Posted on by Staff Report

Ben Rhodes won the pole in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Saturday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Rhodes will lead the field to the green in Sunday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250, the first race in the NASCAR Playoffs (2:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Rhodes circled the 10-turn, 2.459-mile road course in Bowmanville, Ontario, at a speed of 97.854 mph for his fifth career pole in the series. Fellow playoff driver Noah Gragson, who qualified second with a speed of 97.395 mph, will also start on the front row.

RELATED: Starting lineup

The Truck Series drivers experienced wet conditions on the track and were allowed to use Goodyear rain tires during the two-round session.

Posted on by Staff Report

Justin Allgaier pulled away for his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the year Saturday at Road America.

Allgaier’s JR Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet led 14 of the 45 laps in the Johnsonville 180. His second straight road-course win this season was the ninth of his Xfinity Series career.

RELATED: Race results

“This team is incredible,” Allgaier said in Victory Lane. “They never give up. … I never would’ve thought we could have a dream season like this one.”

Allgaier cruised away to a 5.403-second margin of victory after his nearest challengers, Justin Marks and James Davison, made contact and spun with three laps remaining. Allgaier’s winning pass came at Davison’s expense as the Australian driver’s miscue with seven laps left opened the door.

Pole-starter Matt Tifft brought the Richard Childress Racing No. 2 Chevrolet home in second place. Tifft later reported through social media that he made a post-race trip to the infield care center for fluids, but was otherwise OK.

Daniel Hemric took third with Cole Custer fourth and Elliott Sadler fifth on the 4.048-mile road course.

Allgaier took over the series points lead from Christopher Bell, who spun out with five laps remaining after a bump from Tifft. Bell was forced to make a late pit stop and finished 23rd.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott finished 20th in his first national series start since 2012. His GMS Racing No. 23 Chevrolet sustained significant front-end damage near the end of Stage 1. A later spin with seven laps to go dropped him further down the leaderboard.

“I feel like I hit everything but the lottery,” Elliott said.

Richard Childress Racing teammates swept the stage victories. Tifft led the first 10 laps from the pole position to capture Stage 1 for his first stage win of the season. Hemric led the final six laps of Stage 2 for his third stage victory in 2018.

Austin Cindric led briefly during Stage 2 until his No. 22 Team Penske Ford lost power after Turn 11 on the long Kettle Bottoms straight. “It just blew up. At least we blew up in the lead,” Cindric told NBC Sports.

Elliott Sadler, Cole Custer and Daniel Hemric all clinched playoff berths based on points, joining this season’s race-winners Allgaier, Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick in the playoffs field. That leaves six spots open with three regular-season races remaining.

The series’ next race is the VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 1 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM) at Darlington Raceway.

Posted on by Staff Report

Fans in Canada can watch Sunday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs opener via a live stream on NASCAR.com.

Bookmark the link here or simply go to  https://www.nascar.com/trucksincanada/

Sunday’s race is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET. Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio have the radio calls. Fans in the U.S. can watch on FS1.

MORE: Full schedule for Canadian Tire, Road America

The always exciting race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park moves to the playoffs opener this year, adding an additional layer of intrigue to an event that typically sees last-lap contact when battling for the win.

Regular-season champion Johnny Sauter leads the eight-driver field in the postseason.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoff drivers are set to do battle in the opening race of the postseason — Sunday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (2:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

But before the eight drivers take to the 2.549-mile track north of the border, NASCAR.com asked them to grade their regular-season performances.

Although making the playoffs deserves an A-plus grade in itself, drivers were much harder on themselves as the grades ranged from a solid “A” to a “D-minus” assessment.

See regular-season champion Johnny Sauter and other playoff contenders Brett Moffitt, Noah Gragson, Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Grant Enfinger, Justin Haley and Matt Crafton fill out their report cards in the video above.

Posted on by Staff Report

The entire field participated in the second NASCAR Xfinity practice on Friday at Road America after wet weather conditions kept most drivers in the garage during the earlier practice at the Wisconsin track.

Justin Marks paced final practice with a 132.960 mph best lap around the 4.048-mile track. In just his second Xfinity Series appearance in 2018, Marks will look to improve upon his 22nd-place finish at Mid-Ohio earlier this month.

Road racing specialist James Davison laid down a 133.477 mph lap to finish second with Austin Cindric (133.515), Justin Allgaier (133.610) and Matt Tifft (133.838) rounding out the top five in final prep for Saturday’s Johnsonville 180 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM). Allgaier briefly spun out in Turn 5 late in practice, but was able to recover without any reported damage.

RELATED: Practice 2 results

Tyler Reddick and British IMSA racer Katherine Legge collided out of Turn 4. According to JR Motorsports’ Twitter, the No. 9 reported he lost his brakes. There was no flag as both cars were able to drive off from the incident on their own with minor damage.

Legge spoke to NBC Sports while the No. 15 team worked on the damaged vehicle.

“I don’t know what he was thinking, if he was thinking” Legge said with a smile. “… He (Reddick) and I will be having words. Is he one of the good guys? I don’t know this.”

RELATED: Legge’s full interview

Practice was halted briefly just 13 minutes in after reigning Road America winner Jeremy Clements struggled coming out of Turn 5 and forced a red flag. The No. 51 Chevrolet looked to have had a flat tire and was towed off the track. He returned to the track with just minutes left in practice.

Ty Majeski made a big save late in practice after losing control of the No. 60 Ford in the kink. A red flag was thrown as piles of dirt had been thrown onto the track. It was his second spin of the day.

“Definitely feel lucky,” Majeski told NBC Sports.

All eyes were on NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott as he made 15 laps around Road America in the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet. The 62-year-old driver was 26th-fastest after a 137.751 mph best lap.

Reddick shows the way in quiet, damp opening practice

Only two drivers went on track in opening NASCAR Xfinity practice on Friday at Road America thanks to wet weather conditions in Wisconsin. Most drivers decided to stay parked in the garage area in hopes conditions would be drier for final practice.

Tyler Reddick was the first driver to take the 4.048-mile road course during the 50-minute session, and he went off the track in Turn 12 and slid his car in the sand pit. Reddick told NBC Sports that the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet sustained splitter damage.

RELATED: Practice 1 results

IndyCar’s Conor Daly, who is making his Xfinity debut in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, also got out on track for his first experience in practice conditions driving a NASCAR stock car.

Hall of Famer Bill Elliott did not go out on track, but was present as he prepared to return to the Xfinity Series in the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet.

Posted on by Track Release

If the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL™ gets wet during the Bank of America ROVAL™ 400, the action on the track is sure to get wild. Goodyear will make wet weather tires available for the first road course race weekend in the history of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, a move designed to keep cars on track in the event of inclement weather at America’s Home for Racing.

The 17-turn, 2.28-mile ROVAL™ road course oval configuration features high-speed corners around the oval and low-speed, twisting, left and right turns in the course’s infield portion. Drivers will have to adjust braking points to account for differing levels of grip if the track surface is wet.

“Having wet weather tires at teams’ disposal is a great thing for the drivers and the fans as well,” said Charlotte Motor Speedway Executive Vice President Greg Walter. “The ROVAL™ is a challenge unto itself, but giving teams the opportunity to use tires designed for a wet surface adds even more unpredictability to the race. Rain or shine, I can’t wait to see how it unfolds.”

Wet weather tires — which have become a common option at road courses in recent years — were last used in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 4. Unlike the standard dry tires, wet weather tires have tread pattern designed to redirect moisture and provide grip in challenging conditions.

A Goodyear Racing representative said that the wet-weather tires that will be available at Charlotte Motor Speedway are the standard rubber used at all road courses for NASCAR’s three national series. The Xfinity Series’ Drive for the Cure 200 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is scheduled Sept. 29 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) with the Monster Energy Series’ main event scheduled Sept. 30 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM).

As part of Speedway Motorsports’ new weather policy, if a NASCAR race is postponed to a different day due to weather and the ticket holder is unable to attend on the rescheduled date, a ticket credit can be issued toward a qualifying NASCAR race at any Speedway Motorsports venue. This initiative is valid for Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.

Fans with an unused, eligible ticket will have 60 days from the original race date to request a ticket credit on a qualifying future event. The credit must be used toward another Speedway Motorsports NASCAR event within one calendar year of the original race date or the same event the following year, even if it takes place beyond the one-year mark.

Contributing: NASCAR.com staff reports

Posted on by Zack Albert

Cincinnati Reds infielder Scooter Gennett has made his fandom of NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt well known on the field. This weekend, he’ll take it to another level.

Gennett and other Major League Baseball players will participate in Players’ Weekend this Friday through Sunday, making avant-garde uniform choices to put their personalities and passions on full display.

Gennett switched his jersey to No. 3 this season in an homage to The Intimidator, and his bat handles are identified by a decal bearing Earnhardt’s legendary car number. This weekend, Gennett’s gear will pay further tribute to the NASCAR Hall of Famer with black No. 3 Goodwrench cleats, a checkered-flag motif on his bat, and “Dal3” on the back of his jersey.

“It’s my favorite number,” Gennett told MLB.com during spring training this year. “I was a big Dale Earnhardt fan when I was younger. Still am.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave his approval of the jersey change shortly after Opening Day.

Cincinnati Reds player Scooter Gennett honors Dale Earnhardt with his checkered-flag bat, Dal3 uniform name and black Goodyear cleats
Scooter Gennett
Posted on by George Winkler

We can’t blame you if you did a double-take when news broke that Bill Elliott was making a comeback in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this weekend at Road America in the Johnsonville 180 (3 p.m., Saturday on NBCSN). For some, it must have felt a little bit like the start of a good April Fools’ Day joke.

But trust us, it’s really happening.

Elliott is on the entry list as the driver of the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet this weekend, which will be the Hall of Famer’s first Xfinity race in more than a decade.

But if for some reason you still can’t believe it, then check out some of the tweets, which have ranged from humorous to heartfelt, coming in from the track in Wisconsin:

Posted on by Staff Report

Darlington Raceway celebrates its annual Throwback Weekend next week, when one of the most iconic tracks on the NASCAR circuit serves as a host for the industry to honor its past in creative paint schemes and promotions.

We’re kicking off the Darlington celebration today by posting six classic races from 1958-78 to our YouTube channel. And we’re remastering them and uploading in 4K.

The heroes of yesterday have never looked better on your screen. Here is the playlist.

RELATED: Visit our YouTube page

Check out all six races and watch as NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts claims his first Southern 500 victory in 1958; as David Pearson and Cale Yarborough swap victories in the two 1968 races … and then again in 1973; and as the high speeds (and difficult driving) at the egg-shaped oval leads to plenty of scrapes, wrecks and highlight moments.

Some things never change.

Get a sneak peek below: