Shades of 2011? Stewart stat could be foretelling

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Staff Report

Remember back in 2011, Tony Stewart went on the record to say he didn’t think his No. 14 team would win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship?

Remember what actually happened? Stewart won five of the 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup to beat Carl Edwards for an improbable championship, the third of his storied career.

Stewart’s win at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, his first of 2016 and first in more than three years, brought back memories of that historic run and inevitably has led some to wonder if Stewart has one more magical march in him.

“I’m going to stick with my approach from 2011,” Stewart said to NASCAR.com’s Jonathan Merryman on Sunday afternoon in Victory Lane. “I said we couldn’t win it then and we ended up winning it. I feel like we’re just starting to get going.”

MORE: Watch that interview | See Stewart move Hamlin for win

Want another similarity to 2011? One stat stands out and perhaps provides another layer of continuity between the two seasons.

Through race Nos. 9-16 of the season — Stewart’s first eight events of the year after missing the start of the season due to a severe back injury — his average finish is 17.125.

In 2011, Stewart’s average finish from race Nos. 9-16? Exactly 17.125.

Hmm …

Posted on June 28, 2016February 19, 2019 by Staff Report

Chat with fans this weekend during the NASCAR action at Daytona International Speedway.

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Staff Report

From 8-11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, NASCAR.com will live stream the post-race inspection process.

The three-hour look takes you behind the scenes as NASCAR officials inspect NASCAR Sprint Cup Series vehicles following Sunday’s Toyota – Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

The cars being inspected this week are: the No. 14 Chevrolet of Tony Stewart (winner of Sunday’s race) and the No. 11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin (runner-up in Sunday’s race).

For more information on what the inspection process entails, click here.

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — In a show of appreciation for the United States Armed Forces, NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers will bear the names of active military units and installations on their race car windshields during Friday’s Subway Firecracker 250 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The 82nd Airborne Division, 1st Marine Raider Battalion and the USS New York (LPD-21) are among the military units and installations from all five branches that will replace the “XFINITY” header on NASCAR XFINITY Series cars.

NASCAR: An American Salute™ (#NASCARSalutes) is the industry’s collective expression of reverence, respect and gratitude for those who have served and continue to defend the United States today. Last month, NASCAR together with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race teams honored 40 fallen service members with 600 Miles of Remembrance, a similar tribute during Memorial Day Weekend.

“NASCAR’s long-standing tradition of honoring the U.S. Armed Forces will never waver — it is woven into the fabric of our sport,” said Brent Dewar, chief operating officer, NASCAR. “We have a unique opportunity with the NASCAR XFINITY Series to pay tribute to the military units and bases integral to preserving our country’s freedom.”

Several NASCAR XFINITY Series teams have personal or direct connections to the units displayed on their race cars. Driver Brendan Gaughan‘s windshield will read “23RD STS,” representing the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron (U.S. Air Force) from Hurlburt Field in Fort Walton, Florida. Gaughan is one of a handful of civilians recognized as an Honorary Member of the Combat Control Association.

Elliott Sadler‘s windshield will be adorned with Fort Campbell to honor JR Motorsports employee Lee Langley, who served for six years at the Army base as an infantry team leader in the 101st Airborne Division. Ty Dillon and Brandon Jones both work with Hope 4 Warriors and will honor 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines and 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, respectively, from Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Justin Allgaier will honor the U.S. Air Force 469th Flight Training Squadron through a personal connection, as Allgaier is friends with Major Robert Harms, one of the pilots serving in that specific unit. The squadron operates out of Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.

“I always look forward to getting a chance to pay homage those who serve our country at Daytona each year,” Allgaier said. “We’re thankful to Comcast for providing the space on all of our cars to support these military heroes and to NASCAR for continuing their NASCAR Salutes program. This year there’s a personal tie for me as I get to display the squadron of one of my friends. We love that we’re able to support our military, but a sticker or event will never be enough to truly give them all the credit they deserve for what they do.”

The special windshield tribute is one of several military activities planned for the Independence Day Weekend races at Daytona International Speedway, culminating with Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola (7:45 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The race track will again host and recognize three recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest award given to military service members, continuing a tradition dating back several years. The Medal of Honor recipients in attendance this weekend will include Staff Sergeant Ty Carter, Command Sergeant Major Gary Littrell and Captain Florent Groberg, each representing the U.S. Army.

NASCAR together with Daytona International Speedway and race teams will host hundreds of active military and veterans, and their families, during the race weekend. Among them will be the 65th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army, nicknamed “The Bourinqueneers,” a Puerto Rican regiment that was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in April.

Several active military members present for Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola will take part in a special moment of recognition for the U.S. Armed Forces before the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

Pre-race activities will also feature a flyover of four F-16s from the 93rd Fighter Squadron from Homestead Air Reserve Base during the national anthem, which will be performed by the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence Band from Fort Benning, Georgia. The national anthem will be performed as 200 military members unfurl a giant American flag in the infield.

Retired U.S. Air Force Sergeant Kelly Miller will be grand marshal for Friday’s Subway Firecracker 250 Powered By Coca-Cola. A Subway franchisee, Miller served as an aeromedical service specialist, responsible for the healthcare of Air Force pilots and flight crews. Retired Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Fred Gardner, also a Subway franchisee, will serve as the honorary starter. Gardner operated the Terrier missile first control system during Mediterranean tours.

Additional live coverage of the Subway Firecracker 250 Powered By Coca-Cola and Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola can be found on NASCAR.com.

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Pat DeCola

Kevinharvick

Harvick didn’t make headlines, but had a pretty great Sonoma race — leading three laps, finishing sixth and extending his points lead to 35

Kurtbusch

Another race, another top 10 for Busch — who continues to hold the series lead in the category with 14.

Carledwards

Sonoma’s pole winner appeared to have the inside line to a victory most of the day, leading 24 laps, but had to settle for a third top-five result in his past four tries at the track.

BradKeselowski

-1

Look past the result. Keselowski said after the race it’s the best he’s felt at Sonoma — which bodes well for his chances at Watkins Glen, where he has three runner-up finishes in six races.

Joeylogano

After some ups and downs through the first half of the season, Logano now has strung together three straight top-five finishes.

KyleBusch

Busch was unable to recapture his 2015 Sonoma magic, but he still stopped the bleeding of not having any top-10 finishes since his Kansas win.

JimmieJohnson

Johnson hasn’t won since March, but Daytona should present a good opportunity for ‘Six-Time,’ as he finished second in this race last year.

Martintruex jr

Truex finished in the top five at Sonoma, battling for the lead late. Next stop: the site of the closest finish in Daytona 500 history, of which he was on the losing end. He’ll be motivated.

ChaseElliott

-1

Elliott wasn’t expected to perform too well in his first Sonoma Sprint Cup race, and didn’t. As the most recent Daytona pole winner, expect him to get back on track this weekend.

Mattkenseth

-1

Is there a driver happier than Kenseth to leave Sonoma (one top 10 in 17 tries) and head to Daytona (two wins)?

DennyHamlin

Hamlin was leading at Sonoma — albeit for just a short time — within sight of the checkered flag before Tony Stewart moved him. The reigning Daytona 500 winner is getting close to tasting victory again, and it could be soon.

MORE: Hamlin comes up short at Sonoma

Kylelarson

-1

Larson looked solid at Sonoma, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can keep it rolling and build off his first career top-10 finish at Daytona in February.

DaleEarnhardt Jr.

Looking for Junior to break through for his first 2016 win? How about Daytona, where he’s the defending race winner?

Ryannewman

The definition of "Newman-ing"? How does an average finish of 10.67 over his last six races sound?

AustinDillon

-3

Austin Dillon: bad at road courses (zero top 10 in five attempts), but really, really good at Daytona (four top 10s in six races, one top 5). Keep an eye on him this weekend.

Kaseykahne

Kahne has just six top 10s on the season, but guess what? Three of them have come in the past five races.

Ryanblaney

-1

Blaney had three straight top 10s from Talladega to Dover. He has just one since.

Jamiemcmurray

McMurray’s Sonoma career is strange. He has three poles, two in his past four races — but just two total top 10s in a pretty well-established career.

Ajallmendinger

‘Dinger led 20 laps and was in contention for a win before a costly penalty from his pit crew. He’s still in good shape in the standings, however, and theoretically could still make the Chase on points if he fails to win.

Tonystewart

Welcome back, Mr. Stewart. "Smoke" has taken care of the hard part — the win — and now sits a mere nine points out of the top 30 spot he needs to get into the Chase.

MORE: Stewart snaps skid, wins Sonoma

Posted on June 27, 2016 by

Breaking down the full field for the Toyota – Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway:

1. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart capitalized on two big breaks – pitting just before the Lap 88 caution and Denny Hamlin‘s mistake on the final turn – to capture his first win since 2013. Next up for Smoke: Getting into the top 30 in points so he can qualify for the Chase. Grade: A+

2. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Fortuitous timing on a pit stop before the second caution gave Hamlin the track position that enabled him to race for the win, but a huge mistake on the final turn cost him his first Sprint Cup Series win on a road course. Grade: A-

3. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. Logano caught a huge break with 14 laps to go when he swung far too wide on a turn and didn’t (a) hit the wall or (b) damage his car when he cut sharply to his right and muscled his way back onto the track. He made it through the incident to record his third straight top-five finish. Dale Earnhardt Jr., as you’ll read soon, wasn’t as fortunate. Grade: A

4. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Edwards overcame an 18-second green-flag pit stop then caught a break when his car survived being sandwiched between Joey Logano (see above) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 14 laps to go. Grade: A-

5. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Toyota, Furniture Row Racing. Truex was in the mix all afternoon, and his 4.2 average running position topped the field. Grade: A

6. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. The No. 4 team employed pit strategy early on, choosing to wait until Lap 31 (under green) for its first stop. It didn’t play out in Harvick’s favor as far as vying for the win, but it did start him on his way to grabbing a top 10 after qualifying 25th. Grade: A

7. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch ended his streak of finishes 30th or worse at four races, something he had done twice previously in his Cup career. Grade: A

8. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Fantasy alert: Remember Newman for next year at Sonoma. He has improved his finish every year at the road course since finishing 25th in 2011. Sunday’s top 10 was his second in a row. Grade: A

9. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne moved back into the top 16 in points (16th) with his fourth consecutive top-10 finish at Sonoma. Grade: A

10. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch posted his Cup-leading 14th top 10 of the season by finishing 10th for the fourth time this season. Grade: A

11. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Junior was on the short end of Joey Logano‘s mishap with 14 laps to go. Earnhardt saved his car, but the No. 88 sustained heavy damage to the left side, including a tire rub. Hats off to Earnhardt for bringing his car home 11th … and not bringing out a caution flag. Grade: A

12. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Larson lost at Pit Roulette on Sunday. His number came up when he moved to the front of the field when the second caution fell just after he had completed a green-flag pit stop. But he gave back all of that track position because of a pit-road speeding penalty with 40 laps to go. Grade: C

13. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The 48 team needed a lot to go its way for its pit strategy to play out. It didn’t, but the 48 still posted a solid finish. Grade: B

14. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. The road-racing ace led a season-high 20 laps, but all that is background noise because of a pit-road penalty for an uncontrolled tire during a caution on Lap 88. Instead of restarting sixth, Allmendinger restarted 36th. Grade: B-

15. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. Keselowski’s string of top-10 finishes ends at six, but his streak of top-15 finishes is now at eight. Grade: B

16. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard led three laps early during a round of green-flag pit stops. It marked the fourth time in 343 career Cup starts he has led laps in consecutive races. Grade: B

17. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. McMurray lost a spot in the points standings to 15th. He is 16 points to the good over 17th-place Ryan Blainey. Grade: B

18. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle’s career-high streak of Cup starts without a top-10 finish hit 24. Grade: B-

19. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick led three laps during green-flag pit stops. It is the third race this season she has led laps, tying a personal best set in 2014. Grade: B

20. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Sonoma and Kenseth don’t mix. He has one top-10 finish in 17 starts (2008) at the track. Grade: C

21. Chase Elliott, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The rookie’s string of top-10 finishes ends at six, but a 21st-place finish in his first trip to Sonoma is still pretty good. Grade: B

22. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon’s finish is disappointing considering he finished 17th in each of his first two starts at Sonoma. Grade: C

23. Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing. Just like fellow phenom Chase Elliott, Blaney was making his first start at Sonoma. Grade: B

24. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. No home-state advantage for the native of Bakersfield. Mears hasn’t had a top-10 finish at Sonoma since a career-best fifth in 2008. Grade: C

25. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne has now finished 25th in three of the past six races. Grade: C

26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. No surprise where Stenhouse finished. His average finish in his four starts at Sonoma is 26.0. Grade: C

27. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola couldn’t build on his career-best 14th-place finish at Sonoma last year. Grade: C-

28. Regan Smith, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Smith’s finish was his second best in five starts at Sonoma (16th in 2011). Grade: C

29. Landon Cassill, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Cassill posted his best career finish in four starts at Sonoma. Grade: C

30. Chris Buescher, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Buescher finished on the lead lap in his first start at Sonoma. Grade: C

31. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. DiBenedetto posted his best finish in his past five starts. Grade: D

32. David Ragan, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Ragan posted his best finish at Sonoma in his past four starts at the road course. Grade: D

33. Brian Scott, No. 44 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Scott was one of five drivers to finish on the lead lap in their Sonoma debut. Grade: D

34. Cole Whitt, No. 98 Toyota, Premium Motorsports. In the 100th start of his Sprint Cup Series career, Whitt made 100 green-flag passes, one of six drivers to hit triple digits Sunday. Grade: D

35. Dylan Lupton, No. 93 Toyota, BK Racing. Lupton, 22, of Wilton, California, finished on the lead lap in his first Sprint Cup Series start. Well done. Grade: C

36. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Annett’s 39 green-flag passes were his fewest in his three starts at Sonoma. Grade: F

37. Patrick Carpentier, No. 32 Ford, Go Fas Racing. Carpentier finished two laps down in his first Cup start since 2011. Grade: F

38. Josh Wise, No. 30 Chevrolet, The Motorsports Group. Engine issues ended Wise’s day after 97 laps. Grade: E

39. Michael McDowell, No. 95 Chevrolet, Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing. McDowell was heading toward a decent finish when his car stopped on the track, bringing out the final caution on Lap 94 (rear gear). On the flip side, he turned 11 laps in the top 15, the most by any driver who finished 25th or worse. Grade: D

40. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Bowyer’s day ended after five laps when his car filled with smoke because of an electrical fire. On the brighter side, the car Bowyer will be driving next year finished first. I guess you could call it a good Smoke, bad smoke day. Grade: E

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Staff Report

RELATED: Full schedule for 2016

Blake Shelton and his NASCAR friends are “Bringing Back the Sunshine” for NBC’s second season of NASCAR coverage under its new television deal.

The country singer is once again performing the song — with slightly new lyrics — that will serve as the introduction ahead of each race televised on the NBC family of networks. The spot was filmed during the spring race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in April.

Watch the video below to see a host of your favorite Sprint Cup drivers barbecuing, including an awkward “bro hug” attempt by Aric Almirola and interesting air guitar by Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. Who plays it better? You be the judge!

NBC’s NASCAR race coverage kicks off this weekend at Daytona International Speedway with the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola on Saturday, July 2. Pre-race coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Staff Report

Two prominent NASCAR figures — Lesa France Kennedy and Danica Patrick — have been named to the inaugural list of the “30 Most Powerful Women in Sports” by Adweek magazine.

Kennedy serves as CEO of International Speedway Corporation and Vice Chairperson of NASCAR. Patrick is in her fourth season driving the No. 10 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing.

It’s not the first time the two have shared such an honor. Kennedy was chosen as the Most Powerful Woman in Sports for 2015 in a survey conducted by Forbes magazine, which listed Patrick at No. 20 on the publication’s Top 25 list. Kennedy was also inducted last week into the Cynopsis Sports Hall of Fame, which recognized her role in helping transform the sports world and its influence on pop culture.

“Being chosen along with such an incredible group of women is testament to the relevancy and popularity of NASCAR and motorsports,” Kennedy said in a release provided by NASCAR. “I’m particularly pleased to be joined by NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, who is inspiring the next generation of women drivers and competitors. A profound thank you to the Adweek team.”

The honorees — which include tennis star Serena Williams, Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin and other athletes, TV personalities and sports executives — will be celebrated during the Clio Sports gala, scheduled July 7 in New York.

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Staff Report

The potential penalty phase for Saturday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series altercation between Spencer Gallagher and John Wes Townley is scheduled this week, with NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell saying that repercussions were likely.

O’Donnell’s remarks came Monday during a guest appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s “The Morning Drive” program.

Gallagher and Townley collided twice during Saturday’s Drivin’ For Linemen 200 at Gateway Motorsports Park. The second crash eliminated both drivers from the race and triggered an on-track wrestling match after both drivers exited their crumpled trucks.

Both drivers were summoned to the Camping World Truck Series hauler after the wreck to consult with NASCAR officials. The incident will be discussed further once competition officials return from Sonoma Raceway, site of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

“We’ll look at all the video feeds we have,” O’Donnell told SiriusXM. “We’ve certainly talked to both drivers post-race and got their side of things, so to speak, but we’ll have our discussions coming back from the West Coast usually late Tuesday, early Wednesday. We’ll kind of have an evaluation and talk to everyone about where we stand on that.

“Certainly not our best moment, for sure. Two passionate drivers … you know, again, that’s part of things sometimes when emotions run high but certainly don’t like to see that where it occurred, especially out on the race track.”

O’Donnell said the competition team would weigh the potential intent or retaliation in the second incident. While O’Donnell said he appreciates the passion of drivers in the heat of competition, he said it remains a delicate border to tread.

“I think it’s a balance,” O’Donnell said. “I think we talk to the drivers, certainly we want them to show their emotions, but it’s a balance for us. We’d certainly like to see drivers if they’re going to express their emotions be outside of a race car. That’s where we really jump in and react when it’s drivers using their race cars beyond what’s normal in the race. That’s a huge issue for us and we’re going to react heavily when we have to.

“In this case, there still will be repercussions, for sure, but again we want to make sure drivers, if they’re going to do anything, are outside of their car, but certainly don’t encourage what happened at Gateway.”

Gallagher issued a statement through his team’s (GMS Racing) Facebook account.

Among other topics O’Donnell discussed Monday:

— As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola (7:45 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), it will mark one year since Austin Dillon’s tumbling last-lap crash into the 2.5-mile track’s catch fencing. O’Donnell lauded the safety measures that kept Dillon uninjured and said that officials at the NASCAR Research and Development Center were busy with more than a dozen initiatives designed to improve safety.

O’Donnell said a safety council “within all the teams” has been created, increasing the collaborative effort toward safeguarding the sport.

“I think what often gets forgotten is this is a dangerous sport, so we’re going to do everything in our power to protect the drivers, the crews and the fans, so that’s our No. 1 priority,” O’Donnell said. “One of the things that often gets lost is when you do have an incident, one of the first things we check is, ‘did everything we had in place work?’ And when you look in the case of Austin Dillon, all belts, the seat, a lot of the different things we did with the seatbelt configuration all worked. It did its job and you saw that he was able to walk away from that incident unharmed. So those are kind of the first things, verifying.

“The second piece is, you can have assumptions and think something may work, but that takes time to go test it, to re-enact any incident to make sure it’s going to be safe, to make sure it’s going to work. And then work with the teams, and the teams have been tremendous in terms of when they know there’s something that’s going to work, getting it in the car — we do that immediately, but there is a process you’ve got to go through to make sure the assumptions work, then you’re able to go test them so you know you’re ready at high speed for everything to work as it was designated to.”

— After a particularly tumultuous race in May at Talladega Superspeedway, O’Donnell said no rules changes will be in place at Daytona, where similar rules are used to restrict horsepower and lower speeds.

“I think we looked at a lot of things more specifically around Talladega when we go back,” O’Donnell said of the Alabama track’s race date in October. “We saw the race in Daytona and certainly felt we were in a good place heading into that race, but again I go back to the number of projects that are ongoing with the race teams, so some of those may not be as visible to some of the drivers out there, but very confident that the race teams know where we are and what we’re working together to achieve.”

— O’Donnell said he applauded the full-contact racing between Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin in the last lap of Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Sonoma, where Stewart claimed a crowd-pleasing victory to end an 84-race skid.

“I’m not surprised,” O’Donnell said of the largely positive reaction to Stewart’s win. “He’s one of the more popular drivers that we have and to win in the fashion he did, this goes back to winning and what really matters in a race. I know from time to time, we talk about where’s the line in racing and hopefully, that’s understood. Going for wins and battling door to door is what we’re all about. We saw that multiple times, especially on the last lap of that race.

“So, a lot of respect between the drivers, but knowing how much a win means and propelling someone to the Chase is important. Proud of what Tony did; equally proud of what Denny did in racing each other hard and going for a win.”

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Staff Report

RELATED: Daytona schedule | TV schedule

Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway marked the final Sprint Cup Series race broadcast by FOX Sports in 2016. Starting this weekend at Daytona International Speedway, NBC Sports Group will provide race coverage for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series events.

FOX Sports will continue to televise NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races through 2016.

The Sonoma race (which Tony Stewart won) concluded the 16-race broadcasting schedule for FOX, which saw recently retired Jeff Gordon join the broadcast booth to rave reviews. Mike Joy provided the play-by-play action and Darrell Waltrip, a NASCAR Hall of Famer, completed the three-person ensemble.

MORE: Gordon opens up on Keselowski, Stewart

This is NBC Sports’ second year of a 10-year rights agreement, which was first announced in 2013. NASCAR.com will have additional coverage on NBC’s second year — including exclusive behind-the-scenes photos from Year 1 — later this week.

Rick Allen returns in play-by-play duty for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. He’ll again be joined in the booth by analysts Steve Letarte (former crew chief to Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and former driver Jeff Burton, who made nearly 700 starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Both networks still will have their weekly television shows as well. “Race Hub” airs at 5 p.m. ET on FS1. “NASCAR America” starts at 6 p.m. ET, a new time slot this year, on NBCSN.

MORE: Reasons behind time change