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.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

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

 

The Darlington Best In Show fan vote is underway, and we have some early returns to share.

 

As Darlington Raceway celebrates NASCAR’s history with its second of four planned throwback weekends for this year’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET Sept. 4, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), fans are voting on their favorite paint schemes honoring drivers and paint schemes of yore.

 

The top 10 vote-getters up until now are, in alphabetical order: AJ Allmendinger, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Casey Mears, David Ragan, Tony Stewart and Martin Truex Jr.

 

The top five fan vote getters’ paint schemes will be presented to a panel of NASCAR Hall of Fame members, who will make the final selection. The award for the Best Throwback Paint Scheme will be presented to the winning team and driver prior to the Bojangles’ Southern 500.

 

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 23, 2016) — Kids everywhere are going back to school, but not before celebrating the end of summer with NASCAR. All this week, Kids Drive NASCAR is engaging the sport’s young fans with news, events and social content geared toward kids leading up to the NASCAR national series races at Michigan International Speedway and Road America.


As part of the festivities, NASCAR today announced the launch of the Acceleration Nation app, the first digital experience created just for kids featuring racing-themed games, activities and fun ways to learn more about NASCAR. Parents can download the new app for their children at the App Store and Google Play.


“This week is all about the kids and bringing NASCAR’s youngest fans even closer to the sport through innovative platforms like NASCAR Acceleration Nation,” said Jill Gregory, NASCAR senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “With Kids Drive NASCAR, we’ve created a fun way to engage children by putting them in the driver’s seat for a change.”


Karsyn Elledge, the host of Nickelodeon’s “NASCAR Hammer Down,” Monday helped introduce Kids Drive NASCAR during a kids-only press conference streamed on Facebook Live from the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The launch coincided with an industry announcement that, beginning in 2017, kids ages 12 and younger will be admitted free to all NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.


Jake Short, the star of Disney XD’s Lab Rats: Elite Force, will serve as Honorary Kids Drive NASCAR Ambassador this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. Children attending the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at MIS, as well as those attending the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Road America, will be featured guests at driver and crew chief meetings and receive behind-the-scenes garage tours and photos with drivers.


NASCAR’s social media channels will share Kids Drive NASCAR content throughout the week, including videos and Snapchat takeovers featuring young drivers sharing their off-track experiences, and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers with their kids. Fans are also invited to get in on the fun by sharing pictures of their children and families enjoying NASCAR races using #KidsDriveNASCAR.


Beginning this week, new NASCAR Acceleration Nation learning materials focused on lessons in aerodynamics and energy are being distributed to more than 10,000 elementary and middle schools across the country. NASCAR teamed with Scholastic to develop the motorsports industry’s first Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) in-school education program in 2015.


The 6,400-square-foot NASCAR Acceleration Nation live experience will be on display at Michigan International Speedway and will host interactive activities and driver autograph signings for kids throughout the weekend.


On Thursday, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Ben Kennedy and Michigan International Speedway executives will visit students at Ezra Eby Elementary School in Napoleon, Mich., to talk about NASCAR and STEM. Last fall, the school received a grant from MIS Cares, a donor advised fund of The NASCAR Foundation, for 35 digital tablets for student use across all subjects.


For more information about NASCAR Acceleration Nation, visit Accelerationnation.com.


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. A double-header on Saturday, Aug. 27 begins with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at MIS (1 p.m. ET; FS1, MRN) followed by the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Road America (3 p.m. ET; NBCSN, MRN).

Posted on by Team Release

CONCORD, N.C. (August 23, 2016) – Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing (CSLFR) has announced that Sam Hornish Jr. will fill in for Michael McDowell on Friday and Saturday during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend at Michigan International Speedway.  

McDowell is scheduled to race in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Road America for Richard Childress Racing on Friday and Saturday. He will then travel to Michigan International Speedway and drive the No. 95 Thrivent Financial Chevrolet on Sunday in the Pure Michigan 400 for Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sitting alongside XFINITY Series wheelman Brennan Poole, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver John Hunter Nemechek was questioned — by an audience full of excited children — about pizza.


That’s right, pizza and not just any pizza, but his favorite kind.


“I’d have to go with pepperoni,” Nemechek, the NEMCO Motorsports driver explained. “You can throw a little bit of pineapple in that and make it a little bit sweet tasting …”


But pizza toppings weren’t the only sweet things Nemechek was talking about Monday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in uptown Charlotte.


The NASCAR National Series Tracks revealed, starting in 2017, children 12 and under can receive free admittance to all NASCAR XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series races, with each track setting guidelines for the program.


The announcement, met by loud cheers, was made during NASCAR’s first all-kids press conference streamed via a Facebook Live event.


“There really is no other experience like attending a NASCAR race in person, and that’s especially true for kids,” NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Jill Gregory said in a press release. “So many children become lifelong NASCAR fans because their parents brought them to their first race, and this new ticket offering makes it even more affordable for families to create memories that will last a lifetime.”


Poole talked about just how special this NASCAR movement is, all while reminiscing.


“I’m excited about it. I remember being a young kid and a being fan so to create this opportunity for you guys to come in there and watch us race for free, I think is really special. …


“Some of the best memories for me as a kid were going to the races with my dad and … they’re all just special moments that I remember as a kid, spending time with my dad and watching racing and doing something that we love to do together.”


Young fans, however, don’t have to wait till 2017’s season opener at Daytona International Speedway to enjoy special perks. NASCAR also kicked off Kids Drive NASCAR — a week-long, youth initiative leading up to this weekend’s Camping World Truck Series event at Michigan International Speedway and the XFINITY Series thriller at Road America.


The Kids Drive initiative includes opportunities for kids, not only online, but at the track to have activities and programming.

 

“NASCAR Hammer Down” host Karsyn Elledge — niece of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and daughter of Kelley Earnhardt Miller — and NASCAR Next drivers Todd Gilliland and Harrison Burton capped off the event.

 

All three cheered the movement, and Elledge even plans to “bring my little brother” to next year’s events. 

 

You can watch Poole at Road America (Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, NBCSN) wheeling the No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet while Nemechek will be at Michigan (Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, FS1) in the No. 8 Chevy. 

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RELATED: Full race results | Driver standings | Chase Grid

Breaking down the full field for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway:

1. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. This says it all about Harvick’s second win at Bristol: In 112 Cup races at the track, only four winners started farther back in the field than Harvick’s 24th (Elliott Sadler, 38th, 2001; Dale Earnhardt Jr., 30th, 2004; Kurt Busch, 27th, 2002; Dale Earnhardt, 26th, 1999). Grade: A++

2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse overcame a pit-road speeding penalty to tie his career-best finish, which also came at Bristol (2014). In fact, half of Stenhouse’s six career top-five finishes have come at Bristol. Grade: A+

3. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. It was a day of eighths for Hamlin: His eighth top five of the season and his eighth pit-road speeding penalty. He also had to make an unscheduled stop for a loose wheel that put him two laps down. Nice recovery, but he absolutely has to stick a fork in those pit-road speeding penalties before the Chase begins. Grade: A-

4. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon just avoided the big wreck on Lap 373 to post his first top five since Talladega in May. Also important: Dillon moved up two spots in the Chase standings to 13th, passing Ryan Newman and Chase Elliott. Grade: A

5. Chris Buescher, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Huge day for Buescher, who gets his second career top five — both in the past three races — and moves into the top 30 in points for the first time this season. Grade: A+

6. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Debris piercing the right front of his car couldn’t stop Edwards from getting his 14th top 10 of the season, one fewer than he had all of 2015. Grade: A

7. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Hard to believe, but Johnson’s finish was only his second top 10 in the past 10 races. Grade: A

8. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. McMurray’s Chase radar is on max. He’s 15th in the Chase standings after his fourth top 10 in the past six races. Grade: A

9. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger posts back-to-back top 10s for the second time this season, the first time he has had multiple back-to-back top-10 finishes in a season in his Sprint Cup career. Grade: A

10. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. We don’t have the space to list all the issues Logano and the No. 22 had to overcome Sunday. This top 10 was hard earned and well deserved. Grade: A

11. Jeff Gordon, No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. In the 801st and possibly final start of his career, Gordon gets his best finish in his fourth race as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s sub. Grade: B

12. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne jumped over Kyle Larson in the standings and picked up ground on Ryan Newman, who leads Bayne by 35 points for the last spot in the Chase with three races to go before the field is set. Grade: B

13. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. With Chris Buescher entering the top 30, Kahne went from 11 points behind 16th place in the Chase standings to 39 points back. Grade: B

14. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola posted his best finish of the season since finishing 13th in Week 4 at Phoenix. Grade: B

15. Chase Elliott, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Elliott’s promising day took a hit when he was collected in the big wreck on Lap 373. On the flip side, he led 14 laps, his first laps led since Week 15 at Michigan. Grade: B

16. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. A miscommunication over the radio that resulted in an unscheduled green-flag pit stop didn’t help matters. Grade: B-

17. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. DiBenedetto posted the second-best finish of his young career despite being down three laps at one point because of a tire issue. His best finish? Sixth at Bristol in April. Grade: A

18. Brian Scott, No. 44 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Scott turned in his second-best finish of the season (12th at Fontana in Week 5). Grade: A

19. Michael McDowell, No. 95 Chevrolet, Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing. McDowell finishes in the top 20 in consecutive races for the first time in his 201-race Cup career. Grade: A

20. Landon Cassill, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Cassill finished 22nd in April to tie his best finish at Bristol. Sunday, he topped that. Grade: A

21. David Ragan, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Ragan avoided disaster with a great evasive maneuver down low to avoid a spinning Kyle Busch on Lap 358. Grade: B

22. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick finished 22nd for the third time in the past four races. Her other finish in that stretch: 21st two weeks ago at Watkins Glen. Grade: C

23. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Toyota, Furniture Row Racing. Bad luck found Truex again. He was running third on Lap 358 when he was collected in a wreck caused by Kyle Bush’s spin and the No. 78 suffered heavy damage. His average running position of 9.6 was fifth best. Grade: A-

24. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Larson had an eventful day, and that’s not code for a great day. A pit-road speeding penalty, cut oil line, three on-track incidents (neither his fault) and untimely tire rub totally erased the benefit of having a super-fast car. Grade: B-

25. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Mears has one top 10 in 28 starts at Bristol giving him the lowest top-10 percentage among active drivers with at least 15 Cup starts at the track. Grade: C

26. Regan Smith, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Smith brought out the third caution when he got into the wall on Lap 157; attrition enabled him to post a top-30 finish. Grade: C-

27. Reed Sorenson, No. 55 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. Sorenson tied Regan Smith for the fewest green-flag passes with six. Grade: C-

28. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Pit-road penalties and tire problems carried (dropped?) the day. Still, Newman is 16th in the Chase standings with a 35-point cushion over Trevor Bayne with three races to go. Grade: D

29. Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 32, Go Fas Racing Ford. Earnhardt improved three spots from his debut at Bristol in April. Grade: C-

30. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. We’ll let Tony sum up his final start at Bristol: “We had a wheel that was loose, and that messed our whole day up.” Perhaps, but owner Tony got a win and was part of a double burnout with winner Kevin Harvick. Grade: D

31. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. A broken brake rotor put Bowyer into the wall on Lap 416. Grade D

32. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard was running in the top 10 when he got caught up in the aftermath of Kurt Busch‘s spin and his car sustained a punctured radiator when he ran into Chase Elliott. That’s Bristol. Grade: C-

33. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. Keselowski was running third when Kurt Busch got loose in front of him, turned and Keselowski hit him hard. Keselowski had run among the leaders until the accident on Lap 373. Grade: C

34. Cole Whitt, No. 98 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. The No. 98 spent time in the garage, and Whitt finished 58 laps off the pace. Grade: D

35. Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing. Blaney was caught up in the Kurt Busch wreck. As cars checked up, Blaney slammed into Matt Kenseth, who had been turned by Chase Elliott. Blaney returned to the track, but when the day ended he had little to show for a top-five starting spot. Grade: C

36. Josh Wise, No. 30 Chevrolet, The Motorsports Group. Wise completed 416 laps, his fewest at Bristol since 2012, his rookie season. Grade: F

37. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. A so-so day at Bristol became a no-no day when Kenseth was collected in the Kurt Busch wreck. Since a four-race run of 1st, 13th, 3rd and 1st, Kenseth has now gone 42nd, 36th and 37th. That’s Bristol, too. Grade: C

38. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Finally we come to the driver who miscalculated his move “by a few inches”and ignited the wreck on Lap 373 that collected 10 other cars. Busch later tweeted, “Tasted the checkers, pushed too hard too soon.” No argument here. Busch had completed every lap run this season until Sunday. Grade: F

39. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch led a race-high 256 laps and owned the day until something broke in his car (his team will hear about that on Tuesday, he said). The No. 18 went into a soft spin, but it was met with a hard hit by Justin Allgaier that left Busch with his third DNF in his past four races at Bristol, all for crashes. Grade: C-

40. Justin Allgaier, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Subbing for Michael Annett (flu-like symptoms), Allgaier made his first Sprint Cup start of the season one day after finishing second in the XFINITY Series race at Bristol. Two days later he earned the wrath of Kyle Busch for plowing into him when Busch spun out on Lap 358. That’s the high and lows of Bristol. Grade: F



Posted on by Staff Report

With the start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup only one month away, several Sprint Cup Series teams will try to get a leg up on the competition at Chicagoland Speedway this week by taking part in an organizational test for the series.
 
Thirteen teams are tentatively scheduled to make the trek to the 1.5-mile track for the two-day test initially scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 23-24. Because of weather in the area, the test was adjusted to an all day session on Tuesday running into the night. Drivers expected to be on hand are:

— Jamie McMurray (Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 Chevrolet)
— Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet)
— Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford)—Trevor Bayne filled in so Stenhouse could attend Bryan Clauson’s services
— Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota)
— Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford)
— Joey Logano (Team Penske No. 22 Ford)
— David Ragan (BK Racing No. 23 Ford)
— Ryan Newman (Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet)
— Chris Buescher (Front Row Motorsports No. 34 Ford)
— Brian Scott (Richard Petty Motorsports No. 44 Ford)
— Michael Annett (HScott Motorsports No. 46 Chevrolet)
— Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet)
— Michael McDowell (Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing No. 95 Chevrolet)
 
Chicagoland is scheduled to host the opening Chase race, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, on Sunday, Sept. 18 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
 
That the test will be held so close to the race date “is huge,” said six-time series champion Jimmie Johnson.
 
“To be on the track in close proximity when we go back and race, we obviously have a lot going on just as all teams do trying to gear up and get ready for the Chase,” he said.
 
Johnson has 14 career starts at the 1.5-mile track, but it is one of four — along with Watkins Glen, Homestead and Kentucky — where he has yet to win.
 
“We have all these great machines that simulate on-track activity at the shop but until you take it to the race track and put it to use you have no idea if it’s really paying off,” he said. “So we’re looking to validate quite a few things and hopefully we get sunshine and really true conditions to what we’ll see when we come back for the race.”
 
The Chicago test is the fourth of five organizational tests for Sprint Cup Series teams this season. The remaining test is scheduled at Homestead Miami Speedway on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 18-19.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Watch the live stream here | Bristol results


NASCAR.com will live stream post-race inspection Tuesday from 8-11:30 a.m. ET at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.


Tune in for a three-hour view of the inspection floor of the 61,000-square-foot shop, bringing you behind the scenes as NASCAR officials tear down and inspect Sprint Cup Series vehicles following Sunday’s rain-delayed race at Bristol Motor Speedway.


The two cars selected for further evaluation at the R&D Center this week are:


— The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet of race winner Kevin Harvick
— The No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford of race runner-up Ricky Stenhouse Jr.


For more details about the inspection process, click here.