Posted on by Staff Report

See what’s coming this week to NASCAR.com

Here’s what you’ll see on NASCAR.com this week:

MONDAY: NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports have teamed with Microsoft to drive innovation and technology across the sport. Senior writer Kenny Bruce has more on the partnership and see Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s paint scheme for Sonoma Raceway. … @nascarcasm shares Dale Jr.’s engagement video. … NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell shares more information on the new rules package that will debut at Kentucky Speedway.

TUESDAY: Driver Reports moves up a couple days to get you ready to go road-course racing at Sonoma. …  @nascarcasm shares actual Google image searches for drivers and the oddities that come up. … NASCAR Illustrated introduces you to Kyle Larson‘s father and explains the art and science of bumping a pace car.

WEDNESDAY: Pat DeCola and Jessica Ruffin debate whether a road course belongs in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. … Inside Access with Miss Sprint Cup takes you on a tour of Denny Hamlin‘s No. 11 hauler … Senior writer Kenny Bruce gets you caught up on all competition aspects of the sport with his weekly Tech Talk story.

THURSDAY: Check out which paint schemes will be on display at this weekend Sonoma, which host the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. … Take a #TBT look at Dale Earnhardt’s first and only road-course win at the Sprint Cup level. … "From the Vault" looks back as Jeff Gordon becomes the first driver to win four consecutive road races.

FRIDAY: The Sprint Cup Series has two practices, starting at 3 p.m. ET. … We’ll also have eight of the best tweets that you may have missed from the previous week. … Mobil 1 presents GarageCam from Sonoma. Go live as the field prepares to go left AND right.

Also coming this week: Jeff Gordon goes home to Northern California. … Learn more about how the No. 19 team came together in the off-season and will be racing in the postseason.  … Coors Light Pole Qualifying is on Saturday afternoon this week. Get the live leaderboard at 2:15 p.m. ET and follow Sunday’s race on FOX Sports 1 with a live leaderboard, RaceBuddy and RaceView.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR executive indicates Kentucky may not be only track to use it

RELATED: NASCAR reveals new rules package for Kentucky

Last week NASCAR announced that a new aerodynamic package will be used for the Sprint Cup Series weekend at Kentucky Speedway in July, but that may not be the only time we see the new rules package on track in 2015.



NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell hinted around at the possibility of another run with that package in a Monday morning interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s "The Morning Drive."

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

"I think it’s still a little early but it is certainly being discussed with the race teams and the drivers and something you could hear about fairly soon," O’Donnell said when asked about the chance that the new rules package could be used at another track this season.



The new package will create less downforce on today’s cars and could help produce more side-by-side competition. The spoiler height will be reduced from 6 inches to 3.5 inches and the splitter extension panel (radiator pan) decreased from 38 inches to 25 inches. Additionally, the splitter will have 1.75 inches less overhang than the current splitter.



"We had a lot of discussions with really everyone in the industry and looking at where we may or may not want to head for 2016 and what it kept coming back to was more specific to tracks. If we could really dial in some packages around certain tracks and maybe have a couple more groupings in 2016 and as we looked ahead and talked to the industry, Kentucky really stood out as an intermediate racetrack.



"We also looked at the testing that we’ve done and when you go test everybody sees different things and without points on the line, you never know. For us, we looked at it as an opportunity to improve upon some of the racing we’ve seen at Kentucky. We think it’s a great opportunity for us; the competitors are all lined up and this win will be just as big as any other on the series circuit."

RELATED: Reaction pours in to new rules package

The 2015 and proposed ’16 changes specifically target competition on the intermediate speedways, those tracks that are more than a mile and up to 2 miles in length.


O’Donnell said that while the sanctioning body gets plenty of feedback from teams, drivers and other stakeholders, they are mainly looking at a few things.



"I think we look at just really a couple things. Is there more side-by-side racing? Are there more passes for the lead? And is it safe? And candidly, that’s what fans expect. They want to see drivers up on the wheel, passing for the lead as often as possible.



"I know that really simplifies it but when we talk to the drivers and the race teams, they all get that. They may have different avenues as to what they think will produce more of that and a lot of varying opinions on that."



O’Donnell added that NASCAR is aware that the new rules package may need some massaging after its run at Kentucky.



"This is one race so we’re not going to say that’s it for this package. We know we’ve got some work to do with the tires as well so we’ll take a look at it, we’ll see what the indicators are and go from there. If we have to make tweaks, we certainly will do that."

Other notes from O’Donnell:



• The Sprint Cup Series heads out West for its first road course race of the 2015 season at Sonoma Raceway with Sunday’s Toyota–Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, PRN, SiriusXM). The NASCAR executive is excited about that action and more road course racing at Watkins Glen in August.



"I think the competitors look at this as a huge opportunity. We’ve had 10 different winners over the past 10 races out at Sonoma. Obviously, Jeff Gordon is pretty strong there as well as Clint Bowyer, two guys who are looking for a win. Really happy with the action that we’ve seen from the road course racing and certainly something that we look forward to."

• O’Donnell also discussed the process of how start times are set. The NASCAR XFINITY Series Owens Corning AttiCat 300 at Chicagoland Speedway was originally scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET on Saturday before rain moved it to Sunday afternoon. FOX Sports’ busy programming slate of the U.S. Open Golf Tournament as well as the Women’s World Cup Soccer Tournament contributed to the later start time and was also part of the reason that this past weekend was an off weekend for the premier series.



Erik Jones won at Chicagoland and he also won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway. O’Donnell touched on the impressive weekend sweep.

RELATED: Jones wins at Chicagoland | Jones repeats at Iowa


"I think every fan knows that Erik Jones is really an incredible talent that’s going to quickly move up through the ranks. I think he won a late model race as well Tuesday, so he had himself quite a week.



"Really exciting stuff that took place this weekend and the talent that’s coming up through the system is just awesome."

• O’Donnell, who spent time earlier this month taking in a Whelen Euro Series event touched on the possibility of a few European drivers making the leap of racing in the United States.



"There’s some interest from the U.S., in bringing some of those guys over. We’ll see a couple this year starting in New Hampshire and see where it goes."


• After Sonoma, the Cup Series returns to Daytona for the 17th race of the season as the series inches closer to the halfway mark of the schedule. It is also an opportunity to see the progress that the DAYTONA Rising project has made.



RELATED: Buy tickets now for the 2016 Daytona 500

"I can tell you getting down to Daytona every once and awhile, the construction is ongoing but when fans get a chance to see the sight lines down there, it’s really cool and I’m excited not only for July but I think it really sets as up well for launching the season in ’16."

Posted on by Staff Report

‘Driven To Thrive — to 95’ players can win VIP trip to Homestead-Miami

Leavine Family Racing partner Thrivent Financial launched an interactive game Monday that enters fans into a grand-prize drawing for a VIP trip for two to Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway while helping Habitat for Humanity with its mission to provide families decent places to live.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

ThriventRacing.com takes fans behind the scenes with driver Michael McDowell and the No. 95 race team. Through Oct. 15, fans can play "Driven to Thrive — to 95" by uncovering nine tiles to reveal "hidden" game symbols. Match three symbols, and players can win No. 95 die-cast cars, branded koozies, autographed hero cards and all fans who play will automatically be entered into a drawing for a VIP trip to the season finale in Homestead, Florida.

Fans uncovering a special tile will unlock a donation to Habitat for Humanity by Thrivent from $1 to $95, and the company will donate $95,000 in total to Habitat.

"We created this idea as another way for NASCAR fans to have fun and interact with Thrivent Racing and Michael McDowell in a whole new way," Craig Stacey, Thrivent Director of Marketing, said. "We’re providing exclusive content and games to fans so they can learn more about what our race team is all about. NASCAR fans get to feel good about doing it, too, because they’re also helping support Thrivent’s long-term commitment to Habitat for Humanity."

Through Thrivent Builds, the company is the largest non-governmental supporter of Habitat for Humanity. The 10-year partnership has built or repaired more than 4,000 homes in the U.S. and abroad. Also, 4.4 million volunteer hours have been contributed by Thrivent Financial member volunteers through this program.

LFR and McDowell recently participated in a Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity Repairs project in North Carolina alongside Thrivent Financial representatives and members.

"I’m really glad that Thrivent is able to bring what they do with Habitat to the NASCAR community," McDowell said in a team release. "We really enjoyed being hands on and giving back at the Thrivent Builds event and I’m thrilled that we can bring a part of that to NASCAR fans who can help us donate $95,000 to this great cause and have a chance to attend the championship race weekend in Miami."

Fans can get a bonus grand-prize entries by sharing a link to the game on social media, and in its second year in NASCAR, Thrivent has seen the efforts of the sport’s supporters spread the word about the company.

"In addition to the loyal NASCAR fans that have been supporting Thrivent since we entered the sport last summer with Leavine Family Racing and Michael McDowell, we hope to inspire the rest of the NASCAR community to learn more about Thrivent Financial and how they can support our team both on and off the track for the rest of the season," Stacey said.

"Leavine Family Racing and Michael McDowell were involved with helping develop this Driven to Thrive online game for NASCAR fans. As with everything we do with Leavine Family Racing and McDowell, it was a team effort focused on creating an experience that gives back to our fans and the community at the same time."

Race fans can like or follow Thrivent Racing on Facebook (facebook.com/ThriventRacing) and Twitter (@ThriventRacing) for the latest news, photos and videos from the team.

Posted on by Staff Report

Fans encouraged to get tickets ahead of “The Great American Race”

BUY: Daytona tickets now

Tickets for the highly anticipated 2016 DAYTONA 500, NASCAR’s biggest, richest and most prestigious race — and the first ever following the completion of the $400 million DAYTONA Rising redevelopment project — will officially go on sale Monday, June 22nd.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

"It is a very important day for all of us at Daytona International Speedway as we prepare for our grand reopening next year," said Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III. "With the reduced seating capacity and all new amenities in place, there is a great chance that we will sell out ahead of time for the DAYTONA 500, so we encourage fans to get their tickets early and reserve their spot to be a part of motorsports history."

Fans will have their first opportunity to witness the 2016 DAYTONA 500, to be held on Sunday, February 21, 2016, in the new motorsports stadium, experiencing unprecedented amenities that include 101,500 new, wider seats; thousands of premium club seats; 40 escalators and 17 elevators; 60 luxury suites; 11 social "neighborhoods," and three concourse levels that will span the nearly mile-long frontstretch.

Those wishing to attend will need to act quickly, as there will be a limited number of tickets available due to the reduced seating capacity in the new stadium.

In addition to "The Great American Race," fans may purchase tickets and multi-day packages for the remaining events during Speedweeks, which officially kicks off with the 58th Rolex 24 At Daytona TUDOR United SportsCar Championship event on Jan. 30-31.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or visiting www.Daytona500.com.

Posted on by Nascar

Sanctioning body, Hendrick Motorsports partner with technology leader

RELATED: Official release | Buy Dale Jr. die-casts

Microsoft’s involvement in NASCAR, which has grown steadily in recent years, has taken a giant step forward with Monday’s announcement that the Fortune 500 company is now an Official Technology Partner of NASCAR as well as a major technology partner of Hendrick Motorsports.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

According to officials with both the sanctioning body and the Redmond, Washington-based tech company, NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports will adopt the Windows 10 and Microsoft Azure cloud computing platforms "to deliver technology solutions to help improve performance on and off the track."
 
To support the launch of the Windows 10 operating system, the HMS No. 88 Chevrolet of driver Dale Earnhardt will carry a special Microsoft Windows 10 paint scheme for this weekend’s Sprint Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, the Toyota/Save Mart 350, as well as the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway scheduled for Aug. 2.
 
Windows 10 is scheduled for launch July 29.
 
"You’ve heard Brian (France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO) talk about this rush to innovation," Steve Phelps, Chief Marketing Officer for NASCAR, said. "A lot of that innovation is through technology. …
 
"This is another opportunity to showcase that NASCAR is a great place for business for sure, but also for technology companies to come in and prove that their technologies are helping our sport."
 
RELATED: France says NASCAR aggressively ’embracing technology’

Ultimately, Phelps said, such collaborations will help "get the fans closer to the sport and engage them more" in addition to providing the necessary tools and technology "to help on the competition side … whatever those things might be that ultimate bring better racing to the fans.
 
"What exactly that looks like at this point is still in development; we’re still having discussions," Phelps said. "It’s in our best interest to try to get there, and they certainly want that. They want to use NASCAR as a marketing platform to try and reach new customers and obviously this Windows 10 opportunity and using NASCAR as a platform is a really important start for us."
 
NASCAR officials began using a Windows mobile inspection application last year to improve and streamline the inspection process.
 
RELATED: Microsoft streamlines inspection process

"We started our relationship with NASCAR some time ago and now were a moving that into a relationship with Hendrick Motorsports," said Jeremy Korst, GM, Windows Product Marketing, said.
 
"It is important to us because it allows us to show other business customers in a sport as challenging and as technologically driven as NASCAR, that what the teams are doing trackside and throughout their processes demonstrate how Microsoft can bring that type of solution to such a challenging situation. Telling other customers about that is important to us. Demonstrating that ‘hey if this works for Hendrick and NASCAR, it’s going to work for a lot of other organizations outside of the sport as well.’
 
"We see it as a tremendous opportunity to leverage Microsoft and Windows technology as part of the sport going forward. There is a lot more work to do, but we’re excited about what we’re going to be doing in the near term."
 
Microsoft began its NASCAR involvement in 2008, as a team sponsor affiliated with BAM Racing. The alliance with Hendrick, and specifically Earnhardt Jr., marks its return from a team perspective.
 
HMS has won 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series titles and currently fields entries for Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne, in addition to Earnhardt Jr.
 
"For us, the first phase is adopting the new Windows 10 operating system across Hendrick Motorsports," said Doug Duchardt, General Manager for HMS.
 
"The next phase (will involve) how we can apply Microsoft technology to our business side and also to our competition side. We have a small amount of time to make important decisions at the track so anything we can do to work on how to make those decisions quicker and more accurately we look at.
 
"Microsoft has the technology and the capability to get there. … They are one of the top technology companies in the world and we’re very honored that they chose Hendrick Motorsports to partner with."
 
Windows 10 will be available as a free upgrade for qualified Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 devices.

 

Posted on by

Jones has dominant weekend, wins both Truck and XFINITY Series races

RELATED: Full Chicagoland results

JOLIET, Ill. — Erik Jones‘ last-ditch push had a victory payoff on Sunday.
 
Neck-and-neck with Ryan Blaney entering the final dozen laps, Jones finally slipped ahead after a restart and rolled to a 1.958-second victory margin in Sunday’s Owens Corning AttiCat 300 race at Chicagoland Speedway.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

"I got the inside of him and just barreled into (Turn) 3 as hard as I could to clear and slid in front," said Jones, who started 11th in his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. "Fortunately it worked and he didn’t try to cross us over or anything else."
 
Jones claimed his second NASCAR XFINITY Series race of the season, recorded his eighth top 10 series finish and completed a weekend sweep that included Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway.
 
Jones, the youngest NASCAR driver to win two races in the same weekend, has run in all three series this season.
 
Time behind the wheel has proven invaluable for the 19-year-old driver.
 
"It seemed like last year I’d be into these situations and be so nervous," he said. "This time it’s like ‘I’ve got this.’ I felt like I’ve done it so many times throughout the year and throughout the day that it felt more natural. That’s definitely a product of seat time and being in the car every week or the truck every week.
 
"It’s been a huge, huge help."
 
Jones led 94 of the race’s 200 laps while Blaney topped the field for 43 laps.
 
The race — the 14th in this season’s XFINITY series — was originally set for 9:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, but was washed out as downpours hit Joliet and the entire Chicago area.
 
Nearly 14 hours later, Sunday’s restart went off a bit after noon (ET) without a hitch under dry conditions and increasingly sunny skies.
 
Blaney nearly had a storybook finish as he overcame earlier misfortune to lead the race with less than a dozen laps remaining.
 
Driving the No. 22 Hertz Ford for Team Penske, Blaney wrecked his primary car in Saturday qualifying, started Sunday with a backup car in the back row but quickly maneuvered into the top 10 and moved into the lead with 45 laps to run.
 
"I thought it was a good day for us, a decent day," Blaney said. "I felt like I threw it away yesterday wrecking our primary. For our team to get a backup car out and work as hard as they did and have a car contending for the win and to be leading in the last little bit and then just not pull it off, that really speaks volumes to them about how well they prepared."
 
The race featured a track record 23 lead changes, plus seven cautions for 39 laps.
 
Series points leader Chris Buescher finished fifth and maintained his series lead with 528 points, 29 points ahead of second place Ty Dillon.
 
He shook off a penalty for speeding on pit road and rallied to the top five.
 
"It’s a good points day, that’s how it ended up," Buescher said. "The pit road speeding penalty is on me. … I got us a little bit behind there and put us in a bad spot but the guys did a good job coming back."
 
He regained track position when 22 drivers were penalized for pitting too soon with 46 laps remaining.
 
Chase Elliott, who won last summer’s XFINITY Chicagoland race on the way to the 2014 series championship, spun out with 23 laps to go and finished 14th. He’s still looking for his first win of the season.
 
Ross Kenseth, driving the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, was sixth in his XFINITY Series debut, a nice rebound after a Friday spinout during practice in his first time running the track.
 
"In the last two days we were a lot better than my first day here," said Kenseth, son of 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth. “At the end I thought we were really good — a third, fourth-place car — (but) was a little disappointed we didn’t get into the top five. … But the guys worked so hard at it and gave me a great car this weekend."
 
The XFINITY series takes a break this week and resumes with a July 4 race at Daytona International Speedway.

Posted on by

Blaney: ‘I don’t know how friendly rivalries can be,’ spun Jones at Las Vegas

JOLIET, Ill. – With the XFINITY Series stand-alone event at Chicagoland Speedway being postponed a day due to rain, NASCAR Nation was treated to a preview of what the sport will be watching on the edge of its collective seat for years to come — a Sunday afternoon battle between Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney.

RELATED: Blaney blames himself for runner-up finish at Chicagoland

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

Two of NASCAR’s brightest gems in the making were thrust into the spotlight during the time slot typically reserved for Sprint Cup Series racing thanks to a dark week for stock car racing’s premier series and thunderstorms in the Joliet area on Saturday night (when the Owens Corning AttiCat 300 was scheduled to be run).

They did not disappoint.

In the two XFINITY cars most associated with their respective rival mentors Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski (the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry and the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang) Jones and Blaney finished 1-2, combining to lead 137 of the race’s 200 laps.

The pair appears to be destined to be pitted against each other over the next decade, already having competed against one another in two of the three NASCAR national series tours and in late models — all before their combined age hit 40 years old. With each on the fast track to a full-time Sprint Cup ride in the near future (they’ve each made convincing starts at that level) it’s clear they both know their paths are going to cross for many years to come.

“(Ryan’s) definitely a guy that is one of the young guys that I’ve raced against quite a bit, especially for wins in the past. He’s a great, great competitor,” Jones said after taking his second victory of the weekend, the first coming Friday night at Iowa Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series. “He’s a lot of fun to race against. He’ll race you clean; he’ll race you hard. He doesn’t do anything that you don’t do to him.

“It’s really fun racing him; obviously we’ve had a couple of (battles) for the win together and I’m fine with a friendly rivalry any day, it just creates competition and it makes everybody better.”

Of course, it’s a lot easier to welcome a ‘friendly rivalry’ when you’re on the better half of it. In the six national series races in which they were both in the event and one of them ended up in Victory Lane, Jones was the one getting showered with confetti in four of them.

“I don’t know how friendly rivalries can be, but he does a good job,” Blaney smirked on pit road. “He’s been a good race car driver, obviously. He’s come along good. I raced with him in late models growing up. I’d like to say that I like racing with him, but he’s beaten us more times than I’ve beaten him. It’s fun racing with him. We had our run-in at Las Vegas and I thought we raced each other really good today. Just a good race car driver.

WATCH: Blaney sends Jones into the wall at Las Vegas

“Hopefully we’ll both be able to race on Sundays a lot here soon.”

If Sunday, June 21 was any indication, that’ll be the case very, very soon.

Posted on by Staff Report

Get full lineup of NASCAR programming for the week

RELATED: See the full weekend schedule

All times ET

Monday, June 22
3 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Chicagoland race (re-air), FOX Sports 1
7 a.m., NASCAR America: States of NASCAR #5 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
7:30 a.m., NASCAR America: States of NASCAR #6 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
8 a.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 Special 2015 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
8:30 a.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 Special 2015 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
10 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans 400 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 Special 2015 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
6:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 Special 2015 (re-air), NBC Sports Network

Tuesday, June 23
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
8 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
10 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Chicagoland race (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC Sports Network
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 Special 2015 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
3 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Wednesday, June 24
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
7:30 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
8 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
8:30 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
4:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 Special 2015 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 Special 2015 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
3 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Thursday, June 25
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
7:30 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
8 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
8:30 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC Sports Network
5:30 p.m., NASCAR K&N Series East: Langley Speedway (tape), NBC Sports Network
6:30 p.m., NASCAR America: States of NASCAR #5 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
8 p.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 2015 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
8:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 2015 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
11 p.m., NASCAR K&N Series East: Langley Speedway (re-air), NBC Sports Network
Midnight, NASCAR America: States of NASCAR #5 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
12:30 a.m., NASCAR America: States of NASCAR #6 (re-air), NBC Sports Network

Friday, June 26
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
7:30 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
8 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
8:30 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBC Sports Network
3 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 2
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FOX Sports 2

Saturday, June 27
2 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1

Sunday, June 28
10 a.m., TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Watkins Glen, FOX Sports 1
2 p.m., TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Watkins Glen, FOX Sports 2
2 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay – Sonoma, FOX Sports 1
3 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350, FOX Sports 1
3 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350, FOX Deportes
Midnight, NASCAR Victory Lane, FOX Sports 1

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Owens Corning AttiCat 300 will start at noon ET on FOX Sports 2

Editor’s note: Photo courtesy of @mw55

RELATED: Live weather updates from Chicagoland | Starting lineup

 

Severe thunderstorms in Joliet, Illinois delayed Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Chicagoland Speedway, the Owens Corning AttiCat 300, to Sunday at noon ET (FOX Sports 2, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR).

The green flag had been moved up to 9:40 p.m. ET, but 50 minutes earlier, fans were asked seek shelter for the approaching storm. Rain began falling shortly before 9 p.m. ET. Although the rain stopped approximately 30 minutes later, thunderstorms to the west of the facility forced the postponement.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

Improved weather conditions are expected for the rescheduled fifth annual Owens Corning AttiCat 300. Partly cloudy conditions and temperatures in the lower 70s are forecast, and six NASCAR Air Titan 2.0 vehicles are on property to dry the track. Chicagoland officials said Saturday’s tickets will be accepted for Sunday’s race. They’ll also be selling tickets. Parking lots are scheduled to open at 9 a.m. with entry at 10 a.m. Both times are local.

Last week’s rain-shortened Quicken Loans 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was the fifth premier series event of the season to be affected by rain. The Sprint Cup Series is off this week, but series regular Austin Dillon won the Coors Light Pole Award for Sunday’s event.

Ross Kenseth, son of 2003 NASCAR premier series champion Matt Kenseth, qualified second in his XFINITY Series debut while points leader Chris Buescher was ninth-fastest in qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

Buescher’s Roush Fenway Racing teammate, Ryan Reed, led 70 of the 100 laps in the ARCA Racing Series Scott 150 on Saturday. It was Reed’s first win in that series, and he’ll roll off 14th seeking his second win of the season after winning the inaugural XFINITY Series event at Daytona International Speedway.

When the race begins, seven cars will go to the rear: No. 01 Ross Chastain, No. 3 Ty Dillon, No. 52 Joey Gase and No. 79 Matt Frahm (unapproved adjustments), No. 22 Ryan Blaney (backup car), No. 0 Bobby Gerhart and No. 74 Mike Harmon (missed drivers’ meeting).

The NASCAR Wire Service contributed to this report.

Posted on by Staff Report

See where drivers will pit for the Owens Corning AttiCat 300

RELATED: Full starting lineup

Austin Dillon earned the Coors Light Pole Award for Sunday’s Owens Corning AttiCat 300 at Chicagoland Speedway (noon ET, FOX Sports 2, MRN, SiriusXM). With the pole comes first pick of pit stall, and he chose the first box at the exit of pit road, which is actually the second stall.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

Making his first career XFINITY Series start, Ross Kenseth qualified second and will pit in the eighth stall with an opening in front of him. Elliott Sadler tied Kenseth, who got the second spot with more owner points than Sadler, who will pit in the seventh stall, across the opening from Kenseth.

Regan Smith qualified fourth and chose the first stall at the entrance to pit road off of Turn 4 so he’ll park in the 42nd pit. Brendan Gaughan was fifth-fastest and will pit in the 38th stall with an opening in front of him.

Defending race winner and defending series champion, Chase Elliott, qualified sixth and chose the 13th stall, which also has a front opening. Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Daniel Suarez was seventh-fastest and will pit his No. 18 in the 18th stall.

The top two drivers in the points standings, Ty Dillon in second and leader Chris Buescher, qualified eighth and ninth respectively and will pit in the 17th and 11th stalls, each with an opening behind him.

The top 10 is rounded out by Darrell Wallace Jr., who will pit in the 28th stall with an opening in front of him.