Posted on by Staff Report

Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned a 23rd-place finish in his final race at Bristol Motor Speedway as a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver. That brings his average finish this season to 21.7.

But for those who were looking to place blame for this season’s struggles on Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Earnhardt had some strong words to say on Twitter following Saturday night’s race.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Results | Standings | Playoff standings | Detailed recap | At-track photos
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BRISTOL, Tenn. – In a race fraught with tension, and with a pack of drivers with desperate agendas chasing him to the finish line, Kyle Busch held off Erik Jones to complete a sweep of all three NASCAR touring series with Saturday night’s keystone victory in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series main event at the .533-mile concrete track, Busch capped a long weekend that saw him win Wednesday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event and Friday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race.

Having accomplished the same feat at Bristol in 2010, Busch was the only driver in NASCAR history to achieve the three-series sweep in the same week at the same track. Now he’s the only driver to have done it twice.

Dicing through traffic on the final 79-lap green-flag run, Busch crossed the finish line 1.422 seconds ahead of Jones, a Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, who will join the race winner as a teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing next year.

“Man, Erik Jones put up a whale of a fight,” said Busch, who won for the second time this season, the sixth time at Bristol (most among active drivers) and the 40th time in his career. “That’s all I had. I was running with my tongue hanging out. My arms were Jello and my throat hurts, but man that’s awesome.

“Can’t say enough about everybody on my Joe Gibbs Racing team. Adam Stevens (crew chief) and the guys are phenomenal. Car might not have been perfect, but I’m never perfect. I never feel like we’re perfect, but this Caramel Camry was fast. So proud of these guys, so proud of my team, so proud of Joe Gibbs Racing. So proud of Rowdy Nation, this one’s for you.”

One bobble by Busch in the closing laps, however, and Jones could have usurped a playoff spot and made the lives of playoff hopefuls Matt Kenseth, Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray and Clint Bowyer much more stressful.

RELATED: Busch battles Jones for victory

When the final green-flag run commenced on Lap 422 after the eighth caution of the race for Landon Cassill’s hard crash into the Turn 1 wall, Jones took off, with Busch and Kenseth trailing him. Kenseth grabbed the second spot on Lap 428, but Busch soon regained the position and made what proved to be the winning pass of Jones on Lap 445.

On the same lap, Kenseth slipped past Jones into second, but with a deft touch with his front bumper on lap 465, Jones broke Kenseth’s momentum and regained the second spot.

On the playoff bubble with two races left, Kenseth had two hopes: to win for himself to clinch a playoff berth, and to keep Jones out of Victory Lane to keep the number of unique winners this season at 13, leaving three playoff spots open on points.

Kenseth, who will cede his ride in the No. 20 JGR Toyota to Jones in 2018, slipped to fourth at the finish but solidified his playoff position, moving past Jamie McMurray to eighth in the standings.

But Kenseth provided the line of the night in the media center, after he was reminded that Jones had bumped him in the closing run.

“Takes my ride — and runs into me,” Kenseth quipped.

Jones, on the other hand, left the track thinking about what might have been.

RELATED: Second is a ‘bummer’ for Jones

“You don’t want to sound like you’re whining or being a sore loser by saying it sucks to run second, but it’s a bummer,” said Jones, who started on the pole and led 260 of 500 laps before posting a career-best finish. “It hurts. You know, you want to win every race you’re in. This was the first shot that I really had to come really close to it in the Cup Series.

“Bristol is a really good racetrack for myself. Thought we had a shot at it all night, led a ton of laps. It’s Kyle Busch. He won all three races here this weekend. So I feel like I’m close to him here—just trying to find that last little bit.”

Notes: With Denny Hamlin finishing third, Toyotas swept the top four finishing positions. … Dale Earnhardt Jr. started 31st, struggled to find speed in his car and finished 23rd, three laps down, in his final ride at Bristol in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. … Chafing from the current absence of a contract extension despite his victory in the Daytona 500, Kurt Busch got fresh tires on Lap 417 and drove like a man with something to prove. In his 600th Cup race, Busch restarted 12th on Lap 422 and charged into fourth place before coming home fifth at the finish. … The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Daniel Suarez was found to have one lug nut unsecured in post-race inspection. Any potential penalty would be announced next week by NASCAR.

 

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 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 CNBC on your TV

Monday, August 21
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Tuesday, August 22
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, August 23
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, August 24
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR The Decades: The 1980s, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Saturday, August 26
2 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice at Road America, NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
3 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Series Bush’s Beans 150, NBCSN
4 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice at Road America, NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)

Sunday, August 27
11:30 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying at Road America, CNBC (Canada: TSN GO) CANCELED
2:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green, NBC
3 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Johnsonville 180 at Road America, NBC (Canada: TSN 2)

 


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BUY TICKETS: See the Road America action 

RELATED: How to find CNBC on your TV

This week, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series enjoy an off week, while the XFINITY Series goes road-course racing at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Check out the full weekend schedule below.

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

Note: All times are ET

SATURDAY, August 26
2-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice at Road America, NBCSN (Results)
4-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice at Road America, NBCSN (Results)

SUNDAY, August 27
11:45 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, CNBC (Results)
3 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Johnsonville 180 (45 laps, 182.16 miles), NBC (Results)

Posted on by Staff Report

MORE: Full Stage 2 results

Matt Kenseth collected 10 much-needed race points when he grabbed his third stage victory of the season by winning Stage 2 at Bristol Motor Speedway’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race on Saturday.

Kenseth was one of a handful of cars not to come to pit road after a caution on Lap 231, clearing the way for the playoff-bubble driver to nab the stage win when it ended on Lap 250.

Kyle Busch, who led 37 laps beginning on Lap 204, surrendered the lead to come to pit road just before the end of Stage 2. Busch is attempting to win all three NASCAR series races this weekend after also winning the Camping World Truck and XFINITY Series races in Bristol.

Martin Truex Jr. went two laps down in Stage 2 after he was forced to return to pit road after stops on Lap 202. He then was levied with an uncontrolled tire penalty, and the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota dropped from fifth to 29th by the time it was over.

The No. 3 of Austin Dillon and the No. 33 of Jeffrey Earnhardt collided on Lap 231, causing significant damage to both cars.

 

Finish Driver Team Race points
1. Matt Kenseth  Joe Gibbs Racing 10
2. Jimmie Johnson  Hendrick Motorsports 9
3. Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 8
4. Ryan Newman  Richard Childress Racing 7
5. Erik Jones  Furniture Row Racing 6
6. Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 5
7. Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 4
8. Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 3
9. Paul Menard  Richard Childress Racing 2
10. Clint Bowyer  Stewart-Haas Racing 1


MORE: Full Stage 1 results

Kyle Busch collected his 10th stage win of the season by winning Stage 1 of Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Busch, who is attempting to sweep all three NASCAR series races this weekend, nudged leader Kyle Larson out of the way just before Stage 1 ended on Lap 125 to nab the stage win.

Larson led a race-high 70 laps after taking the top spot from pole-sitter Erik Jones on Lap 65. Jones led 49 of the first 64 laps.

The No. 2 Team Penske Ford of Brad Keselowski suffered an early issue in Stage 1 when the left front tire went down on Lap 5. After stopping to make repairs, Keselowski was three laps down at the end of the first stage.

Stage 2 ends at Lap 250; the final stage is scheduled to conclude at Lap 500.

Finish Driver Team Race points
1.  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 10
2.  Erik Jones  Furniture Row Racing 9
3.  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 8
4.  Chase Elliott  Hendrick Motorsports 7
5.  Matt Kenseth  Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6.  Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 5
7.  Ryan Blaney  Wood Brothers Racing 4
8.  Joey Logano  Team Penske 3
9.  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 2
10.  Jimmie Johnson  Hendrick Motorsports 1

 

Posted on by Track Release

As the electricity builds towards the green flag of the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, Bristol Motor Speedway’s fan-favorite driver introductions feature a musical lineup unlike any other.

The combination of hard rock, rap and country showcase the diverse personalities of the stars of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series before they strap in to conquer The Last Great Colosseum.

Erik Jones, who claimed his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole, will salute his Furniture Row Racing team’s pole-winning effort with DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win.” He’s hoping to use that phrase to claim his first Cup Series victory.

Kyle Larson, who has been one of the strongest competitors this season, starts second and is still searching for his first career Bristol win. He pays homage to his dirt tracking days with Kenny Montgomery’s “Dirt Track Thang.”

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne decided to take a risk and chose each other’s songs. Earnhardt Jr. will walk out to “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy” and Kahne’s will be “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” by Brooks & Dunn.

Defending race winner Kevin Harvick is channeling his nickname of “Happy Harvick” with “Happy” by Pharrell while April’s Food City 500 winner Jimmie Johnson is using Snoop Dogg’s “What’s My Name.”

Five-time Bristol winner Kyle Busch is going for the sweep this weekend (after winning the UNOH 200 and Food City 300) and is using the popular hit “Thunder” by Imagine Dragons.

Here is the list of the 2017 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race driver introduction song choices:

Starting
Position		 Driver Artist Song
1 Erik Jones DJ Khaled All I Do Is Win
2 Kyle Larson Kenny Montgomery Dirt Track Thing
3 Kasey Kahne Brooks & Dunn You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone
4 Chase Elliott Jeff Bates Chevy Don’t Let Me Down
5 Matt Kenseth Metallica Halo on Fire
6 Martin Truex Jr. Florida Georgia Line That’s How We Do Around Here
7 Denny Hamlin Drake Jumpman
8 Joey Logano Drake Energy
9 Clint Bowyer Randy Houser How Country Feels
10 Ryan Blaney Sturgill Simpson Life Ain’t Fair and The World is Mean
11 Jamie McMurray Imagine Dragons Believer
12 Daniel Suarez El Mariachi Loco
13 Ryan Newman Luke Bryan Huntin, Fishin & Lovin Everyday
14 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Alan Jackson Chattahoochee
15 Chris Buescher Matt Mason E
16 Austin Dillon Rick Ross Ain’t No Mercy
17 Brad Keselowski Van Halen Right Now
18 Kyle Busch Imagine Dragons Thunder
19 David Ragan Tracey Byrd I’m From the Country
20 Trevor Bayne KB Ft. Lecrae Sideways
21 Jimmie Johnson Snoop Dogg What’s My Name
22 Ty Dillon Petey Pablo Rise Up
23 AJ Allmendinger Linkin Park Paper Cut
24 Danica Patrick Warren G Regulate
25 Kurt Busch Aerosmith Sweet Emotion
26 Michael McDowell Thi’sl Dream Team
27 Paul Menard Lamb of God 512
28 Aric Almirola Pitbull Green Light
29 Kevin Harvick Pharrell Happy
30 JJ Yeley Sonny & Cher I Got You Babe
31 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Birdman & Little Wayne Stuntin’ Like My Daddy
32 Cole Whitt Sir Mix-A-Lot Baby Got Back
33 Landon Cassill Hawthorne Heights Silver Nights
34 Matt DiBenedetto X Gon Give It To Ya
35 Corey LaJoie Jason Aldean Lights Come On
36 BJ McLeod Motley Crue Kickstart My Heart
37 Gray Gaulding Bon Jovi Wanted Dead or Alive
38 Jeffrey Earnhardt Tyler Hatley & the Little Mountain Band Good Life
39 Reed Sorenson Five Finger Death Punch Over and Under It
40 Joey Gase Black Eyed Peas I Gotta Feeling
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RELATED: Playoff standings | Logano, Bowyer perched on playoff bubble

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Tab Boyd was grinning from ear-to-ear.

The No. 22 spotter has spent his weekends for the last five years perched atop hills and high-as-the-sky towers at race tracks across the country and guiding Joey Logano’s Shell-Pennzoil Ford on track.

But he had never seen Bristol Motor Speedway from a hot air balloon until Saturday afternoon – nor did he ever think he ever would.

“That’s one thing about this job,” Boyd told NASCAR.com with a laugh, while airborne. “It’s never dull and it’s always full of surprises.”

The Pensacola, Florida, native is no stranger to racing; he grew up around the sport and has memories going to tracks around the Southeast with his father. The tiny Tennessee short track known as Bristol was always a place he looked forward to seeing.

Being able to spot for a living at this special place is “pretty much a dream come true.”

“It’s a very unique place, it’s always been,” Boyd said. “Bristol’s always been somewhere I’ve loved to come since I was a little kid, so it’s neat to come here and help be part of the show.”

But the Bristol show is one that isn’t so seamless; the small track equates to small spaces to move and even smaller tempers from drivers as they bump and rub one another’s cars.

It makes a spotter’s job even more crucial.

“It’s very challenging here at Bristol,” he said. “Being in this hot air balloon is a pretty cool experience to see a different perspective of the speedway rather than the spotter’s stand, but it’s so intense; everybody’s doing everything they can to pass each other every second they can around the track. So, just being alert and being on the game is the hard part at Bristol.”

RELATED: Who’s on the bubble entering Bristol?

Boyd points out the spotter’s stand from the hot air balloon, an area to the right of the Bass Pro Shops-emblazoned tower. He shows a picture that he took from the spotter’s stand looking at the hot air balloon.

“So that was from there to here. As a matter of fact, I’m going to take one from here to there,” he said, snapping a photo of the iconic colosseum.

“The view from the Bristol spotter stand is really good, but I tell you what, I’d like to get this A11 to bring this thing to Watkins Glen or something like that,” he said later with a grin. “To go way above a road course, that would be pretty handy.”

Tonight’s race (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will present an additional challenge for the No. 22 team, as it marks one of three races left for Logano to win his way into NASCAR’s playoffs. With his win at Richmond encumbered, Logano currently sits 18th in the playoff standings, two spots out from the 16-car field.

But while that creates pressure for the team, some of that goes away when the green flag is dropped, Boyd said. 

Because, after all, it’s Bristol, baby.

“It’s really important to do well each and every week but knowing that we’re about to wrap up the regular season, it’s more important for us to be able to get a win,” Boyd said.  “Once the race starts, that kind of all goes out the window and you get in your zone and you do the best you can to get in good positions and be up front.

“So, that’s the fun part about Bristol, is being here and the intensity and the crowd and hearing them roar whenever a big pass is made, so that’s what it’s all about.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Race results | Series standings | Detailed breakdown | At-track photos from Bristol

Kyle Busch completed the second leg in a potential Bristol Motor Speedway tripleheader sweep, rallying to victory in the NASCAR XFINITY Series on Friday night.

Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota led a race-high 186 of 300 laps in the Food City 300. He also converted a come-from-behind victory Wednesday in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Busch was bitten by a pit-road speeding penalty during the intermission after his Stage 1 win, forcing him to restart in 19th place. But Busch roared back to the front — much like he did in his midweek truck win — in 58 laps to take Stage 2 and position himself for another victory on the .533-mile track.

“At least I didn’t have to come through in the last stage because everybody was pretty fast there tonight in the last stage,” said Busch, whose Truck Series comeback came in the final stage. “I don’t know if I would have been able to make it all the way back up through there.”

Busch’s fifth XFINITY win of the season was his ninth at Bristol and the 91st of his career. He’ll go for the tripleheader sweep in Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series main event (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), a Bristol feat he also accomplished in 2010.

“I think we can, yeah,” Busch said of his chances, starting 18th in Bristol’s annual night race. “We’ve got a fast car. We just have to make the right adjustments overnight here and get it ready for tomorrow.”

Daniel Suarez, Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, netted second place in the No. 20 Toyota, finishing 1.181 seconds behind Busch at the checkered flag.

Series points leader Elliott Sadler finished third, clinching a playoff spot by ensuring himself a top-20 result in the regular-season standings. Ty Dillon and Justin Allgaier completed the top five.

RELATED: Playoff standings for XFINITY Series

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 13th, one lap down, in his first XFINITY start since winning at Richmond in April of 2016. After the race, Earnhardt was treated with fluids for dehydration and hand cramps in the infield care center.

The series’ next race is scheduled Aug. 27 at Road America, the sprawling 4.048-mile road course in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Contributing: NASCAR Wire Service

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Starting lineup | Full Bristol schedule | Who’s in bubble trouble? | Top fantasy plays

What: Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race No. 24)

Where: Bristol Motor Speedway, .533-mile oval in Bristol, Tenn.

Green flag: 7:48 p.m. ET

TV/Radio: NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Forecast: Sunny with a high near 86. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. (NOAA.gov)

National anthem: Motor Racing Outreach children

Grand Marshals: Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops Founder and CEO; Dale Hall, CEO Ducks Unlimited; Ed Carter, Executive Director, TWRA

Honorary starter: Joe Gregory, former CEO King Pharmaceuticals

Race distance: 500 laps, 266.5 miles

Pit road speed: 30 mph

Caution car speed: 35 mph

Stage lengths: Stage 1 ends at Lap 125; Stage 2 ends at Lap 250; Final stage scheduled to end at Lap 500.