Posted on by Holly Cain

LAS VEGAS – Jimmie Johnson made a lot of eye contact with the reporters eager to gauge his postseason expectations Thursday afternoon at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Media Day. The sincerity in his voice and the passion of his words left no doubt. He is as motivated as he has ever been to end a first-of-its-kind, season-long winless streak. 

A championship run now would certainly change the narrative.

Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman have qualified for the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Playoffs that begin Sunday with the South Point Hotel and Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) taking the final two positions in the 16-driver Playoff grid. Their teammate Chase Elliott is also title eligible, securing his playoff bid with a career-first victory at the Watkins Glen road course in August.

First-year teammate William Byron didn’t qualify for the playoffs but is leading the Rookie of the Year championship race.

RELATED: Full playoff standings

It’s an unusual position for Johnson, a seven-time Cup champion, who typically has already earned a high profile, high title seed by the time the playoffs begin – with multiple race trophies already in hand.

“It would be a disappointing year if we didn’t win a race,’’ acknowledged Johnson, who is on the longest winless streak (49 races) of what is certain to be a NASCAR Hall of Fame career. “I’ve set a high bar to win since my rookie year, so winning a race seems like something we should be able to do. If that doesn’t happen, I’d certainly be disappointed. 

“I do know that we have not left anything on the table and poured everything we can into it. Not that it would be satisfying on every level but making sure we acknowledge the effort that went into it and not beat ourselves too hard on it. But I certainly hope that doesn’t happen.” 

It’s been an uncharacteristic season for Johnson in all statistical categories. His two top-five finishes and eight top-10 showings are the lowest total in his 17-year full-time Cup career. He’s led only 29 laps through the opening 26 races and his average finish is 17.0. 

But Johnson is quick to assure that progress has been made. His No. 48 Chevrolet is a new body style, and, to be fair – Elliott and Austin Dillon are the only Chevy drivers to win this season. Not to mention, Dillon’s victory came in the season-opening Daytona 500 came on a last lap pass.

RELATED: The art of the last-lap pass

Johnson prefers to look ahead, not behind. And who could argue with someone who has 83 victories and a historic championship haul that ties him with Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt.

“I’ve never been stats-driven,’’ Johnson said. “It’s really been about the experience. I love being around people and working with my team. I love driving that race car.

“So, for me, I had a lot of years when I wasn’t very successful in my ascension to my time at Hendrick Motorsports. I fell in love with racing for my own reasons and it wasn’t because of trophies or fame or money. It was because of the experience I had driving the car and I’m still very much in that space.

“I’m not expecting anybody to say, ‘Oh, poor Jimmie Johnson.’ But I would ask people not to think that I’ve had enough and am ready to throw in the towel or that I don’t care or don’t want it. That’s just unfair. Anybody who knows me knows that I’m the opposite.”

For his part, Johnson’s teammate Elliott remains cautiously optimistic about advancing through the playoffs. Boosted by his first career Cup victory, the 22-year old sees no reason not to feel good about his NASCAR Playoff chances, even though he acknowledges the organization has struggled at times this year.

“It’s been an up-and-down year,’’ said Elliott, who leads the Hendrick team with eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. “I feel like we started off kind of slow. But, to get a win and lock-in to the first round of the final 10 is nice, at least and see where it goes.”

Bowman, who drives the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, acknowledges it’s a challenging road ahead. However, he has earned some legitimate confidence, putting that car in the playoffs in his first full season driving it.

He has a career-best nine top-10 finishes and a pair of top-fives and has led 67 laps. Securing the final playoff bid is an achievement. Advancing out of the first round would be a high achievement.

“I think we have made pretty dramatic improvements from where we started the year,’’ Bowman said. “It’s too good of a company to keep down. We have too many good people and great resources. I think we will continue to improve and I think we can start off the playoffs with some good runs.’’

“I think we can do as good of a job as anybody. We obviously have a great team behind us at Hendrick Motorsports, one of the best in the business. We have a lot of people working really hard and our cars have been getting better each and every week. We are just going to continue that and take it from there.’’

Johnson, who is the all-time winningest driver (four victories) at this week’s Las Vegas Motor Speedway venue, conceded that even a champion like himself can glean inspiration when needed. He’s won at least two races every season of his career – all but one previous season (2011) he’s won at least three races.

He remains optimistic about his playoff chances and still smiles thinking of his last championship in 2016 when he won the Homestead-Miami finale despite having his car taken off the grid minutes before the race for inspection and still working his way back to win the event.

He knows how to rally.

Reminded of the valiant way NFL veteran Aaron Rodgers lead his Green Bay Packers to a victory after the quarterback was hurt in the season-opener Sunday night, Johnson smiled and agreed about the powerful intangibles of heart and desire.

“I watched the game,’’ Johnson said. “It is so inspirational to see that happen, and I’ve been able to live through and create a few of those moments on my own. It’s amazing to experience it and when you reflect back you’re like, ‘Wow, I really did that.’

“You want to believe you’re capable of it, but until you do it and see it, you just don’t know. I know what we’re capable of and I know we’ve done the unthinkable in the past. To win this eighth championship, we’re going to have to do something that’s never been done before, so I have optimism and belief that we’ll have another look at an eighth championship. 

“I don’t know if it’s this year, next, the year after, but we have everything stacked up around it to make it happen. I don’t expect it to come easy; no championship does.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR announced before the season that it will standardize at-track team rosters across all three national series in 2018, providing a structure for the number of personnel working on each vehicle during the course of a race weekend.

Official team rosters for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) have been released. Click the print icon above, or the link below.

ROSTERS: Las Vegas

RELATED: Overview of 2018 rules updates

Posted on by Staff Report

Joey Logano topped the opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice session from Las Vegas Motor Speedway ahead of Sunday’s South Point 400 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The Las Vegas race is the first of the 10-race postseason for the sport’s top series.

Logano led the way with a fast lap of 189.653 mph around the 1.5-mile track in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Based on average finish, Las Vegas is Logano’s best track with a 9.7 mark in 10 career Cup starts.

RELATED: Results | Full Las Vegas schedule | Playoffs 101 | Meet the playoff field 

Playoff drivers were all over the top 10 on the speed chart, occupying nine of the top 10 spots. Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick (second, 189.460 mph), Aric Almirola (third, 188.864 mph) and Kurt Busch (fifth, 188.140 mph) were all in the top five. Erik Jones was the lone non-Ford in the top five as he placed fourth (188.640 mph).

A trio of Toyotas occupied sixth through eighth on the board in Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. Clint Bowyer, the fourth of the SHR playoff cars, was ninth. Among the playoff drivers, Jimmie Johnson came in last on the board in 21st place.

The top non-playoff driver in the session was Jamie McMurray (10th) followed by Ryan Newman (11th).

Several teams had to serve practice holds in the 50-minute session. The No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team of Austin Dillon and the No. 7 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet team of Reed Sorenson each served 15-minute holds for failing pre-race inspection twice at Darlington and Bristol, respectively. The No. 15 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet team of Ross Chastain (missed rookie meeting), No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet team of Kyle Larson (late to inspection) and the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford team of B.J. McLeod (late to inspection) all served 15-minute holds as well.

The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team of Daniel Suarez and the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota team of Martin Truex Jr. each served 30-minute practice holds due to failing pre-race inspection three or more times at Indianapolis.

The Monster Energy Series will be back on track for Busch Pole Qualifying at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App.

Posted on by @nascarcasm

The NASCAR Playoffs field is set. The drivers have been seeded. But what do these seeds mean?

If you ask the Twitter account of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (@UMBCAthletics), it’s a number that means nothing. It’s number that should be tossed atop Klout scores in the dustbin of meaningless statistics.

You see, during the NCAA basketball tournament earlier this year, UMBC managed to pull off something that had never been done in the men’s tournament’s history. They defeated top-seeded Virginia in the first round of the tournament, and soundly. You probably remember because it was the moment you logged on to Twitter and saw that “WELP THERE GOES MY BRACKET” was the No. 1 trending topic. Never in the history of the men’s tournament had a 16-seed defeated a 1-seed.

In the NASCAR playoffs, Alex Bowman is the 16 seed (He and Jimmie Johnson both have 2,000 points, but Johnson holds the tiebreaker). Is he an underdog? Perhaps not. He made the playoffs in his first year in the No. 88 car. He’s won the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500. And after UMBC’s amazing accomplishment, everything we thought we knew about seeds is off the table.

MORE: Full 2018 NASCAR Playoffs field | Playoffs 101

That’s why we sat down with the UMBC Twitter account to ask them a few questions on the matter.

NASCARCASM: Hello, @UMBC Twitter account. How are you doing today?

Got a coveted parking spot in the lot right next to our arena this morning, so it’s going great tbh

NASCARCASM: To begin, what words of wisdom can you give to Alex Bowman as he enters the NASCAR playoffs as the 16-seed?

Well his first win was in Charlotte (EDITOR’S NOTE: Bowman won the Drive For The Cure 300 in the Xfinity Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway, conveniently the same city where UMBC pulled off its upset win, even though the track is technically in Concord) so we already feel he’s got good karma on his side. Seriously though, once you’re in the playoffs, literally anything can happen. So drive fast and draft and, umm, there’s no Air Bud movie about auto racing so we’re just going off of Days of Thunder. Sorry, there’s no collegiate auto racing. 

NASCARCASM: If Alex Bowman exceeds expectations, as UMBC did, what sort of sudden attention can he expect? How will his life change?

Everybody will claim to be your friend and know you and have predicted you were going to win, even though they probably said they’d never heard of you, and then they ask what your acronym stands for and — sorry, got off track there (ha, get it?). Honestly, you will be more in the spotlight and there will be expectations and demands you may not be used to, so it’s key to just stay grounded and remember who you are. Don’t change just because of all that attention.

NASCARCASM: If Alex Bowman advances deep into the playoffs, as he’s certainly capable of doing, what is the proper way to respond when people get mad online at him because he totally busted their brackets?

People can get mad, but he’s the one who’s deep in the playoffs. He can literally just say his standing anytime someone complains. Or, he could just make himself into a “deal with it” meme and post it in response. Have you ever Googled him and see the first image that pops up?  He could totally just put the words “Deal With It” on that picture, or just post it by itself, people can’t argue with a guy who looks that cool in sunglasses.

NASCARCASM: In what ways can Alex Bowman instill a sense of fear into No. 1 seed Kyle Busch?

He could try and get into yoga or something like that and do some of those super crazy poses and positions in the garage right in front of Kyle. If I saw someone do that i’d be like, “Whoa, that guy means business.” Or, open a pack of M&M’s right in front of him, pour them on the ground and stomp on them. 

NASCARCASM: After last year’s tournament, what is your opinion of seeding anyways?  

Seeding doesn’t mean anything (unless you’re Kansas State, they should’ve totally been better than a nine seed and not have had to face the winner of the 1-16 in the second round, right? Right!? Hello?) as stated above, anything can happen in the playoffs. We believe in Alex Bowman … seriously, look how cool he looks in those sunglasses!

NASCARCASM: This is not Bowman-related, but we do have one driver in the playoffs from Virginia named Denny Hamlin. Anything you’d like to say to him?

Well, obviously the only thing anyone would expect us to say to someone from Virginia: How do you deal with all the humidity?! It gets bad here in Maryland, but, wow, it’s intense down in Virginia.

Posted on by Holly Cain

LAS VEGAS — Martin Truex Jr. managed a big smile in anticipation.

The reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion fully knew his plans for next season would be as important a topic to reporters as his present run for a second-consecutive season title.

Two weeks ago, his Furniture Row Racing team announced it would cease operations at the conclusion of the season – leaving Truex’s camp with an uncertain 2019, although rumors are rampant that most of the team will land in a good place.

MORE: Junior predicts Truex landing spot | Crew chief Pearn likely to follow

Truex spoke to the situation immediately at Las Vegas’ South Point Casino during a Media Day opportunity with the 16 drivers who qualified for NASCAR’s Playoffs. The 10-race pursuit of the 2018 championship begins with Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway(3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

But first, Truex left no doubt about his commitment to the FRR team and that team’s focus on claiming a second-consecutive championship as he aims to become the first driver to win consecutive titles since Jimmie Johnson reeled off five straight from 2006-2010.

“I feel like we’re in a great place,” Truex said of his title hopes. “We definitely want to repeat, no question about it. I think you could take all this (team news) one of two ways. You could hang your head down and say, ‘this sucks’ and be mad at the world.

“Or you can look at each other and say, ‘let’s go do this.’ And I feel like that’s where we’re at.  … Look at the names on our team, their names were made at Furniture Row and (team owner) Barney (Visser) giving us the opportunity to work at a great place and giving us all the tools we needed to go out and win a championship. So I think all of us, we look at that and say, ‘Hell yes. Let’s go do this.’ ”

“I truly, honestly feel like that’s our mindset, that’s our focus and I have no questions about where our team is and how they’ll approach the playoffs.”

RELATED: Martin Truex Jr. through the years

Truex has good reason for the hopeful attitude. A member of the season’s “Big 3” — a group that also includes regular-season champion and six-race winner Kyle Busch, seven-time race winner Kevin Harvick — it’s been a successful answer to his 2017 trophy hoist.

Truex has scored 15 top-five finishes through the opening 26 races in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota, putting him on good pace to answer his career-best season mark of 19 (2017) with 10 races still remaining.

He’s won races at Auto Club Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Sonoma Raceway and the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway this year. And, he’s finished runner-up another four times — including back-to-back at Kansas and Charlotte to start the summer.

“I look at our potential and I know what we can do,’” Truex said. “These last three weeks are a perfect example. We get crashed at Bristol, were running second at Darlington. … Then last week we ran 40 laps and broke the brake rotor. But we’ve had speed and I key on speed.

“We’re fast. I know we can win races and if we do things right we’ll be in position. Can we capitalize? That’s the question. That’s the hardest thing to do in racing.”

As for distractions, Truex has proven to be a master of focus. He’s faced challenges in his career and in his private life (his longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex is battling ovarian cancer). And right now, it’s really all good – he’s the defending Cup Series champion, armed with four wins and a highly motivated single car team intent to earn a second-straight title for a beloved, retiring owner.

“I’ve been tested and gone through adversity quite a bit,” Truex said. “But that’s life. That’s just part of it. How you get through those things is how you show what you’re made of. Anyone can win, anyone can have great days and have things go all their way. That’s easy. Anybody can do that. When you show your true colors are when you’re put in tough situations.”

Posted on by Team Release

(NEW YORK, NY, September 14, 2018) — MoneyLion, America’s most powerful and rewarding financial membership, announces its partnership with one of the preeminent teams in one of America’s most thrilling sports: Team Penske in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Roaring into the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 15, MoneyLion will serve as the primary sponsor of Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford Mustang, piloted by Austin Cindric, followed by three additional races through the remainder of the 2018 season.

MoneyLion enters a powerful alliance with Team Penske, one of the most successful teams in motorsports, as the first major fintech company to partner with a team. MoneyLion launched in 2013 and has 3 million members and has earned its customers trust with a one-of-a-kind rewards program, no-fee checking account, overdraft protection, and loans funded in 15 seconds. MoneyLion will be introducing new banking and investment capabilities over the coming months.

“Team Penske has an incredible record of success on the track, and as one of the most promising drivers in NASCAR, Austin Cindric is a great match for MoneyLion,” said Dee Choubey, CEO and co-founder of MoneyLion. “He and his entire team at Penske inspire fans and illustrate the power of dreaming big to achieve your goals. At MoneyLion, we aim to inspire people to take control of their finances to achieve their dreams- and we’re excited to introduce our products to NASCAR fans across the nation.”

Team Penske’s No. 22 Xfinity Series team has won the Owners’ Championship in four of the last five seasons and currently sits first in the Owners’ Points standings with one race remaining before the start of the Xfinity Series playoffs. The team has earned six victories and six poles in 2018 with drivers Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney and Cindric.

“We are excited to form this new partnership with MoneyLion and to welcome an established brand in the fintech category to the NASCAR arena with Team Penske,” said Roger Penske. “We appreciate the opportunity to work with a company that recognizes the potential to grow in motorsports and wants to connect with our great NASCAR fans. Our team will be working hard to deliver success for MoneyLion, both on and off the track.”

After Las Vegas, fans will continue to see MoneyLion as the primary sponsor of the No. 22 Ford Mustang at Richmond, Charlotte and in November at the season finale at Homestead. Cindric, the 20-year-old rookie, will compete in the No. 22 for the final eight races of the season.

Watch for more MoneyLion action in NASCAR’s XFINITY series in 2018, and follow the excitement via MoneyLion on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. To learn more about MoneyLion, please visit: www.moneylion.com.

Posted on by Zack Albert

LAS VEGAS — The first round of the NASCAR Playoffs has a decidedly different look this year, one that includes a fresh batch of uncertainty as the curtain-closer.

Last season, the Round of 16 for the Monster Energy Series traveled from Chicagoland to New Hampshire before wrapping up at Dover. This year, the postseason opens with Las Vegas, adds Richmond to the mix, then finishes with a brand-new event at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s road course/oval layout.

RELATED: Full schedule for Las Vegas | Playoffs Central

That significant schedule shift had drivers talking at Thursday’s NASCAR Playoffs Media Day at the South Point Hotel and Casino. Several stressed the need to win at either Vegas or Richmond to enter the Charlotte elimination race with playoff immunity, knowing how wildly entertaining that race could be.

Here’s what a sampling of the 16 championship-eligible drivers had to say:

Kurt Busch (Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Ford): “This is a big difference this year. We haven’t had a lot of race dates moved around in the playoffs and so to have three tracks that have never been part of the playoffs before, there’s zero notes going into this.

“We haven’t even gotten to the Roval yet. That’s going to be a pretty big mix-up, shake-’em-up and we hope to survive that one, in all honesty. We just need to not make mistakes at that one and not get caught up in other people’s mistakes and that’s how we’ll get through this first round.”

PHOTOS: Behind the scenes at Charlotte

Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet): “I don’t think your method changes. I just think the unknowns of that road course obviously is going to dictate a lot, being an elimination race, too. So ultimately try to get a win out here or at Richmond and not have to worry about it would be really nice. That’s our mindset, my goal. Try to grab a win here and take it a week at a time.”

Joey Logano (Team Penske No. 22 Ford): “It makes the first two races really important. It makes getting through Vegas here with some solid points and then going to Richmond and having another solid day to give yourself some cushion for the Roval because I don’t know if you know what’s going to happen at the Roval, but I sure don’t. …

“I think everyone’s going to be fairly conservative unless they have to win. There will be a few drivers in that situation that will have to make something happen to get through. They’ll be making desperate moves.”

Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota): “We’re used to the same tracks so this is definitely a different feel. I remember starting the Playoffs in Chicago and know what I need to do there. I go to New Hampshire and know exactly what to do there. Now, it’s a different mix-up of tracks. I think it’s going to be a bigger wild-card. I think of the top eight seeds, at least one will fall out of the first round, just because of the unknowns and circumstances in which these first tracks have.”

Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota): “It’s good to start off good, but then thinking of Richmond and Roval, two places where anything can happen and a lot of people are saying that the Roval is going to be crazy and I absolutely agree with that. Richmond, too, and the things that can happen there. We could have like four wins in the last five or six Richmond races and we have zero – we’ve led a ton of laps in the spring this year and we were in position to win and finished 14th. Last fall, led the most laps, in position to win, didn’t finish at all so it’s another, I think, bit of a wild card because it’s a short track mentality and you get some late-race restarts with guys in the Playoffs and some guys trying to lock themselves into the next round and not have to worry about the Roval, you think about all that, it’s going to be crazy for the first round right?”

Posted on by Zack Albert

LAS VEGAS — Brad Keselowski has his fastball back.

The trademark zip from the Team Penske driver has resurfaced at an opportune time, with Keselowski riding a two-race win streak into the NASCAR Playoffs opener this weekend. In a town where one’s fortunes are often described in relation to their gambling wins or losses, Keselowski is decidedly “up.”

RELATED: Full schedule for Las Vegas | Media Day quotes

There’s good reason for Keselowski’s buoyant demeanor, crossing two prestigious tracks in Darlington and Indianapolis off his career bucket list in consecutive weeks. He’s savoring it now, but there are longer-reaching goals at stake with the postseason opening this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“It’s kind of sunk in that we won Darlington and Indy, and it means the world to me, it really does. I hope that we can win Daytona and the Coke 600 and just get ’em all,” said Keselowski, the 2012 Monster Energy Series champ. “That would be really special to me, personally. We have that opportunity in front of us as well, but there’s nothing more important to me than winning another championship, and that’s what I see in front of us.”

Keselowski enters Sunday’s playoff opener — the South Point 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) — seeded a scrappy fourth behind the ballyhooed Big 3 of Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and defending series champ Martin Truex Jr. That trio has accounted for 17 wins in the 26 regular-season events and accordingly, the three are ranked first through third.

Keselowski’s two-week resurgence more than doubled his tally in the playoff-point column, his Indianapolis win pushing him up three spots in the standings and within reach of the leading triumvirate. If those three are John, Paul and George, Keselowski is making a solid case for becoming Ringo.

“Of course we want to climb to first, which sounds easy, but there’s a lot of great competition that won’t make it easy nor should they,” Keselowski said. “So, with that in mind, the opportunity is in front of us and we’ll see what we can deliver.”

There’s not one clear-cut factor, Keselowski said, that has made these last two weeks vastly different than the 24 winless weeks that preceded them. Execution on pit strategy has helped, he said. So have the pit stops themselves and some timely restarts.

That’s all equaled a sizable dose of momentum for the No. 2 Ford team ahead of the closing 10-race stretch. Should that surge give the rest of the 16-driver field reason to be worried?

“I’m not ready to say worried,” Keselowski said, “but I’m also very proud of what we’ve done.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Playoffs drivers turned Las Vegas Boulevard into Burnout Boulevard Fueled by Sunoco on Thursday afternoon, thrilling the crowd with celebratory burnouts up and down the famed Vegas Strip.

RELATED: See photos from Burnout Boulevard

The drivers were getting the fans pumped up for the NASCAR Playoffs opener in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET (with coverage on NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Check out some of the burnouts that were televised on NBCSN in the video above — and one below — to see which one is your favorite.

MORE: ‘Big 3’ have burnout showdown on Strip