Posted on by Staff Report

Veteran driver will pilot No. 20 Toyota before calling it a career

RELATED: Buy Iowa tickets | HERMAN UNPLUGGED: The retirement edition

Kenny Wallace will make the final start of his NASCAR career at Iowa Speedway in the U.S. Cellular 250 Presented by New Holland (Aug. 1, 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, MRN, SiriusXM).

The race at Iowa will mark the end of a 26-year NASCAR career and will also serve as his series-record 547th career start in the series. The veteran driver will go behind the wheel of the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing at the short track. Wallace finished 23rd in the May race at Iowa and his race will be the third start of the season for the 51-year-old.

"To me, this isn’t a sad moment; I’m at a truly happy place in my life right now," Wallace said in a release from Rusty Wallace Incorporated. "After all, not too many guys get to have the privilege of being a NASCAR driver, especially for as long as I have. I really wanted to end my long career on a positive note and I’m very excited about our chances in Iowa. The No. 20 team is one of the best in the sport and I’m looking forward to having a chance to end my NASCAR career with a great finish. I really want to thank U.S. Cellular for helping me make that happen."

Wallace has made 344 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts in addition to 13 starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. However, all nine of his national series wins have come in the XFINITY Series. In 1991, Wallace finished as the runner-up in the standings for that series. Heading into the Iowa race, Wallace has completed the most laps in XFINITY Series history with 101,673.

On the Sprint Cup side, Wallace’s best finishes were a trio of runner-up showings at Loudon (in 1999), Talladega (in 2000) and Rockingham (in 2001).

In addition to still competing every so often, Wallace has served as a NASCAR analyst for FOX Sports, appearing on FOX Sports 1’s "NASCAR RaceDay" and "NASCAR Victory Lane" programs. He also does a "Herman Unplugged" feature, offering his opinions on the hot topics in the sport, for NASCAR Illustrated that appears on NASCAR.com.

"Growing up as a kid and watching my Dad race in Rolla, Missouri, I never dreamed that I’d have the chance to do what I’ve done in my life," Wallace said. "I’ve had a long and successful career and I’ve been able to support my family doing what I love. To me, it doesn’t get any better than that. I’m really proud of everything that I’ve been able to accomplish in NASCAR.

"I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to turn my NASCAR driving career into another career doing something else I love — that’s working with FOX Sports on television. Those guys have been great to me and I get a lot of happiness from being able to educate the fans about the sport that I love. I’m going to stay involved in the sport through TV and I’m going to stay behind the wheel in my dirt cars, too.

"You know, everyone experiences change at some point and I’m honestly looking forward to opening the next chapter in my life. As always, I promise that I’m going to have a lot of fun doing it."

The No. 20 XFINITY Series car has seen five drivers take turns behind the wheel this season for JGR. Erik Jones has made nine starts, while Matt Kenseth has made three, Denny Hamlin has made two and Ross Kenseth and David Ragan have each made one start in the car. Jones won at Texas, while Hamlin won at Richmond in the car for crew chief Mike Wheeler.

The No. 20 team enters the New Hampshire race weekend fourth in the owner standings for the XFINITY Series. Hamlin will pilot the car at the Magic Mile.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Analyzing what happened and where things go from here

RELATED: France: ‘Definitely an improvement’ | Drivers praise new rules package at Kentucky

Saturday night’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race with a new, lower-downforce rules package prompted almost as many questions as it answered at Kentucky Speedway, but in a good way. Based on its early reviews, the opening act could lead to potentially much wider use later this season and beyond.
 
The blight of frequent rain severely curtailed practice time on the 1.5-mile track, making a small sample size even smaller before the rules package’s race-time application in the Quaker State 400. Despite the scheduling difficulties, the weekend was capped by the most compelling intermediate-track race of the season.

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What was learned? What’s next? Who benefited the most? Measuring outcomes or making predictions from Saturday night’s show isn’t an easy task, one that would benefit from the help of a Magic 8-Ball to provide the answers.
 
With that, let’s give it a shake:

It is decidedly so: Passing increased — a lot. What the package yielded was the most competitive event in the track’s history, based on the number of lead changes and widespread passing — more than double that in the previous year’s Kentucky race — throughout the pack. Chalk some of the statistics up to a track-record 11 caution periods and the frantic restarts — with three- and four-wide racing — that followed, but the rules package deserves the bulk of the credit.

You may rely on it: Separation was still prevalent once drivers settled into a green-flag run, but the advantages of undisturbed "clean air" for a leading car was not nearly as pronounced. The decreased downforce prevented cars from being glued to the race track, placing an emphasis on driver control. With that factor at a premium and perfectly consistent lap times not easy to achieve, overtaking came more into play.

Ask again later: The next stop for the reduced-downforce package comes Sept. 6 at Darlington Raceway, but with what’s expected to be a crucial variable — a softer tire. Goodyear’s production run of Kentucky tires was already complete by the time last weekend’s rules change was announced, preventing a more exact match. By getting the downforce and tire compounds in sync for Labor Day weekend, the verdict on the rules package may be even more conclusive.

MORE: Several tracks to see new rules packages in 2015

Cannot predict now: Are further changes coming? Could the package be used in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs? Possibly. Some crew chiefs expressed that NASCAR could go even further in chopping downforce, but that more will be learned with the softer tire compound at Darlington. As for the Chase, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said last week that, "all options for us are still on the table." A rules change for the playoffs could be considered drastic, but the precedent for making bold moves has already been set midseason at Kentucky.

RELATED: NASCAR executive discusses Kentucky rules package

Outlook good: Two teams stood out from the rest in benefiting from the new package — Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske. Their half-dozen cars made a clean sweep of the top six, leading all but five laps Saturday night. Race winner Kyle Busch was the most dominant, setting the pace for 163 of the 267 laps, but the show of strength didn’t dampen the quality of the racing, both up front and in the pack.

Reply hazy, try again: For whatever reason, Chevrolet teams in general struggled to find the right combination. Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon drove the top-finishing Chevy to seventh place in his last Kentucky start.

Don’t count on it: NASCAR innovation standing pat? Not in this new era, where the decision-makers in the sanctioning body’s R&D center actively seek feedback from drivers, whether in an organized council or otherwise. Their willingness to adapt and change injected life into Saturday night’s racing, and the promise of track-specific packages offers even more potential.

Signs point to yes: Based on the reaction of most drivers and most fans through social media, Saturday’s race may best be remembered as a key building block to an improved on-track product on intermediate-sized tracks. Third-place finisher Denny Hamlin may have stated it best: "This is what race car driving’s all about. And I feel like now it’s back in the driver and crew chief’s hands to get their car handling like it’s supposed to, not just an arms race of who builds the fastest cars in the shop."

Posted on by Nascar

Entering New Hampshire, three-time champion currently sits 28th in points

While it seems as if everyone else has been on Tony Stewart retirement watch, Tony Stewart has been on "What the hell can we do to get better?" watch.
 
Halfway through the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, Stewart, 44, has yet to score his first top-five finish. He has a single top 10. And he’s 28th in points as the series prepares to head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for Sunday’s 5-hour ENERGY 301 (1:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM).
 
His past two seasons have been abbreviated. Stewart suffered a broken leg in ’13 and missed the final 15 races; last year his involvement in an on-track fatality left him sidelined for three races.

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This year brought a new rules package featuring lower downforce and less horsepower, changes to which admits he has yet to adapt.
 
So while some wonder just how much longer he will continue to compete, Stewart says he is much more concerned with how he can get back to the form that saw him win three series titles (2002, ’05, ’11) and 48 races.
 
"Right now I’m just trying to figure out how to get my car working, to be honest with you," Stewart said during a national teleconference on Tuesday when asked about career longevity. "To me, I don’t care how we get there. I don’t care if it takes one week or if it takes six weeks to get there, the main thing is just getting there.
 
"We’re going to keep working hard and keep pushing to try to find that. With the way this (Chase) format is … all it takes is one good race for us to get in. If we can find whatever it is that we’ve been missing … one race can change our whole season. That’s the driving force every week."
 
Stewart has won at least one race on 21 of the 23 tracks currently hosting Sprint Cup events, a mark surpassed only by four-time series champ Jeff Gordon. His wins are spread out among the various venues — at times he’s been as strong on the 1.5-mile tracks as on the road courses. He’s a five-time winner on the restrictor-plate tracks, and many of his victories been earned on short tracks.
 
He hasn’t won, however, in his last 59 starts, last visiting victory lane at Dover International Speedway in June of 2013 while paired with crew chief Steve Addington.
 
Chad Johnston has been calling the shots for the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 team since the start of 2014. Stewart still believes in his crew chief.
 
"I don’t feel like he’s what’s holding us back," he said. "There’s something about the way this package is that just doesn’t suit my driving style. It’s a scenario that when you drive for so long, you’re used to one thing … coming into this year and taking the amount of horsepower they took out was a pretty radical change for the Cup Series.
       
"I think it was more the horsepower reduction than it was anything that I feel like has hurt me this year. I’ve grown up driving high‑horsepower cars, high power‑to‑weight ratio cars. This hasn’t been what I’m used to feeling."

RELATED: Drivers give package rave reviews
 
Because he hasn’t found that balance and feel for which he is searching, Stewart said it would be unwise to look to him for an opinion on NASCAR’s latest rules change, a lower downforce package used this past weekend at Kentucky Speedway. A version of the package will also be used later this year at Darlington Raceway.
 
As an owner (Stewart is co-owner of SHR), any changes that, "put better races on is in all of our best interests," he said.
 
"The part that’s hard for the teams is the process … changing this, changing that. All that cost comes out of our pockets. It doesn’t come out of NASCAR’s pocket. NASCAR decides they want to change something (and) we’re the ones that have to spend the money to do it.
 
"I think all of the owners will do whatever’s in the best interest of making it better. I just would like to see NASCAR share some of that expense versus saying, ‘Hey, we got an idea, we want to try this,’ then the teams have to spend all the money to do it."
 
For now, though, Stewart has more pressing concerns.
 
"I feel like every weekend, it’s the weekend we’re going to find it," he said. "It’s disheartening, takes the wind out of your sails when you realize you haven’t found it that week. …
 
"It’s not strictly about a win. If we get our car working and win a race because we have our car working well, it definitely can turn the season around. With this format, it can change everything.
 
"That’s your reason not to give up. That’s your reason to keep fighting every week and show up at the track with the same attitude you did the week before. You can go out there, win the race, (and) get everything going."

Posted on by Nascar

Intermediate track hosts opening event of 10-race Chase in September

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup doesn’t begin for another 10 weeks at Chicagoland Raceway, but a dozen teams are scheduled to be at the 1.5-mile track later this week for an open team test.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Hendrick Motorsports), Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing), Sam Hornish Jr. (Richard Petty Motorsports) and J.J. Yeley (BK Racing) are participating in a two-day Goodyear tire test Monday and Tuesday.

They will be joined by Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates), Greg Biffle (Roush Fenway Racing), Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing), Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing), Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing), Kurt Busch (Stewart-Haas Racing), Clint Bowyer (Michael Waltrip Racing) and Brad Keselowski (Team Penske) for the open test.
 
On Tuesday morning, Earnhardt Jr. tweeted that Hornish tested a high downforce package on Monday while a low downforce package was scheduled to be run on Tuesday.

While a lower downforce rules package similar to that used this past weekend at Kentucky Speedway isn’t expected to be in play when the series competes at Chicago in September, any additional testing with the setup on the 1.5-mile track would give both Goodyear and the teams additional data going forward.

RELATED: France sees improvement in racing at Kentucky
 
At Daytona International Speedway earlier this month, Earnhardt Jr. said he was open to trying a different aero package for Chicago while testing.
 
"I think it’s a great idea to go there and take whatever package they would like to try," the Hendrick Motorsports driver said. "Because it’s a great opportunity … we will be there three full days."
 
Earnhardt said implementing the lower downforce package for the test didn’t necessarily mean the package would be used in the opening Chase race.
 
"We will go through and see what happens up until the Chase with these different packages they want to try and then maybe come to a decision to change something in the Chase," he said. "But until then nothing in the Chase is really going to change as far as I’ve been told. I feel comfortable about that."
 
A similar rules package will be in play when the series travels to Darlington Raceway in September, and a high drag package is scheduled for races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Michigan International Speedway later this year.
 
The rules package in place for Saturday’s race at Kentucky featured a shorter spoiler as well as changes to the splitter and splitter extension panel.

RELATED: What we learned from Kentucky race, rules package
 
While weather problems forced the cancellation of a scheduled extended practice on Wednesday at Kentucky, as well as qualifying on Friday, the 267-lap race featured a record number of green-flag passes throughout the field.
 
Steve O’Donnell, Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer for NASCAR, didn’t completely close the door on the possibility of an aero change for any of the 10 Chase races, five of which will be contested on 1.5-mile tracks, when speaking with members of the media last week, saying, "All options for us are still on the table."
 
"Our position today is that these are the race packages and this is kind of where we’re at for ’15, but as those conversations take place over the next couple weeks, that could change," he said.
 
Monday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, O’Donnell said, however, that there were no plans to implement different aero packages for Chase races.
 
"We’re going to stick with our plan," he said. "This was something that we developed with the garage area. What are the specific races that we can target together? Everybody feels really good about the plan that we have in place so we’ll continue on that path. We’re learning a lot this week as well as we take all the data from Kentucky. …
 
"There were some reasons why we picked the race tracks we did from a (preparation) standpoint, and (we) feel like we want to stick to the plan right now."
 
The opening Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 20 at Chicagoland Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, MRN, SiriusXM). The other nine Chase races will be contested at: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Martinsville Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Posted on by Staff Report

A statistical look ahead to the 19th race of the 2015 Sprint Cup season

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 13, 2015) – Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire going into the 5-hour ENERGY 301 on July 19 (1:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).

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• Schedule

NEW HAMPSHIRE-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

Clint Bowyer (No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota)

·         Two wins, four top fives, seven top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 14.500, 10th-best

·         Average Running Position of 12.335, eighth-best

·         Driver Rating of 95.0, eighth-best

·         245 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 124.934, seventh-fastest

·         3760 Laps in the Top 15 (69.9), eighth-most

·         498 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota)

·         One win, seven top fives, ten top 10s; two poles

·         Average finish of 14.050, ninth-best

·         Average Running Position of 13.375, 11th-best

·         Driver Rating of 94.7, ninth-best

·         232 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 124.801, 11th-fastest

·         3975 Laps in the Top 15 (66.5), 10th-most

·         532 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Kurt Busch (No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet)

·         Three wins, seven top fives, 11 top 10s

·         Average finish of 17.500, 12th-best

·         Average Running Position of 14.294, 13th-best

·         Driver Rating of 88.1, 13th-best

·         187 Fastest Laps Run, second-best

·         3529 Laps in the Top 15 (59.0), 13th-most

·         548 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr (No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet)

·         Seven top fives, 14 top 10s

·         Average finish of 13.350, seventh-best

·         Average Running Position of 11.743, sixth-best

·         Driver Rating of 97.1, sixth-best

·         251 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 125.100, fifth-fastest

·         4435 Laps in the Top 15 (74.2), fourth-most

·         625 Quality Passes, third-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet)

·         Three wins, 16 top fives, 22 top 10s; four poles

·         Average finish of 10.700, third-best

·         Average Running Position of 7.680, series-best

·         Driver Rating of 107.3, series-best

·         457 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 125.292, series-fastest

·         5266 Laps in the Top 15 (88.1), series-most

·         676 Quality Passes, series-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota)

·         Two wins, seven top fives, 11 top 10s

·         Average finish of 10.500, second-best

·         Average Running Position of 11.406, fifth-best

·         Driver Rating of 103.2, third-best

·         320 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 125.064, sixth-fastest

·         3936 Laps in the Top 15 (73.2), fifth-most

·         570 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Jimmy John’s/ Budweiser Chevrolet)

·         One win, six top fives, 14 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 13.750, eighth-best

·         Average Running Position of 12.288, seventh-best

·         Driver Rating of 93.1, 10th-best

·         219 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 124.890, ninth-fastest

·         4002 Laps in the Top 15 (66.9), ninth-most

·         465 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)

·         Three wins, ten top fives, 18 top 10s

·         Average finish of 10.950, fifth-best

·         Average Running Position of 11.144, fourth-best

·         Driver Rating of 102.1, fourth-best

·         432 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 125.193, third-fastest

·         4758 Laps in the Top 15 (79.6), second-most

·         626 Quality Passes, second-most

Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet)

·         One win, three top fives, eight top 10s

·         Average finish of 18.050, 13th-best

·         Average Running Position of 14.160, 12th-best

·         Driver Rating of 91.3, 12th-best

·         340 Fastest Laps Run, series-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 124.891, eighth-fastest

·         3781 Laps in the Top 15 (63.2), 12th-most

·         534 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Ford)

·         One win, four top fives, seven top 10s; three poles

·         Average finish of 11.000, sixth-best

·         Average Running Position of 12.985, ninth-best

·         Driver Rating of 95.6, seventh-best

·         229 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 124.866, 10th-fastest

·         2147 Laps in the Top 15 (65.3), 11th-most

·         336 Quality Passes, 12th-most

Kyle Larson (No. 42 Target Chevrolet)

·         Two top fives, two top 10s

·         Average finish of 2.500, series-best

·         Average Running Position of 10.730, third-best

·         Driver Rating of 99.1, fifth-best

·         14 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 125.217, second-fastest

·         443 Laps in the Top 15 (72.9), sixth-most

·         51 Quality Passes, 13th-most

Ryan Newman (No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet)

·         Three wins, seven top fives, 16 top 10s; seven poles

·         Average finish of 15.150, 11th-best

·         Average Running Position of 13.142, 10th-best

·         Driver Rating of 91.8, 11th-best

·         169 Fastest Laps Run, third-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 124.770, 12th-fastest

·         4342 Laps in the Top 15 (72.6), seventh-most

·         504 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet)

·         Three wins, 14 top fives, 18 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 10.947, fourth-best

·         Average Running Position of 10.290, second-best

·         Driver Rating of 106.9, second-best

·         412 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-best

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 125.104, fourth-fastest

·         4347 Laps in the Top 15 (76.6), third-most

·         557 Quality Passes, fifth-most

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2015 Top 16 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

 

Driver

Races

Poles

Wins

Top Fives

Top 10s

DNFs

Average Finish

Driver Rating

  
 

1

Kevin Harvick

28

1

1

6

14

0

13.9

93.1

  

2

Jimmie Johnson

26

0

3

10

18

1

10.3

102.1

  

3

Joey Logano

13

0

2

3

5

2

17.9

77.2

  

4

Dale Earnhardt Jr

31

0

0

7

14

4

15.3

97.1

  

5

Martin Truex Jr

18

0

0

3

6

1

14.4

86.3

  

6

Brad Keselowski

11

3

1

4

7

0

11

95.6

  

7

Jamie McMurray

24

0

0

4

6

3

20.5

70.4

  

8

Kurt Busch

28

0

3

7

11

1

16.1

88.1

  

9

Matt Kenseth

30

0

1

7

15

1

13.3

85.7

  

10

Jeff Gordon

40

4

3

16

22

2

11.4

107.3

  

11

Denny Hamlin

18

0

2

7

11

0

10.5

103.2

  

12

Kasey Kahne

22

0

1

3

8

3

17

91.3

  

13

Paul Menard

16

0

0

0

0

0

23.7

61.4

  

14

Ryan Newman

26

7

3

7

16

3

13.8

91.8

  

15

Clint Bowyer

18

1

2

4

7

1

14.5

95.0

  

16

Aric Almirola

9

0

0

1

2

0

19.6

64.8

  

New Hampshire Motor Speedway Data

Season Race #: 19 of 36 (07-19-15)

Track Size: 1.058-mile

Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 2 to 7 degrees

Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 2 to 7 degrees

Banking/Frontstretch: 1 degree

Banking/Backstretch: 1 degree

Frontstretch Length:  1,500 feet

Backstretch Length:  1,500 feet

Race Length: 301 laps / 318.46 miles

Top 10 Driver Rating at New Hampshire

Jeff Gordon………………………… 107.3

Tony Stewart……………………….. 106.9

Denny Hamlin………………………. 103.2

Jimmie Johnson…………………… 102.1

Kyle Larson.…………………………. 99.1

Dale Earnhardt Jr.………………….. 97.1

Brad Keselowski……………………. 95.6

Clint Bowyer…………………………. 95.0

Kyle Busch…………………………… 94.7

Kevin Harvick………………………… 93.1

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (20 total) among active drivers at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Qualifying/Race Data

2014 pole winner:

Kyle Busch, Toyota

138.130 mph, 27.574 secs. 07-11-14

2014 race winner:

Brad Keselowski, Ford

108.741 mph, (02:58:03), 07-13-14

Track qualifying record:

Brad Keselowski, Ford

140.598 mph, 27.090 secs. 09-21-14

Track race record:

Jeff Burton, Ford

117.134 mph, (02:42:35), 07-13-97

 

New Hampshire Motor Speedway:

History

·       Groundbreaking for New Hampshire International Speedway, as New Hampshire Motor Speedway was originally named, was Aug. 13, 1989.

·       The 1.058-mile oval is located on approximately 1,200 acres; the multi-use complex is the largest sports facility in New England.

·        The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was on July 11, 1993 – won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace.

·        Speedway Motorsports, Inc. agreed to purchase New Hampshire International Speedway from Bob and Gary Bahre on January 11, 2008 and then renamed the track New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Starts

·       There have been 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway; one per year from 1993 through 1996 and two per year since.

·         160 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire; 129 in more than one.

·         Jeff Gordon has competed in all 40 races at New Hampshire – the only driver to accomplish the feat.

·       Only one active championship contending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver has made their first career start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Joey Logano (9/14/08).

·      Three drivers will attempt to make their series debuts at New Hampshire this weekend: Trevor Bayne, Matt DiBenedetto and Brett Moffitt.

·         Ryan Newman leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at New Hampshire with an 8.692.

 

Poles

·         Mark Martin won the inaugural Coors Light pole at New Hampshire in 1993 with a speed of 126.871 mph. 

·         18 drivers have Coors Light poles at New Hampshire, led by Ryan Newman with seven.

·     Four active drivers have multiple poles at New Hampshire: Ryan Newman (seven), Jeff Gordon (four), Brad Keselowski (three) and Kyle Busch (two).

·       Five drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at New Hampshire: Ken Schrader (1997 sweep); Jeff Gordon (1998-1999); Rusty Wallace (1999-2000); Ryan Newman (twice – 2003-2004 and 2011 sweep); Juan Pablo Montoya (2009-2010).

·         Youngest New Hampshire Coors Light pole winner: Brian Vickers (07/17/2005 – 21 years, 8 months, 23 days).

·         Oldest New Hampshire Coors Light pole winner: Bill Elliott (07/21/2002 – 46 years, 9 months, 13 days).

·         Brad Keselowski (9/19/10) is the only active driver to post his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.       

 

Wins

·         24 different drivers have won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, led by Jeff Burton with four.

·         Eight active drivers have multiple wins at NHMS: Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart (each have three); Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano (each have two)

·         Two drivers have posted consecutive wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Jimmie Johnson (2003 sweep) and Kurt Busch (2004 sweep). 

·         Youngest New Hampshire winner: Joey Logano (06/28/2009 – 19 years, 1 month, 4 days).

·         Oldest New Hampshire winner: Mark Martin (09/20/2009 – 50 years, 8 months, 11 days).

·        Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at New Hampshire in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with nine; followed by Roush Fenway Racing (seven), Team Penske (six), Joe Gibbs Racing (six) and Richard Childress Racing (four).

·       Five different manufacturers have won at New Hampshire; led by Chevrolet with 18 victories; followed by Ford (13), Toyota (four), Dodge (three) and Pontiac (two).

·         Jeff Burton is the only driver to win the July race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway three consecutive years in a row (1997, ’98 and ’99)

·         Five of the 40 (12.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at New Hampshire have been won from the Coors Light pole; the most recent was Ryan Newman in 2011.

·       The Coors Light pole is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (five) than any other starting position at New Hampshire.    

·         Eight of the 40 (20%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at New Hampshire have been won from the front row: five from the pole and three from second-place.

·         22 of the 40 (55%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·       Nine of the 40 (22.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at New Hampshire have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

·         The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at New Hampshire is 38th, by Jeff Burton in 1999.

·         The deepest in the field that an active race winner has started at New Hampshire is 32nd, by Kurt Busch in the summer of 2003.

·      Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at New Hampshire without visiting Victory Lane at 31; followed by Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears (24 starts each).

·         Three active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have posted their first career win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Ryan Newman (9/15/02), Clint Bowyer (9/16/07) and Joey Logano (6/28/09).

 

Additional Finishing Position Stats 

·         Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are tied for the series lead in runner-up finishes at New Hampshire with five each. 

·       Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-five finishes at New Hampshire with 16; followed by Tony Stewart with 14 and Jimmie Johnson with 10.   

·       Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-10 finishes at New Hampshire with 22; followed by Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson with 18 each.

·         Jimmie Johnson leads NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at New Hampshire with an 10.269.

·         All 14 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winners at New Hampshire Motor Speedway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Ryan Newman and Joey Logano won at New Hampshire in their second appearance.     

Track Specific Stats

·         Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was the July 1, 2007 race won by Denny Hamlin over Jeff Gordon with a MOV of 0.068 second.

·         17 of the 33 (51.5%) NSCS races scored by electronic scoring at New Hampshire Motor Speedway have had a Margin of Victory less than a second.

·         Four of the 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races have resulted with a green-white-checkered finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Scheduled No. of Laps/Actual No. of Laps): 2006 (300/308), 2013 (301/302), 2014 (301/302) and the Chase race 2014 (300/303).

·         Four of the 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions; the most recent was June 28, 2009 – the race was called on Lap 273, 28 circuits shy of the 301 scheduled laps.   

·       Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway five times: fall 2001, summer 2003, fall 2004, fall 2008 and summer 2009.  

·         Jeff Gordon leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at New Hampshire with 1,371 laps led in 40 starts. 

·         Jeff Gordon leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps completed at New Hampshire with 11,666 laps completed in 40 starts. 

Female Competitor Stats

·         Danica Patrick is the only female driver that has competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Date

Driver

Starting Position

Finishing Position

Driver Rating

9/21/2014

Danica Patrick

18

19

79.7

7/13/2014

Danica Patrick

29

22

60.9

9/22/2013

Danica Patrick

21

27

57.1

7/14/2013

Danica Patrick

32

37

47.7

Averages

25.0

26.3

61.35

 

NASCAR in New Hampshire

·         There have been 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in New Hampshire, all at NHMS.

Track Name

City

NSCS

NNS

NCWTS

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Loudon

40

28

17

 

·       15 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as New Hampshire; Jamie Aube is the only one of the 15 to record a victory in NASCAR national series competition.  Aube won July 12, 1987 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, ME; it was his only start that season.

Milestones – New Hampshire Motor Speedway

DRIVER

HAS

NEEDS

MILESTONE

DESCRIPTION

  
 

Jeff Gordon

779

1

780th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Career Start

Gordon will attempt to tie Michael Waltrip (780) for ninth on the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career starts list. 

 

Michael McDowell

174

1

175th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Career Start

McDowell is 145th on the all-time NASCAR sprint Cup Series career starts list; two starts behind Walter Ballard in 144th (176)

  

Sam Hornish Jr.

149

1

150th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Career Start

Hornish is 160th on the all-time NASCAR sprint Cup Series career starts list; one start behind Cotton Owens in 159th (150)

  

Denny Hamlin

49

1

50th Consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Career Start

Hamlin is 26th on the active consecutive NSCS career starts list, two starts behind Landon Cassill (51) in 25th.

  

Jimmie Johnson

74

2

76th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win

Jimmie Johnson is eighth on the all-time NSCS wins list, two wins behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt in seventh (76 wins).

 

Tony Stewart

48

2

50th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win

Stewart is 13th on the all-time NSCS wins list, two wins behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett in 12th (50 wins).

 

Carl Edwards

24

1

25th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win

Edwards is 31st on the all-time NSCS wins list, one win behind Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joe Weatherly and Denny Hamlin tied for 28th (25 wins).

 

Jeff Gordon

24,826

174

25,000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Laps Led

Gordon can become the sixth driver in NSCS history to lead 25,000 laps; joining Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson and Bobby Allison.

 

Matt Kenseth

9,598

402

10,000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Laps Led

Kenseth can become the 16th driver in series history to lead 10,000 or more laps. 

 

Kevin Harvick

7,788

212

8,000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Laps Led

Kevin Harvick can become the 24th driver in series history to lead 8,000 or more laps. 

 

#43 car

199

1

200 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Wins

The No. 43 car is second on the all-time NSCS wins list, five wins behind the No. 11 car in first (204). The last win for the No. 43 car came at Daytona last season.

 
Posted on by Pat DeCola
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/jimmie-johnson/
JimmieJohnson
Hendrick Motorsports
Johnson remains the only driver with more than two 2015 wins, but one thing is eminently clear: Kyle Busch is well on his way to making that not so for much longer.
The Rundown: How Johnson fared at Kentucky
That moment when you realize Harvick, who rolled off five straight top-two finishes to open the season, hasn’t won a Cup race since March.
Keelan hops in first set of wheels
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/brad-keselowski/
BradKeselowski
3
Team Penske
Almost like they were tiered off, after the Gibbs/Penske onslaught at the top, P7-10 all went to Hendrick-powered engines, with Busch in 10th. Is this a tell-tale sign of who has a handle of the Kentucky rules package or just a coincidence? You decide.
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/dale-earnhardt-jr/
DaleEarnhardt Jr.
-2
Hendrick Motorsports
The Rundown: How Busch fared at Kentucky
Team Penske appears to be fully back on their game after a slight downtick lately. Since the duo swept Loudon last year, the good times for Logano and Co. should keep rolling.
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/kyle-busch/
KyleBusch
5
Joe Gibbs Racing
The Rundown: How Logano fared at Kentucky
Team Penske was one of two teams that really seemed to have it all figured out at Kentucky (Joe Gibbs Racing the other) and Keselowski comes into New Hampshire as the defending race-winner. Expect the 2 car to be strong the rest of the way.
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/denny-hamlin/
DennyHamlin
1
Joe Gibbs Racing
The Rundown: How Keselowski fared at Kentucky
All feuding aside, Junior never had a chance to compete in the Kentucky race, with his brakes pretty much shot the entire night. He’s never won at Loudon, but does finish in the top 10 nearly 50 percent of the time.
Danica rips, bumps Junior after wreck
Truex has only finished outside of the top 10 four times this season. Once was at Bristol in April, and the other three have been the past three races at Sonoma, Daytona and Kentucky. Trouble for the 78 team?
Furniture Row seeks second team by 2017
Through just seven races, Busch has just as many wins as defending Sprint Cup Series champ Kevin Harvick. Oh, and he’s the defending July Loudon pole-winner.
Busch picks up second 2015 win at Kentucky
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/clint-bowyer/
ClintBowyer
-1
Stewart-Haas Racing
Kenseth’s bread and butter during his seven-win 2013 season were the 1.5-mile tracks, with four wins coming on them. Now that he appears to have regained the power needed to succeed on the intermediates, look out.
JGR scores rare feat in Kentucky
Hamlin finished third for back-to-back weeks and has looked as strong as ever, heading to a track where he has multiple wins.
The Rundown: How Hamlin fared at Kentucky
Posted on by Brad Norman

Junior explains events that led up to incident at Kentucky

RELATED: Danica rips, bumps Junior | Listen: Patrick vs. Earnhardt on the radio

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a bad night at Kentucky. You’ve heard about his run-in (run-into?) with Danica Patrick. On "The Dale Jr. Download" on Diry Mo Radio, Earnhardt detailed how the night unfolded with crippling brake problems.

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"Admittedly, Kentucky’s not one of my best tracks, and the rain didn’t help things," Earnhardt said.

He learned a lot in the XFINITY race and hoped to carry some of that knowledge from his eighth-place run Friday night into Saturday night’s Cup race.

But the trouble started when he forgot to flip some switches.

"I forgot to turn on switches that cool the brakes and keep the tire temps down. We took off running there in the first run and the brakes started fading a little bit. Luckily, the caution came out and I was able to get the switches on.

"Come down pit road, pull the tape off the brakes and that should fix it. Everything should go back to normal and the pedal should come back, and that’s not what happened. It continued to get worse and worse each run."

The No. 88 car was pretty good, definitely top 10, Earnhardt said, but things kept getting worse from there.

"We ended up having a lot of brake problems. It got so bad at one point that if I didn’t pump the brakes all the way down the straightaway, it would go to the floor in the corner. So we’re sitting there pumping the brakes, pumping the brakes, pumping the brakes lap after lap after lap. Just staying out there tyring not to get passed til we fixed it.

"Caution would come out, we’d bleed the right front. Run out of time. Bleed the brakes on the left front. … But it would eventually get hot on the long run.

"…Anyhow, I started taking it easy, sort of running along pumping the brakes a lot. I had just let Danica go by and down the back straightaway I’m pumping the brakes and they’re not … I can’t pump ’em all the way to the floor on the straightaway cause you don’t want to slow the car down while you’re trying to accelerate. You’re just trying to get the fluid up, get the pedal up, but when we got to the corner, I mash the brake and it went all the way to the floor. I let off the brakes and mashed it again. At this point I’m gonna hit her. I let off the brakes and mashed it again and it goes to the floor and I ran into the back of her. There’s wasn’t nothing I could do about it."

Junior said the fact that he hit Patrick saved him from going into the wall, so that was the "silver lining" of the incident.

MORE: Highlights from Patrick’s 100 Cup races

"She flew off the handle, got pissed off. Our spotters communicated and told her about the brakes. She still ran into us on pit road for whatever damn reason."

Junior doesn’t really blame Patrick for being mad, admitting he’s been in that position before, too, and has lost his cool at times. But he’s not happy about what transpired after their wreck, either.

"That just brings a lot of unwanted attention to both of us for the wrong reasons."

After that, a full replacement of brake fluid helped, and the No. 88 came home 21st.

All said, Junior was happy with a car that was still able to pass amid pumping the brakes. And the team learned a lot heading into Darlington Raceway, which is the next race to use a similar low downforce package on Sept. 6.

Posted on by

All four of team’s cars place in top five in Quaker State 400

SPARTA, Ky. — Winning a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is a proud accomplishment for any team in the league. But to take the checkered and land all four of a team’s drivers in the top five is an even bigger success. It’s a feat so impressive that it hadn’t been done since Roush Fenway Racing in August 2008 at Michigan International Speedway.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
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That is, until Joe Gibbs Racing rewrote record books Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway.
 
JGR’s four-car powerhouse was led by Saturday’s Quaker State 400 race winner Kyle Busch, followed by teammates Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth in third through fifth, respectively.
 
"What a great night for Joe Gibbs Racing," Kenseth said after the race. "I am really happy for all those guys and the organization, and I think we all learned a lot of stuff. You know, we were kind of off all night, but we kept fighting and had some great pit stops and good strategy and got a decent finish out of it."
 
As Kenseth alluded to, the task wasn’t an easy one for the team, as all four cars were dealt a heavy hand with the new rules package debut atop of the standard trickiness of Kentucky Speedway’s uneven surface. Busch’s win among the difficulties was another feather in the No. 18 team’s hat, as the group has been battling the odds since the driver’s return to full-time competition in May following his early-season injuries.
 
"Obviously, the night went real well for us," Busch said in a post-race winner’s press conference. "But in general, man, it was really, really good to get out there and race like that tonight and to run up front and put on a good show … but most importantly I can’t say enough about (crew chief) Adam Stevens, my team, everyone that did such a great job for me and gave me a great race car to go out there and perform like I did and just to be able to put it all together throughout 400 miles."
 
For Edwards, the top-five finish was the defeat of a frustrating battle he had been fighting throughout the weekend.
 
"I talked to Carl today on the phone for quite awhile, right before I flew over," team owner Joe Gibbs said. "And we were kind of ‑‑ and to be quite truthful, he was worried. He said, ‘you know, I just didn’t feel good with the package, I thought some of our other cars were better than me’ and we had a long discussion on it."
 
The newest member of the Joe Gibbs Racing clan, Edwards joined the organization at the beginning of the 2015 Sprint Cup season. While he won the Coca-Cola 600 in May at Charlotte, the No. 19 driver’s performance this season has been mediocre the remainder of the year, only recording one other top 10 besides his win before Kentucky.
 
"I got to tell you, I was, I had a big applaud when I saw that 19 come roaring up through there," Gibbs said of Edwards. "It was really a big deal."
 
Edwards and the rest of his teammates seemed to have found something strong in the new rules package this weekend, an achievement that stumped other big-name teams such as Stewart-Haas Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. It’s an aerodynamic change that awarded a plethora of control to the driver — and exposed any flaws in driving ability.
 
"We’ve been working on it," No. 20 crew chief Jason Ratcliff said after the race. "As soon as we knew it was coming, we know that if you put it back in the driver’s hands, it’s going to be good for JGR. We’ve got what I think is four of the best in the business and it showed tonight. So we’ve been working on it hard and it’s just one of those weekends where it paid off for us."
 
While raw talent has proven beneficial in the Sprint Cup Series, another crucial element is the ability to work with one another, despite the notion that stock car racing is often considered a solo sport. This weekend, the Joe Gibbs drivers seem to work as a cohesive unit, evident in each of their improvements throughout the weekend.
 
"We have just been working very well together as a group," Edwards said. "Denny (Hamlin) was basically my counselor the other day after practice. I was so frustrated, I thought my car was terrible. I went straight over and talked to him and he helped me a little bit.
 
"… It’s a good group and it’s cool to be a part of it. These guys, they really push me a lot. It’s cool when your teammates are this fast. It’s really neat for me."
 
Hamlin agreed, adding, "Any time you have a driver of caliber of when Kyle (Busch) came in, Matt (Kenseth), and now Carl (Edwards), it just continues to push you to go faster. And push you to do your job better and that’s what ‑‑ when you can feed off each other like that, that’s typically how you get to an elite level."
 
Saturday night’s showdown in the Bluegrass State saw the JGR drivers rise to the occasion, battling to the front. And while the group works together melodiously off the track, the race even witnessed the teammates battling one another for the lead. It was a sight that showed the drivers’ competitiveness, but probably also set owner Gibbs’ nerves awry, according to Ratcliff.
 
"I would say when they were three-wide, he was probably hiding his eyes," Ratcliff said with a chuckle. "I would be."

Posted on by

Complete news and notes on all 43 cars in the Quaker State 400

RELATED: Full race results | Series standings | Chase Grid

Breaking down how the full 43-car field fared at Kentucky Speedway.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

1. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch led a race-high 163 laps to win his second Cup event of the year and is 87 points outside the top 30. | MORE: How is Busch positioned for the Chase

2. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. Logano paced the field 23 laps late on Saturday night, but couldn’t hold on for his first Kentucky victory. | MORE: See the updated Chase Grid and where Logano is on it

3. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. A cut tire, an unexpected pit stop and a subsequent speeding penalty didn’t deter Hamlin, who rallied from two laps down to earn his eighth top 10 of the year.  | MORE: Kentucky rules package earns rave reviews

4. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. "My Minions didn’t like M&Ms," Edwards radioed his team after lining up next to teammate and leader Kyle Busch for the Lap 157 restart. | RELATED: Sign up for RaceView for in-car audio during race.

5. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth reported early in the race that he had an alternator going down, but restarting the car seemed to fix the issue. | MORE: JGR pulls off rare feat at Kentucky

6. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. The outside pole sitter struggled on pit road, notably dropping nine spots after hitting his front-tire carrier during a stop under the fifth caution flag.

7. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon was shut out in his final Kentucky appearance, and despite a fifth straight top-10 result, the track will remain the only one where the four-time Cup champion is winless. | MORE: Gordon’s track record

8. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. The points leader endured a late-race tight-handling condition to claim his Series-leading 16th top 10 of the year.

9. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. "You’re back in this game, homeboy," crew chief Chad Knaus told Johnson, who lined up seventh for the Lap 157 restart after some major early changes to his car dropped him deep in the lineup. | RELATED: Sign up for RaceView for in-car audio during race.

10. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch was loose running 10th and crashed into the Turn 4 wall on Lap 99 after asking his team to undo the changes they had made on a previous stop.

11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse just missed his second top 10 of the year after traveling up the track and into the side of Jeb Burton on Lap 143 to bring out the seventh caution.

12. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Despite radio communication issues, Almirola held on to earn his best Kentucky result.

13. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne earned the Lucky Dog on the fourth caution flag and rallied to sixth for the final restart.

14. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. McMurray overcame an early lugnut issue and used a little pit strategy to score his second-best Kentucky result.

15. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard brushed the wall on Lap 81 and left debris to bring out the third caution flag.

16. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle’s team tried a variety of adjustments on Saturday in an attempt to help the turning of the No. 16 Ford.

17. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing.  Despite a car that was "plowing," Truex held on to maintain fifth in the points standing. 

18. David Ragan, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Ragan ran in the top 10 early before his team started chasing the handling of his No. 55 Toyota.

19. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. "This new package is awesome," radioed Bowyer, who earned his best 1.5-mile result of the season. "You have to drive your (rear) off, but it’s fun." | RELATED: Sign up for RaceView for in-car audio during race.

20. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Newman, in his fifth Kentucky outing, stayed out to inherit the lead briefly for the Lap 192 restart.

21. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt, complaining of a lack of brakes, smacked the wall on Lap 136 to bring out the sixth caution flag. After subsequently bumping Danica Patrick, Earnhardt spent time on pit road where his crew tried again to fix the issue. | WATCH: Danica, Dale Jr. tussle on pit road.

22. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Hornish struggled with drive-off, but posted his fastest lap of the night just prior to the eighth caution flag on Lap 152.

23. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Mears was named the Lucky Dog after Jeb Burton tagged the wall on Lap 143 to bring out the seventh caution flag

24. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Allgaier had just returned to the lead lap after the Lap 122 caution when he was penalized for passing before the restart.

25. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Handling was an ongoing issue for Dillon, who reported to his team on Lap 220, "I feel like I’m trying to turn a bulldozer down into the corner."

26. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger’s team continually tinkered on the No. 47 Chevy, and he finished as the last car on the lead lap.

27. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne was running in the top 10 by the halfway point, but noticeably fell off the pace with 30 laps to go.

28. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Smith Motorsports. Patience paid off for Cassill, who posted his best 1.5-mile result of the 2015 season.

29. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Gilliland asked his team to check out his grille because his gauges were running hot on Lap 161.

30. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Annett lined up 29th in his second Kentucky appearance. 

31. Alex Bowman, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Bowman had to play catch-up after his team was penalized for going over the wall too soon during the competition caution on Lap 32.

32. Brett Moffitt, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Moffitt, a Kentucky newcomer, earned the Lucky Dog pass heading into the Lap 192 restart.

33. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart locked down his brakes briefly on Lap 143 and hit the wall while trying to avoid wrecking competitors in front of him.

34. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick spun on Lap 207 thanks to contact from a brake-less Earnhardt to bring out a record-tying 10th caution flag. She retaliated by hitting Earnhardt as the two entered pit road. | ALL ACCESS: Danica frustrated with Dale Jr.

35. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. A smoking left-rear tire prompted the pole sitter to pit unexpectedly with 52 laps to go. Upon returning to the track, he hit the wall to bring out a record-setting 11th caution flag.

36. Reed Sorenson, No. 62 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. Sorenson drove the No. 62 for the first time this year in his first 1.5-mile start of the season.

37. Cole Whitt, No. 35 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Whitt was running 35th when left-rear tire rub prompted his car to start smoking around Lap 110.

38. Will Kimmel III, No. 32 Ford, Go FAS Racing. Kimmel lined up 40th in his Sprint Cup debut.

39. J.J. Yeley, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. A loose-handling condition prompted Yeley to spin in Turn 4 on Lap 122 and bring out the fifth caution flag of the night.

40. Alex Kennedy, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport. Kennedy picked up a few spots after lining up 43rd in his first career Kentucky start.

41. Jeb Burton, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing. The rookie was pushed into the wall by Ricky Stenhouse on Lap 143 to bring out the seventh caution flag.

42. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. DiBenedetto sustained damage during the Lap 143 wreck and retreated to the garage so his team could make repairs.

43. Josh Wise, No. 98 Ford, Premium Motorsports. Wise brought out the first caution on Lap 19 after J.J. Yeley pushed him into the wall.

Posted on by Staff Report

Get on-track times for everything at Indianapolis and Eldora

RELATED: TV schedule for the week ahead

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series will race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will race at Eldora Speedway. Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series practices, qualifying sessions and races can also be watched on NBC Sports Live Extra.The Camping World Truck Series events will be on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. Check out the full schedule below.

 
 

All times are ET

SUNDAY, JULY 26:

ON TRACK
— NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard (160 laps, 400 miles), NBCSN (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 6:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race press conferences

WEDNESDAY, JULY 22:

ON TRACK
— 10:30-11:25 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 5:15 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 2 (Pierce tops session)
— 7 p.m. (approx.): NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Qualifying Race #1 (10 laps), FOX Sports 2 (Get results)
— 7:09 p.m. (approx.): NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Qualifying Race #2 (10 laps), FOX Sports 2 (Get results)
— 7:18 p.m. (approx.): NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Qualifying Race #3 (10 laps), FOX Sports 2 (Get results)
— 7:27 p.m. (approx.): NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Qualifying Race #4 (10 laps), FOX Sports 2 (Get results)
— 7:36 p.m. (approx.): NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Qualifying Race #5 (10 laps), FOX Sports 2 (Get results)
— 8:15 p.m. (approx.): NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Last Chance Race (15 laps), FOX Sports 1 (Get results) | Race lineup
— 9 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 1-800-CarCash Mud Summer Classic (150 laps; three segments: 60-50-40 for 75 miles), FOX Sports 1 (Get results)

 

FRIDAY, JULY 24:

ON TRACK
— 9-10:25 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBC Sports Live Extra (Get results)
— 11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, NBCSN (Get results)
— 1-2:25 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN (Get results)
— 2:30-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final pratice, NBCSN (Get results)
— 4-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, NBCSN (Get results)

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
— 11 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series
— 12:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 8:15 a.m.: Jimmie Johnson
— 10:45 a.m.: Ty Dillon
— 11:15 a.m.: Joey Logano
— 2:45 p.m.: Jamie McMurray

SATURDAY, JULY 25:

ON TRACK
— 11:35 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN (Get results)
— 1:10 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualiyfing, NBCSN (Get results)
— 3:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 (100 laps, 250 miles), NBC (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 10 a.m.: Richard Petty Motorsports/Eckrich Announcement
— 10:30 a.m.: Kyle Busch
— 2:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying press conferences
— 5:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series race press conferences