Posted on by Holly Cain

2014 Rookie of the Year finally gets a top-three finish

DOVER, Del. — By the end of last season 2014 Rookie of the Year Kyle Larson had grown accustomed to and quite fond of reeling off top-five finishes. He had eight — including three runner-up efforts.


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But it took 12 races to score his first in 2015, that coming with a season best third place run in Sunday’s FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.

Larson also qualified a season-best third and ran among the top 10 all afternoon, but it wasn’t until the waning laps that his No. 42 Target Chevy made a real push for the front in a quest for his first career Sprint Cup Series win – a victory people predict could happen at any time and any place.

Yet for all the expectations, until Sunday, the 22-year-old Larson hadn’t scored a top 10 since early April at Bristol, Tenn. Six times in 11 starts this season (he missed the Martinsville, Va., race because of severe dehydration) Larson finished 20th or worse.

"Our first good run of the year,” Larson acknowledged. "Hopefully this will kind of transition into some momentum for us, for our team, and we can start getting some more top-five and top-10 finishes."

He certainly had to work for this one.  Although he lingered near the front, Larson truly put himself in the trophy mix — improving positions on each of the race’s final three restarts — with less than 20 laps remaining.

"We were good for most of the race; we got off kind of midpoint of the race and got really tight,” Larson said. "Then we freed up a lot and got better. Still weren’t as good as we were in the beginning of the race there at the end, but I was able to line up in the right lines, it seemed like, those last three restarts and gain a couple spots each time.

"The inside row on that last one [restart] spun their tires really bad and got a bad start, so we were all able to roll around them and kind of cruise to a third place finish.”

The effort moved Larson up two positions in the championship standings to 20th. He is 72 points behind 16th-place Ryan Newman on the Chase grid.

It’s the second time in three races that both Chip Ganassi Racing drivers – including his teammate Jamie McMurray – finished in the top-15.


Posted on by Holly Cain

Three-time champion among group that met with sanctioning body at Dover

DOVER, Del. — Three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart confirmed he was among a group of drivers that met with NASCAR officials for about two hours Saturday evening at the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino adjacent to Dover International Speedway.

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Stewart came away impressed by the intent and encouraged by the content of the discussions. He said it was the first time in his 17 years in NASCAR racing he can remember this kind of informal get-together session between the sanctioning body and a group of drivers that also included Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kevin Harvick among others.

"They want to sit down, and they want to listen,” Stewart told NASCAR.com on Sunday just prior to the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks.

"I think it’s just everyone staying on the same page which is good. It was a good thing, it was positive and makes me feel good about our sport that they want to keep everyone staying on the same page. I’d call it very, very positive."

Earlier in the morning, Hamlin explained to reporters that the meeting had been months in the making and that track safety was among the chief topics discussed.

"We’ve been trying to get all of our drivers together for about a year now, trying to get all of our ideas in one room together," Hamlin told USA Today. "NASCAR knew we were trying to form a line of communication, so they helped us start a driver council which gives us that forum to allow us to talk about things we want to talk about."

NASCAR acknowledged Saturday that a meeting was scheduled, reminding that it was merely one of many it has throughout the season with team owners, crew chiefs and drivers.

"NASCAR meets with drivers frequently on a wide range of topics,” NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Brett Jewkes said in a statement issued Sunday.

"As part of our ongoing commitment to foster dialogue between all stakeholders, we’ve met formally with drivers on several occasions this season, including here at Dover. We’ll meet with them again later in the season as normal course of business. The meetings have been productive and we find the dialogue very valuable."

 

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Leads most laps for third straight race, but still no wins

DOVER, Del. — For the third straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, Martin Truex Jr. led the most laps, and for the third straight race he failed to win.

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But Truex left Sunday’s FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway not chafing with disappointment after missing an opportunity in a potential race-winning car—as had been the case last week at Charlotte—but miffed at fourth-place finisher Kasey Kahne for closing the door on the final restart.
 
With nowhere to go in the inside lane, Truex finished sixth after leading a race-high 131 laps.
 
“I was inside him, and he ran me down on the apron,” Truex said. “So I either had to let off or wreck all of us. We had a good car today but it was never right. We were never right yesterday all through practice.
 
“We made some changes today and we made some gains on it, but never really got it where we needed it. Clean air was huge. When we were out front, we were OK. It just never turned good all day long. It just eventually caught up to us.”
 
Kahne, understandably, had a different view of the green-white-checkered-flag restart.
 
“He was back behind me to get a run on me, obviously; the spotter said I was clear, so I just went to the bottom getting into (Turn) 1,” Kahne said. “I think he was a little upset. He gave me a bump after the race. But I don’t know. I didn’t really know what else to do other than to go there with guys on my outside and stuff.
 
“But we had a pretty good car. We made good adjustments. The guys did a nice job. I wanted more. We had a nice package, but just didn’t pull it off.”

ALMIROLA GETS HARD-EARNED FIFTH-PLACE FINISH

How bad was the handling of Aric Almirola’s car early in Sunday’s Sprint Cup race?
 
So bad that he twice went a lap down early in the race.
 
But Almirola also got two “lucky dogs,” free pass to the lead lap as the highest-scored lapped car, and he spent the rest of the race making the most of his second chances, posting a season-best fifth-place finish in his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford.
 
The critical factor was Almirola’s ability to stay infront of leader Kevin Harvick before a wreck involving Brian Scott and Kyle Busch brought out the fifth caution on Lap 376.
 
“I earned my money today, that is for sure,” Almirola said. “This Smithfield Ford Fusion was a handful most of the day. It started off extremely tight. (Crew chief) Trent Owens and the guys made really good adjustments on the car, and got it better and better. Finally we weren’t the lucky dog — we raced and stayed on the lead lap, and when the caution came out, we got a chance to restart with the leaders.
 
“That was the big break for us. Every time we would get the lucky dog I had to start dead last and 30-40-50 laps the leaders were right back on me. It was a great day for us, a really good points day for us. I’m proud of Trent Owens and all the guys at Richard Petty Motorsports. They have been working their guts out trying to bring better cars to the race track week in and week out.”
 
KYLE BUSCH’S UPHILL BATTLE JUST GOT HARDER
 
Kyle Busch’s run toward the top 30 in points suffered a serious setback on Sunday when contact from Brian Scott’s Chevrolet sent Busch’s Toyota into the outside wall in Turn 3 on Lap 376 of a scheduled 400.
 
Busch was running fourth at the time and made a move to pass Scott on the inside. Unaware the No. 18 Toyota was below him, Scott turned into Busch’s car.
 
The mea culpa, however, can’t undo the damage to Busch’s hopes of finishing in the top 30 in the standings 13 races hence. Since Busch missed the first 11 races of the season after breaking his right leg and left foot in a Feb. 21 accident at Daytona, he must win one of the next 13 races and finish in the top 30 in points to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
 
“This is a shame,” Busch said. “This isn’t what we need, and we weren’t going to win today, but it doesn’t help when you finish 40th.”
 
Actually, Busch was credited with a 36th-place result, but he leaves Dover 168 points out of 30th place, needing an approximate average of 15th place over the next 13 races to have a realistic shot at the top 30.


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No. 48 driver holds off Harvick in green-white-checkered finish

RELATED: Full race results | Updated standings | BUY: Johnson gear, merchandise

DOVER, Del. — Jimmie Johnson, welcome to the club.
 
With his overtime victory in Sunday’s FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway, Johnson became the fifth driver to win 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at a single track, joining Richard Petty, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Sr. in sharing that distinction.

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All-time premier series wins

Rank Driver Wins
1. Richard Petty 200
2. David Pearson 105
3. Jeff Gordon 92
4t. Bobby Allison 84
4t. Darrell Waltrip 84
6. Cale Yarborough 83
7. Dale Earnhardt 76
8. Jimmie Johnson* 74
9. Rusty Wallace 55
10. Lee Petty 54

*Record 10th win at Dover
*Becomes fifth driver to win 10 or more at one track, joining NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson, Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip

Johnson’s triumph was his series-best fourth of the season and the 74th of his career, eighth most all-time and two behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Earnhardt in seventh place.
 
Unlike many of the six-time champion’s past victories at the Monster Mile, this was not a dominating performance by the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Johnson led but 23 laps, and didn’t take the top spot until he beat race runner-up Kevin Harvick to the stripe for a restart on Lap 383.
 
Johnson quickly cleared Harvick and led the rest of the way, but not before a caution for a wreck involving Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch slowed the field on Lap 386. At that point, Johnson and Harvick were the only two drivers to stay out on old tires, but Johnson was able to maintain control of the race on the subsequent restart on Lap 391.
 
He repeated the performance during a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took the event five laps past its posted distance of 400, after a wreck involving Greg Biffle, Casey Mears and AJ Allmendinger produced the seventh caution on Lap 398 and forced the overtime.
 
After the final restart on Lap 404, Johnson crossed the finish line .435 seconds ahead of Harvick, who posted his ninth top-2 finish in 13 races this season and extended his series lead to 44 points over sixth-place finisher Martin Truex Jr.
 
Johnson said he was able to maintain the lead on old tires “just driving hard and working that track bar adjuster as much as I could.
 
“I was trying to be smart with my line and I guess guys on two tires weren’t all that fast. (Crew chief) Chad (Knaus) said something to me about that on the radio, and they never really came, you know? The No. 4 (Harvick) and I did just fine on old tires and held those guys off.”
 
Harvick, on the other hand, had no track bar to work with, because the in-car adjuster had broken during the race.
 
“Yeah, we just struggled at the end of the race on restarts, really all day on the restarts,” said Harvick, who led 91 laps but failed to get his first victory at the high-banked concrete track. “Once the track bar broke, we were pretty much in a box and just kind of had to hold on for the first 25 laps (of a run), and if we weren’t in the front, then we struggled to just maintain what we had.
 
“All in all, everybody did a great job, and I think when you look at Dover, it’s been a good race track for us. We’ve led laps and just haven’t quite finished it yet, but a good, solid day.”
 
Kyle Larson ran third, followed by Kasey Kahne and Aric Almirola. Starting on the outside of the front row next to Coors Lights Polesitter Denny Hamlin, Truex led a race-high 131 laps—racking up most laps led in his third straight Sprint Cup points race without winning.
 
Hamlin led 118 laps but was waylaid by the Lap 386 wreck and came home 21st, three laps down.
 
Notes: Johnson has now led 2,999 laps at Dover, one shy of become the seventh driver in Sprint Cup history to lead 3,000 laps at a single track… This was only the second green-white-checkered-flag finish at Dover, the first coming in the fall of 2005, and the first ever in the Sprint Cup race at the Monster Mile… In his second race back from surgery to repair his broken right leg and left foot, Kyle Busch was a fixture in the top five until Brian Scott’s Chevrolet collided with Busch’s No. 18 Toyota in Turn 3 on Lap 376. Busch finished 36th, suffering a setback to his hopes of finishing in the top 30 in the regular-season standings. Busch is now 40th, 168 points behind 30th-place Justin Allgaier.

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Roush Fenway Racing driver triggers three-car incident at Lap 175

RELATED: Dover Race Center

Trevor Bayne triggered a three-car crash on the frontstretch at Lap 175 of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks that collected Michael Annett and Justin Allgaier on Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

The 2011 Daytona 500 champion attempted to pass HScott Motorsports‘ Annett but wasn’t cleared and collected the No. 46 Chevrolet SS. Annett’s HSM teammate, Allgaier, couldn’t slow up in time and crashed into Annett.

"Off of Turn 4, I was racing side by side with the 46 (Annett) for multiple laps and there is a lot of give and take," Bayne said following a 43rd-place finish. "I kept giving him the top and coming off the corner, I got a little tight and then he was there and once we touched the first time, you are hooked together and it turns you."

Bayne was called to the NASCAR hauler post-race for getting out of his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion before emergency workers arrived.

Following the race, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Managing Director Richard Buck talked about his discussion with Bayne and the sanctioning body’s policy on drivers getting out of their cars during a race, a policy that was put in place last August at Michigan following a fatal incident involving Tony Stewart at a non-NASCAR event in New York.

"Our on-track incidents, we’ve been very clear of what we expect and that’s if you are involved in an on-track incident and can’t continue forward progress, we require you to stay in the car, that’s the safest place to be," Buck said.

"Stay in there with all your safety gear buckled up. If there’s smoke or extenuating circumstances, a fire, you feel that you then can get out but you’re not supposed to leave the car until instructed to do so. So that’s what we have issue with and we talked to Trevor about it. When he got out of the car, he walked across the racing surface.

"We’ll continue the conversation with him. It was a good conversation. He’s got an understanding and an awareness of the situation and what happened. We’ll continue that conversation and do what we do on Mondays.”

Buck also discussed Kyle Busch getting out of his car to address Brian Scott following a wreck.

"We’ll look at the event as a whole, and if there’s any other issues, we’ll address that if need be," Buck said.

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Tire carrier for Carl Edwards takes tumble following pit stop

Matt Ver Meer, a tire changer for Carl Edwards‘ No. 19 Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing team, was pulled out of the pit box and took a hard fall on Lap 164 of the FedEx400 benefiting Austism Speaks at Dover International Speedway on Sunday but was not injured, according to the team’s Twitter account.

Ver Meer was trying to remove a wedge wrench during a pit stop on Lap 164 as Edwards took off. He stumbled for several steps before falling forward, turning his head at the last second to avoid a face plant.

Edwards had to pit again and fell out of the top 10 due to the incident.

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An 18-inch square in Turn 4, 10 feet up the track, was fixed

RELATED: NASCAR, track repair hole in Turn 2 during 2014 race

On Sunday morning, NASCAR made an 18-inch by 18-inch repair to Turn 4 at Dover International Speedway before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks (1 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM).

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Last spring’s FedEx 400 was delayed by a red flag for 22 minutes, 22 seconds when a piece of concrete came up in Turn 2, damaging Jamie McMurray‘s front splitter. The track and NASCAR poured Quik-Rok into an area which, according to photographs from television, was approximately 6 inches by 8 inches and about 2 inches deep.

NASCAR made the announcement about this morning’s repair in the driver’s meeting. The sanctioning body said it used the same Quik-Rok material to repair the hole on Sunday.

The track is hosting the first NASCAR national series tripleheader since the second weekend of the year at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Camping World Truck Series ran 200 laps on Friday followed by another 200-lap event for the XFINITY Series on Saturday. The Sprint Cup Series is scheduled to run 400 laps on Sunday.

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No. 88 team changed rear gear Sunday morning

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start from the rear in Sunday’s FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks (1 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Dover International Speedway after the team changed a rear gear in his No. 88 Chevrolet on Sunday morning.

Earnhardt Jr. had qualified 16th in Friday’s session. In a pair of Saturday practice session, the No. 88 came in ninth and 19th.

Junior has one win in 30 starts at Dover, and it came in 2001. He’s earned a top-10 finish in four of the past six races at the 1-mile concrete oval.

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Get on-track times for everything at Pocono and Texas

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will race at Pocono Raceway and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will race at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. Check out the full schedule below.

All times are ET

SUNDAY, JUNE 7:

PRE-RACE SCHEDULE
— 11 a.m.: NSCS Driver/Crew Meeting (ARCA Garage)
— 12:30 p.m.: NSCS Driver Introductions with NASCAR Special Awards backstage
— 1 p.m.: Intro Colors and Invocation: USAF 314th Recruiting Squadron, McGuire Air Force Base Color Guard
— 1:00:20 p.m.: Invocation by: Monty Self, MRO
— 1:01 p.m.: National Anthem by: West Point Army Band, joined by Aaliyah Sanders, Signer from Scranton School of the Deaf
— 1:02:30 p.m.: Flyby TOT: 1 C-17 from 514th Air Mobility Command (Turn 3 to Turn 1)
— 1:07:30 p.m.: "Drivers, Start Your Engines" by: Charlie Shaver, Chairman and CEO Axalta Coating Systems and Caroline Shaver, his daughter
— 1:18:30 p.m.: Green Flag – Axalta We Paint Winners 400 (160 laps, 400 miles) (Get results)

ON TRACK
— 1 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 (160 laps, 400 miles), FOX Sports 1 (Follow live)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch Live)
— 9:15 a.m.: Kyle Larson
— 3:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race

THURSDAY, JUNE 4:

ON TRACK
— 5:30-6:25 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice (Get results)
— 7:30-8:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice (Get results)

FRIDAY, JUNE 5:

ON TRACK 
— Noon-1:25 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 4:45 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 6:15 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Qualifying, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 9 p.m.: WinStar World Casino 400, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)

GARAGECAM (Watch Live)
— 11:30 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch Live)
— 10:30 a.m.: Jimmie Johnson
— 2:30 p.m.: Jeff Gordon
— 3 p.m.: Joey Logano
— 3:15 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr. 
— 5:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying

SATURDAY, JUNE 6:

ON TRACK
— 9-9:55 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)