Chat with fans during all the Kentucky action
RELATED: Driver reaction varies after Indianapolis
One day after NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams employed a new high drag aerodynamic package at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the sanctioning body’s vice chairman said series officials were still processing its net effect.
Mike Helton, appearing Monday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, acknowledged several drivers’ criticisms of the new rules for Sunday’s Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard, but said officials at the NASCAR Research & Development Center would take time to measure its overall performance.
“I think we’re only 18 hours or so from the finish of that race, so we’re digesting the signs from it,” Helton told SiriusXM. “The fans and the industry saw the race unfold as we did, and there were certainly some components of it, the balance of competition, the opportunities that this package presented for the drivers to perform were of benefit. We’ve heard the expressions of some of the drivers that didn’t like some of characteristics of the package, and we can absorb all the science and the data that we collect, including talking to the industry, the drivers, the crew members and the competition departments of the teams and the car owners to take all of that now and absorb it.
“That’s part of the reason we created this specific package for Indianapolis was to see the characteristics of it, knowing that there’s a lot of personalities in the garage area that have different opinions, and they know they have different opinions, but it’s on NASCAR to come up with the one that we put in front of the fans on each individual race track each weekend. So we’ll take time.”
Drivers participated using a raised, 9-inch-tall rear spoiler and other aero devices to increase drag in the hopes of promoting closer racing at Indianapolis, a 2.5-mile track where passing has historically been a tricky task. Statistically, the result was fewer green-flag passes overall, and one more lead change than the previous year’s Brickyard race (16 vs. 15), but four fewer than the 20 registered in 2013.
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The Indianapolis race was the next puzzle piece in the series’ potential move toward track-specific aero packages. A similar high drag package is scheduled to be used next month at 2-mile Michigan International Speedway, and last month was marked by a successful debut of a low downforce package at 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway.
NASCAR fans’ reception of the changes has spanned the gamut from welcome to wary or resistant. Helton acknowledged the mixed reviews, clarifying the goals behind the rules shifts.
“That’s fair, and we should do a better job of explaining why we’re doing this,” Helton said. “First and foremost, it’s just to build the most competitive type of motorsports that we can build. We want our product on the race track to be pleasing to the fans and that means close competition. You can walk through the garage area and ask 15, 20 different people what close competition means and you’ll get 15 different opinions of it, but all of them agree that it’s passing, balance of competition, being able to work your way through the field — everybody agrees on those elements, but how do you get there is on us. It’s on NASCAR as the regulatory body of the sport to figure out the rules package.”
Helton indicated that trying out new rules packages in real race conditions instead of in traditional test sessions has been a learning process, but a beneficial one in terms of analyzing performance. Helton also said he expects steps toward the proper balance to continue to evolve through collaborative efforts.
“This came from input throughout the industry,” Helton said. “We’re not necessarily the architects of all this (on) our own, but it came from the collaboration that we’ve got now with teams and drivers and manufacturers and the car owners to come up with a way to do this. It’s not universally acceptable, but it’s majority acceptable, and most people feel like this is a good opportunity for NASCAR to figure out the future of what goes on the race track. But everybody agrees that close, competitive racing, being able to pass — that’s important for us to continue to deliver on.”
DARLINGTON, S.C. — All the retro-themed activity surrounding Darlington Raceway‘s return to its familiar Labor Day place on the NASCAR schedule has taken some of the attention away from another notable throwback.
To July.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will drop the flag on Round 2 for the reduced-downforce rules package in Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Whether it recreates the same mesmerizing racing that highlighted Round 1 — July 11 at Kentucky Speedway — remains a wild-card with just two races before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs begin.
NASCAR mandated the rules package with a reduced rear spoiler and other aero changes for a debut at Kentucky’s 1.5-mile layout, producing the most competitive race in the series’ brief five-year history at the Bluegrass State track. But because of the quick turn between the rules change and race day, the event was conducted with a mismatched tire that left drivers yearning for a softer compound.
RELATED: Low downforce package makes Darlington debut
With enough lead time for production, Goodyear has a tire with greater grip in place for Darlington’s treacherous 1.366-mile circuit — a similar-sized track, but a far different environment than Kentucky.
“I think there’s more initial grip maybe than I guess what we had at Kentucky,” said Paul Wolfe, crew chief for the Team Penske No. 2 Ford driven by Brad Keselowski. “Obviously, the speeds drop off quite a bit, which is what we all were expecting and hoping for. The cars drive reasonable. It’s not like they’re out of control or anything like that.
“Track temps are pretty darn hot obviously where we’re at right now. That’ll cool off for the race Sunday night, but overall considering the track conditions for Darlington, fairly pleased how the cars are driving.”
NASCAR tested here with the current 2015 rules package June 9-10, then returned for a test June 30 with the reduced-downforce setup. The 43-car field will race with a spoiler height decreased from 6 inches to 3.5, 1.75 fewer inches of overhang on the front splitter, and a splitter extension panel trimmed from 38 to 25 inches.
Teams were allowed to use data-acquisition devices during Friday’s practice sessions to help get a jump on the package. The changes created a noticeable difference after just the first of two 115-minute practice sessions for Jeff Gordon, a seven-time winner here.
“It’s much better,” Gordon said. “I still can’t help but reminisce about my earlier years here with a more abrasive track and a tire that just had tremendous grip for about one and a half laps, and then tremendous fall-off. We still don’t have that. This tire is pretty hard in comparison to that. And I don’t think you’re really going to be worrying about wearing tires out this weekend. But there is some fall-off.
“There’s no doubt the grip is down. So, trying to find the balance of the cars seems to be pretty tricky. The cars are freer in, tighter in the middle, and free off, which is kind of like of what we fought at Kentucky. But, I liked it there and so far I’m enjoying it here.”
The feel was also noteworthy for Aric Almirola, giving the Richard Petty Motorsports throwback No. 43 a whirl in the early going.
“In practice I ran around a few other cars and the balance doesn’t change that much when you are behind another car so I am happy about that,” Almirola said. “As a race car driver, that is what we want. We want to be able to lift off the gas, use the brake pedal and actually drive the race cars, not just run wide open and steer around the race track. We don’t want the car to drastically change balance when you catch another car. I feel like that is what we have here and it is very similar to what we had in Kentucky.”
Darlington has reverted to its abrasive nature since its most recent repave in 2007, but still has newer asphalt than Kentucky, which hasn’t repaved in full since it opened in 2000. But Darlington also has plenty of grit from the South Carolina sandhills that assist in accelerating tire wear.
The rules package made for three- and four-wide racing on restarts at Kentucky, but also allowed movement among the pack by placing a renewed emphasis on the driver. Darlington’s narrow groove won’t allow the pack to fan out in wide groups on restarts, but could the increase in passing make an encore?
“It’s hard to say based off just one practice, but when you start seeing tire degradation like we did there, I want to believe that it’s going to be a little better racing and that there’s going to be more opportunities to pass cars,” Wolfe said. “The worse your car handles, the more it starts to fall off. That’s opportunity for the cars that may be handling a little better and drivers that manage their cars better, I think it opens up opportunities there which will promote the passing that we’re all hoping for.”
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 27, 2015) — Chicago will once again host the start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with one of the biggest NASCAR® themed parties of the season, NASCAR Chase Fest™ sponsored by Toyota. The free outdoor fan fest will feature all 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ Challengers and culminate with a live concert by Grammy-nominated band, 3 Doors Down. NASCAR Chase Fest will take place on Weed Street between Fremont and Kingsbury streets from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. CDT on September 17.
“The days leading into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup have become a signature moment in our sport,” said Steve Phelps, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “With the support of Toyota, Sprint and Chicagoland Speedway, we expect to deliver an engaging fan experience that builds anticipation for the most competitive stretch of our season.”
NASCAR Chase Fest will feature appearances and autograph sessions from all 16 drivers competing in the Challenger Round™, as well as a number of recognizable NASCAR personalities. Fans in attendance will be treated to food from renowned Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, beverages from Coors Light (with proper ID), attractions such as the Toyota Ferris Wheel and NASCAR® on NBC Sports Bumper Cars, activations from event sponsor Sprint including an appearance by Miss Sprint Cup and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ Trophy, and another live musical performance by a Chicago favorite, country cover band the Suburban Cowboys.
“The start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is a moment worth celebrating,” said Ed Laukes, Vice President marketing, performance and guest experience for Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A. “For the past four years, Toyota has partnered with NASCAR to showcase the 16 Chase drivers in a unique, fun fan event. Each year, the festivities grow bigger and better and we’re proud to return to my hometown of Chicago to gear up for the playoffs and kick off this year’s championship Chase.”
Additionally on-site, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) personalities Krista Voda, Kyle Petty, Marty Snider, and Rutledge Wood will interview all 16 Challengers for the network’s live broadcast of NASCAR America. To view the 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ drivers currently in place for the Challenger Round, visit www.nascar.com/chase-grid.html.
“NASCAR fans in Chicago and around the world have come to expect big things from the kickoff of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in Chicago and this year is no exception,” said Scott Paddock, President of Chicagoland Speedway. “NASCAR Chase Fest is a dynamic event that segues nicely into the weekend where the celebration will continue at Chicagoland Speedway.”
For the fifth-consecutive year, the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins at Chicagoland Speedway. For tickets to the September 18-20 race weekend, visit www.ChicagolandSpeedway.com or call 1-888-629-RACE (7223). Single-day tickets are available. NBCSN will air the race at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 20. Fans can also find the race on the NBC Sports Live Extra app, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, with additional coverage on NASCAR.com.
For full details on this year’s NASCAR® Chase Fest™, visit www.nascar.com/ChaseFest.
RELATED: Kyle wins third in a row | Updated driver standings
1. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. ‘Rowdy’ has won four out of the past five races, three of which came with differing aero packages, including the high drag specifications at Indy. | MORE: Is Kyle in the Chase yet?
2. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. Took the lead on Lap 1 and was one of the strongest cars all day, but for the sixth time in the past seven races, he finished in the top five without winning. | MORE: Finishing second disappointing for Logano
3. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick battled a loose race car on exit and needed to conserve fuel late in the race but managed yet another top-three finish. | RELATED: Missed opportunity for Harvick
4. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing. Truex told his team early in the race that he was “still tight in, getting looser off.” Whatever changes they made worked, as Truex was in contention for the win as laps ticked off. | MORE: Updated Chase Grid standings
5. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. After Sunday’s solid showing, Hamlin has now finished top six in three of his past four Brickyard starts. | RELATED: Hamlin liked Kentucky package better than Indy rules
6. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Bowyer told his crew he was a little loose in and tight center and made contact with Jeff Gordon but still came home with his second top six of the season. | WATCH: Bowyer, Gordon make contact
7. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth drew the radio ire of teammate and race winner Kyle Busch, but the team shop should be a friendly environment with both drivers enjoying solid Indy runs. | RELATED: Kenseth on high drag package: ‘It’s terrible’
8. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Despite pitting off sequence at Lap 26 for a flat tire and running low on fuel in the closing laps Busch garnered his seventh consecutive top 10. | RELATED: Kurt didn’t like Indy rules package
9. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. In two career Indy starts, Larson now has a pair of top 10s.
10. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. After falling second to ninth on a late restart, Keselowski told crew chief Paul Wolfe, “We can still get this, Paul. We can still get it. I know it.” They didn’t.
11. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Newman started from the rear because of a window violation during qualifying, but made the most of it and nearly notched a top 10.
12. Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing. Sunday was Blaney’s best finish since a top five in May at Talladega.
13. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. The pole winner was “loose off” early in the race and fell from third to 15th on a crucial late restart.
14. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Strangely, Sunday was Menard’s third time finishing 14th at the Brickyard in the past six races there.
15. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. At a track typically dominated by the organization, Johnson was the highest-finishing HMS ride. | MORE: Johnson talks contract extension with HMS
16. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Since winning the 2010 Brickyard 400, McMurray has only finished in the top 10 at the track once.
17. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Hornish had to go to pit road early with a flat right rear and still nearly matched his Indy best.
18. Chase Elliott, No. 25 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. In the most recent two of his first four career starts, Elliott has started 28th and finished 18th.
19. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle was the highest-finishing Roush Fenway Racing driver – and just barely made the top 20.
20. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. The former open-wheel driver has only finished in the top 10 at Indy once in NASCAR – a decade ago in 2005.
21. David Ragan, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. In back to back-weeks Ragan failed to capitalize on a third-place starting spot, finishing 18th at Loudon and 21st at Indy.
22. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Junior had a rough race, suffering through a loose left rear midway then sliding into the wall with 13 to go to bring out a caution. | WATCH: Kahne and Junior collide
23. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger pitted on Lap 16, thinking he had a tire going down. The tire ended up being fine, but he never quite recovered and finished 23rd.
24. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne and Tony Stewart battled late, with the No. 14 pushing the 5 into the grass on a resart. | WATCH: Kahne and Junior collide
25. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon suffered a speeding penalty on his first stop … then got hit with another one while serving that penalty.
26. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Smith Motorsports. Cassill lost eight pounds during the race, and all that effort only resulted in a mediocre finish. | RELATED: Cassill loses 8 pounds during race
27. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick didn’t enjoy Indy on Sunday, even complaining about an unnamed fellow driver “He held me up in (Turn) 4! This (expletive) sucks (expletive)!”
28. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart called his car “Evil in traffic, you cannot believe it” and then lost tons of track position when he chose not to pit ahead of a Lap 124 restart.
29. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. After the race, Gilliland tweeted “We got our … car better at the end. Not what we wanted but not a bad points day!”
30. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. After Sunday, Annett hasn’t finished better than 30th since May at Kansas.
31. Michael McDowell, No. 95 Ford, Leavine Family Racing. Not a great finish for McDowell, but he had good perspective, tweeting “We always want more but my guys fixed a lot of damage today and we salvaged a decent day.”
32. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. DiBenedetto had issues with Trevor Bayne and called him out on Twitter after the race, saying that they “need to have a discussion.”
33. Cole Whitt, No. 35 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Whitt told his team that he was super tight on new tires and wasn’t able to drive his car to a very good finish.
34. Brett Moffitt, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. On the late restarts, Moffit was told “it’s going to get wild, so be on your toes.” It was, but not for him, as he was in the back of the pack.
35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse hit the wall on Lap 126 and needed to pit, then was hit with a penalty for having too many men over the wall.
36. Brian Scott, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport Racing. Scott brought out the caution on Lap 120 when he hit the wall.
37. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. On Lap 16, Allgaier told his team, “I’m either plowing the center or wrecking loose off.” Things only got worse from there.
38. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola had perhaps the quote of the season – certainly the race – expressing his displeasure for Trevor Bayne by saying, “That little boy better be ready. He’s going to get his ass whooped today.” | WATCH: Almirola and Bayne tangle
39. J.J. Yeley, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Yeley has still finished inside the top 30 just once this season.
40. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne battled bad setup and rear end vibration all day – and nearly ended up battling Aric Almirola. “Something’s bad wrong,” Bayne said. He was told it was not a good setup and he needed to use track bar to get him looser or tighter. | WATCH: Almirola and Bayne tangle
41. Timmy Hill, No. 98 Ford, Premium Motorsports. Hill got little seat time in his backup car before the race and it showed.
42. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon rubbed shoulders with Clint Bowyer and lost in what was a disappointing final Brickyard 400 for the four-time champ. | MORE: Gordon bids Indy farewell
43. Alex Bowman, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Bowman exited the race just after halfway with a shot engine.
Hendrick Motorsports
The Hendrick Motorsports flock of cars were fast at Daytona and Johnson was no exception. He finished second behind teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. and led 35 laps.
It’s remarkable that Harvick continues to find his way into the top five, even on the unpredictable restrictor-plate tracks. That could come in handy if he needs to win in a pinch at Talladega in the Chase.
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Hendrick Motorsports
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It wasn’t just Hendrick Motorsports drivers that succeeded at Daytona, it was those with Hendrick engines under the hood as well, like Busch. Another top five continues a recent trend of solidifying him as a true championship contender.
When Junior wins at Daytona, it always feels special. Now second in points with two wins under his belt, any doubts about the Earnhardt/Greg Ives connection should be fully quelled.
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Team Penske
The fact that Logano was able to rebound for a 22nd-place finish after the turmoil he went through multiple times in the race speaks to how much he’s progressed as a driver.
Keep your eye on the 78 of Truex this weekend at Kentucky. With a track-specific rules package in play at the 1.5-mile speedway, it could seriously hinder the performance of a team that has benefitted tremendously from the specifications run through the season’s first 17 races.
1
Joe Gibbs Racing
If you’re looking for this season’s Ryan Newman, you may have found him in Jamie McMurray. A model of consistency, McMurray is sixth in points despite just seven top 10s.
As long as Keselowski can avoid the perils of on-track action at Kentucky Speedway, he’ll have a great shot at repeating as the race winner. Of course, if he does, he’ll have to try to avoid the perils of Victory Lane.
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Kenseth missed an opportunity to pick up his second 2015 win at one of his better tracks, but he’ll have another shot at it this weekend. The veteran has never finished worse than seventh at Kentucky and owns a win.
Joe Gibbs Racing
Hamlin was super fast during Daytona Speedweeks earlier this year and it continued in July. Now, if the No. 11 driver could put things together at all the other track configurations, then he’d be cooking.
Gordon failed to pick up a win in what will likely be his final Daytona start. Still, a 6th-place finish goes a long way for a driver still looking for his first 2015 victory.
Stewart-Haas Racing
Kahne was in the one Hendrick car that struggled at Daytona, but even still, he paced five laps at the front of the field. Kentucky has been a great track for him in the past, so keep an eye on the 5.
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Busch didn’t move up in the standings at all, but did trim a little bit off his points deficit. As Kentucky Speedway’s first winner, look for the No. 18 to be a major player on Saturday night.
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Menard is an experienced plate racer and a 16th-place finish isn’t too bad considering how many incidents there were in the race. That said, it wasn’t enough to keep him at 12th in the standings, but he’s still Chase eligible.
1
Richard Childress Racing
A solid eighth-place finish gave Newman back-to-back top-10s after a few dismal weeks. The 2014 runner-up could see that trend continue, as he has two top-fives in four starts at Kentucky, including last year’s third-place result.
Sure, @lancesquire, no other team is ever mentioned here. #checkthetimeline
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) August 5, 2015
Last-lap wreck sends No. 3 up and over; ‘I am just going to be really sore’
RELATED: Dillon in his own words | WATCH: Drivers react to wreck
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Looking not nearly as stunned as you might expect of a driver who flipped over two lines of cars and into a catchfence, Austin Dillon emerged from what was left of his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet and waved to the large and loyal crowd at Daytona International Speedway early Monday morning, moments after the conclusion of the rain-delayed Coke Zero 400.
Dillon’s entire engine came out of his badly damaged car and was still smoking yards away from the wrecked vehicle as the 25-year-old climbed out and motioned to the crowd with both arms before walking to the ambulance to be checked out at the track’s infield care center.
He was released from the care center shortly thereafter, bruised, sore and a little shell-shocked. His team owner and grandfather Richard Childress rushed over from the pits to check on him.
"He’s OK,” Childress said as he walked into the care center. "But he’s going to be sore.”
Dillon’s car was collected in a massive multi-car accident just after the field was taking the checkered flag. His car was on the bottom groove of the track when it was hit and launched over two lines of cars into the frontstretch catchfence, which "caught" the car and dropped it back on track, where it came to rest upside down on a paved area between the racing surface and the end of pit road.
After the No. 3 car stopped, multiple crew members rushed over from their pit road position to offer Dillon assistance and help extricate him from the wreckage.
RELATED: Daytona president says track will analyze what happened
Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood said 13 fans in the grandstands were seen after the accident that occurred at the start/finish line as the checkered flag fell. Of them, eight declined treatment, four were treated at the track and one person was transported to a hospital in stable condition and later released.
"I am just going to be really sore,” Dillon said after his check-up in the care center. "It got my tailbone pretty good and my arm. Should be fine, just go ice it up and get ready for Kentucky.
"But just thank the good Lord for taking care of me and for what NASCAR has done to make the sport this much safer. I just hope everybody in the stands is all right. That is the next biggest concern. Just praying for everybody and glad the good Lord looked out for me tonight."
As for the accident, Dillon thought he was going to be home free initially, able to avoid the spinning, colliding cars in front of him where the incident initiated.
"You know the 11 (of Denny Hamlin) got turned by the 4 (of Kevin Harvick) across the start/finish line and I thought the race was going to be over right there,” said Dillon, who was credited with a seventh-place finish. "We were almost there and I was just pushing the 24 (of Jeff Gordon) and the next thing I knew was that I was looking at my roof for a long time. I thought it was all over when I was sliding there and the 2-car (of Brad Keselowski) came in and really got me."
The incident was obviously on the minds of most drivers after the race.
"Clearly thinking about the accident that happened and the people in the stands,” race runner-up Jimmie Johnson said. "Sounds like things are well up there, which is shocking. Just a frightening moment. I saw it in the mirror (and) expected the worst when I came back around."
RELATED: Johnson: ‘I’m shocked (he’s) even alive’
After the cool-down lap Johnson got out of his car and discussed the accident with race winner — and Hendrick Motorsports teammate — Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"You’re just on the verge of tears to be honest with you. I saw everything through the (rearview) mirror pretty clearly and that car went up in the air pretty high and I saw a black object hit the fence,” said Earnhardt, whose team members were among the first to get to Dillon. "I was just very scared for that person at the time, I didn’t even know which driver it was. When you see it that high, you worry about whether there was any danger for the spectators.
"I didn’t care about anything except making sure that person was OK, that everyone was OK. The racing doesn’t matter anymore.”
Driver David Ragan‘s No. 55 Aaron’s Toyota was one of the cars that Dillon’s Chevy launched over.
"It’s a recipe for disaster coming to the start/finish line three-wide, it’s a vulnerable spot coming through the tri-oval,” Ragan said. "You can’t see more than one car in front of you and a shame to tear up all those race cars after the checkered flag. But when someone gets spun and comes back up into the traffic there’s nowhere to go, and eight or 10 cars get caught up pretty quick.
"I saw them wrecking below and I thought we might get out of it, but it happened so quick. I saw a black colored car come across our left front headlight and roll over me. I knew it was going to be a spectacular crash.”
RELATED: Dale Jr. wins at Daytona
Acknowledging the inevitable discussion about the safety of restrictor-plate racing and the frenzy induced on a green-white-checkered flag finish, Earnhardt said he remains convinced that crashes are invariably a hard-to-control variable.
"It’s just a product of going 200 miles an hour,” Earnhardt said. "These cars are going fast, and when you put them in odd, rare circumstances like that, they’re going to go up in the air. We do everything we can and have made a lot of changes and incorporated a lot of things into these cars to try to keep them on the ground, but you never can ‑‑ in those imperfect situations, there’s not much you can do about it.
"It looked like that car just caught someone in the right position to get air under it, and it just lifted it right up in the air. I haven’t even seen the wreck, and I don’t even know if I want to see it.
"Racing has always been very dangerous. Fortunately for us we’ve gotten better and safer in the last 100 years. It’s changed tremendously."
NASCAR Chairman and CEO: R&D working on safety solutions
RELATED: Dillon shaken but OK after wreck | Dale Jr.: ‘It scared the (expletive) out of me’
NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said Monday the sanctioning body’s review of the last-lap crash in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway was underway with the NASCAR Research and Development Center taking the lead. France spoke on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio about the sport’s strong track record in safety and competition.
As Dale Earnhardt Jr. crossed the start/finish line for his second win of the season, a wreck collected cars behind him with Austin Dillon going airborne into the catchfence. Dillon’s car landed on its roof and was struck by Brad Keselowski‘s vehicle. Dillon walked away from the accident while 13 individuals in the grandstand were assessed with eight declining medical attention, four treated on site and one transported to a local hospital in stable condition, according to Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III.
France said NASCAR employees were at work at 8 a.m. on Monday morning, working on solutions to avoid similar crashes in the future, at the organization’s R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina.
"We’re the only ones in auto racing that have a full‑time research and development center where their sole responsibility is to sort out these kind of issues to make them better," France said. "This is auto racing. We’re going to have challenges, and we’re going to have hard crashes, as was (the case) last night. Thankfully everything was OK, but you learn from every single one of these things."
"The real good news for us is this is what we do. We have an entire group of people that woke up this morning, trying to figure out how do we make this better, make sure the car starters don’t elevate."
In a similar crash at the end of the February 2013 XFINITY Series race at Daytona, Kyle Larson launched into the catchfence, and France noted how the sport took lessons from that incident that helped strengthen the fence.
"We learned a great deal on that, as a matter of fact," France said. "It reinforced the catchfence in different ways, and we went from an engineering standpoint right to work, and we’ll do the same here.
"Our work in safety, whether it’s the race car itself — which held up beautifully, thankfully — or certainly making our fans safe, that work never ends in auto racing and at NASCAR. And we take that responsibility at the top of our list, and we’ll go right to work on that. We’re all working on it."
RELATED: Exclusive camera angle on crash; No. 88 team’s reaction
Pleased with the racing put on by the superspeedway package, France looked ahead to a new rules package for Saturday’s Quaker State 400 Presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM).
"Obviously what we do want is the closest, tightest racing we can (have), but we put safety at the top of the list for obvious reasons," France said. "And so we pursue that, those things, as we go along, and have a track record of getting those things right, although it’s a moving target and although it’s never simple.
"An accident like last night, boy, it sure takes your breath away, and it should. But that’s auto racing, and we’re working on better solutions all the time to make racing safer and better."
Company will sponsor Ryan Blaney, No. 21 car at Kentucky and Darlington
Ryan Blaney and his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford will have a new sponsor on the car for this weekend at Kentucky Speedway in the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, PRN, SiriusXM).
Snap-on Tools will also sponsor the car in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend (Sept. 6, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM). Check out the paint scheme.
Finishing the @Snapon_Tools @FordPerformance Fusions to go to @KySpeedway pic.twitter.com/3UDb17HEsR
— Wood Brothers Racing (@woodbrothers21) July 7, 2015
"It’s a real privilege to be representing a company like Snap-on that has such a rich heritage of quality and craftsmanship," team co-owner Eddie Wood said in a release provided by the team.
Blaney’s six starts this season so far for Wood Brothers have carried the sponsorship of Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center. The 21-year-old’s best finish this season came at Talladega Superspeedway in May — he finished fourth.
Blaney and the No. 21 car did not make the 43-car field for last Sunday’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway with qualifying rained out and the field set by the NASCAR rule book, which meant by the speeds of the opening practice as well as based on the number of race attempts each team has made. It was the first time since 2008 that the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 car did not qualify for a race in which it was entered.