Heartbreaking finish for Grant Enfinger at Eldora

Posted on July 19, 2018July 19, 2018 by RJ Kraft

ROSSBURG, Ohio – A consolation chat from Eldora Speedway owner and three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart didn’t erase all of the sting from Grant Enfinger’s runner-up by a nose finish in the Eldora Dirt Derby.

Enfinger and Chase Briscoe went side-by-side for nearly the entire final lap with contact coming off of Turn 4 and Briscoe emerging as the winner by 0.038 seconds. Adding additional intrigue, Briscoe and Enfinger were ThorSport teammates for this one with Briscoe making a one-off start in the No. 27 Ford.

“Man, that was close,” Enfinger said when shown the replay by FS1’s Kenny Wallace on pit road. “By a bumper. It’s a shame. It’s a heartbreaker here but really proud of the effort of these guys.”

For his part, the 33-year-old Alabama native said there is not much if anything he would have changed about how he approached those last two laps.

“I feel like we had the position on him,” Enfinger said. “We really had equal trucks. Thought I had the spot on him in (Turns) 3 and 4. He kind of used us up down there but it wasn’t nothing dirty. It was the same thing I would have done to him when it’s the last lap at Eldora for a really, really big race.

“… Hindsight is 20-20. I feel like I kind of nailed the restart getting up. Feel like I had the preferred line in the middle of the track. he had the preferred line on exit. I think I was going to beat him coming to the line and he just kind of swiped us a bit.”

Briscoe enjoyed racing against his teammate in the NASCAR Overtime finish and knew that Enfinger would be stiff competition on the final restart since he rarely spins his tires.

“Me and Grant ran like an inch apart from each other without touching for a lap and seventh-eighths,” Briscoe said. “Coming to the line I knew if I didn’t go all the way to the top, I probably wasn’t going to win.

“It wouldn’t have been right for me or Grant, I don’t think, if I had lifted and raced him differently. We both did it clean and I definitely didn’t want to have contact with him.”

The runner-up result was Enfinger’s best finish of 2018 and his third straight top-eight finish. That leaves Enfinger fourth in the standings and one of three winless drivers in the provisional playoff field with three races to go in the regular season. He has a 120-point lead on the first driver sitting on the outside of the playoff field (teammate Myatt Snider). Yet, Enfinger is taking nothing for granted.

“I don’t think we are solid at all,” Enfinger said of his playoff positioning leaving Eldora. “I want a win for this 98 team to lock us in. Yeah, it was a good points night but with three races left anything can happen.”

Posted on July 18, 2018July 19, 2018 by Staff Report

ROSSBURG, Ohio – Coming to the finish in Wednesday night’s Eldora Dirt Derby, you didn’t know who was going to win.

With dirt slinging, doors banging and the checkered flag waving, Chase Briscoe edged ThorSport Racing teammate Grant Enfinger to earn his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) victory in the sixth annual race at the historic Eldora Speedway.

In a one-off race with ThorSport, Briscoe, on newer tires, took advantage of a Lap 145 restart to pass leader and Toyota Racing Development protégé Logan Seavey, but the event’s final caution within three laps of the finish set the tone for the exciting finish in NASCAR overtime.

For Briscoe, a Ford Performance development driver, it was his second straight win after earning his first career victory last November in the Truck Series season finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway with Brad Keselowski Racing.

“I know (Enfinger) is running for a championship and he’s our teammate,” said Briscoe. “I wasn’t going to wear him out. I wasn’t going to just wreck him for the win. We rubbed, and I definitely let it float on the way to the wall and I’m sorry for that, it’s not how I race.

“I’m so thankful that Ford allowed me to do this race. I was begging them about three weeks ago to let me do it and it came together at the last minute. It’s awesome to be in Victory Lane.”

Spending much of his childhood in the grandstands of Eldora watching his grandfather compete, Briscoe became emotional talking about the significance of winning in his second Eldora Truck Series start.

“It just means so much to win Eldora,” Briscoe said. “I was growing up as a dirt guy. My grandpa won here, and this is our Daytona for dirt guys. This win is for all the dirt guys out there who don’t get a shot. Tonight proves a dirt guy can do it at this level.”

After the race, Enfinger said if the roles were reversed, he would raced Briscoe the same way.

“I feel like we had a position on him, we were pretty good right there,” said Enfinger. “He used me up and I was going for it, he didn’t do anything dirty, it was just the last lap for a really, really big race.

MORE: Briscoe follows in grandfather’s footsteps | Enfinger has no hard feelings for Briscoe

“I really wish we could have gotten a win. I’m glad Duke and Ronda Thorson got a win, I really wish it could have been this No. 98 team. Man, that close. It’s a shame. A heartbreaker here, but I’m really proud of the effort here.”

Dirt stalwart Stewart Friesen recovered from a Lap 28 spin to finish third while defending Eldora winner Matt Crafton took fourth and three-time NCWTS winner this season Brett Moffitt rounded out the top-five.

Noah Gragson earning his spot into the field through the last-chance-qualifier finished sixth, John Hunter Nemechek claimed seventh, while Seavey who led 53 laps in his debut slipped to eighth on older tires.

“I’m not sure there was much I could’ve done there,” said Seavey. “Right at the beginning of that second stage, you could kind of feel the track was getting a little abrasive and maybe taking a little rubber off the tires. My truck gained a lot of grip there in the second stage and I just slowed down because I knew everybody was going to take tires and I had already taken mine.

“I assumed I had to try to take as much as I could, but at the end of the day, you know we had 50 more laps and I think just overheating the tires and got kind of eaten up there those last couple restarts.

“Overall, (the) experience was as good as I think it could’ve gone without those last couple cautions there at the end.”

Posted on July 18, 2018July 19, 2018 by Zack Albert

Defending Monster Energy Series champion Martin Truex Jr. was announced Wednesday as the winner of the Best Driver category at the annual ESPY Awards.

Truex was the top vote-getter in fan balloting conducted by ESPN. The other nominees were Brittany Force (NHRA), last year’s winner Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1) and Josef Newgarden (IndyCar).

MORE: All-time NASCAR ESPY winners

Truex’s win marked the third time in the last four years that a NASCAR driver has won the award. Kyle Busch (2016) and Kevin Harvick (2015) were each honored for their championship seasons the previous year.

“It’s an honor to receive the ESPY for Best Driver,” Truex Jr. said in a press release. “2017 was an amazing year, and I still have to pinch myself to believe it turned out the way it did. Congratulations to all the other nominees on their great seasons last year and thanks to all the fans who voted for me.”

NASCAR drivers have prevailed in the category 17 times in the 26 years since the ESPYs debuted. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson top the list of all-time winners with four Best Driver awards each.

Former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick hosted the event. Patrick, a regular attendee in previous editions of the sports gala, became the first woman to host the ESPYs since it began in 1993. She retired from motorsports after participating in the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 this season.

Posted on July 18, 2018July 19, 2018 by Staff Report

All four Stewart-Haas racing pit crew rosters will see changes for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), a team spokesperson confirmed for NASCAR.com.

During last weekend’s Monster Energy Series race at Kentucky Speedway, Clint Bowyer had a strong No. 14 Ford but expressed frustration over the team’s radio that they couldn’t hold position during pit stops. He finished 12th in the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart.

Bowyer and teammate Kevin Harvick have qualified for the 2018 NASCAR Playoffs win wins. Kurt Busch is 9th in the playoffs standings and Aric Almirola sits 13th entering New Hampshire.

The changes, as first reported by NBC Sports’ Dustin Long:

— Shayne Pipala to No. 4 front tire changer, replacing Eric Maycroft. Maycroft moves to Michael McDowell’s No. 34 team.

–Ira Jo Hussey to No. 14 front tire changer, replacing Daniel Coffey.

–Matt Holzbauer to No. 14 tire carrier, replacing Josh Sobecki.

–Coffey to No. 10 front tire changer, replacing Ryan Mulder.

–Mulder to No. 41 front tire changer, replacing Pipala.

Stewart-Haas Racing provides the pit crew for the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team. Holzbauer comes over to the No. 14 team from the No. 34 team.

Posted on July 18, 2018June 22, 2021 by @KESELOWSKI

Alex Bowman unveiled a special paint scheme featuring Nationwide Children’s Hospital on Wednesday via “NASCAR America” from the Hendrick Motorsports campus in Concord, North Carolina.

Photo credit: Hendrick Motorsports

The 25-year-old driver will run the scheme at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 5. Nationwide, a longtime partner of Hendrick Motorsports, donated the scheme to the hospital, using its signature butterflies in the design. The goal behind the scheme was to drive awareness, bring recognition and raise funds for the hospital, which Nationwide has supported for 60 years. Nationwide’s sports platforms have raised more than $27 million for the children’s facility since 2011.

Ashzyia Jackson, a patient at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, was on hand for the unveiling with Bowman. Fellow Patient Champion Bicen Thall will attend the race at Watkins Glen, and his name will be featured above the door of the special No. 88 Chevrolet.

Jackson with Bowman (Photo credit: Hendrick Motorsports)

While this marks his first year piloting the No. 88 full time, Bowman was the first driver to pilot a Nationwide Children’s Hospital scheme as it adorned his No. 99 Xfinity Series ride at Mid-Ohio in 2013. He has since visited the hospital twice and is expected to go again before the scheme’s debut at The Glen.

The No. 88 team has a longstanding relationship with the hospital, extending back to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s tenure behind the wheel. Earnhardt made several visits to the hospital over the years, and piloted special schemes honoring the hospital throughout the final years of his racing career. The Dale & Amy Earnhardt room was dedicated to the driver and his wife in 2016, and the couple established the Dale and Amy Earnhardt Fund a year later as a way for Earnhardt to continue his work with the hospital after his retirement.

To learn more about the hospital, please visit: www.nationwidechildrens.org.

Posted on July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 by Staff Report

Eldora is unique in both racing surface and format, especially when it comes to setting the starting lineup.

Single truck qualifying determines the official pole winner, but it doesn’t determine the rest of the starting order for the race. It simply sets the lineups of the ensuing five qualifying races. The finishing order from those events plus a Last Chance Qualifying Race and entries that get in on owner points sets the final order for the 32-truck field that races at 9 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).

Follow along with us here. We’ll continually update results from the qualifying results and update the starting lineup, found at the bottom of this article.

RELATED: Qualifying results

QUALIFYING RACE 1: RESULTS

POSITION	TRUCK NO.	DRIVER
1	41	Ben Rhodes
2	99	Sheldon Creed
3	22	Austin Self
4	80	Justin Shipley
5	02	Austin Hill
6	8	John Hunter Nemechek
7	33	Braden Mitchell
8	0	Ray Ciccarelli

QUALIFYING RACE 2: RESULTS

POSITION	TRUCK NO.	DRIVER
1	4	Todd Gilliland
2	51	Logan Seavey
3	16	Brett Moffitt
4	38	Max McLaughlin
5	12	Ty Dillon
6	97	Ray Otto Jr.
7	25	Dalton Sargeant
8	20	Tanner Thorson

QUALIFYING RACE 3: RESULTS

POSITION	TRUCK NO.	DRIVER
1	27	Chase Briscoe
2	54	Chris Windom
3	17	Tyler Dippel
4	6	Norm Benning
5	63	Kyle Strickler
6	18	Noah Gragson
7	49	Wendell Chavous
8	10	Jennifer Jo Cobb

QUALIFYING RACE 4: RESULTS

POSITION	TRUCK NO.	DRIVER
1	88	Matt Crafton
2	98	Grant Enfinger
3	83	Nick Hoffman
4	24	Justin Haley
5	2	Cody Coughlin
6	21	Johnny Sauter
7	50	Mike Harmon
8	74	Trevor Collins

QUALIFYING RACE 5: RESULTS

POSITION	TRUCK NO.	DRIVER
1	52	Stewart Friesen
2	3	Ryan Newman
3	13	Myatt Snider
4	15	JR Heffner
5	34	Jeffrey Abbey
6	45	Justin Fontaine
7	03	John Provenzano

LAST CHANCE QUALIFYING RACE: RESULTS

POSITION	TRUCK NO.	DRIVER	ADVANCE TO RACE?
1	8	John Hunter Nemechek	Yes
2	18	Noah Gragson	Yes
3	20	Tanner Thorson	Yes (owner points)
4	21	Johnny Sauter	Yes (owner points)
5	45	Justin Fontaine	Yes (owner points)
6	49	Wendell Chavous	Yes (owner points)
7	25	Dalton Sargeant	Yes (owner points)
8	33	Braden Mitchell	No
9	10	Jennifer Jo Cobb	No
10	74	Trevor Collins	No
11	97	Ray Otto Jr.	No
12	0	Ray Ciccarelli	No
13	50	Mike Harmon	No
14	03	John Provenzano	No

FULL STARTING LINEUP

STARTING SPOT	TRUCK NO.	DRIVER	HOW DETERMINED
1	41	Ben Rhodes	Top finisher in Qualifying Race #1
2	4	Todd Gilliland	Top finisher in Qualifying Race #2
3	27	Chase Briscoe	Top finisher in Qualifying Race #3
4	88	Matt Crafton	Top finisher in Qualifying Race #4
5	52	Stewart Friesen	Top finisher in Qualifying Race #5
6	99	Sheldon Creed	Second finisher in Qualifying Race #1
7	51	Logan Seavey	Second finisher in Qualifying Race #2
8	54	Chris Windom	Second finisher in Qualifying Race #3
9	98	Grant Enfinger	Second finisher in Qualifying Race #4
10	3	Ryan Newman	Second finisher in Qualifying Race #5
11	22	Austin Self	Third finisher in Qualifying Race #1
12	16	Brett Moffitt	Third finisher in Qualifying Race #2
13	17	Tyler Dippel	Third finisher in Qualifying Race #3
14	83	Nick Hoffman	Third finisher in Qualifying Race #4
15	13	Myatt Snider	Third finisher in Qualifying Race #5
16	80	Justin Shipley	Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #1
17	38	Max McLaughlin	Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #2
18	6	Norm Benning	Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #3
19	24	Justin Haley	Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #4
20	15	JR Heffner	Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #5
21	02	Austin Hill	Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #1
22	12	Ty Dillon	Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #2
23	63	Kyle Strickler	Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #3
24	2	Cody Coughlin	Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #4
25	34	Jeffrey Abbey	Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #5
26	8	John Hunter Nemechek	Top finisher in Last Chance
27	18	Noah Gragson	Second finisher in Last Chance
28	20	Tanner Thorson	Owner points
29	21	Johnny Sauter	Owner points
30	45	Justin Fontaine	Owner points
31	49	Wendell Chavous	Owner points
32	25	Dalton Sargeant	Owner points

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Staff Report

A selection of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers took on testing Tuesday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, gaining speed on the 2.28-mile circuit in the afternoon session.

RELATED: Scenes from Charlotte testing

Kyle Busch led the way overall with a best lap of 106.8 mph in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota. Aric Almirola and Joey Logano tied for the top spot in the morning session, just ahead of Busch as the group prepared for the first Bank of America Roval 400 on Sept. 30.

Chris Buescher was among the 14 drivers participating in the second test date, driving the Chevrolet wheel-force car. His lap times (not listed) were significantly slower in the special vehicle, which was equipped with extra data collection devices.

MORNING SESSION

Pos.	Car	Driver	Speed (mph)
t-1	10	Aric Almirola	105.4
t-1	22	Joey Logano	105.4
3	18	Kyle Busch	105.3
4	14	Clint Bowyer	105.1
5	47	AJ Allmendinger	105.0
6	6	Trevor Bayne	104.9
7	88	Alex Bowman	104.8
8	12	Ryan Blaney	104.6
9	24	William Byron	104.2
10	20	Erik Jones	104.1
11	1	Jamie McMurray	104.0
12	3	Austin Dillon	103.9
13	13	Ty Dillon	102.2

AFTERNOON SESSION

Pos.	Car	Driver	Speed (mph)
1	18	Kyle Busch	106.8
2	22	Joey Logano	106.5
3	47	AJ Allmendinger	106.1
4	14	Clint Bowyer	106.0
4	12	Ryan Blaney	106.0
6	10	Aric Almirola	105.8
7	1	Jamie McMurray	105.7
8	24	William Byron	105.4
9	88	Alex Bowman	105.2
10	20	Erik Jones	105.0
11	13	Ty Dillon	104.9
12	3	Austin Dillon	104.8
13	6	Trevor Bayne	104.2

Posted on July 18, 2018 by @nascarcasm and Steve Luvender

What is your favorite thing to do on Twitter?

You’re probably saying to yourself, “Correcting people’s grammar in order to give myself an air of superiority.” The correct answer should have been, “Searching for old, bizarre tweets from NASCAR drivers.”

Oh, there are some great ones.

You see, like you and I, drivers had to learn Twitter, and the learning process provided some really good, head-scratching tweets. That’s why we’ve decided to offer you a chance to sift through them yourself.

Introducing the NASCAR Twitter Advanced Search Scavenger Hunt. It’s very simple.

• Access Twitter’s advanced search feature here -> https://twitter.com/search-advanced

• Using the various search fields, see if you can track down the following tweets

Find a tweet that covers each of the following:

• A one-word tweet from any driver

• A tweet from a driver that did not age well

• A tweet from a young driver experiencing issues in the airplane restroom due to turbulence

• An old tweet from Landon Cassill where he sounds especially emo

• A tweet from a driver complaining about his wife’s snoring

• A tweet from a now part-time driver throwing vicious shade at a certain football team from Chicago

• A tweet with a picture taken from inside the race car that isn’t from Brad Keselowski

• A tweet from a young driver that screams “I AM A MILLENNIAL”

• A tweet from a driver that is badly ratio’d

• A tweet from a driver that literally makes no sense whatsoever

• A tweet that was obviously sent by their PR person but not marked with “-PR”

• Obvious pocket tweet that was never deleted

• A tweet where a driver is humblebragging about backstage passes or some other form of VIP treatment

• A tweet where the driver is desperately asking followers for some form of technical support

• A tweet from Dale Jr. that is more than one day old that has fewer than 500 likes.

Once you find them, take a screenshot and send them to us on Twitter.

Follow @nascarcasm Follow @steveluvender

Happy searching!

Posted on July 18, 2018 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 go to 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.

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

Driver	Average Running Position
Chase Elliott	9.946
Denny Hamlin	10.794
Brad Keselowski	11.064
Jimmie Johnson	11.091
Kevin Harvick	11.322

Top five in stage points earned at New Hampshire in 2017:

Driver	Stage points	Stage wins
Kyle Busch	34	2
Martin Truex Jr.	30	2
Matt Kenseth	27	0
Kyle Larson	25	0
Denny Hamlin	15	0

Top five in points earned in last two races at New Hampshire:

Driver	Race points	Race wins
Kyle Busch	99	1
Martin Truex Jr.	96	0
Kyle Larson	95	0
Matt Kenseth	94	0
Denny Hamlin	81	1

Most laps led in last two races at New Hampshire:

Driver	Laps led
Kyle Busch	282
Martin Truex Jr.	249
Denny Hamlin	54

Average starting position for last 10 winners: 9.9; three of the last five winners have started outside the top 12

Active drivers to win pole: Ryan Newman (7), Brad Keselowski (3), Kyle Busch (3), Clint Bowyer (1), Kevin Harvick (1), Martin Truex Jr. (1) and Jimmie Johnson (1)

Active drivers to win at New Hampshire: Ryan Newman (3), Kyle Busch (3), Kurt Busch (3), Jimmie Johnson (3), Denny Hamlin (3), Matt Kenseth (3), Kevin Harvick (2), Joey Logano (2), Clint Bowyer (2), Kasey Kahne (1) and Brad Keselowski (1)

Most recent pole winner: Kyle Busch, September of 2017

Last time pole-sitter won here: Kyle Busch, September of 2017

Where stage winners started from: First (twice), fifth, seventh

Winning manufacturers of last 10 races: Toyota-7, Ford-2, Chevrolet-1

Posted on July 17, 2018July 17, 2018 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