Posted on by Staff Report

Forget Talladega — Brad Keselowski‘s heart was really pounding on Sunday.

 

 

The Team Penske driver popped the question to longtime girlfriend Paige White, who said yes — as if the smile in the above photos wasn’t indication enough. According to the pictures Keselowski posted on Twitter, the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion did it right, too.

 

There was a photographer on hand to capture the moment, which came when Keselowski, 32, dropped to one knee in front of a horse-drawn carriage.

 

Keselowski and White have a daughter, Scarlett, who is 18 months old.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Need a dose of racing? We provide all the weekly NASCAR television listings here.


RELATED: Find NBCSN in your area


All times ET

Monday, December 12
6 p.m., Stories of NASCAR: Champions of 2016, NBCSN
6:30 p.m., Stories of NASCAR: Behind the Wheel, NBCSN

Tuesday, December 13
6 a.m., Beyond the Wheel (re-air), FS1
7:30 a.m., Untold Stories: Daytona (re-air), FS1
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of the Year (re-air), FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of the Year, FS1

Wednesday, December 14
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of the Year (re-air), FS1

Thursday, December 15
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of the Year (re-air), FS1

Friday, December 16
5 p.m., Stories of NASCAR: Legend: Tony Stewart, NBCSN
5:30 p.m., Stories of NASCAR: Memorable Wins of 2016, NBCSN

Saturday, December 17
2 a.m., Stories of NASCAR: Legend: Tony Stewart (re-air), NBCSN
2:30 a.m., Stories of NASCAR: Memorable Wins of 2016 (re-air), NBCSN




Posted on by Team Release

RELATED: See which drivers, crew chiefs are on the move in ’17

Statesville, N.C. – Two wins, 13 top-five finishes and 14 top-10 results in just 14 races. That is what it took for Justin Haley to claim the 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) Championship. On Saturday night, the 17-year-old will accept his title in front of his family, teammates and competitors. Today he announces that he will be taking the next step in his career by joining GMS Racing for the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season.


Haley, who has competed in a total of six NCWTS races over the past two seasons with one top-10 finish, will pilot the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado beginning at Martinsville Speedway. Haley’s rookie season will be directed by second-year crew chief Kevin Bellicourt.


“I’m so excited and thankful for this opportunity with GMS Racing. The past few years in K&N has been an effort to get to the next step in my career and I don’t think we could have done any better than joining GMS, especially at this point in time,” Haley said. “Everyone knows what they’ve been able to accomplish over the last year and it’s that type of consistency and drive that every driver wants to see when making a decision like this. Kevin Bellicourt coming on for 2017 is one of the most exciting parts of this deal. He’s had a lot of success with young drivers and I can’t wait to see what we’re able to accomplish.”


The Indiana native began his racing career in 2008, at the age of nine years old. He has earned wins in quarter midgets, micro sprints, the CRA Late Model Sportsman Series, JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour, ARCA Racing Series and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.


In 2015, Haley completed his first full-time season in the NKNPSE with six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes, and a ranking of sixth in the point standings. He followed that up in 2016 by earning his first NKNPSE win at Greenville-Pickens Speedway after starting from the second position and his second victory at Columbus Motor Speedway where he started from the pole position. With only one finish outside of the top five and no result worse than ninth, Haley claimed the NKNPSE title by a 22-point margin.


Bellicourt joins GMS after completing his first year as a NCWTS crew chief with ThorSport Racing and driver Ben Rhodes, earning two top-five and five top-10 finishes. He also earned the 2015 NKNPSE Championship with driver William Byron.

“There are a lot of great things happening at GMS Racing,” said Bellicourt. “It’s one thing to watch the progress and success from a distance, but to now be a part of what is coming together is a completely different experience and I’m thankful for chance to be here. Justin is a great driver, who has had a lot of success fast, but he has handled it like a driver who has been doing this for years. I’m excited to see what he’s able to do once we get him in the No. 24.”

Bellicourt and Haley join a GMS Racing team that garnered six wins with four different drivers last season, as well as the 2016 NCWTS Championship with veteran driverJohnny Sauterr. Haley will unite with Sauter and 17-year-old Kaz Grala, who returns to the team after competing in nine NCWTS races in 2016. Haley and Grala will both compete for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in 2017.

Additional details on sponsorship for all three drivers will be announced at a later date.

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: See Junior’s 2017 car | Wedding plans | Contract talks coming soon

 

Wednesday’s test at Darlington Raceway confirmed what Dale Earnhardt Jr. already suspected — that he has recovered from a concussion suffered at midseason of 2016, and that he is fit and healthy enough to resume competing in NASCAR’s premier series.

While this year’s incident, which caused Earnhardt to miss the final 18 races, was the second time he had been sidelined due to a concussion, Earnhardt made no bones about his eagerness to climb back in the No. 88 Chevrolet when the 2017 season gets underway.

Saying he feels he has “a lot left in the tank,” Earnhardt spoke about his recovery, his return and what lies ahead during a national teleconference Friday.

“I wouldn’t be coming back to the seat and wanting to drive and be excited about driving cars if there was any risk other than the typical risk that every driver faces on Sunday,” the 42-year-old Earnhardt said. “I feel very confident in what I’ve seen in myself in my improvement and what my doctors are telling me about my future and the risk that I’m taking, and my ability to be able to withstand the normal wear and tear of not only driving a race, but getting in that unfortunate accident from time to time.

“We all feel pretty confident that not only am I as healthy as I was before the symptoms came last year but I’m actually stronger. Having gone through this before also gives me additional confidence. This isn’t uncharted territory for me. I know what I need to feel personally to know that I’m as strong as I need to be and healthy. I’m certainly feeling that way. But I’m also hearing the affirmation from my doctors that I can go back and drive race cars.”

Earnhardt worked with Dr. Micky Collins of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program in Pittsburgh throughout his recovery. Charlotte neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty was on hand at Darlington to monitor Earnhardt’s progress.

After a brief pre-test evaluation by Dr. Petty to determine a baseline, Earnhardt said he spent the afternoon running multiple laps around the rugged 1.366-mile track. During frequent breaks he was re-evaluated by Dr. Petty.

While Earnhardt said he hoped to see the results of his responses to the stimuli of being back in a race car remain constant, they actually improved throughout the course of the day.

“You sort of get acclimated and up to speed with what it takes to drive a race car,” Earnhardt said. “Those systems strengthen through that process. Rather than see them sort of flat line and stay the same, which was what I was hoping for, they actually got stronger.

“I felt like throughout the day I got more and more comfortable in the car … it felt like an old shoe by the end of the day.”

Once the session ended, he said, “We felt really, really confident that healthwise I was 100 percent and ready to get back in the car.”

Although the 2017 season won’t officially get underway until Feb. 26 with the running of the Daytona 500 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Earnhardt said he will also participate in an organizational test scheduled for Jan. 31/Feb. 1 at Phoenix International Raceway.

The focus of that test won’t be to monitor his health, but to simply give him more time behind the wheel and help the team prepare as the new season approaches.

“Testing is kind of boring but I’m ready to get more and more laps in the car,” he said. “I feel real, real confident and my self-confidence is real (crucial) for me to perform well. The more I can do to help build my confidence before we go to Daytona the better so I’m excited.”

Team owner Rick Hendrick said having NASCAR’s most popular driver cleared to return to competition was “a great Christmas present for our company and our fans.”

“By Dale going to the right person and working his butt off, it has made him stronger,” Hendrick said.

While he has been cleared to return to competition, Earnhardt said he will continue with some of the exercises and programs used during the recovery process. According to Dr. Collins, continued participation would only further strengthen those systems affected.

“I’m all for that,” Earnhardt said. “I want to be as sharp … hell, maybe this is something I should have been doing all along. There is a lot of … stuff on computers that athletes do that don’t even have concussions that I have at my fingertips today. … There is a lot of stuff that I can continue to do that will keep me sharp and keep me ready to go.”

He doesn’t expect to be monitored by NASCAR officials any differently than any other driver going forward, and there are no safety changes being made by the team as a result of his latest incident.

As confident as he was before Wednesday’s test, Earnhardt admitted he was “anxious” to get behind the wheel. He said he even had trouble sleeping the night before.

Any lingering concerns were erased as soon as he hit the track.

“Darlington is a tough track, but the nerves were gone after about four laps and then it was ‘Let’s just run, let’s run some more, put some tires on and go some more,'” he said.

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: Junior: ‘Stronger than before’ | Earnhardt medically cleared


Rick Hendrick considers it a wonderful early Christmas present.

Having Dale Earnhardt Jr. medically cleared to resume driving Hendrick’s No. 88 Chevrolet has been six months in the making.


And the whole storied, championship organization couldn’t be happier with Thursday’s official word that NASCAR’s reigning Most Popular Driver will be behind the wheel for the 2017 season after missing the final 18 races of the 2016 season recovering from a concussion.


“We’re as big a fan of Dale’s as the rest of the community and when you have the most popular driver in the sport and then lose him. … He’s a big spark plug to this place,” Hendrick said. “Having him out of the car kinda deflates the place and you know, when that test finished and he came through with such flying colors, the text I got and conversation I had, you could feel it in the place even today with the rest of the teams.


“It elevated the whole place.”


So much so that Hendrick and Earnhardt are already prepared to resume contract extension talks, Earnhardt revealed Friday in his first teleconference with the national media since getting the go-ahead to return to competition.


“We’re probably going to revisit that before the season starts,” said Earnhardt, 42, whose current contract runs through 2017. “Before I got sick, Rick and I sat down and talked about my future and the extensions. That stuff was starting to come together and we’ll revisit that shortly.”


It should only be a matter of ironing out details because these two NASCAR A-listers shared that they both feel re-energized by Earnhardt’s recovery and return to competition.


Hendrick said he was very optimistic about Earnhardt re-joining the team and resuming racing, but conceded that he realized early on in the process, that might take an extended amount of time. And he was OK with that.


“You might worry about that but I think after talking to [Earnhardt’s doctor] Dr. Collins, he didn’t see any reason he couldn’t come back if we did it the right way,” Hendrick said. “A lot of credit goes to Dale for just working hard outside of the car to get himself better, stronger.


“You could just see him getting stronger every week and participating here with the team and other drivers.


“I just kind of refused to accept he wasn’t going to be in the car.”


It was a good method of coping.


“First of all, we care about him as a friend and a person,” Hendrick said. “That’s first — and just seeing him healthy and himself, rather than trying to rush him back into the car …


“His health is priority one. We don’t want him back in the car until he’s OK. And we’re OK. Everyone was OK with him sitting out. Once we realized he wasn’t going to be in the Chase we were OK, we wanted him for the long term. 

“It’s a tough decision to pull the plug on the year. You didn’t know that maybe he would be healed up enough to come back with a few races left. But we were very fortunate with our sponsors. They put his health first. That was never a question.”


Now Earnhardt is OK. Listening to him speak Friday morning, he is more than OK. The two-time Daytona 500 winner is excited about his New Year’s Eve wedding, the honeymoon and the promise of more competition that awaits him in February. Junior’s back.

“I think with Dale back in the car and Jimmie’s championship, it’s going to be a nice Christmas for all of us,” Hendrick said.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer and his wife, Lorra, welcomed their second child into the world, keeping a musical theme in their choice of baby names.


Bowyer tweeted Friday the arrival of daughter Presley Elizabeth, indicating that “everyone is good” after the delivery.

The selection of Presley — spelled identically to the last name of rock ‘n’ roll icon Elvis Presley — pairs nicely with the handle given to Bowyers’ son, named Cash Aaron and born Oct. 1, 2014. That calling card happens to pluck Johnny Cash’s last name with Elvis Presley’s middle name.


The 37-year-old driver had announced that the couple was expecting back in June, jokingly lamenting that he was about to lose “our grasp on male dominance w/in the Bowyer household.”


Bowyer wrapped up his lone season with HScott Motorsports in 2016. He’ll drive the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Chevrolet next season, succeeding the retiring Tony Stewart.

Posted on by Staff Report

BK Racing will have a significant overhaul to its driver lineup for 2017 with announcements on consecutive days that primary drivers David Ragan and Matt DiBenedetto would not return to the team next season.

DiBenedetto, touting the promise of an exciting announcement in the future, announced Thursday night on Twitter that he would not return to the Charlotte-based team. Ragan’s departure was the next bit of news, with the Ron Devine-owned organization confirming that transition Friday afternoon.

 

 

In two years with the organization, DiBenedetto logged 68 starts with one top-10 finish. That finish, in April 2016 at Bristol, was a sixth-place result — he finished one spot ahead of 2014 champion Kevin Harvick — and resulted in an emotional, memorable on-air interview.

 

“I can only say so much at this time,” DiBenedetto said Thursday night on SiriusXM Radio. “I’ve been in talks with BK, and no hard feelings. I’m appreciative of everything they’ve given me. … Just kind of evaluating the team situation for next year. From my end there’s a little too much unknown, so I just had to make that decision. I’m excited about what the future has to hold here still, and obviously everyone will have to stay tuned.”

 

Devine confirmed DiBenedetto’s parting through a statement released later Thursday evening.

 

“Our 33rd- and 34th-place finishes this year did not produce the results we were hoping to achieve,” Devine said. “I am, however, very proud of Matt DiBenedetto and his many accomplishments over the past two years. He is a wonderful driver and a special person. I am confident that Matt will go on to be a very successful NASCAR driver, and I believe it is the right time to release him so that he can pursue other opportunities.

 

“Myself and everyone at BK Racing wishes Matt all the best in his future endeavors. I am looking forward to much success for both Matt and BK Racing.”

 

Devine struck a similar tone in his statement on Ragan’s release, hinting at measures to better its results next season.

 

“BK Racing has agreed not to renew David Ragan‘s contract for next year,” Devine said. “Everyone wishes David the best of luck in his career. BK Racing will continue to restructure as an ongoing effort to improve our on-track performance … and we will be announcing our 2017 driver lineup in the near future.”

 

DiBenedetto and Ragan were the primary drivers for BK Racing in 2016, but the organization also fielded Toyotas in spot duty for Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ryan Ellis, Dylan Lupton, Robert Richardson Jr., and Michael Waltrip. The team has been full time in NASCAR’s premier series since 2012, when it debuted as a two-car outfit with drivers Landon Cassill and Travis Kvapil.

 

Ragan, 31, has two victories in NASCAR’s top division since he began full-time competition in 2007. He won at Daytona International Speedway driving for Roush Fenway Racing in July 2011 and handed Front Row Motorsports its first victory at Talladega Superspeedway in May 2013.

Ragan finished 33rd in the final standings in his only season for BK Racing. His most recent top-10 finish was in March 2015 in a fill-in role for the injured Kyle Busch in Joe Gibbs Racing‘s No. 18 Toyota.

 

DiBenedetto missed one race in 2016, at Texas Motor Speedway in November, after not being medically cleared following a wreck in the NASCAR XFINITY Series the day prior. He was cleared from concussion protocol in time for the next race. DiBenedetto, 25, also has 68 career starts in the XFINITY Series.

 

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Dale Jr. set for Daytona return in 2017 | Format set for The Clash

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set to resume his NASCAR career at Daytona International Speedway in February, but one week later than he potentially could. It’s a move borne of deference and appreciation for the driver who admirably filled in last season during his recovery from a neurological ailment.

 

Both Earnhardt and substitute driver Alex Bowman meet eligibility requirements for The Clash, a non-points exhibition race scheduled Feb. 18 (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the 2.5-mile Florida track. But Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday that Bowman would drive the team’s No. 88 Chevrolet in the invitational, a week before the season-opening Daytona 500.

 

Earnhardt had heard rumblings about rules for the Clash format and field as last season drew to a close. His hunch that 2016 pole winners would make up the majority of the starting lineup was correct.

 

The Clash rules were still up in the air when Bowman — who ran 10 of the 18 races Earnhardt missed in the second half of last season — claimed the first Coors Light Pole Award of his career in November at Phoenix International Raceway. After watching the qualifying results play out on pit road, Earnhardt’s first words to Hendrick general manager Doug Duchardt were that Bowman should keep the driver’s seat for the Daytona preliminary.

“For whatever reason that was just my initial gut reaction and it feels important to me that that’s owed to Alex,” Earnhardt said on a conference call Friday, one day after NASCAR issued medical clearance for him to return to competition. “He deserves it. It is a bit of a tip of the cap to not only his pole win and how well he did at Phoenix, but how he stepped in and did a great job every week for our guys. That is not an easy job to do.”



Earnhardt had his own eligibility in the Clash by virtue of his 2008 victory in the event, then billed as the Budweiser Shootout and most recently known as the Sprint Unlimited. That preparatory win kicked off his first season with Hendrick Motorsports.



Earnhardt said he couldn’t remember the last time he had won a pole position in NASCAR’s top series. A deeper dig into the stat books shows it came in September 2013 at Dover International Speedway.



The 42-year-old Earnhardt had been sidelined from NASCAR competition since July. Under close supervision, he drove a race car for the first time since his head injury diagnosis, turning laps Wednesday at Darlington Raceway.



Bowman, 23, has no announced driving plans for next season. Aside from serving as a substitute in the No. 88, Bowman ran nine races for Earnhardt-owned JR Motorsports in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and helped the Hendrick organization with simulator work.



But it was the performance and the bonds Bowman helped to forge as a NASCAR pinch-hitter that stood out to Earnhardt as he preps for a 2017 return.



“He helped maintain and improve the health and performance of the team in a critical time, so we can go into Daytona this year confident that we are going to be competitive and we are not behind the 8-ball or have any catching up to do,” Earnhardt said. “I’m excited for Alex to get that opportunity and I’m happy that it’s with Greg (Ives, crew chief) and the guys that he has worked with over the last several races.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Anthony Kumpen came the farthest, making the hours-long plane ride from Europe. It was a return trip he has happily accepted.


Kumpen and six other champions from the NASCAR touring and regional series have congregated in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area this week for a celebration of their title-clinching seasons. The activities culminate in Saturday’s NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards at the Charlotte Convention Center.


Kumpen joins Justin Haley (K&N Pro Series East), Todd Gilliland (K&N West), Cayden Lapcevich (Pinty’s Series), Doug Coby (Whelen Modified Tour), Burt Myers (Whelen Southern Modified Tour) and Matt Bowling (NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champ) among those honored at Saturday night’s gala. It’s the Belgian-born driver’s second visit in three years after capping off his second NASCAR Whelen Euro Series crown.


“It’s great to be back. It’s a fantastic event, a fantastic week,” Kumpen said. “We’re really proud as European drivers that we can be part of the NASCAR family. The championship is growing, we had a sold-out event in the UK at Brands Hatch, so it’s becoming big in Europe.”


Kumpen, 38, has already commemorated a special celebration of the championship in the Euro Series’ season finale with a VIP guest. Kumpen has a connection with four-time NASCAR premier series champion Jeff Gordon that goes beyond the No. 24 adorning his Chevrolet: He hails from the same hometown in Belgium as Gordon’s wife, Ingrid Vandebosch.


Kumpen was already on edge entering the season’s final weekend. Then came the e-mail popping into his inbox from Gordon, indicating that he’d be in attendance at the Zolder, Belgium, road course.


“So the stress level went a bit up,” he said with a laugh. “We asked him to become grand marshal of the race, which he did and which was fantastic for our championship.”


Kumpen said he was scheduled for a tour of the Hendrick Motorsports shop Friday with Gordon serving as his guide. But before the drivers don their formal wear for Saturday, the touring champions savored a rare opportunity to meet and interact, mixing it up in Thursday’s karting challenge at GoPro Motorplex.


“It’s been super-special so far. Just being in the same place as all these other champions is super cool to meet them,” Gilliland said. “I’ve heard their names and watched their races on TV, but I’ve never really met some of them. It’s been really cool to meet them in an area like this and to be out here at GoPro Motorplex racing with them is awesome.”


RELATED: Meet Gilliland, complete NASCAR Next class


Kumpen led the first half of a Media/Champions race then edged Haley by half a kart-length to prevail in the eighth annual Champions Karting Challenge. For the 17-year-old Haley, his participation in this week’s events was a year-long wait after watching William Byron precede him as K&N East champion last season.


“It’s really, really cool what NASCAR does for us,” Haley said. “I sat there last year and saw what William did on social media and how cool it was, so I thought it’d be a cool experience to come and do it myself.”