Dale Jr. captures first career pole at Talladega

Posted on October 14, 2017October 20, 2017 by Reid Spencer

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. has started on the front row in every restrictor-plate race this season. The driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has won six races at Talladega Superspeedway.

But Saturday was special, because Earnhardt accomplished something he had never done before.

In his last season of full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing, Earnhardt won his first pole at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Touring NASCAR’s longest closed course in 50.256 seconds (190.544 mph) in the final round of single-car qualifying, Earnhardt claimed the top starting spot for Sunday’s Alabama 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC), the second race in the Playoff’s Round of 12.

And though Earnhardt isn’t among the 12 drivers competing for a series championship this year, that didn’t prevent fans in the frontstretch grandstands from standing and screaming en masse as Earnhardt sped toward the uniquely positioned start/finish line at the end of the tri-oval.

Remarkably, given the success of the Earnhardt family at the massive track in the heart of Alabama, Earnhardt had no poles to show for his previous 34 attempts. But a day after proudly driving the No. 2 Rod Osterlund Chevrolet his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., piloted to his first series championship in 1980, Earnhardt Jr. found his mojo.

After Friday’s practice, Earnhardt took a lap in the vintage car, a gift from the speedway to commemorate his contribution to the iconic track and to the sport. A day later, he earned his second Coors Light Pole Award of the season — the first coming at Daytona in July — and the 15th of his career.

Earnhardt beat Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott (190.412 mph), a playoff contender, for the top starting spot by .035 seconds.

“We’ve been fighting our teammate Chase and his group for poles at these tracks for a long time, and it’s been a lot of fun to be honest with you, how these two teams have pushed and elevated each other,” Earnhardt said. “Really, all the credit for getting a pole at a place like this goes to the team and goes to the car and the guys that work on it, the engine, the body men; we’ve got an amazing staff back at Charlotte that builds some awesome stuff.

“I just hold the wheel straight and try not to bounce into the apron, but get as close to it as you can and make sure you run a clean lap. But there ain’t much to it as a driver. … This place has meant a lot to me. It’s awesome to hear those fans happy for us, and hopefully we’re going to give them a lot more to cheer about before this weekend is over.”

When he climbed from the car, the crowd erupted again.

“I got chills,” Earnhardt said.

Joey Logano (190.374 mph) qualified third, followed by Kurt Busch (190.268 mph) and playoff driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (190.170 mph), who is trying for his third straight victory on a restrictor-plate track. It was Stenhouse who denied Earnhardt a Talladega pole in May.

“I was hoping we’d get another pole, and I think it would have been cool to knock him off the pole again, but obviously this shows our Ford is still fast,” said Stenhouse, one of seven Ford drivers who qualified in the top 10.

“We’ve got speed in it, and it felt good yesterday drafting with all of our other Ford teammates. The biggest thing is we have a starting spot up front, and that’s really all we need. We’re in a good spot because we can see the front.”

Chevrolets and Fords dominated Saturday’s time trials. Daniel Suarez qualified 14th in the fastest Toyota, and Denny Hamlin in 15th was the top playoff driver in a Camry.

“Thought we had a pretty good race car yesterday in practice,” said Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch, who will start 16th. “We did some practice runs with our teammates – all of our Toyota guys and a couple other guys kind of jumped in there as well.

“We were fine, and I was hoping we would be able to show top-12 speed today, but we’ll worry about tomorrow now.”

Series leader Martin Truex Jr. will start 21st. Among the 12 playoff drivers, Kevin Harvick will start deepest in the field from the 22nd position.

Posted on October 14, 2017October 20, 2017 by

TALLADEGA, Ala. — There’s something special about Talladega Superspeedway for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The sprawling 2.66-mile track, located about 50 miles east of Birmingham, is an icon in the NASCAR world, noted for the blistering speeds and high-action races that unfold inside the superspeedway’s gates. It’s also the site of Stenhouse’s first win in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the Roush Fenway Racing driver having driven to Victory Lane in May.

But more than anything, Talladega feels the most like home for the Olive Branch, Mississippi, native.

“I’ve enjoyed coming to Talladega since 2008 when I was in the ARCA Series,” Stenhouse told NASCAR.com on Friday. “Having friends and family come down and be able to go practice and then come here and hang out on The Boulevard, come hang out on the back straightaway where my dad parks his motorhome with a lot of his buddies up there. It feels home, being able to just enjoy away from the track and I think that’s what kind of helps me relax and have fun when I come to Talladega.

“As stressful as it can be trying to plan out your moves and think about the race, I think I do better when I’m hanging out with friends and family and just jump in the race track and go for it.”

MORE: Drivers to sweep ‘Dega

His last name isn’t Earnhardt, but Stenhouse is slowly becoming one of the best wheelmen in a place often dubbed Earnhardt Country. His No. 17 Ford is undoubtedly considered a favorite heading into Sunday’s Alabama 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC); he’s won the last two restrictor-plate events this season at Talladega (May) and Daytona (July) and owns the best average finish at Talladega (10.4) among active Cup drivers.

Ford also seems to have figured out the science that is restrictor-plate racing, as the manufacturer has won the past four straight Monster Energy Series events at Talladega and the last three races at Daytona.

“It starts with a great race car and I think everybody at Roush Fenway has really put a lot of focus into our speedway program and showed over the last couple years that we’re strong here,” Stenhouse said. “It’s been strong but it kind of fell off a little bit and then we found it, we’ve got back. … And then you’ve got to make the right moves at the right time, know when to go for it and know when to back off and get out of it. And I think my spotter Mike Harmon Jr. and I really worked a lot on that — push at the right times, put yourself in a position to stay up front or get to the front.”

At Talladega, the difference between success and “The Big One” can be seconds or inches. The smallest change can mean either a checkered flag — or crushed sheet metal. With a “car graveyard” of old race cars near the track, the reminder of that is all around Stenhouse.

And while his recent record here speaks to his prowess at plate tracks, he’s still sitting in a slightly precarious position heading into Sunday’s 500-miler. The 30-year-old ranks last of 12 drivers in the NASCAR Monster Energy Series Playoffs standings with two races remaining (Talladega and Kansas) until the field dwindles by four. But Stenhouse doesn’t seem too worried; he’s confident his team can bust some brackets that have him out before the Round of 8.

With or without a win at Talladega.

“I think for us, we felt like if we did the Xs and Os of racing and really not make too many mistakes that we could get to the second round,” Stenhouse said. “Somehow we made a lot of mistakes and we still made it to that second round. We had a good Charlotte, we come into Talladega with a really good opportunity to propel ourselves into that next round with a win.

“But also I think we don’t have to have that win to get to the next round. I felt really confident about what we had at Charlotte. We come in here, we get stage points, we get a good finish and I think we can be above the cutline going into Kansas and we had a great run at Kansas earlier in the season.

“So, yes I think we can win and move on, but I also think that we don’t have to win to be able to move on.”

Posted on October 14, 2017October 20, 2017 by Staff Report

Las Vegas native Kurt Busch and his wife, Ashley, have created a very personal memorial to honor those who lost their lives in the tragic shooting earlier this month.

Busch talked about the garden during Saturday’s qualifying for Sunday’s Alabama 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, Sirius XM NASCAR) and posted photos on his Instagram account on Friday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaK7FHIgVPY/?taken-by=kurtbusch

Each of the 58 white pumpkins has the name of one victim, and the gold and purple mums are the colors of Busch’s high school, the driver explained.

See more photos on Instagram.

Posted on October 14, 2017October 20, 2017 by Brad Norman

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Team radios buzzed throughout Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, and much of the chatter surrounded eventual race winner Parker Kligerman.

Christopher Bell, Ben Rhodes and Grant Enfinger were among the drivers to say Kligerman was making them nervous with the aggressive manner in which he was bumping other trucks from behind.

There were some dicey moments, including Kligerman shoving Cody Coughlin to the lead and also causing others to bobble with his bump-style drafting.

MORE: Kligerman holds on as wrecks unfolds

“Get him off me,” was the directive from race leader Bell in the final laps.

“Try not to let the 75 get behind me,” came from the No. 27 channel (Rhodes’ team) earlier.

Reaction from Kligerman and crew chief Chris Carrier varied between thoughtful and direct, but both defended the racing in their own ways.

“I’ve been a crew chief for 40-something years,” Carrier said. “Most of those guys complaining are guys that want to be Sunday drivers. Better grow up. If you want to cut the grass, you better not mind grass in your shoes. That’s part of it, like it or not. Grow up.”

“I know there were a couple (drivers) that got upset and I was like, whatever,” added Kligerman, an analyst for NBC Sports. “I thought we were here to race. I find out later in the race, yeah, you could get a little loose.

” … I didn’t spin anyone out, so I think it worked. We passed a lot of trucks, we got ourselves to the front a couple of times and when it came down to it, everybody was doing the same thing. I don’t see any harm or foul.”

Posted on October 14, 2017October 20, 2017 by Reid Spencer

TALLADEGA, Ala. – The massive wreck in Turn 1 that gobbled up a pack of trucks in overtime at Talladega Superspeedway spared a part-time driver with one win on his career resume and a lower-budget team fighting for the final spot in the Round of 6 of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ Playoff.

The part-timer, Parker Kligerman, charged to the front past pole winner, series leader and race runner-up Christopher Bell after the final restart and had the lead in Saturday’s Fred’s 250 when trucks started bouncing off each other in Turn 1 on the final lap. That wreck caused a caution that froze the running order and gave Kligerman his first victory since he won at Talladega in 2012.

The real suspense, however, involved John Hunter Nemechek, who steered his already-wrecked truck through two major crashes in the final 25 laps to finish sixth. Nemechek grabbed the final spot in the Round of 6 over Chase Briscoe, who finished 22nd, nine laps down after his team dealt with a valve cover issue early in the race.

“We had a long team meeting last night in the lobby of our hotel, and we sat down and said a prayer that we would make it to the next round,” Nemechek said.

Shortly after the restart of the final stage, it appeared the prayer would not be answered. Nemechek’s No. 8 Chevrolet was damaged heavily in a crash that started when Ben Rhodes turned Clay Greenfield’s Chevrolet in Turn 4 on Lap 53.

Nemechek’s team worked feverishly to repair the damage to the extent possible and kept the No. 8 on the lead lap. With Briscoe locked into a 22nd-place finish, Nemechek had to finish 13th or better after Austin Wayne Self’s spin in Turn 4 caused the sixth caution on Lap 90 and sent the event to overtime. When trucks in the lead pack started wrecking in front of Nemechek after the field took the white flag, spotter Jason Jarrett guided his driver through the melee and gained enough spots to advance comfortably.

For Kligerman, it was a case of right choices at the right time.

“It’s all a blur,” he said. “Each corner you’re making six decisions, and they happened to work. It was just crazy. Every move worked. It’s just sometimes they click. Those last 10 laps, if I went high and separated the back, or if I tried to get the bump and the run, every move just worked. Sometimes they go your way.”

For the first 40 laps, Talladega looked like Johnny Sauter’s personal playground. The defending series champion powered into the lead after the start, pulling GMS Racing teammate Justin Haley with him. Sauter and Haley dropped to the inside lane in front of Bell and ran in lock-step for 20 laps, with Sauter winning the first stage wire-to-wire.

Sauter may have sailed through Stage 1, but calamity struck two other championship contenders. On Lap 8, Briscoe took his No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford to the garage to repair a fluid leak and lost 10 laps in the process. Briscoe’s issues, however, couldn’t compare with those of Kaz Grala, who started the race from the rear because of a last-minute engine change. After working his way Grala was the victim of a chain-reaction wreck of Turn 4 on Lap 19, also involving the trucks of Cody Coughlin, Chris Fontaine, Rhodes and Ryan Truex.

Grala’s No. 33 Chevy nosed into the outside wall and spun into the infield grass, where the heavily damaged Silverado sat until a wrecker towed it to the garage. Grala retired in 29th place, his playoffs over.

WATCH: Grala has trouble early at Talladega

“I’m not quite sure what happened,” Grala said after a mandatory visit to the infield care center. “Everything checked up in front of me. I slowed down. I think I was going to miss it, but the truck behind me (Truex’s Toyota) didn’t get slowed down fast enough and turned us up into the wall and ended our day.

“I think that’s the end of our championship hopes, unfortunately. It’s tough to take, because I think we really came alive this latter part of the season. I think we could have been a contender.”

Notes: Myatt Snider sustained damage in a Lap 70 wreck but rallied to finish a career-best third… Austin Cindric ran fifth behind Grant Enfinger and secured a spot in the Round of 6, joining Bell, Sauter, Nemechek, Rhodes and Matt Crafton.

Posted on October 14, 2017October 20, 2017 by Staff Report

Six drivers advanced to the second round of the 2017 Camping World Truck Series Playoffs following Saturday’s elimination race at Talladega Superspeedway, with John Hunter Nemechek edging out Chase Briscoe for the final spot in the Round of 6.

Several championship contenders were involved in wrecks, including Matt Crafton and Nemechek. Parker Kligerman won the race, and Christopher Bell finished second, the highest position for a playoff driver.

MORE: Complete race results | Go inside Talladega weekend

The six drivers who earned a spot in the next round are seeded as follows:

1. Christopher Bell, 3,047 points
2. Johnny Sauter, 3,027
3. Matt Crafton, 3,014
4. John Hunter Nemechek, 3,014
5. Ben Rhodes, 3,013
6. Austin Cindric, 3,007

The Round of 6 for the Camping World Truck Series kicks off Saturday, Oct. 28 at Martinsville for the Texas Roadhouse 200 (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on October 14, 2017October 21, 2017 by Nascar

At a Glance
What: Alabama 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race No. 31
Where: Talladega Superspeedway, 2.66-mile layout in Talladega, Ala.
Green flag: 2:13 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR
Forecast: Partly cloudy with a high of 83, low of 53 degrees; 20 percent chance of precipitation; Winds SW 4 mph. (Weather.com)
National anthem: 313th United States Army Band (Birmingham, Ala.)
Grand Marshal: Kay Ivey, Gov. of Alabama
Honorary Starter: Del Marsh, Alabama State Senator
Race distance: 188 laps, 500 miles
Pit road speed: 55 mph
Caution car speed: 70 mph
Stage lengths: Stage 1 ends at lap 55; Stage 2 ends at lap 110; Final stage scheduled to end at lap 188.

Posted on October 14, 2017October 20, 2017 by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See the races at Talladega

#	Car	Driver	Team
1	15	Mark Thompson(i)	Phoenix Air Chevrolet
2	72	Cole Whitt	RTIC Chevrolet
3	55	* DJ Kennington	Dirt and Rock Toyota
4	7	* Justin Marks(i)	Golden Corral/Katerra Chevrolet
5	23	Joey Gase(i)	Dr Pepper Toyota
6	48	Jimmie Johnson (P)	Lowe’s Chevrolet
7	83	* Gray Gaulding #	Dustless Blasting Toyota
8	1	Jamie McMurray (P)	Cessna Chevrolet
9	47	AJ Allmendinger	Kroger ClickList Chevrolet
10	42	Kyle Larson (P)	First Data Chevrolet
11	33	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Hulu Chevrolet
12	37	Chris Buescher	Bush’s Chili Beans Chevrolet
13	31	Ryan Newman	Caterpillar Chevrolet
14	75	* Brendan Gaughan(i)	Beard Oil Distributing Chevrolet
15	24	Chase Elliott (P)	NAPA Chevrolet
16	27	Paul Menard	Knauf/Menards Chevrolet
17	95	Michael McDowell	K-Love Radio Chevrolet
18	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Can-Am/Kappa Ford
19	38	David Ragan	Juice Batteries Ford
20	34	Landon Cassill	Love’s Travel Stops/CSX Play It Safe Ford
21	19	Daniel Suarez #	Camping World Toyota
22	6	Trevor Bayne	Liberty National Ford
23	77	Erik Jones #	5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota
24	20	Matt Kenseth (P)	DEWALT FLEXVOLT Toyota
25	78	Martin Truex Jr. (P)	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota
26	18	Kyle Busch (P)	M&M’s Caramel Toyota
27	3	Austin Dillon	American Ethanol Chevrolet
28	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Mountain Dew Chevrolet
29	11	Denny Hamlin (P)	FedEx Ground Toyota
30	13	Ty Dillon #	GEICO Chevrolet
31	5	Kasey Kahne	Farmers Insurance Chevrolet
32	22	Joey Logano	Shell Pennzoil Ford
33	10	Danica Patrick	Aspen Dental Ford
34	43	Aric Almirola	Smithfield Ford
35	14	Clint Bowyer	Haas Automation Ford
36	4	Kevin Harvick (P)	Busch Light Outdoors Ford
37	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P)	SunnyD Ford
38	21	Ryan Blaney (P)	Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford
39	41	Kurt Busch	Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford
40	2	Brad Keselowski (P)	Miller Lite Ford

* Required to qualify on time, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Posted on October 14, 2017October 20, 2017 by Holly Cain

RELATED: Weekend schedule for Talladega

It feels quite appropriate. Seven-time NASCAR champions Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty open up the newly released 2018 Daytona 500 commercial with heartfelt sentiment and high expectations about this epic event.

“There is no greater feeling,” reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champ Johnson says, opening the new commercial unveiled Saturday by Daytona International Speedway.

“There is no greater history,” answers the legendary NASCAR Hall of Famer Petty in the very next frame.

And there are no greater voices than the drivers and NASCAR fans featured in this spot to remind people to purchase tickets for the Feb. 18, 2018 Daytona 500 — the 60th anniversary of the sport’s most famous race.

“We’re really proud of the commercial,” Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile said. “We took a little different approach than we’ve taken in the past using fans as part of our creative. I thought the end product was just phenomenal.

“Using Daytona 500 fans and champions to promote the 60th running of the Daytona 500 is a perfect mix of competition on track and fan experience we’ve been talking about for years.

“This is a prime example of pushing the envelope and really melding the drivers of the sport and stars of sports with the fans who keep the sport going with the passion they have behind it.”

Wile says there is much to look forward to as the track prepares a proper celebration of its six decades of celebrated competition.

“We’re ultra-focused on making sure the 60th is special and this is one more example of doing that,” Wile said.

Posted on October 13, 2017June 22, 2021 by @KESELOWSKI

TALLADEGA, Ala. — With its high banking, speed and lurking potential for the “Big One,” Talladega Superspeedway is NASCAR’s largest — and arguably, one of the most daunting — tracks on the circuit.

For Brad Keselowski Racing driver Chase Briscoe, coming here feels like “a lottery.” Throw in the fact that Saturday’s fred’s 250 at the superspeedway takes the Camping World Truck Series Playoffs field from eight to six, and that’s enough to unnerve even the most veteran of drivers.

Let alone a rookie.

“It’s as nerve-wracking as can be,” Briscoe said of Talladega on Friday. “I think here and Daytona are the two most nervous places I go to. I’m not going to sit here and act like I’m all tough. It is scary … because you do know what can happen, you know there’s going to be a huge wreck — you’ve just got to hope and pray that you aren’t in it.”

In Briscoe’s lone restrictor-plate start earlier this season at Daytona International Speedway, he finished third. But even a finish like that doesn’t give him much solace.

“I don’t think you can really lean on comfort from past success here because so much can happen,” he said. “It’s not so much as what you do as a driver here as it is just if you’re fortunate or not to make it through the wrecks … I think you’ve just got to go out there and be praying the whole race that you don’t get caught up.”

Briscoe sits fifth in the current playoff standings, his Brad Keselowski Racing teammate Austin Cindric just behind him in sixth. Only eight points separate Cindric from the cutoff spot. Above them are locked-in winners Christopher Bell and Ben Rhodes, as well as Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter.

“I don’t think you could say that anyone’s comfortable, especially if you’re right around the cutoff line,” Briscoe said. “You look at how stage points are seriously affecting how the playoffs work; I mean, Chase is 10 above, I’m 8 above. And you can easily (earn) 10 or so on guys just by how you’re running in the pack.”

GMS Racing’s Kaz Grala is seventh now, while John Hunter Nemechek rounds out the field in eighth. The NEMCO Motorsports driver certainly hopes stage points will bode well for his chances, as he’s currently 14 points behind Cindric.

“We have some points to make up,” Nemechek said. “The stage points definitely play a factor into this year — if this was last year, it would be a must-win situation. … We’re just going to stay out and do the best we can. We stayed a lot at the shop this week, late nights working on our truck making sure that everything that’s in our control we eliminated all mistakes.

“So, we just have to run our race, hopefully run up front, win stages and win the race.”