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RELATED: Sign up for Lilly’s track walk

NASCAR fans, get ready to get physical: NASCAR.com is launching a “Fit” Row series that focuses on the health and fitness aspects of racing and its superstar drivers. Presented by Lilly Diabetes, the exclusive diabetes health partner of NASCAR, the series will feature 10 themed stories and include coverage from Lilly’s track walk on May 26 from 2-4 p.m. ET at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

With the Fit Row Series, fans will get an inside scoop into how drivers such as Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and more stay fit, and learn simple tips that focus on areas such as talking to your doctor and making lifestyle changes through healthy eating and exercising that can give you a win when it comes to diseases like diabetes.

In addition to simple healthy tips for consumers, Lilly Diabetes aims to stress an element through the Fit Row series that NASCAR drivers know all too well: Perseverance. Everyone has setbacks and struggles in life, but perseverance is especially important during these times of trials so that you can feel healthy and continue to do the things you love to do.

“The goal of Lilly Diabetes — driving awareness and education — is critical to NASCAR as many of our fans are affected by the disease,” NASCAR Vice President of Partnership Marketing Lou Garate said at the time. “The rate of Americans developing diabetes continues to rise, and we hope this partnership can help make a positive change in people’s lives.”

The Lilly Diabetes #DriveYourHealth Track Walk is the official kick-off event of the Lilly Diabetes and NASCAR® health and wellness initiative. The walk aims to encourage NASCAR fans to take action to better manage their diabetes and/or overall health, starting by pledging to walk 1.5 miles around the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Lilly Diabetes — which remains the primary sponsor of XFINITY Series driver and 2017 Daytona winner Ryan Reed — increased its relationship with the sanctioning body in March, when it was announced as NASCAR’s official health partner.

Posted on by Staff Report

The newest NASCAR Next class is almost ready for its debut.

The nine drivers who will lead the charge of NASCAR’s youth initiative will be revealed Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET on FS1’s “Race Hub” program. The Class of 2017-18 features some returning favorites and several fresh faces, all hand-picked as part of the sport’s next wave of aspiring talent.

Since 2011, NASCAR Next has showcased the best budding drivers ages 15-25. The six previous classes have produced 36 drivers who have graduated to make a NASCAR national series start.

Famous alumni Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez are among the 13 former NASCAR Next drivers to make an appearance in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Watch the unveil on FS1 on Tuesday evening, and then come back to NASCAR.com for full coverage of the class.

 

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Buy tickets for the Coca-Cola 600

NASCAR announced Monday that this year’s Coca-Cola 600 — the longest race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series — will be run with one additional stage.

The annual 600-mile race, scheduled May 28 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, will feature four stages. Breaks are scheduled at Lap 100, Lap 200 and Lap 300, with the final stage set to end at the full 400-lap distance. The previous format for this year’s 600 — announced in February along with stage lengths for all other 2017 national series events — called for intermissions at Lap 115 and 230.

Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, said the decision was the result of a collaborative effort to offer more breaks in an endurance event that typically spans more than four hours as it progresses from early evening to nightfall.

“You look at the way Charlotte was laid out and the length of the race, it was just sort of a natural to add another one to break it up a little further and make a few more moments,” Miller told NASCAR.com. “When you make stages in the race, there’s a lot of things that go into the decisions about how they lay out. One of the primary concerns is fuel mileage and how far they can go on fuel. We don’t want to end up with a stage break right on top of what would be a fuel window where it could get a little messy with that situation. The natural places for the 600 was four 100-lap segments.”

MORE: Miller says the fourth stage brings something special to event

All other elements of stage racing procedures are to remain the same for the Coca-Cola 600, with regular-season points awarded to each stage’s top 10 finishers and a bonus playoff point for stage winners. FOX Sports’ broadcasting team will also receive the benefit of an additional break in the action for commercials and in-race interviews.

“For 58 years, the Coca-Cola 600 has been a crown jewel on the NASCAR circuit because it presents unique challenges that don’t exist in any other race. The distance is greater. The test of endurance is greater. The challenge of adjusting to the track surface from hot to cool puts more pressure on crew chiefs and pit crews,” said Marcus Smith, President and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. “It’s only fitting that teams have an opportunity to be rewarded for the extra effort required to win at the 600. An additional stage win and that extra playoff point in May could be critical for playoff success in the fall.”

Miller indicated the stage formats for the remaining races on the Monster Energy Series schedule this year were likely to stay the same, but that competition officials would make a customary review of any potential enhancements ahead of next season.

“The stage racing format has pretty much played out like we had hoped, has created some moments and has gained acceptance, but the 600 does present a unique opportunity over the other races,” Miller said. “We’re always looking, but I don’t see anything else on the horizon for the remainder this year. But we’ll certainly kind of re-evaluate as we wind down the year and see if there’s adjustments that would make sense for ’18.”

RELATED: 2017 Stage points thus far

Miller acknowledged some of the early apprehension about the new race format, but said that nearly a third of the way through the first season that early impressions have grown more and more favorable.

“There was a lot of skepticism with the fan base starting out, and I think a large part of that is just change. Everybody’s always skeptical of change, so I think that was the sentiment,” Miller said. “I think the competitors kind of jumped on the concept early on. Lately as we’ve gone on, I think we’ve gotten just overwhelming response back that people like what they’re seeing, so we’re really happy about that.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Watch video of the wreck

After his involvement in a three-car wreck on Saturday night at Kansas Speedway, Richard Petty Motorsports reported Sunday that Aric Almirola suffered a compression fracture to his T5 vertebra, but is mobile and has been released from the Kansas hospital.

Drivers, teams and NASCAR personnel took to Twitter to wish the No. 43 driver well.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Watch video the wreck

Richard Petty Motorsports driver Aric Almirola suffered a compression fracture to his T5 vertebra in Saturday night’s three-car wreck at Kansas Speedway. The driver is mobile, though, and has been released from a Kansas-area hospital.

Almirola was airlifted to the hospital after a Lap 199 incident which saw something break in Joey Logano’s car, sending his No. 22 Ford hard into Danica Patrick’s No. 10 Ford. Both cars smacked the outside wall, and Almirola couldn’t slow and plowed into Logano’s car.

Almirola immediately dropped his window net after the wreck, signaling he was OK, but was extricated from his car and placed onto a headboard. He is scheduled to fly back to North Carolina on Sunday.

The T5 vertebra is in the middle of the back.

WATCH: Logano emotional in interview

The team did not provide an update on how much time, if any, Almirola would miss with the injury and said further updates would be provided when available.

Below is the full statement:

“Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, has been released from a local Kansas hospital and will fly back to his home in Mooresville, N.C. today.

Almirola suffered a compression fracture to his T5 Vertebra after a multi-car accident at Kansas Speedway Saturday night.  Almirola is mobile and will follow-up with his doctors in Charlotte.

Richard Petty Motorsports will provide further updates when available.”

Posted on by Team Release

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, was involved in a multi-car accident on Lap 199 during Saturday night’s race.

Almirola was alert after the accident as safety professionals removed him from the car. He was transported by helicopter to a local medical facility for evaluation. He is in stable condition and will be held overnight for further observation.

Richard Petty Motorsports will provide further updates when appropriate.

 

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RELATED: Race results

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — For the second week in a row, it looked like the race polesitter would find Victory Lane and earn his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series triumph.

 

A string of cautions and restarts in the Go Bowling 400’s waning laps, however, quickly changed the tune for fourth-place finisher Ryan Blaney and his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team Saturday evening at Kansas Speedway.

 

“I felt that we had a great short-run car tonight and I thought that was going to play right into our hands at the end,” the 23-year-old driver said following the race.

 

Blaney, who topped the leaderboard for 83 circuits and won Stage 2, was unable to keep pace with eventual race winner Martin Truex Jr. and the blistering speeds his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was setting, particularly on a trio of late-race restarts. The No. 2 of Brad Keselowski and the No. 4 of Kevin Harvick were able to catch up as well, claiming second and third, respectively. 

 

“The 78 got us on that (last) restart somehow. I don’t know. I was super loose there on the last restarts and the 78 got me spinning my tires a little bit,” Blaney said, referencing the restarts on Laps 249, 263 and 266.

 

“It kind of stinks. I think that it says a lot about this team to go out and lead some laps and go have a shot and win races.”

 

The North Carolina native — who earned his first premier series pole Friday night — is no stranger to post-race disappointment and being frustratingly close to that elusive first career win. He left the April Texas race with 148 laps led and two stage wins, but only a 12th-place finish to show for it. And the three races that followed produced no finishes better than 33rd — Bristol (33rd), Richmond (36th) and Talladega (39th).

 

“The last three races have been really, really bad, and it’s just an extra kind of slap to the face that we’ve had really fast cars in all those races we had troubles in,” he said. “We should have had top 10s in all of them.” 

 

With his home track Charlotte Motor Speedway next up on the Monster Energy Series agenda, Blaney hopes his team can bounce back and piggyback on the momentum developed during the Kansas weekend.

 

“(I) look at the gains we made all weekend and really being fast all weekend, that puts us back to where we need to be for sure,” he said.

He’s now gained two spots in standings, sitting just outside the top 10, in 11th.

An excellent spot to be in while he waits his turn to land in Victory Lane.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Full race results | Detailed breakdown
SHOP: Truex gear

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Martin Truex Jr. finally ended his Kansas hex.

Truex streaked away on the final restart with two laps left in Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400 to win his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.

Truex led a race-high 104 of 267 laps to win for the ninth time in his career and for the second time this season. Three times in the past, Truex had led the most laps in a Kansas race — without winning.

But on this Saturday, Truex had the speed and the closing power. On successive restarts at the end of the race, which produced an event-record-tying 15 cautions, Truex jumped in front of polesitter Ryan Blaney and stayed at the head of the pack.

Brad Keselowski rallied from two laps down to finish second, followed by Kevin Harvick, Blaney and Kyle Busch. Series leader Kyle Larson came home sixth. 

“It feels great,” Truex said. “It’s definitely been a thorn in our side. That’s for sure. You know for years and years even, before I was with this (Furniture Row) team, for whatever reason we always ran good here and never could close the deal.

“Proud to get these guys back in Victory Lane. This is our home race track — the guys from Colorado. Appreciate all the fans. We got a lot of fans from Colorado here today. I met a bunch of them before the race and hopefully they’re all psyched.”

But the race wasn’t just about elation. There was a sobering aspect, too. One lap after Truex took the lead from Blaney on a restart following the 10th caution, a Lap 200 wreck stopped the action. 

As Joey Logano and Danica Patrick were racing through Turns 1 and 2, battling for the 12th position, Logano’s No. 22 Ford suddenly snapped to the left, turning Patrick’s No. 10 Ford hard into the outside wall.

Patrick’s car erupted in flames, and she and Logano rode the outside wall until, a moment later, Aric Almirola’s No. 43 Ford barreled into the wreck.

RELATED: Watch video of the incident 

NASCAR stopped the race while safety workers cut the roof off Almirola’s Fusion and extricated him from the car. They placed Almirola on a backboard and rolled him to a waiting ambulance on a gurney. Almirola was airlifted to the University of Kansas Medical Center for observation.

Logano was unhurt but visibly shaken when he exited the infield care center.

“Yeah, I’m OK,” Logano said. “Just saying a lot of prayers for Aric right now. A lot of us took a hard hit. Something broke on my car. I don’t know what it was. I noticed it as I was trying to go in (to Turn 1). I tried to back it off but you’re going 215 (mph) and it’s hard to check up. The car just took a big step sideways into the corner and I hooked Danica.

“You can see the right front (tire) popped,” Logano added as he watched a video replay. “I just hope everyone is OK. I hope Aric is all right. That’s the last thing you want to see, a big hit like that for anyone. It’s unfortunate for everyone. Let’s hope that Aric is all right.”

After the accident, the race was red-flagged for 27 minutes, 41 seconds for track cleanup, and Truex and Blaney subsequently traded the lead. Blaney liked his chances after beating Truex off pit road under the 13th caution on Lap 245.

But Truex got a huge launch to the outside of the polesitter and quickly pulled ahead.

“I felt that we had a great short run car tonight, and I thought that was going to play right into our hands at the end,” said Blaney, who led 83 laps. “The 78 (Truex) got us on that restart somehow. I don’t know.

“I was super loose there on the last restarts, and the 78 got me spinning my tires a little bit. It kind of stinks. I think that it says a lot about this team to go out and lead some laps and go have a shot at winning races.”

Note: Larson left Kansas with a 44-point edge over Truex in the series standings, with Keselowski 67 points back in third.

 

 

Posted on by Zack Albert

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Aric Almirola was airlifted to a local hospital after a severe crash late in Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.

 

Almirola’s Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford was the third car involved in the multicar stack-up, triggered when a breakage on Joey Logano’s No. 22 forced contact with Danica Patrick’s No. 10 entering Turn 1 on the 1.5-mile track. Both cars hit hard, with Almirola’s entry sliding into the melee, its rear end lifting off the ground.

 

The crash produced a red flag with 200 of the 267 laps complete in the Go Bowling 400, giving safety workers time to extract Almirola by cutting through the roof of his car. The 33-year-old driver was described as alert and awake as he was removed from the car onto a backboard, his neck stabilized by a brace.

 

Almirola was airlifted to the University of Kansas Medical Center. The nature of any potential injuries were not released, but Richard Petty Motorsports provided an update nearly two hours after the checkered flag, confirming that Almirola was in stable condition and that he would be held overnight for further observation. The team indicated that it would “provide further updates when appropriate.”

 

“I just hope everyone is OK,” said Logano, who was uninjured. “I hope Aric is all right. That’s the last thing you want to see, a big hit like that for anyone. It’s unfortunate for everyone.”

 

Logano and Patrick were evaluated and released from the track’s infield care center. The two had a spirited conversation before taking the mandatory ambulance ride to the infield, but Logano explained that an unknown parts failure on his car’s right-front had caused his car to break loose.

 

“I just told here something broke. There’s nothing I could have done,” Logano said. “I don’t know what happened. Like I said, something broke and tore up a bunch of really good cars.”

 

Patrick was saddled with her fifth failure to finish in 11 races this season. Four of those have been crash-related. Logano’s explanation was small consolation, she said.

 

“When he said he had a failure I can’t say it made me feel that much better in the moment,” Patrick said. “I am just frustrated for the lack of breaks I get. It seems like every time things are going better and something happens I get crashed or am in a crash.”

 

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.

RELATED: Find NBCSN in your area | See Charlotte All-Star weekend races

All times ET

Monday, May 15
6:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Go Bowling 400 (re-air), FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., One Hot Night: The NASCAR 1992 All-Star Race, FS1

Tuesday, May 16
7:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Toyota Tundra 250 (re-air), FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Go Bowling 400 (re-air), FS2

Wednesday, May 17
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, May 18
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Friday, May 19
1 a.m., K&N Pro Series West: Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 150, NBCSN
3:30 a.m., One Hot Night: The NASCAR 1992 All-Star Race, FS1
4:30 a.m., Empty Cup: Quest for the 1992 NASCAR Championship, FS1
5 a.m., The 600: History of NASCAR’s Toughest Race, FS1
1 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN 5)
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Weekend Edition, FS1
3 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN 5)
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS1
6 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Canada: TSN 5)
8 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup, FS1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: North Carolina Education Lottery 200, FS1

Saturday, May 20
12:30 p.m., Empty Cup: Quest for the 1992 NASCAR Championship, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: North Carolina Education Lottery 200, (re-air) FS1
4 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
4:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
5:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
6 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Open Race, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
7:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
8 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)

Sunday, May 21
12 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race (re-air), FS1