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  • Kyle Busch Goes 2-for-2 in Bristol, Rallies with XFINITY Victory

    Kyle Busch Goes 2-for-2 in Bristol, Rallies with XFINITY Victory

    By Staff Report | NASCAR.com

    Kyle Busch completed the second leg in a potential Bristol Motor Speedway tripleheader sweep, rallying to victory in the NASCAR XFINITY Series on Friday night.

    Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota led a race-high 186 of 300 laps in the Food City 300. He also converted a come-from-behind victory Wednesday in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

    Busch was bitten by a pit-road speeding penalty during the intermission after his Stage 1 win, forcing him to restart in 19th place. But Busch roared back to the front — much like he did in his midweek truck win — in 58 laps to take Stage 2 and position himself for another victory on the .533-mile track.

    “At least I didn’t have to come through in the last stage because everybody was pretty fast there tonight in the last stage,” said Busch, whose Truck Series comeback came in the final stage. “I don’t know if I would have been able to make it all the way back up through there.”

    Busch’s fifth XFINITY win of the season was his ninth at Bristol and the 91st of his career. He’ll go for the tripleheader sweep in Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series main event (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM), a Bristol feat he also accomplished in 2010.

    “I think we can, yeah,” Busch said of his chances, starting 18th in Bristol’s annual night race. “We’ve got a fast car. We just have to make the right adjustments overnight here and get it ready for tomorrow.”

    Daniel Suarez, Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, netted second place in the No. 20 Toyota, finishing 1.181 seconds behind Busch at the checkered flag.

    Series points leader Elliott Sadler finished third, clinching a playoff spot by ensuring himself a top-20 result in the regular-season standings. Ty Dillon and Justin Allgaier completed the top five.

    The series’ next race is scheduled Aug. 27 at Road America, the sprawling 4.048-mile road course in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

    Related Links: Race results | Series standings

  • Kyle Busch Puts on Clinic in Bristol XFINITY Race

    Kyle Busch Puts on Clinic in Bristol XFINITY Race

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — It was another Kyle Busch showcase, as he led a race-high of 186 to win the NASCAR XFINITY Series Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    He led the field to the green flag at 7:45 and led the first 16 laps, before Justin Allgaier powered by him, on the high side, on the Lap 16 restart to take the lead. Busch drove underneath him exiting Turn 2 on Lap 33 and drove on to win the first stage.

    He was busted for speeding and restarted the second stage from the tail-end of the field. However, he methodically worked his back to the head of the field on Lap 157, just in time for him to win the second stage.

    From there, while he briefly lost the lead to Daniel Suarez and Elliott Sadler, it was all Rowdy’s with 98 laps to go, who drove right on to his 91st career victory.

    Suarez finished second and Sadler rounded out the podium.

    Ty Dillon and Allgaier rounded out the top-five.

    Brennan Poole, Daniel Hemric, Austin Dillon, Joey Logano and Cole Custer rounded out the top-10.

    CAUTION SUMMARY

    Caution first flew on Lap 12 for David Starr when he slammed the wall in Turn 1. The second flew when Aric Almirola and Ryan Reed crashed in Turn 3 on Lap 29. The third flew on Lap 39 when Reed slammed the wall in Turn 4. The fourth flew for the end of the first stage on Lap 86. The fifth flew for Brandon Jones spinning out on the front stretch on Lap 124. The sixth flew for the end of the second stage. The seventh flew for Tommy Joe Martins slamming the wall in Turn 1 with 84 laps to go. The final caution flew with 23 to go when Brendan Gaughan got turned into the front stretch wall.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted one hour, 48 minutes and 30 seconds, at an average speed of 88.424 mph. There were 11 lead changes among four different drivers and eight cautions for 46 laps.

    Sadler leaves with a 110-point lead over William Byron.

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  • Kyle Busch Fastest in Final XFINITY Practice at Bristol

    Kyle Busch Fastest in Final XFINITY Practice at Bristol

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Busch topped the chart in final NASCAR XFINITY Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 15.435 and a speed of 124.315 mph. Joey Logano was second in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a time of 15.491 and a speed of 123.865 mph. Brennan Poole was third in his No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 15.526 and a speed of 123.586 mph. William Byron was fourth in his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 15.553 and a speed of 123.372 mph. Justin Allgaier rounded out the top-five in his No. 7 JRM Chevrolet with a time of 15.561 and a speed of 123.308 mph.

    Daniel Hemric, Cole Custer, Elliott Sadler, Matt Tifft and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top-10.

    Allgaier posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 122.516 mph.

    First XFINITY Series Practice Results

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  • Kyle Busch Rallies from Speeding Penalty to Win Bristol Truck Race

    Kyle Busch Rallies from Speeding Penalty to Win Bristol Truck Race

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — While Kyle Busch was the dominant driver, he had to overcome a speeding penalty, which he did with ease, ran down and passed Matt Crafton, and even held him off on an overtime restart to win at Thunder Valley.

    Busch was busted for speeding under the second stage break caution and restarted at the tail-end of the field on the ensuing restart. He made quick work of the field, catching and passing Crafton for the race lead with 33 laps to go to score his 49th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory in 140 career starts.

    Crafton finished second and John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the podium.

    Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes rounded out the top-five.

    Johnny Sauter, Christopher Bell, Parker Kligerman, Austin Cindric and Brandon Jones rounded out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Busch led the field to the green flag at 10:44 p.m. He led every lap of the first stage on his way to winning it on Lap 56.

    Cindric took the lead under the caution and restarted the race leader. A lap after the Lap 64 restart, however, Crafton got to his corner panel and loosened him. Taking the lead on Lap 65. But Busch ran him down, and lapped traffic allowed him to pass Crafton exiting Turn 2, retake the lead and win the second stage on Lap 121.

    He was busted for speeding, which set up the run to the finish.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted one hour, 13 minutes and five seconds, at an average speed of 88.829 mph. There were six lead changes among four different drivers and five cautions for 31 laps.

    Bell leaves with a 42-point lead over Sauter.

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  • Hot 20 – Saturday night it is Bristol, baby!

    Hot 20 – Saturday night it is Bristol, baby!

    There are races you mark down, make plans for, but there are few venues that seem to provide the kind of action that transforms those events into stand alone spectacles. Daytona is one. Talladega is another. You might want to add Darlington, for tradition sake, and Sonoma to the mix. Charlotte hosts the longest and next year they break out the road course for its second date. Then there are the two in Bristol, Tennessee.

    While we continue to yearn for announcers who captivate us with their voices, delivery, dialogue, banter, information, or entertainment value, it does not matter this Saturday night. This time, the track will take care of all that itself. No one is going to run away from the pack. Lapped cars will matter if only for being in the way. Fenders are going to be dented, drivers are going to get hot, and fans are going to find their time well spent. That is not always the case in NASCAR. It is damn near becoming the exception to the rule, but Saturday night they are in Bristol.

    I am not sure if we will have another offering from a shrill voiced fellow with a distinctive accent, but if your head announcer does not sound something like Ken Squier, Chris Economaki, or at the very least Mike Joy, do not hire them. If your booth announcers do not have the bantering chemistry of Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach, you have failed. If the race sucks, at least your announcers can not. The name of the game is to keep us watching. Thankfully, this is Bristol, so that does not matter as much this week.

    It will be interesting to see how many of its 162,000 seats will be filled in Thunder Valley’s stadium like layout. If they fail to turn out to watch the action on the 0.533 mile track, if they are not crowded on the couch to take it all in at home, do not expect things to get any better when they get to Chicago, Dover, or Kansas. In future, a general rule of thumb would be if a race track is not designed to be the next Daytona, Talladega, Bristol, Sonoma, or even a Martinsville, do not build it.

    If I did not follow the sport, if I did not know what each race means to each driver, if I had no idea what the Chase was or what the points meant, if I did not know the difference between an Earnhardt and an Erlich Bachman, I probably would watch only a dozen events each season for their stand alone entertainment value.

    The race Saturday night at Bristol would be one of them.

    1. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 4 WINS (933 Pts)
    If you want to win, you got to beat him…team mate or not…

    2. KYLE LARSON – 3 WINS (804 Pts)
    …just like Larson did last Sunday.

    3. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 3 WINS (592 Pts)
    Won at Bristol in the spring. Why not on a summer night?

    4. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2 WINS (720 Pts)
    If Johnson does not win, another two-time Bristol winner would not mind wearing the suds.

    5. RICKY STENHOUSE, JR. – 2 WINS (505 Pts)
    Better half could be without a ride at SHR next year. I didn’t even know he and Kurt were dating.

    6. KYLE BUSCH – 1 WIN (797 Pts)
    They may be from Las Vegas, but Bristol is Busch country.

    7. KEVIN HARVICK – 1 WIN (787 Pts)
    Harvick is a champion, yet less popular than Junior or Danica. Maybe more so after last week.

    8. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (710 Pts)
    It is a girl!

    9. RYAN BLANEY – 1 WIN (592 Pts)
    Maybe Blaney can be the next Junior. You know, someone Harvick can harp on.

    10. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (554 Pts)
    Going into his 600th career race, the brothers have each claimed five at Thunder Valley.

    11. RYAN NEWMAN – 1 WIN (536 Pts)
    The invisible man was fourth last week while averaging 15.9 over the season.

    12. KASEY KAHNE – 1 WIN (438 Pts)
    After wrecking with Suarez on Sunday, I bet he wished he was still with the good hands people.

    13. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN (436 Pts)
    Top Ten last week was his first since he won at Charlotte in late May.

    14. CHASE ELLIOTT – 685 POINTS
    Probably a near lock for the Chase, but that first career win sure would be nice.

    15. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 675 POINTS
    Could be 40 points higher if not for wrecking at Martinsville and Pocono.

    16. MATT KENSETH – 654 POINTS
    Odds of 4x Bristol winner making the Chase are better than driving a competitive car next year.

    17. CLINT BOWYER – 623 POINTS
    Pit penalties and a flat tire ruined his plans last week, and did him no favors hunting down Matt.

    18. JOEY LOGANO – 556 POINTS (1 Win)
    Might feel the worst, but if he came first it would turn his frown upside down.

    19. ERIK JONES – 524 POINTS
    Has a string of three Top Tens. Now he needs a Top One.

    20. DANIEL SUAREZ – 515 POINTS
    Actually 17th in points, but race winners Stenhouse, Kahne, and Dillon now sit ahead of him.

  • Kyle Busch takes Bristol Truck pole

    Kyle Busch takes Bristol Truck pole

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Busch will lead the field to the green flag this evening after winning the pole for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 46 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota scored the pole with a time of 14.827 and a speed of 129.413 mph. Christopher Bell will start second with a final round time of 14.920 and a speed of 128.606 mph. Johnny Sauter will start third with a final round time of 14.959 and a speed of 128.271 mph. Noah Gragson will start fourth with a final round time of 14.961 and a speed of 128.253 mph. Brandon Jones will round out the top-five starters with a final round time of 15.001 and a speed of 127.911 mph.

    Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger, Cody Coughlin, Ben Rhodes and Jesse Little will round out the top-10 starters.

    Kaz Grala and Justin Haley will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

    Chris Windom and Mike Senica failed to make the race.

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  • Kyle Busch Fastest in Final Truck Practice at Bristol

    Kyle Busch Fastest in Final Truck Practice at Bristol

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Busch topped the chart in final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 46 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota was the fastest with a time of 14.706 and a speed of 130.477 mph. Ben Rhodes was second in his No. 27 ThorSport Racing Toyota with a time of 14.801 and a speed of 129.640 mph. Christopher Bell was third in his No. 4 KBM Toyota with a time of 14.816 and a speed of 129.509 mph. Matt Crafton was fourth in his ThorSport Toyota with a time of 14.816 and a speed of 129.509 mph. Johnny Sauter rounded out the top-five in his No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet with a time of 14.844 and a speed of 129.264 mph.

    Brandon Jones, Grant Enfinger, Parker Kligerman, Cody Coughlin and Justin Haley rounded out the top-10.

    Bell posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 124.808 mph.

    First Truck Practice Results

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  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Bristol

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-Bristol

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for a rare mid-week event. It will be the 14th race of the 2017 season with three races remaining before the playoffs begin. For some drivers, Bristol could be the place to score their first win of the season, but there could also be a repeat 2017 winner. Let’s take a look at who could tame the “Fastest Half Mile” on the Truck Series circuit.

    In the past five races, there have been five different winners, with the winner coming from the lowest starting position, 13th, which came from Ben Kennedy in last year’s race.

    Currently, there are 34 Trucks on the preliminary entry list.

    1. Kyle Busch – Busch will be competing in his sixth race of the season. Bristol has been a strong suit for the younger Busch brother. In the last five races, Busch has one win that came in 2013, two top fives and two top 10 finishes. Busch will look to add another win at Bristol. Also to note, Bristol was the home of his sweep that came in 2010.

    2. Christopher Bell – Bell looks to continue his summer hot streak as he heads to Bristol for the second time in his career. In his only start, he finished seventh in last year’s race. Even though he has four wins this and the points lead, that won’t stop him going for his fifth win of the year and his first at Bristol.

    3. John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek is looking to rebound after a disappointing outing at Michigan. In three races at Bristol, he has finished eighth, third and sixth, respectively. If Nemechek wants to rebound and get his season back on track, Bristol could be the place.

    4. Matt Crafton – Crafton finished sixth this past weekend at Michigan but is hungry for another win this season. In the last five races, Crafton has an average finish of 12.4 but has one top five and four top 10 finishes. Bristol might be the site of his second win of the season.

    5. Brandon Jones – Jones could be a spoiler and wild card Wednesday night at Bristol. In his only start that came in 2016, he finished ninth. In 2017 on the Truck Series side, Jones has given the No. 99 team, two top fives and three top 10 finishes. This might be a momentum booster for Jones as he’s been struggling on the XFINITY Series side.

    The winners of the last five races have come from inside the top 10, with the exception of the 2016 race where Ben Kennedy won from the 13th starting position. Qualifying will be an important factor if the drivers want a shot at the win.

    There will be two practices on Wednesday with the first one at 9 a.m. ET and the final at 11 a.m. ET, both on FS1.

    Qualifying is set for 4:35 p.m. ET on FS2 and race coverage will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and MRN Radio.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex won Stage 2, his 15th stage win of the season, and finished second at Michigan, passed on the final restart by a bold move from Kyle Larson. Truex leads the Monster Energy Cup points standings, and also leads with 35 playoff points.

    “My Furniture Row Racing teammate Erik Jones restarted right beside me in second,” Truex said, “but Larson forced his way between us anyway. All this time I thought Carl Edwards was the best at driving a wedge between teammates.”

    2. Kyle Larson: Larson went from fourth to first on the final restart to take the win in the Pure Michigan 400, his third consecutive win at Michigan.

    “I went right between Martin Truex Jr. and Erik Jones,” Larson said. “I’m no expert in math or Roman numerals, but if you take 78 and 77, divide them by 42, you get ‘V.’ That’s ‘V’ for victory.”

    3. Kyle Busch: A costly penalty ruined Busch’s chances of a win at Michigan. He was sent to the rear of the field at the start of the second stage after he pitted while pit road was closed. He still finished a solid 10th and is third in the points standings.

    “My spotter told me pit road was open,” Busch said. “He was wrong. Now I’m going to play the role of spotter. You see my spotter there? He’s a moron.”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 13th at Michigan.

    “I said Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s popularity had ‘stunted’ the growth of NASCAR,” Harvick said. “And, in saying so, I may have stumbled upon the reason Junior is so popular—-he’s not an a-hole.”

    5. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 16th in the Pure Michigan 400.

    “Kyle Busch called Brad Keselowski a ‘moron,’” Hamlin said, “and everyone is making a big deal about it. It’s not. I’ve been a teammate of Kyle’s for 10 years now; being called a ‘moron?’ That’s a compliment.”

    6. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished 19th at Michigan and has not posted a top-10 result in his last four races.

    “24, 21, 19,” Johnson said. “No, those aren’t my last three finishes. Those are the ages of my Hendrick Motorsports teammates in 2018.”

    7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski started from the pole at Michigan and led 105 laps only to finish 17th at Michigan.

    “Our pit strategy left a lot to be desired,” Keselowski said. “In fact, a lot of people were questioning our decisions. Many called it ‘stupid.’ Others called it ‘idiotic.’ One even called it ‘moronic.’”

    8. Jamie McMurray: McMurray finished ninth at Michigan, recording his 12th top 10 of the season.

    “The Chevy Camaro is coming to NASCAR next year,” McMurray said. “That was big news in Michigan, where Chevrolet is headquartered. As announcements go that sent chills down the spines of Michiganites, it was a distant second to the news that Kid Rock is running for US Senate.”

    9. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth was in third place with two laps to go before a tire issue dropped him to a 24th-place finish at Michigan.

    “I still have a 31-point cushion over Clint Bowyer,” Kenseth said. “That’s should be enough to get me in the Chase. So, I know where I’ll be in three weeks; I just don’t know where I’ll be next year.”

    10. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished a disappointing 23rd at Michigan and failed to make up any ground in his quest to make the Chase For The Cup.

    “Like Kevin Harvick,” Bowyer said, “I chose to open my mouth and be critical of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Maybe I should spend more time trying to make the Chase than voicing my unwanted opinion. My foot is obviously better served on the gas pedal than in my mouth.”

  • Has Dale Earnhardt Jr’s popularity stunted NASCAR growth or did he save it from itself?

    Has Dale Earnhardt Jr’s popularity stunted NASCAR growth or did he save it from itself?

    Heading into Michigan, Kevin Harvick made some headlines on his radio show when he laid blame for the sport’s lack of progress in recent years in the lap of Dale Earnhardt Jr. That never is a good thing to do.

    “For me, I believe that Dale Jr. has had a big part in kind of stunting the growth of NASCAR because he’s got these legions of fans and this huge outreach of being able to reach different places that none of us have the possibility to reach, but he’s won nine races in 10 years at Hendrick Motorsports and hasn’t been able to reach outside of that,” Harvick said. So, is Junior a “big part in kind of stunting the growth of NASCAR?”

    Junior is an interesting, unique story. In fact, his life story from the date of his father’s death to his winning the 2004 Daytona 500 is pure Hollywood gold. His win when they returned to Daytona in 2001, his four straight Talladega victories, to 2004 when the 500 was his first of six victories that season. Pure gold, damn near fictional if we had not lived to see it happen with our own eyes. The Legend’s fans became those of the Legacy, and those 15 wins in his first five seasons put the focus squarely on him.

    After 2004, he went from extraordinary to ordinary, yet his legion of fans remained. Is it his fault Jimmie Johnson has not been marketed properly? I mean, you shouldn’t see a poster of Jimmie without seeing him flanked by Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. He is NASCAR royalty. Still, he was not the son of a legend.

    Junior is popular because he is the son of that Legend, a young man who had tremendous early success to allow the Earnhardt fans to keep on cheering. He also had enough of a good ole boy personality to keep them loyal through all the tribulations to come.

    Did his lack of success over recent years stunt NASCAR’s growth? Maybe, it was his continued presence that kept it from sliding further down the tubes. In fact, the champion has only taken the Most Popular Driver award six times in the season they won the championship. The last was Bill Elliott nearly 30 years ago. So much for Harvick’s theory.

    The Most Popular Driver award has been handed out 66 times. On 50 occasions, the most popular driver had the last name of Petty, Allison, Elliott, or Earnhardt. In fact, since 1970 only David Pearson and Darrell Waltrip (twice) has interrupted that dynasty.

    Mr. Harvick is wrong. It is a combination of success and personality and royal jelly that makes one the Most Popular. Neither Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart laid claim to the award. Neither has Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, or either Busch brother. Neither has Kevin Harvick.

    I guess next year we will have to find another Most Popular Driver. My guess? How about another Elliott. These families have carried NASCAR on their back for decades. Why stop now?