Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — After two-and-a-half weeks as unofficial track record holders, Oliver Jarvis and Mazda Team Joest can finally, officially, call themselves track record holders on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road circuit after qualifying for this weekend’s 57th Rolex 24 At Daytona.

With six minutes and 10 seconds remaining in the 15-minute qualifying session Thursday afternoon, Jarvis took the Motul Pole Award with a lap of 1 minute, 33.685 seconds (136.792 mph) in the No. 77 Mazda RT24-P DPi car. And with that, PJ Jones’ track record of 1:33.875 (136.521 mph) set in 1993 in the No. 98 Toyota Eagle Mk III for Dan Gurney’s All American Racers fell.

RELATED: How the Rolex 24 works

It wasn’t quite as fast as Jarvis went back at the Roar. On that picture-perfect Sunday afternoon, with near-perfect track conditions, Jarvis went 1:33.398 (137.212 mph) in the car he will share with Tristan Nunez, Timo Bernhard and Rene Rast in the twice-around-the-clock classic. But on a day that started with thunderstorms, with rains falling until midday, it was fast enough.

“I just feel proud that I was able to reward the boys and girls who’ve worked so hard,” Jarvis said. “This has been a serious effort to come here, over the winter, all of last year. To put it all together, to put it on pole, we know it doesn’t mean much in a 24-hour race, but I think it represents what we’re here to do.”

Jarvis’ qualifying run continued what has been a terrific 2019 so far for Mazda Team Joest. In fact it’s been a good couple of months for the program, as it finished a program-best second and third at Motul Petit Le Mans to close out the 2018 WeatherTech Championship. But Mazda is still looking for that elusive first victory in the series and all involved are hoping it finally comes this weekend.

“We’re here to show that we’re capable of winning races,” Jarvis said. “Hopefully we can do it here, but I think people now realize we’ve made that step that we needed to make last year. For (Mazda Motorsports Director) John (Doonan) I’m just so happy, he’s put his heart and soul into this project, so it’s a special day for us.”

RELATED: Rolex 24 TV coverage

Ricky Taylor qualified second in the No. 7 Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05 DPi at 1:33.873 (136.518 mph), quicker on the clock than Jones’ previous record, but slightly slower in miles per hour owing to a minor change in track configuration. Nevertheless, the No. 7 will start second for the second consecutive year with Taylor and Indianapolis 500 winners Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi.

When they take the green flag at 2:35 p.m. ET on Saturday, the second row of the grid will feature cars from the same manufacturers and teams, but in a different order.

Juan Pablo Montoya qualified third in the No. 6 Acura DPi at 1:35.095 (136.198 mph) that he will co-drive with Dane Cameron and Simon Pagenaud. Jonathan Bomarito qualified fourth in the No. 55 Mazda DPi with a lap of 1:34.212 (136.027 mph). Bomarito’s co-drivers will be Harry Tincknell and Olivier Pla.

Felipe Nasr, the 2018 WeatherTech Championship Prototype co-champion, rounded out the top five with a lap of 1:34.479 (135.642 mph) in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R. Nasr will share the car with his 2018 co-champion, Eric Curran, and his new-for-2019 season-long co-driver, Pipo Derani, the 2016 Rolex 24 At Daytona winner.

The top seven qualifiers in the DPi class were covered by less than one second.

Allen Scores Motul Pole Award in LMP2 Class for DragonSpeed
Australian driver James Allen proved to be a quick study on Thursday afternoon as he took the Motul Pole Award for the LMP2 class in qualifying for his first Rolex 24 At Daytona. Allen posted a best time of 1:35.904 (133.627 mph) in the No. 81 DragonSpeed ORECA LMP2 machine.

“That was really good, quite the ride,” said Allen, who will share the car with Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley and Nicolas Lapierre in the race. “I trust the team to build the car up to last the 24 hours. It should be good, its good, year.”

Gabriel Aubry qualified second in LMP2 at 1:36.427 (132.902 mph) in the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA. Qualifying third in LMP2 was Roberto Gonzalez in the No. 18 DragonSpeed ORECA at 1:37.377 (131.606 mph).

Posted on by Zack Albert

Editor’s note: NASCAR.com continues its countdown of team previews for the Monster Energy Series season, ranked in order of best finish in last year’s owners standings. Today’s feature: Leavine Family Racing and driver Matt DiBenedetto.

LEAVINE FAMILY RACING

Manufacturer: Toyota

Engine: Toyota Racing Development

Driver: Matt DiBenedetto

Crew chiefs: Mike Wheeler

2018 standings: LFR netted just one top-five finish and dipped one spot to 27th in the team owner standings. A medical condition knocked Kasey Kahne out of the No. 95 car after 25 races, and super-sub Regan Smith drove the remaining 11.

What’s new: A manufacturer shift to Toyota, a new technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, plus transitions for a new driver (DiBenedetto) and crew chief (Wheeler) mark all the major boxes in the overhaul checklist. The organization threw in a typeface change for their car number last month for good measure.

Outlook: Team owner Bob Leavine made a major investment in linking his organization with powerhouse associates in JGR and Toyota, aiming for a seismic upswing in performance. The new-found alliance has been likened to the former partnership that transformed Furniture Row Racing into a championship contender, but Leavine insists his goals for 2019 are more modest for now.

DRIVER
Matt DiBenedetto, No. 95 Toyota: DiBenedetto leaves Go Fas Racing after two seasons with Archie St. Hilaire’s No. 32 group, a tenure that netted three top-10 results and finishes of 32nd (2017) and 29th (2018) in the Monster Energy Series standings. That stint, plus his two seasons at the former BK Racing team, were marked by difficulties but also underdog stories, none better than his spirited drive to sixth place at Bristol in 2016.

If the increase in manufacturer support provides the performance bump for Leavine Family Racing that’s anticipated, DiBenedetto stands to take a similarly upward path. Having Mike Wheeler, a reassuring figure atop the pit box for Denny Hamlin the last three seasons, as his new crew chief provides more optimism for the No. 95 driver’s fortunes.

“I don’t like to try to put numbers on these things,” DiBenedetto said of the expectations. “I just know that in general, with the switch to Toyota and being part of the TRD group, being with Leavine Family Racing, which is a team that I have seen that they’ve done nothing but dump their heart and soul into, and they want to be better. You can tell these guys want to perform at the highest level, so to answer your question, I just think we’re going to be able to go out there and really shock some people next year, show everybody what we’re made of, and I’m lucky to be a part of a growing team.”

TEAM PREVIEWS
• Jan. 22: Assorted teams
• Jan. 23: Richard Petty Motorsports
• Jan. 24: Germain Racing
• Jan. 25: Leavine Family Racing
• Jan 28: Front Row Motorsports
• Jan. 29: JTG Daugherty Racing
• Jan. 30: Wood Brothers Racing
• Jan. 31: Roush Fenway Racing
• Feb. 1: Richard Childress Racing
• Feb. 4: Chip Ganasssi Racing
• Feb. 5: Hendrick Motorsports
• Feb. 6: Joe Gibbs Racing
• Feb. 7: Stewart-Haas Racing
• Feb. 8: Team Penske

Posted on by Holly Cain

His name is spoken in automotive rarefied air. And as a NASCAR team owner, an engineer, an innovator and all-around highly respected member of the sport, Jack Roush will be formally inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Feb. 1.

For so many, Roush’s official new title as “NASCAR Hall of Famer” was inevitable and necessary. Not only did the former Ford Motor Company engineer field championship cars at every level of NASCAR competition, but he is also considered one of the sport’s most important innovators.

From helping to create the “roof flaps” installed to keep cars from easily launching off the ground to running championship race teams across all of NASCAR’s primary series, the 76-year-old Roush has been a staple of the sport and now he will be ceremoniously celebrated as a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2019. He joins team owner Roger Penske, the late Cup champion Alan Kulwicki, the late Davey Allison and four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon in this year’s Hall of Fame class.

RELATED: Meet the 2019 Hall of Fame class

“It’s awesome and on the back of giants,’’ Roush said after his name was announced.

“Who would have thought it,’’ he added. “Thirty-one years ago when we first got started, I was just hoping to stay in the sport a little while.

“I cannot imagine my name is with the 45 people already inducted and all the things they accomplished. And of course with Mark (Martin) being in there, Roger Penske being in there and my Wood Brothers friends being in there. It’s rarefied air and I have to take a while to think about it and all it means to me. But it’s certainly taking my breath.”

MORE HALL PROFILES: Roger Penske | Alan Kulwicki

Roush’s former and longtime Cup series driver Mark Martin — a 2017 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee himself — wasn’t surprised about his longtime friend and team owner earning the sport’s greatest honor. A Hall of Fame voter, Martin was among the very first to congratulate Roush and remind everyone of the important contributions his friend has made to NASCAR and racing in general.

“It means everything in the world to me,’’ Martin said. “I’m so happy with this class and so happy for Jack.

“Jack Roush did so much for so many people, not just for me, in giving me my second chance when no one else would but so many other great race car drivers and all the other people in the shops he mentored, encouraged and gave the all the tools that were it not for Jack Roush wouldn’t have had the opportunity to succeed. … Just the kind of person Jack is and has been and what he’s meant to all those people we celebrate today because of him.”

Roush joked that he was just hoping “to stay in the sport awhile” when he initially became involved in NASCAR 31 years ago after a celebrated career at Ford Motor Company — an association still so important to Roush today that he has only ever fielded Fords in competition.

His first full-time Cup season was 1988 when he fielded a Ford for Mark Martin. The team’s first victory came the following year at Rockingham, North Carolina. And Martin answered that maiden win with three more the following season and finishing runner-up to the late Dale Earnhardt by 26 points in the Cup championship.

RELATED: Class-by-Class look at the NASCAR Hall of Fame

Including that first victory at Rockingham, Roush has 137 total wins at the Cup level — second only to fellow Hall of Famer Rick Hendrick. He led his team to back-to-back Cup titles — for Matt Kenseth in 2003 and then Kurt Busch in 2004. And in addition to the big trophies, he finished championship runner-up another eight times — including four seasons with Martin.

Roush teams earned 137 wins in the Xfinity Series and five championship trophies, including current Roush Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s back-to-back titles in 2011-12. His last came with driver Chris Buescher in 2015.

RELATED: Top career moments for Roush, other inductees

His teams have 50 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series wins and the 2000 series championship with driver Greg Biffle. Twice more Roush truck teams finished runner-up with Biffle in 1999 and Kurt Busch in 2001.

In all, Roush has 324 NASCAR premier series victories — most all-time. Fellow Hall of Famer Rick Hendrick has 301.

And yet if you were to ask Roush what he considers the most important victory of all, he undoubtedly will say his very first.

“I’m most proud of winning that first race with Mark in 1989 in Rockingham, because what it meant to me was I could find a sponsor to keep going. And what it meant to Mark, the team would be solid and keep putting cars under him,’’ Roush explained. “There was some doubt in both our minds if we were going to be able to turn the corner and both stay.”

That staying power has been crucial and well-praised. Even at the age of 76, he is a staple in the garage and on the pit box. This season he will field Fords in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Newman.

The expectations remain the same through all these decades — succeed and lead. It’s a theme Roush has stayed true to.

“I can’t believe I’ve been the recipient of so much great schooling and great support to accomplish all the things I dreamed of and some of the things I never dreamed of,’’ Roush said.

Posted on by Track Release

BRISTOL, Tenn.  (Jan. 24, 2019) – Alsco, a global leader in uniform and linen rental services, has signed a multi-year agreement to become the title sponsor of the April NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, track officials announced today.

The race boosts Alsco’s NASCAR Xfinity Series entitlements to three, as the company also recently extended Xfinity Series event sponsorships at BMS sister tracks Kentucky Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. Alsco is the only company with multiple race sponsorships on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule in 2019.

The Alsco 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway will be held Saturday, April 6 with television coverage provided by FS1.

MORE: Buy tickets!

“We are thrilled to welcome Alsco into the family of sponsors here at Bristol Motor Speedway,” said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager, BMS. “It’s exciting to be the first race of an Alsco Xfinity Series tripleheader in 2019 along with our sister tracks at Kentucky and Charlotte. We look forward to helping Alsco achieve their marketing objectives and increase their brand awareness while they help us put on one of the most action-packed Xfinity Series races of the season on the high banks of The Last Great Colosseum.”

The Alsco 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway will be held Saturday, May 25 and the Alsco 300 at Kentucky Speedway takes place Friday, July 12.

“We are proud to expand our level of involvement with NASCAR by adding a third Alsco 300 to the Xfinity Series schedule, this one at Bristol Motor Speedway,” said Jim Divers, Alsco’s director of sales and marketing. “The folks at Bristol go out of their way to make sure everyone feels like they’re at home when they visit there. It’s such an incredible experience. We felt like it was the perfect place to add another race entitlement. Our partnerships across the racing world, together with Red Kap, have given us great exposure, opened doors, and have given us opportunities for valuable business partnerships.”

In addition to the trio of Xfinity Series races, Alsco has expanded its hospitality package in 2019 with Speedway Motorsports, Inc., in order to provide race experiences for employees, customers and prospects at more venues, including Atlanta Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. Alsco also provides sponsorship on the NASCAR team level with Richard Petty Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing. Look for another team announcement from Alsco later this month.

The Alsco 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway is part of a NASCAR weekend that also includes the Food City 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, April 7 and the NASCAR K&N Series Zombie Auto 150, also on the 6th.

Tickets for all three races are still available. Alsco 300 tickets start at $30 and are free for kids 12 and under with a paid adult. Race weekend packages start at just $80 for adults and are $10 for kids. For more information, visit www.BristolTix.com or call 423-BRISTOL.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. took a class in 1998 that impacted his professional career for years to come.

The course taught him how to navigate an interview and conduct himself in a professional setting. Today, he credits that class as the start of his off-the-track growth as a professional driver.

Those lessons are among the ones the JR Motorsports co-owner wants to provide to up-and-coming drivers in the Drivers Edge Development program, which JR Motorsports and GMS Racing jointly announced Thursday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame with its inaugural six-driver class.

“That class I was in taught me how to cut down on a lot of terrible habits when you’re in an interview,” Earnhardt said. “… I wasn’t amazing right out of the gate — but it helped me understand to be able to identify them through the years and get better. … We’re going to help them understand how to identify these issues and these things as they go through their years in driving.

“Just like when your dad would tell you something and you didn’t get it right away, but then down the road, you go ‘Aw, I see what he meant,’ ” he continued with a chuckle. “Maybe that’s what this is all about.”

In addition to off-track lessons on branding, social media and professional imaging, the program will provide a racing path for up-and-coming drivers to move up through the series, beginning with JR Motorsports’ Late Model program and eventually leading to potential opportunities in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series and Xfinity Series with GMS Racing and JR Motorsports, respectively. Former NASCAR driver Josh Wise will also help the drivers foster and improve their physical fitness.

The idea is to provide a way to cultivate drivers’ talent and development to prepare them to move up the ladder in NASCAR’s ranks — and offer accountability while doing so.

MORE: JR Motorsports, GMS Racing launch Drivers Edge Development

“They’re going to be held accountable to, ‘Hey, man, you took advantage of this course, you took advantage of these tools, you progressed … If they don’t take it seriously, they’re going to be left behind,” Earnhardt said. “They’re going to struggle to get that next opportunity. And that’s always going to be kind of a question mark about that particular individual. I guess as much as it helps them be better outside the car and so forth, it helps us sort of learn more about them individually, about what they’re capable of and how marketable they are, how they’re evolving through the program.”

The six-driver class includes novice NASCAR drivers like Sam Mayer and Adam Lemke, as well as more seasoned ones like Xfinity drivers John Hunter Nemechek and Noah Gragson, who steps into the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for his first full season in the series.

MORE: Drivers on the move for 2019 | Nemechek reveals paint scheme for ’19

The former Kyle Busch Motorsports wheelman said he’d “be lying if (he) said there wasn’t pressure” to perform with a team that’s won the last two championships in the Xfinity Series with Tyler Reddick (2018) and William Byron (2017). But having the tools in a good opportunity with a strong team only gives him “more confidence and more motivation, knowing that they can do (it).”

In a similar facet, the Drivers Edge Development program gives the 20-year-old the necessary tools he needs to be successful in his off-the-track growth.

“Really just trying to develop my skills, whether it be public speaking or it be developing my brand or what not,” Gragson told NASCAR.com. “I feel like I could grow and these are years where I really mature as a person. My late teens/early 20s is when people really start to mature and figure out who they are and I feel like surrounding myself with a great group of people, whether it be the drivers or the upper staff at GMS and JR Motorsports.”

Social media is a growing area Earnhardt identified Thursday as important for young drivers’ branding in the Drivers Edge Development Program, citing it as a space where fans have begun to consume more content. Gragson in particular has become well-known for his playfulness on his accounts; when asked, he smiled and said he hopes to keep having fun on social media.

“I’m a guy who’s, I would say a little,” he paused. “… a lot of weird. I kind of (march to a) beat of my own drum, but I come from the fan side of things before I started racing. I was a fan of the sport and I really enjoyed the personalities like Clint Bowyer, where they were just themselves.

“There’s times to be professional but I feel like there’s also times where you can sit down and have some fun,” he continued. “I just want to relate to the fans and show them that I’m one of them.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Stewart-Haas Racing revealed Daniel Suarez’s paint scheme that will take the track at Daytona International Speedway next month.

Earlier this month, Suarez was named as the driver of the No. 41 Ford, filling the open seat left vacant by Kurt Busch’s move to Chip Ganassi Racing. Suarez will team up with Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola at the four-car outfit.

RELATED: Suarez: ‘Feel like I’m at home’

The 2019 campaign will mark the 27-year-old’s third season in the sport’s top series. He spent the previous two seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing and also won the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Building on a successful technical alliance, JR Motorsports and GMS Racing jointly announced today the establishment of Drivers Edge Development, a program presented by Chevrolet aimed at grooming the next generation of racing superstars through a tiered competition pipeline coupled with comprehensive off-track education.

Drivers Edge Development will give participating drivers, all with differing levels of experience, the opportunity to race in five types of developmental series with JRM or GMS-fielded entries while staying aligned with Chevrolet. The program allows the two teams to complement each other by offering participants competition options with JRM’s regional late model program leading into GMS’ NASCAR K&N Pro Series and ARCA entries. The next tier presents potential seat time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series with GMS. Finally, at the program’s top level, JRM entries await in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Equally as important as the competition focus, Drivers Edge Development provides added training to enhance participants’ professional growth off the track. Drivers will have access to a host of programs focusing on their physical, mental and technical development. An emphasis will be placed on educating them in areas such as brand building, social media and digital content, media training and fan relations as well as support for partner procurement and retention.

“We have always prided ourselves on being a stepping stone for drivers that want to get to the top level of racing,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr., JRM team owner. “JR Motorsports was designed with that in mind, and now with the help of GMS and Chevrolet, Drivers Edge Development will provide a clear-cut path and more options for drivers to get there.”

Although mainly performance-based, there are no set criteria for selection into the program. Ideally, drivers between the ages of 14 and 21 years old will be considered. Currently, six drivers are enrolled in the Drivers Edge Development program:

  • Noah Gragson (NXS driver for JRM)
  • John Hunter Nemechek (NXS driver for GMS)
  • Zane Smith (NXS driver for JRM in eight races)
  • Sheldon Creed (Truck driver for GMS)
  • Sam Mayer (Truck/ARCA/K&N driver for GMS and Late Model driver for JRM)
  • Adam Lemke (Late Model driver for JRM)

“We couldn’t be more pleased to get this program off the ground,” said Mike Beam, GMS team president. “Between GMS and JRM, I feel our two programs are very complementary of each other and will give Drivers Edge Development participants multiple series options.

“We have to give Lorin Ranier some credit, too. He has been working behind the scenes and is a great help in scouting drivers for the program. He is really plugged into the local and regional short-track scene and has already worked with some of the drivers in the program.”

Drivers Edge Development participants will also benefit from the mentoring of veteran racers from both the JRM and GMS stables.

“Drivers Edge Development is going to be critical to the future of the sport and our race team,” said Kelley Earnhardt Miller, JRM general manager. “The fact that you have JRM, GMS and Chevrolet involved in getting this off the ground speaks to that importance.

“We’re emphasizing on-track experience in multiple series while still keeping the drivers under the Chevrolet umbrella. Off track, we’re going to offer these drivers decades of industry knowledge and best practices with the goal of helping them become the best versions of themselves in all aspects of the sport.”

The six drivers enrolled in Drivers Edge Development are joining established and successful operations. The JRM late model teams have delivered 40 wins in the last three seasons and own a total of four championships. GMS Racing has nine wins and a championship with its ARCA program. Its Truck teams have amassed 23 wins along with a championship in 2016. Over 13 years of competition, JRM’s NXS program lays claim to 44 wins and three championships, including consecutive titles in 2017-18.

Posted on by Staff Report

Pressure can provoke people in different ways. For some, it leads to a quiet, Zen-like focus. And yet for others, it forces them to come out of their corner ready to fight.

Which side are you on?

Better yet, which personality traits will NASCAR fans see from the drivers under the most pressure in 2019?

NASCAR.com’s George Winkler and RJ Kraft debate which drivers are likely to feel the most heat this year in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

MORE: Drivers on the move for 2019 | List of full-time drivers in 2019

WINKLER: The clock is still ticking as we wait for Brad Keselowski to win his second Monster Energy Series title and cement his status among the elite. And now that teammate Joey Logano is coming off his championship season, there’s more pressure on the No. 2 team to follow suit. Keselowski clicked in a three-race win streak in 2018 that stretched into the first week of the playoffs, but then the bottom dropped out at the Charlotte road course (31st) and, of all places, Talladega (27th). As a result, Keselowski failed to make the Championship 4 for the second time in the past three seasons, and that’s not something we expected to see from someone who had three or more victories in each of those years. Entering his age-35 season, it’s time for Keselowski to re-establish his dominance deep into the playoffs.

KRAFT: Solid point there on Keselowski’s early postseason exit, and that is going to guide my selections as well. The 2018 season had to be disappointing for Denny Hamlin on a number of levels — his worst finish in the standings (11th) in a full season since 2007, an exit in the Round of 16 of the playoffs and a winless campaign for the first time in his Cup career. He has a new crew chief in Chris Gabehart with longtime team member Mike Wheeler shifting over to Leavine Family Racing and the No. 95 operation. Since making it to the Championship 4 in this format’s first year in 2014, Hamlin has not gotten back there in the past four years and hasn’t been able to shed the “most accomplished driver yet to win a title” label. With the Toyota pipeline continuing to churn out talent, the pressure is on for Hamlin to produce.

RELATED: Hamlin tweets been ‘a great ride’ with Wheeler

WINKLER: Speaking of talent, take a poll of his peers and you will likely see Kyle Larson right up there with Kyle Busch as the most talented driver on the Cup level. But the express train to title town took a detour in 2018 when Larson put up a goose egg in the win column. After breaking through for his first Cup victory in 2016 and adding four more wins in 2017, Larson appeared poised to take the No. 42 team to the next level. But that didn’t happen and now Larson is left to refocus and pick up the pieces entering the 2019 season. The good news is, at 25 Larson still has plenty of time to improve and is just scratching the surface of his prime years. Plus, he’ll have a new teammate to lean on in Kurt Busch, who’s a former champ. But at some point, all of Larson’s talent needs to translate into a Championship 4 bid.

KRAFT: I feel differently than you about Larson, but I’m sticking with the Chevrolet camp for my second selection. It feels weird to say a seven-time champion is under some pressure this season, but to me Larson’s fellow California-born Cup driver, Jimmie Johnson falls in that camp. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is coming off his worst full-time season with just two top fives, 11 top 10s, 40 laps led and no wins — all career lows. The veteran will also have a new voice atop the pit box with Kevin Meendering coming over to run the No. 48 team with former crew chief Chad Knaus shifting over to the No. 24 team. That’s quite a bit of change for a driver that hasn’t seen a lot of it during his Cup career. Adding to the intrigue, “Seven-Time” will have a new look and a new primary sponsor this season on his No. 48 Chevrolet. A final concern is that Johnson has struggled in the elimination format — reaching the Championship 4 just once in the five years of its existence. Since the advent of stage wins in 2017, he has just one — those are a must in racking up playoff points to advance during the early parts of the postseason.

RELATED: Debating which crew chief move will pay immediate dividends?

Posted on by Staff Report

Editor’s note: NASCAR.com continues its countdown of team previews for the Monster Energy Series season, ranked in order of best finish in last year’s owner standings. Today’s feature: Germain Racing and driver Ty Dillon.

Germain Racing

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Engine: ECR Engines

Driver: Ty Dillon, No. 13

Crew chief: Matt Borland

2018 standings: Dillon competed in his second full season at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series level and finished 27th in the standings. The No. 13 car was 29th in the owner standings.

What’s new: The biggest move has nothing to do with on-the-track maneuvers, but off-the-track location: Germain Racing relocated its operations to Welcome, North Carolina, to be closer to the source of its technical alliance, Richard Childress Racing. Previously, the Bob Germain-owned organization had been based in Mooresville, North Carolina, for the last decade.

Outlook: With Ty Dillon and Matt Borland entering their second season of partnership and a closer physical proximity to its technical alliance partner, it wouldn’t be surprising to see things move in a positive direction for Germain Racing this season.

DRIVER 

Ty Dillon, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet: Dillon’s sophomore season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018 didn’t quite go as planned — his average finish actually worsened to 24.1 from 20.7 in his inaugural year at NASCAR’s highest level. Maybe that was because he was working on a new partnership with crew chief Matt Borland, or maybe that’s because he was trying to get adjusted to the then-new Camaro ZL1. One thing’s for certain: with a full season spent building chemistry with Borland and his shop moving to be closer to its technical alliance with the team that Dillon’s grandfather, Richard Childress, owns, things should improve. Highlights in 2018 included three laps led and a sixth-place finish in the July race at Daytona, along with a pair of 15th-place finishes at both Talladega stops, and a 13th-place showing at the April Texas race.

TEAM PREVIEWS
• Jan. 22: Assorted teams
• Jan. 23: Richard Petty Motorsports
• Jan. 24: Germain Racing
• Jan. 25: Leavine Family Racing
• Jan 28: Front Row Motorsports
• Jan. 29: JTG Daugherty Racing
• Jan. 30: Wood Brothers Racing
• Jan. 31: Roush Fenway Racing
• Feb. 1: Richard Childress Racing
• Feb. 4: Chip Ganasssi Racing
• Feb. 5: Hendrick Motorsports
• Feb. 6: Joe Gibbs Racing
• Feb. 7: Stewart-Haas Racing
• Feb. 8: Team Penske

Posted on by Pat DeCola

Just minutes after his hometown Kansas City Chiefs were eliminated from the NFL Playoffs, Clint Bowyer sent this tweet.

NASCAR is coming. Giddy up.

Bowyer’s tweet was enough to get us all jacked up for Daytona – which, remarkably, is just a few short weeks away – so just imagine how anxious he is to get going, heading into such an exciting time for the sport and Stewart-Haas Racing as an organization.

Coming off arguably the best overall season in SHR’s history in which Bowyer put his career back on track after several meandering years, the team’s trajectory continues to point upward. Ford will debut a brand-new Mustang in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after several years of running the Fusion, and the team recently announced the signing of a promising, young talent in driver Daniel Suarez.

MORE: Clint Bowyer 2018 season recap | Stats

SHR was the only organization to place all four of its drivers inside the Round of 8, with Kevin Harvick coming up just short of the title at Miami. The banner year set the bar high, but don’t assume a new rules package and body will be add any sort of wrinkle to start the season.

“There ain’t no wrinkles in a Ford Mustang, boy,” Bowyer told NASCAR.com Wednesday afternoon. “It’s a damn Mustang.”

Well, there you have it.

PHOTOS: New 2019 Ford Mustang

As for the 2019 rules package – something all manufacturers will be working with, not just Ford – the excitement is there, too.

“To be dead honest with you, generally speaking, I don’t know what to expect,” Bowyer said on a Wednesday conference call. “I don’t think anybody can expect too much right now or know what to expect. I’m going to a test in Vegas out here next week. I’m looking forward to going out there and getting, I guess, that idea of the expectations going into the season under my belt, firsthand.

“This is a drastic rule change. … Time will tell what opinions are made, and certainly I’ll form my opinion when that time comes. Testing is one thing. It’ll be, what, 14, 15 cars out there next week? When you get out there with 40 nut jobs, it’s a whole different story.”

Bowyer will represent SHR when drivers test Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend. He’ll join former teammate Kurt Busch, who opened the seat for Suarez after a move to Chip Ganassi Racing, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, David Ragan, Matt DiBenedetto, Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace, Paul Menard, Ty Dillon, Ross Chastain, Landon Cassill, Drew Herring. Cody Ware, Noah Gragson, Riley Herbst, Zane Smith and Chase Briscoe.

Suarez participated in a smaller test earlier this month at Auto Club Speedway, so SHR has a bit of data already.

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With that many drivers and cars taking to the track in Vegas, it should offer a glimpse into what we’ll see with the package once the series breaks it out in full form post-Daytona.

“Looking forward to the test next week, as I said, but definitely looking forward to once you get out of Daytona 500 — Daytona is always going to be Daytona,” said the two-time 2018 winner.

As far as his new teammate, Bowyer admits he “didn’t have much of an opportunity to get to know (him) a lot” prior to now, the veteran sees big things on the horizon for the 27-year-old – and the energetic, affable driver may have actually found someone that, shockingly, he can’t keep up with.

“I always thought I was excited and got excited in conversations. People have told me slow down. I had to say, ‘hey, Daniel, slow down, I’m way too country for all this’,” Bowyer said about a recent trip to Texas for Mobil 1 in which they “talked for six hours roundtrip.”

MORE: Suarez joins SHR, will drive No. 41 Ford | Roundtable: Previewing the move

It’s invigorating to be around, it seems.

“Man, it’s fun to be around kids like that that are full of talent; full of piss and vinegar,” Bowyer said. “He’s set on kill. He’s excited about his opportunity, as he should be. He’s in good equipment. I know the equipment he’s going to be sitting in; the team that he’s going to be with. They were on fire last year with (crew chief) Billy Scott and all those guys. He’s got a good future ahead of him for this year. I’m excited for him.”

After altering its driver lineup for the third straight year, it’s beginning to feel as if SHR could ride with the current stable – Bowyer, Harvick, Suarez and last year’s breakout Aric Almirola – for years to come.

Four strong in strong Fords.

“The strength comes with numbers in our sport, and having four cars is such a powerful thing; the difference that Aric Almirola brought in and making that fourth car real … ” he continued. “And what I mean by that is as you’re going through practice sessions, as you’re going through changes and decisions and making those decisions with the setup one way or another, to be able to have the confidence in what he’s saying and the lap times to back it up gives you a lot of confidence in a decision to go that way if that opportunity is there, and certainly that opportunity is going to be there having Daniel in that fourth car just like it was with Kurt in it or anybody else.

“It’s important for all of us to get Daniel caught up and up to speed on everything, and we’ll all benefit from that; Kevin, myself, Aric, everybody at Stewart-Haas will benefit on him being up to speed as soon as possible.”

The sooner that happens, the sooner SHR will resume its dominance, and it could be as soon as Daytona.

DEBATE: Which multi-car team has best shot at all drivers winning?