with a new record of five overtimes, he battled his JR Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet against a very determined Elliott Sadler for the win.

    In the fifth overtime, Reddick and Sadler came to the checkers in a photo finish with Reddick taking the win. This would be the closest margin of victory at .000 in the NASCAR National Series history.

    Reddick, in his debut with JR Motorsports, collected his first win for his new team and his second career win.

    Reddick stated, “It feels amazing! He added, “This is a helluva way to start the year off at JR Motorsports.”

    Reddick is also running for Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR XFINITY Series this year.

    A frustrated Sadler finished in second place, his third runner-up finish at Daytona.

    Sadler commented, “It’s just a hard one to swallow (today) this has been a special place for us for a long time.” He continued, “We’ve had some good runs here just seem to always finish second, I’ve got a lot of seconds here but no wins so we just…it’s frustrating.”

    Compared to what would come later, the first stage was relatively calm. The only exception would be one caution that involved a total of eight cars. Kyle Larson and Joey Logano would swap the lead several times, but it would be Larson that would win the first stage.

    Stage 2 would be the only stage to go green flag all the way. Larson, again, would be up front. But this time Chase Elliott would be right there with him and come out ahead, winning the second stage.

    The final stage of the race is where the excitement would escalate, along with impatience. Sadler and Elliott would end up with a penalty for locking bumpers and pushing which is against the rules in the XFINITY series. Ryan Reed was penalized for pushing Ryan Truex down under the yellow line, a penalty he wasn’t happy with and didn’t think he deserved.

    Cautions breed cautions they say and that is just what happened. The front-runners including  Logano, Larson and  Elliott all managed to make it through the cautions and stayed up front.With three laps to go Sadler would end up going for a spin through the grass and this would put us into the first overtime of the race.

    The first overtime restart would be where the front-runners’ luck ran out. Larson, who was the leader, tried to block Aric Almirola and chaos erupted with cars spinning everywhere. This would shake up the lineup and put drivers like Reddick, Truex, and Reed into position to go for the win. It would take four more overtime starts before the winner, Reddick, would be declared.

    Kaz Grala, Garrett Smithley, Spencer Gallagher, Daniel Suarez, Ross Chastain and Brandon Jones also survived the carnage to finish in the top 10.

    The XFINITY Series heads next to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 24, for the Rinnai 250.

     

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Daytona-2018-Xfinity-Race-Unofficial-Results.pdf” title=”Daytona 2018 Xfinity Race Unofficial Results”]

     

  • Byron Out-Races Sadler in Waning Laps to Win XFINITY Title at Homestead

    Byron Out-Races Sadler in Waning Laps to Win XFINITY Title at Homestead

    Exactly one year ago, William Byron stood in victory lane at Homestead-Miami Speedway, having won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season-finale the week after his title hopes went up in smoke with his engine. Today, a week after he punched his ticket with a victory in the Arizona desert, he dueled it out with JR Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler in the final laps of the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series season to claim the championship in his name.

    Both drivers hit pit road to make their final stop of the Ford EcoBoost 300 on Lap 145, and Sadler exited in front of Byron. Byron caught and passed him going into Turn 1 on Lap 149 to take over the championship lead.

    With 38 laps to go, when Sadler got loose in Turn 3 and sent Byron towards the wall. Whether he made contact with it can’t be determined. Eventually, Sadler passed him going into Turn 1 to take the lead in the championship fight.

    Byron caught back up to Sadler with 24 to go, thanks to lap traffic, but couldn’t make the pass, thanks to making contact with the wall in Turn 4 with 22 to go.

    “He was really good on the long run,” Byron said of his battle with Sadler. “We weren’t as good on the long run, but we had massive short-run speed.”

    He finally caught and passed Sadler in Turn 3 with nine to go, after Sadler failed to complete a pass on Ryan Preece.

    In an act of desperation, Sadler turned Preece in Turn 4 with five to go. But the race remained green and Byron drove on to a third-place finish, clinching the 2017 XFINITY Series championship.

    “Just thankful for God giving me this opportunity and everyone around me to get me to this point. This is incredible and very thankful for everyone that’s supported me along the way.

    “I went to Martinsville (Speedway) when I was seven years old, watching the 48 car (Jimmie Johnson) win the race, and dreamed about running for Mr. (Rick) Hendrick and I got that opportunity with Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. when I was 16 years old, and it just took off from there. Can’t not believe all the people around me that’ve helped made this happen, and thankful for this team. That’s what made it happen.”

    After the race, Sadler quickly got out of his car to confront Preece and two XFINITY Series officials had to restrain him from doing anything other than yell.

    “Well he cost us a championship, but he’s not even racing anybody,” Sadler said. If he wasn’t slowing us down, the 9 (Byron) never would have gotten to us. If you’re going to race people like that in this sport, you’re not going to make it very far. You gotta have respect. It’s definitely a shame to be that close and not pull it off. I just appreciate my race team. I let them down tonight. I should’ve took care of business when I got to Ryan.

    “It was definitely a letdown to lose one like this.”

    Preece responded to Elliott’s “he’s not racing anybody” claim with the fact that he was “hired to race this race for the owner championship.”

    “We weren’t anywhere near the 22 (Sam Hornish Jr.), but we were racing the 9 (Byron),” Preece said. “It’s pretty much what I said. If it was the 7 (Justin Allgaier) and the 1 (Elliott Sadler) or anyone else that wasn’t in for that owner championship, probably, I definitely would have just laid right over. I’ve been an Elliott Sadler fan growing up, so if I wanted somebody to win that owner championship, or driver championship, it would have been him. Just, I can’t not listen to my owner. I can’t not listen to my, the guy who’s paying you in the end, so it’s just a tough deal. It’s crappy in the end – but I hate controversy.”

    As for the “move” he made on Sadler…

    “With what move? I was ahead of him,” he said. “If anything – if there was no contact, I was going to let him go that corner. I pulled down in the middle, not running the top because I was letting him go. I mean, I don’t know. The only thing I could’ve done different was realistically gave up second in the owner championship and finished third. You know, hindsight 20/20, we ended up there because of what happened, but I also – as soon as the 9 got me, I was going to let him go. I don’t know much more that I could really do, other than, than lay over on Joe (Gibbs) and Steve (deSouza, EVP of XFINITY and Development for Joe Gibbs Racing). If they came over the radio and said ‘hey, give up second in the owner championship and let these guys race,’ I would’ve done it. I’m just – team orders. I’m not afraid to lay over if it means – but just doing what I’m told.”

    And as for what Preece could’ve done different…

    “To be honest with you, if there’s a person you don’t want to cost a championship to it’s Elliott Sadler,” he added. “You know, I’m just trying to do team orders here. I was racing for an owner championship. Yeah, we weren’t racing for the win right there, but we were still racing the 9. I got to thank Joe Gibbs for giving me this opportunity, Safelite Auto Glass, Toyota, everybody involved there. It felt – just, you know it’s not where I want to be right there, but obviously I hate it, but can’t take it back.”

  • Custer Puts on Clinic in XFINITY Season Finale at Homestead

    Custer Puts on Clinic in XFINITY Season Finale at Homestead

    Cole Custer led all but 18 laps on his way to dominating and winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    He first took the lead from Tyler Reddick going into Turn 1 on the fifth lap, and aside from the one time Reddick exited ahead of him under the first stage break caution, he never lost it. Custer won both stages, led 182 laps and put all but eight cars a lap down on his way to scoring his first career victory in 38 XFINITY Series starts.

    “We definitely had something to prove this weekend. We were so close to making it last weekend and (we) really wanted to end strong.  We were really good this weekend. Our Haas Automation Mustangs are unreal. We wanted to really have a good showing on Ford Championship Weekend. Even though we weren’t in it, we wanted to win. Hopefully, we can sweep it tomorrow. Obvious we have some good cars in the hunt tomorrow.”

    Sam Hornish Jr. finished second and William Byron finished third, clinching for him the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series championship.

    “I don’t know that I took a breath the last 20 laps,” said Byron. “That was incredible. I just have to thank this team. This is awesome. Elliott (Sadler, teammate) raced me clean and we just raced hard for it. I just can’t believe this. I’ve just got to thank God for giving me this platform to perform. I can’t believe this. I’m tired, whew. Thanks to all the fans here this evening, this is an unbelievable crowd, I just can’t believe it.”

    Reddick and Ryan Preece rounded out the top-five.

    Brennan Poole, Matt Tiftt, Elliott Sadler, Michael Annett and Ty Majeski rounded out the top-10.

    NOTES OF INTEREST

    Caution flew only three times: Two for stage breaks and one for a spin in Turn 2 on Lap 20 by JJ Yeley. Only six cars retired from the race.

    Daniel Hemric’s chances at the title came to an end when he made an unscheduled stop on Lap 62 for battery issues. He rejoined the race 12 laps down.

    One day after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, Christopher Bell retired from the race with engine issues on Lap 79.

    With his runner-up finish, Hornish clinched the 2017 XFINITY Series owners championship for Roger Penske’s No. 22 team.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted two hours, 12 minutes and 13 seconds, at an average speed of 136.140 mph. There were five lead changes among two different drivers and three cautions for 14 laps.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/N1733_UNOFFRES.pdf”]

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Homestead Championship Weekend

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Homestead Championship Weekend

    All three series head to Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend to crown their champions. The Camping World Truck Series finale will air on FS1 Friday evening, followed by the XFINITY Series race Saturday afternoon on NBCSN. Sunday the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will hit the track for the title event at 3 p.m. on NBC to determine its 2017 champion.

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

    Friday, Nov. 17

    On-Track:
    8:30-9:25 a.m.: World Truck S.ies Practice – FS1
    10-10:55 a.m.: World Truck Series Final Practice – FS1
    12:30-1:55 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – NBCSN
    2:30-3:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – NBCSN
    3:30 p.m.: Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
    5-5:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBCSN
    6:15 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    8 p.m.: Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200 (134 laps, 201 miles) – FS1

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

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    10:20 a.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    11:30 a.m.: Joe Gibbs (Owner, Joe Gibbs Racing), Joe Garone (President, Furniture Row Racing), Tony Stewart (Owner, Stewart-Haas Racing) and Walt Czarnecki (Executive Vice President, Penske Corporation)
    4:30 p.m.: Ron Hornaday Jr.
    7:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-Cup Series qualifying, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski
    10:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-Camping World Truck Series Race/Champion

    Saturday, Nov. 18

    On-Track
    10-10:55 a.m.: Cup Series Practice – CNBC
    11:15 a.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – CNBC
    1-1:50 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN
    3:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Ford EcoBoost 300 (200 laps, 300 miles) – NBCSN

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    9:15 a.m.: NASCAR Partnership Announcement
    12:20 p.m.: Jim Campbell (Chevrolet U.S. Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports), Dave Pericak (Global Director of Ford Performance) and Ed Laukes (Group Vice President, Marketing for Toyota Motor North America)
    6 p.m. (approx.): Post-XFINITY Series Race/Champion

    Sunday, Nov. 19
     
    On-Track
    3 p.m.: Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles) – NBC

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    11 a.m.: NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France and NASCAR President Brent Dewar
    6:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-Cup Series Race/Champion

    Complete TV Schedule

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

    Race Details:

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
    Race: Ford EcoBoost 200
    Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway
    Date: Friday, Nov. 17
    Time: 8 p.m. ET
    TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 201 miles (134 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on lap 134)

    NASCAR XFINITY Series
    Race: Ford EcoBoost 300
    Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway
    Date: Saturday, Nov. 18
    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: Ford EcoBoost 400
    Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway
    Date: Sunday, Nov. 19
    Time: 3 p.m. ET
    TV: NBC, 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)

     

  • Byron Punches Title Ticket with Win at Phoenix

    Byron Punches Title Ticket with Win at Phoenix

    Despite a last-minute rag-tag pit crew, due to extraneous circumstances, William Byron took advantage of a late caution to exit pit road ahead of the dominant driver of the race and drove on to win the NASCAR XFINITY Series Ticket Galaxy 200 at Phoenix Raceway.

    The day for JR Motorsports hit a potential speed bump when news broke that the charter plane carrying Hendrick Motorsports’ Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pit crews, who also pit the JRM cars, made an emergency landing in Little Rock, Arkansas due to electric problems. HMS dispatched a plane from Phoenix to pickup the crew in Arkansas, but the six-hour round trip meant the crew wouldn’t make it in time.

    While the makeshift crews the three JRM Playoff teams used lost some spots on pit road throughout the day, they got Byron, who took just right-side tires and fuel, out first.

    “We grinded all day. Great job by this team to make that pit call by Dave (Elenz). It’s awesome man. We’re ready to go to Homestead.”

    On the final restart with 13 to go, he set sail going into Turn 1 and drove on to his fourth career victory in 32 XFINITY Series starts.

    Ryan Blaney finished second and Erik Jones rounded out the podium.

    Christopher Bell and Daniel Hemric rounded out the top-five.

    Blake Koch, Cole Custer, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Jones led the field to green at 3:47 p.m. and led the first 34 laps, before Blaney drove under him in Turn 4 and edged him out at the line to take the lead on Lap 35. Jones responded the following lap by powering right outside him exiting Turn 4 to retake the lead.

    Blaney took it for good on Lap 39 entering Turn 3 and drove on to win the first and second stages.

    Brendan Gaughan’s wreck with 20 laps to go setup the run to the finish.

    CAUTION SUMMATION

    Caution flew for the first time on the first lap when Gaughan got loose and spun out in Turn 4, as did Corey LaJoie (unrelated). Caution flew for the second time on Lap 24 when Caesar Bacarella made contact Brennan Poole and Poole veered up into the outside wall in Turn 1. The end of the first stage on Lap 60 brought out the third caution. The conclusion of the second stage brought out the fourth caution on Lap 120. The fifth and final caution flew when Guaghan got loose and slammed the outside wall on the exit of Turn 4.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted one hour, 54 minutes and 33 seconds, at an average speed of 104.758 mph. There were four lead changes among three drivers and five cautions for 26 laps.

    Byron, Justin Allgaier, Elliott Sadler and Daniel Hemric advance to the Championship 4 round to race for the XFINITY Series championship next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/N1732_UNOFFRES.pdf”]