Posted on by Reid Spencer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — In Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s case, familiarity breeds desire.

Asked which race he’d most like to win in his final season of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing, Earnhardt immediately thought of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the track closest to his Mooresville, North Carolina, home.

“The 600 would be awesome,” Earnhardt said on Friday at Kansas Speedway. “Charlotte is our home track, and (we) haven’t won a points race there. So I would like to win there, but there’s a long list. Any of them that we haven’t won at would be great.

“Any win this year, right, would be good. But if I had to pick, Charlotte would be … winning the 600 would mean a lot. I always went to that race as a little kid, so I like to win at the places where I spent tons of time growing up, and that was one of them.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full schedule for Kansas

At a Glance 

What: Go Bowling 400
Where: Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile oval in Kansas City, Kansas
Green flag: 7:52 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Forecast: Clear with a high near 77 and a low around 57, according to the National Weather Service. South winds at 6 to 9 mph.
National anthem: Major Ellen Stephenson, 442nd Medical Squadron.
Grand Marshal: Larry the Cable Guy
Race distance: 267 laps, 400.5 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.

Posted on by @nascarcasm

Editor’s note: Every Friday during the season, “Tweets You Might Have Missed” presents eight of the best NASCAR-related tweets from the week.

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Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Practice 1 results

Pos Car Driver From Lap To Lap Avg Speed
1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1 10 182.216
2 24 Chase Elliott 6 15 181.400
3 23 Gray Gaulding # 1 10 175.470

 

RELATED: Practice 2 results

Pos Car Driver From Lap To Lap Avg Speed
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 18 27 181.513
2 4 Kevin Harvick 24 33 181.139
3 11 Denny Hamlin 29 38 181.044
4 42 Kyle Larson 15 24 180.817
5 78 Martin Truex Jr. 24 33 180.781
6 21 Ryan Blaney 28 37 180.761
7 14 Clint Bowyer 22 31 180.733
8 10 Danica Patrick 18 27 180.640
9 77 Erik Jones # 25 34 180.583
10 2 Brad Keselowski 23 32 180.516
11 22 Joey Logano 24 33 180.462
12 19 Daniel Suarez # 17 26 180.224
13 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 25 34 180.038
14 5 Kasey Kahne 28 37 179.953
15 41 Kurt Busch 19 28 179.941
16 43 Aric Almirola 9 18 179.912
17 3 Austin Dillon 17 26 179.869
18 24 Chase Elliott 16 25 179.641
19 13 Ty Dillon # 17 26 179.530
20 32 Matt DIBenedetto 1 10 177.470
Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Practice 1 results | Final practice results

Defending race winner Kyle Busch led final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Kansas Speedway on Friday, turning a lap at 187.963 mph in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Series points leader Kyle Larson, driving in a backup car because of an incident earlier in the practice session, was second at 187.833 mph in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

Rounding out the top five in the final session were: first practice session leader Martin Truex Jr. at 187.305 mph in the Furniture Row Racing Toyota, Ryan Blaney at 187.182 mph in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford and Brad Keselowski at 187.130 in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford.

About five minutes into the final session, Larson hit the outside wall coming into Turn 2, damaging the right rear of his car. Larson went to his backup No. 42 car, and was able to get it back on the track for the fast lap.

“The backup, I’m sure should be just as good if not better than the primary,” Larson told FS1. “We’ll try not to crash any more today.”

WATCH: See Larson’s incident that forced backup car

About 17 minutes later, Larson’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Jamie McMurray also got loose and brushed the wall with the rear right of his No. 1 Chevrolet. His damage was not as significant, however, and he remained in his primary car. He recorded a time that was eighth-fastest at 186.561 mph.

It’s a busy Friday for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, which has a two-day show at Kansas, with Coors Light Qualifying wrapping up the events at 6:45 p.m. ET on FS1. The Go Bowling 400 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Truex Jr. set the pace in an eventful opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, setting down a fast lap of 185.065 mph. Truex was the only driver to eclipse 185 mph in the first practice at the 1.5-mile track.

Blaney was second with a speed of 184.932 mph, followed by Truex’s FRR teammate Erik Jones (184.596 mph), Joe Gibbs Racing’s Matt Kenseth (184.533 mph) and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick (184.458 mph) in the top five.

Jones sustained damage to his Toyota moments after putting down his fast lap, though. He spun around in a solo incident, careening into the infield grass and damaging his car. His No. 77 team was attempting to fix his primary car.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished sixth in the session despite nearly running up into the wall, and he wasn’t the only driver who averted disaster — both Jimmie Johnson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, and Larson had close brushes with the outside wall early on.

There were multiple holds during the opening 55-minute session. They were:

• The No. 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. was docked 15 minutes of practice time and also lost its pit stall selection for failing pre-race inspection three times at Talladega.

• The Nos. 18 of Kyle Busch and 83 of Corey LaJoie were held for 15 minutes of practice in penalties that were deferred from Talladega, due to rain at the Alabama track.

• The Nos. 1 of Jamie McMurray, 37 of Chris Buescher and 42 of Kyle Larson also were held 15 minutes at the start of practice for failing pre-race inspection at Talladega.

• The No. 77 of Erik Jones was docked 15 minutes of practice time for missing the rookie meeting.

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: See the Kansas race | Full Kansas schedule

 

CONCORD, N.C. — A year ago, Joe Gibbs Racing teams won seven of the first 12 races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

This year, the four-team organization is 0-for-10 and folks are asking, “What’s wrong with JGR?”

Each of the teams, with drivers Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Daniel Suarez, has had its moments this season, but the last victory for JGR came a year ago with a driver and a crew chief that are no longer competing for the organization.

For a group that’s put up double-digit wins the past two seasons, this year’s start has been puzzling.

Carl Edwards’ sudden departure, crew chief Dave Rogers’ equally unexpected leave of absence, and the elevation of Suarez to fill Edwards’ seat in the No. 19 entry are just a portion of the changes the group has undergone as the 2017 season dawned.

There’s also a new car — the front end of the Camry was re-tooled during the offseason to more closely reflect changes to the production model. Years of development and notebooks and knowledge didn’t suddenly become useless, but perhaps somewhat less useful.

It’s also worth noting that the expansion of Furniture Row Racing, which went from a single-car entity with driver Martin Truex Jr. to a two-car operation with the addition of Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Erik Jones, has also had something of an impact.

Tethered together via a technical alliance, JGR supplies chassis to Furniture Row, shares data and provides pit support. Both organizations obtain engines from Toyota Racing Development (TRD) based in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Truex won earlier this season at Las Vegas and is second in points.

While they’ve yet to win, Busch, who has four top-10 finishes, is 10th in points and Hamlin, also with four, is 11th.

Kenseth, however, is 18th in points in spite of four top-10 results and Suarez, also a Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, sits 21st with two top-10 finishes.

All but Suarez have led laps and been in contention at one point or another.

Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400 from Kansas Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR) is the fourth race on a 1.5-mile track for the series this year. And Kenseth says it should be “a great test” for his No. 20 group as well as JGR overall.

“I feel like that’s been one of our better tracks the last few years,” Kenseth said during an appearance Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “I … feel like that’s a great test to kind of see where our intermediate program is at.”

Kenseth, twice a winner at Kansas, led 116 laps last fall before finishing ninth; Busch is the defending champion of this weekend’s race. Hamlin has a Kansas trophy in the trophy case, as well.

“I think Saturday night after the race is over I’ll be able to tell you a lot better where our intermediate program is,” Kenseth said.

“We’re always trying to get ourselves better. Kansas … is the best test for that just because it’s a track we’ve been really good at. We were all really fast there both races last year; I thought we all ran really well there.”

Busch, who took part in a charity event at the track Thursday, has seen a reversal of fortunes at Kansas. In his first 14 starts, he managed only two top 10s. His last four finishes have all been fifth or higher, including last year’s victory.

“We seem to have gotten a setup or a hold of this place, I’d say, and hopefully we don’t screw that up this time around and we can continue our strong runs and our fast pace of being able to have a shot to win,” Busch said.

Qualifying for the Go Bowling 400 is scheduled to get under way Friday at 6:45 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN).

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 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. Martin Truex, Jr. ($9,700) – Last year, Truex was a killer at intermediate tracks. He’s well on his way to regaining that status this year. Truex led the most laps at Las Vegas and the third most at Texas. In the 2016 Kansas night race, Truex scored the most fantasy points (102.5 points). (5.7 fppk)

2. Kevin Harvick ($10,400) – In the last six Kansas races, Harvick has a win and three second-place finishes. He scored 94, 82, 75 and 102 fantasy points in those contests. Harvick scored the sixth-most fantasy points in week seven (most recent intermediate track race). (4.2 fppk)

3. Kyle Larson ($9,900) – A different driver has won each intermediate track race this season, but one driver has finished second in all three of those races. Obviously, it’s Kyle Larson — the paragraph started with his name. This is his year, fade him at your own risk. (6.3 fppk)

4. Chase Elliott ($9,100) – At the three intermediate track races, Elliott’s lowest score was 55 fantasy points. He finished with a top-five DFS score in all three races. Elliot did all of this without leading a single lap in those races. What happens when he gets out front? (4.7 fppk)

5. Brad Keselowski ($10,700) – At Las Vegas, Keselowski qualified first and scored 55 hog points (laps led and fast lap points). At Texas, he qualified fifth and scored 10 hog points. The difference between starting first and fifth is enormous. (6.0 fppk)

6. Jimmie Johnson ($10,100) – What slow start? Johnson is well on his way to his eighth NASCAR championship. Daily fantasy NASCAR players cannot depend on Johnson to hog all the fast lap and laps led points, but he routinely piles on place differential and finishing position points. (5.2 fppk)

7. Joey Logano ($9,500) – The good news is that Logano’s worst finish at intermediate tracks this season is sixth. The bad news is that Logano has not scored more than 15 hog points in a race this season. If he qualifies upfront, then expect big things. (5.0 fppk)

8. Kyle Busch ($9,400) – We’re going back to “real” racing this weekend, so it’s time for Rowdy to prove himself. It’s not going to be easy, Busch has been less than impressive at intermediate tracks this season with finishes of 16th, 22nd and 15th. (4.6 fppk)

9. Ryan Blaney ($8,000) – If you can deal with negative place differential points, Blaney serves as a cheap way to earn fast laps and laps led points. At Texas, Blaney started second behind Kevin Harvick and went on to lead almost 150 laps and run 50 fast laps. (3.1 fppk)

10. Denny Hamlin ($8,800) – If it’s a short track or plate track, then I’ll plug him in. At intermediate tracks Hamlin has been average. Throw in the fact that JGR appears to be a step behind the Fords and Hendrick, and Hamlin is a hard pass for me this weekend, unless he qualifies terribly. (3.3 fppk)

11. Kurt Busch ($8,200) – It’s hard to say whether Kurt’s bad luck has expired. The reality is that the team switched cars this season and there will be gremlins. Busch isn’t elite, and likely will not lead laps, but he can earn DFS players a top-10 at a discount. (2.9 fppk)

12. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ($8,300) – The lone bright spot this season for Junior was his fifth-place finish at Texas. Hendrick won that race and placed three cars inside the top-10. The best intermediate track cars this season belong to Hendrick. (1.7 fppk)

13. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. ($7,400) – Give a lot of praise to Stenhouse, but don’t forget his crew chief, Brian Pattie. This is Pattie’s first season with Stenhouse and the effect is clear. Pattie almost won a championship with Clint Bowyer at MWR. (5.0 fppk)

14. Trevor Bayne ($7,100) – When we hear the word downsize it invokes cringes. From the perspective of a worker losing a job, it’s a terrible experience. From the perspective of Roush, they’re focusing their resources on two cars and it’s been successful thus far. (4.5 fppk)

15. Aric Almirola ($6,400) – Richard Petty downsized this year. Not the dreaded D word again! Guess what? It’s working for Roush and it’s working for RPM. Almirola has finished better than where he runs throughout the races. (5.7 fppk)

16. Clint Bowyer ($8,600) – It’s safe to pencil him in anywhere between fifth to 15th. Don’t expect hog points from him, but if he’s in a position where he can score at least seven place differential points, then he becomes an excellent play. (4.2 fppk)

17. Ryan Newman ($7,600) – He’s never an exciting pick unless he starts further back than 15th, but this week is a little different. Newman typically produces above-average results, but at Kansas, he’s been above, above-average with finishes of 12th or better in the last six races. (3.5 fppk)

18. Matt Kenseth ($8,400) – Based on name, history and team, Kenseth remains inside the top 20. His career isn’t over, but some drivers have closed the gap or surpassed Kenseth. Right now, Kenseth is grouped with the place differential and finishing position drivers. (2.5 fppk)

19. AJ Allmendinger ($6,200) – This pick will test your core daily fantasy NASCAR beliefs. Do you favor current form or track history? Allmendinger looks mediocre at the 1.5 mile tracks this year. However, in four of the last five Kansas races, he has finished 11th or better in fantasy points. (3.8 fppk)

20. Jamie McMurray ($8,100) – No one wants to pay above $8,000 for McMurray, but this is a new McMurray. Ganassi is building fast race cars. McMurray has a top-10 finish in every intermediate track race this season. (3.8 fppk)

DraftKings is the Official 1-Day Fantasy Sports Partner of NASCAR. Play DraftKings for free and you could win a VIP Experience to an upcoming race! Click here to play

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is greenflagradio2) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above.

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: See the races at Charlotte

CONCORD, N.C. — Officials with Charlotte Motor Speedway will once again pay tribute to America’s armed forces this year with a Coca-Cola 600 pre-race show that will include everything from Humvees to Howitzers, helicopters to F-16 fighter jets. And of course a tremendous number of members of the military.

It’s a tradition that’s taken place for approximately four decades at the 1.5-mile speedway, which will host the annual Memorial Day weekend race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series May 28.

In previous years, NASCAR teams have honored fallen military members by displaying those members’ names across the top of the windshields of their race cars. Some teams have included special paint schemes tied into the Memorial Day celebration as well.

The length of the race, 400 laps totaling 600 miles, is the series’ longest. The salute to the troops pre-race show is one of the most fitting.

“Last year was my first opportunity to actually bring my family to a NASCAR event,” Army Chief Warrant Officer Paul Williams Jr. said.

The annual pre-race show, he said, is “amazing.”

“Any time we can show off a little bit of our tools to the fans of NASCAR, that strong community, is an amazing opportunity for us.

“And then what we get back from NASCAR and its fans, I don’t think I’ve ever been around a community that really takes us in as their own … one that just screams America much like we do.”

Track officials announced plans for this year’s pre-race show Thursday at the race track. Afterward, former Coca-Cola 600 winner Matt Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota) gave military members in attendance pace car rides around the track.

In addition to ground exhibitions and a pre-race performance by the 82nd Airborne Division, other elements this year will include a 21-gun salute and recognition of five Medal of Honor recipients.

“I’m proud of the fact that the largest Memorial Day service in America happens right here in Concord, North Carolina, thanks to Marcus Smith and the speedway,” Rep. Richard Hudson, R-NC 8th District, said.

Smith is President and CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns CMS as well as seven other venues that host NASCAR-sanctioned events.

“For anyone who’s never been there, it is a moving experience, it is an incredible experience,” Hudson said. “Whatever is going on in your life, whatever you’re concerned about, you come to this event and you leave feeling good about America. And that’s what it’s all about. I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Officials also announced that Channing Tatum, who plays the lead role in the upcoming movie, “Logan Lucky,” will serve as Grand Marshal for this year’s Coca-Cola 600.

MORE: Channing Tatum named Grand Marshal

Posted on by Track Release

RELATED: Get tickets for the Coca-Cola 600

CONCORD, N.C. — Channing Tatum, actor and producer of “Logan Lucky,” Steven Soderbergh’s summer heist movie filmed at Charlotte Motor Speedway, will serve as Grand Marshal of the Coca-Cola 600 on May 28.

Tatum will give the command to start engines for the 58th running of the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR’s ultimate test of man and machine. No stranger to Charlotte Motor Speedway, Tatum spent considerable time at the speedway last year during filming for “Logan Lucky,” which features an all-star ensemble cast. In addition to his “Drivers, Start Your Engines” call before the race, Tatum will attend the pre-race drivers meeting.

The plot of “Logan Lucky” revolves around the speedway. Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy (Tatum) and Clyde Logan (Adam Driver) set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The film also stars Riley Keough, Hilary Swank, Seth MacFarlane, Katie Holmes and Daniel Craig. “Logan Lucky” will be released by Fingerprint Releasing and Bleecker Street on Aug. 18.

MORE INFO:

Tatum has starred in “Hail Cesar,” “Hateful 8,” the “Magic Mike” franchise, the “Jump Street” franchise and will star in the upcoming “Kingsman.” He is currently producing “Magic Mike Live” at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.

In addition to Tatum’s appearance, Charlotte Motor Speedway’s annual patriotic salute to the troops returns before the green flag drops on May 28, with a spectacular display of 600 servicemen and women on track alongside three UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, Humvees, Howitzers, a HIMARS rocket launcher system, an M777 and a RAZOR combat vehicle. A National Anthem flyover featuring four F-16 fighter jets from Seymour Johnson AFB, a 70-minute concert featuring Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Lynyrd Skynyrd and a 20-minute performance by the 82nd Airborne division are sure to get fans on their feet prior to the race.
Posted on by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See the races at Kansas
RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Kansas

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series are at Kansas Speedway this weekend.

Below are the stage lengths for each race. Click here to bookmark stage lengths for every race this season.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (Race is Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

Stage 1: Ends on Lap 80
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 160
Final Stage: Scheduled to end on Lap 267

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

Stage 1: Ends on Lap 40
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 80
Final Stage: Scheduled to end on Lap 167