Posted on by Steve Luvender

The biggest story of last weekend’s trip to Bristol, of course, was Kyle Busch’s dominance across each NASCAR series. But Rowdy’s mastery of “The Last Great Colosseum” wasn’t the only story of the weekend.

Thumbs Up: Rowdy’s weekend sweep

Well, it’s only reasonable and obvious we give a thumbs-up to Busch for sweeping the weekend — a victory Wednesday night in the Camping World Truck Series, a win Friday in the XFINITY Series, and a third checkered flag Saturday night in the Monster Energy Series.

Such a sweep has only been done once before — also by Rowdy — at Bristol in 2010.

Fellow drivers and legends were just as impressed with such a feat, which earns this week’s first thumbs up.

Thumbs Down: Mistakes near the playoffs

With the end of the regular season approaching, winless Chase Elliott needs to be careful. If he wants to race into the playoffs based on points — which seems like a tall order based on the number of different winners this season — he must be careful and have clean races.

Unfortunately for the driver of the No. 24, he tangled with Kevin Harvick in the final stage Saturday night.

WATCH: Chase Elliott takes a hit at Bristol

Thumbs down for making us nervous — finishing 18th with no wins and the playoffs two races away.

Thumbs Up: Being a very good young man

That Erik Jones fellow seems like a very good young man. I wish you’d hang out with him more.

Not only did Jones earn his first career pole, he also led more than half the race at Bristol. That young whippersnapper nearly broke his mentor’s, Busch, perfect weekend sweep. What a nice young man.

WATCH: Kyle Busch impressed with Erik Jones at Bristol

Thumbs up to young Jones, who scored a career-best finish and made a name for himself as a serious contender. Give that spry fellow some hard candies.

Thumbs Down: Entering to the wrong introduction song

Imagine walking up to driver introductions for your first Bristol night race — only to have the wrong song play while you walked across the stage.

That was reality for Corey LaJoie when Matt DiBenedetto’s song was mistakenly played instead of his own. When LaJoie introduced himself, he set the record straight that the “X Gon’ Give it to Ya” playing in the background was not his choice of song.

The biggest question is which song will go down in history as LaJoie’s introduction song for this race — DiBenedetto’s choice, or LaJoie’s actual selection of “Lights Come On” by Jason Aldean?

Thumbs down for this minor goof-up that could have thrown off somebody’s mojo — but didn’t, apparently, at least for LaJoie, who brought his BK Racing Toyota home for a respectable 28th-place finish.

Biggest Thumbs Up of the Week: A broom at the ready

Yeah, Busch swept the three races this weekend. That’s really impressive, considering it’s only ever been done by Kyle Busch.

But I’ve got some questions.

Busch celebrated his third of three victories by sweeping with an actual broom after taking the checkered flag. Where did the broom come from? Whose idea was it to equip a broom for this very specific use? A weekend sweep of three races has only happened once in NASCAR history previously, so it’s a pretty rare circumstance where a broom would prove necessary.

In any event, the broom was put to good use. Major thumbs up to the individual who thought, “Y’know what? We should probably pack a broom this weekend, just in case.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

With the solar eclipse happening in the final off-week of the season … maybe it’s all lined up to alter — or correct — the universe enough to restore Joey Logano’s expectations to be part of NASCAR’s playoff push.

Only two more regular-season races remain to set the trophy field and the perennial playoff challenger — and 2016 championship runner-up — laughed a little at the celestial suggestion Monday. But Logano acknowledged his Team Penske team welcomes a course correction if it puts his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford into the championship mix.

He has only two more shots — at historic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway next weekend and then the regular-season finale at Richmond (Va.) Raceway the following Saturday night to win his way into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup playoffs.

“I wasn’t expecting to be in this situation after the season started and even after the first few races,” Logano acknowledged Monday. “We had a good start to the season and then went through quite the downturn for a while and have just been trying to dig out of a hole.

“Now, we’re in the hole, our backs are up against the wall and we’ve got to win. That’s plain and simple as it is. We’ll run hard here the next few races in Darlington and in Richmond and hopefully come out with a win in one of them and put ourselves in the playoffs and shoot for a championship.

“We’ve got to go one race at a time for sure, but definitely this off-weekend coming up is nice to kind of catch our breath and be ready to go at it again.”

Logano’s team began the year with an amazing eight top-six finishes in the first nine races, including a victory at Richmond in May. NASCAR, however, ruled days after Logano’s win that it was an “encumbered finish,” finding issues with the car’s suspension during inspection.

And the asterisk placed next to that victory means it does not count as an automatic playoff-qualifier for Logano.

After that controversial win, Logano didn’t have another top-20 finish for six weeks. He is still looking for his first top-10 since Indianapolis, five races ago.

And because Logano is ranked 18th in the playoff standings (117 points behind Jamie McMurray in the 16th-place final playoff position) Logano needs a victory at Darlington or Richmond to extend a run of four consecutive title chases.

“It is a lot of pressure but it’s not a position we haven’t been in before,” Logano said, adding with a laugh. “We’ve already won a couple races this year just none of them counted.

“The fact we need to win is a similar situation to what we were put in last year during the playoffs. We had to win at Phoenix and we won. We had to win at Talladega and we won. So we’ve had our backs against the wall and really been able to answer when we needed to so that gives us confidence knowing we know how to do that, how to raise our game.”

Logano sounded in good spirits, full of confidence and strong belief in his team as he made the media rounds to help his sponsor Autotrader get the word out about “National Dog Day” this Saturday, Aug. 26.

He and his wife Brittany — who are expecting a baby boy in January — have two dogs and they take one, French bulldog Luigi, with them to most races. This week Autotrader is giving out “New Dog Smell” car air fresheners if you visit Autotrader.com/DogDay. And with each air freshener requested, the company will donate money to Adopt-a-Pet.com.

It’s certainly a positive effort for Logano to back, and keeping things positive will be important for him and his team as they approach these two crucial weeks with major playoff implications. Although he hasn’t won at Darlington previously, he has a pair of wins and a pair of pole positions at Richmond and led 190 laps in 17 starts at the three-quarter mile track.

Logano concedes it’s been a unique season overall — creating a far-from predictable playoff scenario.

“It’s definitely a unique year with the multiple winners that there are,” Logano said. “You have quite a few guys with their first win that no one really expected them to be in the position they’re in. The bottom line is we need to get faster anyways. Even if we were in the playoffs right now, we need to get faster to win it.

“So we’ve definitely got to keep pushing to race with these guys. Being in the playoffs is one thing, but it’s all about winning it in my opinion. We’ve got to get better even if we do get in there the next couple weeks.”

As for scoring that all-important playoff-qualifying win at Richmond — where Logano thought he’d secured his postseason bid already — the 18-time Cup winner has no hesitation.

“Oh, it’d be the nicest one, believe me,” Logano said. “I can’t think of a better place to win at then to go back and win there again. It’s been a good track for us in the past. We’ll see what happens.”

Posted on by Team Release

CONCORD, N.C. — SunnyD has announced a contract extension with Roush Fenway that will see the iconic brand extend its relationship with the team and driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. through the 2019 season, with additional races added each season. SunnyD has served as a primary partner on Stenhouse’s No. 17 Ford Fusion for multiple races over the past two seasons.

“We’ve had a great time partnering with SunnyD the last two years,” said Stenhouse. “It’s one of the coolest paint schemes on the track and we’ve had a lot of fun promoting their classic brand. I’m excited that we have extended our relationship and I can’t wait to see how much fun we can have with SunnyD in Victory Lane.”

In addition to on-track success, Roush Fenway and SunnyD have teamed together in several unique social programs and promotions. This season’s ‘Race with Ricky Sweepstakes’, offers fans a once in a lifetime opportunity to race against one of NASCAR’s up and coming stars, and has received just under a half a million entries to date.

The partnership launched with Stenhouse and FOX personalities Kaitlyn Vincie and Andrew Doud, recreating the classic “Purple Stuff” SunnyD commercial. The platform launch was a massive success, garnering industry recognition as a finalist for PR News’ prestigious Platinum Award, celebrating the ingenuity and leadership behind the year’s most outstanding communications initiatives.

Fans were also encouraged to submit their own version of the “purple stuff” vs. SunnyD spot using any social media channel with the hashtag #ShareaSunnyD.  In addition, the SunnyD ‘bottle flip’ was one of the top social NASCAR promotions in the sport in 2016.

“We are very excited to announce that we tore up the old contract and signed a new one that extends for another season and adds additional races with Ricky and Roush Fenway,” said Henk Hartong, Chairman of Harvest Hill Beverage Company, owners of the SunnyD brand. “I’m very proud of our relationship with Jack Roush, Steve Newmark and the entire Roush Fenway team. It is something that we wanted to lock in for the foreseeable future. Ricky is one of the rising young stars in NASCAR, and we have seen great response to the program from the passionate NASCAR fans.  We are pleased to bolster our association with him and Roush Fenway.”

SunnyD will next serve as the primary partner on the No. 17 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October.

Posted on by

After Kyle Busch swept the weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, capturing wins in all three of NASCAR’s national series, that other really fast Kyle — Kyle Larson — tweeted respect for his elder and competitor.

 

 

So the question that Kelly Crandall and Kathy Sheldon are exploring on NASCAR.com today: Is Kyle Busch the GOAT?

Sheldon: Greatest at Bristol? Yes, and six wins, the most of any Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver, prove it. This past weekend? Absolutely. All time? We’ll see. If anyone currently active can catch seven wins, I’d say Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson are the best candidates.

Crandall: Larson’s goat emoji was a nice touch and Busch seemed appreciative to hear in his post-race press conference it had been included. But the greatest of all-time in NASCAR is not yet a discussion Busch or Larson is in, although performances like Bristol will certainly help Busch one day in that department. If this was a question of whether or not Busch is the GOAT when it comes to the top three national series, there’s no argument he has set himself apart from the competition. One can only wonder, though, what the sport would be like if Larson ran as many races as Busch does …

Sheldon: Good point, Kelly. I don’t think anyone is as sure a bet in a Camping World Truck Series event or XFINITY Series event as Busch. And he’s helping the sport grow the next generation of drivers, as well, through Kyle Busch Motorsports. Wouldn’t it be great to see Busch in a sprint car so he and Larson could do battle on dirt?

So let’s talk greatest of this season. Both Larson and Busch are in the playoffs, with Busch holding a slight, 2-point edge on Larson in playoff points coming out of Bristol. They’re both chasing Martin Truex Jr., whom I picked back in February to win the title this year. I still like that pick, but Busch seems like a better bet to knock off Truex in the playoffs among the pair of Kyles — a former champ in 2015 and runner-up in 2016 who is peaking at the right time.

Crandall: Just a few weeks ago I felt Larson was as sure a bet to be in the final four as Truex is. Then Busch won Pocono — to go along with his gazillion laps he’s led — and he’s also been knocking off stage wins left and right. Suddenly, the No. 18 team has come alive while the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 team is simmering. Good news for Busch, bad news for Larson.

Now, we all know once the playoffs start teams and drivers usually pick it up a notch, but Busch’s team looks really, really good right now. And I imagine they are only going to keep getting better as the weeks go on. However, the possibility of Larson making it to Homestead to battle Busch, as well as Truex and whomever the fourth contender may be, is hard not be excited about.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: NASCAR fan’s guide to solar eclipse | Samantha Busch cracks on Kyle’s celebration

Chase Elliot had plans to catch the solar eclipse from high in the sky, while others took to the ground to check out the celestial event.

Some drivers even got creative with their protective eyewear just to catch a glimpse of the solar eclipse passing by — looking at you Martin Truex Jr.

Here are some of the best social media reactions from around the NASCAR community:

Drivers like Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon made sure their views were family friendly.

While some, like Clint Bowyer, were not so impressed.

Maybe Bowyer was just looking at the wrong Eclipse, though.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Kyle Busch surprises fans after Bristol win | NASCAR drivers salute Busch’s trifecta win

Kyle Busch wanted to make sure the crowd at Bristol Motor Speedway remembered he didn’t just win one race, but all three so he pulled out a broom to clean the colorful confetti off his winning ride.

However, his wife Samantha Busch wasn’t about to let fans think the driver was a frequent helper around the house — especially when it comes to cleaning.

Among several comments on Toyota Racing’s Instagram, Samantha sneakily called out her husband’s celebration: “Funny he doesn’t know where the broom is at home.”

Maybe with the off weekend coming up for Busch, he can find some time to make good use of his newfound broom skills.

Posted on by Staff Report

The potential use of the “cone rule” at short tracks like Bristol Motor Speedway is something NASCAR executives have discussed, Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller said Monday during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The discussion was prevalent following some gamesmanship in Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Drivers preferred to restart in the outside lane, so some — like Denny Hamlin, who fessed up to it on Twitter — checked up coming off pit road to try and ensure a specific restart spot on the outside lane.

“As we do here at NASCAR, we’re constantly looking at ways to make the races and the action for the fans more interesting. That is a topic that we have discussed a little bit,” Miller said on The Morning Drive. “… But we talk about a lot of things and when the final decision comes, I’m not sure what that will be, but certainly it has been a topic of discussion.”

The cone rule is popular in short-track racing. A cone is placed on the race track under caution and drivers have the option to choose which lane they want to restart in, driving to either the inside of the cone or the outside. This lends itself to different strategy plays as a driver deeper in the field could restart in the first few rows should he or see choose the lane opposite competitors.

NASCAR is aware of what happened on pit road in Bristol and Miller said the sanctioning body will look into it.

“That’s something we don’t want because we don’t need accidents at the end of the pit road with people checking up,” Miller said. “We’ll figure out how we’re going to address that one and try to move on. Really it kind of only comes into play at a few places. We know when it’s possibly going to happen, so we’ll try to address that.”

“Ironically, it didn’t quite work out,” Miller added.

Posted on by Nascar

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Officials with Chip Ganassi Racing and driver Kyle Larson announced a two-race sponsorship with credit card processor First Data on Monday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

First Data, whose corporate headquarters are located in Atlanta, will be the primary sponsor on Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet for upcoming Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway.

First Data and Martinsville Speedway officials recently announced the company would hold the naming rights to the track’s fall Monster Energy Series race, which will now be known as the First Data 500. That agreement is for three years, according to First Data.

The company served as a sponsor on the No. 1 Chevrolet of teammate Jamie McMurray at Martinsville last season. It will return in an associate role with McMurray at Martinsville this year.

Larson, 25, has three wins this season and is currently third in points.

“Last year we got a little bit of Chip’s car,” First Data chairman and CEO Frank Bisignano said. “This year we’ve got two cars. It’s all about forward trajectory. They are great guys to be in business with.”

Larson’s team currently carries primary sponsorship from Target and its related partners, however the retailer has said it will not return after the completion of the ’17 season.

Ganassi indicated First Data could be a partner in ’18 as well. Larson said he was confident funding would be in place, adding, “We have a lot of important things to worry about the rest of this year, a championship being one of them.

“Obviously with Target leaving a lot of people are probably looking at what we have for the future and I think this (First Data relationship) is a great step.”

Ganassi, a former racer, has been a NASCAR team owner since 2001 and open-wheel owner since the late ’80s. The current sponsorship climate is nothing new to the veteran car owner.

“I guess in some respects its more difficult than it’s ever been and in other respects it’s never been easy,” Ganassi said. “It’s just part of the business. You have to go with the flow.

“We’re going to be here; this is the only business I have. We’re going to be in business. … I think (the current climate) presents opportunities for us, more than anything, to go find new businesses, new partners, new people that are interested in the sport.”

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: The NASCAR fan’s guide to the eclipse

Chase Elliott may be up in his plane. Trevor Bayne joked that he may ride around wearing “a welding helmet.”

Monday’s solar eclipse is big news among scientists, astronomers and others interested in what goes on in the universe.

It has its place among folks in NASCAR as well.

“I didn’t know about it until about a week and a half ago,” Elliott, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. “I was at a friend’s house and he was telling me about it and telling me what he was going to do. He’s like ‘This is this huge deal.’ I’m like ‘What is?’ I didn’t know anything about it.”

Now that he’s been brought up to speed about the celestial occurrence, Elliott thinks he might have just the solution to avoid the crowded highways and eclipse-watching spots in the northeast corner of Georgia where the total solar eclipse can be seen. Those outside the path of totality will see varying portions of a partial solar eclipse, depending on their location.

“Yeah, I’m interested; I think it’s kind of cool,” said Elliott, who has his pilot’s license. “I feel like what would be really neat would be to go fly; go take off and be flying while it happens. So, I was going to go do that, possibly, if the weather was good on Monday.

“I do have a flight to catch Monday night, so if I can make the timing work I’d like to go fly and see it from the air if we can do that.”

Fellow Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Bayne joked that he would head out during the eclipse wearing a welding helmet to avoid damaging his eyes while watching the eclipse.

“I’ll be in Knoxville, so I’m going to go put myself in the traffic and drive around with a welding helmet and see if I can’t look at the sun a little bit,” the Roush Fenway Racing driver said. “That’s what everybody says to do.

“I don’t know how my retinas are going to like it. I was expecting it to be like complete dark, you just look up at it and everybody is like, ‘No, you cannot stare at the sun.’ I’ll get out a welding helmet, I guess.”

While NASCAR-sanctioned tracks are spread across the nation, only Kansas Speedway appears to be inside the 70-mile wide path across the country where the total eclipse can be seen.

According to track officials, however, there are no eclipse-watching plans in place.

Nashville’s Fairgrounds Speedway is in the path of totality but hasn’t hosted NASCAR’s top series since 1984.

Meanwhile, Texas Motor Speedway, which is located approximately 550 miles from the path of totality, isn’t letting that distance keep officials there from throwing a party.

The Speedway Motorsports Inc.-owned property is hosting a Monday watch party for fans as well as a “celestial-themed pre-event luncheon for its staff.”

The partial eclipse seen there will be shown on Big Hoss, the world’s largest TV and streamed on the tracks’ Facebook Live page.

Darlington Raceway is a bit closer to the path, 99.1 percent of the sun will be eclipsed in that region, and is offering a Monday only, Total Eclipse weekend ticket package.

The special ticket pricing will be available from midnight Sunday, Aug. 20 until midnight Monday Aug. 21.

Posted on by George Winkler

How sweet it is for some Kyle Busch fans on the morning after ‘Rowdy’s ‘Take that!’ moment at Bristol Motor Speedway when he swept the weekend.

Busch literally stood up for these fans by climbing on the door of his car to autograph their No. 18 flag.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Busch has ‘swept away’ his fans following a dominant performance. Remember this after he swept the Martinsville races in April 2016?

Note: Video contains language some might consider explicit