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Tag: William Byron

  • Hot 20 – A Southern night with the lady in black at Darlington

    Hot 20 – A Southern night with the lady in black at Darlington

    With the Southern 500 coming our way from Darlington this weekend, it seems like a good time to talk about tradition. The first one in the books was back in 1950, making it the oldest of the sport’s iconic events. Most of the time, it goes to someone who is in or will be in, the Hall of Fame. That number will only grow once Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson get in, along with a few other contenders I can think of.

    Bill Elliott won it three times. Gordon has six. Next year, the current driver of the No. 24 moves over to take over the No. 9 once driven by his daddy. Chase Elliott has the name and soon will have the number. William Byron takes over the former Gordonmobile.

    Ray Evernham never drove the race, but he was the man on the stand for four of Gordon’s victories. The soon to be Hall of Famer joins fellow inductees Ron Hornaday Jr., Ken Squier and Robert Yates as the event’s Grand Marshals.

    We hear that the No. 5 is about to go into mothballs, considering the No. 24, No. 48, and the No. 88 will soon be joined by the No. 9 in the stable of cars owned by Rick Hendrick. While Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s daddy won the race three times, this is the son’s last shot at claiming his first. An Earnhardt has appeared in Cup action every season since 1975. We might even see a cameo by the legacy of the legend next season, wife permitting. However, even if that was not the case, we could still have nephew Jeffery Earnhardt in the running.

    By the way, the Earnhardt NASCAR legacy at its highest division actually started on November 11, 1956 when Ralph Earnhardt finished second to Speedy Thompson in his Grand National debut at Hickory Speedway. Dale’s dad ran 51 races at the sport’s highest level. In fact, he finished ninth in the 1961 Southern 500.

    Tradition. Thanks to NASCAR’s capitulation to selling out its naming rights to corporate sponsors, we have few iconic stand alone events left. Talladega and Bristol are iconic tracks, but neither has a traditional branded event. If you are selective as to what races you win, there is the winter race in Daytona, the May contest in Charlotte, the summer run at Indianapolis, and Labor Day at Darlington.

    Win this Sunday’s Southern 500, and you will be remembered. Win your first of the season, and you will be rewarded with a place in the Chase.

    1. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 4 WINS (951 Pts)
    Tamed the track to tough to tame a year ago, but will she be a lady this year?

    2. KYLE LARSON – 3 WINS (845 Pts)
    Coming off a win and another Top Ten in his last two, I think the lad is doing alright.

    3. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 3 WINS (628 Pts)
    This week saw Genevieve’s first day of Grade One. That is a big deal.

    4. KYLE BUSCH – 2 WINS (850 Pts)
    We need some love ‘em or hate ‘em guys out there. He sure in hell is not colorless.

    5. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2 WINS (728 Pts)
    Then, there are some you just hate. I am hoping Momma Kay might disagree.

    6. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 2 WINS (528 Pts)
    Life is not always a day at the beach…but sometimes it is.

    7. KEVIN HARVICK – 1 WIN (824 Pts)
    His idea of a wild card race to determine the last Chase spot is a good one. We call it Richmond.

    8. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (753 Pts)
    Intentionally slow leaving pit road and you risk being sent to the back. Problem solved.

    9. RYAN BLANEY – 1 WIN (623 Pts)
    One of next season’s sponsors will be Menards. Take that, Paul!

    10. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (586 Pts)
    After a Daytona 500 and a Brickyard 400, another jewel would appear to be in order.

    11. RYAN NEWMAN – 1 WIN (574 Pts)
    Newman and Dillon will sport autos that will remind us of a certain Wrangler of the 1980s.

    12. KASEY KAHNE – 1 WIN (451 Pts)
    Sometimes when Hendrick makes an announcement, it is good news. Sometimes, it is not.

    13. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN (437 Pts)
    When it comes to throwbacks, I still love the black Goodwrench…no offense Wrangler.

    14. CHASE ELLIOTT – 711 POINTS
    Nothing can be finer than driving the number niner.

    15. MATT KENSETH – 703 POINTS
    Two ex-champs, one quality ride left. Does either get the chair when the music stops?

    16. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 700 POINTS
    Seven wins at Charlotte, Daytona, Indianapolis, and Talladega. Why not one at Darlington?

    17. CLINT BOWYER – 642 POINTS
    Would he wreck a rival to make the Chase? Maybe, if he was running second.

    18. JOEY LOGANO – 583 POINTS (1 Win)
    Thought he had a plan to get into the Chase, but the President pardoned Sheriff Joe instead.

    19. ERIK JONES – 574 POINTS
    Pocono (eighth), Watkins Glen (10th), Michigan (third), Bristol (second). His stock is rising.

    20. DANIEL SUAREZ – 537 POINTS
    Whatever happens to the guy who fails to tighten a lug nut that costs his crew chief $10,000?

    The rest of the contenders

    21. TREVOR BAYNE – 470 POINTS
    22. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 416 POINTS
    23. PAUL MENARD – 408 POINTS
    24. TY DILLON – 395 POINTS
    25. CHRIS BUESCHER – 387 POINTS
    26. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 381 POINTS
    27. MICHAEL MCDOWELL – 378 POINTS
    28. DANICA PATRICK – 352 POINTS
    29. DAVID RAGAN – 303 POINTS
    30. ARIC ALMIROLA – 268 POINTS
    31. MATT DIBENEDETTO – 264 POINTS
    32. COLE WHITT – 241 POINTS
    33. LANDON CASSILL – 241 POINTS

     

     

  • Hot 20 – Barring the unexpected, the Pure Michigan 400 could be just another race

    Hot 20 – Barring the unexpected, the Pure Michigan 400 could be just another race

    Now we know why they call it Silly Season. 16 drivers will make the Chase, and we already know that three who have done well enough thus far this season may not have done well enough to save their rides for next.

    Kurt Busch won the Daytona 500, but Stewart-Haas has not yet picked up his option for next season. Even he does not know if they will or won’t. Kasey Kahne claimed Indianapolis, but Rick Hendrick will be replacing him with young William Byron next year. Matt Kenseth holds down the final place for the moment, but Joe Gibbs is bringing Erik Jones back to the mother ship to take that ride.

    Usually we are interested in the winners. This week, other than for Joey Logano, past winners mean nothing. A new winner, or Logano, could really have an impact on who makes it and who might not. Wins have all but locked up 13 positions. Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray, and Kenseth hold down the next three, separated by just 11 points. Three positions, three drivers. Good for them, unless someone behind them in the standings wins and turns this into a game of musical chairs, with one of those chairs removed.

    Anyone within the top 33 in the rankings still has a mathematical shot. Even Aric Almirola, who missed seven races due to injury but remains within the Top 30 and thus eligible for the free pass a non-encumbered win would give him. Matt DiBenedetto, Cole Whitt, and Landon Cassill are close enough that an unlikely win could spring them into eligibility.

    Michigan might not be the most exciting venue to watch a race, but the result could be very interesting.

    1. MARTIN TRUEX, JR – 4 WINS (881 Pts)
    Truex and girlfriend Sherry Pollex have given us the season’s most compelling story.

    2. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 3 WINS (574 Pts)
    The King, the Intimidator, and Jimmie…all seven time champions.

    3. KYLE LARSON – 2 WINS (759 Pts)
    After back-to-back runner up finishes, has been outside the Top 20 in his last three attempts.

    4. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2 WINS (681 Pts)
    Left a nice note to Truex for the win. Not sure if he left a nice note to Rowdy after the bus stop.

    5. RICKY STENHOUSE, JR. – 2 WINS (486 Pts)
    Nobody is talking about his sponsorship disappearing and, this season, that is saying something.

    6. KYLE BUSCH – 1 WIN (765 Pts)
    M&M’s are good. Any sponsor sticking around is very, very good.

    7. KEVIN HARVICK – 1 WIN (746 Pts)
    Figures some of NASCAR’s problems stem from its most popular not being its most successful.

    8. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (687 Pts)
    As of mid-Wednesday afternoon, we were still waiting.

    9. RYAN BLANEY – 1 WIN (565 Pts)
    Moving from Wood Brothers to Penske, and the world is his oyster.

    10. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (528 Pts)
    Not everyone has such a smooth transition going from this year to next.

    11. RYAN NEWMAN – 1 WIN (503 Pts)
    Ryan should know what that is like.

    12. KASEY KAHNE – 1 WIN (437 Pts)
    Despite Indianapolis, his future in the Cup series could depend on what he does to November.

    13. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN (406 Pts)
    Meanwhile, some others have job security.

    14. CHASE ELLIOTT – 648 POINTS
    With the exception of a seven-time champion, Hendrick turns it all over to the kids in 2018.

    15. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 643 POINTS
    Has finished in the Top Twenty is all but three. In this race, Jamie has become the turtle.

    16. MATT KENSETH – 637 POINTS
    If he gets the results, others do not get the wins, all he would need is a damn ride for next season.

    17. CLINT BOWYER – 609 POINTS
    Clint is not wishing Chase, Jamie, or Matt any ill fortune…but if it happens…

    18. JOEY LOGANO – 542 POINTS (1 Win)
    You could say that encumbered win is something of an encumberment.

    19. DANIEL SUAREZ – 508 POINTS
    Third last week means nothing, but could it be a harbinger of what is to come?

    20. ERIK JONES – 477 POINTS
    Crew Chief Chris Gale gets two race vacation, but $50,000 fine might keep him close to home.

    Then we have the Not So Hot, all who can be in with a win…

    21. TREVOR BAYNE – 408 POINTS
    22. PAUL MENARD – 383 POINTS
    23. DALE EARNHARDT, JR. – 379 POINTS
    24. TY DILLON – 378 POINTS
    25. MICHAEL MCDOWELL – 351 POINTS
    26. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 349 POINTS
    27. CHRIS BUESCHER – 346 POINTS
    28. DANICA PATRICK – 325 POINTS
    29. DAVID RAGAN – 276 POINTS
    30. ARIC ALMIROLA – 242 POINTS
    31. MATT DIBENEDETTO – 242 POINTS
    32. COLE WHITT – 229 POINTS
    33. LANDON CASSILL – 227 POINTS

     

  • Byron taking over No. 5 Hendrick ride next season

    Byron taking over No. 5 Hendrick ride next season

    One more silly season question was settled today with the announcement that William Byron will drive the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in 2018, the team officially announced today.

    First reported by Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, a number of outlets broke the story before the team officially announced it today.

    “It hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Byron. “Mr. (Rick) Hendrick has built such a great team. The people at Hendrick Motorsports have dedicated their lives to giving their drivers the best chance to win every weekend. I have a responsibility to them to work hard and put everything I have into this opportunity. They need to know I’m always giving 100 percent because that’s what they do.”

    Speculation had swirled for months regarding whether Byron would race another year in the XFINITY Series or jump up to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after the conclusion of this season. When HMS announced on Monday that Kasey Kahne wouldn’t return to the seat of the No. 5 car next season, it added to the possibility that Byron would replace him.

    His hot-commodity status makes sense, coming off a rookie season in which he took the Camping World Truck Series by storm with a record-setting seven wins, on his way to a fifth-place finish in points. He’s also running hot in the XFINITY Series this season with three wins and sits second in points.

    “At every step, William has proven how quickly he can adapt,” said Rick Hendrick. “Some drivers have raw talent and some have a strong work ethic. William has both. It’s impressive to see a young guy who never gets rattled and instinctively knows how to communicate with his team. That level of commitment, poise and pure ability is rare at any age. I think he’s just scratching the surface.”

  • Hendrick Motorsports Shouldn’t Promote Byron To Cup…Yet

    Hendrick Motorsports Shouldn’t Promote Byron To Cup…Yet

    According to Sports Business Journal, Hendrick Motorsports is expected to replace Kasey Kahne with William Byron as the driver of the No. 5 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team in 2018. On the surface, this seems the logical next step for Byron’s meteoric rise up the NASCAR ranks. He currently sits second in the XFINITY Series regular season points, leads their playoff standings with three wins in 20 starts, and set a rookie record in the Camping World Truck Series in 2016 by winning seven races. Not only is he consistent, he is strong and is almost always at or near the front.

    However, it is too soon to be promoting Byron to the Cup Series. He just hasn’t been established enough to make a successful jump. Granted, he’s no stranger to Victory Lane, but as has been proven time and again, Cup cars are entirely different animals from XFINITY, Trucks, and so forth.

    Take at look at Joey Logano, for example. In the years leading up to his June 2008 XFINITY Series debut at Dover, he was hyped as the literal second coming of Jeff Gordon. He backed that up with a sixth-place run in his first race, won the pole the next week at Nashville, then won his first career race at Kentucky the week after that. In 19 starts, he won once, earned five top-fives, and 14 top-10s. He was promoted to Cup the next season in 2009.

    Although he earned a win (a rain-shortened event at Loudon in July), three top-fives, and seven top-10s, he finished 20th in points. The next season improve to 16th in points, but in 2011 he fell back to 24th in points. In 2012 he scored his second career win, but finished 17th in points. It wasn’t until his 2013 move to Team Penske that his Cup career finally started to rise.

    Another example would be a former Hendrick Motorsports driver of the No. 5, Kyle Busch. In his rookie XFINITY campaign in 2004, he won five times and finished second in points with 16 top-fives and 22 top-10s. With the sort of numbers he put on the board he was immediately moved to the Cup Series, where he took over the No. 5 from Terry Labonte. He won twice, but finished a dismal 20th in points. He won twice more over the next two seasons, but he didn’t start becoming a serious contender until his move to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008.

    Photo Courtesy: Simon Scoggins

    Byron has the talent and wherewithal to become a Cup champion, but he needs more time to hone those skills before he shows up on the big stage. Chase Elliott, another Hendrick driver, spent two full seasons in the XFINITY Series and although he has yet to win a race, his quiet consistency and ability to stay out of trouble has kept him in Playoff consistency two years in a row.

    That said, although wins are a plus and a must in the current points system, Byron is still young and impressionable. He doesn’t need to be rush like Logano or Busch. He’s such a talent, easily a championship-caliber XFINITY driver, it would benefit both Hendrick and Byron if they waited at least a year.

    That does leave Hendrick in a tight spot, though. Who will drive the No. 5? Well, there will be some free agents out and about for 2018. Give the ride to Matt Kenseth, at least for a year. Reasonable agreement with a strong, established driver. Nothing would be lost on the arrangement and Byron would also have the benefit of learning from a Cup champion.

    Or just make the No. 5 a part-time ride, much like the No. 25 is for up-and-coming drivers linked up with Hendrick. Let Byron learn about Cup the way Elliott did with his brief (albeit rough) tenure in a limited Cup run. That would be better than thrusting him front and center when he isn’t ready. Give him time to work with a Crew Chief that isn’t Keith Rodden (who hasn’t done the No. 5 any favors besides winning Indy with Kahne) and actually learn the proper nature and communication with his Cup crew.

    He’ll bring the Liberty University sponsorship. He’ll bring his otherworldly talent behind the wheel. He’s a well-spoken, ideal face of NASCAR’s next generation of drivers. But pushing him into the No. 5 Cup team, essentially putting him in the spotlight at this point, would only serve to do more harm than good. Give Byron a chance to learn and grow before he graduates to the big leagues.

  • NXS Recap: Kyle Busch Wins and Ryan Preece Impresses at New Hampshire

    NXS Recap: Kyle Busch Wins and Ryan Preece Impresses at New Hampshire

    By Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service

    LOUDON, N.H. – Kyle Busch’s celebratory burnout produced a cloud of smoke over the frontstretch at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but Ryan Preece’s first run in top-of-the-line equipment made an even bigger impression in Saturday’s Overton’s 200 NASCAR XFINITY Series race.

    After a major snafu on pit road took a potential win away from Brad Keselowski, who had arguably the fastest car at the Magic Mile, Busch cruised to a 10.425-second victory, collecting his third win in six starts this season, his sixth at NHMS and the 89th of his career, extending his series record.

    Driving the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for the first time, Preece finished second to his far more experienced teammate and left the track hoping his performance will open the eyes of someone looking for talent behind the wheel.

    “This is something I dreamed about, to be honest with you,” said Preece, who won Friday’s All-Star modified race and finished second in Saturday’s 100-lap preliminary to the XFINITY event. “I work hard week-in and week-out at the modifieds, so to be able to have this opportunity means a lot to me.”

    Preece, who will race at Iowa on July 29 in his only other scheduled event in the No. 20 car, ran the full NASCAR XFINITY Series schedule last year in Johnny Davis’ No. 01 Chevrolet.

    “I don’t take back doing what I did last year,” Preece said. “It was great. People don’t even know that I ran full-time, but I got laps. That’s what you need sometimes. I’ve been doing this all my life, so all I needed was the right opportunity.

    “Joe Gibbs gave it to me. Congratulations to Kyle, my teammate. That’s pretty cool to say. Right?”

    The race, which ran without a caution from a restart on Lap 97 to the finish at Lap 200, turned on the final cycle of green-flag pit stops. Busch ducked onto pit road on Lap 169 for fuel and fresh tires.

    Keselowski, who led a race-high 102 laps, brought his car to the pits on Lap 170 but had to angle his No. 22 Ford around Kyle Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet, which had started to leave its pit stall as Keselowski pulled in.

    When the jack dropped and Keselowski accelerated, the gas can was still locked into its coupler, and the forward motion of the car pulled both the can and the fueler out of the No. 22’s pit stall.

    Keselowski had to serve a stop-and-go penalty for dragging equipment outside the pit box. His winning chances gone, Keselowski finished fifth, more than 18 seconds in arrears, as one of six cars on the lead lap.

    “I think we kind of coaxed those guys into having to rush themselves and hurry a little bit (by pitting first with a flawless stop), and maybe we put the pressure and that was the difference today,” Busch said. “So great day for us and excited to have the opportunity to be in Victory Lane again here in New Hampshire.”

    Keselowski had a succinct summation of the afternoon.

    “It’s always fun being fast and leading the most laps and all that, but we just didn’t put the whole race together today,” he said.

    Sunoco rookie of the year frontrunner William Byron ran third, with Larson, Keselowski and Ben Kennedy behind him. Byron is second in the series standings, 45 points behind leader Elliott Sadler, who ran seventh, the first driver one lap down.

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Overton’s 200
    New Hampshire Motor Speedway
    Loudon, New Hampshire
    Saturday, July 15, 2017

    1. (1) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 200.
    2. (6) Ryan Preece, Toyota, 200.
    3. (7) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 200.
    4. (3) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 200.
    5. (2) Brad Keselowski(i), Ford, 200.
    6. (13) Ben Kennedy #, Chevrolet, 200.
    7. (8) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 199.
    8. (12) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 199.
    9. (10) Cole Custer #, Ford, 199.
    10. (9) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 199.
    11. (4) Matt Tifft #, Toyota, 199.
    12. (5) Daniel Hemric #, Chevrolet, 199.
    13. (14) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 199.
    14. (19) Ryan Reed, Ford, 198.
    15. (21) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 198.
    16. (23) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 198.
    17. (16) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 197.
    18. (24) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, 197.
    19. (18) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 197.
    20. (20) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 197.
    21. (26) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 197.
    22. (39) Dylan Lupton, Toyota, 196.
    23. (25) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 195.
    24. (15) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 195.
    25. (34) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 195.
    26. (27) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 194.
    27. (32) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 193.
    28. (33) Timmy Hill, Dodge, 186.
    29. (31) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, 185.
    30. (28) David Starr, Chevrolet, 184.
    31. (38) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 178.
    32. (11) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 173.
    33. (37) Martin Roy, Chevrolet, Engine, 163.
    34. (22) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 157.
    35. (17) Spencer Gallagher #, Chevrolet, Suspension, 156.
    36. (36) Carl Long, Chevrolet, Electrical, 67.
    37. (35) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Suspension, 59.
    38. (30) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Electrical, 15.
    39. (29) Reed Sorenson(i), Chevrolet, Brakes, 7.
    40. (40) John Jackson, Dodge, Vibration, 4.

    Average Speed of Race Winner:  109.276 mph.
    Time of Race:  01 Hrs, 56 Mins, 11 Secs. Margin of Victory:  10.425 Seconds.
    Caution Flags:  3 for 15 laps.
    Lead Changes:  13 among 7 drivers.

    Lap Leaders:   K. Busch(i) 1-2; B. Keselowski(i) 3-7; K. Busch(i) 8-27; B. Keselowski(i) 28-33; J. Allgaier 34-35; E. Sadler 36-40; K. Larson(i) 41-51; R. Preece 52-53; K. Busch(i) 54-71; B. Keselowski(i) 72-93; K. Busch(i) 94-101; B. Keselowski(i) 102-170; M. Tifft # 171; K. Busch(i) 172-200.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  B. Keselowski(i) 4 times for 102 laps; K. Busch(i) 5 times for 77 laps; K. Larson(i) 1 time for 11 laps; E. Sadler 1 time for 5 laps; R. Preece 1 time for 2 laps; J. Allgaier 1 time for 2 laps; M. Tifft # 1 time for 1 lap.

    Stage #1 Top Ten: 42,20,18,1,22,7,48,3,9,19
    Stage #2 Top Ten: 22,18,42,20,9,1,3,19,48,2

     

  • Byron Goes Back to Back in XFINITY at Daytona

    Byron Goes Back to Back in XFINITY at Daytona

    William Byron is now a two-time race winner in the NASCAR XFINITY Series after surviving two late Big One’s in the day-late Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

    Restarting in overtime, Byron led the field onto the backstretch when Spencer Gallagher was turned into the wall, triggering a multi-car pileup on the final lap. While the wreck itself started prior to the overtime line, the caution wasn’t thrown until after race leader Byron crossed the line, ending the race.

    “It’s just a credit to all these guys,” Byron said in victory lane. “We’re extremely blessed to be here and it’s just a lot of hard work from these guys to be here.”

    It’s his second XFINITY Series win in 15 starts.

    Teammate Elliott Sadler brought his car home second while Dakoda Armstrong rounded out the podium.

    Jeb Burton and David Starr rounded out the top-five. Brennan Poole, Joey Logano, Joey Gase, Brendan Vaughan and BJ McLeod rounded out the top-10.

    Poole led the field to the green flag last night at 7:49 p.m. He and Ben Kennedy battled for the lead the first three laps, with Kennedy taking control on the fourth. Blake Koch powered by Kennedy on the high side, dropped down in front and took the lead on the fifth lap.

    Caution flew for the first time on the eighth lap for rain, and the race was eventually pushed back to Saturday at noon.

    After another short delay, we returned to green the following day on Lap 14.

    Koch swapped the lead with Daniel Suarez for a lap, on Lap 17, before taking it back on Lap 18 and winning the first stage.

    Justin Allgaier opted not to pit and assumed the race lead, which he lost to Poole on the ensuing restart.

    Lightning brought out the third caution on lap 37, halting the race for roughly two and a half hours.

    Resuming racing on Lap 41, the lead turned into a frenzy, with it going from Kennedy to Ty Dillon and Poole.

    Caution flew on lap 50 for a six-car wreck on the frontstretch.

    Elliott Sadler took the lead under the caution when the leaders pitted and drove on to win the stage.

    The lead went to Byron, who decided not to pit under the stage break.

    The action in the third stage was briefly toned down, with the outside line vanishing for three laps. But Dillon, who got shuffled out of the bottom from third, pulled the outside line back toward the front and reclaimed the lead with 16 laps to go.

    A two-car wreck in the tri-oval brought out the sixth caution with 14 to go.

    The race returned to green for two laps with 10 to go before a two-car wreck in the tri-oval, this time collecting race leader Dillon and Poole,  and brought out the seventh caution.

    With Logano leading the way, the race resumed with four to go. Racing down the backstretch with three to go, he was bumped out of line and traveled over the grass (but didn’t damage the splitter).

    Caution flew for the eighth time with two to go for a 16-car wreck on the backstretch, setting up the run to the finish.

    The race lasted two hours, 13 minutes and 56 seconds at an average speed of 116.476 mph. There were 18 lead changes among 19 different drivers and nine cautions for 35 laps.

    Sadler leaves with a 59-point lead over Byron.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Firecracker-250-results-Daytona-7-1-17-N1715_UNOFFRES.pdf” title=”Firecracker 250 results Daytona 7-1-17 N1715_UNOFFRES”]

  • William Byron Gets First Career XFINITY Win at Iowa Speedway

    William Byron Gets First Career XFINITY Win at Iowa Speedway

    NEWTON, Iowa — Last week, a blink-of-an-eye moment weighed heavily on William Byron.

    Saturday, the driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet lifted his head and shouted out a pent-up yelp that formed the suitable soundtrack the rookie’s first career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory.

    “I feel it all kind of comes around in racing and last week we were so close,” said Byron, who finished a mere .012 seconds behind Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin last Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. “You’ve got to have a little bit off luck to win every race that we win and I feel like we got one back for last week.”

    The final restart with 10 laps to go came just 11 laps after the previous one during which Byron pitted and capped off fuel while taking tires.

    Good fortune finally found Byron again, who never was seriously challenged down the stretch, but only had four or five laps of fuel left before his last pit stop helped set the stage for victory.

    “We definitely got a huge break the way the caution fell right there,” Byron’s crew chief, Dave Elenz, told FS1 pit reporters during a caution period with 15 laps to go. 

    Byron made the most of it. He won last year at Iowa, but in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

    “It’s awesome just to kind of come this far,” said Byron, who received a congratulatory call from Rick Hendrick after the win.

    The ninth caution of the night also benefitted some less familiar top-10 finishers, including Ryan Sieg, who ran second to notch his fourth career top-five finish in 117 series starts. Tyler Reddick took third.

    “It was fun racing with Tyler at the end,” Sieg said. “We had a little bit of a battle.”

    Christopher Bell — in the second leg of his first double-duty weekend — started on the pole and remained on point the entire first stage, fending off an early challenge from teammate Kyle Benjamin, and a late charge from Sam Hornish, Jr., who made his first start in nine months.

    Hornish led 183 laps while winning last season at Iowa, but misfortune struck 19 laps into stage two as Bell made contact with his rear fender — an encounter that sent Hornish careening into the wall.

    It also ended the veteran stock car and open-wheel racer’s first night back with Team Penske.

    “He came up pretty hard when he got loose and hit me,” said Hornish, who is slated to run a limited schedule this season. “Of course, we got the brunt of it. I’m disappointed. This is one of my favorite places to come to.”

    Points leader Elliott Sadler shares that sentiment — even though mostly bad luck plagued his night.

    He qualified fourth, but was sent to the rear after an unapproved pre-race adjustment was made on his car. No matter. He’d ascended to fifth by the end of the first stage and ended up eighth.

    Bell settled for 16th after he was collected in an incident involving Brennan Poole and Ryan Reed — the very caution that benefitted Byron and others.

    Bell led 152 laps to Byron’s 78, but as both drivers know, it’s the last lap that counts.

    Especially Byron, who vocally and visually celebrated this week after enduring quiet disappointment the last.

    “To get second last week kind of hurt, just because we were that close,” Byron said. “But I feel like it gave us extra motivation, and I feel like last year the beginning of the summer was when I kind of hit my stride and I think we won back-to-back, so to now have a second and a first feels really good.”

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen

    Iowa Speedway – Newton, Iowa  – Saturday, June 24, 2017

     

                   1. (6) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 250.

                   2. (22) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 250.

                   3. (15) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 250.

                   4. (14) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 250.

                   5. (7) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 250.

                   6. (20) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 250.

                   7. (18) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 250.

                   8. (4) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 250.

                   9. (5) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 250.

                   10. (31) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 250.

                   11. (30) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, 250.

                   12. (27) Quin Houff, Chevrolet, 250.

                   13. (25) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 250.

                   14. (32) David Starr, Chevrolet, 250.

                   15. (28) Dylan Lupton, Toyota, 250.

                   16. (1) Christopher Bell(i), Toyota, 250.

                   17. (26) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 250.

                   18. (37) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 250.

                   19. (17) Ryan Reed, Ford, 250.

                   20. (21) Ben Kennedy #, Chevrolet, 249.

                   21. (11) Daniel Hemric #, Chevrolet, 249.

                  22. (9) Matt Tifft #, Toyota, 249.

                   23. (23) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 249.

                   24. (24) Cole Custer #, Ford, 249.

                   25. (13) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 249.

                   26. (16) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 249.

                   27. (8) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 249.

                   28. (38) Timmy Hill, Dodge, 247.

                   29. (34) Ray Black II, Chevrolet, 246.

                   30. (19) Spencer Gallagher #, Chevrolet, 244.

                   31. (2) Kyle Benjamin, Toyota, 241.

                   32. (12) Scott Lagasse Jr., Chevrolet, 236.

                   33. (33) Dexter Bean, Chevrolet, Accident, 161.

                   34. (10) Ty Majeski, Ford, Accident, 143.

                   35. (40) Mike Harmon, Dodge, Engine, 121.

                   36. (29) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, Engine, 118.

                   37. (3) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, Accident, 78.

                   38. (39) Carl Long, Toyota, Brakes, 18.

                   39. (36) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Vibration, 16.

                   40. (35) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Electrical, 6.

     

    Average Speed of Race Winner:  85.859 mph.

    Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 32 Mins, 52 Secs. Margin of Victory:  1.140 Seconds.

    Caution Flags:  9 for 65 laps.

    Lead Changes:  11 among 6 drivers.

    Lap Leaders:   C. Bell(i) 1-64; R. Black II 65; W. Byron # 66-86; J. Allgaier 87-91; W. Byron # 92-103; C. Bell(i) 104-114; B. Gaughan 115-123; W. Byron # 124-142; C. Bell(i) 143-219; W. Byron # 220-224; D. Lupton 225-229; W. Byron # 230-250.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  C. Bell(i) 3 times for 152 laps; W. Byron # 5 times for 78 laps; B. Gaughan 1 time for 9 laps; J. Allgaier 1 time for 5 laps; D. Lupton 1 time for 5 laps; R. Black II 1 time for 1 lap.

    Stage #1 Top Ten: 20,22,9,7,1,18,14,3,16,21

    Stage #2 Top Ten: 62,9,20,1,51,2,39,7,16,28

  • 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.

  • Finley Factor: 2017 Championship Picks

    Finley Factor: 2017 Championship Picks

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion: Timothy Peters

    Peters’ situation in the Truck Series is one of the most stable in all of NASCAR. Since winning his first race for Red Horse Racing in his first start for the Truck Series team in 2010, he hasn’t missed a single race. Last season was the first time since 2008 that the veteran didn’t find victory lane, but it was statistically his best season since finishing runner-up in points in 2012. Peters made the inaugural Truck Series Chase and the championship four but his ninth in the season finale was behind the other three Truck drivers. Peters has been a model of consistency, with only one points finish outside of the top-five since 2011. The 36-year-old from Virginia is the best Truck series veteran to have never won the series championship- expect that to change in 2017.

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Champion: William Byron

    With Matt Tifft being the lone full-time JGR Toyota and just about everybody else in the series either being a fellow rookie, a teammate of Byron’s, or in a relatively underfunded ride, Byron has to be the favorite. When it comes to drivers moving teams, Byron’s decision to leave Toyota to go over to Hendrick Motorsports was the surprise of last year’s Silly Season. Byron was dominant last year, winning seven truck races after entering the season with just one career start in the series. He just missed out on making it to the championship four at Homestead but won the race anyway. Byron was so good that NASCAR’s new playoff point structure seems to be structured more to prevent such a dominant driver from being so easily eliminated in the Chase, rather than an answer to Jimmie Johnson’s season last year as some in the media argued.

    Of the entire flock of full-time drivers this season in the XFINITY Series, Byron is probably the favorite to win a championship in most people’s eyes and there’s no real argument against that. JR Motorsports does a great job of teaching young drivers, with Brad Keselowski being its first graduate and Chase Elliott being its latest. Byron is even stepping into the same car that Elliott drove to a championship his own rookie year; there’s not a lot to go against Byron with besides “He’s a rookie!” or “He’s never even made a start in the series!”, none of which will matter when we get to Homestead and he’s one of the final four.

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion: Erik Jones

    I love making risky picks. I picked Kyle Larson to win it all last season; it was a genius pick at Richmond when Larson was red hot entering the Chase and it was a stupid pick at Dover when Larson was one of the first eliminated in the Chase.

    This isn’t a risky pick.

    Erik Jones is a rookie who will be competitive out of the gate. Erik Jones will win races. Erik Jones will become the first driver to win a championship in their rookie season.

    Jones has been fast in everything he’s gotten into. When Kyle Busch went down at Daytona in 2015, it speaks volumes that Gibbs wanted Jones to sub for him on day one but had to wait because he was a Truck Series rookie with little experience running big racetracks.

    In three races subbing for Busch in 2015, Jones performed very well for an 18-year-old Truck Series rookie. He was on his way to contending for a win in his very first start at Kansas before spinning out. That’s pure insanity. He won a Truck Series championship that season with an average finish of 6.3, then came up to the XFINITY Series in 2016. Jones had consistency problems but was seemingly unstoppable if the car that week was good-to-great and didn’t lose out on strategy.

    Toyota seems to be in the best position of the three manufacturers this season. Ford teams are a huge question mark right now. We don’t know if adding four teams will be too big of a strain on the Roush-Yates engine department and we don’t know if Stewart-Haas Racing is going to be able to just continue being great immediately following the move to the blue oval.

    Meanwhile, on the Chevrolet side, Hendrick Motorsports presents the biggest challenge to the Toyota dominance of the series but with possibly only two teams. Dale Earnhardt Jr. might take a while to get back up to speed and there are no real signs that show Kasey Kahne significantly improving this season. Chip Ganassi Racing will be interesting to watch, but Larson may be distracted by contract talks and cars get slower if the driver is leaving after the season. Finally, Richard Childress Racing and its satellite teams are probably a year or two from becoming a race-to-race challenge for the rest of the competition.

    Now, this pick has one caveat to it. It’s assuming that Furniture Row Racing will receive the same level of support as it did last season when Martin Truex Jr. basically ran the fifth JGR car. As long as this new second car team is getting the same attention as Truex’s team this year, there’s no reason the No. 77 won’t be running at full speed by Charlotte in May.

    Jones should be able to get over his consistency problems. Chris Gayle will be a rookie crew chief to go along with his rookie driver, but he isn’t new to being a crew chief; he won 12 races last season working with a variety of drivers in the No. 18 on route to making it to Homestead in the championship four in owner’s points. JGR crew chiefs who move up to the Cup Series rarely strike out; Gayle might not have Kyle Busch in his car this season but he will have a younger, somewhat similar driver.

    Jones has a lot to prove. With William Byron’s dominant season in the Truck Series, Daniel Suarez winning the XFINITY Series championship, and Chase Elliott’s impressive rookie season, Jones will be out to prove himself as the best of the young coup invading NASCAR. He hasn’t proven many people wrong so far.

     

  • Byron wins the race, Sauter takes the title in Miami

    Byron wins the race, Sauter takes the title in Miami

    William Byron took the lead in the closing laps to close out the season with a victory, but it was Johnny Sauter, one of the elder statesman of the series, who beat the competition to finally add a championship to his resume.

    Byron scored the pole for the race and led the 20 laps before ceding the lead to Matt Crafton. He didn’t make much noise for most of the race until the final caution flew with 24 laps to go. He came out second behind Tyler Reddick, who exited pit road with the race lead.

    He stayed hot on Reddick right from the final restart with 20 to go and took the lead exiting Turn 2 with 10 to go to drive on to victory.

    “It feels awesome,” Byron said. “It’s just – it’s incredible. I mean this team has worked so hard all year. We just had an unfortunate situation last week that we couldn’t control, but, man, they brought a good truck. Qualified on the pole.”

    It was the seventh victory in 24 career starts in the Camping World Truck Series for the driver of the No. 9 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.

    “These guys just are awesome,” he added. “God, I hate leaving this – I just hate this team not being together next year. It’s just insane how good they are and so many talented people on this race team. Can’t thank KBM enough, Toyota, Kyle and Samantha (Busch, Kyle Busch’s wife), everyone at KBM, (sponsor) Liberty University – it’s just amazing.”

    He also secured Sunoco Rookie of The Year honors.

    Sauter brought his No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet home third, which was enough to secure him his first series championship.

    “You know, not just me, it’s the whole team, everybody at GMS Racing,” Sauter said in victory lane. “We qualified bad today. Really, we were kind of worried about it. Felt pretty good in race trim.

    “Just proud of these guys for their flawless execution tonight. Joe (Shear) made great adjustments to where I could just kind of hang on. I’m not a high line guy. So I elected to keep doing my deal and they actually found some pretty good grip on the bottom of the race track.

    “Proud to be a champion. I’m gonna do everything in our power to represent NASCAR as best we can.”

    He was asked what point he realized he had a truck that could win the title.

    “I was pretty conservative at the beginning of the race just trying to take care of it and not make any stupid mistakes,” he added. “Then there was about probably 85 laps to go, I was like ‘Okay, we’ll start picking them off here,’ and just had a solid day in the pits.

    “With about 50 to 60 to go, I was like ‘Okay, we’ve got something here,’ and we were really catching the 88. It looked like he was pushing real bad.”

    Kyle Larson, who led a race high of 76 laps, finished fourth.

    Matt Crafton, Christopher Bell and Timothy Peters finished seventh, eighth and ninth.

    Three of the four cautions were brought out by Patrick Staropoli. The other was for a spin by Stewart Friesen.

    Twenty-four trucks finished the race on the lead lap and only Ryan Truex failed to finish the race.

    The race lasted one hour, 32 minutes and 57 seconds at an average speed of 129.747 mph. There were 15 lead changes among five different drivers and four cautions for 18 laps.

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