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Race Central NASCAR XFINITY Series news and information

  • On old rubber, Kyle Busch continues phenomenal roll at Brickyard

    On old rubber, Kyle Busch continues phenomenal roll at Brickyard

    By Reid Spencer

    SPEEDWAY, Ind. – About the only thing Kyle Busch didn’t win on Saturday was the one prize he wasn’t eligible for.

    But the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota won everything else, capping a phenomenal day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a victory in the Lilly Diabetes 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race—and he did so with tires that were 23 laps older than those of his pursuers.

    Busch led 62 of 63 laps but had to hold off Kevin Harvick on a two-lap dash in overtime to win for the third time at the Brickyard, the seventh time in 11 starts this season and the 83rd time in his career, extending his series record.

    The XFINITY race was actually the fourth competition Busch won on Saturday. First, he won the top starting spot for the Lilly Diabetes 250, the 54th pole of his career. Next, he won the pole position for Sunday’s Crown Royal 400 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN), one of the marquee NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events of the season.

    After that Busch led all 20 laps and took the checkered flag in the first heat race under the XFINITY Series’ final Dash 4 Cash event of the season.

    Busch didn’t win the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus, a prize available only to series regulars. That check went to Justin Allgaier, who rolled home in fifth place, the highest finisher among the four drivers who earned eligibility in the heat races.

    Busch, however, has one more mountain to climb. On Sunday, he’ll attempt to complete his second straight weekend sweep at the vaunted Brickyard.

    Busch held off Harvick, third-place finisher Paul Menard and fourth-place Kyle Larson even though Busch had stayed out on old rubber while those behind him pitted for new tires under the first caution on Lap 50.

    “The new tires for those guys were good for them but not so good for us,” Busch said. “I just dug in deep and gave it everything I had. I knew I had to get really good restarts. On the second-to-last one (on Lap 54), I got a really good one, and then the last one (on lap 62 in overtime), it was OK.

    “I got an OK one, and I saw Harvick pull out… but he never got alongside of me. I never felt him close enough that he was going to pull alongside. … It’s a pretty awesome feeling to be able to go back to Victory Lane here this year. We’re sitting on the pole tomorrow, and hopefully, we can have another sweep here.”

    Busch had a lead of more than eight seconds on Lap 48 of a scheduled 60 when JGR teammate Erik Jones, the wire-to-wire winner of the second heat race, blew a right rear tire entering Turn 1 and spun, causing the afternoon’s first caution.

    While Busch and series leader Daniel Suarez stayed out on old tires, the remaining eight lead-lap cars came to pit road. Busch survived the restart on lap 54, but a lap later, ay Black Jr. and Harrison Rhodes wrecked off Turn 2 to bring put the second yellow and force the overtime.

    On the Lap 62 restart, Harvick pushed Larson, then ducked to the inside but was reluctant to take a bad angle into the first corner. As Harvick and Larson battled briefly for second, Busch pulled away and ultimately crossed the finish line .411 seconds ahead of Harvick’s No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

    “I really thought I could beat him down the backstretch if I got off of (Turn) 2 well and could clear the 42 (Larson),” Harvick said. “I got to the inside and kind of hit the chip and decided to hold the line up a little bit and try to get a run, and the 42 got stuck on the outside and that ruined my plan.

    “But our goal was to overachieve today, and we did that and capitalized on some situations and had a couple of good restarts and wound up second. All in all, it wasn’t a bad day.”

    Just nowhere near as good as the one Busch had.

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Lilly Diabetes 250
    Indianapolis Motor Speedway
    Speedway, Indiana
    Saturday, July 23, 2016

    1. (1) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 63.
    2. (4) Kevin Harvick(i), Chevrolet, 63.
    3. (8) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 63.
    4. (3) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 63.
    5. (6) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 63.
    6. (9) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 63.
    7. (7) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 63.
    8. (5) Joey Logano(i), Ford, 63.
    9. (12) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 63.
    10. (13) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 63.
    11. (10) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 63.
    12. (11) Jeb Burton, Ford, 63.
    13. (15) Ryan Reed, Ford, 62.
    14. (14) Darrell Wallace Jr, Ford, 62.
    15. (17) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 62.
    16. (16) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 62.
    17. (19) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 62.
    18. (18) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 62.
    19. (21) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 62.
    20. (20) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 62.
    21. (22) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 62.
    22. (2) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 62.
    23. (25) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 61.
    24. (30) David Starr, Chevrolet, 61.
    25. (27) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 61.
    26. (28) BJ McLeod #, Ford, 61.
    27. (26) Brandon Gdovic, Chevrolet, 60.
    28. (38) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 60.
    29. (32) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 60.
    30. (34) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 60.
    31. (31) Stanton Barrett, Chevrolet, 59.
    32. (36) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 58.
    33. (24) Ray Black Jr #, Chevrolet, Accident, 52.
    34. (29) Harrison Rhodes, Toyota, Accident, 51.
    35. (33) Mike Harmon, Dodge, Too Slow, 32.
    36. (23) Jeff Green, Toyota, Rear Gear, 31.
    37. (35) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Handling, 17.
    38. (39) Matt DiBenedetto(i), Toyota, Brakes, 13.
    39. (37) Timmy Hill(i), Dodge, Vibration, 9.
    40. (40) Todd Peck, Ford, Engine, 0.

    Average Speed of Race Winner:  136.298 mph.

    Time of Race:  01 Hrs, 09 Mins, 20 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.411 Seconds.
    Caution Flags:  2 for 10 laps.
    Lead Changes:  2 among 2 drivers.
    Lap Leaders:   K. Busch(i) 1-27; B. Gaughan 28; K. Busch(i) 29-63.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Busch(i) 2 times for 62 laps; B. Gaughan 1 time for 1 lap.

    Top 10 in Points: D. Suarez – 608; E. Sadler – 594; T. Dillon – 558; J. Allgaier – 542; E. Jones # – 539; B. Gaughan – 535; B. Jones # – 520; B. Poole # – 519; D. Wallace Jr – 486; R. Reed – 433.

     

  • Kyle Busch Claims XFINITY Pole at Indianapolis

    Kyle Busch Claims XFINITY Pole at Indianapolis

    Kyle Busch took the pole for Saturday’s Lily Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, his fourth straight pole in five XFINITY Series events at the track. Busch, a two-time XFINITY winner at Indy, exceeded 181 mph to circle the track at 49.467 seconds. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones took the second spot on the charts, circling the speedway at 49.469 seconds in his No. 20 Hisense Toyota.

    Kyle Larson, who won at Eldora in the truck series on Wednesday, posted the third-fastest time on the grid, taking a lap of 49.695 seconds in his No. 42 Chevy. Kevin Harvick took the fourth position in his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevy, laying down a 50.030-second lap while Daniel Suarez was the third JGR Toyota in the top-five, with his No. 19 circling the track in 50.031 seconds.

    Rounding out the top-10 was Justin Allgaier in the No. 7 JRM Chevy, who battled a loose condition to take the sixth spot, while Joey Logano, Paul Menard, Ryan Reed, and Brennan Poole took positions seventh through 10th. Notables who didn’t make it past the first round of qualifying include Darrell Wallace Jr., who took the 14th spot on the grid, and Ty Dillon took the 16th spot.

    Saturday’s race will be divided into three heats, a format first adopted earlier this year at Bristol as part of the XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash program. Jones has won the Dash 4 Cash twice this season (Bristol and Dover) while Dillon was the Dash 4 Cash winner at Richmond. Odd-numbered qualifiers will race in the first heat while even-numbered qualifiers will compete in the second heat.

    The front row of the main would be the winners of the two heats with lane choice going to which driver was fastest during qualifying. The odd-numbered starting spots would be based on the finishing order of the first heat while the even-numbered starting spots would be based on the finishing order of the second heat.

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Indianapolis

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Indianapolis

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. Please check below for the complete schedule of events.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, July 22:

    On Track:
    Noon-1:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series First Practice – NBCSN
    1:30 p.m.-2:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series First Practice – NBCSN
    3-3:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBCSN
    4-5:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN 

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    11:30 a.m.: XFINITY Series
    1 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    10:30 a.m.: Jeff Gordon
    11 a.m.: Wood Brothers
    11:30 a.m.: Kyle Busch
    11:45 a.m.: Roush Fenway Racing
    12:15 p.m.: Ryan Newman
    12:30 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson
    12:45 p.m.: Tony Stewart

    Saturday, July 23:

    On Track:
    11:45 a.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    1:45 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    3:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 Heat #1 (20 laps, 50 miles) – NBCSN
    4:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 Heat #2 (20 laps, 50 miles) – NBCSN (time approx.)
    5:05 p.m.:  XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 Main (60 laps, 150 miles) – NBCSN (time approx.)
    Radio: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and IMS Radio Network

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    12:15 p.m.: Danica Patrick 
    3 p.m.: Sprint Cup Post-Qualifying
    6 p.m.: XFINITY Post-Race

    Sunday, July 24: 

    On Track:
    3 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal Presents The Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard (160 laps, 400 miles) – NBCSN
    Radio: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and IMS Radio Network

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    6:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup Post-Race

    Race Notes via NASCAR:

    7 To Go: Only 5 Chase Berths Remain With 7 Races Left Until NASCAR’s Playoffs

    Only seven races remain for drivers to lock up one of the final five Chase berths.

    A visit to Victory Lane gets a winless driver into the Chase as long as he/she is in the top 30 of the points standings.

    The drivers who likely would get into the Chase because of wins are: Brad Keselowski (4 wins), Kyle Busch (3), Carl Edwards (2), Jimmie Johnson (2), Matt Kenseth (2), Kevin Harvick (1), Kurt Busch (1), Joey Logano (1), Martin Truex Jr. (1), Denny Hamlin (1) and Tony Stewart (1).

    McMurray, Menard and Newman are the only currently winless drivers who have visited Victory Lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – the site of Sunday’s race.

    Below are the remaining tracks after Indy and winless drivers who have visited Victory Lane at them:

    Pocono: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman
    Watkins Glen: AJ Allmendinger
    Bristol: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne
    Michigan: Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne
    Darlington: Greg Biffle, Regan Smith

    *Complete NASCAR TV Schedule*

  • Kyle Busch holds off Erik Jones for NASCAR XFINITY Series win at New Hampshire

    Kyle Busch holds off Erik Jones for NASCAR XFINITY Series win at New Hampshire

    By Reid Spencer

    LOUDON, N.H. – Another NASCAR XFINITY Series race, another set of milestones for Kyle Busch.

    Leading 190 of 200 laps in Saturday’s AutoLotto 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Busch held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones in the closing laps to claim his 82nd career victory, extending his own series record.

    In the process, Busch raised his total of XFINITY laps led to 17,064, once again extending his own record. Busch won for the fifth time in 11 races at the Magic Mile and the sixth time in 10 starts this season.

    “I guess they’re big numbers,” said Busch, who ran the entire race on one set of left-side tires and arrived at the finish line 1.499 seconds ahead of Jones, who had taken four tires on his final pit stop under caution on Lap 178. “I really don’t know what big numbers are, and records are made to be broken.

    “There may be somebody like me that comes along down the road that does the same thing that I’ve been fortunate enough to do… Running in this series is something fun for me to do, cool for me to do, and it also helps me out and gets me a little more experience.”

    Brad Keselowski ran third but didn’t have an answer for the top two JGR cars. Daniel Suarez came home fourth, followed by Austin Dillon.

    “We had a decent day,” Keselowski said. “A little better than where we have been, which was something to be proud of, but of course we want to get to Victory Lane with the (No. 22 Team Penske) Ford. We aren’t quite there, but we’ll keep pushing.

    “That was a step in the right direction overall for sure.”

    Busch may have been dominant up front, but there were compelling subplots behind him, the most noteworthy between Ty Dillon and Alex Bowman.

    Bowman, who will sub for ailing Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, turned left into Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet off Turn 2 on Lap 76, sending Dillon’s car into the outside wall.

    Dillon was convinced Bowman wrecked him on purpose. Bowman asserted his car was forced wide, and the contact was unintentional. Dillon returned to action 55 laps down after repairs in the garage and twice tried to impede Bowman’s progress on the track.

    “He tried to wreck me about four times after (the accident),” Bowman said after the race. “I don’t blame him for being upset. He has every right to be upset…

    “He drove me way up the race track (right before the contact). He obviously got tight underneath me. I had a ton of wheel in it, and it finally caught. I barely came off the wall. You come off the wall six inches and you tag somebody in the right rear. I hate that for the 3 car, but I definitely didn’t do it intentionally. He can think what he wants.”

    Bowman was able to continue despite damage to the left front of his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and posted an eighth-place finish. Dillon, on the other hand, was scored 33rd and held third place in the XFINITY standings but fell 48 points behind Suarez, who also expanded his series lead to 15 points over second-place Elliott Sadler, who ran 10th on Saturday.

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – AutoLotto 200
    New Hampshire Motor Speedway
    Loudon, New Hampshire
    Saturday, July 16, 2016

    1. (1) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 200.
    2. (2) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 200.
    3. (3) Brad Keselowski(i), Ford, 200.
    4. (4) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 200.
    5. (7) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 200.
    6. (9) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 200.
    7. (8) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
    8. (5) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 200.
    9. (17) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 200.
    10. (6) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200.
    11. (13) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 200.
    12. (15) Darrell Wallace Jr, Ford, 200.
    13. (18) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 200.
    14. (22) Ryan Reed, Ford, 199.
    15. (16) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 199.
    16. (26) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 199.
    17. (19) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 199.
    18. (14) Justin Marks, Chevrolet, 199.
    19. (12) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 198.
    20. (27) BJ McLeod #, Ford, 197.
    21. (30) Ray Black Jr #, Chevrolet, 197.
    22. (34) Timmy Hill(i), Dodge, 197.
    23. (29) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 196.
    24. (33) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 196.
    25. (36) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 195.
    26. (35) Scott Heckert, Ford, 195.
    27. (31) TJ Bell, Chevrolet, 194.
    28. (39) Matt Waltz, Chevrolet, 191.
    29. (40) Chris Cockrum, Chevrolet, 191.
    30. (38) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 188.
    31. (21) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 170.
    32. (11) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, Transmission, 159.
    33. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 144.
    34. (24) Jeff Green, Toyota, Brakes, 109.
    35. (32) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, Suspension, 99.
    36. (25) David Starr, Chevrolet, Overheating, 82.
    37. (20) Corey LaJoie, Toyota, Accident, 64.
    38. (28) Carl Long, Toyota, Brakes, 38.
    39. (37) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Handling, 25.
    40. (23) Matt DiBenedetto(i), Toyota, Vibration, 3.

    Average Speed of Race Winner:  98.789 mph.
    Time of Race:  02 Hrs, 08 Mins, 31 Secs. – Margin of Victory:  1.499 Seconds.
    Caution Flags:  7 for 37 laps.
    Lead Changes:  3 among 3 drivers.
    Lap Leaders:   K. Busch(i) 1-92; E. Jones # 93-95; A. Bowman 96-102; K. Busch(i) 103-200.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Busch(i) 2 times for 190 laps; A. Bowman 1 time for 7 laps; E. Jones # 1 time for 3 laps.

    Top 10 in Points: D. Suarez – 574; E. Sadler – 559; T. Dillon – 526; E. Jones # – 520; B. Gaughan – 509; J. Allgaier – 506; B. Poole # – 489; B. Jones # – 489; D. Wallace Jr – 459; R. Reed – 405.

     

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for New Hampshire

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for New Hampshire

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series will compete at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend. Please check below for the complete schedule of events.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, July 15:

    On Track:
    11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series First Practice – NBCSN
    1-1:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series First Practice – NBCSN
    3-4:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series Second practice – NBCSN
    4:45 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    11 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series
    2:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    10:15 a.m.: Ty Dillon
    10:30 a.m.: Ryan Newman
    10:45 a.m.: Kyle Busch
    1 p.m.: Carl Edwards 
    1:20 p.m.: Kyle Larson
    1:50 p.m.: Joey Logano
    6 p.m.: Post-NSCS Qualifying (time approx.)

    Saturday, July 16:

    On Track:
    10-10:55 a.m: Sprint Cup Series Second practice – CNBC
    11:15 a.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    12:30-1:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN
    4 p.m.: XFINITY Series AutoLotto 200 (200 laps, 211.6 miles) – NBCSN
    Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio – Green Flag: 4:16 p.m. (time approx.)

    Press Conferences:
    6 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Race (time approx.) (Watch live)

    Sunday, July 17:

    On Track:
    1:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series New Hampshire 301 (301 laps, 318.46 miles) – NBCSN
    Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio – Green Flag: 1:44p.m. (time approx.)

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    5 p.m.: Post Sprint Cup Race (time approx.)

    *Complete NASCAR TV Schedule*

     

  • Toyota NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) Post-Race Notes & Quotes

    Toyota NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) Post-Race Notes & Quotes

    Toyota NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) Post-Race Notes & Quotes
    Daytona International Speedway
    Race 16 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps
    Friday, July 8, 2016

    TOYOTA NXS DRIVER FINISHING POSITIONS at Kentucky Speedway

    1st, KYLE BUSCH
    3rd, DANIEL SUAREZ
    4th, ERIK JONES
    17th, JJ YELEY
    18th, DAKODA ARMSTRONG
    33rd, JEFF GREEN
    39th, JOHN JACKSON
    40th, MATT DIBENEDETTO

    *non-Toyota driver

    TOYOTA NXS DRIVER POINT STANDINGS following Kentucky Speedway (race 16 of 33)*

    1st, DANIEL SUAREZ                         537 points
    4th, ERIK JONES                              480 points
    15th, DAKODA ARMSTRONG               324 points
    16th, JJ YELEY                                 298 points

    *unofficial point standings

    TOYOTA NOTES

    • Camry driver Kyle Busch won his fifth NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race of the season on Friday night at Kentucky Speedway.
    • Busch led a race-high 185 laps (of 201) en route to his 81st career NXS victory and 70th in a Camry, which is built in nearby Georgetown, Kentucky.
    • This is Toyota’s 10th NXS win of 2016 and 119th since entering the series in 2007.
    • Daniel Suarez (third) earned his seventh top-five finish of the season and continues to lead the series point standings.
    • Camry driver Erik Jones (fourth) grabbed his ninth top-five result of the year.

    TOYOTA QUOTES

    KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
    Finishing Position:  1st

    How does it feel to win the XFINITY Series race at Kentucky?

    “This is a great effort by this team and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing. Everything was really, really good about this race car since we unloaded. NOS Energy Drink Camry had really good speed and Chris Gayle (crew chief) and the guys did an awesome job each and every week, this 18 Camry is always the best, always the one to beat. I think that’s just a true testament to everyone at Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and this XFINITY Series program. I want to thank the fans as well with everyone out here and everyone at home watching on TV. It was a new repave and it probably wasn’t one of the best races from the visual, but a couple of odd things were definitely happening at the end when (Erik) Jones got me on the restart then he kind of got back when his motor didn’t re-fire there. That last restart there, I heard three-wide for a second and I don’t know what to do here but I tried to give a little bit of room and then I heard clear and I turned down. It was enough excitement from my vantage point.”

    Were you surprised to see Austin Dillon coming for you at the end?

    “He kind of struggled a little bit on the restart before that I believe, maybe two restarts before that. Obviously, you learn as a driver and you figure it out so he got it going there. He just made a bold and aggressive move there getting down low like that. He was forcing his way and I haven’t really seen it, but I imagine that’s what it looked like.”

    How does it feel to get back to victory lane at Kentucky in the XFINITY Series?

    “The JGR cars just haven’t been that great here for a long time. I think Joey Logano was the last win here for a JGR car was in 2010. This certainly means a lot to us as an organization and for NOS Energy Drink and everyone that has been a part of this program. Our cars were so fast here this weekend, it felt really, really good. We were worried about tires and we had some issues today during the race but we were able to make it through the whole event and not have a big problem. That’s just a true testament to Kentucky Speedway and what they did here tonight for this weekend in preparation to have a good race track.”

    Was that finish hard work?

    “We always get the Kyle Busch cautions. Apparently, this time, it was true. There was some problems with another car smoking. You always have to make your monies worth, I guess. Always have to give the show to the fans and their monies worth. Certainly, means a lot to us to win here and bring our Camry home to victory lane again at Kentucky Speedway. Certainly wish last night went a little bit better for myself, I’m proud of William Byron but we’ll see how it goes – maybe we can make it a Toyota sweep this weekend.”

    What did you think at the time of the restart when Erik Jones car seemed to stall?

    “The restart before that when I chose the bottom, Chris Gayle (crew chief) and I were just talking about that. When I gave Erik Jones the top, I figured it was going to be the smart thing to do because I had been trying to run around some lap cars on the top side of three and four and you just get so loose on entry and then you get so tight on the middle of the corner that you were taking a really big risk of getting outside of the black and into the grey and potentially crashing your car. That’s why I didn’t want the outside, I didn’t think it would carry the speed like the inside would. Erik Jones proved me wrong. I certainly learned from that and then when he had his problems there with not being able to get the car refired, it just kind of handed the race back to us. I chose to restart on the outside from there on out. That’s what won us the race, just being able to have that outside and that control on the inside. A guy could over push it and make a mistake and try to run you hard and get loose and run into you and push you up in the gray, but smartly, (Austin) Dillon didn’t do that and we ran a good race and we kept a lot of throttle through three and four. I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to clear him but we were able to and set sail from there for the final lap.”

    Did Erik’s move on the restart give you the confidence to take the lead for the final time on the last restart?

    “When Erik (Jones) drove off into turn three, I started to roll out just a little bit because I knew I needed to in order to run the bottom. He drove right on past me and I was like, ‘Well, alrighty then.’ I was waiting for him to slip and not be able to control his car in the black, in the rubber and it stuck for him and it worked. From there I definitely learned there was some speed up there at least for one lap, for one corner on being on the outside of a guy and also it kind of disturbed the air on my car a little bit. I knew that having that opportunity again if I could have the top I’d be able to do the same thing, so that’s what I did at the end.”

    What will you do with this Juke Box?

    “I’m not sure. Getting the one that we got last year was really cool and being able to win the Cup Series one, that was really special. We’ll see how tomorrow goes, maybe we can get another one and have too many to deal with. This one right here for the XFINITY guys and Brexton (son) will be fighting over that one. We’ll see who wins that battle.”

    How were you able to save your Cup car in practice?

    “The car was good, it was fast. Three laps earlier than that we were the fastest lap of practice and then all of a sudden just going through one and two a little bit loose on me and then I throttled up and drove through that and it was fine. Then, I hit that bump out of the exit of turn two on the bottom side of the race track and it jumped sideways on me. Lost traction and somehow I held on to it from sliding and spinning out this way and then when it came back the other way, I had to make sure I had the steering wheel cranked so it wouldn’t cut back and nose into the wall or hit the wall some way or spin out the opposite way. You just had to be ahead with the steering so it was definitely a very tense moment, one that I would not want to do again, but certainly was a good show, I guess. It scared me enough that there’s no more need for that.”

    CHRIS GAYLE, Crew Chief, No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

    What type of preparation did you need to do to prepare a winning race car for a new track surface?

    “Really there wasn’t a whole lot of adjustment. We were definitely worried about the tires. We had 10 laps or so in practice having blisters so we kind of went into the night wondering how long we were going to be able to go. We knew when we would start blistering them, but we didn’t know how much longer we could go before they came apart and created a problem. I don’t think anyone knew what it was going to be until we got to the race tonight. Once we got those two right side tire stops earlier and got the full laps on that one set of tires and we could go 50 laps. They looked bad, but not as much as we saw in the truck race last night, not as bad as we expected. It relieved all of us a little bit and we didn’t have to adjust on the car too much. Kind of had to make it take off a little better for him on one four tire stop and he got loose toward the end of the last stop so we made a few small adjustments. It was a pretty good night to not have to have too many issues.”

    STEVE DESOUZA, EVP of XFINITY and Development, No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

    What is it like to see JGR’s XFINITY Series program perform so well this season?

    “We have two that are contending for the driver’s championship, then the 18 contending for the owner’s championship, so all three of them are going after championships. Obviously of the way and the effort that they are all putting together. All three teams work really well together and the results are showing up on the race track. We’re really proud of all the guys. Kyle (Busch) is our senior guy helping the young guys come along and it’s paying dividends for the entire group.”

    DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
    Finishing Position:  3rd

    How was your race?

    “I knew that the old tires on the bottom wasn’t the place to be. I knew with Austin (Dillon) behind me he was going to go. My team did a really good job. We had the best car for the first half of the race. I’m pretty much in the same situation as Austin with the first stop was rights and then lefts and then four and then rights. My car was really good in four, but it wasn’t as good in rights and we ended up with rights. That’s part of racing. I feel like we learned some good stuff for next time here, our first race of the Chase. We still have some homework but overall so did everyone. I think there’s some things we could have done a little bit better. We lost some track position and I went sideways in three and four for a couple laps. I’m really looking forward to seeing that on TV. I’m looking forward to next week in Loudon.”

    How important is it for you to run well and continue a strong season with your family at the race with you?

    “It feels really good. My family doesn’t have the opportunity to come very often. Actually, this is the first race that they came this year and it’s exciting and fun to have them here and enjoy and to have some racing and family time at the same time. It was cool. I’m really looking forward to the next couple races that they are going to stay here as well.”

    What did you think of the new track surface?

    “For me, I really like it. It’s fast and I know it’s hard but I think that the second groove was coming. I really think that by the second part of the race we had some good racing going on. I’m really looking forward to seeing tomorrow’s Cup race because I’m sure they are going to start making that second line work. I really think Kentucky did a good job with this race. It’s really fast, has a lot of grip and I think everyone is learning about this race, Goodyear is learning. There were some issues with tires, but it’s all a learning process the first time.”

    ERIK JONES, No. 20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
    Finishing Position:  4th

     JJ YELEY, No. 44 Zachry Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
    Finishing Position:  17th

     DAKODA ARMSTRONG, No. 28 WinField Toyota Camry, JGL Racing
    Finishing Position:  18th

     JEFF GREEN, No. 14 Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
    Finishing Position:  33rd

     JOHN JACKSON, No. 40 CrashClaimsR.US Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
    Finishing Position:  39th

     MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 10 Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
    Finishing Position:  40th

     Toyota racing logo

     

  • Ray Black Jr. Secures Third Top-20 Finish of the Season

    Ray Black Jr. Secures Third Top-20 Finish of the Season

    NASCAR Driver Finished 19th During ALSCO 300 at Kentucky Speedway

    SPARTA, Ky.  (July 9, 2016) – The freshly repaved Kentucky Speedway had its challenges, but NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) driver Ray Black Jr. persevered on Friday night to capture his third Top-20 and second-best NXS finish of the 2016 season. The driver of the No. 07 ScubaLife.com Chevrolet Camaro finished 19th during the ALSCO 300 after overcoming pit road challenges and a late-race spin.

    Black and his SS Green Light Racing team had a lot of unknowns coming into the newly repaved 1.5-mile track but were successfully able to improve the handling of their Camaro throughout the four practice sessions on Thursday. Black went on to qualify 29th for Friday’s race.

    After the drop of the green flag, Black immediately began making his way up through the field and was in the 24th position when a caution for debris came out. His trip down pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments was a tough one, as the No. 22 came peeling out of his stall right in front of Black, who was forced to slam on the brakes and overshoot his pit stall in order to avoid getting in an accident.

    Black restarted 27th but once again immediately began working his way up through the field with daring four-wide moves before settling in around the 18th position.

    With just 25 laps to go, Black moved up high on the track to pass a competitor when he lost the handling of his Chevrolet and spun out on the track. In order to avoid hitting another car, Black kept his car high on the track and scraped the right rear side of his car on the exit of Turn 4. Luckily, the car mostly received only cosmetic damage and Black was able to hold on to his 19th place position for the remainder of the race.

    “A Top-20 out of Kentucky Speedway – we’ll take it!” said Black after the race. “After the challenges of the last couple of races, it feels great to have a solid finish like this one. Kentucky Speedway did a great job with the repave. I had a lot of fun out there and found more grip than I expected to. I’m really proud of how hard everyone worked this week and look forward to going after another Top-20 next weekend.”

    Black and his SS Green Light Racing team will now take on the “Magic Mile” of New Hampshire Motor Speedway next Saturday, July 16.

    Fans can keep up with Ray Black Jr. by following him and his sponsor, ScubaLife, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @RayBlackJr and @TeamScubaRacing. Learn more about Ray Black Jr. and Team Scuba by visiting www.rayblackjr.com and www.teamscuba.com.

    About Ray Black Jr.
    Ray Black, Jr. grew up in Florida after relocating from Montgomery, Alabama at age 9. It was here that Black fell in love with deep sea diving after a couple of scuba trips with his father. His passion for motorsports came later at age 14 after playing some racing video games. He began competing in the Florida Mini Cup Racing Association (FMCRA), where finished in the Top-5 in every race and secured the FMCRA Junior All-Star Championship. In 2013 Black moved up to racing pro late models and then into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2014. During that year, he got his first taste of true NASCAR racing when he competed in seven races for SS Green Light Racing. In 2015, Black competed in his first full season of NASCAR in the Camping World Truck Series, where he finished 11th in the championship standings with one Top-5 and 11 Top-15 finishes. Black will compete in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for the 2016 season. Learn more at www.rayblackjr.com.

    About ScubaLife
    ScubaLife is more than a website; it is a comprehensive resource for those who are passionate about the water.  Members receive access to a wealth of information that helps guide them to plan the best water sport experience. ScubaLife provides members with world-class support, affiliate resources, Professional Liability insurance, educational programs and access to our worldwide partner network. Members can also now receive discounts on general insurance rates for their homes, automobiles and more. ScubaLife can help you find new ways to relax, discover new recreational opportunities and explore the infinite possibilities of a water lifestyle through promotional savings to help you save on hotels, water activities and much more.  ScubaLife helps you discover the unknown, which at times is a place, but more commonly, and importantly, a state of mind. Check out ScubaLife’s all-new website today at www.scubalife.com.

     

  • RCR NXS Post Race Report – Alsco 300

    RCR NXS Post Race Report – Alsco 300

    Austin DillonAustin Dillon Gambles on Green-White-Checker Restart to Capture Second-Place Finish in Richard Childress Racing’s Rheem Chevrolet

    “I feel like we had a very competitive No. 2 Rheem Chevrolet tonight. We took right-side tires, then left-side tires, then right-side tires and we learned that we were very good on left-side tires, so good that we were posting the fastest laps of the race. I tried hard on that last restart. I just wish Turns 3 and 4 would have went differently for us at the end. I never lifted. I just came off the gas a little bit in Turns 3 and 4 and that’s what made all the difference. I’m proud of everyone on this team and we will get a few more wins before the end of this season.”
    – Austin Dillon – Started 4th – Finished 2nd

    Ty Dillon via RCR press release 2016Ty Dillon Starts From Rear, Battles Back for 10th Top-10 Finish of the Season

    “We battled back from a mishap in qualifying after getting into the wall. It’s nothing that our team couldn’t handle. We started from the rear and raced our way into the top 10 before the first caution. The Alsco/Red Cap Chevrolet was fast, and we worked pit strategy in a way so that we were able to lead a few laps. Overall, it was a solid finish. Another great top-10, but I know our team can win here in the fall in the first round of the Chase.”
    – Ty Dillon – Started 23rd – Finished 7th

    Brandon Jones Fights Through Adversity To Finish 11th At KentuckyBrandon Jones via RCR press release 2016

    “The guys on this AAA Car Care Centers Chevrolet team did a great job all day leading us to 11th in a backup car. It was an older chassis that we had run before, so I was really impressed with how it ran with only a few practice laps on Thursday. The guys got it to where it could run in the top six, we just needed track position at the end to get back up there. The track was very line sensitive. If you missed it just a bit or got up into the marbles, you would get really tight and then it would snap loose. It was kind of tough to tell crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. how to adjust to the conditions we were facing, but I think they did a great job working on it and getting us to just outside the top 10.”
    – Brandon Jones – Started 17th – Finished 11th

     

     

    Brendan Gaughan via RCR press release 2016Brendan Gaughan Perseveres After Going to a Back-Up South Point Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway

    “The groove was super narrow all weekend. In practice, we hit debris which pushed us out of the groove and into the wall. Once we left the groove on this new surface, there was zero grip at Kentucky Speedway. The team worked hard to get the back-up ready to race. We had a loose South Point Chevy with little to no bite in the front end. Shane Wilson and the guys made big swings to fix our handling issues. I’m really proud of how hard the team worked this weekend, I just wish we had a better finish. We will regroup and come back stronger next week in New Hampshire.”
    – Brendan Gaughan – Started 18th – Finished 13th

  • Ford Performance NASCAR: Wallace Rallies for Fifth-Place XFINITY Finish

    Ford Performance NASCAR: Wallace Rallies for Fifth-Place XFINITY Finish

    Ford Performance NXS Notes and Quotes
    Alsco 300 – Kentucky Speedway

    Ford Finishing Results:
    5th – Darrell Wallace Jr.
    8th – Ryan Blaney
    10th – Brad Keselowski
    29th – Ryan Reed

    DARRELL WALLACE JR. – No. 6 EcoBoost Ford Mustang – YOU GOT TO FIFTH ON THAT LAST RESTART. “It’s a good night for us, but we’ve got to be better. We finished fifth, so that was a good rebound from when we showed up here at Kentucky. We were way off in left field, so we worked hard all night long. There were no mistakes on pit road. I kept sliding through, so I need to work on that.   The mistakes are on me, but my guys are awesome. They did a great job, but we’ve got to be better. Fifth is good, but we’re getting close to Chase time, so we need to start winning.

    DO YOU LIKE BEING IN THOSE POSITIONS WHERE YOU CAN BE AGGRESSIVE ON THOSE RESTARTS AND JUST GO FOR IT? “Yeah. It’s good.   It’s showcasing that we’re making improvements and that’s all we can ask for right now. We’re still in building stages. Don’t get me wrong, we had a pretty good Ford EcoBoost Mustang and just need a little bit more. We’re usually about seventh to eighth and we picked it up two spots, so the credit goes to all of my guys and my pit crew for no mistakes and coming away with a solid somewhat clean race. My right-front over there is a little damaged. Me and Keselowski got together, but hopefully no hard feelings there.”

    WHAT DOES RFR NEED TO DO AS AN ORGANIZATION TO GET YOU INTO VICTORY LANE? “Just look at what we’ve been doing this last month or two. They’ve been really hitting on some stuff on the Cup side and it’s kind of trickling down to the XFINITY shop, so we just have to keep taking notes and keep trying things. I say we need to win because it’s getting close to Chase time, but we still have some time to tweak and tune some stuff. We’ll go to Loudon next week and we’ll go have some fun.”

    WHAT WAS IT LIKE GOING FOUR-WIDE THERE ON THE RESTART? “I didn’t know we were four-wide until Freddy said, ‘Clear of four-wide.’ It’s cool that we all made it through here at Kentucky. It was an awesome job with the repave by the whole Kentucky staff. It was fun racing, but couldn’t really do much passing. It will be better when we come back.”

    RYAN BLANEY – No. 12 Snap-On Ford Mustang – YOU MADE SOME BOLD MOVES DOWN THE STRETCH TO TRY AND GET SOME TRACK POSITION. “That’s really all you can do. It’s really hard to pass. I thought we were our best at one point of the race late and we got to the tail end of the top three and we couldn’t pass anybody. It was too tight, so restarts were really, really key to try and make positions. The 20 ran us down on the apron and that wasn’t very cool, but whatever. Props to everybody on this team. Greg Erwin and the guys did a great job. It’s just a group we got together at the last minute and they did a great job getting the car together and spent so much time working on it. I can’t thank Snap-On and Ford and Discount Tire enough for what they do. It’s unfortunate, but we’ll get ‘em next time.”

    WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST FEW RUNS? “We got better and better. The last two runs is where I thought we were the best. We’d lose so much ground early in the run and then we would just kind of gain it all back and were kind of stuck there, but restarts were a different story. They did a good job of getting me to where I needed to be and, luckily, learned a lot of stuff for tomorrow night.”

    WHAT DID YOU LEARN FOR TOMORROW NIGHT? “I can’t tell you that.”

    BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – “We just didn’t have enough speed to get the cars better than everyone else. Once we got settled out we were probably good enough to run right behind them speed on the race track-wise, but we just had nothing on restarts and got passed by everybody down the straightaway through the gears. That kind of hurt Ryan and I both there at the end. I hate that both of us had to deal with that and get tore up as well, but we’ve got to be better.”

     

  • Kyle Busch Puts on XFINITY Clinic in Kentucky

    Kyle Busch Puts on XFINITY Clinic in Kentucky

    SPARTA, Ky. — The odds-on favorite thoroughbred Kyle Busch put on a classic domination clinic on his way to winning in the Bluegrass State.

    “This is a great effort by this team and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Busch said of his feelings on winning at Kentucky. “Everything was really, really good about this race car since we unloaded. NOS Energy Drink Camry had really good speed and Chris Gayle (crew chief) and the guys did an awesome job each and every week, this 18 Camry is always the best, always the one to beat. I think that’s just a true testament to everyone at Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and this XFINITY Series program. I want to thank the fans as well with everyone out here and everyone at home watching on TV. It was a new repave and it probably wasn’t one of the best races from the visual, but a couple of odd things were definitely happening at the end when (Erik) Jones got me on the restart then he kind of got back when his motor didn’t re-fire there. That last restart there, I heard three-wide for a second and I don’t know what to do here but I tried to give a little bit of room and then I heard clear and I turned down. It was enough excitement from my vantage point.”

    He led 185 of the 201 laps on his way to scoring his 81st career victory in 320 XFINITY Series starts in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It’s his fifth victory and ninth top-10 finish of the 2016 season. It’s also his second victory and seventh top-10 finish in nine races at Kentucky Speedway.

    Austin Dillon posted his fifth top-10 finish in five races at Kentucky and 10th top-10 finish of the season with a runner-up finish in his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Daniel Suárez earned his second top-10 finish in three races at Kentucky as he rounded out the podium in his No. 19 JGR Toyota. Erik Jones led three laps on his way to a fourth-place finish in his No. 20 JGR Toyota. Darrell Wallace Jr. rounded out the top-five in his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

    Elliott Sadler finished sixth in his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Ty Dillon led 10 laps on his way to a seventh-place finish in his No. 3 RCR Chevrolet. Ryan Blaney finished eighth in his No. 12 Team Penske Ford. Brennan Poole finished ninth in his No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10 in his No. 22 Penske Ford.

    Ray Black Jr., who led one lap, finished 19th. Ross Chastain, who led one lap, finished 22nd. Jeff Green, who led one lap, exited the race with transmission failure prior to halfway and finished 33rd.

    Eleven cars finished the race on the lead lap while 32 were running at the finish.

    The race lasted two hours, five minutes and 24 seconds at an average speed of 144.258 mph. There were 11 lead changes among six different drivers and five cautions for 22 laps.

    Suárez leaves Kentucky with a nine-point lead over Sadler in the points standings.

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