Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR announced this offseason it will standardize at-track team rosters across all three national series in 2018, providing a structure for the number of personnel working on each vehicle during the course of a race weekend.

Official team rosters for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) have been released. Click the print icon above, or the link below.

ROSTERS: Chicagoland race

RELATED: Overview of 2018 rules updates

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – JR Motorsports announced today a multi-year agreement with driver Michael Annett and partner Pilot Flying J that will return the pairing to the team’s 2019 lineup. With the renewal of Annett and Pilot Flying J, the largest operator of travel centers in North America, the announcement puts JRM on pace to compete with four full-time teams next season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, Pilot Flying J has more than 750 retail locations. The company enters its third year of partnership with JRM next season and its 11th year backing Annett. Pilot Flying J has supported Annett since he first emerged on the NASCAR national stage in 2008. 

“We’ve watched our partnership with Pilot Flying J grow over the past two seasons,” said Kelley Earnhardt Miller, general manager of JR Motorsports. “This renewal gives us the ability to continue to build that relationship. Both Pilot Flying J and Michael were integral in our expansion to four full-time teams last season, and they’ll continue as such as we plan for the team’s future. They’ve made a strong commitment to JRM and this sport.”

Annett, a 32-year-old native of Des Moines, Iowa, is currently in his second season driving the No. 5 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet for JRM. The team’s 2017 success was highlighted by a berth in the NXS playoffs during Annett’s first year with the team.

“Pilot Flying J is excited to continue our long-standing relationship with Michael,” said Ken Parent, president of Pilot Flying J. “We are excited to see where he will finish this year. We look forward to working with JRM and wish Michael the best of luck and success in the 2019 season.”

Annett earned a career-best finish of fifth in the championship standings in 2012. His career totals in NXS competition include 41 top-10 finishes and a ninth-place effort in points with JRM last season.

“JR Motorsports has been a great fit for me and I’m thankful to continue my relationship with them and my longtime sponsor Pilot Flying J,” said Annett. “I have tremendous support with the No. 5 team, my teammates and the entire staff over there. It’s very much a family atmosphere and they have everything it takes to be successful at this level.”

Additional details surrounding crew duties on the No. 5 Pilot Flying J team will be announced at a later date.

Posted on by Kathy Sheldon

Kyle Larson and fellow Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers are helping to honor military spouses as part of the NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola program, and he recently interviewed Brian Alvarado, the Armed Forces Insurance 2018 Navy Military Spouse of the Year.

“Being a Navy spouse is truly the honor of my life, but it does come with its challenges,” Alvarado told Larson. “But I say all the time that we have the toughest sailors in the world and the strongest families at home, and that’s something to be really prideful of.”

Alvarado’s platform as Military Spouse of the Year focuses on employment.

“This platform has given me the unique opportunity to work directly with military spouses to improve the unemployment rate and remove the stigma associated with being military spouses in the employment space,” Alvarado says.

On behalf of Brian, NASCAR & Coca-Cola will donate to USO programming that supports and strengthens military spouses, like the USO Pathfinder Program.

The USO Pathfinder program helps service members and military spouses as they transition from military service. Pathfinder Scouts provide support in employment, education, veterans benefits, financial readiness, housing, legal, family strength and wellness and volunteerism.

He says getting into the tight circle of a military community can be uplifting, but it means a lot to get out to NASCAR races and see people outside of that community show appreciation.

“Honoring the military to me is important,” Larson said. “I don’t think you can show enough support to them.”

From the Memorial Day weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 through the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers are honoring a military spouse each week as part of the USO’s Salute to Military Spouses. Click here to see Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Ryan Newman’s interviews with servicemembers’ spouses, and stay tuned for upcoming interviews with Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace.

Posted on by David Smith

Based on average finish, Chicagoland Speedway is Chase Elliott’s best race track. While his second- and third-place results in two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts may inspire optimism in the 22-year-old driver’s chances at winning there this weekend, he’ll need the 400-mile contest to break a specific and perhaps unlikely way to contend for his first series victory.

It’s certainly possible for Elliott to emerge the winner, but it’s easier said than done as his bid for the checkers begins with a diminished dependence on the single attribute that matters most in racing.

Elliott doesn’t have elite speed

An issue plaguing all of Hendrick Motorsports is the lack of elite speed. Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet is the fastest of the organization’s four cars, but it ranks just 11th in Central Speed through last week’s race at Sonoma. Tracks like Chicagoland, a 1.5-mile venue with moderate banking, have rewarded the fastest cars with a 1-to-1 correlation between speed and winning dating back to last year. Martin Truex, Jr. won all six races on moderate intermediates in 2017 while having the fastest overall car in the series; Kevin Harvick, utilizing the fastest car for all of 2018, has won two of two this season.

PHOTOS: Chase Elliott through the years

Elliott’s speed deficit presents two problems. First, it’ll be difficult for him to track down Harvick, Kyle Busch and the other speedsters in a straightforward race, barring an unforeseen advancement in Hendrick’s aero design. Second, Elliott’s greatest strength, his long-run passing ability, will be neutralized in the event long green-flag runs dominate the proceedings. While a race with few cautions would allow Elliott ample time to carve through traffic — he’s accumulated 54 positions on such runs at non-restrictor plate tracks this season — it’d also allow the faster cars, likely in clean air, to drive away from him.

What’s a driver to do when his strength is rendered irrelevant?

Pit now!

Chicagoland’s weathered surface is so rough on tires that grip quickly diminishes and lap times swell by nearly 2 seconds on natural green-flag runs. This makes short-pitting — pitting laps in advance of cars higher in the running order — an amenable strategy to those crew chiefs willing to stop early in the pit window.

RELATED: Tire, surface play pivotal role

Alan Gustafson, Elliott’s crew chief, has retained his driver’s running position on 77.78 percent of green-flag pit cycles this season, an above average-rate among all crew chiefs. This yielded 63 additional spots on the track for Elliott, the fourth-biggest net positional gain from green-flag stops. While Gustafson’s pit strategy has provided a positive output, he still may need to step outside his comfort zone in order to overtake those running ahead of the No. 9 car Sunday.

Chase Elliott pits at Sonoma
Chase Elliott’s best shot at winning Sunday may be through a differing pit strategy. Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

Nearly 89 percent of Elliott’s green-flag stops can be described as “conservatively timed,” having come when pit road was at its most populated within a cycle; the series average for crew chiefs pitting conservatively is 75 percent. Less than 4 percent of Elliott’s stops were done using a short-pitting strategy, the ideal game plan for those seeking giant leaps of track position at Chicagoland. In order to get around the likes of Harvick, who retains top-five running positions on more than 63 percent of green-flag stops, Gustafson will have to reference a seldom-used page from his playbook.

In the instance his crew chief remains conservative, there’s one other likely way for Elliott to emerge the victor.

Chaos equals restarts and restarts equal chaos

Based on recent history — 4.3 restarts per race dating back to 2015’s event — long green-flag runs rule at Chicagoland, meaning its races don’t elicit many restarts. That’s bad news for Elliott.

In prior years, Elliott had a faster car at his disposal and in 2017 he ranked as a top-five position defender in each restart groove. Neither of those high marks is in place this year, as Elliott is suffering through a 28 percent decrease in total restart position retention. Still, he scored four positions on two preferred groove restart attempts in last year’s Chicagoland race — perhaps his affinity for the track supersedes his yearlong dip — and lane assignment could fall in his favor.

MORE: This week’s paint schemes

In 2017, occupants in Chicagoland’s outside groove retained their positions on 89 percent of restarts from inside the first seven rows, while those in the inside groove did so 32 percent of the time. If Elliott ever finds himself in an even-numbered running position prior to a restart, that fortunate placement provides the ideal opportunity to score track position that may otherwise elude him, setting the tone for the rest of his race.

A caution-filled race, atypical but still possible, could allow for a large number of such opportunities, helping level the playing field for Elliott, a seemingly excellent Chicagoland driver in need of a non-traditional pathway to victory.

David Smith is the Founder of MotorsportsAnalytics.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidSmithMA.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

The moment is nearly here. In a matter of hours, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be covering his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race for NBC Sports from Chicagoland Speedway as an official analyst.

Earnhardt boarded a plane Thursday morning en route for the race weekend in Chicago with his new teammates — lead commentator Rick Allen, analysts Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton.

PHOTOS: Dale Jr. through the years

Sporting a throwback Richard and Kyle Petty T-shirt, it’s go time for the 15-time Most Popular Driver.

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“I’m excited to finally be at the race track with my teammates and getting ready to go to work,” Earnhardt said in a Thursday afternoon teleconference. “I’m just watching these guys and following them around to see how they prepare and what all goes into the days leading up to the race itself. It’s been extremely educational.”

RELATED: Dale Jr.’s return to the track to bring candid, insightful analysis

Earnhardt’s exact role on the NBC Sports broadcast has yet to be detailed in full, but it sounds like fans are in for a treat.

“We have the multi-option offense,” said Sam Flood, NBC Sports Group Executive Producer. “We have different booths with different tracks. We’re putting people in positions to make it fun for the audience and give the most insight. We have five different styles of booths and we’ll roll them out and we’ll let you know each week what we plan to do.”

Earnhardt’s first directive from Flood in his rookie broadcasting year is simple, but also one that’s hard to believe.

“The best part about it is Sam Flood says just be yourself,” Earnhardt said. “I keep asking him if that’s really what he wants because that sounds a little bit too good to be true, and a little bit too easy. But, that’s what they expect out of you.

“That should be very fun to just get up there and watch races and react,” he added. “All the guys in the booth are such huge fans of what we’re seeing, it’s going to be a lot of fun just doing that. Sitting around talking about what’s happening on the race track. I’m excited to learn a lot and get to know my teammates even better.”

RELATED: Junior’s Wrangler commentating commercial

Earnhardt participated in countless hours of practice with Allen, Letarte and Burton in a radio booth at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, earlier in the year, along with another mock broadcast from a suite during May’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“I was really nervous about going into it cold turkey without a whole lot of experience, so it gave me a lot of peace of mind and it allowed me to build a little bit of rapport with Jeff and Rick because we’re going to need that kind of chemistry,” Earnhardt said. “It was really helpful for me.

“I still got the job, so obviously NBC is pretty happy with what they heard in our practice runs,” he added jokingly. “I got a lot of great feedback and was able to adjust on the fly. It was cool.”

Now, it’s time for Earnhardt to experience the real deal.

“We’ve been talking about it for a long time,” Earnhardt said. “We’ve been practicing and here it is. It’s time to get to work. We’re going to have a great first weekend to kick off the next several trips to the race track. It’s going to be an awesome run all the way to Homestead.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Chicagoland Speedway’s place on the NASCAR schedule moved from September to July this year, giving a marquee event to kick off the NBC portion of the TV slate.

The hot temperatures and track conditions that should equate to a wild show Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) are simply a bonus.

Old asphalt plus July sun typically equals a slick track, and drivers such as Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson think the combination is a winning one.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule

“I think it’s a good change,” Larson said, when asked about Chicago’s race moving to July. “I think the hotter weather will always make any race better because we will be sliding around and stuff like that.

“As far as the style of racing, the track should hopefully be hotter and slicker. I always feel like that first Playoff race (previously at Chicago), people are just trying not to make mistakes. I feel like there is a lot of give and take at that race. I think the racing will be more intense even than it was.”

Count Kevin Harvick among those who agree with Larson, and the five-time winner in 2018 may have additional reasons he’s pleased with the new date.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver and 2014 series champion has won two races at the 1.5-mile track, both when the race was in July — his first two starts at the facility in 2001 and 2002.

“It has been awhile since I have been to Chicago in the middle of July,” Harvick said. “That race track in particular, the asphalt is really worn out and you add some high temperatures to go with it and it should be a really fun race with the cars sliding around.”

MORE: New paint schemes

The final piece to this racing puzzle is the Goodyear tire selection. Given the tire choice and Chicago’s old surface, a full fuel run will see more than two seconds of tire fall-off, according to Goodyear officials, which tested at Chicagoland last year.

A new left-side tire, the same one run at Auto Club Speedway, will make its Chicago debut as well.

“The track surface at Chicagoland has really weathered over the past several seasons, and as a result we see a good amount of wear and fall-off,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “That, with the tire combination we bring, helps promote some good racing with tire management coming into play.”

Posted on by

Jimmie Johnson knows all athletes — no matter the talent level or number of trophies on the shelf – will reach the end of their careers one day.

He also knows that as the No. 48 team searches to rediscover its once-upon-a-time dominance, people have been speculating that maybe he’s done. That maybe, at 42 years old, he doesn’t have what it takes to compete at NASCAR’s top level anymore.

But sitting atop a hill overlooking scenic Sonoma Raceway, his demeanor as relaxed as ever, the seven-time champion said he doesn’t believe his time has come. Not yet.

“Some want to think that my time has come and passed – and it happens for all athletes,” Johnson told NASCAR.com. “And that could be the case, time will tell. In my heart, I don’t believe that’s the case. I’ve never been more focused, dedicated than I’ve ever been and having a sense and feel of the race car. I’ve always loved challenges and I look forward to proving that aspect of it wrong and it’s just a journey.”

RELATED: All of Johnson’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins

With seven championships and 83 wins, Johnson’s lustrous career has led the industry to view his 39-race winless slump under a microscope. The three races he did win in 2017 and his accompanying playoff berth (which he’s made every year since the format’s inception) have been quickly forgotten. Just two years ago, he and the No. 48 team were celebrating their record-tying seventh Monster Energy Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

For most drivers, 39 races would be more of a hiccup than a signal of a dwindling career — but Johnson’s success has made his standard different.

At beginning of the year, crew chief Chad Knaus said his driver had “recommitted” himself to the No. 48 team. It’s something Johnson does each season, but was more publicized this season with the team’s ongoing struggles.

“Every year I kind have that journey in the offseason, figure out what I can do differently,” Johnson said. “And it was largely around just creating a locker room. It’s easy to have that locker-room environment when you have success and everybody’s high-fiving and all the fun’s taking place and you’re winning. But last year was a tough year and this one’s turned out to be a tough one so far. To keep that locker room and the energy, to keep the energy in a space where people still stay creative … that’s just something that I felt like I haven’t done well or haven’t done my part as a team leader, to create that environment in tough times. So, I got really focused on it over the offseason. …

“I don’t need to prove myself,” he said later. “I know that much. And I think folks that would say that, I have no chance of making a fan — they’ve never been a fan, so they’re never going to be a fan.”

RELATED: Jimmie Johnson through the years

While a seven-time champion doesn’t have to prove anything, he does have to field the questions from fans, media and everyone in between. Because there’s still a sense of inquiry that comes when an immensely successful athlete like Johnson doesn’t look like Superman anymore.

It’s happening to a degree with Tom Brady. It happened with Michael Jordan. And it will continue to happen with Johnson — until he wins again.

“I’m trying also to be very aware of the success that I’ve had; it’s been a hell of a run, it really has,” Johnson acknowledged. “I don’t expect any sympathy from anyone out there because we’re going through a tough spot. It’s up to me and it’s up to this race team to dig in and make ourselves better and more competitive. I’m very much in that space and love a good challenge.”

There’s another challenge off the track, too, though. With today’s prevalence of social media, the ability to shield themselves from harsh media coverage and fan criticism has become harder for athletes. Many years ago, Johnson learned an important lesson in that area from the NASCAR Hall of Famer who helped launch his career, Jeff Gordon.

“If you look for your validation through media in all forms – social media, outside media, sports media – that’s a lonely road,” Johnson said.  “And Jeff Gordon, that’s one of the many lessons he taught me in the beginning, is like, ‘You know what’s going on with your team in the walls of your team and just stay focused on that. Don’t let the outside influence that.’ He told it to me at a point in time when I had just won my first race and all this good stuff going on. And he also said, ‘If you’re going to read all the good and listen to all the good, you’ve got to take the bad.’ So, his decision was not look at anything, not read anything and just stay neutral. So, I have adopted that same thing.

“This is pre-Twitter and all the other social (media) forms. It’s hard not to see that and to identify with it or talk to it or whatever goes with it. But the way I deal with it is knowing what we do week in and week out and how the shop’s preparing, what my team’s doing, that’s really what it comes from.”

MORE: Where does Johnson rank in this week’s Power Rankings?

He also has to answer questions from another, inquisitive source: his 7-year-old daughter Evie, whom Johnson said hadn’t been hyper-aware of his career wins or losses until recently.

“I really feel this year with the age of Evie that she’s more engaged, more aware,” Johnson said. “And it’s led to a lot of different questions. We’re trying to teach her how to carry herself the right way, to handle things the right way. I can hear my voice speaking to her at times when I’m dealing with things that are tough. It’s been an interesting kind of check for myself that I didn’t see coming.”

In teaching Evie how to carry herself, Johnson is also learning how to be patient. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is accustomed to going to tracks each week with the intention – the expectation – of putting the No. 48 in Victory Lane.

Expectations have to temper now and that’s hard for a competitive person like Johnson. The team made strides with a top five at Charlotte Motor Speedway and then took “three steps back” with a 20th-place effort at Michigan International Speedway, where Johnson said they just didn’t have the car they needed throughout the entire weekend. He most-recently finished 11th at Sonoma Raceway, the first road course of the season.

RELATED: Johnson’s season to date and career statistics

“We’re getting stronger and we’re trying to stay patient with it,” he said. “It’s tough to go to your best tracks and pull out a third or a fifth when you show up for years walking through the gates like, ‘We could take a trophy out of here today.’ So, that’s been a reset for me, especially my Cup career; look at my Busch career and other levels or racing, I’ve had tough points along the way.

“So, I’m being reminded of that and just digging in deeper. Figuring out how I can be a better teammate. In some respects, I just need to be patient and let the team and the organization, let Hendrick Motorsports grow and get stronger.

“It’s not ideal right now, but I’ve been doing this long enough to know that it comes in cycles. And I am just eagerly awaiting for our cycle to be back on top.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

The Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award, which recognizes outstanding philanthropic contributions within NASCAR racing, is without doubt a case of the rising tide lifting all boats.

Not only do the Comcast monetary awards enhance significantly the charitable works accomplished by NASCAR drivers, teams and their foundations, but they also heighten awareness of the multifaceted philanthropic enterprises that find their roots in racing.

Nominations for the 2018 Comcast Community Champion of the Year close on July 2, offering race fans and industry stakeholders a chance to highlight charities doing exceptional work within the community. Nominations of deserving charities can be made via ComcastCommunityChampion.com.

Last year, the Chip Ganassi Racing pit crew department was chosen from a group of three finalists to receive the Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award and an accompanying check for $60,000. The money made a huge difference in the team’s work with Ronald McDonald House, which provides rooms, meals and services to families in need while their children are in local hospitals for care.

“The grant from Comcast has allowed Ronald McDonald House to offer over 100 nights of stays to families in need, at no financial expense to the families,” said Ganassi pit crew coach Shaun Peet. “As a group we try to offer a helping hand to several worthwhile causes in the area.

“The folks at Ronald McDonald House have always been most appreciative of our help, in addition to the bicycle drive that we do to try and help out with around Christmas time. It’s always special to see a smile on the face of someone who is otherwise going through a difficult family time.”

To Peet, the charitable work has been more important than the recognition to the team.

“It’s a great sense of pride for us to just have the ability to help others,” Peet said. “We carry the belief as a group that it is our responsibility to lend a helping hand to others.

“Being recognized as the Comcast Community Champions and having the opportunity to financially benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte was just a special nod to our team for their contribution through their deeds.”

RELATED: More on the winning Ganassi team

Jimmie Johnson, one of the three 2017 finalists, said the Comcast Community Champion program has opened his eyes to the extent of charitable work being accomplished in the NASCAR garage. As a finalist, Johnson received a $30,000 grant that helped further the Jimmie Johnson Foundation’s Champions Grant program, which benefits public schools in North Carolina, Oklahoma and California.

“It helped us grow the pot (of money) for the three areas that we give back to — Charlotte; Muskogee, Oklahoma; and where I grew up in Southern California,” Johnson said. “That’s a big check. That’s a lot of fundraising. So we were able to put that right into circulation in those three areas.

“I’m thankful for what it’s done for us, and at the same time, through the process, I learned about the Ganassi guys and what they were doing, and I didn’t realize that was taking place right in our own back yard.”

A $30,000 grant enabled Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation, the third 2017 finalist, to double its support with the National Military Family Association.”The money itself was a big part of funding our Operation Purple Healing Camp Adventures in April of 2018 through the National Military Family Association,” Keselowski said.

“The camp allowed military families the opportunity to celebrate family-fun and togetherness after an injury by combining family-focused activities with outdoor exploration to encourage a family’s growth on their new journey post-injury.”

Injured soldiers and their families were also treated to a VIP race day experience during last year’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“The nomination has provided credibility,” Keselowski said. “Whenever you are recognized by a blue-chip company like Comcast, it gives you high credibility that you can leverage for future efforts.”

Even though only one overall winner could emerge from the three finalists, Johnson was glad to learn of the efforts of others.

“I, of course, really wanted to win the grand prize,” Johnson said, “but to sit there at the event at Homestead and watch the video on them (the Ganassi crew), I said, ‘These guys are doing an amazing job, and I’m really happy to hear their story being told.’ ”

This year’s nominations, which close on Monday, provide a chance to write the next chapter.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

With Dale Earnhardt Jr. set to make his debut on NASCAR on NBC’s broadcast of the second half of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season in Sunday’s race at Chicagoland Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN), the recently retired driver is making the media rounds in New York.

Thankfully for us, this included a trip to the always-insightful “Dan Patrick Show” on Wednesday.

Patrick is a master interviewer, and has such a rapport with Earnhardt that the pair often dives headfirst into deep subjects, showcasing a side of the former Hendrick Motorsports driver not often displayed. It’s why Patrick often cites Earnhardt as his favorite interview.

MORE: Junior opens up on childhood, relationship with father to Dan Patrick

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Wednesday’s show was no different — they quickly got into Earnhardt’s recent foray into fatherhood, the background of his seemingly-sudden retirement and more — but not before starting off on a light note …

… as in, which NASCAR driver he’d want to drive him around “The Big Apple” in a taxi cab.

“Jimmie (Johnson). Jimmie had a place in New York City, so he knows the town a little bit, he knows where he’s going.”

Patrick then pointed out that Earnhardt’s former HMS teammate and current NASCAR on FOX commentator Jeff Gordon also had a place in NYC.

“He did. I enjoy being around Jimmie a little bit more than Jeff,” Earnhardt, age 43, said. ” … I dunno, Jeff’s older and he’s kind of like my elder, where Jimmie and me are kind of pals. It’d be like hanging out with my best friend versus, maybe, my uncle. That kind of thing.

“I don’t even know (what the age difference is), maybe four years? He got started so young, it seems like he’s been around forever.”

Regardless, everyone knows it pays in life to have both a best friend and a cool, fun uncle that can get you fireworks, which we’ve heard Junior has a penchant for.

We now go live to Gordon, 46, who managed to sneak into the back seat of the cab of Johnson, 42, and is Periscoping the trip.