Get full lineup of NASCAR programming for the week

RELATED: See the full weekend schedule

All times ET

Monday, May 25
10 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 Special (re-air), NBC Sports Network
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Tuesday, May 26

10 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 300 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Wednesday, May 27
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Thursday, May 28
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2
11:30 p.m., NASCAR America: States of NASCAR #5 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
Midnight, NASCAR America: States of NASCAR #6 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
12:30 a.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 – 2015, Episode 2 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
1 a.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 – 2015, Episode 1 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
1:30 a.m., NASCAR America: Dale Earnhardt Sr. Moments (re-air), NBC Sports Network

Friday, May 29
10 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FOX Sports 1
11 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
2 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FOX Sports 1
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup, FOX Sports 1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 200, FOX Sports 1

Saturday, May 30
4 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 200 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
10 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
11 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
Noon, TUDOR United SportsCar Championship – Detroit Belle Isle, FOX Sports 2
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FOX Sports 1
1 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FOX Sports 1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Buckle Up 200 presented by Click It or Ticket, FOX

Sunday, May 31
10:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice (re-air), FOX Sports 1
11:30 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Dover, FOX Sports 1
1 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks, FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., TUDOR United SportsCar Championship – Detroit Belle Isle (re-air), FOX Sports 1
3 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lane, FOX Sports 1

 

Driver suffered from a migraine and nausea during Coca-Cola 600

CONCORD, N.C. — Denny Hamlin made a brief appearance in the media center long after the conclusion of Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Eighth-place finishers don’t normally do that. Neither do drivers who go straight from pit road to the infield medical center.

Hamlin dropped by only long enough to offer congratulations to race-winner Carl Edwards, crew chief Darian Grubb (his former pit caller) and team owner Joe Gibbs.

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He was, however, on his feet, and that was a bonus considering his physical state when he first climbed from his car. Suffering from a migraine headache, Hamlin sat down next to his car on pit road with head in his hands. He eventually got up and took a few uncertain steps before team personnel stepped in to assist. He was transported to the infield care center moments later.

“My off day was 36 holes of golf and a full tennis match,” Hamlin said afterward. “Probably overdid it a little bit this weekend. I think the dehydration led to a migraine and I just felt nauseous the last 100 laps or so. Thank goodness that didn’t cost us the win.

“Just the bad end of that strategy … but still proud of our team for really giving me a car that could contend for a win."

Although he led twice for 53 laps in Sunday’s 400-lap race, and was out front with less than 40 laps remaining, a vibration sent the No. 11 Toyota to pit road under green. From there, separate pit-stop strategies kept the 34-year-old playing catch-up.

Prior to the stop, he and Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing) appeared to have the cars to beat. 

“That part of it stunk a little bit, but the 78 (Truex) came back and passed us anyway. When he came back out, he had fresher air … I came out kind of middle of the pack and just couldn’t run the lap times I needed to.”

This year’s winner at Martinsville, Hamlin said he felt better after the trip to the care center.

“You just try to power through it and of course when you run well, you always feel a little bit better,” he said, “but when the race is over and everything comes to a stop, you realize how bad you feel.”

No repeat in Coca-Cola 600 for Jimmie Johnson

CONCORD, N.C. — Jimmie Johnson said he knew he was in trouble "as soon as I turned off the corner" during Sunday’s running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
 
"I knew it was going around and I fought it as long as I could," the Hendrick Motorsports driver said.

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His crew worked quickly to replace the damaged front end as Johnson fielded questions in the garage. It wasn’t where the six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion expected to be. In three of the four races contested this year on 1.5-mile tracks, Johnson’s taken the checkered flag before anyone else.
 
Not this time.
 
Johnson lost the back end of the white-and-blue No. 48 coming out of the fourth turn, nearly reined it back in but then hit the inside wall near the pit entrance with the front end of the car.
 
It was the second spin for the No 48 team in the series’ longest race — he brought out the second caution of the race on lap 90 when he spun in Turn 4. It was a no harm, no foul spin, one that sent him to the rear of the field, but with more than 300 laps remaining, getting back to the front of the pack wasn’t out of the question.
 
And that was exactly the case. With darkness settling in, Johnson said his car was “slowly coming to me.”
 
“That’s how we went from … the tail end of the longest line to fifth,” Johnson, a seven-time winner at CMS, said. “We just drove through there.
 
“The car was coming around. I was trying to set the 88 (of teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.) up in (Turns) 3 and 4; rolled in behind a lapped car and I’d just kind of got lulled into a comfort zone thinking I could roll in behind someone and be fine because I’d made a couple of moves like that earlier.”
 
The team, led by crew chief Chad Knaus, came in with an aggressive attitude, according to Johnson. Aggressive mindset and setup. Take chances, he said.
 
“We just don’t have anything to lose,” Johnson said.
 
“Unfortunately it didn’t get long enough into the race for the aggressive set up to come into play. Another 30-40 laps we’d have had the car right where we wanted it, I just didn’t make it there.
 
“I could have driven a little easier and tried not to work so hard through traffic but we said we were going to come in and swing for the fences and we did and hit the fence.”
 
Johnson eventually made it back onto the track, down by nearly 30 laps with 70 laps remaining to finish 40th.

Read the notes NASCAR provides during the driver’s meeting

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live

NASCAR SPECIAL AWARDS

Award Driver
Coors Light Pole Award Matt Kenseth
3M Lap Leader Kevin Harvick
Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race" Award Joey Logano
Freescale "Wide Open" Award Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ingersoll Rand Power Mover Award Jeff Gordon
American Ethanol "Green Flag Restart" Award Kevin Harvick
Mahle Engine Builder of the Race Award Kevin Harvick
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race Award Kevin Harvick
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race Award Jimmie Johnson
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap Award Kyle Larson
Sunoco Rookie of the Race Award Matt DiBenedetto

RACE TIME

Event Time (ET)
Driver Introductions 5:20 p.m.
Pre-race prep: Tires, interior & remove generators 5:40 p.m.
God Bless America 5:43 p.m.
Line up crews — facing the flag 5:59 p.m.
Invocation 6 p.m.
Amazing Grace 6:01 p.m.
"21" Gun Salute 6:02 p.m.
Taps 6:03 p.m.
National Anthem 6:04 p.m.
Command to start engines 6:09 p.m.

SPECIAL INFORMATION

Number of Laps 400 laps
Competition caution Lap 25
Pit Road Speed 45 mph
Caution Car Speed 55 mph
Pit Road Speed Begins 215 feet before the first pit box
Pit Road Speed Ends 160 feet past the last pit box
Minimum Speed 34.35 seconds
Exiting the Pits (Blend Line) Keep all four tires below the white line until the exit of Turn 2
Fuel Pit Stalls 1-43 Sunoco pumps
Post-Race 2-6 stop in pit stalls 22-26
All Others/Two crew members please Across from 26, Double File

NEXT RACE

Event Track/Day/Time (ET)
Next week Dover International Speedway
Hauler parking 5:30 p.m. ET, Thursday, May 28
Garage opens 6 a.m. ET, Friday, May 29
First practice 11 a.m. ET, Friday, May 29

Feeling strong after 600 miles bodes well for No. 18 driver

SHOP: ‘Rowdy Returns’ shirt, more Busch gear

CONCORD, N.C. — As NASCAR’s greatest endurance test, Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 also provided a good litmus test for Kyle Busch in his first points race since suffering leg and foot injuries in the XFINITY Series opener at Daytona International Speedway.

And with the exception of some left foot soreness, Busch said he came through with flying colors in the annual Memorial Day weekend contest. However, he joked that he needed about 10 more laps to improve on his 11th-place finish.

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Fuel-mileage strategy came into play late in the race, and despite Busch having a strong No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, he wasn’t able to finish higher because the drivers in front of him who gambled didn’t run out of gas. Still, the fact he completed all 400 laps and didn’t need to go to backup driver Erik Jones was a step in the right direction.

"I’m a little surprised that I feel as good as I do, you know," Busch said afterward. "I was expecting to be a little bit more beat up and tired, but honestly, I’m not. … There could be two sides to that. If you go week-to-week-to-week you could grind yourself out and you get tired, whereas I just took a three‑month vacation. My body feels pretty good, and it’s only been beat up in the gym."

But all those leg lifts, squats and presses were controlled movements, whereas a 600-mile Sprint Cup Series race is anything but that. So for Busch not only to survive the rigors of the race but also show he could race well was a good sign for his Chase for the Sprint Cup chances. Busch needs to finish in the top 30 in the point standings and get a win to compete in the playoffs come the fall.

MORE: Timeline of Kyle Busch‘s injury and recovery

There were some highlights from Sunday that indicated if Busch does get to the playoffs, he’ll be a tough out. First, it didn’t take him long (116 laps) to move from a starting spot of 17th all the way up to sixth. Then, after 300 laps, Busch was in second place behind Martin Truex Jr.

"All in all, I felt like that was a great race for us," Busch said. "We ran really strong. We ran up front, and we showed we had some speed. You know, it certainly is frustrating to finish where we did. That’s disappointing. But sometimes you do win these things by fuel‑mileage races, so congratulations to our teammates, Carl (Edwards) and Matt (Kenseth)."

Now that Busch passed his first big test it’s on to Dover International Speedway and the rest of the season, where Busch will need to prove he can perform like this repeatedly. Despite being 200 miles shorter, Dover won’t be easy, said Busch.

"This race here is quite relative to Dover next week," Busch said. "This week is an endurance race for as long as it is, and I think it sets you up for that Dover race. The Dover race is more taxing on your body I feel like; it beats you up a little more."

In order to prepare, Busch will take Monday off to rest and get some fluids back into his system. He said he has a doctor appointment on Tuesday along with meetings at JGR. Then on Wednesday, he’ll do balancing exercises before hitting it hard in a workout on Thursday before heading to Dover.

That’s the recipe that helped him come back relatively quickly from the serious injuries, and he’s sticking to it. Whether he’s able to continue to confound the skeptics remains to be seen.

RCR driver scores fourth career XFINITY Series win

RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings | Learn more about Dash 4 Cash

CONCORD, N.C. – For the second straight Saturday, Denny Hamlin had the chance to hold off a race’s strongest car for the victory.

Unlike last Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, however, there were too many laps left after the final restart in Saturday’s Hisense 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series, and polesitter Austin Dillon powered past Hamlin on Lap 186 of 200 to finish the race where he belonged—at the front of the field.

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By the time he crossed the finish line, Dillon was 2.692 seconds ahead of Hamlin, who had taken the lead during a restart on Lap 167 that saw Dillon fall back to fourth from the inside lane by the time the leaders exited Turn 2.

One by one, Dillon picked off Regan Smith, Kahne and Hamlin on the way to his second XFINITY Series victory of the season, his first at Charlotte and the fourth of his career.

Kahne ran third behind Dillon and Hamlin, followed by Smith and rookies Darrell Wallace Jr. and Daniel Suarez. Ty Dillon came home seventh and trimmed the series lead of 11th-place finisher Chris Buescher to four points.

Dillon led 163 laps and held an advantage of more than six seconds during a 54-lap green-flag run that preceded the second caution of the race on Lap 110.

How good was Dillon’s No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet?

"I didn’t want to get out of this thing," Dillon said in Victory Lane. "This thing drove so good. It was a heck of a race there with Denny at the end and Kasey (Kahne). I had to go right there in lapped traffic (to make the winning pass).

"I knew if I didn’t hurry up and get in front of him right there, the tires might equalize (in terms of grip)."

But when Dillon picked the inside lane for what proved to be the final restart—after a caution for Kyle Fowler‘s wreck in Turn 1—Hamlin seized what he considered a fortuitous opportunity and surged into the lead.

"I thought when the 33 gave us the outside, that was a big advantage for us if we could stay with him through Turns 1 and 2," said Hamlin, who last Saturday held off Kevin Harvick in the final 10-lap shootout to win the Sprint All-Star Race. "We (did), and it allowed us to get position on him and even get him shuffled a few spots.

"That was all good, but his car was just so fast he just overcame that track position."

Hamlin lost the lead when the lapped car of Peyton Sellers stayed low and forced Hamlin’s No. 54 Toyota to pass on the outside.

"I needed to stay on the bottom," Hamlin said. "My car was best on the bottom. His car was pinned to the bottom as well. So I needed all of the lapped cars to move up high, and all of them did, except for the 97 (Sellers). He gave us the high line. That just killed us and killed our chances from that point, once the 33 got to our inside."

Dillon chose the inside line because his car had worked well on the bottom for the entire race to that point.

"My spotter (Andy Houston) made the fact that we should have probably taken the top, and I had been on the bottom all day, so I chose the bottom again," Dillon said. "I just didn’t want to let these guys down (his crew). The Rheem car was so fast…

"I thought about it, and I probably should have used the top, just because I would have had the run down the backstretch. It seems that, as the race goes on, that the outside can stop spinning the tires, and the rubber lays down…

"Andy made the point, and it all worked out, but I’ll definitely learn from that, for sure."

Smith, Wallace, Suarez and Ty Dillon qualified for next week’s XFINITY Dash 4 Cash competition at Dover as the top four finishers among series regulars. Those drivers will compete for $100,000 in next Saturday’s race at Dover, with the top finisher among them claiming the prize.

Driver will be on call in case ‘Rowdy’ can’t go full distance at Charlotte

Making his first start in a points-paying NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in the sport’s longest event, Kyle Busch will have a backup plan for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM).

Erik Jones will be on standby for Busch at Charlotte Motor Speedway should the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota not be able to go the full 600 miles.

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Jones even went out and logged some laps during final practice on Saturday but Busch’s intent is to run the full race just three months after suffering a compound fracture of the right leg and a broken left foot in a crash during the NASCAR XFINITY Series opener at Daytona International Speedway in February.

The fact that Jones will serve as a standby driver for Busch comes as little surprise. In his conference call with reporters last week to discuss his return to action ahead of a sixth-place showing in the Sprint All-Star Race, Busch said the 18-year-old would be on standby to fill in as necessary.

Three drivers took turns filling in for Busch in the 11 races he missed. Jones made one start at Kansas, while two-time defending NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton climbed in the No. 18 Toyota at Daytona and David Ragan made nine starts.

Jones got some seat time as well at Bristol, filling in for Denny Hamlin, who suffered neck spasms and decided as a precaution not to return to the race after a lengthy rain delay.

Sunday’s 600 mile race is the longest of the season and the 12th race on the Sprint Cup Series schedule.

See where your favorite driver will pit in the Hisense 300 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX)

RELATED: Hisense 300 starting lineup

Austin Dillon earned the Coors Light Pole Award and the first choice of pit pick. His No. 33 team selected the second stall which is the first one at pit exit heading into Turn 1 for Saturday’s Hisense 300 XFINITY Series race at 2:30 p.m. ET (FOX, PRN, SiriusXM).

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The second-fastest driver in qualifying was Darrell Wallace Jr., who chose the 15th stall and the first with a front opening. Third in qualifying was Brian Scott, who will attempt to get his first XFINITY win from the 22nd pit stall, three off of the start/finish line toward the Turn 4 side of pit road.

Denny Hamlin was fourth-fastest and will pit in the 14th stall at the end of the first group of pit stalls with an opening behind him. Last year’s Hisense 300 winner, Kyle Larson, was fifth-fastest and will pit in the middle of that first bank of pit stalls, taking the seventh box.

Aric Almirola was sixth-fastest and will pit in the 30th stall with an opening in front of him. Seventh-fastest was Erik Jones, who will pit in the fourth stall. Kasey Kahne was eighth in qualifying and selected the 10th stall. While Ty Dillon and Ryan Reed round out the top 10, picking the 19th and 28th pit stalls respectively.

Chris Buescher, the XFINITY Series points leader, qualified 14th and chose the 36th stall with a front opening.

Fourth XFINITY Series pole of the season for 2013 champion

RELATED: Full starting lineup

Austin Dillon won the Coors Light Pole Award for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 300 on Saturday (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, PRN, SiriusXM), turning a lap of 184.615 mph around the 1.5-mile oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The No. 33 Richard Childress Racing will be on the pole, sharing the front row with Darrell Wallace, Jr. The No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford led the first round of qualifying with a speed of 183.968 mph and finished the final round of qualifying with a lap at 184.395 mph.

This is the fourth pole of the season for Dillon, who won from the top spot in Las Vegas in March.

Brian Scott will start third in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (183.799 mph); Denny Hamlin starts fourth in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (183.536 mph); and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five with a lap of 183.474 mph in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet.

Chad Boat lost control and spun out through the grass during XFINITY Series qualifying. The incident was almost identicial to Boat’s wreck in the No. 84 Billy Boat Motrosports Chevrolet during Thursday’s practice for the Hisense 300

 

Stewart-Haas Racing driver paces both sessions at Charlotte

RELATED: Final practice results | See all 43 cars at Charlotte

Kurt Busch topped final practice for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Busch led the 50-minute session with a fast lap of 188.653 mph. The driver of the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet also topped Saturday’s earlier practice session.

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Kasey Kahne placed second in the session at a speed of 187.052 mph. The driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has four wins at Charlotte with three coming in the Coca-Cola 600.

Paul Menard (186.987 mph) was third, followed by Greg Biffle (186.942 mph) and polesitter Matt Kenseth (186.780 mph) rounded out the top five.

MORE: Kenseth starts on pole 

Erik Jones spent the latter half of final practice logging laps in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Jones will be on standby for Kyle Busch on Sunday night in case he can’t go the full distance. Busch is making his first points-paying start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since suffering a compound fracture of the right leg and a broken left foot in a crash in the NASCAR XFINITY Series opener at Daytona International Speedway in February. Jones made his Sprint Cup debut at Kansas Speedway two weeks ago; he also logged laps in relief of Denny Hamlin at Bristol Motor Speedway in April. The No. 18 Toyota was 17th in final practice.

The standby plan was mentioned on Jones’ Twitter feed.

Sunday’s 600-miler is the longest race of the season in the Sprint Cup Series.

Second practice | RELATED: Practice 2 results

Kurt Busch topped the first of Saturday’s two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice sessions at Charlotte Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM).

Busch paced the 55-minute practice session with a fast lap of 192.644 mph. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver has just one win at Charlotte, a Coca-Cola 600 victory in 2010.

Polesitter Matt Kenseth placed second in the session with a fast lap of 191.680 mph. Kenseth’s first premier series win came in this race in 2000.

Jimmie Johnson (190.813 mph) came in third, followed by David Ragan (190.550 mph) with Brad Keselowski (190.496 mph) rounding out the top five.

Johnson is the defending race winner and has seven career wins at Charlotte, the most all-time. All three of Johnson’s wins this season have come on intermediate tracks.

Ragan went for a spin off Turn 4 late in practice, making no contact with the wall but going through the grass. The driver of the No. 55 Toyota suffered no real damage to the car and is set to start seventh in Sunday’s race.

Kyle Busch, who will be making his first points-paying Sprint Cup Series start of the season, finished the session sixth.

Points leader Kevin Harvick, who has finished in the top two in all four races at intermediate tracks, placed 30th on the chart.

AJ Allmendinger had his share of issues during the practice. The driver of the No. 47 appeared to scrape the wall and was fighting a loose car during the session in which he placed 33rd.