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Logano Moves on with Victory at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — A jack getting stuck under the car of Joey Logano on his first stop didn’t stop him from rallying back to score the victory in Alabama.

Martin Truex Jr. led the field to the green flag at 2:22 p.m. Brad Keselowski got a run on him going down the backstretch to lead the first lap. Truex worked his way up alongside Keselowski in Turn 1 to take the lead for the first time on the 13th circuit, only to give it back to Keselowski a lap later.

The No. 2 Penske car spent most of the run blocking all three lanes, which allowed Chase Elliott to get under him in Turn 3 and take the lead on lap 26. Keselowski regained it briefly two laps later before Elliott powered by on the top in Turn 1 to regain the lead back on lap 29, only for Keselowski to take it back on lap 32.

Green flag stops started on lap 37 with the first wave of cars hitting pit road. Race leader Keselowski was among the second wave the following lap. After the third wave pitted, the lead cycled back to Keselowski.

Teammate Logano was penalized for removing equipment (jack) from the pit box under this pit cycle.

Truex’s Chase hopes went up in smoke when his car went up in smoke in Turn 2 on lap 41.

“Just developed a vibration and started to lose a little bit of power,” Truex said. “Originally I thought it could have been a tire because it was shaking worse and worse and worse until it was time to pit. I slowed down to hit pit road and felt the vibration still there and knew it was the engine. Definitely not the way we wanted to go. It’s a tough way to go out, but proud of the effort and proud of all the guys.”

The race restarted on lap 47. Attempting to block Elliott’s advance, Keselowski found himself without drafting help and Elliott took back the lead, only for Biffle to get a run on him going into Turn 1 to take the lead on lap 49. Elliott worked his way back to the lead by dropping to the bottom lane going into Turn 1 and driving under Biffle on lap 78.

Another wave of cars started pitting the following lap. The lead under the cycle went as follows: Elliott, Hamlin, Edwards, Annett and Keselowski.

A three-car wreck involving Biffle, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Casey Mears on the frontstretch brought out the second caution with 74 laps to go.

After the race went back green with 68 to go, it settled into a routine of going back and forth between single and double file. The most notable event during the run was Keselowski blowing an engine on the backstretch with 42 to go and bringing out the third caution. Teammate Logano assumed the lead

The next run didn’t last a lap because the caution flew the same lap as the restart with 39 to go for a big piece of debris on the backstretch.

Going back green with 35 to go, the race was slowed down with four to go by Kasey Kahne wrecking in Turn 3 and Alex Bowman going for a spin through the tri-oval grass coming to the line to get two to go.

Restarting in overtime, Logano had to hold off Brian Scott to score the victory.

“It’s never a layup here at Talladega. It’s always close,” Logano said. “You never get a big lead. A good Shell/Pennzoil Ford. Todd made some good adjustments during the race and found some speed in the car, so that was pretty neat to see some of that. We got that track position and just hung onto it. I was able to stay on the bottom and try to run the bottom and keep everyone in lane, and that worked out really well. Kevin did a good job with that, which ultimately got us all a great finish. It was fun racing there at the end. I was really confused. I didn’t know what lane to pick coming to the last restart, but I knew Kevin had a lot of experience in these situations and is great at speedway racing, so he did a good job of pushing me out and then had to defend the top lane with Brian Scott, so a couple of Fords out front here at Talladega is pretty cool.”

It’s his 16th career victory in 287 Sprint Cup Series starts, second of 2016 and second at Talladega Superspeedway.

Scott brought his No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford home to a runner-up finish, his career-best finish and first top-10 finish of 2016. Hamlin rounded out the podium in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Describing the level of stress, Hamlin said the race “was crazy. I mean, it was very tough in there not having any teammates, but there were a lot of guys that acted like teammates today to me and can’t thank enough for that. They know who they are. I don’t want to get them in trouble with their race teams because they’re probably a different team, different manufacturer, but thank those guys for that. 4 (Kevin Harvick) cut me a break at the tri-oval. I mean, just – we had something go our way for crying out loud. One time, we had something go our way and we just battled at the line right there with the 41 (Kurt Busch), so just – I’m just so happy.”

Kurt Busch finished fourth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-five.

“It was really fun. Every time I would make a mistake and get shuffled to the middle it seemed like the crew guys would bring back a solid pit stop to put us in position and to be in control,” Busch said. “It feels good when we have that plus alongside our name in points. I was trying to ease it for Tony Gibson (crew chief) and all these guys that work so hard. There was some rooting and gouging at the end and I got some damage. I don’t even know where we finished, but all I was shooting for was top 15.”

Kyle Larson finished sixth, Kevin Harvick finished seventh, Aric Almirola finished eighth, Austin Dillon finished ninth and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top-10.

Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Edwards, Hamlin and the Busch brothers advance to the Round of 8 while Austin Dillon, Elliott, Keselowski and Truex go no further in the Chase.

The race lasted three hours, 11 minutes and 38 seconds at an average speed of 159.905 mph. There were 31 lead changes among 14 different drivers and six cautions for 25 laps.

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October 23, 2016
Truex Earns Pole at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow at Talladega Superspeedway.

The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota posted the fastest time in the final round of qualifying and scored the pole position for the Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway with a time of 49.509 and a speed of 193.423 mph.

“It’s definitely the place to be to start the race – it’s just about trying to stay there as long as you can,” Truex said. “We’ll see what happens. This is obviously a big race with a lot on the line. I look forward to it. I’m just so proud of the guys in Denver and everybody here at the race track for what they did here. This is all about the team, all about what they do and all about the guys at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) in California building these engines, so my hat’s off to all of them. I’m lucky to be sitting behind the wheel and holding it to the floor. It was a good day today and hopefully, we will have another good day tomorrow.”

It’s his 11th career pole in 401 Sprint Cup Series starts, fourth of the season and first at Talladega Superspeedway.

His car was at the center of a parts confiscation stir earlier today when NASCAR confiscated a front jack bolt that started a discussion over Truex getting a Chase-ending penalty. But Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said it wasn’t “a real competitive advantage” and “unlikely” to result in a penalty.

Three of the JGR cars – 11, 18 and 20 – were sent back to the garage before they were allowed to make their qualifying run. Miller said the issue was “body manipulation.”

“The quarter panels (on the right side) appeared to have been messed with around the deck lid,” he added. “(We) brought them back in to rectify it.”

Brad Keselowski will join him on the front row in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford after posting a time of 49.523 and a speed of 193.365 mph.

“It’s good to qualify up front,” Keselowski said. “I think it’s a good confidence boost. I feel like when we have cars that qualify well here, we race well. The Miller Lite Ford was really fast here in qualifying and hopefully, it will stay the same for Sunday.”

Matt Kenseth will start third in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after posting a time of 49.568 and a speed of 193.189 mph.

“Good for America. It was good,” Kenseth said of his qualifying run. “I think we ended up third, so that’s really good. It’s obviously a team qualifying session – not anything to do with the driver really. I just steered around and hold it to the floor, so obviously, they did a good job and it’s a good spot to start.”

Chase Elliott will start fourth in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after posting a time of 49.574 and a speed of 193.166 mph. Greg Biffle will round out the top-five starters in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford after posting a time of 49.585 and a speed of 193.123 mph.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Paul Menard will round out the top-10.

Trevor Bayne and Reed Sorenson, who posted the fastest time in the first round in his No. 55 Premium Motorsports Toyota, will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

Carl Edwards will start 13th, Kyle Busch will start 14th, Joey Logano will start 16th, Jimmie Johnson will start 17th and Kevin Harvick will be the lowest starting Chase driver in 22nd.

David Gilliland was the lone driver that failed to make the race.

In total, 19 Chevrolet’s, 12 Ford’s and nine Toyota’s will comprise the 40-car field for Sunday’s Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega.

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October 22, 2016
Grant Enfinger Survives Carnage and Wins at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Grant Enfinger spent many years trying to win at Talladega in the ARCA Series to no avail, but it took 94 laps, excellent performance and attrition from other cars to finally secure the Fairhopes, Alabama native his first victory at the Alabama speedway.

Cole Custer led the field to the green flag at 1:23 p.m. Enfinger wasted no time working his way to the lead as he surged his way past Custer on the outside exiting Turn 2 to lead the first lap. John Hunter Nemechek’s Chase hopes went up in smoke when his engine expired on the backstretch on the 14th circuit of the race, bringing out the first caution. Tyler Reddick opted not to pit and assumed the lead.

The race restarted on lap 20. At the start of the run, the outside line was the weaker line. By lap 34, however, Timothy Peters powered by Reddick on the outside to take the lead. Cody Coughlin, who a lap earlier jumped out of the pack, brought out the second caution on lap 35 after stalling on the backstretch. Custer opted not to pit and assumed the lead.

A lap after the restart with 55 laps to go, Peters took back the lead. Four laps later, a three-truck wreck involving Custer, John Wes Townley and Daniel Hemric brought out the third caution.

It went back green with 46 to go. Ben Kennedy took the lead with 45 to go using a push on the outside line just two laps before another three-truck wreck, involving Dylan Lupton, Cody Ware and Brandon Hightower, in the tri-oval brought out the fourth caution.

Enfinger worked his way back to the lead on the restart with 38 to go before a 14-truck wreck, the Big One, brought out the fifth caution with 35 to go.

The caution flew two more times in the race for a solo spin by Hemric on the backstretch with 10 to go and Matt Crafton blowing an engine on the frontstretch with four to go.

On the final lap, Cameron Hayley got turned by Lupton on the backstretch, slid down the track and slammed the inside wall. The caution didn’t fly and Enfinger drove on to score the victory.

It’s his first victory in 13 Camping World Truck Series starts, his fifth top-10 finish of 2016 and first top-10 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Teammate Spencer Gallagher brought his No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet home runner-up. Timothy Peters was the highest finishing Chase driver with a podium finish in his No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota.

Rico Abreu finished fourth in his No. 98 ThorSport Racing Toyota. Ben Kennedy rounded out the top-five in his No. 33 GMS Chevrolet.

Christopher Bell finished sixth, Johnny Sauter finished seventh, Ryan Truex finished eighth, Matt Tifft finished ninth and William Byron rounded out the top-10.

Hemric finished 11th, Crafton finished 22nd and Nemechek finished last.

The race lasted two hours, five minutes and 54 seconds at an average speed of 119.161 mph. There were 15 lead changes among nine different drivers and seven cautions for 33 laps.

Byron, Bell, Peters, Crafton, Kennedy and Sauter continue on in the Chase. Hemric and Nemechek, however, fail to make the cut to the Round of 6.

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October 22, 2016
Custer Takes the Pole Position in Trucks at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Cole Custer will lead the field to the green flag later this afternoon in the state of Alabama.

The driver of the No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet scored the pole for the fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola after posting a time of 53.672 and a speed of 178.417 mph.

It’s his fifth career pole in 38 Camping World Truck Series starts, second of 2016 and first at Talladega Superspeedway.

Grant Enfinger will start second in his No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 53.683 and a speed of 178.380 mph. Spencer Gallagher will start third in his No. 23 GMS Chevrolet after posting a time of 53.747 and a speed of 178.168 mph. Ben Kennedy will start fourth in his No. 33 GMS Chevrolet after posting a time of 53.754 and a speed of 178.145 mph. Johnny Sauter will round out the top-five in his No. 21 GMS Chevrolet after posting a time of 53.855 and a speed of 177.811 mph.

Timothy Peters will start sixth in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota. Cody Coughlin will start seventh in his No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota. William Byron will start eighth in his No. 9 KBM Toyota. John Wes Townley will start ninth in his No. 05 Athenian Motorsports Chevrolet. Korbin Forrister will round out the top-10 in his No. 5 Wauters Motorsports Toyota.

John Hunter Nemechek will start 11th and Matt Tifft will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

Matt Crafton will start 13th, Christopher Bell will start 14th and Daniel Hemric will round out the Chase drivers in 17th.

With 36 drivers entered, four drivers – Jennifer Jo Cobb, Ryan Ellis, Clay Greenfield and Parker Kligerman – were sent home.

Sixteen Chevrolet’s, 13 Toyota’s and three Ford’s will comprise the 32-truck field for this afternoon’s race.

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October 22, 2016
Edwards on Aspects of Plate Racing

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Among the topics Carl Edwards addressed with the media were if he thinks plate racing is “insane,” the unpredictability of plate racing and Talladega not being an elimination race come next season.

Speaking to the media yesterday at Talladega Superspeedway, the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was asked, given the unpredictable and volatile nature of restrictor plate racing, if he as a driver ever stopped to think “I am insane to do this.”

“It’s a crazy style of racing and there are times at the end of these races where you think, ‘This is just – this is truly insanity,’” Edwards said. “All the cars are torn up, everybody is limping around, but I think NASCAR – aside from completely changing the race track and the style of racing – I believe NASCAR does the best job they can do keeping things as safe as they can. We’ve got the best technology that we can have to keep the walls soft and the cars safe and monitoring everyone and keeping us from bumping too much and all that, but it is – it’s a crazy style of racing. That’s all there is to it.”

He also expanded on the unpredictability, stating “if you look back a couple – I think it was a couple years ago – Dave (Rogers, crew chief) mentioned it and he doesn’t like to talk about it, but I guess he and Kyle (Busch) came here basically leading the points or really close to leading the points and got knocked out running 42nd and were out of the Chase, so that’s a pretty big swing in fortune. I think all of us are aware that can happen here and it’s not just that it can happen – I mean that can happen anywhere, it can happen at Charlotte, we saw a lot happen there – but it can happen and it’s not your fault so to speak. Outside circumstances – you’re just so close and you’re in a pack and I think that’s what makes this race interesting to watch is that truly anything can happen. I mean, I’ve been staring at the checkered flag thinking I was going to win and then been upside down in the fence. I mean, it’s – and that was just the two of us messing around. If you get the whole pack in there, it can get crazy.”

Edwards is not the only driver to note the “insanity” of racing at Talladega. Brad Keselowski, in his post-race media availability following his victory in the GEICO 500, talked about how racing is a “balance of daredevils and chess players” and that Talladega “has always been the more daredevil style of track.”

Restrictor plate racing, exclusive to Talladega and Daytona International Speedway, has always been a polarizing topic in NASCAR since its introduction nearly 30 years ago. Drivers tend to dislike or outright hate plate racing because of its unpredictability and violent nature. Fans, on the other hand, overwhelmingly love it.

The nature of plate racing has made Talladega’s position late in the schedule a hot button topic over whether it should have any impact on the championship that late in the going, especially in the elimination format era of the Chase.

While some drivers are in favor of NASCAR swapping Talladega’s place as the final race of the Round of 12 with Kansas Speedway next season, Edwards doesn’t think it’ll make that much of a difference.

“I think Talladega being in this round, I think it makes all of the races crazier just because you know this one’s slightly less predictable, so it puts a pressure on regardless of where it’s at,” he said. “I guess if it were the first race, there’s a chance you could come out and everything will go smoothly and then your next two races might be more normal, but heck I don’t know. I feel like truly Talladega gets a lot of attention, but as this – as being a real ‘wild card’ – but as people get better at this Chase and understand how important each lap is and each position is, the intensity has just been ramping up the last couple of years and it seems like it’s there for sure this year.”

October 22, 2016
Johnson Fastest in Final Practice at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Jimmie Johnson topped the chart in final Sprint Cup Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway.

The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 48.761 and a speed of 196.386 mph. Matt Kenseth was second in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 48.773 and a speed of 48.773 and a speed of 196.338 mph. Chase Elliott was third in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 48.774 and a speed of 196.334 mph. Carl Edwards was fourth in his No. 19 JGR Toyota with a time of 48.775 and a speed of 196.330 mph. Alex Bowman rounded out the top-five in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 48.775 and a speed of 196.330 mph.

Kasey Kahne was sixth in his No. 5 HMS Chevrolet. Paul Menard was seventh in his No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Ryan Reed was eighth in his No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Kyle Busch was ninth in his No. 18 JGR Toyota. Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-10 in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota.

Denny Hamlin was 11th, Joey Logano was 13th, Kurt Busch was 15th and Austin Dillon was the lowest Chase driver in 16th.

The Cup drivers are back on track tomorrow after the Truck race for qualifying.

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October 21, 2016
Biffle Fastest in First Talladega Practice

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Greg Biffle topped the chart in first Sprint Cup Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway.

The driver of the No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 48.133 and a speed of 198.949 mph. AJ Allmendinger was second in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet with a time of 48.284 and a speed of 198.327 mph. Chris Buescher was third in his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford with a time of 48.300 and a speed of 198.261 mph. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fourth in his No. 17 RFR Ford with a time of 48.300 and a speed of 198.261 mph. Trevor Bayne rounded out the top-five in his No. 6 RFR Ford with a time of 48.338 and a speed of 198.105 mph.

Michael McDowell was sixth in his No. 95 Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet. Brian Scott was seventh in his No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. Landon Cassill was eighth in his No. 38 FRM Ford. Kevin Harvick was ninth in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Kyle Larson rounded out the top-10 in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

Martin Truex Jr. was 13th, Denny Hamlin was 14th, Jimmie Johnson was 15th, Matt Kenseth was 16th, Kyle Busch was 17th, Chase Elliott was 21st, Brad Keselowski was 23rd, Joey Logano was 26th, Austin Dillon was 27th, Kurt Busch was 29th and Carl Edwards was the lowest Chase driver in 31st.

The Cup cars will be back on track for final practice at 4:30 p.m.

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October 21, 2016
Forrister Fastest in Final Truck Practice at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Korbin Forrister topped the chart in final Camping World Truck Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway.

The driver of the No. 5 Wauters Motorsports Toyota was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 50.948 and a speed of 187.956 mph. Ben Kennedy was second in his No. 33 GMS Racing Chevrolet with a time of 51.108 and a speed of 187.368 mph. Tyler Reddick was third in his No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford with a time of 51.131 and a speed of 187.284 mph. Daniel Hemric was fourth in his No. 19 BKR Ford with a time of 51.166 and a speed of 187.156 mph. John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top-five in his No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 51.176 and a speed of 187.119 mph.

Matt Tifft was sixth in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota. Ben Rhodes was seventh in his No. 41 ThorSport Racing Toyota. Matt Crafton was eighth in his No. 88 TSR Toyota. Travis Kvapil was ninth in his No. 50 MAKE Motorsports Chevrolet. Ryan Truex rounded out the top-10 in his No. 81 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota.

Johnny Sauter was 20th, Willam Byron was 23rd and Christopher Bell was the lowest Chase driver in 24th.

The Trucks will be back on track for qualifying tomorrow morning.

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October 21, 2016
Enfinger Fastest in First Truck Practice at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Grant Enfinger topped the chart in first Camping World Truck Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway.

The driver of the No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 51.401 and a speed of 186.300 mph. Cody Coughlin was second in his No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota with a time of 51.408 and a speed of 186.275 mph. Christopher Bell was third in his No. 4 KBM Toyota with a time of 51.431 and a speed of 186.191 mph. Matt Crafton was fourth in his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota with a time of 51.442 and a speed of 186.151 mph. John Wes Townley rounded out the top-five in his No. 05 Athenian Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 51.462 and a speed of 186.079 mph.

Clay Greenfield was sixth in his No. 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing Chevrolet. Cole Custer was seventh in his No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Spencer Gallagher was eighth in his No. 23 GMS Chevrolet. Matt Tifft was ninth in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota. Timothy Peters rounded out the top-10 in his No. 17 RHR Toyota.

Coughlin posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at an average speed of 183.804 mph. Tifft was second at an average speed of 183.803 mph.

The Truck Series is back on track at 3:00 p.m. today for final practice.

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October 21, 2016
GEICO given naming rights to restart zone at ISC tracks

TALLADEGA, Ala. — The restart zone at the tracks of NASCAR’s largest track holder has sold its naming rights going forward.

During a Casey Mears media availability at Talladega Superspeedway billed as having a “major Talladega/International Speedway Corporation announcement,” GEICO was named the entitlement sponsor of the restart zone, dubbed the Talladega Restart Zone, for the track this weekend’s Chase for the Sprint Cup Hellmann’s 500 and Fred’s 250. It’ll take effect at all ISC tracks, sans Auto Club Speedway, starting in 2017.

“At GEICO, we’re always looking for new ways to engage with sports fans,” said Ted Ward, GEICO marketing vice-president. “Having out branding in the restart zone is not only a GEICO first, but also a first for all of NASCAR. This expansion of our presence at the track underscores the success of our NASCAR partnership.”

As part of the announcement, GEICO also extended its sponsorship of Talladega’s May race, the GEICO 500, through 2019.

“We’re exited about extending out relationship with GEICO, one of the largest auto insurers in the U.S.,” said Grant Lynch, chairman of Talladega Superspeedway. “This race, known for its thrilling on-track action at NASCAR’s most competitive track, will continue to provide an incredible platform for GEICO to engage with fans.”

October 21, 2016