Brian France discusses shorter race lengths

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Nascar

NASCAR Chairman and CEO: ‘Better racing competition’ over 400 miles

Are shorter races on the horizon for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series?

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France was asked about NASCAR’s comfort with 500-mile events and the length of time it takes to complete those races during an open question-and-answer session with the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) last week.

"I think generally speaking, we want to see shorter events… not in every circumstance," France told the group, "… It’s no secret that attention spans, especially with the millennial fans, are changing, and we all know that.

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"But what we like about it from our standpoint is it makes the actual racing event better because there’s no lull in between the beginning and the end, or there’s a lot smaller lull, so teams have to compete."

France said a longer race doesn’t necessarily allow drivers time to relax "but they’re not as pressed to be up front at a certain time.

"But if you shorten it, they will, and we’ve seen that when we do shorten it," he said. "We tend to get better (quality of races), and we measure that by lead changes and how close the winning margins (are) and a lot of different metrics that we use.

"So we’ve got a pretty good handle on that, and … a 400‑mile race will give us, most of the time, a better racing competition, and that’s in addition to the time spans and attention spans of millennial fans; those two go together for us to shorten it up somehow."

There are nine races of 500 miles or more on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule for 2015. The average time of race for those races already contested this year is three-and-a-half hours.

The upcoming Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, scheduled for May 24 (6 p.m. ET, FOX), is the series’ longest event. Last’s year’s 600 took four hours, seven minutes to complete.

France didn’t rule out dropping the length of a race below 400 miles, but noted that any such decisions would "also depend on if there are any format changes that we’d be willing to consider, that we look at all the time, that we historically haven’t done.

"And remember, we’ve got a number of other … national series that we can take a look at things before we have to put it on Sunday," he said.

Pocono Raceway, which began hosting NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events in 1974, shortened its two annual Sprint Cup races from 500 miles to 400 miles beginning in 2012. The move has shortened the average time of race approximately 30 minutes and put it in the three-hour window.

Since 1998, Dover International Speedway has also run two annual 400-mile Sprint Cup races. The average time of race for last year’s events at the 1-mile track was three hours, 13 minutes.

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Staff Report

A stats-based look ahead to the 10th race of the Sprint Cup Series season

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 27, 2015) — Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama going into the GEICO 500 on May 3.

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TALLADEGA-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

Kurt Busch (No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet)

· Six top fives, 14 top 10s

· Average finish of 17.0

· Average Running Position of 14.6, third-best

· Driver Rating of 88.3, fourth-best

· 7,702 Green Flag Passes, second-most

· Series-high 2,431 Laps in the Top 15 (63.9%)

· Series-high 5,288 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet)

· Five wins, 10 top fives, 14 top 10s

· Average finish of 15.5

· Series-best Average Running Position of 14.5

· Driver Rating of 90.7, second-best

· 80 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most

· 6,981 Green Flag Passes, third-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 193.336 mph, ninth-fastest

· 2,313 Laps in the Top 15 (60.8%), third-most

· 4,478 Quality Passes, third-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota)

· One win, four top fives, six top 10s

· Average finish of 19.0

· Driver Rating of 82.0, 10th-best

· 80 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most

· 1,572 Laps in the Top 15 (45.9%), 10th-most

· 3,507 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)

· Two wins, six top fives, 10 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 17.5

· Average Running Position of 16.0, seventh-best

· Driver Rating of 87.5, fifth-best

· 2,070 Laps in the Top 15 (54.4%), fourth-most

· 3,944 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Dollar General Toyota)

· One win, six top fives, 10 top 10s

· Average finish of 17.8

· Average Running Position of 14.5, second-best

· Driver Rating of 89.9, third-best

· 6,413 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most

· 2,423 Laps in the Top 15 (63.7%), second-most

· 4,664 Quality Passes, second-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Ford)

· Three wins, four top fives, seven top 10s

· Average finish of 15.1

· Driver Rating of 82.9, eighth-best

· 1,043 Laps in the Top 15 (45.3%), 22nd-most

Kyle Larson (No. 42 Target Chevrolet)

· One top 10

· Average finish of 13.0

· Average Running Position of 15.1, fourth-best

· Series-best Driver Rating of 95.6

· Average Green Flag Speed of 193.444 mph, second-fastest

Joey Logano (No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford)

· Two top fives, four top 10s

· Average finish of 19.9

· Average Running Position of 16.9, ninth-best

· Driver Rating of 82.2, ninth-best

· Average Green Flag Speed of 193.326 mph, 10th-fastest

Jamie McMurray (No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet)

· Two wins, six top fives, seven top 10s

· Average finish of 20.4

· Driver Rating of 79.8, 12th-best

· 6,049 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most

· 1,736 Laps in the Top 15 (45.6%), seventh-most

· 3,456 Quality Passes, 10th-most

David Ragan (No. 18 Pedigree Toyota)

· One win, four top fives, seven top 10s

· Average finish of 16.5

· Driver Rating of 80.9, 11th-best

· 5,952 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 193.337 mph, eighth-fastest

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford)

· One top five, two top 10s

· Average finish of 8.7

· Average Running Position of 16.0, sixth-best

· Driver Rating of 85.0, sixth-best

· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 193.454 mph

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2015 Top 16 at Talladega Superspeedway

Rank	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
Rank	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Kevin Harvick	28	1	1	6	12	2	15.6	78.8
2	Joey Logano	12	0	0	2	4	4	19.9	82.2
3	Martin Truex Jr.	20	0	0	1	6	9	21.3	78.6
4	Jimmie Johnson	26	1	2	6	10	8	17.5	87.5
5	Brad Keselowski	12	0	3	4	7	1	15.1	82.9
6	Kasey Kahne	22	1	0	3	5	3	21.1	71.7
7	Matt Kenseth	30	0	1	6	10	4	17.8	89.9
8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	30	0	5	10	14	5	15.5	90.7
9	Jamie McMurray	25	0	2	6	7	4	20.4	79.8
10	Jeff Gordon	44	3	6	15	19	9	17.0	79.1
11	Aric Almirola	10	0	0	0	1	1	21.1	79.2
12	Denny Hamlin	18	0	1	4	6	3	19.0	82.0
13	Paul Menard	17	0	0	2	3	6	21.5	74.4
14	Clint Bowyer	18	0	2	6	10	3	14.4	78.5
15	Ryan Newman	26	0	0	5	10	8	20.9	68.6
16	Danica Patrick	4	0	0	0	0	1	26.8	71.7

* – Based on last 20 races at Talladega Superspeedway (2005 – 2014).

Talladega Superspeedway:

History

· Construction began on what was then known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway on May 23, 1968.

· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 14, 1969 – won by Richard Brickhouse.

· The name changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989.

· Fourth repaving completed on Sept. 19, 2006.

Notebook

· There have been 91 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway, one NSCS event in 1969 and two races per year since 1970.

· Talladega Superspeedway is tied with Michigan International Speedway for holding the ninth most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points paying races (90).

· 439 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega; 302 in more than one.

· Dave Marcis and Terry Labonte lead the series in starts at Talladega with 61 each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 44 starts; followed by Tony Stewart with 31.

· Bobby Isaac won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Talladega in 1969 with a speed of 199.466 mph. Isaac won the first three poles at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.

· 38 drivers have Coors Light poles at Talladega, led by Bill Elliott with eight. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with three.

· 10 drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Talladega. Bill Elliott holds the record for most consecutive poles at Talladega with six (1985 – 1987).

· Youngest Talladega pole winner: Brian Scott (05/04/2014 – 26 years, 3 months, 22 days).

· Oldest Talladega pole winner: Mark Martin (10/23/2011 – 52 years, 9 months, 14 days).

· 44 different drivers have won at Talladega Superspeedway, led by Dale Earnhardt with 10. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six.

· Richard Childress Racing has the most wins at Talladega in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 12; followed by Hendrick Motorsports with 11.

· Nine different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Talladega; led by Chevrolet with 39 victories; followed by Ford with 21 and Toyota with three.

· 13 of the 91 (14.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega have been won from the Coors Light pole. Jeff Gordon (2007) is the only active driver to be able to accomplish the feat.

· The outside front row (second-place) starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (20) than any other starting position at Talladega.

· 33 of the 91 (36.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega have been won from the front row: 13 from the pole and 20 from second-place.

· 63 of the 91 (69.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Talladega have been won from a top-10 starting position.

· 8 of the 91 (8.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Talladega was 36th, by Jeff Gordon in the spring of 2000.

· Youngest Talladega winner: Bobby Hillin Jr. (07/27/1986 – 22 years, 1 month, 22 days).

· Oldest Talladega winner: Harry Gant (05/06/1991 – 51 years, 3 months, 26 days).

· Buddy Baker and Tony Stewart are tied for the series’ most runner-up finishes at Talladega with six each.

· NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the series in top-five finishes at Talladega with 23. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 15.

· Dale Earnhardt leads the series in top-10 finishes at Talladega with 27. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 19.

· Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Talladega with a 10.192.

· Clint Bowyer leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Talladega with a 14.444.

· There have been eight NSCS races resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Talladega Superspeedway: spring of 2005 (188/194), fall of 2005 (188/190), spring of 2007 (188/192), fall of 2008 (188/190) spring of 2010 (188/200), fall of 2012 (188/189), spring of 2013 (188/192) and fall of 2014 (188/194).

· Only two of the 91 races at Talladega Superspeedway have been shortened due to weather conditions: spring of 1987 and fall of 1996.

· Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway five times; most recently fall of 2013.

· Jamie McMurray (10/06/2002) made his series debut at Talladega Superspeedway.

· Brian Scott (05/04/2014), David Gilliland (10/08/2006) and Travis Kvapil (10/05/2008) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles at Talladega.

· 2012 series champion Brad Keselowski (04/26/2009) and Brian Vickers (10/08/2006) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Talladega.

· Nine drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Talladega; Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads the series in consecutive wins at Talladega after posting four straight from the fall of 2001 – 2003.

· Brad Keselowski is the only active series driver to win at Talladega in his first appearance.

· Matt Kenseth competed at Talladega Superspeedway 25 times before winning the fall of 2012; the longest span of any the 12 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.

· Matt Kenseth (25), Tony Stewart (19), Kevin Harvick (18), and David Ragan (12) all made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Talladega.

· Kurt Busch leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Talladega without visiting Victory Lane at 28; followed by Ryan Newman with 26.

· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway was the (04/17/2011) race won by Jimmie Johnson with a MOV of 0.002 second – the MOV is tied with the 2003 Darlington race as the closest finishes in the NSCS using electronic scoring.

· Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Talladega with 847 laps led in 44 starts.

· Three female drivers have competed at Talladega in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Janet Guthrie, Patty Moise and Danica Patrick.

Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Date
Danica Patrick	27	19	10/19/2014
Danica Patrick	7	22	5/4/2014
Danica Patrick	23	33	10/20/2013
Danica Patrick	23	33	5/5/2013
Patty Moise	36	33	7/30/1989
Janet Guthrie	12	29	8/6/1978
Janet Guthrie	9	34	8/7/1977
Janet Guthrie	13	32	5/1/1977

NASCAR in Alabama

· There have been 110 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races among seven different tracks in Alabama.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Talladega Superspeedway	Talladega	91
Birmingham International Raceway	Birmingham	8
Montgomery Motor Speedway	Montgomery	6
Lakeview Speedway	Mobile	2
Chisholm Speedway	Montgomery	1
Dixie Speedway	Birmingham	1
Huntsville Speedway	Huntsville	1

· 70 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Alabama.

· Nine drivers from Alabama have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series; five have won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Driver	NSCS	NXS	NCWTS
Bobby Allison	84	2	0
Davey Allison	19	0	0
Neil Bonnett	18	1	0
Donnie Allison	10	0	0
Red Byron	2	0	0
Steve Grissom	0	11	0
Rick Crawford	0	0	5
Darrell Wallace Jr	0	0	5
Cale Gale	0	0	1

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Milestones – TALLADEGA

DRIVER	HAS	NEEDS	MILESTONE
David Ragan	299	1	300th NSCS Start – Ragan is 88th on the all-time NSCS starts list, one start behind Paul Menard in 87th (300).
Carl Edwards	374	1	375th Consecutive NSCS Start – Edwards is tied with Bobby Allison (374) for 25th on the all-time NSCS consecutive starts list, one start away from being the sole driver in the 25th position (375).
Matt Kenseth	32	1	33rd NSCS Win – Kenseth is tied with Dale Jarrett for 22nd on the all-time NSCS wins list, one win behind Fireball Roberts in 21st (33 wins).
Jimmie Johnson	198	2	200th NSCS Top-Five Finish – Johnson is 14th on the all-time NSCS top fives list. With two more top fives, he’ll be one of 12 drivers with 200 top fives (NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee Benny Parsons is 13th, with 199).
Jeff Gordon	24,778	222	25,000 NSCS Laps Led – Gordon can become the sixth driver in NSCS history to lead 25,000 laps.
Kevin Harvick	952	48	1,000 Laps Led In First 10 Races – Harvick can become the ninth driver in series history to lead 1,000 laps or more in the first 10 races of a season.
#43 car	199	1	200 NSCS Wins – The No. 43 car is second on the all-time NSCS wins list, five wins behind the No. 11 car in first (204).

Posted on April 26, 2015 by

Stewart-Haas Racing takes home top two spots as Harvick is the runner-up

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RICHMOND, Va. — Kurt Busch put on a dominating performance to win the Toyota Owners 400 on Sunday afternoon at Richmond International Raceway.

Busch, who was suspended by NASCAR for the first three races of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, led 291 laps and all but 15 of the final 306 circuits in the victory.

"It’s an incredible feeling," said Busch, who was reinstated March 11 and granted a waiver into the Chase.

"It’s a total team effort. And the way that everything came together, it just seemed like we were building, building and building towards a great finish like this.

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"I have this opportunity because of Gene Haas and everybody that’s a part of our family at Stewart-Haas. It’s an unbelievable feeling when you pull deep from within, you go through troubles and you know when you’re accused of something and things go sideways. Your personal life doesn’t need to affect your business life and I’m here in Victory Lane. It feels great to do it at Richmond."

The win was Busch’s first in nine races with crew chief Tony Gibson, his second win at Richmond and the 26th win of his Sprint Cup career.

Busch’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick took second place for the third time in five races. Jimmie Johnson notched a third-place finish while Jamie McMurray took fourth.

Pole sitter Joey Logano, who finished fifth, led the first 50 laps of the race, until the scheduled competition caution waved allowing teams the opportunity to pit for fuel, tires and adjustments. The top 10 left pit road as they entered, but McMurray had to come down pit road a second time after being informed his team left lug nuts loose.

Logano led the field back to green and maintained the race lead through Lap 94, when Busch challenged and inherited the lead on Lap 95. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver pulled to an eight-tenths of a second lead by Lap 100 and extended it until a Lap 127 caution when Joey Gase wrecked on the backstretch.

Busch won the race off pit road and controlled the field through the halfway point with a 0.826 second advantage over Brad Keselowski in second. Through the long run, McMurray climbed through the field and momentarily challenged Busch for the top spot on Lap 259, but Busch reasserted himself a lap later.

McMurray regained control of the lead a lap later and led until green flag pit stops began on Lap 263 with McMurray pitting on Lap 265. Meanwhile, Keselowski stayed out and shuffled into the lead. Nearing the end of green flag stops, Brett Moffitt made contact with the wall in Turn 4 bringing out the fifth caution of the day, leaving only three cars on the lead lap.

Keselowski, Justin Allgaier and Busch all pitted under the yellow, with McMurray benefiting from the free pass, putting himself back on the lead lap. Fifteen cars behind them elected to take the wave around, putting 19 cars on the lead lap for the restart.

Busch checked out on the restart, ahead of Allgaier and Keselowski. Meanwhile, McMurray had to make another climb back through the field and made his way to the bumper of Allgaier on Lap 315 for second. Once past the HScott Motorsports driver, McMurray trailed Busch by more than four seconds.

With 50 laps to go, McMurray trimmed the lead down to less than three seconds, but the yellow flag waved a lap later, saving a number of the front-running teams from making their final planned stop under green.

The race resumed with 42 laps remaining and unchanged at the front. Two quick cautions set up for a 26-lap shootout between Busch, McMurray, Johnson, Harvick and Logano.

Escaping the field quickly, Busch checked out, with the battle on for the runner-up spot. Harvick — aptly nicknamed the "The Closer" — made the pass on McMurray on Lap 382 and set sights on his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate for the win.

Harvick chipped away at his deficit, but the reigning champion was no match for Busch, putting a period on a stellar performance by claiming his 26th-career Sprint Cup Series victory and second at Richmond. The 36-year-old led a race-high 291 of the event’s 400 laps.

"Tony Gibson is an amazing crew chief and I’m glad I’ve got the chance to work with him," Busch said. "We got it done today."

Behind Busch and Harvick, Johnson was third followed by McMurray, Logano, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. to round out the top 10.

Chase Elliott, who was making just his second career Sprint Cup start, finished in 16th place.

The Toyota Owners 400 was originally scheduled to be run under the lights on Saturday night but wet weather in Richmond moved the series’ ninth race of the season back to Sunday afternoon.

The Sprint Cup Series will be back in action next weekend with the GEICO 500 (Sunday, May 3, 1 p.m. ET on FOX) at Talladega Superspeedway.

Staff reports from NASCAR.com were included in this story.

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Posted on April 26, 2015 by Holly Cain

‘Six-time’ charged through the field after qualifying 36th on Friday

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RICHMOND, Va — Time to welcome a new "closer:" Jimmie Johnson.

Only thing, the six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champ would prefer not to have to be.

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A disappointing qualifying effort of 36th forced Johnson to drive his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy through nearly the entire field in Sunday’s rain-delayed Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway, making his third-place finish all the more dramatic — perhaps too dramatic.

"We’ve got two wins and we’re making the most out of these poor starts and poor pit road picks,” Johnson said. "We’ve got to get better on Fridays. I really think our race car, we worked hard to make it last in the long run and with all the long runs that we had, I was able to get through the field and get this Lowe’s Pro Service Chevy up front.

"Those last few restarts I was able to hang on and duke it out with those guys and get a nice top-three finish.”

Johnson has had four starts of 20th place or worse in nine races this season, but interestingly, they have produced some of his best finishes. He started 37th in Atlanta and ended up in Victory Lane. He started 20th in Phoenix two weeks later and rallied to finish 11th.

Johnson qualified 28th at Bristol, Tennessee, just last week and finished a head-shaking runner-up.

Clearly the cars have speed and Johnson’s not a six-time champ for nothing, but the team is clearly focused on improving their starting positions.

"We were fast on Friday; we just didn’t qualify well,” Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus said after Sunday’s race. "I don’t know. There’s rumors of some inconsistent sets of tires. We don’t know if maybe we got a goofy set of tires or something just wasn’t matched up quite right, so I don’t know.

"Bristol, I didn’t expect to qualify very well anyway, so we kind of throw that one out. But I really thought we’d qualify in the top 10 here. Unfortunately we didn’t, but we rolled on through there."

Sunday’s determined effort was Johnson’s third consecutive top-three including a win at Texas and the runner-up at Bristol, and he sits fourth in the driver standings — a two-time winner and 25 points behind second place Joey Logano.

“We had a great race car and I really felt like that was the case on Friday, except for our qualifying lap,” Johnson said. "I don’t know what happened on Friday and in general, I’m not the best qualifier. So Fridays, we’ve got to get those better in order to really win as often as we’d like to."

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