NASCAR.com Power Rankings: Bristol/Richmond

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Pat DeCola

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.

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Zack Albert

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Matt DiBenedetto‘s best day in NASCAR’s top series nearly ended with the ultimate buzzkill.

Driving back Sunday from Bristol Motor Speedway after salting away a career-best sixth-place finish and becoming the provisional leader for feel-good story of the season, the 24-year-old driver saw flashing blue lights not far from his home in Hickory, North Carolina.

“Ah, dang, that sucks after a good day,’ ” DiBenedetto recalled thinking as he pulled to the side of the road.

But DiBenedetto didn’t think he was over the posted speed limit, a notion that was confirmed when law enforcement approached him.

“The cop comes up to me and says, ‘Hey, I have one question for you: I just want to know why you were going so darn slow?'” DiBenedetto said. “So then I realized it was a prank.”

The best of pranks as it turns out. The second-year driver for BK Racing drove the rest of the way with a police escort and with his parents following him home, where he expected a small, muted observance of his stirring Sunday drive.

That didn’t happen, either, not with the secretive planning of sponsor and close chum Constantine “Cosmo” Kogan, who rallied DiBenedetto’s circle of friends into a boisterous welcoming committee, complete with party favors and uncorked bubbly.

“There were probably 30-40 people out in our neighborhood,” DiBenedetto said with a smile Monday from his BK Racing shop in north Charlotte. “Silly string everywhere. My car was covered. Champagne, the little party popper things — it was out of control. It was absolutely hilarious. Only my friends, that’s just cool to see how much they care and they were all so excited.”

DiBenedetto’s hard-fought sixth-place finish made its own viral turn Sunday, thanks not only to the underdog rooting interest for one of the circuit’s smaller teams but also for the unabashed emotion that the driver showed in post-race interviews. As he watched his family wipe away tears off camera, the tremble in his voice became more pronounced.

“I couldn’t quite hold back the emotion,” DiBenedetto said. “I would be lying if I said that I was fighting off the tears, but unfortunately just couldn’t hold it back. That was a dream come true for me. I know it wasn’t a first-place finish, but for us that was like a win to finish up there in sixth in the Cup Series, which I’ve dreamed of racing in since I was 5 years old. Just to be here in the first place is a dream come true.”

Living dreams

Making it to the sport’s big leagues seemed like destiny, but so often fate takes the curvier road. DiBenedetto seemed earmarked for stock-car racing glory early on as part of the first NASCAR Next class in 2011, then called the NASCAR Next 9. What followed after a successful first season in the K&N Pro Series was a hodgepodge of spot duty in the XFINITY Series, sitting in the driver’s seat one week and out the next.

“It seem like it’s all kind of gone by in a blur,” DiBenedetto said. “I was racing K&N, part of the NASCAR Next and then thought my career was done five times in between then and now. It’s been so up and down so many times. For me to be here, it’s still surreal to think back.”

Opportunity for DiBenedetto meant pounding the phones and knocking on doors. His big break came shortly before the 2015 season in the form of a race-to-race agreement with BK Racing owner Ron Devine. DiBenedetto said Devine took a substantial chance in hiring a driver without Sprint Cup experience, but the risk was modestly rewarded — the week-to-week deal turned into a full season with just one DNF and a return invitation for 2016.

“Being a rookie in Sprint Cup is way tougher than I gave it credit for,” DiBenedetto said of the learning experience. “It’s just a whole different level of racing. You have to be so perfect at every single thing you do, down to the level of not losing a half-second on pit road. You have to drive your tail off every single lap of the race to make sure you stay on the lead lap — everything.”

Driving his tail off makes for a suitable description of Sunday’s spirited drive at Bristol. Carl Edwards captured the checkered flag and punctuated his celebration with his trademark backflip, but he was also head over heels about DiBenedetto’s accomplishments, saying, “They finished sixth? Man, that’s unbelievable. That’s probably tougher than what we did.”

The driver of the No. 83 Toyota wasn’t about to draw a direct comparison with Edwards’ feat, but was quick to spread the credit for a banner day among his BK Racing shopmates.

“To win in the Sprint Cup Series among the 40 best is incredibly difficult and that takes an amazing amount of talent like Carl Edwards has,” DiBenedetto said. “I don’t know if I want to say it was harder than what he did, but we’re definitely proud of what we did. I’m more proud of all the guys that work on the team, proud of my crew chief … I’m just more proud of my guys, not myself. They’re the ones that deserve that good of a finish. They’re the ones that are working late nights and dedicating their lives to doing best job they can and putting a good race car underneath me.

“It is lot of hard work like Carl did say. That’s a total team effort. That’s a lot of hard work by my guys. I was just happy to be the one holding the steering wheel and able to drive it up there for them.”

The camaraderie among the tight-knit group is what made BK Racing‘s post-race cheer all the more jubilant with hugs all around. That celebration spread to the shop Monday, with DiBenedetto springing for pizza during the team’s lunch break.

“A lot of that emotion is shared by this whole team,” said Ryan “Frenchie” Dubois, in his second year as BK Racing‘s general manager. “We work really hard here and face a lot of obstacles that a lot of other teams aren’t faced with. For us to overcome those obstacles and come out of there with a sixth-place victor-, er, sixth-place finish, it’s like a victory for the team right now and what we’re trying to do for the future.”

Dubois caught himself, but “sixth-place victory” has a certain ring to it.

“To jump to sixth was great,” he added. “If we can back that up next week, that’ll be a Cinderella story for sure. We just want to be consistent, do everything right. We’ve got fast cars this year, that’s the positive thing. We’ve got the right people in place, and it’s about putting everything together. Once we do all that, we’ll get those outcomes more often than not.”

It’s an opinion shared by veteran crew chief Gene Nead, who began working with DiBenedetto in the second half of last season and was atop the pit box for nine Camping World Truck Series victories with Ted Musgrave at the wheel from 2002-05.

“It’s a definite David and Goliath story, you know what I mean, for a team this small without enough proper funding,” Nead said. “You walk out in the shop, there’s 60 people. You go into Gibbs’, there’s 600. It’s pretty hard to do what you did with 10 percent of their people.”

Basking in Bristol

Fittingly enough, DiBenedetto was savoring the moment before ever turning a lap Sunday. The California native decided to have some fun with Bristol Motor Speedway‘s unique system of drivers selecting their own music for pre-race introductions, taking a page from his wedding reception last August.

During his reception, each member of the wedding party selected their own entrance music. His father’s comedic take, entering to ZZ Top’s “Sharp-Dressed Man” in full beard, hat, sunglasses and guitar, clearly resonated. With his dad’s permission, DiBenedetto reprised the role Sunday with gusto, donning the full costume and earning some of the biggest pre-race laughs.

“You’ve got to enjoy it every step of the way, you’ve got to do fun stuff,” DiBenedetto said. “That’s what the fans want to see and to get them riled up before the race. That’s what it’s about.”

That spirit has been contagious, one that’s extended to all corners of the BK Racing shop and that’s helped boost the team’s morale.

“With Matt, for one his attitude is always positive,” Dubois said. “He’s a very humble driver and very appreciative of the opportunity that he has. We’ve seen from the beginning with him that he’s constantly improved. He’s not plateaued like some other drivers have and so we’re constantly building with him. We think he’s the future of our team and yesterday was a perfect example of what we see, and hopefully everybody else was able to see that, too.”

Plenty did, based on the outpouring of support on social media and the congratulations he’s received privately from well-wishers. DiBenedetto pulled out his phone to show 202 text messages he hadn’t had time to respond to, part of the 300-plus pings he estimated he’d accumulated in less than 24 hours.

This season’s most improbable finish at one of the series’ toughest tracks gave DiBenedetto more than TV time, a police escort and a silly-string serenade. It also gave him the rewarding feeling that comes with taking a dark-horse team into the stratosphere usually reserved for the sport’s heavyweights.

That’s why sixth on Sunday meant so much.

“Just because we’ve worked so hard to get here,” DiBenedetto said. “To do this without any major funding behind me or family money or anything of that nature, to do it just based on hard work and what teams thought I could do behind the wheel, that’s nearly unheard of. To fight that hard and to get here makes you appreciate it that much more.”

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Reid Spencer

BRISTOL, Tenn. — If Matt DiBenedetto had done a burnout alongside race winner Carl Edwards, no one would have blamed him.

That’s how unexpected DiBenedetto’s sixth-place finish was in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol. After going a lap down, the driver of the No. 83 BK Racing Toyota got a free pass as the highest-scored lapped car for a restart on Lap 345, and subsequent cautions kept him on the lead lap.

On the final three late-race restarts, DiBenedetto lined up 14th, 10th and eighth — all in the preferred top lane — and took full advantage of the fast way around the .533-mile concrete oval.

On the final restart with five laps left, the NASCAR Next alumnus passed Kevin Harvick for sixth and held the spot to the finish. That result was a career-best for both DiBenedetto and BK Racing.

“That’s unbelievable for a team like us to be growing this much and for us to get a sixth-place run,” said DiBenedetto, who came to driver introductions disguised as ZZ Top lead guitarist Billy Gibbons, beard and all.

“I’m sorry I’m so emotional. It’s just this is like a win for us. I’m so excited. I see my family back here — my wife, Taylor, my brother is in town from the military and I’m so glad he got to experience this. This is jus t… this is incredible. I’m so blessed to be here.”

Race winner Carl Edwards had made a point of congratulating DiBenedetto on his 20th-place run in Phoenix in the fourth race of the season, but Edwards wasn’t aware of the driver’s strong run behind him.

“They finished sixth?” Edwards asked, incredulous. “Man that’s unbelievable. That’s probably tougher than what we did.”

For DiBenedetto, the celebration continued on Sunday night when he came home to a impromptu gathering of neighbors, complete with horn honking and silly string. (Video courtesy of Cosmo Motors’ Twitter account, @cosmo_motors)

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on April 17, 2016 by

RELATED: Full results from Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Coming off a career-best Sprint Cup Series finish of fifth at Texas last weekend, Chase Elliott has outdone himself, earning a fourth-place finish in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The 20-year-old qualified 19th for the short track event, Elliott’s second-lowest qualifying spot since the start of his rookie season. But that was only motivation for the young rookie to battle his way up through the field.

“We started off real slow,” Elliott said post-race. “We didn’t qualify as well as we’d like to on Friday but I thought we hit on a couple things yesterday in final practice that, fortunately, we carried over to today and were able to kind of run our way up through there.”

Elliott ran as high as second during Sunday’s race, but he didn’t get there without a few bumps at “The Last Great Colosseum.”

The Hendrick Motorsports driver experienced a loose wheel early in the 500-lap event, causing him to come down pit road while the green flag was out. But thanks to his No. 24 pit crew, Elliott didn’t fall too far behind.

“Hate to have a loose wheel,” Elliott said. “But the guys did a good job overcoming that with a fast pit stop under green, only losing two laps, so that was big to keep us in contention there and try to get back on the lead lap. So, definitely a long afternoon, but that was the biggest thing that kept us alive.”

Despite Elliott’s strong finish at Bristol, as well as four other top-10 finishes this season, he’s got fellow Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Ryan Blaney to battle with week after week. The No. 21 driver also has been running in the top 10 consistently, with an average finish of 19.2 through eight races (Elliott’s average finish is 15.8).

Even though Blaney also had a strong showing at Bristol, running in the top five and top 10 and ultimately finishing 11th, the Wood Brothers Racing driver felt his Ford deserved better.

“It was good until the end,” Blaney said. “We should have run fifth, easy. … We had a good race car and got stuck on the bottom for three straight restarts and went backward. That’s pretty disappointing when you know you have a top-five race car.”

For Blaney, the Food City 500 was not the 22-year-old’s first go-around at Bristol in the Sprint Cup Series. Blaney made a start in the No. 21 Ford in 2015 for Bristol’s fall night race, finishing 22nd.

This was Elliott’s first Cup Series start at Bristol, a track his NASCAR Hall of Famer father Bill Elliott earned his first short-track victory at in 1988. The younger Elliott’s only other short track experience in the Cup Series was his run at Richmond in 2015, where he finished 16th.

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Nascar

BRISTOL, Tenn. – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Aric Almirola and crew chief Trent Owens met with NASCAR officials after the completion of Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The post-race meeting was at the sanctioning body’s request.

Almirola and Owens met with officials to discuss a Lap 437 accident involving the Richard Petty Motorsports driver, Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing) and Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing).

Almirola’s No. 43 Ford eventually came to rest after being struck by the Truex entry. But rather than drop his window net to signify that he was not injured, Almirola apparently no longer had reverse gear in his car and wanted a push from the emergency crew.

Almirola eventually finished 34th. He and Owens and others that met with officials left without commenting to the media.

NASCAR officials would only say that the reason for the meeting was the driver’s “failure to follow proper protocol following his incident on the track.”

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Nascar

RELATED: Full results from Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. – While Carl Edwards was celebrating in Victory Lane, the rest of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates were left trying to decipher what caused multiple tire failures during Sunday’s running of the Food City 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

It also left Goodyear officials more than just a bit interested and by the end of the day, the official tire supplier had obtained tires from the teams of Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth to evaluate further.

Busch, the defending series champion and winner of back-to-back Sprint Cup races heading into Bristol, was the first to have a tire issue, his No. 18 Toyota breaking loose in Turn 2 barely 50 laps into the 500-lap event.

“Blew a right-front (expletive) tire,” Busch relayed over his team’s radio.

A second No. 18 spin was the result of contact from another car, but when a third incident unfolded at Lap 259, also for a tire issue, the car was too damaged to continue.

“I’m not sure what started it, but we were a little snug early on in the first run of the race,” Busch said. “As the car would run more and more laps it would get tighter and tighter, that’s the weirdest thing that I’ve felt all day and all weekend we haven’t had that problem. Not sure what happened.”

Kenseth led three times for 142 laps and appeared to be a favorite before his No. 20 Toyota slid up into the wall after a second tire problem on Lap 323. He was in third at the time of the Turn 2 crash. The team was able to make repairs, but he finished 36th, 40 laps behind the race winner.

“We just keep blowing right front tires, I don’t know why,” Kenseth said afterward. “The first one was a little confusing, I knew I blew a right front, but I thought they were telling me it wasn’t flat so I was a little confused.

“This one just blew a lot earlier and the angle was a lot worse hitting the wall.”

Hamlin eventually had a tire go down, too, and got into the wall with less than 100 laps remaining.

Jason Ratcliff, crew chief for Kenseth, said it didn’t appear to be a wear issue and the bead temperatures weren’t overly concerning.

“But evidently it was just hot and we were working it hard and it just could’t take it,” he said. “That’s all I know.”

If the failure was a result of excessive heat, Ratcliff said, his team would have to do a better job of cooling its tires in the future.

“I can try to take some camber out to transmit the heat across the tire better – it’s not like it’s wearing out,” he said. “But the thing was, in practice we kept an eye on it and things looked really good. Same settings we ran last year with it and it was fine. It kind of caught us by surprise.”

Greg Stucker, Director of Race Tire Sales for Goodyear, said officials obtained tires from the three JGR Teams. The tires will be transported back to Akron, Ohio, for “thorough” analysis.

“Obviously, we’re working with the team to try to understand what it might be and solve the problem together,” Stucker said.

“The important thing is to try to help the team understand what is going on, and ourselves, as well.

“Until we get the tires broken down and get a good look at them [we won’t know]. They (JGR) understand nobody else is having the same issues. We need to try to understand that.”

Busch finished 38th while Hamlin wound up 20th.

His teammates’ tire issues didn’t go unnoticed by Edwards or his crew, but the race winner said crew chief Dave Rogers kept him abreast of the situation.

“I was nervous about it, but Dave did a good job of talking to me about how hard we were pushing the tires and what we had going on there,” Edwards said, “So I felt pretty comfortable.”