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Tag: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

  • Earnhardt Receives Piece of Indy’s Scoring Pylon During Retirement Tour

    Earnhardt Receives Piece of Indy’s Scoring Pylon During Retirement Tour

    Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s farewell tour rolled into Speedway, Indiana this weekend and the gift he received from the Brickyard was a piece of the old scoring pylon.

    The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the latest in the line of tracks to present Earnhardt with a going-away gift for his final race at the track of the week. It started with naming a litter of service puppies after him at Sonoma Raceway, a painting documenting momentous races through his career at Daytona International Speedway and a jukebox that was donated in his name to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

    To commemorate his final race at the track, Doug Boles, president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, presented as a gift a panel with the No. 8 from the old scoring pylon during his media availability earlier this afternoon.

    “I like stuff like that. We have a lot of old memorabilia and I’ve got a great spot for that one,” Earnhardt said. “This track, to me, has so much history beyond obviously the stock cars. It’s really interesting what this track has been through and how its survived recessions and wars and initially you know this is where all the guys were bringing their cars that they were building Louis Chevrolet and guys like that were coming here and racing and kind of created the auto industry at Indy. I have a lot of respect and admiration for this race track, for its history, for what it means to American motorsports and what it means to motorsports globally. It’s an honor to have an opportunity to ever race here. So, I appreciate that a lot.”

  • Jones Fastest in Final Practice at Indianapolis

    Jones Fastest in Final Practice at Indianapolis

    Erik Jones topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 48.425 and a speed of 185.854 mph. Kevin Harvick was second in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 48.433 and a speed of 185.824 mph. Ryan Blaney was third in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford with a time of 48.435 and a speed of 185.816 mph. Jimmie Johnson was fourth in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 48.521 and a speed of 185.487 mph. Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-five in his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 48.528 and a speed of 185.460 mph.

    Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-10.

    Johnson posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 180.951 mph.

    First Practice Results

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  • Kyle Busch’s Career at the Brickyard

    Kyle Busch’s Career at the Brickyard

    While Kyle Busch has amassed a higher win total at three other tracks and has led more laps at 19, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is statistically his most consistent race track.

    In 12 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts, Busch has only finished outside the top-10 twice. He’s got five top-five’s, a pole and two wins to boot. His finishes average out to a ninth, only bested by his finishing averages at Kentucky Speedway and Richmond Raceway. He’s finished on the lead lap in 11 of those starts as well.

    With a top-10 percentage of 83.3, it’s surprising that it took him 11 years to win for the first time at Indianapolis. Leading 19 laps on three different occasions, he shot past Joey Logano on the overtime restart (green-white-checkered prior to 2016) to score the victory.

    Last season, he put on a showcase of dominance by sweeping both the XFINITY Series and Cup Series race from the pole. In the XFINITY race, he led all but one lap. The next day, he led 149 of 170 laps, joining Jimmie Johnson as the only back to back winners of the Brickyard 400.

    If he wins this weekend, he’d join Michael Schumacher as the only driver to win three straight races at Indianapolis.

    Despite his success, Busch couldn’t tell you why he’s so great at Indianapolis.

    “I just think the last few years we just really have been able to capitalize on what I’ve been feeling in the race car and to be able to work on it and fix it,” Busch said. “I feel like that’s probably the biggest thing is just there’s times when you’re at race tracks and you’re working on your car, working on your car, working on your car and it just seems to be doing the same thing over again. You just can’t find the niche that will fix it and I think that Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and myself, we were able to find that here a couple years ago and we’ve been able to answer all of our questions, so that’s certainly been the biggest thing, so I think we’re now coming here for three years in a row, three different aero packages with the Cup car and so it’s certainly going to be interested what transpires this year. But one of the most difficult paces about the race here at Indy is just the ability to pass and getting runs on guys and being able to make that move whether it’s off the corner of [Turns] 1, 2 3 or 4. You’ve just got to kind of pick and choose how you can get to a guy and make that moves and not get too tight, you know? There’s a balance of being able to turn through the corners here – they’re really, really flat – and still being able to accelerate with the horsepower we have out of the turns and down these long straightaways.”

  • Hamlin Fastest in First Practice at Indy

    Hamlin Fastest in First Practice at Indy

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

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

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

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

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  • Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Did You Know?

    Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Did You Know?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Bowman Named as Earnhardt’s Successor

    Bowman Named as Earnhardt’s Successor

    Alex Bowman will take over as the driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet from the retiring Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the team announced in a press release this morning.

    The team didn’t disclose the length of his deal.

    “Ever since I was a kid, racing is all I’ve wanted to do,” Bowman said. “I’ve had so many people believe in me along the way. My family has sacrificed a lot and always been behind me. I would never have this chance without the support of Dale and everyone involved with the No. 88 team. To be part of Hendrick Motorsports and for Mr. Hendrick to have this confidence in me, it’s just amazing.

    “The No. 88 team is such a great group of people. I know we can pick up where we left off last year, and I truly believe we can win races and contend for a championship. I’m excited to build on the relationship with Nationwide and all of our partners. It means the world that they have faith in me, and I’m thankful to have them on my side. Now I just want to go win.”

    Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company also signed a one-year extension to remain the primary sponsor for 19 races. In addition, Axalta Coating Systems will remain on-board and as a primary sponsor for 15 races, up from 13.

    Since the moment Earnhardt announced back in April that he was retiring at the conclusion of this season, Bowman has been at the top of the list of drivers to replace him in the No. 88. The speculation is understandable given that Bowman drove as a substitute driver place of Earnhardt, who was sidelined the second half of the 2016 season with a concussion. Bowman earned three top-10 finishes in his 10-race substitute role, compared to two top-10’s in eight races by Jeff Gordon.

    His breakthrough race came last November at Phoenix when he started on pole and led a race-high of 194 laps, on his way to a sixth-place finish.

    He most recently raced the No. 88 in the unofficial season kickoff Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway, by virtue of his aforementioned Phoenix pole, to a third-place finish.

    “Alex impressed the heck out of us last year with his talent, poise and professionalism,” said team owner Rick Hendrick. “He stepped up in a very demanding situation and showed that he can run with the best and compete for wins. His ability to stay focused through it all, and the way he’s handled himself since then, has shown a lot of character. Greg (Ives) and the team loved working with Alex, and that dynamic will get even better with more time together.”

    This deal puts to rest speculation of the No. 88 being taken over by drivers such as JR Motorsports rookie driver and HMS development driver William Byron, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski to name a few.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex started on the pole and finished third at New Hampshire, posting his seventh top five of the season. He leads the Monster Energy Cup points standings by 38 points.

    “Toyota’s led 290 of 301 laps on Sunday,” Truex said. “That should be alarming to U.S. manufacturers. They used to dominate NASCAR. Gosh, if only someone would take it upon themselves to ‘Make America Great Again.’”

    2. Kyle Larson: Larson won the pole but had it stripped after failing post-qualifying inspection.

    “It was not a good week for me and inspections,” Larson said. “Earlier in the week, I was penalized 35 points for using an illegal rear brake cooling assembly at Kentucky. I profess my innocence, though. To use an overused term, this reeks of a ‘witch hunt,’ and my car is the ‘Target.’”

    3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fifth in the Overton 301 at New Hampshire, recording his seventh top five of the year.

    “NASCAR used a traction compound at New Hampshire in hopes of promoting side-by-side racing,” Harvick said. “This is 2017 New Hampshire—when someone says ‘Put down that sticky icky,’ it’s NASCAR officials and not marijuana regulators.”

    4. Kyle Busch: Busch started seventh in the Overton 301 and won Stage 2 on his way to a 12th at New Hampshire.

    “I’m frustrated,” Busch said. “I’ve now gone one full year without a win in the Monster Energy Cup series. You could say I’m ‘year-ning’ for a win.”

    5. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished 10th at New Hampshire, posting his seventh top 10 of the year.

    “I put myself at a disadvantage from the beginning,” Johnson said. “I was penalized for jumping the start and had to serve a drive-through penalty. As infractions go, my offense was pretty minor. It was a slap on the wrist, which, sadly, is more action than a fight between two of today’s NASCAR drivers.”

    6. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin held off Kyle Larson to win the Overton 301 at New Hampshire, scoring his first win of the season and first for Joe Gibbs Racing.

    “I could feel Larson breathing down my neck,” Hamlin said, “and, by extension, NASCAR inspectors. Luckily, I kept Larson at bay. So, once again, he didn’t ‘pass.’”

    7. Chase Elliott: Elliott took 11th at New Hampshire as Denny Hamlin tasted victory for the first time this season.

    “Congratulations to Hamlin,” Elliott said. “He won the race and a lobster. Judging by the look on his face, Denny was a little apprehensive about holding that lobster. Of course, what driver is ever totally happy with the ‘handling?’”

    8. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski bounced back from early trouble in the pits to finish ninth in the Overton’s 301.

    “We managed a good, solid finish,” Keselowski said. “We had some trouble with a jack in the pits, so I guess you would call that an ‘up-and-down’ day.”

    9. Jamie McMurray: McMurray started fourth at New Hampshire and finished 17th.

    “My teammate Kyle Larson has failed two inspections in the last week,” McMurray said. “Kyle may be the fastest driver in NASCAR. If there’s a Point A and a Point B, Kyle is always the fastest between the two. That’s usually because he finds a shortcut.”

    10. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished seventh at New Hampshire, posting his third top 10 in the last four races. He is 10th in the points standings, 232 out of first.

    “Inspections were the big news of the week in NASCAR,” Bowyer said. “I’m well aware of cheating that occurs in NASCAR. After all, I drove for Michael Waltrip Racing. Michael is a man of many talents, and ignoring the rule book is one of them. You could say he ‘wears a lot of pants;’ where the rule book is concerned, however, he wears a ‘skirt.’”

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

    Truex dominates, then rallies from flat tire to finish third

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Jones exits early after wreck at Loudon

    Jones exits early after wreck at Loudon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    RACE SUMMARY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    CAUTIONS

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

    NUTS & BOLTS

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

    Truex leaves with a 38-point lead over Larson.

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