Posted on by Zack Albert

CONCORD, N.C. — A key finding for teams after two days of testing on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s road course configuration is how quickly trouble will find you. After an eventful Tuesday at the 2.28-mile circuit, two bends — Turns 1 and 3 — are in the early running for most treacherous.

Rookie William Byron’s hard hit early in the afternoon session was the biggest pitfall of the two-day test, held on consecutive Tuesdays on the combination oval and road course. The track time was the latest step in preparations for the Bank of America Roval 400, the first road-course event in NASCAR postseason history on Sept. 30.

RELATED: Photos from Charlotte testing

Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet nosed into the tire barrier rounding Turn 1 after a brake failure. The hard left-hander that leads to the track’s infield portion also was the site of fellow rookie Bubba Wallace’s sizable crash last week.

“I think just going over the curbs and everything, we just snapped a brake line and the pedal went to the floor,” said Byron, who was evaluated and released from the infield care center, unhurt. “I’ve never had that happen, but it was not fun.”

Byron’s crack-up preceded a trio of morning excursions with varying damage in Turn 3, the off-camber corner that marks the first right-hander on the course. Ryan Blaney got the worst of those, with Alex Bowman and Erik Jones escaping with minor to no impact.

“It’s just a really awkward section through there where we’ve been free in throughout the day and tried to work on it, but just got in a little too hot,” Bowman said of his incident, which caused minimal damage to the front of his No. 88 Chevrolet. “It was (either) KO the tire barriers or spin it out. I spun it out and still got them a little bit, but just part of it.”

WATCH: Bowman explains what happened

Joey Logano, one of 14 drivers participating in Tuesday’s test, said he found out during a sponsorship shoot last week how tricky the corner is. In some spirited recreational driving in a classic Cobra, Logano said the car drifted out of the groove shortly after the downhill corner entry, prompting him to wonder whether the turn would have the same effect on Monster Energy Series cars.

“Pretty quickly I realized that we are going to fight that quite a bit,” Logano said. “The corner itself, you’re just turning to the right, there’s no banking and you’re going downhill and the car’s just super, super loose there. It’s a pretty sketchy corner. That’s probably one of the … there’s a few sketchy spots, but that’s probably one of the sketchiest if not the sketchiest.”

Competition officials made further adjustments to the course Tuesday morning by removing rumble strips at Turn 8, a transitional left-hand curve that funnels cars out of the infield section onto the oval track’s Turn 1 banking. Drivers had skirted the corner by bounding their cars over the strips, prompting officials to make the transition earlier.

That tweak followed last week’s more robust adjustment to add definition to the backstretch chicane.

WATCH: Take a lap around the course

Posted on by Steve Luvender

Ahead of Wednesday’s Eldora Dirt Derby in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, fans and drivers have been slinging virtual dirt in preparation.

iRacing hopped on board to sponsor Brett Moffitt’s truck for Wednesday night’s race. Naturally, Moffitt hosted a few iRacing races Tuesday afternoon to get the feel of racing the truck on dirt against fans and iRacers.

We’ll see if Moffitt’s preparation helps him Wednesday.

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Matt Tifft showed fans how to get around Kentucky Speedway on the Richard Childress Racing sim rig.

Not sure if you’re using the famous around-the-rim Kyle Larson line correctly on iRacing? Why not get validation from the man himself?

Dale Earnhardt Jr., a sim-racing pioneer, opened up Monday night about his role in iRacing’s early development in a Twitter discussion with iRacing’s EVP Steve Myers.

When you race some of the rookie and short track cars on iRacing, there’s a good chance you’re racing a laser-scanned copy of one of Dale Jr.’s cars.

NASCAR PEAK ANTIFREEZE IRACING SERIES UPDATE

At Chicagoland Speedway on Tuesday, Zack Novak picked up his first victory of 2018, overcoming a botched green flag pit stop entry that sent his No. 15 spinning in the early stages of the race. While it appeared Ryan Luza had the car to beat most of the night, Novak benefited from the timing of a late-race caution following a restart that kept his car ahead of Luza’s.

Sonoma winner Bobby Zalenski unseated Slip Angle Motorsports teammate Ray Alfalla atop the points standings after Alfalla crashed out of the race late in the going Tuesday.

The NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series races next at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 24.

IRACING PAINT SCHEMES OF THE WEEK

Remember Mark Martin’s iconic 1998 race car? Justin Rowden updated it to 2018 standards on the iRacing version of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford Fusion.

Speaking of 1998 throwbacks, Zac Campbell replicated Jeff Burton’s 1998 Exide Ford on today’s Ford Fusion.


DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME

When Brett Moffitt hosted a few unofficial iRacing test sessions at Eldora Speedway on Tuesday, I decided to hop in and (pathetically) log some laps.

I fell out of the test race pretty quickly (as I do), then decided to spend the last few laps, while running in last place, trying to improve my line — and maybe stop trying to drive Eldora like a traditional asphalt oval.

That’s when iRacing Race Control decided to use me as a training exercise. I mean, it made sense — this was an unofficial race with literally nothing on the line. I was seven laps down in a 30-lap race, and my truck looked like something they load onto the hauler after a brawl at Martinsville.

I received a 30-second black flag penalty, which seemed odd, but I figured I’d be a good sport and serve the penalty anyway.

Shortly after the race, the iRacing crew sent me video footage of the black flag incident from their end. I’ll admit, knowing this side of the story — and considering nothing was at stake, and this was always intended as a joke — it’s pretty funny.

https://twitter.com/steveluvender/status/1019218167644807168

Although, the “He’s already in last!” part stings a little.

Posted on by Staff Report

Two teams have been penalized for lug nut violations following last weekend’s tripleheader race weekend at Kentucky Speedway.

In the Xfinity Series, the No. 22 Team Penske team was penalized per Sections 10.9.10.4 for lug nut(s) not properly installed. Crew chief Brian Wilson was fined $5,000 for having one lug nut not secured. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular Paul Menard drove the No. 22 to a ninth-place finish in Friday night’s race in the Bluegrass State.

By the same sections, the No. 24 Camping World Truck Series team also was penalized for lug nut(s) not properly installed and crew chief Kevin Bellicourt was fined $2,500. Justin Haley drove the No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet to a 10th-place finish in Thursday night’s event.

No Monster Energy Series teams were penalized following Saturday’s Kentucky race, won by Martin Truex Jr.

 

Posted on by Zack Albert

Road-course testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway is ready for Round 2, with new faces awaiting new challenges.

A new batch of Monster Energy Series drivers will convene Tuesday for a pair of sessions on the 17-turn, 2.28-mile layout in advance of the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sept. 30. The race, which will combine most of the 1.5-mile oval with a twisting infield section, will be the first road-course event in the history of NASCAR’s playoffs.

NASCAR.com will live stream scenes from the testing and garage from 10 a.m. ET-12 p.m. ET.

BOOKMARK: Watch the test session here

A group of 16 drivers turned laps on the course last Tuesday. This week, a new delegation of 14 drivers are expected to tackle the circuit — AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Trevor Bayne, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Clint Bowyer, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Erik Jones, Joey Logano and Jamie McMurray.

The test is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, with a one-hour break for lunch (noon-1 p.m.). The event is open to the public with free admission for fans.

RELATED: Photos from Charlotte road course

Last week’s test produced intrigue and a potential preview of the course’s difficulty. Bubba Wallace crashed entering Turn 1, the hard left-hander into the infield portion. Several other drivers eked out more speed by smoothing out the turns on the backstretch chicane, prompting NASCAR officials to add rumble strips and tire barriers to prevent shortcuts.

“I think we made a slight adjustment to the backstretch there in terms of working with the teams at our last test to learn from that,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. “… We’ll see. We’ll put it in as good a place as we can in terms of it being a fair course, but at the end of the day someone’s going to go out there and win, and I can’t wait to see who that’ll be.”

The event will be the third event in the 10-race postseason. The 400-kilometer race will also mark the last of three races in the opening round, which will trim the playoff field from 16 drivers to 12.

Last week, NASCAR and track officials announced the race’s name and length. The event’s stages are scheduled to end on Lap 25, Lap 50 and the full distance at Lap 109.

Posted on by Holly Cain

For most NASCAR fans, the Camping World Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby has become a true summer rite of passage.

The sport’s most unique racing offering is as highly anticipated by those watching as those who will race. And again this year, the racing lineup is accomplished, diverse and full of compelling story lines.

From Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regulars such as Ryan Newman and Ty Dillon to the Camping World Truck Series 2018 championship contenders such as standings leader Johnny Sauter, veteran Matt Crafton, Brett Moffitt and weekly contender Stewart Friesen to young stars like Todd Gilliland and Myatt Snider to the debut of young dirt track stars such as Logan Seavey, 21, Braden Mitchell, 19, and Tyler Dippel, 18 – driver introductions in Wednesday night’s Eldora Dirt Derby (9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be loud and enthusiastic.

RELATED: Eldora entry list | Full schedule

There are those looking to make a name under the spotlight, those less familiar with the nuances of racing on dirt and a whole lot of those that enjoy this thrilling one-off opportunity.

It’s exactly the atmosphere that drew Cup star Ryan Newman to want to be a part of the show for the first time since he finished third in the 2013 inaugural race at his former teammate Tony Stewart’s beloved and renowned short track.

“It’s going back to dirt racing. I enjoy all of that,” Newman, 40, said last week announcing his ride in the No. 3 Chevrolet for Jordan Anderson Racing.

“Ultimately, it’s just a good experience, it’s a lot of fun.

“I’m glad NASCAR has put a Truck race on the dirt. Still look forward to a Cup race on dirt at some point. I don’t know if it will be next year or 10 years down the road, but I might come out of retirement at some point for that one.”

RELATED: Newman to pilot No. 3 truck for Jordan Anderson Racing

The excitement is genuine. And many consider this to be the most competitive entry lists of the season. There are 39 trucks expected for the show at Stewart’s pride-and-joy in Rossburg, Ohio, which just hosted its prestigious “King’s Royal” World of Outlaws race last weekend.

The format for Wednesday’s big show is unlike any Truck Series race of the year. The field will be divided and assigned a start among five 10-lap heat races. The top-five finishers from each heat move to the main show. And there is a 15-lap “Last Chance” race that moves two more onto the grid. There are four positions based on owner points and even a “past champion’s provisional” available as well. If the past champion’s provisional is not needed, that spot will be decided on owner points.

For most of the drivers entered, it’s the ultimate throwback format to their cherished racing roots.

For some, it’s the current way of racing life as they work their way up to the big time.

Two of the five Camping World Truck Series races at Eldora have been won by Monster Energy Series regulars. Austin Dillon won the inaugural race in 2013 and Kyle Larson won in 2016.

RELATED: ThorSport tabs Chase Briscoe for fifth Eldora entry

The defending champion, however, is two-time series champion Matt Crafton, who is actually looking to earn his first win of the 2018 season. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rookie Bubba Wallace won this race in 2014 and current Xfinity Series title favorite Christopher Bell won the race in 2015.

Toyota boasts three wins in the five races, including two for Kyle Busch Motorsports (Wallace and Bell).

New for this year, the FS1 race telecast will include both Larson and Bell as commentators. Both young drivers have extraordinary records at the track even beyond their Truck Series wins there. Larson became only the second driver in history to win three USAC races in a single night there in 2011. And Bell is a former USAC Midget National champion with multiple wins at the facility.

“Eldora is my favorite race track in the country and the Truck race at Eldora is one of my favorite events of the season, so when this opportunity presented itself, I quickly jumped on it,” said Bell, who drives the No. 20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series.

MORE: Bell to make broadcasting debut at Eldora

Larson was equally as enthusiastic.

“I’m really excited that FOX liked the idea and decided to run with it,” said Larson, driver the No. 42 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

“Eldora is a great track, and this is a really unique race, so I look forward to hopefully providing some more insight into what it’s like to not only race a truck at Eldora, but some of the nuances of racing on dirt. This race is a great chance to show NASCAR fans the excitement of dirt racing, and hopefully shows dirt fans the intensity of NASCAR racing.”

And it’s a vibe felt throughout the sport.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

Crew chief Chad Knaus confirmed this weekend at Kentucky Speedway that he had signed a two-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports, which should keep the Knaus-Jimmie Johnson pairing intact through at least 2020.

The move syncs up arguably NASCAR’s most prolific pairing through the end of this decade, with Johnson signing a three-year extension of his own last season.

MORE: Knaus inks Hendrick extension 

If the two end their careers together — Johnson is 42, Knaus is 46, for context — the pair certainly deserves a spot in the highest of NASCAR’s upper echelon.

But where do they fit in across all of sports history?

Pretty dang high, it turns out, and Johnson might not even be done adding trophies to his case.

The most obvious correlation in recent years is New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, who together have combined for five Super Bowl wins in eight appearances together since 2001. They’ve set the bar across the NFL, and organizations just try to emulate the “Patriot Way” — much like the standard HMS set in the mid-2000s.

NASCAR.com’s Jessica Ruffin did a great job analyzing that comparison ahead of this year’s Super Bowl.

In the piece, even Johnson sees the likeness.

“I think there are some parallels there,” Johnson said of the Brady comparison. “ … Being able to deliver when times are tough, those make-or-break moments, the experience, athletes over 40, really serve an athlete well.”

Brady and Belichick are unquestionably ranked on whatever “Best tandems in sports history” lists are floating out there — and the Johnson/Knaus duo has two more titles to its credit, in fewer years. And five of those came in consecutive seasons. And they were ohsoclose to the title a handful of other years.

RELATED: All of Johnson’s Monster Energy Series victories 

So where do the seven titles together rank all-time among major sports? Boston Celtics Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach and player Bill Russell combined for a ridiculous nine NBA titles, including eight straight from 1959-66.

Some other gold standard pairings from recent sports history don’t match up to the Hendrick mainstays, though.

Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson combined for six championships with the Chicago Bulls, though Jackson later coached Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant to another five. San Antonio Spurs vaunted coach Gregg Popovich and power forward Tim Duncan? Five for them, too.

Even the New York Yankees — the Hendrick Motorsports of baseball, according to some — saw Hall of Famer Joe Torre lead a future HOF shortstop in Derek Jeter to only four World Series titles during a seemingly-decades long streak of dominance.

And this isn’t to downplay any of these accomplishments — they’re remarkable. It’s to point out just how special Johnson and Knaus’ run has been, and continues to be.

Though the No. 48 team’s performance is down this season, you’ve got to think the two won’t leave any stone unturned as Johnson aims for sole ownership of NASCAR’s most titles.

If an eighth — or even ninth — title were to come in the next few years, Johnson will have pushed himself past NASCAR’s greatest names in the likes of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

And if that happens, Johnson and Knaus will transcend their status among NASCAR’s greatest.

They’ll be cemented among the greatest pairings across all of sports history, period.

Posted on by Staff Report

Clint Bowyer had a strong car at Kentucky Speedway, but pit stops posed a problem for the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team during Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

Despite a pit stop of more than 15 seconds on Lap 37, Bowyer was able to record a sixth-place finish in Stage 1. In Stage 2, another stop of more than 15 seconds on Lap 83 put the team behind the 8-ball, but a two-tire stop on Lap 110 allowed Bowyer enough track position to nab another sixth-place result for more stage points.

RELATED: Bowyer’s stats | Where Bowyer stacks up in stage points

Execution continued to pose a problem in the final stage, however, as slower stops resulted in a 12th-place overall finish, which was not reflective of the speed in the No. 14 car throughout the night.

To offer some comparison, Aric Almirola finished ninth in Stage 1 and failed to finish in the top 10 in Stage 2, but the No. 10 team rolled off two 14-second pit stops in the final stage, giving him the track position to earn an eighth-place result. Give Bowyer the better pit-stop times and those results could have easily been reversed — or even bettered.

Use the tool to compare Bowyer’s times to pit stops from Almirola and other drivers throughout the race.

      Posted on by Zack Albert

      ThorSport Racing announced Monday that Chase Briscoe will drive a fifth entry for the organization in Wednesday night’s Eldora Dirt Derby (9 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).

      Briscoe will pilot the No. 27 Ford in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ annual showdown on the half-mile dirt track. Sponsorship will come from Ford Performance, which has the 23-year-old Briscoe featured in its driver development program.

      RELATED: Eldora entry list | Full schedule

      The No. 27 ThorSport Racing Ford.
      ThorSport Racing

      “Growing up racing and having a family that’s been in sprint cars since the ’70s, it doesn’t get much more special than Eldora — it’s pretty much the Daytona of dirt racing,” Briscoe said in a news release provided by the team. “My Grandpa has had drivers go to Victory Lane in his cars there, and hopefully I can finally see a win there as well.”

      The start will be Briscoe’s first of the season in the Camping World Truck Series. His last time out, he prevailed in the series’ season finale last November at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He also finished third last season in Eldora’s main event, driving for Brad Keselowski Racing.

      Briscoe has made eight starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this year, recording a best finish of ninth place last month at Chicagoland Speedway.

      Posted on by Staff Report

      A Wednesday night NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on dirt represents a big change from the normal schedule, but it’s nothing to worry about. This “Eldora Explained” article will get you up to speed on the technical aspects of the competition, so you can sit back and enjoy the Eldora Dirt Derby, scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

      There are two practices on the half-mile dirt track Tuesday. All of the events below take place Wednesday.

      RELATED: Complete Eldora schedule | Eldora entry list 

      Qualifying: Two laps, single truck. Pole qualifying is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1. A random draw will determine the qualifying order. The fastest qualifier will be awarded the pole, but won’t necessarily start first.

      The results of qualifying will determine the starting positions for the five qualifying races; the qualifying races themselves set the lineup for the race.

      Qualifying Races: Five races, 10 laps each, starting at 7 p.m. ET on FS1, and only green-flag laps will be counted. Lineups for the qualifying races will be based on speeds from qualifying. The fastest truck in qualifying will start first in the first qualifying race, the second-fastest truck will start first in the second qualifying race, etc.

      The top five trucks from each qualifying race will automatically transfer to the race. Upon completion of the qualifying races, 25 of the 32 trucks in the field will be set for the race.

      Last Chance Qualifying Race: This race will be 15 laps, and the lineup for it will be set based on finishing position in the qualifying races — it will feature only the trucks that have not yet qualified for the main show. Only green flag laps will be counted, and the top two finishers of this race will fill lineup positions 26 and 27 for the race.

      Lineup spots 28-31 will go to the highest-ranking eligible trucks in owner points that haven’t already earned a starting position through qualifying. The 32nd lineup spot will go to the most recent eligible past series champion. If the 32nd position is not filled by an eligible champion, it will be assigned based on owner points. There are 39 trucks on the entry list.

      Race: Divided into three stages (40, 50 and 60 laps) with competition cautions at the breaks on Laps 40 and 90. Caution laps will not count during competition cautions and positions can’t be improved on pit road. Teams are not required to pit during competition cautions. Those that remain on the track will restart in front of those that pit.

      HOW ELDORA RACE LINEUP IS DETERMINED
      STARTING SPOT HOW DETERMINED
      1 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #1
      2 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #2
      3 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #3
      4 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #4
      5 Top finisher in Qualifying Race #5
      6 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #1
      7 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #2
      8 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #3
      9 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #4
      10 Second finisher in Qualifying Race #5
      11 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #1
      12 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #2
      13 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #3
      14 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #4
      15 Third finisher in Qualifying Race #5
      16 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #1
      17 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #2
      18 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #3
      19 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #4
      20 Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #5
      21 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #1
      22 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #2
      23 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #3
      24 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #4
      25 Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #5
      26 Top finisher in Last Chance
      27 Second finisher in Last Chance
      28 Owner points
      29 Owner points
      30 Owner points
      31 Owner points
      32 Past series champ/owner points