Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Race results | Series standings  


KANSAS CITY, Kan. – William Byron remembers watching NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races when he was six years old.

 

Now 18, Byron has a win in the series he watched as a child. But it took a strong truck and a stroke of good luck for Byron to win Friday night’s Toyota Tundra 250 and reach Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway for the first time in five series starts.

 

Driving the No. 9 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports, Byron was third when frontrunner Johnny Sauter led Ben Rhodes into Turn 3 on the final lap of overtime.

 

Rhodes drove his No. 41 Tundra hard to the inside of Sauter’s No. 21 Chevrolet, clipped the left rear quarter panel of Sauter’s truck and sent both vehicles spinning toward the outside wall. When NASCAR threw the 11th caution of the race, Byron had the lead, and two-time series champion Matt Crafton was running second.

 

“I just got ran over by a bozo … I guess he’s just brain dead,” an irate Sauter said after the incident. “It’s just unfortunate that sometimes you can’t race the way you want to.”

 

For Byron, who became the ninth NASCAR Next driver to win a national series race, there was only joy.

 

“It was crazy the last couple of restarts, and I had the lead there on the green-flag run (before the caution that forced overtime), and I was really just praying for no cautions, but you have to earn it,” Byron said.

 

“And my crew chief, Rudy Fugle, really told me about that on all the restarts. He’s like, ‘This is how you earn it,’ so I just can’t thank (sponsor) Liberty University enough. This is a dream come true. I was six years old watching Truck races. Didn’t start racing until I was 14, and just to be in a Toyota Tundra like this is amazing.”

 

The last lap wreck wasn’t the first time in the race Byron benefitted from contact between two trucks in front of him. Moments after a restart on Lap 135, the Toyotas of Crafton and Timothy Peters collided, breaking the momentum of both trucks and shuffling them out of the top 10.

 

Byron inherited the lead, shed eventual fourth-place finisher Christopher Bell after a brief battle and streaked away to a lead of 4.5 seconds before caution for Tyler Reddick‘s spin on Lap 164 of a scheduled 167 forced the overtime and bunched the field.

Sauter took full advantage of the restart in overtime, diving to the inside and surging into the lead with Rhodes passing Byron for second in the process. Sauter appeared to have the race in hand until Rhodes made his kamikaze move and wrecked the leader in the final pair of corners.

Notes: With the victory, Byron is all but assured of qualifying for the first Camping World Truck Series Chase. … Peters finished eighth and holds an eight-point lead in the series standings over Daniel Hemric, who ran third on Friday night.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Lineup | See all 40 cars


KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Martin Truex Jr. freely admitted it took time for the No. 78 Furniture Row team to get the hang of three-round knockout qualifying.



From the look of Friday’s time trials at Kansas Speedway, however, the problem appears to be solved.



Charging around the 1.5-mile track in 28.284 seconds (190.921 mph), Truex posted the fastest lap of the day in the money round to earn the pole position for Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1).



The Coors Light Pole Award was the eighth of Truex’s career and his first since April 2012 at Texas, a string of 147 races.



“It kind of took us a while to figure out this three-round deal,” said Truex, who edged fellow Toyota driver Matt Kenseth (190.564 mph) for the top starting spot by .053 seconds.



“It feels good to get another pole. It’s been a long time. We’ve been really close with our Furniture Row team the past two years — we qualified second a handful of times — and we’ve been right there at it. We’ve led the first round, we’ve led the second round. We just haven’t quite figured out how to lead that third round …



“Hopefully we’ll be able to finish the deal (Saturday) night.”



Kenseth was fastest in each of the first two knockout rounds but came up short when the pole was decided.



“All of our Toyotas had a lot of speed in ’em,” said Kenseth, who led all three of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates into the final 12. “I just couldn’t quite get that last lap that I wanted.



“We had a lot of speed, but we just got a little off our balance there at the end, and Martin was able to get it.”



JGR driver Denny Hamlin (190.402 mph) qualified third, followed by Kurt Busch (190.134 mph) and Brad Keselowski (189.907 mph), who was one of four Ford drivers to crack the top 12.



It was an off day for the Hendrick Motorsports contingent. Sunoco Rookie of the Year leader Chase Elliott qualified 13th, missing the cutoff for the final 12 by .086 seconds. Jimmie Johnson, who overcame engine problems earlier in the day, will start 15th, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. 22nd and Kasey Kahne 27th.



Like Kahne, Kevin Harvick was bumped out of the top 24 in the opening round and will take the green flag in 26th position.



Kurt Busch, the top qualifying Chevrolet driver, confessed to overdriving Turn 3 during his final run but was optimistic because of positive adjustments made to his car between rounds.



“Yeah, I feel good because we made three spring changes going into that qualifying run,” Busch said. “Those are things we wanted to try for the race, and we ran out of practice time to do so.  It’s nice that it turned out positive and the pace in qualifying is fast, yes, but the race will be at nightfall whereas we practiced in the daytime. 



“This speed should be right in the middle of what we just ran and what changes we made. I think we’re cooking up the right batch (for the race).”

Posted on by Nascar

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Those heat-of-the-moment tirades that fans are able to hear during the course of a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race might be entertaining, but they don’t always tell the whole story, according to HScott Motorsports driver Clint Bowyer.

“Whether I’m frustrated or happy or whatever … whether it’s a (celebration) or a pissed off moment that happens, the wick’s pretty short,” Bowyer said Thursday at Kansas Speedway, site of Saturday’s GoBowling 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“It burns out in about five minutes. The next thing out of my mouth is ‘Alright, now what are we going to do to fix it?’ “

Bowyer, 36, is in a transition year, spending the 2016 season as driver of the No. 15 Chevrolet for HSM. He’ll move over to Stewart-Haas Racing in ’17, inheriting the No. 14 ride currently occupied by co-owner/driver Tony Stewart.

An early-season start that saw the driver finish inside the top 20 only once in seven races frustrated the eight-time winner, and that frustration often could be heard as he vented to his team on the radio during races.

But it’s what takes place after the pot has boiled over, he said, that determines what occurs next.

“I don’t ever care about yesterday or what happened in a practice or a race,” he said. “… This sport is all about what you’re going to do tomorrow. That’s what you have to instill into yourself and everybody around you to be able to go out there and get the job done, compete at the level I know we’re capable of competing at for our sponsors and for ourselves.”

Bowyer hasn’t been to Victory Lane in a Sprint Cup race since the 2012 season, a span of 123 races. He did qualify for last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup based on points earned, but was eliminated in the first round.

HScott fields two Sprint Cup teams — the No. 15 of Bowyer as well as the No. 46 for driver Michael Annett. Bowyer enters this weekend’s race 27th in points while Annett is 35th.

But two of the last three races have seen Bowyer finish inside the top 10 — he was eighth at Bristol and seventh most recently at Talladega.

“I was struggling to get that kind of consistency where I was last year,” he said of his final season at the now-defunct Michael Waltrip Racing. “When you’re down, most of the time there’s a reason, especially when you’re down as far as we’re down. We had work to do; we’re starting to get some new waves of cars built, get some things to where we are satisfied with them and excited about bringing them to the track and seeing what our hard work has done. That’s all you can do.”


Anyone should be frustrated, he said, if they felt their performance as a driver or their team’s performance wasn’t up to par. That doesn’t mean a team no longer attempts to improve.

“When you’re running good, it’s easy,” Bowyer said. “When you’re running bad, it’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your life. I don’t care what organization you’re at or how much depth you have or anything else. It’s that simple. …

“This is hard. This is a hard business and it’s very competitive. If you’re good, you better work hard to stay good or you’re not going to be there long. If you’re bad, you’ve got to work hard to get caught up.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: See the full 2017 schedules here

 

NASCAR released its 2017 national series schedules on Thursday — months prior to the more typical fall arrival — and among the significant news is a Chase-time swap between two of the tracks on the Cup schedule.

 

Although the order and dates of races in NASCAR’s premier series remain mostly intact, a noteworthy change involves swapping the Chase race order at Talladega Superspeedway and Kansas Speedway.

 

For 2017, Talladega (Oct. 15) will be the second race in the Round of 12 with Kansas becoming the third — and elimination — race (Oct. 22) for the Round of 12. This past weekend, Talladega recorded the second-highest number of green-flag passes for the lead in the track’s great history (213), and the series heads to Kansas this week for a Saturday night show with its revamped rules package.

 

NASCAR Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Jim Cassidy caught up with reporters Thursday at Kansas Speedway, explaining the dynamics of the schedule swap and the enhancements to the Chase. Cassidy said that with the new reduced downforce package in place, driver input and a team’s ability to adjust at an intermediate-sized track would play a greater role in determining eliminations.

 

“I would say it definitely adds a different layer of pressure for the competitors; I would say it adds certainly to the weekend and to the Chase overall,” Cassidy said. “But at the same time it does not take away from, on the Talladega side, what the fans are going to get. To me, it’s good for the fans on either side because … no matter when you go to Talladega you’re going to see a product that is quite frankly some of the most popular racing that we’ve got on the circuit. Now with Kansas in that spot, you add another layer of complexity to a very compelling playoff format.”

 

NASCAR credited an “unprecedented” collaboration among the industry for being able to complete and announce the upcoming 2017 schedule so early in 2016, specifically noting the importance of the five-year sanctioning agreement between NASCAR and its tracks.

 

“Announcing the 2017 national series schedules this early in the season is another example of the collaborative spirit across the NASCAR industry,” NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said. “It’s an exciting time in NASCAR, with some of the most intriguing racing we’ve seen in years. With the 2017 schedule solidified, the industry can now concentrate on the remainder of this season while planning for the future much earlier than in previous years.”

 

RELATED: Explaining the five-year agreement

 

The other big date news is that Dover International Speedway‘s spring race will be moved back a month to June 4 — a week after the Coca-Cola 600 — versus a date in May this year. And Michigan International Speedway‘s second race returns to its traditional August timeframe — Aug. 13. Texas Motor Speedway‘s spring race will also be held on Sunday afternoon, rather than Saturday night.

 

The Cup schedule begins with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 26. Its regular-season finale at Richmond is Sept. 9, with the first round of the 10-stop playoff slate scheduled for Sept. 17 at Chicagoland Speedway. The 2017 champion will be crowned at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 19.

 

As for the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedules, they will open the new season at Daytona on Feb. 25 and Feb. 24, respectively.

 

The XFINITY Series will feature four stand-alone events — at Iowa Speedway (July 29), Mid-Ohio (Aug. 12), Road America (Aug. 26) and Kentucky Speedway (Sept. 23). The Kentucky event opens the NASCAR XFINTY Series Chase.

 

The Camping World Truck Series will host five stand-alone events on its 23-race schedule, including the hugely popular race at Eldora Speedway on July 19. It will kick off its postseason at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 23.

 

Iowa Speedway will again host an XFINITY and Camping World Truck series doubleheader on June 23-24.

 

Contributing: Kenny Bruce in Kansas City.

 

RELATED: Learn more about all 23 Cup tracks

Posted on by Staff Report

PRACTICE 3: Results

 

After missing out on the top spot during second practice, John Wes Townley locked in the fastest lap in his No. 05 Chevrolet during Thursday’s third and final practice at Kansas Speedway (176.980 mph).

 

Right behind Townley was the No. 23 Chevrolet of Spencer Gallagher. The GMS Racing wheelman soared around the track at 176.748 mph.

 

Rounding out the top three was the No. 13 ThorSport Racing Toyota of Cameron Hayley, who climbed to the third spot during the final minutes of the 85-minute session (176.702 mph).

 

The No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford of Tyler Reddick took fourth at 176.448 mph with the two-time champ Matt Crafton behind him in fifth (176.269 mph) in his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota.

 

The field will return to the 1.5-mile track for Keystone Light Pole Qualifying on Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET (FS1).

 

PRACTICE 2: Results

 

In the final minutes of the 55-minute session, William Byron scored the fastest lap during Thursday’s second practice at Kansas Speedway. Byron propelled his No. 9 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota around the 1.5-mile track at 176.650 mph.

 

Next was the No. 05 Chevrolet of John Wes Townley who was second-fastest during the practice (176.621 mph).

 

Third-quickest was the defending race winner Matt Crafton in his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota. The two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion posted a quick lap of 176.401 mph.

 

The No. 19 of Daniel Hemric (176.252 mph) and the No. 41 of Ben Rhodes (175.833 mph) were behind Crafton in fourth and fifth, respectively.

 

PRACTICE 1: Results

Tyler Reddick soared to the fastest lap in opening NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice Thursday afternoon at Kansas Speedway.

Reddick powered the Brad Keselowski Racing No. 29 Ford to a best lap of 176.137 mph on the 1.5-mile track. He was just .028 seconds faster than defending race winner Matt Crafton, a two-time series champ, who posted the second-fastest lap at 175.976 mph in the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Toyota.

Matt Tifft (175.541 mph), John Wes Townley (175.473 mph) and Ben Rhodes (175.444 mph) completed the top five in the opening 55-minute prep session for Friday’s Toyota Tundra 250 (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM), the series’ fourth race of the season.

Series points leader John Hunter Nemechek was 17th-fastest in the NEMCO Motorsports No. 8 Chevrolet. Sprint Cup regular Clint Bowyer, making his first start in the series since 2014, was clocked 16th-fastest in the GMS Racing No. 24 Chevrolet.

Posted on by Staff Report

JR Motorsports announced Thursday that Clint Bowyer will drive the team’s No. 88 Chevrolet in the NASCAR XFINITY Series this September at Chicagoland Speedway.

 

The scheduled appearance for car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Sept. 17 race will mark Bowyer’s first XFINITY Series race since 2012. The Sprint Cup regular was the XFINITY series champion in 2008.

 

Sponsorship for the 300-mile race will be provided by Morton Buildings, an Illinois-based business 120 miles from the 1.5-mile Joliet track.

 

“When Dale Jr. offers to let you drive his car, there’s only one answer and that’s ‘yes,’ ” said Bowyer. “JR Motorsports is certainly on a roll right now and I know those guys are working hard to make the boss happy by building fast cars. It’s going to be a blast wheeling that No. 88 Morton Buildings Chevrolet around Chicagoland in the XFINITY race. It’s going to be even better when we can celebrate with the boss in Victory Lane.”

 

Bowyer becomes the ninth driver tapped for JRM’s No. 88 seat this season, joining Josh Berry, Alex Bowman, Cole Custer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott, Kenny Habul, Kevin Harvick and Regan Smith on the roster.

 

The car is a two-time winner this year, with Elliott securing the season opener at Daytona and Earnhardt prevailing last month at Richmond.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 5, 2016) — NASCAR today announced the 2017 schedules for its three national series, giving fans and stakeholders a significant head start in planning for next season’s thrilling slate.

 

A credit to unprecedented industry collaboration, specifically the five-year sanctioning agreement between NASCAR and its tracks, the sanctioning body finalized its 2017 schedules months ahead of previous years’ release.

 

The result: Three unique schedules featuring race tracks that have hosted record-setting races already this season, with the majority of the slate still remaining.

 

A notable change in the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series schedule includes a date swap between a track that just hosted one of the most competitive races in its history, and one that will showcase the lower downforce competition package this coming weekend.

 

Talladega Superspeedway, which last Sunday had the second-highest total of green flag passes for the lead ever recorded (213), will become the second race in the Round of 12 in 2017 (Oct. 15). Kansas Speedway will now become the third and final race in that round (Oct. 22).

 

“Announcing the 2017 national series schedules this early in the season is another example of the collaborative spirit across the NASCAR industry,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “It is an exciting time in NASCAR, with some of the most intriguing racing we’ve seen in years. With the 2017 schedule solidified, the industry can now concentrate on the remainder of this season, while planning for the future much earlier than in previous years.”

 

Texas Motor Speedway’s spring Cup race shifts to Sunday (April 9), a  move expected to produce great racing action like that seen after Richmond International Raceway switched to a Sunday race for the 2016 season. Other changes in the NASCAR Cup schedule include Dover International Speedway’s spring date move to June 4, a week after the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 28). Michigan International Speedway’s second race will return to its traditional early August slot, on Aug. 13.

 

The NASCAR Cup Series 2017 schedule opens with The Great American Race, the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 26. The season culminates with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 19.

 

The NASCAR XFINITY Series will kick off at Daytona on Feb. 25, and crown its champion at Homestead on Saturday, November 18. Its schedule features four standalone events — Iowa Speedway (July 29), Mid-Ohio (Aug. 12), Road America (Aug. 26) and Kentucky Speedway, the first event in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase (Sept. 23). For the second consecutive season, Iowa will host a NASCAR XFINITY Series-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series companion weekend on June 23-24.

 

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series opens its season at Daytona on Feb. 24, and culminates at Homestead on Nov. 17. Five standalone races are included among the 2017 lineup: Texas Motor Speedway (June 9), Gateway Motorsports Park (June 17), Eldora Speedway (July 19), Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Aug. 27) and Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Sept. 30). The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase once again begins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Sept. 23).

 

All races will air on either the FOX or NBC family of networks, MRN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

See below for all three NASCAR national series schedules.

2017 NASCAR Cup Series Schedule

Date Site
2/18 Daytona International Speedway (Unlimited)
2/19 Daytona International Speedway (Daytona 500 Qualifying)
2/23 Daytona International Speedway (Duel)
2/26 Daytona 500
3/5 Atlanta Motor Speedway
3/12 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
3/19 Phoenix International Raceway
3/26 Auto Club Speedway
4/2 Martinsville Speedway
4/9 Texas Motor Speedway
4/23 Bristol Motor Speedway
4/30 Richmond International Raceway
5/7 Talladega Superspeedway
5/13 Kansas Speedway
5/20 Charlotte Motor Speedway (NASCAR All-Star Race)
5/28 Charlotte Motor Speedway
6/4 Dover International Speedway
6/11 Pocono Raceway
6/18 Michigan International Speedway
6/25 Sonoma Raceway
7/1 Daytona International Speedway
7/8 Kentucky Speedway
7/16 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
7/23 Indianapolis Motor Speedway
7/30 Pocono Raceway
8/6 Watkins Glen International
8/13 Michigan International Speedway
8/19 Bristol Motor Speedway
9/3 Darlington Raceway
9/9 Richmond International Raceway
9/17 Chicagoland Speedway
9/24 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
10/1 Dover International Speedway
10/7 Charlotte Motor Speedway
10/15 Talladega Superspeedway
10/22 Kansas Speedway
10/29 Martinsville Speedway
11/5 Texas Motor Speedway
11/12 Phoenix International Raceway
11/19 Homestead-Miami Speedway

2017 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES SCHEDULE

Date Site
2/25 Daytona International Speedway
3/4 Atlanta Motor Speedway
3/11 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
3/18 Phoenix International Raceway
3/25 Auto Club Speedway
4/8 Texas Motor Speedway
4/22 Bristol Motor Speedway
4/29 Richmond International Raceway
5/6 Talladega Superspeedway
5/27 Charlotte Motor Speedway
6/3 Dover International Speedway
6/10 Pocono Raceway
6/17 Michigan International Speedway
6/24 Iowa Speedway
6/30 Daytona International Speedway
7/7 Kentucky Speedway
7/15 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
7/22 Indianapolis Motor Speedway
7/29 Iowa Speedway
8/5 Watkins Glen International
8/12 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
8/18 Bristol Motor Speedway
8/26 Road America
9/2 Darlington Raceway
9/8 Richmond International Raceway
9/16 Chicagoland Speedway
9/23 Kentucky Speedway
9/30 Dover International Speedway
10/6 Charlotte Motor Speedway
10/21 Kansas Speedway
11/4 Texas Motor Speedway
11/11 Phoenix International Raceway
11/18 Homestead-Miami Speedway

2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Schedule

Date Site
2/24 Daytona International Speedway
3/4 Atlanta Motor Speedway
4/1 Martinsville Speedway
5/12 Kansas Speedway
5/19 Charlotte Motor Speedway
6/2 Dover International Speedway
6/9 Texas Motor Speedway
6/17 Gateway Motorsports Park
6/23 Iowa Speedway
7/6 Kentucky Speedway
7/19 Eldora Speedway
7/29 Pocono Raceway
8/12 Michigan International Speedway
8/16 Bristol Motor Speedway
9/3 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
9/15 Chicagoland Speedway
9/23 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
9/30 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
10/14 Talladega Superspeedway
10/28 Martinsville Speedway
11/3 Texas Motor Speedway
11/10 Phoenix International Raceway
11/17 Homestead-Miami Speedway
Posted on by Nascar

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — When Dale Earnhardt Jr. previewed the first installment of the upcoming three-part series “NASCAR: The Rise of American Speed,” the Hendrick Motorsports driver said he was amazed at what he witnessed.

 

“The first part I watched like a kid at Christmas,” the Hendrick Motorsports driver said Tuesday, adding that he kept thinking, “This is cool; I love what I’m seeing. I didn’t know it was like this; this is awesome.”

 

Earnhardt is an executive producer for the series, which debuts this Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on CMT.

 

“You know about Red Byron (NASCAR’s first premier series champion) and guys like that and what they’ve done but you’ve never actually had a window into what they might have been like,” he said. “So that was really, really neat.

 

“Watching that first episode, it’s completely different from watching the other two. The other two I was there, or I remember it as a kid. You immediately go to sort of picking it apart and (asking) does it live up to the standard?”

 

The series (episodes 2 and 3 will air on consecutive Sundays, May 15 and May 22) uses archival footage as well as reenactments and interviews to document the history of NASCAR from its beginning to modern day. Among those contributing on-air to the project were stars such as Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart and Darrell Waltrip.

 

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France and Lesa France Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer of International Speedway Corp., provide additional insights. NASCAR founder William Henry Getty France was their grandfather, Bill France Jr. their father.

 

Episode 1 details stock car racing’s rough, raw beginnings and the senior France’s desire to pursue his dream of bringing acceptability and professionalism to the sport.

 

Episode 2 features the continued rise of the sport and France’s many battles to bring NASCAR to mainstream America.

 

Episode 3 begins with the ’79 Daytona 500, a watershed moment for NASCAR, and focuses heavily on the career of France’s son, Bill Jr., and seven-time series champion Dale Earnhardt before closing with where NASCAR sits in today’s sports landscape.

 

But it was that first episode that Earnhardt Jr. said, “Intrigues me the most.

 

“Because I wasn’t there and didn’t know much about that time,” he said. “You know people’s names and you match that name with an accomplishment. But you never really knew their personalities much.

 

“I believe in this kind of film you’re able to see maybe what this guy’s attitude or personality was like. You see when Big Bill is trying to form NASCAR, some of the drivers are kind of grinding against the gears and pushing back a little bit.

 

“We really don’t know a lot about that and there aren’t a lot of stories telling that part of it, that side of it. So that was real interesting.”

Posted on by Staff Report

VOTE: Edwards’ last lap move at Richmond — clean or dirty?



Reigning Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards appear to have buried the hatchet after the finish of the Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway two weekends ago.


To refesh your memory, Edwards won his second straight race for JGR on April 24, doing so with a last-lap bump-and-run on Busch, who was seeking his third victory in four Cup events.


As of this past weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, the pair still had yet to talk to try to resolve any tension. But on Wednesday morning, Busch tweeted a photo of the pair holding a signed award with M&Ms — one of Busch’s sponsors — on it and the language, “Congratulations on your win,” and the Toyota Owners 400 race logo.


Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team of Jimmie Johnson will lose 15 minutes of practice time this week at Kansas Speedway after NASCAR posted penalties coming out of Talladega weekend.

The No. 48 team failed template inspection three times during pre-race for Sunday’s GEICO 500.

NASCAR also gave written warnings to the No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports team of Brian Scott and the No. 98 Premium Motorsports team of Cole Whitt, each for two failed pre-race inspections.

In the XFINITY Series, NASCAR docked the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team of Ty Dillon 15 minutes of practice time for failing laser inspection three times.

The Nos. 0 (Garrett Smithley), 4 (Ross Chastain), 28 (Dakoda Armstrong), 43 (Jeb Burton), 70 (Derrike Cope) and 85 (Bobby Gerhart) teams all received written warnings for failing laser inspection twice.