Posted on by Holly Cain

Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race — the My Bariatric Solutions 300 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) — may feature a first-time, full-time driver victory. That is if the field can beat the race’s all-time winningest driver, Kyle Busch, who has a record nine wins in this race — including five consecutively between 2008-10.

Busch is the only previous winner of the last five Xfinity Series races at the track entered this weekend, which opens the door to Victory Lane for any of the series championship contenders in what has been an especially competitive season.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Texas

Although starting positions are picked based on draw in these unusual 2020 racing circumstances, it is worth noting only one time in the past 23 races has a winner started worse than sixth on the grid. And that was still a reasonable 10th-place start, when Trevor Bayne won in the fall of 2011.

Last year’s Texas races featured two very different circumstantial outcomes with Busch beating eventual season champion Tyler Reddick in the first race by a mere .861 seconds. Christopher Bell won the second race of 2019, driving away from the field with a 5.561-second advantage over runner-up Ross Chastain.

Statistically speaking, championship leader Chase Briscoe — who has already surpassed his career-best single-season total with five victories through the opening 15 races — has a best showing at Texas of fourth place in the 2019 spring race. He was 22nd in the fall. His current season effort, however, would indicate reason for optimism.

The driver of the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford has top-10 finishes in eight of the last nine races, which includes two wins and two runner-up finishes. He has been especially good on the 1.5-mile tracks like Texas, earning half (six) of his top-10 finishes on those tracks and winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

With the wins, Briscoe is assured a place in the NASCAR Playoffs, and that will mean a return to Texas during the playoff run in the fall. With a position already guaranteed in the championship mix, Briscoe said this week’s Texas stop will include a little homework for the title chase later in the year.

“Obviously this week is still very important,” Briscoe said. “We always want to do well when we show up to the track. We’ve been in position to win every week, so there’s no reason to back off of that. But, big picture, the playoff races are important so we will try a mix of what we know works at Texas as well as trying stuff for the future.”

RELATED: Xfinity Series standings

Briscoe’s primary championship threats right now are Noah Gragson and Austin Cindric — the series’ only other multiple race winners, both with two trophies. Gragson trails Briscoe by 19 points in the championship standings, and like Briscoe, the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet driver has experienced vastly different outcomes in his Texas starts — 13th in Texas-1 last spring and then 30th after crashing out in the fall return.

Gragson, who celebrated his 22nd birthday Thursday, has 11 top-10 finishes in 15 races this season, and his 468 laps led is most in the series. He has had only one top-five finish (third at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course) in the last five races. However, that’s certainly not to a lack of effort. Gragson has been a big-time contender in deciding the last two races — leading a combined 124 laps in last week’s Kentucky Speedway doubleheader, even though he didn’t celebrate in Victory Lane.

Cindric, who is third in the championship standings and 33 points behind Briscoe, has a solid Texas resume. He has finished 11th or better in all four starts, including a best of third-place twice – in the fall 2018 and 2019 races. His 441 laps out front this season are second only to Gragson, and Cindric is coming off a huge confidence boost sweeping both Kentucky races last weekend, the road-course ace’s first series wins on an oval. Cindric (38 laps) and veteran Justin Allgaier (37 laps) lead the current Xfinity Series championship contenders in career laps led at Texas.

Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, has nine top-10 finishes at Texas, most among the full-time Xfinity Series drivers. His best showing is fifth in 2018, and two of his 11 series wins have come on 1.5-milers like Texas. He has four top-10 and two top-five finishes in the seven 1.5-mile races in 2020.

All four of the JR Motorsports drivers entered this week — Gragson, Allgaier, Michael Annett and Jeb Burton — have had success at Texas. Annett, driver of the No. 1 JRM Chevrolet had his career-best showing at Texas (sixth) last summer, and he has completed 99 percent of the laps in his 15 career starts there. He has one top-five and five top-10 finishes in 2020 on 1.5-mile tracks and is averaging an 8.9 finish. Burton, who will steer the No. 8 JRM Chevrolet this week, has two top-10 finishes in four Texas starts, including a career-best fifth in Fort Worth last season.

“Coming off a great weekend in Kentucky, I’m looking forward to keeping the momentum rolling this week at Texas,” Annett said. “We had fast Chevrolets at Kentucky and had a chance to double up on top-fives and that just shows the strength of this No. 1 team. Over the four last four races, we have an average finish of 6.8 and we’re looking to keep that going this weekend at Texas.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The starting lineup for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) has been set.

Aric Almirola will start from the pole position, with Ryan Blaney joining him on the front row to lead the field to green for the 334-lap, 501-mile race.

RELATED: Texas schedule | Who will outlast the Texas heat? 

The lineup for the race was determined by a random draw, with NBC Sports announcing the results online. The parameters for the draw were as follows:

  • Positions 1-12 determined by a random draw from charter teams in those positions in team owner points
  • Positions 13-24: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points
  • Positions 25-36: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points
  • Positions 37-40: will be filled out by open, non-chartered teams in order of owner points

Here is a look at the full lineup:

Starting spot Driver Car # Team
1 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
2 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
3 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
4 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
5 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
6 Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske
7 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
8 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
9 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
10 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
11 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
12 Alex Bowman 88 Hendrick Motorsports
13 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
14 Bubba Wallace 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
15 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
16 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
17 Clint Bowyer 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
18 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
19 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
20 Jimmie Johnson 48 Hendrick Motorsports
21 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
22 Matt Kenseth 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
23 Erik Jones 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
24 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
25 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
26 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
27 Josh Bilicki 53 Rick Ware Racing
28 John Hunter Nemechek 38 Front Row Motorsports
29 Gray Gaulding 27 Rick Ware Racing
30 Ty Dillon 13 Germain Racing
31 Joey Gase 51 Petty Ware Racing
32 Brennan Poole 15 Premium Motorsports
33 Christopher Bell 95 Leavine Family Racing
34 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
35 JJ Yeley 77 Spire Motorsports
36 Corey LaJoie 32 Go Fas Racing
37 Daniel Suarez 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing
38 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management
39 BJ McLeod 78 BJ McLeod Motorsports
40 Reed Sorenson 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Editor’s note: Image above is from 2019 session.

Camp remained in session this summer as ​Sports Biz Camps​ hosts its first-ever ​Sports Biz Virtual​ Career Exploration Camp​ the week of July 14. High school students nationwide had access to more than 120 sports industry professionals sharing perspective and advice on their career pathways. The 4-day program provided campers a mix of live presentations, panel discussions and recorded lessons with professionals from the country’s leading sports organizations, including NASCAR.

Through charitable contributions received from hundreds of individuals, foundations and corporate donors, high school-aged campers attended the sessions for free, leveling the playing field for students to learn and network with industry professionals before embarking on a career in the sports industry. Due to returning support from corporate sponsors like NASCAR and new grants from funders such as Foundation For The Carolinas and United Way of Central Carolinas​, the camp was able to pivot during the novel coronavirus pandemic from in-person to a virtual format.

“In order for NASCAR and the greater sports industry to truly create a diverse and inclusive workplace, we recognize the importance of investing early in aspiring industry professionals,” said Pete Jung, Senior Vice President, Marketing at NASCAR. “We are proud to be a returning partner for ​Sports Biz Camps’ Career Exploration Camp​ as the Charlotte-based nonprofit expands nationally this summer.”

This year’s program built off the success of 2019’s inaugural ​Sports Biz Camps​, which took place in Charlotte and included 116 students from 35 area high schools.

“The incredible generosity displayed by sponsors and donors thus far is truly propelling us closer to our goal of educating 1,000 students this summer,” said Patrick Stack, Co-Founder, ​Sports Biz Camps​.

For more information on this year’s ​Sports Career Exploration Camp a​nd to donate, visit sportsbizcamps.com​ or follow on ​LinkedIn​, ​Instagram​, and ​Facebook​.

Posted on by Data Skrive

Aric Almirola finished ninth in the NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday.

Almirola was not able to add to his season point total.

Almirola started in 17th position. The 13th-year driver has tallied two career victories, with 23 top-five finishes and 70 results inside the top 10.

In his career at Bristol Motor Speedway, Almirola has compiled one top-five finish and his ninth-place result marks the third top-10.

The Tampa, Florida native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting four spots higher than his career mark of 20.7 and completing the race 13 places ahead of his 21.7 career average finish.

Almirola took on 20 other drivers on the way to his ninth-place finish. The race endured five cautions and 13 caution laps. There were six lead changes.

Chase Elliott secured the win in the race, and Kyle Busch followed in second. Kevin Harvick placed third, Brad Keselowski took fourth, and Denny Hamlin finished off the top five.

Aric Almirola Driver Page | Get Almirola Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Kyle Busch finished second in the NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday.

Busch was unable to add to his season point total.

Busch started in 10th position. The 17th-year driver has piled up 56 career victories, with 207 top-five finishes and 305 results inside the top 10.

Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway is a familiar place for Busch, who has eight career wins at the track. His second-place finish also marks the 13th time he has finished in the top five at Bristol and his 18th top-10.

The Las Vegas, Nevada native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting three spots higher than his career mark of 12.8 and completing the race 13 places ahead of his 14.7 career average finish.

Busch raced against 20 other drivers on the way to his second-place finish. The race endured five cautions and 13 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were six lead changes.

Chase Elliott finished first in the race, followed by Busch’s second-place finish. Kevin Harvick placed third, Brad Keselowski secured fourth place, and Denny Hamlin finished off the top five.

Kyle Busch Driver Page | Get Busch Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Kevin Harvick finished third in the NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday.

Harvick was not able to add to his season point total.

Harvick started in fifth position and led six laps in the race. The 20th-year driver has piled up 53 career victories, with 216 top-five finishes and 376 results inside the top 10.

Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway is a familiar place for Harvick, who has two career wins at the track. His third-place finish also marks the 12th time he has finished in the top five at Bristol and his 19th top-10.

The Bakersfield, California native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting 10 spots higher than his career mark of 14.9 and completing the race 10 places ahead of his 12.7 career average finish.

Harvick took on a field of 20 drivers on the way to his third-place finish. The race endured five cautions and 13 caution laps. There were six lead changes.

Chase Elliott secured the win in the race, followed by Kyle Busch in the No. 2 spot. After Harvick’s third-place finish, Brad Keselowski secured fourth, and Denny Hamlin took the No. 5 spot.

Kevin Harvick Driver Page | Get Harvick Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Denny Hamlin finished fifth in the NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday.

Hamlin did not add to his season point total.

Hamlin started in 15th position. The 16th-year driver has tallied 41 career victories, with 170 top-five finishes and 269 results inside the top 10.

Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway is a familiar place for Hamlin, who has two career wins at the track. He has also compiled nine top-five finishes at Bristol and his fifth-place result marks the 14th top-10.

The Chesterfield, Virginia native began the race two spots behind his career mark of 12.8, but finished nine places ahead of his career average of 13.7.

Hamlin raced against a field of 20 drivers on the way to his fifth-place finish. The race endured five cautions and 13 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were six lead changes.

Chase Elliott finished first in the race, and Kyle Busch followed in second. Kevin Harvick crossed the finish line third, with Brad Keselowski bringing home fourth place. Hamlin rounded out the top five.

Denny Hamlin Driver Page | Get Hamlin Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Ryan Blaney finished sixth in the NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday despite leading 72 laps, the most of any driver.

Blaney did not add to his season point total.

Blaney started in third position and led 72 laps in the race, holding the lead a total of two times. The seventh-year driver has piled up four career victories, with 34 top-five finishes and 67 results inside the top 10.

In his career at Bristol Motor Speedway, Blaney has compiled one top-five finish and his sixth-place result marks the fourth top-10.

The High Point, North Carolina native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting nine spots higher than his career mark of 12.1 and completing the race 12 places ahead of his 18.3 career average finish.

Blaney competed against 20 other drivers on the way to his sixth-place finish. The race endured five cautions and 13 caution laps. There were six lead changes.

Chase Elliott took the checkered flag in the race, and Kyle Busch took second. Kevin Harvick placed third, Brad Keselowski took fourth, and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.

Ryan Blaney Driver Page | Get Blaney Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Zack Albert

Kyle Busch’s bid for a second All-Star Race victory came up one position short Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, one of his sweet spots on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Instead, it was Chase Elliott swinging the sword in the Last Great Colosseum’s Victory Lane for the first time.

A non-points win in the main event would’ve gone a long way toward providing a pick-me-up for the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing driver, whose title defense has yet to yield a victory in a star-crossed 2020 season. Busch has finished second on three other occasions in points races this year, but at other times, the performance has lagged.

RELATED: Elliott seals All-Star win | Race results

“It’s tough. We’re struggling right now,” Busch said. “There’s just no speed in our race cars for some reason. I don’t know what’s going on. It seemed like tonight, even when we were mired in 10th, I was driving 110% just to maintain where the hell I was, not going forward. That’s usually not indicative of us, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota, whatever.

“It’s certainly been frustrating this year. It seems like any time I fall into a rhythm, I back up myself just a little bit to 90, 95%, I’m going backwards. I’m getting passed, slowing down. You can’t run at 100% all the time every lap. When you do, you start making mistakes. We’ve just been run into a lot this year, too.  When we’ve had nothing happen, we get run into. Those are bad finishes, as well. I don’t know. We can chalk it up to a whole bunch of things. For lack of a better term is we’ve got to be faster.”

Busch has not had a winless season since his full-time Cup Series career began in 2005. When asked to describe a comparable campaign, Busch noted a similar struggle to the 2014 season, when Joe Gibbs Racing played catch-up with the then-new Gen-6 car. Busch eked out a victory at Auto Club Speedway, but aside from a Talladega Superspeedway win from teammate Denny Hamlin, JGR — then a three-team outfit — went winless the rest of the year.

Those comparisons hit home now.

“That was a frustrating season,” Busch said. “Unfortunately I don’t have a win yet. But it feels just like that year. I don’t know where it’s going at, whatever. We do have six second‑place finishes. I think, four, five, six, whatever the hell it is. We’ve been close a couple of times. Many of the other races we’re getting run into.”

If there’s a saving grace, the bounce-back year that followed was a special one with 14 wins divided among its newly expanded four-driver stable. Busch recovered from an 11-race absence after his injuries from an early season crash, benefitting from a JGR revival in the second half of the year for his first premier-series championship.

Busch said he hopes another turnaround won’t be that long of a wait.

“It took us a good year and a half to get back up to the top of the circle,” Busch said. “I don’t know if that’s what we’re on now. I certainly hope not. It’s definitely frustrating. Trust me, it’s not very fun where we’re at. I know everybody is kicking themselves and trying to do all they can to work harder and be smarter.”