Posted on by Staff Report

MORE: Key players in NASCAR silly season

Leavine Family Racing has relieved crew chief Todd Parrott of his No. 95 Chevrolet crew chief duties effective immediately, the team announced Monday morning.


Currently 27th in points, driver Michael McDowell picked up his first career top-five finish earlier this year at Daytona with Parrott atop the box. The veteran crew chief has notched 31 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins and led Dale Jarrett to the 1999 premier series title.

Jon Leonard, who had been serving as race engineer, will take his first swing at interim crew chief duties this weekend at Kansas Speedway.

Kasey Kahne will helm the No. 95 Chevy beginning in 2018.

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Race results | ‘Big One’ shakes up Playoffs | Updated Playoffs standings

TALLADEGA, Ala. – There were 11 cautions, three red flags and at the end of the day only 14 cars running at the finish.

At times it seemed as if there were more safety vehicles under power.

This race was moved from its position in the cutoff spot to the second of three in the Round of 12 this year. It was an attempt to provide somewhat of a cushion to those chasing the championship in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Playoff contenders might have seemed somewhat less annoyed after getting knocked around and booted from Sunday’s Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, but it was hard to tell. The line was a long one leading out of the infield care center.

Of the 12 playoff teams, only four finished the 188-lap race under power. Brad Keselowski (Team Penske) won, Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) finished sixth, Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing) limped home 13th and Matt Kenseth (JGR) wobbled across the line a lap down and 14th on the scorecard.

Those were the lucky ones.

It was a race that shook up the championship picture, all right, and it doesn’t matter if it’s the first race of the round, the middle race or the one on the end. Talladega’s 2.66-mile layout does not discriminate.

Kyle Busch (JGR) was sixth in the standings before Sunday’s race; he left in ninth, one spot out of the playoff picture.

Incredibly, in spite of all the poor finishes of others, Kenseth somehow dropped a spot from ninth to 10th. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway Racing) improved one spot, but is still on the outside in 11th while Jamie McMurray (Ganassi), knocked out of the race early, is 12th.

Thankfully, while the garage resembled a junkyard, none of the drivers involved in accidents were injured.

RELATED: Keselowski tames wreck-filled ‘Dega race 

And for those in the playoffs, there’s one more race – next week’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway – to try and recoup lost points and put themselves back in contention.

Which is one of the reasons drivers sought to have the Talladega race moved to the middle of the round in the first place.

“If you have guys with (points) buffers they’re not going to run in the middle of the pack. They’ll just run in the back and the race won’t be nearly as exciting,” Hamlin said on pit road afterward.

The race might have seemed crazy and out of control but as he noted, “This race always becomes a wreck-fest eventually. I’ve watched races back where you’ve got 15 healthy cars running at the end. At this time of the season you’ve got 30 cars that really don’t give a damn what happens.

“It’s good that they moved it at least to the middle race; nobody knew where they were, now you’ve got to go to Kansas and perform.”

Kansas promises to be a bit tamer, perhaps, but with the postseason field getting trimmed by four there’s plenty of room for action on the 1.5-mile track.

In the meantime, Talladega will continue to be Talladega no matter where it falls on the calendar.

“I feel fortunate to be even walking after that,” Ryan Newman (Richard Childress Racing) said. “It’s crazy out there. I don’t know how many people actually want to be a part of it.”

That from the driver who finished second. Similar sentiments have been uttered here before.

It’s Talladega and it’s done and there are no more restrictor-plate races from here until season’s end.

And that’s just fine with points leader Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing), who finished 23rd. A winner last weekend at Charlotte, Truex has already secured one of the eight positions in the next round.

“We came here knowing that we were in good shape,” he said, “and we were just going to race hard, try to put ourselves in position to hopefully get another win and unfortunately we couldn’t. We could never even get to the lead all day.”

His Toyota was one of 16 cars involved in a crash 17 laps from the finish.

It was a day when there were “some really strong cars,” Truex said, “and we weren’t one of them.”

For the points leader, and a lot of other folks, Kansas has never looked so good.

Posted on by Jessica Ruffin

RELATED: Talladega gives Dale Jr. his dad’s 1979 Monte Carlo

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. climbed out of his No. 88 for the last time at Talladega Superspeedway as the sun began to set on Alabama.

After an immediate inspection of the damaged right-front splitter that plagued his final laps and left him with seventh instead of first, Earnhardt debriefed with his team, shaking their hands in a circle.

There was plenty riding on this race for the undeniable crowd favorite. For many drivers, a seventh-place result at a place like always-unpredictable Talladega is considered a good day. It’s different for Earnhardt.

Ultimately, he wanted the win for the folks in the grandstands.

“It’s been better than the last couple of trips here, the last couple of trips we had a lot of trouble in wrecks and hadn’t been able to come home with a decent finish,” Earnhardt said. “I would have loved to have won the race for all the fans that come out here. I know a lot of folks came to see this race just for the fact that it was my last plate race and trust me, I wanted to win it for all those folks more than myself, but just couldn’t get it done.”

WATCH: Junior wheels through the ‘Big One’

Earnhardt was one of 14 cars that made it through the perils of Talladega on Sunday afternoon in a race that saw three red flags. Indeed it seemed that the No. 88 driver certainly seemed to have a guardian angel on his shoulder throughout the afternoon; he squeezed through a multi-car melee with minimal damage at Lap 171 that took out 16 cars then just barely avoided hitting a crashing Ryan Blaney and Trevor Bayne near the yellow line at Lap 178.

Four laps later, he escaped a wreck that collected his teammate Chase Elliott and rookie Daniel Suarez.

The No. 88 team “got lucky,” he said.

“I (was) carrying Stevie Waltrip’s scripture in the car,” Earnhardt said, referring to the Bible verse that Darrell Waltrip’s wife places in his car each week. “She probably had me a little luck there. So, it never hurts to have an angel on your shoulder.”

A portion of this week’s verse, coming from Lamentations 3:22-24, read, “By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction,” which seems eerily fitting in regards to Earnhardt’s day of near misses. After the verse, Stevie wrote “Hope you feel loved and hugged.”

He was certainly loved — and has been loved — at Talladega on Sunday. The roar of the grandstands when he led the field to green as the polesitter at the start of the race or when he made a move for position is a testament to that.

He loves it here, too — that started even before he won six races at Talladega in the premier series, when he was a young child running around the garage as his father made a name at the Alabama track.

“I really do owe a lot to this track and the support that we have had here from the fans, owe a lot to them,” Earnhardt said. “You know, it just has been a very fun place. When I was a little kid going to ‑‑ we got to go to a handful of race tracks throughout the year, and this was always a fun trip. There was a pay‑to‑ride go‑kart track down where the hotels were where all the drivers and everybody stayed, and me ‑‑ I’d get a hundred bucks from Dad maybe, and then … a bunch of us would run over there and spend all our daddies’ money riding go‑karts … Me and the boys, we’d run around the garage looking at the cars that came in there, they were broke or wrecked or whatever, and they’d just bring them in there and park them and leave them.

“Just so many good memories as a kid coming here, and that was back before hot passes and pit passes, garage passes. Man, you could run anywhere you wanted to go, and we were all over the place having fun and goofing off … A lot of great memories here, and then obviously the career in Cup here, four in a row, all those things mean a lot to me.”

Even though his career in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has come to a close at NASCAR’s largest track, the Earnhardt connection will remain; he’ll be back in a different form.

RELATED: All of Dale Earnhardt and Junior’s wins at Talladega

“I hope to always have a great connection here, and trust me when I say that whatever the track needs from me, anytime they want anything, I’ll be here to help promote and support this place no matter what the request is,” Earnhardt said. “They’ve done so much for me, and I want to remain very close.”

This last one is a bag of mixed emotions for him; his slight disappointment is evident, but he maintains a slight smile and cheerful spirits during interviews. He finished the race, earned a top 10 and gave his devoted fans something to watch up until the very end.

“I’m always disappointed when we don’t run well at tracks I know we should, but we did run well today, but I know that everybody was probably ‑‑ is a little bit of air out of the bag there at the end to finish seventh,” Earnhardt said. “I hate to leave slightly disappointed, but hopefully they enjoyed everything else they saw. I mean, we ran as hard as we could, did the best we could.”

Posted on by Staff Report

After the fifth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race, and the second in the Round of 12, here’s a brief look at the playoff picture. There is one race remaining in the Round of 12 before the field is whittled to eight, with four drivers eliminated from the postseason following Kansas on Oct. 22.

Winner

Brad Keselowski won on Oct. 15 at Talladega Superspeedway, clinching a spot in the Round of 8 of the playoffs. The win also gives him five playoff points to add to his total, which now sits at 26.

Who’s hot

Surprise! It’s Brad Keselowski, who entered the week 10th in the playoff standings but now is guaranteed a spot in the Round of 8 thanks to his fifth win at Talladega. Keselowski had to avoid three big wrecks in the final 17 laps and made a final-lap pass of Ryan Newman.

Ryan Blaney wrecked out of the race, but his 18th-place finish, which included a stage win, was enough to move up to seventh place in the playoff standings after he started the day in 11th. Blaney was second to Joey Logano in most laps led on the day with 27.

Who’s not

Jamie McMurray wrecked out on Lap 25 at Talladega and fell to the bottom of the playoff standings. The Joplin, Missouri, native will likely need a win next week at Kansas Speedway in order to continue in the playoffs.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s streak of wins at restrictor-plate tracks came to an end. Now he’s teetering on the brink of playoff elimination heading to a Kansas track that didn’t favor him like Talladega did.

BUBBLE WATCH

Rank Driver Points to cutoff
5.  Denny Hamlin  +21
6.  Chase Elliott  +20
7.  Ryan Blaney  +9
8.  Jimmie Johnson  +7
————— CUT-OFF LINE —————
9.  Kyle Busch  -7
10.  Matt Kenseth  -8
11.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  -22
12.  Jamie McMurray  -29

Next race

The Monster Energy Series travels to Kansas Speedway for a Sunday afternoon race on Oct. 22 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It is the elimination race in the Round of 12.

Who it favors

Wins: Jimmie Johnson (3), Kevin Harvick (2), Matt Kenseth (2)
Average Finish: Jimmie Johnson (8.5), Kevin Harvick (8.6), Matt Kenseth (11.0)
Driver Rating: Jimmie Johnson (108.7), Matt Kenseth (106.5), Kevin Harvick (105.8).

Who it hurts

Fewest Top-10s in past 10 starts at track: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (0), Chase Elliott (1), Denny Hamlin (2), Jamie McMurray (2), Kyle Larson (2)
Worst Average Finish: Chase Elliott (23.0), Jamie McMurray (21.8), Kyle Larson (18.4)
Worst Driver Rating: Jamie McMurray (72.3), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (75.0), Chase Elliott (80.3)

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Results | Playoff standings | Detailed breakdown
SHOP: Keselowski playoff gear

TALLADEGA, Ala. – On the Longest Day at Talladega — in a war of attrition that required three red flags and left 14 cars running at the finish — Brad Keselowski powered his No. 2 Team Penske Ford past the No. 31 Chevrolet of Ryan Newman on the final lap to win Sunday’s Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Two laps after the final restart on Lap 186 of 188, Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano ganged up on Newman, who held the runner-up position after Keselowski shot past him. Trevor Bayne ran third in a damaged No. 6 Ford, with Logano and Aric Almirola finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

Denny Hamlin came home sixth, the only playoff driver other than Keselowski whose car wasn’t heavily damaged in one of the myriad wrecks that punctuated an event that consumed 3 hours, 53 minutes, 17 seconds—not including the three stoppages that totaled 35 minutes, 29 seconds.

But in winning for the fifth time at Talladega, the third time this season and the 24th time in his career, Keselowski claimed the important prize — a ticket into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ Round of 8.

WATCH: Keselowski celebrates in style

In his final run at Talladega in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, pole winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. restarted third after the 11th and final caution, tried unsuccessfully to push Keselowski to the lead through the first two corners and fell back to seventh at the finish.

“I feel like only eight cars finished the race,” said Keselowski, who gave Ford its seventh straight victory in restrictor-plate races, despite running much of the final stage with a broken radio antenna and intermittent communication with his spotter and crew chief. “It was one of those crazy days. I think we’ve seen that at the plate tracks this year — a lot of attrition. …

“This is still sinking in. It’s a special place to get to race and a special place when you win here. It was really a collaborative effort with the team and getting a real fast car and making the right moves as a driver and a lot of help from up above with staying out of those wrecks. It really takes all three and we had them all today.”

Though Newman surged to the front after the final restart, he assumed his stint at the point would be short-lived.

“We held them off longer than I expected,” Newman said. “I couldn’t tell how much nose damage I had and I hadn’t led all day, so I didn’t know what to expect. I saw the No. 2 car in the mirror backing up and then he lost his draft and then he backed up again and he caught the No. 22 (Logano). That was all it took for him to get a good run.

“I would have maybe played it differently and backed it up in hindsight, backed up to them in hindsight, but I don’t think it would have made a difference. They were double-teaming me, and it was still a good race to finish second with the Caterpillar Chevrolet.”

Any of the 10 playoff contenders whose cars were heavily damaged in wrecks throughout the race would have gladly settled for second. Jamie McMurray was out of the race after 25 laps, his car destroyed in a six-car collision off Turn 4. That was a harbinger of the intense action to come. Playoff drivers Jimmie Johnson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick all suffered varying degrees of damage in a 16-car accident triggered by series leader Martin Truex Jr. on Lap 172.

WATCH: ‘The Big One’ collects 16 cars at Talladega

“Well, I tried to get into a hole that was closing up at the wrong time,” said Truex, who already had earned a berth in the Round of 8 by winning last Sunday at Charlotte. “By the time that I got in the brakes trying to get out of there I got into the 38 (David Ragan) a little bit on the right rear and he got squirrely out there and all hell broke loose. Just was trying to get to the end and get some track position and try to get towards the front and have a good day and ended up causing a wreck.

“So I hate it for everybody. We definitively had nothing to lose today, but at the same time, you don’t want to be the person that causes others problems. Even though I feel like I’ve never been that guy here before, it looks like today I was, so I hate it for all of those guys and all of their teams. I wish I didn’t make that mistake. Just 18 (laps) to go at Talladega, trying to get going and trying to fill a hole. Bad judgment and should have been more patient.”

That wreck caused the first red flag. The second came after a Lap 178 accident that ended Harvick’s day and that of playoff contender Ryan Blaney, who had led 27 laps, second only to Logano’s 59.

The final caution on Lap 183 — followed by the third red flag — wiped out the Chevrolets of Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, who were fighting for position at the front of the field when contact from Daniel Suarez’s Toyota ignited a six-car melee that raised the crash toll of Playoff drivers to 10.

The enormous attrition set up a scramble for the final six Playoff positions entering next Sunday’s elimination race at Kansas Speedway. Kyle Busch, Kenseth, Stenhouse and McMurray are below the current cut line, but only 29 points separate Harvick in fourth place from Busch in ninth.

RELATED: Junior thrills fans, finishes seventh

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Results | Updated standings

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs standings got quite the shake-up when the “Big One” hit with 17 laps to go Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. Sixteen cars were collected in a wreck that involved six of the 12 remaining NASCAR Playoffs contenders.

The wreck on Lap 171 saw the No. 38 Ford of David Ragan spin while in traffic, causing significant damage to the No. 17 Ford of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 18 Toyota of Kyle Busch, among several others.

MORE: Wreck photos, more from ‘Dega

Other playoff drivers involved in the incident included the the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Kevin Harvick, the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota of Martin Truex Jr., the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Matt Kenseth and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson; Harvick and Kenseth both were able to continue.

Truex Jr. accepted responsibility for the incident — he’s already guaranteed a spot in the Round of 8 by virtue of his win at Charlotte last weekend to open the Round of 12.

“Just was trying to get to the end and get some track position and try to get toward the front and have a good day and ended up causing a wreck, so I hate it for everybody,” Truex said. “We definitely had nothing to lose today, but at the same time you don’t want to be the person that causes others problems. Even though I feel like I’ve never been that guy here before it looks like today I was, so I hate it for all of those guys and all of their teams.”

Daniel Suarez was in the lead at the time of the incident — ahead of the colliding cars — and did not sustain any damage. Other cars involved in the incident included the Nos. 3 (Austin Dillon), 10 (Danica Patrick), 13 (Ty Dillon), 32 (Matt DiBenedetto), 34 (Landon Cassill), 75 (Brendan Gaughan), 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and 95 (Michael McDowell). Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 was among the cars able to continue, and he would finish seventh.

“I really haven’t seen the replay, I was just running up the bottom there and the 38 ended up right in front of us,” said Stenhouse Jr., a pre-race favorite. “It was a bummer. We were working on getting our track position back. We felt good in the first run and got hung out there at the end of the second stage and were just working on our track position.”

Kyle Busch was among the drivers most affected. He dropped three spots in the standings following his 27th-place finish and now sits seven points below the transfer cut-off line. Kenseth (ninth place) and Stenhouse Jr. (10th place) also sit below the cutoff line.

Johnson currently holds the final transfer spot with just one race remaining in the Round of 12.

“I had no clue what happened,” Busch said. “I just saw (David Ragan) get sideways above me and then he came across my back and I missed him and he must have got the 48 (of Johnson), and the 48 shot up right across in front of us. I never saw him. I wish I would’ve seen him a little bit down there. I could’ve shot to the apron and tried to miss him, but unfortunately we just got messed up in that deal.”

The points days for those playoff drivers involved in the “Big One” was somewhat mitigated by a pair of wrecks that followed and took out fellow playoff drivers Ryan Blaney, Harvick and Elliott.

WATCH: Blaney, Harvick taken out in wreck

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full stage lengths for every race | Race enhancements 101

The enhanced race format for 2017 provides drivers with additional opportunities to earn points throughout an event.

Each race except the spring Charlotte race is comprised of three stages — Stage 1, Stage 2 and the Final Stage. The Coca-Cola 600 added a fourth stage. Drivers who finish in the top 10 in Stage 1 and Stage 2 earn additional race points, with the winner of each stage earning 10 points, second place earning nine points, third place earning eight points, etc., down to one point for 10th place. Stage 3 of the Coca-Cola 600 awards points in the same manner as Stages 1 and 2 in the other races.

The Final Stage produces the race results and awards points across the field.

Below is a cumulative running tally of how many stage points drivers have earned this year, as well as their stage wins — a stage win will provide an additional bonus point per win of the postseason.

Through Miami
Note: Does not include points earned for the Can-Am Duels at Daytona

2017 TOTAL STAGE POINTS     
RANK DRIVER TEAM STAGE POINTS STAGE WINS
1. Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing 440 19
2. Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing 377 8
3. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 354 14
4. Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 320 6
5. Brad Keselowski Team Penske 292 8
6. Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing 254 3
7. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 248 4
8. Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 236 3
9. Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing 226 4
10. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 180 1
11. Erik Jones Furniture Row Racing 162 0
12. Joey Logano Team Penske 160 1
13. Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing 159 0
14. Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing 120 0
15. Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing 93 1
16. Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing 53 0
17. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports 44 0
18. Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports 40 0
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing 36 0
20. Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing 32 0
21. Daniel Suarez Joe Gibbs Racing 25 1
22. Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing 24 0
23. AJ Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing 21 0
24. Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing 20 0
25. Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing 11 0
26. David Ragan Front Row Motorsports 9 0
27. Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing 6 0
28. Ty Dillon Germain Racing 5 0
Posted on by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series concludes its Round of 12 in the playoffs while the XFINITY Series is back in action for the opening race of its Round of 8. Both series will be action this weekend at Kansas Speedway.

Both Monster Energy Series and XFINITY Series events are also live streamed online on the NBC Sports App, which can be accessed here. Check out the full on-track weekend schedule below.

Note: All times are ET

SUNDAY, OCT. 22
PRE-RACE SCHEDULE
1:00:00 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Driver/Crew Chief Meeting (Fanwalk tent)
2:20:00 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Drivers Introductions (Playoff drivers will be introduced last)
3:00:00 p.m.: Presentation of Colors by: Leavenworth High School JROTC Color Guard
3:00:20 p.m.: Invocation by: R.D Fowler, Kansas City Alliance Raceway Ministries and Pastor, Bethel Baptist Church, Lincoln, Nebraska
3:01:00 p.m.: National Anthem: Angie Rosner
3:02:30 p.m.: Fly-By TOT: B2 Bomber out of Whiteman AFB (Turn 3 to Turn 2)
3:07:30 p.m.: “Drivers, Start Your Engines” by: Jay Hernandez
3:16:30 p.m.: Start of the Hollywood Casino 400 (267 Laps, 400 Miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN 3) (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch Live)
6 p.m. (approx.): Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

FRIDAY, OCT. 20
1-2:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
2:30-3:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
5-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
6:15 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch Live)
noon: Matt Kenseth
12:15 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson
12:45 p.m.: William Byron
2:45 p.m.: Clint Bowyer
3 p.m.: Kyle Busch
7 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying

GARAGECAM (Watch Live)
12:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
2 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series

SATURDAY, OCT. 21
11-11:50 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
12:05 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Award Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO) (Results)
1:30-2:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN 5) (Results)
3 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 (200 laps, 300 miles), NBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN 5) (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch Live)
12:45 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5:30 p.m. (approx.): Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series race

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Stage 1 results

Brad Keselowski won Stage 1 in the Alabama 500 on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, the second race in the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs. Keselowski, who entered the day in 10th place in the playoff standings, edged teammate Joey Logano on a restart following a Lap 50 caution to pick up 10 race points and one playoff point.

Earlier, Stage 1 featured a five-car wreck on Lap 25 that included playoff contender Jamie McMurray, whose No. 1 Chevrolet was unable to continue after hard contact on the frontstretch with Jeffrey Earnhardt’s No. 33 Chevrolet. Other cars involved in the wreck were the No. 15 of Mark Thompson, the No. 18 of Kyle Busch and the No. 77 of Erik Jones.

Busch’s No. 18 Toyota was able to continue.

A group of Ford drivers pitted at Lap 14 and took fuel only in a strategy play. That move appeared to pay off as the majority of the cars involved in that strategy finished the stage near the front.

Earnhardt, who started on the pole in his final appearance at Talladega as a full-time driver, got a pit-road penalty for entering too fast on Lap 50 and finished 27th at the end of the stage.

Finish Driver Team Race points
1.  Brad Keselowski Team Penske 10
2.  Joey Logano Team Penske 9
3.  Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing 8
4.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing 7
5.  Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 6
6.  Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing 5
7.  Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing 4
8.  Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9.  Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing 2
10.  Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports 1

Stage 2 results

Ryan Blaney took the lead on Lap 92 and did not look back to win Stage 2 in Sunday’s Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Blaney, in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, picked up his fourth stage win of the season and collected 10 race points and one playoff point.

Brad Keselowski finished in second place, followed by Clint Bowyer, Chase Elliott and Kurt Busch.

Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson overcame major damage to his No. 48 Chevrolet sustained earlier in the stage to finish seventh.

The right-rear of the No. 48 got crumpled when Ty Dillon’s No. 13 Chevrolet clipped it near the entrance to pit road. The No. 48 then careened to the left and into the No. 10 Ford driven by Danica Patrick.

MORE: Johnson, Patrick collide at entrance to pit road

Matthew DiBenedetto led 12 laps during Stage 2 after staying out when the leaders went to pit road. At the end of Stage 2, DiBenedetto trailed only Logano and Blaney for the most laps led through the first two stages.

Finish Driver Team Race points
1. Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing 10
2. Brad Keselowski Team Penske 9
3. Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing 8
4. Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 7
5. Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing 6
6. Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing 5
7. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 4
8. Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 2
10. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 1
Posted on by Staff Report

What channel is NASCAR programming on this week? We answer that and provide all the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

All Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and XFINITY Series events are also live streamed online on the NBC Sports App, which can be accessed here. Events that are only available on NBC Sports App are noted below.

RELATED: Watch on the NBC Sports App |  How to find FS1, FS2 | How to find NBCSN

Monday, Oct. 16
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN

Tuesday, Oct. 17
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Scan All, NBCSN

Wednesday, Oct. 18
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN

Thursday, Oct. 19
3:30 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series West: NAPA Auto Parts 150, NBCSN
5 p.m.; NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Series: Sunoco World Series 150, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Friday, Oct. 20
1:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
12:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Kansas, NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
2:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice at Kansas, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO)
5 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice at Kansas, NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
6 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Award Qualifying at Kansas, NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)

Saturday, Oct. 21
11 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Kansas, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO)
12 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Award Qualifying at Kansas, NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
1 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
1:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice at Kansas, NBCSN (Canada: TSN 5)
2:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green: Kansas, NBCSN
3 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300, NBC (Canada: TSN 5)

Sunday, Oct. 22
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Classic: The 1993 Daytona 500, FS1
12 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Kansas, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Monster Energy Series Countdown to Green: Kansas, NBCSN
3 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400, NBCSN (Canada: TSN 3)
6:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series post-race, NBCSN
7 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lap, NBCSN
8 p.m., Racing Roots: Daniel Suarez, NBCSN
8:30 p.m., Racing Roots: Kyle Larson, NBCSN
10 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lane: Kansas, FS1