Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Larson paced the field in final practice for tonight’s Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

After rain hindered Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers and teams from making any significant runs in Friday afternoon’s brief session, it was the first real opportunity to test out the new rules package. The hour-long session saw packs of cars racing two- and three-wide around the 1.5-mile oval. Both All-Star and Open starters were able to hit the track in a combined practice.

RELATED: Final All-Star practice speeds | Final Open practice speeds

Larson laid down a lap 173.305 mph in the hour-long Saturday morning practice, followed by a duo of Stewart-Haas Racing machines — Clint Bowyer (173.255 mph) and Kevin Harvick (173.049 mph). Aric Almirola was the fastest of the Open drivers, with a top speed of 168.629 in his No. 10 Ford.

MORE:  Starting lineup for All-Star Race

The Monster Energy All-Star Open will kick off the action at Charlotte, beginning at 6 p.m. ET on FS1.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

CONCORD, N.C. — As drivers battled for position behind him, Johnny Sauter pulled away his No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet during the final 10-lap run to win Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“We won Charlotte!” an elated Sauter screamed over his radio as he crossed the finish line 1.340 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch, who was frustrated in his attempt at a series-record tying 51st victory.

RELATED: Full race results | Crafton gets colorful on the radio

A few minutes later, in Victory Lane, Sauter, the pole winner, reveled in the significance of the victory, his third of the season and the 20th of his career.

“This is a tough place,” said Sauter, who turned 40 on May 1. “Everyone wants to win here. I never thought I’d win here. To win this race is just super special. I never thought 40 would be so good.

“This is the biggest race of my career, and I’ve won a lot of big races. We kept making adjustments on the truck all night and made it better and better.”

Sauter scored his 20th straight top-10 finish on a 1.5-mile intermediate speedway, a streak that includes four victories. He also scored points in the first two stages of the race (won by Brett Moffitt and John Hunter Nemechek, respectively) to run his string of in-the-money stage finishes to 30.

MORE: Sauter: ‘Never thought I’d win here’ | Kyle Busch expresses frustration

Busch’s effort was hampered by a pair of pit-road penalties, both incurred when members of his crew came over the wall too soon. Nevertheless, he twice came from the back of the field to finish second, passing Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate and third-place finisher Brandon Jones for the runner-up spot on Lap 133 of 134.

Asked how he managed to charge through the field, Busch said dourly, “Pure talent. That’s about it. My pit crew did absolutely nothing to help me out tonight. My truck drove like (crap) … But somehow, some way I was able to get back to the front. Had a blast.”

Moffitt ran fourth, followed by Ben Rhodes. Stewart Friesen, Parker Kligerman, Noah Gragson, Nemechek and Todd Gilliland completed the top 10.

Sauter took control of the race when he passed Moffitt for the lead on Lap 87, one circuit before Josh Reaume’s spin brought out the fifth caution of the race. Sauter went on to lead a race-high 71 laps and increased his series lead to 59 points over second-place Gragson and 65 over Moffitt in third.

Posted on by Zack Albert

CONCORD, N.C. — Roush Fenway Racing’s crewmembers had attaboys all around Friday evening, moments after playing a significant role in securing the top two spots in qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race (8 p.m. ET, FS1).

Matt Kenseth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will share the front row in Saturday night’s non-points feature, the 80-lap invitational for a select field. Their team’s cheers for seeing the No. 6 and No. 17 sitting 1-2 on the Charlotte Motor Speedway scoring pylon were not only a welcome boost to team morale but also the result of some pit-road ingenuity in the unique three-lap qualifying format.

“You know, we’ve had some adversity this year and the guys needed a little bit up,” said crew chief Matt Puccia, in his second race with Kenseth in place of Trevor Bayne behind the wheel of the No. 6. “This might be what it is here. We’ll see what we’ve got.”

RELATED: Full All-Star schedule | Qualifying results

What they had, for starters, was a well-orchestrated but unorthodox approach to the mandatory four-tire pit stop in All-Star qualifying. Stenhouse’s No. 17 crew debuted the new method, opting to change the left-side tires first before whipping around to change the right-sides.

That technique turned conventional pit-stop wisdom on its head, but both RFR crew chiefs explained that All-Star qualifying rules that require drivers to come to a complete stop before servicing the car opened that loophole. On normal race weekends, pit crews may leave the pit wall on the car’s approach to get a head-start on the right-side tire change.

“This is new, freakish, one-off,” said No. 17 crew chief Brian Pattie. “You can’t leave until the car stops, so that’s where it pays dividends.”

A handful of other teams followed suit, including Stewart-Haas Racing’s three All-Star-eligible teams and the Joe Gibbs Racing teams of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin.

Puccia said that fine-tuning the choreography in pit practice this month became a point of emphasis, one that delivered Friday night. The top four qualifiers — Kenseth, Stenhouse, plus SHR’s Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick — all used the left-then-right system in their mandatory stops.

“It just makes sense in what you have to do to make the best pit stop,” Puccia said. “The guys have done an incredible job this year working on our pit stops and digging there, and this is just a testament to that. They worked really hard the last few weeks working on this.

“They knew this was coming and they put a lot of work into it. A lot of teams just take it with what they’ve been accustomed to doing, but our group really did a good job and it seems like it’s showing today so far.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

CONCORD, N.C. — On Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Matt Kenseth put an exclamation point on his return to racing at NASCAR’s highest level, winning the pole for Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race (6 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

In the unique All-Star qualifying format, which features three laps and a four-tire stop with no pit road speed limit, Kenseth posted a total time of 2:07.644 for an average speed of 126.915 mph to edge Roush Fenway Racing teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (126.427 mph) for the Monster Energy Pole Award in the exhibition race that pays $1 million to win.

RELATED: Qualifying results | Lineup in photos

The driver of the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford won his third pole for the All-Star Race, his last coming in 2007. Kenseth won the event in 2004, the year after he secured his series championship.

Behind the Roush Fenway drivers are two more Fords, the No. 14 of Clint Bowyer and the No. 4 of Kevin Harvick, winner of the last two Cup series events and five this season.

Kenseth was the 10th driver to make a qualifying run, and he had to wait for the remaining seven drivers to complete their attempts. When Kyle Larson, the last qualifier, shot down pit road like a cannonball and slipped three stalls past his pit box, Kenseth knew the pole was his.

Kenseth secured the top starting spot without the opportunity to practice, thanks to a downpour that ended the session before some cars had a chance to run.

“The car drove good,” Kenseth said. “It seemed fine. It was our first laps on the track today with all the rain, and Ricky (Stenhouse) was a huge help to me going out early and helping me with my braking on pit road and his spotter up there helping me. That was a big help to get us up there like that.

“To have both cars on the front row is really a tribute to these guys — the pit stops, obviously the engines and all the restrictor-plate stuff. This was more about the car and the team than it was about me.”

For the first time, NASCAR incorporated a competition package for Charlotte that included restrictor plates on the engines — offset by larger rear spoilers designed to add downforce and drag.

Both Kenseth and Stenhouse had little trouble mastering the new feel of the cars, and their pit stops — expedited by changing left-side tires first — were among the best of the night. Stenhouse qualified second despite running over a drainage grate trying to cut the corner near the entrance to Turn 1 after his pit stop.

“I thought I would cut the corner as low as I could, and I got right past the wall and saw that pothole and I was wide open and I hit it,” Stenhouse said. “Yeah, that was not good on the equipment, but my guys did an awesome job. No penalties. That was big.

“Any time you do a format like this, being penalty-free is good. I do think I could have gotten to pit road better. Right now, I’m glad that we beat the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) and the 2 (Brad Keselowski) because those cars were really good at doing this last year. Track position will be pretty key come tomorrow night.”

Reigning series champion Martin Truex Jr. will start fifth next to Ryan Blaney. Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon and Joey Logano will start sixth through 10th, respectively. Busch is the defending winner of the race.

Jamie McMurray posted the fastest time (2:06.595 mph) but drew a five-second penalty because of a loose lug nut. McMurray will line up 12th, one spot behind Johnson, whose effort was foiled by a 19.9-second pit stop.

Qualifying for the Monster Energy Open, which will advance its three stage winners to the All-Star Race, was a victim of the rains that played havoc with track activity on Friday afternoon. The field for Saturday’s qualifying race was set by owner points, with Aric Almirola getting the pole position and Erik Jones the outside of the front row.

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott will start third and fourth, respectively, in the 50-lap Open, which will be contested in stages of 20, 20 and 10 laps before the main event. The final starting spot in the All-Star Race will be determined by the Fan Vote.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

CONCORD, N.C. — If there’s one name on the ballot considered a shoo-in for the next NASCAR Hall of Fame class, it belongs to four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, who occupies the third rung on the all-time victory list with 93.

Gordon is taking nothing for granted with respect the upcoming vote on Wednesday. In fact, he’s trying to keep the possibility of Hall of Fame election in the back of his mind.

“On the one hand, I’m excited,” Gordon said during a Friday press conference at Charlotte Motor Speedway to unveil the throwback rainbow paint scheme on the car William Byron will drive later this season at Darlington. “On the other hand, I’m too young to be in a Hall of Fame or have a throwback paint scheme.

“I’m really just kind of waiting till next week and trying not to think too much about it. I’ve gone to the Hall of Fame for the inductions many time and seen some great speeches and legends of our sport. So whenever that day comes, it’s a huge honor.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

CONCORD, N.C. — Twelve races into the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule, and Kyle Busch has already won 25 percent of the points events in NASCAR’s premier series.

Compared with the success Kevin Harvick has enjoyed, however, three victories aren’t quite good enough. Harvick claimed trophies in five of the first dozen races, including the last two, and the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford shows no signs of slacking off.

RELATED: Harvick tops lone All-Star Race practice | Fresh paint from every angle

As a consequence, Busch is looking for still more speed in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

“We’ve got to catch up a little bit on speed overall, I’d say,” Busch acknowledged on Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, after running the better part of one lap in opening All-Star Race practice. “I think our Toyotas are close, but it seems the Blue Ovals (Fords) have got a little bit of an advantage this year. You kind of see it weekly. You look at the rundown on the pylon, and it’s lots of Fords lined up in the top 12 spots.

“So it’s pretty obvious based just off of last year and looking at the pylon and kind of seeing a little bit more spread there between Chevys, Fords and Toyotas. All in all, we’ve just got to go to work and figure out what we got to do in order to get better. I think some of the aero changes that have kind of come down this year have benefited them a little bit more so than us, and we’re trying to work through some of those things as we go right here throughout the season.”

Posted on by Staff Report

William Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet will pay tribute to former driver Jeff Gordon’s iconic rainbow paint scheme for the annual throwback race at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend (Aug. 31-Sept. 2).

Gordon, Byron and original scheme artist Sam Bass were all on hand at Charlotte Motor Speedway to unveil the look. The car will be wrapped with Bass’ legendary “Hot Summer Nights” painting. Bass designed the paint scheme after asking Hall of Fame crew chief Ray Evernham for the chance to design the No. 24 scheme during Gordon’s tenure in the car.

Gordon wheeled the paint scheme throughout the 90s, winning titles in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001 and reaching Victory Lane 93 times throughout his storied career.

RELATED: Buy tickets for Darlington | See every Darlington scheme

This marks Byron’s first year in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He won the Xfinity Series title for JR Motorsports in 2017, his first year behind the wheel of an Xfinity car. The rookie driver earned a career-best 10th-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this season.

The throwback weekend at Darlington will be the track’s fourth race under the award-winning platform. This year’s theme, “Seven Decades of NASCAR,” embodies the sport’s storied history over 70 years.

Posted on by Staff Report

Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford topped a rain-shortened combined practice on Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The five-time 2018 winner only made four laps around the track, notching a top speed of 170.406 mph in a session that included cars entered in both the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race and the Monster Energy Open.

Harvick’s SHR teammate Kurt Busch was second-fastest in the session, his No. 41 Ford clocking in at 169.502 mph. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin ranked third on the speed charts (169.428 mph), while Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford was fourth-quickest (169.412 mph). Clint Bowyer rounded out the top five, his No. 14 SHR Ford clocking in at 169.030 mph.

RELATED: Practice results for Open drivers | Practice results for All-Star drivers

Because of weather concerns,  the first two practice sessions originally scheduled — one for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Open and one for the All-Star Race — were initially combined into one 85-minute session. About five minutes into the session, rain started and brought out the red flag. Consistent rain forced the sanctioning body to cancel the rest of the practice session, although cars did briefly get back on track before another downpour.

Monster Energy Series cars are scheduled for Busch Pole Qualifying for the All-Star Race at 6:45 p.m. ET with coverage on FS1. Monster Energy Open Busch Pole Qualifying was canceled and will be set by owner points.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

The NASCAR Fantasy Live season is 12 races in – almost halfway home in the regular season. Near the midpoint, it’s a good time to evaluate how you stand and to look at some statistical trends that could benefit owners in the second half of the season.

With the Monster Energy All-Star Race race carrying no Fantasy Live implications, RJ Kraft thought this was a good time to examine the usage of drivers in the game and how that stacks up with fantasy points earned, while also offering an outlook to the second half of the fantasy game season.

RELATED: Driver stats | Play Fantasy Live today | Watch Fantasy Fastlane now

Note: For the difference column below, if a driver’s usage rank is greater than their fantasy points rank, it’s marked as a negative. If a driver’s fantasy points rank is greater than their usage, it’s marked as a plus.

Driver Ranks: Usage/points  Diff. Outlook
Kevin Harvick 1/2  -1 With three wins on 1.5-mile tracks in ’18, a must start on the three 1.5-milers left (plus Darlington).
Kyle Busch 2/1 +1 So good at so many places, but three tracks to have him for: Kentucky, Watkins Glen and Indy.
Martin Truex Jr. 3/8 -5 Not racking up the points like he did in ’17. Based on his Fontana win, a must for both Michigan races.
Brad Keselowski 4/5 -1 If you’ve slow-played the ’12 champ, great news: He’s a must at Pocono, Chicago, Loudon and The Glen.
Kyle Larson 5/9 -4 If Kansas is a future sign, a summer of Larson awaits (Pocono, Michigan, Chicago, Loudon, Darlington).
Joey Logano 6/3 +3 Bounce back in ’18 has him in players good graces; keep a start saved for Indy (five straight top 8’s).
Chase Elliott 7/12 -5 It’s been a tough go for the third-year man; Michigan looms as the tell-tale moment (3.5 average finish).
Denny Hamlin 8/7 +1 Hamlin was in heavy use for me early; look to have him ready for Charlotte, Loudon and Darlington.
Ryan Blaney 9/10 -1 The speed has been there, the finishes up and down of late; plan to have him for the high-speed tracks.
Kurt Busch 10/6 +4 Like most SHR teammates, points rank is greater than usage rank; strong play for Sonoma and Pocono.
Jimmie Johnson 11/13 -2 “Seven-Time” has earned 30 or more points in four of past five races; avoiding on intermediates for now.
Clint Bowyer 12/4 +8 Fantasy comeback driver of the year so far; a must at Sonoma and Bristol, with other opportunities to play.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 13/16 -3 Four top-15 finishes in his last five races. Strong play to use at Bristol — his best track — and Daytona.
Erik Jones 14/14 Even Three top 10s on 1.5-milers make a good play at four intermediates; sneaky for Pocono (5.5 avg. finish).
Aric Almirola 15/11 +4 With eight top 12s in 12 races, he’s been a strong surprise in ’18; the ultimate plug-and-play option.
Alex Bowman 16/15 +1 Based on his best ’18 results coming at short tracks and plate tracks: Bristol and Daytona are good uses.
Ryan Newman 17/21 -4 In a funk with three finishes of 30th-or-worse in last four races, would look at Bristol or Sonoma for a use.
Austin Dillon 18/18 Even The Daytona 500 winner should be rostered for the July Daytona race under the lights.
Daniel Suarez 19/17 +2 JGR driver has a good record on 1-milers, so Loudon is a solid play; also, best finish came at Watkins Glen.
Paul Menard 20/19 +1 A driver that is a sneaky play in the second half with that Ford power; think Michigan, Daytona, Indy.
Jamie McMurray 21/24 -3 After three straight playoff years, it’s been a tough go so far for the veteran; would wait to see consistency.
Darrell Wallace Jr. 22/23 -1 With a runner-up in the Daytona 500, could be chic pick to roster for the summer race there.
William Byron 23/20 +3 Byron seems to be inching closer to turning a corner; the rookie is a sneaky play for Loudon.
Kasey Kahne 24/27 -3 Kahne’s current 23.4 average finish is a career low; fantasy chances could lie at Sonoma and Daytona.
AJ Allmendinger 25/22 +3 Everybody’s favorite road course play; much better at Watkins Glen then Sonoma but worth using at both.
David Ragan 26/25 +1 Both his wins have come at plate tracks and his best ’18 result was at Talladega; use him at Daytona.
Matt Kenseth 31/NA NA The definition of a wait-and-see play. Far from the ideal showing at Kansas; more time to evaluate.