Hendrick gets most complete performance of 2016

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Holly Cain

FORT WORTH, Texas — One by one as they emerged from their cars on Texas Motor Speedway‘s pit lane in the early hours of Sunday morning, the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers stood on pit road, most allowed a smile and a couple shook their heads as they discussed and rewound their race night.

All four finished among the top eight in the Duck Commander 500 — a best overall showing for the team in 2016 — and it was a workout for each; a hard-earned, well-deserved conclusion to a busy night of close-quarter racing on the 1.5-mile high banks.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the team with a runner-up finish to Kyle Busch. Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Chase Elliott scored a career-best fifth-place showing, just getting beaten at the start/finish line by three-time defending Texas champ Jimmie Johnson. And Kasey Kahne rang in his 36th birthday early Sunday with a hard-fought, eighth-place rally in the race’s overnight hours. It was his second top-10 finish of the season.

But although each driver fared similarly well, each driver’s route to a successful night was widely varied.

Earnhardt ran among the top 10 most of the race, which started nearly two hours late because of rain showers. He chased down Busch in the closing laps, coming just 3.9 seconds shy of his first win of the season and that coveted automatic post-season berth for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

“We got lucky at the end to be able to restart on the inside,” Earnhardt said of the race’s final restart with 33 laps remaining. “The outside was kind of difficult and we restarted fifth and were able to get up to third and raced the 22 (of Joey Logano) at the end.

“It was fun. The car was very loose and very challenging but a lot of fun for me.”

Of the Hendrick team’s night, Earnhardt said, “I think the company as a whole is pushing real hard to improve and there’s an impression within the company that we need to grind a little bit and make some gains going forward into the middle of the season here. But I was real encouraged with my car tonight.”

Elliott echoed Earnhardt’s cautious optimism. He was encouraged to score a career-best finish, but still insistent that the only true success is a trophy as he navigates an understandably large learning curve.

“I definitely think it was a solid night,” Elliott said. “It’s not a perfect night.

“We would love to turn all four cars in the top 10 to having all four cars in the top five, and I think that’s a goal we have to shoot for. We’re excited to run in the top five. We’re also not content and we want to be contenders and running fifth isn’t a contender. You’ve got to be up a little higher. That’s our goal and we’ll keep working at it.”

Johnson, a heavy favorite to mark his fourth straight win, had to overcome multiple setbacks in the race from front-end damage on the first pit stop to navigating heavy traffic to bad timing during a caution period that put him at the end of the lead lap in the waning portion of the race.

“We had plenty of adversity tonight,” said Johnson, who now trails Busch by six points in the season standings. “What a fight this was and I’m very proud of this race team. There were four or five things that went on tonight.

“I really liked (crew chief) Chad’s (Knaus) strategy at the end to keep putting four tires on it and put us in an offensive situation. I feel like the 24 (Elliott) and I could have worked our way to the lead but it didn’t quite work out.

“Looking at the car and what I felt in the car, some other mistakes we’ve got to clean up to be as competitive as we were with a damaged car, I will sleep well tonight.”

His teammate Kahne shared the race review. He joked that he spent at least two hours just trying to race his way back onto the lead lap. The effort resulted in a season-best finish, however, after three consecutive finishes of 22nd or worse even after starting from the outside pole position last week at Martinsville.

“You’re fighting all night,” Kahne said of getting back on the lead lap. “It’s always someone different and someone fast and it was tough.

“About the time you get to be first behind the lapped down cars, someone in front gets lapped. It took a long time to get back on the lead lap and a lot of battling.”

Kahne was also involved in a late race incident with fellow Washington state native Greg Biffle, whose No. 16 Ford hit the wall and ended up scored 39th in the 40-car field.

“I feel really bad about that,” Kahne said. “I just caught Greg. I shot low, he started coming down and I hit the brakes and I was coming and he was coming down and we just hit. He shot up the track and I saw his car on the big screen and it looked pretty damaged. I feel so bad because I hate having any contact with anyone.”

Overall, Kahne was encouraged by his team’s showing in Texas. And he’s glad to be going to Bristol this week, where he won in 2013 after starting on the front row.

“It’s Bristol, a lot can happen there,” Kahne said, breaking into a slight grin. “I like it and a day race will be good there.

“This weekend was the best we’ve worked together from start to finish on a weekend with all aspects from preparing, racing to calling the race and communicating. It’s the best we’ve done in a long time.”

Posted on April 11, 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 Saturday’s Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The cars being inspected this week are: the No. 18 Toyota of Kyle Busch (won Saturday’s race) and the No. 88 Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt Jr. (finished second in Saturday’s race). There was no random car selected this week.

For more information on what the inspection process entails, click here.

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Staff Report

The first formal reveal of a throwback paint scheme for this year’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway came Monday. Roush Fenway Racing released a video of the No. 17 Fastenal Ford of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. that showed the car getting wrapped, along with Stenhouse and Darrell Waltrip chatting about the car and the track.

Waltrip drove the No. 17 throughout his career, and the orange-dominant look for this year’s Labor Day Weekend race is an homage to that driver and that era.

“My last win was Darlington,” Waltrip tells Stenhouse in a video produced by Roush Fenway Racing. “In 1992 I won the Southern 500, and that was my last win. So (the track has) kind of special meaning to me.”

Following the wildly successful debut of last year’s throwback weekend, the track will focus on the 1975-84 era of the sport this year, a revolutionary time period when iconic drivers such as Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip left their imprints on stock car racing.

This year’s event, with the slogan “The Tradition Continues,” is Sept. 2-4, with the NASCAR Sprint Cup‘s Bojangles’ Southern 500 running at 6 p.m. ET on Sept. 4 (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 11, 2016) — The NASCAR XFINITY Series will take racing back to its roots with Heat races, beginning with the first of four Dash 4 Cash events Saturday, April 16, at Bristol Motor Speedway (12:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers will each compete in one of two 50-lap Heat races for the chance to be eligible to win $100,000 in the 200-lap Main event. As in years past, the potential for a $1,000,000 total payout stands. New for this year, a driver who wins multiple Dash 4 Cash bonuses will earn a spot in the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase, provided he/she remains eligible per the NASCAR rule book.

“Excitement for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash has reached a new level since the format change was announced in January,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “With potential NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase implications involved, we will see the intensity around these events ratcheted up.”

All Dash 4 Cash events are comprised of two Heats and a Main, and will take place when the NASCAR XFINITY Series visits Bristol Motor Speedway (April 16), Richmond International Raceway (April 23), Dover International Speedway (May 14) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 23).

For these unique Dash 4 Cash events, traditional, single-car qualifying will determine the 40 eligible vehicles and starting positions for the two Heats, with the fastest qualifier receiving the Coors Light Pole Award. Odd-numbered qualifiers (1st, 3rd, 5th, etc.) will start in the first Heat in respective order, while even-numbered qualifiers (2nd, 4th, 6th, etc.) will start the second Heat in respective order.

The two Heats will set the starting positions for the Main, with the top two NASCAR XFINITY Series championship points-earning drivers in each Heat becoming eligible for the Dash 4 Cash bonus. Of the four eligible Dash 4 Cash drivers, the highest-finishing driver in the Main will be awarded a $100,000 bonus.

“The new Dash 4 Cash format changes well-represent XFINITY‘s goal to bring the best in entertainment to NASCAR fans by heightening the competition,” said Matt Lederer, executive director of sports marketing at Comcast. “Names are Made Here in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, and the Dash 4 Cash program provides an opportunity for these drivers to prove themselves on a national stage. XFINITY is changing the way fans experience NASCAR, and the shakeup in the competition for these races will create plenty of drama for them to see.”

Multiple Dash 4 Cash bonus wins will earn a driver a spot in the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase, provided he/she remains eligible per the NASCAR rule book. In essence, multiple Dash 4 Cash bonus wins equal one race win for Chase eligibility. If a driver wins the first three Dash 4 Cash bonuses and wins the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway outright, that driver will also receive an additional $600,000 to bring the total Dash 4 Cash award to $1,000,000.

In order to be eligible for the Dash 4 Cash bonus, drivers must have declared to earn NASCAR XFINITY Series points.

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Jodievalade

Below is a breakdown of how the 40-car field fared at Texas Motor Speedway.

1. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Can anyone stop the 2015 Sprint Cup Series champion? Busch didn’t dominate the entire race in Texas, but leapt to the lead when it counted — on the final restart with 33 laps remaining — and stayed there until the checkered flag. He’s won the last four national series races and seems unbeatable right now. Grade: A+

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Junior is still lacking his first win of the season, but by passing Joey Logano with eight laps remaining and overcoming a brief pit stall fire, he earned his second runner-up finish. All that talk this week of bananas and mayonnaise didn’t deter from a strong showing for a car that started 16th. Grade: A

3. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. Despite starting on the front row, Logano still is searching for his first win of the season. He was solidly in the top 10 throughout most of the race, slipping to as low as 14th just before the midpoint. But he jumped from 10th on Lap 200 to sixth on a restart on Lap 220 and stayed near the front for his sixth top-five finish at Texas Motor Speedway. Grade: A-

4. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson couldn’t extend his Texas winning streak to four straight races, but the fact he was able to rebound from his involvement in a 13-car crash on Lap 293 and a pit-road collision with Kyle Busch on Lap 31 showed that he’s still a threat in any race. Grade: A

5. Chase Elliott, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The rookie started at the rear when he changed his transmission, but still managed his best finish of the season — and his first top-five result in the Cup series. His decision to take four tires on the final pit stop was the difference in helping him surge into the top five. Grade: A

6. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Toyota, Furniture Row Racing. Truex consistently had the fastest car all weekend in Texas, and led a race-high 141 laps. But the decision to stay out on four old tires — when all other leaders pitted in the final two cautions — pushed him back from the lead in the final 33 laps. Grade: B-

7. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. The pole-sitter led 124 laps, but a loose wheel on the Lap 221 restart forced him to pit, and he never fully recovered. Still, it was Edwards’ sixth top-10 finish in seven races this season. Grade: B+

8. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. A car that has struggled all season found some late-race magic. First, Kahne was the lucky-dog beneficiary on a Lap 277 caution, then he made contact with Greg Biffle on Lap 287, which sent the No. 16 car into the wall but helped Kahne surge into the top 10 for the final restart. Grade: B+

9. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch was without crew chief Tony Gibson for all but race day in Texas as Gibson was tending to his ill wife, and the No. 41 car struggled to find the right combination. Busch said he was loose all through practices but tight during the race. A solid final restart helped him grab his fifth top-10 finish of the season. Grade: B

10. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is now 0-for-27 in Cup at Texas, one of the few tracks that vexes the dominant driver. This time, he had to rebound from a speeding and tire violation on Lap 217 just to make his way into the top 10. Grade: B-

11. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth’s bad-luck streak continued this season. He led 20 laps, including from Lap 217-235, but a problem with a loose rear tire forced an unscheduled pit stop that knocked him out of the top 10. Grade: B-

12. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin started sixth, and made it to as high as third late in the race but slipped outside the top 10 in the final 20 laps. Grade: C+

13. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. McMurray started 18th and worked his way up to fifth mid-race. In the end, he logged his second top-15 showing of the season. Grade: C+

14. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Larson steadily worked his way up throughout the race, starting 20th and eventually finding himself in the top 15 by Lap 300. Grade: B-

15. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne led for 12 laps — the first time he’s led a race since May 4, 2014 at Talladega. He was involved in the 13-car wreck on Lap 293, however, and the best he could manage was 15th. Grade: B-

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse equaled his best start of the season in rolling off the grid fifth but had slipped to 13th by Lap 180. He, too, was involved in the late-race wreck, which pushed him outside the top 15. Grade: C+

17. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Another car involved in the late-race wreck, Newman had been just fair to middling throughout the race. In the end, he finished just two places higher than he started. Grade: C

18. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. He started eighth, but Keselowski had an unscheduled pit stop for a loose wheel on Lap 128, and said some of the things the No. 2 team tried in preparation for the Chase race in the fall didn’t work. Grade: C-

19. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Driving on worn tires, Dillon was clipped by Jimmie Johnson and spun into traffic to cause the 13-car wreck on Lap 293. After starting 10th, he had reached as high as second but was lucky to finish 19th. Grade: C-

20. Ty Dillon, No. 95 Chevrolet, Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing. Dillon worked his way up from starting 30th, to log his greatest place differential in four Cup races this season. Grade: C-

21. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. One race after her best finish of the season (16th in Martinsville), Patrick couldn’t improve much from her 26th-place start. Grade: C-

22. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger couldn’t find any of the moxie that helped him finish second in Martinsville, starting the day 23rd, hovering around 23rd to 26th for most of the race before pushing to 22nd at the finish. Grade: C-

23. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Mears equaled his worst starting position of the season (32nd) and worked his way up to 21st by Lap 240 but couldn’t get over the hump to improve further. Grade: C

24. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. A roller coaster season continued for Almirola as he dropped to as low as 35th and as high as 10th before finishing exactly where he began. Grade: C

25. Landon Cassill, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Cassill said he couldn’t figure out the right adjustments to make on his No. 38 Ford until the end of the race — when it mattered most. He jumped from 33rd on Lap 260 to finish 25th. Grade: C

26. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. One of the 13 cars involved in the Lap 293 wreck, Menard logged his second-worst finish of the season — after his second-worst start of the season. Grade: D+

27. Brian Scott, No. 44 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Another car involved in the big late-race wreck, ended up finishing exactly where he began the race. Grade: C-

28. Chris Buescher, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Buescher had his second-best finish of the season, and improved six places on his start. Grade: C-

29. Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing. The rookie started seventh, but had to pit twice under green for reports of vibration. The No. 21 Ford never could figure out a solution, and slipped all the way to 29th. Grade: C-

30. Cole Whitt, No. 98 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. Starting 37th, Whitt improved little by little throughout the race until he finished 30th. Grade: C-

31. Regan Smith, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Another car involved in the Lap 293 wreck, Smith had been running around 24th until the incident. Grade: C-

32. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Yet another car involved in the 13-car wreck near the end, Annett still managed to finish three places higher than he began. Grade: C

33. David Ragan, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Ragan was dinged in the late-race wreck, and his finish was his worst of the season. Grade: D+

34. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. The No. 83 Toyota had shown improvement from Daytona, but took a step back after starting 29th in Texas. Grade: D+

35. Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 32 Ford, Go Fas Racing. In his fourth Cup race of the season, Earnhardt simply couldn’t make up much ground after starting 38th. Grade: D

36. Reed Sorenson, No. 55 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. Starting 40th for the second straight week, Sorenson managed to improve on his finish by one spot over last week. Grade: D.

37. Brian Vickers, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. A long day for Vickers began on a pit stop on Lap 110 when his brakes locked up as he attempted to avoid hitting Clint Bowyer. His car never felt right, and his day ended when he was involved in the Lap 293 wreck. Grade: D.

38. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Bowyer’s subpar year continued, and his involvement in the 13-car wreck ended his day. His 38th was his worst finish of the season. Grade: D-

39. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle started 14th, but the contact with Kasey Kahne sent him careening into the wall for his worst finish of the season. Grade: D-

40. Josh Wise, No. 30 Chevrolet, The Motorsports Group. Wise slammed into the Turn 3 wall on Lap 212 and finished 40th for the first time this season. Grade: D-

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Holly Cain

FORT WORTH, Texas — Chase Elliott‘s fifth-place finish in Saturday night’s Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway gives the popular rookie his best career Sprint Cup Series finish at a track he is already fond of. It’s the place he won his first XFINITY Series race en route to the 2014 XFINITY series championship.

He was running second place in the late laps of Saturday’s rain-delayed 500-miler before his crew chief called him in to pit for fresher tires on the final caution period. He returned to the track in eighth place and raced through the competition in the final 34 laps to reclaim a top-five showing and cap a career night.

But even as he stood alongside his No. 24 NAPA Chevrolet later on pit road, the fan favorite 20-year-old was as reflective on what he could have done better as he was celebratory of what he did so right.

“Biggest thing is just having fast race cars and when your car is fast, it goes a long way,” Elliott said. ”It was a step in the right direction. We’re definitely not satisfied running fifth. I feel like we have a group of guys that are capable of doing that. We’ll keep digging at it. We have a long way to go with a lot of racing to go in the season.

“We’ll keep working to get where we can roll with those guys.”

Elliott’s finish was more dramatic considering he started in the back of the field after his Hendrick Motorsports team changed the transmission in his Chevy following a fourth-place qualifying effort.

“That’s unfortunate to have to go to the back after having a good qualifying effort but I think having a good pit selection was a big help throughout the night,” Elliott said. “But the biggest thing was just having a good car. I was really happy with it, especially on the long run, and we made some gains throughout the night to try to help our short-run speed. I thought we did that.”

Elliott smiled and said he also supported his crew chief Alan Gustafson’s call for the four tires late and did not question the veteran’s decision despite the risky move.

“Being on offense is good,” Elliott said. “With Alan’s decisions, I’m going to be all for it whether they go good or bad. Whatever he says, I’m in for and we’ll make the most of it.

“Those crew chiefs are put in a position they’ve got to make a call in a hurry, and they definitely have my respect because I respect them for what they do because that’s a tough, tough spot to be in. But as I’ve said, we’re a team. I’m going to support his decision, right, wrong or indifferent, so I was happy we did it, and we tried to make the most of it.”

Undoubtedly Elliott’s car was fast, though. He was in 10th place by lap 120 of the 334-lap race and fifth place by lap 220 before stepping in and mixing it up with the race’s front-runners. Kyle Busch won the race, but all three of Elliott’s Hendrick teammates finished among the top eight, including race runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson — who nipped Elliott for fourth place on the final lap — and eighth-place Kasey Kahne.

“It was great to see Chase up there,” said Earnhardt, who fielded Elliott’s XFINITY Series championship ride. “I got to race with him a little bit and his car was doing some great things and he was driving a really good line.”

While Elliott is his own worst critic, his progress this year is substantial and noteworthy. He’s had three top-10 finishes in the last four races and he has four top-10s on the season — only six drivers in the series have more. And Elliott is the top rookie in the points standings in 14th place.

“I’m far from getting the hang of it all,” Elliott said. “I’ve got a long ways to go and we had a good run tonight but that doesn’t mean next week is going to go good.

“You have to work hard and get ready for the next one.”

MORE: See what drivers were doing during delay | Recap race day in photos

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Staff Report

Austin Dillon triggered a Texas-sized wreck during Saturday night’s rain-delayed Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway after his No. 3 went spinning across the track at Lap 293 while running in the top 10.

Denny Hamlin‘s No. 11 Toyota got the No. 3 loose, causing the multi-car melee off Turn 2 that affected 13 cars total: Jimmie Johnson, Brian Vickers, Paul Menard, Michael Annett, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Regan Smith, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Trevor Bayne, Brian Scott and David Ragan.

The wreck was particularly unfortunate for Richard Childress Racing, as all three cars — Dillon, Menard and Newman — were caught up in the incident.

“We were on older tires and I was trying to get all I could there,” Dillon said. “It’s part of trying to win a race. We put ourselves in a position to be out front, thinking that two laps wouldn’t mean much, but it did. That’s part of it. The good Lord kept me safe tonight and gave me a good race car. You have to be gracious in defeat. We’ll come back next week with another fast car and hopefully we can do the same thing we did today, and that’s run up front.”

The crash was also a bitter pill for Roush Fenway Racing, with Stenhouse’s solid run and Bayne’s gamble for a fuel-strategy win spoiled in the stack-up. Their teammate Greg Biffle was sidelined by another wreck just six laps before the multicar tangle, starting the streak of misfortune for the Jack Roush-owned team’s three-car effort.

“It looked like at first I thought he was gonna come down the track and then it looked like he was gonna stay up on the top,” Stenhouse said of his attempt to dodge Dillon’s spinning No. 3, which veered left into his path after contact with the outside wall on the backstretch. Stenhouse wound up 16th, the last driver on the lead lap. “I kind of committed to turning underneath thinking he was gonna stay at the top, then all of a sudden he came down and I got as much brake as I could and avoided him as much as I could. We just barely clipped him ever so slightly and it got us too much damage.”

In the wake of Dillon’s out-of-control car, several other drivers sustained significant damage. Among them was Vickers, making his fifth start of the season in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Chevrolet in place of the injured Tony Stewart.

“It was a long day,” said Vickers, who also endured a mid-race spin at the pit-road entrance. “That wreck just finally ended it for us. It’s unfortunate.”

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Staff Report

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series will head to Bristol Motor Speedway this week while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is off. Check out the full weekend schedule below.

Note: All times are ET

SUNDAY, APRIL 17:

ON TRACK

— 1:13 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 (500 laps, 266.5 miles), FOX (Results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)

— 4:30 p.m.: (approx) post-NSCS race

DAILY ROUND-UP

Edwards rides pole position to checkered flag in Bristol

Dale Jr. rebounds from early miscue, nearly wins

Kenseth sent into wall, Bristol repeat bid derailed

Multiple tire issues sends Busch into wall, out of race

Every driver’s Bristol intro song

FRIDAY, APRIL 15:

ON TRACK
— 11 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FS1 (Results)

— 12:30-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FS1 (Results)
— 3-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, FS1 (Results)

— 4:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Results)

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
— 10:30 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

— 2:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)

— 9:30 a.m.: Chase Elliott
— 10 a.m.: Ryan Reed
— 10:15 a.m.: Ryan Blaney
— 10:30 a.m.: Kyle Busch
— 12:30 p.m.: Carl Edwards
— 1:30 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
— 3:30 p.m.: Todd Gilliland
— 5:30 p.m.: (approx) post-NSCS qualifying

DAILY ROUND-UP

Edwards earns pole at Bristol; JGR sweeps front row
Colossus takes center stage at Bristol
Busch closes in on ‘Smoke’s’ JGR win record
Edwards seeks first ’16 win in shadows of No. 18 success
Blaney takes a bet? Driver sneaks silly word into presser
‘Rowdy’ likes chances for Bristol sweep this weekend

SATURDAY, APRIL 16:

ON TRACK

— 8:30-9:25 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series second practice, FS1 (Results)

— 9:30 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Results)

— 11-11:55 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FS1 (Results)
–12:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 Heat #1 (50 laps, 26.65 miles), FS1 (Results)

–1:10 p.m. (approx): NASCAR XFINITY Series Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 Heat #2 (50 laps, 26.65 miles), FS1 (Results)
— 1:45 p.m. (approx): NASCAR XFINITY Series Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 main race (200 laps, 106.6 miles), FS1 (Results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)

— 3:30 p.m.: (approx) post-NXS race

DAILY ROUND-UP
— Key story lines to watch for in Sunday’s race
— Jones rallies for Bristol win, takes Dash 4 Cash bonus
— Jones, Dillon win heat races at Bristol
— Returning to Bristol makes Dale Jr. nostalgic
— Hamlin, Danica collide, point fingers at Bristol practice
— Busch, Hamlin lead Bristol Cup practices

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Reid Spencer

FORT WORTH, Texas — Opportunistic Kyle Busch sped away from the rest of the field after a restart with 33 laps left in Saturday night’s Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and collected his second straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.

What’s more, Busch won his fourth straight NASCAR national series race, having swept last week’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup events at Martinsville Speedway and having won Friday night’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Texas.

“It’s pretty darn good, I’ll tell you that,” Busch said of his streak — and life. “I’ve got a great wife, a great son and I’m having a blast, living the dream.”

Quite simply, the prodigious numbers continue to pile up for the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Busch posted his 36th victory of his Sprint Cup career and his second at Texas, having also swept the spring weekend at the 1.5-mile speedway in 2013.

Busch is the second driver to sweep consecutive NASCAR weekends. Harry Gant accomplished the feat in 1991, winning both the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup races on consecutive weekends at Richmond and Dover.

With the victory, Busch also virtually secured a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, as he will look to defend the title he won last year.

“Our car was really, really fast, especially entry and center of the corner, and as the night progressed, I think the track actually came to us a little bit,” said Busch, who took over the series lead by six points over fourth-place finisher Jimmie Johnson. “Our car got a lot better, and (crew chief) Adam (Stevens) made some great adjustments all night long.

“We fought it in the beginning. We weren’t very good …”

Just good enough to win at the end.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. came home second after passing eventual third-place finisher Joey Logano for the runner-up spot with eight laps left. Johnson ran fourth, despite a succession of pit road issues, the first of which involved contact with Busch’s Toyota during the first pit stops of the race on Lap 30.

Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Chase Elliott scored a career-best fifth-place finish, one spot ahead of Martin Truex Jr., who led a race-high 141 laps but lost ground on old tires during the final 33-lap green-flag run.

“It hurts a little bit, but we’ll just take the positives and move on,” said Truex, who was the clear class of the field until divergent pit strategies proved his undoing.

Truex and Austin Dillon stayed out on old tires under caution on Lap 290 while all other lead-lap cars came to pit road for fresh tires. Though Truex maintained his lead, the move was disastrous for Dillon, who dropped back rapidly after the restart on Lap 293 and washed up the track racing off Turn 2 in close quarters with Denny Hamlin.

Dillon’s Chevrolet slid up into the path of Jimmie Johnson, who was unable to avoid contact. Dillon was turned sharply into the outside wall and bounced across the track into oncoming traffic. The resulting 13-car accident damaged all three Richard Childress Racing cars and scrambled the field for the decisive restart on Lap 302.

Busch rocketed to the outside at the drop of the green flag, and cleared Logano through Turns 3 and 4 as Truex faded on old rubber.

“The restart was going to be key,” Busch said. “If I could just get out in front of him, I knew I could protect the rest of the race. They had a good restart, but we got a better one, and I just had to get up on his door. He chose the inside and the inside has been winning the race all night long, but this time, on the last restart, (the outside) finally prevailed for us.”

Polesitter Carl Edwards led 124 laps but returned to pit road with a loose wheel after a restart on Lap 222 and spent nearly 70 circuits one lap down before working his way back to seventh at the finish. Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick completed the top 10.

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Posted on April 10, 2016 by RJ Kraft

FORT WORTH, Texas — Martin Truex Jr. had the car to beat in the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Yet, as Saturday night shifted into Sunday morning, it would prove to not be his evening with a sixth-place finish despite leading six times for a race-high 141 laps.

  ”We just ran out of tires, you know,” Truex said on pit road after the race. “Made it through (turns) one and two side-by-side, got to three and just didn’t have the grip. Then we fell back because we were sliding around.

“Everybody had new tires, we ran under caution for a long time, they keep building air pressure and losing grip. Pretty big disadvantage, but can’t say enough about the guys for the race car they brought here and the weekend we had. It hurts. It’s happened a few times to me here. Hurts a little bit, but we’ll get over it and we’ll move on and we’ll take the positives out of it tonight.”  

Leading the race under caution on Lap 289, Truex stayed out on older tires on the ensuing pit stop. Meanwhile, almost everybody behind him came in. Truex said crew chief Cole Pearn made a call at the last second to come to pit road, but the Furniture Row Racing driver was fearful of darting to pit road and hitting the cone for a penalty. He was able to make it work on that two-lap run under green.

It was the final caution on Lap 295 from a 13-car wreck that doomed him. Truex restarted from the lead but surrendered the point to eventual race winner Kyle Busch and was soon swallowed up by drivers with cars that had fresher tires.  

Pearn said after the race that as the leader they were in a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.  

“You think the clean air is going to pay off more than tires,” Pearn said. “It’s just a tough spot to be in with the lead and having a dominant car. They’re going to do the opposite of whatever you’re going to do. Would have been nice if a few more of them stayed out.

“The first restart we got away up front and were going to be alright. The second restart they had a little more upfront with the tires to be able to outrun us. You come to pit, seven of them stay out, you look stupid doing that. Either way you are setting yourself up to look like an idiot. I was proud of everybody. Long season still ahead of us. We’ll be all right.”  

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It wasn’t just the race where Truex was strong. The 2015 Championship 4 driver led both practice sessions and qualified third for the race. Despite not walking away with the win, his dominance at Texas on this night didn’t go unnoticed.

  ”I feel bad for him. You love to see your friends do good,” second-place finisher Dale Earnhardt Jr. said of Truex. “He had a great car tonight, and I was hoping obviously if we couldn’t win the race that one of my teammates would, but also you’re pulling for your buddy.   

“He had such a dominant car, but he’s just got to remember that he’s with such a good program now, he’s in a very good position personally and professionally, and that he’s got such a great crew chief and a great group of guys around him that he’s going to get opportunities like this again.”