Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR announced the final installment of the 2020 schedule on Thursday, a 30-race stretch for all three national series that starts with the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Sept. 5 at Darlington Raceway and ends with the NASCAR Cup Series championship race on Nov. 8 at Phoenix Raceway.

The 10-race schedule in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs remains as originally planned, beginning on Sept. 6 at Darlington, but changes have been made to the Xfinity Series and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series schedules. 

2020 NASCAR schedules: NASCAR Cup Series | Xfinity Series | Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series

For the Xfinity Series, a regular-season race on Sept. 12 at Richmond Raceway and a Round of 12 playoff race on Oct. 3 at Talladega Superspeedway have been added — the events are realigned from Michigan International Speedway and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, respectively. The Xfinity Series has made Talladega an annual stop on the schedule since 1992, but this year will mark the first time the Alabama track has hosted two races in a given season.

Additionally, the Xfinity Series playoff opener has been moved to Sept. 26 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Final installment of 2020 schedule announced

In the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, changes include a regular-season race on Sept. 6 at Darlington Raceway and the Round of 8 opener on Oct. 16 at Kansas Speedway, with those races realigned from Canadian Tire Motorsports Motorsport Park and Eldora Speedway, respectively. The Gander Trucks playoffs will kick off Sept. 17 at Bristol Motor Speedway. 

The addition of Darlington to the Gander Trucks schedule marks the series’ first event at the historic track in more than nine years. The tour has run six times at the South Carolina oval (2001-04; 2010-11).

The final schedule also includes two ARCA Menards Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway, plus an ARCA Menards West Series race at Phoenix Raceway.

RELATED: No practice, qualifying for remainder of 2020 events

“The one fortunate part of this latter part of the season and the playoffs is we were able to keep the original tracks and dates intact when it came to the Cup Series, but definitely they have had to be flexible with integrating some of the other series into those events so that they had a good championship schedule as well,” said Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition. “It has been again, just like everything else, just a lot of great teamwork between the teams, NASCAR and the venues.”

NASCAR’s modified event procedures and protocols have been finalized in accordance with public health officials, medical experts and local, state and federal officials. NASCAR will determine if fans are allowed entrance to NASCAR Cup Series races on a market-by-market basis, in accordance with local and state guidelines.

See the full schedule for all three series below. Playoff openers are bolded. 

Date Track Series Distance Network Start Time (ET)
Sat., Sept. 5 Darlington Xfinity 200 mi NBC 12:30 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 6 Darlington Gander Trucks 200 mi FS1 2 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 6 Darlington Cup 501 mi NBCSN 6 p.m.
Thu., Sept. 10 Richmond Gander Trucks 187 mi FS1 8 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 11 Richmond Xfinity 187 mi NBCSN 7 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 12 Richmond Xfinity 187 mi NBCSN 2:30 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 12 Richmond Cup 300 mi NBCSN 7:30 p.m.
Thu., Sept. 17 Bristol Gander Trucks 107 mi FS1 7:30 p.m.
Thu., Sept. 17 Bristol ARCA Menards 107 mi FS1 9:30 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 18 Bristol Xfinity 160 mi NBCSN 7 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 19 Bristol Cup 266 mi NBCSN 7:30 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 25 Las Vegas Gander Trucks 201 mi FS1 9 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 26 Las Vegas Xfinity 300 mi NBCSN 7:30 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 27 Las Vegas Cup 400 mi NBCSN 7 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 3 Talladega Gander Trucks 250 mi FS1 1 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 3 Talladega Xfinity 300 mi NBCSN 4:30 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 4 Talladega Cup 500 mi NBC 2 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 10 Charlotte Roval Xfinity 155 mi NBC 3:30 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 11 Charlotte Roval Cup 253 mi NBC 2:30 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 16 Kansas Gander Trucks 200 mi FS1 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 16 Kansas ARCA Menards 150 mi FS2 10 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 17 Kansas Xfinity 300 mi NBCSN 3 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 18 Kansas Cup 400 mi NBC 2:30 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 24 Texas Xfinity 300 mi NBCSN 4:30 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 25 Texas Gander Trucks 220 mi FS1 Noon
Sun., Oct. 25 Texas Cup 501 mi NBCSN 3:30 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 30 Martinsville Gander Trucks 105 mi FS1 8 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 31 Martinsville Xfinity 131 mi NBC 4:30 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 1 Martinsville Cup 263 mi NBC 2 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 6 Phoenix Gander Trucks 150 mi FS1 8 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 7 Phoenix ARCA Menards West 100 mi TrackPass 2 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 7 Phoenix Xfinity 200 mi NBCSN 5 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 8 Phoenix Cup 312 mi NBC 3 p.m.

 

Posted on by Press Release

The eNASCAR Heat Pro League (eNHPL) Season 2 will come to an epic conclusion on Wednesday, Aug. 19 as both the drivers and teams championship will be decided in one night of intense esports competition. There is a total of $70,000 on the line in the eNHPL Championship Finale for the competitors, with the ultimate driver champion taking home $30,000.

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The full grid of 28 eNHPL drivers will take the flag using ASUS gaming PCs and Fanatec steering wheels for three back-to-back races that will determine the destination of the championships.

Originally planned to be held as an in-person live event, the outbreak of COVID-19 has dictated that the eNHPL Championship Finale will now be held online with all of the drivers racing on the PC version of the newly release NASCAR Heat 5, the video game officially licensed by NASCAR. This marks the first time in series history that all drivers will be competing on the same platform in the same race.

RELATED: More eNASCAR coverage at eNASCAR.com

ASUS has been named as the official gaming hardware of eNASCAR and will provide each of the drivers with ASUS ROG Strix G15CK PC, ASUS ROG Strix PG248 monitor and ASUS ROG Strix GO 2.4 headset for the championship showdown.

Speaking about the new partnership with the eNHPL, Gary Key, Senior Director of Marketing at ASUS commented: “The eNASCAR Heat Pro League is leading the charge in bringing an unparalleled esports experience to race fans and motorsports professionals alike in this thrilling conclusion of the championship series. As the official gaming hardware partner for eNASCAR, ASUS is excited to expand its longstanding gaming legacy by supporting passionate racing fans, talent and dedicated esports communities with the tools they need to compete at their best and win.”

The drivers will also be using the Fanatec ClubSport Steering Wheel, officially licensed by NASCAR, which elevates the driving experience to the next level with its realistic 350 mm diameter.

Thomas Jackermeier, CEO of Fanatec, said: “The eNASCAR Heat Pro League has shown us that no matter what is going on in the world, competitive racing can still continue and prosper. We’re proud to work with Motorsport Games and their community of NASCAR fans, bringing one of the most intense racing series to the global esports stage, culminating in the Championship Finale race later this month. Fanatec will continue to support the series with our NASCAR-licensed products for many years to come.”

The eNASCAR Heat Pro League, a collaboration between Motorsport Games, the Race Teams Alliance and NASCAR, gives esports racers the chance to drive for one of 14 official eNHPL teams.

“It’s been a thrill to watch the eNASCAR Heat Pro League continue to grow in its second season and the championship race will mark yet another key milestone,” said Tim Clark, NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer. “Having all 28 eNHPL drivers on track at the same time will be exciting for fans and competitors alike and wouldn’t be possible without ASUS’s incredible products and partnership.”

The eNHPL Championship Finale will be broadcast live online via motorsport.tv, the NASCAR Heat Facebook and Twitch accounts, eNASCAR.com, as well as taped delayed on MAVTV in the USA and on REV TV in Canada.

Heading into the finale, eight drivers have the chance to claim the individual eNHPL championship while the team’s title is still wide open. There will be three races on the night, each with a full grid of 28 drivers. The two lowest-finishing Driver’s Championship contenders will be eliminated from the running at the end of each race, meaning that the final shoot out will be between the four fastest drivers to advance through the first two events. Meanwhile, the Team’s Championship will be determined by points scored across the entire season.

Season 2 began in January with draft qualifying where the teams closely monitored the drivers to make their selection for the year. Once the draft was complete, three segments of three races were held with the top finisher on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One earning a place in the Championship Finale. Two further places were then secured via the Wild Card race.

The drivers competing for the Championship will be:

  • Justin Brooks, JTG Daugherty Throttlers
  • Daniel Buttafuoco, Germain Gaming
  • Maxwell Castro, Chip Ganassi Gaming
  • Slade Gravitt, Wood Brothers Gaming
  • Brandyn Gritton, Stewart-Haas eSports
  • Josh Harbin, Leavine Family Gaming
  • Josh Parker, Gibbs Gaming
  • Brian Tedeschi, Team Penske eSports

The current eNHPL Team standings:

  1. Germain Gaming – 625
  2. JTG Daugherty Throttlers – 563
  3. Wood Brothers Gaming – 551
  4. Stewart-Haas eSports – 522
  5. Chip Ganassi Gaming – 508
  6. Team Penske eSports – 481
  7. Gibbs Gaming – 474
  8. Petty eSports – 457
  9. Leavine Family Gaming – 454
  10. RCR eSports – 448
  11. Roush Fenway Gaming – 441
  12. Hendrick Motorsports GC – 437
  13. JR Motorsports – 395
  14. GoFas Gaming – 384

NASCAR Heat 5 is available now on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, the Xbox One family of devices, including the Xbox One X and on PC via Steam. The game delivers the ultimate NASCAR video game experience, with 34 authentic tracks across the country in single player, two-player split screen, and online multiplayer for up to 40 racers.

To stay up to date with the latest news about NASCAR Heat follow the game on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR’s Cup Series doubles up this weekend at Michigan International Speedway with a packed schedule that includes a Saturday-Sunday twin bill.

The Cup tour gets going Saturday with the FireKeepers Casino 400 (4 p.m. ET) and caps the weekend with Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400 (4:30 p.m. ET). All Cup Series events are to be broadcast on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

With plenty of high-speed miles ahead in the Great Lake State, here’s the lowdown on all the particulars for the 21st and 22nd races of the Cup Series season. Just four regular-season events will remain after the weekend.

RELATED: How to follow the races | Michigan weekend schedule

TRACK DETAILS

Michigan International Speedway opened for IndyCar-style racing in 1968 and held its first event for NASCAR’s top division one year later. Detroit-area developer Larry LoPatin built the speedway, using a design for a 2-mile D-shaped oval created by Charles Moneypenny, who had also designed the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. Roger Penske took ownership in 1973, and the track became part of the International Speedway Corp. (ISC) portfolio in 1999. ISC merged with NASCAR last year.

RacingOne
RacingOne

The track sits on more than 1,400 acres in Brooklyn, Michigan, roughly 65 miles west-southwest of downtown Detroit. Its sweeping turns are banked at 18 degrees, with the curving frontstretch banked at 12 degrees. The 3,600-foot backstraight has 5 degrees of banking for drainage.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough became the Cup Series’ first winner at the track, surviving a last-lap tangle with Lee Roy Yarbrough to take the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Mercury to Victory Lane. Saturday and Sunday will mark the 102nd and 103rd Cup Series races at MIS. Michigan has held two Cup Series events each year since it opened, with the exception of 1973. Only one race for the series was held there that year as Penske attempted to rescue the facility from bankruptcy.

STAGE LENGTHS

In each event, Stage 1 is set to end at Lap 40, Stage 2 at Lap 85, with the final stage slated to conclude on Lap 156.

Both races are scheduled for 156 laps for a distance of 312 miles, a shift from the track’s traditional 200-lap, 400-mile standard designed to limit the wear and tear of running full-length races on consecutive days.

STARTING LINEUP

Both NASCAR Cup Series races will again be structured without practice and qualifying as the sanctioning body attempts to limit exposure for on-site personnel to limit the spread of coronavirus. The starting lineup for the front end of the doubleheader will be determined by a random draw among groups in the team owner standings:

  • Positions 1-12: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
  • Positions 13-24: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
  • Positions 25-36: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
  • Positions 37-40: Open teams in order of owners points

The starting lineup for Sunday’s event will be determined by an inversion of Saturday’s top 20 finishers, with the rest of the field from 21st on back filled out in Saturday’s order. Pit-stall selection for Saturday is based on the finishing order from last Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

RELATED: See the pit stall selections for Saturday’s race

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

The NASCAR Cup Series and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series will use the same combination of Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials this weekend. While this tire setup is new for Michigan, it has been used at a handful of intermediate-sized tracks — Texas Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway — already this season. Compared to the most recent Michigan race a year ago, both right- and left-side tires will feature a construction update; the left-side tires have a new compound to improve grip, and both sides will have compounds intended to introduce wear.

“With limited track time under the current schedules, teams enter this weekend’s races at Michigan already being familiar with this tire setup,” said Greg Stucker, director of racing for Goodyear. “In the past, under more ‘normal’ conditions, teams would be able to work through the practice sessions to dial in on their car setups, with a big part of that being finding the balance on how the tire is working with the track. We’ve aligned this recent group of race tracks based on the smooth track surfaces and similar factors like speeds and loads, and that helps teams as they build their notebooks from which to work. That will be enhanced this weekend, of course, as Cup teams will run races on consecutive days, so it will be interesting to see who unloads strong on Saturday and who will be able to make adjustments and improve for Sunday.”

Cup Series teams will be allowed six sets of tires for each race. Gander Trucks teams will have a four-set allotment for their 200-mile event Friday.

STATS TO KNOW

— Ford drivers have won four consecutive Cup Series races at Michigan, where the contest for manufacturer bragging rights runs especially high. The three automakers will be competing for the Heritage Trophy, which will reside with the top performing marque from the weekend. Chevrolet’s last Michigan win came in 2017, and Toyota last prevailed at the 2-mile track in 2015. Ford also leads all manufacturers with 39 Michigan wins, with Chevy second on the list at 26.

— Kyle Busch enters the weekend aiming to shake a season-long funk. His 20 winless races match the most to start a season since he joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008 — this also happened in 2017 and he then won five of the next 13 races. Busch has one Michigan victory, which occurred in 2011. He has recorded top-10 finishes in each of his last six Michigan starts.

— Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick have taken turns atop the Cup Series’ win column this year, and Hamlin enters the weekend with a 5-4 edge in the category. In the series’ most recent weekend doubleheader at Pocono Raceway, Harvick led Hamlin in a 1-2 finish in the Saturday opener, then the two flip-flopped their finishing positions as Hamlin won the Sunday capper. The two have finished 1-2 twice before at Michigan, in 2010 and 2019; Harvick won both times.

— Hendrick Motorsports has hit a recent rut, going the last five races without a top-five finish for any driver in its four-car fleet. Team owner Rick Hendrick has eight Michigan wins, but none since the 2014 campaign, when Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon combined for a season sweep.

— Aric Almirola is still enjoying what has been a career-best streak of consecutive top-10 finishes. The No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing driver pushed that string to nine last weekend at New Hampshire with a seventh-place run. He has also savored good fortune in the random draws for starting position, lining up in the No. 1 spot three times in the last seven races.

Source: Racing Insights, NASCAR statistics

LIVE COVERAGE

Tune in to television coverage both days on NBCSN or on the NBC Sports App; Saturday’s start is set for 4 p.m. ET, with Sunday’s race scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET. For full radio coverage from Michigan, dial in to MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Channel 90.

RELATED: Ways to follow the races

For a more interactive experience, steer 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 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 WINNERS

Joey Logano turned in a dominant performance in Michigan’s June race last year, starting from the pole and leading 163 of 203 laps in the FireKeepers Casino 400. He outlasted a charging Kurt Busch in overtime to net the 23rd win of his Cup Series career.

In August, Kevin Harvick kept the manufacturer laurels in the Ford camp, benefiting from fuel-stop strategy and edging Hamlin at the end. Harvick’s third Michigan triumph marked win No. 47 in his Cup Series tenure.

RELATED: 2019 FireKeepers Casino 400 recap | 2019 Consumers Energy 400 recap

ACTIVE MICHIGAN WINNERS

Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth (three each); Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman (two); Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson (one).

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials issued L2-level penalties Tuesday to Xfinity Series driver Alex Labbe and team owner Mario Gosselin for a violation of NASCAR’s testing policy.

Gosselin, who fields multiple Xfinity Series cars under the DGM Racing banner, was fined $50,000 and docked 75 points in the series’ team owner standings. Labbe was also hit with a 75-point penalty, dropping him from a tie for 16th place to 21st in the driver standings.

RELATED: Penalty report from NHMS Cup weekend

The infraction falls under the heading of Section 5.1.a. and d. in the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Rule Book, which strictly prohibits private vehicle testing.

Social media posts pictured Labbe driving a No. 91 Chevrolet during track time for the Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) GT-1 class last weekend at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. The Xfinity Series is set to debut on the layout Aug. 15, without practice or qualifying scheduled beforehand.

DGM Racing indicated in a statement later Tuesday that it intends to appeal the ruling. “DGM Racing is aware of the allegations against us,” the statement on social media read. “We feel we followed all the proper protocol and will be appealing the penalty. We are unable to comment further. Thank you for the support we have received so far.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials handed down penalties to six Cup Series teams after Sunday’s event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, including a one-race suspension for Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 14 crew chief, Johnny Klausmeier.

The SHR No. 14 Ford was found with two lug nuts not safely secured after Clint Bowyer drove the car to an 18th-place finish in Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. Klausmeier was fined $20,000 and suspended from the next Cup Series race, scheduled Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.

An updated entry list Wednesday for Saturday’s Michigan race showed Greg Zipadelli, SHR’s competition director, will be the crew chief for Bowyer. Zipadelli won two Cup Series championships as the crew chief for Tony Stewart at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2002 and 2005. Earlier this year, Zipadelli filled in for the suspended Richard Boswell and guided driver Chase Briscoe to three NASCAR Xfinity Series wins.

RELATED: Race results | Cup Series standings

Three other crew chiefs were assessed $10,000 fines after their cars were found with one lug nut not safely secured in a post-race check:

  • Jeremy Bullins, crew chief of the Team Penske No. 2 Ford driven by race winner Brad Keselowski
  • Randall Burnett, crew chief of the Richard Childress Racing No. 8 Chevrolet driven by rookie and 10th-place finisher Tyler Reddick
  • James Small, crew chief of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota driven by third-place finisher Martin Truex Jr.

Officials also issued L1-grade penalties to two teams for improperly mounted ballast, a violation found in pre-race inspection at New Hampshire:

  • No. 32 Go Fas Racing Ford driven by Corey LaJoie
  • No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Bubba Wallace.

Both organizations were docked 10 championship points in the drivers’ and team owners’ standings. On Sunday, both teams’ crew chiefs were ejected and the cars were forced to drop to the rear of the field for the start.

MORE: DGM Racing, Labbe penalized for violation of testing policy

Posted on by Press Release

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — History for the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Navy, and NASCAR will have another chapter written come this weekend. LCDR Jesse Iwuji will make his debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Road America (Wisconsin) piloting the No. 13 MileMarker10 car owned by Carl Long.

LCDR Iwuji is the only current driver at the national levels of NASCAR that has ever served the country and still does. July 2020 Iwuji also earned a promotion in the U.S. Navy moving from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves.

“This next step in NASCAR is special not only for me, but for all of my fellow service members and others out there with big goals and dreams. Most will tell you that your goals and dreams are impossible and that you can’t do it,” said LCDR Iwuji. “This entire Navy to Nascar journey is me showing those that dare to dream it’s all possible! With this being my first start in the Xfinity Series, my goal is to go out there and learn from a field of some amazing drivers, stay in my lane, and be there at the end of the race to finish. We can build off that.”

This Xfinity debut opportunity for LCDR Iwuji would not be possible without the support of new partners MileMarker10 and G2Xchange. These brands are Veteran owned.

Posted on by Staff Report

Spire Motorsports is introducing a new number and “meatless” primary sponsor ahead of this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader at Michigan International Speedway as part of the new Netflix comedy series from Kevin James, The Crew.

The multi-camera sitcom, slated to premiere on Netflix in 2021, stars Kevin James as a crew chief for the fictional Bobby Spencer Racing team. When the owner steps down and passes the team off to his daughter, James finds himself at odds with the tech reliant millennials she starts bringing in to modernize the team. Freddie Stroma portrays Jake Martin, charismatic driver of the team’s No. 74 Fake Steak-sponsored car.

RELATED: NASCAR, Netflix to debut comedy series

Beginning at Saturday’s FireKeepers Casino 400, Reed Sorenson’s car will switch to the No. 74 Fake Steak Chevrolet. Throughout the weekend, NASCAR will capture footage of Spire’s renumbered car in competition at Michigan to be featured in the series.

James, star of the long-running The King of Queens as well as movies such as Paul Blart: Mall Cop, True Memoirs of an International Assassin, and Hitch, will star and executive produce the series. Jeff Lowell (The Ranch, Two and Half Men, Spin City) is the writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Jeff Sussman (The King of Queens, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, True Memoirs of an International Assassin), Todd Garner (Tag, Isn’t it Romantic, Mortal Kombat), Andy Fickman (Playing With Fire – Parental Guidance – The Game Plan) along with NASCAR’s managing director of entertainment marketing Matt Summers and chief digital officer Tim Clark serve as executive producers.

Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team has made a crew chief change with six races left in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series regular season. Phil Surgen will take the reins of calling the shots for the team and driver Matt Kenseth, replacing Chad Johnston ahead of this weekend’s doubleheader at Michigan International Speedway.

RELATED: Full schedule for Michigan

Surgen has been a race engineer with the No. 42 team and has been with the organization since 2016. Surgen served as a fill-in crew chief for one race in 2016 with then-driver Kyle Larson, recording a third-place result at Michigan.

Johnston had been the crew chief for the past four-and-a-half seasons on the No. 42 team and earned six wins atop the pit box — all with Larson.

The Kenseth-Johnston pairing in 16 races produced just one top five and two top 10s. Michigan stands as Kenseth’s best track remaining in the regular season with three wins and an 11.3 average finish. He will enter the race weekend 28th in the point standings.

Posted on by Staff Report

JR Motorsports revealed a retro paint scheme Tuesday for the No. 8 Chevrolet that will take part in Darlington Raceway’s annual throwback weekend, a design that pays tribute to the memory of John Andretti.

Daniel Hemric is scheduled to drive the Poppy Bank sponsored entry Sept. 6 in the Xfinity Series’ Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200. The No. 8 design is reminiscent of the Kranefuss-Haas Racing cars that Andretti drove during the 1995-96 seasons.

Andretti won two NASCAR Cup Series races as part of a long career that established him as one of motorsports’ most versatile drivers. He also excelled in IndyCar, sports-car circuits and briefly in NHRA drag racing.

Andretti died Jan. 30, 2020 after a nearly three-year battle with colon cancer. In the last years of his life, he used his platform to promote awareness and encourage testing and early detection of the disease. His message of #Checkit4Andretti will also be featured on JRM’s car during Darlington weekend.