Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: See the full weekend schedule | NBC Sports Live Extra


All times ET

Monday, Dec. 14
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of the Year (re-air), FS1
6:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #4, NBCSN

Tuesday, Dec. 15
6 a.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #1 (re-air), NBCSN
6:30 a.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #2 (re-air), NBCSN
7 a.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #3 (re-air), NBCSN
7:30 a.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #4 (re-air), NBCSN
4:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #4 (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #5, NBCSN
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America: States of NASCAR (re-air), NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of the Year (re-air), FS1

Wednesday, Dec. 16
4:30 p.m., NASCAR The List: Memorable Moments, NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Images of the Season #1, NBCSN
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #2 (re-air), NBCSN

Thursday, Dec. 17
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Images of the Season #2, NBCSN
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Season Images of the Season #1 (re-air), NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of the Year (re-air), FS1

Friday, Dec. 18
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #6, NBCSN
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Season Images of the Season #2 (re-air), NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of the Year (re-air), FS1

Saturday, Dec. 19
Noon, Uncompromising: Kevin Harvick (re-air), FS2

Sunday, Dec. 20
4 p.m., NASCAR America: Stories of NASCAR #1 (re-air), NBCSN

 

Posted on by Holly Cain

Jimmie Johnson was relaxed, friendly and smiling a lot at the recent NASCAR Sprint Cup Series awards ceremony and festivities in Las Vegas.

He wasn’t, however, content or even mildly satisfied. The six-time champion has been feted and celebrated more than any other driver during his 14 years in NASCAR’s big leagues.

But his 11th- and 10th-place finishes the past two seasons  — under a new format it should be noted — feels as unfamiliar to him as it is offsetting to the rest of us.

It was surreal to watch NASCAR’s greatest current day champion humbly participate in Champion’s Week. Shockingly eliminated after the first round of NASCAR’s playoffs, its most accomplished active driver sat in the back row during the After the Lap event and didn’t even get to make a speech at the banquet.

He was in the interview room so quickly that it genuinely felt odd to be talking to Johnson instead of waiting to watch for his speech. But he left the reporters and photographers with an easy feeling to convey.

Of course, to say Johnson is highly motivated is an understatement — because he always is.

“To win so early, have our mind on the Chase then get eliminated in the first round? Really?” Johnson said, smiling. “We’ve been sitting here for eight months preparing for this moment then a very inexpensive part takes us out (at Dover), so definitely disappointed.

“There was some redemption at the end of the year with the victory (at Texas) and finishing in the top 10 in points was something we wanted to chase down and we got that done.

“We did end with momentum in the right direction, but certainly a disappointing year. I wouldn’t say I expect to be the champion, but I certainly feel I should be in the final four and not to get to that point was disappointing.”

It’s easy to understand why Johnson was so disillusioned.

His 2015 statistics — 14 top fives (including three second-place finishes), 22 top 10s and a pole position — were on par with his efforts throughout the last decade. And his five wins matched those of Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch as well as Matt Kenseth, and they were second only to Joey Logano‘s six. Only Busch made the Championship 4 from that group.

The only remarkable difference for Johnson this year compared to recent seasons is his 558 laps led — about half what he normally leads. But his victory total was still among the series’ best.

“There’s been some years where it’s been a huge motivator (not to win the trophy), especially when you finish second,” Johnson said of his uncommon and unfamiliar ranking. “There’s nothing worse and you are one seat away from where you want to be.

“But this elimination deal it is the hardest thing to figure out — where you need to be mentally, what you need to do. Being eliminated so early it was kind of just like ‘gone that quick.’ “

Johnson is the first to admit the new elimination Chase format has been a learning experience for his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team. And it hasn’t been what we’ve come to expect from a group more typically in the final fight for a trophy than not.

“The mental side is something I feel I’ve always been so strong at and the way you build through the year and refine for the final 10 (races) and finish strong. … and now that’s gone through the window,” Johnson said. “Now it’s kind of shoot from the hip and just go with it. It’s so different.

“With the old format, there’s a feeling that built through the course of the year and the first 26 races you kind of build that feeling then the elimination races start and there’s nothing consistent about it.

“It’s really tough to say ‘I’ve got that championship year, I can feel it,’ or ‘I can sense it’ because of the elimination process.'”

Some would say Johnson has only himself to blame — the first driver in history to win five consecutive Cup championships (2006-1010) — but winning a title has become a moving target with the championship format changes in recent years.

“This offseason is about trying to keep the momentum we had finishing out the year, spending time with family through the holidays and charging the battery the best I can so we can get going in the new year,” Johnson said.

Posted on by Staff Report

Kevin Harvick will have Ditech on his car as a primary sponsor for two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2016, the lending and servicer of residential mortgages company announced.

Harvick will sport the company’s new logo and paint scheme that will feature the “Ditech blue” look on-track at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 17 and New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 25.

“We are excited to continue our sponsorship with SHR and Kevin Harvick through 2016,” Rich Smith, Chief Marketing Officer of Ditech said in a release. “The support from NASCAR fans has been exceptional, and the increased awareness of the Ditech brand is proof. After a successful 2015 season, we look forward to continued success for the No. 4 team as we move into the next year.”

The company served as the primary sponsor for two races in 2015, adorning the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet for the spring race at Dover International Speedway and the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Harvick finished as the runner-up to Kyle Busch for the 2015 Sprint Cup championship. He won the Sprint Cup championship in 2014.

Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Busch won the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, so it makes sense that he’s gone on record to say he likes the new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup elimination-style format.

That didn’t stop the Joe Gibbs Racing driver from offering a tweak to the existing format, though.

“I think there’s one thing that could be added,” Busch said during Champion’s Week in Las Vegas. “I think we have to take care of the regular-season (points) leader. Whoever is the points leader after (the regular-season finale), I think it would be pretty neat if they got a first-round bye, for instance.

“I think being able to accomplish that feat of leading the points is somewhat similar to the old championship format. I think you should reward that guy and not have to make them sweat for the first round.”

 

Kevin Harvick was the 2015 regular season points leader and would have received the “bye” under Busch’s proposed system, which would have come in handy after a 42nd-place finish in the Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway. Harvick was the No. 5 seed entering the Chase because other drivers had more wins.

Posted on by Staff Report

Veteran driver David Gilliland took to Twitter on Thursday night to reveal that his 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series plans are uncertain at the moment.

On Thursday, Roush Fenway Racing and Front Row Motorsports announced that newly crowned NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Chris Buescher would drive the No. 34 Ford in the Sprint Cup Series for Front Row under an enhanced technical alliance between the two organizations. The agreement would see Roush provide engineering, equipment and driver support as well as full engineering and pit support.

The joint release also noted that plans for Front Row Motorsports‘ second Sprint Cup Series entry would be announced at a later date.

Gilliland has driven for team owner Bob Jenkins for the past six seasons. The 2015 campaign saw Gilliland make all 36 starts in the No. 38 Ford and finish 32nd in the point standings.

The 39-year-old’s best finish thus far with Front Row was a runner-up showing in the spring 2013 race at Talladega Superspeedway. That race was won by David Ragan and is the only win Front Row has recorded in the race team’s history. In 2014, Gilliland also won the pole for summer race at Daytona International Speedway.

In 330 career Cup starts, Gilliland has four top fives, eight top 10s and three poles.

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Learn which drivers, crew chiefs are on the move for 2016

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Brian Scott entered last month’s NASCAR season finale without a clear sense of where he’d be driving in 2016. Richard Petty Motorsports faced likewise uncertainty surrounding the seat of its No. 9 Ford, with Sam Hornish Jr. designated for departure after one year with the team.
 
The two sides found each other this week, announcing a deal Friday for Scott to pilot the RPM No. 9 next year in his first full-time season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The deal, which rapidly fell into place, provides much-needed security for both driver and organization, which also fields Petty’s famed No. 43 for team mainstay Aric Almirola.
 
“I won’t lie. I went into the offseason really having no clue what the future held and giving some serious thought or thinking that there’s a real possibility that something might not come together and I might not be doing anything next year,” Scott said. “And honestly, this whole deal came together Monday of this week. It literally just all materialized. Everything lined up right and we had a really good meeting and everyone got pumped up and I think that we saw the potential in that room on Monday that led us to pull the trigger and come out of the gates and hit the ground running.”
 
Though team owner Richard Petty posed for pictures Friday with his new driver beside a No. 9 Fusion in Twisted Tea livery, Scott said that “sponsorship pieces are all still getting put in place” with hopes of announcing partners in the coming weeks.
 
Scott, 27, has competed full-time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for six seasons, the last three for Richard Childress Racing. After closing out the 2015 campaign last month at Homestead-Miami Speedway, both Scott and Childress indicated they were working on moving forward, all while acknowledging that the future was a murky one.
 
“I really enjoyed my time at Richard Childress Racing,” Scott said, calling their parting bittersweet. “They’ve got amazing employees and I love the relationships and stuff that I’ve built up there. Of course, that was something that we really wanted to pursue. We wanted to look to continue that relationship, but we just seemed to hit some road blocks and some struggles that we couldn’t really overcome to put the right deal together or the deal that we wanted to have for 2016 and beyond with them.”
 
For Scott, the chance to compete full-time in NASCAR’s premier division was worth making the jump for. He’s already dipped his toe into Sprint Cup waters, with 17 starts in his career and a Coors Light Pole Award at Talladega Superspeedway in May 2014.
 
Besides the financial plusses of Scott’s existing business partnerships as potential sponsors, Petty said the benefit of big-league experience was an enticing factor in reaching an agreement with their newest driver.
 
“We’re real comfortable with the situation of him being able to already be in a bunch of the Cup races, and we’ve noticed that he does pretty dang good in the equipment he’s got,” Petty said. “So the big deal is putting him in a team where all he drives is just Cup stuff. He doesn’t jump back and forth, even though he might run a few of the races, it won’t be the deal. He’ll be able to run for a championship or rookie of the year.
 
“Before, he’s been a few races here, a few races there, so he’s just been bounced from place to place. Now he’s got a home, so I think that’ll settle him down a little.”
 
The move makes teammates out of former rivals. Scott and Almirola have had pointed words for each other in the past, trading barbs after on-track run-ins in both the XFINITY and Sprint Cup series in recent years. The most recent altercation came in the spring of 2014 at Auto Club Speedway, with Almirola questioning Scott’s racing pedigree in televised interviews after an early race crash.
 
Both drivers trained at the same gym, leading to chance encounters in the weeks after their most recent flare-up. Finally, Scott said the two had a “defining conversation” to put their differences behind them.
 
“It was the week before the July Daytona race last year that we just pulled each other aside in the corner of the workout room and we just kind of hashed it out,” Scott said. “We said, ‘how are we going to deal with this and what are we going to do going forward?’ The next week, he went on to win Daytona, so I felt like that really affirmed that we were being mature, and I firmly believe in karma and good things happening. …
 
“We’ve already had conversations. We’re excited to be teammates, we’re excited to work together and learn from each other. You know, sometimes you have the biggest issues with the people you’re most similar to, and I think Aric and I are going to have a lot more similarities that we maybe have seen in the past.”
 
There won’t be much of a breaking-in period for RPM’s newest driver. Friday’s photo ops will quickly become Monday’s track time, with Scott chosen to participate in next week’s Goodyear tire test at Homestead.
 
“I’m going to put him right to work right away,” Sammy Johns, RPM Vice President of Competition and Operations, said with a chuckle. “With the testing policy that NASCAR’s put in place, which I’m fully supportive of, there’s not any other testing that we’re going to get to do before the Daytona 500. So a chance to get Brian in a race car before that is excellent.
 
“When we were able to get this done and get it done before the Homestead tire test, Brian was automatically the first choice to go do that so we could get some time in the race car with him, start to get a feel for what he’s looking for in a race car, that’s going to be invaluable.”

Posted on by Nascar

RANDLEMAN, N.C. — Folks nodded and smiled and waved and stopped what they were doing and pretty soon nearly everyone was having a picture taken with Richard Petty.



“These folks here are what it’s all about,” Petty, NASCAR’s winningest driver and one of only two drivers to capture seven series championships, said Wednesday morning during an appearance at Victory Junction Gang Camp.



“It’s big because all these (boxes) go to the people that are from North Carolina and all the products in the boxes are produced in North Carolina.”



Seventy or so folks gathered at Victory Junction to take part in Operation North State’s annual “NCCARES Christmas Box project”. Members of the National Guard were on hand, alongside officials from the American Legion, people affiliated with several of the makers of the products going in the boxes, and other volunteers.



The Petty Family Foundation helps manage the annual program and provides space at the camp to complete the tasks. It’s one of several initiatives backed by the foundation, according to Rebecca Moffitt, executive director of the PFF, many of which are aimed at support for veterans as well as active military members.



Approximately 1,500 boxes containing magazines, food items and other assorted products — all made in North Carolina — were assembled and prepped for delivery.



“They go to deployed (North Carolina) troops,” said Terry Snyder, founder of Operation North State and the chief answer man here on Wednesday. “We don’t do gift boxes every month, maybe 50-60 a month, but we do 1,500 at Christmas and everything in that box is related to North Carolina — its’ people, places, products and pride.”



Snyder isn’t a military veteran, although family members and friends either have served or are currently serving.



“I felt we ought to be doing our part to support our veterans and veterans in need,” he said. “It’s 100 percent all volunteer, nobody makes a dime; it’s as grass roots as it gets.”



The Christmas Box project has been going on for six years and it’s opened doors for other opportunities. The non-profit organization also hosts as many as six fishing festivals each year for the state’s “wounded Warriors and disabled veterans,” according to Snyder.



Names of servicemen and women are submitted to the group’s website, www.operationnorthstate.com, by friends or family members to receive the care packages, ensuring that N.C. soldiers get a little taste of home while serving elsewhere.



Nuts, candy, pickles, Krispy Kreme pies and Bojangles’ seasoning go in the boxes. Letters from the Governor and other state officials, too, go in the boxes. A Carolina Panthers flag emblazoned with “Keep Pounding” and Texas Pete Hot Sauce (it’s actually made in North Carolina) are included as well.



And a T-shirt goes in the boxes as well. Printed on the back of the shirt is Military Pride, Richard Petty, No. 43.



“That,” Snyder says, “is the No. 1 item in the box.”



Petty thanked all those who were on hand, expressing his appreciation for their willingness to give their time to what he believes is such a worthy endeavor.



“It makes you feel good,” he said, “to help those guys and gals feel better because they’re not at home.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Learn which drivers, crew chiefs are on the move

AJ Allmendinger will have a new crew chief and JTG Daugherty Racing will have a new director of competition as Randall Burnett and Ernie Cope have joined the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series organization.
 
The team made the announcement Thursday via news release.
 
Burnett previously served as lead race engineer at Chip Ganassi Racing, working with drivers Jamie McMurray (2010-12), Juan Pablo Montoya (’13) and Kyle Larson (’14-15). It will be his first stint as crew chief. In total, Burnett spent 10 years at Chip Ganassi Racing, where he also served as a 7-post analysis engineer, a lead team engineer and a data acquisition engineer.
 
“I know the quality of work they do and the level they hold themselves to,” Burnett, a native of Fenton, Missouri said. “Also, working with AJ is going to be exciting for me. We kind of grew up with the same background. AJ obviously had a tremendous amount of talent and is very passionate and very vocal about his passion.”
 
Burnett, a former Late Model racer, received a mechanical engineering degree from UNC Charlotte.
 
“What I really like about Randall is that even though he hasn’t been a crew chief, he’s done every role you can ask for,” Allmendinger said, “whether it’s as a driver, car chief, engineer, test team or building race cars.
 
“I think we are going to speak the same language pretty quickly. I know his knowledge is going to help us.”
 
The 2016 season will be Allmendinger’s 10th, and his third (full-time with JTG) since taking over the No. 47 entry. He scored his first career victory in 2014, winning at Watkins Glen and earning a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He subsequently finished 13th in points, his best points finish to date.
 
Burnett replaces the team’s former crew chief, Brian Burns.
 
For Cope, it will be a reunion of sorts. The Tacoma, Washington native served as a crew chief in 2006-07 for the team’s drivers, Stacy Compton and Marcos Ambrose, in what is now known as the NASCAR XFINITY Series. In 2015, he guided Chase Elliott to the runner-up honors in the XFINITY Series this past season while at JR Motorsports. He also has led Kevin Harvick to 12 wins in the series.
 
Cope, 46, will oversee development of the cars how they are built, and will likely work closely with Richard Childress Racing officials, with whom JTG Daugherty Racing has a technical alliance.
 
“I’ll make sure … Randall has exactly what he needs to be competitive,” Cope said. “It’s going to be his first shot at being crew chief and he’s the right guy for the position.
 
“I feel 100 percent in my heart that he is going to succeed and I’m going to help him succeed.”
 
Allmendinger failed to make this year’s 16-team Chase field, and finished 22nd in points. An accomplished road racer, he scored poles at both NASCAR road-course stops this past season, starting out front at Sonoma and Watkins Glen.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Bouchard’s standout Modified career

Ron Bouchard, winner of the 1981 Talladega 500 and the premier series’ rookie of the year that same season, passed away Thursday. He was 67.

 

NASCAR made a statement on Thursday regarding the news, “Ron Bouchard’s passion for racing was evident from his very early years in NASCAR. Competition fueled Ron, whether racing modifieds at short tracks across the Northeast or winning rookie of the year honors in NASCAR’s premier series. He loved this sport, and made an indelible mark on it, one that won’t soon be forgotten.


“NASCAR extends its condolences to the friends and family of Ron Bouchard, a true racer.”

A native of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Bouchard pulled off one of NASCAR’s most stunning victories when he shot from third to first on the final lap at Talladega (then known as Alabama International Motor Speedway), passing Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonte to score his lone premier series victory. The win came in his 11th career start.

He was driving the Jack Beebe-owned Race Hill Farm No. 47 Buick, with crew chief Bob Johnson. Bouchard had taken over the ride earlier in the season following the departure of driver Harry Gant.

Bouchard became the 13th different winner in the 13-year history of the summer race at the 2.66-mile track.

“Coming off the fourth turn … I was behind Waltrip and Terry when Terry decided to pass Darrell on the outside,” Bouchard told reporters following his Talladega victory. “When he moved up, Darrell moved up to get in front of him. When I saw that, I just shot down to the inside … and moved up fast.”

A standout Modified driver, Bouchard won track championships at Stafford Springs, Thompson and Seekonk speedways before moving up to what was then known as NASCAR’s Grand National division.

He made 160 starts at NASCAR’s top level, finishing a career-best eighth in points in ’82. In addition to his one win, Bouchard scored 19 top-five and 60 top-10 finishes.

He won the series’ rookie title in a class that included Morgan Shepherd, Tim Richmond and Joe Ruttman. Seven years later, his brother Ken Bouchard captured the series rookie of the year award as well.

Posted on by Staff Report

It’s an exciting time for Trevor Bayne and his family this holiday season as the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing driver and his wife Ashton welcome their first child, daughter Elizabeth Kate Bayne. The new mom shared a photo of the newborn on Instagram on Thursday.


Congrats, Elizabeth, you’re the newest baby in the Sprint Cup Series garage, but no worries, you’ve got a lot of cool kids to grow up with.