Posted on by Terrin Waack

There are two types of drivers in the racing world: those who play it safe and those who don’t.

Maybe safe isn’t the correct word. Strategic might be better. Smart works, too.

Regardless, William Byron falls into that category. In the last seven races, the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has moved up the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship points standings just as many spots. He was 19th after finishing 20th at Kansas Speedway in May and now sits 12th after a second-place run at Daytona International Speedway.

RELATED: Updated standings | Schedule for Kentucky

That jump is thanks to the 238 points Byron has accumulated since Kansas, a stretch which featured four top-10 performances and that one runner-up finish. He earned at least 17 points in each race, with a high of 45 at Pocono Raceway.

Then there’s Clint Bowyer. The driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford has been trending in the opposite direction, with a seeming focus on wins. He currently is ranked 15th with 444 points. Seven weeks ago, however, he was ninth.

As other drivers, such as Byron, stacked up points, Bowyer has added just 125 since Kansas, despite a pair of top-five finishes. Two races – at Michigan International Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway – saw him earn a combined total of only three points. His best was 38 at Kansas.

The numbers between Byron and Bowyer are so different because Byron has put an emphasis on stage points. If a driver wins a stage, he or she gets a playoff point (not relevant in this comparison) and 10 regular-season points. Second then gets nine points, third gets eight, fourth gets seven … and so on.

Of Byron’s 238 points in the last seven races, 64 were from stage points alone. He closed out 10 of the 15 stages (Charlotte had three rather than two) in the top 10 and even won Stage 1 at Sonoma Raceway. The only race in that span where he didn’t earn any stage points was Kansas.

Bowyer, on the other hand, had five races without a single stage point. He’s four-for-15 with 16 stage points in the past seven races.

MORE: Monster Energy Series stage points

There only are eight races left in the regular season, starting with the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway this Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), and neither Byron nor Bowyer has won a race. Therefore, they are not guaranteed a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs. They currently are only safe right now due to where they rank in the standings.

Sixteen drivers make the playoff field. Daniel Suarez is right outside the bubble in 17th place. He trails Ryan Newman for the final spot by three points. That leaves Bowyer in a risky situation, above the cutoff line by just four points.

Byron, meanwhile, has a 58-point cushion.

Time is running out, and only time will tell whose game plan ultimately pays off. Go for the checkered flag, or go for the stage points. A trip to Victory Lane would make all of this irrelevant, but that’s much easier said than done.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE

William Byron . Clint Bowyer
12th Standings 15th
498 Points 444
0 Wins 0
1 Top 5s 5
6 Top 10s 8
1 DNFs 5
180 Laps led 45
1 Stage wins 0

 

LAST SEVEN RACES

                     . Stage 1 Stage 2 Finish Total Pts Stage Pts Standings
Track WB CB WB CB WB CB WB CB WB CB WB CB
Kansas – 8 – 8 20 5 17 38 – 6 19 9
Charlotte 6 – 5/- -/- 9 24 39 13 11 – 15 11
Pocono 2 – 3 – 9 5 45 32 17 – 14 10
Michigan – – 8 – 18 35 22 2 3 – 14 12
Sonoma 1 – 3 – 19 11 36 26 18 – 14 12
Chicago 8 – 7 – 8 37 36 1 7 – 12 16
Daytona – 7 3 5 2 34 43 13 8 10 12 15

 

Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 22 Team Penske Xfinity Series team was issued an L1-level penalty Thursday at Kentucky Speedway for an illegal body modification to its car, and crew chief Brian Wilson was escorted from the garage as a result.

NASCAR officials discovered the modification during inspection and issued the penalty before Xfinity Series cars took the track at the 1.5-mile speedway.

RELATED: Full schedule for Kentucky

The L1 penalty comes with a loss of 10 points for driver Austin Cindric and team owner Roger Penske, along with a one-race suspension to Wilson — which he will serve at this race. The team also was fined $10,000.

Cindric entered the Kentucky event fourth in the standings with six top fives and 13 top 10s on the season.

It was confirmed that the No. 22 team made the appropriate fixes to the Ford and did not need to go to a backup car. Cindric was fifth fastest in the first NASCAR Xfinity Series practice on Thursday with a best lap of 175.970 mph.

RELATED: No. 52 truck confiscated

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kyle Busch, the 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, took home some hardware at last night’s ESPY Awards, winning Best Driver – his second win in the last four years.

Busch, who also won the award in 2016, received the most votes in the category full of elite drivers including Formula One’s Lewis Hamilton, NHRA’s Steve Torrence and IndyCar’s Scott Dixon.

RELATED: Every national series win for Kyle Busch 

With Busch’s win, NASCAR drivers have now won the award in four of the past five seasons (Martin Truex Jr. – 2018; Kyle Busch – 2016; and Kevin Harvick – 2015).

Busch won eight races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, tying Harvick for the most in the series. He also logged 28 top 10s and 22 top fives across 36 total points races. Busch is poised for another title run in 2019, as he has already logged four wins, 10 top fives and 15 top 10s in 18 starts this season.

Back in March at Auto Club Speedway, Busch picked up his 200th career NASCAR national series victory, the same track where he notched his first career Monster Energy Series victory in 2005. Heading into this weekend at Kentucky Speedway for the Quaker State 400, Busch will be gunning for his 56th career win in NASCAR’s premier series.

Tune-in to NBCSN this Saturday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET to watch Busch and NASCAR’s best at Kentucky, or listen live on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials confiscated the No. 52 Halmar Racing Chevrolet of driver Stewart Friesen on Thursday morning at Kentucky Speedway after the sanctioning body found the vehicle not acceptable.

The team was permitted to remove the driver safety equipment before the confiscation. The organization rolled out its backup truck to run in the series’ opening practice Thursday morning.

NASCAR officials later confirmed it was a firewall issue in the truck. Friesen must start Thursday night’s Gander Trucks race (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) from the rear of the field, but no team members will be ejected. The team was also permitted to keep the tires from the confiscated truck.

MORE: This weekend’s schedule

Any additional penalties likely will be announced next week.

Friesen currently is second in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series and has three consecutive top-five finishes, including two consecutive third-place efforts. He trails Grant Enfinger by 52 points for the series points lead.

 

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Trackside Live is back at the Bluegrass State! The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series return to Kentucky Speedway this weekend for an action-packed tripleheader race weekend, and Trackside Live will be along for the ride with two shows.

The live shows will be Friday, July 12th at 3 p.m. ET and Saturday, July 13th at 4 p.m. ET with Monster Energy Series drivers Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Daniel Hemric and Ryan Newman scheduled as guests over the two shows.

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

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 Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).

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 Reid Spencer

With four races left in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series regular season, there are still four spots available for the postseason Playoffs, and the competition for those berths is certain to amp up in Thursday’s Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The assertion that four spots are available is based on the reasonable assumption that Ross Chastain cracks the top 20 in the series standings. Having declared for the series championship in mid-season, Chastain took the first step toward a Playoff spot with his victory at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway near St. Louis.

Chastain is currently 24th in the series standings, but he’s only 10 points behind Jennifer Jo Cobb in 20th.

RELATED: Gander Trucks standings 

Currently, only two of the top eight drivers—Brett Moffitt and Austin Hill—have won races this season. Johnny Sauter and Chastain are 10th and 24th, respectively, but are expected to punch their Playoff tickets because of their victories.

That leaves six of the top eight in the standings—Grant Enfinger, Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton, Ben Rhodes, Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland scrambling for the remaining four positions. A win at Kentucky would be a huge boon for any of those six drivers.

Posted on by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Bluegrass State for a Saturday night showdown at the 1.5-mile tri-oval at Kentucky Speedway.

Heading into Saturday’s Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), here’s the rundown.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Kentucky

TRACK DETAILS

Kentucky Speedway is a 1.5-mile tri-oval which opened in 2000 and was first introduced to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule in 2011. The 72-feet wide asphalt racing surface has a 1,600-foot backstretch with a 17-degree banking in Turn 1 and 2 and a 14-degree banking in Turn 3 and 4. The inaugural race took place in July 2011, and was won by Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing.

RULES PACKAGE

The Kentucky Speedway rules package will mirror the setup used at other 1.5-mile tracks this season — the same package most recently at Chicagoland in the race won by Alex Bowman. The engine will be fitted with a tapered spacer generating an expected horsepower of about 550. Cars will also feature aero ducts.

TIRES

Each Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team will get 12 sets of Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials — three sets for practice, one set for qualifying, and eight sets for the race (7 sets plus one transferred from qualifying or practice). The tire features a new compound change that adjusts for a relatively newer and smoother racing surface, as Kentucky was repaved before the 2017 race.

STATS

  • Brad Keselowski has dominated the 1.5-mile track, picking up three career wins in eight starts — more than any other driver in the track’s history. That tops Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., who are tied with two wins apiece.
  • A Chevrolet driver has never won at Kentucky — only claiming a trio of runner-up finishes. A Toyota team has hoisted the trophy in five out of the eight races at the track.
  • Despite being winless in 2019, Jimmie Johnson boasts the longest active streak of top-10 finishes at 1.5-mile tracks with four. The longest top-10 streak of his career is six, spanning from the late 2015 to early 2016 season. The seven-time Cup Series champion also has the most 1.5-mile wins is NASCAR history at 28 — 11 more than former teammate Jeff Gordon (17).
  • Dating back to the track’s inaugural race in 2011, Kentucky Speedway has the highest percentage of wins from the pole position with drivers starting first winning 37.5 percent of the time. That’s nearly 2.5 percent better than second-highest Michigan International Speedway (35.29 percent).

RELATED: Kentucky TV schedule

LIVE COVERAGE

Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race will be televised live on NBCSN and streamed live on NBC Sports App. For the radio broadcast, tune in to coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Navigate to NASCAR.com for the live leaderboard and interactive options, including in-car cameras on Drive and in-car audio on RaceView.

2018 RACE WINNER

Martin Truex Jr. started on the pole and made his way across the finish line to take home the checkered flag in last year’s edition. Truex Jr. led 174 of 267 laps en route to a dominant performance that landed him his fourth and final win of the 2018 campaign. He also reached Victory Lane at Kentucky in 2017 — will Truex make it a three-peat?

ACTIVE KENTUCKY  WINNERS

Brad Keselowski (three), Kyle Busch (two) and Martin Truex Jr. (two).

Posted on by Staff Report

Tony Stewart, a recent inductee of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2020, defended his back-to-back titles at the King’s of the UMRA Three-Quarter Midget Race on Tuesday night at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds.

The annual TQ Midget race was co-sponsored by the Tony Stewart Foundation, which provides grant funding to well-qualified organizations serving children who are critically ill or physically disabled, animals at-risk or endangered, and drivers injured in the sport of motor racing.

MORE GRASSROOTS: Elledge OK after scary wreck
MORE GRASSROOTS:  Kenseth conquers Slinger
RELATED: Upcoming FansChoice.tv coverage

Stewart, once again racing in his hometown of Columbus, Indiana, has collected the checkered flag in this event each of the last two years, with Tuesday night’s win completing the trifecta.

The three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion battled handling issues throughout the night, leading to a rough start to the competition. After a less-than-ideal fourth-place finish in his heat race and a fifth-place run in qualifying, Stewart gained an edge in the main event with an inverted top-six starting order that gave him the outside line on the front row.

In the opening lap, Stewart sped his way into the lead — a lead he never surrendered. He went on to dominate all 25 laps, holding off strong pushes from polesitter Anthony Lawrence and 14-year-old Emerson Asxom, en route to his third consecutive hometown-race victory.

RELATED: Harvick, Stewart grace cover of NASCAR Heat 4

Posted on by Staff Report

You could say retirement is going pretty well for Matt Kenseth.

Well, if “retirement” can include still racing and still winning with incredible last-lap moves, as he did Tuesday night to capture the checkered flag at the 40th SUPERSEAL Slinger Nationals presented by Miller Lite.

Kenseth, 47, led just one lap in the annual 200-lap super late-model short track race — the final one. He made an aggressive pass on Ty Majeski on Turn 4 of the final lap to secure the win in his first race since last season’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

MORE GRASSROOTS: Elledge OK after scary wreck
MORE GRASSROOTS: A ‘Smoke’ threepeat
RELATED: Upcoming FansChoice.tv coverage

“It’s short-track racing,” Kenseth told reporters afterward.

Majeski, who at 24 is nearly half Kenseth’s age, said, “Exactly what I’d have done.”

Kenseth’s move denied Majeski a second consecutive win at the Slinger Nationals, and was Kenseth’s record eighth at the Wisconsin track. Kenseth has not raced at Slinger Speedway since 2016 when he edged Erik Jones for the victory.

Apparently, there is no rust in retirement.

Posted on by Staff Report

Karsyn Elledge was shaken up but appeared uninjured following a frightening wreck during a USAC Racing midget car event Tuesday night at Red Dirt Raceway in Oklahoma.

Elledge, driving the No. 1, began to tumble down the track entering Turn 3 and flipped high enough to careen over the Turn 3 wall and crash onto the ground outside the track, near the woods.

MORE GRASSROOTS: Kenseth wins Slinger | ‘Smoke’ shows ’em
RELATED: Upcoming FansChoice.tv coverage

Elledge climbed out of her car under her own power and was seen talking to medical personnel in the above video.

Karsyn’s mom, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, tweeted that her daughter was OK — and mom was, too, after watching the incident on TV.

Later on, Karsyn provided an update and a thank-you note herself:

NASCAR.com profiled Karsyn Elledge earlier this year as she makes her way up the sprint car ranks, with a spotlight firmly affixed to her. The 18-year-old has a racing pedigree as a member of the Earnhardt family — and she has the Earnhardt racing gene, too.

MORE: Read more about Karsyn