School is in session at Iowa with Sam Hornish Jr. teaching the lessons

Posted on June 23, 2017 by RJ Kraft

NEWTON, Iowa – Four days ago, Sam Hornish Jr. was teaching Vacation Bible School. On Saturday, he hopes to school the NASCAR XFINITY Series field at Iowa Speedway in the American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Hornish will make his first NASCAR national series start of 2017 at a track where he has two wins and is the defending race winner. He’s making the start in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, which is the car atop the owner standings in the XFINITY Series. While he has been out of the car, Hornish has been keeping himself busy with his family — his wife and three kids road tripped with him from Ohio to Iowa for this weekend’s race.

“Whenever anybody asks me what I’ve been up to especially when I’m around home, I say, ‘If I told you, you probably wouldn’t think it takes up that much time, but I never seem to have a free second,'” Hornish said Friday at Iowa.

“It’s just been a lot of fun to be able to spend time with my kids and make some memories with them,” he continued. “I know without putting the time in with them now, I won’t have that opportunity somewhere down the line because they are constantly changing, learning new things and growing up a little more each day.”

Last week, Team Penske announced that Hornish will drive for the team in both Iowa races as well as at Mid-Ohio, near Hornish’s home in Defiance, Ohio.

“We talked all the way back in December about it,” Hornish said of returning to the Team Penske fold, an organization for which he drove in both NASCAR and IndyCar from 2004 to 2013. “Kind of went back and forth — not so much back and forth on whether we were going to do it but what races it might be and things like that. Hopefully, this is just the first of some things to come.”

The 37-year-old (who turns 38 on July 2) has been selective in his rides in recent years. Outside of a full time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season with Richard Petty Motorsports in 2015, Hornish has run partial schedules in the XFINITY Series for Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing — and now Penske.

“I want to give myself the opportunity that if I’m in the race car, to be in stuff that can at least run in the top 10,” Hornish explained. “I wouldn’t say I was really selective this year. This was an opportunity that presented itself with a team and a bunch of people that I know, as well as the team owners all the way down to the crew chief. …

“I know that at 37, I might be a little bit past that age of getting a full-time Cup ride to compete in the playoffs.”

History says that big things could happen for Hornish at Iowa. Last June, he hopped in the seat of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for a sidelined Matt Tifft and piloted the car to Victory Lane – leading 183 of the 250 laps. On top of that, Penske has three wins here, as well.

“Iowa is a special place for me. … We always tend to run pretty good here,” Hornish said. “I like this track. I like tracks that have character and are little bit bumpier. Being a short track fits in my wheelhouse. I’m pumped up for the opportunity and for what tomorrow brings.”

One thing that Hornish has yet to experience firsthand is stage racing. Introduced this year, stage racing breaks up the race into three stages – Saturday’s race will see the first two stages last 60 laps each, with the last segment scheduled for 130 laps. Hornish said he likes the added element that stage racing brings to the table but admitted he may be in for a little learning curve.

RELATED: Stage lengths for Iowa

“In the past, how it plays out here, is you generally get some short runs, some long runs,” Hornish said. “But knowing when the stages end, when they are going to play out, that definitely changes some things. That probably allows some guys who are in the third-, fourth-range to be able to take advantage of times when there is a yellow. There’s just a lot of little intricacies to be able to figure out with that. …

“I feel like that is going to be a big thing for me to manage. The good thing is I’ve got a crew that has done very well with it so far this year, as far as how to gain those stage points but also put yourself in position to win the race. That’s what we are here for ultimately is to get the trophy at the end of it.”

Posted on June 23, 2017June 24, 2017 by Staff Report

Kyle Larson zoomed to the top of the leaderboard in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Sonoma Raceway on Friday.

Larson, the series points leader, pushed the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet to a best lap of 94.389 mph in the 90-minute final session, which was extended five minutes because of an early lengthy red flag. The practice was marked by significant crashes for Chase Elliott and Erik Jones, who will compete in their back-up cars the rest of the weekend.

VIDEO: Elliott wreck | Jones hits tire barrier

Kyle Busch posted the second-fastest lap around the 1.99-mile road course at 94.344 mph in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota. Dale Earnhardt Jr., AJ Allmendinger and Jamie McMurray finished out the top five in final prep for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM).

The final session had an eventful start. Cole Whitt spun in Turn 2 in the opening five minutes, sliding off course when his TriStar Motorsports No. 72 Chevrolet leaked fluid from a broken oil cooler. Moments later, Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Jones skidded into the tire barrier in Turn 11, prompting his Furniture Row Racing team to unload its reserve No. 77 Toyota.

“I just got some wheel-hop, got loose and into the fence,” said Jones, set for his first Sonoma start this weekend. “I’ve been frustrated all day, and this just kind of compounds that.”

With just under 15 minutes remaining in the session, Elliott lost control of his Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet in Turn 10. Elliott’s car looped and made heavy front-end contact with the retaining wall, further damaging the vehicle as it pivoted off the barrier.

“Just made a mistake. It was really my fault,” Elliott said. “I hate it for my teammates on the No. 24 team. They sure don’t deserve it. They worked hard this past week to get this car ready to come out here a long way from home. So, made a mistake and we shouldn’t be having that.”

Alon Day was the fastest of the five drivers making their first Monster Energy Series start this weekend. Day, who will become the first Israeli-born driver to compete in NASCAR’s top division, was 23rd-fastest in the BK Racing No. 23 Toyota.

Billy Johnson, subbing for the injured Aric Almirola in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford, was 29th-fastest on the board. Josh Bilicki (36th), Kevin O’Connell (37th) and Tommy Regan (38th) rounded out the final-practice efforts by series newcomers.

Coors Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled Saturday at 2:45 p.m. ET (FS1).

Truex atop the heap in first practice

Martin Truex Jr. set the fastest lap in opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice Friday at Sonoma Raceway.

Truex turned a lap of 94.587 mph in the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota on the 1.99-mile road course. The 1-hour, 55-minute session was the first on-track preparation for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM), the first of two road races for the series this year.

Denny Hamlin pushed the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota to the second-fastest lap at 94.068 mph. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr. completed the top five, respectively.

Series points leader Kyle Larson, last week’s winner in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet, registered the 14th-fastest lap at 93.118 mph.

Five drivers are set for their Monster Energy Series debuts this weekend. Billy Johnson, this week’s fill-in for Aric Almirola in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford, was the fastest of the quintet, recovering from an early spin to post the 22nd-fastest time.

Alon Day, a product of the NASCAR Next youth initiative, was 31st-fastest in the BK Racing No. 23 Toyota. He is set to become the first Israeli-born driver in a NASCAR premier series event.

Other series newcomers Josh Bilicki (36th), Kevin O’Connell (37th) and Tommy Regan (38th) completed the bottom of the speed chart.

There were no major incidents in the nearly two-hour practice, but several drivers continued after relatively harmless solo spins or off-course excursions. Among those were Chase Elliott, and Ty and Austin Dillon.

Matt Kenseth’s practice was cut short when his No. 20 Toyota suffered mechanical failure entering Turn 7 in the latter stages of opening practice. Kenseth limped back to the garage for his Joe Gibbs Racing crew to investigate, discovering what FS1 reported as a broken oil pump belt.

Three teams were docked 15 minutes of practice time because of multiple pre-race inspection failures during last weekend’s event at Michigan International Speedway: The Germain Racing No. 13 Chevrolet of Ty Dillon, the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Ford of Kurt Busch, and the Furniture Row Racing No. 77 Toyota of Erik Jones.

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Staff Report

The Associated Press reported Friday that a laptop belonging to Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Chad Knaus was stolen from his rental car ahead of this weekend’s NASCAR event at Sonoma Raceway.

Knaus has been atop the pit box for the No. 48 Chevrolet driven by seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson since 2002. The AP reported that race notes — which are encrypted — for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM) were on the computer. Knaus told the AP other members of the team had similar-type notes.

Knaus and his wife were dining in San Francisco when the theft occurred, according to the report. After parking near the popular Fisherman’s Wharf tourist area, the couple returned from dinner to find a window smashed on their rental SUV and their briefcases stolen.

Knaus said the luggage remained untouched, but the thieves took two laptops, a significant amount of cash and his wife’s art supplies. “If anybody in the garage just randomly takes up water colors, we’ll know who it was,” Knaus told the AP.

Posted on June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 by Staff Report

Team Penske crew chief Paul Wolfe and his wife, Aleah, welcomed their second child to the world Friday, with the team announcing the birth of a daughter, Halle Lane.

Congratulations to Paul Wolfe and his wife Aleah on the birth of their daughter, Halle Lane. Mom and daughter are doing great

— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) June 23, 2017

A team spokesperson said Wolfe, who oversees the Roger Penske-owned No. 2 Ford driven by Brad Keselowski, will not attend this weekend’s race at Sonoma Raceway. Brian Wilson will serve as interim crew chief for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM). Wilson is the former race engineer of the No. 2 car and the current Team Penske XFINITY Series Competition Director.

Wolfe, 40, also missed a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event in March 2014 for the birth of his son, Caden Paul. Team Penske reported Friday afternoon that both mother and daughter were doing well after the delivery.

Wolfe was suspended for three races this season because of an L1-grade penalty found in post-race inspection at Phoenix Raceway in March. Wilson served as interim crew chief during those events, guiding Keselowski to a pair of runner-up finishes (Auto Club, Kansas) in Wolfe’s place.

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Zack Albert

RELATED: Most memorable Sonoma moments

AJ Allmendinger’s road-racing background would seem to give him a leg up heading into this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event at Sonoma Raceway. His recent qualifying efforts say so; his recent race results, not as much.

Allmendinger enters the race weekend at the 1.99-mile road course with a considerable chance to prevail in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM). His only victory in NASCAR’s premier series came at the tour’s other permanent road-racing layout, Watkins Glen International, in 2014.

Allmendinger has started on the front row and led laps in each of the last three Sonoma races. Though speed has been abundant, the results haven’t shown as much. A late spin in 2014 left him 37th. He matched that finish the following season because of a mechanical issue. And Allmendinger mustered just a 14th-place performance last year after a late-race penalty on pit road.

So though he figures in as a pre-race favorite, the 35-year-old veteran is taking an introspective approach toward converting a regular-season win at Sonoma into a playoff berth.

“All you can do is just go do your best. That’s all I can do, and that’s all the team can do,” Allmendinger said last weekend in a roundtable with reporters at Michigan International Speedway. “I know on the outside world, people are like, ‘this is your best chance.’ Maybe it is, maybe it’s not. Maybe Martinsville is our best chance, I don’t know. Just do your best every weekend and if that gives you a chance to go win a race and you’re in Victory Lane, great. If you finish 20th and that’s all you have, then that is what it is.”

Sonoma presents an opportunity for a bright spot in a season of transition for Allmendinger’s JTG Daugherty Racing team. The organization expanded to two cars this season, bringing in Chris Buescher as a teammate, but Allmendinger attributes the operation’s recent woes to its slow adaptation to the current rules package and not because it has spread itself thin.

Still, since a third-place run in the season-opening Daytona 500, Allmendinger has just one other top-10 finish (a sixth at Martinsville in April). After four straight results of 30th or worse, JTG Daugherty made a change at crew chief for the No. 47 Chevrolet team in early May, moving Ernie Cope over from his competition director’s role to replace Randall Burnett.

The gains have been modest in the four races since the personnel shift, but Allmendinger still sits 26th in the series standings — one spot behind his teammate Buescher — with 15 races complete in what’s been a character-builder of a season thus far.

“The chemistry in our race team has been really good, and in the time of struggle, that’s when you really see what you’re made of as a race team,” Allmendinger said. “Do you start falling apart at the seams and everybody starts fighting with each other, or do you stick together and go out there and work harder and make things better? I feel like we’ve slowly been getting there.

“We’re by no means anywhere close to where we want to be, but over the last few weeks working together, everybody’s really pitched in and worked hard. We’re slowly learning.”

Drivers and crew chiefs alike will have to be quick learners this weekend as the stage racing format introduced this season makes its debut at a road course. The first stage is set to end at Lap 25, the second at Lap 50, with the overall finish set for Lap 110.

The early intermissions may remove some of the guesswork for teams at a track where fuel and pit-stop strategy often makes the difference between winning or losing. Allmendinger suggested it may not be as straightforward as it might appear.

“You know you’ve got to run and get through those stages and then the last stage, you’ll probably just break it up into two 30-lap runs,” Allmendinger said. “That might make it a little easier, but that said, typically a caution falls at the right or wrong time for whoever’s hoping for it or not hoping for it, so you’ve always got to play that as a factor as well. I feel like if you get that late-race caution, that breeds more cautions, so it’s always a challenge.”

Posted on June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 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. Joey Logano ($9,000) – At JGR, Logano was terrible at road courses. When he joined Penske, they told him the secret. He’s finished 11th or better in seven of eight road races with Penske. In his last five road races, he’s finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th. (3.8 fppk)

2. Kyle Busch ($10,200) – In 2015, Rowdy earned his first win at Sonoma after returning from injury. He went on to win the championship that season. Kyle Busch is good at intermediate tracks, shorts tracks and he’s good on the road. He has 14 top 10s at road courses. (5.3 fppk)

3. AJ Allmendinger ($9,500) – Misfortune has kept the best road racer in NASCAR out of Victory Lane. Allmendinger does not need a lucky break; an uneventful race would likely mean a win. In four of the last six road course races, Allmendinger has led over 20 laps in each race. (3.7 fppk)

4. Clint Bowyer ($9,400) – Sonoma is one of Bowyer’s best tracks. He has eight top-10s in 11 races at Sonoma (six top-5s). Last season in an underfunded HScott Motorsports car, Bowyer looked fast all weekend until an electrical fire ruined his race. He’ll have a fast car on Sunday. (3.7 fppk)

5. Martin Truex, Jr. ($10,300) – Is Truex human at the road courses? Not really. He’s not the same terrifying monster as he is at the ovals, but he’s fast. He won at Sonoma in his Michael Waltrip Racing days, and he finished 5th and 7th at the road courses last season. (6.9 fppk)

6. Kyle Larson ($9,300) – It may have taken longer than fans expected, but Larson is the face of NASCAR. Actually, he’s the face of North American racing. Larson has raced better than his Sonoma finishes indicate. Don’t be surprised if he reverses that trend this weekend. (6.4 fppk)

7. Kevin Harvick ($9,900) – In the last two Sonoma races, Harvick has two top-10s. In his 16 career races at the track, the California native has zero wins. Harvick is running in the K&N Pro Series West race on Saturday. He may learn something in this lower series race that propels himself to victory in the Cup race. (4.5 fppk)

8. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ($8,100) – Over the last couple of years, Earnhardt Jr. has improved as a road racer with finishes of 11th or better in his last five road course races. Before you lock in Junior, remember his shifting issues at Pocono. There will be a lot of shifting this weekend. (2.4 fppk)

9. Kurt Busch ($9,800) – The Busch brothers can run a road course. In the last 20 road races, Kurt has 15 top 15 finishes. He hasn’t finished outside of the top 15 at a road course in four years. He led almost half of the 2015 Sonoma race. (2.9 fppk)

10. Kasey Kahne ($8,000) – Sonoma is a Kahne track. He has a top-10 finish in a Dodge, a Ford and a Chevrolet. He’s riding a four-race top-10 streak at Sonoma, and a couple of those top-10s were when the No. 5 car was average. (3.6 fppk)

11. Denny Hamlin ($8,900) – Last year, Hamlin should have swept the road races, but he made a mistake on the very last turn at Sonoma. Before 2016, he was not good at road courses. He went 12 races without a top-10 and a lot of those finishes were in the 30s. Maybe he’s figured it out. (3.6 fppk)

12. Jimmie Johnson ($9,600) – His Sonoma stats will not blow you away; they’re good, just not Jimmie Johnson good. Track history aside, he looks like he can win any weekend this year. His three wins this year are the most in NASCAR. (4.7 fppk)

13. Brad Keselowski ($8,600) – Just because a track fits into a category doesn’t mean that it’s similar to the other tracks in that category. Sonoma and Watkins Glen are different. Keselowski’s stats will support that claim. BK has four top-five finishes at Watkins Glen, and one top-10 at Sonoma. (4.5 fppk)

14. Chase Elliott ($8,300) – This is only Chase Elliott’s second trip to Sonoma. Last year, he raced in the K&N Series race at Sonoma to gain experience. He won that race but earned a disappointing 21st place finish in the Monster Energy Series race. (4.1 fppk)

15. Ryan Newman ($7,900) – Someday Ryan Newman will retire, and I will no longer have to write about his consistency. Newman is a living, breathing mathematical proof. His stability is a fact that would hold up in court. Death, taxes and Newman around 15th, even at Sonoma. (3.6 fppk)

16. Paul Menard ($7,400) – There are a couple tracks where Menard stands outs, and Sonoma is one of those tracks. Since joining RCR, Menard has six consecutive top-20 finishes at Sonoma (average finish of 14th). (3.2 fppk)

17. Ryan Blaney ($7,300) – From all-time highs to all-time lows, Blaney followed his win at Pocono with a wreck at Michigan. He ran middle of the pack at Sonoma last year, so he’s entered the K&N Pro Series West race on Saturday for a quick tune-up. (2.9 fppk)

18. Jamie McMurray ($8,500) – The Chip Ganassi cars are as fast as they’ve ever been. McMurray’s numbers at Sonoma are similar to his sure and steady stats everywhere else. He may not be a contender, but a top-10 is within his aim. (3.7 fppk)

19. Danica Patrick ($5,800) – You would expect more from her at road courses with her IndyCar background. You would also expect a much higher price. Her average finish in eight road-course races is 21st. (2.6 fppk)

20. Matt Kenseth ($7,500) – You will see this stat several times this weekend. Matt Kenseth has one top-10 at Sonoma in his career (17 races). Why is he ranked? Sometimes a light bulb goes on. Look at Hamlin, Earnhardt, Jr. and Logano’s stats. (3.1 fppk)

Posted on June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 by Staff Report

Welcome to Sonoma Raceway, where the course is long and the turns are right. Sunday’s race (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the first of two road course for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series this year.

To get ready, read on for a full track printout and five interesting facts about Sonoma.

• The track length is 1.99 miles, and the road course itself features more than 160 feet of elevation change from the highest point (Turn 3a, 174 feet) to the lowest. (Turn 10, 14 feet).

• Drivers who complete Sunday’s Monster Energy Series race will make 1,100 turns around the road course. The race is scheduled for 110 laps.

• Nearly 4,000 sheep, housed at the raceway, provide, uh, natural land care and help maintain the facility’s grasses and fire lanes. So, yeah, animal lawnmowers.

• The NASCAR configuration of the Sonoma Raceway road course is lined with 1,000 tire packs made up of 25,000 tires, 90,000 screws, 90,000 clips and 180,000 washers.

• One of the more unique Victory Lane settings in the sport, winners in Sonoma celebrate with a sip from the Champion’s Goblet in the Wine Country Winner’s Circle. The goblet, which is handcrafted by a local glass blower from Sonoma, was introduced in 2006 and incorporates the raceway’s rich wine country heritage.

Posted on June 22, 2017June 24, 2017 by Holly Cain

Judging by their reactions – the cheers and tears, the fist pumps and high fives – you’d think all of Tony Stewart’s parents, friends and teammates standing in his pit stall were watching the wily veteran win his very first NASCAR race.

As it turns out, Stewart’s absolutely thrilling last-lap victory on the beautiful Sonoma road course last June was actually his final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win – No. 49 in a three-championship career that concluded at the end of the 2016 season.

As the series returns to the scenic California wine country this weekend for the 2017 Sonoma race, Stewart, 46, readily admits it will forever be a venue close to his heart.

“It’s definitely a place I liked anyway, but anytime I have a chance to go out there it’s going to remind me of my last win out there,” Stewart told NASCAR.com. “Sonoma will always be a special place to me because of that.”

In fact, Stewart would likely concede, if last offseason he and his fans were imagining the setting for his final Cup victory, they might think about him hoisting a big trophy in the sport’s iconic Daytona 500 victory circle or maybe doing donuts after a win at the Southern 500 in Darlington.

Perhaps that last win in his sure-bet NASCAR Hall of Fame career might have come at a short track like Richmond International Raceway, where Stewart claimed his first premier series victory, or even at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the former open-wheel marvel instead won twice at the track driving a stock car.

RELATED: See how Stewart won at Sonoma

But that career exclamation point instead came on the Northern California road course where a year ago, Stewart put on a thrilling show in the waning laps besting Denny Hamlin in a last-corner, last-lap pass for the win.

“I definitely would not have predicted that,” Stewart said. “We’ve had a lot of success on road courses, but I wouldn’t have said that’s where my last win would have come for sure.”

At the time, Stewart was hopeful the emotional, hard-fought and crazy popular win at Sonoma would not be his last, either.

“I really wanted one more, I wanted a nice round number of 50,” Stewart said with a laugh. “But to finish my career with a win was good because I hadn’t had one the previous (three) seasons. So that was cool.

“And it was a big deal to me to get that win like that. You’d like to have won the Daytona 500 or win the Southern 500 but a road course like that, a place that I like so much. That was pretty special.”

It was exceptional.

Stewart and Hamlin raced the last laps in an epic battle for the win. Although Stewart was credited for leading the final 22 laps, the hard-charging Hamlin got around him in Turn 7 of the final lap but then wheel-hopped on the 12th and very last turn giving Stewart all the opportunity he needed to pass him back. And race off to take the checkered flag. His final one.

That momentous last turn – appropriately enough – was located almost directly in front of Stewart’s pit, which erupted in cheers and hugs as Stewart’s No. 14 charged ahead to the finish line.

“I had two laps on my tires when those guys all came out on stickers and the best laps were the first two laps run,” Stewart recalled. “That was what we needed to get ourselves in position to do what we did.

“But, to battle those guys like we did and especially at the end there with Denny … we both didn’t run a very good last lap. We both wheel-hopped and everything else but you could tell both of us were doing everything we could do to win the race. You never forget battles like that. I will never forget that because of how special that win ended up being. Those are the moments you always look forward to having.”

Hamlin, who is Stewart’s longtime friend and former teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, conceded that while he was disappointed in the outcome, he does appreciate his role fighting Stewart to the last turn for what became a Hall of Famer’s final victory. He recalled the details of that day as well — smiling a little and shaking his head.

“It was a great moment for Tony, semi-great moment for me because I got to race him like that for his final win,” Hamlin said. “That is a small consolation prize for sure, though. It was (a great race). You always like to be on the winning end, but I think about it all the time.

“You talk about my win in (2016) Daytona (500) and there was someone else on the other side of that photo finish. Now I kind of understand what Martin Truex felt like. He’s seen that picture a thousand times and he gets asked about it all the time.

“It’s the same thing for me. I was the one that came up short to Tony.”

Hamlin can take some solace in the fact Stewart will go down as one of NASCAR’s best road course racers. He’s beaten the best, capping his career as a three-time winner at Sonoma and a five-time winner at Watkins Glen, too. Only Jeff Gordon has more total wins (nine to Stewart’s eight) on NASCAR’s current two road course circuits.

And it was easy to tell in Stewart’s winner’s press conference last summer how special it really was to gulp some victory wine and hoist a winner’s trophy again.

“I got the flag at the flag stand, and I thought, well, I’ll turn and come back down pit road backwards,” Stewart explained last summer. “And then I was like, this is my last time here. I want to go one more lap, and I went one more lap. I didn’t just drive the lap, I drove up there and where the crowd was, I did burnouts and revved the motor onto the chip.

“But it just was fun to say, ‘Hey, thanks.’ This place has meant a lot to me. It’s nice to ‑‑ if I don’t win another one, it’s cool to win the last one here. If it doesn’t happen again, it’s cool. I’ll be all right if this is the last place I win one.”

And so it was.

“Smoke,” as he is affectionately nicknamed, may still “win another” in Northern California. He will be racing sprint cars at nearby Calistoga Speedway on Saturday night before driving over for his big Sonoma homecoming.

“It’s been great,” Stewart said of the “retired” life. “It’s nice because I still go to the track and still see all the people and that’s the best part. But if I get in there after practice has started, I’m not in trouble. I’m not worrying about anything. It’s nice to just have a little more relaxed schedule.

“And I’m really looking forward to being there in Sonoma again.”

Posted on June 22, 2017June 22, 2017 by Kelly Crandall

Chip Ganassi says his organization is “going to look the same” next year as Silly Season rumors swirl around the NASCAR garage.

The statement came Thursday morning when Ganassi was asked on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Tradin’ Paint about how confident he was for 2018 when it came to his current stable of drivers, crew chiefs and sponsors.

Coming off his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win at Michigan, series points leader Kyle Larson, 24, is an elite driver drawing plenty of commentary on his future. Larson has three career wins and is locked into the playoffs for the second straight year.

Ganassi could have both of his drivers among the championship contenders. Not to be overlooked by his teammate, Jamie McMurray has quietly been putting together one of his best seasons. After compiling 12 top-10 finishes in 2016, McMurray has already knocked down nine top 10s through the first portion of 2017. He sits seventh in the point standings.

With how well the organization has been running, it’s only natural to shift its overall expectations. The bar is now much higher and Ganassi could be as close as ever to breaking through – either with Larson or McMurray – for his first NASCAR championship.

“We’ve always had high expectations,” Ganassi said of how the mindset has changed since beginning of the year. “The nice thing is, dare I say, we won some races in the past, obviously, but I think at times we didn’t know why we won or how we won or what contributed to that win.”

Ganassi credited Max Jones for helping in that department. Jones is the managing director of Chip Ganassi Racing’s NASCAR operation.

“It’s one brick at a time how you build these teams and when you’re having the kind of year we had, before we certainly didn’t know how we got there,” Ganassi continued. “So, I think the team is in a position now where we’re making solid steps, we know where we came from so if we have to we can go back to that point, and we have a little better book, if you will, of knowledge. We have a little stronger book of knowledge behind us, so if we get off too far out in left field there we can come back to a pretty good point.

“I think thats the big difference. Not so much winning but to become a championship contending team, you have to know where you came from and how to get back to there if you get off course quickly. You can quickly get back to the starting point.”

Posted on June 22, 2017June 22, 2017 by Staff Report

Stage lengths for the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July have been tweaked slightly.

Minor updates to the XFINITY Series race package for the summer race at the flat 2.5-mile oval are expected to alter the length of a fuel run; to compensate, the new stages for the Lilly Diabetes 250 (July 22, 3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be as follows: Stage 1 ends following Lap 30, Stage 2 ends following Lap 60 and the race is scheduled to end following Lap 100.

The previous format was 25-50-100.

“Following the previously announced updates to the competition package for the NASCAR XFINITY Series event at Indianapolis, NASCAR will issue a rulebook bulletin that updates the stage lengths for the race,” Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, said in a statement. “As we have with every race, we worked with teams on expected fuel and tire runs for the event, and have determined that stages ending on Lap 30, Lap 60 and Lap 100 will provide the best race for fans.”