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!

Posted on by David Smith

Thirty-nine points separate Kevin Harvick from Kyle Busch heading into Sunday’s regular-season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That gap, if closed and surpassed, would net Harvick the Regular Season Championship and 15 beneficial playoff points.

While a driver hanging a 60-point performance on his competition — 10 points apiece for two stage victories and 40 points for the overall race win — isn’t some routine thing, Harvick has the statistical profile of a driver that could do it, or at the very least, come close. Per MotorsportsAnalytics.com, Harvick ranks first in both Production in Equal Equipment Rating and Adjusted Pass Efficiency, and his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford ranks first in Central Speed.

It’s a good bet Harvick will be competitive this weekend; however, his leaping Busch for the Regular Season Championship would require a poor outing for the driver of the No. 18 team. Aside from the popular “Busch crashes out in the first few laps” scenario, there’s another plausible path to a result worse than 15th place, the finishing position needed for Busch to clinch without factoring in any stage points.

RELATED: Indy clinching scenarios

Might Busch’s personal ambition interfere with the safe, secure drive that would assuredly net him the spoils of being the Regular Season Champion?

Busch’s unabashed effort to score 200 race victories across NASCAR’s three national series has given us hard-charging highlights and hilarious GIFs through the years. Considering he’ll attempt to rectify the race that got away in 2017 — he crashed out of last year’s Brickyard race after leading 87 of the first 110 laps — playing things safe, with a tempered aggression and a conservative pit strategy, wouldn’t fit with the No. 18 team we’ve come to know.

Adam Stevens, crew chief for Busch, is a relatively aggressive pit strategist. To date, he’s pitted Busch before or after the majority of the field during green-flag stops 15.79 percent of the time, the eighth-most unorthodox percentage among full-time crew chiefs this season. His antagonist, Rodney Childers, has maintained a conservative approach when pitting Harvick, short-pitting or long-pitting on just 8.33 percent of green-flag stops.

RELATED: All-time national series wins

The kind of aggressive strategy Stevens displayed at times has the ability to net large sums of track position, but comes with great risk. At Phoenix, he long-pitted Busch during the race’s final green-flag pit cycle from the lead, bucking the safe approach. This decision cost the No. 18 team the lead and gifted the race win to, of all people, Harvick and Childers.

Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick
Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick have run near each other all season — typically toward the front. Photo: Jeff Zelevansky | Getty Images

Indianapolis will see minimal lap-time falloff as tires wear, and while this means a conservative strategy may make for the best strategy, a few teams could opt for unorthodox pit timing, banking on cautions dropping in their favor in order to upgrade their running whereabouts. This may include foregoing good stage finishes in order to properly gun for an outright race win.

If a crew chief’s driver is mired in traffic, such bold strategy may suffice as a sound track position workaround. This is especially so if the driver is stifled when attempting to pass. Though you wouldn’t expect it from a driver with such an impressive results line, Busch’s weakness is long-run passing when consuming dirty air.

Busch scored a positive surplus passing value — meaning he scored a pass differential better than expected from a driver with a similar average running position — just eight times in 20 non-restrictor plate oval races. If by chance the No. 18 hits a snag in qualifying and starts the 400-mile contest without the clean air necessary to drive away from the pack, Busch, now smack in the middle of a close-proximity peloton, will face tall odds when sifting through the morass. At this point, he’d fit the criteria of a driver in need of some off-kilter pitting.

If Busch does qualify well, as his series-best 8.0-place average starting spot suggests, it could provide the motivation for him to push the pace in search of his third Brickyard trophy. The degree to which the 22 points he needs to clinch the Regular Season Championship elude him hinges on the steadfastness of his desire for instant gratification.

It’ll be a sight to behold regardless of how the weekend breaks.

At some point early in the race, we’ll learn whether Busch values being the Regular Season Champion more than becoming a three-time Monster Energy Series race winner at Indianapolis. That choice will directly impact the magnitude of what could be a banner day for his biggest foe.

David Smith is the Founder of MotorsportsAnalytics.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidSmithMA.

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Team Penske announced today that BODYARMOR Sports Drink has agreed to a multi-year extension that extends and expands its partnership with the No. 12 Ford Mustang team and driver Ryan Blaney through the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season and beyond. The 2018 season marked the first-ever race team partnership for BODYARMOR, which has enjoyed a personal relationship with Blaney since 2017.

“BODYARMOR has been a great addition to our team this season and we are excited about the opportunities with the company for the future,” said Roger Penske. “BODYARMOR brings a lot of energy and excitement to the partnership with Team Penske and we look forward to having them back with our team and Ryan (Blaney) for 2019 and beyond.”

Earlier this year, BODYARMOR Sports Drink served as a primary sponsor for Blaney and the No. 12 Ford Fusion in July’s race at Daytona International Speedway, in addition to this weekend’s event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The company has also been an associate sponsor with the team at four additional Cup Series races this season.

“Ryan Blaney and Team Penske have been tremendous partners this season,” said Michael Fedele, VP Marketing, BODYARMOR. “BODYARMOR Sports Drink is excited to continue this relationship and we look forward to hydrating Blaney and his team in 2019 and beyond.”

BODYARMOR Sports Drink launched its “BODYARMOR Heroes” promotion earlier this year. Consumers across the country honored a military hero of their choosing by posting to social media using the #BODYARMORHeroes hashtag with a photo and short description of their hero through Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The winner, Marcus Hayward, had his image and likeness featured on Blaney’s No.12 BODYARMOR Ford Fusion at the Daytona race in July.

BODYARMOR Sports Drink, the better-for-you hydration option with natural flavors and sweeteners, first joined forces with Blaney last year when the brand partnered with the Team Penske driver before the start of the 2017 season.

“It’s great to continue to build on the relationship with BODYARMOR for the future,” said Blaney. “BODYARMOR continues to partner with some great athletes and organizations in many different sports and we look forward to increasing their presence and brand through our team in NASCAR.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

If the final 11 races of the NASCAR season become part of a Kasey Kahne farewell tour, this weekend presents a special stop along the way.

Kahne enters Monday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, IMS/MRN, SiriusXM) as the defending race winner at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 38-year-old driver has a long-held affection for the historic track, and his performance there has provided another source of anticipation.

“Very special place and always has been,” says Kahne, who’s scored top-10 finishes in half of his 14 Monster Energy Series starts there. “I always went into the Brickyard feeling really good about the opportunity to race at that track. I watched so many races there before I got to actually race there. To actually drive the track is pretty incredible, and to win there last year was unreal.”

RELATED: Full schedule for Indianapolis

Much like last year, Kahne heads to the Indianapolis race in a moment of career transition. Last season’s Brickyard victory came with rumors swirling about his future at Hendrick Motorsports. Two weeks later, the organization announced that Kahne would not return in 2018, setting the stage for his move to his current team, Leavine Family Racing.

This year’s Indy race finds him at another career crossroads, one where he dictated the terms. Kahne announced Aug. 16 that he would step away from full-time racing in NASCAR at season’s end, opting to spend more time with his son, Tanner, and to focus his motorsports efforts on his sprint-car operation.

Now nearly three weeks removed from his announcement, Kahne says he’s more convinced that the decision was the correct one.

“I kind of wondered how that would go, but actually I’ve just been way more at ease about it,” Kahne said. “Really happy with my decision and already trying to think ahead and think about things and ways to go racing with the sprint-car guys and enjoy that, spending time with Tanner, not just during the week but on the weekends. Vacations, things like that with him, and then I have some thoughts on other things to do as well. I’m really happy with my decision and think it’s the right time for it for numerous different reasons, but it’s going to be really nice.”

MORE: Kasey Kahne’s career in photos

Kahne will have plenty of reminders of last year’s triumph when he arrives for the storied Brickyard 400-miler, which will mark its 25th running this year. Kahne outlasted several late-race challenges, a pair of overtimes, chaotic crashes around him and a finish in near-darkness after an early race delay for a thundershower. The drain — both physical and emotional — was enough to send Kahne to the infield care center after Victory Lane for fluids.

Success has been tougher to come by this year, with Kahne sitting 27th in Monster Energy Series points and needing a Hail Mary victory to clinch a postseason berth. The goals for closing out the final 11 races this year are modest, with Kahne hoping to place LFR’s No. 95 on better footing for his successor.

“I want to finish the best that we can and enjoy it with the guys,” Kahne said. “It’s a good group there, so we’ll finish the best we can and go from there. I think they’re working on ideas and things for their future as well, which is going to be great for them.”

Posted on by Sponsored Content

Voting begins soon in the Ford Hall of Fans Contest, and superfan Wallace Strader received the VIP treatment at Darlington Raceway after his son submitted his story to the contest.

RELATED: Enter the Hall of Fans Sweepstakes | How it works

Longtime Ford owner and NASCAR fan Wallace Strader and his family attend the race at Darlington and meet the Wood Brothers and the No. 21 Ford team.
Photo courtesy of Ford

Strader has been attending NASCAR races since the 1960s and is a Ford man through and through, owning more than 30 Ford vehicles throughout the years. It was only appropriate that Strader and his family meet one of the longest-standing racing families and Ford teams: The Wood Brothers.

With Strader’s two sons, Stephen and Kevin, two daughters-in-law and two granddaughters joining him for the 2018 Bojangles’ Southern 500, the Wood Brothers made it a true family affair. They gave the Strader family a tour of the No. 21 hauler and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garage, plus one-on-one time with Glen, Leonard, Len and Eddie Wood. The Straders also attended the Southern 500 Driver/Crew Chief meeting, where they met No. 21 Ford driver Paul Menard.

Together, Ford and WBR surprised Strader with a decal commemorating his loyalty to both the sport and Ford. The decal featured Strader and was placed on the No. 21 car for the race.

Fan voting begins Sept. 16, when 16 semifinalists will be posted for public vote. Vote for who you believe is NASCAR’s biggest fan! The top six will be invited to Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, to compete for top honors. The two winners will receive a VIP trip to the 2019 NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony, along with a new Ford vehicle of their choice.

Do you want to win a trip to Ford Championship Weekend in Miami? Enter the Ford Hall of Fans Sweepstakes for your chance to win a VIP fan experience at FCW by going here.

NASCAR fans can follow Ford Performance NASCAR fandom and join the conversation at #FordHallofFans.

*No purchase necessary. Must be legal U.S. resident 21 or older. Promotion consists of sweepstakes and contest. Sweepstakes ends 11/5/18; contest ends 8/19/18. Contest finalists must attend Ford Championship Weekend, 11/18. For prize, entry, and eligibility details, see Official Rules for the Sweepstakes and Official Rules for the Contest.
Sponsor: Ford Motor Company. Not sponsored by NASCAR.