Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 6, 2019) – NASCAR® today announced a new content partnership with The Action Network, the most trusted source for sports betting insights and analytics, as part of the sport’s continued push to educate and engage fans around legalized sports betting.

Each week, NASCAR.com will feature editorial content and analysis from The Action Network including expert PJ Walsh’s picks for NASCAR’s new props game, the NASCAR Props Challenge™. The Action Network will also share recommended picks and value bets for race winners and head-to-head driver matchups via race-day content published on NASCAR’s digital platform.

With the deal, NASCAR becomes the first sports league to partner with The Action Network around shared sports betting content.

“Sports betting presents a unique opportunity for NASCAR, so we want to immerse our fans in engaging and educational content around legalized gaming,” said Scott Warfield, NASCAR managing director of gaming. “We’re focused on strengthening NASCAR gaming content across platforms and The Action Network and its team of experts represent an integral part of our strategy.”

The NASCAR Props Challenge launched before the start of the 2019 race season as the sport’s first props-style game for fans. Leading up to each Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™ race, The Action Network will share tips on NASCAR.com and ActionNetwork.com/NASCAR to help players as they attempt to earn points and win prizes in the 10-question game.

The Action Network content will also help fans strategize around NASCAR Fantasy Live, NASCAR’s fantasy game revamped in 2018 to allow players to engage live during races and adjust driver rosters in real-time.

“NASCAR has always been at the leading edge of innovation,” said Chad Millman, Chief Content Officer, The Action Network. “We’re thrilled to be their partner as they continue to engage their audience with new and forward-thinking ideas.”

Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of partnerships designed to prepare NASCAR, the industry and fans for the future of sports betting in the U.S.

Last week, NASCAR announced a landmark partnership with Genius Sports to develop an official NASCAR gaming offering for legal sportsbooks. With access to NASCAR’s official data feed, Genius Sports will create a real-time gaming platform that provides up-to-the-minute odds as well as a suite of traditional wagers and prop bets.

NASCAR signed an integrity deal with Sportradar in 2018 to develop a comprehensive sports gambling policy for the industry. In another key move, the sanctioning body granted all teams and tracks the ability to sell marketing sponsorships to sports-betting companies and licensed sportsbooks.

Posted on by Staff Report

DOVER, Del. — Persistent rain on Sunday foiled NASCAR’s attempts to start the Gander RV 400 at Dover International Speedway, forcing postponement of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race until noon Monday, to be broadcast on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The cars started rolling before 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, but the rain, which had stopped long enough to dry the track, picked up again as the field took pace laps around the Monster Mile.

RELATED: Dover starting lineup | Four cars to rear

Accordingly, pole winner Chase Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, the second-place qualifier, will lead the field to the green flag on Monday.

Pre-race inspection issues, however, caused a shakeup within the field behind them.

The cars of fifth-place qualifier Alex Bowman, 13th-place Martin Truex Jr., 29th-place Ryan Preece and 32nd-place Matt Tifft all failed inspection twice and must drop to the rear for the start of the race.

MORE: Worth the wait — drivers who won on Monday

Truex, from Mayetta, New Jersey, considers Dover his home track. It was at the Monster Mile in 2007 that the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion picked up his first Cup victory in a race delayed by rain. Truex won that Monday, June 4 race by a whopping 7.355 seconds. In 2016, Truex added a second win at the one-mile concrete track.

But trying to advance from the back of the field will be a challenging proposition.

“It’s going to be tough,” Truex acknowledged before driver introductions on Sunday. “We couldn’t have picked a worse place to start in the back, for sure. It’s going to be difficult because, generally, this is the toughest place to pass there is, because it’s so fast through the center of the corner. And now we’re faster than we’ve ever been.

“So, it’s going to be difficult, for sure. But if we’re good on long runs, we can make it happen.”

During Saturday’s practice, Truex and crew chief Cole Pearn tried to make their car as versatile as possible, given the importance of finding speed both on the bottom and the top of the track.

“Everybody is going to be in traffic, and that’s going to make you pick different options,” Truex said.

“We tried to work hard yesterday on having a car we could move around with, because we knew it was going to be hard to pass, and you were going to have to find some air somehow. We’ll have to wait and see, but it’s going to be tough.”

Elliott is the most recent winner at Dover, having broken through in last year’s fall race. Kevin Harvick, who will start sixth, is the defending race winner.

Posted on by Staff Report

Ever want to design a hauler? Fans will have a voice in choosing what this year’s NASCAR Salutes #MackAnthem will look like before its unveiled at Charlotte Motor Speeedway before the Coca-Cola 600 weekend. The wrap will be used from the Coca-Cola 600 weekend (race is May 26 at 6 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) until the end of NASCAR Salutes at Daytona International Speedway with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on July 6 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Fans can vote via NASCAR’s social channels on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and via a poll on the Mack Trucks Twitter handle. Voting has already opened and lasts until Tuesday, May 7 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Below are the different designs for the haulers as well as the poll to vote in.

Posted on by Staff Report

Inclement weather delayed the start of Sunday’s Gander RV 400 at Dover International Speedway (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Rain in the area was the culprit, and the original green-flag time of 2:10 p.m. ET passed.

Six Air Titans, four jet dryers, two track vacuums and two tractor brooms were used to dry the track. Drivers went through intros and were called to cars, and cars got on the track. But cars were called back to pit road and the race was officially postponed until Monday at noon ET (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The race is scheduled for 400 laps with the opening two stages being 120 laps apiece. Chase Elliott will start on the pole in the No. 9 NAPA Brakes Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Teammate William Byron is also on the front row, in the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet.

RELATED: Starting lineup in photos | Weather radar

The defending winner of this race, Kevin Harvick, will start sixth in the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing. Points leader Kyle Busch will start 22nd in the No. 18 Pedigree Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Posted on by Staff Report

Four cars failed pre-race inspection multiple times on Sunday at Dover International Speedway and will start from the rear for the Gander RV 400 (Monday, noon ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Teams failing twice were the No. 19 of Martin Truex Jr., the No. 47 of Ryan Preece and the No. 88 of Alex Bowman, and they will also be minus a crew member for the race and will have a 15-minute practice hold at the next event.

The No. 36 of Matt Tifft failed a third time and will have to serve a 30-minute practice hold next week at Kansas as well as a pass through penalty after taking the green flag in the Gander RV 400.

RELATED: Starting lineup for Dover

Bowman qualified fifth in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, while Truex was lined up 13th in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Matt Tifft was 32nd in the No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford, and Ryan Preece was 29th in the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet.

Posted on by Marissa Fuller

DOVER, Del. — Cole Custer led 155 laps at Dover International Speedway on Saturday, starting from the pole position in the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. But, he wasn’t able to lead the final — and most important — laps of the Allied Steel Buildings 200, and finished fourth.

Calm but clearly frustrated, Custer explained feeling defeated by the difficulty in passing at the 1-mile track but said that he and his team did everything they could have done after winning both stages.

“I don’t see anything huge I could’ve done different,” Custer said. “It’s great (that we led laps), we had fast cars but it’s just when you come home fourth, what happened?”

RELATED: Bell marches at Dover

It was the pit stop on Lap 156 where race-winner Christopher Bell took the lead away from Custer. Although Custer’s car was fast, he was not able to make up the lost ground.

“We gave up our track position on that pit stop and from there, we couldn’t get it back,” Custer said. “Our car was so fast and that’s what is so frustrating about it. It feels like we didn’t take advantage of it. It’s so hard to pass and then once you do get underneath somebody, they can just keep you pinned down and you can’t get by them.”

The race was challenging but Custer’s main focus was on remaining steady during the final laps.

“You can get frustrated, I mean, I’ve gotten frustrated here before because you just can’t do anything if you’re on the bottom or if you’re in traffic,” Custer said. “But I knew from that, that I needed to keep calm and just do whatever I had to do to maximize where I was at. That’s what I tried to do but you’re just kind of at a disadvantage down there.”

Custer currently sits fourth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings but has a secured spot in the 2019 championship hunt with two wins this season, at Auto Club Speedway and Richmond Raceway.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DOVER, Del. — Christopher Bell won the battle that counted by a few feet — and that small victory launched him to his third NASCAR Xfinity Series triumph of the season in the Allied Steel Buildings 200 at Dover International Speedway.

Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was first off pit road after a Lap 155 stop under caution, narrowly beating Cole Custer, who had led the first 155 laps of Saturday’s race. The work of Bell’s pit crew proved decisive, as the 24-year-old from Norman, Oklahoma, controlled the race through two more restarts and beat Justin Allgaier to the finish line by 1.745 seconds.

RELATED: Race results | Xfinity Series schedule

Bell had already crossed the stripe before Zane Smith and John Hunter Nemechek wrecked coming to the checkered flag.

In addition to a gold Miles the Monster trophy, Bell collected a check for $100,000 as the final Dash 4 Cash winner of the season.

“Over the last couple of races, we’ve had great cars, but we haven’t been able to capitalize on it,” said Bell, who won for the second straight time at Dover and the 11th time in his career. “This one is really thanks to my pit crew, man. They did a great job, getting me out front where I could control the restarts.

“I knew if I could get out front, we’d be tough to beat. This place, you can pass on long green-flag runs, and it’s one of my favorite race tracks because you can move around and try to find different lines and get going. But over the short run, it’s pretty difficult to make something happen because there is so much grip on the bottom.”

After losing the lead on pit road, Custer was shuffled back on three successive restarts, drawing the bottom lane each time. He finished fourth behind Bell, Allgaier and series leader Tyler Reddick and expressed his disappointment after the race.

“It’s really frustrating when you lead that many laps,” Custer said. “You just can’t give up your track position here. Everybody wants to win at Dover. It’s about the hardest track to pass that we go to … It’s just so frustrating. We were so good, and we couldn’t take advantage of a great car today.”

For Allgaier, who suffered late contact with the outside wall and with Reddick’s Chevrolet, the runner-up finish was a welcome result in an inconsistent season that has produced an average finish of 14.7.

“The car took a beating and kept going,” Allgaier said. “Our Camaro was good today, but it wasn’t great. I wanted to be able to battle there with Christopher at the end, but we were just off a little bit all day.”

Chase Briscoe ran fifth as the highest-finishing Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, followed by Austin Cindric, Brandon Jones, Nemechek, Smith and Michael Annett.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Chase Elliott will start from the Busch Pole in Monday’s Gander RV 400 at Dover International Speedway (Noon ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Does the most recent race winner at the 1-mile track and last weekend’s Talladega victor merit a spot in your Fantasy Live lineup? We’ve dissected the numbers to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration.

PLAY NOW: Set your lineup | How the game works | Tips to set your lineup

Remember that the garage locks at the end of Stage 2. Once the final stage starts, your roster is locked in.

RJ Kraft’s Fantasy Live lineup for race day at Dover:
1. Chase Elliott
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Kyle Larson
4. Daniel Suarez
5. Clint Bowyer
Garage: William Byron

Cars to the rear: Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Preece, Matt Tifft and Alex Bowman for multiple pre-race inspection failures.

RELATED: Odds for Dover | 10-lap averages | Podcast: Fantasy Fastlane

Analysis: Let’s start with who is staying in my lineup. Elliott is on the pole, won at Dover in the fall, is riding high after last weekend’s win and has the third-most points in the last four Dover races. Harvick has the most points in the last four Dover races, is the defending race winner and won every stage contested here last year. Suarez is a perfect four-for-four in top 10s at Dover and had the sixth-best 10-lap and 20-lap averages (h/t @mikejoy500 for the 20-lap numbers). On top of that, I’ve yet to use him and he seems to have settled into a nice spot at Stewart-Haas Racing.

On the Fantasy Fastlane Podcast, I said I wanted to see the Larson of old before I put him in my lineup. I had two checkboxes for him to hit — a top five starting spot and a top-three 10-lap average in a Saturday practice. He hit both of those boxes, and Larson looks to be back to himself at a place that he has run very strong at in recent years. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has the fourth-most points in the past four Dover races. I know the 2019 numbers aren’t great — two top 10s, 20th in Fantasy Live points. He has the best 10-, 15- and 20-lap averages, however. He’s in the lineup.

The last spot in my lineup came down to Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson. The Dover history favors Johnson, without question, with 11 wins at the “Monster Mile.” Hamlin has had the strongest start to the season among the threesome with the third-most Fantasy Live points. Bowyer’s numbers have been strong on short tracks and 1-mile venues with an average of 40.25 points in those four races. The 10- and 15- lap averages favor Bowyer as well, so I’m giving him the slight nod. I don’t mind saving Hamlin for the next couple of races. Johnson did top final practice but his 10-lap time was the lowest in the Hendrick camp and they didn’t make a long run, which is a bit concerning.

I had Truex in the garage, but since he’s going to the rear, I’m taking him out. It just feels that’s too much ground to cover. Instead, I am plugging William Byron into the garage. I think he’s worth the flyer starting second, especially since I haven’t used him.

For the bonus picks, I think it’s going to Chevrolet’s day. I like Elliott to win Stage 1 while I have Larson for Stage 2 and the race win.

Each week in this space, we’ll also highlight two Props Challenge items for players.

MORE: Play the Props Challenge today

1. Chevrolet drivers have won eight of the last 12 Dover races. Will a Chevrolet driver go to Victory Lane on Sunday? I believe the answer to this is yes. Chevrolet has four cars starting in the top five and that does not include the manufacturer’s most consistent car all year — Kurt Busch — or the driver that has won 11 times here and topped the board in final practice in Jimmie Johnson. The Bowtie brand only has one win this year and it came at Talladega but the speed shown this weekend makes me think win No. 2 is coming this weekend.

2. O/U 15.5 stage points for Kevin Harvick in Sunday’s race. I’m going with the over here because I like the long-run speed Harvick showed in final practice and Dover typically gets some lengthy green-flag runs. The margin of error is low here — if Harvick finishes sixth in the opening stage, he can’t hit the over. That said, I think starting sixth he can score top-three stage points in both stages and for that reason I’m taking the over but it will be close.

Posted on by Marissa Fuller

DOVER, Del. — He has had success at Dover International Speedway in all three NASCAR national series and Erik Jones hopes to see that same success on Monday in the Gander RV 400, especially if the new rules package delivers the same type of racing we’ve seen at the 1-mile mile track in the past.

Jones, driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, won in 2016 at Dover in the Xfinity Series, the year before he became a full-time driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He was also a contender in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series at Dover and the 2015 champion.

RELATED: Erik Jones driver page | Standings

With the new rules package in full effect, Jones hopes that the racing will be much like it was during those races.

“It reminds me a lot of the old Xfinity cars here with the high downforce,” he said. “At that time, I had a really good idea of how to get around this place and kind of knew what my car needed to be good and really had a good feel for this track. I think it’s going to bring some of that back for Sunday.”

This weekend marks Jones’ fifth start at the track in the Cup Series, where he has one top-five finish. That came in the fall of 2018, when he started 16th and finished fourth.

“It’s an adjustment, coming back and having a new rules package, you kind of have to relearn what you had in the past and adjust and figure out what it’s going to take to be competitive again,” Jones told NASCAR.com. “We just have to take what we had and adapt to a new rules package and continue with what we had in the past, as well. I think we know what it takes to be good here at Dover, we just have to apply it to a new package and a new mindset and really put that into the race.”

Jones made a qualifying lap of 162.999 mph and will start 15th for Sunday’s race. Like a lot of the other drivers, Jones took notice of the fastness of his car and is looking forward to what those speeds can produce. Chase Elliott topped the board with a track-record mark of 165.960 mph in qualifying.

“We’re just really fast,” Jones said. “I don’t know how much faster we can go in the sense of tires and what the tires can take. I think we’re getting close to the limit of that. But as far as going out and going fast, we’re race car drivers, we want to go fast and we definitely got that this weekend.”

But going fast comes with its difficulties and it will definitely take a toll on the drivers’ bodies, possibly making it tougher than ever before due to the high speeds.

“Physically, yeah. It’s going to be more challenging,” Jones said. “It’s a long race and those corners are hard on your body. I think in that way, it will be tougher. As far as driving the cars, it’s just different. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily more challenging, it’s just a different way of getting there and a different mindset of how you need to approach it.”

Ten races into the 2019 season, Jones has two top fives and three top 10s, and knows that the beginning of his season has been a lot of preparation and educating himself on the new package.

“It’s been a learning process, especially the mile and a half tracks with the new downforce motor package, you have to relearn what you did in the past,” Jones said “It’s a totally different style of racing and I think most of our focus and preparation is just trying to figure out how to race on those mile and a halfs and how to be really good at them. That’s been a lot of my year and I think it changes each week.”

Crew chief Chris Gayle has been with Jones since his Cup Series debut in 2017 and that longevity has been an added bonus to the learning process.

“Me and Chris have a really good relationship and he’s able to really pinpoint the things we need to work on and figure out our weaknesses and where we can be stronger,” he said. “He’s a good team leader. It’s been nice to have him here to help with that stuff and see as we go through the years, the growth.”

Keeping his eye on the prize, Jones and his No. 20 team are hopeful that their time is coming and that Dover might be the place for it.

“We need to have a good weekend here in Dover and really get it turned around and in the right direction and I think we can do that,” Jones said.

Posted on by Staff Report

Jimmie Johnson made the most of Saturday’s final practice, heading the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series leaderboard at Dover International Speedway.

Johnson drove the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet to a best lap of 161.863 mph in the 50-minute session. Johnson tops the 1-mile track’s all-time list with 11 wins, but heads into Monday’s Gander RV 400 (Noon ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) with a 69-race losing streak that dates to his most recent Dover win in June 2017.

RELATED: Final practice results

“It went well,” Johnson said. “You know, the track changed so much from the start of practice to the end. I think all the teams are pretty smart to know that you need to keep changing every time you go out, even if the run before was really strong.  We kind of kept that philosophy and stayed with the progression of the track and continued to have a lot of pace in the car.

“So, it’s amazing how fast we are going after 15-20 laps still. There is not much drop off. There is a lot of drop off when you get to a pack of cars in front of you. I think that tall spoiler gives us a lot of confidence by ourselves, but in traffic I think we are going to have less available air and some issues there.”

Martin Truex Jr. secured the second-fastest lap (161.718 mph) in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota, putting him just ahead of JGR teammate Erik Jones (161.435), who was third-fastest in the No. 20 Toyota.

Kyle Larson took fourth on the practice leaderboard with Aric Almirola finishing out the top five. Almirola’s Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Ford team served a 15-minute penalty at the end of final practice after failing Friday’s pre-qualifying inspection twice.

MORE: No. 10 car chief ejected

Daniel Suarez scuffed the right side of his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford early in the session, scraping the outside retaining wall on the exit of Turn 4. He continued with cosmetic damage and claimed the sixth-fastest speed in final practice.

Chase Elliott, who won the Busch Pole in Friday’s qualifying, was 10th-fastest in final practice in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet. He’ll be vying for his second consecutive victory in the series, plus his second straight at Dover after prevailing at the Delaware oval last October.

Monday’s 400-miler is the 11th of 36 points-paying races for the Monster Energy Series. The tour returns to Dover on Oct. 6 in the NASCAR Playoffs.

Fog cancels Saturday’s early practice

Saturday’s early Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice was canceled by fog at Dover International Speedway.

RELATED: Full schedule for Dover

The second tune-up session of the weekend was scheduled for 50 minutes, but poor visibility kept cars off the 1-mile track after the scheduled start time of 9:05 a.m. ET. A light drizzle that began at 9:30 a.m. ET compounded the inclement weather and forced a delay to Xfinity Series qualifying, which was scheduled for a 10:10 a.m. ET start.

A breakdown of the track-drying equipment on hand at the Monster Mile: six Air Titans, four conventional jet dryers, two track vacuums and two tractor brooms.