Posted on by Staff Report

Rookie edges Custer, Suarez atop Monster Mile leaderboard

RELATED: Practice results

Erik Jones rose to the top of the leaderboard Thursday afternoon in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice at Dover International Speedway.

Jones, a Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, turned a fast lap of 155.885 mph around the concrete mile in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 Toyota. He edged NASCAR Next driver Cole Custer, who was second-fastest at 154.819 mph in the JR Motorsports No. 00 Chevrolet.

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Daniel Suarez, Jones’ KBM teammate in the No. 51 Toyota, was third-best at 154.579 mph in the two-hour, 25-minute session — the lone practice ahead of Friday’s Lucas Oil 200 (5:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM). Cameron Hayley and Daniel Hemric, another pair of rookies, completed the top five on the leaderboard.

Series points leader and two-time defending champion Matt Crafton was 12th-fastest in the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Toyota. Crafton carries a 16-point lead over Jones into the 200-miler, the sixth of 23 races this season.

NASCAR Next driver Jesse Little briefly held the top spot on the leaderboard in his No. 97 Toyota, but settled for seventh-fastest ahead of his national series debut.

Keystone Light Pole Qualifying to set the 32-truck field is scheduled Friday at 12:45 p.m. ET.

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Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender seeks $100,000 in opener

RELATED: Enter Dash 4 Cash sweepstakes

Last weekend didn’t start off too well for Daniel Suarez.
 
He qualified 19th for the Hisense 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, his lowest starting position since February when he began the Atlanta race 21st.
 
It ended pretty well though.

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Suarez finished sixth, clinching a spot in the NASCAR XFINITY Series’ Dash 4 Cash by placing in the top four among drivers registered for XFINITY Series points.
 
As a Dash 4 Cash participant, Suarez can win an extra $100,000 in Saturday’s Buckle Up 200 presented by Click It or Ticket at Dover International Speedway (2:30 p.m. on FOX). All he has to do is place ahead of the other three contestants: Ty Dillon, Regan Smith and Darrell Wallace Jr.
 
"It’s great, last year I did not get this opportunity," Suarez said after qualifying for Dash 4 Cash at Charlotte. "Thank you to everyone in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for putting this all together. I’m looking forward to next week."
 
Suarez has only started at Dover twice, both times in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. He placed sixth in 2013 and finished 22nd last year following a wreck with 17 laps left. This weekend, he will get seat time in Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 200 (5:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1), which will help him prepare for the XFINITY Series event.
 
"I always feel a bit more confident in tracks where I’ve competed at before in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East," Suarez said about Dover. "I know it’s a very fast track, interesting and a lot of fun. It will also be fun to run two races in the same weekend again. I love being behind the wheel, so anytime I can do more of that is great for me."
 
Suarez has the opportunity to win $1 million through the Dash 4 Cash program. He can win $100,000 in each race at Dover, Indianapolis, Bristol and Darlington by being the highest finisher among Dash 4 Cash participants. If Suarez wins the first three Dash 4 Cash awards and then wins outright at Darlington, XFINITY will award him an additional $600,000 bonus, bringing the total payout to $1 million.
 
"We had a good run at Charlotte and qualified for the ‘Dash 4 Cash’ program," Suarez said. "It’s a fun incentive, but it won’t change the way we prepare or approach the race this weekend."

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NASCAR ruling was for second written warning following Coca-Cola 600

RELATED: Nos. 48, 51 and 1 penalized for Charlotte infractions
MORE: Johnson stands by appeal | Appeal prevents pit pick repeat

Hendrick Motorsports officials have filed for an appeal of the P1 level penalty handed down to its No. 48 team with driver Jimmie Johnson, meaning the team will be allowed to make its pit stall selection based on Johnson’s qualifying result for Sunday’s FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks (1 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Dover International Speedway

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Because the decision is being appealed, the initial penalty, last choice in pit selection process, has been deferred.
 
No date has been set for the appeal.

Qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is scheduled for Friday at the 1-mile track.
 
The team was penalized after consecutive written warnings for violations during the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 weekends at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
 
The order for the selection of pit stalls for the race is based on qualifying results, with the Coors Light Pole Award winner getting first choice, and the remainder (pos. 2-43) choosing in order of their position in the starting lineup.
 
The HScott Motorsports team, with driver Justin Allgaier, was also penalized for receiving consecutive written warnings at CMS.
 
Warnings, which are not appealable, are typically issued for minor, first-time infractions and the reason for the warnings isn’t made public.
 
Multiple warnings elevate the severity of the penalty to a P1 level and may result in one or more consequences besides the loss of choice in pit selection. Track time deduction in practice or qualifying, a delay in the order of inspection and selection for post-race inspection are among the other options NASCAR may impose.
 
Johnson is a nine-time winner at Dover and is the defending race winner.


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Nine years ago, team selected 42nd at Dover, had to share stall

RELATED: Nos. 48, 51 and 1 penalized for Charlotte infractions
MORE: Hendrick appeals P1 penalty | Johnson stands by appeal

The importance of a team’s pit stall location isn’t lost on Jimmie Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 team. Especially when it comes to Dover International Speedway, a fast 1-mile concrete track that has been the site of nine of Johnson’s 73 wins in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series.

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The six-time series champion has earned 19 top-10s at Dover, 15 of which came from a starting spot inside the top 10. Overall, drivers starting on the front row there have won 28 of 90 Sprint Cup races and 71 winners have come from inside the top-10 on the starting grid.
 
A better qualifying result, and pit stall location, doesn’t guarantee success, but it is one less problem for a team to deal with on race day.
 
The order for the selection of pit stalls is based on qualifying results, with the Coors Light Pole Award winner getting first choice, and the remainder (pos. 2-43) choosing in order of their position in the starting lineup.
 
Unless you’re hit with a NASCAR penalty, which was the case this week for Johnson and the HScott Motorsports team with driver Justin Allgaier.
 
The two teams were penalized Wednesday for receiving consecutive warnings from NASCAR for minor infractions at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 weekends.
 
The P1-level penalty was the loss of choice in pit selection, meaning the two teams would be left with whatever pit stall locations remained after the other 41 teams had made their selections.
 
HMS notified NASCAR officials of its intent to file an appeal on Thursday, and as a result the penalty has been deferred. No date for the appeal hearing has been announced.
 
Now, instead of having to choose one of the last available pit stalls for Sunday’s FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks (1 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM), the No. 48 team’s pit selection will be determined by Johnson’s qualifying position in the 43-car field.

Qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is scheduled for Friday at the 1-mile track.

Had they not appealed, it would not have been the first time Johnson and his team found themselves with a less-than-prime pit position at Dover.
 
Before 2009, the track featured only 42 pit boxes along pit road, leaving two teams to share one pit stall. And when Johnson spun during qualifying for the spring race of 2006, his team was forced to share a pit stall with fellow driver Scott Wimmer and the Morgan-McClure Motorsports No. 4 team.
 
Actually, they shared more than just the pit stall. Under an agreement between the two teams, Johnson’s pit crew initially pitted both cars. And crew chiefs Chad Knaus (Johnson) and Chris Carrier (Wimmer) sat atop the same pit box.
 
When pitting, whoever was higher in the running order at the time, Johnson or Wimmer, would pit first. Then the second driver would hit pit road to be serviced by the same crew.
 
The moved ended up costing Wimmer track position when his car ran out of gas under the second caution of the race while waiting to pit.
 
It wasn’t until Hermie Sadler retired from the race after 136 laps that a pit stall opened up, allowing Wimmer and the Morgan-McClure team to move to the vacant pit box.
 
In spite of starting at the back of the field, and going two laps down at one point in the race, Johnson was able to rebound and score a sixth-place finish.
 
Wimmer finished 34th, four laps down.
 
Dover added a 43rd pit stall in 2009, part of an upgrade to the facility that included widening pit road and increasing the length of each pit box by four feet. The concrete pit wall from Turn 4 to Turn 1, previously boilerplate, was also torn down and a new wall, 432 feet longer and protected by SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier, was installed in its place.

No date has been set for the No. 48 team’s appeal of the penalty for consecutive written warnings.

Warnings, which are not appealable, are typically issued for minor, first-time infractions and the reason for the warnings isn’t made public.
 
Multiple warnings elevate the severity of the penalty to a P1 level and may result in one or more consequences besides the loss of choice in pit selection. Track time deduction in practice or qualifying, a delay in the order of inspection and selection for post-race inspection are among the other options NASCAR may impose.
 
Johnson is a nine-time winner at the track and is the defending race winner.

Posted on by NASCAR Official Release

No. 1 team assessed P2 penalty; Nos. 48, 51 teams get P1s

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 27, 2015) — Three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams have been penalized following last week’s event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The No. 1 team has been penalized for an infraction occurring during pre-qualifying inspection May 21. The right rear quarter panel wheel opening was modified after qualifying inspection.

The infraction is a P2 level penalty and violates the following Sections in the 2015 NASCAR rule book:

12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing.

20.4.b: Body; All approved OEM-manufactured body components must be used as supplied except as required to stiffen, or to attach to other vehicle components. Tolerances from CAD surfaces and template tolerances are provided to allow for manufacturing, fabrication, and installation variability. Approved Parts: GM R: NSCS 0786. Part Name: Quarter Panel RS, Effective date Aug. 1, 2012.

20.4.2: Surface Conformance (a). Coordinate measuring machines, scanning equipment, and templates, among other tools, will be used to inspect body surfaces for conformance to the approved OEM and NASCAR CAD files.

As a result of this violation, crew chief Matt McCall has been placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31.

Additionally, two teams — the No. 48 and No. 51 — have been assessed P1 level penalties for receiving written warnings in two consecutive events, both at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 48 team received a warning from the May 16 event and also received one from pre-qualifying inspection from last week’s event. In addition to receiving a warning from the May 16 event, the No. 51 team also received one from pre-race inspection from last week’s event.

Per Section 12.5.3.1 of the NASCAR rule book:

Warnings and P1 penalty options: b. Multiple warnings issued to the same member or team will result in one or more P1 penalties; c. If the same team receives two warnings during the same event or two warnings during two consecutive events, whether the events are championship or non-championship, then this may result in one or more … P1 penalties at NASCAR’s discretion.

As a result of these infractions the No. 48 and No. 51 teams will receive the last two choices in the pit selection process, respective to qualifying results, for this weekend’s event at Dover International Speedway.

Posted on by Staff Report

Keep tabs on the activity at Dover International Speedway

For the first time since March, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will all head to one track this weekend for a tripleheader at Dover International Speedway.

The Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks will be held on Sunday, May 31, at 1 p.m. ET with coverage on FOX Sports 1. 

The XFINITY Series Buckle Up 200 presented by Click it or Ticket is on Saturday, May 30, at 2:30 p.m. ET with coverage on FOX.

The Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 200 will get started on Friday, May 29 at 5:30 p.m. ET with coverage on FOX Sports 1.

For more information on track times, press conferences and GarageCam, you can check out the full weekend schedule.

We know you may not have the time to watch the race action without any interruptions, so if you’re on the go, here’s how to keep up at the Monster Mile.

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NASCAR.com’s live Sprint Cup, XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series leaderboards update in real-time and offer constant text updates of lead changes, cautions, strategies, strong runs and everything in between. From the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leaderboard, fans can also access live standings. On the go? Download the NASCAR Mobile app to follow the leaderboards live from your device.

Lap-by-Lap will keep you caught up even if you can only take a peek here and there. Check in to read back through all the laps you’ve missed, or keep an eye on the feed for real-time race updates.

We’ll also send race updates via Twitter through the official @NASCAR and @NASCARStats handles.

RaceBuddy will have enhanced views and coverage for the Sprint Cup Series and for most XFINITY Series races with 10 HD live race views, including up to eight in-car cameras, two mosaic views, live leaderboard and interactive chat. The XFINITY Series race will have four in-car cameras.

Haven’t tried RaceView yet? If you sign up, you’ll get virtual videos of cars on the track from various angles and hear what your favorite team is saying over the radio in both the Sprint Cup and select XFINITY Series races. Use it as a second screen or as your only screen. Just want to scan the radios? You can have that too with Scanner (formerly RaceView Audio). On a mobile device? Get RaceView Mobile here.

If you want to be more involved in the on-track action, you can manage your fantasy team on NASCAR.com and follow your team’s performance in NASCAR Fantasy Live. Mobile users can also download NASCAR Connect, a game from OneUp Sports that allows users to play other fans with race predictions for some off-track competition while drivers battle it out on the track.

Live Press Pass video streams will keep the NASCAR action rolling even after the winner goes in and out of Victory Lane. Catch interviews with the top finishers immediately following the checkered flag for all three national series events, and stay tuned to NASCAR.com throughout the weekend for the latest news.

Posted on by Staff Report

‘Smoke’ will run classic No. 14 scheme at Bojangles’ Southern 500

BUY: Stewart throwback paint scheme and more | GO: Buy tickets to the event

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So, what do you think, race fans?

With Darlington Raceway throwing itself back to the old days with a traditional Labor Day Bojangles’ Southern 500 (Sept. 6, 7 p.m. ET, NBC), Tony Stewart will run the retro paint scheme – one of many we’re likely to see. His Stewart-Haas Racing teammate and the defending Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick unveiled his throwback scheme for Darlington earlier this month.

The only question that remains now — with that race being the penultimate chance for a driver to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, will we will see a Throwback Tony Stewart (currently winless) come through in the clutch to race in the postseason?

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Crew chiefs, drivers discuss tire used at Charlotte Motor Speedway

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams continue to wrestle with a 2015 rules package for intermediate tracks, one that was expected to enhance passing but thus far has provided mixed results.
 
It’s early, one-third of the way through the 36-race schedule, and teams will no doubt make gains as the season wears on.
 
But it wasn’t the rules package that concerned Rodney Childers following Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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"I’ll say it in the nicest way possible, but they have completely ruined Charlotte Motor Speedway with changing tires," said Childers, crew chief of the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet with defending series champion Kevin Harvick.
 
"You just can’t race anybody and whoever was in front was just (staying) in front. You ride around 600 miles and can’t pass a soul."
 
This year’s tire of choice for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte included a right-side tire that featured the multi-zone technology first used two years ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The inside two inches was the same compound run at Texas this season while the outer portion was the same used at CMS last year. Goodyear officials held two Charlotte tests, last December and in March of this year, to determine the tire selection.
 
Tires using similar multi-zone technology have also been used at Richmond.
 
Childers said the multi-zone tire has adversely affected the competition at Richmond and Texas as well. "It’s so aggravating," he said.
 
Harvick finished ninth Sunday night, the 11th top-10 of the year for the series points leader and winner of two races thus far this season. Carl Edwards (Joe Gibbs Racing) won Sunday’s race thanks in part to better fuel mileage in his No. 19 Toyota.
 
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished third-place, spoke about the multi-zone tires after the All-Star race on his weekly "The Dale Jr. Download" on Dirty Mo Radio.
 
"We’ve (run) it before at other tracks with sort of mixed results as far as how much we actually like the tire, how good the tire feels how good the tire drives," Earnhardt said. "I don’t know … I didn’t really like it that much this past race.
 
"(The tire) is just really hard on that inside edge and as you might have seen in the All-Star Race when a lot of us tried to run the top we just were so loose and spinning out and getting into the fence, having a lot of trouble with that. So that tire really took away the top groove, I felt. I couldn’t get up there and make much time."
 
In spite of "mixed results at other tracks," Earnhardt said the tire does have at least one thing going for it.
 
"It is safer, so you can’t complain about that," he said.
 
While there were nine lead changes in the first 100 laps of the 400-lap race, four came during an early competition caution and a later round of green-flag pit stops. The 22 lead changes for the race were the fewest (in a full 600-mile event) since 2004.
 
"I’m happy for Carl and I’m happy for Darian (Grubb, crew chief)," said Childers. "They did what they needed to do to win the race and that’s the end of the story.
 
"More just disappointed in what we’ve got going on lately. We’ve got to work together and get the right tires on these things and make them where we can race each other. If you can’t race, you’re not going to put on a good show. That’s just the way it is right now."
 
Grubb said the use of the multi-zone tire gives teams "a little bit more of a margin of durability."
 
"This used to be one of the tracks we’d come to and we’d be really nervous," he said, "especially if the rain came or something (and) the track got green. There’s no way you can make a fuel run on the first set or two. You’d end up with cords on the outside and the inside of the tire."
 
The multi-zone tire has made inside wear a non-issue. Grubb said his team saw no signs of distress on his team’s tires. "So I think they’ve got the combination right for durability," he said.
 
"It does give up a little bit of grip versus what the old tire did, but we’ll pay that price to have some consistency and durability."
 
Speaking of tires …
 
Teams competing in this weekend’s Camping World Truck, XFINITY and Sprint Cup Series races at Dover International Speedway will have a new left-side tire.
 
The code is the same as what was run at Texas (Sprint Cup and XFINITY) earlier this year. It was also used at Texas, Chicago, Darlington and Homestead last season.
 
Long race, few penalties
 
For only the fourth time this season, fewer than 20 penalties were handed down during a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race with 19 being doled out in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.
 
The most common infractions were pitting before pit road was open (six) and excessive speed entering/exiting (four).

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Veteran driver set for pair of road events in No. 42 Chevrolet

Justin Marks is giving up his Lamborghini to return to the wheel of a stock car, heading to the road courses of Mid-Ohio and Road America later this year to compete for HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi in the two NASCAR XFINITY Series races.

Marks, 34, will be behind the wheel of the team’s No. 42 Chevrolet, the same entry that’s been split between Sprint Cup driver Kyle Larson and rookie Brennan Poole this season and is headed up by crew chief Mike Shiplett.

While he has at least one official start in all three NASCAR national series, Marks’ background is endurance sports cars, "so the road courses were always something that was circled on my calendar," he told NASCAR.com. "I’ve always felt like they were my best chances at winning."

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Marks ran the same two events last year for the team when it was branded Turner Scott Motorsports, finishing sixth at Mid-Ohio in the No. 31 Chevrolet and running in the top five late at Road America before running out of fuel.

After co-owners Harry Scott and Steve Turner severed their ties at the end of the year, Scott and Sprint Cup Series team owner Chip Ganassi teamed up to continue fielding the XFINITY Series operation.

"I tried to put my name in the hat as early as possible … for those road courses," Marks said. "I knew Kyle was going to be doing fewer races this year … and that Brennan was going to be coming on with his program. The gaps in the schedule just worked out perfectly."

The Mid-Ohio race is scheduled for Aug. 15, when Larson, who has made four XFINITY Series starts this year, will be at Michigan International Speedway for the Sprint Cup race. The Road America race falls on an off-weekend for the Sprint Cup series.

"Last year was the first time I’d been in a stock car on a road course in a little while," said Marks. "It was really the first time racing at that level since I quit racing full-time in NASCAR. So there was a little bit of an unknown going into those races. But we were a top-five car at Road America and I think we were the fastest car once it started raining.

"At Mid-Ohio, we were just a solid car, fastest in final practice and in the top five or six all race long. So when I look at how we did, knowing I’m familiar with the team, going back to the exact same tracks and knowing my expectations, now having the added asset of Chip Ganassi Racing, all of their engineering and knowledge and expertise behind it will just make the cars that much better.

"I think for both of those races, legitimately, we’re going there to win. And I really think we can do it, if I do a good job and we make smart decisions, have a good strategy and nothing crazy happens like running out of fuel or get off (pit) sequence for some reason."

As for the Lamborghini, it isn’t his grocery getter — Marks is competing full-time in the Blancpain Super Trofeo Series this season, a 12-race series for Lamborghini GT3 entries that is part of the Tudor United SportsCar program. Stops on the schedule include Laguna Seca (completed), Watkins Glen, Virginia International Raceway, Circuit of the Americas, Road Atlanta and Sebring.

He and Scott co-own a five-car K&N Pro Series East organization that fields entries for William Byron, Scott Heckert, Dalton Sargeant, Rico Abreu and J.J. Haley. Ownership of the GoPro Motorsports karting complex in Mooresville, North Carolina, and an import/distribution company that supplies high-performance karting equipment also keep Marks on the go.

"The K&N team was something that I sort of started talking to Harry about … if there was ever an opportunity for me to (be involved) that I was interested in it," he said. "Because it’s a great series and I love trying to help the young guys, these young up-and-comers, and being involved in their careers."

In his only NASCAR efforts thus far this season, Marks attempted to qualify for all three season-opening races at Daytona International Speedway with sponsorship from American Born Moonshine. He made the starting fields for the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series races, but was one of six that failed to earn a starting berth in the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series race.