Posted on by Staff Report

Defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. will race elsewhere in 2019.

Truex, a four-time winner this year, is in his fifth season with Furniture Row Racing. The Denver, Colorado-based team announced Tuesday that it will cease operations at the end of the 2018 NASCAR season.

Truex, 38, has four wins and four Busch Pole Awards this year for Furniture Row, which operates in partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing. His performance has placed him among the Big 3 championship contenders, alongside other series front-runners Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing and Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing.

RELATED: Truex Jr. through the years

He and crew chief Cole Pearn have emerged as one of the best driver-crew chief pairings in the garage, and the driver is in the prime of his career.

Truex brought Furniture Row’s No. 78 Toyota its first Monster Energy Series championship last season. The organization began racing operations in 2005.

“I’ve always felt that we could be a competitive team and run for a championship even when it seemed like a pipe dream to many racing insiders,” team owner Barney Visser said in a release provided by the organization. “But to be successful in any business you need to assemble the right people and make a strong commitment to succeed. We achieved what we set out to do and feel like we climbed Mount Everest. To continue with anything less than a competitive team would not be acceptable. It’s been one incredible ride.”

Truex indicated Aug. 17 at Bristol Motor Speedway that his future with Furniture Row was uncertain, saying, “I’m starting to hear rumors. That’s kind of how it works in this sport, I’ve been in this position before.” All but two of his 19 Monster Energy Series wins have come with Furniture Row and Visser.

“Barney Visser, Joe Garone and the entire Furniture Row Racing team took me in while my career was in a bad place, and together we reached the pinnacle of the sport,” Truex Jr. said. “I will forever be grateful to each and every one of them, and also to Furniture Row, Denver Mattress and the Visser family.

“But make no mistake this is not the immediate end. We still have unfinished business to attend to and that’s to give everything we have to successfully defend our Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship. Right now that is foremost on my mind as it is with the entire team.”

Truex marched to his first title in NASCAR’s top division in 2017 by winning eight races, including the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He is also a two-time champion in what is now called the Xfinity Series, going back-to-back in 2004-05.

“NASCAR wishes the very best to Barney Visser and his family,” a NASCAR statement read. “Barney has been a successful owner and an amazing champion, and his presence will certainly be missed. We look forward to seeing Martin Truex Jr., Cole Pearn and the entire No. 78 team finish the 2018 season strong and competing for another championship. NASCAR will continue to work on growing the sport and working with the race teams on competitive and operational excellence. Much of those efforts have already been put in place, and will continue to be a focus.”

Posted on by Track Release

LONG POND, Pa. (September 4, 2018) – Children, ages 12 and under, will receive free gate admission for Sunday Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Verizon IndyCar Series races at Pocono Raceway in 2019. This new initiative will start today as part of the 2019 Pocono Raceway Ticket Renewal Program. All remaining tickets for next season’s events at ‘The Tricky Triangle’ are scheduled to go on sale to the public in early October.

Kids, ages 12 and under, will now receive free admission to 100 and 200 levels of the Grandstand, as well as Fan Fair, for all Friday, Saturday and Sunday events during NASCAR and INDYCAR event weekends. Children will have the chance watch all the racing action from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series and ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards at ‘The Tricky Triangle’ free of charge next summer. All children must be accompanied by an adult with a gate admission ticket. For more information, please visit www.poconoraceway.com/kidsfree.

“The 2019 season marks our 50th year of racing,” said Nick Igdalsky, Pocono Raceway CEO. “To celebrate this milestone, we wanted to do something extraordinary for the fans. One of my grandparents’ visions was for Pocono to become one of the most beloved, family-friendly motorsports and entertainment facilities. Today’s announcement embodies our family’s core values, which have remained unchanged since we first opened our gates to the public in 1968. Hopefully, this kids free on Sunday initiative will provide more families the opportunity to create lasting memories, much like the ones I have and continue to experience with my own family, at the track for generations to come.”

RELATED: Buy NASCAR tickets!

Individuals who purchased tickets through Pocono Raceway in 2018 can renew their tickets for next season. These customers have the opportunity to save 20% on select 2019 tickets by renewing before the November 15, 2018 deadline. Renewal customers will also gain automatic entry for a chance to win Tricky’s custom-built golf cart, crafted and designed by our partners at Jake’s Golf Carts. Email communications regarding the renewal program are in the process of being delivered to these fans. For more information about the ‘2019 Pocono Raceway Ticket Renewal Program,’ please visit www.poconoraceway.com/renewals.

Pocono Raceway will host seven motorsports events in 2019. This includes two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, one the Verizon IndyCar Series, one NASCAR Xfinity Series, one NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series and two ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards races. For more details about these events and additional information, please visit www.poconoraceway.com.

Posted on by Steve Luvender

Bubba Wallace shared some pics of his gaming setup this week, complete with boxes of goldfish crackers. See? NASCAR stars are just like us.

Meanwhile, Ty Majeski did Ty Majeski things, confirming the realism of his only Richmond Raceway experience — on iRacing, of course.

NASCAR Xfinity Series standout Christopher Bell isn’t shy about his use of iRacing, and he confirmed on Twitter he uses it as a tool to practice — even on dirt.

But Bell is really good, even at iRacing, where he boasts a 5700 iRating. (That’s quite high.)

Greg Hill, iRacing’s VP of Art and Production, shared a video teaser of new cloud and weather effects in the iRacing sim, showing signs of tremendous progress on highly anticipated dynamic weather features. Quite a treat for iRacing’s 10th birthday.

The eNASCAR Ignite Series — 50 of racing’s brightest future stars competing for a $10,000 racing scholarship — held its second race of the playoffs on Aug. 29. Garrett Lowe went back-to-back, picking up the checkered flag at iRacing’s virtual Irwindale Speedway.


NASCAR PEAK ANTIFREEZE iRACING SERIES UPDATE

The playoffs for the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series kicked off Tuesday at Darlington Raceway. Michael Conti scored his first victory of 2018, and at the perfect time. His win locks him into the championship finale on Oct. 23 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Maybe his Jimmie Johnson-esque throwback paint scheme made the difference Tuesday.

 

iRACING PAINT SCHEMES OF THE WEEK

William Long brought Gary Bradberry’s 1998 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ride to a modern-day iRacing Ford Fusion. It looks great for aging 20 years.

Doug DeNise created Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s Darlington-raced John Deere throwback for iRacing.

 

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

This week, iRacing will release the long-awaited Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 race car, laser-scanned to perfection. iRacing’s teaser video confirms the car looks as good as it does on the real race track.

Posted on by NASCAR.com

Name: Moriah​
Current City: Clovis, Calif.
Member since: 2016

Getting to Know Moriah
​
​Q. How did you first become interested in NASCAR?
“My father was a flat-track racer in the 1970s here in California. At one point he was ranked fourth in the nation. He introduced my sister and I to NASCAR in the 1990s and we attended our first race at Sonoma in 1995. He took my husband to his first race at Sonoma in 2007.  He also was there when we took our young sons to their first race at Las Vegas in 2015.”

Q. What makes NASCAR special for you?
“I love the family aspect of NASCAR. It’s welcoming to not only myself but my children. I have a child with sensory issues and when he attended his first race with his younger brother everyone was very kind to him. Unfortunately, their first race was just after Kyle Busch had broken his leg in Daytona. My youngest son wanted to make a get-well sign for Kyle and we took it to the track. When someone from Joe Gibbs Racing saw little Noah, he gave us a tour of the pit box and allowed us to take pictures. Two lifelong NASCAR fans were made that day, and one reluctant Jeff Gordon fan (me) found her new driver.”

Q. What track would you like to go to next?
“Charlotte! We are actually planning a trip next summer to North Carolina to visit all the race shops, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and catch a race! We have family stationed out there so it’s perfect!”

Q: Do you have a favorite in any of the following categories?
Memorabilia: “My kids and I have Kyle Busch shirts and hats! I still have Jeff Gordon shirts and wear them on race day, too. I even wear my Rainbow Warrior jacket to the track when I have the chance!”
Sponsor: “M&M’s! Before every race we make sure to have them in the house and celebrate with them when Kyle wins.”
Favorite Place to Watch a Race: “We like being at the start/finish line high in the stands, so we are able to see all the action!”

​Q: Do you have any race-day traditions?
“We try and watch the races together at home. If not, we record them and watch them later as competitive soccer is life in our house a lot of weekends. We listen to Sirius XM NASCAR Radio every morning during breakfast and on our way to school.”

From all of us at NASCAR, we thank Moriah for her continued support and look forward to hearing from her in 2018.

Posted on by Holly Cain

It’s exactly the kind of unmistakable momentum you want with one race remaining before the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin. And in that sense, perhaps the timing of Brad Keselowski’s first win of the season Sunday night at Darlington Raceway makes up for the near-misses he’s had earlier in the year.

What a positive statement it was for Keselowski, who swept the weekend’s races at the historic track — hoisting the Cup trophy on Sunday and the NASCAR Xfinity Series hardware a day earlier. They were the first wins for the former Cup champion at the race track, considered one of the sport’s crown jewels.

RELATED: Keselowski’s reaction to win | See all of Keselowski’s wins

And it was the first win for team owner Roger Penske at the track since 1975, when he fielded a car for Bobby Allison.

In the hour or so after Sunday’s race, when asked about the impact of the weekend, Keselowski conceded, “Man, I’m kind of in the moment right now … “But I would say it’s pretty damned cool. This is such a special race track. It always has been, and I think it always will be.”

It was also a significant day for the three-car Penske Racing operation, which recorded its first 1-2 finish of the season. Joey Logano finished second and teammate Ryan Blaney was 15th. The team joins Stewart-Haas Racing’s four-car operation as the only two multi-car teams to have every driver qualified for the playoffs.

As great as the moment was for Keselowski and his No. 2 Team Penske Ford Sunday night, it was a strong message for his competition that the team is peaking at the right time. Although Keselowski had already secured a NASCAR Playoff berth based on points earned, having this victory is exactly the kind of positive momentum a driver wants as the postseason begins.

Keselowski reminded reporters Sunday that he has won a race in 2018 — he won the season-opening Clash non-points race at Daytona — but, he conceded having a regular-season win in his pocket was impactful both personally and for the upcoming championship run.

He has won at least one race for eight consecutive seasons — and he has won at least one race in nine of the past 10 years.

Keselowski had two runner-up finishes before Sunday’s win, including a second place just two weeks ago on the Watkins Glen road course.

“It’s been really frustrating because we haven’t had the speed we’ve had over the last few seasons, and then the races where I feel like we’ve had the speed, I feel like I completely screwed them up,” Keselowski explained. “… Today we had a car capable of winning, we executed, we made the most of it, and I’m so thrilled for that because I know those moments are not a guarantee.”

As the playoffs begin, Keselowki knows he’s turned in promising numbers. Six of his 25 career Monster Energy Series wins have come during the playoff portion of the schedule. More than anything, earning that win Sunday night after overcoming a dominant performance by Kyle Larson, who led 284 of the 367 laps, provides a huge boost of confidence to Keselowski, his team and the whole Penske operation.

And it comes at such a clutch time. This week the team is hoping to earn their team owner Penske his first NASCAR win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he is the all-time Indy 500-winning car owner, taking his 17th trophy in May.

On top of that, two more wins within Penske’s multi-series operation would get the owner to 500 victories all-time — a feat attainable with the Monster Energy Series and Xfinity Series racing at Indianapolis next weekend.

Motivation is not lacking and for Keselowski, Sunday’s win was exactly the kind of positive re-set he’s confident could be a game-changer.

“Moments like today are just so refreshing,’’ Keselowski said. “They recharge your batteries so much because the season is such a death march, especially when things aren’t going well, and this is a complete battery recharge for myself and for our team.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Possible to clinch:

— Jimmie Johnson: If there is a new winner outside the 16-driver playoff grid, Johnson would guarantee a clinch with 37 points. If there is a repeat winner (or a win by Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola or Alex Bowman), Johnson would clinch on points, regardless of finish.

— Alex Bowman: If there is a repeat winner (or a win by Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola or Jimmie Johnson), Bowman would clinch on points, regardless of finish. Bowman could clinch on points with a new winner outside the current 16-driver playoff grid and help (would need to out-point Johnson by 20 points at Indy; if Bowman gets a Top 6 finish, he would need to out-point Johnson by 19 points).

— The following drivers can only clinch a playoff spot with a win: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, Daniel Suarez, Jamie McMurray, William Byron, Chris Buescher, AJ Allmendinger, David Ragan, Michael McDowell, Kasey Kahne, Darrell Wallace Jr., Ty Dillon and Matt DiBenedetto.

Clinching for Regular Season Championship:

Kyle Busch can guarantee a clinch of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship on his own with 22 points.

Posted on by Brad Norman

DARLINGTON, S.C. — The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are coming, and Martin Truex Jr. sounds a little concerned.

Truex Jr. and the No. 78 team have done more than enough to lock into the field with four wins in the regular season and seven stage wins. The Furniture Row Racing team currently sits third in points just behind Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, his two counterparts in the “Big 3” who have dominated a majority of the season.

MORE: Complete Darlington results

However, Truex’s 11th-place finish in Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington is the fourth finish outside the top 10 since his victory at Kentucky. An uncharacteristic stat that isn’t going unnoticed by the reigning champion.

It’s hard to defend a championship if you’re not in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and the driver of the No. 78 issued a warning of sorts following Sunday’s showing.

“It’s really disappointing to have a car that good to be up front and have that many troubles on pit road,” Truex said. “It’s pretty disappointing. We have to clean it up. Playoffs are coming. We do that in the playoffs and we’ll be out in the second round.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Kyle Larson enjoyed wide-margin leads for much of his dominant day at Darlington Raceway. But with the Bojangles’ Southern 500 on the line, the margin that mattered was inches.

Brad Keselowski edged out Larson’s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet at the end of pit road after the final stop of the night Sunday, pulling away to his first victory at the historic 1.366-mile track. Larson was left with a stat-sheet dream — sweeping the stage wins and leading a whopping 284 of 367 laps — but also a late-race fade to a sour-tasting, third-place finish.

“We didn’t get beat off pit road by much, but it was enough,” Larson said. “Being the control car at any race track is huge, and we just didn’t have that. I was just really loose that last run, trying to run hard to stay with him.”

RELATED: Race results | Playoff standings

The other end of the stat ledger was too tough to take. For the seventh time this season, Larson finished second or third, and though he’s already locked into the NASCAR Playoffs, he heads into next weekend’s regular-season finale at Indianapolis without a victory. The encouraging part: Having his most convincing performance yet.

“Obviously everybody who doesn’t win isn’t happy, but at the same time, we haven’t had a car like this all year,” Larson said. “I was extremely happy about that, and looking forward to the next couple months.”

Larson led laps in three big chunks, losing the top spot only on pit-stop exchanges. The final setback was the most dramatic. When the yellow flag flew for the last time for Jeffrey Earnhardt’s spin with 24 laps left, Keselowski was the first of the front-runners to reach the pit-exit line, barely outdistancing Larson and Keselowski’s teammate Joey Logano as they returned to the track three-wide.

WATCH: Kes beats Larson off pit road

From there, Keselowski scooted away on the restart and Logano eventually picked off second place from Larson, whose car lacked both short-run speed and the ability to make gains in traffic.

“It definitely feels good to come to Darlington and lead laps, but it sucks to not finish it out,” Chad Johnston, Larson’s crew chief, told NASCAR.com. “We’ve got to button-up our pit road, and it’s been a weak spot all year long. Guys are working hard at it and hopefully we can get it buttoned-up before the (playoffs) start. That’s when it’s going to count. It’s going to be really hard to win races if we can’t keep our position on pit road.”

The calendar turning to September means playoff time, but Larson spilled details that the month will mean something else to him on a personal note.

“Getting married later this month, so pretty cool,” Larson said. “Pretty exciting. Busy next few weeks. It’s going to come up quick.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Denny Hamlin and Aric Almirola locked up spots in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by virtue of their performances Sunday at Darlington Raceway.

Hamlin finished 1oth at Darlington, with Almirola just behind him in 14th. Coupled with points earned from Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman — below Hamlin and Almirola in the standings — it was enough to lock both drivers into the postseason field.

MORE: Race results

Hamlin is the third driver for Joe Gibbs Racing to lock his way into the postseason, joining teammates Kyle Busch and Erik Jones.

Meanwhile, Almirola is in the postseason for the first time since 2014. His inclusion gives Stewart-Haas Racing a playoffs sweep with all four of its drivers – Almirola, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick.

Hamlin and Almirola joined the following drivers in the postseason: Kyle Busch, Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Bowyer, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Jones, Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson.

Fourteen of 16 spots in the postseason field are set heading into the regular-season finale next week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Johnson and Bowman own the final two playoff spots as it stands now, but the fact remains that “a win gets you in” — so those below the cutoff line can ignore the points and still earn a playoff spot by parking it in Victory Lane at the Brickyard.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DARLINGTON, S.C. – By a matter of inches, Brad Keselowski won the race off pit road under the final caution in Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

That narrow margin was all the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford needed to secure a stunning victory in one of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ marquee races.

MORE: Race results
SHOP: Keselowski gear

On the flip side, Keselowski’s first victory of the season left Kyle Larson bitterly disappointed. Larson led 284 of the 367 laps in addition to winning the first and second stages of the race. But the work of Keselowski’s pit crew proved decisive.

Keselowski controlled the final restart on Lap 348 and pulled away, as Larson faded to third and had to fend off a determined charge by Kevin Harvick to hold that position. It was Joey Logano who passed Larson for second on Lap 352, giving team Team Penske a 1-2 finish and the organization its first win at Darlington since 1975.

“The 42 (Larson) was really strong,” said Keselowski, who picked up his first victory at the 1.366-mile track and the 25th of his career in a No. 2 Ford sporting a throwback paint scheme reminiscent of the Miller Genuine Draft machine Rusty Wallace drove during his tenure at Team Penske. “I felt like whoever came off pit road first at the end was going to win the race.

“My team nailed the last pit stop. … We stayed in position the whole race with great strategy to keep us from falling back. We didn’t have the long-run speed we wanted, but the short runs were great, and we were there when it counted.”

WATCH: Kes beats Larson off pit road

Keselowski, who also won Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event, came off pit road on Lap 345 three-wide with Larson and Logano, less than a foot ahead of Larson.

“It’s always important to come out the leader off pit road to be the control car on the restart,” Larson said. “I felt like, if I had been in clean air, I would have been all right. I was just loose that last run and allowed Joey to get by.

“I knew the only weakness we would have throughout the race was a short run, and that’s what it kind of came down to. … It stings, for sure. I want to win every race, but I want to win the Southern 500 really bad. It would have been cool to do that, but at the same time, to bring a (dominant) car to the race track like we did this weekend is something to be proud of and a big confidence booster.”

RELATED: Larson on Darlington heartbreak

Erik Jones ran fifth behind Harvick. Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, pole winner Denny Hamlin, Jamie McMurray and Kurt Busch completed the top 10. Kyle Busch retained the series lead by 39 points over Harvick.

Jeffrey Earnhardt spun in Turns 1 and 2 to cause the sixth caution on Lap 344, and that was the yellow that gave Keselowski the opportunity to grab the victory. The only serious incident of the race occurred on Lap 312 when Clint Bowyer plowed into Ryan Newman near the apex of Turns 3 and 4.

Newman was trying to get to pit road, and neither Bowyer nor his spotter saw a signal to that effect.

“I hit the 31 (Newman) really hard,” Bowyer said. “I guess he was pitting or something, and it’s a product of this place. … I didn’t see him wave, but like I said, when you come off (Turn) 2 and you pass 37 lapped cars and you get your bearings and everything else — maybe he waved, maybe he didn’t — I didn’t see it.”

WATCH: Bowyer and Newman collide

The Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets of Jimmie Johnson and William Byron retired from the race with engine issues. Johnson finished 39th with what he believed was an oil pump problem, but that came after the No. 48 Chevrolet suffered a loose wheel, and after Johnson was penalized for a subsequent commitment line violation.

Accordingly, there’s a mathematical possibility the seven-time champion could miss the playoffs when the field is set next Sunday at Indianapolis.

“I don’t want to be in this position,” Johnson said. “We have been around this spot (14th in the standings) for a while. We’ve seen it coming. We just need to transfer, and, honestly, I think our cars are capable of running in the top five. 

“If we can just start minimizing mistakes, my own included, we’ll be much better off and have a shot.”

PHOTOS: Paint schemes from every angle