Nemechek passes first test on 1.5-mile track

Posted on July 15, 2015 by

Eleventh-place finish provides learning experience for driver

SPARTA, Ky. — John Hunter Nemechek had every right to enter Thursday’s UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway with wide eyes and sweaty palms.

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Not only was he making his first start at a 1.5-mile track — his 18th birthday on June 11 allowing him to run on any track length — he was also hopping into the No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet with no practice time due to inclement weather. Tack on the potential hazard of seeping rainwater on the track (fondly known as weepers) and the possibility of a bumpy ride due to the rough surface of Kentucky, and it’s enough to make the most experienced driver’s heart rate quicken.

And while he appeared weary post-race, leaning against his No. 8 truck while sitting on the asphalt surface, Nemechek had a simple answer regarding if he had felt nervous with no practice time before the drop of the green: "Not at all."

The young driver’s performance seemed to reflect his attitude. After rolling off the grid 13th, Nemechek quickly dipped into the top bracket, running with drivers like Ryan Blaney for the top spot and even leading a lap around the asphalt oval. He finished the 225-mile event 11th.

"It felt good," Nemechek said. "It showed what we can do as a team and how fast our truck really is."

A fast truck in tow, the No. 8 team also received assistance on pit road from a group of men who know how to win at the highest level: the No. 48 crew of Jimmie Johnson. The crew pitted Nemechek’s No. 8 in Thursday’s Truck race and will pit Johnson’s Sprint Cup entry on Saturday as part of their regular duties.

With a strong showing in his first test on a 1.5-mile track — NASCAR’s bread-and-butter — Nemechek showed the industry he could contend in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Nonetheless, the No. 8 wheelman looks ahead to the remainder of the season, citing areas of improvement in the upcoming races for his team.

"It was fun, we had a really good truck. Just took four tires there at the end and we should have taken two or none," Nemechek said, referring to the late-race four-tire call that caused him to drop several positions on pit road. "We hauled the mail on no tires there in the middle of the race, so definitely some learning to do, but I feel like I learned a lot tonight, feel like I adapted pretty quick and can’t thank my guys enough for a great truck."

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Jason Lofing

First-time winner has right combination of speed, fuel strategy

Performance Motorsports Group’s Corey Vincent captured his first career win in the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series Powered by iRacing last night, coming out on top of a race decided by fuel mileage at Kentucky Speedway. Vincent, while quick, did not have the fastest car and looked to be battling for a top five finish before a fortuitous caution – coupled with excellent fuel savings – helped him score the victory.

PJ Stergios from Last Row Motorsports finished second while his brother Jake came home third. Ray Alfalla (Slip Angle Motorsports) crossed the line fourth and Chris Overland rounded-out of the top five.

Notably absent from the top five was The TEAM‘s Kenny Humpe, who started on pole but had some uncharacteristic struggles with his car. Though he still led 69 of 167, Humpe’s long run speed was lacking when compared to that of Taylor Hurst and Gale Force Racing‘s Brad Mahar. Humpe did manage to salvage eighth place on the evening after having to stop for fuel once more than the leaders. It was only his second finish outside of the top five all season.

The race began with Humpe sprinting to a three second lead after just 30 laps but Mahar in particular was incredibly fast on the long run and began to eat into Humpe’s lead as the laps clicked past. A caution on Lap 51 erased Humpe’s cushion and allowed most of the field to make their first pit stop under yellow. Humpe won the race off pit road but the timing of the caution left everyone questionable on fuel.

When the green flew again Humpe had company at the front. Both Hurst and Vincent quickly overhauled the series leader and began running away from the pack. At first the two matched lap times and Vincent seemed content riding in second but as the run wore on Hurst pulled away as it appeared Vincent started to save fuel in case the race went green to the end.

Vincent’s plan worked to perfection as he stayed out six laps longer than Hurst for this second stop which put him just within the window to make it without calling on pit road a third time. The Brothers Stergios also stretched their fuel far enough to play the same strategy as Vincent but were too far behind to challenge for the win. In the end, Vincent not only made it to the finish but still had enough fuel left for a cool-down lap and a burnout.

Humpe’s championship lead shrank at Kentucky, but not by much. He still leads Alfalla by a healthy 107 points with six races remaining. Chad Laughton slipped a bit after a mediocre eighteenth place result and is now 16 points back of Alfalla in third. Overland continues his strong season, holding the fourth spot just ten points back of Laughton and five ahead of Bryan Blackford.

As the second half of the season gets into swing, Week 11 of the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series takes the sim racers to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Humpe will be looking to rebound after an uncharacteristically poor result (by his standards) but he and his team will have work to do as it appears the field has narrowed the gap. Will Humpe regain his form or will another new face surprise everyone at the Brickyard? Find out in two weeks’ time on iRacingLive and MRN.com!

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Staff Report

Austin and Ty Dillon also set to compete at Ohio dirt track

Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski is scheduled to make his first start on the dirt of Eldora Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series next week.

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Keselowski, who will drive the No. 29 Ford from his own race shop, joins Sprint Cup regulars Austin and Ty Dillon on the preliminary entry list — released Wednesday — for the third annual 1-800-Car-Cash Mud Summer Classic (July 22, 9 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM).

Keselowski has one victory in 64 truck series starts, but did not participate in the tour’s first two events on the half-mile dirt track. The Dillon brothers, who share an extensive racing background on dirt, both competed in the previous two Eldora events. Austin Dillon prevailed in the series’ inaugural dirt-track race in 2013 and will drive the No. 31 Chevrolet for NTS Motorsports this year. Ty Dillon is set to drive for GMS Racing in the No. 33 Chevy.

Veteran owner/driver Ken Schrader, 60, is scheduled to make his first NASCAR national series start of the season, wheeling his own No. 52 Toyota. Schrader has participated in the previous two Eldora races, winning the Keystone Light Pole Award for the inaugural running.

Christopher Bell carries a rich dirt-track pedigree in sprint cars into just his third truck series start. He’ll wheel the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 54 Toyota, aiming to improve upon the fifth-place effort in his series debut at Iowa Speedway.

The event is also scheduled to mark the Camping World Truck Series debut of teenager Madeline Crane, a product of Legends Car and dirt late model racing in her home state of Georgia. Crane took part in the NASCAR Drive 4 Diversity Combine at Langley Speedway last October.

A total of 31 trucks — with one listed with a driver to be announced at a later date — are posted for a maximum 32-truck field.   

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Staff Report

Pick your winner for Sunday’s 5-Hour Energy 301

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Staff Report

Sprint Cup, XFINITY series will adopt superspeedway format at Brickyard, MIS

NASCAR officials told NASCAR Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series teams on Wednesday that it plans to use the superspeedway qualifying format at Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend and Michigan International Speedway next month. High drag rules packages were instituted last week for Indianapolis and Michigan International Speedway. In an effort to align with this rules package, qualifying has been updated as well.

Beginning in May at Talladega Superspeedway, there were two rounds of qualifying with drivers turning one timed lap. The top 12 advanced to the final round. Each driver took a warm-up lap, the timed lap and a cool-down lap before returning to pit road. Under the new format at Talladega, Jeff Gordon won the Coors Light Pole Award. It was his 80th career pole, which puts him third all time behind Richard Petty (123) and David Pearson (113). Austin Dillon won the XFINITY pole.

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Last weekend, the format was scheduled to be run by the Sprint Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway, but rain forced the field to be set per the rule book by practice speeds. Under the new format, Daniel Suarez claimed his first XFINITY Series pole.

Based on a random draw at Indianapolis, vehicles will line up on pit road for the first round — rather than nose in or nose out in a pit stall — and NASCAR will release drivers at a predetermined interval. The sanctioning body reserves the right to have more than one vehicle on track at a time. It’s likely that two vehicles will be on track at the same time, but the second vehicle won’t impede or help the one it follows on track.

Following each lap, NASCAR will impound vehicles, and there will be a 10-minute break between rounds. Only during that break may teams make adjustments, and they will only be allowed to adjust tape and use a cool-down unit at that time.

The final round qualifying order will be set from slowest to fastest speeds in the first round with starting positions 1-12 determined by the fastest laps in that second session.

Using a three-round qualifying format with multiple cars on the track at one time last July at Indianapolis, Kevin Harvick won the Sprint Cup pole and Kyle Busch took the XFINITY pole while Gordon set a track record at Michigan in Sprint Cup.

Next Saturday, July 25, XFINITY Series qualifying will be at 11:30 a.m. ET, and Sprint Cup Series qualifying will be at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Nascar

Earnhardt Jr. among the drivers who tested at Chicagoland this week

NASCAR isn’t likely to introduce any new aerodynamic packages for this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, but moving forward, track-specific packages are expected to become the norm for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

And Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he’s just fine with such a move.

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"Absolutely. I think that makes the racing more interesting," the Hendrick Motorsports driver said during a break in Wednesday’s open test session at Chicagoland Speedway.

"I think it’s more interesting for the fans to go through that cycle of learning about these packages and what they do and what type of racing they create. I think it would be really a feather in the cap for the networks. It would give them so much information and ammo to broadcast and put on a good show. Plus I think … it’s a good way to sort of tweak and adjust the racing to make better racing at that track."

Earnhardt was one of four drivers who spent three days testing at the 1.5-mile track. On Monday and Tuesday, Earnhardt joined Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing), Sam Hornish Jr. (Richard Petty Motorsports) and JJ Yeley (BK Racing) for a two-day Goodyear tire test.

Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing), 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) joined the group on Wednesday for the open portion of the test.

It is, Earnhardt said, "a great time to be involved in the sport."

"For me, it’s exciting to go through these (changes)," he said. "You know, this is a three-day test and normally I hate testing, but it’s been fun trying to learn and understand, so I’m excited just to see what happens – whether this stuff works, fails, whatever – but it’s fun to go through it. Good to rearrange the furniture in the living room, so to speak, to something different.

"It was same-old, same-old for so long, so this is kind of neat and exciting – unprecedented really. They used to cut the spoilers and trim them for makes and models throughout the year and adjust to try to level the playing field, but this is a big deal, really, to change the whole thing for everybody at this track and then try something so extreme at another track."

Likewise, he said, aero package changes for Indianapolis and Michigan – where a taller spoiler will produce high drag, "is really extreme and should really alter the racing and what it looks like there. What it’ll look like, I don’t know. But it’s not going to be the same. Fans are going tune in to see that, whatever it is that happens. That’s great."

At Chicago, Goodyear officials wanted to confirm their tire selection for the upcoming kickoff to the Chase. It’s a similar tire to the one run at Texas and Homestead.

Teams wanted to gather as much information as possible before returning here Sept. 18-20 for the start of the 10-race Chase.

On Monday, Greg Stucker, director of race tire sales for Goodyear, told SiriusXM NASCAR that the Chicago test would also include the lower downforce package used this past weekend at Kentucky Speedway.

"Not saying that it’s an option for September but we’re on the race track, let’s get a look at it and see if it shows us the same results that it did earlier in the year at Charlotte and when we tested it at Darlington just a couple of weeks ago," Stucker said.

Teams will also run a lower downforce aero package at Darlington in September.

According to Earnhardt, there were issues with the current tires using the lower downforce package at Chicago, however.

"We saw the tires tearing up," he said. "We tore up from right-front tires. (Martin) tore up one, I tore up one, (Hornish) tore up one, and when Goodyear sees that, man, the red flag comes out and you’ve got to slow down and there’s just not enough time to really prepare for the right tire and get the right tire on the car to get it ready for this race in the Chase.

"So I think we run the 2015 current package that we ran all year here, and who knows what’ll happen next year, though."

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Nascar

News and notes from around the garage

When is an uncontrolled tire not an uncontrolled tire?

That was the question raised Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway after Jeremy Ogles, the front tire carrier for Brad Keselowski’s Team Penske No. 2 team, took a fall while coming around the front of the car following a two-tire stop.

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Ogles stumbled as he went to retrieve the tire, which had fallen over, just as Keselowski was pulling out of his pit stall. The tire carrier was clipped and the tire went bouncing out of the pit box before being stopped by a teammate.

The penalty for an uncontrolled tire violation is re-starting at the tail end of the field (when under yellow) or a pass-thru (green).

Keselowski wasn’t penalized and while he lost track position for the lengthy stop, eventually finished sixth in the Sprint Cup Series’ Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts.

Tires that have rolled out onto pit road and posed a hazard have resulted in penalties, as have those that have been rolled from the outer half of the pit stall back to pit wall by crewmen.

"That’s something that we’re looking at in terms of tires staying inside the car area near the wall where we haven’t called that in the past," Steve O’Donnell, Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer for NASCAR, told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Monday.

"Where you’ve seen us make calls it’s a tire has come across pit road and gets in the way of another car. We’ll look at that and review it, and if it’s something we can tweak for ’16, that’s certainly something we would do."

It’s a Jungle Out There

Ogles wasn’t the only crewman struck by a car during Saturday night’s race. The No. 1 of Jamie McMurray struck John Gianninoto, jack man for the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 with driver Jeff Gordon, during a round of pit stops.

Neither crewman was injured.

Kentucky Rules Postmortem

Take away a little more downforce? That was an initial thought from Jason Ratcliff, crew chief for the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and driver Matt Kenseth following the Kentucky race.

"I think if we give Goodyear an opportunity to work on it, they can make it even better," Ratcliff said. "Maybe we need to go one step more. If that was a 20 percent reduction, and I’m just kicking numbers out there, maybe we need to go another 5 percent reduction on downforce, trying to keep the balance the same. Let Goodyear work on it and I think it was just a great race."

The aero package for Kentucky featured a shorter spoiler as well as changes to the splitter and splitter extension panel. A similar package will be used later this year at Darlington Raceway.

"It looked like with the aero package guys could really follow each other down in the corner and it was less sensitive. A lot of times, we see guys follow each other down and there’s just such a disadvantage to the guy in front of them, whereas tonight I thought that was closed up a bit. I like it."

Todd Gordon, crew chief for Joey Logano and the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, concurred.

"I feel like it’s something that could be a good direction for us," Gordon said. "If you’re the car behind, you’ve got a little bit of speed and you can get up on ’em and move some air behind them and you’re not stuck with that big, old bubble. I would say it’s in the right direction."

Although Goodyear was unable to produce a tire built specifically for the lower downforce package at Kentucky, there were no tire issues during the race.

"My hat’s off to everybody for making the change and taking a chance like this in race trim," Goodyear’s Greg Stucker, Director of Race Tire Sales for Goodyear, told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "It’s one thing to go out and test different concepts and different packages but … really the ultimate test as we’ve always said is really the race itself. That’s really where you prove out a concept one way or the other.

"We had a lot of confidence in the package as we went in. I think everybody was prepared to take a step back if we needed to and go back to the conventional (aero) package, but I think once we all got on the race track everybody knew that this thing had a lot of potential and it was a good way to go."

Stucker said being able to gather race data from Kentucky as well as testing information from Darlington gives the tire maker "two really good bookends … we ran low downforce here at Kentucky with conventional tire grip and at Darlington we’re going to go there with low downforce and we’re going to have more grip.

"I think we have a couple of really good data points to look at and learn from and as an industry decide which way we want to go," he said.

Wind Tunnel Update

For the second time this season, NASCAR obtained additional cars to be taken to the wind tunnel for further evaluation.

The cars taken following the Quaker State 400 were those of Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski. Earlier this year, the cars of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joey Logano and Aric Almirola were chosen following the QuikTrip Folds of Honor 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

NASCAR conducts such tests to gauge aerodynamic numbers for the different makes (Chevrolet SS, Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion). The tests are conducted at the AeroDyn Wind Tunnel in Mooresville, North Carolina

NHMS Tire Selection

Tires for this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will feature the same tire codes and the combination is the same that’s been run at the 1.058-mile track since 2012. This particular tire will be used only at New Hampshire.

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East teams will be using a tire combination that’s previously been run at Iowa and Phoenix. It will be the first time it’s been used at NHMS.

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Nascar

Student of the sport visits Daytona facility, calls video archive the ‘Holy Grail’

It’s the room in back, hidden behind the large steel door where humidity and temperature are constantly monitored.

Walk down the hallway, past the trophies and timing equipment, beyond the library and the filing cabinets overflowing with photographs. Just beyond the autographed pace car and the workbench that held who knows how many toolboxes through the years.

Step inside and be greeted by history.

From floor to ceiling, on the left and right, footage of races and television shows, reel after reel after reel containing a video timeline of sorts of NASCAR is stored here.

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For a history buff such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., the room is as significant as the 2.5-mile track located barely a mile away.

"There’s a lot of neat stuff in here," the Hendrick Motorsports driver said while visiting the ISC Archives and Research Center, located near Daytona International Speedway, earlier this month.

"I think the photos are important; the film is overwhelming to me because I love to watch old races and sort of get an idea of what it was like back then and that’s really the best way to do it. It’s awesome to see this stuff being taken care of.

"As a collector of old races and old film, that’s sort of the Holy Grail back there."

Points races, special events (Busch Clash, Budweiser Duel, Sprint All-Star Race) and even movies can be found here. It’s what might or might not be here, though, that interests Earnhardt Jr.

His father, seven-time NASCAR premier series champion Dale Earnhardt, scored his first win at Bristol Motor Speedway in 1979. NASCAR races weren’t carried live on network television at the time and only select events, such as the Daytona 500, received abbreviated coverage.

The ’79 Daytona was the first to be carried live from start to finish by CBS.

"That (Bristol) race wasn’t televised, wasn’t broadcast. So there isn’t even a partial digital copy being traded among those … groups out there that are in those inner circles. That’s who I deal with … they are trading races that were broadcast. Someone had the opportunity to record them off television. A lot of this stuff here is just raw footage that the public doesn’t have access to. So now I know where to go."

Earnhardt said he has seen footage of his father’s ’79 BMS win "in highlights … so I know it exists."

Outside of that particular race, he said "any footage that’s unobtainable from ’79, ’80," interests him.

"Dad’s first two years. Besides that, I’m a big ’70s guy I guess. Any of the races from the ’70s, because a lot of stuff in the ’80s was broadcast … you can obtain it through trades and whatnot working with guys that are in those collector groups. So a lot of things in the ’70s is unique because it’s one of a kind."

The photo library turned up, among other things, pictures of driver Jimmy Means, a childhood hero. Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Means, Jimmy’s son, often spent race days together in the garage.

Herb Branham, senior manager for the Archives & Research Center, presented Earnhardt Jr. with another special memento – a framed set of photos of Earnhardt’s grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt.

"That’s going up on the wall," Earnhardt said proudly.

A final stop before heading back to the track put Earnhardt behind the desk of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. One of the latest additions to the archives, the room is a re-creation of the office used by France during much of his tenure as the head of the sanctioning body. The desk, furniture and fixtures came from France’s original office.

"This is one place I never thought I’d be, in Big Bill’s office sitting at his desk in his chair," Earnhardt said. "What a special place.

"Not only is this where you can find a lot of history, but somebody’s here taking care of it. I appreciate NASCAR, everything they do to hold onto that history and keep it in good shape."

Posted on July 14, 2015November 16, 2017 by Staff Report

July 5: Austin Dillon crashes at the Coke Zero 400

The dramatic final lap in the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola ended with a dangerous wreck involving Austin Dillon. The No. 3 was caught in a massive multi-car accident just after the field was taking the checkered flag. Dillon, surprisingly, walked away just fine but said he was prepared to “be really sore.” | Read the full story

July 5: Austin Dillon in his own words on Daytona crash

After much talk about Dillon’s wreck at Daytona, he finally was able to give a firsthand account of the accident and let everyone know that he was going to be just fine, physically and mentally. Austin was more concerned about the fans in the stands who were affected by the wreck. | Read the full story

July 5: Daytona president responds to wreck: ‘The fence worked’

Daytona International Speedway president, Joie Chitwood III, told reporters that following the Austin Dillon wreck, 13 spectators had to be seen by medical personnel. Chitwood said that, in terms of safety procedures, “we’ll learn from it, we’ll analyze it, and we’ll round up our engineering team and see if there’s any additional things we can learn to get better the next time.” | Read the full story

July 6: Johnson: ‘I’m shocked [he’s] even alive’

See Jimmie Johnson talk about being surprised Austin Dillon wasn’t seriously injured during a big wreck at Daytona. | Watch the video

July 6: Drivers react to dramatic wreck in Daytona finish

Watch Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Landon Cassill talk about the big crash on the final lap of the Coke Zero 400. | Watch their reactions

July 6: France responds to Daytona wreck: ‘Working to make racing safer and better’

Brian France spoke to SiriusXM Radio the Monday following the Daytona wreck stating that NASCAR is taking all precautionary measures possible. He said that NASCAR is working on solutions to avoid similar crashes in the future, at the organization’s R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina. | Read the full story

July 6: Ives breaks down moments after Dillon’s wreck

See exclusive footage of Austin Dillon’s scary crash and listen to Greg Ives break down the moments following, as as the No. 88 crew rushed to the No. 3 car’s aid. | Watch his interview

July 7: Ty Dillon‘s reaction to his brother’s wild wreck

Austin Dillon discusses his brother, Ty’s, reaction to the last-lap wreck at Daytona. | Hear what he said

July 7: Austin Dillon: ‘You feel like Superman’

Two days after the crash , Austin Dillon said that he was holding up well and feeling good. He said that he had seen the video multiple times and seen the replays. “It’s a wicked crash,” he said. | Read the full story

July 7: No Bull: Dillion explains post-wreck gesture

Austin Dillon had quite the grand entrance upon exiting his car after his emotional Daytona wreck and it left the public puzzled. He later explained his questionable gesture as a tribute to Lane Frost, who Dillon described as “one of the best bull riders of all time.” | Read the full story

July 7: O’Donnell: NASCAR looking at Dillon’s car

NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s “The Morning Drive” and said that Dillon’s car and parts were at the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, North Carolina, where they were under investigation. | Read the full story

July 8: Junior responds to Austin’s crash: ‘It’s an awful feeling’

Despite winning the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was more concerned about Austin Dillon than he was about celebrating in Vctory Lane. Junior admitted to being on the verge of tears the night of the wreck and wanted to make sure that everyone affected was OK. | Read the full story

July 8: 88 crew recalls frenzy to check on Dillon

Not only was Dale Earnhardt Jr. preoccupied with making sure that Austin was OK after the wreck but the entire No. 88 team was, as well. Junior’s team didn’t hold the typical post-race win celebration, but reacted with concern and worried emotions. | Read the full story

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Staff Report

NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee says No. 18 will battle for the title

With three championships in four years (1995, ’97, ’98) as Jeff Gordon‘s crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports, Ray Evernham knows what it takes to win titles. On Tuesday, he said Kyle Busch will not only make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup but will contend for the title at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Evernham made the prediction on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Busch has two wins in the last three races but sits 87 points out of 30th place, a spot he needs to reach to qualify for NASCAR’s postseason and a shot at his first premier series title. Evernham believes he’ll reach that goal and make a run at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

"I’ll tell you one of the things that gets great athletes to step up even more is when you take something away from them that they live for," Evernham said. "I know Kyle, and I know how hard he worked to get back in shape and to get things done. He met all those goals and made it back ahead of schedule.

"I told you that I thought he could win multiple races. He’s done that. I’m not going to go out on a limb again, but I am going to tell you that that 18 car will be one of the final four at Homestead. Mark my words."

In seven previous playoffs, Busch’s best finish was fourth in 2013, and he’s finished four of those Chase season in 10th or worse. But Evernham says Busch himself and Joe Gibbs Racing have evolved into contenders for the organization’s first Sprint Cup title since 2005 and fourth overall.

"I think he’s focused," Evernham said. "I like the things that (crew chief) Adam Stevens does. I like the way he thinks. And I really feel that is going to be one of the major stories at the end of the year.

"I know he knocked almost a third of the points that he needed to get to 30th the other day. And if they keep up that momentum, which I really believe they will, I’m going to tell you that 18 car is going to be in the final four."

In the first year of NASCAR’s elimination-style Chase, Busch was caught in a wreck at Talladega Superspeedway and failed to advance from the 12-driver Challenger Round to the eight racers who made the Eliminator Round. He finished the 2014 season in 10th place in the points standings. The NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee likes the No. 18 team’s chances to go all the way to the Championship 4 because the driver and JGR have raised their game and will benefit from some of NASCAR’s recent rules changes.

"I think there was a level of immaturity, there was a part of a level in Joe Gibbs’ own organization that had a lot of mechanical failures in the Chase whether that was with the 18 or the 11… whether it was sway bar issues or different things and I think those things are behind him," Evernham said. "I think the Joe Gibbs organization realized that stuff. They looked at it. I think Kyle Busch is way more mature than he was at that time. I think the Toyotas have started late and been building.

"Sometimes you’ve got to realize that they’re behind to pick up momentum, and some of these aerodynamic rule changes I believe are going to fall into a guy’s driving style where a guy has to drive the car more and it’s a more physical race. Saturday night (at Kentucky) I thought was a very physical race, and I just think that all those things fall right into line for Kyle Busch."

Evernham pointed to Busch’s reaction to finishing third in last Friday’s XFINITY Series race as a sign of his maturity and focus.

"I’m sure he would have loved to have won it, but it did what it was supposed to do: give him an education on what he needed to do to win Saturday night, and that to me is just as important or more important than running the XFINITY races," Evernham said.