Posted on by Brad Norman

RELATED: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s complete history at Martinsville

For his final full-time season as a driver, NASCAR.com will offer an analytical preview on Dale Earnhardt Jr. ahead of every remaining Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.

Race: First Data 500

Date: Sunday, Oct. 29, 3 p.m. ET (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Previous five results at Martinsville: 34th, 14th, 4th, 36th, 1st

RELATED: Recap all of Dale Jr.’s wins in the Monster Energy Series

Notable: In 34 starts at Martinsville, Earnhardt has just one victory at the short track, but he has finished in the top 10 18 times, including four times in the last seven races. The No. 88 team was forced to exit April’s race early after a crash on Lap 418. Sunday’s Martinsville finale will be extra special for the Earnhardts as wife Amy, who recently announced the couple would be expecting a baby girl, will drive the pace car. Earnhardt will also wheel the ‘Gray Ghost’ paint scheme that the fans voted on.

Memorable: Earnhardt’s lone Victory Lane celebration at the .526-mile track came in October 2014. The No. 88 team sat in fifth position for a restart with just five laps to go. He had just been eliminated from the playoffs the week before at Talladega, but stole the coveted grandfather clock trophy from several drivers still in the hunt, including former teammate Jeff Gordon. Earnhardt credits his team’s decision to take tires with eight laps left as a key to grabbing the win he had desperately wanted. The win also came on the 10th anniversary of the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of several Hendrick Motorsports employees.

Quotable: “Martinsville this weekend should be a lot of fun. We’ve got the Gray Ghost – I appreciate everybody voting for that paint scheme so I can run it,” Earnhardt said in a team release. “I didn’t get to drive that car last year and I love that car, so I may have swayed the vote because I went on social media and said, ‘That’s the one I’d love to run.’ I’m excited to get the opportunity to drive that car this weekend. Martinsville is a great track for us. I love the short tracks and short-track racing.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The Nos. 22 and 19 teams in the NASCAR XFINITY Series received penalties for lug nuts not properly installed following Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway.

Crew chiefs Greg Erwin (No. 22 team) and Dave Rogers (No. 19) each were fined $5,000 when their cars were found with one unsecured lug nut in post-race inspection.

Ryan Blaney drove the No. 22 Ford to a third-place finish, while Matt Tifft finished eighth in the No. 19 Toyota.

The XFINITY Series Playoffs return to the track for the second race in the Round of 8 on Nov. 4 at Texas Motor Speedway (8:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Staff Report

The 2017 season is not over yet but Dale Earnhardt Jr. already has his favorite moment.

“Probably the day I found out Amy was pregnant,” Earnhardt said to answer a fan question on his latest Dale Jr. Download podcast episode.

MORE: Baby news brings big joy to Dale | Our favorite photo from the soon-to-be parents

But Earnhardt revealed that day ended up being extra special because he was informed of the big news after arriving home from another exciting trip. A huge Washington Redskins fan, Earnhardt spent that day, Aug. 30, at the team’s luncheon as a guest speaker.

“I go to this Redskins luncheon, freakin’ having a blast, right? Hanging out with the whole team and all the execs; just incredible to be able to be there. Fan-boying like crazy. Thinking, what a great day,” Earnhardt describes.

“Come home. Excited. Telling Amy all about it and then she tells me that she’s pregnant. It was a lot going on. I came home, just like that tweet that the guy said, this is the greatest day ever, Amy! And she’s like, well, let me tell you.”

Oh, and don’t worry Earnhardt also has some favorite memories from what he’s done on track, too.

“I think getting the poles at Daytona and Talladega,” he said. “We don’t have a win to brag about or we usually have a win at this point that sticks out, so I’ll say getting those two poles. I mean, when’s the last time we won a pole, much less two poles in same season?”

That’d be 2013, Dale. But we can blame it on pregnancy brain.

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: Stunned Larson reacts at Kansas 

There are few things in big-time auto racing you can predict with certainty.

However, the likelihood Kyle Larson will win a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship is one of those rare, not really going-out-on-a-limb expectations. And when he finally hoists that trophy in the near future, he will feel tremendous accomplishment. Not just because he won that trophy but because he experienced the loss of another one first.

After his No. 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet blew an engine early in the playoff elimination race Sunday at Kansas Speedway, Larson stood outside his team hauler and patiently, thoughtfully answered every single question from every news outlet surrounding him — television, radio and print reporters two- and three-deep.

He probably would have preferred to just go inside his team’s hauler and in the privacy of those confines put his head in his hands. He was a popular and good-sense favorite to challenge Sunday’s race winner Martin Truex Jr. for the championship in the season finale on Nov. 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Instead, his postseason abruptly ended with a blown engine — his first in four years at the Monster Energy Series level.

In the minutes after Larson’s Chip Ganassi Racing team parked his hobbled car in the Kansas garage, the 25-year-old looked as shocked by the chain of events as everyone else watching.

As the gathering of reporters eventually dispersed, Larson went inside the team’s trailer. Moments later NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin let himself into the trailer behind Larson, surely to offer perspective and consolation to the young superstar.

Being assured that he will have another chance to hold the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup high one day probably was of little consolation to Larson on Sunday. But he will have more opportunity.

MORE: Larson joins list of playoff surprises

From the first time I met and interviewed Larson — back before his first Camping World Truck Series start in 2012 — something just felt different about him. He is calm, good-natured, thoughtful and obviously super talented — the rare combination of a lot of talent but also the drive to make use of it and continue to learn.

He gets it honestly. His parents are down-to-earth and supportive — so happy and eager to now watch their son shine on the sport’s biggest stage after cheering him on as a kid on the rural high banks near their Northern California home.

Team owner Chip Ganassi also liked Larson’s vibe and chose him to drive, to rise in the ranks, to perhaps bring the organization its first Monster Energy Series championship — without asking Larson to bring any kind of sponsorship or money to the team.

This is an important distinction and a rare occurrence in auto racing these days. But it’s worked out well for Ganassi, who says he “had a feeling” about Larson’s trajectory. And it’s worked out for Larson whose natural talent and good disposition has made him one of NASCAR’s brightest stars.

In many ways — and not just their shared California cool — Larson reminds me of a certain seven-time champ from Southern California. Like Jimmie Johnson, Larson came from modest beginnings and earned a shot in NASCAR’s big leagues because of his talent and promise.

And like Johnson, Larson has already developed a reputation for his good nature, steady demeanor and high ability behind the wheel.

Sunday’s turn of events was especially remarkable considering Larson is having his breakout year — collecting four wins and sweeping both races at Michigan. He’s led more than 1,000 laps and has eight runner-up finishes to complement the trophies — including three second-place finishes in a row at Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix early in the season.

His four wins are one more than Johnson and second only to Truex among the remaining eight playoff drivers.

It all speaks to a championship future ahead for Larson, even though that may not come as any consolation to him now. The talent on track and grace away from it are another indication the sport is in good hands — very good hands.

Posted on by Nascar

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader and championship favorite Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota team are one of nearly a dozen drivers and teams expected to take part in a two-day organizational test Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 25-26, at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The 1.5-mile venue will host the Championship Round for the MENCS, NASCAR XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series Nov. 17-19.

Truex, 37, has won six of nine races this season contested on 1.5-mile tracks including the three Playoff races at Chicago, Charlotte and Kansas.

RELATED: Truex Jr. talks Kansas victory, Homestead testing

Others scheduled to participate include: Brad Keselowski (Team Penske No. 2 Ford), Trevor Bayne (Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 Ford), Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota), Clint Bowyer (Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Ford), Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford), Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet) and Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet).

Truex, Keselowski, Hamlin, Blaney and Johnson are five of the eight drivers still in contention for the 2017 driver’s championship. Kyle Busch (JGR), Kevin Harvick (SHR) and Chase Elliott (HMS), also still in title contention, are not participating. Organizations are allowed to send no more than one team to such tests.

Drivers Alex Bowman (Chevrolet), Landon Cassill (Ford) and Drew Herring (Toyota) will be on hand to pilot the OEM’s wheel force cars at HMS.

Fans will only be allowed to view Wednesday’s on-track activity (12-7 p.m.). Anyone interested in attending is asked to park on S.W. 336th St and S.W. 137th Ave. Entry is through Gate 4 only; for those who wish to go inside the track and view testing from Pit Road Cabanas, a tram will transport fans to the infield. Grandstands and the fourth floor of Speedway Club will also be open for viewing.

Thursday’s on-track schedule is from 9 a.m-5 p.m.

This week’s test is the final scheduled organizational test for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Tickets to next month’s Ford EcoBoost 400, as well as XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series championship races, are available and can be purchased by calling (866) 409-7223 or by visiting the track web site, www.HomesteadMiamiSpeeeday.com.

Posted on by Brad Norman

Brad Keselowski stole the show at Talladega with a win in the throwback paint scheme that honored Dale Earnhardt Jr., who drove in his final race at the Alabama track — a place nicknamed ‘Earnhardt Country’ rightly so.

Just weeks later, the No. 2 Ford driver is going above and beyond (again) to show his admiration for Junior’s career and their friendship.

RELATED: Keselowski: ‘Dale Jr. taught me a lot’

Keselowski announced on Twitter that all proceeds from his Talladega victory T-shirts will be donated to the Dale Jr. Foundation to show his appreciation to the No. 88 driver and JR Motorsports.

Earnhardt Jr. responded to Keselowski’s kind gesture with a tweet of his own thanking him.

In his pre-Talladega blog, Keselowski gave thanks to Dale Jr. and added, “Dale, there’s not a doubt in my mind that you’ll excel at whatever it is you do next, but it’s not going to be the same out there without you. I’m going to miss racing against you, my friend. I’m going to miss seeing you out there in the 88 on Sundays.”

Is there a bromance brewing for a good cause? Cheers to this.

Posted on by Team Release

CONCORD, N.C. — Leavine Family Racing (LFR) has announced that Travis Mack will assume crew chief duties for the No. 95 with driver Kasey Kahne in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Mack, who is the car chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team, has worked as a car chief since 2013 and served as interim crew chief for the No. 88 team for one race at Richmond Raceway in 2017.

A Louisville, Kentucky, native, Mack was no stranger to motorsports growing up, as he raced at local tracks at a young age and built his first street stock race car at the age of 15. While going to school to become a surgeon, Mack began working on an ARCA team and quickly moved to the role of car chief. He went on to win three championships before deciding to pack up and move to Charlotte to work for Hendrick Motorsports in 2004.

RELATED: More on Kahne to the 95

Before becoming a car chief, Mack worked with the likes of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson as a shock specialist and front end mechanic. In 2013, he moved to Hendrick Motorsports affiliate JR Motorsports, where he served as car chief for drivers Regan Smith and Chase Elliott in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Mack earned an XFINITY Series championship in 2014 as a member of Elliott’s team. He joined Earnhardt’s No. 88 team as car chief in 2015.

LFR is excited to bring Mack on board and believes he will fit in well with the team’s never-quit mentality and bring value to them in 2018 and years to come.

“As crew chief, Travis brings leadership and a solid experience to Leavine Family Racing,” said Jeremy Lange, VP and General Manager of LFR. “His passion for racing and desire to win will fit well in our organization and, collectively, we all are looking forward to 2018 and beyond.”

Mack, 34, will remain as the car chief for the No. 88 for the remainder of the 2017 season, and will join LFR before the start of next season.

MORE: Photos of Kahne through the years

Posted on by Steve Luvender

Aren’t elimination races exciting? You get to watch four teams who’ve worked their butts off get disappointed by other teams being better than them. Sorry. Maybe I’m sick.

Still, elimination races are fun for those of us in the safety of not working on a team competing for the championship — and fun is just what Kansas was.

Thumbs Up: A new team — StarCom Racing

In the competitive age of racing, it’s uncommon to see new teams join the ranks of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series mid-season.

However, that’s what StarCom Racing did, making their debut at Kansas with driver Derrike Cope. The car number — the double-zero — contains a zero for each of Cope’s NASCAR wins so far in his career.

Unfortunately for the team, the No. 00 suffered engine issues early and finished in last place. Not the start the StarCom gang had hoped for, I assume, but it says something to acquire a car and equipment, take it to the track, qualify for a race, and compete in the event.

At least they can claim they qualified better than Playoffs contender Ryan Blaney.

Thumbs up to new competitors.

Thumbs Down: “Hold up” vs. “Hard out”

The highlight of Denny Hamlin’s race Sunday might have been when he won Stage 2 by staying out on old tires and holding off the field in a one-lap dash — something that happened by luck.

While Hamlin was making a routine pit stop during Stage 2, he was set to take off and resume the race once the jack dropped (as is normal procedure), when he suddenly heard his crew chief, shout, “Hold up!” Hamlin, well, held up, losing valuable time and track position.

It turns out “Wheels” was saying “hard out, hard out” to his driver — a directive to exit the pits aggressively (not stop).

Thumbs down for language that could get misinterpreted over team radio. And why does a crew chief need to tell a driver when to drive fast? That’s literally the driver’s job.

Thumbs Up: Chris Buescher’s good run

1.5-mile tracks are the most competitive tracks on the circuit. Since there are 11 races at tracks 1.5 miles in length on the 36-race circuit, each team seems to tune their programs specifically toward tracks the size and configuration of Kansas Speedway.

That makes it all the more impressive when an organization that’s generally considered an underdog has a solid run — exactly what Chris Buescher and his JTG Daugherty Racing team did by finishing sixth.

Buescher even earned a shout-out from Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his post-race Periscope race-recap (that’s a tongue-twister).

Thumbs up for having a good run at a track where the cream tends to rise.

Thumbs Down: A bad time for bad luck

By all accounts, Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had solid seasons. But each of those solid seasons came to a grinding halt Sunday when the vicious, vicious Round of 12 struck.

Larson, considered by many a lock for the Championship 4, experienced his first engine failure as a full-time driver at the worst possible time.

Kenseth, in what may be his final season in a championship-caliber ride, learned the hard way about violating crash clock rules.

McMurray, the guy at the office who seems to perform just well enough to keep his job during his annual review, got collected in the “Big One” (and, no, not just at Talladega, where he was also swept up in a multi-car crash).

Stenhouse, after winning the first two races of his career and surviving the opening Round of 16, pummeled the wall and ruined his day, pinning him outside the top eight.

For these four drivers who posted four solid campaigns, their bad luck happened at the worst possible time — an elimination race. Thumbs down for poor timing of bad luck that ruins championships.

Biggest Thumbs Up of the week: Silver linings

Championship contender Ryan Blaney was tasked with a big mission after failing post-qualifying inspection: start in last place (even behind the StarCom Racing No. 00) and make his way through the field, hopefully solidifying his odds of making the Round of 8 and surviving the elimination.

Blaney did just that, finishing third at Kansas … but would it have happened that way if Blaney hadn’t started in the last spot on the grid?

Normally, in NASCAR most of those asking “What if?” are those who had a bad day. But the big “What if?” here is an interesting thought. If Blaney had started the race up front (he’d qualified third before failing inspection), would he have been caught up in the Lap 199 crash that finished off Kenseth and McMurray?

We’ll find out for sure if some more teams start suspiciously tanking inspection to get some of that luck o’ the Blaney. Or kiss the Blaney Stone. Whatever.

Blaney and the Wood Brothers now will move to the Round of 8, and inch closer to a title.

Thumbs up for finding the positives and making the best out of what could have been a disastrous situation.

Posted on by Staff Report

The championship field is down to eight, which means the race for the championship is right around the corner.

With the NASCAR playoff contenders trimmed down even more after the Hollywood Casino 400, the odds for some drivers are looking better and better. Martin Truex Jr. is still in contention for a shot at his first title. Jimmie Johnson is one round away from competing for an unprecedented eighth.

But there are six other drivers who still have championship dreams of their own.

Which four drivers do you think will make it to Homestead-Miami Speedway and compete for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup?

Click the link below to vote.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Poll

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Buy Tickets

Martinsville Speedway is the final enhanced weekend on this year’s NASCAR schedule and the speedway is going big with its Fan Fest.

Scheduled for Saturday night, Oct. 28, after final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice for the First Data 500, nine drivers are scheduled to entertain the fans. The gates will open at 5:30 p.m. ET with Fan Fest going until 8:30 p.m. ET.

For those looking to attend this weekend, the event is being held in Party Plaza.

Here’s the lineup:

6-6:30 p.m.: Denny Hamlin and Danica Patrick will participate in “Two Truths and a Lie.”

6:30-7 p.m.: Jeffrey Earnhardt and Aric Almirola will be involved with the sumo wrestling activity.

7-7:30 p.m.: Matt DiBenedetto and Kasey Kahne will pair with fans to play “Family Feud.”

7:30-8 p.m.: Austin Dillon and Motor Racing Network’s Kim Coon will pick two kids each and have a 3-on-3 “Hot Shot Basketball” competition.

8-8:30 p.m.: David Ragan and Reed Sorenson will have a pumpkin carving contest

Earlier this year, similar Fan Fests were held at Indianapolis, Watkins Glen and Pocono. The goal being to give drivers and fans an opportunity to enjoy time at the race track on a weekend where the Monster Energy Series is on track for Saturday and Sunday activities, instead of a traditional three-day weekend that starts on Friday.

There will be plenty of excitement at Martinsville Speedway this weekend.

The half-mile paperclip will host the opening race in the Round of 8 for the NASCAR Playoffs and could very well see its finish happen under the new LED lights.