Matt Kenseth ‘not concerned’ about his future

Posted on August 18, 2017August 19, 2017 by Nascar

BRISTOL, Tenn. – No news isn’t good news for Matt Kenseth. It’s just, well, no news.

Kenseth, 45, is a former series champion and has 38 wins in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He is also a four-time winner here at Bristol Motor Speedway, site of Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR).

And he’s being pushed out of the seat of the No. 20 Toyota fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing in 2018 for a much younger driver, 21-year-old Erik Jones.

Asked about plans to compete beyond this year, Kenseth said Friday at Bristol that he had nothing “at the moment.”

“When I do I’ll tweet something, like on a Monday,” he said. “No plans right now, just raise kids and hang out with my family.”

Kenseth is in his fifth season with JGR, where he has won 14 times. But he’s winless this season and currently holding down the final position for this year’s 10-race playoffs.

A victory in the next three races would guarantee him a playoff spot; he’s qualified for NASCAR’s postseason 13 out of 14 years.

“I’m not worried about it even really one percent anymore to be honest with you,” he said of ‘18. “I’m just not concerned about it. … I’m really concerned about 2017 and that’s the truth. I mean we’ve got 13 races or something left. Three to try to get … into the playoffs. We’re not in there yet.”

A four-race streak of top-10 finishes, including a runner-up at Watkins Glen, ended last weekend at Michigan where Kenseth said he “kind of got ran over at the end of the race … by the 24 (Chase Elliott) trying to race him.”

Kenseth was third for a final, two-lap shootout at MIS, Elliott fifth. He finished 24^th while Elliott wound up eighth.

“Hopefully we get a win, get in the playoffs and try to race for a championship,” Kenseth said. “That’s our goal every year and really that’s what I’m been concentrating on.”

Jones won the Camping World Truck Series championship in 2015 and finished fourth last year competing for JGR in the XFINITY Series. He currently drives the No. 77 Toyota for Furniture Row Racing, which has a technical alliance with JGR.

Last month JGR officials announced Jones would take over the No. 20 beginning next year.

“Matt isn’t just a championship caliber driver,” David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development (TRD), told NASCAR.com Friday. “He has done as much for the team off the track as he’s done on the track; he’s the leader.

“I still remember his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota in 2013 and him walking into the first competition meeting and calling out one of our drivers because he was five minutes late.

“With Matt you are never quite sure whether he’s just having a go at you or if he’s serious. But ultimately what we learned is he takes the sport very seriously. His presence, his maturity – not his age per se – has been great for Joe Gibbs Racing and for the partnerships that JGR has with Furniture Row now.”

Toyota officials would like to see Kenseth continue to compete for the automaker, but it’s not a situation the company controls. Currently the OEM’s involvement in the MENCS extends to JGR and its four teams and the two-team Furniture Row operation.

“This notion, why doesn’t Toyota just step in? I wish we could,” Wilson said. “I wish it were that easy. The reality is it’s not. It is a microcosm of what’s going on with the sport as a whole.

“We do provide a tremendous amount of support to the teams and to the drivers but we can’t carry a driver on our back at this level of the sport. That would just not be appropriate and we’re just not capable.

“For drivers at this level, obviously those decisions are made by team owners and as a partner we’re a party to them but there’s only so much we can do.”

Posted on August 18, 2017August 18, 2017 by

Chase Elliott knew his streak of second-place finishes at Michigan International Speedway would end eventually.

“I was just hoping it was going to end for the better and not for the worse,” Elliott said with a smile on Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, regarding his eighth-place showing last week in the Irish Hills.

Despite still searching for his first victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the 21-year-old remains positive when it comes to his sophomore season. With the exception of an engine failure at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that saddled him with a 39th-place result, Elliott has finished in the top 13 for the past six races and has a season average finishing position of 13.6.

But he’s also a bit of a realist. While his results this season are trending upward from last year on paper — his average finish from the first 23 races of the season has increased by 16 percent and he’s led 50 more laps this year than he had at this point last year — Elliott hasn’t recorded the results that most everyone had thought he would with a rookie season under his belt, his sheer talent and time to get acclimated to crew chief Alan Gustafson and the No. 24 team.

Translation: He hasn’t turned a solid top 10 or top five into a win yet.

“We had some really strong runs to this point in the season last year. We have had some strong runs this year, but I don’t feel like quite as many as we did last season,” Elliott acknowledged. “It’s not for a lack of effort or a lack of trying harder or trying to run well. Things just haven’t worked out as many times as they did last year for us to have some great opportunities to go win races.

“We are working hard to try to get back in those positions more often and hate we didn’t capitalize on the opportunities we had last year because looking back it’s like, man I would love to have as good of a chance as we had some weekends last season. I didn’t realize how good of opportunities we did have when we had them looking back. That is frustrating. There were some days last year too, where I felt like we did make the most of our opportunity and it still didn’t work out.”

High expectations come with having the last name Elliott in NASCAR, stemming from his Hall of Fame father Bill Elliott. They also come with being part of a high-caliber team like Hendrick Motorsports — especially when Elliott’s teammate is seven-time premier series champion Jimmie Johnson.

“When the guy next door is winning a lot of races, coming off of a championship season, I don’t necessarily know that it’s pressure, but I think it definitely drives you to want to do that and know that you have that opportunity and the same chance he does next door,” Elliott said on Johnson. “… I know for me, if we are somewhere and we are struggling and he is not, then I don’t think there is any excuse for that. That is kind of how I view it. If that is the case then I want to make sure I do my job to the full potential.

“In my eyes … if they are having a good day, I think we can have a good day, too.”

Elliott sits 14th in the playoff standings, two spots from the final spot in the 16-car playoffs. Right now, he’s “in,” but should the series see three new winners, or if he has three poor finishes, Elliott could find himself out of the playoffs.

But the rising star appears calm and prepared for the impending task, as he prepares for Saturday’s Food City 500 on the high banks of Bristol (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“I think I’m in a good place mentally,” Elliott said. “I just think for a lot of things that you go through, the good and the bad, you do have to let some of it just go because there’s going to be days where you’re giving it all you have and it doesn’t work out for you. Some days that’s your fault. And if that is my fault, those are the emotional days and those are the ones I’m going to be really frustrated with, as we’ve all seen. I want to hold myself accountable. And there are some days where we might have just all missed it as a team. And we’re going to run good together and run bad together, regardless.

“So, you really have to let all the days go whether they were good or bad … It’s easy to have everybody hyped-up and attitudes would be great when you’re running good. It’s the years and the weekends that you’re struggling to keep everybody’s morale high. I think Alan (Gustafson) does a really good job of that.”

Posted on August 18, 2017June 21, 2021 by Staff Report

RELATED: Silly Season’s key players

Chris Buescher will return to JTG Daugherty Racing in 2018 and beyond driving the No. 37 Chevrolet.

The Tad and Jodi Geschickter-owned organization announced a multiyear deal Friday afternoon in the media center at Bristol Motor Speedway. JTG expanded to a two-car operation before the start of this season to bring in Buescher from Roush Fenway Racing. Buescher is teammates with NASCAR veteran AJ Allmendinger.

“I’m happy to continue driving for JTG Daugherty Racing,” Buescher said in a team release. “I can’t thank Tad, Jodi, Gordon (Smith), and Brad (Daugherty) enough for the opportunity to join this team. We built our team from the ground up this season, and I’m really thankful to be able to continue that in the 2018 season and beyond. We have so many great partners on board this season, and I’m really looking forward to building upon that.”

Next year will be Buescher’s third full season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

With three top-10 finishes in 23 starts, Buescher and crew chief Trent Owens sit 25th in points entering the Bristol night race (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The team comes into the weekend fresh off its season-best finish of sixth place at Michigan.

Buescher, a Texas native, has one career Monster Energy Series victory in 65 career starts. He won the XFINITY Series championship in 2015.

Posted on August 18, 2017August 18, 2017 by Staff Report

Ryan Blaney was fastest in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, wheeling his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford at 128.554 miles per hour, one of only two drivers to break through the 128-mph bracket.

Blaney notched the best lap with less than a minute remaining in the final session, knocking Kyle Larson off the point. Larson laid down the second-fastest in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet at 128.065 mph.

That was a tremendous turnaround from Friday morning’s first practice, where Larson was 16th-fastest after spinning out. Larson started from the pole at Bristol in the spring.

Ryan Newman was third in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet at 127.784 mph. Larson’s teammate, Jamie McMurray, placed fourth in the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet at 127.487 mph, while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch rounded out the top five in his No. 18 Toyota at 127.258 mph.

Eight drivers served 15-minute holds in the final session for multiple pre-race inspection failures at Michigan, including Kahne, McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, AJ Allmendinger, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr.

The next time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers will be on track in Thunder Valley will be for Coors Light Pole Qualifying at 5:45 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the NBC Sports App.

Denny Hamlin leads Friday morning practice

RELATED: Practice 1 results

Denny Hamlin led the way in Friday morning’s opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway, piloting his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 129.230 miles per hour.

Hamlin’s JGR teammate, Kyle Busch, was second-fastest, wheeling his No. 18 Toyota at 129.221 mph.

Hamlin has one Bristol victory to his credit in 2012, while Busch has five victories at the .533-mile concrete oval, including two in the night race.

Kasey Kahne clocked the third-fastest time in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 128.943 mph. Next was Ryan Blaney in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford (128.917 mph),while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer rounded out the top five in the No. 14 Ford at 128.382 mph.

Kyle Larson, last week’s Michigan winner, spun early, but he was able to keep his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet off the wall and finished 16th in the session.

Weather also played a small factor, as the red flag was displayed for roughly five minutes with 40 minutes remaining in the session.

Posted on August 18, 2017August 18, 2017 by Staff Report

Although Brad Keselowski Racing announced it would shut its doors at the conclusion of the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, there are still positives to be taken away from the news.

In a new blog titled “Saying Goodbye,” team owner Brad Keselowski explained some of the reasoning that led to the difficult decision to shut down his operation after seven full-time Truck seasons.

BKR may be saying farewell to the series for the “foreseeable future,” but Keselowski noted he doesn’t want to rule out owning a NASCAR team again someday.

“That doesn’t mean I’m done being an owner for the rest of my life,” Keselowski stated. “It is my goal to continue to have a deeper role in the sport. I’ve been afforded some different opportunities to do that, whether it be as a member of driver councils, or roles that I have picked up within Penske.”

Keselowski also hinted to big plans for his current race shop.

“As far as the BKR facility goes, it’s going to play a key role in a new business endeavor I’m planning to undertake,” he said. “I’m not ready to announce what we’re doing, but I’m a big believer in manufacturing, especially advanced manufacturing. We’re looking at developing a new technology that will be relevant to motorsports, and to the broader marketplace, too. Stay tuned.”

Most importantly, Keselowski discussed how he’s helping employees that will be out of work at season’s end.

“As we close the doors of BKR, one of the things that is really important to me is helping our employees find new jobs,” Keselowski said. “With that in mind, we’re going to transition a number of the employees in different of ways. Some of them may go to Team Penske as part of the team for Ryan Blaney’s new car, and I’m really excited for those guys. They’ve got an incredible opportunity. Some of our other workers are going to stay with me in other roles. My hope is that everyone will land smoothly in their next job, whatever that turns out to be.”

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Zack Albert

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Thursday that his recovery from the concussion symptoms that cost him half a season of NASCAR competition last year are not an excuse for this season’s sag in performance.

Earnhardt made his remarks after first practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Bristol Motor Speedway. The 42-year-old driver, in his final full season of NASCAR racing, is in the field for Friday night’s Food City 300 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), scheduled to make his first XFINITY start of the season.

Earnhardt missed the final 18 races of last season after crashes left him facing a lengthy recovery from neurological trauma. He reiterated Thursday that he nearly walked away from his racing career during his rehabilitation, saying he had reached a stage where “there was a big chunk of time where I wasn’t coming back.”

Since making his return to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, his results have slumped. The Hendrick Motorsports driver sits 22nd in the series standings, needing a victory in one of the final three regular-season events to clinch a playoff berth. Still, he hasn’t blamed his injury or a lack of determination for his recent downturn.

“There are a lot of things that play a role in being competitive,” Earnhardt said. “I think that I’m healthy and I’m happy and thrilled that I’m healthy. I still think I can drive a race car, but there is really no excuse for us not performing well or meeting expectations. There is no excuse for missing a lot of races. Kyle (Busch) missed a lot of races with his injuries (in 2015) and came back and was successful right out of the gate.

“So, I mean I felt like I was ready. I felt like I could come in and compete. I still feel that way. We’ve just got to get our stuff together as a team.”

Earnhardt said a large part of reviving his racing career was regaining his sense of instinct and reaction times, qualities that were sharpened during his years of experience only to be lost during his absence and recovery from his injuries last season. Earnhardt said he first worked toward feeling normal before ultimately making the decision to return to the No. 88 Chevrolet.

Now back on the circuit, his challenge is clearer — finding Victory Lane in a last-ditch effort to claim championship eligibility as the curtain closes on his final full season.

“There is still some time to make that happen, but we’ve got a long way to go to catch some of those guys,” Earnhardt said. “Some of those guys are so fast, I don’t know where that speed is at, but it’s not at the race track. But, yeah, being out of the car was hard. A lot of hard work to get back, but once I was fresh and charged up and ready to go in February when we got to Daytona and I still feel good today. I don’t feel like that I am missing anything or if I’m not mentally or physically aware.”

Posted on August 17, 2017 by DraftKings

Rankings below are based on a mixture of expected output and DraftKings’ NASCAR salaries for that day. The ordering is not based on highest projected fantasy totals, but rather by value of each driver.

(fppk = average fantasy points per $1,000 of salary. The typical median fppk for a 2016 race was in the threes. Plate tracks tend to be lower and short tracks tend to run higher due to the amount of laps.)

1. Martin Truex, Jr. ($10,700) – This is the fastest car in years, and Truex has the stage points to prove it. He was fast at Bristol earlier this season. He led 116 laps and ran 89 fast laps. He could have won the race if it wasn’t for a late race penalty. (6.3 fppk)

2. Kyle Larson ($10,500) – Bristol is a high groove track. Most drivers will congregate on the bottom racing line, so Larson will pass them up top. Larson led over 200 laps at Bristol in the spring. He should have won, but a late race speeding on pit road penalty ruined his chances. (5.4 fppk)

3. Jimmie Johnson ($9,300) – Here is how you win a race. Run inside the top-five. Don’t commit penalties. When the leaders stay out on old tires at the end, go get fresh tires. Chad Knaus is such a genius. Jimmie loved his car at Bristol, and he won at a similar track in Dover. (3.5 fppk)

4. Joey Logano ($9,000) – This is the forgotten driver. In the spring, Jimmie Johnson won, but Larson or Truex should have won. Logano ran inside the top-five all day (average position of fourth) and battled Larson and Truex throughout the day. (3.0 fppk)

5. Denny Hamlin ($9,600) – The tier of drivers just below Truex and Larson is led by Denny Hamlin. At the last short track (New Hampshire), Hamlin combined his just-enough speed with strategy and earned the win. In his last four Bristol races, he has three top-10s and three tops-10 DFS scores. (3.9 fppk)

6. Kyle Busch ($10,800) – He hasn’t been the same since they took out the progressive banking. He hasn’t won since. He’s finished 29th or worse in five of his last six at Bristol. Don’t be fooled by his XFINITY and truck success at Bristol. That’s never gone away, but his Cup prowess has. (5.2 fppk)

7. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. ($7,700) – He’s very good at Bristol. It’s his favorite track. Similar to Larson, he can run and pass on the high groove, and others can’t. Stenhouse has five top-10s in his last seven at Bristol. When he wrecks in practice, don’t worry. He seemingly does this every time. (4.2 fppk)

8. Chase Elliott ($9,200) – Early in the season, Elliott was impressive at the short tracks. Since then, he’s settled in as a top-10 driver, but not a lap leader. It’s hard to pay over $9,000 in salary and not get laps led points in return. (3.7 fppk)

9. Jamie McMurray ($8,500) – If McMurray qualifies inside the top-10, then it’s okay to be worried. We should accept that McMurray is a top-10 driver, but we won’t. And we can’t at Bristol. However, in his last seven races at Bristol, his average running position has never dipped below 14th. (3.3 fppk)

10. Kevin Harvick ($9,800) – This is going to sound like a commercial for Chevy, but the Stewart-Haas racing switch to Ford has not gone well. Harvick could win this weekend because skill can cover for his machine at Bristol. Even so, Harvick likely won’t be out front all day. (4.2 fppk)

11. Matt Kenseth ($9,400) – Desperation is sinking in. Kenseth needs to win, but how do you beat Truex and Larson? He scored the fifth most fantasy points in the spring race, but that was due to place differential points. It will be hard to roster Kenseth if he starts inside the top-20. (3.5 fppk)

12. Brad Keselowski ($10,100) – The Penske cars suffered several mechanical failures at Bristol (except for Logano). The mechanical gremlins have been solved, but what about Brad’s Bristol gremlins. He only has three top-10s in the last 10 Bristol races and five outside of the top-30. (4.2 fppk)

13. Ty Dillon ($6,800) – Dillon’s 15th-place finish at Bristol in the spring was a bit fortunate. He received the “Lucky Dog” wave around four times. That means he was lapped four separate times. It’s been that way for most of the year for him, why would it stop now? (4.7 fppk)

14. Clint Bowyer ($8,800) – Unfortunately for Bowyer, we’re in the “winning is everything era of NASCAR.” He has the sixth best average finish this season, and he’s not going to make the playoffs. Meanwhile, the drivers in 21st and 23rd are safely in the playoffs. (3.8 fppk)

15. Erik Jones ($8,700) – Bristol is a tough track, so in the spring when Jones ran inside the top-10 for the whole race, a lot of drivers took notice. The only knock on Jones is his price. He’s right on the edge of paying too much for a driver that won’t score a lot of fast lap and laps led points. (3.6 fppk)

16. Ryan Blaney ($8,900) – Short track woes have plagued Blaney all season. If you look at average finish, then you’ll conclude he’s just not a short-track driver. However, it’s been bad luck. At Bristol, he lost his power steering. This a high price to pay for an unlucky driver. (2.8 fppk)

17. Kurt Busch ($8,400) – This is a price tier where daily fantasy NASCAR players can settle for finishing position points and place differential points. Unfortunately, there is a reason Kurt Busch is priced in this tier. He’s been OK this season. He’s been OK at Bristol. Maybe, he’ll be better in practice. (2.9 fppk)

18. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ($8,000) – Last week was a small step forward, but after practice, it looked like Junior would have a big week. The speed vanished, and Junior commented on Twitter this week that he needs more speed to win. He suffered a mechanical failure at Bristol in the spring – more speed and a car that runs 500 laps. (2.5 fppk)

19. Matt DiBenedetto ($5,800) – Driver skill can compensate for an inferior car at a short track. Of course, Dibenedetto has benefitted from a lot of cars wrecking in past Bristol races, but there’s more to it. In the spring race, Dibenedetto held up Larson for several laps. He can race this track. (3.7 fppk)

20. Corey LaJoie ($4,600) – Don’t fall out of your chair. The winning daily fantasy NASCAR lineup will likely have two low priced drivers or one really cheap driver. That lineup will be stuffed full of laps led and fast lap points. LaJoie averaged 28th in the spring, let the leaders pass, and stayed out of trouble. (3.7 fppk)

Posted on August 17, 2017August 18, 2017 by Zack Albert

Brad Keselowski Racing announced Thursday that it will cease operations after the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, prepping for a potential move to NASCAR’s top division at a much later date.

The announcement came from namesake team owner Brad Keselowski, the 2012 champion of NASCAR’s premier series. Keselowski’s organization currently fields Fords F-150s for Chase Briscoe, 22, and 18-year-old Austin Cindric, both in their first full season of truck competition.

“The Truck Series is truly special to me given my family’s ties to the history of the sport, and this decision comes with much contemplation,” Keselowski said in the team release, mentioning his father, Bob, who was a pioneering truck competitor dating back to the series’ first season. “But, for a number of reasons, and as I plan for the long-term future, I’ve decided not to field a team in 2018.”

Keselowski has fielded entries in the Camping World Truck Series since 2008, helping further the careers of many young drivers, including Ryan Blaney, Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick. The BKR organization scored its first win in 2012 with Blaney at the wheel, adding eight more victories to its tally in the years that followed.

Brad Keselowski Racing moved into a gleaming, 78,000-square-foot shop in Statesville, North Carolina, ahead of the 2016 season. Keselowski indicated that he hoped to use that headquarters as a base of operations for potential entry into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at a much later stage of his career.

“I’ve never made it a secret that I would eventually like to be an owner at the top level of the sport,” said Keselowski, who further explained the reasons behind his difficult decision in his personal blog. “And, while this is many years down the line, I want to start to prepare for that possibility now. Part of that preparation is seeking to develop an advanced engineering and manufacturing company that would be housed out of our 78,000-square-foot facility in Statesville and ultimately help to support this vision.”

The team said in the release that it remained committed to finishing strong in the 2017 Camping World Truck Series campaign. Briscoe sits fourth in the series standings with two pole positions in the 14 races thus far. Cindric ranks 10th, riding a string of six straight top-10 finishes in the series.

Posted on August 17, 2017November 2, 2017 by Nascar

MORE: Junior on Charlottesville, Barcelona tragedies

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Of all the gifts presented thus far to Dale Earnhardt Jr. as he winds down his career as a full-time competitor in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Thursday’s announcement by Bristol Motor Speedway officials seemed to truly take the Hendrick Motorsports driver by surprise.

The speedway, which will host the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR), announced the endowment of the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Scholarship to be presented annually to the Sullivan County (Tenn.) high school student demonstrating outstanding commitment in the field of automotive technology.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” an obviously excited Earnhardt said after track general manager Jerry Caldwell made the announcement. “That’s awesome. … That is exactly the kind of thing that gets me excited, and I appreciate you guys doing that.”

Officials said the scholarship is for $2,088, a nod to Earnhardt’s No. 88 car number.

As a teen, Earnhardt worked at his father’s car dealership. He lists “Retired automotive service mechanic” on his Twitter bio.

“You have meant so much to this place … we love you, the fans love you here and the Earnhardt name has such a legacy at this place,” Caldwell said. “We felt like it was appropriate for us to be able to honor (Dale) but also be able to honor a bright young student that has an interest in the automotive industry.”

RELATED: Track gifts to Junior

Earnhardt Jr. is competing in Friday’s Food City 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race as well as Saturday’s MENCS event. It’s an unusual double for NASCAR’s most popular driver.

While he makes a limited number of XFINITY Series starts each year, Earnhardt last ran an XFINITY Series race at Bristol in 2012. He finished fifth.

The two-time XFINITY Series champ has swept XFINITY and Cup race weekends three times — including here in 2004. He also swept at Talladega in ’03 and Daytona in ’04.

But it’s the days spent here as a youngster that seem to resonate more than his efforts on the track.

“Honestly, when I was a little kid, the night race here was my favorite race in the season,” Earnhardt said. “We didn’t get to go to all the races. Typically, we went a lot in the summer. We begged to go to all the races, but Bristol was my favorite for a lot of different reasons, but as a 12- to 15-year-old kid, this place was just the ultimate playground.”

MORE: Junior’s career stats at Bristol

His father, seven-time series champion Dale Earnhardt, earned his first NASCAR victory at Bristol in the spring race of 1979. It was the first of nine wins at BMS for the legendary NASCAR Hall of Fame member.

“Dad won a handful of races here, had those trophies in the house,” the younger Earnhardt recalled. “I remember when he built his log cabin he had them all up on this ledge … and they were all up there to the right of the fireplace.

“There are a couple of tracks on the schedule that have unique trophies and they haven’t changed, which I’m glad, and this is one of them. For a while that trophy was taller than I was. I’d been lucky enough to go with Dad to victory lane a couple of times. That was a trophy that I wanted; I felt really, really lucky to have gotten one. I don’t have many trophies in the house but that’s one of them I keep in the living room because when you win here, the driver is a big part of it.

“A lot of tracks, bigger tracks, you need a lot of race car to do well and here you need a good driver; I felt lucky and fortunate to have a victory here.”

In addition to the announcement of the scholarship, Earnhardt was presented with the original Sam Bass painting of the souvenir program cover by the artist.

“I feel like my life has been too good to be true,” Earnhardt said, “and I just have had so much given to me and I feel like this obligation to turn it around and do something for someone else.

“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve done more and more of that and I feel the joy from that. So I love to see that happen more and more and love to be a part of that more and more.”

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See the Bristol race
RELATED: Full Bristol schedule

All three NASCAR national series are in action this week at Bristol Motor Speedway for some short-track beating and banging.

Below are the stage lengths for each race. Click here to bookmark stage lengths for every race this season.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (Race is Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
Stage 1: Ends on Lap 125
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 250
Final Stage: Scheduled to end on Lap 500

NASCAR XFINITY Series (Race is Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN)
Stage 1: Ends on Lap 85
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 170
Final Stage: Scheduled to end on Lap 300