Posted on by Nascar

MORE: Stewart announces that 2016 is final Cup season

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — He was loose and smiling, joking and what, jovial?
 
Has Tony Stewart ever been described as jovial?
 
We’ve seen him laugh and cut up. Have fun from time to time.
 
We’ve also seen him drive the wheels off a race car.
 
Sadly, we’ve seen too little of those recently.
 
The smile was there Wednesday though, no doubt about it.

RELATED: Bowyer tabbed for No. 14 duty in 2017 

It was there when he and co-team owner Gene Haas stepped out from behind the Carolina blue curtains and took their seats on the stage. And it was still there when Stewart, Haas and fellow driver Clint Bowyer departed approximately 50 minutes later.
 
On Wednesday, Stewart announced that the 2016 season would be his last as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. Bowyer is his handpicked replacement for Stewart-Haas Racing‘s No. 14 Chevrolet.
 
It isn’t a retirement, Stewart was quick to note, explaining that “I’m not walking away from something I’m passionate about; I’m just changing roles. … I’m not really retiring, I’m just changing positions.”

RELATED: Best quotes from Stewart press conferences
 
He expects to bring the same intensity to his ownership role as he has displayed on the track. He’ll be actively involved, probably to the displeasure of more than one NASCAR official, he added.
 
There have been plenty of opportunities of late for the 44-year-old to step aside. The broken leg suffered in a sprint car crash in 2013; his involvement in an on-track fatality during a sprint car race last summer; a 2015 season that’s shaping up to be the worst of his 17-year career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
 
But none of those were a factor, he said.
 
“It’s all about timing. There was not one thing that led to this other than I just felt like it was the right time.”
 
The opportunity to bring Bowyer in house played a huge role. “You jump on those opportunities,” Stewart said.
 
“It just all meshed.”
 
It wasn’t a knee-jerk decision. No “woe is me” tale of self-pity. Stewart looked and sounded as if it was a decision he had begun formulating long before his career suddenly became tabloid fodder.
 
He has nothing left to prove on the track. There are races Stewart would like to win — the Daytona 500 and Southern 500 have managed to elude him thus far. A fourth championship wouldn’t be a bad way to leave, either.
 
But with three titles (2002, ’05, ’11) and 48 career victories, Stewart’s NASCAR resume needs no padding.

RELATED: Stewart through the years
 
He was already well down the path to a successful career as a racer long before NASCAR became an option in the mid ’90s. And his career as a driver was nearly a decade old when Haas reached out with an offer to become partners prior to 2009.
 
Along the way, numerous enterprises have sprouted up — from track and team ownership to real estate and public relations companies. Piece by piece, an empire has been built. Opportunities became realities.
 
“Everything happens for a reason, and you look at my career and you look at all the different entities that we have, nothing was ever part of a master plan,” Stewart said. “It all just came about with opportunities coming at the right time and I think this was one of those as well.”
 
WATCH: Memorable moments from Stewart’s announcement

Other racing opportunities, in a variety of series, are out there, so Stewart’s ’16 season likely won’t be the last time fans see him behind the wheel. The when and where won’t be determined until later.
 
The Sprint Cup effort — SHR fields entries for defending series champion Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick and ’04 champ Kurt Busch as well as Stewart — will be his focus beyond ’16, though.
 
“You know, it’s kind of a bittersweet day,” he said. “I’m excited about it, but at the same time I’m sad about it as well. I love what I do with NASCAR and I love what I do as a driver, and the great thing is I’m not going anywhere.”
 
Folks that step away from the sport for any length of time will tell you that it’s the people that they miss most, and Stewart’s no different. He hasn’t forgotten the people that called or texted when he was injured; those that reached out last summer, and those that contacted him when word of his announcement broke earlier this week.
 
“It’s all the guys in NASCAR,” he said. “It’s all the guys at SHR, and it’s co‑owners and other owners in the series, other drivers, crew chiefs. Those are the people that I’m — that’s the reason I’m not going anywhere. I couldn’t stand to be away from that family.”
 
The 2016 season will be different as the end of his Sprint Cup career draws nearer, but in many ways it will be the same. There are still races to be run, to be won and a title to be decided. And Stewart’s not one to back down from an opportunity.
 
“I mean I still want to win races,” he said. “I can’t think of a better way to go out than to go out on top and to win races and win a championship.
 
“We’re going to continue to put all of our effort toward that. … I can promise you, next year is not a coast and collect year.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: Photos of Stewart through the years | Bowyer tabbed as replacement


Three-time premier series champion Tony Stewart smiled and conceded it was a “formality at this point” in announcing Wednesday afternoon that he would step away from full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition following the 2016 season.

“It was a choice that is 100 percent mine, no pressure from anybody,” Stewart said of his decision not to compete full-time anymore. “If anything, it’s been the opposite, more people trying to talk me out of it.

“Everyone in their career makes a decision when it’s time for a change. I think deep down you know when it’s time to do something different and make a change like this.”


Appearing jovial and without a hint of second-thought about his career decision, Stewart joked he was bringing Harry Gant out of retirement to drive the the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Chevy in 2017, then confirmed that actually Clint Bowyer would be taking over his seat.

The news confirmed months of speculation and rumor about Stewart’s future and solidified Bowyer’s career path as well with Bowyer’s Michael Waltrip Racing team closing operations at the end of 2015.

“It’s all about people, all about culture for me, and I don’t think the fit factor could be any better,” said Bowyer, acknowledging the SHR ride was “one of the biggest powerhouses in the sport” and said an announcement is coming later this week about his 2016 plans.

Wednesday was clearly more about “the people’s champion” as Stewart is often referred.


One of the most popular and accomplished champions to ever compete in NASCAR’s marquee series, Stewart, 44, has won three premier series titles as a driver (2002, 2005, 2011) and two as an owner (2011, 2014), accumulated 48 victories and won over countless hearts as a kind of extreme throw-back talent garnering comparisons to racing’s all-time greats such as A.J. Foyt and Dale Earnhardt.


Quite simply, Stewart won in every car he drove. And NASCAR fans always appreciated that about the driver known by his nickname, “Smoke.”

RELATED: Drivers react to Stewart’s announcement


Stewart won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in 15 straight seasons from his 1999 rookie year through 2013, and he has 11 NASCAR XFINITY Series wins in 94 starts — roughly winning once every 10 times he tried. He won twice in six NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts and had five top-10 finishes.

“When I think of Tony Stewart, unmatched passion and a pure love of the sport come to mind,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said in a release. “He has won championships and millions of fans. But he has given back so much more, and that’s what I admire most. Today’s news was bittersweet for all, but we know Tony will continue to be a big part of our sport in his roles as a team and track owner. On behalf of the entire NASCAR family, I thank Tony for his many years of excellence and competitiveness, and wish him nothing but the best in his final season as a driver in the Sprint Cup Series.”


The 1997 IndyCar champion — and 1996 Indy 500 Rookie of the Race — proved his mettle against motorsports’ best drivers, winning four times in IROC competition, earning the 2006 IROC championship and finishing runner-up in 2001.


In 1999 he completed racing’s Memorial Day “Double,” finishing ninth in the Indianapolis 500 and fourth in NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 later that same day in North Carolina. Stewart was the first driver in history to win all three major United States Auto Club national championships — Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown — in a single season.

So after essentially four decades behind the wheel fulltime, Stewart said he contemplated this decision for a while and said this week, he is completely at peace.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself,” Stewart said. You run through the range of emotions. There’s days you’re like, I can’t wait, and then there’s days that are like, man, do I ‑‑ you battle back and forth.

“I’m not leaving the sport I love. I’m not walking away from something I’m passionate about, I’m just changing roles, which it’s like just moving to a different position in a company.

“I’m not really retiring, I’m just changing positions.”

RELATED: Best quotes from Stewart’s press conference


It’s been an admittedly uphill climb for the champ after the last three seasons of horrible injury and extreme heartbreak.


He missed the last 15 races in the 2013 season after suffering a compound leg fracture while competing in a sprint car race. Then last year, while still mending from that injury, Stewart was involved in another sprint car accident. This time, another competitor, Kevin Ward Jr., was killed when, after approaching Stewart’s car on track during a caution period, the car struck Ward.


Stewart sat out three Sprint Cup races immediately after. No criminal charges were found to be justified against Stewart; the Ward family filed a civil lawsuit against him a year later.


On Wednesday Stewart stressed that his decision to stop driving in the Cup series full-time had “zero percent to with (the Ward situation)” and that physically, “my leg feels fine, there’s nothing wrong with my leg.”

He said he may even compete in Sprint cars again. He listed the Rolex 24 at Daytona as a possibility and mentioned racing modifieds and making sporadic starts in the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series — all things he plans to do without the stress and full schedule of racing full-time in the Sprint Cup ranks.


RELATED: Tony talks toll on leg, life


In the past two seasons, Stewart has struggled to post the kind of top-shelf results both he and his fans had grown accustomed to seeing. But he has consistently insisted that was more to do with the current rules package than his off-track distractions.

He said earlier this year that NASCAR’s new high downforce, low horsepower car does not suit his style and is actually “the opposite of everything I’ve ever driven.


“It’s like I’m in the middle of a calculus equation and I didn’t take pre-calculus,” Stewart told NASCAR.com this May.



He is currently 25th in the Sprint Cup Series driver standings with a sub-standard two top-10 finishes in his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet this year. But he was adamant that he would not be coasting in his final season and that this decision was not “performance based.”


Stepping away from his NASCAR driving duties, Stewart’s focus shifts to running his beloved Eldora Speedway in Ohio and to being a team owner. His resume out of the car is already as impressive as his work behind the steering wheel.


“It’s just time to do what we’re doing,” Stewart said. “I still fully anticipate we’re going to get things turned around. If I didn’t feel that way, I wouldn’t waste my time next year for anybody. I’m not a guy that’s going to get in a car and ride. We’re full steam ahead.

“We’re going to keep working and try to win as many races as we can next year, and that goal is going to be ‑‑ when you guys get to February, go ahead and write this down, what our goals are for the year, we’re going to try to win races, try to win the Daytona 500, then the Brickyard 400, the Southern 500, and try to win a championship.”

Ultimately, stepping away from his NASCAR driving duties, Stewart’s focus shifts to running his beloved Eldora Speedway in Ohio and to being a team owner. His effort out of the car is already as impressive as his work behind the steering wheel.



His namesake Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 team is the reigning Sprint Cup owner champion thanks to Kevin Harvick‘s 2014 championship run, and two of his team’s four drivers — Harvick and Kurt Busch — are in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.


This summer Stewart collected his 10th Knoxville Nationals trophy in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series fielding a car for driver Donny Schatz, who has also delivered five World of Outlaw championships for Stewart. He has 23 national titles as a team owner.

“I’ve won more car championships as an owner than a driver,” Stewart said “I’m definitely as competitive as an owner as I am a driver. …That fire’s still there and that’s what makes this transition easier.”


While his success driving and fielding cars is partly responsible for Stewart’s incredible popularity over the years, he is also one of the sport’s most robust personalities.



RELATED: ‘Smoke’ still the people’s champion



He’s not afraid to express his displeasure at his competitors’ blunders, and the other drivers have come to expect either face time or bumper time with him after on track run-ins.



And Stewart’s “no-fools” tolerance policy extends to the media covering his career. There are highlight reels devoted to showcasing him sparring with reporters in press conferences and on pit road — his wit and sarcasm legendary with the media corps.

He grinned broadly and warned the room of reporters on Wednesday that he will not follow the guide of four-time champ Jeff Gordon who has met with the press nearly every week during this — his last — year of NASCAR competition.

“Let’s establish this right now: I will not be coming to the media center every week to talk about it,'” Stewart said smiling and shaking his head. “You can save your gifts. I’ve got enough rocking chairs at home as it is. I bought those when I wanted to go sit on my own rocking chair. You don’t have to give me one.

“I’m content to go race and be around the racing community and the racing family and be around our fans,” he continued. “They can just send me a note from the track president and say, hey, thank you, and that’ll be sufficient for me.

“I think it’s been very fitting for Jeff [Gordon]. I don’t think I’m worthy of that kind of admiration because I think Jeff has really done so much for the sport that nobody will ever be able to do again. I think that kind of celebration is reserved for somebody like Jeff.”



One thing Stewart has across the board is respect — from his competitors, to the fans and to the media who will be watching closely to see how this next chapter in his career and life plays out.

He gave a couple hints on Wednesday afternoon. When it’s time to drop the green flag for the 2017 Daytona 500 – the first one run without Tony Stewart on the grid since 1999 – the champ says he hasn’t figured out quite yet where he’ll be, but spoke about one possibility.

“I’ll probably be on some fan’s motor home on the back stretch promoting our sponsors,” Stewart said laughing. “I have no idea where I’m supposed to be yet. I’ve got a whole year to figure that out.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Official release on appeal

 

A three-member appeals panel upheld P4-grade penalties issued to Michael Waltrip Racing‘s No. 15 Toyota team Wednesday, severely hampering driver Clint Bowyer‘s hopes of advancing from the first round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs.

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel — which heard the team’s appeal at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina — ruled that the Waltrip-owned organization violated the rules set forth in the penalty notice and the panel affirms and upholds the original penalty assessed by NASCAR.

On Sept. 23, NASCAR handed down punishment for an illegally mounted track bar and suspension infractions as part of pre-race technical violations after the postseason-opening race Sept. 20 at Chicagoland Speedway, stripping Bowyer of 25 points in the drivers’ championship standings, suspending crew chief Billy Scott for three races and fining the team $75,000. The penalties were issued at the P4 level of discipline in the NASCAR deterrence system, which went into effect in the 2014 season.

Scott, who was also placed on probation for six months, was atop the No. 15 team’s pit box last Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after MWR deferred the penalty until after the appeals process.

RELATED: Bowyer to drive No. 14 car for SHR in 2017

Michael Waltrip Racing plans to cease operations at season’s end and it was announced on Wednesday that Bowyer will drive for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2017, while he hinted that light will be shed on his 2016 plans shortly.

The team announced later Wednesday that it would not appeal the ruling.

“We are disappointed with the outcome of today’s ruling and still feel our interpretation is within the guidelines,” according to the statement. “Rather than continue the appeals process, MWR is ready to focus 100 percent of our company’s resources on winning at Dover and trying to advance to the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.”

With the penalty upheld, Bowyer remains last among the 16 playoff drivers in the Chase, 39 points behind 12th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr., who holds a tenuous grip on the final berth to avoid elimination and move to the next postseason segment. The title-eligible Chase field will be whittled to 12 after the Challenger Round finale, Sunday’s AAA 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Dover.

The three members on the National Motorsports Appeals Panel chosen to hear Wednesday’s appeal were Paul Brooks, Bill Lester and Bill Mullis.

Posted on by Zack Albert

MORE: Stewart announces that 2016 will be final season in NASCAR’s top series

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — Stewart-Haas Racing unveiled Clint Bowyer as Tony Stewart‘s successor Wednesday, shedding light on the plan to replace the three-time NASCAR premier-series champion upon his retirement at the end of next season.

Bowyer said when it became evident that there was a vacancy at Stewart’s No. 14 ride, he didn’t hesitate. “They didn’t have to call me,” Bowyer said with his patented grin.

Though the spotlight shone brightest Wednesday on Stewart, one of NASCAR’s most popular drivers and a surefire bet for first-ballot induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Bowyer’s piece of the puzzle provided an extra source of intrigue for the four-car organization’s future. The news also provided Bowyer with an opportune landing place after rocky recent weeks with his current team, Michael Waltrip Racing.

“I don’t think I got fired; it just went away, and somehow you landed in a way better situation,” Bowyer said to laughter in Wednesday’s news conference at HaasF1’s sprawling new headquarters. “Do you ever hear that term when you fall in a pile of cow manure and come out smelling like roses? That’s exactly what this is for me.”

Bowyer’s timetable for inheriting the No. 14 Chevrolet ride in 2017 includes a one-year gap in his driving duties. He shied away from giving specifics regarding his 2016 plans, despite speculation he would shift to the two-car HScott Motorsports outfit for a one-year stint in the interim.

Bowyer hinted that next season’s part of the equation could become clearer by this weekend at Dover International Speedway.

“Yeah, there’s going to be some more announcements later in the week as far as where we’re going for next year,” Bowyer said. “But for this announcement, why I’m here today is to announce the long‑term future plan for me.”

Stewart initially joked that his handpicked selection for the No. 14 Chevy was retired driver “Handsome” Harry Gant, the 75-year-old veteran whose last season in NASCAR was 1994. Besides a tongue-in-cheek comment about Gant’s and Bowyer’s common thread with “immaculate hair,” Stewart applauded the team’s newest driver, saying that his hero and friend — racing legend A.J. Foyt — would approve of the hire.

“You know, everything in racing is timing, and the opportunity to get somebody like Clint Bowyer, I mean, that’s when you know you seize the opportunity. We’re probably going to have a hard time working together and communicating with each other. We probably won’t have any fun racing,” Stewart said with trademark sarcasm. “It’s the right time, it’s the right opportunity, and when somebody in a scenario like Clint’s this year came about, you jump on those opportunities, and you know that timing is everything.”


In a compelling contrast, the details for Bowyer’s future emerged as the fate of his campaign in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs simultaneously faced a crossroads just six miles away, where Michael Waltrip Racing was appealing P4-grade penalties against Bowyer’s No. 15 team at the NASCAR Research & Development Center.

RELATED: MWR penalty upheld in appeal

Bowyer qualified for this year’s Chase on the basis of his rank in the Sprint Cup driver standings, but the team opened with a thud in the Chicagoland opener. Penalties stemming from a pre-race infraction for improper track-bar and suspension mountings essentially negated the team’s 19th-place finish, digging a large deficit in the opening three-race Challenger Round.


The 25-point penalty was upheld Wednesday by a three-member panel, keeping Bowyer last in the 16-driver postseason field with bleak odds of advancing from the Chase’s opening round this weekend at Dover International Speedway.

The appeal is another tipping point in Bowyer’s final days with MWR. The team announced Aug. 19 that it would shut its doors at the end of the season, granting Bowyer his release and freeing him to seek employment elsewhere. That freedom resulted in landing nicely on his feet, claiming what he called “one of the best rides ever in the history of the sport.”


“I mean, this is a champion’s seat that I’m filling, so that being said, this is an unbelievable opportunity,” Bowyer said. “Just like I said earlier, to think of that door opening, and holy cow, the timing couldn’t have been any better for myself. Just somebody was looking after me.”


Bowyer has eight victories in NASCAR’s premier series — five with Richard Childress Racing, where he drove from 2006-2011, and three with Michael Waltrip Racing (2012-2015), all coming in his first year with the team. Bowyer’s 2012 campaign remains his most successful with a second-place result in the final Sprint Cup standings.

But besides the performance and accomplishments, Bowyer also brings an affable, cooperative element to the mix of personnel and personalities at Stewart-Haas. Though Bowyer said Wednesday that he would miss racing against Stewart — his future boss, but also his friend — he also looked forward to building chemistry in the next stage of his stock-car racing career.

“That being said, damn, I’m glad that you decided to retire and open this seat up for me,” Bowyer said to Stewart, “but you know, it’s just all about people, it’s all about culture for me, and I think the fit factor couldn’t be any better.”

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 30, 2015) — “When I think of Tony Stewart, unmatched passion and a pure love of the sport come to mind. He has won championships and millions of fans. But he has given back so much more, and that’s what I admire most. Today’s news was bittersweet for all, but we know Tony will continue to be a big part of our sport in his roles as a team and track owner. On behalf of the entire NASCAR family, I thank Tony for his many years of excellence and competitiveness, and wish him nothing but the best in his final season as a driver in the Sprint Cup Series.”

Posted on by

RELATED: Pit crew rankings after Chicagoland

 

After the second race of the 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, PitTalks.com ranks the 16 Chase teams’ pit crews For more pit crew news provided by PitTalks.com come back throughout the Chase.

 

No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet pit crew for Kurt Busch

Rank: 1 (+1)

Wins: 2 — Richmond and Michigan

Notes: The No. 41 crew did what any great crew does: They just stayed consistent. After struggles among the other top three teams after Chicago, this group finds themselves in the No. 1 spot. From the hunter to the hunted … welcome to the top, boys!

 

No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota pit crew for Matt Kenseth
Rank: 2 (+4)

Wins: 5 — Bristol, Pocono, Michigan, Richmond, New Hampshire

Notes: This crew was the best team with the worst ranking at the beginning of the Chase. Well, they have now moved into the No. 2 spot with a great day on pit road and a second week in a row with solid stops. 

 

No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota pit crew for Denny Hamlin

Rank: 3 (-2)

Wins: 2 — Martinsville, (All Star Race), Chicago

Notes: After two weeks the No. 11 crew falls out of the No. 1 spot. They struggled on Stop 3 with a slow left rear change. With that they fall to the third spot for this week. 

No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet pit crew for Kevin Harvick

Rank: 4 (+3)

Wins: 2 — Las Vegas and Phoenix 

Notes: This team was fast during stops Sunday, and we moved them up a few notches in the rankings. There was some concern that the car didn’t get filled on the last pit stop, but due to the fact that many others ran out of gas, too, I don’t think it was the crew but more the circumstances. 

 

No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet pit crew for Jamie McMurray

Rank: 5 (even)

Wins: 0

Notes: This crew is hard to rank. The car is not running good enough to see them pit under pressure, and they are not being given the chance to potentially move up. They’re just kind of staying put in the fifth position.

 

No. 22 Team Penske Ford pit crew for Joey Logano

Rank: 6 (-3)

Wins: 3 — Daytona, Watkins Glen, Bristol

Notes: This crew had some really fast stops and some really slow ones in New Hampshire. On two separate stops they had trouble on the rear, losing positions on both. That lands them three spots back from third to sixth. 

 

No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota pit crew for Carl Edwards

Rank: 7 (-3)

Wins: 2 — Charlotte and Darlington

Notes: For the most part, this group had pretty good speed on their stops. A penalty on the gas man during the third stop for having equipment out of the box is what lands them three spots back.

 

No. 2 Team Penske Ford pit crew for Brad Keselowski

Rank: 8 (even)

Wins: 1 — Fontana

Notes: This team had a really good week on pit road and under normal circumstances they would have moved up a few spots. With some top teams moving back and no problems on the teams directly in front of them, they find themselves staying put in the eighth position. 

 

No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet pit crew for Ryan Newman

Rank: 9 (+1)

Wins: 0

Notes: This group seemed to have a pretty solid day in helping Newman to a top-10 finish. Being that they pitted the night before in Kentucky and pitted Sunday on 3 hours of sleep, I have to give them an “atta boy” nod and they move up one spot.

 

No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota pit crew for Kyle Busch

Rank: 10 (-1)

Wins: 4 — Sonoma, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Indianapolis

Notes: This team had a lot going on this week and I think they handled it all pretty well. They lost one spot on Stop 2, but other than that they seemed to have adjusted to their new front changer quite well.

 

No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet pit crew for Jimmie Johnson

Rank: 11 (even)

Wins:  4 — Atlanta, Texas, Kansas, Dover

Notes: This team did nothing bad this week but didn’t seem to do anything great. They suffered a flat tire during the race but were able to get their driver back on the track quickly and help salvage a sixth-place finish.

 

No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet pit crew for Jeff Gordon

Rank: 12 (+1)

Wins: 0

Notes: Solid day by the No. 24 crew and no mistakes. They had a better day than their Hendrick teammates, so we moved them up a spot. 

 

No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet pit crew for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Rank: 13 (-1)

Wins: 2 — Talladega, Daytona

Notes: Not a terrible day by the No. 88 crew, but they seemed to have a slow first stop and a slow two-tire stop toward the end. Running out of gas at the end didn’t seem to help things but we can’t put that on the pit crew. Many other cars ran out, as well. 

 

No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota pit crew for Clint Bowyer

Rank: 14 (even)

Wins: 0

Notes: Without enough information on their stops, we can’t move them up or down on just a guess. The No. 15 crew stays at the 14th spot and if they don’t win this week, it might be the last ranking they get. 

 

No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet pit crew for Martin Truex

Rank: 15 (even)

Wins: 1 – Pocono 

Notes: This team got two new tire changers this week and from what we could tell, they averted a mass destruction. Just because they didn’t have a major screwup doesn’t mean they did anything great, either. We left them at the 15th spot for this week. 

 

No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet pit crew for Paul Menard

Rank: 16 (even)

Wins: 0

Notes: We wish we had more to judge off of for this team. They finished 15th and ran mid-pack most of the day at Loudon. They need a win to advance or this could be their last ranking, as well.

 

For more pit crew news, visit PitTalks.com

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: New manufacturer for Furniture Row


As significant as Sunday’s announcement that Furniture Row Racing would be fielding Toyota Camrys in 2016 was the fact the single-car Denver-based team would also be entering a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing – a relationship the likes of which JGR hasn’t had since working with the Hall of Fame Racing team, a team which closed shop in 2009.


And everyone involved – from FRR driver Martin Truex Jr. to JGR founder Joe Gibbs – is hopeful this new partnership will be a game changer for both organizations and the manufacturer, which is still pursuing its first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title.


“It’s time for me to take my career to the next level and being able to use the tools and have the communication from JGR, which I feel like can take us to the next level, I know the guys are super excited about this,” Truex said this weekend after the team’s official announcement at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.


This is a return to Toyota for Truex, who drove them while competing for Michael Waltrip Racing from 2010-13. But, he said, he expects the technical support and communication between FRR and JGR to be more substantive than with the Waltrip team, noting his experience at MWR was that the teams did not work together on a major level.


“When we were at MWR, we really didn’t do much at all with JGR,” Truex said. “So hopefully Toyota and TRD [Toyota Racing Development] helps knock that wall down and get that relationship similar to what we have with [Chevrolets] RCR this year. It was an open book.


“We need to figure out how to make it work with them. I know they want it to work, and we need to make sure we make that happen.”


Team owner and namesake Joe Gibbs indicated this weekend he was excited about entering into a technical alliance, noting the compatibility, common goals and potential of the two organizations.


“I think it will strengthen Toyota, it brings another high quality car and a driver that’s had a heckuva year and a quality crew chief,” Gibbs said. “We’re still working through all the different ways we can work together. For us, it’s pretty much, we won’t have to change much at all.


“We’re still working through all the things we want to work together on. Some things we’ll work together on and some will stand apart but in general we want to strengthen the Toyota family.”


Gibbs added he genuinely believed it would be a two-way street, that he expects his four-car team – including current championship-leading driver Matt Kenseth – to benefit as well.


“What they bring is another crew chief [Cole Pearn] to help solve problems and he’s obviously very good and then you’ve got a driver like Martin that’s performing extremely well,” Gibbs said. “Any time you get that, like in our situation, for example, having four cars. That fourth car is the one running the best right now. It’s an example of working together and so by adding Martin and Cole it will strengthen us, too.”


Forming a bond between teams is a major trend in the industry now. As Truex said, FRR is currently in a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing and among the two Chevy teams have three cars in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – including Truex.


“I think it was more about strengthening Toyota, and that had a big influence on us,” Gibbs said. “We want to do everything we can to help them. And selfishly looking at it, the fact other people have already done this. Almost all the other teams we compete against in this sport are part of some kind of alliance and you’re aware of it. That’s part of our decision, too.


“I think [Furniture Row owner] Barney [Visser] and his team, they’ve been in this for 11 years and pretty solid. We’re real comfortable working together and whatever we decide to share – that will be down the road – we realize in this sport, what we’re doing most of the other teams have done before.


“It’s not like we’re pioneers. Everyone else has already been doing this. This is just our first serious step at trying to do it.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR XFINITY Series head to Dover International Speedway, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. The Sprint Cup race is the final race of the Challenger Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, in which the 16-driver playoff field will be narrowed down to 12 drivers at the end of the race.

RACES
Sprint Cup Series: AAA 400 (Sunday Oct. 4, 2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/Live Extra, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
XFINITY Series: Hisense 200 (Saturday Oct. 3, 3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/Live Extra, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Camping World Truck Series: Rhino Linings 350 (Saturday Oct. 3, 10 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

 

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Click here for on-track times, press conferences, leaderboards and GarageCam.

RACE DAY
• NSCS leaderboard
• NXS leaderboard
• NCWTS leaderboard
• NSCS Lap-by-Lap
• NXS Lap-by-Lap
• NCWTS Lap-by-Lap
• NSCS live standings

PRODUCTS
• RaceBuddy: Through the remainder of the season, NASCAR RaceBuddy will feature two (2) alternate live action camera angles, along with up to six (6) in-car cameras with different driver selections for each Sprint Cup race and four (4) for XFINITY races.
• RaceView: Watch virtual video of cars on track and listen to the scanner.
• RaceView Mobile: On your phone? Try RaceView here.
• Scanner: In-car audio only.
• Mobile Apps: Follow the leaderboards live from your device.

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA
Web stream: NBC Sports Live Extra
Mobile app: iOS/Android


NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs will provide racing fans with unparalleled interactive digital access to every NASCAR Sprint Cup series race, including exclusive camera angles, custom driver information, and insider track information.


•  Multi-view options that bring fans inside the race, combining NBC Sports Group’s race simulcast and alternative camera angles, ranging from in-car views to various key track locations. 

• Dedicated full-view, on-board alternate cameras.

• Additional features on the desktop/laptop experience, bringing fans comprehensive race-day information to their fingertips, including:

        • Driver updates, cup standings, and biographies

        • Track infographics with key facts and history

 

NBC Sports Live Extra will stream NASCAR coverage on NBC and NBCSN via “TV Everywhere”, giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store and Apple TV. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra.

FOX SPORTS GO

The Camping World Truck Series race will also be available through FOX Sports GO; which is an online and mobile streaming product that allows subscribers of participating TV providers to watch live sports and shows from FOX, FS1, FS2 and FOX Deportes.  FOX Sports GO is currently available for download on iTunes for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices or can be accessed online at FOXSportsGO.com. The app is also available via Google Play, Kindle Fire and from the Windows Store.


Access to programming in FOX Sports GO requires a pay TV subscription of FOX Sports 1 with a participating TV provider. Login credentials are the same username and password used to access online accounts with your TV provider.

 

FANTASY

• NASCAR Fantasy Live: Set your lineups, check your progress
• Streak to the Finish: Play in all the national series that are in action this week
  

LIVE INTERVIEWS
PressPass: Watch exclusive post-race interviews from Dover.

Stay tuned to NASCAR.com throughout the weekend for the latest news.