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Tag: Road America

Conor Daly to pilot Roush XFINITY car at Road America

INDIANAPOLIS — Depart from your seat in front of the podium in the deadline room at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, take a right turn past the wall with four clocks and blue sound-proofing fabric, exit through the first door down the hall, go down four flights of stairs until you reach the ground, go straight for about 50 feet, and around the corner are two cars covered with tarps. Wait a few minutes and both Verizon IndyCar Series driver Conor Daly and NASCAR XFINITY Grand National Series driver Ryan Reed will uncover the cars to reveal a Lilly Diabetes-sponsored No. 17 Dale Coyne Racing Honda and a Lilly-Diabetes-sponsored Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang that Daly will drive at Road America.

Okay it didn’t play out like a scavenger hunt, but Daly did announce that he would pilot the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford in the NASCAR XFINITY Grand National Series Johnsonville 180 at Road America, as a teammate to Reed, currently driving the No. 16 Ford, fielded by Roush.

“Yeah, it’s obviously really cool to be a part of this team, first of all, with us in the Indy 500 this year. We got to work together in 2016, which I thought was a really cool first step into a relationship, and it was a late deal. We got it done after qualifying, but now we’ve got this whole month of May to work with it and kind of just grow together as a team, and then obviously I’m going to go into the NASCAR realm of life, so I’m excited for that,” Daly said.

“Obviously Ryan (Reed) and the Roush Fenway guys have done an incredible job in the five-year program that they’ve had, winning races, being competitive all the time, so it’s cool to be able to take that first step into that side of the racing world but also with a very strong organization. I’m obviously super excited not only to be here at Indy again and to continue to just strengthen our program for this month of May, but also to have something else to do in the next couple months. So that’ll be really exciting, and I just can’t wait. It’s an incredible opportunity, and I’m just obviously really thankful for it because this has been an interesting last few months, and to have now this opportunity come about, I think it’s going to be really exciting to kind of grow with the NASCAR fan base and maybe combine them a little bit, IndyCar/NASCAR world. We’re all racing cars, so I think everybody loves that in general, so I’m excited to go check it out.”

Why did Daly choose to run Road America?

“Well, I think we sort of just looked at all the road course races, and obviously we had to work with Roush and what worked best for them,” he said. “Road America certainly fit me. I mean, I won there in Skip Barber, won there in Pro Mazda, had a great race going there in 2016 in the IndyCar before we had a suspension failure, and I love that place. It’s an incredible track, incredible environment. The Midwest is so — they love racing, so it worked well for everyone, I think, and that’s how it all came about.”

While Daly’s day job is racing for Dale Coyne Racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series, rumors of him running an XFINITY Grand National Series race had circulated for months, with him possibly racing for Roush or JR Motorsports. And what made him want to do it?

“I mean, I’m a racing driver, and growing up, when you look back at sort of what I did from like, I guess, 2012 to 2015, I almost drove every single car you could drive except for a NASCAR, and I drove sports cars, I drove tin tops, I drove all kinds of different things, and as a driver, I think you’re always driven to want more and want to try more, and I think if you ask a lot of us here in this paddock in IndyCar, there’s a lot of guys who want to get out there at Road America, mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen, stuff like that, because it is a very entertaining product,” he said. “They’re really good drivers, the series is really competitive, and it just looks like a really good racing environment, like a good, proper race. We have an incredible product in the IndyCar Series, obviously, but so do they, certainly, on the road course side. So I was just excited to have that opportunity. I mean, road courses are my cup of tea, and that’s what I’d love to at least check out first before anything else.”

Before that, however, he’ll pilot the No. 17 Dale Coyne Racing Honda, carrying Lilly Diabetes as primary sponsor, for the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500, which will be his first start in the 2018 IndyCar Series season.

May 11, 2018
Jeremy Clements Savors Success While Preparing for Playoffs

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Once in awhile, a particular driver catches your eye and you think to yourself, this one has possibilities.

In April 2014, I wrote, ‘Jeremy Clements’ recipe for success is a combination of talent, tenacity and mathematical wizardry. Throw some sponsorship dollars and a little luck into the mix and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him standing in victory lane.’

Almost 3 1/2 years later, Clements finally captured his first career XFINITY win at Road America and I can’t help but feel a sense of pride in his accomplishments.

For him, it’s a childhood dream come true.

“It’s what a lot of people dream about, myself included,” Clements told me, “competing and then winning a race in the next level. I’m extremely pleased. And obviously it makes me want more, so I can taste it again. Hopefully, it’s the first of many.”

That sweet taste of success in a national series was a long time coming. He began racing go-karts when he was seven-years-old, thanks to his grandfather, Crawford Clements.

“My grandfather was a crew chief for Rex White and Buck Baker in the 1960s,” Clements said, “and they won a championship. So he’s the one who got all this started. It was very special. He was in his upper 60s at that time and I learned a ton from him. He’s the reason I started racing. He was very smart and he could figure out how to make cars go faster. He was always a whiz with carburetors. We could use him today, I promise you that.

“He passed away in ‘96 from lung cancer when I was about 11; I owe it all to him. I know he’s smiling down from heaven and I can’t wait to talk to him one day about all this and how it went down. I’m sure he’s proud of me.”

Clements won 47 feature events in go-karts before moving on to dirt track racing. He began racing four cylinders on dirt in 1999 and over the next three years, he scored wins in over 50 feature events as well as two track championships.

In 2002, he began competing in the Late Model division winning nine races and the championship at Cherokee Speedway. On October 25, 2002, Clements made his first ARCA Series start at Talladega Superspeedway.

The following year he competed in Late Models and made five more starts in the ARCA Series with three top-10 finishes. His first start in the XFINITY Series came in 2003 when Clements was 18-years-old. In 2011 he began competing full-time in the series with a career total of one win, two top fives and 13 top 10s in 257 starts.

Those numbers take on more significance when you realize that Jeremy Clements Racing is a small family-owned team with limited funding and a full-time staff of only four people.

While Clements is basking in the afterglow of a trip to Victory Lane, he’s focused on what comes next – the Playoffs.

“We’re trying to get ready for the Playoffs and trying to learn as much as we can to apply toward Kentucky, Dover, Charlotte,” Clements said. “Those are the first three and we want to try to make it to the next round, we don’t want to be a team that gets knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.”

Their game plan is simple. It includes “not making any mistakes and finishing each race,” he explained. “Some of those guys are gonna have problems. They’ll wreck trying to race each other and if we can just be smart, be there at the end, get a good finish and I think we can possibly move on to the next round.”

To say it’s been a year to remember is quite the understatement. In addition to the NASCAR XFINITY Series victory, Clements also got married in May. He doesn’t know what impact the win will have on his future but he is certain of one thing.

“I’m very blessed to be able to do both in the same year, that’s pretty dang cool,” he said. “I’ll never forget this year regardless of what happens.”

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

September 6, 2017
Jeremy Clements ‘shocked’ after winning first race in thriller at Road America

By Staff Report | NASCAR.com

The battle for victory in Sunday’s Johnsonville 180 at Road America came down to a pair of drivers who have never won a NASCAR XFINITY Series race.

But it was Jeremy Clements’ day to shock the world by earning his first career win after 256 XFINITY starts.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Clements said in Victory Lane. “I’m just shocked.”

It came down to a breathtaking showdown between Clements and Matt Tifft in the closing laps. Clements gave up the lead with nine laps remaining after trying to stretch out his fuel with the hopes of catching a late-race caution, relinquishing the lead to Tifft.

But that wasn’t the last we would hear from Clements. Four fresh Goodyear tires allowed him to rocket back to the front and challenge the 21-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

With two laps remaining, Clements and Tifft made contact which sent them both spinning as Clements attempted a pass for the lead. Clements was able to quickly get back on track and take the lead away.

“I want to say sorry to Matt Tifft,” Clements added. “I definitely didn’t mean to spin him out there. I got in there hot and we collided. That was my fault, that was definitely not his fault.”

“Obviously, no matter what, it’s tough,” Tifft said. “I wish we could have raced it out to the last lap. It’s tough to come that close.”

With the victory, the 32-year-old from Spartanburg, S.C. is now locked into the 12-driver XFINITY Series playoffs.

James Davison, driving the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, quickly took the lead away from pole-sitter Austin Cindric on the first lap of the race.

Davison ran away with Stage 1, leading nine of the 10 laps and beating second-place Justin Marks by more than two seconds. Cindric, Brennan Poole and Just Allgaier rounded out the top five.

Davison was later busted for speeding on pit road during pit stops at the stage break, while Cindric spent an extended amount of time on pit road repairing front-end damage suffered from contact with Marks in Stage 1.

Elliott Sadler, who was among many drivers who stayed out to gain track position after the first stage, jumped out to the lead for the first time in Stage 2.

But it was Daniel Hemric who took the lead away from Sadler on the restart following a Lap 14 caution for Ryan Sieg. Hemric was able to hold on to win the second 10-lap stage.

Leading the race, Hemric’s strong day turned into heartbreak after he received a pit-road speeding penalty during a round of pit stops in the final stage. Hemric led 10 laps prior to the misfortune.

Multiple cars were involved in a huge dustup toward the front of the field during the final lap of Stage 2 after Ross Chastain made contact with Marks, sending him sliding into Davison.

After leading 11 of the first 20 laps, Davison was forced to retire from the race due to a cracked radiator.

The XFINITY Series will be back in action for NASCAR’s throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway with the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).

RELATED: Race results | Detailed breakdown

August 27, 2017
James Davison, Justin Marks Pace XFINITY Practices at Road America

By Staff Report | NASCAR.com

Australian racer James Davison led final NASCAR XFINITY Series practice Saturday afternoon at Road America.

Davison clocked a best lap of 181.691 mph in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota as he preps for just his third career start in the series. The Aussie, who has raced in the Indianapolis 500 three times, will turn 31 the day after Sunday’s Johnsonville 180 (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM).

Justin Marks, who led the opening 55-minute practice, was fast again in the late session, uncorking a 108.614-mph lap to place second on the leaderboard. Marks will make just his second start of the season Sunday in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet.

Rookie Austin Cindric, 18, was third-fastest in both sessions as he tunes up for his XFINITY debut in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford. Cole Custer (108.235 mph) and Brennan Poole (107.887), both of whom had slight off-course ventures, completed the top five in final practice.

Custer and Poole weren’t alone in veering off course. Dexter Bean also left the pavement early on, and Nicolas Hammann’s slide into the Turn 3 sand with three minutes remaining brought a slightly early end to the session.

Spencer Gallagher, 14th-fastest in final practice, stalled on the track when his GMS Racing No. 23 Chevrolet ran out of fuel.

Elliott Sadler, the series’ points leader, was 15th-fastest in the JR Motorsports No. 1 Chevrolet.

Marks Sets Early Pace in First Practice

Justin Marks rose to the top of the leaderboard in Saturday’s opening practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Road America, completing a 1-2 sweep for Chip Ganassi Racing drivers.

Marks registered a fast lap of 107.923 mph on the sprawling 4.048-mile road course in the Ganassi No. 42 Chevrolet. Marks will be prepping for his fourth Road America start in Sunday’s Johnsonville 180 (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM).

Brennan Poole was second-fastest in the 55-minute session, steering the Ganassi No. 48 Chevy to a 107.846-mph lap. Austin Cindric was third, readying for his XFINITY Series debut in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford.

Justin Allgaier and former Road America winner Brendan Gaughan completed the top five on the speed chart.

Series points leader Elliott Sadler was 18th-fastest (106.070 mph) in the JR Motorsports No. 1 Chevrolet.

A handful of drivers had relatively harmless off-course excursions in the tricky Turn 5 section. Among those were Matt Tifft, Ben Kennedy and Spencer Gallagher. Ryan Reed also went off the track in the Turn 11 kink late in the session but managed to keep his car off the wall.

The Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota of Christopher Bell completed just one lap in practice before he drove to the garage. His crew spent the remainder of the session making an engine change.

Four teams were docked 15 minutes of practice time for infractions incurred last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Richard Childress Racing teammates Daniel Hemric and Kennedy each had 15-minute deductions because their cars failed the Laser Inspection Station twice at Bristol. The No. 16 Ford of Ryan Reed and the No. 74 Dodge of John Graham were held because their cars were late for Bristol inspection.

Practice 1 results

[pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/NXS-Final-Practice-Results-Road-America-August-2017.pdf” title=”NXS Final Practice Results Road America August 2017″]

August 26, 2017
NASCAR Racing Schedule for Road America

This week, the NASCAR XFINITY Series travels to Road America for the last road course event of the 2017 season while the Monster Energy Cup Series and the Camping World Truck Series are enjoying a week off from competition. The on-track action begins Saturday with practice while the Johnsonville 180 race closes out the weekend at 3 p.m. on NBC. Only four races remain in the XFINITY Series regular season.

In the seven XFINITY events hosted by the track, we’ve seen seven different winners – Carl Edwards (2010), Reed Sorenson (2011), Nelson Piquet Jr. (2012), AJ Allmendinger (2013), Brendan Gaughan (2014), Paul Menard (2015) and Michael McDowell (2016). Expectations are high that we will see a different winner Sunday as Brendan Gaughan is the only driver entered who has previously won at Road America.

JR Motorsports’ Elliott Sadler is the current points leader, a position he’s held for the last 10 races. Sadler heads into the weekend confident that JR Motorsports is the team to beat with all four drivers poised to make the playoffs. Teammates William Byron and Justin Allgaier occupy second and third place in the standings with Michael Annett in 11th place.

“I would say right now, JR Motorsports has a leg-up on the competition,” Elliott Sadler stated after his third-place finish last week at Bristol. “I think we are the favorites to win the championship. We just have to go make it happen.”

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

Saturday, August 26

On Track:
2-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice at Road America on NBCSN
4-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Final Practice at Road America on NBCSN

Sunday, August 27

On Track:
11:45 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying on CNBC
3 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Johnsonville 180 (45 laps, 182.16 miles) on NBC

Complete TV Schedule

Race Details:

NASCAR XFINITY Series
Race: Johnsonville 180
Place: Road America
Date: Sunday, Aug. 27
Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: NBC, 2:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 182.16 miles (45 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 10), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 20), Final Stage (Ends on lap 45)

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

August 25, 2017
NASCAR Racing Schedule for Michigan and Road America

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the Camping World Truck Series travel to Michigan International Speedway this weekend as the XFINITY Series heads to Road America. Please check below for the complete schedule of events.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, Aug. 26:

On-Track at Michigan:

Noon-1:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series First Practice – NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1:30-2:25 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series First Practice – FS2
4-4:55 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Final Practice – FS2
5:15 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN/NBC Sports App

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

Press Conferences: (Watch live)
11:30 a.m.: Tyler Reddick
11:45 a.m.: Cameron Hayley
2 p.m.: Austin Dillon
2:15 p.m.: Greg Biffle
3:45 p.m.: Alex Bowman
6:30 p.m.: Post-Sprint Cup Coors Light Pole Qualifying (time approx.)

On-Track at Road America:
10-10:55 a.m.: XFINITY Series First Practice
Noon-1:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice
6:35 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Saturday, Aug. 27:

On-Track at Michigan:

8:30-9:25 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series Practice – CNBC
9:45 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – CNBC
1 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Careers for Veterans 200 Presented by Cooper Standard and Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation (100 laps, 200 miles) – FS1

Press Conference: (Watch live)
3 p.m. approx.: Post-Truck Race (time approx.)

On-Track at Road America:
3 p.m.: XFINITY Series Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville (45 laps, 182.16 miles) – NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Sunday, Aug. 28:

On-Track at Michigan:
2 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 (200 laps, 400 miles) – NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Press Conference: (Watch live)
5:30 p.m.: Post-Sprint Cup Race (time approx.)

Complete NASCAR TV Schedule

August 25, 2016
Beaubier Sweeps Superbike at Road America

Monster Energy/Graves Yamaha rider Cameron Beaubier controlled the MotoAmerica Honda Superbike Showdown at Road America on Sunday, taking the win in both Superbike 1000 races.

Race One was the tamer of the two, with Beaubier establishing a comfortable lead over Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Hayden and keeping a few bike lengths between them until crossing the finish line.

Race Two provided more drama, as Beaubier swapped the lead with teammate Josh Hayes several times before Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias joined the mix, managing to take the second spot from Hayes and build a gap between them. On the final lap Elias made a desperate lunge at Beaubier entering Turn 5, but the reigning champion executed an effective crossover and regained the inside position from the late-braking Spaniard.

Beaubier’s perfect weekend (his fifth and sixth wins of the season) puts him in the championship points lead by seven points over teammate Hayes.

Running on track at the same time as the Superbikes was the Superstock 1000 class. Former Superbike champion Josh Herrin piloted his Wheels in Motion/Meen Motorsports Yamaha to the win in both races, taking fifth overall and edging out Aprilia HSBK Racing’s Claudio Corti in both events.

In the Supersport 600 class, Y.E.S./Graves Yamaha’s Garrett Gerloff won a wet Race One over his teammate and defending Supersport champion J.D. Beach. In Race Two, Frenchman Valentin Debise took his first Supersport victory in dramatic fashion, losing the lead and then retaking it at the end of the final lap.

June 7, 2016
Wisconsin Native Paul Menard Wins in Nail-biting Road America Finish

By Chris Knight

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – The decision to compete in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR XFINITY Series sixth annual Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville at Road America (Wis.) paid off in a huge way for Paul Menard who scored his third career XFINITY victory at his hometown track.

Menard, a native of Eau Claire, Wis. started eighth and saw a decision to stay out after pitting on Lap 24 work to his advantage as he edged out a relentless Ryan Blaney by 0.573 seconds at the 14-turn road course. After the contest, Menard said had the race extended a lap further, he would not have collected his first XFINITY win since Michigan International Speedway last June.

“I’ve been really fortunate to win at some of the coolest tracks, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Road America is right there,” Menard said. “These guys called a great race. We didn’t have the fastest car. We had a really good short run car. We really burned off the rear tires as we ran, but the Richmond Water Heaters / Menards Chevrolet was fast and (crew chief Danny) Stockman made a hell of a call at the end.”

If wondering about running out of fuel wasn’t enough, Menard also had to fend off a hard-charging Blaney.

“I was definitely concerned,” added Menard on both circumstances. “I was saving as much as I could under caution, but then when we fired off I was just chattering the left rear tire really bad. It took a couple of laps for it to come in, then the (No.) 22 started burning his stuff up, but it just didn’t fire off very good in the end, but it came to us.”

After inclement weather forced the cancelation of Coors Light Pole qualifying, Ben Rhodes earned the top starting spot based upon turning the fastest lap at the 4.05-mile road course in the first XFINITY Series practice session Friday afternoon.

Rhodes, a NASCAR Next alum, would find himself under pressure from the drop of the green flag when JR Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott made the move for the lead in Turn 1. Quickly, though, the field would be under the first full-course caution of the day when Tomy Drissi found himself stuck in the gravel trap in Turn 5.

Racing resumed on Lap 4 with Elliott checking out from the field and before the first round of green-flag pit stops. The reigning champion stretched his lead to over 10 seconds when he relinquished the top spot on Lap 11 for a routine pit stop.

Championship contender Ty Dillon inherited the lead when Elliott pitted. Dillon, who finished 10th, stretched his fuel run an extra lap to earn a crucial bonus point towards the championship picture.

When pit stops cycled through, Elliott reclaimed the point on Lap 16 and built a 13.7-second lead over second-place Brian Scott at the halfway mark. On Lap 22, the second caution waved for fluid on the track, erasing Elliott’s substantial advantage.

Despite half of the field electing to come to pit road for service behind them, Elliott and his JRM team stood firm on their plan and stayed out. On the restart, Elliott withstood a challenge for Brian Scott and Ryan Blaney, but in Turn 14 and through the frontstretch, Scott mounted the pressure and made the move on Elliott to take the lead on Lap 27.

Unable to make it to the end on fuel, Scott pitted under green on Lap 29 handing the lead to defending race winner Brendan Gaughan. Three laps later, though, Gaughan pitted, handing the lead to hometown hero Paul Menard who pitted during the second caution with 13 laps remaining.

Planning to stay out till the end, Menard in saving mode purposely gave up the lead to Blake Koch who led with 10 laps remaining when pole-sitter Rhodes found himself stuck in the gravel trap in Turn 7 issuing the third full course caution. During the extended caution, Koch lost power putting Menard back at the point.

On the Lap 41 restart, Menard withstood challenges from Darrell Wallace Jr. and Blaney to seal the win in his 197th career start.

Next up for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is a trip to the track dubbed “Too Tough To Tame” at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway for the VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 on Sept. 5 (3:30 p.m. ET on NBC).

NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville
Road America
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Saturday, August 29, 2015

                1. (8) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 45, $44401.

               2. (3) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 45, $44938.

               3. (5) Brian Scott, Chevrolet, 45, $35687.

               4. (2) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 45, $38976.

               5. (17) Darrell Wallace Jr. #, Ford, 45, $32908.

               6. (7) Boris Said, Toyota, 45, $26329.

               7. (4) Justin Marks, Chevrolet, 45, $26863.

               8. (12) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 45, $23729.

               9. (6) Chris Buescher, Ford, 45, $23450.

               10. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 45, $24122.

               11. (26) Michael Self, Chevrolet, 45, $23096.

               12. (9) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 45, $23019.

               13. (25) Dylan Lupton, Chevrolet, 45, $22919.

               14. (14) Kenny Habul, Toyota, 45, $22792.

               15. (15) Andy Lally, Chevrolet, 45, $23116.

               16. (16) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 45, $22640.

               17. (33) Kevin O’Connell, Chevrolet, 45, $16738.

               18. (23) Lawson Aschenbach, Chevrolet, 45, $22437.

               19. (24) Ryan Reed, Ford, 45, $22361.

               20. (27) David Starr, Toyota, 45, $22811.

               21. (22) Blake Koch, Toyota, 45, $22235.

               22. (20) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 45, $22189.

               23. (28) Eric McClure, Toyota, 45, $22154.

               24. (10) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 45, $22093.

               25. (34) Tim Cowen, Ford, 45, $16172.

               26. (40) Stanton Barrett, Ford, 45, $15986.

               27. (32) Ross Chastain #, Chevrolet, 44, $21951.

               28. (11) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 44, $21921.

               29. (35) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 44, $21885.

               30. (36) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 43, $16140.

               31. (37) Roger Reuse, Chevrolet, 43, $15794.

               32. (1) Ben Rhodes, Chevrolet, 41, $21749.

               33. (18) Dylan Kwasniewski, Chevrolet, 41, $15718.

               34. (19) Dakoda Armstrong, Ford, 41, $21698.

               35. (21) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 35, $21661.

               36. (29) Tomy Drissi, Toyota, 35, $20158.

               37. (31) Cale Conley #, Toyota, Rear Gear, 22, $19158.

               38. (38) Derek White, Dodge, Transmission, 22, $12158.

               39. (39) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Brakes, 7, $11158.

               40. (30) Jeff Green, Toyota, Transmission, 2, $10158.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 77.874 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 20 Mins, 21 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.572 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 3 for 11 laps.
Lead Changes: 9 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders:    0; C. Elliott 1-12; T. Dillon 13; B. Gaughan 14-15; C. Elliott 16-26; B. Scott 27-29; B. Gaughan 30-31; P. Menard(i) 32-34; B. Koch 35-39; P. Menard(i) 40-45.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): C. Elliott 2 times for 23 laps; P. Menard(i) 2 times for 9 laps; B. Koch 1 time for 5 laps; B. Gaughan 2 times for 4 laps; B. Scott 1 time for 3 laps; T. Dillon 1 time for 1 lap.

Top 10 in Points: C. Buescher – 835; C. Elliott – 819; T. Dillon – 816; R. Smith – 785; E. Sadler – 750; D. Wallace Jr. # – 736; B. Scott – 723; D. Suarez # – 717; B. Gaughan – 705; R. Reed – 631.

August 29, 2015
Beaubier Takes a Close Win in Race One at Road America
by Nick Livers

Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier captured the win in MotoAmerica’s Superbike/Superstock 1000 Race One at Road America on Sunday.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Jake Lewis moved to the lead off the start, but was overtaken by Hayes in Turn 2. Within a few laps, Beaubier took second spot from Lewis, and the two were followed by Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Hayden in fourth a bit behind.

On Lap 4, Beaubier caught Hayes and briefly passed him, but Hayes was able to regroup and regain his position.

Beaubier continued to challenge with Lewis not far behind, until Hayes wrecked in Turn 14 on Lap 6. Hayes reentered the track in 14th, and was able to climb to a 7th place finish to scrape up some valuable championship points.

Hayden was able to pass his teammate Lewis, and slowly closed the gap to Beaubier. In the final laps he reached the back of Beaubier’s YZF-R1, but was unable to make the pass due to a few miscues.

Beaubier edged Hayden out for the win by a few bike lengths, followed by Lewis and RoadRace Factory’s Jake Gagne, each finishing with no challenges for position. Gagne was the top finisher in the Superstock 1000 class.

Danny Eslick and Chris Fillmore ended a hard fight in 5th and 6th places, respectively.
Race Results:
1. Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha)
2. Roger Hayden (Suzuki)
3. Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
4. Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
5. Danny Eslick (Honda)
6. Chris Fillmore (KTM)
7. Josh Hayes (Yamaha)
8. Sheridan Morais (Aprilia)
9. Shane Narbonne (Yamaha)
10. Mark Heckles (Yamaha)
11. Elena Myers (Suzuki)
12. Frankie Babuska (Suzuki)
13. Devon McDonough (Aprilia)
14. Bernat Martinez (Yamaha)
15. Stefano Mesa (Honda)
June 2, 2015
Jeremy Clements Scores Big Finish for Small Team

Jeremy Clements drove his No. 51 Chevrolet to a career best sixth place finish Saturday afternoon in the Nationwide Series race at Road America. For a team that is underfunded and often overlooked, it was a reminder of what the Nationwide Series was designed to be; a learning ground to showcase the talent of drivers hoping to make it to the premier Sprint Cup level.

Clements’ determination to succeed in the face of what sometimes seems like insurmountable odds has made him a fan favorite. The engines in his cars are not the most current and the team often has to cut corners when it comes to new tires, parts and equipment. Some might call him an underdog but for many he is “The Fan’s Man.”

On days like Saturday, it’s all worth it.

Clements expressed his joy and appreciation on his twitter page, saying, “So excited for our small team for our 6th place @roadamerica! What an awesome finish at a super fun track! Appreciate all the support.”

After practice and qualifying, he was confident that he had a competitive car.

“I knew we had a good car,” he told me. “We were 14th in practice and qualified 13th so I knew we had a car capable of a top-10 and that was my plan going into the race.”

The race was not without its challenges. His pit crew was understaffed, he had a couple of inexperienced spotters and then there was the rain.

“I’ve never driven in the rain in this type of car before,” he said. “Plus, our defogger wasn’t working right and it was hard to see.”

Clements also had to overcome an on-track incident with the No. 6 car of Trevor Bayne which cost him valuable track position. He was able to drive through the field and regain most of the positions but feels that it may have cost him a top-five. Despite the obstacles, they found the perfect balance between car, driver, strategy and luck.

“On these road courses, the driver can make up a lot of positions and we had a good car, good strategy and we just put it all together.”

The sixth place finish was his sixth top-10 in 148 Nationwide Series starts and his first top-10 this season. Clements is currently 15th in the series point standings.

He’s encouraged by last weekend’s performance but is looking forward to the remainder of the season, hoping to add more top-10 finishes to his resume.

“I believe in momentum. It was a big morale boost for everyone but,” he explained, “the next track we go to is very different. We’re always aiming for top-ten finishes so every week we keep plugging away.”

This week the team travels to Kentucky for the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign 300 presented by Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over race where they will attempt to take advantage of that momentum and make this season one to remember.

June 24, 2014