Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 8, 2015) – Four finalists have been chosen for The NASCAR Foundation’s fifth annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide, which honors volunteers from across the country who dedicate themselves to children’s causes in their communities. Through December 3 at 11:59 p.m. ET, fans have the power to decide the winner by voting for their favorite champion for children at NASCAR.com/Award.

 

This year’s finalists include Bob Bowler of Special Olympics North Carolina, Stephanie Decker of Stephanie Decker Foundation, Carl Flatley of Sepsis Alliance and Jeff Hanson of Children’s Tumor Foundation. The national winner will be announced on Dec. 4 during the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Award show at Wynn Las Vegas at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN. 

The NASCAR Foundation will donate a total of $175,000 to the charities of the finalists — with the winner’s charity receiving $100,000 and remaining finalists’ charities receiving $25,000 each. The winner will also receive a 2016 Ford Fusion given by the Official Car Sponsor.

The Award was established in 2011 to honor The NASCAR Foundation Founder and Chairwoman Emeritus Betty Jane France’s passion for service and volunteerism. Since its inception, the Award has donated $700,000 and impacted over 52,000 children nationally.

“This year’s finalists are ‘raising the bar’ for our award,” said Betty Jane France. “They have national stature but are community-oriented. Collectively, they have done an incredible amount of important work toward improving the quality of life for children in need.

“As we now go through the online process, our finalists will increase awareness of both the award and The NASCAR Foundation overall. They have wonderful, inspiring stories to tell, which is not surprising because they are wonderful people. We are very proud to call them our 2015 finalists.”

2015 marks the first year of The NASCAR Foundation’s partnership with Nationwide, which has a deep commitment to be “More Than a Business.”

“Nationwiders care. We volunteer in our communities and we help our members feel safe and protected. The Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award embodies those same values and we’re proud to be partners in recognizing the giving spirit of others,” said Terrance Williams, chief marketing officer of Nationwide. “We congratulate this year’s finalists and thank them for their selflessness and leadership.”

Fans are encouraged to join the conversation on Facebook at Facebook.com/NASCARFoundation and Twitter on Twitter using the hashtag #BJFHAward.

Following is additional information about the 2015 BJFHA finalists:

Bob Bowler (Charlotte, North Carolina) is no novice when it comes to volunteerism.  He has been doing volunteer work for an incredible 31 years for Special Olympics North Carolina. Bowler has assisted more than 2,500 young Special Olympics athletes with intellectual disabilities through tennis and basketball programs and Camp SOAR, a free summer camp he started 15 years go. He has raised more than $1 million in cash and in-kind contributions for Special Olympics athletes, covering all camp expenses.

Stephanie Decker (Sellersburg, Indiana) was faced with serious adversity in March 2012 when a tornado struck her home and threatened to take away all that she knew and loved. Having lost both of her legs after shielding her children from debris, she started the Stephanie Decker Foundation to help children with prosthetics get involved in sports and, in the process, provide access to the best prosthetic technology available. Decker has become a motivational speaker and an advocate, having gone to the Kentucky State Senate to fight for a bill that would require insurance companies to cover new and refurbished prosthetics.

Carl Flatley (Dunedin, Florida) lost his 22-year-old daughter Erin in 2002 after contracting sepsis — an often-deadly systemic infection — following a routine outpatient surgical procedure. Determined to prevent others from the same fate, Flatley founded Sepsis Alliance in 2007 to increase awareness and encourage medical facilities to establish sepsis protocols. Awareness is crucial as sepsis is preventable and treatable, and the cause of 18-20 million deaths globally each year. Flatley has established educational programs and an endowment to provide sepsis training for young physicians in Florida. According to Sepsis Alliance, the organization has increased awareness in the U.S. from 19 percent in 2003 to 44 percent today.

Jeff Hanson (Overland Park, Kansas) was only 6 years old when he was diagnosed with optic glioma, a tumor that attacks the optic nerve that is caused by the rare genetic disorder neurofibromatosis (NF). After undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Hanson was legally blind at the age of 12. During his 2005 chemotherapy treatments, he began painting bright, bold colors on note cards, perfectly suited for someone with limited vision. Hanson turned his paintings into a fundraising platform and has since generated more than $250,000 for the Children’s Tumor Foundation and more than $1.3 million for charities worldwide.

 

To learn more about the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide and each of the national finalists, please visit: www.NASCAR.com/award.

 

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Complete race lineup


CONCORD, N.C. — For a driver who keeps insisting that qualifying isn’t his strong suit, Matt Kenseth continues to excel on NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole days.
 
Touring the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway in a blistering 27.759 seconds (194.532 mph) on Thursday night, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota earned the top starting spot for Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM), the first race in the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
 
Kenseth was .198 seconds quicker than JGR teammate Kyle Busch (193.154 mph), who put the No. 18 Toyota on the outside of the front row. Busch’s car is sporting a pink paint scheme this weekend to bring attention to the work of his foundation in fighting breast cancer.

The Coors Light Pole Award was Kenseth’s fourth this year — a personal best for a single season — his second at Charlotte (and second consecutive) and the 17th of his career.

Kenseth didn’t have a perfect lap, but as he crossed the start/finish to complete the circuit, he knew he had a shot at the pole.

“It was a heck of a lap,” Kenseth said. “I knew I had a lot of speed. I kind of changed it up in (Turns) 1 and 2 a little bit, and I just got a little tight in the middle of (Turns) 3 and 4. I knew the car was fast. Our Dollar General Camry has been fast all day, and it was a lot of fun to drive.”

Kenseth gave the car and crew chief Jason Ratcliff’s setup much of the credit for his pole-winning effort.

“I knew it was going to be real fast,” Kenseth said. “I didn’t know we were going to sit on the pole by any means, but it had the feel and everything that I wanted. It’s funny, this place, if you can get it to drive just like you want, you can really perform well here, but it’s so hard to get that feel …
 
“But today he (Ratcliff) got it to drive that way. I was going to have to mess it up to not get it, as good as he had it there.”
 
Joey Logano (193.023 mph) qualified third, followed by Greg Biffle (192.947 mph) and Denny Hamlin (192.912 mph). With Carl Edwards claiming the eighth starting spot, JGR put all four of its drivers, all of whom are Chase contenders, in the top eight.

All told, Chase drivers grabbed nine of the top 12 positions on the grid, with Biffle, Jimmie Johnson (seventh) and Aric Almirola (ninth) the only non-Chase drivers able to advance to the final round of knockout qualifying.
 
Busch, who fought his way back into the Chase with a second-place finish last Sunday at Dover, was pleased with his effort in time trials.
 
“I don’t know — Matt Kenseth, he was better than me, that’s for sure,” Busch said. “He got more out of it than me, but our pink M&M’s Camry is awesome. We were able to post some good speed there. I’m real happy with it … and I’m looking forward to the race on Saturday night.”
 
All 12 Chase contenders advanced through the first round, but Brad Keselowski (13th), Martin Truex Jr. (15th) and Jeff Gordon (22nd) weren’t fast enough to make the final elimination session, which is restricted to the top 12.
 
Keselowski ran an identical lap to 12th-place Carl Edwards but lost the final spot in the third round on an owner points tiebreaker.
 
Josh Wise and Timmy Hill failed to make the 43-car field.

The Sprint Cup Series is back on track on Friday for practice at 3:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN/Live Extra).

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Photo credit: @CLTMotorSpdwy

 

RELATED: Photos of the Better Half Dash participants

 

CONCORD, N.C. — It was the NASCAR wives’ and girlfriends’ time to shine on the track in Thursday’s fifth annual Better Half Dash, organized by Motor Racing Outreach at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Shannon Koch, the wife of NASCAR XFINITY Series driver, Blake Koch, took the checkered flag. She overcame some early-race trouble when the back body panel of her No. 8 machine was blown off by the wind. 

“I really didn’t know that I lost part of my car until I came back around and they were picking it up off the track,” Shannon Koch said after the race. “My husband just said, ‘keep going, they didn’t black flag you yet.’ “

When asked whether that gave her an aerodynamic advantage, Shannon Koch said, “I don’t know, maybe it did. Did lap times pick up? I have no idea. It didn’t feel any different to me.”

To which second-place finisher Katelyn Sweet, girlfriend of Kyle Larson, quickly said to a loud round of laughter, “Your motor got way more air.”

No word on whether the car passed post-race inspection.

The race benefits MRO and Speedway Children’s Charities as well as each participant’s individual charity. Koch’s $10,000 winnings went to MRO, which was the charity she was representing. The participants raised $75,000, according to MRO and track officials

With the win comes a really big trophy for Koch. She described it as “definitely the biggest that we have. It will go right up there with the rest of them.” And Koch is also going out on top, saying in the post-race press conference, “I’m retiring.”

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars Larson and Denny Hamlin were among the spotters for their respective significant others, Sweet and Jordan Fish. NASCAR Sprint Cup regulars Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were among those to check out the action as well.

Sweet led several laps in the event and overcame an early spin out to finish second. Tandra Greenfield, the wife of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Clay Greenfield, finished third.

Greenfield is eager to come back next year.

“It was fun to compete with them because they were so aggressive and competitive,” she said.

Wendy Venturini, a NASCAR reporter and wife of Jarrad Egert, director of track operations for Joe Gibbs Racing, was not able to pull off the MRO event sweep after taking the High Heel Dash in May. 

Over the past few weeks, there have been practice sessions leading up to the race, all while the competitors were busy raising money prior to the event. 

As in years past, the participant to raise the most money earned the opportunity to select their starting spot for the race. Koch earned the pole honor.

The results:

1. Shannon Koch (wife of driver Blake Koch)

2. Katelyn Sweet (girlfriend of driver Kyle Larson)

3. Tandra Greenfield (wife of driver Clay Greenfield)

4. Jordan Fish (girlfriend of driver Denny Hamlin)

5. Kristen Yeley (wife of driver J.J. Yeley)

6. Tatiana Papis (wife of driver Max Papis)

7. Ashley Deihl Stremme (wife of driver David Stremme)

8. Melanie Self (Motor Racing Outreach Community Center Coordinator)

9. Jenna Robinson (wife of No. 19 tire changer Clay Robinson)

10. Whitney Kay Scott (wife of driver Brian Scott)

11. Wendy Venturini (NASCAR reporter, wife of JGR director of track operations Jarrad Egert)

Posted on by Nascar

BRISTOL, Tenn. — The viewing and listening experience for fans attending events at Bristol Motor Speedway is about to get a lot clearer.

And larger. A whole lot larger.

Officials with the popular half-mile track unveiled plans for the world’s largest outdoor suspended digital display Wednesday, a 700 ton marvel of engineering that has already been dubbed “Colossus.”

This isn’t your father’s scoreboard.

Work on the new piece is scheduled to begin in November and be completed in time for next year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend in April.

Each custom-built screen adorning the four sides of the display is approximately 30 feet tall and 63 feet wide, or twice as high and nearly three times as wide as the video displays atop the scoring pylon currently in the BMS infield. And with nearly 54 million LEDs and 18 million pixels, the picture quality is expected to exceed that of large-scale outdoor displays seen in Times Square.

A 540,000-watt audio system featuring 380 3-way loudspeakers and 48 stadium subwoofers will decrease the listening distance (from speakers to fans in the grandstands) from what had been between 200-400 feet (depending on location) to no more than 90 feet.

The new piece will be suspended by cables tethered to four towers located outside the race track. Sightlines for fans in the grandstands will not be impacted, according to track officials.

The idea for Colossus came about as track management began working toward next year’s Battle at Bristol, the college football game featuring the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech that will be played inside BMS.

Moving the current scoring pylon in the center of the infield was a must; coming up with suitable viewing screens became necessary.

“We studied the football game (plans) for several months before we even went down that path,” Jerry Caldwell, BMS general manager, said. “Some options were coming out of that — we could do this with screens, we could put them in the turns, we could do other things. And then there was a “what if we did this.” Then you bring in people like Panasonic and the other companies we met with … and it became more of a reality.”


It’s the way Speedway Motorsports Inc., way, according to Caldwell. “We go after the ‘why nots?’ ” he said.

“It’s an amazing addition and enhancement for race fans. Both the (video) and the sound are going to take us to a new level.”

The video display, which will include a circular truss underneath providing pertinent information (such as the running order during races) will be suspended by cables roughly 30 percent thicker than the vertical cables suspending the Golden Gate Bridge, weighing in at approximately 63 pounds per foot.

“Suspending a screen like this is quite an engineering feat, challenge,” Richard Ballard, a consultant for Panasonic, said. “I quite frankly don’t know where one is of this size.”

Determining how large the screens needed to be for maximum results and optimum quality, he said, was similar to “picking the right size TV for your living room … is it the 50-inch, the 42, the 65-inch model? … You’re going to fit that perfectly inside your room.

“We did the same thing here — we took the sizing of the venue, the sight lines, figured out what size would it take to give you that living room experience. What we’re doing it trying to give you that experience that you would get at home.”

Marcus Smith, President and CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., said he expects Colossus to “totally transform the experience for Bristol Motor Speedway.

“And what it does for us with other events is going to be great,” he said. “The football game will have a bigger-than-life feel. We can host huge concerts. Any event that wants to have the biggest event ever, whether it’s hockey like the Winter Classic or the world’s biggest rodeo, you name it and we can host it.”

Caldwell agreed. “Really, the sky is the limit,” he said. “Some of those things (such as concerts and racing-related events) were possible before; this just makes it a whole lot easier and more cost effective to pull off.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

Standing on stage holding his arms high above his head giving double peace signs, 10-year-old Elijah Aschbrenner looked like a rock star — bright red hair, high wattage smile and unmistakable attitude.

A year after being diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer, Epithelioid Sarcoma, Elijah struck the pose after joining NASCAR stars such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick walking the runway as part of the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation’s “Catwalk for a Cause” pediatric cancer fundraiser this past May.

Predictably, Earnhardt and Patrick got rousing cheers, but Elijah clearly stole the show — afterwards be-bopping around the Mooresville, North Carolina, venue shaking hands with donors, grabbing snacks with his little brother Sam, 9, and posing for photos with the race car drivers. It was difficult to tell who was the celebrity and who was the cause célèbre.

That was only five months ago.

 

Unfortunately, a recent CT-scan revealed that despite the chemotherapy and the radiation and the surgeries — despite great courage and faith — Elijah’s cancer has spread. And after a brief and hopeful time participating in a clinical trial in Atlanta last month, doctors have decided there is no further treatment to prescribe.  

A hospice nurse visits Elijah every Tuesday at his home outside Charlotte making sure he is comfortable. A hospice social worker also stops by regularly to counsel Sam and Elijah’s friends, whom his mom, Becky Hughes, says “are having a real tough time with this.”

Though Elijah would much rather be riding a Ripstik outside with his brother and friends, he mostly spends his days in a wheelchair building elaborate Lego creations or watching television — “Wheel of Fortune” is one of his favorites. “My mom and I are really good at it,” he says. He loves the occasional trips to Target or Toys “R” Us, and the steady stream of visitors who bring prayers and love.

The cancer has taken a real toll on Elijah’s young body. His voice is softer and strained, his stamina greatly diminished, but cancer has not sapped his incredible spirit or lessened his intense resolve.

“There are so many days I could just cry and let myself get buried in that, but I can’t,” his mom explained. “Elijah is strong and Sam is strong, always there to make us laugh and smile.

“I have prayed to God to just give me this tumor. I would do that in a heartbeat. The worst pain in the world is seeing your child going through something like this, and you can’t fix it, you can’t do anything.

“I could be an emotional wreck, but Elijah only allows me three minutes of crying a day. Some days I don’t need it, but if I start to, he’ll say, “Three minutes, Mom.”

Hughes has worked in the racing industry for years both as a driver public relations representative and now with sponsor Great Clips. She has been buoyed by the outpouring of support from the NASCAR community but not surprised.

This weekend Elijah and his family will be guests of Ann and Ken Schrader at the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. After some souvenir shopping — his favorite part of the day — Elijah is looking forward to stopping in the garage area and seeing his “friends” from the Catwalk event.

So many of them have provided help to Elijah and his family.

Drivers have lent their private airplanes to transport Elijah to various doctors around the Southeast. They have donated money to cover the escalating medical bills and sent messages of support using the hashtag #prayersforelijah on social media.

More significantly, they have given their time and attention.

Truex and his girlfiend, Sherry Pollex, herself undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer, are essentially on speed dial with the family and have been constant support for Elijah. Pollex organizes the Catwalk event and had been raising money ($300,000 this year) for childhood cancer long before she was affected personally by the disease.

Team Penske put Elijah’s name over the door of both of its Sprint Cup Series Chase contending cars last week. And 2012 Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski devoted one of the entries on his popular blogs to remind people about “perspective” in life. He used Elijah as a shining example.

Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Childress Racing are among the organizations to publicly offer good wishes — the entire team from shop foremen to drivers posing with a “Prayers for Elijah” sign.

And while it is all a bit overwhelming and “very cool,” Elijah joked this week that it does cause a minor problem when it comes to picking a driver to cheer for.  

“That’s the hard part,” Elijah said. “They are all so good to me.

“The fact they know me is outstanding, I don’t know how a kid like me would get that lucky to meet them. Just knowing them means a lot to me.”

His mother begins to cry when trying to explain the impact of those relationships.

“He really looks up to Martin (Truex) and Dale Junior and Kasey (Kahne) and Jeff Gordon and feels like they are all his buddies because they have done events with him,” Hughes said. “After the Catwalk, he’ll talk about how Dale Junior is his buddy. During a race, he’ll ask me to call Dale Jr. and get him to do this or that. I’ll laugh. It shows how great these guys have been to Elijah.

“Even if they were just with him for half an hour it made such an impact on him and made him feel comfortable and like a friend.That means everything to me. To see how happy he gets thinking he has all these buddies in all these different avenues of sports.”

Taking the cue from NASCAR’s best, other sports have rallied about Elijah, too.

WWE wrestling star Titus O’Neil changed a flight to detour to Charlotte and pay a visit to Elijah.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton surprised Elijah at a block party in his honor — a Halloween theme because that’s Elijah’s favorite holiday. News outlets from People Magazine to “The Today Show” shared the story.

“I’m in disbelief. Every day we’ll hear of another athlete doing something for him, last night someone sent us a picture of Kirk Cameron holding up a sign saying ‘Prayers for Elijah,’ ” Hughes said.

“It’s just amazing to me, the outreach and the people that have been impacted throughout all this, from NASCAR, to WWE to the Panthers. Everyone’s just put their arms around us and are supporting us.

“He is definitely a loved little boy, and I am so blessed that God chose me to be his mom. He is the bravest little boy I know and I just pray for many, many more years to watch him grow up.”

It’s not just famous people who have recognized and rallied for Elijah.

Classmates from school visit him. The community organized a golf tournament fundraiser, and even local restaurants designated certain nights to donate funds.

In some ways, “Prayers for Elijah” has grown from a sentimental hashtag or well wish into a movement.

It is a plea for more funding and research into childhood cancers, which currently receive a very small portion of the overall funds.

It is an inspiration reminding us if a 10-year-old boy can be this strong and positive despite all he’s going through, then we should have great courage and a better attitude, too.

It is a lesson in living in the present each day.

As a breast cancer patient myself, I feel a special connection to Elijah.

I was diagnosed a couple months after him and our chemotherapy treatments and surgeries often coincided. In fact, I had radiation treatment the morning I flew from Florida to Charlotte to attend May’s Catwalk event. And I had to leave early the next morning to be back in the cancer center for my next round.

That evening I asked Elijah what advice he had for other cancer patients.

“Keep fighting,” he said. “And breathe.”

His mom considers that evening a gift — a time of pure happiness and excitement. How proud to know her son was an inspiration to every soul in the room.

And still is.

“He was amazing, he just shined that night,” Hughes recalled. “It was like, ‘Here I am and I’m not going to let cancer get the best of me.’ And he’s had that attitude from Day 1.

“There have been many days when my faith is down and I’m scared and worried and he’ll look at me and say, ‘Mama, we’re going to get through this.’ So never once has his faith been in question. A few months ago he coined the phrase, ‘Faith and believing are your cure.’ And he really means it.

“He is amazing and he gives me strength every day.”

He does the same for all of us.

Posted on by Staff Report

David Ragan‘s plans for this weekend’s race in the NASCAR industry’s backyard will take on special meaning, with birthday accommodations made for a special guest.

Ragan paid a visit Wednesday to Shriners Hospitals for Children in Greenville, South Carolina, surprising 8-year-old NASCAR fan Hunter Black at a birthday lunch. Ragan took part in the celebration with his own gift for the youngster — a weekend trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway as his honored guest for Saturday’s Sprint Cup Series race.

Ragan planned to ask Black, a patient born with cerebral palsy, to join him and assist with driver introductions as part of the pre-race ceremonies for Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM). The two met during a previous hospital visit in April 2014.

Ragan, in his ninth full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, named Shriners Hospitals for Children his official charity in 2008.

Posted on by Staff Report

Ray Alfalla (Slip Angle Motorsports) punctuated yet another stellar season in the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series Powered by iRacing by earning his fourth victory of the 2015 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Alfalla, who started a lap down because of technical trouble, sliced through the field in the early going and drove every bit like a driver with nothing to lose.

Last Row Motorsports‘ Jake Stergios finished second, followed by brother PJ. The Stergios brothers had the cars to beat on the short run, but could not match Alfalla’s speed as the laps added-up on their virtual Goodyears. Bryan Blackford was fourth, just edging Chris Overland and mirroring their places in the final standings.

Alfalla and Jake Stergios dominated for most of the evening, leading a combined 146 of 167 laps. Stergios was one of the first sim racers to experiment with the high line in Turns One and Two and the change in line brought his car to life. Polesitter Cody Byus (The TEAM) had no answer and was passed by Stergios just nine laps in.

As halfway approached, Jake still led but PJ had cut the margin and began to plan his move. On Lap 83 PJ drove to the bottom in Turn Three and cleared his brother off of Turn 4. A lap later, a caution stopped the battle and sent the leaders to the pits for tires and fuel.

PJ won the race off pit road but his time at the front was short-lived as Jake used the outside lane in Turns Three and Four to regain the lead. However, Alfalla was now within striking distance and began picking his way through the top five. On Lap 112, Alfalla took the lead for the first time and started to pull away, but a caution for Brad Davies (Drill Aisle) erased Alfalla’s lead and brought the leaders to pit road for the final time.

Alfalla won the race off pit road and looked set to drive away to victory, but Jake was strong and stayed right in Alfalla’s tire tracks. Stergios gave it a valiant effort, even getting alongside Alfalla at one point, but did not have the speed on the bottom to clear the race leader. He finally burned off his tires and had to settle for second, just over one second behind at the checkers.

Kenny Humpe, the 2015 series champion, did not have the result he was hoping for. Although he qualified fourth, Humpe lacked speed in race trim to compete for the win.  Still, a strong finish looked possible until his chance to record a twelfth top five of the season ended when he got loose off Turn Two on Lap 44 and pounded the inside wall. Humpe wound up forty-second, dead-last.

As Alfalla and Jake Stergios battled for the lead over the last 40 laps, PJ Stergios, Blackford, and Overland were locked in an intense battle for third on track, and third through fifth in the championship. PJ came away with third on both counts, a rather comfortable 19 points ahead of fourth place Blackford. Overland and Blackford fought side-by-side multiple times during the last fuel run, each needing to finish in front of the other to claim the $1,000 fourth place prize. Blackford’s long run speed was too much for Overland, who settled for fifth in the championship, a single point behind Blackford, and collected $500 for his efforts.

Further back in the standings, Nathan Wise was the last driver to secure his 2016 NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series license by finishing twentieth in the standings. He beat Michael J Johnson (Gale Force Racing) by seven points despite limping a damaged car home to a thirty-seventh place finish at Homestead.

As the sixth NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series comes to a close, the story of the year has to be Humpe’s complete dominance through the first three quarters of the season. Though he faded a bit at the end, Humpe’s consistency was nothing like this series has ever seen. As he looks to become just the second repeat champion, Alfalla — already a two timer himself — looks to be his biggest competition. Nobody was stronger the last few races than Alfalla and he will carry that momentum into the off-season and, he hopes, to the start of 2016.

The NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series is off until February, giving drivers and teams some much-needed time off. What does next season have in store? With the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series bringing-in new talent, drivers undoubtedly changing teams, and iRacing build changes, it is always possible that different and unexpected drivers will challenge for wins.  However, Humpe and Alfalla will be on their games, and likely ready for any new challengers.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Watch Harvick’s burnout | Effort to hinder inspections?

 

Rodney Childers, crew chief for the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team and driver Kevin Harvick, used photos and humor to make his points after oblique but pointed accusations by fellow Sprint Cup competitors that Kevin Harvick‘s burnout at Dover may have been an effort to cover up infractions.

Childers tweeted a response to Tuesday’s insinuations.

The No. 4 team was a hot topic among other drivers at Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Contender Round Media Day on Tuesday, with several drivers questioning if the team would intentionally damage such a dominant race car and saying that the practice was relatively commonplace. Harvick led 355 of 400 laps in Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. It was a race he had to win to reach the second round of the Chase after a wreck put him in last place in the field of 16 coming out of Chicagoland.

Childers also brought history to bear as he made his point about burnouts via photos on Instagram, posting 13 photos of Harvick doing victory burnouts, reaching back to the driver’s time in the No. 29 car.

 

Told about some competitors’ beliefs that Harvick’s contact with the wall during his celebratory burnout at Dover was intentional and a way to circumvent post-race inspection from revealing anything amiss, Harvick responded with amused wordplay.

“I knew how to knock my car back into compliance by rubbing it up against the wall,” he said, grinning.

 

RELATED: Watch Harvick in Victory Lane 

 

A few more photos from Childers:

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Gordon by the numbers at Charlotte

As Jeff Gordon‘s farewell tour winds down, so do the number of chances to scratch the win column in his final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The four-time champion sees opportunities in the seven races that remain, however, even as a bigger goal looms.

Gordon took his rightful place among the 12 title-eligible Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Tuesday, just days before the three-race Contender Round kicks off with this Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM). A victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend would provide a bookend for his career at the site of his first major-league triumph, back in 1994.

With 29 races in the books, Gordon is facing down the prospect of a winless final season, but he said a title ring for the thumb would be the ultimate trump card.

“I mean, I’ll be disappointed, but at the same time, I’m a realistic person and we’ve rarely put ourselves in position and had the cars and the team to do that,” Gordon said. “I think certainly Martinsville’s high on my list of opportunities, and I feel like we’ve been able to win there the last several years. I’ve got to make sure I go in there and do my job because I think we’re very capable of winning there.

“To me, the championship overrides that, and even if we don’t win a race and win the championship, that’ll supersede the win.”

Gordon qualified for the 10-race postseason on the basis of points and advanced through the first three-race series with finishes of 14th (Chicagoland), seventh (New Hampshire) and 12th (Dover). Passing the Challenger Round test mirrored the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 team’s steady effort from the regular season, when Gordon placed in the top 10 in half of the 26 races.

With the points re-racked for the next round, Gordon said having equal footing in the standings makes the championship race a new day for all 12 finalists, icing on the season-ending cake.

“I feel like it’s all bonus from here on out,” Gordon said. “We haven’t had the best year, but we’ve done a great job at fighting and overcoming things and here we are with having — up to the Chase — not a very great performance, and yet we’re in the Chase. And I think we showed in Chicago that we’ve improved our mile-and-a-half program. Let’s hope that continues these next two weeks, but it’s full-on reset.

“We came into this thing very far behind in bonus points and now we’re on an even playing field as far as points are concerned. You’ve got to just play to your strengths, and I think our strengths are that we’re very consistent, we’ve got a lot of fight in us, and we’ve had to fight through a lot of things this year, so we’re very experienced at that.”

Gordon exited the title hunt last year in the Eliminator Round, the final three-race series before the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Though the current Chase format is only in its second year, Gordon said the pressure “only intensifies from here” as the season winds down.

One team that has risen in close correlation with the stress levels has been the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 outfit helmed by defending series champion Kevin Harvick, who converted a must-win situation last weekend at Dover to keep his repeat hopes alive. Though Gordon said the focus remains in-house for the No. 24 bunch for the time being, it’s been hard to ignore the accomplishments from Harvick & Co.

“We’re in a category right now where it’s really just focus on how we get ourselves to Homestead and then see who we need to worry about, but the first step is just that,” Gordon said. “But I will say consistently every weekend, he’s at the top of board, he’s the guy that I think everybody’s measuring themselves off of, but in all honesty I think he’s in a whole ‘nother category right now.”