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RELATED: Full results

 

RICHMOND, Va. – Matt Kenseth won’t have to come from the middle of nowhere, as he did Monday at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he started 22nd, charged toward the front in the closing laps and finished fourth.

Quite the contrary. In Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 (on FOX at 2 p.m. ET) at Richmond International Raceway, Kenseth will lead the field to the green flag in the ninth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season after winning the pole during Friday’s knockout qualifying session.

Kenseth posted a lap at 121.076 mph (22.300 seconds) to edge Ryan Blaney (120.854 mph) for the top starting spot by .041 seconds. The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota claimed his first Coors Light Pole Award of the season, his second at Richmond and the 19th of his career.

Kenseth was fast enough to make the cut for the first two rounds despite running a single lap in each, and the tire conservation paid off in the money round.

"We had enough speed in our Circle K Toyota Camry that we only had to do one lap each of the first two rounds to get us into the third round, and we improved a little bit the second lap (in the final round). It was a good qualifying effort for us. Feels good to be on the pole.

Kenseth is 20th in points after bottom-five finishes at Daytona, Phoenix and Fontana, and qualifying rainouts hurt him at Bristol and Martinsville, where he had to start mid-pack on owner points.

"This year has not been a good year for us, obviously, so far," Kenseth said. "We finished strong at Bristol, but we didn’t get to qualify because of the rain, and that put us in the middle of the pack – there and Martinsville.

"We haven’t been getting any stage points. We’re buried in the points back there and we finally got a decent finish last week, so hopefully this week we can start up front, stay up front and hopefully collect some of the stage points. But most importantly we’re in the mix for a win at the end of the day."

Martin Truex Jr. (120.681 mph) will start third, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (120.471 mph) and Joey Logano (120.380 mph).

It was the third second-place qualifying effort of the season for Blaney, who also put the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford on the front row at Phoenix and Texas.

"We weren’t great the first round but kept getting steps better each round, which we’ve done a really good job of this year," Blaney said. "I thought that’s where we struggled a lot last year. We didn’t improve last year, we would go backwards. This year we’re improving round-to-round.

"It’s just communication and knowing what we need to change in our car. That’s something to be proud of. That’s a lot of second starts now. I really want to race the Clash at Daytona (the season-opening exhibition race primarily for pole winners). That’s my biggest thing right now. It’s upsetting me that we can’t get a pole. I think our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion is good—we’ll find out in race trim."

WATCH: Dillon makes … interesting … qualifying lap

 

Both Kenseth and Blaney saved their fastest laps for the final round. The same couldn’t be said of Logano, who ran the fastest lap of the afternoon (121.468 mph) in the second round but couldn’t sustain his speed in the third.

"We just lost a little bit there the last run," said Logano who tied Kevin Harvick for the fastest lap in the opening round at 120.870 mph. "We got loose into (Turns) 3 and 4, missed it the first lap and did the same exact thing the second lap.

"It’s so frustrating when you win the first two rounds and the one that pays the money, you’re not there. That’s always frustrating. I guess we have decent speed in our car… it is just frustrating. I don’t know what else to say. It just sucks."

 

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RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Richmond


The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series are at Richmond International Raceway 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 Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, FOX)

Stage 1: Ends on Lap 100
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 200
Final Stage: Scheduled to end on Lap 400


XFINITY Series (Race is Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, FS1)

Stage 1: Ends on Lap 75
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 150
Final Stage: Scheduled to end on Lap 250

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RELATED: Dale Jr. announces retirement | Amy’s message to Dale

A statistical look at the NASCAR career of Dale Earnhardt Jr., with numbers as of April 25, the day he announced his retirement from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at the end of the 2017 season.



For a deeper statistical dive, visit Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s page at racing-reference.info.



0 — The number of laps completed in Earnhardt Jr.’s shortest race, the result of a first-lap crash in the 2001 Dura Lube 400 at Rockingham. The event was the first for NASCAR after the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. in a last-lap crash in the Daytona 500.



1 — The number of NASCAR All-Star Race victories in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s career. He became the invitational event’s first rookie winner in 2000.



2 — The number of Daytona 500 victories recorded by Dale Earnhardt Jr.



3 — The car number made famous by his father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt. Also, Earnhardt Jr.’s highest-ranking finish in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings, in 2003.



6 — The number of wins recorded by Earnhardt Jr. at Talladega Superspeedway, the most among active drivers. Also, the number of victories Earnhardt achieved in his winningest season (2004).


RELATED: All of Junior’s wins | Dale Jr. through the years


8 — Earnhardt Jr.’s first car number in NASCAR premier-series competition. Also, his starting spot in his premier series debut in the 1999 Coca-Cola 600.



10 — The number of seasons that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has driven for Hendrick Motorsports, which fields his No. 88 Chevrolet.


11.3 — The best average finish in a single full season in Earnhardt Jr.’s career, recorded in his three-win campaign of 2015.


12 — The number of tracks where Dale Earnhardt Jr. won in his premier-series career — Talladega (6), Daytona (4), Phoenix (3), Richmond (3), Pocono (2), Michigan (2), and one each at Atlanta, Martinsville, Bristol, Chicagoland, Texas and Dover.


RELATED: Best paint schemes | Junior plans to run two XFINITY races in ’18


13 — The number of Coors Light Pole Awards that Earnhardt has collected in his career in NASCAR’s top division.



20 — Over two seasons (2012 and 2016), the number of races that Earnhardt missed due to concussions.



21 — The age at which Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his debut in what is now the NASCAR XFINITY Series. He finished 14th on June 22, 1996 at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway.



22 — The number of top-10 finishes Earnhardt Jr. posted in both of his NASCAR XFINITY Series championship seasons.



24 — The age at which Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his debut in NASCAR’s premier series.



42 — The age at which Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his decision to retire from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.


RELATED: Dale Jr. explains his decision — best quotes from the No. 88 driver and Rick Hendrick


50 — The number of NASCAR national series victories for Dale Earnhardt Jr., with 26 in premier-series competition and 24 in what is now known as the XFINITY Series.



88 — The car number the Dale Earnhardt Jr. has campaigned since moving to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.



100 — Dale Earnhardt Jr. reached this milestone number of premier-series starts on Sept. 1, 2002 in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. He finished 16th.



143 — The number of races in the longest losing skid of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s career, spanning 2008-12. Both wins that bookended the dry spell were recorded at Michigan International Speedway.



149 — The number of top-five finishes that Earnhardt Jr has registered in his career at NASCAR’s top level.



291 — The number of starts that Earnhardt Jr. made for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team founded by his father that gave him his start in what is now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.



312 — The number of starts — as of April 25, 2017 — made by Dale Earnhardt Jr. for Hendrick Motorsports.



426 — The number of laps led by Earnhardt in his first full season (2000) in NASCAR’s top division.



540 — The number of times that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was scored as running at the finish in his career, an 89.6 percent rate.



595.5 — The number of miles Dale Earnhardt Jr. completed in his big-league debut May 30, 1999 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Earnhardt placed 16th, three laps down in the Coca-Cola 600.



600 — The milestone number of premier-series starts Earnhardt achieved in March 2017 at Auto Club Speedway.



1,131 — The number of laps led in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s most prolific season (2004) in that category.



8,195 — The number of laps led in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s career to date.

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RELATED: See the complete iRacing schedule


Rookie NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series driver Bobby Zalenski scored his first victory at Phoenix International Raceway Tuesday night, holding off Ray Alfalla and Ryan Luza on two late-race restarts. Zalenski took the lead on a restart with ten laps to go when leader Andrew Fayash missed a shift. Logan Clampitt, who was restarting second, also moved alongside Fayash as the three raced door-to-door into Turn 1. Zalenski had such a sharp angle into the corner he could not keep his car on the bottom which led him to hit Clampitt, spinning the erstwhile series leader out of contention.



Zalenski escaped with minimal damage and had the race lead, but he would need to execute on one more restart with the two strongest drivers in 2017 thus far right behind him. The green flew with five laps left but before Alfalla and Luza could challenge for the win, Michael Conti spun Fayash entering Turn One leading to a race-ending caution.



Alfalla finished runner-up, right in front of Luza as both rebounded from their problems at Texas. Dylan Duval finished fourth and Zack Novak was fifth, the first time either driver has finished in the top five this season.



Matt Bussa started on pole and led the race to the green flag, building a comfortable lead on Luza during the opening laps. Bussa led the entirety of the first run, only relinquishing the lead to pit for tires and fuel on Lap 53. However, Bussa would not return to the front after the stops as several sim racers short-pitted including Michael Conti, who assumed the lead.



A caution on Lap 59 brought nearly all the lead lap cars back into the pits for tires with Conti leading the pack off pit road. Conti would restart third but only took one lap to pass Adam Gilliland and Marcus Richardson to retake the lead.



Unlike the first run when Luza kept in touch with Bussa, nobody came close to matching Conti’s speed on the long run as the No. 5 drove off and left the field. Like Bussa, Conti led until pitting for routine service on Lap 106 and just like the first round of stops, a caution interrupted the pit cycle before it was complete, costing Conti and other frontrunners some track position.



The final 40 laps were quite the wreckfest as drivers tried to gain positions after restarts. Chris Overland held the lead briefly but Fayash got by shortly after the restart. Despite not showing speed early in the race, Fayash looked quite strong out front and led until his unfortunate missed shift and subsequent crash one restart later.



Luza is back on top of the standings thanks to his third-place effort and Clampitt’s troubles. He leads Zalenski by five points while Clampitt slips to third, seven points adrift. Alfalla sits fourth, but is within striking distance as he is only 13 points out of the lead. Darik Bourdeau rounds out the top five, 32 points back.



Next up is a date with Richmond International Raceway, the second-consecutive short track on the schedule. Look for many of the same faces to be up front as Luza, Alfalla, Clampitt and Zalenski look to break away from the field. With 2017 looking like one of the most competitive NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series seasons ever, can anyone break away and become the favorite for the sim racing title? Find out in two weeks on iRacingLive!


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RELATED: Dale Jr. to retire after ’17 | Cain: How Junior endears himself to fans

Plenty of reaction has poured in over the days since Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced his retirement from full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing at the end of the 2017 season.

Drivers, fans, friends and everyone in between have taken time to thank Dale Jr. for everything he has done for the sport. In the video above, Kurt Busch expresses his thoughts on Dale Jr.’s retirement, saying "there’s nobody that could ever replace Dale Jr."

RELATED: NASCAR reacts to driver’s announcement

In the video below from JR Motorsports, an assortment of drivers from Kyle Larson and Danica Patrick to recently retired three-time champion Tony Stewart, spotter TJ Majors and a host of others wish Junior well. Former No. 88 crew-chief-turned-TV-analyst Steve Letarte warns of a "Honey-Do" list. Regan Smith also provided some humorous foreshadowing for what he think Dale’s post-retirement life will look like.

Will we see "Honey-Do list Dale" join "Water Cooler Dale" on a Nationwide commercial? Perhaps, but for now everyone is extending their gratitude toward the racing superstar.

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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.)

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Jimmie Johnson reeled off back-to-back wins with his Bristol conquest on Monday, and now a much larger goal looms in front of him.


Mr. Johnson, meet Mr. Yarborough.


Mr. Allison and Mr. Waltrip, you’re next.


The Hendrick Motorsports driver and seven-time premier series champion continued to climb NASCAR’s all-time wins list with his "Colosseum" conquest, and he is homing in on passing a triumvirate of legends with every victory.


Now with 82 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins, Johnson is one behind Cale Yarborough (83) for sixth place on the all-time wins list. Beyond Yarborough are Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip at 84. That’s just two more wins than Johnson currently has. Yes, it is conceivable — perhaps even probable — that Johnson will pass all three on the list in the same season and end 2017 fourth on the all-time wins tally.



"It’s mind-blowing," Johnson said. "I cannot believe that we’re sitting here with 82 wins. That is such a big number. Yeah, and to be 7 or 8 years old, whatever I was, traveling around the country racing dirt bikes and walking into my first Hardee’s, and I thought it was a race shop for Cale Yarborough and then I realized it was a hamburger stand. … To be in this position is quite an honor. But I honestly wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for (crew chief) Chad Knaus and (team owner) Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon, Lowe’s, all the consistent things that I’ve had through my career. This has really been the environment for me to thrive in."



Sit back and enjoy it. History is at hand.

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BRISTOL, Tenn. – Kyle Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet was incredibly fast on the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway during Monday’s rain-delayed running of the Food City 500.



Unfortunately, it was a bit too fast on pit road, too, and the misstep changed the team’s pit strategy, and likely cost the Chip Ganassi Racing driver a shot a second victory through eight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races this season.



Sixth in the final rundown, the 24-year-old Larson put on quite a show right up until the end of the race.



"Yeah, I knew I gave the race away there," Larson, who won earlier this season at Auto Club Speedway, said of the infraction which came on Lap 422 of the 500-lap race. "I was surprised that I was able to line up with an opportunity there at the end. We lucked out taking two (tires), and then the 78 (of Martin Truex Jr.) sped and it lined us up fourth (for the final restart)."



Larson, the points leader and pole winner (the latter coming when rain forced officials to cancel qualifying on Friday), dominated the opening 125-lap Stage 1 Monday, leading every lap.



He was nearly as invincible in the second stage, leading 77 circuits around the .533-mile oval before finally yielding the point to Truex.



Larson ran in the top five for much of the final 250-lap stage and was second when he dropped onto pit road following the race’s eighth caution period. The speeding penalty sent him to the rear, but he was 12th when a final caution flag flew for an incident involving Kasey Kahne (Hendrick Motorsports) and Paul Menard (Richard Childress Racing).



Larson was one of a handful of drivers able to run both the high and low lines around Bristol seemingly picking his spots and picking off cars at will.



Fifth on the final restart, he quickly made his way to second and was closing on leader Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing), when Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports) and Clint Bowyer (SHR) began running down the two.



"I thought maybe if I could get the top going quick and get by Kevin, I could get the win," Larson said. "But I think even if I was able to get into the lead, I don’t think I would have won because Jimmie and Clint were way faster than I was. They were a straightaway ahead of us, I think, at the checkered flag."



Johnson took the win, his 82nd, with Bowyer earning runner-up honors. Harvick, Matt Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Joey Logano (Team Penske) completed the top five.



"I think I speed on pit road every time I come to Bristol," Larson said. "So I’ve got to clean that up."



Larson has five top-five and six top-10 finishes this season. Chase Elliott (HMS) finished seventh and trails Larson by 27 points.

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RELATED: No. 2 team penalized after Phoenix infraction

 

The date for Team Penske’s final appeal of L1-level penalties has been pushed back. NASCAR officials said the hearing is now scheduled for 7:45 a.m. ET on Tuesday, May 9 at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina. It previously had been scheduled for April 26.

 

Bryan Moss, the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer, will preside over the hearing. The session will determine the final outcome of penalties issued March 22 to the Roger Penske-owned No. 2 Ford team after the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway.

 

Team Penske filed the paperwork for a final appeal April 13, one day after the three-member National Motorsports Appeal Panel upheld the original penalties. That punishment included a three-race suspension for crew chief Paul Wolfe and a 35-point deduction for Brad Keselowski in the drivers’ standings and the same amount for Penske in the owners’ standings.

 

With the appeal pending, Wolfe was atop the pit box for this week’s Food City 500 at Bristol. He has the opportunity to manage the race again this weekend at Richmond and the following week at Talladega. Wolfe already has served one race of his three-race suspension, handing over the helm to Brian Wilson for the March 26 race at Auto Club Speedway.

 

Moss, the former president at Gulfstream Aerospace, has held the role of National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer since 2014. His ruling on April 26 will be final. The burden of proof will rest with Team Penske in the final appeal process. In the initial hearing, the burden of proof rested with NASCAR.

 

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RELATED: Reactions | Relive every Dale Jr. win | Top quotes from day

How appropriate that after an emotional, heartfelt press conference to formally share his decision to retire at the end of the 2017 NASCAR season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. walked outside into the Hendrick Motorsports parking lot to find a large crowd waiting for him.

Some were there to ask him for his autograph, but many more had come to give Earnhardt their support and appreciation as he competes in his final season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

The adoration is something Earnhardt, 42, receives in bulk every time he goes anywhere in public. The fan love and positive feedback have translated to more than 2 million followers on Twitter.

Sure, two Daytona 500 trophies, the amazing run of restrictor-plate victories and the racing lineage have helped earn him these loyal fans. But perhaps it’s the real triumphs and real struggles of Earnhardt’s career — the high highs and low lows — that the masses of people relate to and appreciate most.

"One thing that’s made this career the incredible ride that it’s been, is Junior Nation," Earnhardt acknowledged. "The fan support that I received straight out of the gate, was in large part because of my famous last name.

"But throughout the ups and downs it occurred to me that the fans that stuck it out and the new ones that joined us, they were there because of the person I was and not who they wanted me to be."

While Tuesday’s news may have caught some off-guard, the sport’s reigning 14-time Most Popular Driver seems genuinely content about the decision. And that should give his fans some peace.

MORE: Junior: A kid, a son, a racer and fan favorite

Earnhardt openly shared the process behind his decision and then answered questions from the media. Often there were long pauses between question and answer and that’s because Earnhardt actually thinks about his responses instead of replying with clichés and soundbites.

He is honest and heartfelt — even in the moments after he’s just climbed out of his race car. He is genuine.

And that — not just his ability to win big races or even his racing lineage — is what fans seem to appreciate most about Earnhardt.

His time behind the wheel has evolved — much as the sport’s fan base has as well.

There was the "Junior" I first met in the mid-1990s — young, worry-free and sporting bleach-blond highlights. He was learning about the sport, winning Busch Grand National races and hoisting championship trophies under the watchful eye of his dad, seven-time premier-series champion Dale Earnhardt.

It was fun to watch their interaction and see the pride on the elder Earnhardt’s face. I remember vividly the way Earnhardt shut down an interview in the Daytona press box one afternoon during Speedweeks just so he could watch his son run practice laps on the speedway down below.

Fans were intrigued by the young Earnhardt then — those that cheered for his father and those that cheered against him. He was a "typical" 20-something making his way up the ranks, having fun and winning.

After his legendary father passed away on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Junior’s world naturally shifted. Almost immediately he received new fans. So many felt for this young man who had suddenly lost his beloved dad. Many others had already taken him in as "their guy."

And Junior never disappointed. Whether he won or not.

His career highlight reel includes winning the summer Daytona Monster Energy Series race five months after losing his father and a streak of four consecutive Talladega victories from 2001-03.


He has collected 26 trophies in all — huge triumphs at Daytona and Talladega and workmanlike wins at Phoenix and Pocono. He has challenged for season championships — finishing a career-best third in 2003.

TAKE A DEEPER LOOK: Complete Junior stats

It’s the success he’s collected without trophies that will be remembered most — the way he has shown how to persevere after tragedy, overcome doubt and recover from injury.

Perhaps Earnhardt’s announcement this week wasn’t honestly a total surprise to his fans and friends. He is 42 years old, just got married on New Year’s Eve and maybe there’s a "Dale III" in the future.

MORE: Dale, Amy’s wedding album | Dale and Amy through the years


As Junior stressed on Tuesday, his decision to retire after an incredible career came of his own free will. It was not dictated by injury or loss of ability, team orders or even a sponsor decision.

It is what Junior wants to do. It is best for him.

And what more could you ask. He deserves that.