QUALIFYING: Doug Coby Speeds To Thompson Pole

Posted on September 4, 2020February 1, 2021 by Staff Report

THOMPSON, Conn. — Doug Coby has won five times on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Thompson Speedway Motorspors Park, and he’s started on the front row for all five. Three times, he’s won from the pole.

He’ll get another chance Thursday night in the Thompson 150 after collecting his 31st career Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award in qualifying.

Coby’s No. 10 Mayhew Tools Chevrolet lapped the .625-mile oval in 19.005 seconds (118.079 mph) for his first pole of 2020. His career total is third all-time behind only NASCAR Hall of Famer Mike Stefanik (48) and Tony Hirschman (41).

Championship points leader Justin Bonsignore, who was fastest in practice and the final car to qualify, will start on the front row after a lap of 19.063 (118.030) came up just short of Coby.

Craig Lutz qualified third at 19.152 (117.481).

Patrick Emerling and Eric Goodale were fourth and fifth, respectively. Anthony Nocella qualified sixth, followed by former tour champion and current NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece, Ron Silk, Ronnie Williams and Timmy Solomito.

The Thompson 150 will stream live on TrackPass on NBC Gold.

Posted on September 4, 2020February 1, 2021 by Staff Report

THOMPSON, Conn. — Ron Silk is back.

After taking a race off to recalibrate, it took the Norwalk, Connecticut, driver just two starts to drive the No. 85 Stuart’s Automotive Chevrolet to Victory Lane. Silk capitalized on a heartbreaking turn of events for Ryan Preece Thursday night, and then drove away from the field on a green-white-checkered restart to capture the Thompson 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

RELATED: Complete Race Results

It was the 14th career win for the 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion and his fifth at Thompson.

Ron Silk holds on for the ud83cudfc1

14th career #NWMT win & 5th at @ThompsonSpdwy pic.twitter.com/5SBgYgd698

— NASCAR Roots (@NASCARRoots) September 4, 2020

The victory was Silk’s first since August of 2019 at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway.

After starting the 2020 season with a sixth, a 27th and 10th, Silk and the Kevin Stuart-owned team elected to bypass the trip out to Pennsylvania on Aug. 22. The move paid off, as Silk led 114 laps in a runner-up effort at New Hampshire’s Monadnock Speedway on Saturday, and then turned around and won at Thompson.

It was an improbable win, as Silk lost the lead to Preece in the closing laps. But Preece, a former Whelen Modified Tour champion and current NASCAR Cup Series driver making his first tour start of the season, had fuel issues under the subsequent caution that brought him down pit lane and ended his night.

Ryan Preece.
Race Leader … out of gasu2049 #NWMT | @_TrackPass pic.twitter.com/YKvO7tivH9

— NASCAR Roots (@NASCARRoots) September 4, 2020

On the final restart of the night, Silk fended off championship points leader Justin Bonsignore and Craig Lutz and drove away with the win.

Bonsignore entered the night having won seven of the last eight tour races at Thompson. He led 57 laps before settling for a runner-up finish. Jon McKennedy finished third and Chris Pasteryak fourth. Doug Coby, who won the Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award earlier in the evening and led a race-high 66 laps, wound up fifth.

Bonsingore, who collected his sixth top five in six races, pushed his lead to 18 over Coby and 32 over McKennedy.

Dave Salienza, Ronnie Williams, Anthony Nocella, Matt Swanson and Tyler Rypkema rounded out the top 10. Following the final restart, Lutz wound up 12th while Preece was credited with a 19th-place finish.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the third annual Full Throttle Fall Final Weekend. The Musket 200 presented by Whelen, which pays $20,000 to win, will be Saturday, Sept. 12 at noon, and will air live on TrackPass on NBC Gold.

Posted on September 3, 2020September 3, 2020 by Zack Albert

Leave it to Kyle Busch to make Tony Stewart a verb.

Busch, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, limps into this year’s playoffs in much the same way that Stewart did in 2011 — confoundingly winless. The rest of Stewart’s season that year became the stuff of storybook endings, as if he’d awakened from a deep slumber to win five of the 10 playoff events and secure his third Cup Series title.

RELATED: Meet the 2020 playoff field

Busch seems ready to embrace the same sort of dramatic comeback to score his third championship, but says his fortunes will need a similar turnaround. As Busch said two weeks ago, taking grand liberties with parts of speech, he’ll have to “Tony Stewart it.”

“I don’t know what changed in his year or what happened, but anything is possible for sure,” Busch said Thursday during the second day of Media Day appearances for the 16 playoff drivers. “We’ve seen it done before. Maybe there’s another way of being able to do it again, but this time it will certainly be different than his time was or any time that I’ve ever been in the Playoffs under this structure, being on the outside looking in to try to get through each round. The opportunity is there. That is certainly where we’re at is a Tony Stewart-type performance here and in the final 10 weeks we’ll certainly get it done.

“The last time I checked, we’re still last year’s reigning champions so we’ve got that opportunity to be able to do that. We’ve got the team behind us – the crew chief, the sponsors, everybody that we can make anything happen. We just have to go out there and do it.”

Busch and the rest of the title-eligible drivers begin their playoff quests with Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at Darlington Raceway. The 35-year-old veteran for Joe Gibbs Racing enters as the 14th seed in the 16-driver playoff field, facing the prospects of the first winless campaign in his full-time Cup Series career.

MORE: Media Days’ best quotes

Busch has come close this season, finishing second three times already. His 11 top-five finishes are tied for the third-most in the series, by far the most among drivers without a win in 2020. Busch’s other statistical measures have been respectable, but not on par with his usual powerhouse-level results as five DNFs have also dragged down his stature.

His exasperation at times this season has been palpable. But the prospects of a Stewart-esque rally in the playoffs loom, an outcome teammate Denny Hamlin believes is fully possible.

“I know he’s got race-winning equipment,” said Hamlin, a six-time winner this year. “Yeah, are they off-key right now? Yes, a little bit, but certainly if anyone has a chance to get hot, it could be Kyle and his team. They know what they’re doing, they’ve got championship pedigree and they know how to get through these 10 weeks. They’ve shown that many, many times by making it to the final four even when they haven’t been at their best. Certainly, it’s a team that will be a threat.”

Busch successfully shed the underdog label in both of his two championship campaigns. In 2015, he came back from severe injuries to his legs and feet in a crash at the Xfinity Series opener in Daytona, missing 11 races before a midseason tear brought him back into contention. Last season, he overcame the much-ballyhooed Big 3 of Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. to win the final race for title No. 2.

As much as a title defense would mean, Busch said getting back to Victory Lane would almost carry more weight. It also might prompt him to “Tony Stewart it” back into the Championship 4 fray.

“It’s really important,” Busch said of his consecutive years winning streak. “Think about it, it’s a 16-year investment that we’ve placed on that, being able to win a race in 16 consecutive seasons, so hopefully we can keep that going and get it to 17 and then to 18 or however many that I’m here. It would be nice if I’m able to keep winning races all the way through my career each and every single year that I’m out there. This year has just not lent itself to our favor so far, but the playoffs start now and we’re still in this thing.”

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Holly Cain

The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series will hold its first race at the historic Darlington Raceway in nearly a decade with Sunday afternoon’s South Carolina Education Lottery 200 (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Not only will drivers be tasked with figuring out the notoriously “Too Tough To Tame” oval without any practice, they will be doing so with playoff implications on the line. Only two races remain to set the 10-driver championship-eligible field for the 2020 playoff run.

There are no former winners in the field. The last to drive a truck to Darlington’s Victory Lane was Kasey Kahne in 2011. In six Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races at Darlington (from 2005-11) – four were won by Dodge and two by Toyota.

In 2011 – the last truck race at Darlington – seven of the drivers currently in the top 10 of the standings were younger than 17. Sheldon Creed, for example, who has a series-best three wins was only 13 years old when that race was run in 2011. Tyler Ankrum, who is ranked ninth in the standings, was only 10 years old when Kahne was celebrating his run at Darlington.

Of the current top 10 in the standings, only reigning champion Matt Crafton has raced a truck at Darlington previously. He has four top-10 finishes in six starts with a career best of fourth place in 2011. Another veteran, Johnny Sauter, who is also still hoping to race into playoff contention, has two previous Darlington starts with a best of fourth place in 2010.

It all creates a distinctive feel of intrigue and intensity – a new venue at a must-win time for so many of the competitors with only two races remaining in the regular season.

Creed’s victory at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway last weekend certainly had big playoff implications. It was his third win of the season (and his career), and that is most among the full-timers to date, placing him as the current top-seeded driver. His good day, however, was Todd Gilliland’s bad day, and the two were intertwined.

Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford, led a race-best 75 laps and scored key points winning both Stage 1 and Stage 2. But he was wiped out of contention by Creed as the two contended for the lead early in the third stage. Gilliland was able to continue racing but finished 24th and now sits on the playoff bubble, only 13 points to the playoff-eligible good over 11th-place Derek Kraus.

It puts a lot of pressure on the Darlington outcome for both.

For the last eight races, Gilliland, 20, has alternated between a top-10 finish and a result of 20th or worse. In the last four races, for example, Gilliland was fifth at Michigan International Speedway and then 33rd the next race at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. He was fourth at Dover International Speedway and then 24th last week at Gateway.

Moffitt and Creed will start Sunday’s race from the front row, followed by Hill and Smith in Row 2.

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Holly Cain

With four races remaining to set the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff field, this Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington Raceway (12:30 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) may be one of the most pivotal afternoons of the late season.

Darlington — with all its nuances and unpredictability — is typically considered a season wildcard event. And the final points position in the 12-driver playoff field is as close-quartered competitively as the cars will be on the 1.366-mile historic track this weekend.

RELATED: Complete Darlington schedule

Only one full-time Xfinity Series driver, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe, has won previously at Darlington. Briscoe scored the victory this May in a race that was not originally on the schedule but added as NASCAR carefully re-opened its season in South Carolina during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The race featured a very competitive battle among Briscoe, who led 45 laps, Kyle Busch, who led 45 laps, and Xfinity full-timer Noah Gragson, who led a race-high 46 laps and won Stage 1.

Interestingly, half the current playoff-eligible field earned best Darlington finishes this spring, from current points leader Austin Cindric (fourth in May) to Gragson (fifth), to veteran Justin Allgaier (third) to Ross Chastain (eighth).

The uptick in finish is perhaps a very encouraging sign for Chastain, who is ranked third in points earned but eighth in the playoff standings — best among drivers still looking for their first win of 2020. Not only did Chastain earn his best Darlington finish this May, the track was the site of a superb showing in 2018 — even if the 25th-place finish doesn’t properly reflect the effort.

In 2018, while driving a short schedule of races for Chip Ganassi, Chastain won the pole position and led a dominant 90 of the opening 112 laps of the 147-lap Darlington race — winning both the opening two stages. But while racing veteran Kevin Harvick for the lead on Lap 111, the two collided, ending Harvick’s day and derailing any hope of Chastain earning his first career Xfinity Series win. That would come two weeks later, however, driving Ganassi’s car to a victory in Las Vegas.

With the near-miss in 2018 and a career-best finish this spring, Chastain — who now drives the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet — is undoubtedly eager to see if Darlington can be his first victory venue of the 2020 season.

Certainly a victory this week would boost the playoff hopes for Brandon Brown and Jeremy Clements too, who are separated by only 32 points contesting that final 12th-place position. Brown, the driver of the No. 68 family-owned Chevrolet, scored his best finish (13th) in four Darlington starts this May. That was one position behind Clements in his family-owned No. 51 Chevrolet.

Clements has 10 starts at the track, earning his only top 10 (eighth place) in 2016. Brown is still looking for his first top 10.

Justin Haley will be starting from pole position alongside Briscoe. Cindric will start fourth. Clements will start 13th, and Brown will start 17th.

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Zack Albert

In the opening stage of media-day rotations before the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, one name kept coming up in the discussion of underdogs primed to make a deeper postseason run than might be expected: Aric Almirola.

Teammates and otherwise unaffiliated drivers alike pointed to the Stewart-Haas Racing veteran, who ticks plenty of boxes as a trendy sleeper pick. For Almirola, if others think he’s flying below the radar, so be it.

“I’m good if they do. It makes no difference to me what anybody else thinks, and that’s an attitude I’ve had for a long time,” said Almirola, who is making his third straight playoff appearance since joining SHR in 2018. “I’m the type of guy that just really puts my head down and goes to work with my race team, and that’s all I really care about if is working with (crew chief Mike) Bugarewicz and the guys on my team. What anybody else thinks, I really don’t care because only I and my race team really know what we’re capable of and areas where we need to improve and areas where we’re doing a good job.

“I am excited about the playoffs. I do feel like we have a lot of potential. We’ve run really well. We’ve made some mistakes along the way that we certainly have to clean up going into the playoffs to be a contender, but I do feel like our speed and the way that we’ve been running, the capability is certainly there.”

Almirola hasn’t won this year, a prime factor in his omission from the short list of heavy favorites. But the 36-year-old driver has already posted career-high numbers in other categories this season, tallying a personal-best with five top-five finishes and 287 laps led (well more than his previous high of 181 two years ago).

Almirola’s 2020 stats haven’t illuminated the highlight reel in the way the performance of SHR teammate Kevin Harvick (seven wins) or Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin (six wins) has. But he does hold two of the Cup Series’ most steady streaks this year — a run of five consecutive top-five results contained in a stretch of nine straight top 10s in the summer months.

“The 10 (of Almirola) has been kind of sneaky and just consistent — nothing flashy, but just kind of doing his thing — so I would say that’s one car that can probably get pretty far through,” Team Penske driver Joey Logano said. “They’ve got pretty good speed, they don’t make many mistakes and they just kind of get through. The first couple of rounds that’s one of the things that this playoff system rewards the first couple rounds is being consistent.”

Those gains have come under the guidance of Bugarewicz, who was installed as crew chief of the No. 10 Ford as part of an offseason shake-up at SHR. Almirola described him as “probably the most intense crew chief that I’ve ever had,” detailing his sleepless work ethic, his fiery competitive drive and a meticulous detail-oriented approach.

All of those factors have given him boundless confidence entering the playoffs, plus a clear head knowing his contract status for 2021 is secure. Almirola and sponsor Smithfield re-upped for next year shortly after the regular-season finale, removing one less possible distraction from the team’s playoff list.

“So far, I’ve been able to have some success. I still want more,” Almirola said. “I still have a burning desire to win more races, lead more laps and ultimately win a championship, but, so far, we’ve been successful.”

Posted on September 3, 2020September 3, 2020 by Sean Montgomery

The highly anticipated 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs opener is a showdown at an iconic crown jewel — Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. The Cook Out Southern 500 is Sunday, Sept. 6, at 6 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) and the NBC Sports App.

For radio coverage, tune in to MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio beginning at 5 p.m. ET.

TRACK DETAILS

The track “Too Tough to Tame” is a 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval that debuted as NASCAR’s first ever superspeedway in 1950. NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson holds the record for most all-time wins at the track with 10.

Turns 1 and 2 are banked at 25 degrees, while Turns 3 and 4 feature 23-degree banking. Both the frontstretch and backstraight measure 1,229 feet with minimal banking.

STAGE LENGTHS

Stages 1 and 2 are scheduled for 115 laps apiece. The final stage is slated to end on Lap 367 for a total of 501.3 miles.

STARTING LINEUP

Since the playoffs will continue with the absence of practice or qualifying, NASCAR officials will set the starting lineups with a new competition-based formula, taking into account factors following the previous event.

Chase Elliott will start on the Busch Pole for Sunday’s race, joined by Denny Hamlin on the front row.

RELATED: Full starting lineup

RULES PACKAGE

The 2020 NASCAR rules package for intermediate-sized tracks will be in effect with a tapered spacer used to set a target of 550 horsepower. The cars will use aero ducts in addition to other aerodynamic devices to increase downforce.

GOODYEAR TIRES

Each Cup Series team will be provided 13 sets of Goodyear “Blue Streak” Speedway Radials. The blue-streaked side wall makes a reappearance for the annual throwback weekend.

The test of man vs. machine will be on display, as teams attempt to outduel their opponents with increased tire wear and pressure-filled pit road strategy. Racing on one of the most abrasive surfaces on the circuit, tires will wear at a rapid rate and teams will likely take four tires at every opportunity.

“It will be a busy and exciting slate of racing at Darlington this weekend,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Not only are all three national series in action, it is ‘Throwback’ weekend and the first race of the Cup playoffs. Darlington is a major challenge for all involved, with the Cup cars having to go 500 miles on a tight track with an abrasive track surface. Drivers that are better at tire management will improve their lot over the course of a full fuel run — being easier on their tires early in a run and maybe giving up a few spots, but gaining a lot back as we go 30, 40, 50 laps. However the race plays out and the caution flags fall, racing at Darlington is always great for the fans watching.”

PLAYOFF STATS TO KNOW

— The Round of 16 in the NASCAR Playoffs takes place at three tracks: Darlington Raceway, Richmond Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway. With each playoff-eligible driver’s points adjusted to a baseline number of 2,000, playoff points earned during the regular season are then added. Playoff drivers who win a race in the Round of 16 automatically advance to Round of 12.

— Chad Knaus leads all active crew chiefs with his 17th NASCAR Playoffs appearance, leading the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro piloted by William Byron. Teammates Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman also join the HMS stable in the playoffs, placing them in a three-way tie for second-most cars in the field. Stewart-Haas Racing leads with four.

— Kevin Harvick has won at least one playoff race in each of the last eight seasons, earning the veteran the longest active streak in the series. The record is 13 seasons, set by seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson.

— Kurt Busch has made the playoffs seven times during the elimination format but has never made it to the Championship 4, giving him the most playoff appearances by a current playoff driver without making the Championship 4.

— The last playoff race won by a non-playoff eligible driver was Phoenix 2017, was won by Matt Kenseth who had been eliminated during the Round of 12.

Source: Racing Insights

INTERACTIVE COVERAGE

For a more interactive experience, head over to NASCAR.com or the NASCAR app to check out an enhanced Race Center, live Lap-by-Lap coverage, the customizable live leaderboard with Scanner (which is FREE for both races), and the return of Drive (featuring in-car cameras).

Be sure to set your lineup in Fantasy Live and make your picks in the NASCAR Finish Line App!

2019 RACE WINNER

Erik Jones’ lone checkered flag of the season came in the 2019 Southern 500, outpacing the field and leading 79 laps for his first win at the track “Too Tough to Tame.” Jones has never finished outside the top 10 at Darlington in five career races there.

ACTIVE DARLINGTON WINNERS

Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin (three each); Kevin Harvick (two); Erik Jones, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch (one each).

Posted on September 3, 2020September 3, 2020 by Jonathan Merryman

NASCAR’s online community is one of the strongest in motorsports. Fueled by passion and years of fandom, it’s only natural that it would all culminate into nearly 530,000 fans sharing historical information, rumors of Silly Season and their strong opinions on last week’s race.

We value that, and as a way to show our appreciation to those fans, this week NASCAR asked them to pick the NASCAR Classic Full Race Replay, a staple on the sport’s YouTube channel since late 2019.

Darlington was the track circled, and a good one at that, steeped in a rich history of winners, champions and wild moments. Hundreds of Reddit-generated suggestions were pared down to four common popular Southern 500 races: Jeff Gordon’s win in 1997, Texas Terry’s win from 2003, Regan Smith’s upset from 2011 and Hendrick Motorsports’ 200th win that came by way of Jimmie Johnson in 2012.

The winner by five votes over Regan Smith’s 2011 win was Terry Labonte’s victory over a young Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson from 2003.

If you missed your chance at voting, keep an eye on the r/NASCAR subreddit for an opportunity to have input the week of Talladega; you may just have another shot to choose what we upload.

For now, enjoy the 2003 Southern 500 flag-to-flag in this week’s NASCAR Classic Race Replay.

Posted on September 3, 2020 by NASCAR.com

Name: Joel
Current City: Waynesboro, Virginia
Member Since: 2018

Getting to know Joel:

Q: How did you first become interested in NASCAR?
“My dad and I started watching races when I was 5 years old. I always enjoyed race cars as a young boy. Watching the race each weekend became a thing for my dad and I. Now, attending races is our thing.”

Q: What is your favorite part about NASCAR?
“It’s unique. It’s not like any other sport. Attending a race is a blast because of the atmosphere. Yes, the race is the main reason for going, but the midway, the fans, and the excitement are different. I love other sports and attending them as well, but they don’t come close to the feeling of being at a NASCAR race.”

Q: What is your favorite NASCAR memory?
“My dad and I have been attending races since 1998. There are so many great races that we have been to. My favorite memory is being at Martinsville for Jeff Gordon’s last win. I was a diehard Gordon fan from the start and that was a very special race to witness in person.”

Q: Do you have a favorite in any of the following categories?
Driver: “Chase Elliott”
Track: “Martinsville Speedway.”
OEM: “Chevy.”
Raceday Traditions: “The only real traditions we have are at the night race at Bristol. We go down Wednesday for the truck race and stay through Sunday. My aunt and uncle live just a few miles away from the track. We will all go set lawn chairs up at the local Lowe’s and watch the hauler parade on Thursday night. Always a fun time!”

Q: What are some of your hobbies?
“In my free time, I enjoy golfing. It’s a fun sport to challenge yourself with but also enjoy and relax with. I also like to collect sports memorabilia. I’m only 27, but I have a room full of sports items. About 70% of it is NASCAR items and about 50% of that is Jeff Gordon stuff.”

FROM ALL OF US AT NASCAR, WE THANK JOEL FOR HIS CONTINUED SUPPORT AND LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM HIM IN 2020!

Look for Joel on the Official NASCAR Fan Council page on NASCAR.COM.

Posted on September 3, 2020February 1, 2021 by Staff Report

THOMPSON, Conn. — In a surprise to no one, Justin Bonsignore was fastest at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park Thursday.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship points leader paced the one-hour practice session for the evening’s Thompson 150. The event marks the tour’s 2020 return to the historic .625-mile paved oval.

Bonsignore drove the No. 51 Phoenix Communications LLC. Chevrolet to a fast lap of 18.974 seconds (118.583 mph).

RELATED: Complete Practice Results

The Long Island driver has 12 career wins at Thompson, including seven wins and a second in the last eight races.

Doug Coby, the only other winner at Thompson in the last two years, was second quick at 19.013 (118.340).

Timmy Solomito, the 2016 Icebreaker winner at Thompson, was third quick at 19.015 (118.328). Chris Pasteryak and Ron Silk were fourth and fifth, respectively.

Ronnie Williams, Eric Goodale, Craig Lutz, Ryan Preece, and Jon McKennedy rounded out the top 10. Preece, the former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion and current NASCAR Cup Series driver, is making his first tour start of the year.

Qualifying is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET, with the race at 8 p.m. on TrackPass on NBC Gold.