Drive to End Hunger joins forces with Kasey Kahne

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Team Release

Kasey Kahne is picking up where Jeff Gordon left off in helping promote the AARP Foundation’s Drive to End Hunger campaign, with Hendrick Motorsports‘ relationship with the cause extending to a sixth Sprint Cup season.

Drive to End Hunger will be primary sponsor of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2016: Aug. 20 at Bristol Motor Speedway and Nov. 6 at Texas Motor Speedway. The cause will be an associate sponsor for the team in all other premier series events.

The Drive to End Hunger launched in 2011 as a primary sponsor for Hendrick Motorsports and four-time Sprint Cup Series champion Gordon. Since its inception, the organization has donated more than 34 million meals.

“Drive to End Hunger has been an incredible partner of Hendrick Motorsports,” Kahne said in a press release. “They made an unbelievable impact with Jeff, and I’m excited to work with them to continue those efforts and make a difference for the millions of older Americans who need our support. We hope to do as much good as possible and keep building this great relationship.”

Kahne joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2012 and has five victories in the No. 5 Chevrolet. So far in 2016, Kahne has two top-10 finishes, his best mark of the season two weeks ago at Texas. He has 17 career race wins.

“Winning races takes a team, and teamwork is at the core of all our efforts to create a food-secure nation,” said Lisa Marsh Ryerson, AARP Foundation president. “That’s why we are so pleased to continue our relationship with Rick Hendrick, whose commitment to winning is unparalleled, and to have Kasey Kahne join us as we work to help the more than 10 million older Americans who face the threat of hunger every single day.”

The No. 5 paint scheme will be a little different from the one fans saw on the No. 24. The design uses a black background with candy apple red and white accents, highlighted by a sleek matte finish. The hood will showcase a larger Drive to End Hunger “Forked D” logo.

“We continue to be inspired by Drive to End Hunger and the response it receives from the NASCAR community,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “Thanks to our amazing fans and the great work of AARP Foundation, many people have received life-changing assistance. That’s ultimately how our success is measured, and we look forward to doing much more together.”

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Nascar

RELATED: See all the 2016 winners

BRISTOL, Tenn. — The reign of Kyle Busch may have momentarily subsided now that the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion went 0-for-2 this past weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, but Joe Gibbs Racing teams still wound up in Victory Lane twice.

Carl Edwards, Busch’s Sprint Cup teammate, scored the win for JGR in Sunday’s Food City 500. Erik Jones earned the victory a day earlier for the organization, capturing the XFINITY Series race.

So JGR teams haven’t been beaten in a few weeks now, mid-March actually. And the organization doesn’t appear to be headed for any sort of letdown.

All four Sprint Cup teams ran well at Bristol — with drivers Busch and teammate Matt Kenseth rallying on separate occasions after tire issues occured. Denny Hamlin ran in the top five, or nearly so, for the first 200 laps before a similar incident struck the No. 11 team.

But Bristol, about as unique of a track as one will find on the NASCAR schedule, won’t come around again for another four months. The “in-between” is littered with Dover and Charlotte, Pocono and Indy, Daytona and Loudon and many more … as well as this weekend’s stop at Richmond International Raceway.

RELATED: Recap all of Busch’s Cup wins | See all of Edwards’ Cup wins

It’s a track where all four JGR drivers have excelled. Busch is a four-time winner on the .75-mile layout and Kenseth beat ’em all the last time the series visited RIR last fall.

But advantages come and go quickly in NASCAR, and nowhere do they disappear as quickly as at the Sprint Cup level.

Before Busch went on his mini-tear, folks were talking about Jimmie Johnson and how the six-time series champion already had two wins this season and boy it sure looked like this new lower downforce package played right into his hands.

Things change. Advantages come and go.

Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski don’t drive for JGR and yet they’ve managed to win this season. And chances are they’ll win again. No one will be caught off guard if Joey Logano, Kurt Busch or Martin Truex winds up in the winners’ circle. It would be more surprising, in fact, if that doesn’t happen.

RELATED: See the Chase Grid picture

The bigger question isn’t can anyone beat Joe Gibbs Racing today. Instead, it’s how much does having a win change what a team does between victory and the start of the Chase?

For some, it probably does change things somewhat. That win-and-you’re-in mentality gives crew chiefs and engineers and even drivers the freedom to make changes and take chances without the concern of how it could affect them in the points standings.

It does not mean that after a win, teams will virtually disappear until the Chase. But it opens up the playbook considerably.

The need to win might not be as urgent, but the desire to doesn’t change.

Posted on April 19, 2016 by

RELATED: Full Richmond schedule

Furniture Row Racing has made a change to its No. 78 pit crew.

Tire changer Chris Taylor will be taking over front duties from Brian Eastlund for the foreseeable future. Taylor is a veteran changer who experienced success with Jamie McMurray at Chip Ganassi Racing and more recently on the No. 20 of Matt Kenseth.

Taylor has spent most of his career as a rear changer and had worked with Kenseth’s crew up until this year when a change was made. He’d also been serving as a Joe Gibbs Racing backup for most of the year.

For more pit crew news, visit PitTalks.com.

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Staff Report

RELATED: Buy Darlington tickets | ’16 throwback schemes | SHOP: Smith gear

Regan Smith and Tommy Baldwin Racing have unveiled the throwback paint scheme that Smith’s No. 7 Road Rippers/Toy State Chevrolet will sport at Darlington Raceway over Labor Day weekend.

The paint scheme is a tribute to 1992 premier series champion Alan Kulwicki, who passed away in an airplane crash in 1993. From 1987 until his passing, Kulwicki drove the No. 7, earning all five of his wins with that number.

In a team release Smith said of honoring Kulwicki with the paint scheme, “It is a neat deal for me, I grew up watching him, Davey (Allison) and Bill (Elliott) battle it out for the ’92 championship. I am really looking forward to getting the No. 7 Road Rippers/Toy State Chevrolet on track Labor Day weekend.”

The Bojangles’ Southern 500 is set for Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. ET (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Staff Report

Chat with fans during the weekend at Richmond International Raceway.

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Pat DeCola

KyleBusch

Busch’s winning ways ended at Bristol, but he has a good shot to regain them at Richmond, where he has an average finishing position of 7.1 and four victories — the most among active Cup drivers.

MORE: Tire issues ruin Bristol race for Busch

Carledwards

Edwards flat-out dominated a tough Bristol race, and won at Richmond as recently as 2013. No slowing down for the No. 19 team.

MORE: Edwards wins Bristol from pole

Kevinharvick

Harvick has three wins at Richmond, but all came in his RCR days. Still, he’s got an average finish of 8.0 since he joined SHR, which is better than his overall number of 10.8 at the Virginia track.

JimmieJohnson

-2

Jimmie Johnson struggled mightily at Bristol and was unable to drive back through the field like some of his peers. He does have three straight top 10s at Richmond, however, which were preceded by four straight non-top 10s.

DaleEarnhardt Jr.

Junior’s Bristol performance will likely rank among the best of the year, being forced to drive to the front from the back at the very start of the race. Nearly made it work, too.

MORE: Junior rebounds for best finish

Joeylogano

-1

Logano certainly would welcome a solid performance, and as the defending pole-winner of this Richmond race, it could certainly come this weekend if he starts high in the running order again.

Kurtbusch

The Richmond spring race’s defending winner should have a great shot (especially since he led 291 of 400 laps last year), coming off a strong run at Bristol.

DennyHamlin

-1

We could see another Joe Gibbs Racing dominant performance at Richmond, where Hamlin has the second-best finishing position (10.8) to his teammate, Kyle Busch.

BradKeselowski

-1

Keselowski’s average finishing position (16.2) is nearly double that of his starting position (8.8). He’s won there before, but he’s had trouble closing at times.

ChaseElliott

Elliott notched a career-best finish for the second straight week, and now heads to a track at which he has experience. The HMS driver started and finished 16th at Richmond last year.

MORE: Elliott battles for best finish

Martintruex jr

-1

Truex has really only had one bad race thus far (Auto Club), but has really only had one exceptional one, too (Daytona).

AustinDillon

Dillon’s finishing position has worsened two races in a row since his season-best fourth-place finish at Martinsville.

Mattkenseth

Kenseth still can’t catch a break. The season is more than one-fifth over, however, and he’ll need to right the ship sooner than later.

MORE: Kenseth sent into wall, out of race

Ryanblaney

Blaney ran in the top five for a good portion of the race once again, and it’s becoming clear that’ll be the norm rather than the exception.

MORE: Blaney pranks in presser

Kylelarson

-1

Even at the tracks (like Bristol) that Larson should be performing well at, he isn’t. After eight top-five finishes in his rookie season, he has just three in 43 races since.

Kaseykahne

With two of his teammates (one of which is a rookie) landing in the top-five, while he meanders among the middle of the pack at a track he’s had success at, Kahne has to be frustrated.

Jamiemcmurray

McMurray started 13th and finished 13th at Bristol. Any guesses as to where he sits in the standings?

RickyStenhouse Jr.

-1

We’re eight races in, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is higher in the standings than Matt Kenseth, who he replaced at Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse is putting it all together, Kenseth is slipping, or … both?

Ryannewman

Bristol was just Ryan Newman’s second top 10 of the season. He’s led just one lap this year.

Ajallmendinger

Allmendinger showed for a good while on Sunday that he can hang at Bristol, running near the front early. He also finished sixth at the spring Richmond race in 2014.

Posted on April 18, 2016 by

Breaking down the full field for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway:

1. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Edwards was the class of the field Sunday at Bristol and the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver not to have an issue. Starting from the pole Edwards dominated the race and made it pay off, earning his first victory of the season and all but punching his ticket to the Chase. Grade: A+

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt’s day got off to a terrible start when his car did not have power at the drop of the green flag and he fell two laps down just as the race got under way. Never giving up, he got his lap back by taking the wave around on the third caution of the day and fought hard to climb his way to the front. On the final restart of the day he powered to second and held off Kurt Busch and teammate Chase Elliott. Grade: A+

3. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. The Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet came to life late in the race and took the lead for the first time with 145 laps to go. Despite a left rear tire rub in the closing stages Busch fought hard and ended the day inside the top five. Grade: A

4. Chase Elliott, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Running inside the top 10 on Lap 179, the rookie contender had to hit pit road with a loose wheel and fell back. With less than 100 laps to go he was inside the top five and charging forward. With 32 laps to go Elliott got a huge restart and jumped to second and put pressure on Carl Edwards for the lead. He slipped to fourth in the end, but recorded the best finish of his young career. Grade: A

5. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Could Roush Fenway Racing be on the upswing? Bayne started 10th and had another strong run until he had a pit road commitment line violation on the fourth caution of the day. He rallied back, beat and banged his way to the front and finished fifth. Grade: A

6. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. DiBenedetto had a solid, quiet day going at Bristol, racing his way into the top 10 with less than 20 laps to go. The BK Racing driver was far from content, though. He knocked on the door of the top five in the closing laps and earned a career-best finish. It was the feel good story of the weekend for sure. Grade: A+

7. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. As the race approached the halfway mark, Harvick’s car came to life and charged to the front of the field. Harvick hit the wall with 16 laps to go while chasing Chase Elliott for second, but the contact caused little damage to the No. 4 Chevy. He kept restarting on the bottom lane and was unable to challenge for the win. Grade: A

8. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Off to one of the worst starts of his career, Bowyer and the HScott Motorsports team came to life Sunday at Bristol. Starting 36th, Bowyer stayed out of trouble and gained 28 spots to earn his first top 10 of the season. Grade: A+

9. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Crew chief Luke Lambert called for two tires on the first stop of the day, putting the No. 31 into the top 10. A pit road speeding penalty under the eighth caution sent Newman to the rear of the field with less than 165 laps to go. Newman fought hard after the setback and climbed back to ninth when the checkered flag flew. Grade: B+

10. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. One of the fastest cars early in the race, Logano had to pit with a vibration under green and was then hit with a tire violation. The No. 22 fell two laps down, but fought back. With 32 laps to go Logano was fifth, but lost power and dropped like a rock on the late-race restart. Grade: B

11. Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing. The rookie contender worked his way into the top five throughout Sunday’s race, but the No. 21 Ford slipped just outside the top 10 at the end of the day. Grade: B

12. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle was penalized for speeding on pit road under the sixth caution of the day and sent to the rear of the longest line for the restart. Despite the setback, Biffle quietly worked his way back to the top 10. When the checkered flag flew, Biffle had dropped to 12th. Grade: B

13. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. McMurray started 13th and finished 13th. He avoided trouble and tied his season-best finish. Grade: B

14. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Toyota, Furniture Row Racing. The No. 78 was fast once again, but issues on pit road continued to slow the team throughout the day. Running second with roughly 75 laps to go Truex reported a loose wheel and was forced to pit road under green. The team just could not find a rhythm. Grade: C

15. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard took two tires on the third caution of the day and restarted second. The No. 27 fell back when the green flag flew, but the move looked to pay off in the long run. Later in the going he had to pit a second time to check for loose lug nuts, suffered damage on the car, but climbed back to 15th at the end of the day. Grade: B-

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse got loose in the corner and spun off Turn 2 to bring out the second caution of the day. The RFR driver fought his way into the top 10 with 25 laps to go, but fell just outside the top 15 in the closing laps. Grade: B

17. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The driver of the No. 5 raced his way into the top five with 150 laps to go and shows signs of strength. Unable to maintain that spot, he dropped to 17th when the checkered flag flew. Grade: B-

18. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. Keselowski worked his way into the top five after 55 laps, but was hit with a pit road speeding penalty under the first caution. Racing his way through the field took its toll on the No. 2, which was beaten up all around. Running fourth with 115 laps to go Keselowski broke a valve stem after contact and had to pit under green. He could only climb his way back to 18th. Grade: B

19. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger had another great run going, as he started in the top 10 and was racing at the front of the field in the opening stages of the day. However, just before the halfway mark Allmendinger hit pit road with a loose wheel under green. While he got his lap back, he was never able to rally back. Grade: B-

20. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. After getting into Danica Patrick in practice, Hamlin got into Brian Scott on pit road during the fifth caution of the day. The contact caused significant damage to to the right front of the No. 11 Toyota. Hamlin then hit the wall while running 15th with 92 laps to go to bring out the 11th caution of the day. Grade: C-

21. Chris Buescher, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. The rookie contender started 21st, sent Kyle Busch spinning on Lap 115 when the field stacked up, finished 21st and earned his best finish of the 2016 season. Grade: C

22. Landon Cassill, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. After running mid-pack for much of the day, Cassill stayed out on the seventh caution of the day to take the lead. Cassill held onto the lead for 20 laps and was able to stay in the top five when the eighth caution of the day flew. Cassill was forced to pit road with 38 laps to go after contact with Ty Dillon late in the race. Grade: A-

23. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. A pit road speeding penalty under the first caution of the day sent Johnson to the rear of the field, but by the 200-lap mark Johnson was inside the top five. Johnson was forced to pit with a vibration while running third at the 300-lap mark, falling back to 31st, two laps down. The former champ fought back to 23rd, but was the first car one lap down. Grade: C

24. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. The No. 13 Chevy was hit by AJ Allmendinger on a restart with less than 165 laps to go and Mears made a great save avoiding any damage to the car. While he broke into the top 15 just past the halfway mark, he fell through the field in the closing part of the race. Grade: C

25. Ty Dillon, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. After having issues in qualifying, the younger Dillon brother used strategy to make his way to the front of the field and was able to maintain a solid top-10 position. Earnhardt Jr. used up the No. 14 with less than 50 laps to go, causing a significant left rear tire rub. The problems weren’t over, as Landon Cassill did the same thing just a handful of laps later. Grade: C+

26. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon used up the right side of the No. 3 Chevrolet after getting into the wall multiple times. He was also hit with a pit road speeding penalty under the sixth caution of the day. The older Dillon brother definitely had a rough outing at the Last Great Colosseum. Grade: C-

27. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Running mid-pack, Patrick stayed out on the seventh caution of the day and jumped into the top five. Once the race went back to green, the No. 10 Chevy faded and Patrick slipped back in the pack. The team was hit with two separate pit road penalties with less than 90 laps to go. Grade: C-

28. Cole Whitt, No. 98 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. Whitt had a quiet run at the half-mile short track, but gained 11 spots on the day. Grade: C+

29. Michael McDowell, No. 95 Chevrolet, Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing. McDowell raced his way as high as 17th just past the halfway mark, but dropped to 29th at the end of the day. After starting 31st, it was still a gain. Grade: C

30. Brian Scott, No. 44 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Scott made contact with Denny Hamlin on pit road, causing damage to both cars. He was running the top 30 when he got loose in the corner and spun to bring out the 10th caution of the day. Grade: C-

31. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Starting last, Annett spent much of the day racing around 35th, but he was sent spinning late in the race after contact with front-runner Kevin Harvick . Grade: C

32. Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 32 Ford, Go Fas Racing. The fourth-generation driver started 37th, stayed out of trouble and finished the day 32nd. Not too bad for his first Bristol start. Grade: C

33. Josh Wise, No. 30 Chevrolet, The Motorsports Group. Wise’s No. 30 Chevrolet had a tire issue and hit the outside wall to bring out the eighth caution of the day. Grade: C-

34. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Stuck behind Dale Jr. to start the day, Almirola suffered damage to the nose of the car just as the green flag flew. He was running 19th when he was hit by Martin Truex Jr. and sent spinning into the outside wall, causing significant damage to the No. 43 Ford. He didn’t want to get out of the car, but NASCAR said he had to and a post-race meeting in the hauler was the end result. Grade: C-

35. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. After giving a win away on Saturday in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, Larson charged from his 25th starting spot and was in the top 10 before the 90-lap mark. Running third, a trackbar issue forced Larson and team to take the car behind the wall. Grade: D

36. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Dominating the race in the early stages, Kenseth blew a right front tire and hit the wall to bring out the fifth caution of the day while leading on Lap 186. After racing back in the top 10, Kenseth had another tire issue late in the race and was forced to pit road. With no caution thrown, the No. 20 team’s chances at victory were gone and the car went behind the wall. Grade: D

37. Regan Smith, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Smith was a non-factor throughout the day until he was hit by Danica Patrick and made hard contact with the wall with just nine laps to go. Grade: D

38. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Running third on Lap 52, Busch lost a right front tire and hit the outside wall to bring out the first caution of the day. Busch made his way into the top 20, but was spun on Lap 115 after contact with Chris Buescher. After working into the top five, he was hit with a speeding penalty on the fifth caution of the day. While racing back to the front again, Busch made heavy contact with the wall on Lap 258 and took the car behind the wall. Grade: D

39. David Ragan, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Ragan was stuck behind Dale Jr. when he had his issue on the initial start of the day, and things did not get much better. With smoke billowing out of the exhaust, Ragan took the car behind the wall with an engine issue on Lap 217. Grade: F

40. Reed Sorenson, No. 55 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. Sorenson started 38th, but pulled the car behind the wall after completing just 169 of the 500 laps. Grade: F

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Nascar

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams representing Richard Childress Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Team Penske and Furniture Row Racing are scheduled to participate in a two-day Goodyear tire test Tuesday and Wednesday, April 19-20 at Pocono Raceway.

The Sprint Cup Series visits the 2.5-mile track for the first of two annual stops June 3-5 for the Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400.

Drivers expected to take part in the test are Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota), Brad Keselowski (Team Penske No. 2 Ford), Kyle Larson (CGR No. 42 Chevrolet) and Ryan Newman (RCR No. 31 Chevrolet).

“It’s kind of in line with what we’ve done at the other tests,” Greg Stucker, director of race tire sales for Goodyear said Sunday morning at Bristol Motor Speedway. “Looking at the 2016 package for Pocono and looking to increase grip.”

The Pocono track was repaved in 2012, and Stucker said even before that project “it had grown to be on the conservative side (tire-wise), so we’re looking to try and increase grip levels.”

With only three corners and each one drastically different, Pocono presents its own set of unique challenges both to teams and Goodyear. While teams often compared it to Indianapolis Motor Speedway where the series will visit later this summer, those similarities, such as from a tire-wear standpoint, had begun to lessen.

Now, though, Stucker said “It’s getting to be more like Indy was — the two used to be lined up and that’s one of the things we’re actually looking to see, if maybe we can align those two,” Stucker said.

“But it’s still not heavy wear by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just lost some grip; it’s not overly abrasive. The grip is starting to go away since the repave.”

In addition to the June race weekend, Pocono also hosts a second Sprint Cup event at the end of July.

Posted on April 18, 2016 by

Richard Petty Motorsports released longtime pit crew coach Gary Smith effective Monday.

We have not heard what the future plans are for RPM’s athletic department nor have we heard of another coach replacing Smith. (UPDATE on 4/26: RPM hired Robb Rogers as Smith’s replacement. Rogers has been a professional coach since 1980 and a national lecturer since 1985.)

Coach Smith has been around pit road for many years and is very knowledgeable about pit stops.

For more pit crew news, visit PitTalks.com.

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Staff Report

From 8-11 a.m. ET on Tuesday, NASCAR.com will live stream the post-race inspection process.

The three-hour look takes you behind the scenes as NASCAR officials inspect NASCAR Sprint Cup Series vehicles following Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The cars being inspected this week are: the No. 19 Toyota of Carl Edwards (won Sunday’s race) and the No. 88 Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt Jr. (finished second in Sunday’s race). There was no random car selected this week.

For more information on what the inspection process entails, click here.