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: Daniel Suarez, the fifth-place finisher in the XFNITY Series standings.


Team: Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota (drove the No. 18 Toyota in 2015)

RELATED: Suarez gets new number for 2016
 
Strides: Few drivers come into the series with such high expectations. But the young Suarez — who turns 24 on Jan. 7 — certainly made good on the promise outlook winning the 2015 XFINITY Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year title — the first Mexican-born driver to ever earn the prestigious award. He earned three poles as part of seven front-row starts and collected eight top-five and 18 top-10 finishes.
 
Setbacks: It took seven races to score his first top-five but a runner-up showing at the notoriously tough Bristol Motor Speedway went a long way toward establishing confidence and verifying his full-time move to one of NASCAR’s major series. He said he considered his improved second half of the season a better indicator of where things stand for the team. Suarez ended up averaging an 11.7 place finish on the season and should be a title contender in 2016 with a full year of competition under his belt.
 
Quoteworthy: “We have the speed and so many of the things we have to put in the right place. But something very important to me is the speed and we have that. If we can put ourselves in the right position to be patient, be strong and be consistent we will put ourselves in position (for the championship). If we are just a little bit better next year I feel we will have a shot.”
 
What’s next: Suarez should be used to high expectations, but in 2016 he will need to deliver after a rookie campaign in the XFINITY Series. He is in an envious position returning to the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing — a championship-level team highly-touted for having some of the best young emerging talent such as Suarez.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: See the some of Dale Jr’s 2016 paint schemes

Always the sentimentalist, Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted out a wonderful photo on Wednesday afternoon, showing a yellow race car with a No. 3 on the side.

The car, of course, belonged to his late father, Dale Earnhardt.

It’s tough to tell where the car was used and for what race, but it’s cool to see how even back then race cars were sponsored. Earnhardt’s ride was funded by a “John Burns Construction Co.” which has been around since 1906 and even listed their number on the side.

Pretty neat.

RELATED: Dale Jr. reveals favorite Christmas gift of all-time

Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 16 car that Greg Biffle now drives for Roush Fenway Racing has a storied history with several current and future NASCAR Hall of Fame members among its pilots — here’s look at some of those drivers in that number, on 1/6/16.

 

In addition to Biffle, some of the best drivers who have wheeled the No. 16 are Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Fireball Roberts, Rusty Wallace, Joe Weatherly and Glen Wood. 

Several more have driven the 16, including Wally Dallenbach Jr., Ted Musgrave, and Kevin Lepage, who were among the first to drive the car for Roush Racing, debuting it for the team in 1992.

More than 80 drivers have been behind the wheel of the No. 16 for at least one race. Vote in our poll for the best of the bunch. 

 

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced today the addition of Kevin “Bono” Manion to the team’s crew chief lineup for the team’s three-truck effort in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for 2016. Manion will call the shots for the Tundra that will be shared by drivers Daniel Suarez and Cody Coughlin. Additionally, the team announced that 2015 Truck Series champion crew chief Rudy Fugle will be paired with 2015 K&N Pro Series East champion William Byron and veteran crew chief Jerry Baxter will guide Christopher Bell‘s efforts.

Manion brings with him 12 years of experience as a NASCAR crew chief, spending the last 10 seasons in the Sprint Cup Series. The Massachusetts native collected five victories in his time atop the pit box in NASCAR’s premier series, including two marquee wins with Jamie McMurray in 2010; the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400. Before graduating into NASCAR’s top division, he guided Martin Truex Jr., to back-to-back NASCAR XFINITY Series titles in 2004 and 2005. In addition to his five Sprint Cup Series victories, Manion boasts 15 XFINITY Series wins; 13 with Truex Jr., and two with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Fugle begins his third season as a crew chief at KBM and fifth overall with the team. Under his tutelage last season, Erik Jones posted three wins, five poles, 925 laps led, 11 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes en route to becoming the youngest champion in Truck Series history and the first driver to collect both the Rookie of the Year and the series title in the same year. The duo also nabbed KBM its record-breaking fourth Truck Series Owner’s championship last season, which was the second with Fugle calling the shots. In 2013, he led KBM’s No. 51 Tundra team to a series-leading six wins and an Owner’s Championship. The New York native’s Truck Series drivers have totaled nine wins, six poles, 21 top-five and 35 top-10 finishes across his 44 races atop the pit box for KBM.

Baxter begins his fourth season atop the pit box for KBM. Combined in his first three seasons, the California native’s drivers posted seven wins, three poles, 1171 laps led, 24 top-five and 40 top-10 finishes across 67 starts. The veteran crew chief spent the 2015 season calling the shots for KBM’s No. 51 team, which collected two wins, 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes with drivers Daniel Suarez (12 starts), Matt Tifft (six starts), Kyle Busch (three starts) and Christopher Bell (one start) behind the wheel. In addition to his seven wins at KBM, his resume includes a Truck Series win with Cale Gale in 2012 and a NASCAR XFINITY Series win with David Reutimann in 2007.

“The goal at KBM is to have all three of our teams competing for wins and top fives every race and consistently be among the battle for the Owner’s Championship,” Busch said. “Rudy, Jerry and the group of crew members that they have assembled on their respective teams, and everyone in the shop have accomplished those goals the past few seasons and the third team made strides through all of last season. With the addition of Bono — a guy who is a true racer and a proven winner at NASCAR’s highest level — as the leader of that group of guys, I’m confident that their performance level will be much improved this season.”

Posted on by

It’s hard to believe, but Kyle Busch was crowned 2015 Sprint Cup Series champion at Homestead-Miami Speedway nearly a month and a half ago. Now that we’re smack dab in the middle of NASCAR’s offseason and the season-opening Daytona 500 is on the horizon, it’s time to look forward to the 2016 season.

So let’s get to it — NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola and RJ Kraft make their cases for which Cup teams are in the best position to produce the 2016 champ and which is primed to make a comeback.

DeCola: First off — Happy New Year, everybody. Hope you’re starting to look forward to the upcoming season; I know I am. You know who else must be? Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, because Team Penske will produce the 2016 champion. After a successful, yet tumultuous 2015 season that saw a couple of their rivals finish first (Kyle Busch) and second (Kevin Harvick) overall, the Penske duo is primed to ride a wave of motivation into ’16 that should carry deep into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. It’s conceivable the pair will both be racing for a title in Miami this November. It’s likely one of them walks away a champion.

Kraft: The Penske duo is strong but I don’t see the title leaving where it currently resides at Joe Gibbs Racing. The four-car organization produced the most wins of any team last year (14) and has four title contenders taking the track every week. JGR hit big on the reduced downforce package in 2015 (with Kyle Busch winning at Kentucky and Carl Edwards winning at Darlington), and that will be the base package in 2016. It’s hard to see the Sprint Cup championship changing shop addresses after the upcoming season.

DeCola: Needless to say, I’m sure there will be surprises (like Kyle Busch winning the title after breaking his leg and foot to start the season) along the way that could change everything. Speaking of surprising comebacks, who do you have pegged as a team bound to make one in 2016? We saw plenty of organizations fail to meet expectations in ’15, so “bounce-back candidates” is a heavy category. I’m thinking Kyle Larson puts it all together in his third season to put his sophomore slump behind him and earn his first career Chase berth. Could certainly see him — and Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Jamie McMurray — picking up a win or two, as well, something the organization has lacked since 2013.

Kraft: I’m going a little more off the grid with my choice, Richard Petty Motorsports. Aric Almirola was a surprise Chase participant in 2014 and despite missing the Chase in 2015, Almirola was more consistent with his career-best average finish of 17.9. Add in two top-12 showings on the reduced-downforce package as well as five top 10s in his final 11 races and the 31-year-old looks poised to make a move up the standings. Adding Brian Scott as a teammate should help as well. The longtime XFINITY Series driver has only had a handful of Cup starts, but his three top 15s in 10 starts in 2015 were one less than former RPM driver Sam Hornish Jr. had over a full season in 2015.

 

This debate has established one thing for certain: The 2016 season can’t get here fast enough.

Posted on by Staff Report

Kentucky Speedway announced Tuesday that it will undertake a multiple-point renovation of its 1.5-mile track, including a full repave, increased banking in Turns 1 and 2 and more energy-absorbing SAFER barrier.



The work, which includes improvements to the track’s drainage system, will be complete in time for its NASCAR weekend for all three national series July 7-9.



The repaving project will mark the first new asphalt for Kentucky Speedway since it opened with a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event in 2000. The track, which has hosted NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races the last five years, had become known for its character-building bumps in the rough surface.



After the renovations are complete, Kentucky may be best known for it asymmetric layout. Turns 1 and 2 will increase their banking from 14 to 17 degrees, narrowing the racing groove in the process. Turns 3 and 4 will remain at their original 14 degrees.



“I am excited about the finished product as we wanted to present a unique challenge to the drivers,” project manager Steve Swift said, vice president of operations and development for parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc. “This design, with Turns 1 and 2 completely different than 3 and 4 accomplishes that goal. The big winner will be the race fan.”



The track will also seek to improve safety with the addition of 3,200 feet of the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction Barrier (SAFER) system, following the lead of several other tracks on the NASCAR schedule.



Kentucky also aims to combat drainage issues, specifically “weepers” where water burbles up through cracks in the racing surface. The drainage trouble hampered track-drying efforts during last year’s NASCAR tripleheader, which also featured a test day for the new reduced-downforce aero rules package that will be the base setup for the Sprint Cup Series this season.

Posted on by Staff Report

Well wishes and monetary donations continue to pour in for Stewart-Haas Racing team member Les Huntley, who suffered a stroke on Jan. 1 and remains hospitalized.

 

Huntley is a front suspension mechanic for the No. 4 SHR Chevrolet, piloted by Kevin Harvick. Crew chief Rodney Childers revealed Huntley’s condition Jan. 3 on Twitter, asking NASCAR Nation for help.

 

In less than 24 hours, a GoFundMe page raised more than $22,000 — the goal was $10,000. Several drivers and crew chiefs have contributed to the fund, including a $2,500 gift from Kevin Harvick.

 

MORE: Visit the GoFundMe page

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Listen to the entire interview here

 

NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France said Tuesday that the potential for a new ownership structure in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series would help competing teams “participate in a more meaningful way with NASCAR.”

France’s remarks came during a preseason edition of MRN Radio’s long-running “NASCAR Live” program, hosted by Eli Gold.

The NASCAR chairman said the sanctioning body has had productive meetings with team owners over the past several months, starting the talks “with a clean canvas.” Though France said plenty of work remains before putting a new ownership structure involving team charters into effect, he said he was hopeful that a mutually beneficial system — one which adds value to participation in an ever-changing sport — could materialize.

“I don’t have to tell you what an important stakeholder (team owners) are with NASCAR, so what we’re always trying to do is look at their particular interests and see how we can make it work better,” France told MRN Radio. “That could mean a lot of things — it could mean their ability to operate in a very expensive sport more efficiently, helping in a lot of ways to create value for their teams, and so that’s what we’re doing. We’re having those kind of conversations that we hope will lead to a better outcome where the ownership experience is better, they’re able to field better teams at a higher level and they’re able to participate in a more meaningful way with NASCAR.

“I always say, if there’s things we can do for any of our stakeholders that makes the sport better at the same time, we’re going to make a strong effort to figure that out.”

France opened the show with a fond tribute to NASCAR pioneer Marvin Panch, the 1961 Daytona 500 winner who died on New Year’s Eve at age 89. France also revealed that he underwent offseason knee surgery.

Among the other topics in the hour-long Q&A with Gold and radio callers:

— France lauded the current Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoff format, which enters its third year. In the last two seasons, the champion has also taken the checkered flag in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“This is going to be the new level of expectation,” France said. “I think you’re going to see, year in and year out, that four teams, you’re probably going to have to win the finale to win the championship. You’re going to have to have big moments, come-from-behind moments to even make it, and I think the future is very, very bright with this style of racing.”

 

RELATED: Busch wins first Cup championship

— France also touched on one of the Chase’s most pivotal moments, Matt Kenseth‘s retaliation for a series of perceived transgressions by rival Joey Logano (starting at Kansas Speedway and escalating through the Chase) with an intentional crash at Martinsville last November. France’s initial reaction? “Very disappointed,” he said, “and that’s about as nice as I’m going to put that.”

 

“Hard racing and things that happen like they did out there at Kansas — even if you’re a Matt Kenseth fan, and I’m a big fan of Matt Kenseth‘s in general — is one thing, but what we’re not tolerating is intentional changing the outcome of either a race, or in this case the championship. And we’re going to draw a line, a very clear line, and whatever that takes because that’s our credibility, and if that’s tested in the future, it will be a very harsh response on our behalf.”

 

RELATED: France, Kenseth meet pre-Homestead

 

— France mentioned Daytona Rising, the $400 million overhaul project at Daytona International Speedway that debuts this season with IMSA’s Rolex 24-hour race and NASCAR’s annual Speedweeks. France says he sees other speedways potentially following the historic 2.5-mile track’s lead in developing a modernized sports stadium approach for fans.
 

“I think that other tracks will take a hard look at this and look at the business side of this, because that has to make sense, and I think they’ll react in a way that will follow some version of what Daytona has done,” France said. “I’m confident of that.”

RELATED: Lesa France Kennedy previews Daytona Rising
 

— France also fielded a fan’s question about the success of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ annual race on dirt at Eldora Speedway and whether the sanctioning body’s Sprint Cup Series might ever return to an unpaved track. NASCAR’s top division last raced on a dirt track in 1970.
 

“I would say that would be a very big long shot, in particular that we’ve just done multiyear sanctions with the tracks and every track has no interest in sharing their dates with other venues — and it’s working pretty good as it is,” France said. “I like dirt racing, too. I’ve promoted dirt racing myself in Tucson before we paved it, and there’s nothing more exciting than watching those guys do their thing. It’s fun to see.”

Posted on by Nascar

Name: Dan
Current City: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Member since: 2011


Getting to know Dan

Q. Why did you join the Official NASCAR Fan Council?

“NASCAR is a big part of my family’s life; both my wife and I have been fans for years and our three year old son loves his diecasts and ‘watching the race cars.’ Given that, and how NASCAR has always listened to the voice of its fans, it felt like a great opportunity to formalize being one small part of that voice.”

Q. How did you first become interested in NASCAR?

“My father liked to watch the big races on network TV and I started watching with him. The earliest vivid memory I have of watching with him is watching the 1989 Winston where Rusty Wallace turned Darrell Waltrip in turn 4; its aftermath was like nothing I’d seen on TV before! We talked about that one all the way until Earnhardt blew his tire in the Daytona 500 the next February. I’ve stayed hooked ever since.”

Q. What makes NASCAR special for you?

“Eric Church said it better than I could in his song ‘Talladega.'”

“Here’s to turning up, slowing down, and cars that go real fast.
We were laughing and living, drinking and wishing,
and thinking as that checkered flag was waving, sure would like to stay in Talladega.”

To me, the visceral thrill of the action on the track is great, but what makes it special is sharing those moments at the track or even just watching on TV, and those moments becoming part of the shared fabric in the lives of family and friends.”

Q: Do you have any favorite NASCAR memories or traditions?

“While my wife and I were still dating, she would attend the Daytona 500 in the infield, staying with her father and uncle. I was invited to tag along with that same group for the Indy 500 each year, but only after we were married was I allowed to come to Daytona – a trip which was just a few weeks after we were married in January of 2011. We attended the Vegas race that year too (with a winning bet on Carl Edwards) so it was an extended racing honeymoon!”

Q: Do you have a favorite in any of the following categories?

Driver: “Smoke” (Tony Stewart)

Track: “Bristol”

Memorabilia: “Kyle Busch Bristol Sweep Tee – was there for all 3 races! Tony Stewart Rookie Year Diecast – loved that first raucous year in the #20 Pontiac.”

Sponsor: “We love and make a point to support NASCAR sponsors in our house especially Mobil 1, Xfinity, CHEEZ IT, M&M’s, Cheerios, SiriusXM and of course Minnesota’s 3M and Target!”

Q: If you could go to any NASCAR race/track, where would you go?

“Fall race at Bristol”

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

“Apart from watching the races (and a lot of parenting), we also are fans of the NHL and regular tailgaters for Golden Gopher Football. Love dining out and trying out the newest craft beers when we can find a babysitter!”

Q: Tell us about your family. Do you have children and/or pets?

“Married with two sons, 3 years and 9 months.”

Q: What’s your dream car?

“Challenger SRT Hellcat is tempting, but they left NASCAR so I’ll say the 2017 Ford GT500 instead!”

FROM ALL OF US AT NASCAR, WE THANK DAN FOR HIS CONTINUED SUPPORT AND LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM HIM IN 2016.