Posted on by Reid Spencer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — At Phoenix International Raceway, the next-to-last event in last year’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoff, William Byron’s championship hopes exploded when the engine in his No. 9 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota did likewise.

But it wasn’t until a week later that Byron felt what he termed the “gut punch” of falling out of the playoff with a championship in his rookie season so close to reality.

Byron won seven races in the Camping World Truck Series last year and was the odds-on favorite entering the playoff — until his engine went sour at Phoenix. This year, Byron hopes to wash away that sour taste with a NASCAR XFINITY Series championship — before he makes the jump in 2018 to the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

With three XFINITY victories this year, all within a five-race stretch in the middle of the season, Byron goes into the playoff as the top seed, with 25 playoffs points, as the playoffs open on Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN). His most ardent hope is not to repeat the experience of going to Homestead without a chance to win the championship.

MORE: Playoff-bound drivers ready for Kentucky

“It was definitely a gut punch going through the final race and not having a chance at it,” Byron said on Tuesday during NASCAR XFINITY Series Playoffs Media Day at the Embassy Suites. “I didn’t really think about what the championship meant until I saw them celebrating and saw the excitement and what it means to win that.

“Everyone says that, when you lose one, you know how to win it, but I think watching everything unfold and knowing that I wasn’t a part of it was definitely the gut punch I needed to try and win this year.”

In preparation for his jump to Monster Energy Series next season, Byron has been attending events in the series and getting advice from his future teammates at HMS. But his primary focus is winning the XFINITY title and making up for the Camping World Truck Series championship that eluded him last year.

“Really, the best preparation I can do is run hard and really learn the next seven races,” Byron said. “There were a few things out there, whether I was going to run some (Monster Energy Series) this year, but I feel like, really, we’re focusing on what we have going on here and trying to win a championship.

“That’s what they want me to do, and that’s what, really, I want especially after last year and how that went. So definitely want to get redemption and try to win a championship.”

Byron is one of four JR Motorsports drivers to qualify for the playoff, along with Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett. All four drivers in the organization share information unselfishly, and that should help Byron in his first XFINITY playoff.

“Elliott’s been there each week, talking to me about different race tracks and answering each question I have,” Byron said. “Same with Justin. I feel like we’re all from different experience levels, and we all have our different goals and different strengths.

“I think Justin’s been really strong, and Elliot’s been really consistent. Each week he’s finishing better, I feel like, than all of the regulars. That’s been a tough challenge to keep up with him, but we’re learning each week, and I think now we’ve kind of got all of our stuff together and the learning’s done.

“The learning curve has progressed enough where we can go and compete for a championship.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Race results

NASCAR competition officials announced Tuesday that the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has been issued an L1-level penalty.

During post-race inspection, the No. 24 Chevrolet was discovered to be in violation of Section 20.20 in the NASCAR Rule Book — modification of components to affect the aerodynamic properties of the vehicle.

As a result, Chase Elliott’s second-place finish in the NASCAR Playoffs opener at Chicagoland Speedway was ruled to be encumbered, crew chief Alan Gustafson was fined $25,000 and suspended for one race, car chief Joshua Kirk was suspended for one race and the team was hit with the loss of 15 driver points and 15 owner points.

The loss in driver points dropped Elliott from sixth place to eighth place in the postseason standings, with two events remaining in the three-race Round of 16. Hendrick Motorsports released a statement saying the team will not appeal. Kenny Francis will serve as the interim crew chief, and Kevin Hulstein will be the interim car chief.

Also on Tuesday, the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 team in the Monster Energy Series and the Biagi-DenBeste Racing No. 98 team in the NASCAR XFINITY Series received safety violations for unsecured lug nuts post-race at Chicago.

Crew chief Jason Ratcliff, who oversees the JGR No. 20 for driver Matt Kenseth, was fined $10,000. Crew chief Jonathan Hanson, who called the shots for Darrell Wallace Jr. last Saturday, was fined $5,000.

Posted on by Holly Cain

Leavine Family Racing announced Tuesday that 18-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series winner Kasey Kahne is coming aboard as the organization’s new driver beginning next season.

It will be the fifth organization for Kahne, the 2004 Rookie of the Year. His current team, Hendrick Motorsports, revealed last month that Kahne would not return in 2018.

“I feel like (Leavine has) really made a lot of gains in the past couple years,” Kahne told NASCAR.com of his new team. “It’s pretty cool to watch, any time you see a small team do what they’ve done in our sport.

“The opportunity will be a challenge, but also a lot of fun. I enjoy a challenge and I enjoy working with people. The best part about it is us all being a team and trying to improve every single weekend and learning from what we do one week and improving the next. I think that’s something we’ll be able to do. And I’m really excited about it.”

RELATED: Kahne through the years | No. 5 drivers

Kahne has driven the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports for the past five seasons, where he has scored six victories. The most recent win was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, which punched his ticket to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. He has four top-10 results on the year and finished 21st in the Chicago playoff opener last weekend.

Kahne’s most productive season came in a six-win 2006 campaign, where he finished eighth in the final standings. His best finish in the championship standings was a fourth place in 2012 — his first driving for Hendrick.

“After Indy I really saw his confidence level rise,” team co-owner Bob Leavine told NASCAR.com. “That was great for him. I told him, ‘You are going to be the guy here, the star on our stage and you don’t share it with anyone.’ And the experience he brings will help our guys’ confidence.”

The Leavine Family Racing team has one top-five finish this season, a fourth-place run from McDowell at the summer night race at Daytona. McDowell currently is 25th in the points standings.

“Michael is a personal friend of mine and I love him dearly,” Leavine said. “He spoke to the group this morning and said how much he appreciated the support and being a part of this family. He’s a class act and a professional. He’ll always be a part of this family.”

Leavine said he’s currently looking at the right crew chief to pair with Kahne and is open to reuniting Kahne with people he has worked with previously.

“It was exciting to get the process started and now for the news to be out, we’ll be looking at where we want to be crew chief-wise,” he said. “That’s a really important relationship between the driver and crew chief. Who is the right person? You do a lot of discussion and try to make the best decision you can.”

Leavine also confirmed the team will again partner with Richard Childress Racing and the ECR engine program and was optimistic about the overall fit for his team in 2018.

“It’s going to be a good relationship, a good home for Kasey,” Leavine said. “We’re family over here and I think that’s something he’ll enjoy.”

Kahne seemed equally optimistic.

“I still really feel I can do a really good job with the team side and working with people,” he said. “I think that’s nice with the situation I’m getting in and I look forward to doing that and trying to improve. I still want to race my sprint car when I can. I still feel like I’m plenty young to do a lot of racing.”

NEWS: Darian Grubb named No. 5 crew chief

Getting the news out now also helps put that matter of business to rest with a Monster Energy Series championship to pursue. On Monday, Hendrick Motorsports announced that former championship crew chief Darian Grubb would replace Keith Rodden on the No. 5 team for the remaining portion of the season.

“I think it’s good because I won’t have to worry about next year anymore,” Kahne said. “I have a plan and can start working on the plan sooner than later. It will help me finish strong in the 5 car. I really enjoy my car and the team and working with Darian will be something new, something different.

“I just want to finish strong and do everything possible to finish with the best results in the 5 car I possibly can.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR and Comcast released a new NASCAR XFINITY Series identity mark on Tuesday, with a full rollout coming in 2018. The new look was broadcasted onto the big screen at the NASCAR Hall of Fame as NASCAR XFINITY Series Playoffs Media Day was underway across the street in Charlotte.

The shared vision on the new series identity reinforces the character of the series with a bold, simple look that conveys precision and momentum.

NASCAR and Comcast collaborated on the new mark, showcasing both brands’ aesthetics.

Jill Gregory, NASCAR senior vice president and chief marketing officer, extolled the season-long effort to devise the new branding.

“We’re excited about it, and we think it reflects all the great things about the XFINITY Series,” Gregory said. “Comcast and NASCAR spent a lot of time building the brand and talking about ‘Names are made here.’

 “The new mark is bold, it’s simple, but it will still communicate all the great things about the series.”

NASCAR also recently unveiled a new brand identity mark in December 2016, replacing the bar mark used by the sanctioning body since 1976.

Posted on by Staff Report

Earlier this week, NASCAR.com spent the day at Chip Ganassi Racing in Concord, North Carolina. During the visit, our team got to know theirs a little better. Stay tuned this week as NASCAR.com features unique, all-access content.

Championship vibes are strong within walls of Chip Ganassi Racing

 

Chip Ganassi Racing crew driven by family-like bond

 

VIDEO: Go inside a pit crew practice at Chip Ganassi Racing

VIDEO: The rise of Chip Ganassi Racing

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Photos of Danica Patrick through the years

Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart knows he won’t have Danica Patrick on his roster of drivers next year, but he thinks Patrick will be in NASCAR in 2018.

Stewart spent part of his morning Tuesday on “The Dan Patrick Show,” where he addressed a variety of topics — including Danica’s future. Patrick announced earlier in September that she would not return to SHR in 2018.

“Good question,” Stewart replied when the host asked him about Patrick’s future. “I don’t know. I don’t know what she has planned. She has so much stuff going on. She reminds me a lot of me. She’s got wineries, she’s got her yoga stuff, she’s got a clothing line she’s working on. But I don’t see her leaving the sport. She’s that driven and that competitive. She still wants to win.”

MORE ‘SMOKE’: Historic photos | Photos from every win

Other topics addressed on the show include:

• Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s post-race Periscope live-stream on Twitter: “Every Sunday after the race, I watch it to see what he’s going to say about the day. I just like how he engages with people. To be Dale Jr. and to get people to run up and literally just bump into you to try to get an autograph or a picture, I couldn’t deal with it like he does. … He’s just a great man and a great personality.”

• On if he’s getting married: “No. Who told you that? I’ve made it 46 years!”

• On his most prized possession: “If I had to leave my house, I’ve got to grab the last championship trophy I have in NASCAR (2011) because that was the hardest one to win for sure.”

Posted on by Steve Luvender

It’s time for the playoffs! Or, you know, the time things get awfully intense — even off the track. Chicagoland gave us plenty of story lines … and slime.

Thumbs Up: Playoffs Green

There’s something special about seeing those 16 playoff cars with Monster Energy green trim.

 

 

Thumbs up for the start of the 2017 NASCAR Playoffs and that fast-looking green trim that says to the other 24 competitors, “Hey, I’m faster than you!”

 

Thumbs Down: Pit crew swap woes

Heading into Chicagoland, Joe Gibbs Racing elected to swap pit crews for their No. 18 and No. 19 teams. Kyle Busch, of course, made the playoffs, while teammate rookie Daniel Suarez came up short in his first season. Apparently, Suarez’s No. 19 crew was the safer bet — that was the assumption, at least — prompting a swap of the teams before the start of the playoffs.

Apparently, after numerous pit road penalties and mishaps for the No. 18 team, the swap didn’t quite go as planned. Busch led the most laps, but ended up finishing 15th. Not ideal when every point matters.

It remains to be seen whether or not Kyle Busch will be reunited with the pit crew that helped him reach the playoffs, but surely the team competition meeting on Monday totally wasn’t awkward at all.

Thumbs down for a rocky start.

 

Thumbs Up: Matt DiBenedetto’s “photo finish’

Why isn’t anybody talking about the photo finish at Chicagoland?!

 

Matt DiBenedetto crossed the finish line side-by-side with race winner Martin Truex Jr — a dead heat — or so it appeared.

No, the No. 32 Go Fas Racing Ford didn’t battle for the win, but it’ll sort of look that way in every photo of Truex crossing the finish line at Chicagoland Sunday. DiBenedetto’s lapped car finished six laps behind Truex in 31st place — but, hey, maybe he could fool somebody in a sponsor pitch deck.

Thumbs up to DiBurrito for almost winning, from the looks of it, at least.

 

Thumbs Down: Pit road penalties for Playoff drivers

Pish! Piles of playoff participants procured plentiful pit road penalties.

Playoffs produced plenty of pressure, piling prevalent penalties for particular playoff partakers: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, and Kurt Busch were the proscribing parties participating in the Playoffs pained by pit road penalties.

Truex positively parried his pit penalty, per contra, prevailing powerfully and passing to the postliminary playoffs period.


Thumbs down for playoff participators performing pass-through pit road penalties, per prescribed protocol.

 

Biggest Thumbs Up of the Week: Slime on the furniture

Did you have grandparents who kept the plastic covers on their furniture? Man, it seems like you couldn’t enjoy the furniture at the intended level of comfort and visual appeal — all in the name of keeping dirt and slime off the furniture.

Maybe sofa-plastic grandparents were afraid of people like Martin Truex Jr.

The Furniture Row Racing driver and his team were greeted in Victory Lane by a heaping helping of Slime.

As we noted, there was a little more green on Truex’s car this week coinciding with the start of the playoffs, so it was only fitting that Truex himself sported some more bright green of his own when he claimed the victory in the Tales of the Turtles 400 (with race partner Nickelodeon).

Surely, crew chief/engineer/genius Cole Pearn’s already working up a use for the Slime.

 

A giant thumbs up for sliming the furniture race winner. Let’s do this again.

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: XFINITY Series Playoff standings | Analyzing the 12-driver field

Daniel Hemric is 26 and that makes the Richard Childress Racing driver the old man among the Sunoco rookies in this year’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Playoff field.

Older than JR Motorsports phenom William Byron (19).

Older than Stewart-Haas speedster Cole Custer (19).

And older than Joe Gibbs Racing’s lone representative, Matt Tifft (21).

The four make up one-third of the 12-driver field and they’ll get down to business Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway where race No. 1 in the Round of 12 is scheduled (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Byron, winner of three races, goes in as the No. 1 seed, ahead of JRM teammates Justin Allgaier (second) and Elliott Sadler (third).

Brennan Poole (Chip Ganassi Racing), Ryan Reed (Roush Fenway Racing), Jeremy Clements (Jeremy Clements Racing), Blake Koch (Kaulig Racing), Brendan Gaughan (RCR) and Michael Annett (JRM) round out the 12-team field.

Hemric joined RCR this season after two full seasons of Camping World Truck Series competition for team owner Brad Keselowski. His No. 21 team is a hodgepodge of talented folks who have experience but not a lot of time working together.

But they’ve managed to learn and grow and improve enough throughout the season to make Hemric more than a passable candidate to advance to Homestead and the championship-determining race.

RELATED: Playoff-bound drivers ready for Kentucky

“Danny (Stockman, crew chief) is a good leader and he’s put groups together in the past and made them work,” Hemric told NASCAR.com recently. “I think that’s what helped it thrive early and often.

“It all starts at the top with Stockman and myself just trying to be leaders for our group. At end of day, the majority of (the crew) are all racers so that makes it easier. That makes it a common goal on which direction on the rope they’re pulling, makes it all go the same direction and that’s what it’s all about.”

Hemric managed 12 top-10 finishes during the regular season, including a runner-up finish at Mid-Ohio. There have been rookie mistakes here and there, but not enough to sidetrack a team that’s had the playoffs in its sights since February.

Others have been faster, but Hemric and his group have improved throughout the year and look strong heading into the postseason.

“I don’t think we unload and are one of the ones people are automatically pointing at as a dominant car,” he said. “But … with the strength of our team and knowing we can contend and run inside the top 10, top five throughout the majority of the events, even with the Cup guys in there; take them out and we’re a solid top-five car, top-six car no matter where we’ve been.

“We had to take that step; that’s not exactly where we’ve been all year. That’s a testament to how much we’ve grown as a group and how much better our equipment has gotten, how much better Stockman and I are working together. Maximizing our days, that’s what’s going to be the deciding factor of if we can become one of those that people point at as one of the ones to beat.”

Hemric made it one round last year in Truck Series postseason and finished sixth overall. The year before, he was seventh at season’s end. While he is a rookie in the XFINITY series, he admitted he’s not a fan of the moniker.

“I like to think that everything I went through growing up and getting to this point, you don’t want to be classified as a rookie,” he said. “But you look back now and there are things and decisions I wish I had made differently … but it’s been a year of learning. …

“Knowing the magnitude of how one OK day has to benefit you versus pushing too much and having a bad day and how that affects your playoff chances.

“I think I’m better for it, I think the team is better for it; we’ve made a huge step in growing together.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: At the shop with Joe Gibbs Racing

Amid a voluminous space of roughly 4,000 square feet with plenty of state-of-the-art machines, one of the most noticeable features in Joe Gibbs Racing’s indoor training facilities is something that barely qualifies as equipment at all.

Centrally mounted from the ceiling is a disco ball. As JGR Senior Athletic Advisor Michael Lepp explains, the room doesn’t function as a dance hall after normal operating hours. It’s there to lighten the mood if need be, but also serves as a nod to team owner Joe Gibbs’ time as a Hall of Fame coach for the NFL’s Washington Redskins.

“That ball actually came from the Redskins training facility where Coy Gibbs, Joe’s son, works up with their training,” Lepp said last week, on the eve of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. “They used to complain, ‘well, it’s not fun to be in the gym all the time,’ and so they bought a disco ball and put it up and turned the lights out, turned it on and said well, now you can have fun and have a disco as you work out.

“It’s a little bit that reminds us of our culture and history with Joe being a Super Bowl-winning coach. We kind of put that up as a reminder, but it’s kind of a fun thing.”

RELATED: Galloway learns new kind of speed in pit crew workout

The disco ball might be a sparkly throwback to the 1970s, but much of the room’s other contents are on the forefront of technology. Crewmembers keep track of their carefully curated workouts on flat-screen displays spread around the space. And more than three dozen pieces of equipment help Lepp and other trainers target strength drills specifically designed to assist each crewmember’s job.

The facilities don’t end there, with an outdoor athletic field for speed and agility training, plus a pit-stop practice area where the organization’s athletes can apply their skills. Plus there’s a new adjoining room where Jena Gatses, JGR’s full-time doctor of physical therapy and performance specialist, helps crewmembers recover from ailments old and new.

Gatses — who also treats athletes with JGR’s motocross operation — uses hot/cold tubs, cryotherapy methods and intramuscular stimulation in addition to her individually tailored workouts. In her nearly four-year affiliation with Joe Gibbs Racing, she’s seen a little bit of everything walk into her office after the hard knocks of a race weekend.

“You see over-use stuff, but you also see, ‘Hey, that guy just got hit by a car,’ “Gatses says. “Achilles’ tears, broken sternums, crushed heels … it’s crazy. To think that I’d be doing all of this is unreal, but I love every second of it. I can look at what they do during their jobs and modify that. I can modify the car, how Daniel (Suarez) shifts because his wrist was bothering him so we modified the car. It’s endless here.”

WATCH: JGR drivers talk about their team dynamic and personalities

NASCAR’s competition format shifts for the final 10 races as the postseason kicks in, and eliminations and pressure-packed races help determine a series champion. While Lepp says there’s no drastic change in the message he delivers to his crew, there’s a slight alteration to the training regimen — all in an effort to avoid tiring out athletes who have been tackling a brisk at-track routine since February.

“When you have a 36-week season, it’s one of the longest sports seasons there is in all of sports, you have to be careful because there’s that fine line of going too far and creating fatigue,” Lepp says. “What I’ve learned with the Playoff system in NASCAR is, it’s probably the most stressful 10 weeks you’re ever going to experience in a lot of sports. … Really, managing fatigue this time of year is critical.”

That willingness to adapt has drawn applause from the organization’s crew chiefs, who need their teams at their sharpest for the late-season push.

“The facility’s unbelievable and I think each year, we learn more and more,” says Jason Ratcliff, who oversees the JGR No. 20 Toyota for driver Matt Kenseth. “The seasons are so long, not just for the athletes or the pit crews that come out there and do their thing on Sunday. It’s for the whole group, really. Even guys that don’t travel, the hours are long, the seasons are long. So when you have a facility like that in the shop that you can go to any day, seven days a week, it’s right here and a huge help.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Hendrick Motorsports has named Darian Grubb crew chief for the No. 5 Chevrolet team and driver Kasey Kahne for the remaining nine Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs races in 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season, the team announced Monday afternoon in a press release. He will be atop the pit box for Sunday’s event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

NEWS: Kahne will move to No. 95 in 2018

Grubb, 41, led Tony Stewart to the 2011 championship and has posted 23 total victories in the series, which rank him third among active full-time crew chiefs, behind only teammate Chad Knaus (81 wins) and Todd Parrott (31 wins). He has recorded 18 pole positions, 72 top-five finishes and 130 top-10s in his career.

“Darian is an extremely talented and experienced crew chief,” said Hendrick Motorsports president Marshall Carlson. “Having been back with us for more than 20 months, he knows all of our people and processes. There’s no one more prepared to hit the ground running at this point in the year.”

RELATED: Kahne won’t return to HMS in 2018 | See Kahne’s special paint scheme

Grubb originally joined Hendrick Motorsports in January 2003. He served as the lead race engineer for the No. 48 Chevrolet and driver Jimmie Johnson from 2003-2006, including four races as interim crew chief during the team’s 2006 championship season. Grubb earned one win in 2007 as crew chief for Casey Mears before being named engineering manager for the Nos. 5 and 88 Hendrick Motorsports teams for 2008.

In 2009, Grubb moved into a crew chief role at Stewart-Haas Racing, where in three seasons with driver Stewart he won 11 races and the 2011 Monster Energy Series title. He then joined Joe Gibbs Racing, recording nine total victories from 2012-2015 as crew chief for drivers Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards. Grubb rejoined Hendrick Motorsports in January 2016 to oversee race car manufacturing as vehicle production director and was recently promoted to director of competition systems.

THROWBACK: Is Grubb Hendrick’s secret weapon?

“I’m looking forward to working with the team for the rest of the season,” said Grubb, a native of Floyd, Virginia, with a mechanical engineering degree from Virginia Tech. “I enjoy competing in a playoffs environment, and we have tremendous resources at Hendrick Motorsports to pull from. I’m ready to get started this weekend.”

Grubb replaces Keith Rodden, who was the team’s crew chief for 99 races. Rodden remains under contract to Hendrick Motorsports through the end of the 2017 season and will be assigned other responsibilities. The team’s crew chief for the 2018 season has not been determined.

PHOTOS: All of Kahne’s career wins