Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

After a nine-year hiatus, the No. 8 will hit the track once again in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018.

The number, made famous by Dale Earnhardt Jr. during nine seasons competing for his late father at Dale Earnhardt, Inc., will be brought back by fellow Kannapolis, North Carolina, native and current NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Daniel Hemric.

Hemric will make his Monster Energy Series debut in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in two events this season, the first coming at Richmond Raceway on April 21. The second on his schedule will occur at the new Charlotte Motor Speedway road course on Sept. 30, the first elimination race of the NASCAR Playoffs.

RELATED: Junior’s best No. 8 schemes

“It’s an incredible opportunity with the 8 car coming back into the Cup Series,” Hemric told NASCAR.com. “Richard Childress told me at the beginning of 2017, he said listen, let’s try to build something here, let’s try to make sure we can get you to your goals and let’s try to figure out a way to get you to the top tier of this sport. He’s held true to his word and to everyone who’s backed me and supported me to this point.

“It’s incredible to know not only do I get to do it once, but I get to do it again back in my hometown in Charlotte later in the fall. It’s unbelievable, a little overwhelming and something I’ve dreamed about my whole life. I’m trying to take it all in.”

The golden opportunity is one that holds extra special value for Hemric, being able to follow in the footsteps of his hometown hero and the Earnhardt family, a group he has looked up to his entire life. Hemric’s dream of making it to NASCAR’s top level is one he was reminded of daily as a child riding past DEI’s headquarters.

Now he gets to make that dream a reality in a number he holds close to his heart.

“I drove by DEI every single day. It was a reminder of this guy, Dale Earnhardt, who grew up in this same town, the same area,” Hemric said. “He went from working in the plant, to short-track racing, to become this sport’s icon and here I am driving by his place every single day. It’s a reminder that if you keep working, what you can have out of life. It was very special to have that right here in my backyard and to know I’m trying to make that same mark in this sport.”

Aric Almirola and Mark Martin last drove the No. 8 for DEI for a combined 43 races from 2008-09, but the number has been synonymous with Earnhardt since his rookie year in 1999.

It was Earnhardt’s 17 wins, along with unwavering support from both Junior Nation and sponsor Budweiser, that made the number legendary.

RELATED: No. 8 through the years

Hemric, 27, hopes he can win the hearts of those who have long missed Earnhardt in the No. 8 with his own backstory. Dale Earnhardt made Junior work hard to prove he was worthy of a ride in NASCAR’s highest level. Hemric has taken the same road filled with hard work, dedication and grit.

“Making the announcement that I’ll be running the 8 car at Richmond and at Charlotte, that makes it all worth it,” he said. “To have the support from the folks who saw how I was having to do it growing up, without family money, without anything given to me. Having to go work for it, that’s what’s made me the person I am. That’s what I go to sleep at night proud of … how I’ve gotten here and the support group I’ve had along the way.”

The car will be sponsored by Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff, who partnered with Hemric in four Xfinity races last season, including the penultimate playoff race at ISM Raceway where Hemric raced his way into the Championship 4.

Last year’s Phoenix race — where Hemric qualified for a spot in the finale at Miami — also was the first time Hemric was able to speak one-on-one with Earnhardt, an experience that came full circle from his racing in his younger years.

PHOTOS: All 76 Earnhardt victories

“As I was racing legends and bandolero cars growing up, I was a really, really young kid and the highlight of our season was racing on pole night at Charlotte Motor Speedway because all the Cup guys were there qualifying,” Hemric said. “Every now and then you got to see your favorite Cup guy and mine was Earnhardt. I’m sitting there and Dale Jr. walks up. All the fans and all the racing kids were just kind of in awe. He’s the guy from our same hometown. That meant a lot to me as a kid.

“But then fast-forwarding to last year at Phoenix, our last playoff race to try and make it to Homestead, we go and make it in. I had never really had that one-on-one time with Junior and after our media deal after the race, he shook my hand and said, ‘Man, that was a hell of a job.’ And that was the first time I really had the opportunity as an adult to speak to him. That meant a lot to me to have a guy like that that I looked up to him and his father and his family my entire life. To have that moment, I thought that was really special.”

 

Posted on by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR will again use a new and well-received enhanced schedule format featuring robust driver appearances and fan interaction opportunities at 12 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series events this season, beginning with this weekend’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

UPDATE: Snow has moved the Martinsville race to Monday at 2 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM)

The enhanced schedule will feature two days of Monster Energy Series action while each track will still host three total days of on-track activity. There also will be a rotating schedule of Monster Energy Series drivers participating in various interactive opportunities for fans at the racing facilities.

RELATED: Full Martinsville schedule

In addition to both the spring and fall Martinsville race weekends, the enhanced Monster Energy Series schedule will be in place at both Richmond races, the May Kansas weekend, Chicagoland, Kentucky, the second Pocono race in July, Watkins Glen, the Bristol night race weekend in August, Indianapolis and the fall Talladega weekend.

The decision to bring back the enhanced schedule comes after much success with the new idea last season. It was used at Martinsville, Indianapolis, Pocono races in 2017, receiving good reviews from both spectators and competitors.

Executives from NASCAR, Monster Energy Series teams and the race tracks collaborated on the enhanced scheduling concept for the 2018 season with the idea of unique opportunities for fans to interact with their favorite Cup drivers. Each facility will develop specific programs and events with the goal to continually offer fans new experiences at track, up-close with their favorite drivers.

Posted on by Steve Luvender

It’s the end of 2018’s #NASCARGoesWest stretch of races. Time for drivers and crews to change their clocks back to Eastern Daylight Time. Here’s what earned our thumbs-up and thumbs-down in Southern California at Auto Club Speedway.

Thumbs Up: Seven-Time is Back (kind of)

Jimmie’s back! Well, sort of. In terms of top-10 finishes, 2018 has been Jimmie Johnson’s slowest start to a season ever — but he finally scored his first playoff points and top-10 finish.

https://twitter.com/JimmieJohnson/status/975530359545765888

Knowing the No. 48 team (and their 83 victories and seven championships), they’ll figure something out and win the remaining 31 races or something ridiculous. Jimmie will find his lucky horseshoe down a couch cushion, or Chad Knaus will realize he’s been reading his notes upside-down — something. Just wait for it.

Thumbs up to the seven-time champ being back … ish.

Thumbs Down: No 4 for No. 4

The story of the week heading into Auto Club Speedway was focused on Kevin Harvick’s quest for four consecutive victories, having won in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

To the surprise of most, Harvick’s Ford ended up in the wall after hard racing with Kyle Larson — on just Lap 38 of 200, during the race’s first stage.

https://www.nascar.com/video/franchise/monster-energy-nascar-cup-highlights/harvick-takes-hard-hit-early-auto-club-speedway/#1

Fascinatingly, Harvick has never scored a last-place finish in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.

https://twitter.com/LASTCARonBROCK/status/975466248464039936

It was a streak that nearly came to an end Sunday, but the No. 4 crew members continued to work on their damaged car and Harvick finished the race in 35th place, nine laps off the pace. Still no last-place finish after 615 starts, dating back to 2001.

Thumbs down to Harvick’s hot streak coming to an end, though the No. 4 car looked fast in the opening 37 laps.

Thumbs Up: Taking the Blame

While Kevin Harvick’s crash was a contentious topic on social media (who would have guessed?), Harvick set the record straight in his post-race interview: The incident that damaged his Ford while racing hard with Kyle Larson was entirely his own fault.

https://www.nascar.com/video/franchise/monster-energy-nascar-cup-post-race-reactions/harvick-early-wreck-just-fault-back/#1

When it’s easy — and maybe even natural — to place the blame on your situation or a competitor, Harvick managed to accept total fault of his winning-streak-ending crash, even after driving around a battered car for 151 laps.

Thumbs up for taking the blame, Kevin Harvick, even when fans on Twitter were ready to attack on your behalf.

Thumbs Down: Trevor Bayne’s Hard Hit

On Lap 110, Trevor Bayne’s car cut a tire after contact racing Ryan Newman, sending Bayne’s No. 6 Ford hard into the outside wall.

https://www.nascar.com/video/franchise/monster-energy-nascar-cup-highlights/bayne-gets-wall-auto-club-speedway/#1

While Bayne drove his car back to pit road and walked away from the crash, he described the contact as the hardest hit he’s had in a race car.

https://twitter.com/KellyCrandall/status/975481310629322752

Thumbs down for taking a really heckin’ hard hit. (But thumbs up for SAFER barriers, safe race cars and driver safety.)

Biggest Thumbs Up of the Week: Martin Truex Jr. Speedway

Sunday seemed liked 2017 all over again, in that Martin Truex Jr. put on a dominant performance.

https://twitter.com/FRRacingTeam/status/975517295220084736

Not only did Truex sweep all three of the race’s stages, but he also did so after winning the pole — the first driver to dominate a race weekend in such a fashion. Three stage wins mean seven playoff points. He’s also the points leader after five races this year.

But when you’ve been racing on the West Coast for the past three weeks, there’s not a whole lot of time to celebrate before heading back to work.

https://twitter.com/AlisonM_TV/status/975850030039887873

A record-setting thumbs-up for MTJ and the Furniture Row Racing team. It’s just like old times (of, like, four months ago).

Posted on by Staff Report

Landon Cassill will pilot the No. 00 Chevrolet for StarCom Racing for the next two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series events, the team announced on Monday.

BUY TICKETS: See the Martinsville action | MORE: Full Martinsville schedule

Cassill will drive at Martinsville Speedway in Monday’s STP 500 (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and at Texas Motor Speedway for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 on April 8 (2 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The Martinsville start will be the first of 2018 for the 28-year-old Iowa native. Cassill has spent the past two seasons driving for Front Row Motorsports and has 259 starts to his name in the Monster Energy Series. His best finish of fourth place came at Talladega in fall 2014.

StarCom had a seat to fill after the team announced on Sunday night that it had mutually parted ways with driver Jeffrey Earnhardt. The grandson of Dale Earnhardt had made five starts for the team in 2018 with a best finish of 21st in the season-opening Daytona 500.

Posted on by Staff Report

Hendrick Motorsports has withdrawn its request to appeal the penalty issued to its No. 9 team following the March 11 race at Phoenix, according to NASCAR officials, meaning the team’s car chief will begin his two-week suspension this week.

The No. 9 team was found to have violated Section 20.14.2 of the Rule Book, which deals with rear suspension and trailing arm angles/pinion angle shims. According to the penalty report: Truck trailing arm spacer/pinion angle shim surfaces must be in complete contact at all points, at all times. Failure to adhere to that can create additional sideforce and is a violation.

RELATED: More on the penalty

Chase Elliott drove the car to a third-place finish. Hendrick Motorsports had the option of appealing to The National Motorsports Appeals Panel.

Additionally, the team was docked 25 driver points and 25 owner points. Crew chief Alan Gustafson was fined $50,000 (and now must pay it since the appeal is withdrawn). Car chief Josh Kirk is suspended for two race weekends — Martinsville (March 26, FS1) and Texas (April 8, FS1). According to team rosters, former championship-winning car chief for the No. 48 team, Ron Malec, will fill in at Martinsville.

MORE: Monster Energy Series standings

Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Busch apparently was in a “salty” mood on social media after his third-place finish in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 — at least according to the tweet below.

MORE: Kyle Busch hurt by pit stop struggles | Complete Auto Club 400 results

Busch took to Twitter to respond to criticism that he didn’t do post-race interviews — not true, as he appeared in an MRN Radio interview — and go back and forth with both Kyle Busch fans and Kyle Busch haters alike. ICYMI, here are some highlights from the back-and-forth as he flew back from the West Coast:

On Kyle Larson’s tough racing:

On trying to figure out what the No. 78 is doing so well:

On taking blame for in-race mistakes:

A good shot at a rival driver’s fan:

Hey, he even converted a “hater” or two like this one:

And he definitely has his legions of supporters, too:

For more, head to @KyleBusch on Twitter.

Posted on by Staff Report

As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads back East, teams will see a streamlined inspection procedure when they return to the track at Martinsville Speedway.

NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller joined SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday morning to discuss the new setup that is set to be implemented on Saturday.

BUY TICKETS: See the Martinsville action | MORE: Full Martinsville schedule

“Post-qualifying and pre-race inspection are going to be lumped into one major inspection,” Miller explained. “We are actually kind of looking forward to that as a way forward. It would be really good if we could get it down to one major inspection for the weekend.”

Miller hopes this inspection process will allow fans more access to their favorite drivers on-track instead of “in the garage area trying to get out for qualifying.” However, it won’t be on the sanctioning body to help teams make it through without issue.

” … It’s up to the teams really,” he said. “They know how to do it. It’s up to the teams to not create a bad story failing post-qualifying inspection.”

Martinsville will serve as the first enhanced weekend of the year. Monster Energy Series qualifying is scheduled for 5:10 p.m. ET (TV: FS1), following the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

FONTANA, Calif. – Martin Truex Jr. drove three things Sunday afternoon at Auto Club Speedway.

First, he drove the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota to a dominating victory in the Auto Club 400, the fifth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season.

RELATED: Race results | Series standings
SHOP: Truex Jr. gear

Second, he drove a time machine, turning back the clock to 2017 when his mastery of stage racing propelled him to his first series championship.

Truex’s effort in Sunday’s race was every bit as overwhelming as his most convincing triumphs of last season. He started from the pole, then swept the first two stages and the victory, leading 125 of 200 laps and beating runner-up Kyle Larson to the finish line by a whopping 11.685 seconds.

Finally, Truex drove home a point, that those who doubted he could continue the excellent performance that led to the title just might be wrong.

“People kept asking ‘When are you going to win again? When are you going to win one of these stages?’” said Truex, who went to Victory Lane eight times last year. “Well, there you go.”

RELATED: Truex sweeps stages en route to win

The victory was Truex’s first at Fontana and the 16th of his career.

Truex’s form, however, wasn’t the overriding question entering the race. Kevin Harvick entered the event riding a wave of three straight wins and was the heavy favorite to win a fourth, having dominated Saturday’s practices in race trim.

But Harvick’s bid came to an abrupt end on Lap 38, when contact with Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet under extremely hard racing sent Harvick’s No. 4 Ford into the outside backstretch wall, crippling the car. Larson recovered, but Harvick was consigned to a 35th-place finish, nine laps down.

RELATED: Harvick falls short of four

That left Toyota drivers Truex and Kyle Busch to battle for the lead throughout the middle portion of the race, with Truex prevailing in decisive fashion and Busch ultimately finishing third behind Larson, who fought a vibration in his Chevrolet and had to charge through the field on three occasions after precautionary pit stops.

“We had a lot of weird issues, vibrations, and different stuff that happened where we had to restart at the back and drive back forward,” said Larson, who saw his streak of four straight Cup victories on 2-mile tracks end with the runner-up finish.

“It seemed like we could always get to third or fourth and kind of stall out there. Still, a really good day. The 78 (Truex) was really good. I think the 4 (Harvick) — he didn’t get to race a lot, but he was probably the best car again.”

RELATED: Larson rallies to finish second

Truex might dispute that, having picked up all seven available playoff points and taking over the series lead with a nine-point edge over Kyle Busch in second.

“I knew we really had a good race car after the first adjustment of the race,” Truex said. “The thing just came alive. From there it was just about managing my tires and being smart. We had a little trouble getting beat out of the pits, and that was tough.

“At one point we fell back to fifth, and then we needed to work our way back up. I really just needed to take care of my front tires, and once we got some clean air, this thing was unbelievable.”

Joey Logano (fifth Sunday) and Brad Keselowski (fourth) are third and fourth in points, respectively. Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon completed the top 10 in the Auto Club 400.

Harvick dropped from first to eighth in the series standings.

Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was found to have one lug nut unsecured in post-race inspection.

 

Posted on by Reid Spencer

FONTANA, Calif — You couldn’t call Sunday a bad day for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch.

After all, the driver of the No. 18 Toyota led 62 laps in Sunday’s Auto Club 400, second only to race winner Martin Truex Jr. And though Busch finished third behind Truex and Kyle Larson, he held second place in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings, nine points behind Truex, who took over the lead.

The problem was that Busch expected better after a strong showing in Saturday’s practice. But clearly, his Toyota team has some catching up to do relative to Truex’s squad at Furniture Row.

RELATED: Race results | Larson rallies for second | Truex wins at Auto Club

Where was Busch’s car losing time to Truex’s?

“Everywhere,” Busch said succinctly. “Just thought we were closer than that, but obviously not. We were right on top of the 78 (Truex) Saturday. The first run, I thought we were really good and showed some strength, but from there on out showed no strength.”

An apparent wrong-way adjustment for Busch also cost the No. 18 team precious handling in the final stage of Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

Busch, who emerged from pit road with the lead on Lap 165, quickly fell to second behind Truex by Lap 169 after a crew member made the wrong wedge adjustment, according to FOX’s Larry McReynolds. Busch could counteract the errant adjustment by using his driver-controlled track bar, but if he did, it did not help enough as the No. 18 team came home in third place.

MORE: Busch salty on Twitter

Busch took the checkered flag more than 12 seconds behind Truex.

It’s the third consecutive top-five finish for Busch, who finished second at both Las Vegas and Phoenix prior to Sunday’s third-place result.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Zack Albert

FONTANA, Calif. — Kevin Harvick’s winning string ended at three with an early Sunday thud at Auto Club Speedway, but a slightly more obscure streak belonging to Kyle Larson also fell — a victorious four-race stretch at NASCAR’s 2-mile tracks.

Larson settled for the next best thing in Sunday’s Auto Club 400, rallying twice from deep in the pack to finish a season-best second place behind a dominant Martin Truex Jr. He surged back after an early collision with Harvick in the 37th lap, then made an extra pit stop before the final stage began for a vibration, forcing him to make a methodical comeback to the runner-up spot.

“Would have liked to be one spot better, but we couldn’t even see Martin,” Larson said, making a nod to the sizable 11.685-second margin of victory. “Got to be a little bit better. All in all, a good day. We fought hard. That’s all you can ask for.”

RELATED: Truex sweeps stages | Celebs, great racing at Auto Club

Harvick and Larson had already been engaged in a back-and-forth contest for third place over the course of multiple laps when their battle escalated into a coming-together of Californians. Coming off the 2-mile track’s second turn, Harvick fought for control and bobbled, then veered left into the side of Larson’s No. 42.

Harvick’s car ricocheted off the outside retaining wall then narrowly avoided the inside barrier, scraping away with significant damage. After repairs, he limped to a 35th-place result, nine laps down. Larson’s crew made their own mending work in an extended stop, dropping him to 20th in the running order.

Harvick keyed his radio to shoulder the blame for their contact, a stance he reiterated in post-race interviews on pit road. Larson’s radio was slightly more colorful in the initial aftermath, but having Harvick’s messaged relayed to him helped soothe any potential ill will.

RELATED: Harvick: ‘Just my fault back there’

“I think he came down to side-draft me maybe and just got on my right-rear,” Larson said. “Just the one replay I saw, it looked like it just spun him to the right. I’m glad that he’s not mad at me because I didn’t think I did anything wrong at the time, so it’s good that he doesn’t feel that way either.”

Larson’s next round of misfortune came on Lap 125 during the intermission after Stage 2. Instead of restarting seventh for the final stage, an additional pit stop to cure a wheel vibration knocked him back to 28th, setting the table for another charge through the field.

WATCH: See the wreck unfold

Larson chalked both setbacks up as “a lot of weird issues,” but Chad Johnston — his crew chief on the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet team — said that the earlier trouble was the more irksome of the two.

“For passing as many cars as we did, it’s just frustrating to get wrecked 30 laps into a race for no reason,” Johnston said. “That’s the most frustrating part to me. I don’t know why we were raced that hard 30 laps in and if it was the other way around, I’m sure that he wouldn’t be happy about it either. But we need to clean up our issues on pit road if we’re going to have a shot to win ’em, but guys are working hard and we’ll get it figured out. It’s new for everybody.  

“We’ve just got to find our rhythm in what we need to do to do our jobs and go from there. But the car’s got speed, so that’s good.”