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Sanctioning body, agency to promote life-saving highway, vehicle safety

NASCAR and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) join forces again during the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend in Sonoma to promote traffic and vehicle safety for their "Drive for Safety" campaign.

NHTSA Administrator Dr. Mark Rosekind will speak on the importance of tire safety, both on and off the track. Sonoma‘s unique road course features provide an opportune backdrop to stress the benefits of proper tire maintenance, such as rotation, balance and alignment.

Dr. Rosekind will highlight that real life isn’t too different from racing when it comes to tires, offering these important tips to fans:

1. Not having enough air in your tires and failing to rotate your tires, among other maintenance requirements — can lead to a flat tire, blowout, or the tread coming off your tire. It’s estimated that about 200 people die on the road every year as the result of tire-related crashes.

2. Properly inflating your tires can save as much as 11 cents per gallon on fuel, yet only 19 percent of consumers properly inflate their tires. Four out of five consumers waste money due to underinflated tires.

3. Additional proper tire maintenance such as rotation, balance and alignment can help tires last longer and save money – properly-inflated tires can extend the average life of a tire by 4,700 miles.

In 2014, NHTSA and NASCAR entered into a five-year Memo of Understanding to promote vehicle and behavioral traffic safety. The overarching campaign — "Drive for Safety" — encompasses four program areas, including distracted driving, seat belts; tire safety and proper vehicle maintenance.

Posted on by Staff Report



The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will race at Sonoma Raceway this week, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is at Gateway Motorsports Park. The NASCAR XFINITY Series is off. Check out the full weekend schedule below.


Note: All times are ET

SUNDAY, JUNE 26:

PRE-RACE SCHEDULE

—1:00:00 p.m.: NSCS Driver/Crew Chief Meeting
—2:25:00 p.m.: NSCS Drivers Introductions with NASCAR Special Awards
—2:58:30 p.m.: God Bless America by: Toree McGee
—3:00:00 p.m.: Presentation of Colors
—3:00:20 p.m.: Invocation by: Tim Bove, Track Minister, Sonoma Raceway
—3:01:00 p.m.: National Anthem by: Q Smith, Transcendence Theatre’s Broadway Under the Stars in Sonoma Valley 
—3:03:00 p.m.: Fly-By TOT: 114th Fighter Squadron, Kingsley Field, Oregon. (flying two Air Dominance F-15C Eagles)
—3:08:00 p.m.: “Drivers, Start Your Engines” by: Ruben Arminana, Sonoma State University President
—3:20:00 p.m.: Start of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 (110 Laps, 218.9 Miles)


ON TRACK: SONOMA
— 3 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota – Save Mart 350 (110 laps, 218.9 miles), FS1 (Results)


PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)

— 6 p.m. (approx.): Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup race

DAILY ROUNDUP
— Bowyer faces electrical issues at Sonoma
— Go inside Allmendinger’s No. 47 at Sonoma
— Stewart moves Hamlin on last lap, snaps 84-race winless skid
— Watch Stewart move Hamlin on the final lap at Sonoma
— See drivers offering Stewart congrats


FRIDAY, JUNE 24:

ON TRACK: SONOMA

— 3-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series first practice, FS1 (Results)

— 6:30-7:55 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FS1 (Results)

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
— 2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)

— 1 p.m.: Microsoft Executives: Jason Campbell and Mike Downey with Steve O’Donnell

— 2 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson

— 2:15 p.m.: Kyle Larson

— 5:30 p.m.: Joey Logano

— 5:45 p.m.: Kyle Busch
— 6 p.m.: Chip Ganassi

DAILY ROUNDUP
— Dale Jr., Larson lead Friday’s practices
— Could Sonoma produce first win for Larson?
— No. 18 hits jackrabbit in practice
— Johnson motivated by Sonoma’s moving target

SATURDAY, JUNE 25: 

ON TRACK: GATEWAY

— 9:30-10:25 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice  (Results)

— 11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS1 (Results)

— 5:45 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS2–CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER (Lineup)

— 8:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Drivin For Linemen 200 Brought to you by Altec (160 laps, 200 miles), FS1 (Results)


ON TRACK: SONOMA

— 2:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Results)


PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)

— 12:30 p.m.: Jeff Gordon

— 3:30 p.m. (approx.): Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying

DAILY ROUNDUP
— Bell scores first win of 2016 at Gateway
— Townley, Gallagher come to blows after late wreck
— Edwards edges Allmendinger for pole at Sonoma
— See the full field for Sonoma, how they will line up 
— Gordon discusses Stewart, Keselowski, time in booth
— Ky. Busch looks to defend Sonoma win
— Snapshot: Key story lines, facts for Sonoma
— K&N win helps Elliott prep for Sonoma


Posted on by Staff Report



RELATED: Find FS1 in your area

All times ET

Monday, June 20
6 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen (re-air), FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN

Tuesday, June 21
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
8 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN

Wednesday, June 22
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
8 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Series: Thompson Speedway (taped), NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN

Thursday, June 23
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
8 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series Race: Stafford Motor Speedway (taped), NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN

Friday, June 24
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
8 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
3 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub – Weekend Edition, FS1
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FS1

Saturday, June 25
8 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice (re-air), FS1
10 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice (re-air), FS1
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub – Weekend Edition, FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Masters of the Clock: The Legend of Martinsville (re-air), FS2
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS2
8 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup, FS1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Drivin for Lineman 200, FS1

Sunday, June 26
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), FS1
6 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Drivin for Lineman 200 (re-air), FS1
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), FS1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
3 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/SaveMart 350, FS1

 




Posted on by Chris Knight

RELATED: Complete race results


NEWTON, Iowa — Sam Hornish Jr., who hadn’t been in a car in 210 days, gave himself the perfect Father’s Day present on Sunday — a dominant victory in the sixth annual NASCAR XFINITY Series American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen at Iowa Speedway.



Hornish, who last competed in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race last November at Homestead-Miami Speedway, received a call Monday from Joe Gibbs Racing to substitute for injured driver Matt Tifft. He made the most of the opportunity, picking up his fourth career XFINITY Series win and second at Iowa. Overall, it was JGR’s ninth triumph in 14 races this season.



“I don’t know, it doesn’t get much better than that,” said an emotional Hornish in Victory Lane. “Just gotta thank Toyota, everyone from Joe Gibbs Racing for getting me out here and giving me this opportunity. Got my wife and kids here, it’s the first time the kids got to be here for one of dad’s wins.



“I can’t tell you what this means to me. I worked so hard to try to get a win when I had my kids here. Gotta thank God. He makes things happen. I was so nervous on Friday getting into the car thinking I’m going to make a mistake, and man, to go out there and win the way that we did. Just can’t say anything more about it.”



Ty Dillon attempted to make a charge on Hornish on a Lap 224 restart, but settled for second, finishing ahead of Brad Keselowski.



“I don’t know, I guess we just needed to be a little bit better,” Dillon said. “The No. 18 (Hornish) was so dominant on the bottom (groove). I thought, obviously, we were the best car on the top (groove).



“Just needed a little bit more speed. I’m proud of my guys. We were kind of a mid-pack car and did what we needed to do to put ourselves in position — something we talked about all week — and we did a great job.”



Hornish took the lead from last week’s XFINITY Series winner Daniel Suarez on Lap 24, setting the tone that the Joe Gibbs Racing cars were going to be hard to beat.



The two drivers swapped the lead on pit road on two occasions before several competitors elected to use varying pit strategies following the event’s third caution on Lap 126. Hornish restarted sixth, but only took 13 laps to get back to the race lead, passing Suarez on Lap 139 and never relinquishing.  



Championship contender Erik Jones, who scored his fifth pole of 2016, had to drop to the rear before the race for an unapproved body modification. Jones, however, was never a factor as he battled fuel pressure issues, finishing 27th. 



The NASCAR XFINITY Series takes a week off before returning to Daytona International Speedway on July 1 for the running of the Subway Firecracker 250.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

NEWTON, Iowa — Ben Kennedy‘s goal was to land a top-10 finish in his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut, and that is exactly what he did in Sunday’s American Ethanol E15 250 Presented by Enogen at Iowa Speedway.

Kennedy, the son of International Speedway Corporation CEO Lesa France Kennedy and the great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., battled hard to earn his 10th-place position behind the wheel of the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. The ride is — for the most part — shared between NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars Austin Dillon and Paul Menard. 

The 250-lap race proved to be a learning experience for the 24-year-old Florida native, who started sixth.

“I learned a ton on those restarts,” Kennedy said on pit road after the race. “Kind of what to expect throughout the run and different lines. We could really utilize that top line. We were one of the first to find it, I think. I think we made a lot of speed with it.”

Along with being an immense learning experience, the race was simply fun for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular.

“I would have kept going if we could have,” Kennedy said. “That was a blast. I just had fun running this car. These things are so much fun to drive. It really puts it in the driver’s hands, in my opinion. I enjoyed running up there with those guys.”

Kennedy spent much of the race running in the top 10 and spent the latter stages battling Roush Fenway Racing‘s Darrell Wallace Jr. and Ryan Reed for position.

Crew chief Danny Stockman Jr. told NASCAR.com that Kennedy’s run in his XFINITY Series debut was notable.

“Anybody that comes in this series and performs like he did this weekend from practice to qualifying sixth and finishing 10th, not really a scratch on the car — that’s pretty impressive,” Stockman said in the garage after the race.

“I think he’s got a lot of potential. He’s very eager to learn and he’s very level-headed, which is what I feel you need these days.”

Stockman said that the car was just a little off.

“I don’t feel like the car was where it needed to be,” he said. “I think he could have ran in the top five today if we would have had a better piece, but all in all, the kid did a great job and real proud of him.”

Posted on by RJ Kraft

RELATED: Complete race results | Watch final laps



NEWTON, Iowa — Pit crew swaps mid-race are not common in NASCAR, but Joe Gibbs Racing made a change around the halfway point of Sunday’s XFINITY Series American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen at Iowa Speedway that ultimately benefitted race-winner Sam Hornish Jr. 


With teammate Daniel Suarez‘s No. 19 crew routinely beating Hornish’s No. 18 off pit road and Erik Jones‘s No. 20 running several laps down due to a fuel pickup issue, an opportunity presented itself. The Nos. 18 and 20 pit crews swapped teams.


“I kind of talked to Steve (deSouza, executive vice president of NASCAR XFINITY/Development for Joe Gibbs Racing),” Chris Gayle, crew chief of the No. 18 team said after the race. “Once we knew the 20 was down — they weren’t going to be a factor in the race … We had just struggled. Iowa’s always tough because we’re spoiled with having our (Sprint) Cup pit crews on normal weekends. The non-companions, we don’t have any familiarity with the pit crews we really use for these.


“The 19 had beaten us on a couple stops earlier and it had gotten down to where there is one stop left and if it’s us and the 19 racing, I’m going to lose to them off pit road because they’ve beaten me in three previous stops. So to not do anything is going to be my fault.”



Serving as the liaison, deSouza went between the two teams as the swap was contemplated. 


“I went to talk to the 20 crew chief (Chris Gabehart) and say, ‘Hey if we want to implement something like this are you good with it?’ I went to him first,” deSouza told NASCAR.com. “And he said, ‘Listen, we are laps down. Whatever you think is the best thing to do, do it.’ “


The switch Sunday proved successful as Hornish went on to win his first NASCAR race since the 2015 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He led 183 of the 250 laps in the race, including the final 111 circuits.  


Suarez, last week’s winner at Michigan, finished in fourth and left Iowa still holding the lead in points. Jones finished 27th, seven laps down.



Gayle pulled the move out of a playbook even six-time champion crew chief Chad Knaus has used.



One of the most well-known pit swaps came at Texas Motor Speedway in the fall 2010 race between the Hendrick Motorsports teams of Jeff Gordon (No. 24) and Jimmie Johnson (No. 48). The teams swapped pit crews mid-race after Gordon was involved in a crash in the race. Johnson went on to catch JGR’s Denny Hamlin for the title in the final two races when the switch was made permanent. 


The race win was the ninth victory for JGR in 14 XFINITY Series races this season.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

NEWTON, Iowa — A trying week for ThorSport Racing culminated with two of its trucks earning top-four finishes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Speediatrics 200 at Iowa Speedway.

A fire on Monday morning at ThorSport Racing’s shop in Sandusky, Ohio, left the team with an estimated 40 percent of the shop destroyed, according to David Pepper, the team’s general manager. The team spent its week salvaging what it could from the race shop and working on its trucks in the vacant parking lot of a Kroger grocery store, among other sites. 

Despite the circumstances, Ben Rhodes came home fourth, a career-best for him in the Truck Series, while Cameron Hayley earned a third-place finish at the 0.875-mile track. Matt Crafton also spent a good part of the race in the top five before finishing in eighth place, while Rico Abreu finished 18th.

Rhodes looked to have the truck to beat on long runs — second-place finisher Cole Custer even mentioned how Rhodes looked better than his No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet throughout the night. However, two cautions over the final 22 laps and a red flag (that lasted 5 minutes, 46 seconds) hindered his chances to get to the lead. 

“The red flag is really what hurt us there,” Rhodes said on pit road after the race. “The tires got a heat cycle on them and for those that don’t know, it really affects the handling of a race car. Plus, being on the bottom (on restarts). 

“The combination of that was not good for us. If we could have kept going and didn’t have those cautions or even restarted on the outside, we would have been in a lot better shape.”

The events of the past week also weighed heavy on the rookie’s mind as he talked about the finish. 

“It’s a good reward for how hard they worked this week out in the sun, moving stuff around,” Rhodes said. “I mean hours and hours and hours on the clock. We were able to bring it here in kind of a culminating event. It was a race of highs and lows for us, but I think they can all appreciate what we were able to accomplish tonight.”

As the first truck on four new tires after a Lap 150 pit stop, teammate Hayley looked to be in position to win if the race stayed green. But it didn’t. 

“We thought we were in the driver’s seat getting four tires instead of two,” Hayley said. “But at the end of the race there, we needed a 20- or 30-lap run in order to do any damage, and we just had short runs there at the end.”

The 19-year-old Calgary, Alberta, native does more than just drive for ThorSport: he was part of the cleanup effort after the Sunday night fire at the shop.

“It’s been a tough week at ThorSport to say the least,” Hayley said. “I was a part of that first-hand. I got called up Monday morning. I was there at 5:30 and we probably spent upwards of 36 hours, both me and the team, cleaning trucks, getting things ready, working out of a parking lot trying to get to this race. 

“A third-place finish is not just amazing for me but the whole organization. We really came together as a team.” 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full lineup for Sunday’s race

Erik Jones won the 21 Means 21 Pole Award on Saturday at Iowa Speedway for Sunday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series American Ethanol E15 250 Presented by Enogen (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1). This is the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s sixth pole award of the season and the ninth of his XFINITY Series career.

Jones also won the pole for last year’s race at Iowa and finished third, a career-best at the .88-mile track.

Recent winner and XFINITY Series points leader Daniel Suarez will line up second to his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate.

Sam Hornish Jr., Justin Allgaier and Elliott Sadler complete the starting top five on the leaderboard.

Ben Kennedy, who is making his XFINITY Series debut and led both practices on Friday, will line up sixth.

Sisters Claire and Paige Decker were attempting to qualify for their first XFINITY Series event on Saturday, but only Paige made the starting lineup. Paige will line up 40th in her No. 97 Chevrolet on Sunday.

The only previous winners in the field are Brad Keselowski, Sadler and Hornish Jr.

Posted on by Chris Knight

RELATED: Complete race results | Updated Chase Grid



NEWTON, Iowa — Following his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win of the season last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender William Byron used a late race restart and three-wide pass to charge from fourth to first to win Saturday night’s Speediatrics 200 at Iowa Speedway.

 

Byron, driving the No. 9 Liberty University Toyota Tundra, swiped the lead from Cole Custer on a restart with nine laps remaining, but a caution six laps from the finish saw the Charlotte, North Carolina, native have to defend his presence at the front.

 

In a two-lap shootout, the 18-year-old Byron fended off challengers Custer and Cameron Hayley for a series-high third win in just his ninth Truck Series start.

 

“My gosh, it’s awesome just to be a part of Kyle Busch Motorsports and to have the group of guys I do,” said Byron from Victory Lane. “It’s amazing. I’m so fortunate to be in this position.

 

“We had a couple setbacks there. I stalled it on pit road and I had a few setbacks on some restarts, but we kept after it until that last restart. It’s awesome.”

 

Custer, with new crew chief Marcus Richmond, led three dramatic laps following a Lap 188 restart which saw the race lead exchange several times before Byron sailed away permanently on Lap 191.

 

“For the first 10 laps or so, the others were probably better than us on four tires,” said Custer, who recorded his season best finish. “After that it kind of equaled out. I thought I had them there when I took the lead.

 

“I can’t thank Marcus and everyone enough. They worked their tails off all weekend. I really appreciate that. I think we’re going in the right direction.”

 

Byron, who led a race-high 107 laps, took the lead from pole sitter John Hunter Nemechek on a Lap 54 restart and led until the event’s third caution. 

 

The running order changed dramatically following a caution on Lap 146 when five teams elected to take two tires during the final pit stop, handing the lead to Tyler Reddick.

 

During the stop, Byron stalled his truck leaving pit road putting him 10th on the restart. Using four tires to combat his mistake, the NASCAR NEXT alumnus began carving his path through the field and found himself back in contention when the fourth yellow of the night waved just 24 laps from the checkered flag.

 

The event was red flagged for five minutes, 46 seconds for track cleanup after an incident involving Caleb Holman and Derek Scott Jr. on Lap 174 .

 

Next up for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a stop at Gateway Motorsports Park for the running of the third annual Drivin’ for Linemen 200 on Jun. 25.