Monster smiles: Bubba makes history, strides at Dover

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Holly Cain

DOVER, Del. — Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. was all smiles and high fives as he climbed out of his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing LoudMouth Exhaust Ford on pit road late Saturday afternoon at Dover International Speedway.

His runner-up finish to Erik Jones was his best of the 2016 season, best of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career, and best ever for an African-American driver in the series. And it came in a backup car.

“Our team, I keep saying it, we never give up,” an enthusiastic Wallace said on pit road while receiving plenty of congratulations as people walked by.

“It is really a credit to my guys right here for really thrashing this thing. It is unfortunate when you do have to bring the backup car out, like we talked about earlier.

“We never give up and we work really hard to get some speed in this baby. I can’t thank LoudMouth Exhaust enough for coming on board. This is a good debut for them. They will be on our car in Charlotte. We will go have some fun in two weeks, a home track for us, and hopefully we can get one spot better.”

Wallace had to work for his effort this weekend. He ran among the top six for most of the race after starting 11th. But he was in a reserve Mustang after crashing his car in opening practice.

The 22-year-old has always had a good relationship with Dover, however, and his stellar history at this venue helped launch his NASCAR career.

He won an XFINITY Series pole position in his first series start at the track in 2012 and again in 2015. He won the pole position in his first Camping World Truck Series start at The Monster Mile in 2013. And he won two poles here in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East ranks — winning from the pole position in 2011.

“That was big,” Wallace said, allowing a smile.

“We just have to continue on. We can use this for motivation but I said earlier, we are nowhere near close to where we need to be. We are off on speed and handling and we know that.

“We have another off-weekend to find some more for our Ford Mustangs. We have to keep plugging away. We can’t get frustrated and just give up on it. We have to keep our heads up and work together to get our team better.

“This is a really good day for us. I can go to sleep tonight knowing that we gave it our all, especially after the backup car and all those shenanigans, it kind of erased that — until I go in Monday and hear all about it again in the debrief.”

The showing at Dover kept Wallace ranked ninth in the XFINITY championship points. He trails leader Elliott Sadler by 81 points entering the series’ next race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in two weeks.

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Holly Cain

RELATED: Cup standings | See Sunday’s lineup

DOVER, Del. — Even those who have been around the sport for a long time are amazed to hear the litany of Jimmie Johnson accomplishments at this week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stop, Dover International Speedway.

His 10 — yes, TEN — wins at the Monster Mile is an all-time record. His Dover tally alone is actually more than the career win totals of 25 drivers he’ll compete against in Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).

His 2,999 career laps led at Dover is also the most from any active driver. And the six-time champion has won three of the last five races here.

All that greatness surely helps balance the irony and disappointment of Johnson’s Chase-costing 41st-place finish in the series’ last Dover visit in October.

“That was human error, it was something that we did wrong as a race team and cost ourselves a shot at the Chase when were in the fall race,” Johnson recalled.

“You’re going to have bad experiences at all tracks. People are going to make mistakes. Drivers are going to make mistakes even if it’s at their favorite track. It doesn’t matter.

“My love for this track; I fell for it on my first lap in an ASA car back in the ’90s and it’s still just as cool now as it ever has been.”

And it would seem if Johnson’s love of track is somehow reciprocated.

His success on one of NASCAR’s toughest one-milers is factually amazing. In addition to his 10 victories, Johnson has 15 top fives and 20 top 10s in 28 starts plus five pole-position starts, for good measure. Twice he has won from the pole.

It’s the kind of track mastery that used to happen more regularly in NASCAR’s “glory days” of Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt, but sure doesn’t occur frequently in the modern era. Kind of like winning six championships in just eight seasons.

“To have my favorite track to drive turn out to be one of my most successful race tracks, at this point in my career, it’s just cool to see it all converge and come together,” Johnson said.

“The experience around the track is so intense and so fun, I guess it’s the only track that we compete on that really reminds me of my motocross or off-road roots with the transitions into the corners and off the corners. I came here in an ASA car maybe ’97 or ’98 and just fell in love with the track then and was very fast and competitive then.”

Johnson arrives in Dover this week ranked fourth in the championship standings, 37 points behind Dover pole-sitter and the season’s title leader Kevin Harvick. But Johnson already has a pair of wins (at Atlanta and Auto Club), which qualifies him for the 2016 Chase.

He will start the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet 21st on Sunday — the grid set by opening practice speeds since qualifying was rained out. It’s only the fourth time in the last 15 races he has started outside the top 10.

He was 12th- and 13th-fastest, respectively, in the final two practices on Saturday. And he had the eighth-best 10-lap average.

“We definitely get fired up knowing this one is coming up,” Johnson said. “When we get here and then in moments like what we just had in practice where we didn’t have the speed we wanted. It adds actually more frustration than it would at a normal track.

“Because we are like, ‘man, this is our place,’ this is where we run well, why are we off?

“There is a balance for sure.”

And no one better to find it.

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Staff Report

Heat 1

Fin	Str	Car	Driver
1	2	7	Justin Allgaier*
2	1	20	Erik Jones*
3	3	88	Alex Bowman
4	6	22	Joey Logano
5	4	2	Paul Menard
6	7	6	Darrell Wallace Jr
7	5	48	Brennan Poole
8	8	16	Ryan Reed
9	9	44	JJ Yeley
10	11	11	Blake Koch
11	10	24	Drew Herring
12	14	14	Jeff Green
13	15	90	Mario Gosselin
14	16	0	Garrett Smithley
15	18	97	Alex Guenette
16	12	01	Ryan Preece
17	17	13	Timmy Hill
18	20	70	Derrike Cope
19	13	10	Matt DiBenedetto
20	19	74	Mike Harmon

*Justin Allgaier and Erik Jones are Dash 4 Cash-eligible for the main race.

Heat 2

Fin	Str	Car	Driver
1	3	3	Ty Dillon*
2	1	19	Daniel Suarez*
3	5	39	Ryan Sieg
4	4	18	Matt Tifft
5	7	33	Brandon Jones
6	6	62	Brendan Gaughan
7	13	43	Jeb Burton
8	10	4	Ross Chastain
9	9	51	Jeremy Clements
10	11	07	Ray Black Jr
11	12	28	Dakoda Armstrong
12	20	15	Travis Kvapil
13	15	25	Ryan Ellis
14	16	52	Joey Gase
15	14	78	BJ McLeod
16	2	1	Elliott Sadler
17	8	42	Justin Marks
18	17	40	Carl Long
19	18	89	Morgan Shepherd
20	19	93	Josh Reaume

*Ty Dillon and Daniel Suarez are Dash 4 Cash-eligible for the main race.

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Staff Report

Final Practice | Results

Denny Hamlin lunged to the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leaderboard in Saturday’s final practice at Dover International Speedway.

Hamlin powered the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota to a best lap of 157.329 mph on the 1-mile concrete oval. He’ll start sixth in Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), lining up according to first practice speeds after Friday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying session was rained out.

Kevin Harvick, Sunday’s pole-starter and the most recent winner at the Monster Mile, was second-fastest at 156.447 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevy.

Defending Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch notched the third-best lap at 156.365 mph in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota. His brother, Kurt Busch, and rookie Chase Elliott completed the top five in the 55-minute session.

Jimmie Johnson, a 10-time Dover winner, was 13th-fastest in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet.

Harvick was also fastest in the category of 10 consecutive lap average, posting a speed of 154.471 mph over a 10-mile run. Martin Truex Jr., Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Elliott rounded out the top five average speeds among the drivers running 10 straight laps.

Sunday’s 400-miler will be the 12th of 36 points-paying races this year for the Sprint Cup Series.

Practice 2 | Results

Kyle Busch topped the leaderboard in Saturday’s opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Dover International Speedway at 157.839 mph in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Right behind the 2015 Sprint Cup Series champion was JGR teammate Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota at 157.356 mph.

Rounding out the top five on the leaderboard were Carl Edwards in the No. 19 JGR Toyota (157.006 mph), Ryan Newman in the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (156.760 mph) and Kurt Busch in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet (156.590 mph).

Series points leader Kevin Harvick, who was fastest in Friday’s practice, was 10th-quickest during the session with a speed of 156.413 mph in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Reid Spencer

It’s only appropriate that “Time Magazine’s” recent list of the “Top 10 Most Influential Car People in Sports” would include three individuals who have made their respective marks in the NASCAR ranks.

Brian France, chairman and CEO of the sanctioning body, was No. 5 on the list because he “puts cars in front of more eyeballs than just about anyone else in sports.”

Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Gene Haas followed at No. 6 for joining forces with Tony Stewart to make his organization a “top-tier Sprint Cup contender.” Also worth mentioning is the over-achieving Haas F1 team, which has already scored championship points in its debut season in Formula One racing.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighs in at No. 7 because “one of every five marketing dollars spent on NASCAR is spent on Dale Earnhardt Jr. One visit to the Fanatics Trackside Superstore at any NASCAR track is all you need to confirm that assertion.

F1 champion Lewis Hamilton topped the list.

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Reid Spencer

DOVER, Del. – NASCAR’s new Dash 4 Cash format agrees with Erik Jones – even when his No. 20 Toyota is running on older tires.

Despite staying out on used rubber for a restart with five laps left in Saturday’s Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 200 at Dover International Speedway, Jones pulled away to beat runner-up Darrell Wallace Jr. to the finish line by 1.434 seconds.

The victory was Jones’ second of the year, both on concrete tracks (Bristol and Dover). He has now won two of the three NASCAR XFINITY Series races held under the new Dash 4 Cash format, which features two Heat races and a main event.

Since his car was blessed with short-run speed, Jones and crew chief Chris Gabehart liked their chances at the front of the field on older tires, even though others came to the pits for fresh rubber before a restart on Lap 116 of 120.

Driving a stock car for the first time in seven months, Alex Bowman came home third after leading 33 laps, a run that was broken by a debris caution on Lap 71. The top three finishers – Jones, Wallace and Bowman – are all alumni of NASCAR Next, an industry initiative that spotlights the sport’s rising stars.

Justin Allgaier ran fourth, followed by Ty Dillon and series leader Elliott Sadler, who holds a three-point edge in the standings over ninth-place finisher Daniel Suárez.

“I couldn’t see how many came to pit road, so I wasn’t too sure,” Jones said of the decision to stay out under the final caution. “I was a little anxious to see how many came and how many stayed out. Fortunately enough stayed out to make it viable for us to still get the win here.”

After seven months away from racing, except for an appearance at the Chili Bowl in January in a midget car, Bowman made steady progress throughout the weekend in the first of nine scheduled rides with JR Motorsports, the next of which will come at Pocono in early June.

“I was a little worried, being so rusty,” Bowman said. “Obviously, you can’t just take a car to the race track and go test anymore (because of NASCAR rules). I think Friday morning (before practice), I was probably the most nervous I’ve been in years, as far as getting in the race car.

“This is one of the toughest places we come. ‘Can I still do this? Am I going to mess up, make stupid mistakes?’… I haven’t given feedback on a race car in seven months either. I didn’t really do a good job of that throughout practice, but I think (crew chief) Dave (Elenz) overcame it and gave me a really good piece for the race.”

Wallace posted the highest XFINITY Series finish ever for an African-American driver, improving on his own record of third (twice), and he did it in a backup car, necessitated by a crash in Friday’s practice.

“I keep saying it, we never give up,” Wallace said. “It’s really a credit to my guys right here for really thrashing this thing. It’s unfortunate when you do have to bring the backup car out, (but) we never give up and we work really hard to get some speed in this baby.”

But the day – and the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus – belonged to Jones, who thought the tracks that stage the Dash 4 Cash races had more to do with his success than the format itself.

“The tracks that they’re at are tracks that I’ve had historically good runs at,” Jones said. “It just kind of worked out that way. The Heat race format gives us a chance to go out and adjust on our stuff. I think our ability to adjust and maintain and get better throughout the race is one of the best in the garage, and having the opportunity to do that in the Heat race gives us that little bit of an edge.”

MORE: Relive the day in photos

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Pat DeCola

RELATED: Race results | Standings | Dash 4 Cash hub

DOVER, Del. — Erik Jones has a few extra bucks in his pocket after a weekend of racing at the “Monster Mile.”

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver locked up his second Dash 4 Cash win of the season Saturday at Dover International Speedway, topping an eligible field that also included his teammate, Daniel Suarez, Richard Childress Racing‘s Ty Dillon and JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier.

Oh, by the way, he won the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 200 race outright, to boot.

By virtue of his two Dash 4 Cash wins (the other came in April at Bristol, a race he also won) along with two said race victories, Jones now sits atop the XFINITY Series Chase Grid with three wins. He’s fifth overall in the points standings and would be higher had he not wrecked from the pole in the Dash 4 Cash race last month at Richmond.

RELATED: Dash 4 Cash 101 — What you need to know

“It’s pretty cool to get another win here … at Dover and another Dash 4 Cash race,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t say (the new format plays to my strengths), I’d say that it’s more the tracks; that they’re at tracks that I’ve had historically good runs at. They just kind of work out that way. …

“I think our ability to adjust and maintain and get better throughout the day and throughout the race is just one of the best in the garage, and having the opportunity to do it after the heat race just gives us that little bit of an edge.”

With three Dash 4 Cash races in the books, only Saturday’s Heat 2 winner, Dillon (winner of the second event at Richmond), still has a shot at earning a Chase berth by acquiring a pair of D4C wins. The RCR driver finished fifth, while Heat 1 winner Allgaier landed a spot ahead in fourth. Suarez was ninth.

Drivers will have one last chance at the $100,000 check on July 23 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Lilly Diabetes 250 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Jones is just hoping he’s allowed to spend some of his Bristol winnings by then.

“I’m still waiting to get my cut of the last check,” the JGR driver said. “I haven’t gotten a chance to spend any of it yet.”

While the 19-year-old isn’t quite sure how he’ll splurge yet, don’t expect any exotic pet monkeys a la Tony Stewart coming his way.

“It’s hard to say. I’m not one to buy too many extravagant things, I guess,” Jones said. “You never know. Maybe I’ll find something I come across that I may want. I guess we’ll see when that day comes around.”

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Holly Cain

DOVER, Del. — Only four minutes into NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series opening practice on Friday at Dover International Speedway, Danica Patrick, Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray all had single-car wrecks — a result of a gear failure on Patrick’s car that collected the other two drivers when her car left oil on the 1-mile racing surface.

The Stewart-Haas Racing team — that fields Patrick’s and Stewart’s cars — confirmed the accident was because of a gear failure on Patrick’s No. 10 Nature’s Bakery/Autism Delaware Chevrolet, which hit both the outside and inside walls as flames came out from the rear of the car.

Both Stewart and McMurray, who were behind Patrick on the track, ran over the oil, spinning and also hitting both walls hard. All three cars came to rest on the frontstretch within yards of one another, and Patrick climbed out of her car to check on Stewart.

Even a member of the safety crew that responded to the accidents slipped on the oil and fell hard to the track surface as he came over to survey the situation.

Neither McMurray nor Stewart, who is making his fourth start this season after missing the first eight races due to a back injury, spoke to reporters after emerging from the care center.

McMurray held his left arm as he left the medical building, and his team said he was icing the arm during the red flag stoppage, at one point unsure whether he’d return for what was left of the delayed practice. He did go into the garage to look over his backup car as practice resumed — but was not extended — and ultimately McMurray turned 13 laps in his backup car.

Patrick spoke briefly after being examined and released from the care center.

“It was very early in practice,” Patrick said. “Obviously, there was oil, a fire and the car spun and was caught by the wall. I’m not sure what happened, but this is obviously not something we normally see. You don’t see a lot of failures like that. I’m sure they will figure out what it is.

“It sucks when it takes other people with you.”

The SHR team used the red flag stoppage time to change the gear system on all four of its Chevrolets.

Another SHR car driven by Kurt Busch also suffered a gear problem minutes before the three-car incident, but Busch was already headed to the garage.

“I got lucky, honestly,” said Busch, who made only three laps before bringing his No. 41 car back into the garage. “I was feeling something all along with the rear gear, the drive train. … There was something that was feeling weird, so I came in. I got lucky.”

SHR’s Vice President of Competition Greg Zipadelli said the team had begun using a different manufacturer for its gears, and wanted to be proactive in changing the system out immediately on all four cars.

All the cars involved in the early accident did return to the track to turn a handful of laps when the practice session resumed.

Teams considered the track time to be especially vital with questionable weather approaching and qualifying set for later in the afternoon.

The field for Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism would be set according to practice speeds should weather affect the qualifying session.

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Staff Report

Related: Full race results from Dover

NASCAR officials said that the truck driven by Daniel Suarez to a second-place finish Friday at Dover International Speedway was found too high in the left rear during a post-race inspection.

The technical infraction came after Friday’s Jacob Companies 200, the fifth of 23 races this year for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. NASCAR officials said any potential penalties stemming from the violation would be announced Wednesday.

Suarez’s Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 51 Toyota wound up .571 seconds behind race winner Matt Crafton at the checkered flag. It marked the 24-year-old driver’s fourth runner-up finish in 18 career Truck Series starts.

NASCAR eliminated ride-height rules for the Sprint Cup Series before the 2014 season, but kept the limitations in place for the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series.

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Staff Report

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).