Posted on by Staff Report

“Alexa, Open NASCAR.”

“Alexa, who is winning the race?”

Thanks to Amazon’s popular voice-activated device, NASCAR fans can access two skills (similar to ‘apps’ in the app store) specifically designed with racing enthusiasts in mind.

The first product available for NASCAR fans on Alexa is the skill of “NASCAR.” Users can ask questions related to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, including gathering details on: Live race information (driver position, broadcast date/time) and previous race information (winner/top five). Install NASCAR on your Alexa-enabled device

The product also allows fans to listen to NASCAR’s Glass Case of Emotion weekly podcast featuring driver Ryan Blaney and co-hosts Kim Coon and Chuck Bush.

NASCAR Flash Briefing is the second product available to Alexa users. NASCAR provides a news update every Monday with a recap of the previous race. Fans can access the skill by enabling the NASCAR flash briefing, and asking Alexa, “What’s the news?” Install NASCAR Flash Briefing on your Alexa-enabled device

Both products are available to NASCAR fans and Alexa users now.

Posted on by Team Release

MORE: Bowman to drive No. 88 in ’18 | Bowman takes place among up-and-comers

CONCORD, N.C.  — Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) announced today that through their technical partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, Alex Bowman, 24, will pilot the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) races at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Oct. 7) and Phoenix International Raceway (Nov. 11). Hendrick Automotive Group’s HendrickCars.com, which features more than 43,000 new and pre-owned cars for sale, will serve as the primary sponsor in Charlotte with additional support from Vannoy Construction. A sponsor for Phoenix will be announced at a later date.

“We’re excited to welcome Alex to the No. 42 team for two races. He’s a great young talent, who can help us with our goal of winning an NXS owners’ championship,” team owner Chip Ganassi said. “Initially those two races were earmarked for (Kyle) Larson but we wanted him to focus on the (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) playoffs so we appreciate Rick (Hendrick) and his team for allowing us to put Alex in our car. Hendrick Motorsports has been a tremendous partner of CGR for many years.”

The Tucson, Arizona, native made his NXS debut in 2012, and finished runner-up to Larson in the 2013 NXS Rookie of the Year standings. In 50 series starts, Bowman has five top-five and 13 top-10 finishes along with three poles. Bowman moves into the No. 88 Chevrolet in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports beginning in 2018.

“This is a terrific opportunity for Alex to get back into a competitive environment and work with a championship-caliber team,” HMS owner Rick Hendrick added. “I think he’ll pick up right where he left off. It’s also a valuable platform for us to promote HendrickCars.com in our (Hendrick Automotive Group’s) home market. Chip is a great friend, and we’re looking forward to working with his team on and off the track.”

Bowman joins Larson, Tyler Reddick and Justin Marks as drivers of the No. 42 Chevrolet in 2017. Currently the No. 42 team leads the NXS owners’ standings following Reddick’s win at Kentucky Speedway. Through 27 starts, the combination of Larson, Reddick and Marks has four wins, 11 top-five, 15 top-10 finishes and two poles. Larson picked up victories in Fontana, Richmond and Dover prior to Reddick’s win in the first round of the NXS playoffs.

“I’m really excited to get back in a race-winning car with a team like CGR,” Bowman said in the release. “A huge thanks to Chip and Mr. Hendrick for putting this together for me to get some valuable seat time heading into 2018. My goal is to win two races and help the No. 42 team win the NXS owners’ championship.”

 

Posted on by Kathy Sheldon

“Roses are red, violets are blue

Sponsor me

And my fans will buy pizza from you.”

MORE: Behind the visor of Bubba Wallace Jr.

That’s the #NationalPoetryDay tweet from driver Darrell Wallace Jr. to Domino’s that sparked a ridiculously awesome video in hopes the pizza company will hop on board the Bubba Express.

At the very least, it got the attention of Dale Jr. — and clearly the No. 88 driver is rooting for the partnership, too.

Wallace Jr. is no stranger to vocally expressing his love for Domino’s. After he won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Michigan, he conducted a live-streaming Periscope that included him wolfing down a celebratory pie and sharing his devotion to the pizza company.

Like any true fan would do.

And guess what? It worked.

 

At the very least, we’re rooting for Wallace to get a lifetime supply of gooey, cheesy pizza.

Posted on by Holly Cain

DOVER, Del. – Danica Patrick’s future in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series remains unsettled as one of the sport’s big-name “free agents” for 2018. But she sure sounded calm and reflective Friday in advance of qualifying for the Apache Warrior 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Patrick, 35, spoke to reporters about her situation, reiterating that there is no “new” news in terms of where she may race in the Monster Energy Series next year or “if” she will race next year.

“Yeah, I’ve had some [discussion about next season] but not a ton,’’ Patrick said. “As I’ve said for a good while now, I let business people in my business handle that and have those conversations and figure out what options are out there and I’m going to let them do that.”

The media availability Friday was to debut her No. 10 “Ford Warriors in Pink” car for Sunday’s race and the Oct. 8 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s a cause that has become particularly important to her.

“Cancer impacts all of us,’’ Patrick said. “I bet there are very few people out there who don’t know someone impacted by breast cancer.

“My friend had a double mastectomy as a preemptive strike because she actually tested positive for the breast-cancer gene. She went through everything and hopefully avoided it, but it still hit close to home.’’

This weekend Patrick hopes to not only make a statement for this important cause, but also for herself. Her only top-10 of the season so far –10th place — came here on the Dover concrete mile in June.

Among the topics she addressed Friday was her gratitude for her team owner, retired three-time Cup champion Tony Stewart.

“Pretty much as long as I’ve been in NASCAR he’s been a part of it,’’ Patrick said. “Even as early as my part-time NASCAR with JR Motorsports and the transition to full time. … The plans were in the works to go to his [Stewart] team for almost the entire time. He’s been a part of it all. Pretty much my entire existence in NASCAR has had to do with him indirectly or directly. I’m grateful.

“He’s an encourager but I wouldn’t say that he’s a driving coach or setting up the cars or anything like that. Everybody has their abilities though. I can’t be taught anything in NASCAR if I’m not here and he’s the reason, a very big reason, that I am here.”

RELATED: Patrick won’t return to SHR in 2018

Asked if she could name her favorite NASCAR moment to date, Patrick smiled widely. Of course, she acknowledged, the historical significance in winning the pole position for the 2013 Daytona 500 makes for a momentous time in her career. But, she conceded, it was actually the true progress she’s made in a stock car that gives her a feeling of achievement — whether it’s obvious to others or not.

“The one that will stand out is qualifying on the pole for the Daytona 500 as the media results of that were something like winning the fourth-biggest race of the year, even though it’s just for qualifying,’’ Patrick said. “That one will be the biggest one that will stand out.

“But there have been lots of little races along the way that I have felt have been much more difficult and much more representative of the hard work that I’ve put into the sport. But those don’t stand out because those weren’t wins or top fives. But top 10s and things like that, and some runs that I’ve had have meant more to me.

“I definitely think pulling back a little further than individual events is the inspiration that you’ve been told you bring to people, especially to kids, that’s a role that you can’t buy your way into.

“You have to earn that. You just can’t stumble onto that, especially having been around a long time now. That’s probably the most meaningful.”

Posted on by RJ Kraft

RELATED: Full Dover schedule 

DOVER, Del. – Jamie McMurray has been in this position before. The veteran driver of the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet has come into the cutoff race that sets the Round of 12 at Dover International Speedway on both sides of the cut line in the past two years. And in both instances, he has not advanced out of the Round of 16.

This year, though, there is a new variable at play: Stage points. With the race split up into three stages, (Stage 1 ends at Lap 120, Stage 2 ends at Lap 240 and the Final Stage is scheduled to end at Lap 400 at Dover) the opportunity to gain chunks of points for drivers to make up ground in the standings is very much a factor. McMurray enters Sunday’s Apache Warrior 400 presented by Lucas Oil (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) nine points to the good side of the cutline in 11th place.

“It’s going to be different this year because in the years past, I think it was two years ago with Dale Jr. I knew that all I had to do — if (Kevin) Harvick won the race, I knew for the last 200 laps that all I had to do was outrun Dale Jr.,” McMurray said recalling back to the 2015 fall race where he finished fourth to Earnhardt Jr.’s third and just missed advancing to the Round of 12.

“It’s not as easy as knowing you need to be ‘X’ amount of positions in front or behind somebody because if you finish second or third in the stage earlier in the race that completely changes the points. And so, you are going to be dependent on the team to kind of fill you in like if you have to have another position or if someone is pressuring you that you can maybe give up that position and not get wrecked.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. comes into Sunday’s race holding the final provisional transfer spot in the Round of 12. Stenhouse is tied with Austin Dillon and a point ahead of Ryan Newman, but the Roush Fenway Racing driver holds the edge on Dillon thanks to the best finish in the Round of 16 tiebreaker — Stenhouse Jr.’s 15th in New Hampshire is one spot better than Dillon’s 16th in Chicago.

RELATED: Playoff standings

“It is going to be a battle,” Stenhouse said. “I think there is some strategy you can play to maybe get some stage points, but you don’t want to give up too much track position here. It will be a fine line of what your crew chief wants to do — but it will be a heck of a battle for sure.”

And at a track where he finished 39th in June, Stenhouse knows trouble can lurk around every corner and change playoff positions in an instant.

“It is always easy to make mistakes,” Stenhouse said. “You have to watch other people around you and be able to get on and off pit road. There are a lot of things that you have to pay attention to yourself, not just what Austin and Ryan are doing. Heck, who knows. The 41 (Kurt Busch, sits 15th in the standings, 17 points behind Stenhouse) could go out and get stage points and all of us miss stage points and before the end of the race you are talking about him, as well. We have to go out and do the best we can and really kind of keep your head down until after that second stage and then see where things shake up and go for it after that.”

The Richard Childress Racing teammates Dillon and Newman both sit just outside the cutline and Dillon expects it “to be a race within the race.”

“You’ve got to be smart throughout and make sure you’re there at the end and put yourself in good positions,” Dillon, the driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’s a little championship run here for all three of us this race. One of us, I think, obviously, is going to get to the next round. So, we’ve got to make it happen.”

RELATED: Round of 16 Playoffs bubble watch

Three years ago, with a spot in the Championship 4 on the line, Newman made it happen, by giving a bump on the last lap to Kyle Larson to grab the spot he needed for the championship battle at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The veteran driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet used the information he had from crew chief Luke Lambert to know what he to do to advance.

“Would I have made that move not knowingly? Absolutely not,” Newman said. “So, I think there’s a time and a place for that information and it can benefit you; but it can also ruin your day or somebody else’s.

“I was aware of it on the last restart of where we needed to finish. And not knowing where Jeff (Gordon) was at that point, if he gained or lost a couple of spots in that last run. I knew what our guaranteed spot was, but not where he was going to finish, or roughly where he was going to finish, or where I needed to finish. So, it makes a difference, obviously.

“It created a lot of excitement and enthusiasm at least, on our part, but it’s not where we wanted to finish. We’re there to win.”

Posted on by Staff Report

MORE: Bookmark this live-streaming link

Can’t wait to see Hendrick Motorsports drivers in their new paint schemes — and, in some cases, new car numbers? You won’t have to wait until 2018.

Hendrick Motorsports will unveil the Daytona 500 schemes for all four team cars on Thursday, Oct. 5, with the event being live-streamed on NASCAR.com starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Drivers Chase Elliott (No. 9), William Byron (No. 24), Jimmie Johnson (No. 48) and Alex Bowman (No. 88) will be on hand to pull the covers off their 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 cars, with special guests Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick.

RELATED: More on Elliott, Byron | No. 24 car through the years

The reveal will be followed by a post-event show featuring interviews with the Hendrick Motorsports team.

In addition, fans will have the opportunity to be there live and in-person via the NASCAR Hall of Fame — go here to learn how you can be there live.

MORE: See full 2018 schedule

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Practice 1 results | Full schedule for Dover, Las Vegas

Matt Kenseth rose to the top of the chart Friday in opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Dover International Speedway.

Kenseth, a three-time Dover winner, guided the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota to a best lap of 162.550 mph around the 1-mile concrete track.

Drivers involved in the NASCAR Playoffs swept the top nine spots. There was a tie for the second-fastest spot between Kyle Larson’s Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet and seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson’ Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet with identical 162.023 mph speeds.

Johnson topped the leaderboard early in the 85-minute session before settling in behind Kenseth’s lap. He holds the all-time record with 11 career wins at the “Monster Mile.”

RELATED: Johnson’s Dover history | Analyzing the playoffs bubble

Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick completed the top five in preparation for Sunday’s Apache Warrior 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).

Sunday’s event marks the last of three races in the playoff opening Round of 16. The Dover race will whittle the field to 12 championship-eligible drivers, eliminating the bottom four from the NASCAR Playoffs grid.

Rookie Daniel Suarez was fastest among the drivers ineligible for the championship, turning the 10th-fastest lap at 161.240 mph in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota.

Coors Light Pole Qualifying to determine the 40-car starting lineup is scheduled for Friday at 3:40 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App).

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: NASCAR Playoffs standings

Thus far, Martin Truex Jr. (win), Kyle Busch (win), Kyle Larson (points) and Brad Keselowski (points) have a clinched a spot in the Round of 12 heading into Sunday’s cutoff race at Dover (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN). 

Below are the clinch scenarios for the remaining drivers: 

  • Denny Hamlin (0 Wins, 2088 Points) – Would clinch by scoring 12 Points.
  • Matt Kenseth (0 Wins, 2087 Points) – Would clinch by scoring 13 Points.
  • Jimmie Johnson (0 Wins, 2076 Points) – Would clinch by scoring 24 Points.
  • Chase Elliott (0 Wins, 2070 Points) – Would clinch by scoring 30 Points.
  • Ryan Blaney (0 Wins, 2070 Points) – Would clinch by scoring 30 Points.
  • Kevin Harvick (0 Wins, 2069 Points) – Would clinch by scoring 31 Points.
  • Jamie McMurray (0 Wins, 2053 Points) – Would clinch by scoring 47 Points.
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr (0 Wins, 2044 Points) – The only guaranteed entry into the next round is with a win.
  • Austin Dillon (0 Wins, 2044 Points) – The only guaranteed entry into the next round is with a win.
  • Ryan Newman (0 Wins, 2043 Points) – The only guaranteed entry into the next round is with a win.
  • Kurt Busch (0 Wins, 2027 Points) – The only guaranteed entry into the next round is with a win.
  • Kasey Kahne (0 Wins, 2023 Points) – The only guaranteed entry into the next round is with a win.
Posted on 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 the value of each driver.

*FPPK = average fantasy points per $1,000 of salary

1. Martin Truex Jr. ($11,000)– As if Truex needs any more of an edge, Dover is his hometown track. Truex has been in the top-five in fantasy points in each of the last three Dover races. At short tracks, he’s averaging 21 fast lap points and 22 laps led points per race. (6.5 FPPK)

2. Kyle Busch ($11,000)– If the No. 18 team doesn’t make mistakes, it wins convincingly. Last week Busch led 187 laps on his way to Victory Lane. The week before, his front-runner status was ruined by two pit crew mistakes at Chicago. The same thing happened in the June Dover race. (5.7 FPPK)

3. Kyle Larson ($10,200)– When Kyle Busch’s Dover race fell apart on pit road, Larson inherited the lead and held it for 60 percent of the race. In overtime, Larson was passed by 11-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson. (5.5 FPPK)

4. Jimmie Johnson ($9,400)– He will never lead the most laps, and that was out of the question starting in the back in the June race. He did lead the most important lap and won his 11th Dover race. He was a Bristol winner, as well. (3.7 FPPK)

5. Denny Hamlin ($9,600)– It should not be a surprise that Hamlin has led only one lap after being busted at Darlington. Joey Logano experienced a similar drop-off when he was caught. Hamlin is fast, but he can’t seem to compete with Truex and the Kyles. (4.2 FPPK)

6. Matt Kenseth ($9,500)– He’s earned three top-fives in the last four short track races. He could easily be a perfect four for four, save for Richmond. (3.7 FPPK)

7. Daniel Suarez ($6,900)– This is a top-15 car as long as Suarez doesn’t make a mistake. In his last 10 races, he has two wrecks, two top-15s and six top-10s. In the first Dover race, Suarez finished sixth and ran 97 percent of his laps inside the top-15. (4.0 FPPK)

8. Jamie McMurray ($8,100)– In June, McMurray started 19th but was the sixth-fastest on the long run in practice. His average running position of 11th shouldn’t be a surprise. That’s where he always races, and that’s fairly close to his practice speed. Barring a wreck, that’s where he’ll race this weekend. (3.4 FPPK)

9. Joey Logano ($9,000)– As a non-playoff driver, he’s driving for wins. That wasn’t going to happen last week. Logano started in the back and was banned from the final practice. With the world against him, he still earned a top-10 finish. (3.1 FPPK)

10. Chase Elliott ($9,200)– It is hard to put Elliott on your roster. It’s no fault of his own. He’s scored more than 50 fantasy points in all three of his Dover races. The problem is his price. A driver above $9,000 needs to lead laps or score monster place-differential points. (3.8 FPPK)

11. Kevin Harvick ($10,300)– He was fast in the most important practice last week, but it didn’t translate into a fast car in the race. This is a transition year for the SHR Fords. Just like last week, Harvick is great at Dover, but those finishes were the result of a well understood Chevy. (4.1 FPPK)

12. Paul Menard ($6,500)– His average finish of 20th ranks as one of his worst seasons, but he’s relevant in fantasy NASCAR. For the first time, Menard’s finishing position is better than his starting position. (3.9 FPPK)

13. Danica Patrick ($6,100)– She finished a lot better than she raced in June, but that’s what she does at Dover. In her last five Dover races, her best average running position is 22nd. In four of those races, she has finished 21st or better. Three races were top-15 finishes. (3.5 FPPK)

14. Ryan Newman ($7,200)– No one drives an average car better than Newman. Last week, Newman was 15th at best, and he got everything he could out of his car and finished 13th. At Dover, he had the same speed, but through strategy and tough racing, he finished fourth. (4.4 FPPK)

15. Ty Dillon ($6,700)– He led more laps than Jimmie Johnson in the June race. That was in part due to pit strategy, fortuitous yellow flags and Ryan Newman blocking very fast cars behind him. Even without good fortune, Dillon had a 15th-place car. (4.5 FPPK)

16. Brad Keselowski ($9,700)– This feels like a dark horse Ryan Newman championship run. Keselowski isn’t going to beat the Toyotas. He’s been pretty outspoken about the manufacturer imbalance. His path to the championship is clear, finish top-five every week (sixth at Chicago and fourth at New Hampshire). (4.2 FPPK)

17. Erik Jones ($8,600)– The closest track to Dover is Bristol. A month ago, Erik Jones scored 135 fantasy points at Bristol and nearly won. There is always a risk involved with the rookie, but he’s finished sixth or better in his last three short track races. (4.2 FPPK)

18. Ryan Blaney ($8,300)– It appears that Blaney’s short track woes are behind him. He’s running on the lead lap and finishing up front. In the first Bristol race, Blaney suffered a mechanical failure but finished 10th in the second race. In the first Dover race, he suffered a mechanical failure. (2.8 FPPK)

19. Kurt Busch ($8,400)– After three top-fives heading into the playoffs, Busch suddenly finds himself in a must-win situation. A poor Chicago race followed by a wreck at New Hampshire, and Busch has to win for the first time since the first race of the season. (3.1 FPPK)

20. Kasey Kahne ($7,700)– If you’re trying to win the big tournament, then Kahne is in play. He has terrific track history at Dover. Over the last seven Dover races, his average running position is 11th. (2.9 FPPK)

Posted on by Nascar

CONCORD, N.C. – Before career win No. 1 at Talladega and career win No. 2 at Daytona, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing team made a statement of sorts by finishing 10th at Martinsville Speedway.

The victories earned Stenhouse a spot in this year’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, a first for the Olive Branch, Miss., native. They came at two of NASCAR’s biggest and fastest venues.

MORE: NASCAR explores Roush Fenway Racing | Stenhouse Jr.’s plan to win over Dale Jr’s fans

But it was at Martinsville, the series’ smallest layout at .526 mile, that the team first rose to the occasion.

The Virginia track, which has been around longer than NASCAR, is perhaps his worst — in nine career starts his average finish is 30.2. And when Stenhouse spun on lap 70 of the 500-lap race and lost a lap to the leaders, it appeared another not-so-memorable finish was likely. 

But the team battled back, and Stenhouse even moved race leader Kyle Busch out of the racing groove at the close of Stage 2 to put himself back on the lead lap.

That, and the 10th-place finish, provided a lift to the team and to the RFR organization.

 “I think it showed our whole company that if we have the opportunity to make something happen, we’re going to,” Stenhouse told NASCAR.com. “Staying on the lead lap there helped us get a top 10 finish at one of our worst tracks — or at least my worst. … I think that never give up, try to persevere through anything that happens through the race, I think that’s when we really noticed ‘Hey, this is going to pay off.’ “

Crew chief Brian Pattie called it “a turning point.”

“It was a turning point for our company,” he said. “When we showed up (at the shop) on Monday there were more people (with their) chest out, positive after that top-10 finish at Martinsville than when we finished fourth in the spring at Phoenix.

“I think it meant a lot to the company to show that we’re serious about what we’re trying to do and try to get in the playoffs.”

Stenhouse sits 12th in points as the MENCS heads to Dover this weekend for the final race of the Round of 16. Although tied with Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing) with 2,044 points, Stenhouse holds the upper hand thanks to a round-best result of 15th last weekend at New Hampshire. Dillon’s best finish in the opening round thus far has been 16th at Chicago.

Neither have sterling Dover records — in fact both have only one top-10 result at the 1-mile concrete track of eighth place.

MORE: The first eliminator: Dover | Where does Stenhouse Jr. stack up

Meanwhile Ryan Newman (RCR) lurks one point behind the pair in 14th; Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch sits 17 back and Brickyard 400 winner Kasey Kahne is 21 behind.

“Our mindset is the same going into Dover; you race your race, stay as far up, keep your track position as best you can throughout the whole race, and after that second stage is really when you have to start paying attention to the cars you’re racing,” Stenhouse said.

“Just be smart, obviously,” Pattie said. “The first (Dover) race we had a really good car, stayed out on the first caution, ended up being the second one. We go there, execute … we’ll be just fine.”

Beyond Dover is the Round of 12 with Talladega sandwiched between stops at Charlotte and Kansas. The team’s previous restrictor-plate success has many thinking if the No. 17 team can make it to the next round, it stands a very good chance of making the Round of Eight.

But Stenhouse isn’t taking anything for granted.

“I don’t think that’s a fair assessment,” he said of the Talladega outlook.

“I look at Talladega, we had a really fast car and definitely you feel confident going back … but everything has to play out. You have to catch the right cautions, the right breaks, miss the wrecks and be at the right place at the right time. 

“It’s a little bit easier today to get out front, move around and try and keep your track position. But when it’s all said and done, you’ve got to be there; there are a lot of things that come into play. It’s not just ‘hey, I’ve got the fastest car, I’m going to go out and win this race.’ There are a lot of things that go into it.”

For now, the focus is on Dover, and Sunday’s Apache Warrior 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR).

“But if we get to the second round,” he said, “I feel like we can advance, not just because of Talladega. I think if we put more consistent rounds together than what we’ve done so far we’ll have another shot at it.”