Posted on by Staff Report

The final appeal for Team Penske’s L1-level penalties will be heard Tuesday at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Roger Werner, chairman of ACCUS, will serve as the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer over the appeal. Bryan Moss is unavailable to serve in that capacity Tuesday.

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 International 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 penalty 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.

Posted on by Staff Report

Ty Dillon is going to be a father.

 

The Germain Racing driver made the announcement, along with wife Haley, Monday evening on Twitter in a series of four photos that included a hot air balloon and a dog in glasses.

 

 

Ty and Haley married in December 2014 at Childress Vineyards — owned by Ty’s grandfather, Richard Childress. Dillon, 25, drove for his grandfather in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for three full-time seasons. This is his first full-time year in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, and he drives the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet for Germain Racing.

 

Haley, who often posts videos of her culinary creations on social media, is a dancer for the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets.

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DARLINGTON, S.C. (Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016) – Betty Jane France, whose philanthropic endeavors away from the race track rivaled those of the well-known family business of NASCAR, has been chosen as the 2016 recipient of the National Motorsports Press Association’s prestigious Myers Brothers Award.
France, who passed away Aug. 29, 2016, is the mother of NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France and International Speedway Corporation CEO Lesa France Kennedy. She was the widow of former NASCAR Chairman and CEO William C. France.

While auto racing has been the cornerstone of the family profession, Betty Jane France’s reach far exceeded the boundaries of the track.

Kind and compassionate, France was the guiding force behind the formation of the NASCAR Foundation, the charitable arm of the sanctioning body that seeks to improve the lives of children most in need. She served as chairwoman of the Foundation upon its inception more than a decade ago and was later named chairwoman emeritus.

In 2011, the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award, presented by Nationwide, was established in her honor. Each year, the award recognizes outstanding charitable and volunteer efforts of NASCAR fans.

Active in her Daytona Beach community as well as abroad, France also helped establish the Speediatrics children’s care unit at Halifax Health in Daytona Beach as well as Homestead Hospital in Homestead, Fla.

The Myers Brothers Award is named in honor of former NASCAR competitors Billy and Bobby Myers. Determined by a vote of the NMPA membership, it recognizes individuals and/or groups who have provided outstanding contributions to the sport of stock car racing. It has been presented annually since 1958.

Myers Brothers Award Winners

2016, Betty Jane France; 2015, Darlington Raceway; 2014, Dale Earnhardt Jr.; 2013, Tony Stewart; 2012, Jeff Gordon; 2011, Drs. Joseph & Rose Mattioli; 2010, Jim Hunter; 2009, Barney Hall; 2008, T. Taylor Warren; 2007, Bill France Jr.;
2006, Benny Parsons; 2005, Rusty Wallace; 2004, Kyle and Patti Petty; 2003, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; 2002, Mike Helton; 2001, Dale Earnhardt; 2000, Kyle Petty; 1999, Junie Donlavey; 1998, T. Wayne Robertson; 1997, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; 1996, Rick Hendrick; 1995, TNN: The Nashville Network;
1994, Brickyard 400/Indianapolis Motor Speedway; 1993, Goody’s Manufacturing Co.; 1992, Richard and Lynda Petty; 1991, Harry Gant; 1990. Dick Beaty; 1989, Bill France Jr.; 1988 Richmond International Raceway; 1987, ESPN; 1986, Hayride 500; 1985, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; 1984, Charlotte Motor Speedway;
1983, CBS-TV; 1982, MRN; 1981, Junior Johnson; 1980, STP & Champion Spark Plug Co.; 1979, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; 1978, Busch Beer; 1977, First National City Travelers Checks; 1976, Junior Johnson; 1975, Bill France Sr.; 1974, H. Clay Earles; 1973, Wood Brothers;
1972, Winston Cigarettes; 1971, Richard Petty; 1970, Richard Howard; 1969, David Pearson; 1968, Wood Brothers; 1967, Richard Petty; 1966, Norris Friel; 1965, Ned Jarrett; 1964, Richard Petty; 1963, Marvin Panch; 1962, Hank Schoolfield; 1961, Ned Jarrett; 1960, Russ Catlin; 1959, Lee Petty; 1958, Bob Colvin.

2016 NMPA Awards winners

Here is the complete list of Thursday’s award winners from the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon:
· NMPA Myers Brothers Award: Betty Jane France
· Buddy Shuman Award: Jack Roush
· NASCAR Marketing Achievement Award: Comcast XFINITY
· Chevrolet Cross Flags Award: Tony Stewart
· American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Kevin Harvick
· Coors Light Pole Award: Carl Edwards
· Duralast Brakes “Brake in the Race” Award: Kyle Busch
· Goodyear NASCAR Series Champion Award: Jimmie Johnson
· Ingersoll Rand Power Move Award: Dave Rogers, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Crew Chief
· MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Year Award: Scott Vester, Hendrick Engines No. 4 team
· Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award: Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 team
· Mobil 1 Driver of the Year Award: Kyle Busch
· MOOG Steering & Suspension Problem Solver of the Year Award: Alan Gustafson, crew chief No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team
· Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap Award: Kyle Busch
· Sunoco Diamond Performance Award: Jimmie Johnson
· Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award: Chase Elliott
· Champion Sponsor Award: Lowe’s
· Champion Crew Chief Award: Chad Knaus
· Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award Presented by Nationwide: Andy Hoffman

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BUY TICKETS: See the races at Talladega 

TALLADEGA, Ala. — A man dangles a rubber chicken from a fishing pole in the middle of Talladega Superspeedway’s famed Talladega Boulevard, trying to tap an empty can of Bud Light without knocking it over.
“He’s been doing it all day,” another tailgater informs me with a laugh.

Fishing for nothing more than attention and a good time, the man glances at me with a toothy grin and says:

“Welcome to Talladega Boulevard.”

• • •

The Alabama temperatures are unseasonably cool and the damp air from the day’s rain mixes with the smell of campfires. Different tunes — from Luke Bryan’s “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day” to J. Dash’s “Wop” — echo from the different tailgates set up on Talladega’s most famous strip.

Friday’s dreary weather has left many in the Heart of Dixie seeking comfort indoors, but the 5:30 p.m. infield already is stirring outside for an approaching party.

Some scenes are elaborate with real bars and bar stools set up. Some are makeshift, with chairs positioned comfortably around a campfire. And some are just downright crazy, like the one centered around an old school bus with “Nuthin’ Fancy” printed in large letters on the window.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Read more about ‘Chase U’

TALLADEGA, Ala. — This crowd of college students was certainly happy to see Chase Elliott.

Standing in the outfield of Talladega Superspeedway, they cheered and yelled over the sound of booming rap music for their favorite No. 24 driver’s entrance into his Chase University tailgate appearance on Saturday afternoon. Several more asked for autographs, many photos, which Elliott obliged.

Picture college students from Alabama, Auburn, Georgia — or even Indiana, as a fan clad in a Hoosiers cap said — all together at one tailgate. 

Except they’re rooting for one team here — Elliott’s No. 24 team.

“This place is just so well-known for the party, I guess, and people coming and getting rowdy here,” Elliott told NASCAR.com on the way over to the event. “So, I think that’s probably why more than anything and then that reputation that it has attracts local college students.”

RELATED: Get the scoop on Chase’s special shoes for Talladega

Saturday’s Chase U appearance was the sixth for Elliott, who started this initiative back in October 2016 because he wanted to provide an affordable good time for college students at the race track. A $24 ticket with a valid college ID grants a student admission to the entire weekend experience, including the race and the tailgate with music, games and more. 

“I think it’s a bargain, really,” Elliott said. “There are a lot of things that come along with it for that price. From that side, the race tracks have been great and really good to work with and support that.”

While Elliott’s budding racing career keeps him from having a typical college experience, the Chase U initiative has allowed the 21-year-old to have a little taste of it at the race track.

“I have a lot of friends that are in school, so I kind of see some of the things that they do and some of the things that they’re interested in,” said Elliott, who met three of his buddies at Saturday’s tailgate. “So (I) thought it might be a cool way to invite people like that to have a good time.

“… To me, (it has been fun) to see some of the different towns that we’ve done it in, some of the different schools and surrounding cities. Just getting to see … the diversity there is fun to see and how people kind of do things different.”

RELATED: Hooters rewards fans when Elliott nabs a top-five finish

Standing up on stage in front of a rather boisterous crowd, Elliott seemed to jell just fine with the collegiate crowd. An avid Georgia Bulldogs fan, Elliott gave a playful thumbs-down to the Alabama fans when the Crimson Tide was brought up, but showed his stamp of approval when the announcer asked if there were any ‘Dawgs in the crowd.

Talladega was one of the first places the Chase U initiative was implemented last year and a track where Elliott hopes to host another at in the fall, he says. 

Because for these college students — and a young driver like Elliott — it’s all about the fun.

“I think this one here last year was probably my favorite one here at Talladega,” Elliott said. “It was a good turnout; we’re having a great time. And that’s really all I’m trying to provide is a fun time. Everybody wants to have fun. That’s why people come to races, I hope, and that’s my main goal.”

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.

RELATED: Find NBCSN in your area | See Talladega races live

All times ET

Monday, May 8
3 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lane (re-air), FS1
6 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: GEICO 500 (re-air), FS1
9:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: GEICO 500 (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: GEICO 500 (re-air), FS1

Tuesday, May 9
7 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series: Sparks Energy 300 (re-air), FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, May 10
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, May 11
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series East: South Boston Speedway Twin #1 (taped), NBCSN
8 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series East: South Boston Speedway Twin #2 (taped), NBCSN

Friday, May 12
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Weekend Edition, FS1
1:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Weekend Edition, FS1
6:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
8 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup Kansas, FS1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Toyota Tundra 250, FS1
11 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Post-Race Show, FS1

Saturday, May 13
7 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Toyota Tundra 250 (re-air), FS1
12:30 p.m., Contintental Tire SportsCar Challenge: Circuit of the Americas (taped), FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay Kansas, FS1
7:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Go Bowling 400, FS1 (Canada: TSN 1, 3, 4)
11 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Toyota Tundra 250 (re-air), FS1

Sunday, May 14
10 a.m., Contintental Tire SportsCar Challenge: Circuit of the Americas (re-air), FS1

 

 

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: FAQ for race format | Updated stage points

STAGE 2:

Denny Hamlin nabbed his first stage win of the year on Sunday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway winning Stage 2 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ GEICO 500. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 39 of 55 laps in the second stage.

Kevin Harvick placed second in Stage 2 in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Wood Brothers Racing’s Ryan Blaney was third in his No. 21 Ford, while Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was fourth. There was some contact between Blaney and Truex in the closing moments of Stage 2.

Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet completed Stage 2’s top-five finishers. 

Stage 2 had one caution, when Reed Sorenson’s No. 55 slammed into the outside fronstretch wall on Lap 110. 

The stage win earns Hamlin a playoff point for the 16-driver postseason, should he qualify for the 10-race elimination playoff. 

STAGE 1:

Brad Keselowski led 26 laps and was out in front of the pack in Sunday’s GEICO 500 when the first green-and-white checkered flag flew at Talladega Superspeedway, giving his No. 2 Team Penske Ford the Stage 1 win. This marks Keselowski’s second stage win of the season, which also hands him a playoff point as well.

Pole sitter and fellow Ford driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was second to finish the stage, followed closely by the No. 18 Toyota of Kyle Busch, in third.

Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. and Roush Fenway Racing’s Trevor Bayne completed the top five, respectively.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin intentionally dropped back at the start of the race, then pitted with three laps remaining in Stage 1 in a bout of strategic planning. His JGR teammates not among the top 10 (Matt Kenseth and Daniel Suarez) joined him on pit road, but were penalized for not making it before pit road closed.

The top 10 finishers in both Stage 1 and Stage 2 receive race points. The race winner will receive 40 points and five playoff points at the conclusion of the Final Stage.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Race results | View from No. 88 | Elliott rides along the wall

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Just when it appeared there would be no “Big One” at Talladega Superspeedway and drivers would exit the 2.66-mile monstrosity with nothing more severe than a mild case of fatigue, AJ Allmendinger made contact with Chase Elliott, Elliott made contact with the wall, Joey Logano made contact with Elliott and cars turned — over, sideways and every which way.

It was, indeed, the “Big One” at Talladega, and its toll on Sunday’s GEICO 500 field was not surprising. Officially 18 of the 40 cars that started the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race were involved to some degree. Some had dings and dents. They were the fortunate ones.

Elliott’s No. 24 Chevrolet came off the ground after being broadsided by Logano. Allmendinger’s No. 47 Chevy wound up on its roof. The three were among those running inside the top five, which made avoiding the spinning, crashing cars a bit of a challenge for those behind.

The wreck unfolded just shy of Lap 170 in a race only scheduled for 188, bringing an end to what had been a somewhat clean — if tense — afternoon of racing on NASCAR’s largest track.

Nine of the 18 cars went to the garage, not to be seen again.

Elliott and Allmendinger chatted after each was evaluated and released from the track’s infield care center.

“He just apologized,” Elliott said. “I don’t know that it was really his fault, per se. He had a big run and he kind of got to my bumper and just happened to be in a bad spot coming up off the corner, skewed a little bit to my left rear.

“And when that happens, it just unloads these cars too much.”

The Hendrick Motorsports driver, still seeking his first career victory, finished 30th.

MORE: Danica involved as well with a hard hit | Wildest ‘Dega wrecks

Allmendinger remained buckled in his overturned JTG Daugherty entry while rescue workers righted the vehicle.

“I’m fine … happy I didn’t get hit upside down,” he said. “It’s just Talladega. It’s all it is. … The No. 18 (Kyle Busch) and No. 24 of Chase, they were kind of moving around and at the time I think (Kevin) Harvick got behind me and we were shoving.”

Elliott “opened the door,” said Allmendinger, who was credited with a 31st-place finish, “and then kind of closed it and I tried to check up a little bit and tapped him, and when I checked up it was a big wreck after that.”

As for Logano, twice a winner in the fall race here, the view out the windshield of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was a disturbing one.

“I saw Chase tank-slapping it down the backstretch,” Logano said. “I was hoping he’d turn to the left when he started spinning, but he went up the race track and I was just sitting there in the outside lane saying, ‘Oh, I’m going to be the first one there and I can’t get away from him.’ ”

Logano finished 32nd, with he and most of the others involved officially making it to Lap 168 but no more.

“That’s kind of a bummer,” he said. “It’s part of it and part of superspeedway racing. Sometimes you win these things and sometimes you get caught up in them.”

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Race results | Series standings | Detailed breakdown

SHOP: Buy winner’s gear

TALLADEGA, Ala. — There’s no longer a goose egg in the win column next to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s name.

With a last-lap pass in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Stenhouse collected his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in his 158th start and delivered the first win for Roush Fenway Racing since Carl Edwards triumphed at Sonoma in June 2014.

“This is for all the guys at the shop — we’ve been terrible for a long time,” an exuberant Stenhouse said of the Roush renaissance. “This year, every race, we’re just getting better and better. We knew Talladega was a good race track for us. It’s been a good one in the past.

“This Fifth Third Ford was so fast today. Qualifying on the pole, got the win. Can’t say enough about the guys. It’s cool to get Jack Roush back in Victory Lane. This is cool. The closest track to my hometown (Olive Branch, Mississippi). Man, this is cool.”

Racing side-by-side with leader Kyle Busch on the restart lap after Ryan Newman’s wreck on the backstretch sent the race to overtime, Stenhouse, the polesitter, trailed by the smallest sliver of a second at the stripe but got a strong push from Jimmie Johnson and cleared Busch off Turn 2 on the final circuit.

As Jamie McMurray charged up the middle to take second place from Busch, Stenhouse held the top spot through the final two corners and the tri-oval to beat McMurray to the checkered flag by .095 seconds. Busch, in third place, trailed McMurray at the stripe by a mere .004 seconds.

Stenhouse led the first 13 laps of the race and didn’t lead again until the final lap in overtime. Busch led a race-high 48 laps, including 39 straight before Stenhouse made the winning move.

“Stenhouse got a really good run and a good push and got by us there, and then it was just about retaliation to get back on him, and I just never had enough help from behind and just never got it together,” Busch said.

“I just can’t say enough about this Skittles American Mix Camry — it was really fast. The guys at Joe Gibbs Racing did a great job and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) with everyone on this motor, it was awesome. We did all we could here today, and it’s all circumstantial on how you win these things.”

The most dramatic circumstance on Sunday occurred on the backstretch on Lap 169 of a scheduled 188.

MORE: “Big One” includes Chase Elliott, more

As the tension began to build in the closing laps, a massive wreck damaged 18 of the 38 cars still running at the time. After a tap from the No. 47 Chevrolet of AJ Allmendinger, the No. 24 Chevy of Chase Elliott turned sideways across traffic on the backstretch.

The nose of Allmendinger’s car launched Elliott’s into the air, and his car landed on the hood of Joey Logano’s Ford. Among the contending cars also damaged in the wreck were those of Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth, Trevor Bayne and Erik Jones.

After a stoppage of 26 minutes, 51 seconds to clean up the wreckage, Kyle Busch led the field to green on Lap 174 with JGR teammate Denny Hamlin beside him and Earnhardt running third.
MORE: Keselowski, Hamlin top Stages
Earnhardt quickly fell off the pace because of a loose left rear wheel and drove slowly back to pit road, losing a lap in the process. But when Landon Cassill lost power and stalled near the inside wall short of pit road on Lap 179, NASCAR called the seventh caution, and Earnhardt had his lap back as the “lucky dog.”

But Earnhardt was mired in traffic after the restart and could make up no ground after the caution that forced the overtime. He finished 22nd in his final spring race at NASCAR’s largest oval track.

Aric Almirola, who won Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race, capped an excellent weekend with a fourth-place finish on Sunday. Kasey Kahne ran fifth, followed by Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch and Keselowski, who recovered from the “Big One” to secure seventh place.

Notes: Stenhouse is the 11th first-time winner at Talladega … Kyle Larson cut a tire and scraped the Turn 1 wall on Lap 17, but he soldiered on to a 12th-place finish and extended his series lead to 54 points over Truex, who was eliminated in the Lap 169 wreck … McMurray climbed to fifth in the series standings in what is rapidly becoming a banner year for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Race results

 

The Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford driven by Aric Almirola to a fourth-place finish in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway failed post-race inspection, according to NASCAR officials.

 

Competition officials revealed Sunday evening that the No. 43 was not in compliance after its post-race pass through the Laser Inspection System (LIS). Such an infraction may result in a points penalty and a possible suspension for crew chief Drew Blickensderfer under the NASCAR deterrence system.

 

Almirola’s fourth-place finish matched a season-best for the No. 43 team, which notched its other top-five effort in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500.

 

Post-race inspection also revealed one missing lug nut on the Tommy Baldwin Racing No. 7 Chevrolet, driven by Elliott Sadler to 17th place on Sunday. The infraction is likely to merit a $10,000 fine for crew chief Ken Davis, according to the deterrence policy.

 

The cars of the top three finishers are all scheduled for further inspection this week at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina:

 

— The Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford of race winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

— The Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 Chevrolet of runner-up Jamie McMurray

— The Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota of third-place Kyle Busch