Video message from family friend Ned Yost moves Dale Jr.

Posted on October 21, 2017October 21, 2017 by Pat DeCola

MORE: Yost recounts moving Senior story | Yost on World Series: ‘I thought about Dale’

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – For a few minutes, Dale Earnhardt Jr. wasn’t the focal point of his own press conference Saturday at Kansas Speedway.

As has become customary in 2017, the Hendrick Motorsports driver came into the media center ahead of his final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at a particular track to humbly accept a gift – often an 88-themed charitable donation on his behalf — which Kansas did, in the form of a paperback copy of “The Expectant Father” and a check for $8,800 to the University of Kansas Health Systems Pediatric Unit.

The projector screen then lowered, a familiar face shone brightly, and perhaps the most heart-warming message Earnhardt has received yet began to play.

“Hey Dale, I’m always amazed at how time flies by,” boomed the voice of affable Kansas City Royals manager and great friend to the late Dale Earnhardt Sr., Ned Yost. “I sit back and I think about being with your dad and walking into the old (XFINITY Series) shop and seeing you and Tony (Eury) Jr. underneath the late model stock cars, beating and banging trying to get a piece of weight out from the frame.

“But watching you develop as a race car driver, I remember being with your dad, driving around the farm in the winter of ’97 and he was telling me he was going to put you in an (XFINITY) car full-time. And I asked him, ‘You think he’s ready for that?’ Dale said, ‘You’re damn right he’s ready for that.’ Of course, you proved him right, winning the championship in ’98 and then again in ’99. Then it took 12 whole races for you to win your first (Monster Energy Series) victory at Texas.”

Earnhardt, sitting in the media center crowd, took it all in. Moved.

“It’s been fun to watch that. It’s been fun to watch you grow. It’s been fun to watch you become a two-time Daytona 500 champion,” Yost, who chose to wear No. 3 in honor of Senior, continued. “But more than anything, I can flash back to that win in Texas and yeah, it was great that you won, but what was more impressive to me was how proud your dad was that day. It’s been a wonderful experience sitting back and watching you accomplish what you’ve accomplished. What you’ve accomplished is kind of hindsight to what you’ve become, for me. You’ve become an outstanding person. You’ve become an outstanding man. It’s just been a fantastic career. I just wanted to take a few minutes to congratulate you on that. I know you and Amy are going to have a blast in your retirement. It’s been fun watching you compete. It’s been fun watching you grow up. Once again, congratulations on a tremendous career, and a tremendous life. Good luck, Dale.”

The track then presented Junior with his own Royals home jersey with not his, but his dad’s number on the back.

As the final weeks of Earnhardt’s full-time career wind down, much of it will likely be a frenzied blur when he recounts his final season in the coming months, years, decades.

Saturday will be a moment he’ll carry with him.

“Yeah that is really emotional,” Earnhardt said. “Ned has been a great family friend and just so supportive of me and it is really nice to hear his memories and his thoughts, and I appreciate the track for the donation within their community here. That means a lot to me. That is really what we were hoping the tracks would take the initiative to do and it’s been great all year to see that happen.

“So, I’m glad you guys did that and that really makes my heart full.”

Posted on October 21, 2017October 21, 2017 by Holly Cain

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — As NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver and the sport’s all-around biggest superstar, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is typically enthusiastic and quite comfortable discussing his place in the sport heading into his retirement at season’s end.

However, his demeanor noticeably changed some Saturday morning at Kansas Speedway. Listening to him speak about his wife Amy’s recently announced pregnancy was both moving and memorable.

He bowed his head for several moments to collect his thoughts when asked about the fantastic news he and his wife Amy would be welcoming their first child, a daughter, come May 2.

“We’ve known since actually August and oh man, it’s just been really hard keeping that in and wanting to share,” Earnhardt said smiling.

“I just couldn’t wait to tell everybody. … We have a lot of check-ups and we’re thankful and I’m looking forward to the whole process of watching and being involved.

“I’m just trying to be as supportive as I can for Amy, making sure she feels well and is comfortable. I’m trying to soak in all the experiences of going to the doctor and hearing the heartbeat. They are incredible.”

PHOTOS: Dale and Amy through the years

At one point Earnhardt, 43, pulled out his cellphone to try to play the audio recording he keeps of the baby’s heartbeat.

“I mean it made it more real,” he said grinning. “We are pinching ourselves even still. We look at each other if we’re sitting on the couch or walking around the house or something and just have to remind ourselves we’re going through this pregnancy and we just can’t believe it.

“So, anytime you hear the heartbeat or go to an ultrasound or something like that, it makes it like ‘Hey, it’s happening.’ You get a little scared. You get excited, you know?”

And he animatedly recalled that first doctor’s visit to confirm that Amy was pregnant. She had taken some at-home pregnancy tests, but Earnhardt joked that he wasn’t gonna believe the news until he heard it from the doctor.

“We went to the doctor and I’m still thinking man, I’m not believing crap until this doctor tells me,” he said smiling. “So, we’re sitting in there for like 20 minutes. And their talking woman language and I’m not understanding (laughter). They are just talking about things and I’m like well, when is she going to say it? I want to hear it from the doctor’s mouth (laughs) that she’s pregnant, so we can rejoice.

“It took them a while. I was scared to speak up. Finally, they said something that confirmed it for me and I was like, ‘Awesome.’

“And then we had the ultrasound and got to hear the heartbeat and all that right there, and that was great. We go back for another checkup here soon, in a couple of days, and those are awesome.

“They are so much fun because it’s like the closest you can get to it before they’re born and I’m looking forward to each and every one of them.”

MORE: @nascarcasm suggests some baby names

And he spoke at length about the efforts he’s made to keep Amy comfortable and happy during the pregnancy. From letting her rest to keeping her company to sharing in the happiness and big plans, Earnhardt seems to be living in the most happy of moments.

“Everybody says obviously, to try to get your sleep now because the first several months are very difficult, but we can’t,” Earnhardt said. “We’re lying in bed and can’t sleep. We’re so excited.

“You can read books and I’ve got an app on my phone and am trying to get as much information as I can to understand how to make Amy as comfortable as I can.

“I think some of the most helpful advice for me is probably what can I do to make it easier for Amy. And the advice that I’ve gotten is that she doesn’t care what you did that day. She doesn’t care how your day was (laughs). So, don’t try to tell her. If you had a rough day or whatever, just shelve it and try to keep on being an assistant to whatever she needs at all times.

“And that’s pretty easy to remember because I feel that way already about her.”

Posted on October 21, 2017October 22, 2017 by Pat DeCola

Quick facts for Sunday’s race at a Glance
What: Hollywood Casino 400
Where: Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile oval in Kansas City, Kansas
Green flag: 3:16 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Forecast: A chance of showers before 7 a.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Northwest wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
National anthem: Angie Rosner
Grand Marshal: Jay Hernandez
Race distance: 267 laps, 400 miles
Pit road speed: 45 mph
Caution car speed: 55 mph
Stage lengths: Stage 1 ends on Lap 80. Stage 2 ends on Lap 160. Final stage is scheduled to end on Lap 267.
Competition caution: Lap 30 (There was rain overnight.)

Posted on October 21, 2017October 21, 2017 by Holly Cain

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kyle Larson’s demeanor is as steady as his talent behind the wheel of a race car. He is perennially happy-go-lucky, but also driven and determined.

Because of his — and his team’s — hard work all season, a solid, not even spectacular showing in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Kansas Speedway should move the fourth-year Monster Energy NASCAR Cup driver into the sport’s Round of 8 — the closest he or his Chip Ganassi Racing team has gotten to a Cup title since Sterling Marlin’s injury-interrupted run in 2002.

“We have a 29-point gap on the cut-off so as long as we can go out there and gain some stage points I feel like we’ll be OK,” Larson said Friday before pole qualifying at Kansas.

“But you never know, anything can happen in our sport. We’ve got to get out there and perform and get some stage points or a win would certainly benefit us.”

It’s a been a career year for Larson and arguably the whole organization, which for the first time has both of its Chevrolets in the playoff run — also including one driven by Jamie McMurray, who is ranked 12th heading into Kansas.

Larson has earned a career-high four wins in 2017 (at California, Richmond and both Michigan races) and three pole positions — and he was awarded another two by virtue of rained out qualifying sessions. With five races still remaining in the season, he has already set a career best in wins (four), top-fives (14) and top-10s (19).

He’ll start the No. 42 Credit One Bank Chevy 13th on Sunday — a bit of a surprising result considering Larson was fastest in Friday’s opening practice session. (He also was fastest in Saturday’s early practice.)

“I’m disappointed after being so much faster than everybody in practice, but we’re OK,” Larson said. “We’ll race good and hopefully be there at the end to try and get a win.

“I think we’ve had a lot of opportunity to win on a mile-and-a-half (track). If we win Kansas and get five more bonus points and get some stage points, that’s the important part — just give ourselves more of a points cushion on the cutoff. I definitely think I can.”

And that’s been Larson’s consistent mindset — his can-do, why-not philosophy. With each race in NASCAR’s big time, he has gained confidence and knows he has his first legitimate shot at the big trophy.

“I think mentally we’re in a good spot as a team because our race car has been really fast so we’ve got a lot of confidence and heading to the race track we know we have a good shot at being competitive,” Larson said.

“That helps your confidence a lot, and confidence is so important especially in sports. We’ve definitely had a lot of that this year.”

Posted on October 21, 2017October 21, 2017 by Staff Report

A look at the drivers that ran 10 consecutive laps and their average speeds over that run at Kansas Speedway.

Final practice: Full results

Pos	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg Speed
1	4	Kevin Harvick (P)	1	10	180.120
2	14	Clint Bowyer	1	10	179.845
3	77	Erik Jones #	1	10	179.774
4	18	Kyle Busch (P)	1	10	179.755
5	20	Matt Kenseth (P)	1	10	179.654
6	19	Daniel Suarez #	1	10	179.474
7	1	Jamie McMurray (P)	1	10	179.453
8	42	Kyle Larson (P)	1	10	179.390
9	21	Ryan Blaney (P)	1	10	179.366
10	78	Martin Truex Jr. (P)	1	10	179.319
11	48	Jimmie Johnson (P)	31	40	178.782
12	41	Kurt Busch	22	31	178.386
13	11	Denny Hamlin (P)	1	10	178.358
14	2	Brad Keselowski (P)	1	10	178.328
15	24	Chase Elliott (P)	1	10	178.243
16	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	31	40	178.233
17	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P)	19	28	178.041
18	3	Austin Dillon	30	39	177.906
19	5	Kasey Kahne	24	33	177.836
20	37	Chris Buescher	19	28	177.820
21	10	Danica Patrick	2	11	177.462
22	6	Trevor Bayne	1	10	177.061
23	95	Michael McDowell	1	10	176.602
24	27	P. Menard / D. Hemric(i)	12	21	176.534
25	22	Joey Logano	25	34	176.233
26	38	David Ragan	24	33	176.027
27	13	Ty Dillon #	16	25	175.992
28	43	Aric Almirola	11	20	175.756
29	34	Landon Cassill	23	32	175.667
30	83	* Brett Moffitt(i)	1	10	172.591

Practice 2: Full results

Pos	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg Speed
1	4	Kevin Harvick (P)	1	10	180.768
2	24	Chase Elliott (P)	1	10	179.661
3	18	Kyle Busch (P)	10	19	179.316
4	1	Jamie McMurray (P)	7	16	178.898
5	27	Paul Menard	1	10	178.722
6	20	Matt Kenseth (P)	11	20	178.719
7	31	Ryan Newman	1	10	178.377
8	3	Austin Dillon	18	27	177.592
9	19	Daniel Suarez #	16	25	177.380
10	95	Michael McDowell	16	25	175.428

* Car must run 10 consecutive laps on the track to be included in the above chart.
(#) Driver is running as a Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate.
(i) Driver is not eligible for points in this series.
(P) Driver is running in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Practice 1: Full results
No drivers ran 10 consecutive laps in first practice.

Posted on October 21, 2017October 21, 2017 by Staff Report

Ryan Blaney nestled the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford into the top spot in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice Saturday afternoon at Kansas Speedway.

Blaney logged a fast lap of 182.057 mph in the 50-minute session. It came one day after his speed in Coors Light Pole Qualifying was disallowed because of a technical infraction, sending Blaney to the back of the 40-car field for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Kyle Busch, who scored his only Kansas win in May 2016, was second-fastest at 181.843 mph in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota. Kevin Harvick, twice a winner at Kansas, was third-fastest (181.720) in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford, completing a 1-2-3 leaderboard sweep of championship-eligible drivers.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Daniel Suarez (181.665 mph) and Matt Kenseth (181.543) completed the top five.

Series points leader Martin Truex Jr. was 12th-fastest in the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota. He’ll start Sunday’s 400 from the No. 1 position after winning his third Coors Light Pole of the season in Friday qualifying.

Sunday’s event marks the finale of the three-race Round of 12. The championship-eligible pool will be whittled from 12 drivers to eight, heading into next weekend’s Round of 8 opener at Martinsville Speedway.

Six teams served 15-minute deductions from their time in the 50-minute final practice because of technical infractions:

The No. 00 StarCom Racing Chevrolet of Derrike Cope
The No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet of Jamie McMurray
The No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford of Trevor Bayne
The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Chase Elliott
The No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Paul Menard
The No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford of Aric Almirola

Larson shows speed in early Saturday practice

RELATED: Practice 2 results

Kyle Larson surged to the top of the leaderboard in Saturday’s early practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas Speedway.

Larson posted a 181.671-mph lap in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet around the 1.5-mile track. He’ll start 13th in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the sixth of 10 races in the postseason.

Kevin Harvick, a two-time Kansas winner, clinched the second-fastest lap, turning in a 181.586 mph speed in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford. Rookie Daniel Suarez was third-best in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota, and Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer finished out the leaderboard’s top five in the 50-minute session.

Sunday’s event is the final race in the Playoffs’ Round of 12. Four of the remaining 12 postseason-eligible drivers will be eliminated from championship contention after Sunday’s race.

Martin Truex Jr., who is set to start first Sunday after winning the Coors Light Pole in Friday qualifying, was 10th-fastest in the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota. Truex — who won at Kansas in May — has already clinched a spot in the Round of 8, which begins next weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

Brad Keselowski, last week’s winner at Talladega Superspeedway, is the only other driver who has earned an automatic berth in the Round of 8. In Saturday’s early practice, Keselowski was 25th-fastest, slowest of the remaining Playoff-eligible drivers.

Final practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is scheduled Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN).

Three teams served 15-minute penalties for violations found in technical inspections:

The No. 00 StarCom Racing Chevrolet of Derrike Cope
The No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford of Landon Cassill
The No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Chevrolet of AJ Allmendinger

Posted on October 21, 2017October 21, 2017 by Staff Report

Take a look at where the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers will pit on Sunday at Kansas Speedway in the Hollywood Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on October 20, 2017October 20, 2017 by Holly Cain

RELATED: Full lineup | Lineup in photos

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Post-qualifying inspection at Kansas Speedway on Friday night yielded a violation in the No. 21 Omnicraft Auto Parts Ford driven by Ryan Blaney, and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff driver will have to start Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 from the rear of the field (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Officials found a problem with the rear of the car, saying in a statement later Friday night “the package tray did not maintain its original shape.”

Blaney had qualified the car third overall — which would have been his best start since winning the pole here at Kansas in May. As a result, his team will make the last pit stall selection for Kansas, and also for next weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway. Monster Energy Series teams will qualify for Martinsville hours prior to the race, so pit stall selections for that event are determined by qualifying order at Kansas.

Blaney enters the Round of 12 cutoff race ranked seventh in the standings, nine points above the cutoff line. The top eight drivers following Sunday’s race will advance to the Round of 8.

MORE: Analyzing the playoff bubble

Posted on October 20, 2017October 20, 2017 by Staff Report

RELATED: Truck Series Playoff standings

Christopher Bell’s current wave of performance comes at an opportune time, nearly halfway through the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs. His next challenge comes in the Round of 6, which will set the field for the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 17.

Bell will kick off the final three-race stanza Saturday, Oct. 28, at Martinsville Speedway, hoping to keep the hot hand and protect his edge in the points standings. He joins defending series champ Johnny Sauter, Matt Crafton, John Hunter Nemechek, Ben Rhodes and Austin Cindric as the six remaining drivers in championship contention.

There are no more off weeks on the Truck Series schedule, which goes from diminutive .526-mile Martinsville to 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway before concluding the round at 1-mile Phoenix Raceway. Those events will trim the postseason field from six drivers to four for the Homestead-Miami finale.

Bell already carries a significant advantage in the Round of 6 standings, having amassed 47 playoff points to date. That total includes five points for each of his five race victories, one point for each of seven stage wins, and his 15-point bonus for claiming the Regular-Season Championship.

That effectiveness has given the 22-year-old Bell a 20-point margin over Sauter and a 34-point cushion over the cut line. The Oklahoma native has finished no worse than third place in the last four races, and his sweeping victory (overall race win plus two stage wins) in the last round’s opener at New Hampshire only solidified his grip on the top spot.

Like Bell, Sauter and Crafton are also vying for a return trip to the Championship 4 showdown. Each have had their share of success at Martinsville: Sauter has three career Truck Series wins at the Virginia short track, and Crafton has two.

Posted on October 20, 2017October 20, 2017 by Reid Spencer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Jimmie Johnson knows he needs to do better at qualifying, but he’s not sure how to accomplish that goal.

The numbers don’t lie. Johnson’s average starting position through 31 races this season is 17.0. His previous low mark was 14.3 in his 2002 rookie year.

The mid-pack starting spots have had dire consequences. The seven-time champion’s lackluster efforts in time trials have translated to a career-worst average finish of 15.8. Though Johnson has won three times this season, he has finished in the top five only one other time.

Only one previous time in his career has Johnson failed to crack double digits in top fives. That was 15 years ago, when he posted six top-five results in his rookie season.

But the real negative of mediocrity in time trials manifests itself in stage racing. Starting from an average of 17th on the grid, Johnson has had difficulty accumulating stage points to any significant degree.

WATCH: Johnson says, ‘We are a team that thrives on adversity’

As a consequence, he’s eighth in the standings, fighting to retain a spot in the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff. It doesn’t help that the driver who is seven points behind him — Kyle Busch — has eight poles this season and an average starting position of 7.1.

That’s an average advantage of 10 spots over Johnson, or 10 points, to start every race. That’s why qualifying is No. 1 on Johnson’s to-do list of areas to improve.

He will start 12th at Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (NBCSN, 3 p.m. ET) after another subpar effort.

“It hasn’t been a strong suit of mine, and over the last couple of years, it has slipped even more,” Johnson told the NASCAR Wire Service on Friday at Kansas Speedway, site of Sunday’s Round of 12 elimination race. “This year, we knew before the season ever started that the importance of qualifying was going to ratchet up and be two to three times more important, essentially.

“Even with all that awareness and the thought process and attempts to raise our qualifying performance, we haven’t yet. And we’re looking at every option possible. Again, here this weekend, I personally am trying to find the right rhythm that is needed out there on the track to put up that lap time. Through practice and the three rounds of qualifying, at some point I can sneak the speed out of the car and post a good lap, and for whatever reason trying to back that up or do it lap after lap, just haven’t been able to pull that off.”

It’s not that Johnson has neglected qualifying in preparing for each race.

“We’ve spent a lot of time focusing on it, and we’re almost to a point now where we overthought it,” he said. “Are we slowing ourselves down from overthinking it in some regards?

“We’re aware and trying hard and have been trying hard to get that right. Hopefully, we get it.”

As an added incentive, Friday’s pole winner at Kansas Speedway earned the No. 1 pit stall next week at Martinsville, where the stall closest to the exit from pit road is a huge advantage.

But Johnson can’t worry about that now. If he doesn’t survive Kansas in the top eight, Martinsville won’t matter, where a possible record eighth championship is concerned.