Carolina Panthers' Greg Olsen to drive All-Star Race pace car

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Track Release

CONCORD, N.C. (April 26, 2016) — While many in the professional football world are focused on the NFL Draft, Carolina Panthers Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen will lead a different kind of draft when he drives the Toyota Camry pace car prior to the unforgettable, action-packed May 21 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race during the 10 Days of NASCAR Thunder at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“Since arriving in Charlotte I have developed a great admiration for NASCAR and their athletes,” Olsen said. “Their concept of teamwork and commitment to excellence is second to none and I have a great deal of respect for the drivers and their teams. I am honored to be included in such an event and I am looking forward to driving the pace car to kick off the 2016 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.”

Olsen, one of the NFL’s premier pass catchers, is no stranger to NASCAR. For the past two years, the Charlotte, North Carolina, resident has participated in fundraising efforts with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. to support The Dale Jr. Foundation and The Greg Olsen Foundation’s HEARTest Yard campaign.

Olsen has also attended race events at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the past, but never in a dignitary role.

Last season, the veteran tight end earned his second Pro Bowl nod after recording a career-high 1,104 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Olsen’s efforts helped the Panthers finish with a franchise-best 15-1 record in a season that also saw Carolina advance to Super Bowl 50.

Olsen joins linebacker Luke Kuechly as the second Panthers player in the last three years to pace the field prior to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, a battle among NASCAR’s biggest stars for a $1 million prize and the sport’s ultimate bragging rights.

Frontstretch tickets to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race start at just two for $99 and include a pre-race concert by triple-platinum recording artist Andy Grammer. Fans can purchase tickets, camping and race-day upgrades to the entire 10 Days of NASCAR Thunder at Charlotte Motor Speedway by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267) or shopping online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com.

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Track Release

RELATED: Buy tickets for Chicagoland

Photo credit: Stewart-Haas Racing‘s Twitter account, @StewartHaasRcng

NEW YORK – April 26, 2016 – Nickelodeon today announced that it is the entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, Sept. 18, dubbed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Danica Patrick has signed on to drive a special car for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, which will be broadcast on NBCSN at 2:30 p.m. ET, and will feature a weekend of action, activities and fun for the entire family with the iconic Heroes in a Half Shell.

NASCAR star Danica Patrick, a Roscoe, Illinois native, helped kick off the partnership in true Turtles style. She unveiled her No. 10 April O’Neil/Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS at an event at Wrigley Square in Millennium Park with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, then took her car for a spin down Michigan Ave. She will join a number of other drivers with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles paint schemes for the Sept. 18 race.

Photo courtesy of Chicagoland Speedway‘s Twitter account, @ChicagoIndSpdwy

This Sept. 15-18 marks the sixth consecutive year that Chicagoland Speedway will kick off the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The Nickelodeon partnership will include sponsorship of the 2017 kickoff race, as well.

“We are excited to partner with Chicagoland Speedway to continue sponsoring and participating in marquee racing events that resonate with motorsports fans across the country,” said Anthony DiCosmo, Senior Vice President, Sports Marketing and Development, Nickelodeon. “Just as we did with last season’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 will continue to expand our relationship with NASCAR, while working with another best-in-class ISC track to give fans a unique and engaging race experience that the whole family can enjoy.”

“We are thrilled to partner with a world class brand like Nickelodeon for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 on Sept. 18,” said Scott Paddock, Chicagoland Speedway President. “This is an exciting opportunity for us to partner with one of the preeminent youth focused brands on the planet to deliver an unprecedented level of family entertainment while engaging Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans of all ages.”

“It’s great to be back in my home state of Illinois to be a part of this exciting announcement for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400,” said Patrick. “The Nickelodeon-sponsored races are really cool because they truly are fun for the entire family. Nature’s Bakery and Nickelodeon have put together an awesome paint scheme and I can’t wait to have the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and April O’Neil riding along with me in September.”

Patrick’s unique car was designed by Chicago artist Hebru Brantley, who will also design the race trophy, additional Turtles-branded paint schemes and other visual elements. Brantley breaks down the walls of cultural boundaries through his art and inspired by his 1980s Chicago upbringing, Brantley’s work touches on tough subjects in a way that may be easily digestible to the viewer, by telling his stories through youthful characters and their adventures. Brantley’s work can be described as pop infused contemporary art inspired by Japanese anime and the bold aesthetics of street art pioneers Jean Michel Basquiat, KAWS and Keith Haring.

During the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 race weekend, attendees will be able to enjoy fun family activities in the Nickelodeon Kids Zone, located in Champion’s Park. The area will feature appearances from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costumed characters, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles photo station and more.

Nickelodeon has a long-standing relationship with NASCAR, teaming up with the motorsports giant on several programming and racing events. On the track, the network has sponsored the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway in 2015; brought the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2014; participated in the Bank of America 500 week in 2012; and the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC in 2004. NASCAR has also contributed talent and content to Nickelodeon programming such as the Kids’ Choice Awards (Danica Patrick, 2012 and 2013), Kids’ Choice Sports Awards (Danica Patrick, 2014, Ben Kennedy, 2015), Team Umizoomi (Jeff Gordon, 2012), Hammer Down (2014), which aired on Nicktoon’s NickSports block, and an upcoming Bubble Guppies episode (Jimmie Johnson, 2015).

Currently in its fourth season, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is seen in over 170 countries and territories and translated in 50+ languages. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles follows four mutant turtles—Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo—trained in the art of ninjutsu by their mutant rat sensei, Master Splinter, who teaches the turtles to battle evil from the New York City sewers. Executive produced by Ciro Nieli and Brandon Auman, the series is created at Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif. Additionally, this summer the Turtles will once again defend the streets of New York City in Paramount Pictures’ highly anticipated theatrical movie, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, which arrives in theaters June 3.”

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Pat DeCola

Carledwards

For the sixth time in his career, Edwards won back-to-back races. Don’t expect him to make it three in a row for the first time, however, as Talladega is his worst track (20.8 average finish).

MORE: Edwards bumps Busch for win

KyleBusch

-1

Busch was certainly unhappy about his teammate’s bump that forced him out of a Richmond win, but hey, maybe Carl Edwards will make it up to him by drafting with him at Talladega.

Kevinharvick

Harvick finished in the top five after leading 63 Richmond laps, but it sure was a quietly solid finish for the 2014 champ. Look for another solid showing at Talladega, where he typically manages to avoid "The Big One."

JimmieJohnson

Through the season’s first nine races, Jimmie Johnson is on pace for a career-best average finish of 7.9.

DaleEarnhardt Jr.

"Amelia" is back, so Junior instantly shoots to the top of the "Talladega favorites" list, even if it didn’t do so well in the season-opening Daytona 500.

MORE: No. 88 chassis restored for ‘Dega

Joeylogano

Logano has increased his top-10 finish count each of the past five seasons. After 28 last year, he’s on pace for 24 in 2016.

MORE: Penske perserveres at Richmond

DennyHamlin

After failing to win again at his home track, Hamlin will try to right the ship at Talladega in a race he won as recently as 2014 — from a starting position of 34th.

Kurtbusch

-1

Toward the end of the Richmond race, it looked like at least one of the Busch brothers would win, as they were running 1-2. To put it bluntly … nope.

MORE: Kurt calls out crew

BradKeselowski

If Keselowski hadn’t already won this season, would people be wondering what’s plaguing the No. 2 team? After a career-high top 10s in 2015, the 2012 champ has just four in nine races.

Martintruex jr

After being on the losing end of the closest finish in Daytona 500 history, want to guess if Truex Jr. is looking forward to the first restrictor-plate race since then?

ChaseElliott

-1

Should be interesting to see how Elliott does in his first Cup foray at Talladega, but at least he should have some speed in his car: His No. 24 ride is the defending pole-winner.

Mattkenseth

Kenseth has led multiple laps in eight of nine races this season, but has just two top-10 finishes to show for it.

Kaseykahne

Based on Kahne’s post-race comments at Richmond, it sounds like something clicked internally with the No. 5 team three or four weeks ago. If it keeps up, Kahne should be set for the Chase after missing it last year.

MORE: Kahne back on track

AustinDillon

-2

Dillon has cooled a bit, but certainly wouldn’t mind putting the No. 3 Chevrolet back in Victory Lane at Talladega. Perhaps that gives him a little extra juice heading into the weekend.

Ryanblaney

-2

Something you’re going to hear a lot later this week: Blaney finished fourth in last year’s running of this race.

Jamiemcmurray

Jamie McMurray is fascinating. He has just one top-10 finish, yet is 13th in the standings. Seven drivers who are below him in points have more top 10s.

Kylelarson

-2

Larson has yet to finish in the top 10 at Talladega since his debut at the restrictor-plate track in 2014.

Ryannewman

Newman has a whopping 28 starts at Talladega under his belt. He’s never won, and has an average finish outside the top 20.

RickyStenhouse Jr.

-1

Stenhouse has led 38 laps in his Sprint Cup Series career. Eleven of those laps have come at Talladega, where he has an average finish of 12.2.

Ajallmendinger

Allmendinger finished fifth at Talladega in the 2014 spring race. He has an average finish of 25.64 in the other 11 races on his resume at the Alabama track.

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Nascar

NASCAR teams hoping to shave time off pit stops by replacing only four lug nuts on wheels will now face penalties from the sanctioning body, according to a memo sent to organizations Monday.

The memo states that all tires, wheels and all five lug nuts “must be installed in a safe and secure manner at all times during the event.”

Failure to comply can result in penalties ranging from a written warning for pre-race violations (wheels not having five lug nuts glued in place) to a minimum $20,000 fine, one-race suspension and probation for the responsible crew chief if a post-race inspection turns up a car that does not have five lug nuts in place on each wheel.

If found during pre-race, the infraction is considered an unapproved adjustment, and the violator will be required to correct the issue and drop to the rear of the field before the start of the event.

Multiple offenses for infractions will result in escalating penalties.

NASCAR stopped policing how many lug nuts teams were installing during pit stops after the 2014 season. In 2015, the sanctioning body debuted its Pit Road Officiating (PRO) system that utilizes cameras to regulate pit road.

According to Monday’s memo, updated methods for officiating the new rules will be introduced at a later date. “That process will continue to evolve over time and we will provide further updates as that model progresses.”

By tightening, or in some cases installing, only four lug nuts on each wheel, teams have often gained an advantage during pit stops. But the practice has led to a rise in the number of loose wheels this season, often sending a driver back to pit road to correct the problem.

While at least one NASCAR crew chief has noted that there have been occasions when a car would end the race with fewer than five lug nuts in place, NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France said Monday that the inspection process would be no different than it has been for other areas of the vehicles that are examined each week.

“When things are altered we have to deal with that,” France said during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “There’s no difference in that. … Really what you’re hearing is just how close and tight competition is across the board. And that’s why the crew chiefs, and rightfully so, are worried about every millisecond; they don’t want to get one of these … penalties and understandably so. They’re trying to get it right and we’re trying to get it right.

“And by the way, we will. We have for 60 years and we will always sort it out, especially when it comes to safety. We will get to the right place as fast as we can. That’s Job 1 for us.”

Last week, three-time premier series champion Tony Stewart expressed concerns that the safety of competitors was being overlooked by not mandating all five lug nuts be properly installed on wheels. A day later, when Stewart announced he would return to competition after missing the season’s first eight races, NASCAR announced it had fined the co-owner/driver $35,000.

“It wasn’t (a case of) saying they’re not doing their job,” Stewart told FOX Sports during Sunday’s pre-race show. “I just felt like this is one thing they dropped the ball on. So, they’re doing a good job. They’re looking at it. They’re going to address it and make it right, and down the road we won’t have to worry about this again, hopefully.”

France said Stewart is “very aware of how we approach criticism … of the sport and the product of the racing itself, and safety is paramount of that. Tony is very aware of how we look at that. We allow them to criticize and give their point of view way more than any other sport. … We’re thick-skinned; we get it.

“It’s when you go into the area of denigrating the racing product. That’s all we have in NASCAR, the highest quality of competition. When you start working against that in any way, we’re going to have to deal with that. And everybody understands that.”

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Joie Chitwood III, president of Daytona International Speedway since 2010, has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer of International Speedway Corporation.

And Darlington Raceway President Chip Wile, has been named President of Daytona International Speedway replacing Chitwood there.

The big news came Monday, a little more than two months before the newly transformed Daytona track plays host to its second Sprint Cup Series race of the season, the Coke Zero 400 on July 2 (7:45 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“Joie has played a tremendous role in the success of our flagship racetrack at Daytona International Speedway since 2010,” stated ISC CEO Lesa France Kennedy. “Most recently, his leadership of the Daytona Rising project, while simultaneously operating the facility, has demonstrated his operational acumen.”

Chitwood oversaw the $400 million “reimagining” of the Daytona facility that received rave reviews at its February unveiling for 2016 Speedweeks. Among the dutires in his new position, Chitwood will oversee future ISC “enterprise facility operations.”

“Joie’s promotion is well deserved and reflects his achievements and increased role in the company’s future,” said John Saunders, President of ISC. “He brings a distinct passion, creativity, and drive to this new role and we look forward to his contributions.”

Wile, who oversaw a massive transformation with the Darlington Raceway Sprint Cup Series races the past two seasons, spearheaded the hugely popular “throwback” race weekend at the famous track last year. He is set to assume his new role at Daytona in time for the Florida track’s “Country 500” music event set for Memorial Day weekend.

“Chip personifies the ideal track president being someone who values relationship building as the catalyst for collaboration and promotion,” Kennedy said. “He not only operates with a fan-first mentality, but is deeply community-focused and a real team player, all of which will serve him well in this new role.”

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Holly Cain

RICHMOND, Va. — For the second time in three weeks, Kasey Kahne finished among the top 10 in Sprint Cup Series competition. There was a time in his career that would have been par for the course. Right now, it’s an extremely encouraging sign of renewal.

Kahne is coming off his best finish of the still-early 2016 season — a fourth-place run at Richmond International Raceway on Sunday. And it already equals his top effort of 2015 (three fourth-place showings) and puts him in reasonable position to better the mark of three top-five finishes he scored in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Simply put, it appears that Kahne, the 2004 Rookie of the Year, is back on track. His team regained the mojo that he regularly demonstrated just a few years ago with double-digit top-five runs (in 2012 and 2013) and multi-win seasons.

It’s the kind of can-do that resulted in him being hired by the esteemed Hendrick Motorsports organization to compete under its banner for the 2012 season. And it’s meeting the high expectations that this powerhouse team has, considering Kahne’s teammates include six-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, perennial winner and the sport’s Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the sport’s newest whiz kid, Chase Elliott, who replaced retired four-time champion Jeff Gordon ahead of this season.

Listen to Kahne speak about the uptick in his finishing order and you might be surprised to hear the driver talk as much about the importance of good kumbaya as the comfort of having the best equipment in the garage.

It’s the people that Kahne thinks make the difference. And while that may be a popular catchphrase, Kahne is convinced the belief in his team — and second-year crew chief Keith Rodden — truly has restored his course and energized the crew.

“It just starts with the attitudes of everybody, from myself to the team,” Kahne said. “How we all appreciate each other, work together, know that each particular person is there for a reason and is really good at what each one of us does. I think it’s more being together, being a group, a solid team. To me that started three, four weeks ago, and each week it seems to get better from the previous week. We’re going to keep heading in that direction.

“I think the closer you get as a group, the closer you get with your crew chief, your engineers, the guys on pit road, the car chief, the guys building the race car, all of that is communication to me. All of that kind of makes the whole race on Sunday better when you are better in those areas.”

Judging by the results of Kahne’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team of late, it would be hard to argue with the philosophy. And while next week’s race at Talladega Superspeedway is typically considered a roll of the dice, Kahne has run well there — even scoring runner-up finishes in 2006 and 2009.

And he is even better at Kansas and Charlotte, where the series heads after Talladega. Kahne has four wins at Charlotte — including a sweep of the 2006 season there — and Kansas was one of his three top-five finishes in 2015. He has three pole positions in Kansas and five top-five finishes in his last nine races there.

Although Kahne is hardly saying his team has “arrived,” he does like the direction it has taken.

This past weekend at Richmond, for example, Kahne qualified eighth and was second-fastest in final practice — so the race result was not an anomaly.

“When you have each other’s backs, you work together as a team and you keep getting better,” Kahne said. “That’s where we’ve been. That’s where we’ve been excelling at.

“I think there’s kind of consistency on the whole weekend. There’s more times I look at the scoring pylon and I’m at the top half rather than the bottom half — whether it’s one of the practices, qualifying or race.

“I think it’s a slow process, really. We were so far gone there for a little while, it takes time to start getting back to where we need to be.

“We’re heading in that direction now, so it’s really nice.’”

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Staff Report

Amelia is back.

The No. 88 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Jr., a car so good on superspeedway tracks that it earned its own name, has apparently been restored from a Daytona 500 wreck. According to team crew chief Greg Ives, she’ll be back on the track this weekend.

For all those asking, it is time. Amelia will be making her return to the track this weekend. @TeamHendrick did a great job fixing her up.

— Greg Ives (@Ives_Greg) April 25, 2016

Amelia — formally known as Chassis No. 88-872 — has been Earnhardt Jr.’s primary car for the past five races at Daytona and Talladega. In 2015, Earnhardt Jr. won twice in four restrictor-plate events, with one win at Daytona and one at Talladega. He finished third (Daytona 500) and second in the fall Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega.

In the 2016 Daytona 500, Earnhardt Jr. was charging toward the front of the field when his car whipped around on him and smashed the inside barrier, crumpling sheet metal and denting the frame. He would finish 36th in the race.

“We’re going to have Amelia … I’m excited about that,” Earnhardt said in this week’s “The Dale Jr. Download” on Dirty Mo Radio. “We know how she ran last year. We’ve just got to run Talladega like we have to win it, just like we did the last time we were there. We did a good job.

“If we run it like that, we’ll be up front at the end.”

WATCH: Daytona wreck cripples car

Amelia, named after Amelia Earhart, became something of a Junior Nation sensation when Dale Jr. revealed he had named the car.

“A car gets named when you drive it long enough to see a personality, typically,” Earnhardt said earlier in 2016. “… The fact that we’re going to keep running it, I said, ‘We gotta name it’ and we were thinking of a woman who has accomplished something that was an awesome person that was something we could be proud of.

“Amelia Earhart was the first thing that came to my mind.”

Posted on April 25, 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 Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

The cars being inspected this week are: the No. 19 Toyota of Carl Edwards (won Sunday’s race) and the No. 18 Toyota of Kyle Busch (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.

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Team Release

HUNTERSVILLE, NC (April 25, 2016) – BK Racing announced that Schluter-Systems will be the primary sponsor of David Ragan‘s No. 23 Toyota Camry at Talladega Superspeedway. In addition, Schluter-Systems also joins BK Racing as an associate sponsor for the remainder of the 2016 season.

“I’m excited to have Schluter-Systems on board our No.23 car this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway,” Ragan said. “We’ve got a sharp looking car for a track that I really enjoy.”

“We’re thrilled about this partnership with Schluter-Systems,” BK Racing Chief Marketing Officer Doug Fritz said. “The Schluter team has been fantastic to work with and we look forward to connecting them with our loyal NASCAR fans.”

“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us at Schluter-Systems,” said Marco Ludwig, President and CEO of Schluter-Systems North America. “We’ve come to get to know David Ragan and the whole team at BK Racing, and our relationship evolved to where sponsorship was the next natural step for us. It began where many Schluter relationships begin– talking tile– and today, we are very proud to stand behind No. 23 at the Talladega race. We’ll be cheering for David, and wishing him a safe race.”

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Holly Cain

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

RICHMOND, Va. — Tony Stewart drove his Chevrolet onto Richmond International Raceway‘s pit road this bright, sunny Sunday afternoon and after taking his helmet off and climbing out of the car, was all grins — proudly declaring he could have raced another 400 miles.

Stewart’s day — and his 19th-place finish — was nothing but encouraging for the three-time champion making his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start of the year. “Smoke” missed the first eight races of what is his final season, recovering from a broken back suffered in a pre-season all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident.

Leaning back against his car, Stewart was upbeat and excited while speaking with reporters at the track post-race. He sipped his Coca-Cola and reflected on his long-awaited, highly anticipated return to the NASCAR driving seat with the kind of positive vibes equal to that of a race winner.

“I love this job,” he declared. “If you asked me how I felt, I would be perfectly content to have them just line us up and start another 400-mile race right now. I can promise you I can outlast a bunch of these guys.

“I could run 800 more laps and still out-race a bunch of these guys. If anyone thinks we’ve lost something, we haven’t lost (expletive).”

MORE: Hear ‘Smoke’ on the radio

It was exactly the kind of confidence, high expectation and bravado that has characterized Stewart’s storied racing career. It’s also why the Richmond crowd gave him a standing ovation during driver introductions and why so many NASCAR fans are counting on the 48-time winner to finish his remarkable career on top. Or at least making a darn good run at it.

RELATED: Relive all of Stewart’s wins

Stewart described his weekend back behind the wheel as feeling “like an old pair of shoes” and said it only took him about 10 laps “to get reacclimated” with the car and his team.

Starting mid-pack, he ended up spending most of the race trying to earn the free pass to get back on the lead lap and, maddeningly, he would be one position shy of the lucky dog spot time-after-time.

At one point as he fought hard to stay on the lead lap and dueled with then-race leader — and eventual Toyota Owners 400 winner — Carl Edwards to hold onto position.

Edwards said after the race that he was impressed with Stewart’s effort.

“I was real happy he was back until about five laps into that battle,” Edwards said smiling. “Let me tell you, the guy is competitive. I was thinking during that, what a heckuva run to have (the) first time back in the driver’s seat. It’s great to have him back.”

“I made it interesting for him for about 15 laps,” Stewart proudly told his team on the radio after being lapped by Edwards a quarter of the way into the 400-lap event.

After the race Stewart said, “I felt like we ran a good race. “It’s so chaotic on the re-starts and I had a plan and I would try to execute my plan, but I zigged when I should have zagged every time for about four straight re-starts.

“You just didn’t know exactly where you needed to be, but that stuff will come.”

It wasn’t just Stewart’s first time turning laps this year, it was also his first time working with his new crew chief Mike Bugarewicz and the No. 14 driver seemed encouraged about that relationship too after the race.

“Being on the pit box with him and listening to him communicate really helped a bunch,” Stewart said of his time spent out of the car this season. “I think being as active with him as I could up to this point, really shortened the learning curve up.

“I know he’s going to sit there when we’re done and wonder, ‘what could I have done to communicate different?’ Really it was nice and just felt like it clicked so I don’t think there’s a big learning curve there. We get this car a little better and we’re going to have a lot of fun with it.”

Stewart said that — shortly after his comeback announcement — he won’t compete in the full 500-miler at Talladega Superspeedway next weekend, per doctor’s orders. But he will qualify the car, start the race and then hand over the steering wheel to Ty Dillon, who made three starts in Stewart’s Chevrolet while the veteran was recovering.

From there, it’s all Stewart, all the time. And he proved Sunday that he is not only back, but very glad to be back.

“I felt like I was doing everything I needed to do,” Stewart said. “And I bet you go up and down this pit road and ask those guys if they think I’m back and they’d be shaking their heads and going, ‘I don’t think that he was ever gone.’ “

MORE: Stewart granted Chaise waiver