Posted on by Zack Albert

BRISTOL, Tenn. — The SWM-NEMCO Motorsports crew checked out the light damage on the corners of its No. 8 truck, finding nothing more than cosmetic scrapes in the aftermath at Bristol Motor Speedway, a track known for chewing up fenders and young drivers alike. “That’ll buff out” seemed to be the happy consensus.

Few were happier about that development Wednesday night than all-smiles John Hunter Nemechek, who turned his second Bristol start into his career-best finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. His third-place result was just behind race winner Ryan Blaney and runner-up Kyle Busch, two drivers with the benefit of far fresher tires down the stretch in the UNOH 200.

“It was one of those deals … don’t do anything stupid. Just, you had to let them go,” Nemechek said of ceding late-race positions to the front two. “You couldn’t race them hard just because of tires. One way or another, he’s going to get around you, if he has to move you, dump you, whatever. Decided to play it smart and we know what we need for next time.”

Nemechek had more to withstand in the late going after the fifth and final caution flag with five laps left extended the race distance by an extra two laps. Though the green-white-checkered attempt was completed on the first try, the frantic competition among the front-runners made Nemechek’s feat of finishing where he restarted no easy task.

“I spun the tires there on that last restart and I was kind of beating myself up about it going into Turn 1,” Nemechek said, “and then they all stacked up and I had a chance to get underneath of them so I took it. We got under them and made the pass.”

Nemechek’s growth as a driver — three top-10s in just eight starts this year — has been measured in progress that goes well beyond his 18 years of age. The veteran poise doesn’t fall far from the family tree, owing at least a nod to his father, Joe Nemechek.

“He’s had a good teacher, his dad,” said Gere Kennon, crew chief of the SWM-NEMCO No. 8. “… I’m proud to help him because I’ve raced just like Joe — his whole life, my whole life. He listens. He’s doing good and he’s adapted to this very, very well. We help on the Late Model car, too, and he’s consistent there. Haven’t seen that in a long time. He’s the real deal, I think.”

The younger Nemechek, who took over full-time driving duties for the team after his 18th birthday in June, has nine races ahead of him to close out the 2015 season. He’s improved upon his career-best with each of his top-five finishes thus far, but said more improvement in the results column — or even the win column — is a reachable goal.

“I hope we can have a couple more top-fives, but hopefully we can get a win under our belt,” Nemechek said. “I feel like we have the potential to do so. We’ve just got to have Lady Luck on our side.”

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Bristol schedule | Paint schemes for Bristol

It’s no longer the pits, figuratively speaking, when setting up shop in a pit stall on the backstretch at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Because it is the only track that still features pit stalls on the front (Nos. 1-22) and back (Nos. 23-43) of the track, teams forced to pit on the backside of the tiny, half-mile bullring often found themselves at a competitive disadvantage, hitting pit road only after those stopping on the frontstretch had already been in for service.

Teams pitting on the frontstretch entered pit road at the exit of Turn 4 while those pitting on the back remained behind the pace car until they reached the exit of Turn 2 and were allowed to drop down onto the backstretch of pit road.

That changed in 2002 when track officials began requiring all cars to enter pit road in Turn 2, regardless of where their pit stall was located.

Now, teams pitting on the frontstretch must maintain pit road speed all the way around to their respective pit stalls before returning to the track in Turn 1.

Those pitting on the backstretch get service first, but must also maintain pit road speed all the way back around to Turn 1, still utilizing pit road, before returning to the track as well.

It hasn’t lessened the advantage of qualifying on the pole and choosing the first pit stall closest to the pit-out area in Turn 1 – that remains a prime piece of real estate regardless of track location. Matt Kenseth, winner of the spring race at BMS, started on the pole and was pitted in pit stall No. 1.

But Kenseth also won from a backstretch pit stall (in the 2013 night race at BMS) as did Kasey Kahne (in the spring race of ’13).

Four of those finishing in the top 10 in this year’s spring race at Bristol pitted on the backstretch.

When under green, teams pitting on the frontstretch enter pit road off of Turn 4 while those pitting on the backside of the track enter at Turn 2.

BMS hosts the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Wednesday night with the running of the UNOH 200. The Food City 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race is set for Friday night and on Saturday the track hosts the annual Irwin Tools Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM).

Split Decision

NASCAR officials took no action beyond obtaining the splitters from the Team Penske No. 2 and 22 entries prior to last weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway, leaving most folks to wonder what all the fuss was about.

On Sunday morning, officials said the splitters on the cars of Brad Keselowski (No. 2) and teammate Joey Logano (22) were “so close … we just asked the team to err on the safe side and asked them to switch to a clean splitter.”

The two pieces were evaluated this week at the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C.

A Reason for Increase in Violations

There number of violations on pit road this past weekend at Michigan tripled compared to the series’ visit there in June. However, the June race was cut short by rain, with only 138 of the scheduled 200 laps completed.

This past weekend’s race saw 24 penalties handed down for pit road miscues compared with eight in the series’ first stop at the 2-mile track.

Tires Good to Go

The tire codes for this weekend’s Sprint Cup, XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series races at Bristol are unchanged from recent combinations used at the concrete half-mile, according to Goodyear officials.

It is the only track where this particular set of tire codes are currently used. 

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: MWR won’t field full-time entries in 2016

Wednesday’s news that Michael Waltrip Racing won’t be fielding full-time Sprint Cup Series teams in 2016 essentially turns the team’s lead driver, Clint Bowyer, into one of NASCAR’s highest profile free agents.



MWR and Bowyer agreed to mutually part ways at the end of the season, freeing the 2012 championship runner-up to look for a new ride and making his current title run an important resume-builder.



Bowyer is currently ranked 16th in the 16-driver Chase Grid standings with a slim 23-point edge over Aric Almirola for the final Chase berth with three races remaining to set the field.



MORE: Toyota thanks MWR, supports Bowyer



“I am looking forward to what future opportunities may come but for now we have a championship to pursue in 2015 and we owe it to every one of our sponsors, partners, employees and fans to deliver on and off the track,” Bowyer said in a statement released Tuesday announcing his and the MWR team’s plans.



“I want to thank Michael, Rob (Kauffman) and everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing that made these past four years special. After extensive discussions with Rob and MWR, we came to the point that we mutually agreed our paths in the future just didn’t align, but I think we all agreed on the next steps in a very professional manner.”



It’s clear they are committed to that path. Waltrip discussed Bowyer’s Chase scenario and his inspired motivation on FOX Sports 1 this morning after spending time with Bowyer at the team shop Wednesday morning. 

“I’m going to tell you, that’s how fast your Chase world can change,” Waltrip said. “Clint was not only 15th in the points, some 60 to the good, he was within striking distance of being 11th, up there where Jamie McMurray is. And had a crash at Michigan with a really fast car, had a crash and it set him back.

“But I tell ya, it’s inspired Bowyer. I know there’s a lot of news around Michael Waltrip Racing, but he was at the shop today, talking to the team and said, ‘Boys, we’re going to race our way into this Chase, and when we get there, we’re gonna go some rounds.’ And that’s the kind of attitude you need from your race car driver and that’s the kind of attitude Clint has.”



Beyond his showing in this year’s championship run, the big question is what’s next for Bowyer, considered one of the NASCAR’s top-shelf competitors and one of its most popular personalities.



There will be plenty of speculation, however, Bowyer hasn’t said anything beyond the statement issued Tuesday.



The 36-year-old Kansas native is the 2008 XFINITY Series champion and has eight wins in 10 full-time Cup seasons, finishing second to Brad Keselowski in the 2012 championship, his first year with MWR.



It’s reasonable to consider one option for Bowyer is to follow his boss Kauffman to the Chip Ganassi Racing stable next season and bring his longtime sponsor 5-hour Energy to a third Chevrolet there.


Sponsor 5-hour Energy released a statement about the MWR news, as well.”5-Hour ENERGY has enjoyed a great relationship with Michael Waltrip Racing and Clint Bowyer since joining forces in 2012. MWR and Clint have delivered above and beyond with our partnership and we thank them for their dedication. Clint is a great amassador for our products, customers and retailers,” the release read. “The MWR team and Clint will continue to remain focused on getting 5-hour ENERGY in the Chase. We will make no further comment until we are ready to announce our future plans.”

Kauffman, who became a co-owner and major investor in MWR in 2007, announced earlier this month that he had also invested in the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team. Sabates confirmed that the organization would expand to three cars in 2016, but no further details have been released.



Another option down the road for Bowyer may include Furniture Row Racing, which is reportedly considering expanding to two teams. However, the team’s general manager, Joe Garone told FOXSports in June that adding a second car wasn’t realistic until at least 2017 and even then, it would be ambitious. The team’s current driver, another former MWR driver, Martin Truex Jr. , is having a career year with the team and ranks eighth in the Chase Grid.



There is also speculation that Bowyer’s future could include a job at Stewart-Haas Racing should its co-owner and three-time championship driver Tony Stewart retire and leave an open seat. However Stewart has not publicly indicated he has any timetable to retire.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Complete race results | Updated standings


BRISTOL, Tenn — A spin with four laps to go in Wednesday night’s UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway proved to be the saving grace for Brad Keselowski Racing’s Ryan Blaney, who grabbed the lead on a green-white-checkered restart to win his first race of the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season.

Blaney recovered from an early race penalty for jumping a restart to find himself closing on leader Matt Crafton with five laps remaining. When Ty Dillon spun on Lap 196, it triggered the final caution of the night and the opportunity for Blaney to steal Crafton’s thunder. On the final restart, Crafton’s truck sputtered, failing to come up to speed, allowing Blaney to take off and seal his fourth career NCWTS victory.

“It feels really good,” Blaney said. “I’m proud of everyone on this No. 29 team. I’ve had a chance to drive this truck four times this year and we’ve come really, really close every single time and to finally get it to Victory Lane, my last start of the year for this truck, it really means a lot to get Chad (Kendrick, crew chief) and Brad (Keselowski, team owner) back to Victory Lane.

“To do that in that fashion coming from a lap down and being able to drive through the field like that says a lot about our race team and a lot about what as an organization we can do.” 

Keystone Light Pole Award winner Kyle Busch‘s slow start allowed outside pole-sitter Blaney to steal the lead early by the exit of Turn 1, controlling the field through the first caution on Lap 31 for a spin in Turn 2.

On the restart, Blaney roared away from the field, but a few laps later, NASCAR black-flagged him on Lap 37 for jumping the restart, forcing a pass-through penalty, giving the lead to Cole Custer.

Busch, who restarted fifth, methodically worked his way forward and attempted to take the lead away from the young NASCAR Camping World Truck Series winner, but Custer kept Busch at bay through the race’s second caution on Lap 79 for debris in Turn 1.

Busch and Johnny Sauter would trade the lead following the caution, before Custer returned to the top spot on lap 90.

A more than 1.5-second lead for Custer would be erased when Ray Black Jr. and Caleb Holman crashed in Turn 4 on lap 112.

With darkening skies overhead and the threat of rain approaching the World’s Fastest Half-Mile, a majority of the teams elected to stay out. Despite his best efforts, Crafton tried to snatch the lead away from the JR Motorsports driver, but to no avail.

Custer slowly saw Crafton become a diminishing factor in his rear-view mirror until he hit heavy lap traffic with 50 laps remaining. That’s when Spencer Gallagher spun in Turns 3 and 4, and Custer found himself trapped in the high-line and collided with Gallagher.

Heavy front-end damage sent the No. 00 Chevrolet to pit road for repairs, eliminating the NASCAR Next driver from competition. As the accident happened, Crafton slipped by on the inside and took the lead — which he held until the green-white-checkered restart that lost him the race.

While under yellow for the fourth time of the night, heavy rain began to fall, causing a red flag for 45 minutes, 50 seconds while the track was dried.

Next up for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is the Aug. 30 race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the third-annual Chevrolet Silverado 250. Blaney is the defending champion.

MORE: Nemechek gets career-best finish

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full qualifying results 

 

Kyle Busch won the Keystone Light Pole Qualifying on Wednesday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway. Despite Kyle’s recent on-track dominance in all three series, this is his first pole for the 2015 Camping World Truck Series season. “Rowdy” had a fastest speed of 125.683 mph in 15.267 seconds.

 

Next on the leaderboard was the driver of the No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford, Ryan Blaney. Blaney posted a fast lap of 125.559 mph in 15.282 seconds.

 

And rounding out the top three was Brandon Jones in his No. 33 Chevrolet, coming in at 125.469 mph (15.293 seconds).

 

Next was the No. 4 of Erik Jones (125.166 mph) and the No. 00 of Cole Custer (125.142 mph) in fourth and fifth, respectively. 

 

On-track action for the NCWTS picks back up at 8:30 p.m. ET for the UNOH 200 Presented by ZLOOP (200 laps, 106.6 miles), FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full practice 2 results

Cole Cluster led the final Camping World Truck Series practice for tonight’s UNOH 200 Presented by ZLOOP with the top speed of 126.528 mph.


Following the JR Motorsports driver on the leaderboard was Ryan Blaney (126.104 mph) who was second-fastest in the session.


John H. Nemechek (125.708 mph), Ty Dillon (125.609 mph) and Brandon Jones (125.609 mph) round out the top-five fastest. Jones was the fastest driver in the first Truck Series practice on Tuesday.


The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race is scheduled for tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.


Dalton Sargeant, who will be making his NCWTS debut in tonight’s race, ranked sixth in the final practice with a time of 124.971 mph. The 17-year-old was 21st-fastest in the first practice on Tuesday.


Points leader Tyler Reddick had the 10th-fastest time in Wednesday’s practice (124.170 mph).

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Ragan’s Darlington look will honor his father



Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is pulling out all the stops for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (7 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM) with a throwback paint scheme right out of the hit racing movie “Days of Thunder.” 


BUY: Darlington tickets


The Mello Yello ride of Cole Trickle will fly around a track again, this time carrying the No. 42 on the Chevrolet. Kyle Petty drove the Mello Yello scheme as his primary paint scheme from 1991-93 on the No. 42.


Mello Yello was born to bond with racing, announced as the “World’s Fastest Soft Drink” when it launched in 1979 and sponsored Frank Oblesby’s dragster.


“This paint scheme has such a cool history between the movie and Kyle Petty having run it for Felix, so I’m really excited to drive it,” Larson said Wenesday. ” ‘Days of Thunder’ is definitely one of my favorite racing movies, and I know it’s a favorite for a lot of fans, too. The connection with Felix is pretty cool. Even though I was too young to watch Kyle Petty driving the Mello Yello car, I know people will remember the scheme from those days, as well as his crazy hair from back then. There’s just a lot of fun stuff surrounding this car, so I’m really glad that the Target team is able to run it for Darlington’s throwback race. I think the fans are really going to like it.”


Larson tweeted a tease about the scheme to fans on Tuesday, asking “Can you tell we’re excited for @TooToughToTame?!”
 


FYI, Larson was born two years after the movie’s 1990 premiere, but shows he appreciates the 25th anniversary of the film.

BUY: Darlington throwback gear

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Co-owner of MWR buys interest in CGR 

MORE: Kauffman: ‘We’re integrating the businesses’

Michael Waltrip Racing, one of the charter Toyota teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, announced Wednesday that it will part ways with driver Clint Bowyer at year’s end and that it plans to cease its full-time racing schedule after the 2015 season.

 

RELATED: Bowyer free to pursue other opportunities for 2016

MWR said in a statement that it will continue to field cars for Bowyer, who has been with the No. 15 team since 2012, and David Ragan, interim driver for Brian Vickers in the No. 55, through the rest of the season.

 

The move comes on the heels of MWR principal owner Rob Kauffman’s confirmation Aug. 1 that he had purchased an ownership stake in Chevrolet team Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

 

“MWR will race hard and compete for the remainder of the 2015 season,” Kauffman said in a release provided by the team. “This decision was made after weighing several different options and scenarios. I felt it was important to make an announcement as soon as we had clarity, so that is what we are doing today. I want to thank all of our staff, partners, sponsors and fans for all their effort and support over the years.

 

“Clint Bowyer has done a lot for MWR since joining us in 2012 and we appreciate the energy and effort he has given the organization. After many discussions, Clint and I agreed we would go our separate ways at the end of the season and I wish him well in whatever direction he pursues.”

 

The decision makes Bowyer, an eight-time winner in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition, a sought-after free agent for 2016. Three of his victories came in 2012, when he finished a career-best second in the final championship standings.

 

MORE: Toyota thanks MWR, supports Bowyer

 

“I want to thank Michael, Rob and everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing that made these past four years special,” Bowyer said. “After extensive discussions with Rob and MWR, we came to the point that we mutually agreed our paths in the future just didn’t align, but I think we all agreed on the next steps in a very professional manner. I am looking forward to what future opportunities may come but for now we have a championship to pursue in 2015 and we owe it to every one of our sponsors, partners, employees and fans to deliver on and off the track.”

 

Michael Waltrip Racing made its full-fledged debut in 2007, bringing the Toyota Camry banner into the sport. The team featured Waltrip as driver/owner, former premier series champion Dale Jarrett and David Reutimann. MWR has seven victories in NASCAR’s top division, the first with Reutimann in the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 in 2009.

 

“Rob joined MWR in 2007 and has helped give us the resources to build a competitive race team, and in 2012, Clint Bowyer took us to the doorstep of a championship. From where MWR started behind my house in Sherrill’s Ford to winning Sprint Cup races, poles and earning Chase berths, I am proud of what we accomplished,” Michael Waltrip said Wednesday.

 

“My family has been a part of NASCAR for almost five decades and I plan on being a part of it for years to come. I would not have had the opportunity to start this journey without so many great partners, sponsors and employees and I want to thank each of them for making Michael Waltrip Racing a reality.”

 

Ragan released a statement Wednesday, as well.

 

“I am grateful for the opportunity that Michael Waltrip Racing and Toyota have provided me this year,” Ragan said. “I have worked hard to be a good teammate and spokesperson for all of our sponsors, and as a team we have collectively improved our performance from the beginning of the season. I look forward to staying focused and trying to win a race this season for Aaron’s and everyone at MWR.

 

“Going forward I will be working hard to secure a full-time ride in the Sprint Cup Series. At 29 years old, I feel my best years are in front of me.”

 

The Waltrip-owned team scaled back its operations from three full-time teams to two after the 2013 season, which was marked by a race-manipulation scandal surrounding MWR in the regular-season finale and the ensuing departure of Martin Truex Jr. and longtime sponsor NAPA.

 

Waltrip talked a bit about the news at the start of FOX Sports 1’s broadcast of final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice Wednesday at Bristol.

 

“It’s a sad day for MWR obviously. I love the culture we’ve built there. You know, our sponsors, they’re not sponsors; they’re partners, and our employees are our teammates,” Waltrip said. “We just have the perfect workplace, and unfortunately in 2016, we’re not going to be racing there. My hope is somebody wants to have a really nice shop full of really cool people that work together well and want to have a race team and we can provide that for them. 

 

“But Rob’s going to be a part of Chip Ganassi Racing going forward. Rob and I are best of buddies. He’s done an amazing job of stabilizing MWR in the beginning and then we raced for a championship, finished second in 2012. So my heart goes out to all the employees, all the people that work at MWR, and hopefully somebody wants to have a team and they can have it right there at our place.”

 

Asked how hard it was to make this transition with MWR after starting the company behind his house, Waltrip revisited some of the history of his company.

 

“Our first race was here in 1994 with Jeff Green . We towed in here with Ronnie Silver a flatbed trailer, unloaded our car and ran third that day. Won Nationwide, XFINITY races behind our house and competed in the Cup Series. We made the Daytona 500 with Kenny Wallace in a car we built in Sherrill’s Ford behind my house. That grew to Michael Waltrip Racing, and we raced for a championship like I said. Chase berths, race wins. I’m thankful. I’m happy. It’s a great run that we’ve had. We’ll just see what’s next.”

Posted on by Staff Report

See how the No. 17 Ford will look Labor Day weekend

MORE: Buy tickets for Darlington | Enter sweepstakes for Darlington weekend
SHOP: Darlington gear

Hard to say we disagree, Ricky.

Sporting a firesuit that looks like it might even emanate that distinct 1970s musk — you know the one — Roush Fenway Racing driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. reveleaed the throwback paint scheme that he’ll be running on his No. 17 Ford for Labor Day weekend’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 (Sep. 6, 7 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM) at Darlington Raceway.

RELATED: More Darlington throwback paint schemes

The look is a nod to David Pearson, 105-time winner in NASCAR’s premier series and Darlington’s all-time winner with 10 trips to Victory Lane.

Like Stenhouse, Pearson also previously ran the No. 17 Ford, picking up two of his Darlington wins behind the wheel of that car.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood also took a few minutes to give his thoughts on Pearson, his fellow Hall of Famer.

Stenhouse, currently 28th in points and in search of his first Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup berth, can do so with a win at Darlington. Tune in Sep. 6 to see if the Roush Fenway driver can get it done in this excellent throwback scheme.