Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Noah Gragson said his 2019 plans “are not really my focus” during an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, hours after a report indicated he’s in line to jump to the NASCAR Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports next season.

“Well, I think the key word to that whole phrase was ‘rumor mill,’ ” the 20-year-old Gragson said when host Dave Moody asked about the Wednesday report from the Sports Business Journal. “Right now that’s not really my focus. I know my (management) guys have been working really hard on finding me an opportunity next year, but my main focus is to win a championship at Kyle Busch Motorsports and compete for wins on a weekly basis.

“That’s my main focus, to try to get that championship for all the employees over there, for myself and my sponsors. Hopefully we can win a few more races and the rest will take care of itself.”

Gragson is in his second full season driving the No. 18 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. News about the potential shift was first reported by the Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern.

A Kyle Busch Motorsports spokesperson said the organization had no announcements about its 2019 driver lineup. A JRM spokesperson said the team had nothing to announce at this time.

Gragson would replace Elliott Sadler in JRM’s No. 1 Chevrolet, according to the report. Sadler, 43, announced Aug. 15 that he would end his full-time racing career at the end of the season. He currently sits third in the Xfinity Series standings.

Gragson has made three Xfinity Series starts this season for Joe Gibbs Racing, recording top-10 finishes in all three appearances. The former NASCAR Next driver has two Camping World Truck Series wins, including one this season at Kansas Speedway.

MORE: Gragson’s career stats

“I’m not really sure on what I’m going to do next year,” Gragson said on SiriusXM. “I think it would be a great opportunity if I was in a position to race in the Xfinity Series. Going back to my career debut in the Xfinity Series this year … I had a really good showing and I felt like I was able to compete with those guys.

“Time will tell. We’ll see how everything gets laid out and where it goes, but definitely have a lot of options on the table and feel very fortunate to be in this position right now at Kyle Busch Motorsports and have people looking at me from the outside.”

Gragson was at the center of a controversial finish last weekend, crashing with teammate Todd Gilliland in a last-lap contest for the lead at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Gragson accepted blame for the mishap, which cost Kyle Busch Motorsports a potential 1-2 finish and allowed Justin Haley to sneak through for his second win of the season.

Gragson said he and Gilliland are “back on good terms.”

“We talked,” Gragson said. “I wanted to get his opinion on that last lap, he wanted to get my opinion. At the end of the day, we were racing for the win. I hate the result for everyone at Kyle Busch Motorsports.”

INTERVIEWS: Gragson | Gilliland

Posted on by Zack Albert

With Darlington Raceway ready to toast seven decades of NASCAR racing in this weekend’s throwback festivities, the current exhibit on display at the NASCAR Hall of Fame is especially timely.

The NASCAR Hall’s “1948: Proving Grounds” exhibit shines a deserving spotlight on the first season for the fledgling sanctioning body, a 52-race grind for the Modified Division. The season set the foundation for the Daytona Beach organization and the establishment of the Strictly Stock Division (now the Monster Energy Series) the following year.

RELATED: Photos of the Hall of Fame exhibit

“It’s almost seen as a prelude season or a preamble rather than the first season,” says Kevin Schlesier, the Hall’s exhibits manager. “So we really wanted to plant the flag in the ground historically and academically and say that it is the first NASCAR season and everything that (founder) Bill France and his cohorts were doing sets the tone. …

“The ’48 season was an interesting hodgepodge of them figuring it out, but them also setting the formula for still what works today.”

Flashing back 70 years to those formative years wasn’t an easy task for Schlesier and his team. Cars and other artifacts from the time period are scarce, and record-keeping was unreliable back in stock-car racing’s infancy. “You really have to dig deep into the archives,” Schlesier says, noting how his team mined old newspapers and International Speedway Corporation’s reserves to tell the story of NASCAR’s post-war burst onto a motorsports scene dominated by sprint cars and Indianapolis-style racers.

“It started out as sort of a celebration of the great sport that NASCAR becomes, but then you realize that in the first year, it’s anything but a done deal,” Schlesier says, noting that the racing periodicals of the day often mocked stock-car racing as a regional upstart. “We thought, let’s zero in on that and really do good history, which is 1948 isn’t the first year of a great sport, 1948 is the year where the sport could’ve been great or died instantly, and then what are the different, cross-cutting factors that looked at that.”

MORE: Paint schemes for the Southern 500

For history buffs, “Proving Grounds” brings that rough-and-tumble period to life, showing NASCAR’s goal of becoming an organizing source of stability in an era of fly-by-night promoters. It also shows the growth of primitive technology with the dominant car of the day — the 1939 Ford — and the hardscrabble tracks that formed the schedule that Bill France Sr. assembled as the series went.

But the newspaper articles — supported by race reports, canceled purse checks and other well-preserved documents — also tell the story of a dynamic, back-and-forth championship battle. Red Byron and Fonty Flock traded the standings lead several times with Byron eventually securing the title. Both became early stars in Strictly Stock competition, with Hall of Famer Byron becoming the premier series’ first champion.

Though relics from 1948 were not easy to come by, several pieces of automotive history help to anchor the exhibit. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum and Hall of Famer Ray Evernham were among the contributors, providing vehicles on loan from their impressive collections.

The exhibit runs through January 2019.

Posted on by Jason Lofing

The first race of the 2018 NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series at Darlington Raceway set the tone for the playoffs with several of the top contenders showing why they earned spots in the postseason. Michael Conti ultimately took home the win with several fellow playoff drivers also posting top-10 finishes, including Ray Alfalla (second), Ryan Luza (third), Matt Bussa (fourth), Nick Ottinger (seventh) and Keagen Leahy (10th).

The top eight in the standings qualified for the playoffs after 13 races — these drivers are competing for the $10,000 cash prize as well as a NASCAR championship trophy, championship ring and a trip to Homestead-Miami to receive their hardware on stage in front of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series crowd.

RELATED: Full iRacing schedule/results

Qualifying was a bit of a mixed bag for the championship contenders with several drivers starting up front while others started back in the pack leaving a lot of work to do on a difficult track.

Qualifying results for playoff drivers:

Ryan Luza – 1st
Michael Conti – 2nd
Ray Alfalla – 5th
Bobby Zalenski – 9th
Keagan Leahy – 10th
Nicholas Shelton – 19th
Nick Ottinger – 24th
Matt Bussa – 30th

Luza took the green the flag and led the first 47 laps with little drama up front as the leaders settled into the race. A little further back in the field the action heated up as Michael Guest and Leahy had contact on Lap 25 with Guest ending up on the short end of the incident.

Playoff contender and former series champion Alfalla worked his way up to third by Lap 40 and set his sights on the lead pack of Luza and Conti. Lap 48 delivered the first lead change with Conti getting around Luza, while Alfalla continued to close the gap to the leaders as drivers approached the first pit window. The top three positions were held by playoff competitors as green-flag pit stops began on Lap 59.

Conti pitted from the lead on Lap 61 followed by Luza on Lap 63 and finally Alfalla. After the pit-stop cycle, the top three shuffled back to where they ran before stopping — Conti, Luza and Alfalla.

Alfalla took second from Luza at Lap 97 and the top three controlled the remainder of the race. The caution-free race played into the leaders’ hands with no restarts shuffling the order around as yellow flags often do.

The win guarantees Conti a spot in the ‘winner-take-all’ final race on Oct. 24 at Homestead-Miami. Alfalla, Luza and Bussa are in good position to earn a spot as well based on points — but a win by any of the playoff drivers will get them in so expect some hard racing at the next three races.

Bussa had perhaps the most impressive drive after a disappointing qualifying (30th). He was able to work his way through the field all the way up to fourth — even without any cautions to bunch the field up. He’ll look to improve his qualifying next round and be in contention for the win.

The next race of the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series is Sept. 12 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Tune in to iRacingLive to watch all the action!

Posted on by Staff Report

Here’s a look at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs scenarios heading into Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio):

Already clinched
Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson (12 of 16 spots)

RELATED: Series standings

Darlington scenarios
• Denny Hamlin: If Hamlin scores eight points, he will clinch a playoff spot. If there is a repeat winner at Darlington, Hamlin would clinch regardless of points scored.

• Aric Almirola: If there is a repeat winner, Almirola would clinch with 25 points. He could also clinch with a new winner and help.

• Jimmie Johnson: Johnson could clinch with a repeat winner and help, or by winning the race.

• The following drivers can only guarantee a clinch by winning at Darlington: Alex Bowman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Newman, Daniel Suarez, Paul Menard, William Byron, Jamie McMurray, Chris Buescher, AJ Allmendinger, David Ragan, Darrell Wallace J., Kasey Kahne, Michael McDowell and Ty Dillon.

 • Matt DiBenedetto could clinch with a win, but would need help clinching a top 30 spot.

MORE: Darlington throwbacks | Drivers as kids

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Numbers mean plenty when it comes to building out your Fantasy Live teams each week. NASCAR.com will examine the stats outlook for each track to help give you an edge as you set your lineups and bonus picks ahead of the race weekend.

Don’t forget to check back on NASCAR.com for additional insight from fantasy expert RJ Kraft as well as to watch Fantasy Fastlane with Jessica Ruffin and NBC Sports’ Steve Letarte.

RELATED: Set your Fantasy Live roster now | How the new Fantasy Live works | Driver stats

Top five average running position at Darlington (per loop data from 2005 to the present):

Driver Average Running Position
Denny Hamlin 7.898
Kyle Busch 8.774
Erik Jones 9.757
Kyle Larson 10.033
Martin Truex Jr. 10.971

Top five in stage points earned at Darlington in 2017:

Driver Stage points Stage wins
Martin Truex Jr. 20 2
Denny Hamlin 17 0
Kyle Larson 16 0
Kevin Harvick 15 0
Brad Keselowski 11 0

Top five in points earned in last two races at Darlington:

Driver Race points Race wins
Denny Hamlin 95* 1
Martin Truex Jr. 93 1
Kevin Harvick 84 0
Kyle Larson 78* 0
Kyle Busch 74 0

*Note: Hamlin was assessed a 25-point penalty following last year’s Darlington race for a L1-level infraction. Larson was assessed a 15-point penalty following the 2016 Darlington race for exceeding measurements in the post-race LIS inspection. Neither affects the fantasy points players earn.

Most laps led in last two races at Darlington:

Driver Laps led
Kevin Harvick 236
Kyle Larson 169
Denny Hamlin 137
Martin Truex Jr. 104

Average starting position for last 10 winners: 8.9; seven of the past 10 winners have started inside the top 10

Active drivers to win pole: Kasey Kahne (4), Kevin Harvick (3), Kurt Busch (3), Clint Bowyer (1), Matt Kenseth (1), Brad Keselowski (1), Jamie McMurray (1), Ryan Newman (1)

Active drivers to win at Darlington: Jimmie Johnson (3), Denny Hamlin (2), Matt Kenseth (1), Martin Truex Jr. (1), Kevin Harvick (1), Kyle Busch (1)

Most recent pole winner: Kevin Harvick, September of 2017

Last time pole-sitter won here: Kevin Harvick, April of 2014

Where stage winners started from: Second (twice)

Winning manufacturers of last 10 races: Toyota-6, Chevrolet-4

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Just in time for the 2018 NASCAR Playoffs™, NASCAR® has unveiled a new playoffs edition of its popular fantasy game, NASCAR Fantasy Live™, and players can register today at NASCAR.com/fantasy.

The NASCAR Fantasy Live 2018 Playoffs Game will launch with the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™ race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sept. 16 and will also be accessible via the NASCAR Mobile app.

While similar in format to the regular-season version, starting rosters will go from five drivers to four, and two of the four drivers must be NASCAR Playoffs-eligible. Players will still be able to use their “garage” pick by swapping in-race for a driver of similar playoff eligibility prior to the beginning of each race’s final stage.

RELATED: FAQ for the Fantasy Live Playoff game

Players must maintain an even balance of two playoff and two non-playoff eligible drivers in their lineup anytime they make a garage swap. Individual drivers can be used an unlimited number of times throughout the NASCAR Playoffs.

Players can begin building lineups at NASCAR.com/fantasy once the official entry list for Las Vegas is posted. Current NASCAR Fantasy Live players will be able to maintain their entries for the NASCAR Playoffs game and all regular season scoring will be reset to zero.

“The NASCAR Playoffs are the most exciting and pressure-packed time of the NASCAR racing season, and the new fantasy game is designed to match the intensity each week of the postseason,” said Tim Clark, vice president, NASCAR Digital Media. “We look forward to seeing how players adjust their strategies and driver lineups — both leading up to and during each of the 10 NASCAR Playoffs races.”

RELATED: Playoff infographic

Much like the regular season game, game scoring will once again follow NASCAR official scoring and reward points based on race results and driver finishing position for all three stages. Bonus picks will also remain for the Busch pole winner, stage winners, race winner and winning manufacturer.

Before the NASCAR Playoffs begin in Las Vegas, each player will be asked to pick who they think will win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship™. Correct picks will be rewarded with 60 additional bonus points.

The NASCAR Fantasy Live Playoffs game will run throughout the 10-week Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400® at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 18.

The overall points leader after the final NASCAR Playoffs race will be crowned NASCAR Fantasy Live 2018 Playoffs champion and win $5,000. Ten weekly prizes of $250 NASCAR Superstore credits will also be awarded to randomly selected weekly NASCAR Fantasy Live 2018 Playoff Game league winners.

“This year, we made it a goal to have all of our fantasy products reflect modern-day NASCAR as closely as possible,” said Clark. “Delivering a game designed specifically for playoffs racing was a big step in bringing that vision to life.”

For more information on NASCAR Fantasy Live, including rules and eligibility requirements, please visit NASCAR.com/fantasy.

Posted on by Staff Report

If there are any hard feelings left over between Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. after their run-in during the most recent Monster Energy Series race, maybe it’s ice cream that can patch things up. Smoothing over the rocky road with some frozen rocky road, perhaps.

Busch bumped Truex’s No. 78 into a race-ending crash 10 days ago at Bristol Motor Speedway. In post-race interviews that night, Busch said he considered sending a conciliatory cake. A different dessert apparently won out, one that might better accommodate M&M’s toppings.

Cole Pearn, Truex’s crew chief at Furniture Row Racing, tweeted out a photo of an ice cream truck visiting the team’s shop, tipping his cone to Busch.

Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 00 team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series received a safety violation from NASCAR following Saturday’s Johnsonville 180 at Road America.

Per section 10.9.10.4 of the NASCAR Rule Book, the No. 00 Ford had lug nut(s) not secure in post-race inspection. Crew chief Jeff Meendering was fined $5,000.

Cole Custer drove the Stewart-Haas Racing Ford to a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s event won by Justin Allgaier. Custer is fourth in the driver points standings with three races remaining before the Xfinity Series Playoffs kick off Sept. 21 at Richmond.

The Xfinity Series is in action Saturday at Darlington Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Zack Albert

One of NASCAR’s oldest tracks is another year older and so is its surface. It’s why Goodyear Racing officials expect Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway to be a story of tire wear and strategy.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams will have an allotment of 13 sets of tires — the most of any race on the schedule — for the annual 500-miler (6 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) on the 1.366-mile track. The historic circuit was last repaved in the fall of 2007. Since then, the gritty, worn asphalt has aged in well, placing a premium on tire management.

“The ‘old,’ high-wear Darlington is back,” Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing, said in a release provided by the tiremaker. “For many years, Darlington had the most abrasive track surface on the circuit, but that all changed about 10 years ago when it was repaved. Slowly, over the past decade, the surface has become more and more abrasive and harder on tires again.

“Going to Darlington now, with its throwback theme, seems highly appropriate now that we are back to a high tire wear/tire management race-style race that always seems to produce a great show for the fans.”

RELATED: Weekend schedule | Throwback designs

Goodyear will also make its own contribution to NASCAR throwback weekend at Darlington, replacing its traditional yellow-lettered sidewalls for a vintage, white-stenciled look.

Four drivers — Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard and Daniel Suarez — participated in a tire test at Darlington on June 5-6 to help Goodyear officials select the tire for this weekend. The left-side tire has an updated construction compared to last year’s Darlington tire. The right-side rubber will have an updated compound to enhance grip.

The Monster Energy Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series will share the same tire set-up this weekend. Xfinity Series teams will have seven sets of tires allotted for the weekend, including a maximum of five for Saturday’s 200-mile event, the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM).

Posted on by Steve Luvender

What did last weekend’s NASCAR winners have in common?

Yep, both Justin Allgaier and Justin Haley are active iRacers. Allgaier won Saturday in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Road America, while Haley claimed the checkered flag in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park after some final-lap insanity.

Nice work, road-course-winning, sim-racing Justins.

Really, though — iRacing helped, according to Haley, who “turned some serious sim laps” before heading north of the border last weekend.



Now, NASCAR drivers look ahead to Darlington Raceway, where racers like Christopher Bell plan to turn some virtual laps in hopes of avoiding a “Darlington Stripe” on their real race cars.

NASCAR PEAK ANTIFREEZE iRACING SERIES UPDATE

Starting Tuesday at Darlington Raceway, eight drivers from the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series will compete for a $10,000 prize, a NASCAR trophy and a NASCAR championship ring throughout the five-race series playoffs.

With four victories, including last week in his home track at Texas Motor Speedway, defending series champion Ryan Luza earned the top playoff seed over his rookie Phenom Racing Team teammate Keegan Leahy.

Ray Alfalla, defending Darlington winner, will race for his fourth series championship. Nick Ottinger, Nick Shelton, Bobby Zalenski, Matt Bussa, and Michael Conti complete the top eight.

The playoffs begin at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 28 at Darlington on iRacing.com/live.

PAINT SCHEMES OF THE WEEK

It’s throwback week! Keaton Jones re-created Ricky Carmichael’s 2010 Camping World Truck Series ride for iRacing.

iRacing paint scheme No. 4 Monster truck

Painter Scott Pierchorowicz designed a beautiful retro-inspired Bill Elliott ride on a modern-day iRacing Ford Fusion.

Bill Elliott No. 9-inspired iRacing paint scheme

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

If you’ve got a few hours to spare, you need to check out this live iRacing throwback semi-re-creation of the 1998 Daytona 500, complete with era-accurate paint schemes on modern-day Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series-style cars. We won’t spoil the winner.