Posted on by Team Release

RELATED: DiBenedetto’s career stats

Go Fas Racing is proud to announce that Matt DiBenedetto and Gene Nead have agreed to a contract extension keeping them both with the No.32 team throughout the 2018 season. The pair has brought significant improvements to the Go Fas team this season, improving approximately seven spots on average in both qualifying and race finishes. With the ability to improve even further and build their program throughout the offseason, the team expects to keep climbing up the standings.

2018 will be Matt DiBenedetto’s fourth season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, while veteran crew chief Gene Nead has been a crew chief in NASCAR for over twenty years. Both DiBenedetto and Nead came over to Go Fas for the first time in 2017, after working together at BK Racing the prior two seasons. DiBenedetto credits Nead with helping him transition into the Cup Series in 2015, and feels that 2018 can only bring more opportunity for improvement, especially if the team is able to continue to bring in great sponsors.

“I couldn’t be happier to sign this deal with Go Fas and the St. Hilaire family,” DiBenedetto said. “Being involved in this family operation has been so much fun and we get a lot of pride out of improving their program together. Everything that they said they were going to do to our program, they did. It’s great to work with people who say they want to improve and do just that. Working with Gene for another season, and especially over the offseason, will allow us to rebuild some of our cars, get ahead on the 2018 season, and really make the most out of our team.

“Gene is one of the most intelligent guys in the garage area and is respected industry-wide. He knows how to make our cars faster with just about any budget. We already have great partners on board, and hopefully we can continue to add even more to show just how good we really can be.”

“I’m really happy to have Matt and Gene back next season! We have improved overall by seven spots from last year and we’re looking forward to picking up a couple more spots before the end of this season. Hopefully we’ll be working our way into the top-25 in 2018 with more help from existing and new sponsorship,” Archie St. Hilaire said. “All of the guys at Go Fas have worked their butts off this year at the shop and on the road and it’s really showing. We appreciate all the hard work they’ve put in this year.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Final practice results | Best 10-lap times at Michigan 

Pole-sitter Brad Keselowski continued to showcase speed in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford, as he topped the leaderboard at 200.865 mph in Saturday’s final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Michigan International Speedway.

Series points leader Martin Truex Jr. came up second, his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota recording a top speed of 200.172 mph. Team Penske’s Joey Logano was third-fastest (199.734 mph) in his No. 22 Ford, while Wood Brothers Racing’s Ryan Blaney ranked fourth on the speed charts with a fast lap of 199.673 mph in his No. 21 Ford. A 199.529 mph-lap from Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota rounded out the top five.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., making his final start at Michigan in full-time premier series competition, finished the session sixth-fastest with a top speed of 199.463 mph in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Kevin Harvick (late to pre-qualifying, pre-race inspection at Watkins Glen), as well as Jimmie Johnson, Reed Sorenson and Erik Jones (failing pre-qualifying inspection at Michigan twice) all served 15-minute practice holds in this practice.

Midway through the final session, Johnson slid upward and made hard contact with the wall, sustaining heavy damage on the right side of his No. 48 Chevrolet. The team will go to a backup car and will start at the rear of the field.

“Just lost it on corner entry getting into Turn 1,” Johnson said. “The first lap at speed and the thing just rotated around. The effort level is high and you’ve got to run in there committed.  I did so and unfortunately the rear grip just wasn’t there in the car and around it came.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne brushed the wall as well during the 50-minute session. After evaluating the damage, the No. 5 team also elected to bring out the backup car for Kahne.

The Monster Energy Series is back on track on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET for the Pure Michigan 400 (NBCSN).

Larson sets pace in Saturday’s early practice

RELATED: Full Practice 2 results

Kyle Larson turned the fastest lap in Saturday’s opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Michigan International Speedway, piloting his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet at 202.532 mph. Larson will roll off the grid ninth in Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Polesitter Brad Keselowski was second-fastest, wheeling his No. 2 Team Penske Ford at 202.332 mph. The Michigan native has yet to win a Monster Energy Series event at his home track.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson ranked third on the speed charts, clocking a fast lap of 202.310 mph in his No. 48 Chevrolet. Friday’s opening practice leader Ryan Blaney was next in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford (202.003 mph) and Chase Elliott completed the top five in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (201.884 mph).

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points leader Christopher Bell took his first laps in a Monster Energy Series car during the opening session, running 20 laps in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Bell is on standby for Denny Hamlin, whose longtime girlfriend Jordan Fish is past her due date with the couple’s second child.

RELATED: Bell on standby for Hamlin

Hamlin was 15th on the leaderboard when he ceded the seat to Bell with approximately 20 minutes remaining in practice.

Three drivers — Derrike Cope, Landon Cassill and AJ Allmendinger — served 15-minute practice penalties for being late to pre-qualifying inspection.

The early morning practice session was the first of two on Saturday in the Irish Hills. The 50-minute final practice is slated to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET. Television coverage is on NBCSN.

Matt DiBenedetto has been sent to the rear of the field for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) due to failing pre-qualifying inspection at Michigan four times; he also will serve a 30-minute hold in final practice.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Keselowski claims Coors Light Pole | Weekend schedule

Brad Keselowski led a 1-2-3 sweep of Fords in Coors Light Pole Qualifying on Friday at Michigan International Speedway, a long-running venue of friendly competition among NASCAR’s manufacturers.

The automaker rivalry got a slight bit chippier after qualifying for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) when Keselowski suggested that Toyota teams had intentionally ratcheted back their collective push of the performance envelope.

Toyota had won the last five pole positions in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series before Keselowski interrupted that streak. In his post-qualifying news conference, the Team Penske driver intimated that the likelihood of rigorous technical inspections loomed after Michigan, the last track of its size before the postseason.

“About this time every year NASCAR takes all the cars to kind of check to make sure that the competitive balance is where they want it to be, and I think we’ve seen the last two or three weeks that the Toyota cars are pretty dominant,” Keselowski said. “We had a strong suspicion that those guys would kind of tune it down this weekend, so not to post a pretty big number in inspection that maybe balanced back out the competition, and potentially that’s right because our team hasn’t done much differently and those guys are just not as fast as they’ve been the last few weeks.

“So we’ll know for certain at the end of the week based on whether NASCAR takes the cars after the race today.”

Those remarks did not sit well with drivers and crew chiefs in the Toyota camp, who sounded off through their social media channels.

 

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Qualifying results | Full schedule for Michigan, Mid-Ohio

Brad Keselowski zoomed to the Coors Light Pole Award in Friday qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan International Speedway.

Keselowski piloted the Team Penske No. 2 Ford to a blazing-fast lap of 203.097 mph around the 2-mile track. His second pole of the season was his first in his home state and the 14th of his Monster Energy Series career.

Keselowski grew up in Rochester Hills, Mich., a Detroit suburb 99 miles from Michigan International Speedway. He is a big fan of Detroit and University of Michigan sports teams and long has said how badly he wants to win at MIS.

He has five top fives, but no wins at his home track. He has often said that a win here would be of similar importance to winning the biggest races in the sport. He joked that if he followed up today’s success with a win on Sunday that the victory celebration would be the type for which he has to ask for forgiveness.

“When I saw that we were going to win the pole, those last few seconds of qualifying, it sent chills down my body,” Keselowski said. “It’s a special track for me to have any kind of success at.”

His Team Penske teammate, Joey Logano, was second-fastest in the No. 22 Ford, posting a lap of 203.063 mph in the final, five-minute round of qualifying. He’ll start second in Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) after missing the pole by just .006 seconds.

Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five.

Kyle Larson, who will be vying for his third straight Michigan victory in Sunday’s 400-miler, was ninth-fastest in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet.

Ryan Blaney, who set the pace in the first two qualifying rounds and was fastest in opening practice, bobbled during his final qualifying run. He’ll start 12th in the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford.

Series points leader Martin Truex Jr., who notched his series-leading fourth win of the year last weekend at Watkins Glen, was bumped from the final round of qualifying, missing the top 12 for just the second time in the last 13 races. He turned the 13th-fastest lap in the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota, missing the final cut by just .046 seconds.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., prepping for what’s likely his final Michigan International Speedway start, was 19th-fastest in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevy.

Two more practice sessions are scheduled Saturday in preparation for Sunday’s race. Just four regular-season events remain before the 16-driver playoff field is set.

Contributing: NASCAR Wire Service

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Silly Season tracker | Schedule for Michigan, Mid-Ohio

Kasey Kahne said Friday that he’s optimistic he’ll find a ride for next season after this week’s news that he wouldn’t be back in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet next season.

Kahne’s remarks came after opening practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan International Speedway, site of Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).

“I started Sunday night, Monday talking to some different owners and personnel at different teams, just trying to show that I really want to still be in the Cup series,” Kahne said. “I want to race here and if there’s any opportunity, I’d love to talk about it. That’s been really good.”

The Hendrick organization announced this week that 19-year-old William Byron would begin his rookie season in NASCAR’s premier series next year, replacing Kahne in the No. 5 Chevy. The decision left Kahne looking for a ride in 2018, though team owner Rick Hendrick indicated that he would try to aid his search.

MORE: Byron to drive No. 5 in 2018

Kahne admitted top-level vacancies for next season are scarce, but he holds out hope that new driving duties will develop.

“I think we all know that there’s not a ton of opportunity and there’s some really good drivers that don’t have a deal done at this time that will probably end up in cars, I would think,” Kahne said. “I feel like the opportunities are pretty slim, but I’ve always tried to be really respectful and when I’ve the opportunity to go fast and win, we’ve been able to win some races. I would always like to win more, but we have some wins and have done a good job with the people in the garage and our partners over the years, so I really think I can come up with something good and something fun to be a part of.”

Kahne, 37, joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2012. The Washington native scored six of his 18 career premier-series wins during his six-year run with HMS.

RELATED: Kahne discusses support from Rick Hendrick

The most recent of those wins came late last month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Kahne survived a frantic overtime finish to end a 102-race losing skid. He sits 19th in the points standings.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Practice 1 results | Schedule for Michigan, Mid-Ohio

Team owner Chip Ganassi and driver Kyle Larson announced Friday that Larson will compete Saturday night in the main event of the Knoxville Nationals sprint-car classic.

Larson will travel from Michigan International Speedway, site of this weekend’s NASCAR doubleheader, to Knoxville (Iowa) Speedway for the final night of sprint-car racing’s most prestigious event.

Larson won the Wednesday night feature at the half-mile dirt track. He indicated in Victory Lane that he’d need to coax Ganassi into allowing him to return to Knoxville for Saturday night’s main event.

That persuasion happened Thursday, when Larson accompanied Ganassi on the ride to the Detroit airport after Thursday’s unveil of the 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for NASCAR competition. Though executives within the Chip Ganassi Racing organization also provided input, Larson said the final decision was all up to his car owner.

Friday, Ganassi said yes via video, saying fans had flooded his social media channels with encouragement.

“I know my fans really appreciate it, all my sprint car fans and NASCAR fans,” Larson said Friday after opening practice at the 2-mile Michigan track. “So Chip is a hero today and this weekend. I appreciate it.”

Ganassi’s challenge to all dirt racing fans was to watch Larson on Saturday night in Knoxville, then tune in Sunday for the Pure Michigan 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM), where he is the defending race winner.

Larson, a two-time winner in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series this year, is a frequent competitor in the sprint-car world with a set annual allotment of extracurricular races pre-arranged with Ganassi. Larson said Friday that he has competed in 24 events in his 25-race maximum, and that his agreement with Ganassi typically precludes him from racing sprint cars one day before he’s scheduled for on-track activity in NASCAR.

“I’m thankful for Chip to even allow me to do what I get to do right now,” Larson said. “It’s especially nice though that he is making an exception for Saturday night.”

Larson said his efforts in Knoxville’s qualifying and preliminaries have him locked into the 50-lap A-Main, where he is scheduled to start ninth.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Practice 1 results

A 203.591 mph lap put Ryan Blaney on top of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series leaderboard in Friday’s opening practice at Michigan International Speedway. Blaney made 14 laps on track in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford during the opening session.

Kyle Busch was second-fastest in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (202.327 mph), but found trouble in addition to speed. While running qualifying trim, Busch made contact with the wall with less than 10 minutes left in practice, sustaining significant damage. The team is assessing the damage to determine whether or not it will go to a backup car.

Busch’s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin came up third in the field, his No. 11 Toyota averaging a top speed of 201.935 mph. Camping World Truck Series points leader Christopher Bell is on standby for Hamlin this weekend, as Hamlin’s girlfriend Jordan Fish was due to have her baby this past Thursday.

RELATED: Bell on standby for Hamlin at Michigan

Points leader Martin Truex Jr. was fourth-fastest in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota (201.856 mph), while Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford rounded out the top five with a fast lap of 201.805 mph.

Reigning race-winner Kyle Larson, who has won the last two straight races at the Irish Hills track, was seventh-fastest in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is back on track at 5:05 p.m. ET for Coors Light Pole Qualifying (NBCSN, NBC Sports App).

Posted on by Staff Report

Christopher Bell could get his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start this weekend at Michigan International Speedway.

The 22-year-old Kyle Busch Motorsports driver is on standby for Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin, who is expecting his second child with longtime girlfriend Jordan Fish any day — her due date was Aug. 10.

In Saturday’s morning’s early practice at Michigan, Bell logged 20 laps behind the wheel of the No. 11 Toyota.

Bell has had an exceptional season thus far, leading the Truck Series with four wins and eight top-five finishes through 12 races. Fellow dirt driver Kyle Larson recently vouched for Bell’s on-track ability, and floated his name out as someone he’d like to see in the open No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota.

RELATED: Playoff outlook | Fish’s pregnancy announcement

Regan Smith was on standby at Watkins Glen International, but wasn’t needed. The Camping World Truck Series also is racing at Michigan this weekend, making Bell available. The NASCAR XFINITY Series races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend.

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Playoff standings

DETROIT — If Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final full NASCAR season ends without a playoff-clinching win, team owner Rick Hendrick says it won’t sour what has been an impressive body of work in stock-car racing.

Hendrick’s remarks came Thursday at Chevrolet’s unveiling of the Camaro ZL1,which the automaker will field in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Earnhardt, 42, has driven for Hendrick Motorsports since 2008 and has 26 career wins, the most recent coming in November 2015; he announced in April that this season will be his last.

Earnhardt sits 23rd in the series standings and in need of a victory in the remaining four regular-season races to secure a playoff berth. Hendrick said he would cherish a storybook send-off with one final trip to Victory Lane, but that Earnhardt’s legacy in the sport is secure regardless.

RELATED: Dale Jr. photos through history | Playoff bubble watch

“It won’t matter a bit,” Hendrick said. “To me, you’ll look at the championships that he won in XFINITY, you’ll look at his contribution, what he’s done to mentor young drivers, what he’s done to give people an opportunity, the way he’s conducted himself with the fans and the kids. I mean, his contribution … being a genuine, real person. If you’re a champion and you win a lot of races, that’s great, but I think you’ve got to look at what contribution did you make to the sport that wasn’t just for you, it was for a lot of other people.”

The backdrop for Hendrick’s statements was Earnhardt taking selfies and chatting with General Motor employees attending Thursday afternoon’s Camaro reveal. It’s part of what has made Earnhardt the series’ most popular driver for 14 years running.

“Of course, we’d love to see him win and get in the (playoffs) and how great it would be if he won the championship,” Hendrick said. “I think that would be great, but I think all the good things that he’s done, all the people he’s helped, and he has been a champion and he has won. When you see people like today just gravitating toward him, he’s been an ambassador.

“He’s done a lot for a lot of people, me included. He told me he was going to make me popular,” Hendrick said through laughs, “so I appreciate that.”