Posted on by Sean Montgomery

Professional stock car racing wasn’t in the blood for Matt Tifft, a 22-year-old from Medina County, Ohio — he turns 23 on June 26th. However, strong support from family and friends led Tifft to becoming one of NASCAR’s youngest drivers in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Growing up in the small town of Hinckley, Tifft traveled across state lines to Michigan almost every weekend to experience dirt track races with his dad and a family friend. From there, he genuinely knew he wanted to be behind the wheel.

“We would spend time with family and go watch the races and those were always some of my favorite memories as a kid,” Tifft said. “So, from a young age, I began asking myself the question of how to get started in racing.”

Tifft started out at 11 years old, racing go-karts at the local, state and national levels. By the time he was 15, the Ohio native was racing full-sized stock cars on the ARCA Midwest Tour. At age 18, he made his debut in NASCAR’s Gander Outdoors Truck Series, and during the 2015 campaign, he raced his way to five top-10 finishes in just 12 races.

He quickly moved up to the Xfinity Series, racing full-time with the Joe Gibbs Racing team — and later with Richard Childress Racing — amassing 32 top-10 finishes and eight top-five finishes in full-time duty from 2017 to 2018. A solid year in 2018 opened the doors for Tifft to move up to the Cup Series, as he began conversations with Front Row Motorsports to join their stable of experienced drivers.

RELATED: Tifft joins Front Row Motorsports in third car

In spite of having established success at many lower levels, Tifft knew the transition to a new team in the Cup Series would be one of the biggest challenges of his career. He made his Monster Energy Series debut in February at the 2019 Daytona 500 but got caught up in the “Big One” late in the race — a 21-car accident. Here, he learned that the level of competition is much higher and the margin for error each week is very slim.

“The first couple of weeks were definitely a big adjustment and I had to lean on my teammates a lot,” he said. “Being with Front Row, a smaller team, you have to race the race differently than if you were racing for a top-tier team.”

Working alongside veteran drivers and teammates Michael McDowell and David Ragan has been vital for Tifft, allowing him to grow on and off the track.

“Learning what they (my teammates) do and how they approach races to have a successful day has been important,” he said. “My original goal was to just be able to finish and learn the races, but now I can shoot for top 25s and top 20s. Three out of the last five races we’ve finished in the top 25, which met our goal.”

For the entire Front Row Motorsports team, Tifft said a main focus for 2019 has been getting better each race and becoming more consistent.

“We’ve got to get better at capitalizing on opportunities,” Tifft said. “We’ve been there, and the next goal is figuring out how we solidify ourselves in the top 20 and start getting some top 15s and maybe sneak out a top 10 somewhere.”

RELATED: Tifft’s season results so far

In 15 starts this season, Tifft has a pair of top-20 finishes. The Front Row rookie and crew chief Mike Kelley have finished all but two, an important goal for the pairing. Tifft will head to the first road course race of his Cup career as the series goes to Sonoma on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Staff Report

Trackside Live makes its return in Wine Country, as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the winding roads of Sonoma Raceway for the first road course showdown of the season!

The live show will begin Sunday, June 23 at 11:30 a.m. ET with a special guest appearance from driver Kyle Larson.

Q&As, games and more family fun will be a part of this unique experience so join in on the excitement and don’t miss your opportunity to soak up the sun and be a part of this must-see event — all leading up to the Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).

WATCH: Trackside Live | MORE: Full schedule for Sonoma | Buy tickets

Can’t make it to the track? Don’t worry, you can still watch! The entire show will be streamed live on NASCAR.com here.

 

 

Posted on by Team Release

SANDUSKY, Ohio – ThorSport Racing announces Myatt Snider will pilot the No. 13 Tenda Ford F-150 this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (WWTR) near St. Louis, Missouri.

RELATED: Full schedule for Gateway

With one start at the track in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, Snider started the 2018 event 14th, where he raced to a fourth-place finish. The 2018 Sunoco Racing Rookie of the Year, Snider amassed three top-five and eight top-10 finishes on his way to the honor that included 55 laps led.

“We had one of our best finishes of the year last season at Gateway, and I can’t wait to see what we can do again this year with the No. 13 Tenda team and ThorSport Racing,” noted Snider. “I’m really thankful for Duke and Rhonda Thorson to give me the chance to step back into the truck and compete this weekend. I’m pumped for the race, and to work with many of my guys from last year on the No. 13 Ford Performance team.”

RELATED: NASCAR suspended Sauter for one race

Snider has made two starts in 2019 recording a season-best finish, sixth, at Martinsville Speedway.

Televised action for the CarShield 200 presented by CK Power at WWTR will air Saturday, June 22, at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) / FOX Sports App. Additional coverage can be found via the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Channel 90.

Posted on by Staff Report

Comcast NBCUniversal plans to round out the NASCAR Salutes initiative with a flourish, announcing Wednesday that it will sponsor the Xtreme Concepts Racing No. 81 Toyota driven by Jeffrey Earnhardt with a patriotic paint scheme in the Xfinity Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

Comcast announced the “Salute to Service” design for Earnhardt’s entry, which will hit the track Saturday, June 29 at the 1.5-mile Illinois track. Earnhardt will be making his seventh Xfinity Series start of the season at Chicagoland, and just his second this season for the Xtreme Concepts organization.

RELATED: More about NASCAR Salutes

The company also announced that it would showcase its support of the U.S. armed services with the names of active military units and installations on the windshield headers of every car in the field at Daytona International Speedway for the fourth straight year.

“At Comcast NBCUniversal, our sustained commitment to our nation’s military community has never been stronger,” said Brigadier General (Ret.) Carol Eggert, Senior Vice President of Military and Veteran Affairs at Comcast NBCUniversal. “We truly value the tremendous contributions of those who serve our country and wanted to recognize them and their families in a special way as we celebrate our country’s independence.\

Comcast NBCUniversal also plans to support other special programs, including inviting more that 100 local service members and their families to the track. Earnhardt will make an public appearance at the Xfinity Store near the speedway in Joliet, Illinois, on Thursday, June 27 from 6-7 p.m. CT.

“I’m really excited to be partnering with Comcast and the military on the Comcast Salute to Service Toyota for Chicagoland Speedway,” Earnhardt said in a news release. “Our race team at Xtreme Concepts Racing feels as though we can’t ever do enough for the men and women that protect us and it’s awesome to be partnered with a company like Comcast that feels the same. We will give the fans at Chicagoland Speedway and watching on NBCSN something awesome to cheer for. Hopefully, they watch us park it in Victory Lane.”

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Regan Smith, current NASCAR analyst and pit reporter for FOX Sports, is temporarily trading in the microphone for the familiarity of a steering wheel this summer. Smith broke the news on “NASCAR Race Hub,” and JR Motorsports confirmed that he’ll return to his former team to drive the No. 8 Chevrolet in NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Aug. 10) and Road America (Aug. 24). Smith will also reunite with longtime partner Fire Alarm Services for the events.

It marks the 35-year-old Smith’s first Xfinity start in two years and his first for JRM since 2016. The Cato, N.Y., native started his JRM career in a memorable way in 2012, winning in his team debut at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Smith moved into a full-time role for the organization from 2013-2015, a highly successful three-year stint that produced five wins – including one at Mid-Ohio – 26 top fives and 71 top 10s, along with a Most Popular Driver Award. Smith’s best points finish, a second-place effort in the 2014 NXS championship, crowned JRM the first team in 14 years to claim first and second in the series point standings.

RELATED: Xfinity Series schedule

“I can’t tell you how pumped I am for this,” Smith said. “Dale, Kelley and everyone at JRM have been like family to me, so in a way, it feels like I’m coming home. I have great memories of the years I spent there and the success we had during that time. And to have Fire Alarm on board for these races makes it all the more meaningful. They’ve been both friends and supporters of mine for a long time.”

Smith’s No. 8 Fire Alarm Services entry will be nearly identical to the neon green and flat black paint scheme he carried to victory with JRM in 2015 at Dover International Speedway. With headquarters in Arvada, Colo., Fire Alarm Services Inc. provides superior Fire Life Safety and Security services and products for protecting its clients’ real-estate investment. The company brings a fresh and innovative approach to the Fire Life Safety industry with an emphasis on developing lasting client relationships and unmatched customer service.

“Regan is a great friend, and he means so much to our company,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr. “He won a lot of races here, but for me his significance was no more evident than in his very first race for JRM at the end of 2012. That win at Homestead was enormous. It ended a winless streak for JR Motorsports that had dragged us down for more than two years. It was a tone-setter. It gave us momentum that, to be honest, I’m not sure we’ve ever lost. That’s what Regan means to this company, and that’s why I’m thrilled to have him back for these two races at Mid-Ohio and Road America.”

Smith is the ninth driver named to the No. 8 this season. The team, led by crew chief Taylor Moyer, is currently ranked 10th in owner points on the strength of four top-five and 11 top-10 finishes.

Posted on by Staff Report

Leavine Family Racing became the latest team to announce a commemorative paint scheme honoring Darrell Waltrip’s final race for FOX Sports, revealing a No. 95 Toyota that pays tribute to the driver-turned-broadcaster’s earliest days on the track.

RELATED: Paint Scheme Preview

Matt DiBenedetto will drive a throwback No. 95 ride that resembles the design campaigned by DW in 1974, a year that produced Waltrip’s first pole position in NASCAR’s top division. The car, sponsored by Procore, will hit the track in this Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Sonoma Raceway.

The design was unveiled Wednesday on FOX Sports’ “Race Hub” news program.

LFR’s entry is at least the third organization celebrating Waltrip’s broadcasting career. Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 17 and Front Row Motorsports’ No. 38 will also recognize Waltrip this weekend.

Posted on by Staff Report

Stage points have gone out the window for the winners of the past two Sonoma races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Both Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. chose to forgo stage points in order to get track position on the way to their wine-soaked wins in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

According to Racing Insights, Harvick made four pit stops during his 2017 win, with two of them coming two laps before the end of a stage. Meanwhile, Truex took a similar approach last season, pitting a total of three times with two of those stops coming two laps before the end of a stage.

RELATED: Full Sonoma schedule

On the other hand, the stage winners the past two seasons haven’t fared as well. Truex and Jimmie Johnson won the stages in 2017 but finished the race 37th and 13th, respectively. AJ Allmendinger and Denny Hamlin won the stages in 2018 and finished 38th and 10th in the race.

Something to keep in mind as you watch the race on FS1 and when you set your lineups in the Fantasy Live game or place your Props Challenge picks this week.

Now for the rest of the rundown for this Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM).

IT’S BACK!

After more than 20 years without it, Sonoma Raceway is bringing back the carousel section to help celebrate the track’s 50th anniversary. This means drivers will drop down coming out of Turn 4 and make a big, sweeping left turn through Turns 6 and 6A before popping back up onto what has been the normal layout of late in Turn 7.

Read what some drivers are saying about the carousel’s return.

TIRES

It’s the first chance to break out the Goodyear Eagle Road Course Radials this season. Each team will get three sets for practice, one set for qualifying and seven sets for the race (six race sets, plus one set transferred from qualifying or practice).

Adding the carousel lengthens the track from 1.99 miles to 2.52 miles and will make the technical road course even more tight. As a result, Goodyear is bringing one of its most tractive tread compounds in the entire 2019 tire lineup.

Goodyear will also bring its wet weather radials for Sonoma should NASCAR decide that conditions warrant. But they tell us it never rains in Northern California.

RULES PACKAGE

Sonoma will feature the 2019 rules package for road courses, and that means no aero ducts and a tapered-spacer engine expected to reach 750 horsepower.

TUNE-IN INFORMATION
TV: FS1 (3 p.m. ET)
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
NASCAR.com: Live leaderboard, Drive, RaceView
Trackside Live: 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday

Of note: The FOX part of the 2019 Cup schedule wraps up this weekend, and it will be Darrell Waltrip’s last broadcast, i.e. the last time to hear him utter the famous “Boogity, boogity, boogity” line. He is sure to have something special up his sleeve worth tuning in for, and several drivers will be driving cars paying homage to Waltrip’s former paint schemes. | See the schemes

Posted on by Staff Report

A member of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel upheld penalties Wednesday against the Niece Motorsports No. 44 team for violations found in post-race inspection after last Sunday’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series event at Iowa Speedway.

The Al Niece-owned truck was found to be too low in the front after Ross Chastain drove it to an apparent victory in Sunday’s M&M’s 200 at the .875-mile track. Competition officials disqualified Chastain and the Niece organization, handing the win to Brett Moffitt, who was scored second as the checkered flag unfurled.

RELATED: Moffitt declared winner after No. 44 ruled too low

In filing the expedited appeal, Niece indicated that it planned to argue that minor damage during the course of the 200-lap race caused the No. 44 Chevrolet to fail the minimum height requirement. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series does not have a ride-height rule, but those guidelines exist in the Xfinity and Gander Trucks tours.

Wednesday’s appeal was heard by Bryan Moss, the former Gulfstream Aerospace president who was appointed as the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer in 2014. His ruling is final and cannot be appealed. Under this type of appeals process, the burden of proof rested with NASCAR to demonstrate that a rules violation had occurred and that the penalty was appropriate.

Niece Motorsports representatives, including Chastain, released a statement through social media shortly after the hearing’s outcome was announced.

Chastain and Niece were also stripped of their two stage wins, stage points and any benefits from the victory that would apply to playoff eligibility. Chastain was demoted to a last-place finish in the 32-truck field, earning five championship points, and all other drivers were moved up by one position in the finishing order. Officials also redistributed stage wins to ThorSport Racing teammates Matt Crafton and Ben Rhodes.

Chastain recently changed his series eligibility, declaring June 4 that he would collect points toward the Gander Trucks championship after opening the season with a focus on the NASCAR Xfinity Series. That left the 26-year-old driver with the challenge of starting with zero points midway through the regular season, requiring him to win and move into the top 20 in the series standings to qualify for the eight-driver playoff field.

Chastain had already scored a Gander Trucks victory this season, prevailing May 10 at Kansas Speedway for the first win of his career in the series. But that triumph did not carry championship implications as Chastain was eligible for Xfinity Series points at the time.

The last time an apparent NASCAR national-series winner was disqualified was when the Emerald Performance Group’s No. 19 Chevrolet driven by Mike Skinner was found with an unapproved cylinder head in an Xfinity Series race in March 1999 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Three days after that decision, the penalty was overturned in an appeal and Skinner was restored as the race winner.

The last national-series disqualification that was upheld came in August 1995 after Dale Jarrett’s first-finishing No. 32 Ford was penalized for an illegal intake manifold at Michigan International Speedway. Mark Martin inherited the victory.

Posted on by PJ Walsh

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and
is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

As a NASCAR fan, I love road course racing. I also look forward to Sonoma Raceway because I’ve done well betting on road-course races in the past.

Because running well at these types of race tracks requires a different skill set than what is needed to click off fast laps on ovals, drivers other than NASCAR’s usual suspects can find ways to get out front, whether it’s because of raw speed or the unique pit strategies teams execute at road course races.

After perusing betting odds for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma, I zeroed in on a 100-1 long shot who showed enough speed at last season’s road-course races to jump on now.

Alex Bowman (100-1) to Win

Bowman took well to road-course racing last year in his first full-time season at Hendrick Motorsports, highlighted by a ninth-place finish in this event one year ago.

But what excites me most about Bowman isn’t just the solid run at Sonoma in 2018, but his performance across all three road-course events.

Alex backed up that ninth-place finish with a 14th-place result at Watkins Glen. And while the Charlotte Roval isn’t a typical road course, Bowman excelled there by qualifying third before ultimately finishing fourth.

Bowman certainly wasn’t mixing it up with the leaders in any of these three events, but if he was, he also wouldn’t be priced at 100-1 this weekend.

When it comes to drivers in this price range, we’re simply looking for breadcrumbs as to why one might be able to get out front late due to speed or strategy, and then have the ability to hang on for an upset win.

In Bowman, we’re getting a driver who finished ninth, 14th and fourth at the three road-course races at 100-1 odds.

The entire No. 88 team has been improving all season and is clearly better than it was at this point in 2018, which only adds more value to this big number.

Posted on by Staff Report

The Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America went big for its 25th anniversary edition, with the longest route in the history of the philanthropic event. Tuesday, the charity indicated that its impact posted momentous numbers, both in mileage and fund-raising.

The charity ride announced Tuesday that this year’s event raised more than $1.7 million to support the Victory Junction camp for children with chronic illnesses. Additionally, a $2 million donation was provided to the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Trust by the family of late charity rider David Andreas.

MORE: Inside Petty’s plans for 25th charity ride (May 1)

Riders stay in formation with mountainscapes behind them in the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America.
Kevin Kane Photography

Petty, the 59-year-old former driver who now works for NBC Sports as a broadcaster and analyst, was among 250 participants in this year’s ride, which stretched some 3,700 miles from Seattle, Washington to Key Largo, Florida from May 3-11. Along the way, ride officials reported being honored by 15 mayoral appearances, making proclamations or offering keys to the city.

“This year’s Ride was amazing! We had beautiful views, crowds at every stop, police escorts the entire trip, a little rain, fun visits with Victory Junction campers, great food and lots of laughs with friends for nine straight days,” Petty said in a release provided by the charitable organization. “When you get 250 people together that care about kids, want to help others and love to ride motorcycles, it’s going to be fun! Riding corner to corner across America just made it more special.”

The Kyle Petty Charity Ride has raised $18.5 million for children’s charities since it began in 1995. Since 2004, it has primarily benefited the Victory Junction camp, established in Randleman, North Carolina to honor the memory of Petty’s son Adam.