Posted on by

Company to remain entitlement sponsor through 2021 for 12-consecutive years

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 20, 2015) — NASCAR® announced today it has reached a five-year agreement with K&N Filters to continue as the entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series™ through 2021. The renewed deal ensures that K&N Filters will own exclusive rights as the title sponsor for a total of 12-consecutive years. Additionally, K&N Filters acquires the designation as the "Official Automotive Filters of NASCAR."

The extended agreement is the latest in a number of landmark partnerships and renewals recently signed with the sanctioning body. In recent history, NASCAR has announced momentous 10-year deals with series entitlement sponsor XFINITY; broadcast partners FOX and NBC; and international broadcast rights partner IMG. NASCAR also announced a seven-year extension with series entitlement sponsor Camping World in 2014.

"The NASCAR K&N Pro Series features the most competitive regional racing in the country and thanks to this newly signed agreement the series has never been healthier," said Jim Cassidy, Senior Vice President of Racing Operations for NASCAR. "K&N Filters has the unique ability to showcase its products to a fiercely brand-loyal fan base on a national stage, while partnering with NASCAR to introduce professional motorsports’ stars of tomorrow."

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series is universally recognized in the racing industry as the top rung in NASCAR’s developmental ladder — notable alumni include Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick, both finalists in last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™, as well as rising stars like Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Darrell Wallace Jr. The series introduces NASCAR fans and industry stakeholders to the next generation of stars, and the diverse mix of short tracks, road courses and national series speedways appeals to a broad range of motorsports fans.
 
"K&N Filters has played an integral role in NASCAR for years and we’re thrilled to renew our commitment to the sport and specifically as the title sponsor of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series," said Jesse Spungin, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, K&N Filters. "Our ability to leverage the power of NASCAR’s intellectual property on and off the track while cultivating the sport’s rising stars across the country elevates our brand and drives our business."

K&N Filters is the established leader in reusable filters, high flow oil filters and high performance intake systems. In addition to its series entitlement, K&N Filters’ Contingency Sponsorship extends to the NASCAR Whelen All American Series™ and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour™ as well as the three national series.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will kick off the 2015 season at Kern County Raceway Park with the running of the NAPA Auto Parts 150 on March 28.

MORE:

READ: Latest
 NASCAR news

PLAY: Sign up
 for Fantasy Live

WATCH: Latest
 NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
 RaceView today
Posted on by

Former Cup champion will start first in second race back from suspension

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live
RELATED: See the lineup for Sunday

FONTANA, Calif. — One week removed from his return from a three-race suspension, Kurt Busch rewarded the unwavering support from Stewart-Haas Racing team co-owner Gene Haas by putting his No. 41 Chevrolet on the pole for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX).
 
"It’s amazing to do this in Gene Haas’ back yard," said Busch, who streaked around two-mile Auto Club Speedway in 38.889 seconds (185.142 mph) during the third and final round of Friday’s knockout qualifying for the fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of the season.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

A day after making an appearance at the Haas Automation headquarters in nearby Oxnard, Busch won his record fourth Coors Light Pole Award at Auto Club Speedway and the 17th of his career. In winning his first pole since May 2013 at Darlington, Busch edged Stewart-Haas teammate and reigning Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick (185.047 mph) by .020 seconds.
 
Behind the Stewart-Haas sweep of the front row, Matt Kenseth qualified third at 184.966 mph, followed by David Ragan (184.886 mph) and Kyle Larson (184.337 mph). At the track closest to Toyota Racing Development’s home in Costa Mesa, four Toyota drivers made the top 12 on the grid — Kenseth, Ragan, Denny Hamlin (sixth) and Clint Bowyer (10th).
 
"This is huge for Gene Haas," said Busch, who was suspended by NASCAR in the wake of allegations of domestic violence against former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll and the finding of a State of Delaware Family Court commissioner that, more likely than not, Busch had committed an act of domestic abuse. "Thank you, Gene, for believing in me. This is my job. Come to the track, drive the car and put it up on the pole and go for wins.
 
"That is what Gene has told me to do from the get-go, and I’m glad I have this chance to go back out there and live up to why he hired me. It feels good. The guys were just spot-on all day with all the adjustments. The car started off so fast and it is all due to the work back at the shop. Thank you Stewart-Haas Racing. Appreciate it. No. 41 car up front feels good."
 
NASCAR lifted Busch’s suspension after he completed a reinstatement program and after the Delaware Department of Justice declined to file charges in the case, citing insufficient evidence.
 
Since his return, Busch has been fast on the race track, qualifying eighth and finishing fifth last week at Phoenix and winning the pole at Fontana on Friday.
 
Harvick, who is trying for a sweep of the three races on NASCAR’s West Coast swing — Las Vegas, Phoenix and Fontana — had a good lap going before abandoning his intended line because of cars rolling slowly on the apron.
 
"I got down into Turn 3, and I was committed to the bottom, and there were three cars on the apron that were cooling off," Harvick explained. "I wanted to run the apron because I ran it in the second round and thought that I knew what I needed to do in the third round.
 
"I got through (Turns) 1 and 2 fairly good, got to the green really good and then I had to abort down here. All-in-all, still a good effort."
 
Notes: Jeff Gordon will start seventh in his final run at Fontana. … Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick both made the top 24 in the first round of knockout qualifying but failed to advance to the final round. They will start 17th and 22nd, respectively. … Travis Kvapil and Reed Sorenson failed to make the 43-car field.

MORE:

READ: Latest
 NASCAR news

PLAY: Sign up
 for Fantasy Live

WATCH: Latest
 NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
 RaceView today
Posted on by

Includes entitlement of the touring NASCAR K&N Pro Series for five years

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live

FONTANA, Calif. — K&N Filters has extended its entitlement sponsorship of the touring NASCAR K&N Pro Series for five years, through 2021, the sanctioning body announced Friday at Auto Club Speedway.

 

And with good reason. According to K&N Engineering CEO Tom McGann, "This is probably the best return on investment we have in sports marketing, bar none."
 
Though the announcement was made on K&N’s "home turf," with the company based in nearby Riverside, the relationship with NASCAR is truly national in scope, encompassing both the K&N Pro Series East and K&N Pro Series West.
 
As part of the extension deal, K&N has acquired the designation as the "Official Automotive Filters of NASCAR."
 
"For K&N, where we truly race on Saturday and sell on Monday, a high-performance company working in Riverside here and working with NASCAR has provided us the opportunity to co-market with some of our largest customers," McGann said.
 
"One of our core values is the future of performance and the future of the sport. Working with this series fits right with our core values. … It’s all in line very, very well with our goals as a company and our vision as a company, along with the vision of NASCAR."
 
The extension of the K&N agreement is another in a series of milestone deals that extend beyond the turn of the next decade. NASCAR has reached a 10-year agreement with XFINITY for entitlement sponsorship of its national series, as well as 10-year broadcast agreements with FOX and NBC and international broadcast rights partner IMG.
 
NASCAR also has announced a seven-year extension of its entitlement agreement with Camping World, sponsor of the national Truck Series.
 
"Any time that you can extend what is already a long-term relationship, it’s a good signal that things are working in that relationship," said Jim Cassidy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations, of the K&N deal. "K&N has been a significant partner at a really significant time in the K&N Series.
 
"Our focus is really honed in on the development of drivers and the building of the brand of those drivers at an earlier point in their careers. The K&N Pro Series offers the opportunity to do that."
 
Notable "graduates" of the K&N Pro Series include reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, 2015 Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano and such rising stars as Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Darrell Wallace Jr.
 
"It is such a great stepping stone as a racer growing up," said Joey Logano, 2015 Daytona 500 winner and 2007 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion. "Being able to drive a big stock car on race tracks that you’re going to be racing the rest of your career on is a great thing for sure. … That’s what our sport always needs — to stay true to how we can grow people."

MORE:

READ: Latest
 NASCAR news

PLAY: Sign up
 for Fantasy Live

WATCH: Latest
 NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
 RaceView today
Posted on by Staff Report

Driver posts video on Facebook of him moving around a bit

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Kyle Busch has taken the next step in his recovery — quite literally.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

On his Facebook account, Busch posted a video of him moving around with the aid of a walker, while also getting some encouragement from his and his wife Samantha’s pet dog.

Early last week, Busch traded in his soft casts for walking boots. The 29-year-old driver is recovering from a compound fracture of the right lower leg and left mid-foot fracture, injuries that were suffered in a wreck in the latter laps of the season-opening NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway. There is no specific timetable for Busch, who is recovering at home, to get back behind the wheel.

Busch and his wife also took a "field trip" last week to Kyle Busch Motorsports, the three-truck team that Busch owns, which competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The couple is also expecting their first child in May.

David Ragan is currently subbing in the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones and Boris Said will fill in for Busch in the No. 54 Toyota for JGR in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

See the video of Busch walking below.

Post by Kyle Busch.

MORE:

READ: Latest
 NASCAR news

PLAY: Sign up
 for Fantasy Live

WATCH: Latest
 NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
 RaceView today
Posted on by Staff Report

See where your favorite driver will pit in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX)

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live

Pit stall assignments are out for Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX) and Coors Light Pole Award winner Kurt Busch has chosen the first stall off pit road.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

Kevin Harvick (starting second) and David Ragan (starting fourth) chose stalls with an open space in front of them for an easy exit.

Matt Kenseth (starting third) chose the first stall coming onto pit road.

The Auto Club 400 begins Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET with TV coverage on FOX.

MORE:

READ: Latest
 NASCAR news

PLAY: Sign up
 for Fantasy Live

WATCH: Latest
 NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
 RaceView today
Posted on by Staff Report

XFINITY Series regular to drive No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live

Chris Buescher will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut this weekend in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX). The NASCAR  XFINITY Series regular for Roush Fenway Racing will pilot the No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports at Auto Club Speedway. The team announced the news on its Twitter account.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

Buescher will replace Brett Moffitt, who shifted over to the No. 55 Toyota for Brian Vickers. Moffitt, a Michael Waltrip Racing development driver, had made starts in the past two races in the No. 34 Ford. Vickers is out for the Auto Club 400 due to a recurrence of blood clots.

"We have no Cup starts so this will be the first," Buescher said in a Ford release. "I’ve run a lot of Cup test sessions and throughout the years I’ve done a lot at Roush Fenway on the Cup side, but this will be the first race. The circumstances that bring it about are not ideal.  We wish Brian Vickers the best and want to try to do the best we can for Front Row Motorsports now at this point."

Getting Buescher in the No. 34 Ford all came together very quickly.

"I was actually getting breakfast over by the hotel and Robbie Reiser called me," Buescher said. "It’s kind of similar to the way my first XFINITY race went down. I was getting ready for an ARCA race and got the call and was rushed to Richmond, so it’s been wild. I’m happy to help out Front Row and help out another Ford team. We’re trying to all work the best we can to make this happen as smoothly as possible. It’s going to be a wild weekend between the two schedules. I’s excited to get the opportunity, so I appreciate that very much, but we’re gonna have to be on our toes this weekend."

Buescher is currently second in the XFINITY Series point standings and has two top-five finishes in four races. The 22-year-old Texas native won at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last summer for his first NASCAR national series win.

"We still have to put our focus on the XFINITY side," Buescher said. "We’re in contention to win a championship and we need to make sure that our effort is on that area, but, at the same time, we’re more than happy to help out on the Cup side and try to help these guys have a good, solid run and stay up there in points."

David Ragan, who has driven the No. 34 Ford for the past three seasons, currently is filling in for Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Ragan delivered Front Row Motorsports its first win in 2013 at Talladega Superspeedway.

In addition to the No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports fields two other Sprint Cup entries, the No. 35 driven by Cole Whitt and the No. 38 driven by David Gilliland.

MORE:

READ: Latest
 NASCAR news

PLAY: Sign up
 for Fantasy Live

WATCH: Latest
 NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
 RaceView today
Posted on by Staff Report

Voting underway for Ryan Blaney’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing paint scheme

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live

The iconic No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing car will undergo a makeover at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal Presents Your Hero’s Name Here 400 at The Brickyard on July 26 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network). And you can help pick the paint scheme while fighting Type 1 diabetes (T1D) in children.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

More than 35 children, ages 5 to 18, living with T1D are raising funds while showcasing their car designs at www.FordRaceCar.jdrf.org. Voting is open and underway through April 24, when the top 10 highest-earning entries advance. Representatives from the JDRF, Motorcraft and Quick Lane Racing and Wood Brothers Racing will determine the scheme that will run on Ryan Blaney‘s car.

Every child who enters raises money for JDRF by asking their friends and family to "vote" through donations. The winner and his or her family will be guests of Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing at Indianapolis and see their scheme on the track.

"Vote now for a chance to see our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion NASCAR stock car at the Brickyard featuring the unique creativity of a child living with T1D," said Mary Lou Quesnell, director of marketing for Ford Customer Service Division. "The children who entered this year’s contest produced some great vehicle designs. We can’t wait to bring the winning child’s design to life."

MORE:

READ: Latest
 NASCAR news

PLAY: Sign up
 for Fantasy Live

WATCH: Latest
 NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
 RaceView today
Posted on by Staff Report

Hamlin, Keselowski round out top three on Auto Club leaderboard in first session

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live | Results: Practice 1

Kevin Harvick forged to the top of the speed charts Friday afternoon in opening NASCAR XFINITY Series practice at Auto Club Speedway.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

Harvick piloted the JR Motorsports No. 88 to a best lap of 174.961 mph on the 2-mile track. The winner of the last two Sprint Cup Series events is scheduled to make his third XFINITY start of the season in Saturday’s Drive4Clots.com 300 (4 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1).

Denny Hamlin, driving the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota in place of the injured Kyle Busch, landed the second-fastest lap at 174.681 mph. Brad Keselowski was third-fastest at 174.338 mph in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford as Sprint Cup Series regulars claimed the top three spots in the 57-minute opening session, which was extended two minutes by a pair of caution periods for debris.

Regan Smith drove the JR Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet to the fourth-best lap at 173.842 mph, and Erik Jones completed the top five in another Gibbs Toyota at 173.829 mph.

Defending series champion Chase Elliott scraped the outside wall midway through first practice, scuffing the side of his No. 9 Chevy. His JRM crew worked on making minor repairs and it did not appear that it would deploy a backup car. He managed the seventh-fastest lap in limited practice time, completing just five laps in the early session.

Series points leader Ty Dillon was 17th-fastest among the 36 drivers to participate in opening practice as his Richard Childress Racing crew worked on the right-rear springs on the No. 3 Chevrolet.

Final XFINITY Series practice is scheduled Friday at 6 p.m. ET.

Results: Practice 2

Austin Dillon was able to unseat his former Richard Childress Racing teammate Kevin Harvick as the fastest among the XFINITY Series entries in final practice at Auto Club Speedway on Friday.

Harvick led the opener, but Dillon’s 174.914 mph in the second session topped the field, with the No. 88 of the reigning Sprint Cup Series champion coming into the garage fourth at a 173.632 mph clip. The pair sandwiched Brad Keselowski (174.740 mph) and Regan Smith (173.758 mph) with fellow Childress entry Brendan Gaughan rounding out the top five at 173.490 mph.

Reigning champion Chase Elliott was seventh on the board at 173.360 mph, while Denny Hamlin, filling in the for the injured Kyle Busch in the No. 54 Toyota, was eighth at 173.235 mph.

Mike Bliss dropped oil on the track ahead of Ryan Reed and Kyle Larson, spinning both the No. 16 of Reed and No. 42 of Larson out. Larson’s team indicated that they would be switching to a backup Chevrolet Camaro. Larson completed just four laps and finished 22nd at 169.723 mph, while Reed made just one circuit for a 168.508 mph clip and 25th position.

The incident caused a red flag for track cleanup that lasted roughly 20 minutes.

Tune in Saturday at 12:45 p.m. ET for Coors Light Pole Qualifying on FOX Sports 1 and the Drive4Clots.com 300 at 4 p.m. ET, also on FOX Sports 1.

MORE:

READ: Latest
 NASCAR news

PLAY: Sign up
 for Fantasy Live

WATCH: Latest
 NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
 RaceView today
Posted on by Staff Report

Solo crashes slow Biffle, Edwards in first Sprint Cup session

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live | Results: Auto Club practice 1

Kurt Busch rocketed to the top spot in opening NASCAR Sprint Cup practice Friday at Auto Club Speedway.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

Busch, driving the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet, clocked a fast lap of 186.741 mph on the 2-mile California track. Sunday will mark his second Sprint Cup start of the year after making his return from a NASCAR-mandated suspension last weekend.

Busch said his team used a combination of race trim and a qualifying setup to set the fast time on the dusty D-shaped layout.

"It’s always fast on Fridays when there’s not a lot of rubber built up, so it changes radically on Fridays," Busch said. "And then Saturday, right in that last half hour of Happy Hour (final practice) for us, that’s when you’ve really got to dial it in for race conditions on Sunday."

Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson completed the top five in preparation for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX). The session was marred by an early wreck for Greg Biffle and a late-session crash by Carl Edwards.

Brett Moffitt filled in as a last-minute substitute for Brian Vickers, who withdrew from the race Friday morning after doctors discovered a recurrence of his blood-clot condition, which has interrupted his racing career on three previous occasions. Moffitt drove the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55 to the 27th-fastest lap in the 75-minute session.

Chris Buescher, a NASCAR XFINITY Series regular, was tapped to replace Moffitt on an interim basis in the Front Row Motorsports No. 34 Ford. Buescher, preparing for his Sprint Cup debut Sunday, turned the 29th-fastest lap of the 45 drivers to participate in opening practice.

David Ragan registered the eighth-fastest lap as he gears up for his fourth start of the season in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota in place of Kyle Busch, injured in the XFINITY Series opener last month at Daytona International Speedway. Busch won the last two Sprint Cup races at Auto Club Speedway.

Defending Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick — winner of the last two events, the opening two legs of the three-race West Coast Swing — posted the 12th-fastest lap in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet.

Biffle caused the first stoppage of first practice after he scraped the Turn 4 wall with his No. 16 Ford, just 2 1/2 minutes into the session. His Roush Fenway Racing spent the bulk of the practice making repairs to the right side of the car in hopes of saving their reserve racer.

Edwards also lost control out of Turn 4 in the final five minutes of the session, swerving back into the outside retaining wall and crumpling the right-front corner of his No. 19 Toyota. His Joe Gibbs Racing team unloaded its backup car ahead of Friday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying at 7:50 p.m. ET.

NASCAR officials announced that they took possession of the truck arm off the Circle Scott Racing No. 33 Chevrolet driven this weekend by Brian Scott after finding a technical infraction during opening inspection. Officials said they would take the part back to the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further examination and would announce any findings early next week.

The cars of Alex Bowman, Matt DiBenedetto and Travis Kvapil were held 15 minutes on pit road because of violations during the previous race weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.

MORE:

READ: Latest
 NASCAR news

PLAY: Sign up
 for Fantasy Live

WATCH: Latest
 NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
 RaceView today
Posted on by Nascar

Driver missed 2014 race with vision issues, injured in last-lap wreck in ’13

Play: NASCAR Fantasy Live

If Denny Hamlin were feeling a bit apprehensive about this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway, it would certainly be understandable.
 
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has had memorable experiences in his last two trips to the 2-mile track, but not necessarily positive ones.
 
In 2013, Hamlin won the pole for the Auto Club 400 and was battling with Joey Logano for the win on the final lap of the race when contact between the two sent Hamlin into the inside wall.
 
The impact left Hamlin with a fractured L1 vertebra, an injury that kept him on the sidelines for the next four races. He returned to competition at Talladega, where he completed 23 laps before turning the car over to relief driver Brian Vickers.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

Last year, Hamlin qualified 13th at Auto Club, only to be replaced before the start of the race due to vision problems. It was later discovered that a piece of metal had become lodged in Hamlin’s eye.
 
Hamlin said he thought his team had a car capable of winning last year at ACS. In his absence, Sam Hornish Jr. drove the No. 11 Toyota, eventually finishing 17th.
 
"I’m just as motivated (this year)," Hamlin said last weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. "The last race laps I ran around there was when I got crashed on the last lap racing for a win.
 
"Ultimately, my motivation is to go there and perform at a really high level. It’s been circled for like a year or two now to run well there. I just didn’t get a chance last year and hopefully I will this year."
 
The last two races at Auto Club have been won by teammate Kyle Busch. This year, it will be Busch that is the one on the sidelines as the No. 18 driver is recovering from leg injuries sustained in an XFINITY Series race at Daytona last month.
 
Crew chief Dave Rogers, previously with Busch, currently heads up Hamlin’s team.
 
Hamlin has a pair of top-five finishes this season — he was fourth at Daytona and fifth at Las Vegas — and two results outside the top 20.
 
He’s 13th in the points standings and, like a lot of other drivers, still trying to sort out this year’s rules package.
 
"I wouldn’t think this rules package would suit me and my style particularly," he said. "I’d rather have 1,000 horsepower than 700. The less downforce I would say probably does suit me a little bit better, but I think we’ve just kind of optimized where we’re at. We’ve been a top-five car every week and it’s a shame that we made a mistake at Atlanta and spun out, but we were top-five for sure going to finish there, I thought.
 
"We’re top-five, but we’re still just a little behind on speed from where we need to from the 4 (Kevin Harvick) and then the Hendrick cars, but it’s all about for us trying to find that little bit of extra speed."
 
Even as they continue to search, Hamlin sees improvement, saying the team is "way closer" than where it stood competitively a year ago.
 
While he has 24 career wins in Sprint Cup competition, none have come at ACS. He has, however, qualified on the pole for the last two events there and scored a career-best finish of third in 2008.
 
"I’m pretty optimistic about what’s to come in the months ahead and hopefully if we can make it in the Chase then we can make another run at it," he said.

MORE:

READ: Latest
 NASCAR news

PLAY: Sign up
 for Fantasy Live

WATCH: Latest
 NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
 RaceView today