Posted on by Team Release

CONCORD, N.C. — Roush Fenway Racing announced Wednesday that Guaranteed Rate has signed on as a major partner with Ryan Newman and the No. 6 Ford Mustang. Guaranteed Rate made its debut with Roush Fenway Racing two weeks ago at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and will be featured on the car this weekend at the debut of the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. In addition, the retail mortgage lender will serve as a major associate on all of the No. 6 team’s remaining races.

RELATED: Weekend schedule for Daytona Road Course

“We are really excited that Guaranteed Rate has made the decision to step up in such a big way on the No. 6 Ford,” Newman said. “Having them on board earlier this summer was a blast, and we look forward to working closely with them as we continue to grow the relationship. We have a lot of racing left to do this year and our goal is to put Guaranteed Rate up front and take the No. 6 Ford back to Victory Lane.”

Guaranteed Rate will serve as the primary for Newman at numerous marquee events on the NASCAR schedule, including the upcoming Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona to close the regular season, as well as being the featured partner in 11 of the last 14 races, including the finale at Phoenix Raceway.

“We are thrilled to pair the Guaranteed Rate brand with Roush Fenway and Ryan Newman, a team well known for innovation and speed,” Guaranteed Rate chief marketing officer Steve Moffat said. “As we extend our partnership and join Ryan for the remainder of the season, we look forward to building an even stronger relationship with him and his loyal community of fans.”

This Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona is set for 3 p.m. ET, with coverage on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR handed down a pair of fines for lug-nut safety violations Tuesday after the NASCAR Cup Series weekend doubleheader at Michigan International Speedway.

RELATED: 2020 Cup Series standings | Harvick sweeps Michigan

The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was found with one lug nut not safely secured after Denny Hamlin drove the car to sixth place in Saturday’s FireKeepers Casino 400. As a result, crew chief Chris Gabehart was fined $10,000.

After Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400 at the 2-mile Michigan track, the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driven by William Byron to 12th place was found with the same infraction in a post-race check. Chad Knaus, No. 24 crew chief, was also fined $10,000.

The penalty report also notes L1-level penalties issued to both Roush Fenway Racing teams before Saturday’s opener. NASCAR officials confiscated the spoilers of both teams and deducted 20 points from both the team owners’ and drivers’ standings from both the No. 6 and No. 17 team, adding on $25,000 fines for each team. No additional penalties were announced Tuesday.

Also noted was an L1-grade penalty served during pre-race inspection for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series to the ThorSport Racing No. 13 Ford team. The team and driver Johnny Sauter were each docked 10 points in their respective standings after the discovery of unapproved truck-bed side panels before their Friday race.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Austin Cindric’s otherworldly run through the last five NASCAR Xfinity Series races — four wins and a runner-up finish — has vaulted him to the lead in the points standings and raised his profile. Any perception of the 21-year-old driver solely as a road-course specialist no longer holds.

Cindric ranks as a hot commodity among the crop of Xfinity Series prospects, but said Tuesday that his plans remain uncertain for the 2021 season without a signed contract in hand. He’s currently aligned with Team Penske, where his father, Tim, serves as the organization’s president. But in a Tuesday afternoon call with reporters, the younger Cindric indicated that he’s opened his search for a steady gig outside of the Penske umbrella, all while the NASCAR industry navigates a challenging economic climate and an ever-evolving adaptation to the COVID-19 outbreak.

RELATED: Silly Season’s key players

“It makes those conversations a lot more difficult and a lot more noncommittal,” Cindric said, referring to the 2020 landscape, “but at the same standpoint, I think I’ve always approached it this way and it’s probably the first time in my NASCAR career that I’ve really had to go outside and understand what’s out there, just because I have been fortunate to be within the Penske camp and the Ford camp. …

“At the same token, I have a great deal of loyalty to Ford and Penske and if I can do anything to stay within those camps, I feel like that’s mutual. I think we’re going to do it, but you know how difficult it is to work that, especially this day and age, is the current challenge. For me, I’m not doing myself any service if I don’t go out and understand what’s out there. Squeaky wheel gets the oil, that’s the case and you’ve got to pick up the phone and not expect it to ring. Having success while you’re doing that is great. That makes those conversations easier to have and easier to convince people you’re the guy.”

Cindric is in his third Xfinity Series season, moving to Team Penske full time in 2019 after one year of splitting time with Penske’s group and Roush Fenway Racing. He broke through for two wins and four pole positions last year before going on his current tear, a rise that’s made him a prime candidate for promotion to the NASCAR Cup Series.

MORE: 2020 Xfinity Series standings

Team Penske’s Aug. 3 announcement that the organization had signed Brad Keselowski to a contract extension means that its three-driver roster is secure for 2021. Only Matt DiBenedetto, who drives the Penske-affiliated No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, is a looming free agent. In terms of the Ford banner, the automaker has another top prospect in Chase Briscoe, who leads the Xfinity Series with five wins this year for Stewart-Haas Racing.

While Cindric says his bonds with both manufacturer and team remain strong, he said he’s staying focused on being competitive and anchoring his long-term future in stock-car racing.

“I’ll continue to work hard on the weekends and work hard during the week to understand what’s the best pathway to take me,” Cindric said. “Obviously, I’ve had a lot of loyalty within the Penske organization. I mean, I wouldn’t be at this point without them and Ford Performance. Those two relationships have really brought me here as quickly as I’ve kind of come up through the NASCAR ranks, so I’d love to be able to stay within that camp, but at the same time, I’m focused on trying to figure out what the next steps are in my career in NASCAR because it’s where I want to be, it’s where I want to stay and it’s where I’ve put the most effort in the last couple years. I’m pretty motivated at that.”

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 11, 2020) — NASCAR and BetMGM, a market-leading sports betting and iGaming platform, today announced a multi-year sports betting partnership. As an Authorized Gaming Operator of NASCAR, BetMGM will collaborate with NASCAR to create and promote engaging sports betting experiences, including introducing in-race betting options, for racing fans across the United States.

“Partnering with a best-in-class operator like BetMGM positions NASCAR to build on the positive energy and momentum we’re seeing around gaming and in particular the live in-race experience,” said Scott Warfield, NASCAR Managing Director, Gaming. “We’re excited to have such an iconic brand on board to expand our offerings and deepen our engagement with the most passionate fans in sports.”

As an Authorized Gaming Operator, BetMGM will have rights to NASCAR marks and will promote NASCAR offerings on BetMGM’s mobile app, BetMGM.com, BetMGM’s social media channels, and in BetMGM’s retail sports books. BetMGM is currently licensed for sports betting in seven states and has plans to be in 11 states by the end of 2020. BetMGM and NASCAR will introduce cross-promotional opportunities that may include promotion of BetMGM on NASCAR’s digital platforms, NASCAR.com, the NASCAR Mobile app, and social media channels.

Matt Prevost, BetMGM’s Chief Marketing Officer said, “We’re excited to work with the NASCAR team to build immersive sports betting experiences that 21st-century racing fans crave. BetMGM’s unparalleled betting technology combined with NASCAR’s iconic races will create a superior betting experience for racing fans all over the United States.”

BetMGM will expand the portfolio of bet types offered on its mobile app throughout the NASCAR season, including pre-race and in-play bets. Bet types currently being explored include top-finishing drivers, driver matchups, stage winners and bets tied to the number of the winning car (over/under), among others. Beginning in 2021, BetMGM will offer live, in-play betting through a partnership with Genius Sports and its sports betting division, Betgenius, as the sport continues to strengthen its position around in-play sports betting. NASCAR and BetMGM are also working together to develop a free-to-play NASCAR game.

In celebration of the partnership, BetMGM is offering a special promotion for NASCAR bets placed on the BetMGM app leading up to Sunday’s historic NASCAR Cup Series™ debut of The DAYTONA Road Course at Daytona International Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBC). The promotion is available for eligible customers on the BetMGM app in New Jersey, West Virginia, Indiana and Colorado. Eligible customers will get a $10 NASCAR Free Bet when they place any wager of $10 or more on the Go Bowling 235 at The DAYTONA Road Course.

NASCAR has experienced across-the-board growth in its sports betting handle thanks in part to the popularity of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series as well as the sport’s successful return to racing in May. BetMGM has seen NASCAR turnover grow by nearly 1,300% in just the first seven months of the year. Last year, NASCAR became the first sports league to join the National Center for Responsible Gaming.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Christopher Bell’s future in the NASCAR Cup Series garage, at least for the 2021 season, is now secure. Though recent moves in the annual ‘Silly Season’ swirl may have telegraphed Bell’s jump to Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota, the 25-year-old driver says the uncertainty while waiting for the scenarios to play out was real.

RELATED: Bell moves to No. 20 | Silly Season key players

Bell was announced Monday as the newest driver of the No. 20, transitioning from JGR affiliate Leavine Family Racing, which announced Aug. 4 that it would close at season’s end. Add to the uncertainty a dose of awkwardness: He replaces Erik Jones, another young talent who traveled to the Cup Series through the Toyota Racing Development pipeline, in a business move that Bell described as “uncomfortable.”

“Honestly, it was very bittersweet whenever I found the news,” Bell said Tuesday morning in a video conference. “I was really happy for myself, but at the same time just as Toyota’s been a huge part of my career, Toyota’s been a huge part of Erik’s, too. So it was a tough spot, man, and I didn’t envy Coach Joe Gibbs at all because he had to make an extremely tough decision on what he wanted to do, and unfortunately there’s just … fortunately it worked out for me, but I understand it is a very hard situation and I did have a lot of remorse for Erik. He’s kind of been a guy I followed up through the same path and he’s been along with Toyota just like me.”

JGR informed Jones on Aug. 6 that he would not return. That news came two days after word that Leavine’s No. 95 team — citing an economic slowdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic — would cease operations.

MORE: Potential landing spots for Jones in 2021

For Bell, those developments left him with seemingly few options for 2021 with Joe Gibbs Racing’s lineup, which is otherwise stacked with defending series champ Kyle Busch and veterans Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. It wasn’t until recent days that Bell’s stress was relieved.

“It was just scary, man,” Bell said. “I’ve said it time and time again, but Toyota … they’re the ones who got me here. They’re the ones who took me from dirt-track racing to pavement racing to truck racing to Xfinity racing and then obviously made this deal happen with LFR, too. And at the time, it’s either 20 car or I’m done with Toyota. There’s no other option, so it was very scary. I didn’t want that to end. For me a little bit, it was like, if I can’t do that with Toyota, is my NASCAR career going to be over, because they’re the ones who have gotten me basically everything.

“I knew that once LFR shut down there was only one place for me to go, and the 20 car has obviously got a great driver in it right now, so how’s that going to work? How am I going to be able to go to JGR when they’re full? So unfortunately, my homecoming was at the expense of another driver, so it’s very unfortunate, but I’m grateful for the opportunity and hopefully I can prove to everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing that I’m capable of being in the 20 car for the rest of my career.”

Left undetermined in Monday’s announcement was who will be paired with Bell as the No. 20 crew chief next year. Chris Gayle has been partnered with Jones for the last four seasons, a tenure that includes Jones’ transitional rookie year with Furniture Row Racing in 2017. Veteran Jason Ratcliff has been paired with Bell for the last three seasons — two with Joe Gibbs Racing’s No 20 Xfinity Series team, a combo that yielded 15 wins, and the current Cup Series campaign with LFR.

For now, Bell said he’s uncertain who will be atop his pit box next year.

“We haven’t talked about it at all, so it’s really all up in the air right now, but obviously, Jason’s been a huge part of my NASCAR career,” Bell said. “Ever since I got out of trucks, he’s been I guess my team leader, so I would love to continue the relationship with him, but we haven’t talked about it at all, so I don’t really think anybody knows exactly what’s going to happen yet.”

While Bell has some of the pressure relieved for next season, he says he’s still motivated to finish out the year strong in Leavine Family Racing’s swan song. Bell said he was struck by some initial concern about the team’s drive to do the same, knowing that its time in the sport was drawing to a close. An element of resolution came less than an hour after Bell’s teleconference, with Spire Motorsports’ announcement that it had completed a deal to purchase LFR’s assets and its NASCAR charter for 2021.

Bell’s season with LFR endured a sluggish start, with two DNFs and four finishes outside the top 20 before the COVID-19 outbreak halted the sport’s schedule from mid-March until mid-May. The team’s performance has methodically improved since, with Bell netting five top-10 finishes. Showing some encouraging speed during last weekend’s doubleheader at Michigan International Speedway helped to temper any possible apprehension for Bell.

“I was really worried about it, honestly, because the team notified me a little bit before they did their announcement, and I was scared,” Bell said. “I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know how this is going to affect the team morale,’ because it’s all-in. It’s all-in effort to compete at this level, and I was really happy at Michigan, which was the first race that the guys prepared the car after they got notified, that we went to Michigan and had one of our best cars that we’ve had all year. So that gives me a lot of hope moving forward for the remainder of this year to be able to compete for wins.

“We have a lot of details that we need to clean up before we win a race, but Michigan was definitely a strong sign that we still have all the pieces of the puzzle if we can just put them together and everyone does their job, maybe we’ll have a shot.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader at Michigan International Speedway yielded a double dose of grand-prize winners in NASCAR Finish Line, the free-to-play gaming app from Penn National Gaming.

Two lucky (and good) players each won $25,000 for having a perfect lineup — one in Saturday’s race, and one in Sunday’s event. Both had perfect days playing Finish Line and correctly predicted the top-finishing driver in Groups 1-6, with each group having five choices. Each player also correctly predicted the race winner — Kevin Harvick in both cases — and runner-up.

RELATED: Download NASCAR Finish Line

The perfect picks were as follows:

Saturday’s race: (user JoeMak) Kevin Harvick (Group 1), Brad Keselowski (Group 2), Jimmie Johnson (Group 3), Erik Jones (Group 4), Bubba Wallace (Group 5), Corey LaJoie (Group 6), Harvick (winner) and Keselowski (runner-up).

Sunday’s race: (user chaz17) Kevin Harvick (Group 1), Martin Truex Jr. (Group 2), Jimmie Johnson (Group 3), Matt DiBenedetto (Group 4), Ryan Newman (Group 5), Ryan Preece (Group 6), Harvick (winner) and Hamlin (runner-up).

The weekend’s winners made it three this year for those playing NASCAR Finish Line for the NASCAR Cup Series — there also were two grand prize winners during the iRacing Pro Invitational Series.

Does having a shot at a grand prize every week on a free-to-play app sound intriguing? If you’ve not downloaded Finish Line yet, go here to learn more and get started today.

 

Posted on by Team Release

CORNELIUS, N.C.– Spire Motorsports has completed an agreement to purchase the assets of Leavine Family Racing (LFR) following the NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

As part of the purchase, Spire Motorsports will acquire LFR’s NASCAR charter, the team’s race shop and all owned inventory. As a technical partner of Joe Gibbs Racing, LFR’s current fleet of vehicles and chassis will be returned to Joe Gibbs Racing upon completion of the 2020 season.

Spire Motorsports will expand to a two-car operation in 2021 and relocate to LFR’s existing race shop in Concord, North Carolina.

“This is an exciting moment for Spire as we take the natural next step in our long-term plan to build our race team and prepare for the Next Gen car in 2022,” said Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson. “Bob Leavine invested more than money into LFR and this industry. He built a team brick by brick and we have long admired how he took his own steps in the garage. He also did it with his family at his side. We won’t let that be lost in this transaction. When you build something with your family, it always means a little bit more. His ability to connect with fans was genuine and we are thankful he chose us to carry this team forward.

“These are no doubt trying times, but I have never been prouder to be part of this sport. NASCAR has managed several difficult situations this spring and into the summer. We believe in the ownership model that NASCAR has built and where this sport is going now more than ever.”

Spire Motorsports was established in 2018 and is co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executives Jeff Dickerson and Thaddeus “T.J.” Puchyr. In just the team’s first season, Spire Motorsports earned an upset victory for the ages last July when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

Over the 2019-20 seasons, Spire Motorsports has logged 58 starts on NASCAR’s senior circuit and provided an entry for over a dozen drivers. Details surrounding drivers and manufacturers for the 2021 season will be shared as additional information becomes available.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Chase Elliott has shown some moxie on the handful of road courses where the NASCAR Cup Series competes. He’s won the series’ last two events where left and right turns are the norm, diversifying his portfolio of oval-track success.

This weekend, there’s not much normal about the road-course “norm.”

Elliott and the rest of the Cup Series regulars will lock horns in the tour’s debut at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course layout in Sunday’s Go Bowling 235 (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM).

RELATED: Daytona Road Course details | 2020 Cup Series schedule

The 3.57-mile course has been used in some form — minus the additional chicane for stock cars — for IMSA’s showcase Rolex 24 for years. A handful of NASCAR stars have dipped their toes in the sports-car waters for the annual endurance event, most recently Kyle Busch in a GTD-class Lexus for the AIM Vasser Sullivan team in January. Elliott suggested that extracurricular start may provide the Joe Gibbs Racing driver with an advantage on a circuit where few know what, exactly, to predict.

“I think this weekend’s going to be a big-time challenge for everyone,” Elliott said in a Monday video conference. “I think the one guy that I look at that really has a leg up is Kyle, having come off that 24-hour event this year. Heck, I think if we all knew that we were going to be doing this road course, you probably would have seen all of us trying to get in that 24-hour race this year to go and do it. You never know with things like that.”

Indeed, the Daytona Road Course became a late addition to the NASCAR national-series schedule as part of the sanctioning body’s evolving overhaul to meet COVID-19 pandemic protocols. Without practice or qualifying scheduled the rest of the season, drivers will have to rely on racing simulators or any brief experience from past Rolex 24 events.

Though simulators can provide detailed insights into navigating a certain circuit, Elliott says he’s ready to absorb the Daytona circuit with some real-life laps.

“I think it’s going to be a fun challenge for everyone,” said Elliott, who has three career road-course wins — two at Watkins Glen and one on the Charlotte Roval. “I mean, I’ve never entered a race like that where you literally just have no idea what to expect. Road racing, in my opinion, is a lot about brake markers and visual aids and these little nuances around the track that you can see with your eyes to help your hands and your feet do the right things at the right time.

“I mean, heck, I have no idea where I need to stop on Turn 1 on Sunday, or 2, 3, all the way back around to the start-finish line. So I think that’s going to be super, super difficult for everybody, and it’s going to be one of those things where you have to creep up on it, and it’s a hard thing to guess. We can run in the sims and iRacing and all those things until we’re blue in the face, but ultimately that doesn’t — in my opinion — give you those visual aids that you need to do the right things at the right time. The only way to get that is laps around the race track and 65 laps is not really a ton of time to figure those things out. So, learn. Learn fast and try not to make any big-time mistakes in doing it.”

MORE: Take a lap around the Daytona Road Course

Points leader Kevin Harvick will be vying for his third consecutive Cup Series victory in Sunday’s 235-miler. The veteran actually has some limited Rolex 24 experience, sharing the wheel of a GT-class Corvette that retired early in 2002, and has two road-course wins in his Cup career.

Like Elliott, Harvick says he’s bracing for a dose of the unknown.

“I think it’ll be interesting. I have no clue what I’m doing,” Harvick said in the midst of last weekend’s doubleheader sweep at Michigan International Speedway. “The last time I only made a little bit of a 2002 24‑hour race, so it’s been a long time since I made any laps there. I’m a week‑of preparation guy, so I’ll start Monday and Tuesday on iRacing just to get acclimated with the track. We’ll go to the simulator on Wednesday, back on iRacing Thursday, Friday, Saturday, just to make sure that it’s fresh in your mind so you know where to shift and things like that, and then it’s just trial and error after that.

“I’ve watched enough races there that I know the race track in my mind, but I don’t know where our cars need to be and what gear I need to be in. I’ll learn that next week, and we’ll be ready and hopefully have a good day.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Joe Gibbs Racing announced Monday that Christopher Bell will drive the No. 20 Toyota in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021.

Bell is currently a Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate with Leavine Family Racing, which team owner Bob Leavine indicated Aug. 4 that it had sold its charter would shut down at season’s end. The 25-year-old driver replaces Erik Jones, who will leave JGR and the No. 20 team after the 2020 campaign.

RELATED: Key figures in Silly Season

“I’m so appreciative of the opportunity I have this year with LFR and I want to finish this season strong for Bob (Leavine) and everyone there,” said Bell. “At the same time, I’m extremely excited to return to Joe Gibbs Racing starting in 2021. It’s an organization I’m very comfortable with and have had a lot of success with.”

Bell won 16 races for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series before moving to the Cup Series for the 2020 season. He has been in Toyota’s NASCAR national-series system since 2015 and clinched the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series championship two years later for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Bell currently sits 19th in the Cup Series standings, with five top-10 finishes in 22 starts in the Leavine No. 95 Toyota, which shares a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. A slow start to the first five races of his Cup career knocked him outside the top 30 in points, but Bell has methodically rallied to his current rank. His best finish this season is fourth place, achieved during the first of two events this season at Pocono Raceway.

Bell joins an experienced and accomplished Joe Gibbs Racing lineup that includes Cup Series champions Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., plus Denny Hamlin, who has five wins this season. He becomes the fifth person to drive the No. 20 for Gibbs, following Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth and Jones.

“We are excited to bring Christopher into our Cup Series program starting in 2021,” said Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “He obviously had tremendous success in the Xfinity Series with us and we look forward to his return to JGR.”

Bell made the transition to stock cars from the sprint-car ranks and still competes there on a part-time basis. The Oklahoma native won the prestigious Chili Bowl Nationals for three straight seasons (2017-19) in his home state and has five career main-event victories on the World of Outlaws sprint-car circuit.

Posted on by Data Skrive

Martin Truex Jr finished third in the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.

Truex’s top-five finish, the seventh time he has achieved that result this year, added 34 points to his season total. Truex now ranks seventh in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 716 points.

Truex started in 18th position. The 17th-year driver has earned 27 career victories, with 108 top-five finishes and 217 results inside the top 10.

The third place result for Truex marks the ninth time he has finished in the top five at Michigan International Speedway and his 12th top-10.

The Mayetta, New Jersey native began the race two spots behind his career mark of 15.6, but finished 14 places ahead of his career average of 17.2.

Truex’s third-place finish came against a field of 39 drivers. The race endured five cautions and 24 caution laps. There were 10 lead changes.

Kevin Harvick earned the win in the race, followed by Denny Hamlin in the No. 2 spot. After Truex’s third-place finish, Kyle Busch brought home fourth, and Joey Logano finished off the top five.

After Clint Bowyer won Stage 1, Harvick grabbed control and won Stage 2 before earning the checkered flag.

Martin Truex Jr Driver Page | Get Truex Gear | Race Center