Posted on by Staff Report

Five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams received written warnings Wednesday for pre-race inspection violations last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.


The Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota team for defending series champ Kyle Busch will make its pit stall selection last for this weekend’s event at Michigan International Speedway. The team sustained its fourth current warning for failing the laser inspection station (LIS) process twice in last Saturday’s pre-race checks.


Other teams failing twice in the pre-race LIS platform:


— Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota (driver Denny Hamlin)
— Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet (Ryan Newman)
— Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota (Martin Truex Jr.)


The No. 22 Team Penske Ford for driver Joey Logano was issued a written warning for failing LIS twice in pre-qualifying inspections.


In other penalty news Wednesday:


— NASCAR issued an indefinite suspension to crew member Ryan Southall for a violation of the NASCAR substance abuse policy.


— Two NASCAR XFINITY Series teams sustained written warnings for failing LIS twice in pre-race inspections at Bristol: The No. 3 Chevrolet driven by Ty Dillon and the No. 93 Chevrolet driven by David Starr.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 24, 2016) — Snapchat is covering the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ this fall with Live Stories from Charlotte Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, NASCAR announced today.  


Fans will be able to share their race-day experiences with millions of Snapchat users from the Bank of America 500 in Concord, North Carolina, on Oct. 8, and the Ford EcoBoost 400 in Homestead, Florida, on Nov. 20, when NASCAR will crown its 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ champion.


“There’s no experience in sports quite like attending a NASCAR race, especially during the Chase,” said Jill Gregory, NASCAR senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “Snapchat’s Live Story coverage provides young audiences with a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the real Chase race experience, through the lens of our fans and drivers.”


The announcement comes as the NASCAR industry celebrates Kids Drive NASCAR, a new initiative created to engage the sport’s young fans and featuring kids-focused events and activities. All this week, the sport’s rising stars, as well as drivers with young children, will be hosting driver takeovers on the NASCAR Snapchat account. 


Later this fall, Snapchat users at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway will contribute their race-day perspectives through video and photo Snaps submitted to collective Live Stories, capturing the real NASCAR story, straight from the fans.


The thousands of submitted Snaps from each event will be curated and packaged by Snapchat into a video stream that is shared globally with Snapchat’s more than 100 million daily active users. Each NASCAR Live Story will be available to view on Snapchat for 24 hours.


In February, NASCAR announced its first-ever partnership with Snapchat doubling the platform’s coverage of NASCAR premier race events in 2016. The 2016 Daytona 500, which set records for NASCAR social media engagement, and May race at Talladega Superspeedway featured Live Stories this season.


Snapchat is available on iOS and Android.


The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Michigan International Speedway for the Pure Michigan 400 on Sunday, Aug. 28 at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and MRN.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 24, 2016) — NASCAR and Nickelodeon are joining forces again to take viewers inside the world of NASCAR racing with the return NASCAR Hammer Down. Premiering Friday, Sept. 23 at 9:30 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nicktoons, the third season of NASCAR Hammer Down features eight, 15-minute episodes hosted by Karsyn Elledge, granddaughter of Dale Earnhardt and daughter of Kelley Earnhardt Miller. 


This season, Elledge will be joined by her sister, Kennedy Elledge, for driver interviews, goofy antics and behind-the-scenes insight into the technology and people that propel more than 90 annual NASCAR national series events. Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing, and Bubba Wallace Jr., driver of the No. 6 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, also return as series regulars for the popular “Bubba & Blaney” segment.


Produced by NASCAR Productions, season three premieres with back-to-back episodes, the first of which emanates from the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The subsequent “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 Special” gives viewers an inside look at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 taking place on Sunday, Sept. 18 at Chicagoland Speedway. NASCAR Hammer Down will air regularly on Fridays at 9:30 p.m. (ET/PT) during Nicktoons’ NickSports TV block. 


“Kids are a huge part of our sport, and we are excited to deliver a program like NASCAR Hammer Down to a very important audience for NASCAR,” said Zane Stoddard, NASCAR vice president of entertainment marketing and content development. “The personalities of Karsyn, Kennedy and our drivers combined with the NickSports audience, creates the perfect avenue for us to connect with a new generation of potential NASCAR fans.”


The return of NASCAR Hammer Down is announced as the sport celebrates Kids Drive NASCAR, a week-long youth initiative leading up to Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway. Karsyn Elledge helped kick off the special campaign on Monday during a kids-only press conference at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, broadcast live by NASCAR via Facebook Live.


All week the NASCAR industry is hosting events and activities designed to introduce young fans to the sport. As part of Kids Drive NASCAR, NASCAR is also launching the first-ever NASCAR Acceleration Nation mobile app, a digital experience created just for kids.  

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 24, 2016) – OneMain, America’s premier consumer finance company, has signed a multi-year extension to continue its sponsorship of Elliott Sadler and the No. 1 JR Motorsports race team in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, JRM General Manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller announced today.


OneMain will receive primary branding on Sadler’s No. 1 car for 20 races in 2017. It will mark the seventh year of partnership between OneMain and Sadler, the current NASCAR XFINITY Series points leader.


“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Elliott Sadler and JR Motorsports,” said OneMain Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Bob Hurzeler. “After further evaluation of the program, we felt this relationship was a perfect fit for our company. Elliott has been an outstanding ambassador for OneMain and we look forward to our continued success with Elliott and JRM, on and off the track.””


The announcement all but solidifies JR Motorsports’ driver line-up in 2017. JRM will compete for a championship with full-time entries for three drivers – Sadler, Justin Allgaier and William Byron.  JRM will enter a fourth car on a select-race basis.


“Elliott and OneMain are integral pieces to the make-up of our company,” said Earnhardt Miller. “Elliott’s talent speaks for itself, but what’s more, his experience and leadership is completely necessary for our younger guys. He brings a professionalism and charisma that permeates our entire organization, and I think he brings it to OneMain as well.  I’m glad they have decided to come back with their sponsorship. We’ve got many things to accomplish together.”


Sadler has undergone a resurgence in his first year at JR Motorsports. He currently leads the NXS point standings and is preparing to compete in the first-ever NXS Chase format. This year Sadler has one win (Talladega), seven top fives, and a series-leading 19 top-10 finishes in 22 starts. A veteran racer, Sadler has 15 victories across NASCAR’s top-three series. He has been an NXS regular since 2011, twice producing runner-up finishes in the championship point standings (2011-12).


“This is a dream come true for me,” said Sadler, 41, from Emporia, Virginia. “OneMain is a great partner and we’re fortunate to have this stability moving forward to compete for race wins and championships for years to come. I’m as energized as I’ve ever been.”

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: All the 2016 throwback paint schemes | Buy tickets | Vote now


CONCORD, N.C. – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Greg Biffle and his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing team will honor 1992 premier series champion Alan Kulwicki during next month’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Biffle, along with U.S. Congressman Richard Hudson and Andrew Collier, unveiled a Hooters paint scheme similar to the orange and white scheme featured on Kulwicki’s Ford Thunderbird entries from 1991 through the first five races of the ’93 season.

“The sport was built on guys like that,” Biffle said Tuesday. “He ran his own deal and wanted to do stuff his way. He had five career wins and a championship in 92 — that’s a really, really neat story. It’s unfortunate that I never got the chance to meet him.”


The popular restaurant chain began its’ sponsorship of the No. 7 team at the fifth race of the ’91 season at Darlington. Kulwicki was both owner and driver for the single-team organization.


The 1.366-mile track was also the site of Kulwicki’s final start – he placed sixth in ’93 TranSouth 500.


Kulwicki, the series’ 1986 Rookie of the Year, was killed in a plane crash in Blountville, Tenn., on April 1, 1993.


To possibly win with Hooters on the No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford? “How cool would that be?” Biffle asked. “Then to do an Alan Kulwicki victory lap … would be a storybook ending.”

Biffle will be making his 16th career start at Darlington, where he has two victories (2005, ’06) and a pair of poles. His average starting position at the track is 11.1, best for the 46-year-old among the 22 venues hosting Sprint Cup Series races, while his average finish of 13.6 there is fourth overall.

He has led more laps at Darlington (718) than any track other than Texas Motor Speedway, where he has led 733.

This is the second season the legendary track has hosted a throwback-themed race weekend, with teams sporting paint schemes similar to those seen in the past. The Bojangles’ Southern 500 is scheduled 6 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 4 (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR).

Hooters isn’t just on the car as part of the throwback scheme, the restaurant chain is also taking an active role with the team, helping to promote National First Responders Day.

Collier, a machinist in the Hendrick Motorsports engine shop, has been a driving force in trying to establish a national day of recognition for first responders. His brother, Sean, was a police officer with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013 when he was killed by one of two Boston Marathon bombers.

“Sean was planning on going and hanging out with some friends that night,” Andrew Collier said. “He had no idea … that happens to a lot of first responders every year. It’s time we honor them; they are our front line here at home. You have an accident … a fire, anything, none of us ever want to see it but if it does happen to us, the first thing we do is count on them.

“It’s time to honor them and make this day a reality.”

For more information about the effort to establish a national day of recognition, visit www.firstrespondersday.org.


Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Dale Jr. offers rehab update on social media

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition remains undetermined.

But if the series’ most popular driver remains sidelined when the series heads to Michigan International Speedway for the Aug. 28 Pure Michigan 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), it will be Alex Bowman and not Jeff Gordon handling the driving duties of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet.

Gordon, who made his fourth start for the team at Bristol Motor Speedway, will not be available due to a prior commitment, according to Hendrick officials. However, the four-time series champion will travel to Michigan to support the team on Sunday.

Earnhardt is recovering from concussion-like symptoms that have kept him sidelined since July. The Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol was the fifth race he’s missed.

Bowman drove for the team at Loudon, New Hampshire, following Earnhardt’s initial diagnosis. Gordon took over the following week, and has competed at Indianapolis, Pocono and Watkins Glen prior to Bristol.

Bowman, 23, finished 26th in his fill-in role for Earnhardt at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Gordon, meanwhile, has finishes of 13th, 27th, 14th and 11th, respectively, in his four starts with the team.

UPDATE: The 88 team does not expect to make an announcement for Michigan until Wednesday afternoon.

Posted on by

Harvick finally turned a "solid run" into a win Sunday at Bristol, topping the point standings once again. Looks like the No. 4 team could be headed for a hot streak — and just in time for the Chase.

RELATED: Harvick wins rain-delayed Bristol race

https://www.nascar.com/drivers/brad-keselowski/
BradKeselowski
-1
Team Penske

Keselowski went 2-for-2 in Bristol snafus, wrecking with Kyle Busch in the XFINITY race and then colliding with Kurt Busch in the Sprint Cup show. He’ll look to turn that around at his home track Michigan, where he’s never won but finished the past five races in the top 10.

RELATED: Keselowski, Kurt collide at Bristol

https://www.nascar.com/drivers/kyle-busch/
KyleBusch
-1
Joe Gibbs Racing

As he predicted, Bristol was "The Kyle Busch Show" — but briefly. Busch’s spin and hit from Justin Allgaier left his No. 18 Toyota — and spirits — mangled.


RELATED: Busch wrecks, fed up

Logano overcame quite a bit during his run at Bristol, finagling a top-10 in the process, but wasn’t able to defend his back-to-back night race wins. He’ll have a chance this weekend at Michigan, where he’s the most recent winner and owns seven straight top-10s.

Busch’s run-in with Keselowski left him limping with a 38th-place result. He’s won at Michigan three times, but his results in the Irish Hills tend to vary race-to-race, depicted in his 20.2 average finish.

RELATED: Kurt, Kes wreck at Bristol

Polesitter Edwards led 31 laps at The Last Great Colosseum but wasn’t able to secure the W. He has only finished worse than 12th four times in 24 starts at Michigan, though, so watch for the No. 19 to be strong this weekend.


MORE: Edwards at 37 — through the years

https://www.nascar.com/drivers/denny-hamlin/
DennyHamlin
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Joe Gibbs Racing

Watkins Glen winner Hamlin battled back from a pit-road speeding penalty and a loose wheel to earn a hard-fought third-place result, extending his current streak of top-10s to five in a row.

A mid-race multi-car melee saddled Kenseth with a 37th-place finish. But with Bristol behind him, he’ll head to Michigan, where he’s the reigning race winner.

Truex was fairly quiet in a not-so-quiet Bristol race, finishing 23rd. He’s never won at Michigan, but has finished two of his last three races there in third.

https://www.nascar.com/drivers/jimmie-johnson/
JimmieJohnson
1
Hendrick Motorsports

"Six-Time" battled the handling of his car and overcame a slow mid-race pit stop to post a top 10 at Bristol. Solid run, but the No. 48 camp will need to make sure his car is tip-top for the lower downforce package at Michigan.

Stewart’s 30th-place finish in his final Bristol race wasn’t memorable, but his epic double burnout with race winner Kevin Harvick definitely was.

WATCH: Harvick, Smoke share Bristol win

https://www.nascar.com/drivers/austin-dillon/
AustinDillon
3
Richard Childress Racing

Dillon came out swinging at Bristol, winning the XFINITY race and battling Harvick for the win in the final leg of the race. Michigan is one of his favorite tracks — and one the No. 3 team has circled on its calendar.

RELATED: Dillon shows skill with fourth-place at Bristol

https://www.nascar.com/drivers/chase-elliott/
ChaseElliott
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Hendrick Motorsports

Elliott’s 15th-place run at Bristol wasn’t his best, but the rookie will have a shot at redemption this weekend at Michigan, where he finished second to race winner Joey Logano in June.

After a 28th-place finish at Bristol, Newman finds himself in precarious position as he sits right on the bubble — 16th — in the Chase Grid. 

RELATED: Chase bubble after Bristol

A string of unforunate events left Larson with a 24th-place finish at Bristol — and two spots outside the top 16 in the Chase Grid.

Another eighth-place finish for Jamie Mac keeps him on the good side of the Chase Grid bubble watch. Consistency is key for the No. 1 team in these next few races.

Not only did Pocono winner Buescher land in the top 30, he also earned his second top-five finish of his young career at Bristol. Major props.

RELATED: Bristol finish gives Buescher Chase hopes

Kahne earned his best result since Sonoma on Sunday at Bristol (13th), but sitting 19th in the Chase Grid, he’ll need to do better than that to secure a spot in the playoffs.

The past two weeks have been strong for Bayne, as he finished ninth and 12th. But will consistency be enough for a spot in the Chase?

https://www.nascar.com/drivers/dale-earnhardt-jr/
DaleEarnhardt Jr.
-1
Hendrick Motorsports

Junior’s return date has yet to be announced. Should he return to racing at the Irish Hills, his chances are pretty stout: A two-time winner, he’s finished four of the past five races in the top 10.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: All the 2016 throwback paint schemes | Buy tickets | Vote now


Landon Cassill revealed his throwback paint scheme for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway through a NASCAR Facebook Live event on Tuesday.

The No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford’s look is inspired by J.D. McDuffie, a racing veteran who passed away in 1991. McDuffie made 653 starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, recording 106 top-10 finishes. McDuffie holds the record for making the most starts without ever reaching Victory Lane.

“J.D. was a guy who just kept scrapping, week after week, and earned a lot of good finishes as a result,” Cassill said in team release. “(Team owner) Bob Jenkins likes to say that Front Row Motorsports is the team that does more with less. You can definitely say that J.D. McDuffie did the same thing, and we’re proud to honor his memory at Darlington.”

The throwback look is sponsored by Rumple Furniture Co. Inc. of Elkin, North Carolina, which also sponsored McDuffie for part of the 1980s.

“This isn’t just an old paint scheme, this is a great design,” Cassill said during the Facebook Live event. “That’s what I love about these.”



In five career Sprint Cup starts at Darlington, Cassill has an average finish of 26.0 and a best finish of 20th in last year’s race.

The Darlington throwback weekend culminates in the running of the Bojangles’ Southern 500 on Sept. 4 (6 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).


Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: All the 2016 throwback paint schemes | Buy tickets | Vote now


Chip Ganassi Racing and Kyle Larson will honor Target’s start in auto racing at this year’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

 

The team revealed Tuesday on social media the No. 42 Chevrolet to be used in the Sept. 4 race (6 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, Sirius XM Radio)

 

 

 

The slick scheme honors Target’s first car in motorsports, in IndyCar in 1990. The bull’s-eye on the roof is a nod to both Chip Ganassi Racing‘s relationship with Target, and also CGR’s roots in IndyCar racing.

 

The Southern 500 will also mark Larson’s 100th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start.