Posted on by Holly Cain

A 2015 rewind and a 2016 preview for the top five finishers last season in the NASCAR XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series. Today: Ty Dillon, the third-place finisher in the XFINITY Series standings.
 
Team: Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet
 
Wins: 0
 
Strides: Dillon, 23, may not have found his way to the XFINITY Series Victory Lane last season, but his third-place finish in the championship standings was a career best. He opened the season with back-to-back third-place showings and it wasn’t until the series’ second trip to Daytona International Speedway last summer that he recorded a finish worse than 14th. That Daytona race and the fall race at Dover marked the only times the rising star finished lower than 15th on the season earning a legitimate — if winless — run toward the title.
 
Setbacks: Three top-five finishes in the first seven races — and 12 on the year — would normally predicate a championship run, but Dillon met his match in series runner-up Chase Elliott and eventual champ Chris Buescher, who won races and raised the title bar.
 
Quoteworthy: “I got better as a driver, matured and grew up a lot. We had quite a few opportunities to win races but it wasn’t in the cards this year. We fought hard all year despite a couple races that set us back and took us far out of contention. I was proud of our perseverance. As a driver it makes you stronger and better able to challenge for a championship.”
 
What’s next: There has been a lot of talk about Dillon moving up to the Cup level for 2016 and although he is expected to make Cup starts, Dillon will be challenging again for the XFINITY Series title. The only two drivers to better him for last year’s trophy — Buescher and Elliott — have moved on to the Cup ranks making him very much the contender to beat this season in XFINITY.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Buy tickets for Pocono races

Pocono Raceway announced Wednesday that it has added supplementary SAFER Barriers and extended the pit wall.

 

The Pennsylvania track enlarged the existing SAFER Barrier by 6,600 feet and extended pit wall by 100 feet as part of a series of enhancements. Officials are also expected to cover all outside walls and install an additional 5,100 feet of SAFER Barrier before the 2017 season.

 

“We are always looking to make our track safer for drivers, teams and fans and these enhancements do just that,” Track President and CEO Brandon Igdalsky said in a release. “As cars and technology change and evolve, so do tracks. We are adapting to ensure Pocono Raceway is as safe as possible. We will continue to monitor races and technology and aggressively add safety measures where appropriate.”


Pocono Raceway is the most recent of several tracks that have increased their SAFER Barrier parameters in the past year. The 2.5-mile track will play host to seven NASCAR events this season in all three major series, with the XFINITY Series making a trip to the Tricky Triangle for the first time in the track’s history.

RELATED: Purchase Pocono tickets | Full 2016 schedule

Posted on by Staff Report

Front Row Motorsports announced Wednesday that Love’s Travel Stops has renewed its sponsorship, joining the No. 34 Ford team with Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Chris Buescher.
 
Love’s, an Oklahoma City-based travel plaza company, will be the primary sponsor for 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, including the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 21 and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 20.
 
Love’s joined the Bob Jenkins-owned organization in 2013 with the No. 38 Ford driven by David Gilliland. The company has expanded its sponsorship in previous years, jumping from two Sprint Cup races in 2013, 15 events in 2014 and last year’s 18-race deal.
 
Buescher, 23, enters his first full Sprint Cup season after claiming the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship with Roush Fenway Racing last year. Buescher competed in six premier series races last year for Front Row, which has entered into a technical alliance with the Roush Fenway team this season.

 

RELATED: Five young drivers to watch in 2016

Dave Frankenfield, Love’s director of marketing, indicated in a release provided by Front Row that the company was “jazzed” about the alliance and the sponsorship renewal. Buescher echoed those sentiments.
 
“I can’t wait to work with Love’s,” Buescher said in the team’s release. “They’ve been a great partner with Front Row Motorsports over the years and have really embraced the sport.”

Here’s a look at his paint scheme for 2016.

Posted on by Track Release

RELATED: Buy tickets for the race



KANSAS CITY, Kan. (Jan. 13, 2016) — Kansas Speedway and GoBowling.com announced a partnership today for the May 7 GoBowling.com 400, Kansas Speedway‘s annual May NASCAR Sprint Cup Series night race. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. 


“We’re excited to announce our partnership with GoBowling.com for our May Sprint Cup Series night race,” said Kansas Speedway President Patrick Warren. “I’m thrilled to be able to work with such a family-friendly brand at Kansas Speedway because NASCAR racing appeals to fans of all ages. I know this will be a great partnership with GoBowling.com and I can’t wait to see their activation not only at Kansas Speedway but at bowling centers around the country.”


“Bowling is the number one participation game in the U.S. and NASCAR is one of the most popular fan-based sports making this a natural partnership,” said Strike Ten Entertainment President John G. Harbuck. “We have very similar demographics so the exposure we get from this sponsorship — both in the Midwest and nationally — will allow us to promote bowling to current and potential bowlers, especially families and young bowlers.


“We will use the race as a platform to remind people what a great game bowling is for all ages and drive them to our website where they can find bowling centers near them as well as connect with us via social media,” he added.


As part of the agreement, GoBowling.com has naming rights to the race that will be featured on a nationally-televised broadcast and other news media. In addition, GoBowling.com will have extensive signage throughout Kansas Speedway and the rights to execute on-site and online promotional activations including regional and national consumer promotions such as bowling leagues, prize promotions and other branding initiatives.


GoBowling.com is the go-to website to learn more about the great sport of bowling including information about 3,000+ bowling centers throughout the country. Fans can learn about their local bowling centers, take advantage of promotional offers, watch bowling video tips and more.


RELATED: See the full 2016 schedule


“Bowling proprietors across America are proud of our relationship with Kansas Speedway,” said Tom Martino, Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA) President. “After race fans enjoy a great race, we look forward to having them visit their local bowling center.”


Kansas Speedway tickets for all events in 2016 will be on sale soon. Kansas Speedway‘s May 6-7, 2016 race weekend will include the Toyota Tundra 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and the GoBowling.com 400. In October, the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns with the Hollywood Casino 400 on Oct. 16. The Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race will take center stage on Oct. 15, while the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards championship race will run on Oct. 14.


Parking is always free at Kansas Speedway and fans can bring in one 14x14x14-inch soft-sided cooler with their favorite food and beverages.


Fans can follow Kansas Speedway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kansasspeedway or follow us on Twitter (@kansasspeedway).

Posted on by Team Release

FLAGLER BEACH, Fla. — Ray Black Jr. is thrilled to be taking the next step in his racing career, as the driver will compete in the full season of the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS). Black, who had a breakout year in 2015 while competing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, is ready for the challenge of NASCAR’s second-tier series with the continued support of Bobby Dotter’s SS Green Light Racing and crew chief Jason Miller.

 

“I’m very eager for this season to start and to take the next step in racing by moving up to the NASCAR XFINITY Series!” said Black. “It’s a much bigger stage with some of the best racing competition in the world. The truck series was a great starting point for me in NASCAR, but it’s always good to keep challenging yourself, and I feel that’s what this move will do for me. It’s a great opportunity for me to show everyone what I can do!”

 

The move to the NXS also serves as a historic milestone for SS Green Light Racing, as it will be the team’s first full-time season in the series. Owner Bobby Dotter previously focused his team strictly on the truck series but is passionate about the opportunity to challenge his team by moving up to the NXS with Black. The team has since been busy during the offseason prepping cars for the year.

 

“We ran one XFINITY race with Ray last year, and it went much better than everyone expected,” stated Bobby Dotter, team owner. “Ray really took to the feel of the car! Our goal was always to be in the XFINITY Series with Ray, we’ve just sped up that timeline a little bit. Ray is ready for the step up, and the team is ready to grow with him next year.”

 

“It’s exciting knowing that I’ll be the first full-time XFINITY team for Bobby. It’s a cool bit of history to be part of and a great opportunity for everyone involved,” Black explained. “The team and I really meshed well together last year! We kept growing and getting better as the season went on. I think we’ll only keep improving as a team with this coming season.”

 

Black had a standout year in 2015 when he finished 11th in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings, earning one Top-5 and 12 Top-15 finishes in 23 races. With an additional 10 races and a bigger field of competition in the NXS, Black will be using the momentum and confidence he gained in 2015 to have an even stronger 2016 season.

 

“Running the full season last year gave me a lot of confidence that will help me this year,” stated Black. “We know we can run competitively at a high level of performance. We might have a little bit of an adjustment period with the XFINITY cars since we haven’t consistently run them other than the race we did at Texas in the fall last year, so we do have a lot to learn. But once we get a feel for the cars, I think we should be good to go. We really got some solid momentum going in 2015, and I don’t see why we can’t better that in 2016!”

 

“I think finishing in the Top-15 in the championship standings is a solid goal for the year as a driver,” he continued. “As far as a team goal, we are really looking to log all the laps we can and minimize any mistakes that we can. It should be a fun year, and I can’t wait for it to get started!”

 

Fans can follow along with Black’s 2016 season in the NXS following him and his sponsor, ScubaLife, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @TeamScubaRacing and @RayBlackJr. Learn more about Ray Black Jr. and Team Scuba by visiting www.rayblackjr.com and www.teamscuba.com.

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January’s big claim to fame is change. Whether it’s a lifestyle switch-up, getting to the gym more, or, in NASCAR terms, a new crew chief or driver or manufacturer, the overall theme is variation from the norm, permanent or otherwise.



With it usually comes hope, optimism and excitement — a few words we’ll be hearing plenty next week during Charlotte Media Tour.



But it has us asking the question: Which team faces the biggest transition in 2016? NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola and RJ Kraft debate the topic and offer their choices for the upcoming Sprint Cup Series season.



DeCola: Hey, RJ, this is a pretty interesting topic, and hopefully these teams embrace their changes a little better than I have, considering I’m currently on pace to exercise just once in 2016 … but I digress. To me, this is an easy one. Changes across the sport will be dynamic and plentiful this season, but no team faces a bigger transition than Hendrick Motorsports. 



The man that has all but defined NASCAR over the past two decades-plus will now watch races from the broadcast booth, as Jeff Gordon steps out from behind the wheel of the No. 24 Chevrolet and hands the reins over to young Chase Elliott. The four-time premier series champion was such an embedded presence at Hendrick that his absence will be felt in several ways, regardless of how strong Elliott is in his first year of full-time Cup competition. 



Based on the height difference, Elliott’s feet may be larger than Gordon’s, but that’s a heck of a big set of shoes for the 20-year-old to fill, and it will likely define much of Hendrick’s upcoming season.

Kraft: Put the pedal to the metal on those personal goals, Pat. Anyways, I think the biggest transition will be with a team that is changing manufacturers for the first time. Furniture Row Racing, the single-car team based out of Colorado, is moving from Chevrolet to Toyota and will have a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. The move gives Toyota another entry among its Sprint Cup entries (replacing the departing Michael Waltrip Racing) and also should help Furniture Row get to its eventual goal of being a multi-car organization. Yet, with that move, comes a raised set of expectations not to mention the pressure that comes from following up a breakout 2015 season.

The team is looking to build off a dream season that saw Martin Truex Jr. score a win at Pocono (the organization’s first since 2011), post 14 top 10s in his first 15 races and reach the Championship 4 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The Cinderella-esque run to Homestead and Truex’s bounce-back season was the feel-good story of the 2015 campaign and it will be interesting to see what both he, crew chief Cole Pearn and the team as a whole can do for an encore. Interestingly enough, JGR didn’t find its footing until the summer and the reduced-downforce package was a mixed bag for Truex at Kentucky and Darlington, so there could be some short-term pain before the long-term gain for the No. 78 team in the new alignment.


DeCola: Great point about Furniture Row. Its 2015 breakout was great to see and the transition to Toyota should pay dividends. Speaking of Toyota and JGR, it brings up another facet about Hendrick’s changes — the addition of Darian Grubb. 

After notching nine wins as the crew chief for Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards over at JGR the past four seasons, Grubb parted ways with the organization that currently holds the Sprint Cup Series title and wound up back at Hendrick (where he previously served on the No. 48 team) as vehicle production director.

As you may have noticed, JGR’s four cars spent most of the 2015 season dominating the field, with Kyle Busch eventually being crowned champion. With Grubb’s technical knowledge (along with any trade secrets he may have picked up at JGR the past few years) and Kenny Francis’ vehicle technical direction, there’s a better-than-not chance that Hendrick’s cars regain the speed they’ve shown over the past decade, in which it won six titles.

Kraft: I’m glad you brought up the JGR changes, Pat. Last year, JGR made crew chief changes to three of its four teams and it took some time and the return of Busch from injury before things seemed to click into gear. The past few years there has seemingly been a new pairing that hits the ground running in the top series (Matt Kenseth-Jason Ratcliff in 2013 at JGR, Kevin Harvick-Rodney Childers in 2014 at SHR Busch-Adam Stevens at JGR and Truex-Pearn at Furniture Row in 2015) but those feel more like exceptions rather than the norm.

With the Carl Edwards-Dave Rogers pairing, both driver and crew chief are going on their third different pairing in three years so there is going to be an adjustment period and a transition phase if you will. Of all the crew chief changes that have taken place thus far, the Denny Hamlin-Mike Wheeler pairing is the one that I believe to be the most likely to fly to amazing heights from the start of the season. Wheeler was with Hamlin as the race engineer on the No. 11 up until last season when he became an NASCAR XFINITY Series crew chief for the No. 20 team. The duo won three of their six XFINITY Series races together in 2015.

How do these changes affect Furniture Row, you ask? Through their technical alliance in which the teams will share data much like Furniture Row did in its technical alliance setup with Richard Childress Racing under the Chevrolet umbrella. The better the results, the better the data to analyze, the better you can make the cars. Enough with all this talk of transition though, let’s get some of these cars on track and let the results speak for themselves.

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RELATED: Learn more about the NASCAR Hall of Fame

There’s a possibility, albeit remote, that O. Bruton Smith could be entering the NASCAR Hall of Fame as a race car driver instead of a race promoter extraordinaire.


Smith, at age 17, bought a race car and decided to be a professional driver.

 

“One time, I actually beat (NASCAR Hall of Famers) Buck Baker and Joe Weatherly,” Smith said in a May 7, 2005, interview with Motorsport.com. “So I knew when I beat them I could be a contender, right?”


Smith’s mother, however, believed otherwise and appealed to a Higher Authority. She prayed her son would change his mind.
 

“She started fighting dirty,” Smith said in the same interview. “You can’t fight your mom and God, so I stopped driving.”


NASCAR stock car racing became the beneficiary of the intervention. Smith turned to race promotion, ultimately creating some of America’s greatest facilities. His eight-track Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI), anchored by Charlotte Motor Speedway, helped boost the sport to new heights in the 1950s and was the first American motorsports company to go public in 1995.

 

The Oakboro, North Carolina native is part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s class of 2016 that includes Jerry Cook, Bobby Isaac, Terry Labonte and Curtis Turner. Induction ceremonies will be held Jan. 22 in Charlotte, N.C. and will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. by the NBCSN.

 

MORE ON 2016 CLASS: Jerry Cook | Bobby Isaac | Terry Labonte | Curtis Turner

 

Born on a farm in rural North Carolina, Smith never considered an agricultural life. He hated the thought of being poor, which a childhood during the throes of the Great Depression appeared to suggest.

 

“You have food, clothing and shelter but you never have any money and I never did like that. I did not like that,” Smith said in a July 2003 Car & Driver story authored by Bob Zeller. “You worked from sunup to sundown, but you never did see the rewards.”

 

By 1949, Smith had his own stock car racing association, the National Stock Car Racing Association, which was a direct competitor to William H.G. “Big Bill” France’s fledgling NASCAR. Both groups fought for the same drivers and neither was making much money.

 

France and Smith discussed a possible merger in 1950 but the Korean War and U.S. Army scuttled the negotiations. Smith was drafted, served two years stateside as a paratrooper and by the time he mustered out the NSCRA was defunct.

 

Smith began to be noticed in 1954 when he took over promotion of the half-mile track at the Charlotte Fairgrounds.

 

Motorsports writer Russ Catlin wrote of “the genius of a 27-year-old fanatic named Bruton Smith … who took a poorly lighted, run-down half-mile track that wends around a muddy lake and built it into a spectacular speed emporium.”


In partnership with Turner and others, Smith built Charlotte Motor Speedway, completed in 1960 at a cost of $1.5 million. The first Coca-Cola 600 – then the World 600 – was the facility’s opening event.

 

Eventually, Smith decided just owning the 1.5-mile track wasn’t enough. Boosting its profile meant adding seats, building suites and condos for VIP customers – and changing demographics of ticket buyers and sponsors.

 

“He took a cue from the oil industry in World War II when they were trying to get women who were suddenly driving the family car to stop in and pump gas at their service stations,” said CMS’ then-general manager Humpy Wheeler. “What they did was clean up the stations and make sure they had a decent women’s rest room.”

 

By 2000, the track’s customer base was 40 percent female.

 

“I took the position that Charlotte Motor Speedway was constantly under construction,” said Smith, a statement that describes how the now 88-year-old entrepreneur views his racing empire. Fueled in part by public stock offerings, Smith acquired Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1990 and Bristol Motor Speedway in 1996 – expanding the latter from 71,000 to 160,000 seats. SMI bought Sonoma Raceway in 1996, Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1997, New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2007 and Kentucky Speedway in 2008.

 

Smith built and opened Texas Motor Speedway – SMI’s signature project – in 1997, which rose from the prairie outside Fort Worth. The track later added Big Hoss TV, the world’s largest HD screen measuring 20l,633.64 square feet. SMI presents 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races annually, including three in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

 

 “He (is) such an innovator. He would think of something and do it,” said NASCAR Hall of Fame voter Eddie Wood, co-owner of the Wood Brothers Racing team, in a May 20, 2015 interview with ESPN’s Bob Pockrass.

 

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France agrees.

 

“He deserves to be in (the NASCAR Hall of Fame); he’s made a huge impact (on the sport) obviously,” France said. “He has given the fans an experience that has transformed the sport.”


Tickets are available for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Ceremony (limited quantities available). Individual ticket and ticket packages are available at ticketmaster.com, the NASCAR Hall of Fame Box Office or by calling 800.745.3000.

Posted on by Nascar

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are currently scheduled for five open team tests this season, according to the 2016 Unified Testing Master Schedule.

 

Four of the tests will be two-day affairs and will take place at Indianapolis (July 12-13), Watkins Glen (July 26-27), Chicago (Aug. 23-24) and Homestead (Oct. 18-19).

 

Each organization is allowed to send no more than one team to an open test.

 

A single-day open team test is scheduled for Thursday, March 3 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway leading into the track’s race weekend. All teams entered in the race will be eligible to participate in that test.

 

The open team test at the 1.5-mile track comes as teams roll out a base rules package that will be used for all events other than those held on superspeedways.

 

Teams competed with the package twice last season, at Kentucky Speedway and Darlington Raceway.

RELATED: Reduced-downforce highlights 2016 package


On the tire-testing front, this week’s two-day Goodyear test at Las Vegas is the first of nine scheduled tire tests for Sprint Cup teams and the tire supplier, although Goodyear can increase that number when necessary.

 

For example, the repaving of a track, such as at Kentucky Speedway this season, could necessitate an additional test for verification.

 

NASCAR debuted the Unified Testing Master Schedule in 2015, eliminating private team testing in a cost-cutting move supported by teams. Unlike last season, however, when open teams tests typically came on the heels of the tire tests, this year’s open tests are scheduled months after the initial Goodyear events.

 

The additional time should give Goodyear time to build track-specific tires for the open tests instead of having teams test with tires unlikely to be used in the track’s upcoming event.

 

Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch are participating in this week’s tire test at Las Vegas.

 

Additional tire tests currently scheduled are Charlotte Motor Speedway (March 8-9); Richmond (March 29), Pocono (April 19-20), Indianapolis (April 26-27), Kentucky (tentatively scheduled for May 3-4 although expected to move due to the repave), Watkins Glen (May 10-11), Michigan (May 17) and New Hampshire (May 31-June 1).

 

As was the case last season, Sprint Cup organizations have been divided into groups of four and will participate in tire tests on a rotating basis. However, it will not always be the same four groups represented at a particular test (one team from Stewart-Haas Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing are represented this week at Las Vegas, however the lineup for Richmond will include Roush Fenway Racing instead of Hendrick.)

 

Each organization is scheduled to take part in four tire tests this season with the exception of JGR, which will take participate in five.

 

Participation in the tire tests consists of teams that finished 20th or higher in the 2015 owner points standings.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Gordon headlines FOX’s NASCAR roster for 2016

 

Jeff Gordon as “the new guy” just doesn’t feel accurate, but he’s exactly that on FOX’s NASCAR broadcasting team for the 2016 season.

 

Gordon was in the studio Tuesday gearing up for his debut Monday on “Race Hub” (5 p.m. ET, FS1.) The four-time champion did spend some time in the booth last season as an analyst during some of the network’s NASCAR XFINITY Series races.

MORE: Photos of Gordon through the years