Posted on by Staff Report

TriStar Motorsports driver Cole Whitt has retired, the team announced late Sunday night.

Whitt, 27, started 34th and finished 25th in Sunday’s NASCAR Playoffs Round of 8 race at ISM Raceway in Phoenix. It was his 13th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start of the season, with a best finish of 19th at Texas in the spring.

Whitt has 161 Cup starts under his belt, racing full time at NASCAR’s top level in 2014-15 and 2017, finishing 31st in points in his first two full seasons. In his 2012 Xfinity Series rookie season, he placed seventh overall, with four top-five finishes.

MORE: Cole Whitt career stats

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 12, 2018) – As the Championship 4 drivers battle for a title at Homestead-Miami Speedway, NASCAR® and Snap Inc. will bring the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship™ to life through unique activations and content experiences for Snapchatters worldwide.

Snapcodes allowing fans to directly follow NASCAR, teams and drivers on Snapchat will be displayed on the drivers’ race cars during the Ford EcoBoost 400 on Nov. 18, in celebration of NASCAR’s season finale (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR’s new show, “NASCAR Highlights,” now available for fans on Snapchat’s Discover page, will break the championship race into the day’s most exciting moments from pre-race to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship trophy presentation in Victory Lane.

In addition, fans in attendance at Homestead-Miami Speedway and watching around the world can share their race-day experiences with millions of Snapchat users through premium Our Story coverage on Snapchat Discover. The Our Story, an expertly-curated look at the day through publicly submitted video and photo Snaps, will provide a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship from the perspective of fans and drivers.

Fans at Homestead-Miami Speedway will also have access to creative NASCAR-branded Filters to decorate their Snaps.

“From the earliest tailgates to the wave of the checkered flag and everything in between, Snapchat is telling the story of NASCAR’s championship event like never before,” said Jill Gregory, NASCAR executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “We want Snapchat users to feel like they’re at Homestead-Miami Speedway, so with the Our Story, ‘NASCAR Highlights’ and Snapcodes, we’re thrilled to provide that experience.”

During the race, certain drivers will carry their own, individual Snapcodes on the front sides of their race cars. Others will display team-specific or NASCAR Snapcodes as part of the activation – a collaborative initiative between NASCAR, Snap Inc. and the Race Team Alliance.

“NASCAR has been a longstanding partner and adding Snapcodes to drivers’ race cars in conjunction with the race teams shows their commitment to innovation and creativity,” said Juan David Borrero, Snap’s Head of Sports Partnerships. “We’re excited to continue growing our partnership and look forward to bringing all the excitement of NASCAR’s championship race to Snapchatters around the world.”

“The Race Teams continue to look for new ways for our fans to engage with their favorite drivers and when approached with this creative idea immediately came on board for this innovative partnership with Snap and NASCAR,” said Jonathan Marshall, Executive Director of the Race Team Alliance.

For in-depth coverage around the Ford EcoBoost 400, visit NASCAR.com.

Posted on by Staff Report

Denny Hamlin’s and Kurt Busch’s cars collided shortly after a late restart Sunday at ISM Raceway in the Round of 8 elimination race, with the resulting damage ending Busch’s attempt at advancing to the Championship 4. The disappointment was evident in Busch’s face as he gave his post-wreck interview to NBC and other media. Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart was seen consoling Busch.

But according to Hamlin, the veteran Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers bumped into each other again later and this time the result was more pleasant.

Good to see the two veterans were able to resolve the situation.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Aric Almirola was close enough to taste the victory that would have assured him of a Championship 4 berth and knocked Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick out of the final four.

With 12 laps left in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway, Almirola’s No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford lined up beside race leader Kyle Busch for a restart with 12 laps left. But Busch got the jump on the restart, and Almirola faded to fourth behind runner-up Brad Keselowski and third-place Kyle Larson.

RELATED: Race results | Playoff standings

“I thought we were a seventh- to sixth-place car, and that’s what I thought we were yesterday (in practice), too,” Almirola said on pit road, after getting a consoling hug from team owner Tony Stewart. “(Crew chief) Johnny (Klausmeier) and all these guys fought their guts out, and I fought my guts out inside the race car and gave it everything we had. We took a seventh- or eighth-place car and the next thing you know we were in position to win the race.

“I’m just really thankful for this group, and these guys on the Smithfield team are awesome. This is our first year working together. You look at all the teams we’re racing and they’ve got four, five, six, seven years working together, so what we’ve accomplished in one year is a hell of a lot.

“But right now all I can think about is being inside of Kyle down there in the new (Turns) 1 and 2 and just not being able to get the power down to get up beside him. It’s bittersweet. It was a good day for us, but today we needed to win — and we didn’t win.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Hendrick Motorsports rising star William Byron clinched the 2018 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award after Sunday’s race at ISM Raceway at Phoenix.

Byron has four top 10s and 20 top 20-finishes with one race remaining in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season and topped fellow rookie Bubba Wallace for the honor. His best result came in the summer race at Pocono with a sixth-place finish.

The Charlotte, North Carolina, native finished ninth at ISM Raceway to clinch the award — with Wallace finishing one spot behind him in 10th. It’s the first time this season the two rookies both finished in the top 10.

RELATED: Knaus to crew chief Byron in 2019

Byron will see a change in leadership atop the pit box next season with seven-time champion crew chief Chad Knaus moving over to lead Byron’s No. 24 team as current crew chief Darian Grubb will come off the road and back into a role in the Hendrick shop.

Byron competed full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports in 2017. He earned the championship and Sunoco Rookie of the Year in that series last season and earned Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in 2016 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Byron’s three straight Sunoco Rookie of the Year awards across all three national series mirrors what Erik Jones accomplished in recent years. Jones won Sunoco rookie honors in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2017, the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2016 and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2015.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Holding off Brad Keselowski after a restart with 12 laps left in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway, Kyle Busch claimed his eighth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and led NASCAR’s Big Three into the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

After a wreck on Lap 269 of 312 ended the championship hopes of Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott—both of whom had been in the mix throughout the day—Busch grabbed the lead from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones on Lap 277 and held it the rest of the way, through two subsequent cautions and restarts.

Busch’s victory, the 51st of his career and his second at the one-mile track—coming 13 years after his first one—tied him for the series lead with Kevin Harvick, who had to overcome an early flat tire to join Busch, Martinsville winner Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. (14th on Sunday) in the Championship 4.

RELATED: Race results | All-time national series wins | Shop for winner gear

The 51st win broke a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famers Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett, leaving Busch alone in 11th place on the all-time list.

By the time he took the checkered flag .501 seconds ahead of Keselowski, Busch had already clinched a spot in the title race on points.

“What a day! What a race!” Busch said. “It’s an awesome team and awesome group of guys. Can’t say enough about everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing—all the men and women there that work so hard to prepare such great race cars that I get to drive.”

Busch, who won the 2015 championship after missing the first 11 events of the season because of injuries sustained in an accident at Daytona, now carries significant momentum into the championship race.

“I’d like to think it gives us a lot, but I don’t know–talk is cheap. We’ve got to be able to go out there and perform and just do what we need to do. Being able to do what we did here today was certainly beneficial.

“I didn’t think we were the best car, but we survived, and we did what we needed to do today. It’s just about getting to next week, and once we were locked in, it was ‘All bets are off, and it’s time to go.’”


Truex didn’t have a contending car, but the reigning series champion did an admirable job avoiding the sort of trouble that dashed the hopes of other championship contenders.

Clint Bowyer exited early, thanks to a flat left rear tire that sent him hard into the Turn 3 wall on Lap 133. Kurt Busch led 52 laps and overcame a one-lap penalty for passing the pace car at the entrance to pit road under caution on Lap 135.

After regaining the lost lap, however, Busch was fighting for the lead after a restart on Lap 269 when the No. 11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin ran him into the outside wall. Busch’s No. 41 Ford bounced off the barrier and collected the No. 9 Chevrolet of Chase Elliott, who had led 16 laps and won the first stage.

Unable to continue, Busch finished 32nd. Elliott lost three laps under repairs and came home 23rd.

With Kurt Busch and Elliott out of contention, Harvick was assured of a Championship 4 berth unless Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola won the race. Almirola lined up second to Kyle Busch for the final restart on Lap 301 but faded to fourth at the finish, and Harvick was in.

“That flat tire, just leading the stage there, coming to the white, and the tire goes flat,” Harvick said of his early issue. “That just put us behind and that was really the turning point in our day, to not have everything go right. 

“I mean, we got ourselves back in contention there, and we’re going in the right direction and wound up just finding a spot at the end to just survive there and get to the finish.”

RELATED: Busch, Elliott entangled in late wreck | Harvick advances in adventuresome day

Harvick finished fifth behind Almirola. Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth, Austin Dillon, William Byron, and Bubba Wallace completed the top 10.

Byron clinched Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors for the series.

“We haven’t had very good runs, to be honest, the whole year, but this run we kind of went a completely different direction with what we were doing and it seemed to pay off, and just kind of had a solid weekend other than qualifying,” Byron said.

“Got some damage there, but we were able to come back, I guess, and finish ninth, so I guess that’s decent, and going to Homestead next week.”

Will there be more drama next week? The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season will conclude next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford EcoBoost 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The best finisher among the Championship 4 will be crowned as the Monster Energy Series champion.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Congratulations from team owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas on pit road following Sunday’s Round of 8 finale at ISM Raceway completed a roller-coaster ride for Kevin Harvick en route to a Championship 4 bid.

Harvick rallied back from a flat tire early to earn a fifth-place finish in the penultimate race of the season in Phoenix, advancing to the final round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by 28 points to join race winner Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr.

Kevin Harvick, Gene Haas and Tony Stewart
Chase Wilhelm | NASCAR Digital Media

Harvick faced stiff competition from Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola in the closing lap, but a fourth-place finish for the No. 10 team fell short in a must-win situation.

RELATED: Race results | Elliott, Kyle Busch win stages

Although he wore a smile after sealing his fate for next Sunday’s title bout at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick’s description of the day summed up how challenging it was to fight back.

“It’s real-life torture there,” Harvick said. “…Everything that went on today was just crazy, right? We kept ourselves in there and then at the end just put ourselves in a position where there weren’t any cars around anymore and just finish the race.”

Harvick started from the Busch Pole and led the first 72 circuits of Sunday’s Can-Am 500, but a flat tire with two laps remaining in Stage 1 sent the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford to pit road prematurely – losing a lap in the process.

Quickly returning to the lead lap as the beneficiary following the race’s second caution, Harvick worked the No. 4 back through the field to earn a fourth-place result in Stage 2.

“There’s nothing you can do about that stuff,” Harvick said. “You just regroup, put four new tires on it and go at it again.”

The focus now shifts to preparation for a run at a second career championship for Harvick, something he will do with interim crew chief Tony Gibson after an L1-level penalty sidelined crew chief Rodney Childers (as well as car chief Robert Smith) for the final two events and a 40-point loss heading into Phoenix.

The penalty makes Sunday’s comeback even more remarkable given he started the race with only a three-point cushion on the cutline.

“I think we have a shot every time we show up,” Harvick said of his chances in South Florida. “Our guys ­are doing a great job, obviously, to accomplish everything we did this weekend was quite the feat without your crew chief and car chie­f.”

“Really the biggest thing that Tony (Gibson) brings is just a ton of experience,” he added. “He’s very calm on the pit box, unless he’s winning the Daytona 500. … But for the most part on the radio, he was just dead calm all weekend and just pretty laid back with everything, and everybody just did their jobs.”

Along with his confidence in Gibson, Harvick made note that Childers will play a huge role despite his absence from the pit box in Miami, just as he did this weekend.

“The thing you’ve got to remember is those guys have all been together for five years,” Harvick said. “…The internet works well from Phoenix to North Carolina, as well, too.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 is set following Sunday’s race at ISM Raceway, with Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick joining Joey Logano in next weekend’s title race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Three spots were up for grabs in the Round of 8 finale, and fittingly it was this season’s “Big 3” that clinched them in the penultimate race of the season.

Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer were eliminated from the postseason.

RELATED: Unofficial results

Logano had advanced to Miami with his win in the opening race of the Round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway, when he moved Truex Jr. up the track in Turn 3 on the final lap to pull out the win. And it turns out, it was a move that saved his season considering Logano cut a tire on Lap 95 at ISM Raceway and exited the race thereafter.

Truex Jr. recovered from that disappointing Martinsville finish, though, to clinch his third Championship 4 appearance in the past four years. For “Rowdy,” he got there by virtue of winning Sunday at ISM for his eighth victory of 2018.

“Well, it’s exciting for us, I think, to be in this position again,” Truex Jr. said. “This is our third trip to Homestead in four years, which I think is something we’re all really proud of as a group, and obviously going to be our last race together as a complete group, it’s definitely going to be a special weekend.”

Harvick rallied for his fourth Championship 4 appearance in five years in the playoff elimination format. His run to Miami hit an unexpected speed bump this week due to an L1-level penalty following his win at Texas. The spoiler infraction on the No. 4 cost Harvick 40 points in the driver standings, the result of which sent him from “clinched” to just three points above the cutoff line entering Phoenix.

Harvick had to do it the hard way Sunday, even with starting from the Busch Pole. He had led every lap of Stage 1 before blowing a tire with two laps remaining. A fortuitous caution flag got him back in the lead lap in Stage 2, and a bit of pit strategy earned him the crucial points, and he survived the late-race mayhem that Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch triggered with a Lap 268 (of 312) wreck that also caught Elliott.

“I think we have a chance every time we show up,” Harvick said. “Our guys are doing a great job obviously to accomplish everything we did this weekend was quite the feat without your crew chief and car chief, but (interim crew chief) Tony Gibson and (interim car chief) Nick (DeFazio) did a great job filling in and everybody kept their head about them and we were competitive all weekend.”

Harvick, Busch and Truex Jr. all have one Monster Energy Series championship to their name. Logano will be racing for his first career championship.

Posted on by Staff Report

The postseason hopes for Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott were dashed after late-race contact in an incident with Denny Hamlin triggered a multi-car crash at ISM Raceway at Phoenix.

RELATED: Phoenix leaderboard

Denny Hamlin challenged Busch for the lead but his No. 11 Toyota washed up into Busch’s No. 41 Ford at the exit of Turn 2. The contact between both cars forced Busch’s car into the outside wall and later snared Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet, causing major damage to all three cars and prompting a Lap 268 caution.

Busch rejoined the race after repairs, but retired to the garage after completing just 272 of the 312 laps in the Can-Am 500. The exit in 32nd place ended his chance for a title berth in next weekend’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“Terribly sorry, guys,” Busch told his crew over the radio. “I didn’t get the job done.”

Hamlin indicated that Busch was not to blame for the contact after their initial hit, which sent both cars out of control and clogged the backstretch, involving both Elliott and teammate Alex Bowman.

“I got loose and I chased it up the race track and he was right there,” Hamlin said. “Then it looked like he hit the wall and I was up there and kind of pinched him and then hit the wall again. It was not going to be good. He kind of turned us then, but I can’t blame him. Kurt’s been fair to me in so many years of racing. I’ve never had one incident with him, he’s been as fair to me as anyone out there and I hate it for him because trust me, I was rooting for him – all of today I was rooting for the 41 to be the guy that got in there.

“Ultimately we have to go out there to try to race to win and we were battling hard off the corner. Just ran out of real estate for sure.”

Elliott, who was also vying for a Championship 4 spot, continued after quick fixes to his Hendrick Motorsports entry, but he lamented being further back in the pack after absorbing a pit-road speeding penalty on Lap 231. He wound up 23rd, three laps down.

“Yeah, was speeding on pit road and ultimately that is what got us behind,” said Elliott, who led three times for 16 laps. “You can’t come down pit road leading the race and speed and expect to race for a championship the next week. Just unfortunate and especially that late in the race. So, that was just my fault and really no excuse for it. So, we will try again next year.”

Posted on by Staff Report

What channels are NASCAR races on this week? We answer that and give you the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET. 

MORE: Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports Go | How to find NBCSN

Monday, November 12
2 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 (re-air), FS2
2:30 p.m.: NASCAR 120, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m..: NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

On MRN
Noon: Motorsports Monday (with hosts Woody Cain and Joey Meier)

Tuesday, November 13
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

On MRN
7 p.m.: NASCAR Live (with host Mike Bagley)

Wednesday, November 14
4:30 a.m.: NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1
5 p.m.: NASCAR America: Wednesdays with Dale Jr., NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
Noon: Crew Call (with hosts Sammi Jo Francis and Rocko Williams)

Thursday, November 15
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
1 p.m.: Throwback Thursday: 2001 Pennzoil 400

Friday, November 16
12:30 p.m.: Dale Jr. Download (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN1)
2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS1
5 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
6 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Race Day: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, FS1
8 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200, FS1
10 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series post-race show, FS1

On MRN
Noon: The Inside Live (with host Tyler Burnett)

Saturday, November 17
6:30 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200 (re-air), FS1
8 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
9 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
10 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
11:30 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN4)
12:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
1:30 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN1, 4)
3 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Ford EcoBoost 300, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN1, 4)
6:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series post-race show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Sunday, November 18
9 a.m.: NASCAR Race Classic: 1994 Coke 600 (re-air), FS1
9:30 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200 (re-air), FS1
11:30 a.m.: NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
1 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1:30 p.m.: NASCAR America Sunday, NBC/NBC Sports App
2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBC/NBC Sports App
3 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400, NBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3)
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200 (re-air), FS2