Posted on by Zack Albert

Related: Zippo 200 at The Glen Results | Updated Chase Grid


WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Early misfortunes, including a major multi-car wreck, had an unsettling effect on the Chase chances for several NASCAR XFINITY Series playoff hopefuls Saturday at Watkins Glen International.

Darrell Wallace Jr. and Blake Koch were among the hardest hit in a 10-car stack-up on the 18th of 82 laps in the Zippo 200, a pileup that forced a red flag of nearly 14 minutes.

Wallace’s Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 Ford sustained heavy front-end damage and spent plenty of time in the garage for repairs, extending his streak to four straight races without a top-10 finish. He wound up 29th in the final rundown, 19 laps off the pace.

Wallace started and ended the day ninth on the provisional Chase grid, but slipped to just a 16-point edge over 10th-place Ryan Reed — the wrong direction for momentum ahead of the playoffs.

“All I see is we have bad luck and it is getting old, my friend,” Wallace told NBCSN. “It is unfortunate for my team. We come here and I messed up on the first lap in the first practice we had, and then we were sitting pretty for the rest of the weekend. It is just getting old. We will go on to Mid-Ohio and try to have some luck there.”

Koch’s Kaulig Racing No. 11 Chevrolet was done for the day with damage all around. Koch, who was clinging to the final spot on the provisional Chase grid after last weekend’s event at Iowa Speedway, failed to finish for the second time in the last four races.

“Just points. That’s the only thing going through my mind from the first impact, all I thought was points,” Koch said. “It’s not good, but I made a mistake early on and lost a bunch of spots and got us back there and that kind of started it. I’ve just got to be a little bit smarter at these road courses, but man, I hate it for everybody.”

Koch was evaluated and released from the infield care center, but had his right hand bandaged — a byproduct, he said, of blisters from all of the shifting in Thursday’s extended XFINITY practice on Watkins Glen’s new pavement.


“You know what, I need to have manlier hands,” Koch said with a laugh. “That’s the issue.”

Jeremy Clements was another driver with plenty to gain from the multicar wreck, entering the day tied for the top spot among drivers outside the provisional Chase grid. But Clements’ No. 51 Chevrolet had its own pitfalls, limping to the garage with a broken track bar on Lap 9 and returning for a 25th-place finish. He dropped from 13th to 15th in the series standings.

Ross Chastain took sole possession of 13th place in the XFINITY standings with a 14th-place outing Saturday at The Glen. He closed from 24 points back to just a two-point gap behind Koch in the final cut-off spot.

The XFINITY Series sticks to road racing next week for Saturday’s Mid-Ohio Challenge (3:30 p.m. ET, USA, MRN, SiriusXM) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

Related: Results

WATKINS GLEN, N. Y. – Joey Logano finally finished what he started.

The driver of the No. 12 Ford won Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Watkins Glen International from the pole, giving Team Penske its first XFINITY victory in what has been a disappointing season so far.

The win in the Zippo 200 was the second straight at the 2.45-mile road course for the 26-year-old driver, who led 67 of 82 laps and drove his car to the limit, keeping teammate Brad Keselowski behind him until a broken track bar mount forced Keselowski’s No. 22 Ford out of the race after 79 laps.

Keselowski’s problem gave Logano some breathing room. Though Paul Menard was making up ground in the closing laps, he finished second, 1.517 seconds behind Logano, who collected the 26th victory of his career.

The win was the sixth for Team Penske in the Zippo 200. In addition to Logano, Kurt Busch won the event twice, and Ryan Newman and Keselowski once each.

“Brad gave me a run for my money, that’s for sure,” Logano said of Saturday’s race. “He was just as fast as me, maybe faster. I never ran so many qualifying laps inside the car. I was running as hard as I possibly could, and I wasn’t sure if my car would last, running that hard, but she held together just long enough.

“I couldn’t be more proud to be here in Victory Lane. This is big for Team Penske on the XFINITY side of things. Great to get a win for them.”

Logano swept the XFINITY and Sprint Cup weekend at The Glen last year.

Kyle Larson ran third on Saturday, followed by Daniel Suarez and Trevor Bayne. Series points leader Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier, Brendan Gaughan, Ryan Reed and Brennan Poole – all XFINITY regulars – completed the top 10.

Keselowski finished 24th and understandably had mixed feelings about the outcome.

 “It looked like a bad weld broke,” he said of the track bar issue. “I don’t know what to say about that. You can’t win races in the garage. Joey and I were both really fast, and if either one of us got in the lead it was obvious we were going to drive away.

“That’s something to be really proud of. We had very fast Ford Mustangs today, and congrats to Joey on the win. It’s good for the program to see Team Penske get in Victory Lane today. I wish it could have been us, but I am happy for Joey and all those guys.”

The race featured six cautions for 18 laps. The most massive incident was a multi-car pileup in the esses on Lap 18 that eliminated Kyle Busch, who is attempting to win a race on all active XFINITY tracks at which he has competed. Currently, he lacks only Watkins Glen and Pocono to complete the feat.

Saturday’s race also had a healthy dose of the bizarre. On Lap 59, Derrike Cope‘s No. 70 Chevrolet slowed and came to a stop in the runoff area beside the Inner Loop. After a few seconds, an explosion rocked the car, blowing the hood off its pinions and sending a billow of black smoke skyward. Cope was unhurt in the incident, but baffled as to the cause of the explosion.

Tweeting as he watched the broadcast, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrote: “Reminds me of when I used to put M80s in the models I built.”

The XFINITY Series returns to the track Aug. 13 for the series standalone race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (3:30 p.m. ET USA/MRN/Sirius XM).

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATD: Results | Sunday on USA | Watkins Glen lingo | See the roster

 

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — You can add the title “road course ringer” to Carl Edwards‘ racing resume.

Touring the road course at Watkins Glen in 69.689 seconds (126.562 mph) during Friday’s time trials at Watkins Glen International, Edwards beat Kyle Larson (126.223 mph) by .182 seconds to earn the top starting spot for Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at the Glen (2:30 p.m. ET, USA, MNR SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

In winning his fourth Coors Light Pole Award of the season and the 20th of his career, Edwards completed a sweep of road course poles in 2016, having also started first on the grid at Sonoma Raceway in June.

Larson’s second-place effort was a career-best on a road course, bettering the third starting position he earned at Sonoma in 2014. Tony Stewart (126.177 mph) qualified third on Friday, followed by Matt Kenseth (126.104 mph) and Kyle Busch (126.099 mph), both teammates to Edwards at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Edwards said starting on the pole on the newly repaved racing surface at the Glen will be a significant advantage.

“I think (Sunday) is going to be a little bit of an adventure,” said Edwards, whose four poles this year constitute a career best for a single season. “The new pavement, nobody knows how that’s going to go along deep into the runs with tire build-up. I think the braking zones are pretty tough, and it’s going to be nice and warm.

“So, just got to stay upfront, can’t make any mistakes. I love road races. They’re so much fun. I got to talk to Boris Said, who’s basically my road racing coach to start, so that was cool today. Hopefully, tonight I’ll get me some good rest and hopefully be very competitive tomorrow.”

Even though Edwards’ No. 19 Camry was fastest in qualifying, he expects stiff competition on Sunday from his Toyota brethren.

“My teammates, they’re really fast,” Edwards said. Kyle (Busch) is really fast and Martin (Truex Jr. of affiliated Furniture Row Racing) is really fast.

“We’ve got to work a little bit in race trim, but we’re starting up front, and we’ve got a great pit crew, and hopefully we can put (the car) in Victory Lane.”

Truex, in fact, was one of the favorites for the pole, but his hot lap in the money round was impeded by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who entered the track at the bottom of the esses as Truex was approaching that uphill section of the 2.45-mile course.

Truex, who qualified 14th, returned the favor on his cool-down lap, taking Stenhouse’s line in the esses and relegating the Roush Fenway Racing driver to a 30th-place starting spot.

Jeff Gordon qualified 21st in his third start for Dale Earnhardt Jr. AJ Allmendinger, the 2014 Watkins Glen winner, will start ninth.

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: Truex inks two-year extension deal with Furniture Row

 

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Not only did Furniture Row Racing President Joe Garone formally confirm driver Martin Truex Jr.’s contract extension Friday at Watkins Glen International, he said the team was moving to add a second car to its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable.

Multiple sources say the team will name last year’s Camping World Truck Series champion Erik Jones, 20, as the driver for a second Toyota entry. The formal announcement could come as soon as this weekend.

 

“I’m not able to really confirm anything,” Jones said Friday on NBCSN prior to NASCAR XFINITY Series qualifying. “I’ve been waiting (this year) to see what comes up. … I’m focused here today on getting this XFINITY car a good starting spot.”

It’s been a big week for the Denver-based team securing Truex for two more years in a new contract that picks up starting with the 2017 season. Additionally Truex’s No. 78 Toyota will receive an important sponsorship boost next year as Bass Pro Shops, per the new contract, will serve as primary sponsor for 16 races, including the 2017 Daytona 500. Team owner Barney Visser’s company, Furniture Row, has provided the bulk of sponsorship since the team’s inception.

Most consider Jones, a championship contender and three-time winner in the XFINITY Series this year, to be a natural turn for the team given its ties with Joe Gibbs Racing.

“Over this journey, we started off and Barney’s company funded our team all along,” Garone said. “Bass Pro Shops coming on board has really opened the door for other sponsorships. We’re getting strong enough now to support another effort and we’ll see where that takes us.

“If we can get it all pulled together it will be ’17.

“The support we have right now with (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) and Toyota is really strong. You want to go into something like that when you’re on your high spot and everything hitting on all eight cylinders and just feel like right now would be a very good time for that.”

Certainly Truex and his performance has given the team reason to be optimistic.

His dominating win at Charlotte in May punched his ticket into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He’s currently eighth in the points standings with nine top-10 finishes and he was fastest in opening Sprint Cup practice and second-fastest in the final Friday round at Watkins Glen.

Last year, he qualified for the Championship 4 at Homestead, Florida.

“The final four was a big deal to us and we look forward to building on the success we’ve had as a group,” Truex said. “I think we have the best team in the garage in my opinion. No doubt.

“We kind of got brought together by fate and it’s interesting it worked out that way. I’m very thankful. Barney has continued to deliver and give us the tools we need to be successful. It’s a continuing trend of getting better and better and better.”

Truex said re-signing with the team was certainly his right path.

“I’ve been in the series 10 years and it’s taken that long to get to this position where I can win races consistently and be a championship contender,” Truex said. “To throw that away would be silly. We were able to work everything out and couldn’t be happier working with these guys.”

 

MORE: Views from Sprint Cup’s opening day at The Glen

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: Timeline of Dale Jr.’s injuries | Dale Jr. in his own words


WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Looking relaxed and casual in a ball cap, T-shirt and blue jeans, NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. smiled often and nodded his head in greeting as he held a press conference for the NASCAR media at Watkins Glen International Raceway Friday afternoon. This marked the first time he has formally addressed the media since stepping out of the drivers seat last month to recover from concussion-like symptoms.

“No,” Earnhardt said, he wasn’t planning on retirement.


And “no,” he added, he didn’t know when he would return to Sprint Cup competition as he continues to heal from a concussion doctors feel he suffered in a June 12 race accident at Michigan International Speedway.


“I just want to get better,” Earnhardt said. “Nothing else is really a priority except getting the symptoms to clear up and get back to feeling like yourself. That’s all I’m thinking about.


“The process isn’t as fast as you’d like it to be. I talk to my doctor every other day sometimes for an hour or two. It can become very frustrating. As a race car driver, we don’t have a lot of patience to begin with.”


The big question of whether the two-time Daytona 500 winning Earnhardt may opt to simply step away from the sport was asked in various forms throughout the half hour press gathering.


And each time, to each version of the question, Earnhardt reiterated that it was not his plan to retire. At one point, he even playfully chided a press member to go on and use the word “retirement.”


“I miss the competition, I miss being here, I miss the people,” Earnhardt said. “As (Hendrick Motorsports owner) Rick (Hendrick) would say, ‘We’ve got unfinished business.’


“But I’m not ready to stop racing. I’m not ready to quit. It’s a slower process and I wish it wasn’t. I don’t know how long it will take.”


“I’m not going to go in a car until doctors clear me. I trust what doctors are telling me.”


Further, Earnhardt said the idea of retirement hasn’t been brought up by either himself or his doctors throughout this healing period.


“My doctor thinks to get through the therapy and get through the symptoms, you don’t need to add stress,” Earnhardt explained. “The point right now is to get healthy and get right.


“Whenever that happens, it happens. It’s frustrating I’ve had to miss this many races. When we went to the doctors’ office, I never anticipated being out this long.”

RELATED: More on Junior’s contract talks with Hendrick


And, he added, “That’s not the conversation your doctor will have with you when he’s trying to get you right. All he cares about is fixing you. He doesn’t care about my racing or whatever I do as a profession. He’s just trying to fix what is wrong with me.”


What the doctors are telling Earnhardt is that this healing time with this type of injury is essentially a waiting game.


He has specific exercises he does for two to three hours daily to help his brain heal. And doctors have also suggested he put himself in situations he might not initially feel most comfortable in.


Earnhardt said the most pressing issues include ocular (vision) imbalance problems.


“My doctor wants to push me into situations that drive the symptoms, and that’s basically going somewhere that I’m not familiar with, or being in busy places,” Earnhardt said. “Going out to eat or going to lunch or coming here, my doctor calls that ‘exposure.’ This is probably the worst situation (laughs) as far as making my symptoms go haywire, but that’s what he wants.


“He wants me to do anything whether it’s going places and pushing myself to get into areas that give me anxiety and drive the symptoms.


“All the rehab drives the symptoms. They want me to push the symptoms so my body gets used to them and they become suppressed and then it’s no longer an issue.”


Earnhardt said he and the doctors haven’t yet discussed a specific path to returning to the race car. Right now they are focused on making Earnhardt better.


“I don’t know what the doctor would choose there,” he said. “Whether you could go symptom-free and go immediately back in the car. Or if they would maybe want you to be symptom free for a week or two weeks. I don’t know what he will do.”


“My doctor thinks that to get through the therapy and to get through the symptoms you don’t need to be adding stress to your life. The stress will slow down the process. So, going into those kinds of conversations aren’t even necessary at this particular point.


“The point right now is just to get healthy. Just to get right. I’m not thinking about the what-ifs. I’m just listening to my doctors. We went into this with the intentions of getting back in the car when we get cleared. I think that is a possibility and so do my doctors. So I am excited about that.”


In the meantime, Earnhardt was certainly well-received at Watkins Glen. And vice versa.


Fans dressed in his t-shirts and hats stood in the garage hoping for a spotting.

PHOTOS: Junior’s press conference, in the garage, more from Watkins Glen


He visited with his No. 88 Chevrolet team in the garage before opening practice for this week’s Cheez-It 355 at the Glen and then hung out inside his team’s hauler visiting with crew and team. He expected to fly back to Charlotte before sunset.

Although his just-retired teammate Jeff Gordon is again filling in for Earnhardt this week (it’s Gordon’s 800th Cup start), his Chevy still has “Dale Jr.” written over the driver’s side window and “Earnhardt Jr.” across the front window shield.



Posted on by Staff Report

Friday, Aug. 5
9 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice (re-air), NBCSN
10:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice (re-air), NBCSN
Midnight, NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), NBCSN

Saturday, Aug. 6
2:30 a.m., NASCAR: The List – Iconic Cars (re-air), NBCSN
Noon, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, CNBC
1:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown, CNBC
2 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Zippo 200 at The Glen, CNBC
4:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Post-Race Show, CNBC

Sunday, Aug. 7
12:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS2
2 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Countdown, USA
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Cheez-It 355 at The Glen, USA
4 p.m., WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: Road America, FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Post-Race Show, USA
Midnight, NASCAR Victory Lap, NBCSN

TUNE-IN GUIDE

Daytona Market:

Brighthouse Cable 

USA Network: Channel 1238 

NBCSN: Channel 1152

CNBC: Channel 1219

 

Charlotte Market:

Time Warner Cable

USA Network: Channel 101

NBCSN: Channel 314

CNBC: Channel 205

 

New York Market:

Time Warner Cable

USA Network: Channel 101

NBCSN: Channel 314

CNBC: Channel 205 


Optimum Cable

USA: Channel 38

NBCSN: Channel 212

CNBC: Channel 24


Verizon FIOS

USA: Channel 550

NBCSN: Channel 590

CNBC: Channel 602

 

Los Angeles Market:

Time Warner Cable 

USA Network: Channel 101

NBCSN: Channel 314

CNBC: Channel 85 

 

National Carriers:

DIRECTV

USA Network: Channel 242

NBCSN: Channel 220

CNBC: Channel 355

 

Dish Network

USA: Channel 105 

NBCSN: Channel 159 

CNBC: Channel 208


Verizon FIOS

USA: Channel 550

NBCSN: Channel #590

CNBC: Channel 602

Top providers in top markets:

   

DirecTV

Dish
   

USA

CNBC

NBCSN

USA

CNBC

NBCSN
 

New York

242

355

220

105

208

159
 

LA

242

355

220

105

208

159
 

Chicago

242

355

220

105

208

159
 

Philadelphia

242

355

220

105

208

159
 

Dallas/FtW

242

355

220

105

208

159
 

San Fran.

242

355

220

105

208

159
 

Boston

242

355

220

105

208

159
 

Wash., D.C.

242

355

220

105

208

159
 

Atlanta

242

355

220

105

208

159
 

Houston

242

355

220

105

208

159
 

Charlotte

242

355

220

105

208

159
 

Indianapolis

242

355

220

105

208

159
 

Daytona

242

355

220

105

208

159
 

Miami

242

355

220

105

208

159
               
               
   

Optimum

Time Warner Cable
   

USA

CNBC

NBCSN

USA

CNBC

NBCSN
 

New York

38

24

212

101

205

314
 

LA

 

 

 

101

205

314
 

Chicago

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Philadelphia

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Dallas/FtW

 

 

 

101

205

314
 

San Fran.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Boston

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Wash., D.C.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Atlanta

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Houston

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Charlotte

 

 

 

101

205

314
 

Indianapolis

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Daytona

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Miami

 

 

 

 

 

 
               
   

ATT Uverse

Brighthouse
   

USA

CNBC

NBCSN

USA

CNBC

NBCSN
 

New York

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

LA

1125

1216

1640

 

 

 
 

Chicago

1124

1216

1640

 

 

 
 

Philadelphia

1124

1216

1640

 

 

 
 

Dallas/FtW

1124

1216

1640

 

 

 
 

San Fran.

1125

1216

1640

 

 

 
 

Boston

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Wash., D.C.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Atlanta

1124

1216

1640

 

 

 
 

Houston

1124

1216

1640

 

 

 
 

Charlotte

1124

1216

1640

 

 

 
 

Indianapolis

1124

1216

1640

1139

1305

1424
 

Daytona

1124

1216

1640

1238

1219

1152
 

Miami

1124

1216

1640

 

 

 
               
   

Fios

XFINITY
   

USA

CNBC

NBCSN

USA

CNBC

NBCSN
 

New York

550

602

590

 

 

 
 

LA

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Chicago

 

 

 

221

266

174
 

Philadelphia

550

602

590

823

819

848
 

Dallas/FtW

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

San Fran.

 

 

 

738

762

723
 

Boston

550

602

590

835

795

865
 

Wash., D.C.

550

602

590

823

819

848
 

Atlanta

 

 

 

842

836

845
 

Houston

 

 

 

621

645

649
 

Charlotte

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Indianapolis

 

 

 

1205

1115

1607
 

Daytona

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Miami

 

 

 

420

470

448
Posted on by Staff Report

With five races remaining in the regular season, 10 drivers have clinched a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, assuming each start the remaining races.

The 10 clinchers: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin.

 

Everyone who has a win this season is in — except for Tony Stewart and Chris Buescher, both of whom have yet to clinch a top-30 spot.

 

A number of drivers who currently have no wins can clinch this weekend, but only if they win at Watkins Glen International and leave the race with at least a 165-point lead over Stewart and Buescher. There’s also the potential for the points leader to be a guaranteed winner after race No. 26 at Richmond, the final regular-season race. If that’s the case, the below drivers would only need to have a 165-point lead over Buescher.

 

Possible to clinch at Watkins Glen:

 

Austin Dillon (0 Wins, 549 Points, +268 Points Ahead of 31st)

 

Ryan Newman (0 Wins, 537 Points, +256 Points Ahead of 31st)

 

Chase Elliott (0 Wins, 533 Points, +252 Points Ahead of 31st)

 

Jamie McMurray (0 Wins, 517 Points, +236 Points Ahead of 31st)

 

Kyle Larson (0 Wins, 508 Points, +227 Points Ahead of 31st)

 

Kasey Kahne (0 Wins, 488 Points, +207 Points Ahead of 31st)

 

Trevor Bayne (0 Wins, 480 Points, +199 Points Ahead of 31st)

 

Ryan Blaney (0 Wins, 480 Points, +199 Points Ahead of 31st)

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Junior ‘not ready to quit’ racing

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. met with members of the media Friday at Watkins Glen International to discuss his health, a potential timeline of his return to racing and many other topics. Here’s what he said:

 

ON BEING BACK AT THE TRACK:

“It is great to be back and seeing everybody. I’m super nervous coming back. I miss my team and my teammates. Amy (Reimann, fiancée) is gone on a trip for the weekend, so I was at the house by myself and was just looking for some things to do. Figured coming to the track wasn’t a bad idea. I get to hang out with my guys a little bit. It just felt so weird not being there, so here we are.”

 

IS IT POSSIBLE YOUR DOCTORS WON’T BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU CLEAR DIRECTIVES SO THAT YOU WILL HAVE A BIG DECISION TO MAKE ON YOUR OWN FOR YOUR LONG-TERM HEALTH?

“I think my doctors have a good understanding of my history and what I have been through and with their own personal knowledge that they have throughout their careers to give me a clear understanding of when I will be ready to go back and get into a race car. Our intentions are to get cleared and get back to racing. We are just taking it one evaluation at a time. It is frustrating to have to do it that way, but that is the process, and we hope and expect that when we go back for the next evaluation that we are symptom free and can start to see a timeline develop. Until then, we are just taking it one evaluation at a time. Those are typically every two to three to four weeks.”

 

YOUR FANS WANT TO KNOW IF THIS HAS BEEN TOUGH EMOTIONALLY ON YOU BECAUSE YOU HAVE SEEMED SO STRONG THROUGH THIS:

“I just want to get better. You put everything … nothing else is really a priority except for just getting the symptoms to clear up and get back to feeling like yourself. That is all that I am thinking about. The process isn’t as fast as you would like it to be. I talk to my doctor every other day, sometimes for an hour or two about the psychological side of it because it can become very frustrating and obviously being a race car driver, we don’t have a lot of patience to begin with. This is a challenge. But we’ve got some great doctors, and I really believe and trust what they are telling me. I am confident and positive that they tell me without question that we are going to get back to normal.”

 

SINCE THIS PROCESS FIRST STARTED, HAVE YOU PERSONALLY CONSIDERED WHETHER YOU SHOULD CONSIDER RACING, OR HAVE THAT DISCUSSION BETWEEN YOU AND AMY, OR EVEN WITH JUST YOURSELF?

“No. My doctor thinks that to get through the therapy and to get through the symptoms you don’t need to be adding stress to your life. The stress will slow down the process. So, going into those kinds of conversations aren’t even necessary at this particular point. The point right now is just to get healthy. Just to get right. I’m not thinking about the what-ifs. I’m just listening to my doctors. … My doctors feel great about the opportunity that I will not only be healthy again, but they can actually make my brain stronger to be able to withstand these common events. The event that I had at Michigan which they have tied this concussion to, I shouldn’t have had a concussion from. I should be able to get through events like that without having any issues. So, they are not only working to get me healed up, but are working to make it to where I can compete and go through events like that without any concern.”

 

ON GETTING CORRECT INFORMATION ABOUT HIS CONDITION TO EVERYONE:

“I think the podcast was just a great outlet for us to give updates. People are wondering; people are curious so that was a great avenue for us. It is effective. I don’t mind being honest about what is going on and I think that is maybe helped some people to when they are going through the same situation. The one thing I worry the most about and I think I said on the podcast is that I don’t like people to make assumptions on where I am at and how I am doing and what I am up to.” 

 

IS IT YOUR EXPECTATION TO BE BACK IN THE CAR AS SOON AS YOU ARE SYMPTOM FREE? 

“I don’t know what the doctor would choose there. Whether you could go symptom free and go immediately back in the car. Or if they would maybe want you to be symptom free for a week or two weeks. I don’t know what he will do. We haven’t really talked about that. I personally would like to get in a race car and drive it at a closed course somewhere. Whether that is one of my late models, or if NASCAR would lift the restrictions on the testing policy to go to Gresham or someplace I want to get in the car and run for a day. I think I should do that.” 

 

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW FRUSTRATING THE ANXIETY-SIDE OF THIS HAS BEEN? ALSO, HOW HAS THE SUPPORT OF YOUR FANS HELPED YOU?

“I’d love to speak on the support. It’s been awesome. All the NASCAR fans are supportive of all the drivers when they find themselves in situations that are challenging. It’s been no different. That’s helped me a lot and gave me a lot of motivation to get back and get back in the car. Even hearing from not only the fans, but also the other drivers and my peers is such a positive motivation. The more of that I see, the better. I think it helps me keep going and keep working hard and take my therapy seriously.

  

YOU’VE BEEN A BIG ADVOCATE FOR PEOPLE WITH CONCUSSIONS IN THE SPORTS WORLD. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR OTHER DRIVERS THAT MIGHT HAVE THE SAME SYMPTOMS BUT ARE AFRAID TO STAND UP TO IT?

“It’s really hard, as a driver, to say that you’ve got a problem. And it’s hard to tell someone what to do in that situation. If you’re not feeling good; for me, I was sort of scared straight into getting checked out. When I got hurt in 2012, it was so severe and my body changed and my mind changed so much, I just had to get it looked at. I couldn’t go every day trying to self-manage my issues. And I just feel like, hopefully, anytime anybody gets dinged-up, or realized that they’re just not right, or they’re foggy, or whatever their symptoms are, that they would reach out to a neurologist and get checked out. And there’s easy access with our sport. We’ve got a lot of great people that are part of the sport and who have been part of the sport for a long time, that handle those issues and can get you to the right people.

 

“It’s hard because you basically put yourself out there to be pulled out of the car. But man, your quality of life is so important. Your health beyond your driving career is so important. If you plan on having a family, or have a family already, those things are going to be a priority.”

 

OUTSIDE OF NASCAR, HAVE ANY OTHER PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES REACHED OUT TO YOU TO TALK ABOUT CONCUSSIONS? DO YOU FEEL LIKE MAYBE YOU OPEN A DOOR FOR OTHER SPORTS TO MAYBE LOOK AT CONCUSSIONS MORE SERIOUSLY FOR OTHER ATHLETES?

“I don’t know. I just know I’m trying to take care of myself. I’ve talked to a lot of drivers. I’ve talked to a lot of people. You get in this situation and a lot of people reach out and a lot of people have their own experiences that they want to share. And when you’re going through that, you definitely want to share your experience with people who have had a common experience.”

  

IS IT AMAZING TO YOU HOW FAR WE HAVE ADVANCED MEDICALLY?

“I think about that. I’m so thankful that there is knowledge and there is rehabilitation that is specific to what I have going on. There is just not this umbrella of treatment that they sort of give to everybody. They have specific ways to help and heal specific types of concussions and certain symptoms. That is why I think I enjoy talking to my doctor so often and going to see him so often is because you have so many questions. Every day you get a new concern or a new question and you really can’t wait to get in the room and be able to talk to him about it. For them to have the knowledge they have today versus where we were 10 or 20 years ago is something I am very thankful for.”

   

YOU’VE HAD A GREAT CAREER IF IT CAME TO THAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER?  HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE?

“What? You didn’t say the word. (Laughs)”

 

RETIREMENT?

“When I went to see Dr. Petty for the first time in 2012 and then he set me up with the guys in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) they told me that our process was to get better and go back to racing. This one is no different. When I first went to see my doctor in this particular instance it was ‘I need to get right because I need to get back in the car as soon as I can.’ I’m surprised that I’ve missed this many races. … I have every intention of honoring my current contract. I sat with Rick (Hendrick) before this happened a couple of months ago to talk about an extension. That is the direction that we are going. As soon as I can get healthy and get confident in how I feel and feel like I can drive a car and be great driving it then I want to drive. I want to race. I miss the competition. I miss being here. I miss the people and as Rick likes to say ‘We’ve got unfinished business.’ I’m not ready to stop racing. I’m not ready to quit.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Practice 1 results | Final practice results 


Practice 1:

Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average
Pos Car Driver From Lap To Lap Avg Speed
1 2 Brad Keselowski 18 27 124.223
2 19 Carl Edwards 23 32 124.194
3 21 * Ryan Blaney # 16 25 123.401



Practice 2:

Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average
Pos Car Driver From Lap To Lap Avg Speed
1 18 Kyle Busch 12 21 124.854
2 11 Denny Hamlin 5 14 124.353
3 2 Brad Keselowski 10 19 124.348
4 27 Paul Menard 7 16 123.892
5 95 Michael McDowell 1 10 123.715
6 1 Jamie McMurray 10 19 123.522
7 3 Austin Dillon 1 10 123.069
8 34 Chris Buescher # 1 10 122.771