Posted on by Nascar

Todd Gordon, crew chief for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano, has been fined $10,000 for a lug nut infraction following the completion of Sunday night’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
 
The No. 22 Team Penske group was one of several Sprint Cup Series teams to receive either penalties or warnings, according to the NASCAR penalty report issued Wednesday. Meanwhile, NASCAR XFINITY Series driver Brendan Gaughan‘s task of advancing to the title round of the series’ inaugural Chase suffered another setback with the loss of 10 championship driver and owner points for a body height violation at Texas, which the penalty report referred to as an “encumbered finish.”
 
Gaughan enters this weekend’s race at Phoenix International Raceway eighth in points among the eight Chase drivers still in title contention. The points loss leaves him now trailing fourth-place Blake Koch by 33 points. Only the top four advance to the Championship 4 to compete for the series title Nov. 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
 
Shane Wilson, crew chief of the No. 62 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, was fined $10,000 for the violation.
 
Gaughan’s team wasn’t the only one to lose 10 points for a violation at Texas. The No. 88 Chevrolet fielded by JR Motorsports, and driven at Texas by Sprint Cup Series regular Kevin Harvick, was also penalized 10 championship owner points and crew chief Dave Elenz was fined $10,000. The No. 88 team appealed its penalty today at the R&D Center, but was denied. The team can now appeal to the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer.

Because the finishing positions are considered “encumbered,” they would not be factored into any potential tie-breaker scenarios.
 
No driver points were deducted because Harvick does not earn points in any series other than Sprint Cup. The No. 88 teams remains seventh in the owner points standings.
 
For Logano, his No. 22 Ford was found to have only 19 of 20 lug nuts secured following his runner-up finish to Carl Edwards (Joe Gibbs Racing) on Sunday. He is one of six drivers vying for a berth in the championship-determining Chase for the Sprint Cup.
 
Edwards and six-time series champion Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports) have already secured berths in the Nov. 20 finale.
 
Gordon is the fourth crew chief to be fined $10,000 for a lug nut violation, joining Greg Ives (Hendrick Motorsports No. 88), Drew Blickensderfer (Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43) and Brian Pattie (Roush Fenway Racing No. 16).
 
Previous lug nut infractions carried a heftier fine and included suspension before NASCAR officials adjusted the penalty.
 
In addition to the penalty on the No. 22 team, 14 other teams received written warnings for failing laser or template inspection.
 
• Because their teams failed pre-qualifying template inspection three times, drivers Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Edwards and Martin Truex Jr. will lose 15 minutes of practice time this week at Phoenix International Raceway.
 
• The teams of Trevor Bayne, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Matt DiBenedetto received written warnings for failing template inspection twice during the pre-qualifying inspection process. Bayne and Hamlin served penalties at Texas for having four written warnings.
 
• Failing the laser inspection three times in pre-qualifying inspection will cost driver AJ Allmendinger 15 minutes of practice at Phoenix as well.
 
• Written warnings, with no loss of practice time, were given to the teams of Austin Dillon (LIS, pre-race and pre-qualifying), Greg Biffle (LIS, pre-qualifying) and David Ragan (LIS, pre-race).
 
• Additional XFINITY Series penalties from Texas were a $5,000 fine for crew chief Kevin Meendering (JR Motorsports) for a lug nut violation; and a 15-minute loss of practice time for the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing entry at Phoenix. Kyle Busch is scheduled to compete for the team this weekend.
 
Four other teams received written warnings for inspection issues with no loss of practice time.

Posted on by Holly Cain

I’ll admit it. I didn’t necessarily pick Carl Edwards to be one of the Championship 4 drivers challenging for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series trophy at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 20.

But now that Sunday’s Texas Motor Speedway race winner is officially in the mix, he can no longer be anyone’s “sleeper pick” for the sport’s biggest trophy.

Credit to Edwards for securing one of the four title race positions when other “sure-bets” might have given that first nod to his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, defending Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch or this year’s Daytona 500 winner, Denny Hamlin, or even former champ Matt Kenseth.

Edwards earned this.

And his demeanor from that of very hopeful long shot to confident contender transformed in one lengthy day in Texas. He entered the race ranked last among the eight Chase contenders, a whopping 32 points out, but finished the night celebrating in Victory Lane.

From body language to just plain language, Edwards seemed to morph before our very eyes in the minutes following his win.

He was not a driver content with the opportunity to contend, but someone who absolutely feels he could — and should — be hoisting the big hardware in two weeks.

“When we made it to this round, I was very certain, I felt very confident,” said Edwards, driver of the No. 19 Toyota. “We talked about it.  We felt like we could win at Martinsville. We could win Texas. We could win Phoenix.

“I know when the trouble happened at Martinsville, a lot of people probably thought, ‘That’s it for them.’ But we really did have a lot of confidence. That’s easy to say now because we won the race, but it’s the truth, we really did.

“It’s nice to be able to pull through, make that happen. Now we just got to dig in and do it again.”

Edwards is not the kind of guy for the competition to ever take lightly. And this shot at the title is significant on many levels.

He will quickly remind you that he tied Tony Stewart in the 2011 Cup championship point standings, losing out on the title to Smoke on a technicality. Stewart won the championship via tiebreaker with his five wins compared to Edwards’ one.

Last year, Edwards looked like he would earn a shot at redemption. But in the penultimate race at Phoenix, he got caught up in a bad position as the race was called for rain with 93 laps remaining. Edwards’ Toyota had been a top-five mainstay all day only to be caught 12th (after a green flag pit stop) when the race was declared over for rain. His title hopes drowned out, as well.

“One of the first things my dad told my about racing, ‘There’s a thousand ways to lose a race,'” Edwards said. “None of those thousand things can happen. You have to have everything go well.

“Those disappointments like Martinsville or Phoenix last year or 2011, that battle, that’s just part of the sport. That’s what makes victories and days like this and championships so special. You have to do everything right.”

Edwards, who has a pair of wins at Phoenix, redeemed himself already this year finishing runner-up to Kevin Harvick in a dramatic, door-slamming chase to the checkered there.

It’s what he expects this week and what he expects the following week in the championship big show at Homestead.

“I will not be relaxed,” Edwards said, allowing a smile.

“This is the part that I love,” he continued. “I mean, next week, we want to go win the race (at Phoenix). Really, starting right now, in Victory Lane, (crew chief) Dave (Rogers) was actually trying to shut me up. I started talking about Homestead already.

“Everything we do now will be geared to making sure that that Homestead weekend, we do it perfectly. So, yeah, I relish the opportunity to go focus for the next 14 days on trying to give a championship effort.”

Edwards’ track record at the 1.5-mile Miami track is worth noting.

He has a pair of victories (2008 and 2010) and finished in the top 10 for seven consecutive years from 2005 through his runner-up showing to Stewart in 2011.

And he returns there next week already smiling and feeling good about his chances.

“It’s so much fun, you guys,” Edwards said. “Just the idea of getting to race for a championship, getting that opportunity. 

“It’s not just going there like we did in 2011 to race against one guy in championship form. We’re going to go there and race against three guys, one of which is a six‑time champion, top of his game. I know whoever else in there is going to be tough as nails.

“It’s cool. If we’re able to win that, stand here 14 days from now with that championship trophy, we’re going to have earned it. And that’s as good as it gets.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Series standings | Chase grid | Texas penalties

 

A three-member panel upheld a P2-grade penalty to the JR Motorsports No. 88 team in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at the conclusion of an expedited appeals hearing Wednesday.

 

Kevin Harvick drove the No. 88 Chevrolet to a third-place finish last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, but the JRM entry did not meet the proper height requirement in the rear during a post-race inspection, a violation of Sections 12.1; 20.17.3.2.2 in the 2016 NASCAR Rule Book.

 

The team — with Rick Hendrick the car owner of record for the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned organization — was docked 10 points in the XFINITY team owner standings. Crew chief David Elinz was fined $10,000.

 

The penalties were affirmed Wednesday by the National Motorsports Appeals Panel. The team had the option of a final appeal to Bryan Moss, the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer, but it declined.

 

The panel members who heard Wednesday’s appeal were: Dale Pinilis, longtime operator of NASCAR-affiliated Bowman Gray Stadium; former premier series driver Lake Speed; and Kevin Whitaker, owner of Greenville-Pickens Speedway, another historic weekly NASCAR track.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Phoenix entry list | NASCAR elaborates on concussion protocol

Matt DiBenedetto said he has been medically cleared to race in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Phoenix International Raceway, the driver announced Tuesday afternoon via Twitter.

The driver of the No. 83 BK Racing Toyota missed last Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway after crashing during the XFINITY race one day earlier. He was not medically cleared to race and was required to follow concussion protocol as a safety precaution for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event.

His fill-in driver, Jeffrey Earnhardt, piloted the No. 83 Toyota to a 34th-place result in the Lone Star State.

Posted on by Staff Report

SPRINT CUP SERIES
Chase Grid: Johnson, Edwards in Championship 4

Joey Logano (0 Wins, 4074 Points) — Would clinch on points with a second-place finish and at least one lap led. With a win, would clinch a next-round spot on wins.

Kyle Busch (0 Wins, 4074 Points) — Would clinch on points with a second-place finish and the most laps led. With a win, would clinch a next-round spot on wins.

The following drivers can only guarantee a clinch with a win. They could also clinch on points with help:

Matt Kenseth (0 Wins, 4073 Points)

Denny Hamlin (0 Wins, 4072 Points)

Kevin Harvick (0 Wins, 4056 Points)

Kurt Busch (0 Wins, 4040 Points)

——

XFINITY SERIES
Chase Grid: All Championship 4 spots up for grabs

Daniel Suarez (0 Wins, 3075 Points) — Would clinch on points with 26 Points (15th and no laps led, 15th and led at least one lap, 16th and led most laps). With a win, would clinch a spot on wins.

Elliott Sadler (0 Wins, 3074 Points) — Would clinch on points with 26 Points (15th and no laps led, 15th and led at least one lap, 16th and led most laps). With a win, would clinch a next-round spot on wins.

Erik Jones (0 Wins, 3065 Points) — Would clinch on points with 36 Points (5th and no laps led, 6th and led at least one lap, 7th and led most laps). With a win, would clinch a next-round spot on wins.

Blake Koch (0 Wins, 3059 Points) — If there is a winner who has already been eliminated or is currently in a transfer spot, would clinch with a second-place finish. With a win, would clinch a spot. Could clinch on points with a new winner and help.

The following drivers can only guarantee a spot with a win. Each could also clinch on points with help:

Justin Allgaier (0 Wins, 3058 Points)

Ryan Reed (0 Wins, 3054 Points)

Darrell Wallace Jr (0 Wins, 3039 Points)

Brendan Gaughan (0 Wins, 3026 Points)

——

CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
Chase Grid: Sauter in Championship 4

William Byron (0 Wins, 3052 Points) — Would clinch on points with 30 Points (3rd and no laps led, 4th and led at least one lap, 5th and led most laps). With a win, would clinch a next-round spot on wins.

Christopher Bell (0 Wins, 3051 Points) — Would clinch on points with 31 Points (2nd and no laps led, 3rd and led at least one lap, 4th and led most laps). With a win, would clinch a next-round spot on wins.

Matt Crafton (0 Wins, 3048 Points) — If there is a winner who has been eliminated or is currently in a transfer spot, would clinch on points with a second-place finish. With a win, would clinch a spot on wins. Could clinch on points with a new winner and help.

The following drivers can only guarantee a spot with a win. They could still clinch on points with a new winner and help:

Timothy Peters (0 Wins, 3047 Points)

Ben Kennedy (0 Wins, 3035 Points)

Posted on by Staff Report

The rise of social media’s popularity, particularly Twitter, has played well with Jimmie Johnson‘s run of championships.


 

As his charge to the title has played out during the course of recent seasons, Johnson’s use of hashtags, a combination of the # symbol followed by keywords or topics, has been very much in evidence.

 

With Johnson’s latest endeavor — a quest for a seventh championship — looking promising, having already locked up a berth in the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, let’s take a look back at his previous hashtags and his current one on display.

 

There was #5time following his fifth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in 2010. That was followed by #6pack, which appeared during his drive to a sixth title in 2013.

 

During the Sprint Media Tour ahead of his championship-defending 2014 season, Johnson explained the origins of the hashtag he’s been using since — #se7en.

 

 

“Out of memory of Ricky Hendrick, I went with #se7en,” Johnson said at the time. The numeral and the peculiar way it was written “was something that was really important to (Ricky). … He would spell it out that way and had it in a variety of ways.”

 

Hendrick, son of Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick, was one of 10 people killed in a plane crash in October of 2004. He had made 22 starts in what is now the NASCAR XFINITY Series that season before stepping out of the car and turning his attention to ownership, driving both the No. 7 and No. 17 throughout his racing career.

 

“When we were at the Hendrick Christmas party in December, his favorite band, O.A.R., was playing and the whole moment kind of came to a head,” Johnson said. “(We were) up front at the stage, singing away. Mr. Hendrick, Linda (Hendrick) … the whole family and everybody’s there reliving Ricky moments, just talking about him and watching his favorite band play.

 

“I left there thinking ‘This is it, it’s got to be #se7en, the way he used it and wrote it.’ So that’s going to be the hashtag.”

 

Posted on by Pat DeCola
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/jimmie-johnson/
JimmieJohnson
0
Hendrick Motorsports

Johnson’s "Is it Homestead yet?" tour continues for another week, but don’t expect him to go through the motions at Phoenix, where his average finish (7.8) is tops among drivers.

Carl Edwards may be locked in, but Harvick may as well be, despite technically being below the cutoff line. Apart from maybe Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville, there is no driver better at a particular track than "El Toro" is at Phoenix. 

He didn’t back flip, nor did he race to the checkered flag (because of that pesky rain), but Edwards is heading to Homestead, regardless.


MORE: Edwards surges to Texas win

Logano sits in a great spot, at the top of the Chase Grid among drivers without a win. His No. 22 Ford ran into an issue in post-race inspection, but his team may not incur a points penalty.


MORE: No. 22 found with 19 of 20 lug nuts

https://www.nascar.com/drivers/kyle-busch/
KyleBusch
0
Joe Gibbs Racing

"Rowdy" narrowly escaped a spinning Brian Scott, which could’ve really put him in a precarious position had he not. Instead, he’s (barely) above the cutoff line heading into the Round of 8 finale.

MORE: Busch slips by Scott

Kenseth is just below the cutoff line, so he doesn’t need a win at Phoenix to advance. That’s a good thing for him, because he has just one in 27 tries, with a Chase-worst average finish of 16.3.

https://www.nascar.com/drivers/denny-hamlin/
DennyHamlin
-5
Joe Gibbs Racing

Hamlin isn’t in great position and may be the odd JGR driver out when all is said and done, but he is one of just three remaining Chase drivers with double-digit top-five finishes at Phoenix.

Of the eight drivers remaining in the Chase, Busch’s standing heading into Phoenix is the shakiest. He all but needs to win to advance.


MORE: Busch in Chase Grid trouble

Truex continues to lead laps (66 at Texas) and it still seems weird to think that arguably the best driver of the season is no longer racing for a title.  

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

After a truly dominant performance (with a tough ending) in this event last year, it was a surprise to see Keselowski finish 14th at Texas.

https://www.nascar.com/drivers/chase-elliott/
ChaseElliott
0
Hendrick Motorsports

Elliott gutted out a gritty performance, battled flu-like symptoms for a fourth-place finish after a lengthy rain delay. What’d you do this weekend?

https://www.nascar.com/drivers/austin-dillon/
AustinDillon
1
Richard Childress Racing

Before a run-in with Kevin Harvick saddled him with a poor finish, Dillon and his No. 3 pole-winning team were set for a really solid run at a tough track — a sign of good things to come.


MORE: Dillon heated at Harvick

Larson has just one top-10 finish at Phoenix despite having a pretty clean average start of 8.2.

Despite a runner-up finish at Phoenix last spring, don’t expect a late-season push for McMurray. He has just four top 10s in 26 starts.

Since recent history tells us a Chase driver will win at Homestead, Phoenix may well be Stewart’s last realistic shot at a win. He hasn’t won in the desert since his rookie season. Why not have it happen in his final season, too?

Buescher’s first Phoenix start came earlier this year, and it did not go well. He started 32nd and finished 30th. 

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Chase Grid | Early close call for Busch in Texas

 

Kyle Busch holds a tenuous advantage of a single point in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup standings, the slim margin separating the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion from advancement and elimination.

Busch sits fourth among the eight still vying for the 2016 crown and second among the six who will head to Phoenix International Raceway with no guarantees.

But don’t expect the No. 18 Toyota, constructed in the confines of Joe Gibbs Racing‘s headquarters in Huntersville, North Carolina, to arrive for this week’s penultimate Chase race with “Fragile. Handle With Care” emblazoned where the familiar logos of sponsor M&M’s presently reside.

Busch and his team haven’t gone into “protection mode.” A one-point advantage is tissue-thin. Two JGR teammates are among those residing outside the cut-off line and friendships only go so far.

A much more impressive note concerning Busch, crew chief Adam Stevens and the No. 18 team is the number of top-five finishes in this year’s Chase. Sunday night’s on-the-button fifth-place result in the AAA Texas 500 was the sixth top-five for Busch in eight Chase races this season. It was particularly impressive in light of his initial start two days earlier, when a skirmish with the wall during practice sent the team hustling to bring out a back-up entry.

The back-up was no more bullet-proof — it was a one-eyed ride for much of the race after debris struck the right-front, necessitating a pit-road patch job.

Fifth in light of all that reinforces the talent and determination of a defending champion and his team.

Shades of 2015? A year ago, Busch sported an average finish of 11.6 through the first eight Chase races while also without a Chase victory.

He finished fourth at Phoenix, then went on to outrun Kevin Harvick for the win and the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Through this year’s first eight races, the average finish is a rock-solid 8.0. No wins, but still …

“We are in the hunt,” Busch offered after rain halted the Texas race 41 laps short of its scheduled 334-lap distance.

The JGR organization has made significant strides since Busch’s return from injury in mid-2015. Perhaps nowhere has that been more evident than at Phoenix, site of Sunday’s Can-Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR).

While Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing) has won five of the last six races at the 1-mile venue, JGR drivers were second, third and fourth there in this year’s spring race. In the fall race of ’15, three finished in the top 12, including Busch, who was fourth.

“We’ve worked a ton about everywhere, but especially at Phoenix,” Busch said.

Phoenix hasn’t been his most productive track — Busch has only one win there, and it took place in 2005 while he was competing for Hendrick Motorsports.

A victory in the desert would guarantee another shot at the title, however if a win isn’t in the cards, yet another top-five finish could accomplish the same thing.

That hasn’t been a problem. But top fives do not come to those who wait.

“We’ve had all the finishes that we need thus far,” he acknowledged, “we just have to be able to go out there one more week and be able to get another one.”