Posted on by Zack Albert

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Just more than three weeks ago, Daniel Hemric received word that he’d be looking for a new job for the 2020 racing season. That prospective employer hasn’t been decided yet, but Hemric says the outlook is now much rosier.

“I feel like there’s windows of brightness here and there,” Hemric said Friday, in between Monster Energy Series practices at Talladega Superspeedway. “I think I will land on my feet, and I’ll land right where I’m supposed to. Just got to have faith in the good Lord taking care of me. There’s a lot of variables here involved, so hopefully in the next week or two, I can really feel comfortable with what’s going on.

“Still, just a lot of moving parts and pieces that have to fall … so you just try to keep yourself as pumped up as you can in a time like this and just know the sun’s going to come up tomorrow, and we’ll all be better for it. Just trying to keep that mindset and do all I can do to control the outcome, but at the end of the day, it’s going to work out the way it’s supposed to.”

MORE: Key drivers in Silly Season

Hemric’s first full season in the Monster Energy Series has been marked by uneven results, but this weekend’s return to Talladega rekindles memories of one of the year’s bright spots. Hemric placed fifth as part of a stellar team effort by Chevrolet to notch his first — and thus far only — top-five finish.

In the weeks since that late April race here, the landscape has changed for driver-team alignments with new alliances taking shape for 2020. Hemric wasn’t immune, and the news trickled out Sept. 17 that Richard Childress Racing was heading in a different direction with its No. 8 Chevrolet, a seat to be filled by the rookie-in-waiting Tyler Reddick.

Those job ripples haven’t stopped, and Hemric figures prominently in where the next scenarios may shake out.

“As a whole, our sport — especially at the Cup level — has had some pretty big dominoes fall over the last two to three weeks,” Hemric said. “Some of those were a week or two following me finding out what my future was — or what I thought it was. As that’s all happened, it does. It shakes up everything and it brings conversation with folks you never thought you’d be having conversations with, and that’s from all three series. … All I want is a shot to compete and do it at a high level, no matter what level that’s in.”

RELATED: Full Talladega schedule | 2019 standings

Though his time with Richard Childress Racing is winding up after three seasons — two in the Xfinity Series, one in Cup — Hemric insists he’s not simply playing out the string. The 28-year-old driver is in the midst of a tight Sunoco Rookie of the Year battle with JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ryan Preece with six races remaining, starting this weekend at Talladega.

“I think no matter what you want to look at it, all the way up to Homestead, I still have jobs and goals that are still obtainable in what I set out to do — not only this year as my rookie Cup season, but what I set out to do three years ago at RCR,” Hemric said. “I want to check those things off and be in the mix all the way up until the checkered flag flies at Homestead.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Friday afternoon’s final practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway offered a mix of mock-qualifying runs and small drafting groups, and Clint Bowyer led the way.

Bowyer posted the fast lap at 202.042 miles per hour in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in the last 50-minute tune-up session before Sunday’s 1000bulbs.com 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola finished in second with a lap at 200.835 mph in the No. 10 Ford. (UPDATE: The race will resume in Stage 2 on Monday at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.)

RELATED: Final practice results

Matt Crafton turned more laps for Paul Menard in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, as Menard battles soreness and pain with his neck. Crafton, who will be on standby for Sunday, earned the third-fastest lap at 200.814 mph. Kevin Harvick finished fourth at 200.612 mph, as Ryan Preece rounded out the top five at 200.498 mph.

PRACTICE 1

Denny Hamlin launched to the top of the leaderboard in the final minutes of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series opening practice.

RELATED: Practice 1 results

Hamlin, who sits tied for second in the NASCAR Playoffs point standings, muscled his way to the top spot with a lap at 204.094 miles per hour in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Playoff contender Kevin Harvick finished second in the 50-minute opening session with a lap at 203.688 mph in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Kyle Busch finished in third at 203.684 mph, followed by Corey Lajoie (203.407 mph) and Michael McDowell (203.386 mph) to complete the top five. 33 drivers topped the 200 mph mark.

Matt Crafton took laps in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford as he is on standby for Paul Menard.

Chase Elliott, William Byron and Ryan Preece all had 15-minute practice holds for being late out of the garage for inspection at Dover, while Martin Truex Jr. lost 15 minutes of practice time for failing pre-race inspection twice at Dover.

Posted on by Alex Weaver

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Stewart-Haas Racing renewed its partnership with Aric Almirola and Smithfield Foods earlier this week, maintaining the driver-sponsor combination on the No. 10 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series for 2020.

The partnership started back in 2012 in Almirola’s first full-time year in the NASCAR Cup Series. “Having a sponsor in this day and age is pretty critical,” Almirola said Friday at Talladega Superspeedway. “We knew it was going to happen, just a matter of dotting all the I’s and crossing all the T’s.”

Almirola declined to reveal the terms and length of the renewal, which have not been made public.

When asked if this renewal provides more job security and a look into his future, Almirola said performance was still the ultimate goal.

“We haven’t had the year we had last year and that’s just part of the sport,” said Almirola, who was eliminated from the playoff picture after the Round of 16. “Not the year we wanted but we’re going to continue to strive for success and move the needle.”

Almirola is the defending race winner at Talladega, where he claimed a victory that locked him into the Round of 8 for the 2018 NASCAR Playoffs.

RELATED: Almirola, Smithfield back at SHR

Posted on by Staff Report

History was at hand Thursday evening in the eNASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series championship race from virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway.

For 17-year-old Zack Novak, he won his first career iRacing championship. For the series itself, Thursday night’s race was broadcast live on NBCSN, marking the first-ever eNASCAR championship telecast in a culmination of one of the series’ most prominent years to date.

Novak passed fellow Championship 4 driver Keegan Leahy, who dominated for much of the 140-lap race, for the lead with seven laps to go, then held off the G2 Esports driver who entered the race as the favorite. The two drivers were side-by-side coming out of Turn 4 on the final lap with Novak holding his line and staying just ahead of Leahy for the win. It was the series-best fourth win for the series champion.

“(Being called champion) sounds awesome,” Novak told NBCSN. “That was a grind, all season long. Even the race itself was just a crazy grind and I can’t believe I’m in this position. … (Leahy) kept me real honest, raced very clean. I respected him and I tried to race him as clean as I could back and I hope I accomplished that.”

Novak, who will take home $40,000, the largest share of the $100,000 prize pool, drives for Roush Fenway Racing. He won the inaugural eNASCAR IGNITE Series championship (a series for drivers aged 13-16) last year.

Fellow Championship 4 racers Bobby Zalenski (Joe Gibbs Racing) finished fourth and Blake Reynolds (Team Dillon Esports) took ninth.

RELATED: Top moments of 2019

The NASCAR America broadcast marked the first time an official eNASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series race has been aired live on national television. iRacing made its NBCSN debut this summer with a pair of All-Star exhibition races hosted by NASCAR America’s Krista Voda, Parker Kligerman and AJ Allmendinger, along with series team owners Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton. Kligerman, also an owner in the series, competed in the events.

Celebrating its 10th season, the 2019 season featured the largest prize pool in eNASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series history with over $100,000 on the line between season-ending prizes and weekly performance bonuses. Novak will earn the largest share, receiving $40,000 on top of their weekly winnings, as well as a test day in a US Legends Car and NASCAR Pinty’s Series vehicle with Canada’s Best Racing Team.

In addition, Novak will be flown to Miami for NASCAR’s championship weekend where they will be honored during the pre-race ceremonies for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

MORE: Full eNASCAR coverage

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

Before heading to Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Round of 12 playoff race (2 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Alex Bowman spent Wednesday in Kansas City, Kansas, packing boxes for those in need. (UPDATE: The race will resume in Stage 2 on Monday at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.)

Bowman paid a visit to Giving the Basics, a non-profit organization that donates personal hygiene products to those in need throughout the area. The organization ensures 230,000 people have access to the basics each month, while also donating products to local schools that reach 196,000 students, serving more than 76 pantries and 300 schools each year.

With the help of Kansas Speedway, Bowman and other volunteers packaged dozens of boxes of lotion for those who are unable to have access to the essentials otherwise.

“It all hits home, it’s humbling and it kind of puts things in perspective,” Bowman told NASCAR.com. “It’s something that I never really thought about. You think about giving food or healthcare, but never really thought about basic things like shampoo and soap and deodorant. It’s neat to give back and tackle that area with Giving the Basics.”

Next weekend, Bowman will head back to the Sunflower State for the NASCAR Playoffs Round of 12 elimination race at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 20 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). But first, he and the No. 88 team need to tackle the Talladega high banks as they sit seventh in points with two races remaining, 17 points above the cutline.

With Kyle Larson locked into the Round of 8, seven spots remain for the taking. While Bowman has a slight cushion, there’s no room to relax heading into the wild-card race of Talladega, but that doesn’t mean he’s losing sleep over it, either.

“If you just sit here nervous all week, it’s not a lot of fun,” Bowman said. “… Just have to go out there and run up front all day. That’s all you can do.”

Bowman and teammate Chase Elliott worked together to control the top-two positions in the spring race, as Bowman pushed Elliott to his first Talladega triumph. But surprisingly, Bowman isn’t focused on that second-place result to give him comfort.

RELATED: Examining Hendrick’s dominance at Talladega

“I think superspeedway races are really the only races that you can’t look at past results and really have a lot of confidence,” Bowman said. “Unless you dominate one, lead the whole thing and go out there and win one, it’s hard to look at second place and be like, oh yeah, we can go out there and do that again easily. It’s really easy to have a bad day.”

In the most recent races at the 2.66-mile Alabama superspeedway, we’ve seen organizations – and even manufacturers – link up to find the front.

“I think it’s really just who has the best strategy going in and who can execute that the best,” Bowman said. “Talladega is a hard place. Anything can happen. It’s easy to have a plan and just not be able to execute on it because of circumstances.”

“If one manufacturer is working really well together and a wreck wipes out half their cars, that story’s over,” he added. “It’s tough.”

Coming off a third-place finish at Dover, Bowman holds a ton of confidence in his Greg Ives-led 88 team. If they can avoid catastrophe at Talladega, Bowman feels they have a legitimate shot to win at Kansas, site of another runner-up result in the regular season while also winning at a similar track in Chicagoland Speedway in June.

“I think things are going well for us right now,” Bowman said. “Our superspeedway cars are really good, so we can go there and be good. Going to Kansas, I think we can be really strong. That’s a great race track and one of my favorite places we go. It’ll be really good.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

After a three-week break the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series begins the second round of playoff competition with Saturday’s Sugarlands Shine 250 at Talladega Superspeedway (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Defending series champion Brett Moffitt – a four-race winner in 2019 – holds a 17-point edge on Austin Hill and an 18-point edge on Ross Chastain. Both Hill and Chastain have three wins each and are part of motivated field of six championship-eligible drivers that also includes dirt ace Stewart Friesen, 18-year-old Tyler Ankrum and two-time series champion Matt Crafton. 

The 2.66-mile Talladega presents a unique challenge for the race field. The only former winners entered in the race are three-time Talladega winner Timothy Peters, Alabama native Grant Enfinger and his ThorSport teammate, Johnny Sauter. The latter two were eliminated from title contention in the last race at Las Vegas, but are eager to rebound with a strong season statement.

RELATED: Full schedule for Talladega | Series standings

Among the six drivers still in title contention, Chastain has the best superspeedway record of the season, however, the 26-year old Floridian hasn’t competed in a truck race at Talladega since 2016. The driver of the No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet finished third at Daytona in the Gander Trucks season opener and won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race with Kaulig Racing at Daytona in July.

The superspeedway should make for a compelling storyline. The title favorites have varying track records. Moffitt, who drives the No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet, made his Talladega debut last year and finished 17th. His best finish at Daytona is 22nd.  Hill, driver of the No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota scored his playoff ticket with a victory in the Daytona season opener and finished 10th at Talladega last year.

Friesen, driver of the No. 52 Halmar Friesen Chevrolet, was sixth at Talladega last fall, his best finish in two starts. Crafton, driver of the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford, has really struggled at the superspeedway. He has only one top-five finish in 13 Talladega starts – fourth place in 2010. His last top 10 – of four career top 10s at the track – was a ninth-place finish in 2017.

The final member of this elite six, Kentucky race winner Tyler Ankrum, has a blank slate to start Saturday’s race. This will mark his superspeedway debut because he only reached the mandatory age requirement of 18 in March, so he was not permitted to race in the Daytona season opener.

Posted on by Sean Montgomery

Despite the late drama and heart-stopping moments associated with much of the history at Talladega Superspeedway, Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske have achieved dominant and largely unrivaled success.

RELATED: Talladega schedule | Expert picks for Talladega

Since the team’s inception in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports drivers have controlled races at Talladega, notching the most wins (13) and the most laps led (2,809) all-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Nearly half of those wins belong to NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon, who won six times throughout his legendary career.

While current Hendrick drivers William Byron and Alex Bowman have yet to win at Talladega, the team still holds the record for the most different drivers to win at the track with seven. Seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is tied for third among active drivers and second in the team’s history with a pair of Talladega wins under his belt.

Known for elite speed and front-running consistency, Hendrick Motorsports also holds the all-time record at Talladega for the most poles (12), wins (13), runner-up finishes (14), top fives (58), top 10s (87) and highest average finish (18.31). In the last 17 speedway races, a Hendrick driver has won the pole 11 times, with the team sweeping starting positions one through four at the 2019 Daytona 500.

Though winless, both Byron and Bowman have finished inside the top three once each in the last two superspeedway races, with Bowman finishing runner-up at Talladega to teammate Chase Elliott in the spring. Byron finished second to Justin Haley at Daytona this summer.

Outside of Elliott’s recent trip to Victory Lane, Team Penske has enjoyed the most wins as of late, led by a dominating string of performances from Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. The Penske pair have combined to win six of the last 10 at Talladega, including four of the last five elimination format playoff races dating back to 2014.

Logano has been especially impressive, posting one of the best runs of his career at any track. In his last eight races at Talladega, he has three wins, six top fives and has led a total of 247 laps. His most recent win there came in the spring of 2018.

In spite of his teammate’s recent success, Keselowski has perhaps been the most effective and consistent at Talladega throughout his career. Keselowski leads all active drivers with five wins at Talladega, three of which he won on a last-lap pass. Those five wins slot him into fourth place all-time behind Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

RELATED: Most wins all-time at Talladega | Who’s favored at Talladega?

As the Round of 12 continues Monday in the 1000Bulbs.com 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), three playoff drivers between both organizations are currently on the outside looking in: Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney. After struggling last Sunday at Dover, the trio need a big weekend to fight their way in and secure a place in the Round of Eight. Logano and Elliott both have recent victories at the track, while Blaney remains winless there in his career.

Consistent track position ahead of the pack and staying damage-free will be important, as four of the last five Talladega Playoff races ended in an overtime finish with the winner leading less than 10 laps each of the last two times.

Source: Racing Insights

Posted on by Staff Report

The eNASCAR Heat Pro League Championship 4 is set following Wednesday night’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with Team Penske Esports, JR Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Gaming and Leavine Family Gaming surviving a pair of wild races to advance to the finale at ISM Raceway.

All four spots were up for grabs in the Round of 6, with a mere five points separating the bottom five teams entering the night. Only Team Penske Esports sat in a comfortable position – 17 points to the good of the cutline – but even that team was in danger of falling late after an abysmal finish in the opening Xbox race.

Strategy was king in that race as a pair of Playoff teams gambled on fuel and came out on top. SHG_Slick_14x from the Stewart-Haas Gaming camp scored yet another victory on the season, passing JR Motorsports’ JRM_Dohar88 with one to go and cruising to the line.

RELATED: Complete eNASCAR coverage

“Had enough (fuel) to go for the win at the end but points were more important,” Dohar admitted. “We didn’t need the victory today. That will come in two weeks at the finale.”

Behind them was a trio of non-Playoff drivers in JMacAttack, Mordog5 and mrTRACKBAR35. TheBolt18 was the next closest championship contender in sixth, with the rest finishing 10th or worse.

The missteps in the Xbox event set up a pressure-packed race for the PlayStation cohorts, where any mistake could cost the team a shot at advancing to the finale. Three- and four-wide racing left competitors with bent e-metal and hurt feelings, and ultimately led to a late-race caution.

On the final green-white-checkered restart, Leavine Family Gaming’s ThAbEaR95 rocketed past NickJobes25 and set sail to claim his second win in the 2019 Playoffs. xX_Fluffy_Xx recovered to finish second, but it was not enough to push Roush Fenway Gaming to the next round. A trio of non-Playoff drivers once again rounded out the Top 5 in Jobes, Sloppy_Joe_YT and Mike_RPM44.

Voltage20 was unable to recover after early troubles and finished 12th, knocking Gibbs Gaming out in the Round of 6.

Teams will now pack their bags and travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the live championship race Oct. 23. Live coverage will begin at 7:30 pm ET on eNASCAR.com.