Posted on by Staff Report

Championship contender Martin Truex Jr. topped the leaderboard in Friday’s first practice at Homestead-Miami Speedway, wheeling his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota around the track at 173.997 mph.

Fellow Championship 4 driver Kyle Busch was second-fastest in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 173.299 mph.

Clint Bowyer, Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick, the third of four drivers competing for the 2018 championship in Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), rounded out the top five.

RELATED: Practice results

Joey Logano, the fourth member of the Championship 4, never found much speed in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford, and his best lap of 172.194 mph was good for just 16th best.

Elliott served a 15-minute practice hold at the end of the session for being late to inspection at Phoenix.

The Monster Energy Series returns to the track at 6:10 p.m. ET for Busch Pole Qualifying (NBCSN/NBC Sports App).

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NASCAR President Steve Phelps hears the requests for mid-week races, more short-track events and new manufacturers.

He’s open to all of them, with some of those concepts taking a little longer to come to fruition than others.

RELATED: Phelps on short tracks

The addition of new manufacturers into the sport is a concept Phelps said has a “ton of interest.”

It won’t happen immediately, Phelps said, but he thinks it will happen eventually.

“The great news is that the three OEMs that we have — Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota — are all interested in having another one. Maybe even two,” Phelps told NASCAR Digital Media. “But the process is long. I think we won’t see something obviously for ’19, we won’t see something for ’20. … I’m confident that in the future we will have a fourth OEM and if we’re lucky enough to have a fifth, that’s great.

“I do think we’ll have some success there, but it will be, I would say, years down the line.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – The Christopher Bell who showed up for Championship 4 Media Day at The Edition on Thursday bore little resemblance to the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender who has dominated the NASCAR Xfinity Series with seven victories this season.

From outward appearances, it was the same driver who rallied from adversity to win last Saturday’s event at ISM Raceway — where victory was the only avenue to the title race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

What was markedly different was his approach to the season finale.

RELATED: Full schedule for Miami | Paint scheme preview: Miami

Throughout the season — indeed, throughout a career that started on the dirt tracks of his native Oklahoma — Bell has proudly declared his win-or-crash mentality. But that won’t be his mind-set on Saturday, as he races Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick and Daniel Hemric for the Xfinity championship.

“The only thing different is we’re only racing three cars,” Bell said. “Instead of going out there and trying to win the race, all I have to do is beat three competitors. So whether that means running 20th or winning the race, that’s going to be our goal, just to beat three guys.”

But isn’t that a radical departure for a driver committed to winning, whether it’s an Xfinity race or the Chili Bowl, the marquee event for open-wheeled Midget race cars?

“Yeah, it’s definitely a change of pace,” Bell said. “And it’s a lot more relaxing to look at it that way. Unfortunately, those three cars are more than likely going to be racing for the win, so we understand that we might be in a must-win situation.

“But that’s great, because I was last week, too … last week I had to beat 39 competitors if I wanted to advance.”

In last year’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series finale, Bell won the title by finishing second to Chase Briscoe, who wasn’t eligible for the championship. Bell would be equally delighted to secure the Xfinity title in the same manner.

“This week I could care less about winning the race,” said Bell, who plans to stay in the Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs racing next year. “I just want to win the championship.”

Bell and Reddick also are currently in a dead heat for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title. As Championship 4 qualifiers, they enter the season finale tied with 4,000 points. The higher finisher of the two will claim the honor.

Neither the race for the championship nor the race for rookie honors will be easy for Bell, despite the smaller number of adversaries. In his only start in the Xfinity Series, Bell finished 36th last year when his engine expired after 78 laps.

But Kyle Busch, who fielded the trucks Bell ran in his championship season, has confidence in his protégé.

“I think Bell has a lot of potential,” Busch said. “I think he’s also worked with a lot of really good people, too. Being with KBM, being with (crew chief Jerry) Baxter, and being with Rudy (Fugle) and being with Joe Gibbs Racing with Jason Ratcliff … Jason, we’re lucky to have kept Jason. He’s a Cup level guy, no question about that.

“For him to stick it out with Joe Gibbs Racing to go back to the Xfinity racing and work with Christopher Bell, I hope that reaps the benefits it should, that he gets to move back up to Cup with Christopher.

“He has the whole situation, and he’s obviously done a great job with it. There’s no question about that. He’s definitely talented. I’ve seen him race late models and have gone to those when I was hurt in 2015. He’s a lot of fun to watch behind the wheel as well too. He’s getting it right now, and I wish him the best this weekend. I hope he brings it home.”

As Bell would add, even if it means bringing home a championship without a first-place finish.

Posted on by Staff Report

PHILADELPHIA — At an event to kick off NASCAR Championship Weekend in Miami on Thursday, Comcast announced Joey Logano as the winner of the fourth annual Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award. Comcast established the award in 2015 to honor NASCAR industry members for their philanthropic efforts, awarding $60,000 to the champion’s selected charity and $30,000 to the respective charities of the two remaining finalists. With this year’s contributions, Comcast has donated a total of $480,000 to charitable organizations in the NASCAR community through the Community Champion Award.

Since its inception in 2013, the Joey Logano Foundation has invested more than $2.7 million to hundreds of organizations through a multitude of charitable programs. The Foundation created the JL Kids Crew to help provide opportunities for children with serious illnesses to spend time at the race track and be part of the No. 22 race team. Through JLF’s Grant Funding Program, the Foundation delivers grants to organizations dedicated to helping families that care for sick children, foster children and children of veterans.

“It is an honor to recognize Joey Logano as the 2018 Comcast Community Champion of the Year, as the work he does with the Joey Logano Foundation truly embodies the selfless and passionate spirit of giving back that this award represents,” said Matt Lederer, Executive Director of Partnership Marketing at Comcast. “So many of those in the NASCAR industry have a passion for giving back to their communities, and we are proud to play a part in celebrating those passions with this award.”

During the course of the NASCAR season, the Joey Logano Foundation also brings Comfort Care Backpacks to multiple race markets and has donated over 600 backpacks filled with essentials to underprivileged, foster and terminally ill children. The Joey Logano Foundation uses its powerful platform during NASCAR’s Playoffs to aid 10 non-profit organizations in 10 different NASCAR markets, via their Chasing Second Chances program, an effort to help racing communities prosper.

RELATED: Brittany and Joey Logano through the years

The $60,000 donation from Comcast on behalf of Joey Logano will be provided to the Joey Logano Foundation, and will support the Foundation’s efforts as they continue to provide aid to organizations that help children and young adults during times of crisis. You can learn about the work the Joey Logano Foundation provides here.

In accepting the award, Logano said that though his name was on the award, there were many more people within his foundation that make their charitable works happen.

“I feel like there’s a team that goes behind it, just like with our race cars,” Logano said. “It’s not just the driver behind the wheel. It’s a huge group that goes behind it. … I may just be the face of this, but it’s definitely an honor to be a part of it and to see the faces of these little kids and their families light up when we do a lot of great things.”

Logano was chosen by a panel comprised of Comcast and NASCAR executives, as well as Mike Metcalf from the Chip Ganassi Racing Pit Crew Department, who won the award in 2017. Sonoma Raceway President, Steve Page, and NASCAR driver Ryan Newman were each awarded $30,000 toward the amazing work they do with Speedway Children’s Charities and Rescue Ranch, respectively.

Page supported his community in Northern California after last year’s devastating wildfires by opening the gates of Sonoma Raceway as a place of refuge for those evacuated, raising funds for the community to rebuild and honoring first-responders during the NASCAR race weekend. Newman co-founded Rescue Ranch in 2012 with his wife, Krissie, to promote respect for all animals, the earth and the environment through a wide variety of educational programs in the community. The Ranch is home to more than 85 animals that receive around-the clock care, and serves as host to various school curriculum-based field trips, Scout badge programs, summer camps and more. Each finalist’s story can be viewed by clicking here.

Comcast has a long track record of community service, aiding in the advancement of local organizations, developing programs and partnerships, mobilizing resources to connect people and inspiring positive and substantive change. To learn more about the Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award, please visit ComcastCommunityChampion.com.

Posted on by Holly Cain

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Joey Logano may not have been a certifiable member of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ “Big 3” this season as were the most prolific winners Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. But Logano arrived in South Florida Thursday looking every bit the “Feared Fourth.”

A two-time race winner and the first driver to officially claim his ticket to Sunday’s championship race, the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Logano may well be just the wild card to keep these three former champions honest.

And it didn’t take long for that to be tested.

Only one question into Thursday’s championship contenders press conference and Logano was playfully targeted by his more veteran counterparts. Reigning Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. – who lost a trophy to Logano at Martinsville, Va. three weeks ago in an aggressive last lap battle – took the first shot.

The drivers were asked to comment about how the same four organizations are being represented in the championship as last year – except that it was Logano’s teammate Brad Keselowski representing Team Penske, not Logano, who had failed to qualify for the Playoffs for the first time in three years.

“Yeah, it just depends on whether Brad or Joey are better drivers. I’m not sure,’’ Truex said.

To which Busch replied, “They both run into you a lot.” As the laughter subsided, Logano smiled and the 28-year old simply uttered, “Probably best I keep my mouth shut on this one.’’

That’s the way the media availability started off – good-natured ribbing that turned into the occasional soul-searching and race day prognosticating. All season, Busch, Harvick and Truex have dominated the headlines. Busch and Harvick have eight wins each and Truex has four – the three highest totals in the series.

However, Logano has been an overachiever since he arrived in NASCAR’s big leagues at the tender age of just 18. And especially since securing a job with legendary team owner Roger Penske, Logano has proven himself up to the many challenges he’s faced on track.

MORE: Joey and Brittany through the years

He’ll have one this weekend.

But Logano is certainly no weak link. He’s proven himself ready to rub fenders and bend feelings with the best of them – so much so that it’s easy to forget he’s not even 30-years old yet and this is his third opportunity to win NASCAR’s biggest championship.

He won at Talladega Superspeedway this spring and then went door-to-door with Truex for the all-important Playoff win that sealed his position as a championship eligible driver. While so much of the championship buzz is about those Big 3, Logano is calm and confident about his chances as well.

“All season long, the big three have been talked about so much this year earlier in the season, they’ve won so many races and so many stages and led so many laps,’’ Logano said.

“Honestly, I guess maybe it was 15, 20 weeks ago, we weren’t in the championship caliber that we needed to be to be able to compete with them. Now, I will say since that time we are.  I feel like we do have what it takes to compete with them and give them a run for their money. Like I said, it’s the big three and me. I might be the underdog on the stats standpoint, but we sure don’t feel like we are.”

Yes, Logano concedes, his win column doesn’t match up exactly with his three competitors this weekend, but he does like the timing of his team’s coming of age.

He is averaging a 9.4 finish in the Playoffs – best among the contenders. He has seven top-10 finishes in the nine Playoff races and five top-five finishes; also top shelf among the Playoff foursome. His best finish at Homestead is fourth (2015, 2016).

As the only driver without a previous championship, there’s a case to be made that he’s absolutely as motivated as the other three drivers, who are looking to each add a second. Missing out on the Playoffs last year only intensified that drive for Logano.

MORE: Best of the best racing for the title

“That’s what the Playoffs are about, right?” Logano said. “It happens in all sports.  You got to be able to race for wins when it’s most important. Like I said, we raced without many Playoff points, so we had to.  We don’t have anything to fall back on.  We had to go, and we did.  It took, like I said, a long time to get to this point.

“Now I feel like we’re back to where we were a couple years ago, we can compete, lead laps, which turns into race wins quite often.  I’m proud of what we’ve been able to do.  Where we were last year was hard. It’s really hard. It stinks, it’s tough. But the fact that we’ve been able to stay together, keep working through it, finding something here, finding something there, go back on something, changing it, maybe going down a different road from things we’ve done in the past, being able to see us get better, awesome. It’s great. It’s hard. Doesn’t happen like a light switch.

“You go down really quick. It’s really hard to climb your way back up, and it’s harder.”

Logano is hopeful that in winning the opening race of the three-race Round of 8, it set-up his team – led by crew chief Todd Gordon – to shift their thinking and hone their preparation for Sunday’s race. That would be an advantage only he had as the remaining three positions weren’t settled until the Phoenix checkered flag last Sunday.

As a young racer thrust into the big time years ago, Logano exudes the calmness and confidence he’ll need to beat NASCAR’s best Sunday afternoon.

“I think, honestly, you have to have that confidence,” he said Thursday. “I’m sure everyone here has the same amount of confidence and feeling that they are the favorites for whatever reason it may be. I’m sure it’s all probably different.

“So I feel like our team’s in a great spot. Our pit stops have been amazing lately. The confidence is in not only myself as a driver, but in our whole race team all the way through all of Team Penske. So we’re ready to get to Sunday and see what happens.”

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MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — For Martin Truex Jr., the 2018 championship would be more than a back-to-back title, a trophy and his name in the history books.

Sunday’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway is a chance for the No. 78 driver to win a final championship for team owner Barney Visser and Furniture Row Racing, a small group that persevered from a one-car, under-the-radar shop in Denver, Colorado, to a championship-winning organization.

Truex wants to win it for them, too.

“I’ve never been on a team that I feel like makes me a better driver every single weekend,” Truex said Thursday at Championship 4 Media Day. “Always finds a way to make me better. … It doesn’t matter what happened last week.  It doesn’t matter where people think we are. It doesn’t matter how we feel like our cars are. I feel like every week we can go to the track, we have a shot to win. And I felt that for four years, and it’s unbelievably fun to go to the track and feel that. …”

“It’s been a really cool thing to be a part of that, be an underdog story, kind of a single car team, David versus Goliath, all those things that have been talked about and brought up over the years. That’s been really fun to be a part of that.” 

RELATED: Best quotes from Championship 4 media day

The chance for the sport’s David to beat the Goliaths again in the 2018 finale with the title on the line has got the team “fired up,” Truex said.

“A lot of emotions talking with the guys … and they feel like they’ve built one of the best cars they’ve ever sent out of there,” he said. “So, that’s really cool for me to hear, and to see their passion and their excitement for this weekend, it gets me motivated and pushes me to try to get all I can.”

When the team sent its hauler off to South Florida on Tuesday, the team members and their families gathered to watch. They told stories, smiled and embraced. They took photos and videos.

The emotion of Tuesday is something that they’ll feel Sunday, too, Truex said.

“You just get tunnel vision in this sport, and you get so focused on what you’re doing,” he said. “Short week, short turnaround, we’ve got to build this car. We’ve got to do this. We’ve got to do that. We’re not good enough here. We’ve got to figure out how to do this better. You just get so focused in on doing your normal routine, but it finally all caught up to them. It hit them at that moment when they all looked around and said, that’s the last car we’re sending out of here to go to the race track. I can certainly understand it.

“I’m sure Sunday night will be the same for all of us. I kind of look forward to it just to be able feel that and celebrate and let them know how special the time was and what they all mean to me.”

MORE: Truex Jr. says he has a ‘free pass’ to move Logano

Truex wants to win the 2018 championship as much as anyone. But Sunday’s leaderboard won’t hinder the team’s celebration; they’ll rejoice in the journey and the people involved.

Because no matter the outcome, Truex said Visser and Furniture Row’s legacy to NASCAR is “champions.”

“I know no matter what happens, we’re going to give it our all, and we’re going to celebrate Sunday night as a group just because of the last five years have been an unbelievable ride,” Truex said. “It’s been, as far as racing goes, by far the time of my life. I’ve realized dreams I’ve had since I was a kid because of this group and this team and what we’ve done.

“So, I guess I would probably be OK, more OK than I would have been last year, but I think no matter what we’re going to celebrate and have a good time with it,” he continued on the possibility of not winning the title.”

“Hopefully, it’s up on stage with a big trophy.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — The Championship 4 field for this weekend’s Monster Energy Series finale has been billed as the strongest quartet assembled in the five years of this postseason format.

Statistically, the numbers bear that out. Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. rank first through fourth in several key categories. But as the four drivers gathered Thursday for Championship 4 Media Day at the ritzy Miami Beach Edition hotel, no one had to recite the facts and figures that have buttressed their case for a NASCAR championship.

This field is stacked. They seem to know it, even if there’s the hint that Sunday’s final could be a 3-on-1 contest.

“I think you could probably send a lot of the top drivers to different teams and different positions, and I think you’re going to see the cream rise to the top,” said Harvick, vying for his second crown in five seasons.

All four drivers carry the same goal heading into Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Homestead-Miami Speedway. They’ve led the circuit in wins, laps led and average finish for the bulk of the year, but will need to summon a strong closing kick at the 1.5-mile circuit to bring home the season-long trophy.

RELATED: Strengths, weaknesses for Championship 4

Thursday’s function was among the first steps toward the big stage. All four seemed loose at their introductions: Harvick noted a slight wobble to his director’s chair, something that a crafty pit stop could quickly remedy. Truex chuckled with Harvick as his video highlight reel played, showing his heated reaction after his postseason clash with Logano at Martinsville.

The mind games that had permeated past Media Day roundtables were absent this year, save for some barbs that Truex threw at Logano and his Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski. Busch was more than happy to pile on: “They both run into you a lot,” he quipped with Truex. Logano opted out of any gamesmanship. “Probably best I keep my mouth shut on this one,” he said with a laugh.

The top-to-bottom strength of the Championship 4 field has been a weeklong story line, but Thursday’s discussion suggested a smidgen of separation for three of the four. The “Big 3” of Busch, Harvick and Truex head into Homestead on the laurels of season-long success and week-in, week-out visits to Victory Lane. Logano has been more of a late bloomer, himself acknowledging that his team has rounded into championship form later in the season. Plus, Busch, Harvick and Truex are all established champions; Logano is still aiming for his first series title.

Busch underlined that divide in his availability, saying candidly that he’d be able to accept losing the title to Harvick or Truex more than he would to Logano.

“He’s been there, he’s been consistent, he’s been good,” Busch said of Logano. “He hasn’t necessarily performed to the level of the Big 3, and that’s no shake on them at all. It’s just the fact of the matter, so if he wins the title over the rest of us, then that would certainly be a little more disappointing.”

MORE: Full schedule for Homestead

All four will have an equal shot Sunday, with an expectation that the eventual champion will have to finish first overall to wear the series crown. In each of the four previous seasons under the first-to-the-finish format for the playoffs finale, the title winner has also been the race winner.

The championship contenders will be competing against a full field, but if Sunday’s race holds true to history, the four should find themselves running in close formation at the front. Those tell-tale stats would suggest the same.

“It would be odd if you saw these cars and teams run 10th, 11th, and 12th all day or 13th,” Logano said. “It’s not going to happen. Everyone is bringing the best of the best. These are the best teams of the season. The pit crews are on it. The teams have been massaging these cars and getting everything they can out of it. It’s the best of the best.

“We should be out there racing for the win. Not to say other teams won’t be. They’ll be there for sure, but it would take a weird occasion for something different to happen.”

Posted on by Jessica Ruffin

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Martin Truex Jr. hasn’t forgotten about that heated last lap with Joey Logano at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 28.

He said he’ll race him differently than Championship 4 drivers Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick in Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). But the question remains, would he move Logano out of the way for the lead with the title on the line?

RELATED: Logano’s tangles with the ‘Big 3’ | Why Truex will win the title 

“Absolutely,” Truex said on Thursday at Championship 4 Media Day. “I have a free pass, he already told me that. Told me it’s fair game, so here we go.”

The two may have different interpretations of their conversation following Logano’s bump on Truex that awarded Logano’s No. 22 the race win and an automatic Championship 4 berth.

“I didn’t tell him that,” Logano said with a slight laugh when asked if Truex had a pass to knock him out of the way for the lead.

“I said, ‘Hey, I expect to get raced the way I race people and I’m a hard racer and I expect to get raced hard,” he continued. “I’ve said it before, we didn’t crash each other, I didn’t crash him. I moved him up enough to have a drag race. … there’s so much on the line in these situations and if you don’t make a move like that, you’re going to go back to your race team and I know if I worked on that car, I’d be mad.

“I’d say, ‘Why didn’t you at least try to win?’”

MORE: Breaking down the Championship 4 | Strengths, weaknesses for title contenders

The Logano incident is not at the front of Truex’s mind heading into the weekend, as he looks to defend his 2017 title. But with the chaotic nature of the NASCAR Playoffs, it may end up playing a role.

“I’m not approaching this race any differently because of that,” Truex said. “… But I’ll still remember what happened and I’ll use it to my advantage this weekend.”

Posted on by Pat DeCola

Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of four stories examining why each driver could win the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship. 

RECAP: Kevin Harvick | Martin Truex Jr. | Kyle Busch

• • •

Joey Logano will win the 2018 championship because … 

He will do whatever it takes to make it happen, and deal with the consequences later.

Logano is arguably the nicest guy in the sport outside the car — Nielsen’s fan-perception measurement ratings have him ranked as the most “wholesome” of the Championship 4 — but behind the wheel, with the helmet on … well, he has a way of getting under the skin of his competitors. And then taking advantage.

Now, the rest of the Championship 4 is comprised of some of the most headstrong drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, but Logano has had fiery run-ins with all three of them over the years. They would love nothing more than to win the championship, but seeing Joey Logano lose, well, that’s gotta be a close second for Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr.

MORE: Analysis of Logano’s ‘Big 3’ run-ins

That plays directly into Logano’s hands, as any one of the three of them could be over-aggressive in their quest to see him fail rather than them succeeding.

But even still — it’s not like Logano absolutely needs the “Big 3” to falter. He has the ability, car and momentum to beat them outright — something that would have seemed far-fetched to consider during the first half of the season.

Nobody in the series could keep up with the Nos. 4, 18 and 78 the first 64 percent of the season, as the trio combined for a ridiculous 17 race wins in the first 23 events.

Since then, Logano has not only kept up with them, he’s been flat-out better, at a time that counts more.

RELATED: Joey and Brittany through the years

Logano crashed out at Watkins Glen, finishing dead last, but in the 13 races since he’s averaged a finish of 8.77. Take out the wreck at Phoenix this past weekend, in a race that didn’t matter for him, and that number shrinks to a minuscule 6.42.

Over that same time span, his competitors fared worse, posting numbers below their respective season-long averages — Harvick (10.08/9.0), Busch (10.46/8.4), Truex (14.15/11.0).

It’s no secret the ‘Big 3’ has tailed off a bit to close the season, while Logano and his No. 22 team have gotten consistently stronger.

At exactly the right time.