Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: See Atlanta races live

 

Fresh off the season-opening races at Daytona, all three NASCAR Series will head to Atlanta Motor Speedway for a tripleheader. Check out the full weekend schedule below.

 

Note: All times are ET

 

SUNDAY, MARCH 5:

PRE-RACE SCHEDULE

—12:30:00 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Driver/Crew Chief Meeting (Media Center)
—2:00:00 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Drivers Introductions
—2:25:00 p.m.: God Bless America: Corey Kent White
—2:26:30 p.m.: Flag Folding Ceremony by: Riverside Military Academy
—2:29:00 p.m.: Taps by: Riverside Military Academy
—2:30:00 p.m.: Presentation of Colors by: Charles Drew Air Force Junior ROTC
—2:30:20 p.m.: Invocation by: Tyler Reagin, Catalyst Ministries
—2:30:50 p.m.: Intro National Anthem (American Flag unfurled on ballfield by USAF DEP Ceremony Enlistees)
—2:31:00 p.m.: National Anthem by: Ed Roland and the Sweat Tea Project
—2:32:15 p.m.: Fly-by: 2 F-22’s from 325th fighter wing Tyndall Air Force Base (4 to 1)
—2:37:15 p.m.: “Drivers, Start Your Engines” by: Ty Pennington, Star of ABC’s hit show Extreme Makeover Home Edition
—2:46:00 p.m.: Start of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, FOX (325 Laps, 500 Miles)


ON TRACK
— 2:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip  500 (325 laps, 500.05 miles), FOX (Results)

 

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)

— 5:30 p.m. (approximately): Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

 


FRIDAY, MARCH 3:

ON TRACK
— 10-10:55 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FS1 (Results)
— 11-11:55 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FS1 (Results)
— noon-1:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1 (Results)
— 1:30-2:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FS1 (Results)
— 2:30-3:25 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FS1 (Results)
— 3:30-4:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, FS1 (Results)
— 4:30-5:25 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS1 (Results)
— 5:45 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Results)


PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)

— 10:15 a.m.: Chase Elliott

— 10:30 a.m.: Daniel Suarez

— 10:45 a.m.: Kurt Busch

— 11:30 a.m.: William Byron

— 11:45 a.m.: Brandon Jones

— 2:30 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson

— 2:45 p.m.: NASCAR announcement

— 6:30 p.m. (approximately): Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying

 

GARAGECAM (Watch live)

— 11:30 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

— 3 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series

 

SATURDAY, MARCH 4:

ON TRACK

— 9:15 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Results)
— 10:40 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Results)
— noon-1:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1 (Results)
— 2 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Rinnai 250 (163 laps, 251.02 miles), FS1 (Results)
— 4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Active Pest Control 200 (130 laps, 200.02 miles), FS1 (Results)


PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)

— 4:30 p.m. (approximately): Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series race

— 6:30 p.m. (approximately): Post-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race

 

 

Posted on by Staff Report

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.)

Posted on by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See the races in Atlanta

Sponsorship of the JR Motorsports Chevrolet driven by William Byron in the NASCAR XFINITY Series is now complete for the 2017 season, with the organization announcing Wednesday that Axalta Coating Systems will join the No. 9 team in a primary role for 15 races during each of the next two seasons.

 

Axalta joins Liberty University (17 races) and Cessna (one race) as a primary sponsor for the team this year. Its first race in a primary role will come March 18 at Phoenix.

 

"It’s really exciting to have Axalta come on board," Byron told NASCAR.com. "I think it’s something that really brightens our schedule up and brightens our year up. It’s going to be great to see the Axalta colors on the car.

 

"I know they’ve been in the sport, formerly as DuPont, for a quite a few years. I remember watching them … seeing them on the cars and as they transitioned to Axalta … on Jeff’s car (Gordon’s No. 24) and Dale’s car (Earnhardt’s No. 88) and I guess they’ve been with JRM for eight years now as an associate."

 

Axalta was a primary sponsor of four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Gordon from mid-2013 through his final "official" race at the end of the 2015 season. The Hendrick Motorsports driver’s previous sponsor, DuPont Performance Coatings, was purchased by The Carlyle Group in ’13 and rebranded Axalta.

 

The sponsorship was shifted from Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet, now driven by Chase Elliott, to the No. 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. last season. Earnhardt Jr. is a co-owner of JR Motorsports, along with his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team owner Rick Hendrick.

 

Byron, 19, won seven races in his first full season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series last year. Signed by HMS in August and placed with the JRM organization for this season, he is one of five drivers competing for the XFINITY Series’ Sunoco Rookie of the Year award.

 

"The sponsorship part is a vital part of our sport so I definitely pay attention to it and try and stay connected with what we need to do to get sponsors and maintain those we have," Byron said. "I’ve always had the faith that they would get the other races worked out. When I first signed, luckily Liberty came on board … and now Axalta is coming on board (as well.)

 

"I’m looking forward to having a sponsor that’s been in the sport for a long time, that has that background of success; it’s good to be a part of that and understand what it’s like to have a sponsor that’s committed to the sport."

 

It is the first primary sponsorship role for Axalta in the XFINITY Series, and Earnhardt Miller said it "feels good" to lock in funding with the group.

 

JRM fields four full-time entries in the XFINITY Series, with Byron, Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett. All four are now fully funded, with the exception of four open races remaining to be sold on the No. 1 Chevrolet driven by Sadler.

 

"We’ve come into numerous years with as few as 11 races sponsored in some cases," Earnhardt Miller said, "So I’m definitely glad to welcome Axalta on board in a primary role.

 

"With William, I think it’s awesome to have a partnership with Liberty, who he has had a relationship with even in the Late Model here. And Axalta is certainly a partner that we know and have various relationships with on the Hendrick Motorsports side, our Dirty Mo Radio and our content side here. Having somebody that you know and have worked with and is a partner of ours now in a bigger way is really cool, too."

 

Having the existing relationship with Hendrick, as well as involvement with JRM through various digital content avenues, didn’t make the sponsorship opportunity a slam dunk.

 

The sponsorship landscape can still be difficult, according to Earnhardt Miller.

 

"Every year the conversations get tougher in terms of what we can bring to the table and what this sport can provide for these sponsors," she said. "It’s different for every sponsor. Some people are very concerned with TV and eyeballs, some people are very concerned with attendance at the track and some don’t care about that at all, some just care what your social media numbers are and how many people you’re talking to.

 

"It’s all over the board so you really have to listen to the sponsor and figure out what they’re looking for and then figure out what we have that can match up to that.

 

"Axalta has a great group, an energized group of marketing folks that are ready to put their sponsorship in play on the activation side and the execution side," she said, "outside of just putting paint … and their logo on the car."

Posted on by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See the races in Atlanta

See the paint schemes for Atlanta

2018 DAYTONA 500 VIP Ticket Packages are now available from PrimeSport! As the Official Ticket Exchange of Daytona International Speedway, PrimeSport has your access to all the action at the World Center of Racing! Receive $50 off per reservation when you book your 2018 DAYTONA package by Saturday March 4th. Use code DAYTONA18 at checkout. Coupon code DAYTONA18 is active now through Saturday March, 4th. | GO HERE

Posted on by Staff Report

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Watkins Glen International has announced the official race weekend schedule for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series, and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East tripleheader weekend, August 3-6.

This year’s event will feature an enhanced Sunday lineup featuring Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at 12:35 p.m. EST, just hours prior to the start of the 90-lap race, which goes green at 3 p.m. EST.

"NASCAR continues to work closely with tracks to create unique opportunities to interact with the stars of the sport," said Jim Cassidy, senior Vice President, Racing Operations for NASCAR. "A number of our track partners have certainly embraced the concept, and fans attending those NASCAR race weekends will get to experience the enhanced model."

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East 100 and NASCAR XFINITY Series Zippo 200 will take center stage on Friday, August 4th and Saturday, August 5th, with the sport’s up-and-coming stars taking on the historic 2.45-mile road course in search of a precious win and points that could propel their team in the hunt for a championship.

"We are very excited to announce the schedule for this year’s NASCAR tripleheader at Watkins Glen International," said WGI president Michael Printup. "With races on back-to-back-to-back days, and the addition of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying on Sunday, our fans will be treated to non-stop excitement on the track from Friday morning through Sunday afternoon."

2017 NASCAR at The Glen weekend event schedule:

Friday, August 4
12:00 PM         1:25 PM           NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Final Practice
1:30 PM           2:25 PM           NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice
2:35 PM           3:25 PM           NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Qualifying
3:30 PM           4:25 PM           NASCAR XFINITY Series Final Practice
5:00 PM                                    NASCAR K&N Pro Series East 100 at The Glen
7:00 PM                                  Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series On-Track Hauler Parade

Saturday, August 5
10:00 AM         10:55 AM         Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Practice
11:05 AM                                NASCAR XFINITY Series Qualifying
12:30 PM         1:20 PM           Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice
2:00 PM                                  NASCAR XFINITY Series Zippo 200 at The Glen

Sunday, August 6
12:35 PM                                Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying
3:00 PM                                  Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at The Glen 

NASCAR returns to Watkins Glen International August 3-6 for a tripleheader weekend featuring the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. For tickets, call 1-866-461-RACE or log on to www.theglen.com.

2018 DAYTONA 500 VIP Ticket Packages are now available from PrimeSport! As the Official Ticket Exchange of Daytona International Speedway, PrimeSport has your access to all the action at the World Center of Racing! Receive $50 off per reservation when you book your 2018 DAYTONA package by Saturday March 4th. Use code DAYTONA18 at checkout. Coupon code DAYTONA18 is active now through Saturday March, 4th. | GO HERE

Posted on by Staff Report

Warning: This podcast contains strong language and mature content.

WATCH: Blaney relives final lap at Daytona  500


Ryan Blaney joins Kim Coon and Chuck Bush for the first edition of the "Glass Case of Emotion" podcast on NASCAR.com. In this episode, the crew talks about a wide variety of on-track and off-track topics and answers the question: What would Blaney give up in order to win the Daytona  500?

2018 DAYTONA 500 VIP Ticket Packages are now available from PrimeSport! As the Official Ticket Exchange of Daytona International Speedway, PrimeSport has your access to all the action at the World Center of Racing! Receive $50 off per reservation when you book your 2018 DAYTONA package by Saturday March 4th. Use code DAYTONA18 at checkout. Coupon code DAYTONA18 is active now through Saturday March, 4th. | GO HERE

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Read more Inside Groove


Drivers often joke that the question they receive most often from fans is a simple one — what do you do if you have to go to the bathroom during a race?

Apparently whether or not Dale Earnhardt Jr. needed to resort to such drastic measures during Sunday’s Daytona  500 — Junior’s first race back after missing 18 races last season — was on the mind of his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports interior mechanic, Adam Jordan, as well.

Luckily, Earnhardt was able to hold it.


Not all of his competitors were so lucky.


Posted on by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See the races in Atlanta

After adding a Daytona  500 trophy to his championship body of work, Kurt Busch‘s name will be among those considered at some point for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Certainly checking off those two boxes builds momentum for a serious look at Busch’s legacy on track — something he will still be building for years to come.

It is a legitimate and expected debate whether you can be elected to the Hall of Fame without a championship or Daytona  500 victory.

And while Busch now has both of those, last year’s popular and most deserving new inductee Mark Martin proved your overall legacy is most important.

Martin’s extensive body of work included five championship runner-up seasons in the sport’s top series and an absolute heart-pounding Daytona  500 runner-up finish in 2007.

He scored 40 Cup victories — a mark only Jimmie Johnson has met or exceeded among active drivers, and the 56 pole positions he won in the Cup series is seventh-best all-time. He added 49 wins in the XFINITY Series and another seven in the Camping World Truck Series.

Martin was absolutely one of those drivers who proved his talents in a wide variety of opportunities. He won in sports cars — including the Rolex 24 at Daytona — and hoisted a record five IROC titles — best all-time against auto racing’s best drivers representing multiple forms of racing.

For the versatile 2004 Cup champion Busch, there are distinct and important similarities on track between the two.

On the NASCAR side, this weekend’s Daytona  500 victory gives Busch 29 wins and ranks him 25th all-time with the fifth-highest win total among active drivers. He’s in the middle of a victory logjam tied at 29 trophies with Denny Hamlin. And they have three more than the next active driver on the list, Dale Earnhardt Jr.


RELATED: Busch wins Daytona  500


Kevin Harvick‘s 35 wins place him one position higher than his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Busch among active drivers. Busch’s younger brother, 2015 Cup champion Kyle, and 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth each have 38 victories.

In addition to his ability to win a season title and the schedule’s biggest races, Busch has proven adept at winning pole positions. His 21 career total is fifth among active drivers.

Hall of Fame voters are also sure to take note of Busch’s overall versatility from stock cars to IndyCars to even the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).

Busch has done something no one has done in a decade — he competed in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 in the same day in 2014. He finished an impressive sixth place at Indy to claim Rookie of the Race honors and then flew to Charlotte where an engine problem relegated him to a 40th-place showing there.

In 2011 he made his NHRA Pro Stock debut, but lost in the first round to Erica Enders.

The overall body of racing work certainly speaks highly of Busch’s versatility and talent and there’s a lot of familiarity with some of NASCAR’s earliest racers and already-elected Hall of Famers.

Best of all for the 38-year-old, he has plenty of prime years left to race and is currently in a well-fitted ride for the Stewart-Haas Racing team. From this point on, Busch’s on-track resume will only need fine-tuning for a persuasive case for the Hall of Fame.

2018 DAYTONA 500 VIP Ticket Packages are now available from PrimeSport! As the Official Ticket Exchange of Daytona International Speedway, PrimeSport has your access to all the action at the World Center of Racing! Receive $50 off per reservation when you book your 2018 DAYTONA package by Saturday March 4th. Use code DAYTONA18 at checkout. Coupon code DAYTONA18 is active now through Saturday March, 4th. | GO HERE

Posted on by Staff Report

Name: Chris
Current City: Independence, MO
Member since: 2011

Getting to know Chris:

Q. Why did you join the Official NASCAR Fan Council?

"I liked that I would have input on decisions to make changes to an ever-evolving sport, such as rule changes, sponsor questionnaires, track questions and schedule changes. Not to mention the Chase race format for Truck, XFINITY and Cup."

Q. How did you first become interested in NASCAR?

"I was dating a girl in high school, whose father raced dirt late models. He watched NASCAR Winston Cup races and got me hooked on watching every Sunday."

Q. What makes NASCAR special for you?

"There is nothing like showing up on a Sunday looking across the parking lot at all the people and flags of all the different drivers. Also, the fact that everybody is so nice, even if your favorite driver isn’t their favorite. It’s like no other sport."

Q: Do you have any favorite NASCAR memories or traditions?

"1998 when Dale Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 and every pit member on every team came onto pit road to congratulate him and the Daytona 500 race when Sterling Marlin was winning the race and got out of his car during a red flag to pull a dent out of his front fender. Priceless." 

Q: Do you have a favorite in any of the following categories?

Driver: "Dale Earnhardt Jr."

Track: "Kansas, Talladega and Bristol."

Memorabilia: "Numerous Dale Jr. hats and t-shirts, two die cast cars and a pair of Dale Jr. Spy McCoy sunglasses."

Q: If you could go to any NASCAR race/track, where would you go?

"Daytona or Bristol. I am going to Talladega in May – one off my bucket list."


Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

"I am an avid hunter. I hunt just about everything there is a season on. I am a die-hard Royals and Chiefs an and try to go to as many games as I can.”

Q: Tell us about your family. Do you have children and/or pets?

"I am married to my soulmate, Diana, for 24 years. We have two children: Rachel, 23, and Kyle, 21. We have four rescue dogs and two cats."

Q: What’s your dream car?

"1948 English Anglia Thames with a blown and injected big block Chevy."


Q: If you could go anywhere in the world on a dream vacation, where would you want to go?

"Alaska on a hunting trip." 


From all of us at NASCAR, we thank Chris for his continued support and look forward to hearing from him in 2017.

Posted on by Staff Report

BUY TICKETS: See the races in Atlanta

Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford crew chief Drew Blickensderfer has been fined $10,000 for lug nut(s) that were not properly installed at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR announced Wednesday afternoon. 



Blickensderfer took over for Trent Owens as crew chief for Aric Almirola ahead of last fall’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.


Patrick Magee, crew chief for Harrison Rhodes’ No. 01 JD Motorsports Chevrolet in the XFINITY Series, was also fined $5,000 for the same infraction. 

2018 DAYTONA 500 VIP Ticket Packages are now available from PrimeSport! As the Official Ticket Exchange of Daytona International Speedway, PrimeSport has your access to all the action at the World Center of Racing! Receive $50 off per reservation when you book your 2018 DAYTONA package by Saturday March 4th. Use code DAYTONA18 at checkout. Coupon code DAYTONA18 is active now through Saturday March, 4th. | GO HERE