Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Race results | Chase Grid


Joey Logano‘s Team Penske No. 22 Ford was found with 19 of its 20 lug nuts properly attached in a post-race check Sunday night at Texas Motor Speedway.


Logano — a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoff contender — led a race-high 178 laps in the AAA Texas 500, but finished second to eventual race winner Carl Edwards. After the race was halted 41 laps shy of the full 334-lap distance by rain, NASCAR officials discovered the infraction on Logano’s car on pit road.

According to the NASCAR Rule Book, a first-time violation of the lug-nut rule carries a $10,000 fine. Penalties from the Texas race will ultimately be determined by NASCAR’s competition department later this week.

Logano sits second in the Sprint Cup standings with one race remaining in the Chase’s Round of 8. After that next event — the Can-Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM) at Phoenix International Raceway — the field will be whittled to four championship-contending drivers in the Nov. 20 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.


Logano is seeking his first appearance among the title-eligible quartet since 2014.

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, NC (November 7, 2016) — Team Penske and Discount Tire, the world’s largest tire and wheel retailer, announced today that the two companies will continue their partnership into the 2017 season. Discount Tire will return as the primary sponsor of Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) next season. Discount Tire will also continue as an associate sponsor on both the No. 2 and No. 22 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford Fusions and — new for next season — the company will join Team Penske’s Verizon IndyCar Series program as an associate sponsor.

A long-time supporter of NASCAR, Discount Tire joined the Team Penske family just prior to the start of the 2010 NASCAR XFINITY Series season. That year, the No. 22 Discount Tire team and driver Brad Keselowski earned a series-record 26 top-five finishes en route to the first NASCAR championship for owner Roger Penske.

“Discount Tire is proud of its winning relationship with Roger and Team Penske. We have a shared desire of being the best at what we do, by caring for our wonderful people, teamwork and the pursuit of getting better every day.” said Michael Zuieback, President of Discount Tire. “We look forward to sharing more success together.”

Since joining Team Penske’s XFINITY Series program, Discount Tire has been a key part of four championships for the No. 22 team, following up Keselowski’s 2010 driver title with back-to-back-to-back NXS Owners’ Championships in 2013, 2014 and 2015.  In all, four different drivers have won races for Discount Tire at Team Penske, including Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and AJ Allmendinger.

Discount Tire has made the most of its partnership with Team Penske and continues to leverage its sponsorship as one of the company’s key marketing platforms. Discount Tire engages its employees and customers at the race track and the company features all Team Penske drivers in exclusive autograph sessions at its stores across the country. In addition to an extensive showcar program that tours key markets, Discount Tire and Team Penske will continue to work on various cross promotions, including the creation of point of sale and collateral materials and the production of television commercials featuring Team Penske and its drivers.

“When you think about companies that have made a commitment and helped the grow the sport, especially in the XFINITY Series, there is no question that Discount Tire is one of the first ones that comes first to mind,” said Roger Penske. “Team Penske has developed a great relationship with Bruce Halle and the entire group at Discount Tire. They enjoy all of the success we have had together in racing, but they also maximize their partnership with our team away from the track. We are pleased to have Discount Tire back with us in 2017 and we look forward to winning more races and championships with them.”

Keselowski, Logano and Blaney are all scheduled to race the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang in 2017.

The 2017 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season begins in February with the running of the non-points Unlimited and Daytona 500 on February 26. The NASCAR XFINITY Series also begins at Daytona on February 25. 

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: DiBenedetto in concussion protocol | NASCAR explains protocol


FORT WORTH, Texas — A day after crashing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, driver Matt DiBenedetto met with the media shortly before the start of Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 just as his fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers were gathering at the pre-race drivers meeting inside the garage nearby.


DiBenedetto was not medically cleared to compete in Sunday’s race following the single-car accident on Saturday. The driver is in concussion protocol, sidelining the 25-year-old for safety precautions, according to BK Racing.


Visibly disappointed not to race in Fort Worth, DiBenedetto said he will follow the protocol and visit doctors Monday in Charlotte, North Carolina, so he can get medical clearance to compete next week at Phoenix.


At Texas, Jeffrey Earnhardt will drive DiBenedetto’s No. 83 ZAK Backs the Blue Toyota, which is honoring fallen Dallas police officers.


“I’m a racer, a die-hard racer and (BK Racing owner) Ron (Devine) knows this,” DiBenedetto said. “It’s in my blood and I probably handle these kind of situations of not being cleared to drive the car worse than any guy in the field. I’ve really been struggling with it.


“I feel perfectly fine so it’s really going to be very difficult for me watching my car go around the race track. But Jeffrey Earnhardt will do a good job. He’s one of my best friends and I’m glad and appreciative of him for stepping in for us in this situation. I know it’s not great. No practice and he’ll have to fire off. But we trust him.


“I’m definitely discouraged, but we’ll go through this, go through their protocol. I have to, even though I feel fine, but they have a protocol and things set in place that I have to follow, whether I like it or not. I will do it, get it done and look forward to Phoenix.”


Devine offered his support in making sure DiBenedetto goes through all the proper protocol to make a start at Phoenix. 


“It’s OK to err on the side of caution, but we’ll get through it and I think at the end of the day, they’ve done the right thing,” Devine said. “They felt it was best he go through the process and be sure. That’s as simple as it is. It’s about making sure he’s OK. We’ll meet with them to understand the process better and see what they saw. In the meantime, it’s better not to have him in the car.”


In hindsight, DiBenedetto smiled slightly and wondered if perhaps he should have handled things differently immediately after the accident. He insists he didn’t feel any medical repercussions from the impact.


“Not the slightest bit, not even two seconds after the crash,” DiBenedetto said. “If I could redo the situation knowing now how it turned out I would have sprinted down (the banking), maybe done jumping jacks. But everything happens for a reason.


“At this time I need to remain calm and remember they are doing their jobs.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Race results | Updated Chase Grid
SHOP: Edwards gear


Carl Edwards secured a waterlogged victory Sunday night at Texas Motor Speedway, taking control late in a rain-shortened AAA Texas 500 to clinch a shot at his first Sprint Cup Series title in the NASCAR season finale.


Edwards’ Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota permanently took the lead in the 258th of 293 laps, a figure shortened from the original 334-lap distance by an evening rain shower. He benefited from an ultra-fast final pit stop and led 36 laps in his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the season, the 28th of his career and his fourth on the 1.5-mile Fort Worth track.


Edwards’ victory locked up an automatic berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs’ Championship 4 finale Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jimmie Johnson — the Martinsville winner last weekend — is the only other driver among the eight remaining Chase hopefuls who has clinched a title shot.


It’s Edwards’ first appearance among the final four title-eligible drivers under the current Chase format, which is in its third year. Edwards is a two-time Homestead winner and has two runner-up finishes in the season-long standings, most recently losing the championship to Tony Stewart on a tiebreaker in 2011.

 

“This is huge. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” Edwards said. “This is cool. This team has really worked hard all year and man, it’s just really cool. That’s all we said we needed was a shot and now we’re going to go to Homestead and we’re going to do what we have to do. This was a great test. We came here and knew what we had to do, we performed the way we needed to and I really believe we can do that at Homestead.”

 

In a twist of fate, Edwards missed out on a title bid in the Homestead-Miami finale last year in a weather-abbreviated penultimate race of the season.

 

“This rain was a lot more welcome than that rain,” Edwards said with a smile, “but that’s how this sport goes.”

 

The remaining two championship slots will be filled in next Sunday’s Round of 8 race — the Can-Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM) at Phoenix International Raceway.

Early dominator Joey Logano wound up second in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford. Martin Truex Jr., rookie Chase Elliott and defending series champ Kyle Busch completed the top five.

 

The event started nearly six hours late because of rain showers that began at the conclusion of the national anthem. That delay pushed the eighth of 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs from a daytime start (2 p.m. ET) to a nighttime event.

 

Logano had the strongest car early, leading 178 of the first 188 laps in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford. He remained in contention the rest of the day and leaves Texas as the top points-earner behind Johnson.

 

“I mean, when you’re that close to winning and you lead the most laps, second stings,” Logano said after his fourth runner-up finish of the season. “That’s our goal every week, is to win. Anything short of that is a failure. I feel like we were so close to that today.”

 

Kyle Busch rallied from mid-race adversity to salvage a top-five finish. He lost ground during a lengthy pit stop during the fifth caution as his crew repaired front-end damage on the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota. The team patched an area just under the front bumper after Busch hit a loose brake duct on the backstretch.

 

Austin Dillon, who won the Coors Light Pole Award in Friday’s qualifying, led the opening five laps as the race began under green-yellow conditions to accelerate track-drying efforts. He recovered from a Lap 255 spin that caused the race’s sixth caution period, but crashed seven laps later after Turn 4 contact with Kevin Harvick sent him to the garage and an eventual 37th-place finish.

 

Sunday night’s race left a jumbled Chase picture. Logano is third in the Chase standings, but by the slimmest of margins. He’s even with Kyle Busch on points but currently holds the tiebreaker on the basis of the runner-up finish at Texas. And Matt Kenseth and ninth-place finisher Denny Hamlin are a dangerous one and two points behind Logano, respectively.
 
Harvick likely needs a victory next Sunday at Phoenix to advance to the Championship 4 for the third straight year. The 2014 champion, who fought a tight handling condition for most of the race, holds a series-record eight wins at the Arizona oval, a number that includes five of the last six races.
 
Harvick trails Logano and Kyle Busch by 18 points entering the final race of the Chase’s Round of 8.

Stewart-Haas teammate Kurt Busch likewise is in a near must-win position. Busch finished 20th on Sunday and enters the Phoenix race eighth in the Chase standings, 34 points behind his brother.

 

Contributing: Wire reports

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: History behind Dillon’s comment


Austin Dillon had harsh words for Kevin Harvick after an on-track altercation in the late stages of Sunday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.


Dillon, the pole-starter, and Harvick ran in close quarters in a contest for fifth place shortly after a restart. Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet bumped Dillon’s Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevy from behind, sending his car bounding into the Turn 4 wall.


The cars of Casey Mears and Brian Scott were collected in the incident. Harvick offered an apology over his team radio communications, but Dillon and his crew chief, Slugger Labbe, were still upset after the No. 3 car came to a halt in the garage.


“I mean, he is tucked down to my door tighter than anybody did all night,” Dillon said. “He knew how tight he was on my door and that is why I got tight and slid up in front of him. He didn’t check (up), but he had the opportunity to. He didn’t like it that the silver-spoon kid was out-running him tonight. So we will be all right; we have two weeks left and we just want to come out and win a race.”


Dillon made reference to a run-in that his brother, Ty, had with Harvick during a Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway three years ago. Harvick had leveled a “silver spoon” insult at both Dillons after that late-race bumping match in 2013, Harvick’s last year with the Childress organization.

Harvick finished sixth and volunteered another apology in his post-race TV interview, saying that the contact was not intentional.


“Just want to apologize to the 3,” Harvick said. “He kind of came up there and got loose … when he checked up, I hit him. That wasn’t anything that I wanted to see.”


Made aware of Labbe’s instructions for Dillon to “mark down that number” and that it was “time to get mad,” Harvick grinned.


“Slugger says a lot of things that he shouldn’t,” Harvick said. “There was no intent there. I like racing with Austin. I like everything that they do.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott is experiencing flu-like symptoms ahead of the AAA Texas 500, the Twitter account of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorports team revealed Sunday. 


JR Motorsports driver and XFINITY Series Chase contender Justin Allgaier will be on standby in case the No. 24 team needs him to complete the 500-mile race.


Elliott will start 11th.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Live weather updates | Weekend schedule | Chase Grid

The start of the second race in the Round of 8 of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup was delayed for nearly six hours following an early bout of rain at Texas Motor Speedway and surrounding areas. 

 

The AAA Texas 500‘s green flag was scheduled for 2:04:30 p.m. ET (NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), and the skies opened just after the national anthem. The green flag fell just before 8 p.m. ET after a lengthy track-drying process.

 

Once the track dried, Richard Childress Racing‘s Austin Dillon led the field to green after scoring his third career Sprint Cup Series pole during Friday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying. 

 

Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series contender Joey Logano lined up alongside Dillon in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. 

 

Going into today’s 500-miler, Jimmie Johnson — the defending race winner — is the only Chaser with a secured spot in the Championship 4. The Joe Gibbs Racing trio of Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch currently sit above the cutoff line while Logano, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards are below it. Next Sunday’s race at Phoenix International Raceway marks the cutoff in the Round of 8 in which four drivers will be eliminated from the Chase ahead of the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 20.

Wet weather impacted the track schedule earlier in the week when two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practices were washed out on Thursday due to rain.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

What channel is the NASCAR race on this week? We answer that and provide all the weekly NASCAR television listings here.

 

RELATED: Find NBCSN in your area

 

All times ET

Monday, November 7
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR 120, NBCSN
10 p.m., NASCAR The Season (re-air), NBCSN

Tuesday, November 8
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, November 9
7 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Striping Technology 350 (re-air), FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
8 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Striping Technology 350 (re-air), FS2

Thursday, November 10
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Friday, November 11
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FS2
12:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, NBCSN
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN
3 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS2
4:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS2
9:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup, FS2
10 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150, FS1
Midnight, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Post-Race Show, FS1

Saturday, November 12
6 a.m., NASCAR The List: Memorable Moments (re-air), NBCSN
6:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice (re-air), NBCSN
8 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice (re-air), NBCSN
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 (re-air), FS1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), NBCSN
3 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN
4 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, NBCSN
7 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
7:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Ticket Galaxy 200, NBCSN
10 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN
10:30 p.m., NASCAR The Season (re-air), NBCSN
11:30 p.m., Racing Roots (re-air), NBCSN

Sunday, November 13
6 a.m., NASCAR The List: Rookie Season (re-air), NBCSN
6:30 a.m., NASCAR The List: Daytona Memories (re-air), NBCSN
12:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR America Sunday, NBC
2 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBC
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Can-Am 500, NBC
6 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lap, NBCSN
11:30 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lane, FS1

 



Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Find NBCSN in your area | Watch live online at NBCSports.com

The NASCAR Sprint Cup, XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series gather for a tripleheader showing at Phoenix International Raceway this weekend. Check out the full schedule below.

Note: All times are ET

SUNDAY, NOV. 13:

RUN OF SHOW
2:00:00 NBC ON AIR
2:00:00 NSCS Drivers Introductions with NASCAR Special Awards presented
2:30:00 Intro Presentation of Colors by: Luke Air Force Base Color Guard
2:30:20 Moment of Silence for Veterans & Invocation by: Ken Bowers, PIR Chaplin
2:30:45 Intro National Anthem (Unfurl Large American Flag)
2:31:00 National Anthem by: Member of the Military Intelligence Corps Band, Fort. Huachuca, AZ – SFC Dana Fischl
2:32:45 Fly-By (2) F-35’s and (2) F-16’s from Luke Air Force Base (Turn 4 to 1)
2:37:30 “Driver’s, Start Your Engines” by: Inspiration for motion picture Bleed for This, 5 time world Champion, Vinny Paz
2:45:00 Green Flag — Can-Am 500 (312 laps, 312 miles)

ON TRACK
— 2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Can-Am 500 (312 laps, 312 miles), NBC/NBC Sports App (Results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 6 p.m. approx.: Post-Sprint Cup Series race

DAILY ROUNDUP

— At-track photos: Sunday, Phoenix

— Full schedule for next week’s season finale

— Who’s in, who’s out of Championship 4

— Despite late lead, Kenseth eliminated from Chase

— Logano wins at Phoenix; Busch also advances

— Busch: ‘I guess I wrecked a teammate’

— 2016 winners gallery

— Logano loses wedding ring … again

— Harvick on elimination: ‘We just came up short this year’

FRIDAY, NOV. 11:

ON TRACK
— 11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice, FS2 (Results)
— 12:30-1:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)
— 1:30-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)
— 3-3:50 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS2 (Results)
— 4:30-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)
— 6:45 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)
— 8:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS2 (Results)
— 10 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 (150 laps, 150 miles), FS1 (Results)

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
— 1 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series
— 4 p.m.: XFINITY Series

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 11:45 a.m.: Alex Bowman
— Noon: Joey Logano
— 12:15 p.m.: Kurt Busch
— 12:30 p.m.: Matt Kenseth
— 3:15 p.m.: Elliott Sadler, Erik Jones and Ryan Reed
— 3:30 p.m.: Denny Hamlin
— 3:45 p.m.: Kyle Busch
— 6 p.m.: Austin Dillon and Richard Childress
— 7:30 p.m. approx.: Post-Sprint Cup Series qualifying
— 11:45 p.m. approx.: Post-Camping World Truck Series race

DAILY ROUNDUP
— Memorable moments at Phoenix
— Giving thanks on Veterans Day
— Best tweets from the week
— Byron, Gallagher top Friday’s practices
— Busch fastest in NXS practice
— Larson leads first practice
— Logano, crews, teams answer call at young fan’s funeral
— Bowman wins his first Sprint Cup pole
— Harvick left hanging after reaching out to Dillon
— Suarez wins first Truck race; Byron misses Championship 4

SATURDAY, NOV. 12:

ON TRACK
— 3-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series second practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App  (Results)
— 4:15 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)
— 6-6:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)
— 7:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Ticket Galaxy 200 (200 laps, 200 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 10 p.m. approx.: Post-XFINITY Series race

DAILY ROUNDUP
— Championship 4 hopefuls know what they must do in Phoenix
— Bruce: Phoenix the perfect battleground before Miami
— Brian France talks business, the sport at Phoenix conference
— Almirola, U.S. Air Force extend partnership
— Truex, Kyle Busch lead Saturda practices at Phoenix
— Snapshot: Phoenix
— At-track photos: Saturday, Phoenix
— Kyle Busch wins at Phoenix; Championship 4 set
— Sadler’s crew chief to be suspended for Miami

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

From left to right: Michael Sanchez, Joy Kaseke, Nicole Dequina and Rachael Frost.


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR and Chevrolet today announced the winners of the second annual NASCAR Chevrolet Diversity Scholarship Contest during a press conference at Texas Motor Speedway.

Four undergraduate students from across the country were awarded a total of $20,000 in scholarships and treated to a VIP experience at today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the AAA Texas 500.

The contest challenged students to identify a technology or innovation within NASCAR, then explain how STEM professionals came to its design in 90-second videos. Video submissions were judged on technical accuracy, creativity and production quality.

Rachael Frost, a mechanical engineering student at James Madison University, earned first place and a $10,000 scholarship by explaining the physics of drafting in her video submission.

University of Houston student Nicole Dequina won $5,000 for her video on the innovations of Safer Barrier walls. Florida A&M University student Michael Sanchez and Brigham Young University student Joy Kaseke took third and fourth place, respectively, earning $2,500 scholarships each.

“Together with Chevrolet, we’re proud to support great talent and recognize these students with a unique, behind-the-scenes NASCAR experience,” said Jim Cassidy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “We received several impressive submissions and we’re thrilled to see so many students interested in the science and technology behind the sport.”

Through this initiative, NASCAR and Chevrolet continue their longstanding commitment to Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) education and promoting opportunities for college students pursuing technology related careers.

“There’s never been a more exciting time to be in the STEM field,” said Ken Barrett, chief diversity officer for General Motors. “At GM, we know diversity is our strength, and having diverse talent in the STEM pipeline keeps both the automotive and racing industries on the cutting edge of innovation.”

Before taking in the AAA Texas 500, the students had the chance to meet with Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott and Richard Childress Racing driver Ryan Newman, who graduated from Purdue University with an engineering degree. The VIP experience also included pace car rides, garage and pit road tour, and a meet-and-greet with Chevrolet’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Program Manager Alba Colon.