Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Logano speaks about Kenseth penalty

 

FORT WORTH, Texas – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers arrived at Texas Motor Speedway Friday still grappling with the fallout from last weekend’s crash involving Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano, two of this season’s most successful competitors.

Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing), was suspended for two races for crashing into Logano (Team Penske) with less than 50 laps remaining in Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Logano was the race leader at the time of the crash; Kenseth was nine laps down.

Logano, who swept all three races in the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, was going for a fourth consecutive victory. Kenseth had been eliminated from Chase contention the previous weekend.

“I guess the implications aren’t really clear on how things work and what kind of trouble you can get yourself into,” fellow Chase competitor Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing) said Friday at Texas. “Racing is racing. Guys have wrecked each other since racing started, OK? That’s not going to change. Guys get mad all the time.

“I think people will go about it differently now because of what happened this week, for sure. How far that goes, I’m not real sure. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Logano leads the series in wins this season with six; Kenseth has five victories. The Martinsville incident dropped Logano to last among the eight drivers trying to qualify for the four who will compete for the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway later this month. To earn a Championship Round spot for the second consecutive year, Logano will likely have to win either this weekend’s AAA Texas 500 or next week’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Logano said he didn’t know if NASCAR’s actions could change how some drivers react in certain situations, but added that it likely won’t alter his own.

“Probably not,” the 25-year-old said. “Does it change the way other people would handle a situation? I can’t answer that. I don’t know.

“I think we all did learn what NASCAR’s stance is on this and that is something we will all put in our memory bank and know that going into the future.”

 

MORE: Kenseth’s two-race suspension upheld

Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon, winner of the Martinsville race and for now the only driver qualified to compete for the Championship 4, said he understood the reasoning behind the severity of the penalty.

“NASCAR wanted there to be a line and I like it when they draw a line,” the Hendrick Motorsports driver said. “… We don’t like judgment calls. We like things to be clear. And I think we’re all pretty clear now.

“Yeah, it’s gotten the people talking. It’s gotten the media talking and the fans talking and it’s created only more build-up to what’s already a very exciting Chase format and close to the season. I don’t want to say I look at it as a positive, I just think that it does bring more eyes to the sport and then they can choose and decide how they go from there.”

Kenseth will return to the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in the season-finale at Homestead. In his absence, Erik Jones will handle the driving duties for the team. Jones will start sixth in Sunday’s race.

Carl Edwards, who joined JGR prior to the start of the 2015 season, said he’d spoken to Kenseth briefly. That his teammate was suspended, he said, “was a shock.”

“I think everyone will be on pretty decent behavior because of that,” Edwards said. “If that’s how it’s going to be, we definitely have to be careful.”

Posted on by Nascar

FORT WORTH, Texas — Joey Logano defended his approach to how he races others and said he and his team are focused on advancing to the Championship Round of this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Friday when he met with members of the media at Texas Motor Speedway.

 

A week after an on-track altercation with Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Matt Kenseth left the Team Penske driver last in the field of eight Chase drivers, Logano said the resulting two-race suspension of Kenseth wasn’t his concern, or his call to make.

 

“That is NASCAR who looked at that in the way they needed to and made the decision they felt was right,” he said. “It doesn’t affect me. I don’t have a horse in that race.”

 

The message, he said, “is that you can’t do that.

 

“What happened has happened. It is in the past at this point; it is in the rearview mirror.

 

“The only way we will get in the Chase is if we keep looking out the windshield.”

 

Logano was leading at Martinsville when contact with Kenseth sent his No. 22 Ford, as well as Kenseth’s Toyota, into the wall. The accident occurred on Lap 454 of the scheduled 500-lap event. Kenseth, involved in an earlier wreck, was nine laps down at the time of the crash.

 

RELATED: Kenseth, Gibbs speak on final penalty decision

 

“I’m not convinced it’s a bad thing,” Logano said. “Our team’s more fired up than ever. I am more focused than ever. I am pumped up about being here at the track today. What happened last week is what happened last week.

 

“Is it the way we wanted it to go? No, of course not. Did we get the finish we felt we deserved that day? No, but this team has plenty of confidence coming off three in a row and in position for four. There is plenty of confidence and more drive than there has ever been. I am not convinced this whole thing is a bad thing.”

 

Logano swept the three-race Contender Round of the Chase, winning at Kansas, Charlotte and Talladega. His six victories this season are tops for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series.

 

NASCAR officials suspended Kenseth, the 2003 series champion, for two races and placed him on probation two days after the Martinsville race. An appeal by the team was upheld, as was a final appeal, although Final Appeals Officer Brian Moss reduced the probationary period, initially six months, to run only through the end of 2015.

 

RELATED: Kenseth’s suspension upheld in final appeal

 

It was not the first incident between the two Sprint Cup Series drivers. At Kansas last month, Kenseth spun after contact from Logano as the two were racing for the lead. While Logano went on to win the race, Kenseth was unable to recover the following week at Talladega (where he needed a victory to advance to the next round) and was eliminated from the Chase.

 

Now Logano finds himself trying to climb back into contention.

 

“Our Chase, we are not out of it by any means,” he said. “We have plenty of time to get ourselves back in. I feel confident that we can do it.”

 

The Kansas incident was “hard racing.”

 

“I had a great race going there for the lead and there were some blocks thrown and the third time I kept my nose in there,” he said. “I was re-watching the spring race from Texas here and I was racing (Kevin) Harvick and at the end of the race … he was on the inside of me and I took the risk of blocking. I took that risk and I knew the consequences. He moved me out of the way. … I felt like in that case I was in the wrong. … I wouldn’t say Harvick and I are the best of friends, but I didn’t have a problem with what he did. … When you make moves like that, you know the risk you take.”

 

With Kenseth on the sidelines for this week’s AAA Texas 500 and next week’s stop at Phoenix International Raceway, JGR officials have tabbed Erik Jones to fill the seat in the No. 20 entry.

 

RELATED: Jones to drive No. 20 Cup car at Texas

Jones, a full-time competitor in the Camping World Truck Series, has one official career start in the Sprint Cup Series, filling in for the injured Kyle Busch earlier this season at Kansas. He finished 40th.

He also replaced JGR teammate Denny Hamlin at Bristol in April when Hamlin was sidelined with what team officials said was a “neck spasm.” Because Hamlin started the race, it was not considered an official start for Jones, and Hamlin was credited with the 26th-place finish.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR Next development drivers Rico Abreu and William Byron are scheduled to make their first NASCAR national series start next weekend, attemping their Camping World Truck Series debuts at Phoenix International Raceway.



The 23-year-old Abreu is set to drive the No. 31 Chevrolet with for Bob Newberry-owned NTS Motorsports in the Nov. 13 Lucas Oil 150 (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM). AccuDoc Solutions will provide sponsorship.



Byron, 17, will drive a new entry for Kyle Busch Motorsports, wheeling the No. 09 Toyota with sponsorship from Liberty University. The truck will be part of a four-team effort for owner Kyle Busch, who will also field entries for Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez and Matt Tifft at the 1-mile oval.



Byron claimed the drivers’ championship with a four-win debut season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. Abreu finished fifth in the K&N East standings with one victory in his first season.



Both Abreu and Byron were named part of the 12-driver NASCAR Next class for 2015-16 on May 5.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Texas starting lineup

Matt Crafton landed the Keystone Light Pole Award in Friday afternoon qualifying for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Crafton, the two-time defending series champion and last weekend’s winner at Martinsville Speedway, drove the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Toyota to a pole-winning lap of 181.397 mph on the 1.5-mile track. His third pole of the season was his third at Texas and the 10th of his truck series career.

Spencer Gallagher, who posted a 180.953 mph lap in the GMS Racing No. 23 Chevrolet, will start second in Friday night’s WinStar World Casino 350 (8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, PRN, SiriusXM). Rookies Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones will make up the second row, qualifying third and fourth respectively.

Series leader Erik Jones qualified fifth in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 Toyota, carrying a 10-point lead over Crafton entering the 21st of 23 races this season. Tyler Reddick will start 17th and ranks third, just 13 points off the top.

Jeb Burton, making his first truck start of the season, qualified eighth in the JR Motorsports No. 00 Chevrolet.

Crafton was fastest in the first of two rounds of single-truck qualifying with a best lap of 181.056 mph. Johnny Sauter, his ThorSport teammate, just missed the 12-driver cutoff for the final round, turning the 13th-best lap in the No. 98 Toyota.

Tyler Young‘s first-round qualifying attempt ended early when his No. 02 Chevrolet erupted with smoke under the hood. No drivers failed to qualify for the 32-truck field.

Posted on by Staff Report

Homestead-Miami Speedway announced Friday that all seats for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season finale — which is expected to be Jeff Gordon‘s final race — are sold out.
 
According to a release provided by the 1.5-mile track, all premium seats have been sold out since September and only limited RV camping areas remain for the Nov. 22 Ford EcoBoost 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM).
 
“There will be many story lines heading into the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, one of which will be Jeff Gordon vying for a fifth championship title in his final Sprint Cup Series season,” said track president Matthew Becherer. “We saw last year that the new Chase format gives our fans the opportunity to truly witness history during the Ford EcoBoost 400, and we fully anticipate that again with this year’s race.”
 
The south Florida track joins Phoenix International Raceway among tracks announcing grandstand sellouts for Sprint Cup events in recent weeks. The field of four championship drivers will be finalized Nov. 15 at the 1-mile track in the Arizona desert.
 
Champions will be crowned in all three NASCAR national series during Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead. The XFINITY Series will host its final race of the season Nov. 21, and the Camping World Truck Series will conclude its 2015 campaign Nov. 20.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full results from practice

 

Austin Dillon launched atop Friday’s lone practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Texas Motor Speedway.

Dillon, the 2013 series champ who is now a regular in the Sprint Cup Series, pushed the Richard Childress Racing No. 33 Chevrolet to a best lap of 184.363 mph in the two-hour, 25-minute session, the only tuning prep for Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM).

Brad Keselowski was second-fastest in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford with a lap of 184.256 mph around the 1.5-mile track. Erik Jones, Regan Smith and Daniel Suarez completed the top five.

Sprint Cup regular Kyle Busch, a seven-time XFINITY Series winner at Texas, was sixth-fastest in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota.

Series leader Chris Buescher turned the 12th-fastest lap in the Roush Fenway Racing No. 60 Ford. He enters the 31st of 33 races this season with a 27-point edge on defending champ Chase Elliott (10th-fastest), a 33-point cushion on Smith and a 36-point advantage over Ty Dillon (ninth-fastest).

Darrell Wallace Jr. was seventh-fastest in practice, but scraped the right side of his Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 Ford against the Turn 4 wall late in the session.

Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the XFINITY Series is scheduled for Saturday at 12:15 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Practice 1 results



Brad Keselowski rose to the top of the leaderboard in opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice Friday at Texas Motor Speedway.



Keselowski drove the Team Penske No. 2 Ford to a best lap of 197.059 mph around the 1.5-mile track in preparation for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM), the eighth of 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs.



Defending series champion Kevin Harvick, driving the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet, was second-fastest in the 85-minute session, clocking a fast lap of 196.421 mph. Carl Edwards, a three-time Texas winner, was third-best at 196.249 in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota.



Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing‘s second-year driver, was fourth-fastest. Joey Logano, who had his three-race win streak snapped last weekend after a controversial run-in with rival Matt Kenseth, drove the Team Penske No. 22 Ford to the fifth-fastest lap.



Erik Jones, the 19-year-old rookie subbing for the suspended Kenseth in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota, was eighth-fastest in first practice as he readies for his second career Sprint Cup start.



Jeff Gordon, last week’s winner at Martinsville and the first automatic qualifier for the championship finale Nov. 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, was 19th-fastest. His Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet showed minor damage and tire smoke from the left-rear fender in the early stages of first practice.



Jimmie Johnson, winner of two consecutive Texas events and four of the last six races in the Lone Star State, was 14th-fastest in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet.



The rest of the Chase contenders: Kurt Busch (10th), Kyle Busch (11th), Martin Truex Jr. (20th).



Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the Sprint Cup Series is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. ET.

Posted on by Staff Report

In a span of three weeks, NASCAR’s list of most consecutive starts among active drivers will get quite a shake-up.

 

Jeff Gordon is the all-time leader, so he of course leads active drivers. After he retires from full-time competition following the season finale at Homestead, his mark will be 797 — which accounts for every start in his career.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver then moves into the non-active category, though, and the guy currently behind him is losing his spot, too.

Matt Kenseth sits at 571 consecutive starts, but that’ll be gone after Texas following NASCAR’s two-race suspension of the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

So, who will assume the top spot on the list? It’s two drivers, actually.

 

Both Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman have 501 consecutive starts, dating back to the 2002 Daytona 500.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

ST. PAUL, Minn. & DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (November 6, 2015) — NASCAR® and 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division today announced a five-year extension to their long-standing Official Partnership. As part of the agreement, 3M Automotive Aftermarket will continue its nearly two-decade NASCAR Sprint Cup Series contingency sponsorship that provides many of its innovative automotive products and solutions used in race cars and race shops throughout NASCAR.

As an Official Partner, 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division will continue to carry the NASCAR bar mark on key product categories sold to car enthusiasts everywhere and to professional auto repair shops. In addition, the division will collaborate with the NASCAR R&D Center to integrate 3M automotive products and solutions into the sport.

“For years, 3M has provided science-driven products to solve NASCAR’s toughest challenges in the garage, in the car and at the track, and we are very proud of this long-standing and successful relationship,” said Laurie Altman, vice president and general manager, 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division. “Race teams can continue to have access to advanced 3M solutions that save time in car construction, enhance the paint process and make repairs easier during a race weekend. Our customer base is rich with fans of the sport, and this relationship allows us to spend time with those fans over several race weekends.”  

3M Automotive Aftermarket Division will kick off its partnership with NASCAR during the 2016 Daytona 500®.  

“Our long-standing partnership is driven by the authentic integration of 3M products across our sport,” said Steve Phelps, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, NASCAR. “This agreement continues the recent trend of innovative companies partnering with NASCAR to ensure we deliver the best racing product in the world.”

3M automotive products keep the world on the move, with innovative solutions for building, repairing and maintaining vehicles. From the collision repair professional to the individual vehicle enthusiast, people around the world trust 3M products to protect, repair and keep their vehicles looking showroom new. And 3M’s commitment to this industry extends beyond product performance to a careful stewardship of the world’s resources and environment. Serving the needs of its customers has made 3M a trusted leader in vehicle care and repair, and 3M is dedicated to earning that trust each and every day.

For more information about 3M automotive products, contact 1-877-MMM-CARS, contact your local 3M Distributor or 3M Sales Representative or visit the website at www.3Mcollision.com. Follow 3M AAD on Facebook at www.facebook.com/3MCollision and on twitter @3M_Collision and Instagram @3MCollision.

Tune-in to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ Eliminator Round’s™ second race, the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and PRN, with additional coverage on NASCAR.com.