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Get caught up quickly before the GEICO 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX)

Related: Full lineup for Talladega | See the 43 cars in the field

What: 46th Annual GEICO 500
When: Sunday, May 3, 2015
TV/Radio: FOX, MRN
Distance: 188 laps (500.08 miles)
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Pit Road Speed: 55 mph
Caution Car Speed: 70 mph

On The Front Row
1. Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet (194.793 mph)
2. Kasey Kahne, Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet (193.685 mph)

Failed To Qualify
Michael McDowell, Leavine Family Racing No. 95 Ford; Jeb Burton, BK Racing No. 26 Toyota

Fastest In Practice
First Practice: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford (200.780 mph) | Results
Second Practice: Greg Biffle, Roush Fenway Racing No. 16 Ford (197.929 mph) | Results

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You Often Find Them Out Front
Only one driver, Kevin Harvick, has led at least one lap in eight of this year’s first nine races. The only race in which the Stewart-Haas Racing driver didn’t make it to the front? The season-opening Daytona 500, the only other restrictor-plate race run thus far this season. Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have led one or more laps in seven races this year.

A Sweep? Not Quite
Hendrick Motorsports drivers qualified in four of the top five spots with Jeff Gordon (first) and Kasey Kahne (second) on the front row, teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson fourth and fifth, respectively. HMS teams have swept the top four spots in qualifying before — most recently here in 2011.

Wood Brothers Racing driver Ryan Blaney qualified third Saturday. "Looks like we broke up the (Hendrick) party," one WBR official noted.

What’s Not To Like?
On most weekends, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers are focused on things such as getting their car to handle, the best lines to run on the track, where the best opportunities might be to make a pass. That’s not quite the case at Talladega.

"You throw it all out the window," said Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards. "You practice, you make sure the car doesn’t drag the ground, there are no big vibrations, everything works right, you can see out your mirrors well and then you just go race.

"And really the whole race is building to the final lap and being in the right position. It’s just a different style of race; it’s completely different from anything else we do."

Is it a style of racing that Edwards likes? "Ah … like I said, it’s completely different from anything else we do," he said.

Driver Rating
Best driver rating average at Talladega based on past 20 races:
Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates No. 42 Chevrolet (95.6)
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet (90.7)
Matt Kenseth, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota (89.9)
Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet (88.3)
Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet (87.5)

Coming From the Back
Jeff Gordon, a six-time Talladega winner, holds the distinction of winning after qualifying deepest in the field, taking the win after starting 36th in 2000. Gordon, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin have also won here after qualifying 34th.

Defending GEICO 500 Champion
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota

A Case of Good News, Bad News
Richard Childress Racing driver Paul Menard will start seventh at Talladega. His car, he said, is capable of going to Victory Lane.

"Oh yeah, we definitely have a winning car for Sunday," he said, "but unfortunately at Talladega about 30 other people do, too."

Practice leader But …
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fastest in Friday’s final practice. But in single-car qualifying runs, the Roush Fenway Racing driver was only 29th overall. The poor starting spot won’t alter his gameplan, however.

"If we end up on our roof, we end up on our roof, but as long as we have a shot at the win, we’re going to give it all we’ve got," Stenhouse said. "This is our best chance to get in the Chase. This is a lot of people’s best chance to get in the Chase, and if we can do that, we’re going to take advantage of it."

Former Talladega Winners In Field
Jeff Gordon (6); Dale Earnhardt Jr. (5); Brad Keselowski (3); Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray (2); David Ragan, Tony Stewart, Michael Waltrip, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte (1).

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Yeley’s No. 23 Toyota to display names of fallen military members

TALLADEGA, Ala. — With the Memorial Day holiday weekend just around the corner, BK Racing officials have announced a program that will allow fans to submit the names of fallen service members to be placed on the No. 23 Toyota of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver J.J. Yeley.

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The names will appear on the car during the upcoming Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, scheduled for Sunday, May 24.
 
Cost for an individual’s name to appear is $10; according to a BK Racing release, a portion of the proceeds will go to the Hope For The Warriors nonprofit group.
 
"We are going to run a program that says ‘We salute you’ on our hood," Yeley said Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway. "Hopefully we will have that car completely filled for the Coca-Cola 600.
 
"Without these gentlemen and ladies doing the things they do … sometimes I feel like they don’t really get the support that they should.
 
"Last week at Richmond, there were about 18 servicemen standing on pit road … almost invisible to people. So I went over and shook everyone’s hands and thanked them. Because I know that we wouldn’t get to do what we do on a weekly basis without the protection that they give us."
 
BK Racing fields three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams for Yeley, Matt DiBenedetto and Jeb Burton. Yeley’s car is the only one that will carry the special paint scheme at CMS.
 
DiBenedetto has a brother in the military, and said he "takes a lot of pride in that.
 
"It’s exciting," he said of the BK Racing special ‘American Salute’ program. "Ron Devine, our owner, everybody is just good down-to-earth people and they truly want to give back. It will be nice to be a part of that."
 
Hope for the Warriors provides support programs for service members, veterans and military families.

Posted on by Holly Cain

Reigning Cup champ: ‘I believe that the schedule needs to be mixed up’

Related: Brad Keselowski’s opinions on the Sprint Cup schedule

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick has some specific ideas about shaking up the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule.

In answering a reporter’s question about how NASCAR could further invigorate fan interest, Harvick suggested being more open-minded and flexible with the race venues. He emphasized that races are regularly returning to their "sold out" roots, but the champion proposed more road races and even a wild-card venue each season.

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"If you want to talk about growing the sport, I believe that some venues need one race,” Harvick said Friday before opening practice at Talladega Superspeedway. "I believe that the schedule needs to be mixed up. People like things that change, they don’t like stagnant things. In my opinion the most stagnant thing in our sport is our schedule and our venues that we go to. 

" …  And sometimes you just have to change things up to keep the excitement and enthusiasm in the sport."

Asked what he would do and where he would go, this year’s championship points leader was quick with some suggestions.

"I know the first place I would go is Iowa," Harvick said of the Rusty Wallace-designed .875-mile oval that hosts two XFINITY Series and one Camping World Truck Series stand-alone. "I think that everybody wants to see more short tracks and more venues."

Further, Harvick said, "I think road racing — we have a couple of road races on the schedule and most every team has two road race cars and spends a lot of money on their road race program.

"Adding a road race here or there would definitely be something that I would vote for just for the fact internationally road racing is very recognizable to race fans. …  You could take your pick on road courses, Montreal (Canada) does a great job, you could go to Laguna Seca (California), you could go anywhere in the world and race on a road course. There are lots of good venues."


And while he’s at it, Harvick said smiling, he has an unconventional idea of rotating at least one venue every year.

"I have always been a fan of let’s go to the banquet and roll the pills around of race tracks across the country and have a wild-card race every year,” Harvick said. "Go to the ‘Milwaukee Mile’ and really you could go to test these venues and see how the markets react. 

"And see the reaction you get from the market, even if you only have 30 or 40 thousand people in the grandstands. If you put on a good event for TV and do the things that it takes to have a unique event, that is really what people want."

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Additional Driver Draft insight; plus, what if pit stalls could be dealt?

Editor’s Note: Kraft’s Korner will offer a take on a current hot topic in sports.

The cultural phenomenon known as the NFL Draft is underway, and teams are weighing the risk vs. reward of potential picks. Meanwhile, at home, viewers are intrigued to see which potential star plummets on the draft board and has to endure the most agonizing wait in the green room.

Wouldn’t it be great if crew chiefs could trade pit stalls?

At NASCAR.com, we recently put together our own draft board, the 2015 Driver Draft. We pared a list of 40 drivers down to 25 and took into account history, recent performances and potential room for growth.

Spoiler alert: Joey Logano ended up at the top of our list.

Logano is only 24, but it feels like he’s much older since he’s in the midst of his seventh full-time Sprint Cup season. He has wins on virtually every type of track, has won some big races (the 2015 Daytona 500 to name one) and seems to be settling in as a perennial title contender. There are some veteran drivers with championships, but it’s the combination of upside, recent history and a high ceiling that made Logano our top choice.

NFL teams are examining similar scenarios this weekend. They are weighing pros and cons and considering a "safe pick" versus someone who may have a little more baggage but could yield a greater return. The term "value" is thrown around all the time, and in fact there’s something called the draft value chart, which teams consult when making deals.

While there was no mega deal by the Philadelphia Eagles for Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, two divisional rivals got some of the best value in Thursday night’s first round. The New York Jets selected defensive end Leonard Williams sixth overall, and many experts had him as the one of the top three players in the draft.

And in a case of the rich getting richer, the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots added a stout interior lineman to their defense in Malcom Brown. The Texas product should help fill the void left by the decision to part ways with Vince Wilfork.

But all this talk about the NFL Draft got me thinking about something NASCAR has that’s similar: pit stall selection. The stalls on pit road are prime real estate, and the ones that go first usually have no one in front of the driver when he exits. The ones that go next have no stall behind, providing the driver the opportunity to pull straight into the area.

We see plenty of wheeling and dealing in the NFL Draft (although not much on Thursday night) and it always spurs discussion among fans. So wouldn’t it be great if crew chiefs could trade pit stalls after qualifying, adding strategy and intrigue to that part of the NASCAR weekend?

Say a driver doesn’t fare well in qualifying, but the car was great in practice and the team expects to contend for a win. Why shouldn’t the team be able to acquire a better pit stall if another team is willing to deal it? Yes, it will come at a price, perhaps giving up a better spot at a future track, but the moves or potential moves could get a lot of fans talking.
 
All the time you hear drivers mention how important qualifying is but not necessarily for the starting spot. It’s for the pit stall selection. For example, Jimmie Johnson has overcome sluggish starting spots the past two weeks at Bristol and Richmond and ended up with second- and third-place finishes, respectively. Would having a better pit stall have helped him score his third win of the season?

It’s certainly possible, and it would be great to see a crew chief such as Chad Knaus working the phones to make a last-minute deal. Perhaps it would be even more amusing if NASCAR fans were to react like fans of all NFL teams do (most notably the Jets) when their picks are revealed.

Posted on by Staff Report

2012 Sprint Cup champion reacts to Kevin Harvick’s comments

RELATED: Kevin Harvick stumps for schedule overhaul

Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick had a strong take on the Sprint Cup Series schedule during his media availability Friday at Talladega Superspeedway.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver said the 36-race lineup "needs to be mixed up" and "in my opinion the most stagnant thing in our sport is our schedule and our venues that we go to."

Another Sprint Cup Series champion had a different take.

Brad Keselowski, who once wrote a blog about his dream NASCAR schedule, reacted via Twitter later Friday afternoon.

His thoughts:

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR Next driver to make first national series start at Dover

Team Little Racing announced Friday afternoon that it has reached an agreement with ThorSport Racing for a part-time schedule for NASCAR Next driver Jesse Little in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this season.

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Little, 18, had previously announced that he would make his truck tour debut May 29 at Dover International Speedway. Friday’s announcement provided extra detail on his 2015 plans, including the partnership with ThorSport — winner of the last two Camping World Truck Series championships with veteran Matt Crafton.
 
"To have this alliance and support from ThorSport Racing for my Truck Series Events is a huge step forward for me, Team Little Racing and our partners," Little said in a release provided by his team. "Our goals are to put together solid finishes and represent ThorSport Racing, Duke Thorson and our sponsors including NASCAR Technical Institute and Performance Friction Brakes in a first-class manner."
 
Thorson has fielded trucks in the series since 1996. His three-truck effort this season includes rides for Crafton, Johnny Sauter and rookie Cameron Hayley.
 
"We look forward to supporting Jesse as he makes his transition into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series," Thorson said. "We feel that this alliance with (Little) will assist him in reaching his ultimate goal in NASCAR."
 
Little will have a familiar face atop the pit box in Harold Holly, a 19-time winner as a crew chief in what is now called the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The veteran wrench spent two seasons as crew chief for Little’s father, Chad, in both XFINITY and Sprint Cup competition.
 
"Jesse is an impressive young man in so many aspects of life," Holly said. "He’s a strong student, treats everyone with respect and is eager to learn new things. From a racing perspective Jesse has won at every level he’s competed on, takes care of his equipment, provides his team with good feedback and knows how to pace himself during a race. This partnership with ThorSport Racing will give us a chance to compete at one of the sport’s top levels where Jesse can show his skills.
 
"We have solid goals, will work to be a good teammate and always be respectful on the track. As a team we’re excited to get to Dover and see what our team can do in our Camping World Truck Series debut."
 
Jesse Little is in his fourth season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, where he was the rookie of the year in 2013.

Posted on by Staff Report

Teenager edges Roush pair of Wallace, Reed on leaderboard

RELATED: Practice results

Erik Jones topped the speed charts Friday in the lone NASCAR XFINITY Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway.

Jones, driving the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota, rose to the top of the leaderboard with a lap of 188.861 mph around the 2.66-mile track. The 18-year-old driver, who will make his Sprint Cup Series debut next weekend at Kansas Speedway, will be making just his 12th XFINITY start in Saturday’s Winn-Dixie 300 (3 p.m. ET, FOX).

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Teammates Darrell Wallace Jr. and Ryan Reed tied for the second spot at 188.727 mph in a pair of Roush Fenway Racing Fords. Regan Smith, a former Talladega winner in the JR Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet, was fourth-best at 188.086 mph with rookie Daniel Suarez fifth at 187.621 mph in another Gibbs Toyota.

Series points leader Ty Dillon clocked the 26th-fastest lap in the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet. Defending race winner Elliott Sadler was 13th-best at 186.180 mph in the Roush Fenway No. 1 Ford. Chase Elliott, the defending series champion, was 15th-fastest at 185.924 mph in the JR Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet.

Boris Said was 17th-fastest driving the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota in place of the injured Kyle Busch. Said, an occasional NASCAR competitor primarily at road-course events, will make his first start in the XFINITY Series since 2011.

The fastest laps were established early in the 2-hour, 20-minute session, when drivers grouped together in aerodynamic packs. Most of the latter stages were spent in single-car mock qualifying runs.

Several teams were docked 15 minutes of practice time because of inspection infractions the week before at Richmond International Raceway. Among them were the teams for Said, Sadler, Joey Logano, Brendan Gaughan and Brian Scott.

Coors Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled Saturday at 11 a.m. ET (FOX Sports 1). It will mark the first session with revised rules disbanding group qualifying at tracks where restrictor plates limit engine output.

Posted on by Staff Report

Roush Fenway teammate Stenhouse fast in early session

Practice 2

RELATED: Final practice results

Greg Biffle soared to the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series speed chart in final practice Friday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway.

Biffle, driving the Roush Fenway Racing No. 16 Ford, registered a best lap of 197.929 mph among light participation from the 45 drivers entered in the final 55-minute session. Biffle currently ranks 21st in the Sprint Cup standings, with just one top-10 finish in nine races this season.

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Tony Stewart, 30th in points in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Chevrolet, was second-fastest at 197.859 mph. Aric Almirola was third-best at 197.696 mph in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford.

Jimmie Johnson, a two-time Talladega winner, was fourth-fastest in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet. Austin Dillon completed the top five in the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevy.

Kevin Harvick, the defending Sprint Cup champion and current points leader, managed the 16th-fastest lap of the 38 drivers who participated in final practice. Several drivers made just two laps in a mock qualifying run before ending their on-track activity for the day.

Coors Light Pole Qualifying is set for 1 p.m. ET (FOX), marking the first session since NASCAR competition officials dropped the group qualifying format on restrictor-plate tracks.

Practice 1

Stenhouse fastest in opening practice | Results

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. shot to the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leaderboard Friday afternoon, eclipsing the 200-mph barrier in a jumbled opening practice at Talladega Superspeedway.

Stenhouse, driving the Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford, clocked a fast lap of 200.780 mph around the 2.66-mile track. Stenhouse, who failed to qualify at Talladega last October, was also black-flagged midway through the 55-minute session for a blend-line violation, improperly merging onto the track on a warm-up lap.

Michael Waltrip, an occasional Sprint Cup competitor who has all four career wins on tracks where restrictor plates limit engine power, was second-fastest at 200.742 mph. He’ll be attempting to make his second start of the season in the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55 Toyota.

NASCAR XFINITY Series regular Chris Buescher was third-fastest at 200.268 mph in another interim effort in the Front Row Motorsports No. 34 Ford. Defending race winner Denny Hamlin was fourth-fastest, just ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate David Ragan, making his last start in the No. 18 Toyota in place of the injured Kyle Busch.

Ragan is scheduled to transition to the MWR No. 55 team next week at Kansas Speedway, with 18-year-old Erik Jones shifting over to the JGR No. 18 for his Sprint Cup debut.

Defending Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick was 31st-fastest in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet. Harvick was among four drivers — Aric Almirola, Alex Bowman and Matt DiBenedetto the others — whose teams were docked practice time for inspection delays the previous week at Richmond International Raceway.

Former premier series champ Bobby Labonte was the only other driver issued a blend-line penalty in the opening practice.

Posted on by Staff Report

Camp 95 to provide students an inside look at NASCAR careers

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team Leavine Family Racing will host a one-day summer camp, providing high school students a behind-the-scenes look at the NASCAR industry, from engineering and building cars to marketing sponsorship roles.

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"An important part of our Leavine Family Racing team is focusing on the racing community and our local community," team owner Bob Leavine said in a team release. "I am thrilled to give back to the community by using the organization as a way to provide these students with a look at some different career opportunities available to them."

"Camp 95" will be held on Tuesday, June 16 at the team’s headquarters in Concord, North Carolina and will include a shop tour with crew chief Wally Rogers. Only 30 campers will be selected to participate. Applications are due May 25 and can be found at http://www.lfr95.com/camp95. Campers will be notified of their acceptance via email by June 1, and potential applicants can email [email protected] for more information.

"I’m very excited to have the opportunity to show these students how many different roles there are in NASCAR in a hands-on environment like CAMP 95," Rogers said. "I hope that by explaining how I got started in the industry I can somehow make an impact on how they look at their future careers."

Several key members of the NASCAR industry will also visit the campers. These speakers will share their experiences on how they got started in NASCAR and provide advice to the students as they begin to plan their careers.

Posted on by Nascar

RCR driver sees restrictor plate tracks as opportunities

Related: NXS Talladega practice results

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Ty Dillon, the XFINITY Series points leader, will be looking to extend his advantage Saturday when the Winn Dixie 300 (3 p.m. ET, FOX) gets underway here at Talladega Superspeedway.

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And the wide-open 2.66-mile Talladega track, Dillon said, is just the place to do it.

Dillon, 23, leads defending series champion Chase Elliott by eight points (293-285) after this season’s first eight races. Chris Buescher sits in back of Elliott and trails Dillon by 11.

“I got one of my first ARCA wins here,” the Richard Childress Racing driver said Friday after the series only practice. “… I was able to beat Frank Kimmel down the frontstretch and just edged him out at the finish line.

“Every time we come to one of these (restrictor plate) race tracks I feel like it’s an opportunity for me to win and run well. We were very strong in Daytona.”

Dillon finished third at Daytona in the series’ season-opening race. Buescher finished second, just behind Roush Fenway Racing teammate Ryan Reed, while Elliott came away 28th.

On Friday, Erik Jones led XFINITY practice; Dillon was 26th on the board.

Qualifying is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET Saturday. If he’s not on the front row, Dillon has plans to get there, and quickly.

A self-avowed “aggressive racer,” Dillon said plate tracks “really kind of fit my style."

“I like being able to, as soon as the flag drops to go as hard as I can go and get as many positions (as I can),” he said. “That style has always suited me really well when we go to restrictor plate tracks, where I can be aggressive with the moves I make and get myself to the front and try and stay out of trouble.

“For whatever reason, it’s always worked for me in the past and I’ve had some really good finishes at some of these race tracks. That’s kind of my mentality when I race every weekend, but it really seems to play out well here.”

As for the points, Dillon is mindful of them “but it’s not something I’m worried about every single weekend.

“The main focus no matter what is to win the race,” he said. “If you can go out and win the race every weekend, you don’t really have to worry about points.”

Although Sprint Cup drivers have won six of this season’s eight XFINITY Series races, the last two events at Talladega have seen XFINITY regulars come out on top – Regan Smith in 2013 and Elliott Sadler last year.