Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney lead practice sessions at Bristol

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

Posted on August 17, 2017July 7, 2020 by Kathy Sheldon

Yes, Clint Bowyer and Joey Logano may still remain on the NASCAR playoff bubble in the Monster Energy Series field with three weeks to point or win their way into the mix.

But these two veterans have probably long had this portion of the scheduled circled — heads-up, thumbs up.

Three drivers — Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray and Matt Kenseth — hold playoff-eligible positions by virtue of points. However, that could change with new winners at any of the next three venues.

Bowyer is ranked 17th, one position below the playoff cutoff, trailing 16th-place Kenseth by 31 points entering Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM) at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Logano is one position behind Bowyer, in 18th place and trailing Kenseth by a more sizable 98-point margin. It’s more of a longshot for him to gain enough points to crack the playoff field. He needs to win. Fortunately for him, he has venues coming up where he’s celebrated before.

BRISTOL STATS: Clint Bowyer | Joey Logano

This week’s .533-mile Bristol bullring looks good for both Bowyer and Logano. The next stop in Darlington, S.C., over Labor Day may be the wild card as both drivers have much better records to stand on in Richmond, Va. — site of the regular-season finale — in three weeks.

“You can’t worry about those points,” Bowyer said of his chances. “You have to go out and do your job week in and week out. If you do that, I feel like, with the way we’re running, we can get in two different ways.

“I think we could win and I think we can point our way in. I think both of those are definite do-ables right now for us.”

At Bristol, Bowyer has 11 top-10 finishes in 23 starts for an impressive percentage, and that includes a runner-up finish there in April.

He has finished among the top 10 in three of the last four Bristol races with two top fives.

Logano is the youngest pole-sitter in Bristol’s great history (March 2010 at the age of 19) and established himself one of the track’s best qualifiers early on. Most important to Logano and his Team Penske outfit, he enters Saturday’s race with four straight top-10 finishes at Bristol, leading laps in every one of the races. And he won the summer night race in back-to-back seasons, 2014-2015.

“We’ve come close to victory several times this year,” said Bowyer, who has scored the 10th-most points of any driver this season with four top-three finishes. “That’s what can be so frustrating. You are only one or two spots away from where you want to be, but there’s a huge difference between first and everything else in this business.

“I want to celebrate in front of all those wild and crazy fans,” he said of Bristol. “There’s no better atmosphere. They’re so close to you that you feel that environment.

“I’m the hunter, not the hunted, so it’s a lot of fun to go into this weekend knowing that you’ve got to go out there and chase that guy down or chase those guys down and, hopefully, pop off a win here and just put it all to bed.”

If not … the two will set their sights on Darlington, where neither Bowyer nor Logano has won before. Logano has a pair of top-fives, while Bowyer is still racing for his first at the sport’s legendarily “tough” track.

And if the facility lives up to its nickname, the two drivers will gladly head north to Virginia the next week where the three-quarter mile-Richmond oval will firmly decide the playoff field.

Both Bowyer and Logano have won twice at Richmond.

They bring a solid resume in general, beyond the trophy-hoisting. Bowyer’s sixth-place driver rating is tops among any of the contenders — including Logano and those three winless drivers in the playoffs by points right now: Kenseth, McMurray and Elliott.

Bowyer has led 348 laps at Richmond and spent 70.9 percent of his race time driving in the top-15 of the field.

Logano, who has led 190 laps total at the track, won Richmond in the spring but NASCAR ruled it was an encumbered finish the Thursday after the race (issues with the rear suspension were found during inspection). The win remains in Logano’s column in the season standings, however with an asterisk next to it, disallowing the automatic playoff bid or playoff points.

A victory at Richmond would not only boost Logano into the playoffs, but also would likely be a huge psychological lift for the perennial championship challenging team.

The tone is set and there is no panic.

“On to the next one,” Logano said following last Sunday’s race. “We’ll keep moving.”

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 17, 2017) – For the first time in the sport’s history, NASCAR will live-stream an in-car camera on Twitter for all 10 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™ Playoffs races in 2017, NASCAR announced today.

Beginning with the first race of the NASCAR Playoffs at Chicagoland Speedway, NASCAR will provide fans a unique look from inside the race car with a live camera stream that can be accessed via its official Twitter handle, @NASCAR, and NASCAR.twitter.com.

Fans can watch the full broadcast of the race at Chicagoland, Sunday, September 17 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App.

On the same screen of the live stream, fans will find a real-time curated timeline of tweets that capture the best of the NASCAR live conversation.

“Through the in-car camera live stream on Twitter, our fans will have another compelling vantage point of the NASCAR Playoffs, where the energy and intensity of stage racing will be elevated to a whole new level,” said Steve Phelps, Executive Vice President and Chief Global Sales and Marketing Officer, NASCAR. “To provide this level of access on Twitter throughout the 10-week playoffs is a fantastic way to complement the viewing experience on NBC Sports and the NBC Sports app.”

The NASCAR Playoffs live stream will be accessible for free for logged-in and logged-out users in the United States via NASCAR’s official Twitter handle and connected devices. Real-time race highlights will also be available on @NASCAR, offering fans additional ways to follow the playoffs at home or on the go.

“NASCAR continues to innovate on Twitter, a place where their passionate fans discuss what’s happening before, during and after every race,” said Anthony Noto, Twitter COO. “Our new collaboration will offer NASCAR fans a unique live stream perspective for the 2017 playoffs alongside the real-time Twitter conversation.”

Toyota will sponsor the first in-car camera live stream on Twitter during the playoffs kick-off race at Chicagoland.

Leading up to the first playoffs race, NASCAR will debut individual Twitter emojis and hashtags for all 16 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs drivers, available to Twitter users until each driver is eliminated from championship contention.

Fans can watch the full broadcast of each Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race on NBC, NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. NASCAR.com will continue to offer its full portfolio of complementary viewing products throughout the 2017 playoffs. In-car camera angles will also be available on NASCAR Drive and NASCAR Mobile.

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

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Who knows how much a pit road speeding penalty had to do with Kyle Busch’s charge through the field Wednesday night, which ended with the 32-year-old back in Victory Lane?

Busch was angry, he admitted as much afterward, and he sometimes races harder when he’s angry.

He was so irate during Wednesday night’s UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway that the Camping World Truck Series owner/driver drove from the back of the field to the front in what might have been record time.

Granted, it doesn’t take long to knock off a lap at Bristol, a .533-mile, high-banked oval. Just a few seconds really.

So how long did it take Busch? Fifty laps? Less than 27 miles? That’s barely from the race track to Abingdon, Virginia, and the recently shuttered Moonlite Drive-In.

Barely long enough for a trip to the concession stand to grab a final hot dog and drink. At the track, not the drive-in.

Not nearly as quickly as the time it took Busch to go from Stage 2 winner to see-you-later, though, busted for speeding when passing through what amounts to a NASCAR school zone.

Mad?

“I guess I was tonight,” Busch said when asked after career win No. 49 in the series. “Certainly I knew they weren’t picking on me but, you know, it was 35.01 (mph) so it was right there, right on the limit and was frustrating for sure.

The pit road speed limit at BMS is 30 mph. But much like the highways and byways, NASCAR drivers can fudge. Ease it all the way up to 34.999 mph. Anything beyond that, however, and you get sent to the rear of the field.

Busch was frustrated enough that he voiced his displeasure with a few choice expletives via the team radio. Later he chose his words a bit more carefully.

Those came after a final caution flag with less than five laps remaining in the UNOH 200, a caution that proved to be the only thing that could slow Busch down. His words were harsh then as well. Then, a bit more resigned.

The reset pushed the race three laps beyond its scheduled distance but Busch persevered, rocketing away from two-time series champ Matt Crafton like a man in a hurry and someone with places to go.

“I think the bottom (lane) was still dominant,” explained Crafton. “I knew he (Busch) would be able to launch hard right there.”

Later, once the race was won and there was nothing between Busch and the checkered flag, his words were a bit more measured.

“We were able to overcome it,” Busch said of the earlier setback.

Yes, don’t speed on pit road and there’s no reason to be angry, no reason to go to the back of the field. But racers push the limit all the time, it’s what they’re paid to do. If such instances sometimes give Busch a little extra incentive, so be it.

Busch is an extremely talented racer but he didn’t go from the back to the front all by himself. His No. 46 Toyota, built by his own Kyle Busch Motorsports group, gave him a piece that clearly was better than those around him.

And lest anyone complain that Busch had an unfair advantage with the use of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup or XFINITY Series pit crew, think again.

The folks on the crew, including crew chief Cody Glick, oversee Busch’s Late Model team. That doesn’t make them any less talented but they’re not quite the same caliber as those working the NASCAR pits on Sunday afternoons.

It was the last start of the season in the series for Busch, meaning the career-win record of 51 victories by Ron Hornaday Jr. is safe for now. Hornaday will go into the NASCAR Hall of Fame next January as the winningest driver in Truck Series history.

Busch trails Hornaday by two. It’s likely that next year he will be the winningest driver in both the Truck and XFINITY Series.

He won three times in just seven starts this season with his Truck team.

He might not have been angry in all of them, but if he was, well, we’ve seen how that can turn out.