Posted on by Staff Report

The annual NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway is nearly impossible to prepare for because it’s the lone race on dirt all year.

Note: Nearly.

RELATED: Full race results

There is a way drivers can ready themselves for the high-banked half-mile track in Ohio. That’s via iRacing. And those who logged lots of laps on the racing simulator the week leading into Eldora saw great success at Wednesday night’s Dirt Derby.

A diverse top 10 included first-timers, dirt experts and full-time drivers alike. All of them looked comfortable on the ever-changing dirt, and for good reason. Of the drivers who finished in the top 10, nine had recently logged time on iRacing to prep for the race, according to data provided to NASCAR.com.

Winner Chase Briscoe is known to boot up iRacing frequently and even competed in some of the virtual world championship events. Then there’s Brett Moffitt, who finished fifth in the No. 16 with iRacing as his primary sponsor and spent the lead-up to the race turning virtual laps with fans.

Logan Seavey stole the show, leading 53 laps and is the highest ranked iRacer among all drivers in the field … and a top-10 user on all of iRacing. He was cruising late before falling back on a couple of late restarts.

See below for the nine top-10 finishers and their iRating, which is iRacing’s ranking system that helps determine each racer’s skill level. The higher the better.

Note: Matt Crafton finished fourth at Eldora.

Finishing position Driver Oval iRating Dirt iRating
1 Chase Briscoe 4920 3485
2 Grant Enfinger 1250 1250
3 Stewart Friesen 1402 1528
5 Brett Moffitt 1250 1250
6 Noah Gragson 2124 1250
7 John Hunter Nemechek 1961 1350
8 Logan Seavey 8675 3346
9 Justin Haley 1550 1463
10 Nick Hoffman 1250 1250
Posted on by Staff Report

Trackside Live is heading up north for two action-packed shows at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The first show will be on Saturday, July 21 at 7:45 p.m. ET, while the second show will be on Sunday, July 22 at 9:15 a.m. ET.

WATCH: Trackside Live | MORE: Full schedule for NHMS | Buy your tickets

Don’t miss your chance to meet your favorite drivers as the regular season winds down and playoff battles heat up. Watch the video above and get excited for the lobster showdown! It’s going to be a good one.

Enjoy!

Posted on by Zack Albert

Clint Bowyer had critical words over the radio for his Stewart-Haas Racing team’s pit crew last weekend at Kentucky Speedway. Wednesday, the organization confirmed it has taken measures to address those issues.

Bowyer touched on SHR’s alterations to its over-the-wall personnel for the remainder of 2018 in a Thursday afternoon appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Those moves came after Bowyer’s otherwise quiet 12th-place finish at Kentucky and ahead of Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

RELATED: SHR shakes up crew rosters | New Hampshire schedule

Bowyer said that between testing the Charlotte road course and a promotional appearance for Watkins Glen International this week, he hasn’t been at the race shop to fully digest the changes, but that they have his attention. He also noted that all teams were still in an adjustment period in the first year under NASCAR rules changes that reduced the allowable amount of over-the-wall crew from six to five.

“It’s going to be interesting,” Bowyer told SiriusXM. “I think if you look at Stewart-Haas’ overall performance at any given race track, if we ever did have a weak link, I mean, it’s been documented that it’s in that area. We have time to fix that. We have time to correct it whether it’s coaching or different processes.

“I mean, this is still a relatively new process for everybody in the garage area that we’re doing — one less guy and everything else. The guys are still learning. No different than anything else in life, you’re only as good as the people around you, and sometimes you just don’t get lined up with the right team or whatever the case may be.”

The maneuvers affect all four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams fielded by Stewart-Haas Racing. Two of SHR’s four drivers are already multiple-race winners in the regular season with Kevin Harvick (five wins) and Bowyer (two) leading the way. The other two — Aric Almirola and Kurt Busch — are well within the provisional playoff field on the basis of points, but are still seeking their first win of the season.

“I’m excited to see how the changes change my program, and not only mine, but the 10, the 41 and the 4,” Bowyer said. “I think we’ve all had some minor changes, nothing major. I don’t think we have a major problem. We just gotta kind of nip it in the butt here with seven races to go before the pay window opens in the playoffs.”

As the team aims to build chemistry in the second half of the season, Bowyer describes the seven regular-season races that remain as “good opportunities.” Though he’s won twice already this season, he’s still short in the victory column to the so-called Big Three of Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., who have combined to win 14 of 19 races so far this year.

Bowyer said his second-half aspirations include adding a fourth voice to the chorus of regular visitors to Victory Lane. Addressing pit-road difficulties, he says, provides a starting point for achieving that goal.

“We made some mistakes and just had a bad race. Those three aren’t doing that,” Bowyer said of Kentucky, where Truex rolled to his fourth win of the year. “We’ve got seven races to clean that up and within those seven races, we need to win at least one to become part of and make the conversation the Big Four and not just the three. I think we’re capable of that. That’s the biggest thing is capability in any race team and I think we have that. We’ve just got to get it all put together and we’ve got seven races to do so.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Martin Truex Jr.’s latest win — Wednesday night at the ESPY Awards — was another tally for NASCAR in the Best Driver category.

RELATED: Truex triumphs at ESPYs

Since the ESPYs debuted in 1993, NASCAR drivers have been honored with the Best Driver Award a record 17 times. Truex, nominated for the second straight year, became the ninth stock-car racer to win at the ESPYs (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award).

A full list of NASCAR winners through history at the ESPY Awards:

Driver ESPY Wins
 Years honored
Jeff Gordon 4 1996, 1998, 1999, 2007
Jimmie Johnson 4 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Tony Stewart 3 2003, 2006, 2012
Kyle Busch 1 2016
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1 2004
Kevin Harvick 1 2015
Dale Jarrett 1 2000
Bobby Labonte 1 2001
Martin Truex Jr. 1 2018
Posted on by RJ Kraft

ROSSBURG, Ohio – Logan Seavey nearly had a debut for the ages in both NASCAR and the Camping World Truck Series at Eldora Speedway.

Nearly two years removed from open heart surgery, Seavey made his first national series start in Wednesday’s Dirt Derby, making a one-off start for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the No. 51 Toyota. He led 53 laps around Eldora and held the point position as late as Lap 144 in the scheduled 150-lap race that ultimately went 153 laps in a NASCAR overtime finish. The Toyota Racing Development driver came home eighth in the race.

RELATED: Race results | Briscoe edges out Enfinger at Eldora

“This was a really cool experience for me,” Seavey said. “Obviously, I’ve only done a couple stock car starts. Mostly just open-wheel stuff and to get in here and you know, run up front there in the first stage, compete for the lead and then kind of be able to maneuver my way through the field in the second stage and then lead 50 or so laps there on the third stage. It was really, really fun.”

Seavey took the lead at the start of the final stage – he had pitted after a second-place result in Stage 1 and stayed out after driving back up to third at the end of Stage 2. The 21-year-old looked to be in command of the race but a caution came out with 12 laps to go to bunch the field back up.

The ensuing final two restarts on older tires over the last eight laps weren’t so kind to the California native. The Lap 146 restart pitted Seavey against the series’ 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year and eventual race-winner Chase Briscoe. Seavey, who is the 2017 POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series champion, also runs a sprint car for Briscoe.

“I know Chase (Briscoe) really well and I know he likes to play a lot of games on restarts,” Seavey said. “He’s really good at it. I knew it was going to be tough and he kind of just got rolling a little bit better than I did and then I started spinning my tires.

“… I knew after that first restart – I thought it was okay and then the second one I kind of had to – just spun the tires. Those guys have a lot of practice on restarts even though it’s on dirt. They’ve got a lot of practice and I really haven’t done this too much. I knew that was kind of my weakest link when I came in and I knew the field would be really tough and that’s what got me tonight.”

Briscoe was not at all surprised to be battling his friend for the victory, noting that Seavey has a bright future in NASCAR similar to that of dirt-to-stock-car drivers Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. Both Larson (2016) and Bell (2015) are previous Eldora winners.

“I knew he was probably going to be one of the three guys to beat and he was doing a heck of a job,” Briscoe said. “That’s a name that NASCAR people are definitely going to have to get familiar (with). I think he’s probably the next big thing, honestly.”

Posted on by RJ Kraft

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

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

RELATED: Briscoe, Enfinger battle to the line in overtime | Race results

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on by Staff Report

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

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

RELATED: Briscoe’s Eldora celebration | Full race results

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Posted on by Zack Albert

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

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

MORE: All-time NASCAR ESPY winners

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

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

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

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

Posted on by Staff Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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