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Tag: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

  • Bowyer’s Season After 10 Races

    Bowyer’s Season After 10 Races

    Clint Bowyer last won a race nearly five years ago and his career slowly started to dip until he hit rock bottom last season. Now he’s back to posting competitive numbers and looks to end his long winless drought.

    Bowyer entered the 2017 season coming off the worst season of his career and as the driver taking over the car formerly occupied by Tony Stewart. Despite his lackluster 2016 campaign, expectations were much higher for the driver who hadn’t won a race since October 13, 2012, at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    His season started with a 32nd-place finish after being caught up in a wreck near the start of the final stage of the Daytona 500. He followed that performance up a week later with an 11th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    He earned his first top-10 finish of the season with a 10th-place run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the highlight of a rotten race for Stewart-Haas Racing. Bowyer earned his first top-five since Bristol in August of 2015 with a third at Auto Club Speedway.

    He matched his top-10 total from 2016 with a seventh at Martinsville Speedway, the sixth race of the season. His second-place effort at Bristol Motor Speedway was his first runner-up finish since Homestead of 2012.

    Finishes of 15th at Richmond International Raceway and 14th at Talladega Superspeedway, including 10 laps led (233.33 percent more than his 2016 total of three), puts him ninth in the points entering Kansas Speedway.

    Statistically, Bowyer has already bested his totals from 2016 and is on track to post season totals comparable to his career high of 2012 and 2013. But there’s still the 159-race winless drought that he admits does gnaw at him, but says he doesn’t think about it.

    “It is but, to be honest with you, you don’t even think about that,” Bowyer said. “You think about winning. I never think about how long it has been. I think about how you are going to get it done. You have that thought process through the week as you are going through competition meetings starting Monday and your conversations with the crew chief all week long. The biggest thing is you are lined back up with an organization that is capable of doing that. That is item number one. You are with a manufacturer that is capable of doing that and is winning races and competing at the highest level. Each and every week you go to the race track knowing you have a chance to win the race. All the past that has happened is the furthest thing from my mind because you are back to sitting in equipment capable of winning these races and competing at the highest level.”

  • Truex Fastest at Kansas in First Cup Practice

    Truex Fastest at Kansas in First Cup Practice

    Martin Truex Jr. topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Kansas Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 29.179 and a speed of 185.065 mph.

    Ryan Blaney was second in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford with a time of 29.200 and a speed of 184.932 mph. Erik Jones was third in his No. 77 Furniture Row Toyota with a time of 29.253 and a speed of 184.596 mph.

    Matt Kenseth was fourth in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 29.263 and a speed of 184.533 mph. Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 29.275 and a speed of 184.458 mph.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr., who clocked in the sixth fastest single-lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 182.216 mph.

    Right after posting his fastest lap, Jones’s car got loose, spun out exiting Turn 4 and traveled through the infield grass. The only damage the team reported on Twitter were flat right-side tires.

    Related: Kyle Busch Fastest in Final Cup Practice at Kansas

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  • Kansas Speedway – Did You Know?

    Kansas Speedway – Did You Know?

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the Camping World Truck Series travel to Kansas Speedway this weekend for racing under the lights. The Truck Series Toyota Tundra 250 is set for Friday, May 12, at 8:30 p.m. ET while the Cup Series Go Bowling 400 will air Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Both races will be televised on FS1.

    Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch is the defending race winner and is still searching for his first victory this season. He has four top fives and six top 10s at the track with the 12th best driver rating. Busch is currently 10th in the point standings.

    The first Cup Series race at the 1.5-mile track was on Sept. 30, 2001, but did you know that it was won by Jeff Gordon? There have been 22 Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway, one each year from 2001 – 2010 and two races per year since 2011. Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Kansas with six; Gordon has three (2001, 2002, 2014) and Jimmie Johnson also has three (2008, 2011, 2015).

    Fourteen different drivers have won poles at Kansas, led by Kevin Harvick, Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne, with three poles each. But did you know that Jason Leffler won the pole for the inaugural Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway in 2001? He won it in the No. 01 Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing with a speed of 176.499 mph and is the only driver to capture his first career Cup Series pole at Kansas.

    Leffler, known as “LEFturn,” began his career as an open-wheel driver winning three consecutive USAC Midget championships from 1997-99 and the 1998 USAC Silver Crown championship. He also made three starts in the IndyCar Series and finished 17th in the 2000 Indianapolis 500.

    Leffler’s NASCAR career began with four starts in the XFINITY Series in 1999 with Joe Gibbs Racing, running a full-time schedule in 2000. He advanced to the Cup Series in 2001 with Chip Ganassi Racing. During his career, he made 423 starts across the three national series and has two XFINITY wins and one victory in the Camping World Truck Series.

    On June 12, 2013, Leffler lost his life in a crash during a 410 sprint car race at Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey. He was 37 and left behind a son, Charlie, who was only five years old at the time

    Leffler was a fierce competitor on the track but his most enduring quality was his generous spirit off the track. He will always be remembered for his irresistible smile, his selfless desire to help others and who could forget his trademark haircut?

    Three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart remembers Leffler as “a great racer and an even better friend. We raced together a lot, and our career paths were very similar. He loved racing, especially open-wheel racing, and that’s a passion we both share. To not have him around to talk about whatever race one of us had just run, or were going to run, will be hard.”

    Qualifying well at Kansas Speedway should give drivers an edge. Five of the 22 (22.7 percent) Cup Series events have been won from the front row, four from the pole position and one from second-place. But did you know that 54.5 percent of the races have been won from a top-10 starting position? Brad Keselowski won from the deepest in the field ( 25th) in the spring race of 2011.

    As we head to Kansas Speedway, Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with the series-best driver rating of 110.6, with three wins, nine top fives, 17 top 10s and three poles. Kenseth (108.1), Harvick (105.3), Martin Truex Jr. (95.7) and Kahne (91.4) round out the top five best driver ratings.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. has struggled this season but did you know that he has the sixth-best driver rating (90.0) at Kansas Speedway? He has three top fives, nine top 10s and one pole at the track and is looking forward to the race.

    “Kansas is a great racetrack for me,” Earnhardt said. “That place has widened out pretty good and you can run against the fence there, which is a line that I like to run. It’s a very fast racetrack and very smooth, a lot of fun, so we should have a good time.”

    The on-track action begins Thursday, May 11, with Truck Series practice, culminating with the Go Bowling 400 Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. In the meantime, check out the video below as we take a moment to remember Jason Leffler.

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

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Kansas Speedway

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Kansas Speedway

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the Camping World Truck Series travel to Kansas Speedway this weekend. The Truck Series race is set for Friday at 8:30 p.m. while the Cup Series Go Bowling 400 will close out the activities Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. Both events will be televised on FS1.

    Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson remains the Cup Series points leader while Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. is in second place, 54 points behind Larson. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch is the defending race winner. There are 40 drivers on the Go Bowling 400 entry list.

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

    Thursday, May 11:

    On Track:
    3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Practice
    5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Final Practice

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    1:30 p.m.: Craftsman Truck Series Drivers
    4 p.m.: Paul Menard

    Friday, May 12:

    On Track:
    11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy Series Practice – FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
    1:30-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy Series Final Practice – FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
    4:35 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
    6:45 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
    8:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota Tundra 250 (167 laps, 250.5 miles) – FS1
    Stage 1 (Ends on lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on lap 167)
    Radio: MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    10:10 a.m.: Daniel Suarez
    10:30 a.m.: Clint Bowyer
    10:45 a.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
    1 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    3:15 p.m.: Jamie McMurray
    4 p.m.: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    4:15 p.m.: Danica Patrick
    8 p.m.: Post-Qualifying (time approx.)

    Saturday, May 13:

    On Track:
    7:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles) – FS1 (Canada: TSN 1, 3, 4)
    Stage 1 (Ends on lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on lap 267)
    Radio: MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    3:15 p.m.: Derrick Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs
    6 p.m.: Larry the Cable Guy, Grand Marshal
    11 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Race (time approx.)

    Related Links:

    Odds to win NASCAR Go Bowling 400
    Kyle Larson +605
    Martin Truex Jr +605
    Brad Keselowski +605
    Kevin Harvick +630
    Jimmie Johnson +630
    Kyle Busch +787
    Joey Logano +807
    Matt Kenseth +1216
    Chase Elliott +1318
    Denny Hamlin +2042
    Clint Bowyer +2565
    Dale Earnhardt Jr +3092
    Kurt Busch +3092
    Kasey Kahne +3625
    Ryan Blaney +3625
    Erik Jones +3732
    Jamie McMurray +4000
    Ryan Newman +6500
    Austin Dillon +8000
    Field (Any Other Driver) +1659

    Complete NASCAR TV Schedule

    Toyota Tundra 250 Entry List

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

    Go Bowling 400 Entry List:

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Kansas-Go-Bowling-400-Entry-List-C1711_PREENTNUM.pdf” title=”Kansas Go Bowling 400 Entry List C1711_PREENTNUM”]

     

     

  • ‘Big One’ strikes in waning laps of Talladega Cup race

    ‘Big One’ strikes in waning laps of Talladega Cup race

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Over a dozens cars were collected in the “Big One” in the closing laps of the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

    With 20 laps to go, Chase Elliott was getting a bump from AJ Allmendinger working to draft past race leader Kyle Busch. Exiting Turn 2, Allmendinger drifted down towards the left-rear corner of Elliott’s car, getting Elliott loose. His No. 24 Chevrolet pointed down towards the inside wall for a second, then turned back up the track.

    Allmendinger hooked Elliott and sent him spinning into the path of Joey Logano, who’s No. 22 Ford submarined underneath Elliott’s car and the air lifted his car off the ground. His car was airborne for roughly three seconds before coming to a rest with the left-front tire riding the steel barrier of the outside retaining wall and on the hood of Michael McDowell’s car down the backstretch.

    This triggered a 16-car wreck and brought out the sixth caution of the race. Cleanup necessitated a 26-minute, 51-second red flag.

    Elliott, the primary pinball in the wreck, said afterwards that Allmendinger “had a big run and he kind of got to my bumper and just happened to be in a bad spot coming up off the corner and was skewed a little bit to my left rear. And when that happens, it just unloads these cars too much.”

    AJ Allmendinger’s car lies upside-down from contact from Joey Logano late in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Photo: Jerry Markland/Getty Images

    After Allmendinger hooked Elliott, his car got loose and turned up towards the wall. It was aided by contact from Kevin Harvick, who caught Allmendinger as he was swerving down to avoid him and hooked him in the process.

    Allmendinger did a roughly half-spin before sliding backwards and slamming rear-on into the drivers side of Erik Jones.

    Further contact from Logano, and the added force of cars piling into the 22 car, lifted Allmendinger’s car onto it’s left-side for roughly three seconds before settling upside-down.

    After exiting the infield care center, Allmendinger said he was glad he “didn’t get hit upside down.”

    “It’s just Talladega. It’s all it is,” he said. “The plan worked out. We waited in the back and got up front and I had (Dale Earnhardt) Junior pushing me, I had the best guy pushing me. I’m not sure. The No. 18 (Kyle Busch) and the No. 24 of Chase they were kind of moving around and at the time I think Harvick got behind me and we were shoving and Chase opened the door and then kind of closed it and I tried to check up just a little bit and tapped him and when I checked up it was a big wreck after that.”

    Other collected included Danica Patrick, who came down across the nose of Matt DiBenedetto and slammed into the jutted out opening of the inside retaining wall, Harvick, who spun up the track and sideswiped the outside wall, Martin Truex Jr. and Trevor Bayne, who both t-boned the passenger side of Logano’s car, and Austin Dillon, who slammed into the rear-end of Matt Kenseth’s car driving through the smoke of the wreck.

  • Last Lap Pass Gives Stenhouse First Cup Victory

    Last Lap Pass Gives Stenhouse First Cup Victory

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Coming to the white flag, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was running second. Coming to the checkered flag, he was leading and scored the victory.

    On the final restart in overtime, Kyle Busch was the leader with Stenhouse to his inside. He got ahead of Busch initially with two to go but was swallowed up with no draft help. He recovered with Jimmie Johnson pushing him past the inside of Busch coming to the line to take the white flag. The lead belonged to Stenhouse rounding Turn 1 and he blocked the advances of Busch and Jamie McMurray to score his first career victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

    “It’s been a long time coming,” Stenhouse said. “We’ve run really well here at Talladega. This is the closest race track to home. I got a lot of cheers riding around here today and the fans were awesome. We had a lot packed in here at Talladega and it felt old-school. Man, to finally get that win for Jack and everyone on our team is really special.”

    It’s the first victory by a Roush Fenway Racing driver since Carl Edwards at Sonoma Raceway in 2014.

    McMurray finished runner-up and Busch rounded out the podium.

    Aric Almirola and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top-five.

    Stenhouse led the field to the green flag at 2:20 p.m. and led the first 15 laps before trash on his grille forced him to jump out of line to get behind a car to remove it. This handed the lead to Brad Keselowski. The caution flew for the first time on lap 17 when Kyle Larson brushed the Turn 1 wall as a result of a cut right-front tire. Clint Bowyer ascended to the lead by opting not to pit.

    Back to green on lap 21, three lines battled for the race lead with Busch on the top line edging out the others on lap 28. Keselowski edged him out at the line on lap 34 to retake the lead.

    Denny Hamlin made an unscheduled stop for a vibration on lap 48, which played to his advantage when the stage concluded.

    Keselowski won the first stage.

    Hamlin cycled to the lead thanks to the timing of the vibration.

    The second stage was tamer, only interrupted by caution twice, Reed Sorenson’s right-front tire blowout and slamming the wall in in the tri-oval, and the end of the stage on lap 110, won by Hamlin.

    The lead changes during the stage came on laps 81 (Busch), during the third caution (Ryan Newman), 90 (Bowyer) and 92 (Hamlin).

    The final stage started with 72 to go, with Matt Kenseth in the lead.

    Hamlin took the lead with 70 to go, Keselowski with 69 to go, Hamlin with 68 to go, Keselowski with 67 to go, Kevin Harvick with 65 to go, Johnson with 59 to go and Harvick with 55 to go.

    Joey Logano took the lead for the first time exiting Turn 2 with 49 to go.

    A cycle of green flag stops with 45 to go cycled Kyle Busch to the race lead with 37 to go.

    Ryan Blaney brought out the fifth caution with 28 to go when he was impeded by Gray Gaulding going down the backstretch, bumped by Stenhouse and turned into the outside wall.

    With 20 to go, AJ Allmendinger bumped Chase Elliott exiting Turn 2, getting the 24 car loose which turned up the track and triggered a 16-car multi-car wreck.

    The seventh caution flew when Landon Cassill’s car stopped on the race track.

    Newman’s wreck on the backstretch with two to go set up the overtime run to the finish.

    The race lasted three hours, 29 minutes and 16 seconds at an average speed of 145.669 mph. There were 26 lead changes among 14 different drivers and eight cautions for 33 laps.

    Kyle Larson leaves with a 54-point lead over Martin Truex Jr.

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  • Stenhouse Takes Pole Position at Talladega

    Stenhouse Takes Pole Position at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday after winning the pole for the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

    The driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford won the pole after posting a final round time of 49.993 and a speed of 191.547 mph. It was his first pole at Talladega and his second Cup Series career pole in 158 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts.

    “It’ll be nice to lead the field to green here. The Fifth Third guys worked really, really hard on these cars. Like I said earlier, Jimmy Fennig has done a great job on these speedway cars. This is cool. Doug Yates builds awesome horsepower. With his dad, Robert, not doing as well as we would like, it would be cool to dedicate this one to him and all the hard work that the engine shop does. Man, it’s a cool way to start the weekend. I’m ready to get to Sunday,” Stenhouse said of his qualifying run.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start second in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after posting a time of 50.194 and a speed of 190.780 mph.

    “We always kind of come down here and find ourselves with an opportunity for the pole,” Earnhardt said. “Hopefully, we will get one before the year is out at one of these plate tracks. I know the guys have been so close at Daytona and Talladega for so many years, so it would be great to do it this last season together. Just came up a little short today, but the car is fast and it will be good for Sunday.”

    Brad Keselowski will start third in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford after posting a time of 50.287 and a speed of 190.427 mph.

    “A good effort for the Miller Lite Ford team. Qualifying was good. Qualifying up front means that you have a fast car,” Keselowski said. “To run a time that we did makes you feel like you have a car that will run up front and challenge for a win. We have a fast race car and I hope to make it count.”

    Matt Kenseth will start fourth in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after posting a time of 50.359 and a speed of 190.155 mph. Trevor Bayne will round out the top-five in his No. 6 RFR Ford after posting a time of 50.394 and a speed of 190.023 mph.

    Kevin Harvick, Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott, Paul Menard and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-10.

    Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

    DJ Kennington is the lone DNQ of the race.

    GEICO 500 Starting Lineup:

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Talladega-Geico-500-starting-lineup-C1710_STARTROW.pdf” title=”Talladega Geico 500 starting lineup C1710_STARTROW”]

  • Elliott’s Sophomore Season After Nine Races

    Elliott’s Sophomore Season After Nine Races

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Chase Elliott is on track to best his stellar rookie campaign from last season at the one-quarter mark of the season.

    At this point last season, Elliott finished in the top-10 five times, twice in the top-five and led only four laps. This season, the reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rookie of the year has finished top-10 in six races and top-five in three. He’s also led 169 laps this year to four at this point last season.

    His first dominant race of this season came in the fourth of the season at Phoenix International Raceway, where he led 106 of the 314 laps and won the second stage on his way to a 12th-place finish. His breakout race of 2016 came later in the season at Pocono Raceway, where he led a race high of 51 of 160 laps on his way to a fourth-place finish.

    Elliott also won a stage and finished third at Martinsville Speedway, a track where he finished 20th and 12th in 2016.

    It should come as no surprise that the son of 1988 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Bill Elliott runs third in points, 52 back of points leader Kyle Larson, going into this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Assessing his season after nine races, Elliott — who’s known for being hard on himself, even on a day with a great run — said it’s “had some ups and downs.”

    “I feel like we fired off really well with the way we ran at Daytona and Atlanta,” Elliott said. “I thought our West Coast swing was pretty strong. I feel like over the past few weeks we really haven’t performed up to our potential. As a group, I think anybody in our group would feel the same way. We’ve had some fast cars at times. We’ve had our driving good and then other weeks, not so much. But, we definitely need to execute races; even on the days that your car is not driving like you want it to. That execution and doing everything correctly on pit road, restarts, giving the right information, can turn a bad day into a pretty good day, really. Like last week, for instance, we ran not very good and just inside the 15th; not quite inside the top-10 the majority of the day. We got towards the end of the day and had an opportunity to finish up well inside the top-10 if we had just executed a little bit better. So, that’s what we need to do. And we know we need to do that. And, we’ll try to make that happen.”

  • Bowyer Fastest in First Practice at Talladega

    Bowyer Fastest in First Practice at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Clint Bowyer topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway.

    The driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was the fastest with a time of 48.653 and a speed of 196.822 mph. Kevin Harvick was second in his SHR Ford with a time of 48.748 and a speed of 196.439 mph followed by Brad Keselowski in third in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford with a time of 48.905 and a speed of 195.808 mph.

    Kurt Busch was fourth in his No. 41 SHR Ford with a time of 48.911 and a speed of 195.784 mph while Joey Logano rounded out the top-five in his No. 22 Penske Ford with a time of 48.918 and a speed of 195.756 mph.

    No driver posted a 10 consecutive lap average.

    The session was cut short due to rain.

     

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  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Talladega

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Talladega

    NASCAR travels to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend for the XFINITY Series Sparks Energy 300 and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500. The XFINITY races will air Saturday at 1 p.m. and the Cup Series race will be broadcast Sunday at 2 p.m., both on FOX.

    Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson remains the Cup Series points leader while Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. is in second place, 40 points behind Larson. Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski is the defending race winner. Forty-two drivers are on the entry list for the GEICO 500.

    Elliott Sadler is the XFINITY Series points leader and will be looking to defend his 2016 win in the Sparks Energy 300.

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

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
    Next Race: GEICO 500
    The Place: Talladega Superspeedway
    The Date: Sunday, May 7
    The Time: 2 p.m. ET
    TV: FOX, 1:30 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 500.8 miles (188 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 55),
    Stage 2 (Ends on lap 110), Final Stage (Ends on lap 188)

    NASCAR XFINITY Series
    Next Race: Sparks Energy 300
    The Place: Talladega Superspeedway
    The Date: Saturday, May 6
    The Time: 1 p.m. ET
    TV: FOX, 12:30 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 300.58 miles (113 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 25),
    Stage 2 (Ends on lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on lap 113)

    Friday, May 5

    On-Track:
    8:30 AM 10:20 AM ARCA FINAL PRACTICE
    10:30 AM 11:25 AM NXS 1ST PRACTICE
    NOON-12:30 PM NXS PRACTICE
    1:30 PM-2:25 PM NXS FINAL PRACTICE
    2:30 PM-3:25 PM MENCS PRACTICE
    4:30 PM-5:25 PM MENCS FINAL PRACTICE – CANCELED DUE TO RAIN
    5:00 PM ARCA RACE (76 LAPS, 202.16 MILES) – POSTPONED TO MAY 6 DUE TO RAIN

    Garage Cam:
    1 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series
    2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

    Press Conferences:
    10 a.m.: Brendan Gaughan and Ben Kennedy
    10:15 a.m.: Erik Jones
    10:30 a.m.: Brennan Poole and Elliott Sadler
    10:45 a.m.: Joey Logano
    12:30 p.m.: Ryan Blaney
    1:30 p.m.: Kyle Larson
    1:50 p.m.: Chase Elliott
    3:30 p.m.: Kurt Busch
    3:50 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    TBD: Kurt Busch

    Saturday, May 6

    On-Track:
    10:30 AM NXS QUALIFYING (SINGLE VEHICLE / TWO ROUNDS)
    1:00 PM NXS RACE (113 LAPS, 300.58 MILES)
    4:00 PM MENCS QUALIFYING IMPOUND (SINGLE VEHICLE / TWO ROUNDS)
    5:00 PM ARCA RACE (76 LAPS, 202.16 MILES)

    Sunday, May 7

    On-Track:
    1:00 PM MENCS RACE (188 LAPS, 500.08 MILES)

    Complete NASCAR TV Schedule

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

    Odds to win NASCAR Geico 500
    Dale Earnhardt Jr +900
    Jimmie Johnson +1100
    Brad Keselowski +750
    Joey Logano +750
    Denny Hamlin +1100
    Kevin Harvick +800
    Kyle Larson +1100
    Kyle Busch +1500
    Chase Elliott +1000
    Matt Kenseth +1200
    Clint Bowyer +2000
    Ryan Blaney +2000
    Kurt Busch +2200
    Erik Jones +2500
    Kasey Kahne +2500
    Jamie McMurray +3000
    Austin Dillon +3500
    Daniel Suarez +4000
    Ryan Newman +4200
    Trevor Bayne +2000
    Ricky Stenhouse Jr +4000
    AJ Allmendinger +4500
    Aric Almirola +6000
    Paul Menard +6000
    Field (Any Other Driver) +2500

    Sparks Energy 300 Entry List

    GEICO 500 Entry List:

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Geico-500-Entry-List-Talladega-May-2017-C1710_PREENTNUM.pdf” title=”Geico 500 Entry List Talladega May 2017 C1710_PREENTNUM”]