Posted on by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See the Bristol action 

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers and teams all head to Bristol Motor Speedway for racing under the lights. Check out the full weekend schedule below.

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.

Note: All times are ET

SATURDAY, August 19
7:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race (500 laps, 266.5 miles), NBC (Results) (Canada: TSN 3, 5)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
11 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

WEDNESDAY, August 16
9:00-9:55 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FS1 (Results)
11:00-11:55 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS1 (Results)
4:45 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS2 (Results)
8:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 200 (200 laps, 106.6 miles), FS1 (Results)

THURSDAY, August 17
1:00-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, NBC Sports App (Results) (Canada: TSN GO)
3:00-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBC Sports App (Results) (Canada: TSN GO)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
12:15 p.m.: Cole Custer, Daniel Hemric and Matt Tifft
2:15 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
2:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series

FRIDAY, August 18
10:00-11:25 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, NBC Sports App (Results) (Canada: TSN GO)
12:30-1:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBCSN (Results) (Canada: TSN 2)
3:40 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN (Results) (Canada: TSN GO)
5:45 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN (Results) (Canada: TSN 2)
7:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Food City 300 (300 laps, 159.9 miles), NBCSN (Results) (Canada: TSN 2)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
9 a.m.: Matt Kenseth
9:15 a.m.: Chase Elliott
Noon: Ward Burton
2 p.m: Chris Buescher
2:30 p.m.: Jamie McMurray
3:35 p.m.: Trevor Bayne
6:45 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying
10 p.m.: Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series race

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
Noon: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

 

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 14
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lane (re-air), FS1
7:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series LTI Printing 200  (re-air), FS1
2 p.m., Racing Roots: Kyle Larson (re-air), NBCSN
2:30 p.m., Racing Roots: Clint Bowyer (re-air), NBCSN
3 p.m., NASCAR 120, NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Tuesday, August 15
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR The Decades, the 1980’s, NBCSN

Wednesday, August 16
9 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice at Bristol, FS1
10 a.m.,NASCAR RaceClassic: The 1997 Daytona 500, FS1
10:30 a.m., NASCAR RaceClassic: The 1993 Daytona 500, FS1
11 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice at Bristol, FS1
4:45 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying at Bristol, FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
8 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup, FS1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 200 at Bristol, FS1

Thursday, August 17
8 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 200 at Bristol (re-air), FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Race: Evergreen Speedway (re-air), NBCSN
1 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice at Bristol, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO)
3 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice at Bristol, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO)
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour: Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, NBCSN

Friday, August 18
10 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN GO)
12:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice at Bristol, NBCSN (Canada: TSN 2)
3:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying at Bristol, NBCSN (Canada: TSN GO)
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
5:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying at Bristol, NBCSN (Canada: TSN 2)
7 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
7:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Food City 300 at Bristol, NBCSN (Canada: TSN 2)

Saturday, August 19
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America Saturday, NBCSN
7 p.m.., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBC
7:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol, NBC (Canada: TSN 3, 5)
11 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series post-race show, NBCSN

 


Posted on by Staff Report

MORE: Full Stage 2 results

After pacing the field for seven laps, Watkins Glen winner Martin Truex Jr. won Stage 2 of Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, earning another playoff point for his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team. This marked Truex’s 15th stage win, the best in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Coors Light Pole winner and Stage 1 winner Brad Keselowski was second in Stage 2, his No. 2 Team Penske Ford leading a race-high 103 laps in the Irish Hills through the first two stages.

Kevin Harvick came up third, while rookie Erik Jones was fourth in the second stage. Fellow rookie Daniel Suarez ended Stage 2 in fifth, but experienced handling issues toward the end of the stage.

Kyle Busch came onto pit road at the end of Stage 1 when pit road was closed and had to fight back through the field to the front. He pitted toward the end of Stage 2, giving up the lead, but still finishing ninth in the stage.

Matt Kenseth was penalized during a cycle of green-flag stops with 10 laps to go and had to serve a pass-through penalty.

The final stage is scheduled to conclude at Lap 200.

Finish Driver Team Race points
1.  Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing 10
2.  Brad Keselowski Team Penske 9
3.  Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 8
4.  Erik Jones Furniture Row Racing 7
5.  Daniel Suarez Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6. Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing 5
7.  Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing 4
8. Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing 3
9. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 2
10.  Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 1

 

MORE: Full Stage 1 results

Pole-sitter Brad Keselowski earned his fourth stage win of the season by winning Stage 1 of Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Stage 1 was dominated by Keselowski and Kevin Harvick, who took the second spot away from outside pole-sitter Joey Logano on Lap 1 and remained there to finish Stage 1 second. Keselowski’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford led 56 laps in Stage 1.

Chase Elliott’s No. 24 Chevrolet beat Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 78 Toyota by inches for the third spot in Stage 1. Erik Jones, who used pit strategy to pace the field for four laps, ended Stage 1 fifth.

Nearing the end of Stage 1, Logano began to experience a vibration, affecting the handling of his No. 22 Ford. Logano is one of the drivers that most likely needs a win to advance to the playoffs.

Stage 2 ends at Lap 120; the final stage is scheduled to conclude at Lap 200.

Finish Driver Team Race points
1.  Brad Keselowski  Team Penske 10
2.  Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 9
3.  Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 8
4.  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 7
5.  Erik Jones Furniture Row Racing 6
6.  Joey Logano Team Penske 5
7.  Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing 4
8.  Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 3
9.  Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing 2
10.  Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 1

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Keselowski on pole for Michigan 

Toyota drivers already have replied on Twitter to Brad Keselowski, who suggested that Toyota teams had intentionally ratcheted back their collective push of the performance envelope this weekend at Michigan.

Two hours before the Pure Michigan 400, 2015 series champion Kyle Busch replied in full to Kenny Wallace on FS1’s pre-race show.

MORE: Keselowski’s comments irk Toyota camp

“That’s just Brad being Brad, I guess,” Busch said, who noted that Fords were faster than Toyota cars earlier this season. “We weren’t complaining,” Busch added. “We just put our heads down and went to work. Those guys just want to complain about it (instead of) going back to work and (getting) faster.”

Keselowski will start Sunday’s race from the Coors Light Pole position, and he led a 1-2-3 sweep of Fords in Friday’s qualifying. Joey Logano will start second and Ryan Blaney qualified third.

Toyota had won the last five pole positions in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series before Keselowski interrupted that streak. In his post-qualifying news conference, the Team Penske driver intimated that the likelihood of rigorous technical inspections loomed after Michigan, the last track of its size before the postseason.

“About this time every year NASCAR takes all the cars to kind of check to make sure that the competitive balance is where they want it to be, and I think we’ve seen the last two or three weeks that the Toyota cars are pretty dominant,” Keselowski said. “We had a strong suspicion that those guys would kind of tune it down this weekend, so not to post a pretty big number in inspection that maybe balanced back out the competition, and potentially that’s right because our team hasn’t done much differently and those guys are just not as fast as they’ve been the last few weeks.

“So we’ll know for certain at the end of the week based on whether NASCAR takes the cars after the race today.”

RELATED: Looking back at Busch-Keselowski rivalry

Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Larson was there at the end, but fell one spot short in the prestigious Knoxville Nationals sprint-car classic on Saturday night.

A final attempt at a pass on eventual winner and sprint car legend Donny Schatz didn’t materialize, and Larson settled for second place at sprint-car racing’s most prestigious event at Knoxville (Iowa) Speedway, a half-mile banked dirt track.

Saturday night’s race was the culmination of a week-long social media discussion, and campaign of sorts, for NASCAR team owner Chip Ganassi to sign off on Larson entering the race.

Larson, third in the Monster Energy Series standings amid a breakout campaign that has seen him collect two wins this year, won the Wednesday night feature to clinch a spot in the championship race.

A frequent competitor in the sprint-car world with a set annual allotment of extracurricular races pre-arranged with Ganassi, Larson said earlier this week that he has competed in 24 events in his 25-race maximum, and that his agreement with Ganassi typically precludes him from racing sprint cars one day before he’s scheduled for on-track activity in NASCAR.

The A-Main championship race got underway shortly after 11 p.m. ET on Saturday; Larson had been at Michigan International Speedway Friday and earlier Saturday, and will start ninth in Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“The last few days, my phone and my Twitter account were blowing up,” Ganassi said in a video posted earlier this week on NASCAR.com. ” ‘Let Kyle race’ … I’ve been hearing all the comments. OK, OK, OK … we’re going to let him race at Knoxville.”

MORE: Watch Ganassi’s explanation

The payoff, though, is that dirt fans who watched Larson on Saturday night should tune in on Sunday when he climbs into his No. 42 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolet.

Larson told media members that he’s never been as good in sprint cars as he’s been this year. He won six consecutive dirt races from mid-June through early July earlier this year.

“I know my fans really appreciate it, all my sprint car fans and NASCAR fans,” Larson said Friday after opening practice at the 2-mile Michigan track. “So Chip is a hero today and this weekend. I appreciate it.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Race results | Series standings | Detailed breakdown

Sam Hornish Jr. survived a rough-and-tumble road race Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to notch his first NASCAR XFINITY Series victory in more than a year.

Hornish, making just his third start of the season in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford, led a race-high 61 of the 75 laps in the Mid-Ohio Challenge. His emotional first XFINITY win on the 2.258-mile circuit in his home state was the fifth of his XFINITY career.

“It’s right up there,” Hornish told NBCSN when asked to rate the dominance of his victory. “For me a lot of times, it seems like that’s the only way we can get them. We very seldom, even back to when I was running IndyCars, squeaked through for one. It seemed like it had to be there and be there all day long trying to keep everything happening. I don’t back into them too often.

MORE: Watch Hornish’s Victory Lane celebration

“To run here, to be at Mid-Ohio, a place I remember having so many memories as a kid, and I’ve ran so many different classes here, to not ever to have been able to win and to be able to check that off the list today, that’s a big one for me.”

The race was just Hornish’s third this season in a limited engagement with Team Penske. His other two starts this year — both at Iowa Speedway — ended early in crashes. The win was his first since June 19, 2016, when he piloted a Joe Gibbs Racing entry to Victory Lane, also at Iowa.

“As the calendar goes around another year, you start wondering how many opportunities you’re going to have like today,” Hornish told NBCSN. “I’m glad to be here, that’s for sure.”

Daniel Hemric led three times for eight laps and held on to match his career best in second place. His Richard Childress Racing No. 21 Chevrolet was 1.335 seconds behind Hornish’s car at the drop of the checkered flag.

Matt Tifft, James Davison and Andy Lally rounded out the top five — all three drivers posting career-best finishes in the series.

The race was slowed by a flurry of late-race caution periods and two red flags. Both stoppages stemmed from incidents in Turn 1 — a Lap 15 single-car hit by Matt Bell and a multicar stack-up further back in the pack with 67 laps complete.

Series points leader Elliott Sadler rallied from early adversity to finish sixth. Sadler took the lead on Lap 18, but his JR Motorsports No. 1 Chevrolet was bumped out of the top spot by Brennan Poole on the next lap. Sadler wound up 30th at the end of the first stage, then made an unscheduled pit stop for a flat tire on Lap 28.

Poole was involved in another incident on Lap 51, nudging Stage 1 winner Blake Koch into a Turn 5 spin. Ryan Reed, Jeremy Clements, Spencer Gallagher all piled in, with Ben Kennedy also scraping past in the multicar melee.

Reed, who turned 24 on Saturday, was done for the day after another crash, sustaining a hard hit into Justin Marks’ No. 42 Chevy that ended his race in 33rd place after just 57 laps.

Brendan Gaughan was in second place for the final restart with five laps to go, but his Richard Childress Racing No. 62 Chevrolet ran wide in Turn 1. He held on to finish seventh and expressed his displeasure with Hornish with a slight bump on the cool-down lap.

The NASCAR XFINITY Series’ next race is scheduled Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Wallace prevails at Michigan | 2017 Truck Series winners

Darrell Wallace Jr. said his plans for the rest of the season and next year’s campaign are still uncertain, but that his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory since 2014 goes a long way toward helping his prospects.

Wallace, 23, addressed his future shortly after winning Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway, snagging the lead by making a bold move with 11 laps remaining.

Wallace began the season with Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, but departed after 12 races to sub for the injured Aric Almirola in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. When Roush Fenway’s No. 6 entry suspended operations and Almirola returned to end a four-race interim stint in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43, Wallace was without a steady ride.

This week’s announcement of a one-race engagement with MDM Motorsports’ No. 99 Chevrolet put Wallace back on track. Now he hopes that his return to Victory Lane attracts the attention of prospective team owners and sponsors.

“It’s big,” Wallace said after netting his sixth career win in the Truck Series. “I’ve got a lot of people pulling for me to show up at the race track and to be there and to be in the spotlight, even when I’m not racing — and that’s so hard for me. It’s like, all I’ve done for the last 14, 15 years is drove. I’d go to the race track and drive, and we would stop when we wanted to stop. This whole being pulled out from underneath is new, and I had to wrap my head around that.

“I need to be active. I need to be out there in front of people’s faces. So we’ve got a lot of good things working for 2018. I said winning back in 2014 would bring sponsors, so I know how this game goes, but I’m pretty confident that this has helped a good bit amount for what we’ve got going.”

MORE: Social media cheers Bubba’s win

Wallace indicated that he was excited to pair this weekend with crew chief Shane Huffman, who has worked with six other drivers this season in the MDM No. 99. Huffman said that Brandon Jones would drive the truck Wednesday at Bristol Motor Speedway with Brian Wong taking the wheel at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. But Huffman was also hopeful that Wallace could return to MDM for the regular-season finale Sept. 15 at Chicagoland Speedway.

“A lot of people are on Bubba’s side right now and a lot of people want to see him succeed,” Huffman said. “The kid’s got amazing talent. He just needs to be in something full-time — XFINITY car, Cup Car. I mean, honestly, I feel like he’s probably a little bit above where we’re at here. How awesome is it for us to get to capitalize on his talents.”

Said Wallace: “When you look at all those factors, no matter if that’s Truck, XFINITY or Cup, you’ve got to put all those things together to go out there and make sure you capitalize on every opportunity and maximize every opportunity every time you’re at the race track.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Starting lineup | Toyota camp irked by Kes | Playoff bubble watch

What: Pure Michigan 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

Where: Michigan International Speedway, 2-mile oval in Brooklyn, Michigan

Green flag: 3:16 p.m. ET

TV/Radio: NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Forecast: Mostly sunny with light wind, according to the National Weather Service. High of 79 degrees.

National Anthem: Lisa Bascom (Canadian), Lori Higgins, from the Michigan State Police (U.S.)

Race distance: 200 laps, 400 miles

Pit road speed: 55 mph

Caution car speed: 65 mph

Stage lengths: Stage 1 ends on Lap 60. Stage 2 ends on Lap 120. Final stage is scheduled to end on Lap 200.

MORE: Fantasy tips, advice

Posted on by Brad Norman

RELATED: Wallace savors triumphant Truck Series return

After a season full of highs and lows, drivers and others in the NASCAR community sent warm congratulations after Darrell Wallace Jr.’s win at Michigan in the No. 99 MDM Motorsports Chevrolet.

Wallace Jr. made a bold move with 11 laps to go for the lead then held off Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ LTi Printing 200.

Posted on by Matt Crossman

RELATED: Race results | Standings | Detailed breakdown | NASCAR community reacts to win

 

BROOKLYN, Mich. —  For the final 11 laps of today’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Michigan International Speedway, Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. protected his leading position. He blocked high and low and middle, and when he briefly lost the lead, he quickly surged his No. 99 MDM Motorsports Chevrolet back ahead. Every move he made in today’s LTi Printing 200 to earn a trip to Victory Lane turned out to be the right one.

 

Actually getting to Victory Lane, that was another story.

 

After laying down a massive burnout to raucous applause from the MIS crowd, Wallace stopped his truck on the apron — he seemed unsure where to go. A NASCAR official pointed forward and to the right. Wallace followed those directions.

 

“It’s been so long since I’ve been in Victory Lane,” Wallace said. “I try to hold a positive mindset over it, and everybody in my family knows it eats at me every day.”

 

It was Wallace’s first race in a truck since the last race of the 2014 season; he won that race, too. It was his sixth win in a truck and first at Michigan.

 

RELATED: Top moments for Bubba | See all the Truck Series winners in 2017

 

After he parked his truck in Victory Lane, it appeared that every member of his team stuck their head in to say congratulations. His girlfriend, Amanda Carter, leaned in and kissed him. This was her first visit with him to a NASCAR Victory Lane. Still shaking a few minutes later, she said, “This is so incredible. It is so awesome.”

 

It certainly was that for Wallace, whose roller coaster career appeared stalled this season. Wallace, who opened 2017 as NASCAR’s only full-time African American driver, lost his NASCAR XFINITY Series ride with Roush Fenway Racing earlier this year due to a lack of sponsorship. He debuted in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for four races as a replacement for the injured Aric Almirola. But since then, nothing. His deal with MDM Motorsports was announced just this week.

MORE: Wallace Jr. lands ride for Michigan

Wallace entered the race confident his truck was fast. He struggled early on, including a penalty on Lap 53 when his pit crew went over the wall too soon. But he worked his way toward the front. He appeared content to stay in third behind Austin Cindric and Christopher Bell as the laps wound down. He and spotter Freddie Kraft sketched out a plan — Wallace would wait for those two to get side-by-side so he could pass them both at once.

 

“You’re going probably 10 miles an hour faster than they are,” Kraft said. “As soon as they do that, you have the momentum.”

 

Wallace preferred to wait for the pass until there were only a handful of laps left. But when Cindric and Bell got side-by-side with 11 to go, Kraft keyed his radio and said, “Here’s your chance.”

 

“I closed my eyes, turned left, and heard clear,” said Wallace when discussing the heroic three-wide move to give truck owner Mike Millner his first series victory.

 

As cool as it was to see nobody in front of him, Wallace figured it wouldn’t last. He thought other drivers would do to him what he had just done to Cindric and Bell. But the drivers behind him spent most of the time racing each other instead of trying to pass him. And when they did devote their attention to getting by Wallace, he darted and dived and kept them behind.

 

Christopher Bell finished second behind Wallace by 0.176 seconds. Bell’s teammate Kyle Busch finished third followed by Ryan Truex (fourth) and Austin Cindric (fifth).

Grant Enfinger’s No. 98 Toyota, which finished in eighth place, failed heights in post-race inspection. Any potential penalties would be announced next week by NASCAR.