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  • Grant Enfinger scores dominant victory at Talladega, clinches Championship 4 berth

    Grant Enfinger scores dominant victory at Talladega, clinches Championship 4 berth

    The feeling of winning at home never felt sweeter for Grant Enfinger, who guaranteed himself an early shot to contend for this year’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship after capping off a dominant performance with a victory in the Love’s RV Stop 225 at Talladega Superspeedway on Friday, October 4.

    The 39-year-old Enfinger from Fairhope, Alabama, led nine times for a race-high 34 of 85-scheduled laps in an event where he started in fourth place and spent a majority of the event racing upfront amid the draft and up against both his fellow Playoff and non-Playoff contenders. After finishing second in the first stage before winning the second stage, Enfinger, who would endure three restarts throughout the final stage period, retained the lead at the start of the final one with nine laps remaining. He then fended off late challenges from Playoff contenders Christian Eckes and Taylor Gray through the frontstretch on the final lap and amid a multi-truck wreck approaching the finish line to record his first elusive victory of the season and automatically transfer his way into this year’s Championship 4 round.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, William Sawalich, the 2024 ARCA Menards Series East champion, notched his first Truck Series career pole position after he posted a pole-winning lap at 175.764 mph in 54.482 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ben Rhodes, who posted his best qualifying lap at 175.648 mph in 54.518 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Keith McGee dropped to the rear of the field as a result of replacing Bryan Dauzat in the FDNY Racing entry. Bayley Currey also dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change to his Niece Motorsports entry.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, William Sawalich muscled his No. 1 Starkey/Soundgear Toyota Tundra TRD Pro ahead with the lead from the inside lane as he was followed by Ben Rhodes and Playoff contenders Ty Majeski and Taylor Gray through the first two turns. Sawalich proceeded to lead through the backstretch as a bevy of competitors behind dueled early for positions in two drafting lanes. When the field returned to the frontstretch, Playoff contender Grant Enfinger received a draft from Chase Purdy from the outside lane to rocket his No. 9 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead and lead the first lap ahead of Sawalich.

    Through the second to fifth lap, the field fanned out to three drafting lanes as Purdy, Enfinger and Matt Mills all took turns leading at the front while Jake Garcia, Sawalich, Connor Zilisch, Dean Thompson, Majeski, Playoff contender Tyler Ankrum, Dean Thompson and Lawless Alan all followed pursuit. By then, Ben Rhodes, who started on the front row alongside Sawalich, was penalized for jumping the start, as he launched ahead of Sawalich when he was not in control of bringing the field up to race pace before the event’s start. After serving a drive-through penalty for the penalty, however, Rhodes was penalized a second time, this time for a blend violation as he moved up the racing surface early through the backstretch. The pair of penalties would result in Rhodes losing a lap to the field while Mills and Enfinger dueled for the lead in front of the field.

    Through the first 10-scheduled laps, Enfinger was leading ahead of Purdy, Sawalich, Mills and Majeski while Garcia, Playoff contender Taylor Gray, Zilisch, Ankrum and Dean Thomson were racing in the top 10. Behind, Playoff contender Corey Heim occupied 11th place ahead of, Lawless Alan, Playoff contender Christian Eckes, Playoff contender Rajah Caruth and Ryan Reed while Bret Holmes, Nick Sanchez, Stefan Parsons, Stewart Friesen and Tanner Gray were mired in the top 20.

    Five laps later, Enfinger, who led three of the previous five laps, was leading by a hair amid a side-by-side battle with Mills while the rest of the field racing in two-packed lanes followed suit. By then, Garcia, Sawalich and Zilisch were running in the top five as Playoff contenders Majeski, Taylor Gray and Ankrum were racing in the top-10 mark. In addition, Heim and Caruth were battling within the top-15 mark while Eckes and Sanchez were mired within the top-20 mark. Meanwhile, Johnny Sauter, who was making his second Truck start of the season with Hattori Racing Enterprises, had pitted to have a broken spoiler brace fixed.

    With two laps remaining in the first stage period, Sanchez and Currey pitted their respective entries, primarily for fuel, as Enfinger retained the lead.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 20, Matt Mills received a draft from Garcia to overtake Enfinger from the outside lane through the backstretch and claim his first Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Enfinger settled in second ahead of Garcia, Zilisch and Sawalich while Thompson, Majeski, Alan, Taylor Gray and Tanner Gray were scored in the top 10 on the track. Meanwhile, Playoff contenders that included Ankrum, Heim, Eckes and Caruth were mired within the top 16 while Sanchez was down in 32nd place.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Mills pits while the rest including Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton, Spencer Boyd and Sanchez remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Enfinger exited pit road first ahead of Majeski, Garcia, Alan, Zilisch, Eckes, Thompson, Taylor Gray, Caruth and Tyler Ankrum. Friesen, Crafton and Boyd would eventually pit prior to the second stage’s start while Sanchez, who pitted before the first stage’s conclusion, remained on the track and inherited the lead.

    The second stage period started on Lap 27 as Sanchez and Enfinger occupied the front row. At the start, Sanchez and Enfinger dueled for the lead for a full lap and in front of two stacked lanes. Enfinger was being pushed by Garcia while Sanchez was being pushed by Majeski and Zilisch. By then, Taylor Gray pitted to have a punctured tire on his No. 17 Place of Hope Toyota Tundra TRD Pro removed as both Sanchez and Enfinger continued to duel for the lead by the Lap 30 mark.

    Then with three laps remaining in the second stage period, the caution flew after Sanchez, who had both lanes to his control before Enfinger came storming back to challenge him for the lead, got loose by Zilisch through the frontstretch. Sanchez then slid sideways into the path of Zilisch, where Zilisch kept pushing Sanchez’s spinning No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST while Sauter, Rhodes and Purdy all wrecked against the outside wall while trying to avoid the wreck. The incident occurred as Mills and Parsons made contact, but avoided igniting a wreck entering the frontstretch while being mired behind Playoff contenders Heim, Ankrum and Taylor Gray, the latter of whom had lost a lap to the field.

    The multi-truck incident on Lap 37 was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 40 to officially conclude under caution as Enfinger was awarded his second Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Garcia, Eckes, Alan, Caruth, Thompson, Heim, Tanner Gray, Ankrum and Stefan Parsons were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some, led by Crafton and including Boyd while the rest led by Enfinger pitted. During the pit stops, Mason Maggio, who made contact with Ankrum on pit road, was penalized for having too many men over his pit wall. Soon after and amid the caution period, a bevy of names including Playoff contender Taylor Gray, Sanchez all returned to pit road for additional services.

    With 39 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced under green as Dye and Caruth occupied the front row. At the start, Daniel Dye, who received drafting help from a bevy of Chevrolet teammates, including teammate Eckes, muscled his No. 43 NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead of Caruth before he then moved in front of Caruth entering the backstretch. Eckes would also follow suit and he also transitioned his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST in front of Caruth on the inside lane. By the following lap, Dye was leading ahead of a five-truck breakaway from the field along with teammate Eckes, Ankrum, Caruth and Dean Thompson while Enfinger and Corey Heim dueled for sixth place in front of two lines of stacked competitors.

    With 35 laps remaining, teammates Eckes and Dye dueled for the lead in front of two stacked lanes of competitors. Five laps later, the top-10 competitors on the track were separated under a second as Eckes was leading ahead of Enfinger, teammate Dye, Caruth and Parsons while Mills, Garcia, Alan, Kaden Honeycutt and Sanchez were in the top 10.

    Then with 28 laps remaining, a majority of field led by Eckes and Enfinger pitted under green. During the pit stops, Caruth blew a tire while he was slamming on the brakes and locking up his front tires of his No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST while trying to enter pit road. Caruth, however, would be penalized for being too fast while trying to enter pit road as he eventually lost a lap. In addition, Dye missed pit road and could not pit with the front-runners while Norm Benning spun on pit road after making contact with Stefan Parsons. Soon after, Purdy was seen limping his slowed truck below the apron on the backstretch, but he continued without drawing a caution.

    Back on the track with 25 laps remaining, Jason White was leading ahead of Dawson Sutton, Mason Maggio, Honeycutt and Sanchez while Enfinger, Eckes, Garcia, Riggs and Friesen were scored in the top 10.

    Shortly after, the caution flew when Garcia got turned off the front nose of Parsons that resulted in Garcia colliding with rookie Layne Riggs and clipping Riggs again that sent Riggs back across the track and into Tanner Gray and Matt Mills up against the outside wall. Connor Zilisch and Dean Thompson would also get involved in the carnage while Playoff contenders Tyler Ankrum and Taylor Gray slid through the infield grass and kicked up dirt to avoid the carnage.

    During the caution period, some led by the leader Jason White and including Sutton, Mason Maggio, Clay Greenfield, Cory Roper, Spencer Boyd and Ankrum pitted while the rest led by the new leader Honeycutt remained on the track.

    Down to the final 17 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Honeycutt received a draft from Eckes on the inside lane to rocket ahead with the lead through the first two turns. As the field started to fan out to three lanes through the backstretch, Eckes made his move to the outside lane as he overtook Honeycutt while he was followed by Sanchez. Sanchez then made a move beneath Eckes in Turn 4 as he assumed the lead and led the following lap ahead of Honeycutt and Eckes. Sanchez would then be placed on defense to block Eckes and Honeycutt as Enfinger and Taylor Gray started to muscle up into the top five by the following lap.

    The caution would then return with 15 laps remaining after Sanchez received a push from Eckes that got him sliding sideways below the apron entering Turn 3. While trying to save his truck from spinning, Sanchez slid up the track backward in between Turns 3 and 4 and barely clipped Dye, which sent Dye for a spin below the turn’s grass. With nearly the entire field dodging Sanchez’s truck, Keith McGee and Mason Maggio wrecked along with Dawson Sutton while avoiding Sanchez.

    The start of the following restart period with nine laps remaining featured Enfinger rocketing ahead with the lead with drafting help from Eckes and Alan while Taylor Gray, who restarted outside the front row, blended in line in fourth place ahead of Ryan Reed and Ankrum. With a majority of the front-runners running in a long single-file line towards the inside lane, Enfinger retained the lead for the following lap and ahead of Eckes, Alan, Ankrum and Reed.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, the top 12 competitors were racing under a second while the top 16 were separated within a second. In the process, Enfinger was leading ahead of Eckes, Alan, Taylor Gray and Reed while Ankrum, Friesen, Heim, Caruth and Majeski were mired in the top 10 ahead of Bret Holmes and Spencer Boyd.

    During the following lap, the field behind Enfinger slowly started to fan out to multiple drafting lanes as Heim, racing in eighth place, was leading a charge from the outside lane with drafting help from Caruth. Heim and Caruth then made contact entering the backstretch, which stalled their momentum and forced both to blend back in the long drafting lane towards the double yellow lines and behind Enfinger, who continued to lead in front of Eckes.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Enfinger remained as the leader ahead of Eckes, Alan, Taylor Gray and Reed while Daniel Dye was trying to ignite a final drafting charge from the outside lane along with Caruth, Parsons and Heim. Enfinger would continue to lead through the backstretch along with Turns 3 and 4 as both Taylor Gray and Ankrum transitioned to the outside lane to receive the drafting momentum Dye was receiving.

    Then through the frontstretch and with the finish line in sight, Lawless Alan would then transition to the outside lane, but Taylor Gray and Eckes pinned him in three-wide formation. As Enfinger retained the lead, trouble ignited as Ankrum was bumped and sent spinning through the frontstretch before he was hit in the driver’s side by Friesen. Eckes then slid sideways off the front nose of teammate Reed and shot back across the track, where he collected a majority of the front-runners. Meanwhile, Enfinger managed to fend off a charge from Taylor Gray to claim the checkered flag and grab the victory.

    With the victory, Enfinger, who scored his first series victory at Talladega in 2016, became the first Playoff competitor to win the Truck Series Playoff event at Talladega and he became the fifth competitor to achieve multiple Truck victories at Talladega. He also notched his 11th career win in the Craftsman Truck Series and his first since winning at the Milwaukee Mile in August 2023.

    Above all, Enfinger, who came into Talladega strapped in seventh place in the Playoff standings, became the first competitor to clinch a spot into this year’s Championship 4 round, where he will contend for the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 8.

    “[My team] knew stuff was going to get dicey,” Enfinger, who credited spotter Tim Fedewa with the victory, said on FS1. “We didn’t make all the perfect decisions today, but we had a Champion Power Equipment Chevy [that] was fast enough to get it done today. That was hairy coming right [to the finish]. I knew Taylor [Gray] was coming with a run. Tim told me to go up, then he told me to come down. It’s just Talladega right there. Hopefully, all the fans enjoyed it. It’s nothing like winning at your hometown, home track. On top of that, we get to race for a championship at Phoenix.”

    Enfinger’s Talladega victory was also the first ever for CR7 Motorsports, a team that debuted in 2018 and had hired Enfinger as a part-time competitor in 2021 before signing him to a full-time, multi-year deal at the start of this season. Now after recording five top-five results and barely transferring into the Playoff’s Round of 8 throughout the previous 19 events on this year’s schedule, the organization will receive its first opportunity to contend for a NASCAR championship with the veteran Enfinger also setting his sights on claiming the title one year after being one position shy of claiming it.

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “There are just so many people that make this team,” Enfinger added. “It’s a little bit of the little team that could, but we have great resources with our friends over there at [McAnally-Hilgemann Racing]. Obviously, great resources from everybody at Team Chevy. We’ve been knocking on the door. I know it’s speedway race, but we’ve been knocking on the door at all the tracks. I feel like we stumbled that first round of the Playoffs, but it really doesn’t matter now. [I was] able to win our way to Phoenix. Now, we can just focus on that. Looking forward to having some fun the next couple races, but a championship’s on the line now.

    Behind Enfinger, Taylor Gray tied his career-best result of second place as he just missed his first victory and an early ticket to the Championship 4 round by 0.041 seconds. Daniel Dye managed to cross the finish line in third place with a destroyed race truck while Rajah Caruth and Lawless Alan finished in the top five. Christian Eckes, Ryan Reed, Stefan Parsons, Bret Holmes and Spencer Boyd finished in the top 10 on the track.

    With Playoff contenders Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Caruth and Eckes finishing in the top 10 on the track, the remaining Playoff contenders that included Corey Heim, Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum and Nick Sanchez ended up 11th, 12th, 14th and 22nd, respectively. As a result, Eckes, Heim and Majeski leave Talladega above the top-four cutline to the Championship 4 round while Caruth, Gray, Sanchez and Ankrum trail the cutline.

    There were 27 lead changes for 12 different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 25 laps. In addition, 23 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Grant Enfinger, 34 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Taylor Gray

    3. Daniel Dye, three laps led

    4. Rajah Caruth, two laps led

    5. Lawless Alan

    6. Christian Eckes, eight laps led

    7. Ryan Reed

    8. Stefan Parsons

    9. Bret Holmes

    10. Spencer Boyd

    11. Corey Heim

    12. Ty Majeski

    13. Stewart Friesen, one lap led

    14. Tyler Ankrum

    15. Clay Greenfield

    16. Cory Roper

    17. Danny Bohn

    18. Mason Maggio

    19. Kaden Honeycutt, three laps led

    20. Jason White, seven laps led

    21. Norm Benning

    22. Nick Sanchez, 10 laps led

    23. Matt Crafton, one lap led

    24. Dawson Sutton, four laps down, one lap led

    25. Chase Purdy, 14 laps down, one lap led

    26. Keith McGee – OUT, Accident

    27. William Sawalich, 21 laps down

    28. Layne Riggs – OUT, Accident

    29. Jake Garcia – OUT, Accident

    30. Tanner Gray – OUT, Accident

    31. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident, 14 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    32. Dean Thompson – OUT, Accident

    33. Connor Zilisch – OUT, Accident

    34. Johnny Sauter – OUT, DVP

    35. Ben Rhodes – OUT, Accident

    36. Bayley Currey – OUT, Rear Gear

    *Bold indicates Playoff competitors

    Playoff standings

    1. Grant Enfinger – Advanced

    2. Corey Heim +30

    3. Christian Eckes +29

    4. Ty Majeski +5

    5. Rajah Caruth -5

    6. Taylor Gray -13

    7. Nick Sanchez -20

    8. Tyler Ankrum- 23

    The second Round of 8 event in the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs is set to occur at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, and is scheduled to occur on October 26 and air at noon ET on FS1.

  • NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Las Vegas – spring preview

    NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Las Vegas – spring preview

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series makes the trip west this week to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for it’s first outing of two races this season.

    It’ll be somewhat of a learning weekend, as the second Las Vegas race will be in the Playoffs and racing at night as well.

    Last fall saw a thrilling finish take place late in the closing laps on a restart as Grant Enfinger took the checkers, and advanced on to the next round.

    So who will take the checkers this time around?

    Here’s a look at who could end up in victory lane this weekend in Sin City.

    Currently, there was 34 trucks on the preliminary entry list, but due to an incident last week at Atlanta after the race, Chad Finley’s hauler driver went to the wrong tunnel and accidentally damaged the Las Vegas truck. As a result, the team withdrew from the Vegas race. Ray Ciccarelli has also withdrawn from the event.

    1. Johnny Sauter – It’s hard to imagine counting Sauter out at any given race, especially when he has the second most starts among active drivers, with 11. However, his only win at Vegas came in 2009, his first start at he track, driving for ThorSport Racing. Since then, Sauter has not visited victory lane, but has finished second the past two times. Overall, he has four second place finishes, along with six top fives and eight top-10 finishes. Sauter has led 121 laps with an average finish of 7.0. He also finished second last weekend at Atlanta and looks to go back to victory lane.
    2. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger won the last time the Truck Series visited Las Vegas. In the fall race, he led 40 laps and finished seventh in Stage 1 and won Stage 2. Enfinger has only one finish outside the top-10 that came in his first start there in 2012. In total, he has two top fives and four top-10 finishes, along with 45 laps led, and an average finish of 7.2. His driver rating was 91.5 percent in the 2018 fall race. Enfinger has 73 green flag passes and 66 quality passes equaling 90.4 percent. Look for Enfinger to contend for the win Friday night at Vegas.
    3. Kyle Busch – Kyle is back in the No. 51 this week for his second of five Truck Series starts. He is coming off a historic win at Atlanta and he’ll be looking to continue his winning ways Friday night. He only has two starts, but his first start was all the way back in 2001 driving for Jack Roush, where he finished ninth. It wasn’t until the spring race of last year, where Busch was finally back in a truck at Vegas. To no one’s surprise, he went to victory lane after leading 55 laps and starting on the pole. He finished third in both stages. It’ll be hard to count out the winningest driver in the Truck Series.
    4. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes has four starts at Vegas and won in 2017. In the 2017 race, he led 20 laps and finished sixth in Stage 1 and won Stage 2. Overall, Rhodes has two top fives and three top-10 finishes with an average finish of 6.0, and 24 laps led. His driver rating is 90.2 percent and he has made 65 quality passes. When Rhodes won in 2017, he had 27 quality passes and a driver rating of 124.4.
    5. Ross Chastain – Chastain only has three starts at Vegas in the Truck Series. To many, he may not look like a threat to win, but he is certainly someone to keep an eye on as he is a sleeper. Last fall, he won the Xfinity race and finished seventh in the Truck Series race. Chastain has been on a strong roll as of late. He finished third at Daytona and sixth last week at Atlanta. At Vegas, Chastain has just 11 laps led. He may not win, but look for him to be inside the top-10 when the night is over.

    Other Notables

    Angela Ruch is back in the No. 8 truck for Nemco Motorsports. Her previous start came in Daytona a few weeks ago, where she finished eighth.

    Stefan Parsons returns to the series this weekend for Tracy Lowe in the No. 1 machine. This will be Parson’s first truck race since Phoenix last fall where he finished 20th.

    Ryan Reed is back driving the No. 17 DGR-CROSLEY truck. It’ll be his first start since 2012, where he also competed at Las Vegas for Wauters Motorsports. Reed finished 17th that day.

    Jesse Iwuji will drive Josh Reaume’s No. 34 entry and Scott Stenzel is set to pilot D.J. Copp’s No. 63 machine.

    Two practices are scheduled for Thursday afternoon. The first will begin at 5:05 p.m. ET wth the final practice at 7:05 p.m. ET but there will be no live TV coverage. Friday afternoon, it’s qualifying at 5:10 p.m. ET, live on FOX Sports 1. The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Strat 200 is slated for 9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

  • Ryan Reed and Cole Custer–Two XFINITY Drivers Looking Forward to the New Season

    Ryan Reed and Cole Custer–Two XFINITY Drivers Looking Forward to the New Season

    CHARLOTTE, NC – Ryan Reed and Cole Custer are promising young drivers in the XFINITY Series. They’ve both had success with Reed winning races for a couple of years and Custer making the playoffs and winning the final race of the 2017 season. Both have a goal of driving in the Monster Energy Cup Series at some point, but neither is in a hurry. They are looking forward to Daytona and the rest of the season

    RYAN REED – No. 16 Ford Mustang – DO YOU LIKE PLATE RACING? “I certainly don’t hate it just because you’ve had good results. I think it’s easy to kind of get in slumps at superspeedways that aren’t even your fault. We just don’t seem to get in those. I think nowadays especially it takes having really strong race cars, especially at plate races, you have to make a lot happen. You have to be able to make moves and be aggressive. If you don’t, if your race cars aren’t as good, you just can’t make it happen. Fortunately, we don’t have that problem at Roush. I don’t know if I love them or hate them because so much is out of your control, but certainly having some success there helps you smile when you think of them rather than frown.”

    IT’S THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OR ROUSH. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO DRIVE FOR HIM? “First of all, just driving for Jack is obviously really special. He’s such a big part of NASCAR’s history and he’s kind of one who has laid the groundwork for where NASCAR is today, so when you look at Jack Roush you have a lot of respect for him and to be able to drive for him is really cool. You pull from a lot of that knowledge and then I think for me what really makes it special is having won for him. Jack’s not a guy who is satisfied until you have success, so you can have top fives or top 10s and he’ll come up to you and pat you on the back, but when you see Jack smiling in Victory Lane you know, ‘OK, I actually made him proud today.’”

    IS THERE A PLAN FOR YOU TO MOVE UP TO CUP? “Yeah, there has been talk. Obviously, we all know there is a lot that has to happen to go from XFINITY to Cup – sponsorship, the team being ready, the driver being read – and so I think something that I certainly want to do. I got in this sport to be a Cup driver one day, so I’m working really hard at it. I give Jack a hard time and push for it, so I think it’s something that’s on all of our minds and just when is the right time and how do we get there. Those are the questions we have to answer, so hopefully sooner than later we get that figured out.”

    HOW DO YOU FEEL THE CAMAROS AND MUSTANGS MATCH UP? “That’s a question we all ask ourselves a lot and compare ourselves to our competition. I think they are. I think there are differences and I think each one has their advantages over the other. It’s a little bit different now for us with the composite body. That changes it a little bit, but I think they are competitive and I think it’s a lot on us to try and figure out how to use our strengths with our Ford body to our advantage.”

    HOW WILL IT BE HAVING FOUR DIFFERENT DRIVERS IN THE OTHER TEAM CAR? “We ended the year last year without teammates or at least the vast majority of the second half of the year we didn’t have a teammate, so just having a second car is helpful. It can be done. You’ve seen it with organizations that have one-car programs and they have success, but for the most part, I think, it’s gonna be helpful just to have the second car. Mike Kelley is a really good crew chief, so I think he’s gonna be able to help the program. The whole XFINITY program, having him involved in that again, and I think having three fairly inexperienced drivers – at least in XFINITY cars – that will be different, but I also think it will be good because Ty has had some NASCAR experience with Roush, but Chase and Austin come from different organizations, so it will be cool to see their mindset and be able to pull from their previous experience, and also Austin is going to be splitting time with Penske as well, so that will be really good information and a really good comparison as we go.”

    HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE OTHER GUYS? “I know Ty pretty well. I know Ty and I really have spent time with all three of them. We’ve all been in the Ford camp. Ty, I’ve run races with him last year, so I have a little bit of experience working with him, but we’ve all been in the Ford camp for a number of years, so I have a little bit of experience with them. I think that transition will be easy. The communication, we’re all comfortable with each other, so I don’t think that will be too much of an introduction phase.”

    COLE CUSTER – No. 00 Ford Mustang – WHAT IS YOUR TIMEFRAME IN TERMS OF GETTING TO CUP? “There isn’t really a timeframe, honestly. We’re just trying to get some experience and also trying to win this XFINITY championship, so however, it plays out it plays out. I think you just have to focus on what you’re doing and do the best you can.”

    CUP IS THE GOAL? “Yeah. Everybody wants to get to the Cup level, but however, it plays out it plays out.”

    WHAT HAS SHR DONE FOR YOUR CAR THIS YEAR? “In the XFINITY Series they’re doing the flange fit bodies, so it takes a lot of the creativity that we had with the steel bodies out of it, so we’re still trying to find ways to make those better and trying to just get the scans right on them because NASCAR put a new scanning system in place. There is a lot of stuff and new rules out that we need to figure out and try to make our cars the best we can within the rules.”

    DIDN’T YOU RUN A COUPLE RACES WITH THE FLANGE FIT BODY? “Yeah, we ran a couple races. We have some experience, but they also didn’t have that Hawkeye system, which is keeping us within lower tolerances and those races that we ran were short tracks, so the aero side wasn’t quite as important.”

    THINGS SEEM CALM AT SHR THIS YEAR. HOW MUCH EMPHASIS HAS BEEN PUT ON CUP AND XFINITY WITH NO CHANGEOVER? “I’ll tell you right now there is no calm offseason, ever. It’s always a struggle, so there’s always stuff to learn with the Hawkeye system. That’s the biggest thing, honestly. We’re just trying to figure out how to get our cars to fit the scan. That’s the biggest thing. Everybody is working really hard right now to figure that out and it’s definitely gonna help us this year because we’re in way better shape than we were last year, so to be able to fluff and buff on our speedway cars and to focus more on the tracks that we need to work on, that’s gonna help us a lot.”

    HAVE YOU SEEN ANY ADVANCEMENT IN THE ENGINE PROGRAM? “Doug Yates and all those guys are always working on stuff. I don’t know if there is any better engine program out there. There were times last year where I knew we were as fast as we were just because of the motor and I’ve never felt that before. It was crazy and I know that they’re working hard to get it even better, so I think we’re gonna be in good shape no matter what this year and I’m looking forward to it.”

    WHAT ARE FIVE RACES YOU WOULD LIKE TO WIN OR COMPETE? “I would say I’d like to go back and race more midget stuff at some point, and then I’d like to run Turkey Night more than the Chili Bowl. Another race would be some type of V8 SuperCar. I think that would be kind of cool to run something over there. The Indy 500 is cool. Rolex 24 would be cool to run. I don’t know. It’s hard to run through. I’d have to really think about it, but those are the ones that come to mind.”

    ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT THE ROVAL AT CHARLOTTE? “It’s gonna be interesting, that’s for sure. It’s a really tight track, I guess. It’s gonna be interesting. We’re gonna see when we go there. We’re gonna be the first cars to find out, so nobody really knows what to expect. It could be good, it could be not what we need, but it’ll be interesting for sure.”

    WHICH DO YOU PREFER, OVAL RACING OR ROAD COURSES? “Oval racing is where I’m from and probably what I more specialize in, but I really do like road racing. It’s a lot of fun. It’s something I feel like we need more of. I wish we went to more road courses like Road Atlanta and just different kinds of actual road courses because we have some really great ones in North America. Hopefully, we can keep running more. You’re just doing a lot more. Even though oval racing is really hard and you have to be real precise and you’re always on the edge, road course racing is fun because you’re banging gears, you’re driving it sideways, you’re spinning the tires, you’re hard on the brakes. It’s just a lot of stuff going on and it’s really fun.”

    TONY SAID HE MIGHT LIKE TO RUN THE ROVAL. HOW WOULD IT BE TO HAVE HIM AS A TEAMMATE FOR THAT EVENT? “It would be awesome if Tony ran an XFINITY race with us. It would be really cool to have him as a teammate and get to bounce ideas off him. He’s obviously one of the best all-time, so it would be a dream come true to be his teammate.”

  • One on One with XFINITY Series Driver Ryan Reed

    One on One with XFINITY Series Driver Ryan Reed

    With a win to start off the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series, Roush-Fenway Racing driver Ryan Reed is currently fourth in points and in position to make a run for his first series championship in his fourth full season. Reed, 23, has two XFINITY wins to his credit, both at Daytona, but has had strong showings at several other tracks, scoring top-10s last season at Iowa, Watkins Glen, and Kentucky.

    The Bakersfield, California native took the time to talk with SpeedwayMedia.com about his 2017 season and life as an XFINITY Series driver.

    You’ve had a fairly consistent start to your 2017 season, with a win and two top-10s already. How do you feel your results compare to your team’s effort this year?

    Ryan Reed: Obviously, the win was phenomenal. Starting the year getting us locked into the playoffs with a win was so important and takes a lot of pressure off us throughout the year; we are in a really good position. We want to knock down more top-10s, we feel we’re in a much better place than 2016 not just because of Daytona, but with overall speed. If you look at our average finish we are leaps and bounds ahead of a year ago.

    You have two wins at Daytona, undoubtedly one of racing’s most hallowed grounds. It’s easy to say one win at Daytona is luck or happenstance. But to have two wins at Daytona does show a bit of mastery. How do you feel about having two major wins at Daytona?

    RR: I certainly think, especially the second win, was a lot harder. The first one, I ran a good consistent race and was in the right place at the right time on the last lap. The second one, we had to fight for and overcome two wrecks and at the end of the race I took the lead with five or six to go and had to hold off Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, a bunch of good Cup guys. I don’t think I was in the place two years to hold those guys off, but I’ve learned a lot over the last two years. Running a Cup race at Talladega helped a lot. I’m proud of the win.

    Aside from restrictor-plate racing, where do you feel you perform your strongest? Which tracks do you feel you need the most work done?

    RR: I think we are really strong on road courses. I think our mile-and-a-half package is getting better and the two-mile tracks are really good for us too. Michigan and Fontana have always been two of our best race tracks even if the stats don’t show it, those are the tracks we’ve had the most speed. We’ve got to figure out how to close out the races better. Tracks I need to get better at are probably Bristol and Dover. Both of those really high-banked concrete racetracks. I don’t know if that says something. The concrete surface has not suited my driving style as well. Those are sort of my calendar as places to get better at. I’ve definitely gotten better throughout the years, I finished ninth at Dover last year and I think we’ve improved, but those are tracks where I can improve as a driver.

    It’s evident that you’ve improved over your XFINITY career. To what do you credit that to?

    RR: I don’t know if it’s just one area, it’s getting better in a lot of areas, but I think to get better in those areas I had to definitely commit myself to learning. I had to humble myself and open myself up to advice from a lot of people and be okay with struggling in areas and asking for advice. I think as a race car driver it can be a little defeating sometimes to admit you need help, but I’ve learned how to do that and it’s made me a much better driver. I also think battling through adversity, the days that are tough and frustrating, being able to salvage those and not let those days turns into 20th-place finishes, instead you get a 13th-place finish. It’s still not a great day, but it could have been a lot worse. As a driver, I’ve learned to battle and get a little more out of the every week and especially on the weeks we aren’t doing so hot.

    Last year you made your Cup debut at Talladega in the No. 99 Ford. Where would you like to make your next Cup start? With the success that the No. 99 has seen over the years as a Roush team, did you feel like you had any expectations to live up to at Talladega?

    RR: I absolutely want to get to the Cup level and I want to be racing on Sunday every week. That’s been my goal since I was a little kid and that continues to be my goal today. Talladega was a tough race for a lot of reasons. Talladega is a tough race track and it was my first start so there were a lot of nerves, it was the middle of the Chase and an elimination race. So there were a lot of challenges, but for me, it was about going in there and running all the laps so I could learn and also to not cause a problem for any of the Chase guys and taking someone out of contention for a Championship. Those guys worked all season long and I was just coming in for one race. I just tried to stay out of trouble and learn.

    How would you describe your relationship with your teammate Bubba Wallace? Where does he help you the most? Where do you help him the most?

    RR: Bubba and I make good teammates. We each have strengths and weaknesses and we communicate well. We are both very dedicated to getting better, whether that means the race team or ourselves as race car drivers. We try and give as much feedback as possible to the race team and each other. I don’t know that there’s necessarily one place where I’m better or he’s better, one week he might be a little better than I am and the next I might be a little better than him. So we try to communicate what it is that we think we are doing better than the other so the other person can get better.

    2017’s NASCAR season is still fairly new. What are your expectations for the rest of the season?

    RR: I think for me I’ve got my sights set on a Championship and my team does as well. We’ll just do whatever we can to learn throughout the summer. We are going to enjoy being locked into the playoffs, which takes a lot of pressure off. Try and knock out a few more wins and get more bonus points.

    With the recent news that NASCAR plans to implement restrictor plates at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for this year’s XFINITY event, how do you feel that affects you as a competitor?

    RR: I’m not sure, I think testing there might help me a little bit, have a little bit of experience, but it’s going to be a very tough race. Having practice knowing that we’ll be wide open, but then also, too, you’ll also have some aero sensitive situation since the track is so flat and we are going to be running in a pack. It’s going to be interesting, I don’t know what to expect. I don’t know what it will be like when we get 40 cars out there.

    There’s a large debate among NASCAR fans and personalities that there is not enough parity in the XFINITY Series; in 2015 Cup drivers won 23 of 33 races, while in 2016 they won 20 races. Do you think that NASCAR should do even more to make the XFINITY Series a division where “names are made,” like the PR campaign states?

    RR: As a driver, you’re never going to tell me the reason I didn’t win was because there’s another driver too good out there or has too much experience. I want to win no matter who’s out there. No matter if it’s my teammate Bubba Wallace, or Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, or anyone else. Definitely beating those guys makes it way more special for sure. When you win on a day you have a lot of Cup guys out there, you know you did something special. At the same time, I can see from a fans perspective that you are watching Cup guys win on Saturday and Sunday a lot.

    Does the XFINITY Series need more stand-alone events? If so, what type of tracks should be on the circuit?

    RR: I think the stand-alone races are great. Iowa is always a lot of fun; it’s a really cool race track. Selfishly, I love short track racing so I would love to see them go to more short tracks. I think Indianapolis Motor Speedway is unbelievable to go to and race at, but the short track just outside of there is a really cool race track and I’d love to go there. We have great partners that need to be represented at these amazing facilities, and I think Indy is one of them, so I’m proud we get to go there and race at a track like that.

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has the annual All-Star event at Charlotte. The Camping World Truck Series has the Mudsummer Classic at Eldora. What should the XFINITY Series add to its schedule that would equal those two events?

    RR: Those are two of the coolest races around. The All-Star race is a staple for any major sporting league to have an all-star type event, so that race is very special. The trucks have really nailed it with going to Eldora. The fans love it and drivers love it. In the XFINITY Series, we do some more road course racing than either of those series and that’s really cool to go to some road courses like Road America and Mid-Ohio that are unbelievable places. With the way the Final Four is now, Homestead is becoming a very special race and this year we will not have any Cup guys so it’s going to be a much different race than you’ve ever seen. It’s going to be a unique race and maybe Homestead can be that race for us.

    Special thanks to Ryan Reed and Nancy Padula

  • Hot 20 – Martinsville will boast superb on track talent, but can FOX attract the viewers at home?

    Hot 20 – Martinsville will boast superb on track talent, but can FOX attract the viewers at home?

    The ratings are in. They continue to sink, with anything not being raced at Daytona all down. Daytona was great, the rest were okay. There used to be a time when okay was good enough. That was when, to answer Sheryl Crow’s question, we had it bad. Today, not so much. The passion is gone, at least from a ton of fans. Even the sponsors no longer have the passion, the desire to make those NASCAR-themed spots that were, well, spot on.

    What to do, what to do? The stars have been, and remain, pretty accessible to the fans. Hell, even 79-year old Richard Petty remains a fan favorite and an easy target for an autograph. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, Trevor Bayne, and Daniel Suarez leading the way for the 20-somethings. That might bode well for the future, but what about today? If you are a gear-head, the strategy, the setups is something of a draw, but for most folks, when their car is not running well it is simply broken.

    Wasn’t the racing once a lot closer? I know in the old days it was not, not when the winner was a lap or more ahead of the next guy. So, what made NASCAR the “in thing” 20 years ago? They went from southern to national, where a guy like California’s Jeff Gordon would rival the likes of Dale Earnhardt from North Carolina. That created some sparks. They had open-wheel types like Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Juan Pablo Montoya take a turn at the wheel. That caused interest. Danica Patrick arrived and that was interesting, at least for a while. Pack racing might drive the drivers nuts, but it keeps us watching. Again, Daytona was watched, the rest…not so much.

    I love the documentary-styled vignettes on the broadcasts. They always cause me to stop and watch. Is there anything else exciting, such as the broadcasters, the camera angles, the whole television experience to draw us in? Not really. Even the commercials are the same as when you watch NCIS. Seen it already with Gibbs and Ducky, so I’m good. What remains exciting is the talent. It just needs to be showcased a hell of a lot better.

    Now, don’t get me started on XFINITY. Thankfully, Ryan Reed and Justin Allgaier at least won two of the five races. Seventeen of the 25 Top Five positions to date have gone to Cup drivers. Nineteen-year-old William Byron has four Top Tens, but I suspect few know that, or him. That is a problem. I do not know what their ratings are. To be honest, I do not really care.

    Whatever you do, you cannot blame the guys among our Hot 20. Will Larson continue to dominate? Will Elliott get his first win and move to the front of the pack? What can Keselowski do with a car not beat to crap? Can Truex continue to perform well? Will Johnson and Earnhardt continue their climb back into contention? Those are some pretty good questions. I think most are still interested in the answers.

    The trouble is getting them to commit to spending a Sunday afternoon watching it all unfold, rather than to spend just a few minutes in the evening to check the post-race reports. That is like reading the last page of the book to see how the story ends, rather than submerging one’s self into the experience. The Martinsville saga this weekend will be a good one, but the book needs to be spruced up a bit to keep us engaged.

    1. KYLE LARSON – 1 WIN – 243 PTS
    A win, most points, but Martinsville is a challenge he would love to overcome.

    2. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN – 214 PTS
    Have the living daylights beat out of your car by the fourth lap, and still finish second? Wow.

    3. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN – 205 PTS
    Tires. He don’t need no fresh stinking tires. On second thought…

    4. RYAN NEWMAN – 1 WIN – 123 PTS
    After ending a 127 race winless streak, the new one is now up to…well…one.

    5. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN – 118 PTS
    That Daytona win allows him to forget about the results of the past three events.

    6. CHASE ELLIOTT – 214 PTS
    The only thing separating him and the other top guys is the empty win column, and that’s it.

    7. JOEY LOGANO – 174 PTS
    Beat out Larson, Kyle Busch, and Erik Jones to win XFINITY. Again, what is that series for?

    8. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 162 PTS
    Three Top Tens in his last four races. Hey, he doesn’t want teammate Larson to feel alone.

    9. RYAN BLANEY – 157 PTS
    He can say whatever he wants about Junior. Mind you, guess who owns the land he lives on?

    10. KEVIN HARVICK – 147 PTS
    Harvick better win soon. Heck, Keelan is already wearing Larson gear.

    11. CLINT BOWYER – 143 PTS
    October 13, 2012. While he is happy for the moment, it has been awhile since that last win.

    12. KYLE BUSCH – 136 PTS
    Once upon a time, when you mentioned Kyle it meant a guy named Busch.

    13. DENNY HAMLIN – 123 PTS
    Virginia is for Virginians. That is the slogan going into this weekend for Hamlin.

    14. KASEY KAHNE – 122 PTS
    Remembering David Steele.

    15. ERIK JONES – 116 PTS
    Just a win away from a milkshake celebration. Hey, he still is only 20.

    16. TREVOR BAYNE – 114 PTS
    Anywhere in the Top 15 on Sunday would be moral victory.

    17. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 109 PTS
    No, Jimmie is not a god. Superman, yes. A god, no.

    18. ARIC ALMIROLA – 108 PTS
    Andrew Murstein has a drive to win. Richard Petty has 200 as a driver. No pressure, Aric.

    19. DANIEL SUAREZ – 102 PTS
    We now know why Carl Edwards retired. He just wanted to be a coach.

    20. AUSTIN DILLON – 92 PTS
    Where is Junior? He is the guy looming large in Dillon’s mirror.

  • Kyle Busch Wins at Phoenix, as Championship 4 XFINITY Field is Set

    Kyle Busch Wins at Phoenix, as Championship 4 XFINITY Field is Set

    By Reid Spencer
    NASCAR Wire Service

    AVONDALE, Ariz. – It was just another routine Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway for Kyle Busch.

    But nothing else in the Ticket Galaxy 200 was at all ordinary.

    All the drama unfolded behind Busch, as eight drivers scrambled for four positions in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase’s Championship 4 Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    Busch led 190 of 200 laps on the way to his 10th NASCAR XFINITY Series victory of the season, his 10th at the one-mile track and the 86th of his career, extending his own series record.

    Busch beat runner-up Austin Dillon to the finish line by 6.115 seconds. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran third in his first XFINITY Series start since 2013.

    “It means a lot,” said Busch, who won his 170th race across NASCAR’s top three touring series. “That’s what we set out to do tonight, and we’ve been really fast here at Phoenix.

    “We’ve had some great race cars and Chris Gayle (crew chief) and all these guys do such a great job each and every week preparing these things – and it’s fun to win here.”

    Justin Allgaier and Daniel Suarez secured spots in the Championship 4 with respective fourth and fifth-place finishes, as did Erik Jones, who recovered from a pit road mistake on Lap 93 to finish 10th.

    But the real tension waited until after the race, when Elliott Sadler sat anxiously on pit road as NASCAR officials decided whether loose lug nuts would cost Sadler, the 13th-place finisher, the services of his crew chief, Kevin Meendering, in the season finale.

    NASCAR found two loose lug nuts, and that means Meendering will serve a suspension next week. Sadler did not know who his crew chief will be at Homestead – though he was lobbying, somewhat facetiously, for team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. to take over the pit box.

    “The emotions of the last 30 minutes have been tough,” Sadler said. “We knew one was loose, and one was in question. Kevin’s pretty much become my best friend, and Kevin’s made me a race car driver again this year.

    “We’ve saved our Darlington car – our best car – for Homestead. We’ve put all our eggs in that car. We’ve done everything right as a race team to go to Homestead with a legitimate shot of walking away a champion. Now that we know he’s going to be suspended, it’s going to be tough.”

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Managing Director Wayne Auton said there was never a possibility of Sadler losing his spot in the Championship 4.

    “At the end of the race, we bring all the cars down to the entrance of pit road for inspection of the wheels and the lug nuts,” Auton said. “We observed that the No. 1 car had two lug nuts not secured to the wheel. With that being said, all the teams were very much aware at the start of the Chase of the violations that could come about.

    “We’ve advised the team that they’re going to be looking for a crew chief for next week and a monetary fine of about $10,000. It’s clearly in the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series rule book.”

    Blake Koch finished eighth and lost the final Championship 4 position to Sadler by four points. Joining Koch on the Chase sidelines were Ryan Reed, who finished sixth, and Brendan Gaughan and Darrell Wallace Jr., who were wrecked and eliminated before the race was 150 laps old.

    Gaughan, who needed a victory to advance to Homestead, was playing fuel strategy when his right front tire went flat on the frontstretch on Lap 138. Gaughan pounded the Turn 1 wall and retired in 35th place.

    “It was about to play out the way we wanted,” Gaughan said after exiting the infield care center. “Did not want to be the caution. Did not want to hit that hard – but we took a shot.”

    Wallace’s grandmother had passed away during the week before the race, and the No. 6 Ford carried her name, “Granny Jan,” above the driver’s door. On Lap 148, Koch ducked to the inside off Turn 4 and knocked Wallace’s Mustang into the inside frontstretch wall.

    “My grandmother was giving me the ride of my life,” Wallace said, his voice breaking with emotion. “That was the most fun I have had all year. Just circumstances took us out. It’s just hard. Thanks, Granny, I love you. We will go on to Homestead and let her ride again.”

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Ticket Galaxy 200
    Phoenix International Raceway
    Avondale, Arizona
    Saturday, November 12, 2016

     

    1. (1) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 200.
    2. (8) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 200.
    3. (13) Ricky Stenhouse Jr(i), Ford, 200.
    4. (9) Justin Allgaier (C), Chevrolet, 200.
    5. (6) Daniel Suarez (C), Toyota, 200.
    6. (3) Ryan Reed (C), Ford, 200.
    7. (22) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 200.
    8. (4) Blake Koch (C), Chevrolet, 200.
    9. (11) Brad Keselowski(i), Ford, 200.
    10. (2) Erik Jones (C) #, Toyota, 200.
    11. (14) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 200.
    12. (17) Aric Almirola(i), Ford, 200.
    13. (10) Elliott Sadler (C), Chevrolet, 200.
    14. (15) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 200.
    15. (19) Justin Marks, Chevrolet, 200.
    16. (20) Cole Whitt(i), Toyota, 200.
    17. (24) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 199.
    18. (16) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 199.
    19. (12) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 199.
    20. (21) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 199.
    21. (30) Brandon Gdovic, Chevrolet, 199.
    22. (26) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 199.
    23. (33) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 197.
    24. (32) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 197.
    25. (36) BJ McLeod #, Ford, 197.
    26. (37) Brandon Hightower, Dodge, 196.
    27. (35) Austin Theriault(i), Chevrolet, 196.
    28. (40) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 191.
    29. (39) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 190.
    30. (38) DJ Kennington, Ford, Engine, 165.
    31. (23) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, Accident, 150.
    32. (5) Darrell Wallace Jr (C), Ford, Accident, 148.
    33. (18) Corey LaJoie, Toyota, Accident, 148.
    34. (34) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, Accident, 145.
    35. (25) Brendan Gaughan (C), Chevrolet, Accident, 136.
    36. (27) Ray Black Jr #, Chevrolet, Accident, 103.
    37. (28) Jeff Green, Ford, Accident, 90.
    38. (7) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 54.
    39. (31) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, Brakes, 14.
    40. (29) Matt DiBenedetto(i), Toyota, Vibration, 3.

     

    Average Speed of Race Winner:  97.31 mph.
    Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 03 Mins, 19 Secs. Margin of Victory:  6.115 Seconds.
    Caution Flags:  6 for 39 laps.
    Lead Changes:  6 among 4 drivers.

    Lap Leaders:   K. Busch(i) 0; E. Jones (C) # 1-3; K. Busch(i) 4-95; T. Dillon 96-100; K. Busch(i) 101-152; J. Allgaier (C) 153-154; K. Busch(i) 155-200.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Busch(i) 3 times for 190 laps; T. Dillon 1 time for 5 laps; E. Jones (C) # 1 time for 3 laps; J. Allgaier (C) 1 time for 2 laps.

    Top 10 in Points: D. Suarez (C) – 3,111; E. Sadler (C) – 3,102; E. Jones (C) # – 3,097; J. Allgaier (C) – 3,096; B. Koch (C) – 3,092; R. Reed (C) – 3,089; D. Wallace Jr (C) – 3,048; B. Gaughan (C) – 3,032; B. Poole # – 2,178; T. Dillon – 2,174.

     

  • Ryan Reed’s Passion to Win Equaled by his Passion for Diabetes Awareness

    Ryan Reed’s Passion to Win Equaled by his Passion for Diabetes Awareness

    DARLINGTON, S.C. — After a top-15 finish at Darlington Raceway, Reed is only two races away from cementing his place in the inaugural XFINITY Series Chase for the Championship. He’s cautious but optimistic about his chances, saying, “We’re not in it for sure yet but mathematically, we have a cushion. I feel pretty confident on making the Chase.”

    Reed began the Darlington race in the 15th position, crossing the finish line in 13th place in the No. 16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford, after he went a lap down due to a caution that came out while he was on pit road.

    Reed’s No. 16 Mustang featured a throwback paint scheme reminiscent of the red, white and blue Matador No. 16 that was driven by Bobby Allison in 1975. Allison, who captured five wins at Darlington during his career, also served as an honorary crew member for the team.

    NASCAR artist Sam Bass, who was diagnosed with diabetes more than 20 years ago, helped design the paint scheme and was featured on the car as part of the “Drive to Stop Diabetes” program.

    “It’s really cool, number one, to be able to drive the same car that Bobby drove. It’s a pretty amazing opportunity. But then also Sam Bass helped redesign it and he’s an artist in NASCAR and he also has type 1 diabetes like myself. So it’s pretty cool to be able to tie Sam into it and have that passion. Sam and I are pretty good friends so it’s been a really cool way to definitely honor the throwback weekend and also tie it into so many things that mean something to me.”

    Ryan went on to credit Sam Bass with the original idea that was embraced by the team as well as their sponsors.

    The choice to honor Bobby Allison was an easy one.

    “I don’t know anyone in NASCAR that’s not a Bobby Allison fan,” Reed said. “He’s such a pioneer of the sport and helped shape it into what it is today. And for me, being able to come out here and make a living driving race cars, Bobby helped make that a reality for everyone that’s in the sport today. In that regard, I have a lot of respect for Bobby.”

    Reed and Allison had the opportunity to talk about Darlington when the paint scheme was unveiled. They discussed how tricky the track was and how it could easily “bite you.” Allison obviously made a lasting impression.

    “What a cool guy and amazing stories he has, a lot of history there,” Reed told me.

    In his third full season in the XFINITY Series, Reed has proven his talent in a race car, with year-end rankings of ninth in 2014 and 10th in 2015. What may be more impressive is his determination to persevere under less than favorable conditions.

    When Reed was 17 years old, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and told he could never race again. Devastated, but unwilling to give up his dream, he went looking for answers.

    He found them with the help of Dr. Anne Peters who was based in Reed’s home state of California.

    “Peters was the person who gave me hope that with hard work I could continue to chase my dream of being a professional race car driver. She put me on a strict diet and exercise regiment, which has allowed me to achieve the success I have had to date.”

    In 2013, he was signed as a development driver for Roush Fenway Racing in the XFINITY Series and began a partnership with the Drive to Stop Diabetes program which is presented by Lilly Diabetes in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association. Reed’s commitment as an ambassador for diabetes awareness remains unwavering.

    “Diabetes is tough,” Reed admits, “no one wants diabetes but once you have it, if you accept it and change your lifestyle, listen to your doctors and take it on head first, there are some things that can come from it that are good as far as lifestyle changes and realizing it doesn’t have to dictate your life. You can go out there and live a very fulfilling life and do the things you love to do despite having it.”

    The XFINITY Series travels to Richmond International Raceway this weekend for the 25th race of the regular season. Reed is currently 10th in the driver standings.

     

  • Four Gears – Indianapolis Edition

    Four Gears – Indianapolis Edition

    This week our staff takes a look at some of the hot topics in the world of NASCAR. We discuss Jeff Gordon’s current status as a substitute driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart’s chances for another championship in his final season. We also look at possible prospects for the recently announced Stewart-Haas Racing’s 2017 XFINITY team and question NASCAR’s decision that moved the XFINITY Series event from O’Reilly Raceway Park to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    We are joined by guest contributor, James Burton. Burton is a former ARCA pit reporter who covered the Talladega events for three years as well as the first Mobile ARCA 200. He was with WTDR 92.7 FM from 2011-13 and is currently with Jacobs Media Services.

    First Gear: After subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Indy, Jeff Gordon’s next (and likely last) race in the No. 88 will be at Pocono. Is this the last we’ve seen of Gordon in a Sprint Cup car? Should Hendrick have put more focus on Alex Bowman in the 88 car instead?

    Given that the race after Pocono is a road course, I’d put my money on Jeff Gordon – the all-time winningest road course racer in NASCAR history – being in the car for Watkins Glen. Although given his track record at The Glen since 2001, I would think it wise to let someone else drive the car.

    I wrote a piece recently explaining why I didn’t want to see Gordon back in the car again, at least not in NASCAR, and I also took to Twitter to say Hendrick Motorsports should’ve put Alex Bowman in the car after his drive at Loudon. So you probably knew where I stood on this. – Tucker White

    I want to say yes. The fact that Gordon has come back to sub for Earnhardt sort of diminishes the impact of his final season. I was sort of hoping he’d go the Rusty Wallace route and be done with it all. Still, I’m holding onto hope that maybe he will be done once and for all after Pocono. Maybe then he’ll be done for good. As for Bowman, Loudon wasn’t enough of a shot for him. On one hand, put him in the car more. He’s a heck of a driver who knows how to take care of his stuff. Then again, as James pointed out in his comments, maybe put him in the car for the shorter, flatter tracks if Earnhardt has to sit out longer. – Joseph Shelton

    I don’t think it’s the last time we’ll see Jeff Gordon drive in a Cup series race. With how few development drivers Hendrick employs (as in none), there’s a good chance Gordon will be called on again if somebody has to miss a race. Because of that, I’d rather keep Gordon in the car over Alex Bowman, who hasn’t really proven himself yet past a couple of great runs in JR Motorsports equipment. – Michael Finley

    I think so, barring more injuries from other Hendrick drivers. Gordon said he kept getting his butt kicked on restarts, so you can tell being out of the seat has changed his perspective a little bit. He’s got one race to go before he goes back into retirement, so you never know if he could go out there and dominate. Three weeks ago when Bowman filled in for Earnhardt the first week, it was mentioned it was the first time that neither an Earnhardt or Gordon had been in a race since Dale Earnhardt Sr. sat out four races in 1979. What they failed to mention was that David Pearson drove the No. 2 car those four races and he qualified on the pole at Michigan and won at Darlington. Is that banking on good omens and superstition? Absolutely, but superstition is pretty commonplace in this sport and Gordon’s no slouch at Pocono.

    As for Bowman, I think Hendrick made the right decision. This is a kid who has thus far had a ‘meh’ Cup career, but honestly deserved a chance to drive for one of the big dogs. Had it been short to mid-sized tracks past New Hampshire, then yes, keep Bowman in the car. Gordon in at Indy and Pocono was and is the right decision. Even if Earnhardt doesn’t get a waiver (which let’s be honest, he will) then the owner points will have the best chance to remain the same. – James Burton

    Second Gear: It’s looking more and more like Tony Stewart is shaping up for the upcoming Chase. With the way that he is running, does he have a chance for the championship?

    I think the jury is still out on this one. He’s starting to post more consistent top-10 runs, but I see him being where Jeff Gordon was a year ago, just cracking the top-10 at the end of the day. With that being said, I think the only track that would hinder a title run is Talladega, which as we all know is its own animal. – Tucker White

    Stewart is building momentum. Obviously, in the past he’s kicked his season into gear during the summer and it’s looking like this could be the case again. It’s not going to be anything like his dominance in 2005, but we could be looking at a repeat of his 2011 season; mildly consistent, something of a sleeper, then once the Chase kicks in, he’s the guy to beat. – Joseph Shelton

    Anything that can happen in the Chase will happen. Jeff Gordon had no momentum at all going into his final Chase last season and ended up making the final four. Stewart is no stranger to coming out of nowhere to compete and win in the Chase- just look at his 2011 season. He went from saying he didn’t deserve to be in the Chase to hoisting the Cup just a few months later. – Michael Finley

    Stewart is in the position he needs to be. Back when he returned he had to win and average a 22nd place finish in order to make the top 30 in points. He’s won and he currently sits 27th in points with six races before the cut off. In five of the last six races he has finished no worse than 11th and even his 26th at Daytona hasn’t caused him to falter much. The momentum seems to be in his favor as he has won at all the upcoming six tracks at least once.
    Does he have a chance at the championship? He’s Tony Stewart. Of course he does. The trick is staying out of trouble at the tracks that will bite you. He has one restrictor plate track left on the schedule that comes at a crucial cut off point. You survive Dega and transfer, then you have a chance at Homestead. – James Burton

    Third Gear: With the announcement of Stewart-Haas Racing fielding an XFINITY Series entry in 2017, who are some likely candidates to fill in the seat?

    The first one that comes to mind right away is Cole Custer. With his father being an executive at Stewart-Haas Racing, he’s probably leaving the JR Motorsports camp at the end of 2016, although I’m not sure if he’s ready to make the jump to the XFINITY Series.

    A more likely candidate would be Jeb Burton. He was in contention for a Chase spot before sponsorship dried up and his ride in the 43 car went the way of the dodo. Of course, depending on contract status, drivers like Darrell Wallace Jr., Ryan Reed, Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick could fit the bill as well. – Tucker White

    With the Penske ties I could see Reddick or Hemric in the car. Reddick has seniority and a couple of Camping World Truck Series wins under his belt, but Hemric is solidly consistent, sitting third in points with nine top-10s in 11 starts. I see a lot of potential with him if he heads to the XFINITY Series. – Joseph Shelton

    I can see Cole Custer running a partial season while running full time in the trucks for fellow Ford team Brad Keselowski Racing. Clint Bowyer seems to be open to running lower series races, while Harvick has said he is not running in the XFINITY Series after this season. Finally, Tony Stewart has said he is open to running XFINITY races and would help provide the team with some sponsorship. – Michael Finley

    The first people to look at will be the truck drivers for Brad Keselowski Racing. Since SHR is basically replacing Hendrick for Penske as their “parent” team, you’re going to have talent such as Daniel Hemric or Tyler Reddick fighting for that ride. If I had to choose between the two I would go with Reddick as he has seniority with the organization. Another possibility might be to see Bubba Wallace jump to another Ford camp. Wallace has had mild success at Roush but SHR might be the atmosphere he needs to break through to the XFINITY win column. – James Burton

    Fourth Gear: On Saturday we were faced with yet another lackluster XFINITY race at Indy. Did NASCAR make a mistake in moving the division to Indianapolis Motor Speedway instead of leaving them at O’Reilly Raceway Park?

    Alex, I’ll take “Questions that deserve a DUH response” for 1000. I don’t care how big the purse is for the XFINITY Series at the Brickyard. The product we get at the Brickyard does not justify it. The lackluster product is compounded by the fact that the XFINITY Series is at its worst.

    I watched the ARCA race that was held at Indianapolis Raceway Park last Friday and it was a pretty entertaining race. That’s more than I can say for what we got at the Brickyard. I say either move the XFINITY Series onto the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course or take it back to Indianapolis Raceway Park or whatever it’s called now. – Tucker White

    Yep. Yep, yep, yep. I don’t understand the logic in bringing Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the XFINITY Series and it hasn’t been fruitful in the slightest. Kyle Busch has won three of the five events there, with Brad Keselowski and Ty Dillon winning the other two. Every race there has been forgettable and I think it was a mistake to leave O’Reilly Raceway Park.

    In trying to make the XFINITY schedule more like the Sprint Cup schedule, they’ve robbed the division not only of good racing but also of its own identity. We didn’t need IMS on the XFINITY schedule. We didn’t need Pocono on the schedule. If anything, if they wanted to create good racing in the series they should have made sure the schedule stood apart from the other divisions and retained its own identity. Simple as that. – Joseph Shelton

    Considering there was much better racing at ORP and just as many if more fans actually in attendance, they made a pretty big mistake. – Michael Finley

    Absolutely. To put it in perspective, let’s compare it to a bowl game. Just because the Dr. Lane’s Bath Salts for Menopause and Spider Bites Bowl is played at the Rose Bowl stadium doesn’t mean it’s going to be as epic as the actual Rose Bowl. It’s just another page in NASCAR’s failed attempts at what equates to “no driver left behind.” You race at the Brickyard when you’re good enough to make it Cup. Plain and simple. – James Burton

    Please join us again next week and become a part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts in the comment section below.

     

  • Kyle Larson Wins Rained Out Inaugural XFINITY Race at Pocono

    Kyle Larson Wins Rained Out Inaugural XFINITY Race at Pocono

    LONG POND, Pa. – Kyle Larson battled competitors and the weather to score the victory in the inaugural Pocono Green 250 XFINITY Series race in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The driver of the No. 42 Cessna/NTT Data Group Chevrolet received the checkered flag after the race was rain delayed and then finally called.

    This was Larson’s fourth victory in 82 NASCAR XFINITY Series races, his first victory for the 2016 season and his fifth top-10 finish in 2016.  Larson’s last win came at Homestead in the 2015 season finale.

    “I’m happy with it,” Larson said. “We were good, better than I thought we’d be. Shiplett (Mike Shiplett, crew chief) and all the guys did a really good job adjusting on the car. When we put on stickers, I got closer to the feel I wanted.”

    “I didn’t really think I would win today but it all worked out. All in all, a really solid day.”

    Erik Jones, in the No. 20 SportClips Haircuts Toyota, finished second after starting from the pole. This was his first top-10 finish in his first XFINITY race at Pocono and his seventh top-10 finish in 2016.

    “There was just not enough time,” Jones said. “I thought we by far had one of the best cars in the field but we couldn’t get back in the lead before it started raining.

    “It’s pretty frustrating. It’s kind of been that kind of year for us. Today was another one of those days where I thought we had a shot at the win but it didn’t work out for us.

    “But nice to know we can be that fast and nice to know we can contend for the wins. We will move on from here.”

    The driver of the No. 3 Rheem Chevrolet Ty Dillon finished in position three at the “Tricky Triangle.”

    “We put ourselves in a good position and I felt like we were a top-five race car,” Dillon said.  “We never changed left tires the whole race. When the caution came out, we just weren’t as good anymore and that brought the Gibbs cars closer. My only hope was that I could run them back down.

    “If it had stayed green, I thought that we would have had an opportunity, but all in all a good day for us and a good finish in third.”

    There were five cautions in the race, the first for a competition yellow, the second for an accident in Turn 2 for the No. 7  of Justin Allgaier, the third for debris in Turn 2, the fourth for a hard hit for both the No. 16 and No. 51 of Ryan Reed and Jeremy Clements respectively. And, of course, the final caution was what ended the race, for rain.

    “We had issues from the start,” Reed, driver of the No. 16 Lilly Diabetes Ford, said “We started off getting strapped in the car and didn’t have any radio communication. I could hear the spotter but couldn’t communicate with that.

    “We fire off and were on the splitter really hard so balance wasn’t very good. We were getting it better, using hand signals, and then we got racing with the 39 car and he got on our door and we got loose. I think when we got into him it got the right rear tire and eventually it went down.

    “We had a little tire smoke but it went away and I thought it cleared up. We were racing with the 62 and he got inside of us and I thought it took the air off and we went into one and the tire let go and here we are.

    “I am just thankful to Lilly Diabetes and American Diabetes Association for sticking with us. I feel like we are making progress. These days are really tough with adversity from the start. We will not give up. I was hoping to get our Lilly Diabetes Ford Mustang in victory lane for everyone at home watching on their XFINITY TV, but it just wasn’t meant to be today.”

    Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, both doing double duty at Pocono this weekend, finished fourth and fifth respectively.

    “We were trying to be off strategy,” Logano said. “Our SKF Ford Mustang wasn’t as fast as it needed to be so we were trying to do anything we could to win it.

    “It was interesting for sure. It would have been interesting to see what would happen if we were able to go back green.”

    Elliott Sadler, Paul Menard, Brandon Jones, Daniel Suarez, and Alex Bowman completed the top-10 finishing order in the inaugural XFINITY Pocono race.

    Daniel Suarez remains in the lead in the point standings with Elliott Sadler behind by just 11 points.

    Complete Finishing Order:

    1. (4) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 53.

                   2. (1) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 53.

                   3. (8) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 53.

                   4. (2) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 53.

                   5. (5) Joey Logano(i), Ford, 53.

                   6. (6) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 53.

                   7. (7) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 53.

                   8. (14) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 53.

                   9. (3) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 53.

                   10. (10) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 53.

                   11. (16) Aric Almirola(i), Ford, 53.

                   12. (13) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 53.

                   13. (11) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 53.

                   14. (17) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 53.

                   15. (12) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 53.

                   16. (40) Darrell Wallace Jr, Ford, 53.

                   17. (19) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 53.

                   18. (22) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 53.

                   19. (29) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 53.

                   20. (30) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 53.

                   21. (26) Ray Black Jr #, Chevrolet, 53.

                   22. (25) BJ McLeod #, Ford, 53.

                   23. (34) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 53.

                   24. (35) Alex Guenette, Chevrolet, 53.

                   25. (36) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 53.

                   26. (27) Brandon Gdovic, Chevrolet, 52.

                   27. (24) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 52.

                   28. (38) Todd Peck, Ford, 52.

                   29. (15) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 51.

                   30. (39) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 50.

                   31. (18) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, Accident, 39.

                   32. (32) TJ Bell, Dodge, 39.

                   33. (23) Ryan Reed, Ford, Accident, 38.

                   34. (31) Jeff Green, Toyota, Header, 30.

                   35. (28) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Vibration, 29.

                   36. (20) Josh Wise(i), Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 23.

                   37. (37) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 22.

                   38. (33) Carl Long, Toyota, Brakes, 21.

                   39. (9) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, Accident, 20.

                   40. (21) Matt DiBenedetto(i), Toyota, Transmission, 6.

  • Hot 20 – Pocono, where Kyle’s winning streak comes to an end…maybe

    Hot 20 – Pocono, where Kyle’s winning streak comes to an end…maybe

    Back we go to Pocono, where Martin Truex Jr. won in the spring, where all of the Hendrick drivers shared in winning the previous five. A Busch has won there, twice. His name is Kurt.

    Kyle Busch has not…yet. He swept Indianapolis last weekend, meaning he ran and won the XFINITY race there on Saturday. It was his second junior circuit win in five tries this season. That now means series regulars have won just three of 18 events, with Chris Buescher taking two while Ryan Reed won at Daytona in February. Truck series wonder-kid Erik Jones has a pair while six Cup drivers have shared the other 13. Of course, most see what the problem is. I guess stupid is as stupid does, as Forrest Gump reminded us.

    NASCAR spent tons of time and money figuring out a package to run at Indy. Then they got teams to spend their own time and money to ready their cars with that new package. In the end, they appear to have wasted a bunch of time and money. The racing was not much different than it has ever been, which is not all that good while making them a bit more sensitive to losing control after losing air on the spoiler, spoiling their day. Next month, they will use the same package in Michigan. You can never have too much of a bad thing, I guess.

    Word is that Danica Patrick is expected to stay with Stewart-Haas after this season, a new contract and new sponsors. Why? It has everything to do with being a competent attractive female in a sport dominated by men. She might never contend for a title or even a Chase berth, but as long as she continues to enjoy the following she has, she does not have to.

    Cameron Hayley is a 19-year-old Canadian sitting sixth in the truck series standings. He is a Calgary boy, making him as likely to be a cowboy as a hockey player. Instead, he turned to racing. Too bad the truck series is not broadcast in Canada this season. However, if you want to watch soccer instead, I got great news for you.

    Heading to Pocono, our Hot 20 does not include our hottest driver. Heading out of Pocono probably will be a different story. If you are wondering if it is all about Kyle…it seems it is.

    1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (675 Points)
    Will remain first overall, unless Kyle wins Pocono.

    2. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (777 Points)
    All the talk is about Kyle, but Harv’s finishes over the past five have been fourth, fourth, eighth, third, and third.

    3. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 2 WINS (677 Points)
    The last driver not named Kyle Busch to win a Cup race.

    4. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS (612 Points)
    Kyle’s first bridesmaid was his own brother.

    5. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (708 Points)
    Bridesmaid No. 2…and No. 4.

    6. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (668 Points)
    Could have helped Kyle and Kevin in late restarts…but I guess they were on their own.

    7. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (638 Points)
    Kyle’s other bridesmaid, as Penske finished second in each of the past three.

    8. MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (615 Points)
    As a teammate, he personally knows Kyle.

    9. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (591 Points)
    So does Denny.

    10. CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (519 Points)
    So does Carl.

    11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 602 POINTS
    Has enough points that Kyle’s expected jump up the ladder affects him the least.

    12. JEFF GORDON – 575 POINTS
    Forget Kyle. Until further notice, the goal is to finish ahead of Bowyer every week.

    13. RYAN NEWMAN – 563 POINTS
    After Pocono and Kyle’s expected rise in the standings, things get a little more tense.

    14. KASEY KAHNE – 558 POINTS
    Same as above.

    15. PAUL MENARD – 558 POINTS
    Ditto.

    16. CLINT BOWYER – 538 POINTS
    If Kyle moves up, 16th becomes the new 17th.

    17. ARIC ALMIROLA – 508 POINTS
    Forget Kyle and forget making the Chase on points. A win is the only way in.

    18. GREG BIFFLE – 462 POINTS
    Kyle is the least of his worries.

    19. AUSTIN DILLON – 453 POINTS
    Like Kyle, Austin was a speed racer at Indy. Unlike Kyle, he did his speeding on pit road…twice.

    20. KYLE LARSON – 452 POINTS
    The other Kyle.