Posted on by Reid Spencer

LOUDON, N.H. – Despite a slow pit stop and a poor restart near the end of the race, Aric Almirola finished third in Sunday’s Foxwoods 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but the driver of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was hardly enthused about his best result of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Almirola was leading the race when teammate Clint Bowyer slammed the Turn 3 wall to bring out the seventh and last caution of the race on Lap 256 of 301. Pitting under caution, Almirola lost two spots because of trouble with the left front tire.

On the subsequent restart on Lap 263, he spun his tires, fell back to sixth and had to claw his way back to third at the finish. But Almirola lost a chance for his first victory in a Stewart-Haas car, and for that reason, the result was disappointing.

RELATED: Almirola on owing SHR a victory

“You think I’d be really excited to run top five and I’m not,” Almirola said. “We had the best car hands-down. There’s no doubt in my mind. We gave it away on pit road, and then I gave it away again on the restart. I spun the tires on the restart and didn’t even give myself a fighting chance, so I’m just really frustrated.

“Chicago, we had a car capable of winning. And we didn’t execute today again with another car capable of winning, and we didn’t get our Smithfield Ford Fusion in Victory Lane. It’s just frustrating. They say you’ve got to lose some before you win some, and I feel like we’ve lost some now, and it’s time to stop it and go to Victory Lane.”

Posted on by Pat DeCola

LOUDON, N.H. – You give what you get.

Kevin Harvick’s persistent tap, tap, tap, BUMP to the rear of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota in the closing laps of Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 cleared the way for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver to close out his sixth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of the season.

NASCAR’s two strongest drivers of 2018 will assuredly be racing around each other again, and soon. Will these two aggressive, never-give-an-inch drivers race each other differently moving forward?

Sunday’s runner-up indicated that’d be the case, based on the NASCAR version of the “Golden Rule.”

WATCH: Harvick puts the bumper to Busch

“Yeah,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said, point blank, on pit road following the race. “Harvick was using me up there for about four or five corners in a row, which is fine. I think he could have made the move work cleaner than that, but it’s all fair game. How you race is how you get raced. …

“He did that because of Chicago. I think that he had a fair game. Everybody has fair game on Kyle Busch, that’s for sure, when it comes to the fan base. That’s fine; (if) that’s how they want to race, that’s how I’ll race back.”

RELATED: Kyle Larson, Busch battle in Chicago

The situation likely would have been a lot more heated – and might have seen potential retaliation sooner – had the bump-and-run put Busch into the fence. Expect, now, the slow burn of a sizzling rivalry has re-sparked after the two appeared to turn a corner this season; occasionally they have even been seen chatting in and around the garage area after years of a seemingly-icy relationship.

Sunday’s move by Harvick may not be enough to merit full-on retaliation, but given that these two champions will likely be racing for each of their respective second titles come November, don’t rule out more contact at some point – perhaps even in Miami.

“You do (think about it coming back to him in the future) and you worry about that stuff later,” Harvick said from Victory Lane. “It’s not like I wrecked him. It’s the same thing as Chicago. …

“I knew that I needed to take my opportunity and felt like I needed to try and get him up out of the groove and I got him up out of the groove and was able to get by.”

MORE: Recap the race | Race results | Harvick offers his take on late-race move

Harvick was able to get by with seven laps remaining, yes, but had Busch been able to get reel the No. 4 back in, fireworks would have flown.

“I don’t have a problem with it at all,” Busch’s crew chief, Adam Stevens, told NASCAR.com following the race. ” … but certainly, if we had gotten back there, we could’ve returned the favor. That is just part of short-track racing.”

Stevens’ driver, in hindsight, paused briefly before answering a question about how he would have handled the situation in the heat of the moment, had the roles been reversed.

Would he have moved Harvick?

“Now that I know what happened,” Busch said, “absolutely.”

Posted on by Staff Report

LOUDON, N.H. — On two straight laps late in Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick nudged the No. 18 Toyota of race leader Kyle Busch with his front bumper.

Busch retained the lead. But Harvick took more aggressive action on Lap 295 of 301, tagging Busch’s car in the center of Turns 1 and 2. Busch slid up the track as Harvick powered the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford into the top spot.

RELATED: Full results | At-track photos
SHOP: Harvick gear

Six laps later, Harvick took a checkered flag for a series-best sixth time this season. He won for the third time at the Magic Mile and the 43rd time in his career, 18th on the career list and one victory behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott.

WATCH: Harvick’s bump-and-run

Harvick had no regrets about seizing the opportunity to take the win.

“I didn’t know if I was going to get there at the end, and I felt like that was best opportunity — do what I had to do to win,” said Harvick, who pulled away to win by 1.877 seconds. “I didn’t want to wreck him, but I didn’t want to waste a lot of time behind him.

“I knew I was running out of laps, and I didn’t know if I was going to get to him again. I felt like I needed to get him up out of the groove, so I got him up out of the groove.”

Thanks to a blistering stop by his pit crew, Busch grabbed the lead for a restart on Lap 263, after Clint Bowyer pounded the outside wall to bring out the seventh and final caution of the race. Controlling the restart, Busch pulled away to a lead of more than one second before Harvick began to track him down.

Busch acknowledged that he didn’t have the best car, particularly on the long runs.

“(Crew chief) Adam (Stevens) made some really good calls, some really good adjustments to keep trying to improve on it. Pit road was flawless, they gave us all those spots on pit road to get us out front and put us in that position and have a shot at the win.

“We controlled the restart, drove away by a little bit, but we weren’t the best car on the long run. The SHR cars were all really good today. They were fast. It was going to be hard to hold them off.”

About the contact on Lap 295, Busch was philosophical.

“I was kind of backing up — three, four, five corners in a row — and he had the faster car,” Busch said. “Harvick was using me up for about six corners in a row. I’m not sure he had to do it, but he did. It’s fine. How you race is how you get raced, so it’s fine.”

Aric Almirola, Harvick’s Stewart-Haas teammate, finished third after leading 42 laps. Almirola’s undoing was a pit stop under caution on Lap 258, when trouble with the left front tire dropped the No. 10 Ford from first to third for the Lap 263 restart.

Almirola then spun his tires on the restart and dropped to sixth before fighting his way back to third.

Martin Truex Jr. ran fourth after winning Stage 1, and Chase Elliott secured the fifth position after taking the green/checkered flag at the end of Stage 2. Ryan Newman, Ryan Blaney, pole winner Kurt Busch, Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson completed the top 10.

Kyle Busch retained the series lead by 53 points over Harvick, but Harvick ran his playoff point total to a series best 32 to Busch’s 30.

The Monster Energy Series will return at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday July 29 for the Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Staff Report

What channels are NASCAR races on this week? We answer that and give you the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET. 

MORE: Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Gets FOX Sports Go | How to find NBCSN 

Monday, July 23
4 a.m.: Nascar Camping World Truck Series: Eldora Dirt Derby (re-air), FS1
2:30 p.m.: NASCAR 120: New Hampshire (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

On MRN
noon: Motorsports Monday (with hosts Woody Cain & Joey Meier)

Tuesday, July 24
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m.: NASCAR K&N Pro Series East: Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, NBCSN

On MRN
7 p.m.: NASCAR Live (with host Mike Bagley)

Wednesday, July 25
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m.: NASCAR K&N Pro Series East: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, NBCSN
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m.: NASCAR Whelen Series: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, NBCSN

On MRN
noon: MRN Crew Call (with hosts Sammi Jo Francis and Rocko Williams)
1 p.m.: NASCAR Coast to Coast (with hosts Kyle Rickey & Hannah Newhouse)

Thursday, July 26
5 a.m.: NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
5:30 p.m.: Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

On MRN
1 p.m.: Throwback Thursday – 1975 Purolator 500

Friday, July 27
4:30 p.m.: Dale Jr. Download (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice, NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
6 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
6:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
7:30 p.m.: Dale Jr. Download (re-air), NBCSN

On MRN
noon: The Inside Line (with host Tyler Burnett)

Saturday, July 28
9 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, CNBC (Canada: TSN GO)
10 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Pole Qualifying, FS1
11:30 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, CNBC (Canada: TSN1, 4, 5)
12:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series RaceDay, FS1
12:30 p.m.: NASCAR Whelen Series: New Hampshire Motor Speedway (All-Star), NBCSN
1 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Gander Outdoors 150, FS1
3 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Post-Race Show, FS1
3 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Pole Qualifying, NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
4 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN (Canada: TSN2)
5 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
5:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series U.S. Cellular 250 presented by The Rasmussen Group, NBCSN (Canada: TSN2)
10 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Gander Outdoors 150 (re-air), FS2

Sunday, July 29
11 a.m: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Gander Outdoors 150 (re-air), FS1
1 p.m.: NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
2:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander Outdoors 400, NBCSN (Canada: TSN1, 3, 4, 5)
3 p.m.: Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge: Lime Rock Park, FS1
6 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Post Race, NBCSN

Posted on by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will both be in action at Pocono Raceway this week and the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be at Iowa Speedway. Check out the full schedule below, which is subject to change.

Note: All times are ET

MORE: How to find NBCSN 

POCONO
Sunday, July 29
2:00 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver introductions
2:30 p.m.: Intro Presentation of Colors: U.S. Air Force 314th Recruiting Squadron
2:30:20 p.m.: Invocation: Monty Self, MRO
2:31:00 p.m.: National Anthem: Porter & Sayles / Signed by: Seth Finnerty, Scranton School for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing
2:32:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander Outdoors 400 (160 laps, 400 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN1, 3, 4, 5) (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch live) 
11:30 a.m.: Gander Outdoors
5:30 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

POCONO
Friday, July 27
1:25-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, No TV (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
11 a.m.: Kids Drive NASCAR
11:15 a.m.: Grant Enfinger, Justin Haley and Brett Moffitt

IOWA
Friday, July 27
5:05-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO)(Results)
6:35-7:25 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)

POCONO
Saturday, July 28
9-9:50 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
10 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS1 (Results)
11:40 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN1, 4, 5) (Results)
1 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Gander Outdoors 150 (60 laps, 150 miles), FS1 (Results)
4:10 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2) (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
8:15 a.m.: Jimmie Johnson
8:30 a.m.: Aric Almirola
10:30 a.m.: Bubba Wallace and Richard Petty
2:30 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race
5 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying

IOWA
Saturday, July 28
3:05 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
5:20 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series U.S. Cellular 250 presented by The Rasmussen Group (250 laps, 218.75 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2) (Results)

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott passed Stage 1 winner Martin Truex Jr. with less than 20 laps remaining in Stage 2, holding on for the Stage 2 win and valuable playoff point. This marks the first stage win of 2018 for Elliott, who finished second to Truex in Stage 1 in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Kurt Busch maneuvered his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford to second after Elliott’s pass on Truex for the lead. He battled with Elliott at the end of the stage for the Stage 2 win, but came up second.

RELATED: See Elliott take the lead | Stage 2: Full results

Truex Jr. finished third in the No. 78 Toyota, while Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola completed the top five.

The race is scheduled to conclude at Lap 301, 51 laps after the end of Stage 2.

Finish Driver Team Race Points
1 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 10
2 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing 9
3 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing 8
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 7
5 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 6
6 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 5
7 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing 4
8 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 3
9 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 2
10  Joey Logano Team Penske 1

STAGE 1: Full results

Martin Truex Jr. picked up the Stage 1 win during Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This marked the sixth stage win for Truex and the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team in 2018.

Chase Elliott finished second in Stage 1, while his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson used pit strategy to secure third place. Johnson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished Stage 1 just outside the top 10 in 11th, were two drivers that pitted for tires before the competition caution at Lap 35.

Pole-sitter Kurt Busch finished fourth, while Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five in his No. 12 Ford.

Finish Driver Team Race Points
1  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 10
2  Chase Elliott  Hendrick Motorsports 9
3  Jimmie Johnson  Hendrick Motorsports 8
4  Kurt Busch  Stewart-Haas Racing 7
5  Ryan Blaney  Team Penske 6
6  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 5
7  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 4
8  Clint Bowyer  Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9  Joey Logano  Team Penske 2
10  Aric Almirola  Stewart-Haas Racing 1
Posted on by Staff Report

Rain delayed the start of Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Originally scheduled for 2 p.m. ET (NBCSN, PRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio), the start was moved up to 1 p.m. Sunday, but rain scrubbed the new start time, as well.

Driver introductions were rescheduled for 3:50 p.m. ET, and the new green flag was set for 4:15 p.m. ET

Race officials had a solid contingent of track-drying equipment at the 1.058-mile facility: eight units of the Toyota Tundra track-drying team, six jet dryers and an Elgin sweeper.

RELATED: Full starting lineup | See every car | Weather information

Kurt Busch is on the pole for the 20th race of the 2018 season in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, and Martin Truex Jr. will share the front row with him in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. Series points leader Kyle Busch will start third. Truex and Denny Hamlin posted the fastest speeds in Saturday’s practice sessions. Hamlin is the defending race winner and will start fourth in Sunday’s race.

 

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Ever wonder what goes on in a driver meeting? We’re here to help.

This year, we’ll publish the actual rules video your favorite Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers will watch before climbing into their stock cars. Above is the video for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 (1 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Enjoy!

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Xfinity Series cars of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet failed post-race inspection height measurements following Saturday’s Lakes Region 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Ryan Preece drove the No. 18 to a third-place finish, while John Hunter Nemechek drove the No. 42 to a fourth-place result. Both cars are in the thick of an owners championship battle in the series.

The No. 52 Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet driven by David Starr had one lug nut found to be unsecure.

RELATED: Full race results | Bell wins at New Hampshire

In addition, the first and second-place cars of the No. 20 JGR Toyota (driven by race winner Christopher Bell) and the No. 22 Team Penske Ford (driven by Brad Keselowski) will be taken back to NASCAR’s R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Last month, the No. 18 JGR team was assessed a L1-level penalty for failing post-race height measurements after Pocono that resulted in a one-race suspension for crew chief Eric Phillips, a $10,000 fine and a loss of 10 driver and owner points.

Any potential penalties will be announced next week by the sanctioning body.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

LOUDON, N.H. – Christopher Bell held off hard-charging veteran Brad Keselowski over the final 18 laps to win Saturday’s Lakes Region 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

In winning his second straight race in the series, Bell grabbed the top spot from Keselowski on a restart on Lap 183 of 200 and kept the 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion behind him the rest of the way, though Keselowski got within three feet of the rear bumper of Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with three laps left.

The difference? Bell had taken four new tires on his final pit stop on Lap 163. One lap later, crew chief Brian Wilson opted to change right-side tires only on Keselowski’s car to maintain track position.

RELATED: Race results | Driver points standings

However, when Jeremy Clements hit the sand-filled barrels at the entrance to pit road and caused the sixth caution on Lap 166, the field was bunched, and Wilson’s strategy was undermined. Keselowski held the lead through a restart on Lap 174 but lost it on Lap 183 after a caution for a wreck involving Garrett Smithley and Chad Finchum.

In his first Xfinity start at the Magic Mile, Bell picked up his third victory of the season and the fourth of his career—even though he couldn’t gauge his pit road speed because his tachometer was out of commission.

But strong guidance from spotter Tony Hirschman and fresh tires on all four corners of the car made up for the disadvantage.

“The better tires, they didn’t hurt us—that’s for sure,” Bell said. “(Crew chief) Jason (Ratcliff) was able to put four on there and, man, we got going there that long green flag run, and I was getting really nervous because I didn’t have a tach, so I didn’t really know how I was going to get down pit road.

“But, luckily, I’ve got the best spotter on the roof, man, and Tony was able to kind of guide me and let me know, ‘Alright, I think you can pick it up a little bit,’ and then a couple times he told me to slow it down, so it worked out for us. We were able to take four tires there, and that was a big deal.”

RELATED: See all the highlights from the Xfinity Series race

The way Keselowski saw it, two fresh left-side tires on his No. 22 Team Penske Ford might well have changed the outcome.

“I think we would have won today on four, but that’s not the way it played out,” Keselowski said. “They (Bell’s team) did a good job and made the right call to put four tires on and kind of got us there, but it was all-in-all a good day.

“You kind of get mad about second and kind of don’t. You try to respect the fact that it was a great car today and a great effort for our team, but you know that the potential is there for more.”

Ryan Preece finished third in his fifth trip this season in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. John Hunter Nemechek ran fourth, tying his career-best in the series. Fifth-place finisher Matt Tifft posted his second top five of the season. The cars of Preece of Nemechek failed heights in post-race inspection. Any potential penalties will be announced next week.

Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, Elliott Sadler, Cole Custer and Austin Dillon completed the top 10.

Notes: Bell won the first stage and Keselowski the second… Keselowski won the pole earlier in the day but started from the rear of the field after missing the drivers’ meeting. By the end of Stage 1, he had climbed to fifth place… Bell led 93 laps to Keselowski’s 72, indicative of the dominance of the two best cars in the field… Daniel Hemric, who finished 11th on Saturday, holds the series lead by six pints over Bell and seven over third-place Sadler… In the tight owner points battle, the No. 22 driven by Keselowski is six points ahead of the No. 18 driven by Preece. The No. 52 of David Starr had one lug nut found to be unsecure. The cars of Bell and Keselowski will be taken to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina.