Posted on by Pat DeCola

MORE: Bowyer brings fan to tears with surprise | SHR to switch to Ford in ’17


KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The emails are already starting to hit his inbox.

“Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Ford driver, Stewart-Haas Racing,” the mocked-up, soon-to-be-sold merchandise reads.

With six remaining races in the 2016 Sprint Cup Series season — the one in which Bowyer drives the No. 15 HScott Motorsports Chevrolet — it’s hard for the veteran not to look ahead to next year, when he’ll replace the retiring Tony Stewart.

“Certainly, it’s always natural to start thinking about next year. You better be this time of year no matter if you are moving or staying the same and nothing changes,” Bowyer said Friday at Kansas Speedway, site of Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (2:15 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“That is how far in advance you have to look in this sport and work. All the organizations are lining themselves up and gearing up for next year, all the while, there is a lot of racing left to do in 2016.”

It’s a trying request for Bowyer not to start licking his chops thinking about his soon-to-be ride when he’s struggled with an ill-performing car most of the season and has a mere three top-10 finishes, by far a career low.

ANALYSIS: Bowyer, HScott playing catch up

It doesn’t help to stem the anticipation any when he sees his future teammates battling for wins and titles. Last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway is a prime example, according to the 37-year-old Emporia, Kansas native.

“I look over and I see all the Stewart-Haas cars up front, qualified well, Danica (Patrick) was fast, all the cars raced well,” he said. “Those are the things that you look at and get excited for next year. But, hey, you’ve got an opportunity to come back home and race and compete in front of your hometown crowd. Like I said, there is plenty of racing to do and things to accomplish this year. We’ve got to cap it off well and start to get focused on next year.

“It is exciting. … An email came across my phone and I look over and its No. 14 merchandise approvals for next year. You are like ‘holy cow,’ it’s becoming reality. It’s fixing to pick up in a big way.”

There’s basically nowhere to go but up in his impending season with SHR, as a tumultuous 2013 campaign with Michael Waltrip Racing set his career on the path of a winless downward spiral in which his performance declined from every measurable aspect — a year after finishing runner-up to Brad Keselowski for the Sprint Cup Series title. Last year’s announcement that he’d replace the three-time champion Stewart at season’s end was the first good news he’d had to share publicly since the birth of his son, Cash.

RELATED: Baby No. 2 on the way for Bowyer

Apart from the increase in performance he can expect from an organization that took home the 2014 title with driver Kevin Harvick, that has five wins this season and put three drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, SHR offers Bowyer a welcoming environment in which he’s already comfortable with their top-tiered talent, many of which are longtime friends of his.

“Just a great outfit over there, everybody from the top to the bottom; the teammates, I’ve worked with Kevin (Harvick) for many years. I’m looking forward to Kurt (Busch). Kurt is the one that I’ve never really known a lot about. Always raced against him, but never worked with him in any way, shape or form. Danica, I’m closer to her than probably some of the others, so I’m just looking forward to it. It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s going to be a neat atmosphere and something that 10 years into this thing one of the best opportunities ever is at your doorstep and fixing to happen.

” … Just looking forward to being in a situation where you can go out and know that if the equipment is there that you will have a good weekend. That is all you can ask for as a race car driver.”

While it’s likely that Bowyer will have to wait until next year to finally win a Sprint Cup race at his home track, he knows that there were valuable lessons he’ll take away from a frustrating season.

“I think I’ve learned a lot from the racing on the race track and I’ve learned a lot about myself (this year),” he said. “This isn’t easy and I think hopefully we can get back in (the media center) and there are going to be these seats filled again.

“And I’ve got a beer in my hand because the trophy is sitting right there, right? That is what we do this for.”

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Chase Grid

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The first round of the first Chase for NASCAR’s XFINITY Series trimmed the field of championship hopefuls from 12 to eight.

The three-race subset also served as a learning tool for those who advanced to the second round, which begins Saturday with the Kansas Lottery 300 (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) here at Kansas Speedway.

“I learned that in the first race of the first round the intensity level was very high,” Daniel Suarez (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota) said Friday. “It was definitely more high than what I was expecting.”

Elliott Sadler (JR Motorsports No. 1 Chevrolet) won the Chase opener held at Kentucky Speedway. Suarez was a close second, won the following week at Dover and finished third last weekend at Charlotte, unofficially taking the mantle of Chase favorite with four races remaining.

“I thought everyone was going to go out there to try to be consistent and to try to make it for the next round and that wasn’t the case,” Suarez said. “Everyone was going for the win and everything got a little crazy in the first race in Kentucky.

“But, honestly I’m very proud of everyone …. We had three races with three top-three finishes which I think is something really good for the first round. We have to do exactly the same thing for the second round and after that try to put ourselves in a good position for Homestead and pull everything we have for that last race and the most important race of the year.”

Sprint Cup Series regular Joey Logano won the Charlotte event, the only race not won by an XFINITY Series regular in the Round of 12. 

Suarez, 24, said he expects the level of intensity seen in that opening race to return here this weekend as drivers and teams try to knock out an early win and qualify for the Round of 8.

“For some reason everyone – I thought everyone was going to be more relaxed in the first race but for some reason everyone was very, like I said, the intensity level was very high,” he said. “And, then for the second race it was lower and everyone was more relaxed because everyone was a little bit too crazy in the first one. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the same in this second round.

“I don’t think that I was myself, I don’t think I got super crazy in Kentucky and we ended up with a pretty good result. Actually I felt like we should’ve won that race, we just came up one lap short.

“I felt like everything that we learned the whole year we are trying to put that in the most important part of the year in the Chase in the first round and second round in order to get to the last race at Homestead and so far it’s been working out. So, hopefully we can keep it up and move forward.”

Justin Allgaier (JRM), Erik Jones (JGR), Brendan Gaughan (Richard Childress Racing), Ryan Reed (Roush Fenway Racing), Darrell Wallace Jr. (RFR) and Blake Koch (Kaulig Racing) complete the Round of 8 for the XFINITY Series Chase.

Suarez, Sadler and Jones are the only drivers in the postseason with victories this season.

Gaughan, who has 15 top 10s, including a season-best runner-up at Road America, said the first round taught his team that “organizationally, to make sure we are prepared.

“Make sure … we have everything kind of set and ready.

“Another thing Shane (Wilson, crew chief) and I learned was (we) still are clowns that do it our way. It works for us. We don’t scream and yell. … He doesn’t get down on me when I hit a wall twice at Kentucky. And I don’t bark at him when I think he makes the wrong call on pit road or we unload and it doesn’t handle quite the way I want.

“We’re going to do it the way we think it needs to be done, stay patient and stay on each other’s team. A lot of pressure comes on these guys … and a lot of people succumb to that pressure.”

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have won the last three XFINITY Series races at Kansas.

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Chase Grid


KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Martin Truex Jr. and his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team won’t take part in next week’s organizational test for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams, even though the 1.5-mile track hosts the season-ending, championship-determining event for the series next month.

“There’s a lot that went into it,” Truex said Friday about the decision. “We actually skipped the Chicago test as well and went there and we won, so … that certainly plays into the decision a bit.”


The single-car organization is based in Denver, Colorado, also plays a role into such decisions, he said, noting that “Homestead is a long way from Denver.”

“Just trying to make sure we are focused on the right things. We feel like testing has not really done anything to help us along. We feel like our time is better spent at the shop getting prepared.

“It seems like every time we’ve tested this year, we’ve gone to the race track and spent the first day-and-a-half trying to regroup and figure out where we need to be, so it seems like it’s probably hurt us more than helped us and it’s just kind of our mindset going forward that we feel like we’ll be better off if we don’t go.”

The season’s fifth and final organizational test is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 18-19. Unlike Goodyear tire tests which normally feature only four teams among the three manufacturers, organizational tests are open, but limited to one team per organization.

The following drivers are scheduled to participate in the test, including each of those currently in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup:

Brad Keselowski (Team Penske No. 2 Ford); Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet); Kurt Busch (Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet); Carl Edwards (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota); Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet); Chris Buescher (Front Row Motorsports No. 34 Ford); Aric Almirola (Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford); Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford); Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates No. 42 Chevrolet); Michael McDowell (Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing No. 95 Chevrolet); Trevor Bayne (Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 Ford); and David Ragan (BK Racing No. 23 Toyota).

Truex has won four times this season, including twice in the opening Round of 16 of the Chase — at Chicago and Dover.

The team is scheduled to take part in Monday’s Goodyear tire test here at Kansas Speedway, but Erik Jones is listed as the driver for the No. 78 entry. Jones, who competes in the XFINITY Series for JGR, will move to Furniture Row next season to drive a second full-time entry for the organization.


READ: Furniture Row adds Jones to growing team 


Danica Patrick (SHR), Jimmie Johnson (HMS) and Joey Logano (Team Penske) are also expected to take part in the single-day test for the tire supplier.

Truex and his team were participants for Goodyear tests this year at Charlotte, Pocono and Michigan. Of the four previous organizational test, the team tested one day only at Kentucky and Watkins Glen and both days at Indianapolis. It did not take part in the most recent at Chicagoland Speedway.

“It just seemed like every time we talked about (the Homestead test), it was just like ‘I don’t really think that we should do it. I think we should continue to focus on the things that we’ve been doing,’ and ultimately I think Cole (Pearn, crew chief) made the decision to say, ‘Alright, that’s it. We’re not going to do it,’ and he feels good about that, so I’m with him. I think he’s making the right decision,” Truex said.

Because of a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, which fields four teams, the Furniture Row Racing group will have access to data gleaned during the Homestead test from the No. 19 team of Edwards as well as TRD (Toyota Racing Development).

Edwards said there are two sides to the opportunity to test at Homestead in the midst of the Chase.

“There’s an opportunity to test for the ultimate race — the race that finishes the year,” he said, “but it’s also an interruption in your Chase and you have to go do it and it can take away as well.”

Dave Wilson, President and General Manager for Toyota Racing Development, USA said while Toyota officials were aware of the move, “ultimately it’s their decision.

“In their case, I think it’s just a balancing of priorities,” he said.

“The good news is with the technical alliance that Furniture Row has with Joe Gibbs Racing, they will still get some of the benefit that JGR will bring back from that test.

“I think the value of testing is considerably different today than it was five years ago, just the influence of technology, the influence of simulation is so great now. And the predictive tools that all these teams have are very powerful; it’s amazing how good they are, so it’s not as much of a must-do, must attend (event) as it has been in the past.”


Truex finished 13th in last week’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the opening race of the Round of 12. He enters Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas (2:15 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) seventh in points. Only the top eight advance to the Round of 8 for stops at Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix before the top four from that group move on to Homestead to determine the 2016 Sprint Cup Champion.

Posted on by Nascar

A further reduction of downforce and the implementation of additional safety developments highlight the 2017 NASCAR premier series rules package announced by sanctioning body officials on Friday at Kansas Speedway.


Aerodynamic adjustments similar to those in place for races at Kentucky Speedway and Michigan International Speedway in 2016 form the framework for the 2017 performance platform. However, slight modifications to the overall base package have been made.


According to officials, the 2017 race package will include:


• Rear spoiler dimensions for all non-restricted events will be 2 3/8 inches x 61 inches. Current spoiler dimensions are 3 1/2 x 61; for the Kentucky and Michigan races, the dimensions were 2 1/2 x 53 inches.


• Splitter measurements for the 2017 package will be the same as those for the 2016 Kentucky and Michigan races, with a 3-inch reduction in the outboard (side) areas;


• A tapered rear deck fin;


• Net rear steer setting of zero.


The aero changes are the next evolution of the platform first rolled out for select events in 2015. Mandatory for 2016, those changes reduced downforce (the pressure exerted on a vehicle as it moves through the air) from 2,700 pounds to approximately 2,000 pounds. The 2017 package is expected to reduce downforce by approximately 500 pounds, landing in the 1,500-pound range.


“The objective there is to give the drivers, put the driving back in their hands a bit more … take less aero dependence off the car,” Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Innovation and Racing Development, told NASCAR.com. “That’s the big thing.


“The amount we are taking off the front and the rear is the same proportion; we try to keep the balance of the car identical. So it’s been taken off in the same proportion to maintain the balance of the car as it was last year.”

Safety enhancements, which include strengthening the interior driver compartment, will be mandatory for superspeedway events at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway and optional at the remaining venues for 2017.


Officials previously announced thicker anti-intrusion plating where it already existed in the cockpit as well as additional plating in areas not currently covered. Toeboard foam will also be mandatory at superspeedways, as will the addition of a roof hatch.


Changes to steering column mounting and the use of a garage-only fuel coupler (mandatory for all events) complete changes in the safety arena.


“Basically … there is going to be a strengthened dash firewall; (on the) front left of the chassis there will be a piece zippered in; also in the back, near the rear clip, another piece that will be zippered in,” Stefanyshyn told NASCAR.com. “The floorboard and toe board area will be made out of one piece, beefed up, also.


“This has a couple of elements to it; one is to manage front crash, the other to manage if you are hit in the side.”


A stronger floorboard, with toe board foam, should lessen the odds of a driver involved in a hard impact suffering a broken limb.


The fuel coupler designated for garage use only is intended to lessen spillage by more efficiently closing the valve upon disengagement. It is a safety as well as environmental initiative.


The aero package for superspeedway races at Daytona and Talladega will remain unchanged, although there will be a decrease in restrictor plate size (from 57/64ths to 7/8ths of an inch) to combat increasing speeds at the two tracks.


Additionally, the vehicle weight will increase by 20 pounds to accommodate structural changes to the cars.


NASCAR will also reduce the tire allotment provided to teams next season and require teams to start the race on the tires used in qualifying.


“We’ve been tracking tires for two or three years now and we see how many are purchased and how many remain,” Stefanyshyn said. “We are seeing that there is an opportunity to trim some tires. … Also we’re starting to creep up to trying to bring some strategy around the tires.


“It’s not a huge reduction, it’s a comfortable reduction but it’s kind of moving in that direction.”


Officials said unveiling the potential packages in advance, as was done in ’15 at Kentucky and Darlington, and again in ’16 at Kentucky and Michigan, provides the opportunity for optimum feedback.

But those tracks are not locked in a “test” venues.

“We’re always looking at different ways to do things … we would hope that next year’s package can be a continuation and a little bit more of a long-term, stable rules package,” Scott Miller, Senior Vice President of Competition for the sanctioning body, said.

“But nothing ever stays the same. Moving forward we will look at more efficient ways to potentially test possible packages for the future.

“I think we did a good job the last few times with the races, that’s really the best way to collect data in an actual event … hopefully we can get out in front of it even a little bit further and get a little bit more of a cross section of race tracks if we have some proposed new things.”


Posted on by Holly Cain

The finalists for the 2016 Comcast Community Champion Award were announced Thursday night and again it features some of the most dedicated people in the NASCAR garage — all focused on bettering the world around them.

The nominees — one representing each of NASCAR’s three premier series — include Richard Childress Racing pit crew coach Ray Wright’s work helping America’s youth; JR Motorsports fabricator Wade Jackson, whose inspired organization CAMP LUCK (Lucky Unlimited Cardiac Kids) helps young heart disease patients; and Kyle Busch Motorsports co-owner Samantha Busch, who helped found the Kyle and Samantha Busch Bundle of Joy Fund, which helps families deal with financial hardships and last year alone, contributed more than $140,000 to families getting IVF (in vitro fertilization) treatments.

“It is both humbling and empowering to hear so many examples of how individuals within NASCAR are making differences beyond the track,” said Matt Lederer, Executive Director of Sports Marketing at Comcast, who noted the award, “was created to extend our partnership with NASCAR beyond the competitive space and reinforce the importance of bringing positive change to one’s own community.”

Last year’s inaugural winner of this esteemed award was XFINITY Series driver Joey Gase. He was awarded $60,000 to assist with his work with the Iowa Donor Network, which helps educate about organ donation. The effort is real for Gase, who when only 18-years old, lost his mother. Her organ donation, however, helped save the lives of 66 other people.

This year’s nominees have similar heartfelt, far-reaching stories of generosity, care and hope.

The winner will be selected by Comcast and NASCAR executives along with former Sprint Cup driver Kyle Petty and NASCAR.com’s senior writer, Holly Cain and the winner will be revealed during the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series banquet, Monday Nov. 21. It will air on NBCSN on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. ET.

Wright, who is the Sprint Cup Series nominee, founded Pit Stops for Hope, which provides food for children and is focused on providing a “productive classroom environment.”

Wright’s work is well-known in the garage area, which helps contribute to the cause. He collects old pit crew items and sells them to fans. He also raises money with an agreement through RCR, which gives him donations based upon top-performing pit stops. Wright’s efforts have allowed him to donate thousands of dollars to teachers and educators and his annual fundraising events have made a real difference in ending childhood hunger.

The XFINITY Series nominee, Jackson and his wife Kim began their work with Camp LUCK after an unimaginable personal loss. Their 17-year old son Jacob passed away from a congenital heart defect following open-heart surgery. As they have grieved, they have focused efforts on helping others. The camp was created to offer kids with heart disease a place to “gather together and experience community.’”

The couple volunteers countless hours at the camp, which offers a warm, loving refuge not just for the children, but for their families as well.

Busch has a similar personal origin for her and her husband’s work. While going through in vitro fertilization themselves in 2014, they realized the expenses others faced as well in an effort to welcome a baby through IVF. In just the past year along, the Kyle and Samantha Busch Bundle of Joy Fund has contributed substantial money to 13 couples undergoing the IVF treatment too.

For Samantha, this important cause continued a lengthy history of the couple’s generosity and care. She has also worked with the Pretty in Pink Foundation to raise money for uninsured and under-insured breast cancer patients and also founded an annual Prom Dress Drive to help young girls who couldn’t afford formalwear.

The Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award serves as a reminder of how many in this sport care to make a difference in the world. In addition to the $60,000 award for the winner’s designated charity, Comcast is also giving $30,000 to each of the other finalists’ selected charities.

“Since receiving the award, I’ve had people come up to me almost every race weekend to tell me how they are now organ donors because of my mom’s story, which many learned of thanks to the publicity from Comcast and this award,” Gase said.

Posted on by Staff Report

In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, The NASCAR Foundation has responded, doing what it does best — helping people in need.


Working in conjunction with other organizations, The NASCAR Foundation has supplied vital support to communities affected — starting this past Tuesday at the International Motorsports Center in Daytona Beach, Florida, where NASCAR, the International Speedway Corporation and Daytona International Speedway conducted a Food Drive to support the Council on Aging.  Another “Food Drive Day” is scheduled for Wednesday at the International Motorsports Center in Daytona Beach.


Saturday at 9 a.m. ET, in conjunction with the Feed the Children organization, a Foundation-sponsored food delivery will be made to the Halifax Urban Ministries warehouse at 223 Fentress Blvd. in Daytona Beach. Food distribution to families in need is scheduled for next week at the Halifax Urban Ministries offices at 215 Bay St. 

The NASCAR Foundation is also sponsoring a Feed the Children food truck delivery this weekend to Waterboro, South Carolina. The amount of food items distributed at each stop will feed approximately 400 families for a full week.

“This sort of thing is what THE NASCAR Foundation is all about — being there for people who are facing tough challenges,” said Foundation Executive Director Lorene King. “Hurricane Matthew hit our area, and other areas, very hard. The need is obvious — and immediate. We want to do as much as we can, as quickly and completely as we can.”

Motor Racing Outreach, another non-profit in the NASCAR “family,” collaborated with The NASCAR Foundation to work with Feed the Children.  MRO funded a truck which delivered food to the Goldsboro, North Carolina, area on Thursday; the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro in particular sustained significant damage. MRO, Feed the Children and the USO combined on that delivery.

As part of an overall Employee Engagement effort, The NASCAR Foundation is engaging NASCAR, DIS, ISC and IMSA employees to support local disaster efforts. Employees will be given an opportunity to donate food and supplies for people and pets.

In addition, a $25,000 Foundation contribution will be made to the United Way to be distributed directly to five local organizations — Council on Aging, Domestic Abuse Council, Halifax Urban Ministries, Neighborhood Center of West Volusia and Second Harvest Food Bank. 

“Worthy causes, all,” King said. “As we expected, our employees are responding with donations to support these important organizations. It’s another example of the compassion shown by people involved in the NASCAR industry and in the motorsports industry overall.”

Posted on by Staff Report

From high-pressure stakes in the garage to split-second decisions on pit road, NASCAR teams are driven by the most skilled pit crew members and technicians in the motorsports industry. For those very capable hands, very capable tools are needed — which is why NASCAR teams use products from Ingersoll Rand, a global leader in reliable and innovative power tools and the “Official Power Tools of NASCAR.”

 

Ingersoll Rand’s power tools revolutionized NASCAR pit stop tire changes at their introduction to the sport in 1959, and the company quickly became a familiar sight in the garage selling and servicing the tools for peak performance. Ingersoll Rand’s story and commitment to quality certainly isn’t just relegated to NASCAR, however.

 

The same technology and quality materials that go into those NASCAR tools go into tools that technicians across the country use every day.

 

Fans have a chance to experience the craftsmanship first-hand with Ingersoll Rand’s IQV Power Trip Sweepstakes. The grand prize here is an all-expense paid four-day a trip for two to Champion’s Week in Las Vegas (Nov. 30-Dec. 4), plus a 20V and 12V cordless power tool prize pack. The winner will break from the daily grind and the cords that tie one down as the entire Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field celebrates the end of the 2016 season.

 

Second prize is a 20V cordless power tool prize pack and third prize is a 12V cordless power tool prize pack.

 

Sound intriguing? It’s free to enter — simply go here by Nov. 7, 2016.

No purchase required. See official rules for details.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Practice 1 results | Best 10-lap averages | Chase Grid 

Defending champion Kyle Busch landed atop the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leaderboard Friday afternoon in opening practice at Kansas Speedway.

Busch ripped off a lap of 194.595 mph around the 1.5-mile track in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota. His speed slightly slower than the track qualifying record of 197.612 mph, set by Kevin Harvick in October 2014.

His brother, Kurt Busch, was second-fastest in the 70-minute session with a best lap of 194.119 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet. Carl Edwards was third-fastest at 194.098 mph in the Gibbs No. 19 Toyota in opening prep for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (2:15 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the fifth of 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs.

Alex Bowman, scheduled for his sixth Sprint Cup start of the season in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr., was fourth-fastest in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet. Teammate Chase Elliott, a top Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, completed the top five in his No. 24 Chevy (194.056 mph).

The cars of Kyle Busch, a first-time Kansas winner in May, and Kyle Larson were both held in the garage for 30 minutes as a penalty for post-race actions in last weekend’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. NASCAR competition officials had warned teams three weeks ago in the drivers’ and crew chiefs’ meeting at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to avoid taking measures on the cool-down lap that might circumvent the post-race Laser Inspection Station (LIS) platform.

“We told them then that we would look at our resources after the races and we’ve been doing that,” said Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition. “They swerved. That’s about all there is to it.”

The cars of Tony Stewart, Regan Smith, Paul Menard and Kasey Kahne were also held 15 minutes on pit road for an accumulation of written warnings and minor infractions.

The practice session began 20 minutes after its scheduled 1 p.m. ET start time because of persistent damp conditions after a morning rain. To allow teams more practice time, the end of the session was extended five minutes to 2:30 p.m. ET.

Martin Truex Jr., set to make his 400th premier-series start Sunday, was seventh-fastest in the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota (193.882 mph). Jimmie Johnson, last weekend’s winner in Charlotte, was eighth-best on the early leaderboard in his No. 48 HMS Chevy (193.653 mph).

Posted on by Staff Report

Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Daniel Suarez has exciting things happening for him on and off the track with his XFINITY Series championship hopes still alive and a month-long Hispanic Heritage Month celebration underway. 

 

Tuesday, the Mexican-born wheelman visited the White House, representing NASCAR for Hispanic Heritage Month. Take a peak inside his busy day in Washington, D.C.