Posted on by Staff Report

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Joining more than 1,500 local Comcast NBCUniversal employees and their families, friends and community partners to "make change happen" this weekend, the NASCAR industry and select NASCAR XFINITY Seriesu2122 drivers will be supporting the 16th annual Comcast Cares Day, the nation’s largest single-day corporate volunteer event. These volunteers will participate in 15 different projects across the Greater Knoxville area to celebrate the day, joining more than 100,000 volunteers at nearly 1,000 projects across the country.


Among the events in the area, Comcast volunteers helped assemble housing materials at a Habitat for Humanity "ReStore" Center for a local family in Johnson City on Friday. NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers who are racing in the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway joined the project to support Comcast’s efforts.


"The NASCAR family has been so welcoming to Comcast and programs like Comcast Cares Day that are important to us as a company, and the outpouring of support at this year’s events near Bristol Motor Speedway are no exception," explained Matt Lederer, Executive Director, Sports Brand Marketing, Comcast. "Participation from our drivers and support from NASCAR is a great addition to this project and represents the heart of everyone coming together to volunteer in the community."


Comcast and NASCAR volunteers are also donating their time to support the Appalachia Service Project on Saturday, April 22, through the "Race to Build" project at Bristol Motor Speedway. Volunteers will build homes that will serve families in the Bristol area. Select NASCAR drivers and Comcast employees joined the group on Saturday morning to "wave the green flag" on the start of the project and assist volunteers in the morning in the fan midway at the track.


Drivers Brennan Poole, Tyler Reddick, JJ Yeley, Garrett Smithley, Harrison Rhodes, Joey Gase, Ross Chastain, Justin Allgaier, Jordan Anderson and Quinn Houff participated in the weekend’s service projects. As a part of the NASCAR Race To Green initiative, NASCAR also donated trees to be planted at the family home.


"The NASCAR community is so strong and they’re willing to lend a helping hand at any time," Poole said. "So for me to be a part of this, and do cool things like this thanks to Comcast’s partnership with the XFINITY Series is really special."


"It’s great that through XFINITY’s partnership we can come out on a race day and participate in Comcast Cares Day," said Allgaier. "Being a part of the XFINITY Series allows us to be involved in so many different events and projects we wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to, including what we’re doing here today, helping out some local Bristol families through the Appalachia Service Project."


Comcast Cares Day is more than just a day — it’s the culmination of Comcast NBCUniversal’s commitment to volunteerism that began when the company was founded more than 50 years ago.  From using technology to create positive change, such as wiring community centers and libraries and teaching digital literacy skills, to mentoring youth, to beautifying parks, Comcast NBCUniversal employees volunteer on this day, and throughout the year, to make a lasting impact. This year, the Company expects more than 100,000 volunteers to participate in approximately 900 projects across the country and around the world. To date, volunteers have contributed nearly 5 million volunteer hours at 7,700 projects since Comcast Cares Day began in 2001. 


"We are proud to team up with so many incredible organizations this year as we celebrate our 16th annual Comcast Cares Day," said Doug Guthrie, Regional Senior Vice President, Comcast. "We are thankful for the participants who are stepping up and helping to make a difference in our community."


The Comcast Foundation will also provide grants to local community partner organizations across the country on behalf of everyone who volunteers on Comcast Cares Day. The grants will help Comcast’s community partners continue their mission of serving the community throughout the year. To date, the Comcast Foundation has awarded more than $20 million in grants to local non-profit organizations who have served as partners on Comcast Cares Day.

Posted on by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See the races at Bristol

At a Glance 

What: Food City 500

Where: Bristol Motor Speedway, a .533-mile oval in Bristol, Tenn.
When: Monday, April 24

Green flag: 1:07:30 p.m. ET

TV/Radio: FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio 

Forecast: Showers likely, rain could be heavy at time. Cloudy, with a high near 67. East wind between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

National anthem: Todd Smith, Recording Artist and lead singer of Selah

Grand Marshal: Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Kerry Earnhardt

Honorary Starter: Steve Smith, Food City President/CEO

Race distance: 500 laps, 266.5 miles

Pit road speed: 30 mph 

Caution car speed: 35 mph

Competition caution: Lap 60
Stage lengths: Stage 1 ends on Lap 125. Stage 2 ends on Lap 250. Final stage is scheduled to end on Lap 500

 

Posted on by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See the races at Bristol

MORE: Weekend schedule | Weather updates from Bristol

The XFINITY Series Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 went back to green after a lengthy red flag induced by rain at Bristol Motor Speedway. The action was put to a halt on Lap 150 with a yellow flag, followed by a red flag on Lap 162. The time of the red flag officially lasted one hour, 38 minutes and 52 seconds.


Prior to this, NASCAR briefly lifted the red flag only to return to red-flag conditions minutes later with more rain hitting the .5333-mile track. 


As the leaders pitted, Daniel Hemric, Blake Koch, Brandon Jones, Brendan Gaughan and Elliott Sadler stayed out to hold down the top five spots, and lead the field back to green on Lap 168. 

The event originally got underway at 1:03 p.m. ET with Larson and Austin Dillon starting on the front row after scoring the top-two fastest qualifying lap times Saturday morning.


Larson topped Stage 1, which ended under yellow after Ryan Reed brought out the caution in its waning laps after clipping the wall and losing a tire. Reed briefly wheeled his No. 16 Ford to pit road, but ultimately brought it to the garage with heavy damage, done for the day.


RELATED: Watch: Reed spins to bring out the yellow at Bristol


The XFINITY Series Bristol race marks the second Dash 4 Cash event of 2017. JR Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier and Cole Custer are eligible for the $100,000 bonus after scoring the top-two spots among XFINITY Series regulars at the end of Stage 1 as well as Hemric and Gaughan after finishing first and third (the two highest-placing XFINITY regulars), respectively, in Stage 2. Hemric earned a playoff bonus point with his Stage win, should he qualify for the 12-driver playoff field.


Allgaier won the first Dash 4 Cash race at Phoenix Raceway. The final two legs will be at Richmond (April 29) and Dover (June 3).

RELATED: Learn more about the Dash 4 Cash program


Friday’s on-track schedule, too, got a shake-up due to soggy weather with Monster Energy Series qualifying and the second XFINITY Series practice canceled.


The weekend’s main event, the Monster Energy Series’ Food City 500, is slated for Sunday at 2 p.m. ET (FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).


Posted on by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See the races at Bristol
RELATED: Results | Series standings | Detailed breakdown


BRISTOL, Tenn. — Erik Jones found the ideal way to atone from a mistake in Saturday’s Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, but it took a bump-and-run for Jones to complete his comeback at the .533-mile short track.


Recovering from a Lap 230 pit road speeding penalty that sent him to the back of the field, Jones worked his way to the front through a series of quick cautions and muscled Ryan Blaney out of the way to take the lead on Lap 280 of 300.


Jones held the top spot the rest of the way, through a caution that slowed the race after William Byron, Justin Allgaier, Brennan Poole and Austin Dillon were involved in a Turn 4 wreck on Lap 291. The race restarted on Lap 298, but Blaney couldn’t get to Jones’ bumper to return the favor before the checkered flag waved.


"It was just hard racing," said Jones, who won his second straight NASCAR XFINITY Series race of the season, his second at Bristol and the eighth of his career. "We ended up racing hard and getting by him. To come back from a pit road penalty like that, it’s a race I won’t forget for a long time — just an awesome day."


Blaney led the field to a restart on Lap 278, but Jones had superior speed on the short runs and quickly pulled up to Blaney’s bumper. As they raced hard into Turn 1, Jones applied the bumper of his No. 20 Toyota, sent Blaney’s No. 22 Ford up the track and made the decisive pass.


"He was so much better than us on the short runs," Blaney said. "He wasn’t going to back out, and I wasn’t going to back out either. … I knew I pushed the issue with him. I knew he was close, and I don’t blame him for not backing out at that time.


"You can’t do that, so I took a chance, and we had some contact. Fortunately, we were able to get a restart in fourth (on Lap 298) and get to second and just couldn’t quite get close to make a run at him."


To Jones, the bump was justified by late-race urgency and the relative speed of his car.


"At that point in the race I think there was less than 20 (laps) to go, and you have to do all you can to try to get to the lead," he said. "I knew clean air was important, and we were quite a bit faster than the 22 just to fire off, and I guess just the track cooled down and we got some speed back in the car.


"We were able to get around him and get the lead, and from there, I think everyone was stuck on the bottom, and we were able to hold them off."


It was a race of radically changing fortunes, and not just for Jones. Polesitter Kyle Larson led 180 laps, but cut a tire after contact with Brandon Jones’ Chevrolet on lap 261 — an incident that started a chain-reaction wreck that eliminated Cole Custer, Darrell Wallace Jr. and Garrett Smithley.


Larson compounded his issues with a penalty for a commitment line violation but came from the rear of the field in the final 30 laps to finish seventh.


Sunoco rookie Daniel Hemric came from a lap down to win the $100,000 Dash 4 cash bonus after the three other qualifiers for the XFINITY-sponsored prize — Custer, Allgaier and Brendan Gaughan — all were involved in accidents.


Hemric finished fifth behind Daniel Suarez in third and series leader Elliott Sadler in fourth.


Notes: Blaney finished second in the No. 22 Team Penske Mustang for the third time this season. All told, the 22 car has five runner-up results without a win this year. However, the No. 22 was found to be too low in the left front post race. Any potential penalty will be announced early next week … The action-filled race featured nine cautions for 85 laps.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Race results | How Dash 4 Cash works

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Daniel Hemric didn’t have a lot of time to consider winning the $100,000 NASCAR XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash bonus Saturday.

Because for a few moments in the final laps of the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the Richard Childress Racing driver was more concerned about a potential win.

"In all honesty, in the back of my mind we haven’t put ourselves in positon to run for a win this year," Hemric said after his series-best fifth-place finish earned him the D4C bonus. "I felt like we were doing that (today) as the stages went by and as the laps went by.

"The Dash 4 Cash is always lingering there but it’s not something that crosses your mind."

Competing for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in the XFINITY Series, Hemric had finished ninth at Atlanta and seventh at Phoenix before Saturday’s top five.

After crossing the line ninth Saturday in the opening stage that saw Cole Custer (Stewart-Haas Racing) and Justin Allgaier (JR Motorsports) earn two of the four qualifying berths for the D4C, Hemric and crew chief Danny Stockman opted to stay out under caution for rain as the second stage was nearing completion.

Following a 98-minute red-flag period, those in front of him opted to pit, putting Hemric in the lead with just two laps remaining to complete the stage. He held on for the stage win, then pitted for adjustments under the yellow during the stage break, and those changes, he said, "really gave us a shot at the end of the race."

"I honestly didn’t think everybody would come down in front of us, so obviously we were given a golden ticket there to go try to win some points," he said.

Teammate Brendan Gaughan was third in the stage to earn the final qualifying berth for the bonus.

But one by one, Gaughan, Custer and Allgaier (who won the D4C bonus at Phoenix earlier this year), fell out of contention in the final stage of the race.

Gaughan crashed after contact from Darrell Wallace Jr. on Lap 244; Custer, who had run as high as third, went behind the wall on Lap 261 after contact with Brandon Jones while Allgaier was caught up in an incident with William Byron.

"When the 00 (Custer) and the 7 (Allgaier) fell back there and the 62 (Gaughan) had his problems it put us in a really good spot," Hemric said. "At that point, it was being aware the situation I was in but obviously we were running second, third there at times, and had a shot to win the race.

"And I can promise you, if you win the race, you’ll definitely win the Dash 4 Cash and that’s what our ultimate goal was."

Hemric closed on race leader Ryan Blaney before a late-race restart saw Erik Jones shoot from fourth place into the lead, bumping Blaney out of the way in the process on the way to the win.

"I hate we came up short of that (win) but the 20 (Jones) had an incredible run from his (speeding) penalty to come back and win," Hemric said. "He had a ton of speed. When he and (Blaney) got into it I thought we were going to have an opportunity, or an opportunity to lose it all at the same time when we all stacked up in (Turns) 1 and 2. But luckily it worked out."

Blaney, Daniel Suarez, Elliott Sadler and Hemric completed the top five.

The $600,000 bonus that goes to any driver who is the highest finishing eligible Dash 4 Cash driver in all four races, and wins the fourth race outright, is off the table with Hemric’s victory.

The two remaining D4C races are scheduled for Richmond (April 29) and Dover (June 3).

Posted on by Staff Report


BRISTOL, Tenn. — The No. 22 Team Penske Ford of driver Ryan Blaney failed post-race technical inspection following Saturday’s Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.


The car measured too low in the left front, according to a NASCAR spokesperson. Any penalties arising from the failure will likely be determined and announced Tuesday.



Blaney led four times for 61 laps. As a full-time competitor in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Blaney is not awarded points for his results in the XFINITY Series, however the No. 22 team is competing for the owner’s title.


MORE: Saturday’s race results



The race winning entry of Erik Jones (Joe Gibbs Racing) passed post-race at-track inspection, as did the entries of Daniel Hemric (Richard Childress Racing) and Justin Allgaier (JR Motorsports).


The Hemric and Allgaier entries finished highest among those competing for the XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash bonus and will be taken back to the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina for further evaluation.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full race results


BRISTOL, Tenn. — Two NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers made a post-race visit to meet with officials following Saturday’s Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
 
Ross Chastain and Jeremy Clements, along with crew chiefs Evan Snider and Tony Clements, were called to the NASCAR hauler after the two drivers had an altercation on pit road during a red-flag delay. The incident occurred after the two drivers made contact on the race track.
 
According to reports, Clements approached Chastain shortly after drivers had exited their cars to wait out the rain delay. Clements told reporters he placed his hand "on his back and turned (Chastain) around" when Chastain struck him.
 
"I had no intention of fighting the guy," Clements told NBC Sports.
 

 

"Hope he realizes now that he can talk, we can talk, but you can’t grab someone by the shoulders," Chastain told FS1. "That happened before and I said right then I wouldn’t let it happen again. What’s done is done."


Clements, who was struck in the eye, made a quick trip to the infield care center following the confrontation.
 
Both drivers returned to their cars once the race, which had been halted due to rain, resumed.
 
Clements finished 17th and Chastain 31st.
 
According to Chastain, the two drivers talked out their differences after meeting with NASCAR officials and consider the matter closed.


Posted on by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See this event, races at Talladega

 

Alex Harvill is used to making the most of wide expanses. His pastime of jumping motorcycles great distances requires it, and the two leaps he’s made that stand as current world records have both taken place in the sweeping sand dunes of his home state of Washington.

 

But when Harvill wanted to bring his high-flying show to NASCAR, making the most of his Monster Energy backing and the energy drink maker’s sponsorship deal of stock-car racing’s top series, Talladega Superspeedway seemed likely to be a natural fit. Combine the 2.66-mile facility’s wide stretches of asphalt, its tendency for wild on-track action and its rabid fan base even more so make it an obvious choice.

 

Harvill will attempt to set a world record for the longest ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jump on May 7 before the start of the GEICO 500 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), aiming to go 400 feet or farther. The jump will take place in the fan-frenzied zone called Talladega Boulevard, and the timing is even more audacious — the 24-year-old rider is scheduled to make his leap in the five-minute window between the national anthem and the command to start engines.

 

"I want to be under the most eyes as possible," Harvill told NASCAR.com, "make it on TV and kick off the NASCAR race with the biggest jump ever."

 

Until this week, Harvill had never been to Talladega, "but I have on NASCAR video games, so it’s like I’ve been here before because I’ve raced it many times. But this is my first time here, and it’s very impressive with how big it is."

 

Harvill currently holds two world records for motorcycle distance jumping — a 425-foot leap to set the bar for ramp-to-dirt jumps in 2012 and a 297.5-foot distance to establish the dirt-to-dirt benchmark a year later. The current ramp-to-ramp record is 351 feet, set in 2008 by Australian rider Robbie Maddison, but Harvill has designs on more than the target distance of 400 feet.

 

"I want to go for the furthest jump and then to keep going," says Harvill, who projects a target speed of 106 mph to achieve his Talladega goal. "My goal is to go 500 (feet), and I’m hoping Monster and NASCAR provide me platforms to keep going further and further."

To understand the psyche of someone who regularly vaults through the air on two wheels, it helps to know Harvill’s upbringing. By age 2 or 3, he was a motorcycle passenger in his father’s arms. His first dirt bike came at age 4. Winters were spent catching air with his father in the dunes not far from his Ephrata, Washington, home. Before long, young Alex was outjumping older kids on bigger bikes.

 

The fact that legendary daredevil Robert Craig Knievel Jr. — better known worldwide as Evel Knievel — made his first jump just 20 minutes from his hometown in nearby Moses Lake, Washington, only smoothed Harvill’s path to a lifetime of thrill-seeking. Back in 1965 when Knievel made his jumping debut, he was primarily a motorcycle dealer who dabbled in flat-track racing. "Everyone there knew him as Bob," Harvill says.

 

Knievel’s influence looms over Harvill, but their approaches to stunt riding differs. Instead of emulating Knievel’s devil-may-care style that resulted in multiple crashes and serious injuries, Harvill has taken a more calculating perspective to make his high-altitude endeavor as safe as can be.

 

World-record jumps before a NASCAR race have happened before, not surprisingly by Knievel, whose star rose through the 1970s. Knievel jumped 19 cars, covering a distance of 129 feet on Feb. 28, 1971 at the former Ontario (California) Motor Speedway.

 

Now it’s Harvill’s turn, and he already has a celebration in mind.

 

"I’m going to do some dance moves on the landing ramp, drink a few Monsters and watch the NASCAR race," Harvill said.

Posted on by Staff Report

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



1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Posted on by Staff Report

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — To commemorate the holistic effort being made to help protect and preserve the environment, NASCARu00ae announced its fifth annual NASCAR Race to Greenu2122 initiative. Beginning today and culminating with Sunday’s TOYOTA OWNERS 400 at Richmond International Raceway, the initiative will build awareness around the programs NASCAR, the industry and multiple partners have developed to help reduce its carbon footprint.

A key pillar of NASCAR Race to Green is a call-to-action for fans and the industry to donate trees that will be planted across the country as well as in areas recently devastated by natural disasters. Fans can visit NASCAR.com/green to donate trees — $1 per tree for a 2-3 foot sapling — to be planted in those areas with the support of the Arbor Day Foundation. Fans are encouraged to share their own efforts around being green by using the hashtag #NASCARGreen.

“The Race To Green initiative allows us to highlight the foundational partners that help reduce our impact on the environment all year long,” said Brent Dewar, NASCAR Chief Operating Officer. “As an example of the wide range of initiatives taking place across the industry, American Ethanol has helped us eclipse 10 million miles on Sunoco Green E15, Safety-Kleen recycles all oil and lubricants at more than 200 race events a year, and collectively as an industry more than 400,000 trees have been planted to date. We are proud to continue those efforts under the Race to Green umbrella.”

As part of this year’s initiative, NASCAR fans visiting NASCAR.com/green will be treated to a newly designed digital destination, complete with easy-to-access information, news, an interactive carbon calculator and more. NASCAR Green will debut a new TV spot today as well, featuring a newly created NASCAR Green logo.

 

NASCAR Race To Green will highlight the sustainability efforts of its teams, tracks and NASCAR Official Partners, who work closely with NASCAR, year-round. While NASCAR Green initiatives span the entire year, the following additional activities will take place throughout this week-long effort:
• In partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, NASCAR Official Partners have committed to donate trees to Tennessee residents affected by the Chimney Tops 2 Fire in November 2016. NASCAR will match the donations made by its Official Partners.

• As part of the 16th annual Comcast Cares Day, NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers will join Comcast volunteers for a Habitat for Humanity build in Johnson City, Tenn. NASCAR will donate trees for the newly built homes.

• Pocono Raceway will release a Sustainability Report that details the initiatives it has in place to be environmentally responsible, including its recycling program, solar farm and more.

• In partnership with Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR XFINITY Series driver Elliot Sadler will visit Oak Mountain Elementary School in Birmingham, Ala. to donate 750 tree saplings provided by NASCAR and the Arbor Day Foundation.

• Today, Danica Patrick will help Mobil 1 spotlight its Mobil 1TM Annual Protection, allowing drivers to go one full year — or 20,000 miles — between oil changes, with a ceremonial pour at Bristol Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Green was launched because it was the right thing to do for the country, climate and fans. Since 2008, NASCAR has taken a holistic approach across its wide-ranging effort to reduce our impact on the environment, including:
• NASCAR and the industry have planted enough trees to completely offset carbon emissions for all three national series racing for the past six years, plus the next 40 years.
• NASCAR eclipsed more than 10 million competition miles on Sunoco Green E15, demonstrating that the ethanol blended biofuel stands up to high performance racing while significantly reducing emissions.
• Safety-Kleen delivers its oil recycling and re-refining services to the track each weekend, ensuring all cleaning solvents, oil, fluids and lubricants are recaptured and incorporated into useable products.
• NASCAR also features many teams and tracks using solar power as a renewable energy source, including: Daytona International Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Sonoma Raceway, Roush Fenway Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports.
For more information about NASCAR Race to Green, visit NASCAR.com/Green.


The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season will continue with the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 23 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.