Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Practice 1 results | Final practice results

Matt Crafton soared atop the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series leaderboard Friday afternoon, posting the fastest lap in final practice at Michigan International Speedway.

 

The two-time defending series champion registered a fast lap of 186.659 mph in the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Toyota. His time was almost a tenth of a second faster than Daniel Hemric, who was fastest in Friday’s opening practice for Saturday’s Careers for Veterans 200 presented by Cooper Standard and Brad Keselowski‘s Checkered Flag Foundation (Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM).

Hemric turned a slightly faster 186.210 mph lap in final practice in the NTS Motorsports No. 14 Chevrolet. Cameron Hayley also backed up his second-fastest speed in the first session with a third-best 185.907 in the final session behind the wheel of the ThorSport No. 13 Toyota.

Cody Coughlin, a 19-year-old development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, was fourth-fastest in preparation for just his second Truck Series start, driving the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 54 Toyota. He was just ahead of Austin Dillon, who rounded out the top five in the GMS Racing No. 33 Chevrolet.

Sprint Cup regular Kyle Busch was sixth-fastest, just ahead of points leader Tyler Reddick.

Keystone Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled for 9:40 a.m. ET Saturday (FOX Sports 1).

Hemric hangs on to top spot in first practice

Daniel Hemric shot to the top of the leaderboard in opening NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice at Michigan International Speedway.

Hemric, driving the NTS Motorsports No. 14 Chervrolet, turned a fast lap of 185.009 mph on the 2-mile track. The 24-year-old driver is scheduled to make just his 16th start in the series in Saturday’s Careers for Veterans 200 presented by Cooper Standard and Brad Keselowski‘s Checkered Flag Foundation (1 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM).

NASCAR Next product Cameron Hayley was second-fastest in the ThorSport Racing No. 13 Toyota at 184.186 mph. Michigan native Erik Jones was third-fastest at 184.082 mph on his home track in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 Toyota.

Alex Bowman, set to make his truck series debut for JR Motorsports, was fourth-best, followed by fellow Sprint Cup regular Kyle Busch to complete the top five.

Johnny Sauter, last year’s winner at Michigan, was sixth-fastest in the ThorSport Racing No. 98 Toyota. He was slightly faster than two-time Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton, his ThorSport teammate in the No. 88 Toyota.

Spencer Gallagher‘s scrape with the Turn 2 wall halted practice with approximately 13 minutes left in the 55-minute session. His GMS Racing team unloaded a new No. 23 Chevrolet after his primary truck suffered significant right-rear fender damage.

Posted on by Staff Report

# Car Driver Team
1 23 JJ Yeley(i) Dr Pepper Toyota
2 62 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Ford
3 98 Timmy Hill(i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet
4 33 Travis Kvapil(i) Chevrolet
5 32 Josh Wise Skuttle Tight Ford
6 40 Landon Cassill(i) Snap Fitness Chevrolet
7 34 Brett Moffitt # CSX Play It Safe Ford
8 26 Jeb Burton # Maxim/Estes Toyota
9 35 Cole Whitt Dockside Logistics LLC Ford
10 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Cosmo Motors Toyota
11 38 David Gilliland MDS Transportation Ford
12 7 Alex Bowman Advanced Patient Care Chevrolet
13 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet
14 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Zest Ford
15 51 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet
16 43 M. Crafton(i) / A. Almirola Armour Ford
17 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet
18 15 Clint Bowyer 5-Hour Energy Toyota
19 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet
20 27 Paul Menard Richmond/Menards Chevrolet
21 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet
22 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Ford
23 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford
24 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford
25 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet
26 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna/McDonald’s Chevrolet
27 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet
28 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger/Scott Products Chevrolet
29 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet
30 24 Jeff Gordon Pepsi Chevrolet
31 21 Ryan Blaney(i) Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford
32 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Transportation Impact Ford
33 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet
34 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford
35 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota
36 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Microsoft Chevrolet
37 55 David Ragan Aaron’s Dream Machine Online Version Toyota
38 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota
39 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet
40 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota
41 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
42 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet
43 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet
44 19 Carl Edwards ARRIS Toyota
Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: See all 43 cars | Full starting lineup

The pit stall assignments are out for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, and Coors Light Pole Award Winner Matt Kenseth got to pick first on where he will pit.

Kenseth chose pit stall 1 to service his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota; which is the first pit stall off pit road leading into Turn 1.

Second-place qualifier Denny Hamlin, in the No. 11 Toyota, has the pit stall just in front of the start-finish line at the 2-mile track.  

Carl Edwards (starting third) will pit in the 22nd pit stall, just past start-finish line.

Austin Dillon‘s No. 3 Chevrolet (starting fourth) will be pitting in the second pit stall, right behind Kenseth while Tony Stewart (starting fifth) chose the fourth pit stall.

Kenseth, Hamlin and Kasey Kahne (starting 11th) all have openings in front of them on pit road.

The Pure Michigan 400 (200 laps, 400 miles) on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN/Live Extra, MRN, SiriusXM) 

Posted on by Staff Report

Aric Almirola sat out a portion of Friday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Michigan International Speedway as he dealt with an illness.

According to a release provided by Richard Petty Motorsports, Almirola was suffering from what the team hopes is a 24-hour virus. The team said it intended for Almirola to make limited laps in practice in the No. 43 Ford in hopes of participating in Coors Light Pole Qualifying later and retaining his starting spot for Sunday’s main event. Almirola did participate in qualifying and will lineup 30th for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).

The team retained two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton as a relief driver for the bulk of Friday’s lone practice.

 

It isn’t the first substitute role in the Sprint Cup Series for Crafton. The 39-year-old driver filled in for Paul Menard, awaiting the birth of his first child, during practice in March 2014 at Auto Club Speedway. Crafton also was an 11th-hour replacement for the injured Kyle Busch in the 2015 Daytona 500.
 
Almirola is the highest-ranking driver outside of the provisional Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup postseason grid entering Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400. He made his first Chase appearance last year after scoring his first Sprint Cup win at Daytona International Speedway in July.
 
NBCSN reported that Almirola was received treatment at the 2-mile track’s infield care center.

 

The change of plans for Crafton was amplified by the adjustment to the high-drag rules package for the Sprint Cup Series this weekend.

 

“It’s definitely different,” Crafton said after his first stint in the RPM No. 43. “A lot of it’s unknown for them because of the new aero packages we have, so nobody knows anything about it. They thought the car would be tight, but I don’t think everybody’s fighting real tight right now. So, we’ll keep working on it.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Practice 2 results

 

Justin Marks sped to the top of the leaderboard late in Friday’s final NASCAR XFINITY Series practice at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, piloting his No. 42 Chevrolet around the road course at 95.574 mph. That was just quick enough to unseat Ty Dillon from the top spot.

 

Dillon, who led Friday’s opening practice and was looking for a sweep, had a best speed of 95.538 mph, which looked like it would hold up. That ended up being good for second place.

 

Marks hasn’t raced an XFINITY Series car since the season-opening race at Daytona, in which he finished 34th in the No. 29 Toyota.

Alex Tagliani (95.205 mph) was third in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, followed by Chris Buescher (95.152 mph) and Elliott Sadler (94.965 mph).

 

Chase Elliott, who finished eighth in the final session, spent time in the garage so his team could swap his transmission after the driver reported a small vibration on his second run, according to JR Motorsports.

 

Next on the docket for the XFINITY Series is qualifying, which takes place Saturday at 11:15 a.m. ET. The Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 follows at 3:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).

Opening practice

RELATED: Practice 1 results

 

A late mock qualifying run vaulted Ty Dillon to the top of the leaderboard in Friday’s opening NASCAR XFINITY Series practice at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

In the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, Dillon topped Brian Scott‘s best speed with approximately 90 seconds remaining in the opening 55-minute session with a pace of 95.660 mph. Scott, his Richard Childress Racing teammate, settled for second in the session at 94.937 mph.

 

In a practice session that saw its leaderboard get topsy-turvy as teams made late runs in qualifying trim, Boris Said piloted the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to third place (94.825 mph). Regan Smith was fourth at 94.755 mph and defending race winner and series points leader Chris Buescher taking fifth (94.736 mph).

 

Buescher enters Saturday’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) 24 points ahead of both Chase Elliott and Dillon. Elliott finished seventh in the first practice. Dillon, of course, was involved in a pit-road tussle with Smith following last week’s race at Watkins Glen. They avoided each other in Friday’s opening period of on-track activity.

 

RELATED: Smith, Dillon get physical post-Watkins Glen

 

Seven NASCAR XFINITY Series teams lost 15 minutes of on-track time as a result of recent minor infractions.

The following XFINITY Series teams served 15-minute practice time deduction penalties during the opening practice:Richard Childress Racing No. 2 (driver Brian Scott), Team Penske No. 22 (Alex Tagliani), JGL Racing No. 26 (Tomy Drissi), Richard Childress Racing No. 33 (Brandon Jones), Jimmy Means Racing No. 52 (Joey Gase), Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 (Boris Said) and JR Motorsports No. 88 (Ben Rhodes).

The seven teams were penalized for issues arising at Watkins Glen this past weekend (late exiting garage).

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Official NASCAR release

Good news race fans — NASCAR After The Lap, presented by Ford and Sprint, is headed back to Las Vegas for its seventh straight year. The event, which features all 16 drivers competing in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, has become one of the major highlights of Champions Week, as well as an opportunity for fans to engage with the season’s best drivers in a most unique and fun atmosphere.

The event, which will take place at the Pearl Palms Concert Theater inside the Palms Casino Hotel, has been known as the time where drivers let loose on the season celebration in a tell-all panel. From Jeff Gordon showing off his break-dancing skills, to Tony Stewart‘s push-up contest victory and many other signature moments, you never know what you might get at NASCAR After The Lap.

Also starting today, NASCAR Nation has the opportunity to participate in the NASCAR After The Lap Sweepstakes, and with that comes the chance for fans to win some truly once-in-a-lifetime prizes. Starting today through November 22, fans can enter to win a 2016 Ford F-150 or an all-inclusive trip for two to Las Vegas to attend the NASCAR After The Lap event, among other great prizes.

Tickets for NASCAR After The Lap are priced at $20 and will go on sale September 21, but fans not able to attend can also tune in to the live stream of the event on NASCAR.com. To enter the NASCAR After The Lap sweepstakes or learn more about December’s event, visit www.NASCARafterthelap.com.

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Full practice results



Carl Edwards rose to the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leaderboard in Friday’s opening practice at Michigan International Speedway.



Edwards drove the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota to a fast lap of 196.046 mph on the 2-mile track. He set the time with a mock qualifying run in the last half-hour of practice.



Defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick was second-fastest with a 194.858 mph lap in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet. Austin Dillon, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin completed the top five in preparation for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).



The 2-hour, 25-minute practice session marked the Michigan debut for the high-drag aerodynamic package, which was used last month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The rules package, which features an extended rear spoiler among other aerodynamic tweaks, did not receive much of a trial run for race conditions as teams focused on single-car laps.



Aric Almirola sat out the bulk of Friday’s opening practice, battling what his Richard Petty Motorsports team hoped was a 24-hour virus. Two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton filled in for the early portions of the practice in the RPM No. 43 Ford. The car wound up 29th-fastest on the leaderboard.


RELATED: Sick Almirola will miss portions of practice



Defending race winner Jeff Gordon, scheduled to make his last Michigan start Sunday, was 15th-fastest in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet. Kurt Busch, the most recent Michigan winner in June, was 12th-fastest in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet. Busch also had the best 10-lap average, running 188.212 mph on his 21st to 30th laps in the session.



Joey Logano, last week’s winner at Watkins Glen International, was 11th-fastest in the Team Penske No. 22, the fastest Ford on the leaderboard.



The 44 cars that hit the track in the opening session participated with commemorative decals to honor NASCAR legend Buddy Baker, who died Monday at 74.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AUGUST 14, 2015) — NASCAR® announced today that NASCAR After The Lap, sponsored by Ford and Sprint, will return to Las Vegas for its seventh-consecutive year. The event will once again take place at the Pearl Palms Concert Theater inside the Palms Casino Hotel on Thursday, December 3.

Now in the second year of the expanded field of challengers competing in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, attendees will be able to see this year’s best drivers – all 16 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup contenders – in what has become a highly anticipated event during the week-long season-end celebration.
 
“Every year, NASCAR After The Lap serves as a key moment where fans can engage with their favorite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers in a unique way not typically experienced throughout the season,” said Tim Duerr, motorsports marketing manager for Ford Performance. “At Ford, we engage with NASCAR drivers and teams on and off-the-track throughout the season and know how special these moments are, which is why we’ve been proud to serve as event sponsor for NASCAR After The Lap for the past seven years.”

NASCAR After The Lap provides fans with an opportunity to win once-in-a-lifetime prizes and NASCAR experiences. Starting today through November 22, NASCAR fans entering the NASCAR After The Lap sweepstakes will have the opportunity to win a 2016 Ford F-150. Additionally, two winners will receive an all-inclusive VIP trip for two to NASCAR After The Lap, including roundtrip airfare, hotel, ground transportation and VIP event access. NASCAR fans can enter for a chance to win by visiting www.NASCARafterthelap.com.  

Tickets for NASCAR After The Lap are priced at $20 and go on sale on Monday, September 21. For fans unable to attend NASCAR After The Lap, NASCAR.com will offer a live stream of the event.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

BROOKLYN, Mich. – Beyond planning to run the NASCAR XFINITY Series for Joe Gibbs Racing next year, 19-year-old phenom Erik Jones doesn’t have any specifics about his 2016 deal.
 
But two trips in a Sprint Cup Series car—the first in a relief role for Denny Hamlin at Bristol, the second as a sub for injured Kyle Busch at Kansas—have heightened Jones’ eagerness to drive in NASCAR’s top series.
 
RELATED: Jones talks personal impact of Gordon

“JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) is working on a lot of things—a lot of things I honestly don’t know,” said Jones, who is competing for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title this year. “I’m kind of waiting to see how the rest of the year progresses.
 
“I do know that I’ll be racing XFINITY next year, but I don’t know sponsor, number or any kind of information like that. No plans this year (for additional Sprint Cup races), but I hope I get another shot soon. It was fun.”
 
Jones is currently third in the Truck Series points standings, trailing leader Tyler Reddick by 16 points and two-time defending series champion Matt Crafton by five.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: See all 43 cars | Starting lineup for Michigan


BROOKLYN, Mich. — Matt Kenseth‘s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota crew woke a sleeping giant just in time for qualifying for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN) at Michigan International Speedway.
 
But Kenseth jokingly credited a sleepless night — brought on by worry over teammate Denny Hamlin‘s lack of punctuality — for his pole-winning effort in Friday’s time trials at the two-mile track.
 
Getting the most out of the high-drag aerodynamic package in force at the event at Michigan, Kenseth covered the distance in 36.458 seconds (197.488 mph) to win his third Coors Light Pole Award of the season, his first at MIS and the 16th of his career.
 
Hamlin (196.990 mph) was second fastest, and Carl Edwards (196.276 mph) claimed the third starting spot, as Joe Gibbs Racing swept the top three positions on the grid for the 23rd Sprint Cup race of the season.
 
Austin Dillon (195.918 mph) qualified fourth as the top Chevrolet in the field, followed by Tony Stewart (195.477 mph) in a Chevrolet and Kyle Busch (195.450 mph) in the fourth JGR Toyota. Joey Logano, last week’s winner at Watkins Glen, qualified 10th as the only Ford driver to crack the top 12.
 
Based on practice speed, Edwards was a favorite to win the pole, but Kenseth, who was 10th on the speed chart in the opening practice session, closed the gap in time from qualifying.
 
“We were a long ways off Carl in practice, and I don’t even know what changes they made, but they changed a lot of stuff that really woke this thing up and had some speed,” Kenseth said. “I knew I got through (Turns) 1 and 2 good, but Denny put up such a fast lap, and I got into (Turn) 3, and I was bound and determined that I was going to make it wide open.
 
“I had the first half of the corner. It was the second half that was starting to get exciting. I got sliding up the track and bogged down a little bit. I wasn’t sure that we were going have it, but I have to say thanks to those guys (the crew). They gave me a car with a lot of speed.”
 
In Hamlin’s view, Busch’s return from an injury has achieved a critical mass of four talented, veteran drivers at JGR who can benefit from each other’s expertise.
 
“When you have drivers that you can feed off of, like the three teammates that I have, it makes a difference, and so that’s where you’re seeing the results,” Hamlin said.
 
That didn’t prevent the driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry from throwing a barb toward the 43-year-old teammate who beat him for the pole.
 
“Matt was probably too old to remember to lift there,” Hamlin said of Kenseth’s qualifying run.
 
Kenseth provided a different perspective.
 
“I could say it’s because I didn’t get enough sleep,” Kenseth said. “I flew up with Denny today, and he likes to come to everything at the last minute. I didn’t sleep last night thinking that we weren’t going to make it up here, so it’s really just for lack of sleep. I get to credit Denny for the pole.”
 
Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Logano completed the top 10. Reed Sorenson failed to make the 43-car field.