Ryan Reed returns to NASCAR competition with DGR-Crosley at Las Vegas

Posted on February 20, 2019February 20, 2019 by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – DGR-Crosley announced today that Bakersfield, Calif. native Ryan Reed will drive the team’s No. 17 Toyota Tundra in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Strat 200 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. Reed, a person living with Type One Diabetes, will have support from Dexcom, Inc., a leader in diabetes care and management.

Reed most recently competed full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Over the past five seasons, the 25-year-old earned two wins, seven top-five and 26 top-10 finishes. In his accomplished career, Reed has only one Truck Series start which occurred at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2012. Overall, he has seven starts at the one-and-a-half-mile track where he has a best finish of ninth-place. When Reed gets behind the wheel of the No. 17 Dexcom Tundra, he will have veteran crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion calling the shots atop the pit box, and former Cup spotter David Keith guiding him from the spotter stand.

“Ryan has a lot of experience behind the wheel,” said team co-owner David Gilliland. “We are thrilled to welcome him to our program at DGR-Crosley. Not only will he be an asset to our program and provide key feedback as we continue to grow and improve, but it’ll also be an advantage to our younger drivers to have someone with his experience as their teammate. We’re looking forward to getting Ryan and Bono paired up in Vegas – I think it’s going to be a really strong pairing.”

For Reed, his journey back to racing begins in Las Vegas with DGR-Crosley.

“I’m thankful to everyone who has played a part in getting me back behind the wheel of a racecar,” said Reed. “Dexcom plays a huge part in my daily life and being able to manage my diabetes every day, and it’s cool to be able to connect them to another part of my life that I’m so passionate about. I was in Daytona over the weekend, and it was really disappointing to be there and not be racing. I’m thankful for Dexcom, David [Gilliland] and DGR-Crosley for giving me the opportunity to race again. This next part of my career is all about being competitive and being in equipment I know I can win in. I believe that DGR-Crosley is going to give me that opportunity at Vegas.”

The partnership with Dexcom has a significant impact on Reed who was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes at the age of 17. Reed uses a Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system to track his glucose level at all hours of the day, giving him a peace of mind in controlling his diabetes. Reed’s Dexcom CGM will be installed in the No. 17 Toyota Tundra to allow him to monitor his glucose levels throughout the competition.

The Strat 200 will take place on Friday, March 1 at 9:00 p.m., ET with a live televised broadcast on FS1. Natalie Decker and Anthony Alfredo will join Reed in the trio of DGR-Crosley Toyota Tundras at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Staff Report

Ask Ryan Blaney about this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the Team Penske driver gives a noticeable pause as contemplates the uncertainty he faces heading into the second race of the season.

Blaney’s pause is understandable with the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 the first race featuring the 2019 aerodynamic rules package that was designed to slow the cars down by reducing horsepower with the intent to create additional passing opportunities on intermediate-sized speedways. Precisely the kind of track the 1.54-mile Atlanta is. And with this package not used in the season-opening Daytona 500, this weekend represents the first time many drivers, including Blaney, will get to experience the rules package in either race or test conditions.

“I am trying not to anticipate much just because I haven’t driven the new package,” Blaney told NASCAR.com. “I try not to think about it too much. I just want to go out because you don’t know what to expect yet.

“We’ll just have to see how [the package] drives and how it races. I’m very curious.”

Although Blaney didn’t take part in a test over the offseason, Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and defending Cup champion Joey Logano each participated in different tests where they got a feel for the new rules package. Keselowski tested at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, while Logano tested at Auto Club Speedway. Keselowski posted the fastest single-lap speed (of the non-wheel force cars, 178.436 mph) in one of the three sessions at Las Vegas, site of next week’s NASCAR tripleheader weekend that includes races for all three national series.

Not only did Blaney solicit feedback from both his teammates, he also watched the stream of the Las Vegas test to form his own opinion. From his conversations with Keselowski and Logano, as well as his own observations, Blaney believes drivers will have to balance pursuing speed with getting their car to handle properly.

“It’s a pretty interesting game of how far do you want to trim your car out for overall speed versus handling,” Blaney said. “There were some cars that handled really well but maybe were a little bit slower at the beginning of a run. But, there were cars that were really fast at getting a run [on other cars] because the cars were trimmed-out but as the tires went away they became a handful to hang onto.

“It’s going to be neat to see how teams go about finding a middle ground. It’s just not something we’ve dealt with before in the Cup Series.”

PODCAST: Are you a Blaney fan? Check out ‘Glass Case of Emotion’

Figuring out the quirks of the rules package is not the only unknown Blaney is dealing with this weekend, Atlanta is also just the second race for the new Ford Mustang. And since there is little correlation between 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway and the high-speed Atlanta oval with an abrasive surface that greatly increases tire wear there wasn’t much Ford and its teams learned during Daytona Speedweeks that can be applied to Atlanta.

Ford’s switch to a different model style comes a season after the manufacturer dominated on the track. In addition to Logano capturing the Cup title, Ford drivers combined to win 19 of 36 races and their collective performance delivered Ford its first manufacturer championship since 2002.

Nonetheless, the expectation within the Ford camp is that even with a new car and the inevitable growing pains that come with it, their drivers will be able to replicate their many successes from a year ago.

“It’s hard to improve on last year, we won a lot of races, but we’re always trying to be better,” Blaney said. “I love the look of them at Daytona; I thought they were really fast at Daytona. And you hope that carryovers to every other racetrack.”

Posted on February 20, 2019February 22, 2019 by Staff Report

LIVE: Follow today’s practices!

NASCAR Digital will stream live the opening practice for all three national series this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway when the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series take to the 1.54-mile track for the second race weekend of the season. Bookmark https://www.nascar.com/live, the destination for all live practice streams this year.

For Friday specifically, the live-streaming schedule is as follows for users in the United States. Full practices will be posted to NASCAR’s YouTube channel later in the afternoon for fans who can’t watch live.

• 11:35 a.m.-12:55 p.m. ET: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice
• 1:05-1:55 p.m. ET: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice
• 2:05-2:55 p.m. ET: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series practice

RELATED: Full weekend schedule

FOX Sports will feature a multi-hour block of Fast Friday programming each race weekend, beginning at 3 p.m. ET; practices prior to 3 p.m. will be live streamed on NASCAR.com. Host Sara Walsh anchors Fast Friday this weekend, with analysts Ricky Craven and Jamie McMurray.

The Xfinity Series and Gander Outdoors Truck Series has a planned doubleheader on Saturday, with the Xfinity Series race starting at 2 p.m. ET and the Truck Series race following at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET. Both races will be on FS1.

The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 concludes the weekend with a 2 p.m. ET start time, Sunday on FOX.

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Marissa Fuller

It was a fairly calm NASCAR Xfinity Series season-opener at Daytona International Speedway with a variety of impressive runs by an underdog team with a feel-good story — and it did not get overlooked.

RSS Racing finished with two drivers in the top 10, the first time in team history that it put two cars inside the top 10 in an Xfinity Series race. Ryan Sieg finished fourth followed by Jeff Green in seventh. Josh Bilicki finished 23rd.

If the success that RSS Racing saw at Daytona is any indication of what’s to come for the small team based out of Sugar Hill, Georgia, we will be seeing a lot more of the Nos. 38, 39 and 93 Chevrolets running up front.

“We’re more prepared than ever,” Sieg told NASCAR.com. “It seems like every year we’re sort of fresh when we get to Daytona and then we just get behind. We started working earlier this year and with more qualified people, I would say.”

“There were some Xfinity teams that shut down in the off-season so there was some good help out there and that makes a world of a difference when you’ve got people who know what they’re doing as opposed to training people and showing them what to do. That just makes a really big difference to have the right people in the right spot.”

RELATED: Daytona race results

With only a handful of full-time employees, the RSS Racing team has had to work harder and longer to ensure its readiness for each race weekend. This is even more evident now with the fielding of three cars and a new engine provider in ECR Engines. The goals and expectations of the organization have risen notably, being able to look back at the beginning years and see growth.

“More people have to do more things,” Sieg said. “You compare a small team to a bigger team, you basically have one guy doing the job of 10 or 12 people. It’s a lot, a lot of long hours, late nights, some all-nighters.”

“We actually have cots above the race shop for guys to stay. They stay there for basically two weeks straight leading up to Daytona. It’s kind of old-school racing. They go get a couple hours of sleep and get back to work.”

With Daytona in the rear-view mirror, the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Rinnai 250 (2 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) but RSS doesn’t have to travel very far to get there.

“Atlanta is our home track,” Sieg said. “I think we’re the only team left that’s based out of Georgia. It’s our home race. We always seem to struggle there, we’ve never really had a good race for whatever reason. But, I think this year will be different. We have new and better cars. Jeff Green and Josh (Bilicki) will both be going there so we’ll have three cars total.”

Sieg has five starts at Atlanta, starting from the top 10 twice, but hasn’t finished inside the top 20 in any race except 2016 when he finished 16th. Green has 16 starts under his belt at Atlanta with one top five. Bilicki will make his first Atlanta start in the Xfinity Series this weekend. They’re hoping that the momentum from Daytona holds true and they see different results at their home track on Saturday.

“It’s a grind,” Sieg said. “We’ve done it now for four or five years and we kind of know what to expect. We have a better plan and we know what to do. Just being as prepared as you possibly can and I think it will start to show on the results side, too.”

RSS Racing currently has sponsorship slated for about 21 races. They like to keep it familiar and close-to-home with small, local companies such as Code Rum, that will be on the hood of Sieg’s No. 39 at Atlanta.

“We really like working with smaller, local companies,” Sieg said. “There’s probably about 10 or 12 that we work with throughout the year.”

There is a long season of racing ahead and Sieg and the RSS Racing team know that they have a lot of work to do but are confident that it is going to pay off and that they will be celebrating this growth by running in the top 10 more often – or maybe even Victory Lane.

“We always have a ‘week ahead’ mentality, like we know we’re going to Atlanta but in the back of our minds, it’s like, ‘OK, we’ve got the west coast swing after this,’” Sieg said.

Posted on February 20, 2019February 21, 2019 by Brad Norman

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, with Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) serving as the capstone of a triple-header weekend.

This is the first race on an intermediate track in 2019, and Monster Energy Series cars will use tapered spacers to reduce horsepower, but Atlanta won’t utilize aero ducts to transfer air to the side of the car away from the front tires like many other 1.5-mile tracks will this year.

We explain that, plus much more, below to get you ready for Atlanta weekend.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule

Know the rules

NASCAR officials announced in October two baseline rules packages for the 2019 Monster Energy Series season, making a move to bolster competition with enhanced aerodynamic and engine configurations.

The different packages are tailored to the specific tracks on the Monster Energy Series circuit, with a combination of a smaller tapered spacer to reduce engine horsepower to a target goal of 550 (from 750) and aero ducts to foster tighter racing on a majority of speedways measuring longer than 1 mile.

Although both features — the tapered spacer and the aero ducts — will be in place for 17 of 36 races, five other races will be run with just the tapered spacer and not the aero ducts. Atlanta is one of the five that will not use the ducts.

What about the rest?

Other than Atlanta, Monster Energy Series races at Pocono (both of them), Darlington and the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway will also deploy tapered spacers, but no aero ducts.

The full-blown package that includes both tapered spacers and aero ducts will debut next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where teams tested for two days in January.

WATCH: Las Vegas drafting practice

All about that base-line

Beyond the tapered spacers and ducts, the baseline aero elements of the 2019 rules package are a taller 8-inch by 61-inch rear spoiler, a larger front splitter with a 2-inch overhang, and a wider radiator pan that measures 37 inches wide in the front tapering to 31 inches at the rear. Those base changes will be in place at every race next season with the intent of adding downforce to stabilize handling, a break from a trend of downforce reduction from 2015-18.

“For us, it’s really a focus on getting back to a true focus on the drivers and what NASCAR is all about — close side-by-side racing and trying to deliver more of that,” NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said when the rules were announced last year.

What’s Good(year)?

Atlanta is known for its worn, weathered surface, sweeping turns and fast speeds. The combination yields high tire fall-off during a run, which lends itself to tire conservation and multiple pit strategies. With a 500-mile racing looming, teams will have 12 sets of tires at their disposal.

As for the tires themselves, Monster Energy Series teams — along with the NASCAR Xfinity Series — will run a left-side tire that hasn’t been used before. It features a construction update that will align Atlanta with what is run at other speedways, according to Goodyear. The right-side tire is a multi-zone tread, which Cup teams have used at Atlanta since 2016. This is the only track, though, where Cup teams will run either of those tires in 2019.

“Two things are sure about Atlanta Motor Speedway,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “First, it is an extremely worn track surface which is very hard on tires. And second, the racing there has been consistently entertaining.”

Posted on February 20, 2019February 20, 2019 by Steve Luvender

Racing for real teams and with six figures in prizes on the line, the eNASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series heads to the virtual Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the second race of the season Tuesday, Feb. 26 (9 p.m. ET, eNASCAR.com). Here’s a look at where we rank the top iRacing competitors.

12. Jimmy Mullis
Change: NR
Comment: Mullis came just one position — well, more like one foot — short of his second-career victory Tuesday at Daytona. He’ll have momentum on his side.

11. Nickolas Shelton
Change: +1
Comment: Despite a disappointing season opener, Shelton heads to a track where he finished third last year. Shelton hasn’t scored a top five since his win at Charlotte last May, but there’s no better place to turn around his luck than Vegas.

10. Logan Clampitt
Change: -3
Comment: After missing Daytona, Clampitt looks to get his season on track in Las Vegas, despite starting the year in the hole.

9. Christian Challiner
Change: —
Comment: Christian Challiner finished fifth at Daytona after starting 30th, so he clearly knows a thing or two about passing cars.

8. Nick Ottinger
Change: —
Comment: Ignoring when he’s run into issues, Nick Ottinger’s last four Las Vegas finishes have been 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th. A 13th-place wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world after a solid showing at Daytona.

7. Zack Novak
Change: NR
Comment: The Daytona winner heads to the desert, where he’s showed speed in the past, including scoring the pole position last year.

6. Matt Bussa
Change: —
Comment: The 2017 Las Vegas pole-sitter had an average showing at Daytona — but that consistency is what led to success in the 2018 postseason.

5. Bobby Zalenski
Change: —
Comment: Has anybody ever noticed the guy named Bobby is driving the No. 18 Interstate Batteries car for Joe Gibbs Racing?

4. Michael Conti
Change: -1
Comment: Las Vegas isn’t one of Conti’s best tracks, with a 20.14 average finish in seven starts.

3. Keegan Leahy
Change: +1
Comment: Keegan Leahy led 45 laps in his first Las Vegas outing last year until his untimely departure. Coming off a podium at Daytona, we expect Leahy will contend again in his sophomore season.

2. Ray Alfalla
Change: -1
Comment: Despite four top fives at Las Vegas, a win has eluded Four-Time in the desert.

1. Ryan Luza
Change: +1
Comment: Luza managed to avoid trouble at Daytona and score his career best finish — sixth — and now heads to a track where he’s undefeated. We see no reason Luza can’t go 3-for-3 in Vegas.

Posted on February 20, 2019March 19, 2019 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Nominations open today for The NASCAR Foundation’s Ninth Annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award, which honors the philanthropic ideals and vision of the late Betty Jane France, who started the foundation in 2006.

The NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award is presented annually to a NASCAR fan in recognition of community service that has significantly impacted the health and wellbeing of children. Since its inception, the award has produced $1.4 million in donations to charities represented by each year’s four finalists, impacting the lives of approximately 300,000 children in need.

Four individual award finalists and the charitable causes they represent will be announced in November; after a one-month on-line vote, the award winner will be announced during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Awards in December. Each finalist will be guaranteed to receive a minimum $25,000 donation from The NASCAR Foundation, with a $100,000 donation provided to the award winner, as determined by the online vote.

“We are coming off an outstanding year when the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award really connected with our fan base,” said Nichole Krieger, executive director of The NASCAR Foundation. “The connection produced nominees that embodied what our award is all about. They loved their work, but they also loved NASCAR.

“We anticipate a similar turnout this year. We are excited to see the nominations start coming in.”

Nominations will close on Friday, March 22. The nomination form can be accessed online at NASCARfoundation.org/Award; completed forms can be submitted via e-mail or regular mail.

Posted on February 20, 2019February 20, 2019 by Chase Wilhelm

Denny Hamlin has etched his name on the Harley J. Earl trophy for the second time in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career, marking his 32nd race win at NASCAR’s highest level.

The victory also earned Hamlin his fourth triumph in crown-jewel events, scoring a pair of Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in 2010 and 2017.

But do those accomplishments make Hamlin a lock for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, or will he need to earn that elusive championship to prove himself worthy of the legendary accolade? NASCAR.com’s Brad Norman and Chase Wilhelm debate.

WILHELM: Yes, Denny Hamlin is hands down a lock for the NASCAR Hall of Fame with his second Daytona 500 victory on Sunday. I’m a firm believer that a driver’s potential place in the Hall of Fame doesn’t ride on whether or not a championship is won (i.e., Mark Martin), rather, there are multiple factors to consider.

Hamlin became only the 12th driver in history to win multiple Daytona 500s. In addition, he has a pair of Southern 500 victories, five Martinsville wins, a win on every type of race track on the circuit, along with 17 Xfinity Series and two Gander Outdoors Truck Series victories. Hamlin has placed 11th or better in the final points standings on 11 occasions in 13 full-time seasons, while also ranking third or better three times at season’s end.

While the 38-year-old has more years behind him than ahead of him, Hamlin still has a decent chance to hoist the big trophy in Miami before it’s all said and done. But with the stats as they stand right now, Hamlin already has a place among other greats of the sport someday.

NORMAN: The question here isn’t whether or not Denny Hamlin will have built a Hall of Fame resume by the time he retires, at whatever point that comes in the future. The question is whether or not Hamlin, as of this very moment, has done enough to be inducted in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. And he has not.

Let’s not get lost in this post-Daytona 500 bliss here. Hamlin’s NASCAR history would be the envy of most other drivers at the sport’s highest level. His crown jewel wins — four of ’em — absolutely hold weight. But as it stands right now, he simply hasn’t done enough. Not yet.

With 32 wins, Hamlin is tied with Dale Jarrett — yes, a NASCAR Hall of Famer himself — on the all-time wins list. “Wow, he’s so much better than I am,” Hamlin remarked when told of that after his Daytona win. “Those are guys that, I mean, I idolized growing up. I shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath as Dale Jarrett.”

What stops Hamlin from being a lock is, yes, the lack of a title. And not just the lack of a Monster Energy Series championship — the lack of a title in any of NASCAR’s three national series. The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran, though, has plenty of time to bolster his case over the next several years. And bolster it, he’ll need to do. Because he’s not quite there yet.

Posted on February 19, 2019February 19, 2019 by Staff Report

Tony Stewart hasn’t forgotten about his confrontation with Joey Logano at Auto Club Speedway in 2013 — or the emotions that went with it.

Stewart shared his candid thoughts with Dale Earnhardt Jr. while the two retired Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers talked on Earnhardt Jr.’s “Dale Jr. Download” released Tuesday.

The incident started when Logano, in Stewart’s view, ran the No. 14 down the race track following a restart with 11 laps to go. Stewart lost a number of spots while trying to clean his tires off after being blocked down on the apron.

“I was so mad at Joey,” Stewart recalled. “Joey had a real big habit at that time of running you all over the race track, and he literally ran me down to the grass where nobody had been all day.”

Stewart made his frustration known after the race, pulling up his No. 14 to Logano’s No. 22 on pit road. Stewart bolted toward Logano, getting a shove in before the fuelman from Danica Patrick’s No. 10 team pulled him away.

“I had Joey hemmed up,” Stewart said. “… I’m like, ‘I got his ass now. I’m gonna dot his I, cross his T. We got this.’

“By that time, a big fuel guy grabs me by the collar and pulls me back like I’m a rag doll.”

Posted on February 19, 2019February 19, 2019 by Staff Report

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart weren’t always the fast friends that they are now.

In fact, it took a scuffle for them to realize they should be pals.

The two retired Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers talked on Earnhardt Jr.’s “Dale Jr. Download” released Tuesday, and reminisced about the first time they met — in the now-NASCAR Xfinity Series hauler at Pikes Peak International Raceway on June 14, 1998.

Earnhardt Jr. and Stewart were called there after Stewart “punted (Junior) into Turn 1” following an intense battle on the track.

“There was an altercation and pushing and shoving between me and his crew chief,” Earnhardt Jr. remembered. “Nobody ever really got popped or anything.”

Fast forward one week later when both drivers were in Milwaukee for a then-Busch Grand National Series race. Stewart stopped Dale Jr. in the pits.

“I would never have done this so it probably would have been awkward for a long time if it was up to me,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “But he came up to me … and said, ‘Hey man, we’re going to be racing each other a long time, so let’s be friends. Let’s not run into each other anymore. Let’s not drag this out.’

“He’s like, ‘I’ve got no problem with you. Let’s be cool.’

“And we’ve been cool.”