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 in advance to help give you an edge as you 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, and watch Fantasy Fastlane with Jessica Ruffin and NBC Sports’ Steve Letarte for even more advice.
Bobby Zalenski put his road-course skills on full display Tuesday night, winning the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series event at Sonoma Raceway for the second straight season. Zalenski started from the pole and led 52 of 55 laps on his way to victory. He never faced a serious challenge on track, as the three laps he did not lead were due to a pit cycle.
Jarl Teien finished second, 4.5 seconds off the lead, followed by Michael Conti in third, 5.9 seconds adrift. Outside polesitter Alex Bergeron came home fourth after a late-race duel with Conti, and Jake Stergios rounded out the top five.
Zalenski’s speed was simply too much for the rest of the field. After winning the pole by nearly three-tenths of a second, Zalenski jumped out to an early lead over Bergeron and looked to build a gap over the rest of the field.
Sonoma is notoriously tough on tires and the searing track temperature made tire degradation even worse than usual. Passing was near impossible after just a few laps as most of the field settled into a single-file line.
As the run wore on, Zalenski’s lead stabilized between two and three seconds as pit stops grew closer. Most everyone opted for a one-stop strategy, but the lap a driver chose to pit could help or hinder him based on traffic and if he could hit pit road before cars he was battling.
Zalenski decided to pit on Lap 25, leaving himself a slightly longer second run, but protecting his lead from another driver short pitting. Teien, however, stopped one lap sooner and made up enough time on his fresh tires that Zalenski exited behind him.
Zalenski wasted no time in attacking Tien to regain the lead once the pit cycle completed. He first attempted a pass heading into Turn 7, but Teien blocked him and, despite some contact, maintained the lead. Zalenski tried again the next lap, attacking under braking for Turn 11 and this time was not to be denied, giving Teien’s car a shove into the corner, pushing him wide to complete the pass. The contact knocked Teien wide enough he lost too much ground to return the favor.
As the laps ticked down, the best battle on the track was between Conti and Bergeron for third. Conti had pitted a lap before Bergeron, which allowed him to return to the track ahead once both completed their stops. Bergeron, though, was quicker and, with the help of some lapped traffic, spent the last 10 laps of the race hounding Conti at every opportunity. Digging deep, Conti remained cool under pressure and denied Bergeron despite having a lap older tires and less pace.
Missing from the action at the front was championship leader Ray Alfalla, who struggled all evening. Alfalla started a disappointing 22nd and his performance did not get any better in the race as he found it difficult to progress, coming across the line 24th at the checkers.
Even with a subpar effort, Alfalla maintains his points lead. He leads Keegan Leahy by 22 points. Zalenski was the big mover after his win, as he closed the gap to 27 points back in third. Matt Bussa and Nickolas Shelton complete the top five.
With only five races remaining until the playoffs the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series heads back to a 1.5-mile circuit for Week 10 as Chicagoland Speedway plays host. Can Alfalla rebound from an uncharacteristically poor result, and will Ryan Luza return from yet another absence? Or, perhaps Zalenski can ride momentum to a second straight win. Be sure to catch all the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series action on iRacing Live!
This week NASCAR fans are eagerly anticipating the return of Chicagoland Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) summer action and it’s fair to say, they are equally as excited about who will help narrate the story – the sport’s 15-time Most Popular Driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
After stepping away from the driver’s seat on a full-time basis following the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Miami, Earnhardt has essentially been preparing to make his television debut in the NBC Sports announcing booth – a career move that looks promising for both Earnhardt and the sport’s rabid fandom.
Earnhardt has already put in work during the network’s Winter Olympics broadcasts and been a frequent contributor to its weekday NASCAR show segments. Having the latter half of the season on-air has, in a sense, given him plenty of time to adjust to his new off-track reality and to prepare for his new on-air role.
FOX Sports officially hands the NASCAR race broadcast ball off this week to NBC and its highly anticipated new hire. So, just for good measure and maximum star shine, NASCAR’s favorite son will continue to help promote the changeover – for example, appearing on Megyn Kelly TODAY, the Dan Patrick Show, E! News and the Tonight Show. … all on Wednesday.
Since his last Cup race, Junior has been similarly busy, essentially juggling the “Good Life” while preparing for the “TV Life.”
His gig with NBC Sports has included time on television at the NHL Finals and he and his wife, Amy, were featured in a four-part show with DIY Network showing the renovation of a Key West home.
He saw his long-time and hugely popular “Dale Jr. Download” podcast get picked up for television by NBCSN, and he has spent a lot of thoughtful time on social media offering insight and opinions on things from the benefits of iRacing to helpful baby swing elevation angles.
He and his JR Motorsports NASCAR Xfinity Series team celebrated its impressive 40th win, courtesy of Justin Allgaier at Iowa Speedway two weeks ago. And Earnhardt donned a dress suit to cut the ribbon officially opening another of his Whiskey River restaurant franchises at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
It’s been a big few years in Junior’s life, from stepping away from the driver’s seat full-time, to marrying his long-time love Amy on New Year’s Eve 2016, to welcoming their first child, daughter Isla Rose just this April 30.
If you thought Junior would be bored and longing to take a green flag after 19 years of NASCAR competition highlighted by back-to-back Xfinity championships and two Daytona 500 victories. … well, that hasn’t necessarily been the case.
Instead, beginning this weekend, he will be talking, evaluating and prognosticating as his former competitors take the green flag. And by all accounts, it’s difficult to determine who is more excited about this – Junior or the NASCAR fans.
It’s all good. He seems so genuinely thrilled and at peace about this next chapter in his life.
Even in the months just prior to his final Cup race last fall, the world saw a different Dale Jr. There was a distinctive new openness with how he spoke and what he felt comfortable speaking about. It revealed an admirable vulnerability in a superstar athlete willing to pursue a new line of work while still in his prime, still so beloved.
The outstanding news for NBC Sports is that this already tested and true relationship between Junior and NASCAR fans looks to translate wonderfully to the television screen.
The shy, burgeoning superstar I first met in his early 20s has admirably and graciously grown up and transformed into a bona fide expert who will be interesting and entertaining to listen to – something any television network would be grateful to have in its wheelhouse. His presence and personality should translate well into the broadcast booth, where he’s already shown a willingness to be candid and honest and the drive to be insightful.
It’s a strong and vital connection between Earnhardt and the sport he loves. And the fans, who have long kept him in their hearts, couldn’t be more eager for the opportunity to simultaneously welcome their hero back to the track and into their homes.
NASCAR Digital Media took a 360-degree camera to Sonoma Raceway for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 and produced some footage that will put you in the middle of the action.
Move your cursor around the screen to get the full panoramic experience for the drop of the green flag, drivers getting into their cars and cars whizzing right by, inches from the wall. Click on the video franchise page, or the links below to check out all the 360 videos:
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will add to its luster as the Racing Capital of the World with the construction of a quarter-mile dirt track inside its famous oval, hosting a United States Auto Club Midget National Championship event during Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line race week in early September.
Race week for the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard powered by Florida Georgia Line will feature an even wider variety of thrilling action with the USAC P1 Insurance Midget National Championship competing in a two-night spectacular event, the Driven2SaveLives BC39, on Wednesday, Sept. 5 and Thursday, Sept. 6. The event honors late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Clauson and increases awareness of Indiana Donor Network and Driven2SaveLives.
The Driven2SaveLives BC39 will include a unique format ending with a 39-lap feature Sept. 6 in the richest Midget racing event in recent history. The event will feature more than $70,000 in purse and incentives, including a $15,000 winner’s purse – the largest in Midget racing.
Dirt and asphalt racers from around the country have expressed interest in the event, with a large and diverse field – including Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers – expected to compete.
“This is an exciting new chapter of the longtime relationship between USAC and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and reinforces the connection between short-track racing and this facility,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “The Speedway truly is The Greatest Race Course in the World, and adding a dirt track will create even more opportunities for fans to enjoy the magic of IMS. We can’t wait to see some of the best drivers and teams in America compete here during Brickyard race week.”
Construction of The Dirt Track at IMS, located inside Turn 3 of the oval, started last week with the first loads of Indiana clay arriving for grading. Concrete walls and safety fencing will be constructed during the summer, and portable lights will illuminate the track.
Reece O’Connor of Kokomo (Indiana) Speedway is overseeing the track design and layout and supervising the construction. Allegiant International, a multinational advisory and consultancy firm based in Indianapolis, is facilitating the project.
The United States Auto Club and IMS were synonymous for many years after the sanctioning body was formed in 1956 by IMS owner Tony Hulman. USAC was the sanctioning body for the Indianapolis 500 from 1956 through 1997.
“Over the years, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has played such a critical part not only in the formation but also the successful growth of the United States Auto Club,” USAC President/CEO Kevin Miller said. “Our roots originated at IMS, and our passion continues to reside here. To have USAC return to hosting a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a historic and exciting new chapter for our Midget series. We are beyond thrilled for both our competitors and fans to add this race to our 2018 calendar.”
Ticket prices will range from $35-50 and go on sale in mid-July. Camping also will be available. Visit www.ims.com/bc39 for more information about this event and to learn when tickets become available.
Indiana Donor Network, which oversees and coordinates organ, tissue and eye donation across the state, launched Driven2SaveLives in April 2016 with Verizon IndyCar Series driver Stefan Wilson to promote donation and transplantation awareness around the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500. At the time, the campaign honored Stefan’s late brother, IndyCar race winner Justin Wilson, who died in August 2015 from injuries he sustained in a race crash and saved five lives as an organ donor.
Three-time USAC Midget and two-time USAC Sprint Car national champion Clauson, a versatile and beloved driver, died in August 2016 following a race accident. As a registered donor, he went on to save five lives as an organ donor and continues to heal the lives of countless others as a tissue donor. In January 2017, Indiana Donor Network partnered with Clauson-Marshall Racing and expanded Driven2SaveLives into dirt track racing in honor of Clauson.
NASCAR K&N Series West rookie Trevor Huddleston learned how to race Sonoma Raceway on iRacing — something becoming more and more commonplace in recent years.
“I’ve played it on @iRacing so it’s got to be close to the same right?”
Unfortunately for Huddleston, his No. 22 Ford retired from the race early with electrical issues — technically sort of like when the power goes out at home when you’re turning laps on iRacing, when you think about it.
You know who else started out racing … on a computer? NASCAR Next driver and Sonoma Raceway winner Will Rodgers found somebody who did.
Richard Jobling of the iRacing development team shared some insights on a new damage model coming to the sim in the future — great news for those of us who find ourselves stuffed in barriers and sliding through the grass.
If you’re trying out any of the new dirt racing features on iRacing, keep an eye out for NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Chase Briscoe.
Been awhile since I’ve been on @iRacing, turning some laps at Mosport in the @_RLAPS rig trying to get ready for the upcoming IMSA race along with slinging a little dirt. Say hello if you see me!
The eNASCAR Ignite Series, NASCAR’s iRacing series aimed at finding future stars, launched this week at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Legends Oval.
NASCAR PEAK ANTIFREEZE iRACING SERIES UPDATE
The stars of the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series head to Sonoma Raceway on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET for the lone road-course race of the season. Bobby Zalenski is the defending race winner, while Ray Alfalla — a highly ranked driver on our Power Rankings — currently leads the standings by 36 points over rookie Keegan Leahy.
iRACING PAINT SCHEMES OF THE WEEK
Sonoma race week means road-course ringers — Boris Said immediately comes to mind, of course. Ken Huff re-created Said’s 2014 paint scheme on iRacing’s version of the Ford Fusion.
Ken Huff’s recreated paint scheme of Boris Said’s 2014 ride.
Last Week, Denny Hamlin described his former Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series ride as his favorite paint scheme.
My favorite of all time. My parents said they could find it at a quick glance anywhere on the track. https://t.co/nqnsErF6ht
As you begin to unwind from the topsy-turvy racing at Sonoma Raceway and prep for four days of on-track action at Chicagoland Speedway, here are a couple of things to keep in mind.
• We’re moving to the NBC television portion of the 2018 schedule. Starting this weekend, the NBC family will pick up coverage of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. Coverage of this weekend’s practice, qualifying and racing action is on NBCSN. You can view the week’s full TV schedule here.
• NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, qualifying sessions and practices still will be broadcast on the FOX family for the remainder of the year. The broadcast doesn’t change to NBC for the Truck Series. Friday night’s Truck Series race will be on FS1.
• While we’re here, Monster Energy Series qualifying takes place on Saturday night this week. Monster Energy Series cars will qualify for Sunday’s race on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET, following the Xfinity Series race.
Four drivers must navigate three rounds of the NASCAR Playoffs to make it to the finale at Homestead Miami Speedway, but you have a chance to get there with Allegiant’s Together we fly™ NASCAR® Experience sweepstakes.
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Book you own trips and enter to win one of these three VIP NASCAR-themed vacation.
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First race weekend of the 2019 season
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Live from New York, it’s the Glass Case of Emotion!
Yes, the NASCAR Digital-produced podcast is taking its weekly show on the road, with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney and co-hosts Kim Coon and Chuck Bush hitting the Big Apple this afternoon.
The live broadcast is slated to begin at approximately 3:15 p.m. ET from New York City at the Hashtag Sports event, a popular sports media and innovation conference.
Joining those three is special guest Josh Norman, an All-Pro NFL defensive back for the Washington Redskins.
Tune in on NASCAR.com for the live show, which will be broadcast here.
Editor’s note: This story originally ran in June. Autographed copies of Steve Letarte’s book “Leading the Way” are currently available for a limited time. Pick one up as the holidays approach! | Go here to purchase
When Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. came together as crew chief and driver prior to the start of the 2011 season, both were at a crossroads. Earnhardt hadn’t won a race since 2008 while Letarte was coming off a winless season with Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports.
Four years later, as Letarte was leaving the pit box for the NBC Sports broadcast booth, the duo had tallied five wins together — including the 2014 Daytona 500 — and the sport’s longtime Most Popular Driver was a title threat again.
“Our relationship was on a different level,” Letarte told NASCAR.com. “It was more as equals, more as friends, more as buddies, more as coworkers, and that instantly gave it sort of a different feel. When I look back on it, the success that Dale and I had and the relationship that he and I created was just an amazing four years to finish out my career.”
A look at the book cover for ‘Leading the Way.’ (Photo courtesy of Reine Digital)
In his new book “Leading the Way,” (as told to Nate Ryan of NBC Sports and available for purchase today) Letarte offers readers and fans alike a unique inside look into how he helped rebuild confidence for Earnhardt — who wrote the foreward for the book — and the No. 88 team, and how the relationship with Junior still impacts Letarte to this day.
“When Dale and I were put together, we were both at a point in our careers where we questioned privately ourselves where our careers were going,” Letarte said. “It was such a turnaround from there to 2014.
“While I looked forward to the opportunity to take my new job (at NBC), I was going to miss what I was doing greatly. After being out of it for six months or so, I kind of wanted to go back and relive it. To tell the stories to the fans, the behind-the-scenes stories and then also to the business leaders, the managers of the world about how we went about rebuilding his career and my career together.”
The book was a three-year project for Letarte and opens with the crew chief learning of his new assignment following the 2010 season, where team owner Rick Hendrick shifted him from Gordon’s No. 24 team to Earnhardt and the No. 88. Letarte candidly admits he thought he would be unemployed after that season.
Throughout the book, Letarte provides insights into the leadership and team building he utilized in helping get Earnhardt back on track to Victory Lane. In the two seasons before their pairing, Earnhardt had finished outside the top 20 in points. The key to the relationship, according to Letarte, was that it started from scratch with no preconceived notions.
“One thing I learned with Jeff (Gordon) — the best advice I never took — was he wanted me to treat him like everyone else on the race team,” Letarte said. “And while that is great advice, I could just never do it. He was my mentor. He gave me the opportunity to crew chief. He’s the whole reason I’m in the sport.
“So when I got Dale as a driver, I was convinced that even if it didn’t work, I won’t look back on it and say that I should have done this or I should have done that. I decided I was going to do it my way. We just started with conversations and building a relationship and then took that relationship to the race track.”
There was lots of emotion for Dale Jr. and Steve Letarte after their 2012 Michigan win. (Jeff Zelevansky | Getty Images)
Early on, there were several near-victories for the pairing, with the most notable being the 2011 Coca-Cola 600 where Earnhardt ran dry on the final lap.
In 2012, each was able to snap his personal winless drought – Earnhardt’s was at 143 races, while Letarte’s was at 115 races – with their collective triumph in June 2012 at Michigan International Speedway. And while the victory was a huge sigh of relief, it also was the moment Letarte realized he wasn’t going to be a crew chief forever.
When Letarte was considering leaving the pit box for a television job with NBC, Earnhardt was one of his sounding boards. Dale Jr. showed his leadership and growth in an emergency team meeting when the news of Letarte’s move leaked out.
“Dale was one of the people that I leaned on to get his opinion,” Letarte said. “I think that proved our relationship. As a race car driver, he didn’t want me to leave. Professionally, he didn’t want me to leave, but personally, he saw how it could be great for me and my family, and I really think that is why we are going to work together again.
“Because our friendship was much more than on the race track.”
The release of the book coincides with the start of NBC’s portion of televising the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series beginning at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend. The recently retired Earnhardt is joining the booth and re-teaming with his former crew chief once again.
And while the book shows the strength of this relationship, the television screen is sure to display it as well.
