Posted on by Pat DeCola

Despite being firmly on the cusp of NASCAR’s top tier for the near-entirety of the 2018 season, Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski has yet to land in Victory Lane through 19 races.

Perhaps because, in his words, his team is not “great” enough.

MORE: Full Kentucky results | Updated Cup standings

“We’ve been good, not great this year, and this is a sport of great,” said Keselowski, whose third-place finish Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway was his best result since a runner-up at Atlanta. “You know, you’ve got to be great to win. This is the closest we’ve been to great this year on the mile‑and‑a‑halfs.”

While he was just short of a win, again, Keselowski made sure to give props to his No. 2 crew following the race. They’re not quite there yet, but they’re inching closer to NASCAR’s upper echelon that includes Kentucky winner and Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick.

Each of those drivers has won a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title since 2014. Keselowski was crowned champion in 2012, and finished fourth to their respective 1-2-3 placement in the final 2017 standings.

“At least at the start of the race, we were able to run with Martin,” Keselowski explained. “As the race progressed we couldn’t stay with him, but all in all, that’s still as fast as we’ve been on a mile‑and‑a‑half this year, and that’s something commendable for my team.”

Teammate Ryan Blaney, the youngest driver in the top 10 in the standings and on pace for his best career average finish, echoed the veteran’s sentiment after his first top five since Texas.  

RELATED: Blaney: We’re poised to win | Kentucky hot takes

“Like Brad said, we’re good right now,” Blaney said. “We’ve got to be great, and I think we’re on the verge of that. It’s just a matter of keep on working hard and trying to find little things here and there to put us in that category.”

The increase in performance — or, at least, the closing of the gap between the Nos. 2, 12 and 22 of teammate Joey Logano, a one-time winner in 2018, and the “Big Three” — is more a source of extra motivation for the Penske bunch more than a reason to lament that they’re not where they want to be yet.

“Yeah, I don’t know if frustrating is the right word,” Keselowski said. “You know, we can see the end of the tunnel, and we’re just 20 yards away.

“It’s just a matter of getting there, not taking a step back and taking a step forward.”

The trio now heads north to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where a JGR car or Harvick has won six straight races since the start of 2015, but Keselowski and Logano swept in 2014.

Posted on by Brad Norman

SPARTA, Ky. — Ryan Blaney’s time in Victory Lane is coming.

He believes it. He can feel it.

Notching his first runner-up finish of the season at Kentucky Speedway, the Team Penske driver jumped five spots from his starting position with key adjustments to his Ford Fusion that helped him make gains throughout the race.

“Obviously at the start of the day, I thought we were OK,” Blaney explained. “I didn’t think we were a second‑place car, and we made our car a lot better throughout the night. I thought we were in a good spot there the last restart, starting fourth, and Martin pinned on the bottom, and couldn’t quite get up next to him to get by him, and that was kind of the race.”

RELATED: Complete Kentucky results

And although a second-place run is a positive step, it’s not a win. Blaney says he’s hungry for more.

“I think we’ve been poised to do it all year to be honest with you,” said Blaney, who has gone more than a year without a win since his breakthrough at Pocono Raceway last season. “I think we have a great team over at the 12 group that work great together, and we’ve had a shot to win a couple of races and just haven’t really played out for us. But I’m pretty confident every weekend. I think we have a group to do it.”

It’s been a tale of the ‘Big Three’ of Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick so far winning 15 of the first 19 races in the season. One would assume frustration would be the obvious reaction by the rest of the drivers in the field, but Blaney is taking a different approach. He sees himself, as well as Team Penske, beginning to close the gap with just seven races left before postseason begins.

“I’m bummed that we didn’t win the race because we were so close to doing it and we had a shot,” said Blaney, currently sits 10th in the points standing. “Whenever in defeat, you’ve got to look at positives. Whether you run second or you crash, you’ve got to look at the positives on the weekend and figure out where you were the best and where you need to get better. We’ll take both of those away from it. … 

“I wouldn’t say we’re frustrated or defeated.  I mean, I might be a little down just because I wanted to win the race, but you go back and you realize that you’ve made gains and you’ve just got to keep making those.”

Posted on by NASCAR Wire Service

SPARTA, Ky. – Martin Truex Jr. made it a clean sweep at Kentucky Speedway this weekend.

After starting from the pole, Truex won all three stages and successfully defended his victory from last year’s Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart.

Truex led 174 laps en route to his fourth win of the season and his 19th career victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

RELATED: Race results | Series standings | Stages recap
SHOP: Truex gear

“What a hell of a night this was,” Truex said. “We try to do this every single week but that just shows you how hard it is. We made it look easy last year, but it certainly wasn’t. Hats off to my guys for sticking with me all year. We’ve really been working hard on these race cars trying to figure them out.”

The No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team figured it out Saturday night. Truex held a 1.901-second advantage over Ryan Blaney at the finish line. Brad Keselowski rallied from an early pit-road penalty to finish third followed by Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Kyle Larson and Joey Logano.

Truex’s Saturday night romp was similar to his 2017 triumph at the Sparta, Kentucky venue. He prevailed in all three stages for the second straight year, started from the front row in both races and posted similar totals in the laps-led category (174 on Saturday night vs. 152 last season).

Entering the weekend, Truex was adamant about the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team picking up additional Playoff points. He did just that by winning the first two stages of the race in dominant fashion. Truex led 51 of the first 80 laps and won the first caution-free segment by .963 seconds over Harvick. The third member of the “Big Three,” Kyle Busch, finished third.

Logano, who pitted on Lap 62, skipped pit road when the lead-lap cars came in for service on Lap 84 to gain the lead. However, it was short-lived as Kurt Busch, who opted for a two-tire stop between stages, muscled past him on the restart. But Truex was back at the point 10 laps later and extended his lead to 1.3-seconds over Kyle Busch for his second stage win of the evening and fifth of the season.

Stage 2 was a bit more eventful, when Alex Bowman, who also took two tires between stages, popped a right-front tire and slammed into the Turn 3 wall. The team was forced to take the No. 88 Chevrolet to the garage after 108 laps. The accident stopped a streak of three-consecutive top-10 finishes for Bowman and ended a DNF-free season.

“We were the last guy that didn’t have any DNF’s – we made it one week farther than everybody else,” said Bowman, who was making his milestone 100th start in NASCAR’s top division. “But it’s a bummer. We popped a right-front (tire) there. Don’t know if a brake rotor caused that or if we just had a tire go down. It’s unfortunate, but we will move on from it and go to the next one.”

Keselowski, who came from two laps down following a pit road speeding penalty in the first stage, battled from 33rd to 15th in Stage 2. A two-tire stop vaulted the No. 2 Team Penske Ford to first to start the final stage on Lap 164.

But as was the case with all of Truex’s other contenders, Keselowski fell to the No. 78 Toyota on Lap 201.

RELATED: Keselowski building toward Playoffs

“Obviously, we wanted to win here at Kentucky,” Keselowski said. “We had a solid run up front, led a bunch of laps there at one point. We really didn’t have anything there for the 78, but we led laps and kept them honest.”

Seven laps later, JJ Yeley hit the wall in Turn 4 to trigger the fourth and final caution. The No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing team called for a two-tire stop and Kurt Busch returned to the lead. But 14 laps later, Truex returned to the lead and held on for his second career Cup win at Kentucky.

Kyle Busch retains a 59-point lead over Harvick in the Cup standings. Truex, who remains third in the standings, trails Harvick by eight points.

Larson had an adventure-filled path to a ninth-place finish in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet. He started at the rear of the field after missing driver introductions, then had a lengthy stop in the final stage to address a track-bar issue.

The series’ next race is the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, scheduled for Sunday, July 22 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Contributing: Staff reports

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 16
3 p.m. : NASCAR 120: “Kentucky,” 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 17
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

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

Wednesday, July 18
4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Eldora Qualifying, FS1
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
7 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Eldora Heat Races, FS1
8:30 p.m.: NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
9 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Eldora Dirt Dirby, FS1
11 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Post Race Show, FS1
11:30 p.m.: NASCAR Race Classic: 1994 Coca-Cola 600, FS1

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 19 
3:30 a.m.: NASCAR Race Classic: 1998 Daytona 500, FS1
4 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Eldora Dirt Derby (re-air), FS1
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
5:30 p.m.: Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Eldora Dirt Derby (re-air), FS2

On MRN
1 p.m.: Throwback Thursday – 1997 CMT 300

Friday, July 20
2:30 a.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1 (re-air)
3:30 a.m.: NASCAR Race Classic: 1994 Coca-Cola 600, FS1 (re-air)
Noon: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, NBCSN (Canada: TSN2)
1 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice, NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
2 p.m.: Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN (re-air)
2:30 p.m.: Racing Roots: “Kyle Larson,” NBCSN
3 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice, NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
4 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
4:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, NBCSN (Canada: TSN2)
6 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN

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

Saturday, July 21
6:30 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Eldora Dirt Derby (re-air), FS1
10 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, CNBC (Canada: TSN2)
11 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, CNBC (Canada: TSN GO)
12 p.m.: NASCAR America NBCSN
12:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBCSN (Canada: TSN2)
3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
4 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Lakes Region 200, NBCSN (Canada: TSN2)

Sunday, July 22
10 a.m.: NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
Noon: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
1 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, NBCSN (Canada: TSN5)
5:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Post Race, NBCSN
6 p.m.: NASCAR Victory Lap, NBCSN

Posted on by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series will all be in action at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this week and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be at Eldora Speedway. Check out the full schedule below, which is subject to change.

Note: All times are ET

MORE: How to find NBCSN 

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Sunday, July 22
Pre-race schedule
11 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver/crew chief meeting
12:05 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver introductions –  MOVED TO 3:50 P.M. ET
12:42:30 p.m.: Canadian Anthem Performed by: Kirk Young
12:44 p.m.: Presentation of Colors by Combined Services Color Guard
12:44:20 p.m.: Invocation by: Pastor John White
12:45 p.m.: National Anthem Performed by: Vanessa Salvucci
12:51:30 p.m.: “Driver’s, Start Your Engines” by Jean Swift, Treasurer of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Counsel

ON TRACK
1 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 (301 laps, 318.46 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN5) (Results) – MOVED TO 4:15 P.M. ET

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
4 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

TRACKSIDE LIVE (Watch live)
9:15 a.m. show

Saturday, July 21
10:05-10:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2) (Results)
11:05 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
12:35-1:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2) (Results)
2 p.m.: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Eastern Oil & Propane 100 (100 laps, 105.8 miles)
4 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Lakes Region 200 (200 laps, 211.6 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2) (Results)
6:45 p.m. NASCAR K&N Pro Series East United Site Services 70 (70 laps, 74.06 miles)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
6:15 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Xfinity Series race

TRACKSIDE LIVE (Watch live)
7:45 p.m. show

Friday, July 20
Noon-12:50 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2) (Results)
1:05-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
3:05-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
4:45 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2) (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
10:45 a.m.: :Joey Logano
11:15 a.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
11:30 a.m.: Kaz Grala, Daniel Hemric and Ryan Truex
11:45 a.m.: Ryan Preece
1:20 p.m.: Denny Hamlin
1:45 p.m.: Kyle Larson
5:45 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying

 

 

ELDORA
Tuesday, July 17
7:05-7:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, No TV (Results)
9:05-9:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, No TV (Results)

Wednesday, July 18
4:45 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS1
7 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying races (Five 10-lap races to set lineup), FS1 (Results)
8:15 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series last chance qualifying race (15 laps), FS1 (Results)
9 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby (150 laps, 75 miles), FS1 (Results)

Posted on by Staff Report

Martin Truex Jr. swept the first two stages at Kentucky Speedway’s Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart, snagging his fifth stage win of the season Saturday night.

Truex Jr. led 118 of the first 160 laps en route to the Stage 2 win.

Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson completed the top five in the stage.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Stage 2 was punctuated by a caution on Lap 109 when the No. 88 Chevrolet of Alex Bowman slammed into the outside wall after suffering a cut right front tire. Damage to the No. 88 was too significant for Bowman to continue.

The 400.5-mile race is scheduled to end on Lap 267.

Finish Driver Team Race Points
1 Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 10
2 Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 9
3 Ryan Blaney  Team Penske 8
4 Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 7
5 Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 6
6 Clint Bowyer  Stewart-Haas Racing 5
7 Kurt Busch  Stewart-Haas Racing 4
8 Joey Logano  Team Penske 3
9 Erik Jones  Joe Gibbs Racing 2
10 Paul Menard  Wood Brothers Racing 1

 

STAGE 1

Pole winner Martin Truex Jr. cruised to his fourth stage win of the season when he led at the conclusion of Stage 1 in Saturday’s Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway.

Truex Jr. led 51 of the first 80 laps, yielding the lead in the stage only after coming in for a green-flag pit stop.

Fellow “Big Three” contenders followed right behind Truex — Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch finishing second and third, respectively, in the stage.

A speeding penalty on a Brad Keselowski pit stop on Lap 42 forced the No. 2 Team Penske Ford to the rear of the field when he had been challenging for the lead midway through the stage. Keselowski finished Stage 1 in 18th.

Kyle Larson, who had qualified 18th, started from the rear after he missed driver introductions. He worked his way all the way up to eighth by the end of Stage 1, however.

RELATED: Larson starts at rear

Finish Driver Team Race Points
1  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 10
2  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 9
3  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 8
4  Ryan Blaney  Team Penske 7
5  Paul Menard  Wood Brothers Racing 6
6  Clint Bowyer  Stewart-Haas Racing 5
7  Daniel Suarez  Joe Gibbs Racing 4
8  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 3
9  Aric Almirola  Stewart-Haas Racing 2
10  Chase Elliott  Hendrick Motorsports 1

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Larson will start from the rear of the field in Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race for missing driver introductions.

RELATED: Kentucky starting lineup

Larson was scheduled to start 18th in the Quaker State 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM), but his Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet will now drop to the rear of the field during pace laps.

Larson, who sits eighth in the Monster Energy Series drivers’ standings, started 40th in last year’s race at Kentucky and rallied to a second-place finish.

Posted on by NASCAR Wire Service

Christopher Bell didn’t have to win the Xfinity Series race at Kentucky Speedway to prove he’s a bona fide racer.

He keeps a list of his race starts and wins on his phone. And since Bell, 23, became “a professional race car driver” in 2013 that number has reached the 450 mark.

“I tally every race I’ve ever ran and what position I’ve finished,” Bell said.

RELATED: Entry list for Eldora Dirt Derby

Bell’s next challenge will come at his favorite race track — Eldora Speedway — where he’ll trade in his helmet for a microphone as part of the FOX Sports broadcast team for the Eldora Dirt Derby.

“Whenever we race on line on iRacing or streamed races over the internet and you have 10 of your buddies watching, you pretend to broadcast, but this will be the first time I’m actually, legitimately, doing it,” Bell said.

“I was super excited months ago when they asked me to do it. But now the date is creeping up on me and my stomach is getting closer and closer to my throat. So I’m getting pretty nervous about it.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Crew chief Chad Knaus will remain at Hendrick Motorsports through at least 2020, he confirmed Saturday at Kentucky Speedway.

The seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief with Jimmie Johnson, whose contract was set to expire at the end of the 2018 season, has signed a two-year to stay with the No. 48 Chevrolet team.

MORE: Rockford roots wrapped around Chad Knaus’ future, past

“We have signed for two more years,” Knaus said. “That lines me up with Jimmie and Jimmie’s contract.  That is nice to be in that same space as him.”

While there were questions surrounding whether or not Knaus would re-up — predominantly because of the longest winless drought of Johnson’s career that the group currently is in — Knaus said not signing was never really a thought.

“No, not really. Obviously, Jimmie and I have a, although going through a bit of a slump right now, we have a great time racing together,” he said. “We have a long relationship and enjoyed everything 48.  So, no not really. It was pretty easy.”

Johnson signed a three-year extension last year. In their 17th season together, Knaus and Johnson are the longest-tenured crew chief-driver duo in the Monster Energy Series garage.

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 Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Kentucky Speedway.

Enjoy!