Posted on by Staff Report

Matt DiBenedetto and Go Fas Racing will part ways after the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, according to the driver.

DiBenedetto posted a statement on his Twitter handle that can be viewed below.

The 27-year-old California native has spent the past two seasons driving the No. 32 Ford for Go Fas Racing. Before that, he drove for BK Racing for two years. In 129 Monster Energy Series starts, DiBenedetto has four top 10s with a best finish of sixth in the 2016 spring race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

DiBenedetto’s three top 10s in the past two years also represent Go Fas Racing’s top 10 total in seven years. His seventh-place finish in the Daytona summer race this year stands as the organization’s best result in NASCAR’s top series.

On Saturday, Go Fas Racing released a statement thanking DiBenedetto for being a member of the team the last two years. The statement also says they are looking to secure a driver and sponsor pairing for the 2019 season.

Posted on by Staff Report

Name: Bradi B.

Hometown: Orlando, FL

Favorite NASCAR track: DAYTONA BABY!

Favorite Monster Energy Drink: Monster Hydro

Favorite Monster Energy event (besides NASCAR): Supercross

Favorite Monster Energy athlete: Tyler Bowers, duh

Which character would you be in Talladega Nights: Texas Ranger

Monster Girl Bradi B Inset

Talladega or Daytona: Daytona

Car or Truck: Truck

JetSki or Snow ski: Florida girl. .. JetSki

Beer or wine: WINE, drinking as I type

What would you name your boat if you had one: Tug-a-lug

You might not know this about me: I have a BS degree in sarcasm, and I can still tumble like a pro gymnasts.

Best part of being a Monster Girl: TRAVELING and meeting all the fans at different events.

Best / craziest fan story/encounter: Ummm… I don’t know if it’s questionnaire appropriate, but Euros are crazy at Motocross Des Nation races!

Posted on by Staff Report

Friday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series practices have been canceled due to inclement weather at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The series was scheduled for two 50-minute practice sessions on Friday afternoon; one at 1:05 p.m. ET and one at 3:05 p.m. ET.

The Xfinity Series was the only scheduled series on-track activity for Friday. Saturday’s schedule also got washed out moving the Lilly Diabetes 250 to Monday morning at 10 a.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Weather updates | Full Indy schedule

The Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will use the same aerodynamic package used at this track last season that produced a record number of race leaders (8) and lead changes (16). The package has already been used this season at Pocono and Michigan. The 2017 Indy-specific package included a taller rear spoiler, use of a restrictor plate (7/8th-inch) and aero ducts (similar to brake duct openings) in an attempt to lessen the aerodynamic advantage enjoyed by the lead car at the 2.5-mile track.

A fleet of 19 units of the Toyota Track Drying Team are on hand to dry the track as quickly as possible in the event of wet weather, along with 10 jets and four vacuums. 

Posted on by Reid Spencer

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – In a Friday conference call with reporters, Kasey Kahne provided greater detail as to why he won’t be racing in Monday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard.

Kahne opted to exit the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet for the final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular-season race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, IMS and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) after suffering from extreme heat exhaustion and dehydration during the final 100 laps of last Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

The issue has been a chronic problem that came to a head at Darlington, even though Kahne had made a point to stay hydrated in the days leading up to the event.

RELATED: Kahne sidelined for Indianapolis

“I was super hydrated,” said Kahne, who announced in August he will retire from full-time Cup racing at season’s end. “I was in really good condition going into the race. Had a great practice on Friday. About halfway through the race, I started getting to the point where I couldn’t drink any more. Once I can’t drink any more, I’ve already lost a lot more at that point in time in fluids than what I was able to put in.

“That’s why (when) I can’t drink any more, it will start coming back out. I keep drinking the most that I can throughout the rest of the race, but it just gets super hard. My body keeps sweating so much that I have, like, absolutely nothing left by the end of the race.”

Kahne slowed down and tried to stay as motionless as possible inside the car because his heart rate was elevated.

“At Darlington, about 100 (laps) to go, it was really hard to keep my eyes open and see,” Kahne explained. “I was struggling to do that. I was trying to control my heart rate because it was so high. I basically just kind of laid in the car and drove around the corners.

“I had to just control the car just to try to do as little as possible, so my heart rate would go down because it was so high. At that point all I’m doing is focusing on my body and my health, not on what I should be actually focusing on, and that’s racing.

“After the race, I went to the care center. I threw up all the way there. A lot of fans saw it. Threw up in the care center. They got IVs going in both arms. At that point I got to where I wasn’t sick any more. Sick all the way on the drive home.”

Since then, Kahne has been working with his doctors to trying to find a solution.

MORE: Kahne’s career highlights

“It’s just been a rough week,” he said. “That’s where I’m at today. Not racing Indy. Really tough decision. I would much rather be there than not.

“At this point I have to just figure out how to finish these races, how to be able to go that long in a hot car in the environment that we’re in, between the air temp and the dew point degrees, just to control it all.”

If Kahne can’t find a way to combat the condition, he may miss more races than the Brickyard 400. The forecast for the Sept. 15 event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway calls for 100-degree temperatures throughout the weekend.

“Just taking it one race at a time,” Kahne said. “My whole reason for doing this is because I know that Indy is a tough one, the dew point is always up there. I just know that I’ll be in that same situation there.

“For the full race, I’d be in the same situation. I can’t go through it again, so I’ve had to not go there, you know, learn more by the next one, decide from there.”

Posted on by NASCAR Official Release

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sept. 7, 2018 – 704Games, NASCAR’s exclusive esports partner for simulation-style video games on console platforms, released the newest entry in its best-selling racing series: NASCAR Heat 3. Featuring the biggest names in motorsports, the title is available today for $49.99 digitally and at retail in North America on the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One, as well as on Windows PC via Steam.

“NASCAR Heat is back with developer Monster Games behind the wheel for our most exciting and comprehensive racing experience yet,” said 704Games President Paul Brooks. “NASCAR Heat 3 has more tracks, improved multiplayer with online tournaments, and an even deeper career mode featuring a totally new dirt-racing challenge: the Xtreme Dirt Tour.”

The Xtreme Dirt Tour brings the competition to eight new dirt tracks, building up to the authentic NASCAR career racing experiences of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Players can also own and manage their own race teams.

Aric Almirola NASCAR Heat 3
Photo courtesy of 704Games

In addition, NASCAR Heat 3 expands on the race-ticket coupon program* established in NASCAR Heat 2. Fans who purchase NASCAR Heat 3 at retail will receive a $50 race-ticket coupon, redeemable toward the purchase of any NASCAR-sanctioned event ticket through 2019 at any of Speedway Motorsports, Inc.’s eight tracks, as well as Dover International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Heat 3 players can also compete in NASCAR Heat Champions: Road to Miami, an all-new esports tournament on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Weekly winners will be flown to Miami for a final competition during Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Fans can visit www.NASCARHeatChampions.com for further details and the official rules of NASCAR Heat Champions: Road to Miami.

Twelve-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champions Hendrick Motorsports grace the cover of NASCAR Heat 3, featuring the team’s star drivers Chase Elliott, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman.

“It was exciting to launch the NASCAR Heat 3 cover earlier this summer,” said Patrick Perkins, Vice President of Marketing for Hendrick Motorsports. “Now we are equally excited for people to see the game and all the enhancements 704Games has made. They’ve put tremendous resources into developing a world-class experience for racing fans. We’re proud to work with them and have our four drivers and cars featured so prominently.”

NASCAR Heat 3 is rated E10+ (Everyone 10+) by the ESRB. For more information, visit www.NASCARHeat.com, and follow the franchise on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

*Offer available while supplies last. Certain restrictions apply. See voucher for details.

Posted on by Staff Report

Kasey Kahne will not defend his 2017 race win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, sitting out the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race because of heat exhaustion.

Leavine Family Racing announced the move Thursday evening, tapping Regan Smith as the No. 95 Chevrolet’s replacement driver for Monday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, IMS, SiriusXM).

RELATED: Drivers who could pull upset

Kahne was treated for what the team termed extreme heat exhaustion after finishing 24th in last Sunday’s event at Darlington Raceway. According to the team, Kahne later consulted with physicians, who recommended he sit out this weekend’s race pending further evaluations.

The team indicated that no timetable has been set for Kahne’s return to competition, but that representatives would provide an update next week ahead of the postseason opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Kahne, 38, announced Aug. 16 that this season would be his final full-time campaign in NASCAR competition. He won last year’s 400-miler at Indianapolis in his final season with Hendrick Motorsports before his switch to the Leavine Family Racing organization this year.

Smith, who has most recently served as a pit reporter for FOX Sports, last competed in the Monster Energy Series in 2017 as a substitute with Richard Petty Motorsports for the injured Aric Almirola. The 34-year-old has been a popular pick as a fill-in driver in recent years, subbing for Kyle Larson, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch among others.

PHOTOS: This week’s paint schemes

Posted on by Holly Cain

Having announced that 2018 will be his final full-time NASCAR season, Elliott Sadler would certainly like to wrap up his successful career with another run at the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.

Monday’s Lilly Diabetes 250 (10 a.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) could be a pivotal race in Sadler earning a second consecutive regular-season crown along the way.

RELATED: Xfinity Series playoff standings | Full weekend schedule | Entry list for Indy

Sadler’s JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier – a four-time race winner this season – leads the standings by only 16 points over Sadler with two races remaining to set the playoff field. But when it comes to the historic and intimidating Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sadler has shown himself to be most proficient on the championship team.

He won the pole position last year in his No. 1 Chevrolet and has two top-five and five top-10 finishes in six races at the Brickyard. He is looking to hoist his first race trophy since 2016.

Allgaier is on a competitive roll with 12 consecutive top-10 finishes, including three wins and an average showing of 4.3 during that span. He’ll need to tap into that vibe this weekend, however, as he has only a 21.2 average finish on Indy’s big track.

The seven-race NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs begin Sept. 21 at Richmond Raceway with the regular-season champ receiving a 15-point playoff bonus as a sendoff.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Acclaimed actor Burt Reynolds died Thursday at 82. He leaves behind a rich portfolio of memorable roles in film, and his historical influence on the stock-car racing community continues as an enduring legacy.

Reynolds headlined several automotive-themed movies — “Stroker Ace,” “Smokey and the Bandit,” and both “Cannonball Run” movies — where cars shared the stage with him and his co-stars. But he was also part of a star-studded NASCAR team ownership group that fielded entries through the 1980s.

“Burt was as much of a showman as anyone in Hollywood,” NASCAR legend Richard Petty said Thursday in a statement released by his team. “He had his own signature look, style and charisma. He made himself stand out, and the times I met him, he was as nice as a person you could meet and talk to. He will be missed by many.”

Reynolds partnered with stuntman-turned-producer/director Hal Needham and fellow actor Paul Newman, an accomplished racer in his own right, to form Skoal Bandit Racing ahead of the 1981 season. The team’s name borrowed from the smokeless tobacco sponsorship and the “Smokey and the Bandit” movie title.

Harry Gant and the Skoal Bandit No. 33 in the mid-1980s.
Racing One | Getty Images

Stan Barrett, also a longtime stuntman and land-speed record holder, was the team’s first driver. The car was initially numbered 22, a nod to a jersey number Reynolds sometimes wore as a running back during his college football playing days for Florida State.

“I’ve never owned a race car before, but I love stock-car racing and I sure envy Stan Barrett,” Reynolds told the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post in January 1981. “When Hal Needham and I put this new race car idea together, we tossed around all kinds of notions, but it was obvious from the beginning that we would wind up with a stock car and that it would be a ‘bandit.’ Then when Paul Newman, who’s a winning driver, heard about our idea, he wanted in, too, and the thing just snowballed from there.”

Harry Gant replaced Barrett as the team’s driver midway through the 1981 season. The team changed to No. 33 and forged a long-running combination that gave Needham and Reynolds nine victories from 1981-89. The car’s distinctive green-and-white paint scheme often sported “Burt & Hal’s” on the fenders or roof pillars.

Reynolds’ involvement in racing added a dose of show business to the NASCAR circuit. In return, Reynolds and Needham brought stock-car racing to the silver screen with “Stroker Ace,” a campy comedy that debuted in July 1983.

“He’s hot on the track … and off,” was the tawdry tagline from the movie, which was adapted from the William Neely novel “Stand on It.” The film was shot on location at a handful of NASCAR tracks and featured cameo appearances from several drivers, including Gant, Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte, Cale Yarborough and Tim Richmond.

Posted on by Staff Report

Name: Ashley W.

Hometown: Dekalb, IL but I now live in Southern California

Favorite NASCAR track:Chicagoland Speedway

Favorite Monster Energy Drink: Peach Rehab Tea

Favorite Monster Energy event (besides NASCAR): Supercross

Favorite Monster Energy athlete: Kurt Busch

Which character would you be in Talladega Nights: Ricky Bobby

Monster Girl Ashley Wilke

Talladega or Daytona: Daytona

Car or Truck: Car

JetSki or Snow ski: JetSki

Beer or wine: Wine

What would you name your boat if you had one: Waynes World (after my dog who runs my life)

You might not know this about me: I’ll forever be a country girl at heart and spend a lot of my time volunteering at a farm sanctuary.

Best part of being a Monster Girl: Getting to travel!

Best/craziest fan story/encounter: When little girls come up to you and tell you they want to be just like you when they grow up!