Posted on by Staff Report

Photo credits: KLTV.com

The weekend for the No. 46 HScott Motorsports team heading to Texas Motor Speedway started off in a surprising manner after their hauler caught fire en route to the track on Thursday.

 

 

 

 

Michael Dennis Smith, who was driving the trailer on Interstate 20, told KLTV 7 TV, an ABC affiliate in East Texas, that he and a passenger did not suffer any injuries from the event. Smith was hauling two NASCAR stock cars in preparation for the racing weekend at Texas.

 

Officers responded to the scene, closing down traffic on the westbound side of the highway, according to KLTV 7.

 

Michael Annett is scheduled to race the No. 46 Chevrolet in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM). HScott Motorsports ensured fans, via Twitter, that this would not affect the team’s on-track plans.

 

 

UPDATE: On Friday, the 46 team went to work transforming Justin Allgaier‘s backup car into Annett’s ride for Texas.

Annett also took to Twitter over the weekend to take his team, Allgaier and BK Racing for their help.

Posted on by Staff Report

MORE: Kenseth’s suspension upheld | Kenseth, Gibbs discuss final penalty


Erik Jones will drive for the suspended Matt Kenseth in the No. 20 Toyota in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM) at Texas Motor Speedway, according to a Joe Gibbs Racing official.

A series of appeals of Kenseth’s two-race suspension were heard on Thursday in Concord, North Carolina. Ultimately, the two-race suspension was upheld.

Jones is also on the entry list for the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway next weekend (Nov. 15, 2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM).

RELATED: Entry list for Phoenix

Jones, 19, filled in for Denny Hamlin (in the No. 11 Toyota) in the Bristol spring race in April when neck spasms flared up for Hamlin during a lengthy weather delay at the 0.533-mile track. Jones made his first Sprint Cup start in May at Kansas for the injured Kyle Busch (in the No. 18 Toyota) and was enjoying a nice run until an accident on Lap 196 sent him to a 40th-place finish.

RELATED: Jones discusses busy weekend

With this addition to the schedule, Texas will be a tripleheader weekend for Jones. The points leader in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will race Friday night in the WinStar World Casino 350 (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) and will also run in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM) on Saturday afternoon as well.

This latest opportunity comes as Kenseth has been parked by NASCAR for his actions at Martinsville Speedway last weekend.

NASCAR suspended Kenseth for two races on Tuesday for his role in a crash with Joey Logano at Martinsville Sunday. The 2003 champion was also placed on probation for six months by the sanctioning body, but that was lowered to through December 31, 2015 in the appeals process. Kenseth and Logano wrecked on Lap 454 and the incident occurred as Logano was leading the race and Kenseth was several laps down.

“Based upon our extensive review, we have concluded that the No. 20 car driver, who is no longer in the Chase, intentionally wrecked the No. 22 car driver, a Chase-eligible competitor who was leading the race at the time,” Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, said in a statement announcing the suspension. “The No. 20 car was nine laps down, and eliminated the No. 22 car’s opportunity to continue to compete in the race.
 
“Additionally, we factored aspects of safety into our decision, and also the fact that the new Chase elimination format puts a premium on each and every race. These actions have no place in NASCAR.”

Logano pressured and eventually spun Kenseth in a late-race battle for the lead two weeks earlier at Kansas Speedway. Logano, having already advanced to the next round in the Chase with a win the previous week at Charlotte, continued on to victory and was unapologetic for his aggressive racing in his post-race remarks.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Practice 2 results

 

FORT WORTH, Texas — Cameron Hayley greatly improved on his finishing position from the first session (13th) to top the final session of Camping World Truck Series practice Thursday at Texas Motor Speedway.

 

The No. 13 ThorSport Racing driver topped the practice with a best speed of 179.164 mph. His opening session speed was 177.421 mph.

 

Hayley edged Jeb Burton, driving for JR Motorsports this weekend, who was second on the charts at 178.430 mph. The top five was rounded out by Ben Kennedy (178.235 mph), Spencer Gallagher (177.895 mph) and Jesse Little (177.889 mph).

 

Matt Crafton, fastest in the first session, placed 12th with a best speed of 176.171 mph. Points leader Erik Jones was right behind him at 175.844 mph to place 13th.

 

Ten minutes into the session, the caution came out after the No. 08 of Korbin Forrister began smoking heavily.

 

The Camping World Truck Series is back on track at 4:40 p.m. ET on Friday for qualifying ahead of the WinStar World Casino 350 (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1).

 

Practice 1 recap | RELATED: Practice 1 results

 

Coming off a win at Martinsville Speedway last weekend, Matt Crafton propelled his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota at 179.862 mph around Texas Motor Speedway to secure the top spot on the leaderboard during Friday’s opening practice.

The reigning Camping World Truck Series champion and recorded his best lap early, wheeling his fastest speed at Lap 2. Crafton also won the Truck Series race in The Lone Star State back in June.

Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Daniel Suarez was second-fastest, posting a top speed of 179.313 mph in his No. 51 ride.

GMS Racing’s Spencer Gallagher and Brandon Jones made up positions three and four (179.235 mph and 179.063 mph, respectively), while Red Horse Racing’s Timothy Peters rounded out the top five with a fast lap of 178.962 mph.

Posted on by Staff Report

The following are team press releases previewing the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET, Sunday, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM).

Joe Gibbs Racing:
Kyle Busch | Team preview
Carl Edwards | Team preview

 

Stewart-Haas Racing:
Kevin Harvick | Team preview
Kurt Busch | Team preview

Hendrick Motorsports:
Jeff Gordon | Team preview

Team Penske:
Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano | Team preview

Furniture Row Racing:
Martin Truex Jr. | Team preview

Posted on by Staff Report

PHILADELPHIA (Nov. 4, 2015) — Comcast announced Wednesday three finalists selected for the inaugural Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award. As part of its long-term partnership with NASCAR, Comcast created the award to honor NASCAR team members for their outstanding charitable endeavors. The 2015 finalists include an individual from each of the top-three national NASCAR series: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 78 Chevrolet SS, for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series; Joey Gase, driver of the No. 52 Ford Mustang, for the NASCAR XFINITY Series; and Martha Nemechek, whose son and grandson, Joe and John Hunter Nemechek, currently compete in the NASCAR ranks, for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.  

“Comcast works hard to make a positive impact in the local communities where our employees and customers live and work, and that philosophy is now embedded into our partnership with NASCAR,” said Matt Lederer, Executive Director of Sports Marketing at Comcast. “We are proud to have Martin Truex Jr., Joey Gase and Martha Nemechek as finalists for the inaugural Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award. They embody the spirit of the award through their dedication to community service and we look forward to highlighting their causes through the award process.”

The 2015 Comcast Community Champion of the Year will be determined by a panel comprised of executives from Comcast and The NASCAR Foundation, as well as former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and NASCAR.com reporter Holly Cain. In recognition of their efforts, Comcast will make a donation of $60,000 to the Comcast Community Champion of the Year’s affiliated charitable organization. A $30,000 contribution will also be made to each of the remaining finalists’ charitable organizations.

“Recognizing individuals who are championing a cause or making an impact on their community is something extremely close to my heart,” said Holly Cain. “I have no doubt that the people ultimately bestowed with the Comcast Community Champion of the Year award will be lifted by the prestige of the honor.”

“Comcast has done a great job of coming in and viewing the sport in its totality. Not just what they can get out of it, but what they can give back to it and how they become a part of the fabric of NASCAR,” Kyle Petty added. “I think that’s what the Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award encompasses — the giving spirit that has always been a big part of NASCAR.”

The winner will be named at the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Banquet on November 23 at the Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood, Florida, which will air on NBC Sports Network at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 29. 

Comcast has a long track record of community service, aiding in the advancement of local organizations, developing programs and partnerships, mobilizing resources to connect people and inspiring positive and substantive change. To learn more about the Comcast Community Champion of the Year award, as well as the finalists, please visit: ComcastCommunityChampion.com. 

The 2015 Comcast Community Champion of the Year finalists are:

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:

Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, New Jersey) and long-time girlfriend Sherry Pollex launched the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation in 2007 with the goal of raising funds and awareness for children suffering from poverty, abuse and illness — specifically pediatric cancers.  The foundation continued to grow over the next eight years, providing significant assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and building a pediatric emergency care center in Truex’s home state of New Jersey. In August 2014, Pollex was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. Through this experience, the couple was inspired to expand their fundraising efforts and change the foundation’s mission to include a range of underfunded cancer initiatives specific to childhood and ovarian cancers. In 2015, the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation began a three-year partnership with Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina to assist in finding breakthrough treatments specific to pediatric cancers. Every day, Truex sports a bracelet encompassing his personal motto as well as the Foundation’s inspiration: Never Give Up.

NASCAR XFINITY Series:

Joey Gase (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) lost his mother Mary Jo to a brain aneurysm when he was just 18 years old. Since she was not married at the time, Gase was faced with the decision of whether or not she would want to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor. Later on, he found out that the decision he made to donate his mother’s organs helped save and improve the lives of 66 people. Overwhelmed by the impact, Gase sought opportunities to promote donation through the local organ procurement organizations (OPO) in each state. Throughout the past few years, he has been able to use his platform as a NASCAR driver to host meet-and-greets with families who have been impacted by organ donation, visit children who have been hospitalized, promote organ donation through sharing his story at high schools, and more. At just 22 years old, his efforts have already produced great dividends. Gase often has people reach out to let him know that had it not been for his story, they never would have thought to sign up as an organ donor.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series:

Martha Nemechek (Mooresville, North Carolina) lost her son John Nemechek to complications from head injuries sustained in an accident during a 1997 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In the months following the death of her 27-year old son, she was inconsolable until Nemechek received a call from Gordon Collins, a stranger empathizing with her grief, that she was able to channel into a driving force for helping those in similar situations. For the past 18 years, Nemechek has given her heart to many causes, including the exchange of supportive emails with U.S. troops in Iraq, assisting cancer patients with their wishes to meet NASCAR drivers, maintaining her World Prayer List, feeding the underprivileged, and much more. Her priority, however, is reaching out to parents who have lost children — especially those within the racing circuit. Those impacted by her efforts are amazed at Nemechek’s willingness to open up in an area that is painful for her to relive, but she is driven by her desire to reach out. The way she puts it is simple: once she began giving back, Nemechek felt like she was living again.

Posted on by Zack Albert

MORE: Official release on decision | Kenseth suspended for two races

CONCORD, N.C. — Matt Kenseth‘s suspension from NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition was upheld Thursday after a final appeal, keeping him on the sidelines for the next two races.

 

The ruling issued by National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer Bryan Moss at the NASCAR Research & Development Center will keep Kenseth out of NASCAR events the next two weekends, at Texas this Sunday and at Phoenix the next.

Erik Jones will drive the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at Texas, according to a Joe Gibbs Racing official.

RELATED: Jones to fill in for Kenseth at Texas


Moss made one amendment to the penalty, reducing the original six-month probation period to run through Dec. 31.


Moss’ decision comes after a three-member panel upheld Kenseth’s behavioral penalties — stemming from his on-track fracas with rival Joey Logano last weekend at Martinsville Speedway — during Thursday’s initial appeals hearing.

Both Kenseth and team owner Joe Gibbs made brief statements after Moss’ ruling, expressing displeasure with what they termed unprecedented penalties.
 
“Obviously, I’m more than a little disappointed with the decision and the penalties to start with,” Kenseth said. “A couple of facts, which I’m sure you guys will find — I’m the first driver in the 65-year history of NASCAR to get suspended for an incident that happened in the Sprint Cup Series race, so I feel like I was unfairly made the example instead of knowing where the line is, what the penalties are.”
 
Gibbs, speaking in almost hushed tones after his Kenseth’s remarks, shared his driver’s sentiments.
 
“I just wanted to say, that guy right there has spent 20 years in this sport. He had one other minor infraction, I think it was a $5,000 fine,” Gibbs said. “He has spent 20 years of his life racing in this sport and he’s been great for NASCAR. Our reason for appealing is we felt like this penalty was kind of unprecedented and it was inconsistent with a number of other on-track incidents. One of those is exactly like this one, and yet this penalty against Matt is an unprecedented one.
 
“I appreciate getting the chance to go through this process. I think we’ve done all we can do, and we’re going to go back to racing.”

RELATED: Kenseth, Gibbs react to final ruling


Moss’ ruling is final. The burden of proof rested with Kenseth for the final appeal. In the first hearing, the burden of proof was NASCAR’s responsibility.

 

Earlier Thursday, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel ruled that Kenseth did not provide sufficient evidence to overturn his suspension or six-month probation for the on-track incident. The rotating three-member panel for the initial hearing was composed of Ken Clapp, NASCAR’s vice president of marketing development until his retirement in 1999; Bill Mullis, a former driver and the owner of Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va.; and Dale Pinilis, longtime operator of historic Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.

 

The final appeal was only the third hearing overseen by Moss, a former Gulfstream Aerospace executive who joined the NASCAR appeals process last year. Moss also heard the final appeal for behavioral penalties against driver Kurt Busch in February, and the last appeal for technical penalties against Richard Childress Racing‘s No. 31 team in May. Moss upheld the decision of the three-member panel in both instances.

The ruling means Kenseth will be eligible to return to competition for the Nov. 22 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where champions in all three NASCAR national series will be crowned.
 
“I’m extremely disappointed but we’ll get through this,” said Kenseth, the 2003 premier-series champion. “Look forward to going to Homestead. I’m not going to change who I am. I’m not going to change what I stand for. I’m not going to change how I race. I’ve been in this business for a long time. I feel like I’ve had a pretty good career to this point, and I feel like I’m going to continue to have the respect on the race track that I feel like I deserve. So I’m looking forward to going to Homestead, hopefully going there and getting a win before the year is out.”


Kenseth offered a smile as he arrived at the R&D Center on Thursday morning at approximately 8:10 a.m. ET, followed minutes later by team owner Joe Gibbs for the 9 a.m. hearing.

RELATED: France explains reasoning behind penalty
 
On Tuesday, NASCAR suspended Kenseth for the next two races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs for his role in a crash with Logano in the late stages of Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway. Kenseth was also placed on probation for six months.
 
Kenseth’s Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota, several laps down, made heavy contact with Logano’s race-leading Team Penske No. 22 Ford, sending both cars into the Turn 1 wall. NASCAR competition officials parked Kenseth for the remainder of the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500. Kenseth, Gibbs and No. 20 crew chief Jason Ratcliff were each summoned to the NASCAR officials’ hauler for post-race consultation.
 
Kenseth was eliminated from championship eligibility during the three-race Contender Round in large part because of an on-track run-in with Logano at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 18. Contact from Logano nudged race leader Kenseth into a late-race spin, ending his bid for an automatic berth in the Chase’s next round.

WHAT TRANSPIRED: Kansas | Martinsville
 
Kenseth expressed frustration at Logano’s unapologetic stance after the incident, saying he “should have stopped running his mouth, A, and No. 2, he’s lying when he said he didn’t do it on purpose.” Kenseth’s irritation mounted in the two races that followed — at Talladega, when Logano hindered his entry to pit road during a mid-race stop; and at Martinsville as Logano and teammate Brad Keselowski orchestrated their maneuvers in a series of mid-race restarts.
 
The Penske drivers’ arrangement on restarts was partially to blame for a crash with 65 laps remaining, bottling up the front-runners and snaring Kenseth, Keselowski and Kurt Busch with the most damage. Kenseth’s No. 20 returned to the track after repairs, running at reduced pace before his wreck with Logano at the front of the field.
 
Joe Gibbs Racing released a statement shortly after Tuesday’s penalty was issued, saying Kenseth would appeal the severity of the punishment.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

RELATED: Jones to drive No. 20 car at Texas

FORT WORTH, Texas — Erik Jones, the current NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points leader, has plenty on his mind as his season comes to a close with Matt Crafton and Tyler Reddick bearing down on him.

So why not throw a little more on the plate for the 19-year-old?

With the news of Matt Kenseth‘s two-race suspension being upheld after a series of appeals on Thursday at NASCAR’s Research and Development Center in Concord, North Carolina, Joe Gibbs Racing tabbed Jones as replacement driver for the 2003 Sprint Cup Series champion’s No. 20 Toyota for this weekend’s Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, according to a JGR official.

 

With a full slate of racing ahead of him — and a championship battle to focus on — how will the the driver handle a NASCAR triple-header?

“Obviously the Truck and the XFINITY car are my main focus,” the Kyle Busch Motorsports driver said Thursday at Texas Motor Speedway, ahead of a pair of NCWTS practice sessions. “That’s what I know I’m doing, coming into this weekend. … Obviously I’m going to do the best that I can for them, just to keep them in contention and hopefully have a good race for them.

“… Obviously we’ll go into the Truck race here this weekend and try to fire off and get ourselves back and where we need to be in that series.”

Jones has already filled in for a pair of other JGR drivers earlier this year in Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch for his first taste of Cup action.

After a lengthy rain delay at Bristol locked up Hamlin’s aching neck, Jones jumped in the No. 11. When Busch was sidelined with leg injuries earlier this season, Jones piloted the No. 18 at Kansas.

The results were 26th at Bristol and 40th at Kansas, after a wreck, but many came away impressed with the poise the Michigander showed behind the wheel, especially on short notice.

Regardless, now that Joe Gibbs came calling this weekend, he’ll be ready.

“Bristol was, I think, a tough situation for everybody, never being in a Cup car all together,” said Jones, who mentioned he hadn’t yet spoken to No. 20 crew chief Jason Ratcliff. “I was really comfortable at Kansas; I was pretty happy with the way things were going up to the point that I lost it.

“Running up in the top 10 there and being competitive and being in contention definitely gave me a lot of confidence for the next opportunity I get, whether it be this weekend or whether it be in a year or two years, whatever it may be. I definitely feel confident in myself to be able to go out and do a good job.”

Posted on by Nascar

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will compete in two of the final three races with a Goodyear tire combination that has already been used twice this season, in the spring race at Texas Motor Speedway and the opening Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Chicagoland Speedway.
 
Beneficial yes, but will the results from those two races be repeatable for those that ran well in the two previous events?
 
The series returns to Texas this weekend for the AAA Texas 500 (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM) and will conclude the 2015 season two weeks later at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford EcoBoost 400 (Nov. 22, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM). Both are 1.5-mile tracks, as is Chicagoland.
 
“It’s good because you can do the same things air-pressure wise; you know the lateral/vertical grip of the tire, what it will handle,” Tony Gibson, crew chief for Chase participant Kurt Busch, said. “The difference is the actual material that’s in the asphalt at the race tracks. They’re a little bit different.
 
“Homestead is a little different because it’s surface is older and because of the (variable) banking. So Homestead is kind of in a league of its own. And it sits in the sun down there all year; the asphalt is really abrasive. So it does chew that tire up more so than Chicago or Texas; all of them chew them up, but I’d say Homestead is probably the worst (of the three).”
 
Among drivers that are still in the Chase, Busch has the fourth-best average finish in the races at Texas and Chicagoland (8.5), and along with Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick, led double-digit laps.
 
Even though the makeup of the tires is the same, differences in the tracks cause the tires to wear differently.
 
“Texas is different because of the wheel loads, more vertical in your speed,” he said. “That tire responds a little bit different at Texas. That’s why we’ve seen in the past some left side failures on tires on low air. To get the grip out of that tire at all three tracks, you need to be pretty low on air pressure. Unfortunately the loads are different at all three.
 
“You want to run low air to get maximum grip out of the tire. But the load at Texas is way high compared to Chicago and Homestead. All three have different characteristics.”
 
Busch won the pole at Texas in the spring, and led 45 laps. He led 37 at Chicagoland.
 
“The car we’re taking is the Darlington/Dover car,” said Gibson, “that was extremely fast at both of those tracks. We’re putting together really good cars for (Texas and Homestead), and being on the same tire, we know what this tire does.”
 
Joey Logano had the best average finish among the drivers still competing in the Chase in the Texas/Chicagoland combo (5.0), followed by Carl Edwards (6.0) and Brad Keselowski (6.5).
 
New Surface for The Glen
 
Re-paving work at Watkins Glen International has been completed, according to track officials as one of only two road courses on the Sprint Cup Series schedule prepares for the ’16 racing season.
 
Next up for the facility is the installation of concrete rumble strips, grading and grassing of off-surface areas, concrete work along pit road as well as various wiring projects.
 
WGI hosted its first NASCAR event in 1957.

RELATED: See how the repave got underway
 
Goodyear, Teams Return to AMS
 
Last week’s Goodyear test at Atlanta Motor Speedway, postponed due to rain, got underway Tuesday at the 1.5-mile track with Jamie McMurray (Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates), Bobby Labonte (Richard Childress Racing), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway Racing) and David Ragan (Joe Gibbs Racing) taking part in the two-day test.
 
Labonte was filling in for Austin Dillon while Ragan was testing with the No. 19 team of Carl Edwards.
 
The test is scheduled to conclude on Wednesday.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Photos of the incident | NASCAR suspends Kenseth

 

NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France appeared on the SiriusXM Radio Speedway show on Wednesday and addressed the two-race suspension handed out to Matt Kenseth for his role in the wreck that knocked himself and Joey Logano out of Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway.


Not only was Kenseth suspended for two races, but he also was put on probation for six months. Joe Gibbs Racing has since appealed the penalties, and that appeal will be heard starting at 9 a.m. ET on Thursday at the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Also penalized coming out of Martinsville was Danica Patrick for aggressive driving on David Gilliland. Patrick received a $50,000 fine and the loss of 25 driver points.

 

RELATED: Patrick penalized for Martinsville actions


When asked on the show about the difference between Kenseth’s aggressive driving and Danica’s, France noted the stakes that were on the line for both drivers.

“Going back to Richmond, we made it very clear that anybody in the industry, any driver or participant who intentionally tries to alter the outcome of events or championships, that that crosses a different line than a racing problem between two drivers,” France said.

After the incident at Martinsville, Logano was last among the eight Chase drivers and 28 points behind the cutoff position for the Championship 4. Logano went on social media to say he would fight, though it wasn’t clear whether he meant physically with Kenseth or to make a comeback to get back into championship contention.  

When asked about whether NASCAR drivers should be allowed to self-police the sport, France clarified the sanctioning body’s position.

“What Robin (Pemberton) was saying a few years ago was hey look, boys have at it, do your normal thing, and if we over-officiate, we’ll draw back on that and let the normal racing action of NASCAR happen,” France said. “And that’s what he meant, and that’s what we tried to do.”

France went on to point out that the sport has welcomed different styles from drivers.

“We’ve always had different styles of drivers,” France said. “Gentleman drivers like a Ned Jarrett who were very successful. But there are other drivers like Brad Keselowski, or somebody else, who is going to be more aggressive. Dale Earnhardt was certainly in that category … where they take advantage of the contact part of NASCAR. …


“I look at what Brad did in Texas last year as an example of that, where he was racing hard and took some chances that other drivers wouldn’t have taken. And there was obviously some contact and a disappointing outcome for Jeff Gordon at the time. That’s always been a part of NASCAR, and there are limits to that, of course.

RELATED: Drivers react to NASCAR’s penalties on Kenseth


“And when there are lines that are crossed, like we believe there were in Martinsville, then NASCAR will step in and deal with that. And it’s as simple as that.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Austin Theriault continues to focus on his health after a horrific crash during the Rhino Linings 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Theriault suffered a 10 percent compression fracture of the lower back as a result of the wreck. The Brad Keselowski Racing driver released a statement via Facebook to give his fans an update.


It’s been an up and down month of healing. However, it is even harder sitting on the sidelines, waiting to get back in…

Posted by Austin Theriault Racing on Tuesday, November 3, 2015