Posted on by Staff Report

MORE: Practice 2 results

 

Kyle Busch led the final practice session ahead of Saturday’s XFINITY Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

 

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver topped the practice with a best speed of 181.348 mph. He placed sixth in the first session with a best speed of 180.481 mph.

Ty Dillon jumped up to grab second late with a fast lap of 180.892 mph in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

 

Busch’s JGR teammate, Erik Jones placed third on the leaderboard at 180.880 mph. Jones, who paced the first session, was trailed by another JGR entry in Daniel Suarez (180.771 mph). Dillon’s RCR teammate, Brandon Jones (180.644 mph), rounded out the top five.

 

Qualifying for Saturday’s Boyd Gaming 300 (4 p.m. ET, FS1) will kick off earlier in the day at 12:45 p.m. ET on FS2.

 

MORE: Practice 1 results

 

Wheeling his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 183.094 mph, Erik Jones soared to the top of the leaderboard in the final minutes of Friday’s opening practice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Jones’ JGR teammate Daniel Suarez also made a late run that proved fruitful, his No. 19 Toyota ranking second at 182.896 mph on the speed charts.

Las Vegas native Brendan Gaughan was third-fastest (182.106 mph) in his No. 62 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, while Gaughan’s RCR teammate Brandon Jones came up fourth (181.886 mph) in his No. 33 ride. 

Reigning race winner Austin Dillon, who led the majority of the session, rounded out the top five with a fast lap of 181.733 mph in his No. 2 RCR machine.

Five drivers are performing double-duty this weekend with the XFINITY and Sprint Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Besides Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch (sixth-fastest), Chase Elliott (eighth-fastest), Aric Almirola (10th-fastest) and Brad Keselowski (14th-fastest) will wheel entries in both events this weekend at the Nevada track.

Derrike Cope brought out the red flag late in the 85-minute session, as his No. 70 Chevrolet hit the wall off Turn 4 hard. Cope will likely defer to a back-up car.

The XFINITY Series is back on track at 6 p.m. ET for final practice (FS1).

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full practice results


Brad Keselowski landed the fastest lap in opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.



Keselowski powered the Team Penske No. 2 Ford to a best speed of 195.327 mph on the 1.5-mile track. He was just nine thousandths of a second ahead of Penske teammate Joey Logano, who registered a 195.263 mph lap in the No. 22 Ford.



Hometown favorite Kurt Busch was third-fastest, pushing the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet to a 195.235 mph lap. Paul Menard was fourth-fastest and Brian Vickers — subbing for the injured Tony Stewart — fifth-fastest in preparation for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the third premier-series race of the season.



Defending race winner Kevin Harvick was seventh-fastest in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet. Jimmie Johnson, last week’s winner at Atlanta and a four-time victor in Vegas, posted the eighth-fastest lap in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet.



Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin clocked the 13th-fastest lap in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota. He logged his speed in a reserve car after spinning and smacking the wall in his primary Toyota during Thursday’s test session.



The 85-minute session went caution-free, but had its share of close calls. Menard scraped the wall with his Richard Childress Racing No. 27 Chevrolet on the exit of Turn 4. Kasey Kahne slid up out of the groove in Turns 1 and 2 with his Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevy, but avoided contact.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR fans can get a little closer to the action this season, thanks to the XFINITY Virtual Reality Experience.

Having made its debut at Daytona, the XFINITY Virtual Reality Experience simulates an on-track experience for users.

“XFINITY created this virtual reality experience as another way to bring fans closer to NASCAR than anyone else,” said Matt Lederer, executive director of sports marketing at Comcast. “Since the beginning of our partnership with NASCAR, we have made it a priority to bring new and exciting features to the fans. The introduction of the NASCAR enhancements to the X1 Sports app for those at home, and the redesigned XFINITY Zone fan interactive area at track, complete with this virtual reality experience, lead the charge of fan-focused updates for 2016.”

Several XFINITY Series drivers, including Darrell Wallace Jr., Erik Jones and Brendan Gaughan, gave the experience a test-drive. Wallace was impressed.

“After trying out XFINITY‘s Virtual Reality Experience, I was blown away by how close you are to the action,” Wallace said. “As a driver who truly experiences that environment each weekend, it was kind of surreal for me, so I know that our fans are going to love it.

“XFINITY X1 is changing the way fans experience NASCAR, and I think this Virtual Reality Experience is a great extension of that.”

Users can visit the XFINITY Zone activation space at the track each weekend to try it for themselves, or watch the 360-degree video online.

Posted on by Nascar

There is a familiarity about some things, but Justin Marks freely admits that “it’s almost as if it was another life because it’s been so long.”

Marks, 34, returns to the NASCAR XFINITY Series for this weekend’s Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, climbing behind the wheel of the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet. It will be his first start in the series on a 1.5-mile track since 2011.

 

“There’s a learning curve and there is a transition at play here,” Marks said. “But I’ve been to every track on the schedule. I’ve got 60 starts in ARCA, almost 40 in Trucks and a handful, 13 XFINITY, starts.


“I’ve been to Las Vegas, but it was in a truck in 2008. So it’s been eight years.”

Primarily known for his road-course ability, Marks got a refresher course on the ovals last weekend, finishing 22nd in the Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This weekend’s XFINITY race will be the first of what he says will be roughly one-half a season’s worth of starts in a ride he will share with Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Larson.

CGR also fields the No. 48 fulltime in the XFINITY Series for driver Brennan Poole.

 

Last season, Marks drove just three XFINITY races and one Truck race. Between 2012-15, he competed in eight races, total — two Sprint Cup, five XFINITY and one Truck.

“I think when that much time goes by, it’s almost in a way like starting over,” Marks said. “Maybe it all comes back a little bit quicker than if you were going there for the first time, but I have to approach these like I’ve never been there before because I’ve been out of the seat so long.

“Last week when I did the truck race at Atlanta, the biggest thing for me to sort of overcome, at least initially, was basically just to feel the load in the corners, the G-forces and the load on the tires. That’s a sensation that you just cannot replicate in any environment other than being in the race car. I can go into fancy simulators and I can go on iRacing and watch all the onboard footage. I can find every bump and know exactly where the line is, what will happen with the car (during the course) of a tire run. But the one thing you just can’t replicate is the seat-of-the-pants feel of feeling that load.

“The first couple of laps at Atlanta, it almost startled me. I had forgotten … just how much force you are putting through the tires and into the racetrack. That’s kind of where the learning curve is (for me), just feeling that again, ‘OK, this is what it feels like.’ “

Marks has two career Sprint Cup Series starts, both coming at Sonoma Raceway, with Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2013 and last season with Front Row Motorsports.

He has a pair of top-10 results in the XFINITY Series, finishing sixth at Mid-Ohio (’14) and seventh at Road America (’15).

Why the sudden move to an increased on-track schedule? In addition to the occasional road course efforts, Marks has numerous business endeavors outside the race car that have required his attention. With others in place to now help oversee those interests, the time was right to re-commit to his racing efforts.

“It’s been in play for me for a couple of years to come back on the ovals in some sort of significant way,” he said. “I’m not getting any younger.

“I had a race opportunity with a big sponsor, good funding with a good team in 2008 when I was in the Trucks with Germain Racing. Hindsight being what it is, I probably didn’t take full advantage of that situation. I didn’t do the study, I didn’t put the time in, I wasn’t as focused as I needed to be. I’ve had eight years to reflect on that missed opportunity. I have a much better perspective going into this.”

The right situation to return required an opening as well as the proper funding. Until this season, the two failed to materialize simultaneously. Meanwhile, younger drivers continued to flow into the sport, and positions were filled.

“If I was ever going to come back, it had to be in the right situation,” Marks said. “With the right team, sitting in (equipment) that’s capable of winning every time it hits the race track.

“I’ve got some great relationships within Chip Ganassi Racing and its partners. That’s kind of where I wanted to be, but for whatever reason there just wasn’t an opportunity. Last year they had one car, the year before it was in the Turner-Scott Motorsports stable and I didn’t have partner backing to do a significant program.”

For his ’16 effort, Marks will have funding from Katerra, a high tech construction group. “A great partner … willing to step up to the plate,” Marks said.

“I feel like I’m ready,” he said. “I’m at point where I can focus and dedicate myself.”

The Boyd Gaming 300 is scheduled for Saturday, March 5 at LVMS (4 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN).

Posted on by Nascar

Season 3 of the popular car culture show “AmeriCarna” began Thursday on Velocity TV (9 p.m. ET), and show host Ray Evernham couldn’t be more excited.

“We’ve got some really cool stuff coming this year … just some incredible, incredible stories,” Evernham told NASCAR.com.

Evernham has an excellent eye for “cool stuff” when it comes to the automobile. From popular vehicles that may have little or nothing to do with the world of racing to those that left their mark on the track, the stories behind the vehicles that turn up on “AmeriCarna” are told well, they’re informative and they’re entertaining.

It’s a labor of love for Evernham, the former championship-winning crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports and driver Jeff Gordon as well as a winning car owner in NASCAR’s premier series with Dodge.

“There are so many stories out there because cars have really documented the timeline of America and its history,” Evernham said. “Each culture is represented by different things that happened around the automotive market or industry for years. They’re connected by music and fashion and politics and all kinds of things.”

Tonight’s premiere details the 2014 disaster at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the efforts to rescue the cars and repair the museum.

A 30-foot deep sinkhole opened in the facility two years ago, and eight vehicles — six owned by the museum and two on loan from General Motors — were either damaged or completely destroyed.

“We’ve got the complete story of when the sinkhole opened up and swallowed up all these priceless Corvettes … and the story of how they restored it, how they fixed that building,” Evernham said. “We’ve got inside, never-seen-before footage from the folks at GM.”

Other shows this season will look everything from board tracks to the Bonneville Salt Flats, and a record-setting hot rod from the early ’50s.

“We’re doing a thing on board tracks which is incredible because there was a huge board track right here in Charlotte,” he said. “How in the 1930s they build these giant wooden tracks banked up to 45 degrees, a mile and a quarter in length and ran events there.

“They were kind of the daredevils of the ’30s and we actually went and got Travis Pastrana, who is a daredevil of today you might say, to talk with me about that show.

“We found one of Dan Gurney’s cars that was lost for 35-plus years and put it back on the track.

“We’ve got a vintage hot rod from California that went across Bonneville at 133 mph in 1951. It’s somewhat untouched and we’re rebuilding the motor and doing all those things to see if we can make it go 133 mph again just like they did.”

The series consists of 10 episodes, but Evernham says that only scratches the surface of the incredible tales he and his team uncover.

“We have people that bring us incredible car stories every day,” he said. “We want more than 10 episodes a year because we’ve got a lot more stories to tell.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: Speeds from Thursday’s test sessions at Las Vegas

 

LAS VEGAS – About an hour into Thursday’s afternoon open test session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin‘s No. 11 FedEx Toyota hit the wall coming out of Turn 2, causing the Joe Gibbs Racing team to pull out a back-up for the official race weekend beginning here tomorrow.

After surveying the side of his damaged car, Hamlin still was optimistic about his chances for the weekend, even though he’ll go to a new car for Friday’s opening day at the 1.5-mile speedway.

 

The newly-crowned Daytona 500 champion posted the second-fastest time of the morning session (192.843 mph) – four-time Vegas winner Jimmie Johnson was just a bit quicker (192.981 mph) in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Three-time Vegas winner and Hamlin’s teammate Matt Kenseth, and Stewart-Haas Racing Chevy teammates Brian Vickers (filling in for the injured Tony Stewart) and Danica Patrick rounded out the top five fastest in the morning session.

 

Aric Almirola’s Ford led the afternoon session (192.940 mph), followed by Austin Dillon’s Chevy (192.658 mph) and Ryan Blaney’s Ford (191.659 mph). Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle rounded out the top-five. Hamlin went back out in back-up No. 11 Toyota and turned 41 laps, posting the 10th best speed in that car.


“We made some changes and were trying some different stuff and I got a little bit loose there,’’ Hamlin said of the incident earlier in the afternoon. “I had been tight all day and we made one significant change there and I just couldn’t hold on.

“It still amazes me how much on-throttle time we’re carrying, but overall, still trying to learn this package.

“It sucks for the crew guys. We have a lot of things to try and we were pretty good all day. And that change really moved the needle, finally, but I only got one lap on it and then I wrecked.”

“It was obviously beyond my talent level,” he added, smiling.

Hamlin and other drivers also were asked about Wednesday’s penalties. Newly hired Senior Vice President for Competition Scott Miller – a former Michael Waltrip Racing executive – issued six penalties this week following the season’s second race in Atlanta.

Furniture Row Racing‘s crew chief Cole Pearn was suspended for one race in addition to the team losing 15 points and driver Martin Truex Jr. losing 15 points after being penalized for a roof flap violation. The team is appealing the pre-race inspection find, however.

Ten teams were either fined or issued warnings – a stern start to Miller’s tenure.

“I guess everybody realizes NASCAR is policing the sport tougher and closer, looking at things closer,” Hamlin’s JGR teammate Carl Edwards said Friday from Las Vegas. “And for a sport, that’s great. You want to know you’re competing against guys who are being held to the same rules you are. I think it’s good. And it’s good to get that out of the way early in the season. If they get everyone in that box early in the season then we all know we’re racing in a fair race all year.

“When I first came to NASCAR, people asked me, ‘What’s the greatest part about it?’ It’s fun, we get to go to all these race tracks, but the coolest part as a competitor is the sanctioning body governs the sport so hard you really know you’re racing somebody with a similar piece of equipment. And any racer around the country knows that’s not the way it is most of the time.”

Hamlin agreed.

“I like it, personally,” Hamlin said of the rigorous inspection and penalty assessment.

“I think there’s always been such a huge gray area, and the line says ‘OK, you’re allowed to go to here.’ But teams go a little more and nothing gets said. I think this is a good thing that they are setting the tone early, that these are the rules and we’re going to stick to those rules.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

MORE: Can Johnson go back-to-back? | Kelley on Jimmie tying dad

 

LAS VEGAS — Every era presents a great champion, and Jimmie Johnson is the modern standard. We were reminded once again of Johnson’s ability to contribute to the sport a few days ago in Atlanta.

 

In tying the celebrated legend Dale Earnhardt’s 76-victory mark last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Johnson formally and numerically put himself — again — high atop the esteemed list of NASCAR’s most celebrated competitors.

 

The first thing Johnson did after climbing out of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy and hoisting the big trophy was to humbly acknowledge the late Earnhardt and the milestone.  

 

Anytime you equal Earnhardt, it’s a big, big day and in his post-race remarks, Johnson again brought up that one of his deepest professional regrets is not getting to actually compete against the “Intimidator.”

 

However, he is, now, in another most respectful way.

 

Speaking with or listening to Johnson, it’s always been clear he is simultaneously conscious of and awe-struck by his success — six Sprint Cup Series titles and 76 wins. And he’s genuinely amazed to be mentioned in the same sentences as the sport’s legends such as Earnhardt, Petty, Pearson and Allison.

 

And his multi-championship, 76-win collection is absolutely as hard-earned as the men who went before. Johnson may have the more clean-cut image, and he does drive for the greatly successful owner Rick Hendrick, but plenty of nice guys have driven fast cars without amassing the track record Johnson has. And, to be fair, much of Hendrick’s success is a result of Johnson.

 

I have visited the small town of El Cajon, California, where Johnson was raised, seen the small, modest home he grew up in and spoken to the proud people that knew him “back when.” His dad told me with a slight laugh about the dirt bikes the family used as night tables by the beds just so there was room to keep the bikes safely inside.

 

RELATED: The evolution of Jimmie

Yes, Johnson is good-looking, polished and polite — a fresh-faced, smile-a-lot Cali boy for sure — but his path to NASCAR stardom in the modern era was every bit as hard-knock as they come. Just different.

 

Both Earnhardt and Petty were North Carolina-bred and had fathers who were famous in the sport even though they had to earn their way. It was a different situation for Johnson, whose earliest NASCAR preparation came from racing motorcycles in the California desert before moving to stock cars.

 

His path to NASCAR was thousands of miles different than the majority of greats before him.

 

Johnson and his former Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon are surely the most successful “West Coast” racers in the sport’s history. But for Johnson in particular, that’s a result of a much less-traveled path.

 

And this recent victory milestone deserves to be celebrated and appreciated.

 

Johnson just celebrated his 40th birthday last fall. He is in the finest shape of any of his competitors thanks to a devoted diet and fitness routine and a cycling hobby that could reasonably become a second athletic career.

 

He needs 29 more Cup wins to tie the great David Pearson’s mark of 105. If he doesn’t quite make it, triple digits remain a legitimate possibility.

 

There was a long time I thought Gordon would reach triple digits in wins, but an ailing back ultimately proved too heavy a competitive burden, and the four-time champion Hendrick teammate retired at the end of last season.

 

Before the new championship format — perhaps a result of Johnson’s success with the other — I was absolutely convinced he would earn a seventh title to tie Earnhardt and Petty. I genuinely felt he would become the sport’s only eight-time champion. And despite the evolving title format, which has so drastically changed the course of winning, I still believe Johnson will at least win number seven.

 

He’s certainly put in a promising start to this season.

 

Because of the new format, it’s entirely possible no other modern era driver will even stand a chance to win seven championships. And with the extremely high level of competition across the starting grid, reeling off 70 or 80 career Cup wins is no longer a truly plausible possibility either. Reigning champion Kyle Busch may be most likely to put in a good run with 34 wins already at the age of 30.

 

In the meantime, each milestone Johnson reaches and raises is a reminder that the rest of us have been treated to a rare chance to witness history.

 

POLL: Will anyone ever reach 76 again?

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: What we learned from 2015’s NASCAR Goes West



SESSION 1

Fastest speed

Pos Car Driver Speed
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 192.981
2 11 Denny Hamlin 192.843
3 20 Matt Kenseth 192.137
4 14 Brian Vickers 191.564
5 10 Danica Patrick 191.211
6 2 Brad Keselowski 191.096
7 18 Kyle Busch 190.995
8 *21 Ryan Blaney # 190.671
9 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr 190.658
10 41 Kurt Busch 190.651
11 22 Joey Logano 190.564
12 4 Kevin Harvick 190.215
13 42 Kyle Larson 189.947
14 19 Carl Edwards 189.873
15 3 Austin Dillon 189.640
16 47 AJ Allmendinger 189.587
17 5 Kasey Kahne 189.281
18 16 Greg Biffle 189.261
19 31 Ryan Newman 189.043
20 24 Chase Elliott # 188.851
21 78 Martin Truex Jr 188.580
22 27 Paul Menard 188.508
23 13 Casey Mears 188.219
24 34 Chris Buescher # 187.963
25 43 Aric Almirola 187.911
26 6 Trevor Bayne 187.898
27 1 Jamie McMurray 187.617
28 44 Brian Scott # 186.871
29 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr 186.735
30 7 Regan Smith 186.143
31 38 Landon Cassill 185.446
32 15 Clint Bowyer 185.319
33 46 Michael Annett 182.642
34 *98 Cole Whitt 181.733
35 83 Matt DiBenedetto 181.446
36 23 David Ragan 181.409
37 32 Jeffrey Earnhardt # 180.536
38 95 Michael McDowell 180.536



Best 10 consecutive lap average

Pos Car Driver Avg Speed
1 22 Joey Logano 187.604
2 5 Kasey Kahne 187.236
3 47 AJ Allmendinger 186.755
4 16 Greg Biffle 186.629
5 14 Brian Vickers 185.800
6 21 * Ryan Blaney # 185.643
7 24 Chase Elliott # 185.388
8 44 Brian Scott # 184.819
9 46 Michael Annett 179.885

SESSION 2

Fastest speed

Pos Car Driver Speed
1 43 Aric Almirola 192.940
2 3 Austin Dillon 192.658
3 *21 Ryan Blaney # 191.659
4 41 Kurt Busch 191.381
5 16 Greg Biffle 189.800
6 19 Carl Edwards 189.793
7 20 Matt Kenseth 189.773
8 5 Kasey Kahne 189.600
9 78 Martin Truex Jr 189.580
10 11 Denny Hamlin 189.387
11 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr 189.361
12 48 Jimmie Johnson 189.129
13 2 Brad Keselowski 189.082
14 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr 189.029
15 6 Trevor Bayne 188.871
16 18 Kyle Busch 188.778
17 47 AJ Allmendinger 188.442
18 27 Paul Menard 188.416
19 4 Kevin Harvick 188.271
20 14 Brian Vickers 188.193
21 34 Chris Buescher # 187.806
22 24 Chase Elliott # 187.793
23 42 Kyle Larson 187.787
24 22 Joey Logano 187.689
25 10 Danica Patrick 187.507
26 31 Ryan Newman 187.013
27 44 Brian Scott # 186.780
28 13 Casey Mears 186.612
29 1 Jamie McMurray 186.002
30 95 Michael McDowell 185.516
31 38 Landon Cassill 185.344
32 15 Clint Bowyer 184.887
33 7 Regan Smith 184.433
34 46 Michael Annett 183.599
35 83 Matt DiBenedetto 183.076
36 *98 Cole Whitt 182.760
37 32 Jeffrey Earnhardt # 182.463
38 23 David Ragan 180.892

Best 10 consecutive lap average

Pos Car Driver Avg Speed
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 187.325
2 20 Matt Kenseth 187.199
3 41 Kurt Busch 186.995
4 3 Austin Dillon 186.734
5 2 Brad Keselowski 186.708
6 4 Kevin Harvick 186.698
7 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr 186.505
8 14 Brian Vickers 186.497
9 27 Paul Menard 186.461
10 18 Kyle Busch 186.398
11 19 Carl Edwards 186.393
12 21 * Ryan Blaney # 186.252
13 24 Chase Elliott # 186.117
14 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr 185.850
15 16 Greg Biffle 185.703
16 5 Kasey Kahne 185.664
17 22 Joey Logano 185.520
18 78 Martin Truex Jr 185.422
19 42 Kyle Larson 185.415
20 31 Ryan Newman 185.199
21 1 Jamie McMurray 184.811
22 10 Danica Patrick 184.534
23 6 Trevor Bayne 184.529
24 44 Brian Scott # 183.558
25 13 Casey Mears 182.648
26 95 Michael McDowell 182.002
Posted on by Staff Report

Jake Stergios of Last Row Motorsports played a perfect tire strategy over the last 63 laps at Atlanta Motor Speedway en route to his first victory of the 2016 NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series Powered by iRacing.com. Stergios passed two-time series champion Ray Alfalla (Slip Angle Motorsports) with nine laps remaining and pulled away to win by just over one second.

 

Chris Overland came from 27th on the grid to finish third followed by Josh Berry (High Performance Motorsport & JR Motorsports). PJ Stergios, Jake’s brother, rounded out the top five.

 

With the final 63 laps run caution-free, pit strategy came into play with the high amount of tire falloff. While other drivers opted to short-pit in hopes of picking up track position by being the first cars on new tires, Stergios and Overland decided to split the run in half. This strategy ensured the duo had the freshest tires on the last stint, but forced them to work through traffic.

 

After pitting, Stergios had 31 laps to come from 18th on his fresh tires, but instead of hot-lapping he conserved knowing drivers in front were on older, more worn tires. The plan worked to perfection as Stergios quickly moved up through the field. With 20 laps to go, Stergios had made his way to ninth and was closing quickly on the leaders. Alfalla and Berry were doomed unless a yellow flag flew.

 

Ten laps later, Stergios was on the back bumper of Berry, who gave way without a fight. Alfalla met the same fate one lap later, but had an impressive drive to hold onto second despite Overland having fresher tires.

 

Alfalla looked to have one of the best cars in the field, but his chance of winning was hurt because of an unfortunate break during what appeared to be a routine visit to pit road under green. Alfalla was leading on Lap 81 and headed to pit road when Overland spun Casey Tucker in Turn 4. The spin brought the caution out when Alfalla was already on pit road. He chose to receive service, but was caught a lap down and had to take the wave-around. The circumstances dropped him to 34th, but the rebound to finish second with only half the race left could be a defining moment of Alfalla’s season.

 

Patrick Crabtree also looked to be in the running for the win before a late pit road speeding penalty took him out of contention. Crabtree led 27 laps and had the track position to contend for the win, but came into the pits too hot on his final stop and drew a penalty. He finished 30th.

 

Reigning NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series champion Kenny Humpe found trouble for the second race in a row to open 2016. Humpe qualified mid-pack and was caught up in a crash during the second half of the race. The damage forced him to retire with a 38th-place result. After two races, the defending champ finds himself 33rd in the standings and has a tough uphill climb ahead if he is to repeat.

 

Daytona winner Allen Boes retained the points lead with an eighth-place result at Atlanta, but his lead is just a single point over Jake Stergios. Alfalla is third, three points back, and PJ Stergios sits fourth, four markers back. Brandon Schmidt is another five points adrift and bookends the top five.

 

Week Three takes the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series drivers to Phoenix International Raceway. Boes, Stergios, and Alfalla are in prime position early in the season and all three will be looking to take control of the championship. Will someone emerge from the pack or can Humpe rekindle his 2015 success? Make sure to catch all the action from PIR in two weeks’ time on iRacingLive!

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 3, 2016) — NASCAR and Allegiant Air announced today, during the NASCAR Fuel For Business Council® meetings in Las Vegas, a multi-year agreement designating the travel company as the Official Passenger Airline of NASCAR.
 
The newly forged partnership positions Allegiant as the first-ever “Official Passenger Airline Partner” of the sanctioning body. Allegiant will allow fans to take advantage of its convenient, ultra-low-cost service to enjoy races in more than 20 NASCAR race markets, including NASCAR’s entire west coast series of events in Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.  
 
“We are pleased to partner with a company that will offer travelers convenient options to the majority of our race markets,” said Steve Phelps, NASCAR executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “Allegiant Air is committed to offering reasonably-priced travel accommodations and services that provide our fans an opportunity to make lasting memories at the track.”
 
In conjunction with the start of NASCAR’s annual west coast swing, Allegiant is the presenting sponsor of NASCAR Goes West on NASCAR.com. NASCAR fans can follow drivers on their off-track adventures on NASCAR.com and on social media using #NASCARGoesWest.


“Allegiant is proud to announce this new partnership with NASCAR and NASCAR Goes West on NASCAR.com,” said Brian Davis, Allegiant vice president of marketing. “We’re incredibly excited to share the convenience and affordability of our service with NASCAR fans across the country, helping them to more easily enjoy their favorite sport.”
 
As part of this integrated partnership, Allegiant Air joins the NASCAR Fuel for Business Council, which brings together an exclusive group of nearly 60 Official NASCAR Partners four times per year to buy and sell products and services from one another. This exclusive business-to-business environment offers unique opportunities for many Fortune 500 companies to bypass the time and layers of corporate coordination that may exist to construct customized deals that help address specific business needs.
 
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season will continue with the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 6 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.