Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: All of Busch’s Sprint Cup victories



The M&M’s Racing with Kyle Busch Facebook page showed off a special Sprint All-Star Race paint scheme that honors the driver’s partnership with Mars, Inc., complete with a number switch to celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary.


Busch will drive the No. 75 M&M’s Toyota next Saturday in the Sprint All-Star Race to celebrate the diamond anniversary. M&M’s, Snickers, Double Mint and Pedigree, all of which have been part of the No. 18 car’s livery since the partnership formed in 2008, are all Mars, Inc. brands. It’s a one-race switch only.



“NASCAR fans have been enthusiastic all season about the M&M’s 75th Anniversary, so we’re excited to continue the celebration by changing Kyle’s race car from the No. 18 to No. 75,” Tanya Berman, director, M&M’s Brand said in a company release. “It has been an amazing 75 years for the M&M’s brand and this year not only allows us look back at our accomplishments, but forward as well to our exciting future.”
 
“We’ve had fun all season celebrating M&M’s birthday with our fans — there has been a lot to celebrate since their big year comes right after our incredible championship,” Kyle Busch said in the release. “For us the best part has been reading our fans’ favorite M&M’s racing memories, and hopefully with our success so far this season, we’ve been able to make a few more.”


The defending Sprint Cup Series champion, Busch already has three wins in the first 11 races of the 2016 season, including victories at Martinsville, Texas and Kansas. Last week was Busch’s first win at Kansas, and he gets another chance to check off another track next week — Charlotte.


Busch has yet to win at Pocono or Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of both the Sprint All-Star Race (May 21, 9 pm. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and the May 29 Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Staff Report

PRACTICE 1: Results

 

Kevin Harvick kicked off the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend atop the leaderboard, posting the fastest lap during opening practice on Friday at Dover International Speedway. The current series leader wheeled around the “Monster Mile” in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet at 165.145 mph.

 

Hendrick Motorsports‘ Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second-quickest in his No. 88 Chevrolet (164.707 mph).

 

Next were Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Kyle Busch (164.489 mph) and Carl Edwards (164.144 mph) in third and fourth, respectively, while Roush Fenway Racing‘s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top five (163.815 mph).

 

Defending race winner — and 10-time Dover champ — Jimmie Johnson got off to a slow start in 21st (161.609 mph).

 

In the opening moments of the 80-minute session, Danica Patrick‘s No. 10 lost its engine causing the Chevrolet to burst into flames. The No. 14 of Tony Stewart and the No. 1 of Jamie McMurray got caught up in the melee after sliding into the leaked oil from Patrick’s entry. The incident brought out the red flag.

RELATED: Patrick, Stewart, McMurray involved in wreck at Dover

The No. 41 of Kurt Busch had gear issues in the first half of practice, marking the third SHR entry to run into trouble during the session. “I got lucky, honestly,” Busch said on catching the issue in time. He earned the ninth-fastest speed (163.607 mph).

 

The Sprint Cup field returns to action for Coors Light Pole Qualifying at 3:45 p.m. ET (FS1).

Posted on by Staff Report

RESULTS: Practice 1 | Final practice



Daniel Suarez zipped to the top of the NASCAR XFINITY Series leaderboard Friday afternoon in a rain-abbreviated final practice at Dover International Speedway.



Suarez drove the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota to a best lap of 156.733 mph on the 1-mile concrete track. He was just .019 seconds ahead of second-fastest Erik Jones, his JGR teammate who clocked a 156.603-mph lap in the No. 20 Toyota.



Matt Tifft closed out a 1-2-3 sweep by Gibbs entries with a 155.932 mph lap in the No. 18 Toyota. Elliott Sadler (155.817 mph) and Joey Logano (155.561) completed the top five in final preparation for Saturday’s Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 200 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM), the 10th of 33 races this season.



The session, scheduled for 85 minutes, was interrupted twice by rain showers and ultimately halted 11 minutes early.



Saturday’s event will be the third segment in the Dash 4 Cash incentive program, which features qualifying heats and promises bonus money to XFINITY Series regulars. Jones (Bristol) and Ty Dillon (Richmond) won $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prizes in the preview two segments.



Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the XFINITY Series is scheduled Saturday at 10:45 a.m. ET (FS1). The first of two 40-lap qualifying heats is set for a 2 p.m. ET start (FOX).



JGR’s Jones atop eventful first practice at Dover



Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Erik Jones topped opening practice at Dover International Speedway in the final moments of the 55-minute session. His No. 20 Toyota propelled around the “Monster Mile” at 158.597 mph.



Ty Dillon, who was leading before Jones’ last-minute surge, had the second-fastest lap in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (158.527 mph).



A pair of JGR drivers were next with the No. 19 of Daniel Suarez (158.256 mph) and the No. 18 of Matt Tifft (158.110 mph) taking third and fourth, respectively. 



Alex Bowman rounded out the top five, soaring around the 1-mile track at 156.114 mph. Bowman is making his 2016 debut in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.



Current series points leader — and last week’s winner — Elliott Sadler was sixth-fastest in his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (155.534 mph). 



Darrell Wallace Jr. got into the wall hard early during practice causing significant right side damage to his No. 6 Ford. The Roush Fenway Racing wheelman will resort to a backup car for the rest of the weekend.



Richard Petty Motorsports driver Jeb Burton also had to go to a second car after his No. 43 Ford hit the wall coming off Turn 4.



Shortly after Burton’s accident, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular Paul Menard brought out the third caution after making contact with the wall. He, too, will go to a backup.



The field returns to the track at 12:30 p.m. ET for final practice (TV coverage on FS1).

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Live weather updates

 

DOVER, Del. — Friday’s qualifying sessions for both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series were canceled due to inclement weather at Dover International Speedway.
 
On-and-off bouts of rain dropped from the skies above the “Monster Mile” early Friday morning of the tripleheader weekend, but it came on strong during the second NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, sending cars off the track during two separate incidents. The session ended 10 minutes early.

The rain and wet track then washed out NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying (scheduled for 2:15 p.m. ET)  and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying (scheduled for 3:45 p.m. ET).  

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, the JACOB Companies 200 is (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1) still scheduled for Friday evening. Last week’s winner at Kansas, William Byron will lead the field to green after posting the fastest practice time on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez topped XFINITY Series practices, while Kevin Harvick was tops in Sprint Cup practice. Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start on the front row for Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
 
Tune in to NASCAR.com’s live weather timeline for announcements and our Weekend Schedule for any changes to Friday’s slate of activity.
 
This story will be updated.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Race results | Updated series standings



DOVER, Del. — It took 16 tries, but Matt Crafton finally got his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Dover International Speedway.



Holding off hard-charging Daniel Suárez throughout a 27-lap green-flag run to the finish of Friday’s Jacob Companies 200 at the Monster Mile, the two-time series champion picked up his first win of the season and the 12th of his career, all but assuring himself a berth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase.



“We’ve gotten close and we’ve had very fast trucks — and this truck was very, very good today,” said Crafton, who has recorded all 12 of his career wins in No. 88 trucks fielded by ThorSport Racing. “It’s all about the guys behind me.



“This team never gives up because we weren’t very good in the last practice. We were 21st. Junior (Joiner, crew chief) and I sat down and talked for a while — and we talked again. I just showed up later and let him do his work. They worked on it all day — a little air pressure here and a little air pressure there and finally this thing was right on.”



And “right on” was good enough to keep Suárez at bay over the closing laps.



“It’s awesome,” Crafton said. “I’ve always wanted Miles (the Monster trophy).”



Suárez came home second in the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, matching his career best. Christopher Bell ran third, followed by Johnny Sauter and Cole Custer, who overcame an early penalty for jumping the first restart of the race on Lap 49 of 200 to finish fifth.



Suárez thought he had the fastest truck during the closing run but couldn’t get to Crafton’s bumper.



“When I was moving to the top, I thought I was making some ground, but the slow cars were on the top, so it was difficult for me to keep the momentum and stay there,” Suárez said. “I don’t know what I could have done different to try to complete the pass.



“But what I think was that the 51 truck was the fastest out there at the end of that run, but clean air is super important here, and that paid off really good for the 88 team.”



Though Michael Waltrip referred to Joiner as a “mastermind” on the FOX Sports television broadcast, Joiner was quick to deflect credit to his driver.



“We do it together, and we’re both masterminds at what we do, because we never stop,” Joiner said. “That’s what makes us a unit. We don’t ever, ever stop. He’ll text me or call me at midnight if he woke up and had an epiphany or something. The good thing is we’ll both take it in and do it together.”



Notes: Pole-sitter William Byron, last week’s winner at Kansas, led a race-high 80 laps but faded to 11th at the finish. Crafton was close behind, leading 76 of the 200 laps… Friday was a mixed bag for ThorSport, which had two of trucks, driven by Ben Rhodes and Rico Abreu, wreck together on Lap 61… Crafton took over the series lead by two points over Timothy Peters, who finished 14th… In post-race inspection, Suárez’s No. 51 Toyota was found to be too low in the left rear. If any penalties are warranted, they will be announced Wednesday. … The series’ next race is scheduled May 20 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Full Dover lineup

 

DOVER, Del. — With the threat of rain on Friday at Dover International Speedway, there was an urgency to opening practice and a need for speed in the session.

 

Strong runs in qualifying trim paid off for Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will start first and second, respectively, in Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism at the Monster Mile (1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), with positions on the grid set according to practice speeds.

 

“I think (the weather) definitely changes the approach,” said Harvick, who picked up his only Dover victory in last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the 1-mile concrete track. “That’s what the forecast looked like all week, and we just decided to come in qualifying trim.

 

“(Crew chief) Rodney (Childers) and those guys made that decision pretty early — I’d say about midweek — to practice that way.”

 

Harvick posted a lap at 165.147 mph, which would have supplanted Brad Keselowski‘s 2014 qualifying record of 164.444 mph, had it been set during time trials. Practice times, however, are not eligible for official track records.

 

Earnhardt ran 164.707 mph despite a less-than-perfect effort through Turns 3 and 4.

 

“It was really hooked up for that lap we had,” Earnhardt said. “And I think we were ahead of Kevin on the Dartfish (a lap-tracking computer program) going into 3. I pushed up off of 4 really bad and had to lift on that exit, but the car was really, really good.

 

“I just didn’t drive 3 and 4 exactly right.”

 

With crew chief Adam Stevens serving a one-race suspension for a lug nut violation, Kyle Busch, last week’s race winner at Kansas Speedway, earned the third starting position with a practice run at 164.489 mph. Carl Edwards, a two-time winner this season, will start fourth, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman.

 

Jamie McMurray, Danica Patrick and Tony Stewart, all of whom went to backup cars after wrecking in the fourth minute of opening practice when the rear gear of Patrick’s car failed and dumped oil on the track, will start 24th, 31st and 34th, respectively.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

RELATED: Standings pre-Dover



DOVER, Del. — A year ago following the race at Kansas Speedway, Sprint Cup Series then-sophomore Austin Dillon sat 25th in points, with more questions floating around than answers.

Now? Third time’s season’s a charm.


The Richard Childress Racing driver is sitting comfortably in eighth overall in the standings — ahead of the likes of series stars Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth — having already set career highs in top-five and top-10 finishes just 11 races into a 36-race slate.

His RCR teammates have noticed the uptick in performance, but maintain he’s still the same, old Austin they’ve known for years.

“Nothing’s changed in the kid,” XFINITY Series teammate Brendan Gaughan said Friday at Dover International Speedway. “He’s been a hell of a race car driver since he was dang near 18 years old. The only guy that just rolled through the (XFINITY and Camping World Truck) Series. He knew the pressure of the (No.) 3 (the late Dale Earnhardt’s former number when he drove for Dillon’s grandfather, Richard Childress), he understood it. Did it take longer than he wanted (to get to this level)? Of course.

“That kid wants to win right now. He is in the process of building a great mantra for himself. He’s in the middle of putting this thing together and really doing well with it. I don’t think anything’s changed in him, he’s just not kicking himself for not being better. He’s not putting too much pressure on himself. He has the pressure already and he’s building his deal.”

The 26-year-old appeared to take a step back in 2015 after a promising rookie season, seeing his average finish dip from 17.5 in 2014 to 21.0 last year. He’s currently on pace for a vastly-improved career high of 12.4. 

Drivers often don’t adapt to the Cup Series immediately — Jimmie Johnson also put it together in his age 26 season, and Earnhardt Sr.’s first win didn’t come until age 28 — so it’s quite possible we’re just seeing Dillon round into form at the expected time, despite his major successes at NASCAR’s other two national series levels.

“I think right now, the biggest threat in the sport to be the first guy to win all three national series championships is Austin Dillon,” Gaughan said. “There’s only, what, Greg Biffle and him (among full-time drivers). They’re the only two right now that could do it … he’s moving his way, taking his way up to being a Sprint Cup winner and I do believe he’ll be there.”

While it may seem like Dillon’s rise has sprung out of nowhere, it may be an easier discovery than one may think upon examination. Midway through last season after a seven-race stretch of not even sniffing the top 10, Childress made a crew chief swap on the No. 3 squad, putting Richard “Slugger” Labbe atop the box and moving Gil Martin to a leadership role within the RCR R&D department.


RELATED: Dillon, crew chief’s bond linked to strong ’16 start


The team responded with two top 10s in Labbe’s first four races, adding another pair amidst overall higher performance the rest of the way.

That momentum has carried over into 2016.

“Their team is really strong, they’re really focused,” said Dillon’s younger brother, Ty. “They’ve kind of got a new attitude about their approach. It started in the late races of last year when they had the change.

“I think Slugger’s really got Austin really honed in … he does a great job keeping all of Austin’s energy focused on going fast and Slugger does a great job of leading his team. The main thing is he builds fast race cars and he gives Austin an opportunity to go out there and perform. It’s a pretty cool thing to see. … It’s only a matter of time before hopefully both of us get in Victory Lane.”

Gaughan, being the gambling man that he is, would certainly put his money on red and black.

And 3.

“They are dang close to winning each and every week on that Cup side,” the veteran said. “I see Austin getting one here pretty soon. That’d be a big boon for RCR.

” … The 3 team is going to win a race, man.”

Posted on by Pat DeCola

DOVER, Del. — Last Saturday night at Kansas Speedway, Denny Hamlin drove his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota between Brad Keselowski‘s No. 2 Team Penske Ford and Kyle Larson‘s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet, attempting to thread a needle through a hole that proved to be non-existent.
 
Keselowski’s teammate, Joey Logano, T-boned Hamlin in the aftermath before getting into the wall and settling down on the apron.
 
One might think the No. 22 driver would have reason to take issue with Hamlin for an aggressive move that relegated Logano to a 38th-place finish.
 
Not quite.
 
“I feel like I am one of the hardest racers out there and I would be quite the hypocrite if I asked why he was racing so hard,” Logano said Friday at Dover International Speedway, site of Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SIRIUS XM NASCAR Radio). “If you ask me, that is what fans show up to the race track to see. They come to watch a race. They expect us to race. They don’t expect us to just say, ‘oh, go ahead.’
 
“I am going to race hard. I know that. I have done that in the past and I will continue to do that. When Denny made that move I didn’t blame him. He made a run on the backstretch and had to do something with it. He got in a bad aero spot and both of them got loose. It happens. It is racing. I am not going to say, ‘Hey, why did you do that?’ We are racing and these things are hard to drive. We are going to make mistakes.”
 
An aspect of Hamlin’s thought-process behind the move — he’s already virtually locked up a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup berth via his Daytona 500 win, allowing him to strictly go for wins almost regardless of the consequences.
 
“There is a win on the line and it is a big deal; it is hard to do at the Sprint Cup level and anytime you have a shot it is expected out of us, not just from the fans but from the teams to go out and make the most of it and make it happen,” said Logano, seventh in Sprint Cup Series points. “When I look at Denny’s move, I would do the same thing if I was him so I don’t really have any room to speak.”
 
Hamlin’s move and Logano’s comments almost beg the question — is it possible to win on a consistent basis at this level under this Chase format without being, well, aggressively aggressive?
 
Jimmie Johnson is typically known as being one of NASCAR’s more calculated, precise racers, but it’s possible he’s just the exception to the rule.
 
“Well, he sure has won a lot,” Logano said. “That guy is doing pretty good in this sport. It depends. Sometimes you don’t have to make moves like (Hamlin made). Sometimes you are up front and don’t have to make spectacular moves. I have also seen a lot of people win with cars that aren’t the winning car and that is from making spectacular moves and gutsy calls on the race track or pit road or wherever. That aggressive look at things sometimes goes wrong but sometimes goes really right and you have a fifth or sixth-place car win the race. I think it is entertaining.”