DraftKings Rankings: Sonoma

Posted on June 23, 2017June 23, 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 3s. Plate tracks tend to be lower and short tracks tend to run higher due to the amount of laps.)

1. Joey Logano ($9,000) – At JGR, Logano was terrible at road courses. When he joined Penske, they told him the secret. He’s finished 11th or better in seven of eight road races with Penske. In his last five road races, he’s finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th. (3.8 fppk)

2. Kyle Busch ($10,200) – In 2015, Rowdy earned his first win at Sonoma after returning from injury. He went on to win the championship that season. Kyle Busch is good at intermediate tracks, shorts tracks and he’s good on the road. He has 14 top 10s at road courses. (5.3 fppk)

3. AJ Allmendinger ($9,500) – Misfortune has kept the best road racer in NASCAR out of Victory Lane. Allmendinger does not need a lucky break; an uneventful race would likely mean a win. In four of the last six road course races, Allmendinger has led over 20 laps in each race. (3.7 fppk)

4. Clint Bowyer ($9,400) – Sonoma is one of Bowyer’s best tracks. He has eight top-10s in 11 races at Sonoma (six top-5s). Last season in an underfunded HScott Motorsports car, Bowyer looked fast all weekend until an electrical fire ruined his race. He’ll have a fast car on Sunday. (3.7 fppk)

5. Martin Truex, Jr. ($10,300) – Is Truex human at the road courses? Not really. He’s not the same terrifying monster as he is at the ovals, but he’s fast. He won at Sonoma in his Michael Waltrip Racing days, and he finished 5th and 7th at the road courses last season. (6.9 fppk)

6. Kyle Larson ($9,300) – It may have taken longer than fans expected, but Larson is the face of NASCAR. Actually, he’s the face of North American racing. Larson has raced better than his Sonoma finishes indicate. Don’t be surprised if he reverses that trend this weekend. (6.4 fppk)

7. Kevin Harvick ($9,900) – In the last two Sonoma races, Harvick has two top-10s. In his 16 career races at the track, the California native has zero wins. Harvick is running in the K&N Pro Series West race on Saturday. He may learn something in this lower series race that propels himself to victory in the Cup race. (4.5 fppk)

8. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ($8,100) – Over the last couple of years, Earnhardt Jr. has improved as a road racer with finishes of 11th or better in his last five road course races. Before you lock in Junior, remember his shifting issues at Pocono. There will be a lot of shifting this weekend. (2.4 fppk)

9. Kurt Busch ($9,800) – The Busch brothers can run a road course. In the last 20 road races, Kurt has 15 top 15 finishes. He hasn’t finished outside of the top 15 at a road course in four years. He led almost half of the 2015 Sonoma race. (2.9 fppk)

10. Kasey Kahne ($8,000) – Sonoma is a Kahne track. He has a top-10 finish in a Dodge, a Ford and a Chevrolet. He’s riding a four-race top-10 streak at Sonoma, and a couple of those top-10s were when the No. 5 car was average. (3.6 fppk)

11. Denny Hamlin ($8,900) – Last year, Hamlin should have swept the road races, but he made a mistake on the very last turn at Sonoma. Before 2016, he was not good at road courses. He went 12 races without a top-10 and a lot of those finishes were in the 30s. Maybe he’s figured it out. (3.6 fppk)

12. Jimmie Johnson ($9,600) – His Sonoma stats will not blow you away; they’re good, just not Jimmie Johnson good. Track history aside, he looks like he can win any weekend this year. His three wins this year are the most in NASCAR. (4.7 fppk)

13. Brad Keselowski ($8,600) – Just because a track fits into a category doesn’t mean that it’s similar to the other tracks in that category. Sonoma and Watkins Glen are different. Keselowski’s stats will support that claim. BK has four top-five finishes at Watkins Glen, and one top-10 at Sonoma. (4.5 fppk)

14. Chase Elliott ($8,300) – This is only Chase Elliott’s second trip to Sonoma. Last year, he raced in the K&N Series race at Sonoma to gain experience. He won that race but earned a disappointing 21st place finish in the Monster Energy Series race. (4.1 fppk)

15. Ryan Newman ($7,900) – Someday Ryan Newman will retire, and I will no longer have to write about his consistency. Newman is a living, breathing mathematical proof. His stability is a fact that would hold up in court. Death, taxes and Newman around 15th, even at Sonoma. (3.6 fppk)

16. Paul Menard ($7,400) – There are a couple tracks where Menard stands outs, and Sonoma is one of those tracks. Since joining RCR, Menard has six consecutive top-20 finishes at Sonoma (average finish of 14th). (3.2 fppk)

17. Ryan Blaney ($7,300) – From all-time highs to all-time lows, Blaney followed his win at Pocono with a wreck at Michigan. He ran middle of the pack at Sonoma last year, so he’s entered the K&N Pro Series West race on Saturday for a quick tune-up. (2.9 fppk)

18. Jamie McMurray ($8,500) – The Chip Ganassi cars are as fast as they’ve ever been. McMurray’s numbers at Sonoma are similar to his sure and steady stats everywhere else. He may not be a contender, but a top-10 is within his aim. (3.7 fppk)

19. Danica Patrick ($5,800) – You would expect more from her at road courses with her IndyCar background. You would also expect a much higher price. Her average finish in eight road-course races is 21st. (2.6 fppk)

20. Matt Kenseth ($7,500) – You will see this stat several times this weekend. Matt Kenseth has one top-10 at Sonoma in his career (17 races). Why is he ranked? Sometimes a light bulb goes on. Look at Hamlin, Earnhardt, Jr. and Logano’s stats. (3.1 fppk)

Posted on June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 by Staff Report

Welcome to Sonoma Raceway, where the course is long and the turns are right. Sunday’s race (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the first of two road course for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series this year.

To get ready, read on for a full track printout and five interesting facts about Sonoma.

• The track length is 1.99 miles, and the road course itself features more than 160 feet of elevation change from the highest point (Turn 3a, 174 feet) to the lowest. (Turn 10, 14 feet).

• Drivers who complete Sunday’s Monster Energy Series race will make 1,100 turns around the road course. The race is scheduled for 110 laps.

• Nearly 4,000 sheep, housed at the raceway, provide, uh, natural land care and help maintain the facility’s grasses and fire lanes. So, yeah, animal lawnmowers.

• The NASCAR configuration of the Sonoma Raceway road course is lined with 1,000 tire packs made up of 25,000 tires, 90,000 screws, 90,000 clips and 180,000 washers.

• One of the more unique Victory Lane settings in the sport, winners in Sonoma celebrate with a sip from the Champion’s Goblet in the Wine Country Winner’s Circle. The goblet, which is handcrafted by a local glass blower from Sonoma, was introduced in 2006 and incorporates the raceway’s rich wine country heritage.

Posted on June 22, 2017June 24, 2017 by Holly Cain

Judging by their reactions – the cheers and tears, the fist pumps and high fives – you’d think all of Tony Stewart’s parents, friends and teammates standing in his pit stall were watching the wily veteran win his very first NASCAR race.

As it turns out, Stewart’s absolutely thrilling last-lap victory on the beautiful Sonoma road course last June was actually his final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win – No. 49 in a three-championship career that concluded at the end of the 2016 season.

As the series returns to the scenic California wine country this weekend for the 2017 Sonoma race, Stewart, 46, readily admits it will forever be a venue close to his heart.

“It’s definitely a place I liked anyway, but anytime I have a chance to go out there it’s going to remind me of my last win out there,” Stewart told NASCAR.com. “Sonoma will always be a special place to me because of that.”

In fact, Stewart would likely concede, if last offseason he and his fans were imagining the setting for his final Cup victory, they might think about him hoisting a big trophy in the sport’s iconic Daytona 500 victory circle or maybe doing donuts after a win at the Southern 500 in Darlington.

Perhaps that last win in his sure-bet NASCAR Hall of Fame career might have come at a short track like Richmond International Raceway, where Stewart claimed his first premier series victory, or even at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the former open-wheel marvel instead won twice at the track driving a stock car.

RELATED: See how Stewart won at Sonoma

But that career exclamation point instead came on the Northern California road course where a year ago, Stewart put on a thrilling show in the waning laps besting Denny Hamlin in a last-corner, last-lap pass for the win.

“I definitely would not have predicted that,” Stewart said. “We’ve had a lot of success on road courses, but I wouldn’t have said that’s where my last win would have come for sure.”

At the time, Stewart was hopeful the emotional, hard-fought and crazy popular win at Sonoma would not be his last, either.

“I really wanted one more, I wanted a nice round number of 50,” Stewart said with a laugh. “But to finish my career with a win was good because I hadn’t had one the previous (three) seasons. So that was cool.

“And it was a big deal to me to get that win like that. You’d like to have won the Daytona 500 or win the Southern 500 but a road course like that, a place that I like so much. That was pretty special.”

It was exceptional.

Stewart and Hamlin raced the last laps in an epic battle for the win. Although Stewart was credited for leading the final 22 laps, the hard-charging Hamlin got around him in Turn 7 of the final lap but then wheel-hopped on the 12th and very last turn giving Stewart all the opportunity he needed to pass him back. And race off to take the checkered flag. His final one.

That momentous last turn – appropriately enough – was located almost directly in front of Stewart’s pit, which erupted in cheers and hugs as Stewart’s No. 14 charged ahead to the finish line.

“I had two laps on my tires when those guys all came out on stickers and the best laps were the first two laps run,” Stewart recalled. “That was what we needed to get ourselves in position to do what we did.

“But, to battle those guys like we did and especially at the end there with Denny … we both didn’t run a very good last lap. We both wheel-hopped and everything else but you could tell both of us were doing everything we could do to win the race. You never forget battles like that. I will never forget that because of how special that win ended up being. Those are the moments you always look forward to having.”

Hamlin, who is Stewart’s longtime friend and former teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, conceded that while he was disappointed in the outcome, he does appreciate his role fighting Stewart to the last turn for what became a Hall of Famer’s final victory. He recalled the details of that day as well — smiling a little and shaking his head.

“It was a great moment for Tony, semi-great moment for me because I got to race him like that for his final win,” Hamlin said. “That is a small consolation prize for sure, though. It was (a great race). You always like to be on the winning end, but I think about it all the time.

“You talk about my win in (2016) Daytona (500) and there was someone else on the other side of that photo finish. Now I kind of understand what Martin Truex felt like. He’s seen that picture a thousand times and he gets asked about it all the time.

“It’s the same thing for me. I was the one that came up short to Tony.”

Hamlin can take some solace in the fact Stewart will go down as one of NASCAR’s best road course racers. He’s beaten the best, capping his career as a three-time winner at Sonoma and a five-time winner at Watkins Glen, too. Only Jeff Gordon has more total wins (nine to Stewart’s eight) on NASCAR’s current two road course circuits.

And it was easy to tell in Stewart’s winner’s press conference last summer how special it really was to gulp some victory wine and hoist a winner’s trophy again.

“I got the flag at the flag stand, and I thought, well, I’ll turn and come back down pit road backwards,” Stewart explained last summer. “And then I was like, this is my last time here. I want to go one more lap, and I went one more lap. I didn’t just drive the lap, I drove up there and where the crowd was, I did burnouts and revved the motor onto the chip.

“But it just was fun to say, ‘Hey, thanks.’ This place has meant a lot to me. It’s nice to ‑‑ if I don’t win another one, it’s cool to win the last one here. If it doesn’t happen again, it’s cool. I’ll be all right if this is the last place I win one.”

And so it was.

“Smoke,” as he is affectionately nicknamed, may still “win another” in Northern California. He will be racing sprint cars at nearby Calistoga Speedway on Saturday night before driving over for his big Sonoma homecoming.

“It’s been great,” Stewart said of the “retired” life. “It’s nice because I still go to the track and still see all the people and that’s the best part. But if I get in there after practice has started, I’m not in trouble. I’m not worrying about anything. It’s nice to just have a little more relaxed schedule.

“And I’m really looking forward to being there in Sonoma again.”

Posted on June 22, 2017June 22, 2017 by Kelly Crandall

Chip Ganassi says his organization is “going to look the same” next year as Silly Season rumors swirl around the NASCAR garage.

The statement came Thursday morning when Ganassi was asked on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Tradin’ Paint about how confident he was for 2018 when it came to his current stable of drivers, crew chiefs and sponsors.

Coming off his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win at Michigan, series points leader Kyle Larson, 24, is an elite driver drawing plenty of commentary on his future. Larson has three career wins and is locked into the playoffs for the second straight year.

Ganassi could have both of his drivers among the championship contenders. Not to be overlooked by his teammate, Jamie McMurray has quietly been putting together one of his best seasons. After compiling 12 top-10 finishes in 2016, McMurray has already knocked down nine top 10s through the first portion of 2017. He sits seventh in the point standings.

With how well the organization has been running, it’s only natural to shift its overall expectations. The bar is now much higher and Ganassi could be as close as ever to breaking through – either with Larson or McMurray – for his first NASCAR championship.

“We’ve always had high expectations,” Ganassi said of how the mindset has changed since beginning of the year. “The nice thing is, dare I say, we won some races in the past, obviously, but I think at times we didn’t know why we won or how we won or what contributed to that win.”

Ganassi credited Max Jones for helping in that department. Jones is the managing director of Chip Ganassi Racing’s NASCAR operation.

“It’s one brick at a time how you build these teams and when you’re having the kind of year we had, before we certainly didn’t know how we got there,” Ganassi continued. “So, I think the team is in a position now where we’re making solid steps, we know where we came from so if we have to we can go back to that point, and we have a little better book, if you will, of knowledge. We have a little stronger book of knowledge behind us, so if we get off too far out in left field there we can come back to a pretty good point.

“I think thats the big difference. Not so much winning but to become a championship contending team, you have to know where you came from and how to get back to there if you get off course quickly. You can quickly get back to the starting point.”

Posted on June 22, 2017June 22, 2017 by Staff Report

Stage lengths for the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July have been tweaked slightly.

Minor updates to the XFINITY Series race package for the summer race at the flat 2.5-mile oval are expected to alter the length of a fuel run; to compensate, the new stages for the Lilly Diabetes 250 (July 22, 3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be as follows: Stage 1 ends following Lap 30, Stage 2 ends following Lap 60 and the race is scheduled to end following Lap 100.

The previous format was 25-50-100.

“Following the previously announced updates to the competition package for the NASCAR XFINITY Series event at Indianapolis, NASCAR will issue a rulebook bulletin that updates the stage lengths for the race,” Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, said in a statement. “As we have with every race, we worked with teams on expected fuel and tire runs for the event, and have determined that stages ending on Lap 30, Lap 60 and Lap 100 will provide the best race for fans.”

Posted on June 22, 2017June 23, 2017 by RJ Kraft

Photo credit: Sean Busher

Ty Majeski spends his days working in the Roush Fenway Racing shop, but come this weekend he will have a NASCAR XFINITY Series start to his name. Majeski makes his national series debut in the American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Iowa Speedway on Saturday night.

The NASCAR Next product will pilot the No. 60 Ford at the 0.875-mile track with sponsorship from iRacing.com.

“I’ve been working so hard for something like this since I was racing go-karts when I was 9 years old,” Majeski told NASCAR.com. “It was always my dream, and to see it come true is pretty sensational. I’m just excited to get this opportunity and make the most of it.”

The 22-year-old Wisconsin native has been making his name in the Super Late Model circuit, winning the 2016 Super Late Model championship at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida. He went on to finish third in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national standings with 14 wins and 21 top-five finishes in 26 starts last year.

Last spring, Majeski inked a deal to join Roush Fenway’s development program and made the move to Concord, North Carolina this year. So far, he has been working out of the Roush shop, furthering his racing knowledge. It also helps that Majeski has an engineering background — he is about a year and a half from his degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“I work in the shop every day at Roush,” Majeski said. “I actually did a lot of Bubba Wallace’s shocks earlier this year, so I’m building shocks for them and working with the engineering groups over there, too. I think all that helps.

“Knowing what you’re driving when you go out on the race track and telling them what the car is doing, I can relate in more of an engineering way and I think that goes a long way.”

Roush has seen its share of success at the short track as the organization has won five of the 14 XFINITY Series races held there. Majeski tested at the track last month and also credited his time on iRacing to help speed up the time it took to learn the ins and outs of the track.

“I use them (iRacing) as a tool in a lot of ways,” Majeski said. “They do a great job scanning the race tracks. When we unloaded there (for the test), I was up to speed pretty much right away. I had a good visual of the race track on iRacing and it definitely shortened the learning curve a ton when we showed up.”

In addition, Majeski has leaned on Roush Fenway veteran Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for some advice heading into this weekend. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver owns three career XFINITY Series wins at Iowa.

“Ricky and I talk a decent amount,” Majeski said. “I called him after our first test day out in Iowa and asked him a few questions, so Ricky has been a big help for me. He’s run well at Iowa in the past so he’s a good guy to pick his brain a little bit and try to find some more things that I can learn.”

At Iowa, Seth Barbour will be atop the pit box, while “the whole No. 6 crew over-the-wall guys” will work pit road for his team, Majeski said. Barbour most recently worked as Wallace’s crew chief in the XFINITY Series.

Majeski hopes that this race can be a stepping stone to pick up some more seat time in the series as the season moves along.

“Right now we have both Iowa races, so those two are for sure and they are definitely looking to do more, but nothing is set in stone right now,” Majeski said.

As for the maiden start, Majeski is taking a practical view of what would make him happy coming out of Iowa on Saturday night.

“I’d be really happy with a top 10 and I think it’s really feasible as well,” Majeski said. “I just want to limit my mistakes. I don’t want to make any mistakes. Have good, clean restarts, come in and out of pit road, no speeding penalties or anything like that and I think the chips should fall for us to a top 10. That’s my goal.”

Posted on June 22, 2017June 23, 2017 by Kelly Crandall

For his final full-time season as a driver, NASCAR.com will offer an analytical preview on Dale Earnhardt Jr. ahead of every remaining Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.

Race: Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway

Date: June 25, 3 p.m. ET (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Previous five results at Sonoma: 11th, 7th, 3rd, 12th, 23rd

Notable: In his last three starts at Sonoma, Earnhardt has earned three consecutive top-11 finishes, including a career-best third place in 2014. That finish was also his first top-five at the road course. In 17 career Sonoma starts, Earnhardt has just one DNF and nine laps led in addition to having completed 95.3 percent of the laps run.

Memorable moment: Although Earnhardt is winless at Sonoma, he admitted his 2014 result of third felt like a victory without the trophy. Not only was it a career-best result, things finally fell into place to earn a finish he and his team were deserving of as it was Earnhardt’s first top 10 at the track in 15 tries. It was also one of Earnhardt’s more skillful driving exhibitions on the 12-turn course as he worked his way up the leaderboard from a 17th starting position to contend with the frontrunners.

Quotable: “We’ve had great race cars at the road courses the last few years, which has helped me a lot,” Earnhardt said this week in a team release. “Sonoma is the most challenging track that I race at. We’ve just got to take care of our car and make it through to the end.”

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

NASCAR handed out penalties on Wednesday to two XFINITY Series teams and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team following last weekend’s events at Michigan International Speedway and Gateway Motorsports Park.

An L1-level penalty against the No. 20 XFINITY Series car for Joe Gibbs Racing was for splitter structure — the splitter was not flat. As a result, the race win for Denny Hamlin was ruled encumbered. Hamlin does not compete for points in the XFINITY Series, but the win won’t give the team any postseason benefits (i.e. loss of playoff points from that race).

Crew chief Chris Gabehart was fined $25,000 and suspended from the next two XFINITY Series championship points events, and the No. 20 team was assessed with the loss of 25 owner points.

Also, the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driven by Cole Custer was issued a safety violation for lug nuts not properly installed after a 10th-place finish at Michigan. Crew chief Jeff Meendering was fined $5,000.

Meanwhile, the No. 02 Ford driven by Austin Hill at Gateway was hit with L1-level penalty for not meeting post-race height requirements. Crew chief Bruce Cook was fined $5,000 and suspended from the next Camping World Truck Series championship points event, and the team was assessed with the loss of 10 driver points and 10 owner points.

Hill’s 14th-place finish was ruled encumbered.

Posted on June 21, 2017June 22, 2017 by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See the Sonoma race | See Trucks and XFINITY in Iowa
RELATED: Full schedule for Sonoma and Iowa

All three NASCAR national series are in action this weekend but at two different tracks. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series visits its first road course of the season while the Camping World Truck and XFINITY Series take on the short-track of Iowa.

Below at the stage lengths for each race:
Click here to bookmark stage lengths for every race this season

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (Race is Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, FS1)

Stage 1: Ends on Lap 25
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 50
Final Stage: Scheduled to end on Lap 110

NASCAR XFINITY Series (Race is Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

Stage 1: Ends on Lap 60
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 120
Final Stage: Scheduled to end on Lap 250

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Race is Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

Stage 1: Ends on Lap 60
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 120
Final Stage: Scheduled to end on Lap 200

Posted on June 21, 2017June 21, 2017 by Team Release

New York, NY (June 21, 2017) – Complex Networks, Film 45, Markay Media, and NASCAR champions Hendrick Motorsports have teamed up on an original, eight-part documentary series that journeys deep inside the teamwork, sophistication and heart that makes stock car racing an American institution.

Road to Race Day goes behind the scenes with Hendrick Motorsports during the 2016 season, delivering unprecedented access to witness the passion, determination, and talent that propels its superstar drivers — Kasey Kahne, Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. — and crew to be the winningest team in professional stock car racing. Directed by Cynthia Hill (A Chef’s Life, Private Violence) and executive produced by Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, Patriot’s Day), Road to Race Day premieres on Complex Networks’ Rated Red available on go90 on Wednesday, July 19.

“At the heart of the series is a team of people who share an incredible passion for and dedication to stock car racing and a drive to win. Hendrick Motorsports believed in us and gave us unparalleled access to share their story, and we’re grateful to them for inviting us into their family,” Berg said. “Road to Race Day adds a personal dimension to the sport, and it spotlights the passionate individuals who make Hendrick Motorsports one of the most successful racing teams of all time.”

Hill added, “Stock car racing is an essential part of the American fabric. My team and I wanted to demystify the sport and its unique culture while celebrating the rich personalities whose lives intersect on race day.”

“When we committed to the project, our goal was to give people something that looked and felt unlike anything we’d ever done,” said Marshall Carlson, president of Hendrick Motorsports. “We knew it would require an unprecedented level of access, and that proved to be true. Whether the viewer is a NASCAR fan or not, we think they’ll be surprised and walk away with a different impression of our team and sport. We’re grateful to Cynthia, Peter and everyone involved for their enthusiasm about the series and the incredible work that went into making it.”

“Cynthia Hill, Film 45 and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports have delivered riveting storytelling that humanizes the sport and brings to life all that’s involved in getting to the finish line,” said Rich Antoniello, chief executive officer of Complex Networks. “The series goes deep into the culture of racing to show the emotion and excitement of the sport, and we’re thrilled to be working with Film 45 again and honored that Hendrick Motorsports entrusted us with sharing their story with audiences.”

Founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has earned nearly 250 points-paying race victories and an all-time record 12 championships in the premier NASCAR Cup Series. The organization fields four teams on the circuit with star drivers Kahne, Elliott, Earnhardt and 2016 champion Johnson.

Each weekly episode showcases the energy of racing through the stories of four superstars of the sport and their colorful teams. Strategy, preparation, and focus for each race are propelled by intensity and emotion as Road to Race Day crisscrosses the country to capture each dramatic moment as it unfolds.

In 2016, Elliott, heir to the car formerly driven by racing legend Jeff Gordon, began his rookie-of-the-year campaign, while veteran Earnhardt faced one of the most challenging seasons of his storied career. Johnson continued to chase his record-tying seventh championship, as Kahne fought to get back to Victory Lane. From North Carolina to Northern California, Road to Race Day follows these merchants of speed, their crew chiefs and teams as they confront ever-changing rules and unrivaled competition at more than 200 mph.

Road to Race Day is directed by Cynthia Hill. The series is executive produced by Peter Berg, Matthew Goldberg, and Brandon Carroll for Film 45; Cynthia Hill for Markay Media; and Justin Killion and Melanie Moreau are executive producers for Complex Networks.

Complex Networks and Film 45 have previously teamed on the critically-acclaimed series QB1: Beyond the Lights for go90, which has been renewed for a second and third season. Road to Race Day is the latest Complex Networks original series in a growing lineup of high profile shows that also includes: Thanksgiving created by Dan Powell and Bethany Hall and starring Chris Elliott and Amy Sedaris; Embeds from Megyn Kelly and Michael DeLuca; Top Grier starring Hayes Grier; and Drive Share created by and starring Paul Scheer and Rob Huebell.

Follow Road to Race Day on Twitter, Facebook or join the Fan Club and get exclusive content, behind the scenes access and unique offers.