Diversity-focused Sports Biz Camps goes virtual in second year

Posted on July 16, 2020July 16, 2020 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 and to donate, visit sportsbizcamps.com or follow on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

Posted on July 16, 2020 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 July 16, 2020 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 July 16, 2020 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 July 16, 2020 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 July 16, 2020 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 July 16, 2020 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.

“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.”

Posted on July 15, 2020July 17, 2020 by Holly Cain

The sport’s reigning Most Popular Driver, Chase Elliott, earned his first NASCAR All-Star Race win Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway — holding off reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch in the closing laps.

Elliott led 60 of the 140 laps en route to the $1 million paycheck. He and his father, Bill Elliott, join the father-son combination of Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to have won the sport’s midseason All-Star exhibition. Interestingly, Bill won the race when it was held in Atlanta and Chase’s victory was in Bristol, Tennessee — those are the only two times the event took place at a track other than Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet took a convincing lead at times in the second half of the 140-lap event, but he ultimately had to hold off a hard-charging Busch, who is still looking to hoist his first race trophy of the 2020 season. The winning difference between them was a mere .418 seconds.

The season’s driver standings leader, Kevin Harvick, finished third, followed by Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski and 2020 Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin. Ryan Blaney, who led a race-high 72 laps, finished sixth. Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Aric Almirola and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top 10 in order.

Elliott’s win was hugely popular even to the limited number of fans who were allowed to attend the race in person, and they celebrated by showering the 24-year-old with cheers.

“Oh my gosh, there’s no feeling like it, nothing like it,” a smiling Elliott said after climbing of his Chevrolet. “Bristol is an electric atmosphere unlike any place we go to. We’re going to celebrate this one for sure.

“There’s nothing like Bristol. There’s nothing like the lights here. There’s nothing like racing here. I’ve never won here — what a race to do it. Just really proud of our team tonight and rebounding. … All those No. 9 hats and T-shirts up in the stands — love to see it.”

NASCAR tried a couple innovative and seemingly well-received ideas at the non-points race, including fitting the cars with lights that provided an underglow and also a new format for restarts that allowed drivers to pick whichever lane they preferred — outside or inside.

FIRST LOOK: See the underglow lights on the track at Bristol

The race still came down to just old-fashioned horsepower and age-old strategy among the 20 drivers who earned positions in the race.

“We’re trying hard and we’re running okay, but it seemed like we were mired in 10th place for much of that race tonight and the last couple of adjustments really helped us,” Busch said. “Adam (Stevens) did a great job helping the car and making it better.

“I got a good restart and went from 12th all the way up to fifth (in the final 15-lap stage) so that was a huge bonus for us getting that track position. Overall, just got to keep fighting. I think that’s like four, five, six second places this year, what do you do? You just have to keep going.”

Almirola’s ninth-place finish was the best among those drivers who qualified for the NASCAR All-Star Race by winning a stage in the NASCAR All-Star Open at the track earlier Wednesday. William Byron also advanced with stage win in the Open, and Matt DiBenedetto took home the checkered flag in the Open — his first time winning the non-points paying event. Clint Bowyer earned a position on the grid by winning the Fan Vote.

The NASCAR Cup Series resumes its regular season Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway with the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. Coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Note: Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet passed NASCAR’s post-race inspection at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Posted on July 15, 2020June 18, 2021 by Staff Report

Clint Bowyer was announced Wednesday night as the All-Star Race Fan Vote winner for the final spot in the NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bowyer was the top vote-getter among drivers not already qualified for the main event. The fans’ choice put his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford into the field as the 20th and final entry.

Bowyer’s Fan Vote win breaks Hendrick Motorsports’ hold on the spot for the past four years. Alex Bowman won last year’s Fan Vote and Chase Elliott won the three years before that. Both of those drivers qualified with race wins since 2019. With Bowyer’s entry, all four Stewart-Haas Racing cars — Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola (who won a stage in the All-Star Open) and Cole Custer — will be in the main race.

Bowyer’s best finish in the All-Star Race came in 2014 — with a seventh-place result. Perhaps that will improve with this year’s race at Bristol, where Bowyer has finished as the runner-up in two of the last four spring races at the 0.533-mile track.

Kasey Kahne is the only previous Fan Vote winner to go on to win the main event. He did just that in 2008.

The top 10 in the Fan Vote as revealed on NASCAR.com last week were Bubba Wallace, Bowyer, Matt DiBenedetto, William Byron, Corey LaJoie, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Timmy Hill, Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon.

Posted on July 15, 2020July 15, 2020 by Staff Report

Matt DiBenedetto prevailed in the NASCAR All-Star Open on Wednesday night, joining stage winners Aric Almirola and William Byron in clinching starting spots in the All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

DiBenedetto led all of the final 15-lap stage in the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford. Almirola’s Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Ford led 25 of the 35 laps in the opening segment, and Byron set the pace for every lap in the second 35-lap stage in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet.

“Oh, man. I was hanging on for dear life,” DiBenedetto said. “We were so loose on entry. I was right on the ragged edge, so just thankful to the team for battling back. My gosh, we had big damage there at the start and had to fix it. That’s battling back. That’s been this team lately. We’ve been fighting so hard.”

All three drivers sealed berths in the NASCAR All-Star Race (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The final All-Star starting spot goes to Clint Bowyer, who was the top eligible vote-getter in fan balloting, which closed Tuesday.

MORE: Bowyer seals Fan Vote

The overall top five in the Open was DiBenedetto, Bowyer, Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher and Ty Dillon.

Byron finished second in the first stage, followed by Ty Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Buescher to complete the top five.

In Stage 2, Byron was followed to the start-finish line by DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Bowyer and rookie Christopher Bell in order.

The first stage was marked by an incident between pole-starter Michael McDowell and Bubba Wallace, contact that ended Wallace’s day in last place after heavy damage to the No. 43 Chevrolet. He’ll finish last in the 21-car field.