Harvick wins sixth pole of 2014 at Atlanta

Posted on August 29, 2014 by

In his first year with SHR, Harvick has doubled his number of career poles

MORE: Harvick discusses getting the pole for Atlanta
RELATED: Oral-B USA 500 lineup

HAMPTON, Ga.—NASCAR’s new qualifying knockout format—not to mention the quality of his race cars—certainly agrees with Kevin Harvick.

Fastest in the qualifying round that counted, the final five-minute session on Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Harvick put his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet on the pole for Sunday night’s Oral-B USA 500 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race with a lap at 190.398 mph.

The pole was Harvick’s sixth of the season, matching the total he accumulated in the first 13 seasons of his Sprint Cup career. It was Harvick’s first pole at the 1.54-mile intermediate speedway, following top qualifying efforts at Darlington, Kansas, Michigan, Indianapolis and Bristol earlier this year.

Brad Keselowski took the second position on the grid with a lap at 190.058 mph. Rookie Kyle Larson (189.883 mph) qualified third on pavement he termed "a whole new level of worn out," a characteristic drivers tend to favor.

Ryan Newman (189.396 mph) will start fourth, followed by Matt Kenseth 188.996 mph) and Martin Truex Jr. (188.918 mph). Aric Almirola set the fastest lap of the evening in the first round at 191.278 mph) but slipped to seventh in the last session.

Tony Stewart, returning to action after a three-race hiatus in the wake of his involvement in a fatal Sprint Car accident Aug. 9 at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway, qualified 12th but helped Harvick with advice on his racing line before the final two runs.

"He told me to go back to the way I was practicing and used to getting around the race track," said Harvick, who had tried to run Stewart’s preferred line in the first round and failed to find the rhythm. "It was definitely the right decision."

For Harvick this year, qualifying has clearly been a point of emphasis, and his results reflect it.

"The qualifying stuff has obviously been a major focus of what we’ve done," Harvick said. "I think it’s kept us in a lot of races where we were off a little bit and gave us an advantage on pit road. …

"(Crew chief) Rodney (Childers) and the guys focus a lot on qualifying, and I think that when you’re able to push the cars and feel comfortable with it like you can right now, it obviously gives me a lot of confidence. It’s been a lot of fun. Obviously, it’s not something I’ve done in my career (before this year)."

Keselowski’s qualifying effort was his best ever at the track.

"That’s a testament to the team and the work they’ve done and trying to be better," said the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford. “We’re having a phenomenal season, but I just wish it had been one more spot instead of second place."

Notes: Kenseth led the 10-minute second round with a lap at 190.883 mph. Speeds slowed with each session because of tire wear on the abrasive asphalt. … Michael McDowell failed to make the 43-car field. … The Oral-B USA 500 is the 25th race of the regular season. The field for the 2014 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will be set next weekend at Richmond.

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Posted on August 29, 2014 by Staff Report

Ontario County (New York) Sheriff releases statement as driver returns to track

Friday’s statement from Ontario County (New York) Sheriff Philip Povero:

The investigation into the death of Kevin A. Ward Jr., which occurred August 9, 2014, at the Canandaigua, New York Motorsports Park will continue for at least another two weeks. The Ontario County Office of Sheriff has reviewed this investigation, as it has been developed to date, with members of the District Attorney’s Office. The Office of Sheriff will continue to apprise the District Attorney of information as it is developed. When the investigation is completed, the news media will be advised as to what action will be taken. The Ontario County Office of Sheriff thanks all media outlets for their patience and understanding as we continue to thoroughly investigate this tragic crash.

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Posted on August 29, 2014 by Staff Report

NASCAR President clears up postseason status

NASCAR President Mike Helton said Tony Stewart would be eligible for the 2014 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup if he wins one of the final two regular-season races.

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Helton said that "this has been a very unique set of circumstances to Tony and to out sport. As the league, it’s our responsibility to try and make decisions that are correct and right. Sometimes we evaluate circumstances that are given to us and then we make those decisions as correctly as we can. After evaluating the circumstances around this occurrence, we’ve come to the conclusion that Tony would be eligible to participate in the Chase if he were to earn a spot in it."

At Atlanta Motor Speedway, Stewart is set to participate in his first Sprint Cup Series after sitting out the past three races.

Stewart is 26th in points. To be eligible for this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, a driver must attempt to qualify for all 26 races leading up to the Chase and be in the top 30 in points. However, according to NASCAR, for rare instances the requirement can be waived as long as the driver is in the top 30.

Stewart missed three races following his involvement in a sprint car racing incident earlier this month that resulted in driver Kevin Ward Jr. suffering fatal injuries at Canandaigua Motorsports Park, a half-mile dirt track on the Ontario County Fairgrounds. The investigation regarding the incident is ongoing. Stewart’s racing plans outside NASCAR have been canceled and will not resume until further notice.  

Denny Hamlin experienced his own form of exemption into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs after he missed the fifth race of the season, at Auto Club Speedway in March, with an eye injury. Five races later, Hamlin scored a regular-season victory at Talladega Superspeedway to clinch a Chase berth.

While he didn’t know all the particulars of Stewart’s situation and his three-race absence, Hamlin said he had no problem with the three-time Sprint Cup champion being eligible should he win one of the remaining two regular-season events.

"I don’t know. It’s a very vague thing," Hamlin said. "I know that originally, you had to have some kind of medical note or something like that, and that’s kind of what happened to me with my eye when I met with Mr. Helton and the doctors at California. They said that this is kind of why they’ve built this program in place to just get better and come back when you can and just win a race. We did that and got ourselves in, but it’s tough to say what’s considered medical and not, but either way, I’m fine with Tony either in or out, it’s good with me."

Six-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said he was pleased that NASCAR could be flexible to allow exemptions and that he hoped that course of action would be used going forward.

"Obviously, they’re setting a precedent here and we’ll see what other extreme circumstances develop in future years and how NASCAR looks at that," Johnson said. "I’m happy that they’re sympathetic to situations and look at it and are giving a team and driver that opportunity. But again, they’ve set a precedent here that we’re just going to have to be aware of, and hopefully they can continue to evaluate these and handle them in a similar manner."

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Posted on August 29, 2014 by Staff Report

Read below for all of Stewart’s comments at Atlanta

MORE: Complete coverage of Tony Stewart incident

"This has been one of the toughest tragedies I’ve ever had to deal with both professionally and personally. This is something that will definitely affect my life forever. This is a sadness and a pain that I hope no one ever has to experience in their life.

With that being said, I know that the pain and the mourning that Kevin Ward’s family and friends are experiencing is something that I can’t possibly imagine.

I want Kevin’s father, Kevin Sr., and his mother Pam, and his sisters Christi, Kayla, Katelyn, to know that every day I’m thinking about them and praying for them.

The racing community is a large family, as you guys know. Everyone’s saddened with this tragedy.

I want to thank all my friends and family for their support through this tough emotional time, and the support from the NASCAR community, my partners, all of our employees. It’s been overwhelming.

I’ve taken the last couple weeks off out of respect for Kevin and his family, and also to cope with the accident in my own way. It’s given me the time to think about life and how easy it is to take it for granted.

I miss my team, my teammates. I miss being back in the race car. I think being back in the car this week with my racing family will help me get through this difficult time.

I also understand that all of you have many questions and want a lot of answers; however I need to respect the ongoing investigation process and cannot answer and address the questions at this time. Emotionally I’m not sure if I could answer them anyway.

We’re here to race this weekend, and I appreciate your respect. There will be a day when I can sit here and answer the questions. Thank you."

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Posted on August 29, 2014 by Staff Report

Reaction from the track in light of driver’s return

The NASCAR community welcomed Tony Stewart back to the Sprint Cup Series garage Friday in preparation for his first on-track competition in three weeks.

Stewart, a three-time champion of NASCAR’s top series, sat out the past three races as he mourned the death of 20-year-old driver Kevin Ward Jr., who was struck by Stewart’s sprint car during an Aug. 9 sprint-car event in Canandaigua, New York.

A sampling of reactions from drivers and others in the NASCAR community:

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"We all feel for him going through what he’s going through to work through this tragic accident, but you know what, he’ll get there and we’ll be here to help."

— Danica Patrick, teammate at Stewart-Haas Racing

"We all can’t imagine what he has to go through and still goes through, but I’m sure for him, it’s going to be good therapy to get back in the race car. I mean, when you’re sitting in that seat and you’re going around a race track, that’s all you’re thinking about. You have to have all your focus on that. We all support him and obviously love having him back."

— Denny Hamlin, former teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing

"I think it’s very important that … our core media obviously understands who Tony Stewart is and understand the emotions and different things that come with our sport … and as I’ve watched and been very frustrated through a lot of this situation, you get outside of our core media and the perception is tough to see and listen to. For me, it’s very important for those people to understand that our sport is just like other sports. There’s a lot of emotion involved in what we do and you see those highlight reels of people throwing stuff and, in this particular case, Tony throwing stuff or getting mad and saying things and getting into the heat of the moment. You can make that highlight reel for all of us, or most of us, with that emotion attached to it. It’s tough to see and hear the things that are being tossed that way and toward him and you just want to make sure that when it’s reported on, it’s reported upon fairly and correctly."

— Kevin Harvick, teammate at Stewart-Haas Racing

"The only healing I’ve ever known is getting back in that race car — for all us racers."

— Clint Bowyer, on ESPN

"It’s good to have Tony back in the car. It was a very tragic situation and I think it affected a lot of people. It was a tough situation and I’m certainly glad he’s back at the race track, I’m sure it shifts his focus and makes it feel like he has something important."

— Greg Biffle

"On the track if Tony Stewart’s out there, you’re going to have to deal with him to win that race or get that position, and he’s just an awesome race car driver. You know, I probably haven’t spent as much time with him as a lot of other drivers have away from the track, getting to know that sarcastic side to him or that joking side to him, but the time I have spent with him, the guy’s just a good, fun-loving guy to hang out with. I think we’re all happy to have him back; just hate the fact what the circumstances were as to why he wasn’t here."

— Jeff Gordon

"We knew he’d be back. I felt like in my heart he’d be back. The timetable for that was solely on him. We know obviously the legal proceedings have been taking place, and it looks like everything there is allowing him to come and be at the track, be cleared by NASCAR’s review process and he feels emotionally ready. And then to see what he was just doing on the race track in practice, his speeds show he’s emotionally ready to be back in the car. I can’t imagine what he’s been through, and I thought that his statements today were well thought out and certainly directed in the right direction toward the Ward family. As Tony’s friend, I certainly feel sorry for him, and I think he’s been through a real difficult time. My real priority is the Ward family. My real concern is there and the tragic loss that took place a few weeks ago."

— Jimmie Johnson

"I’ve been out several times now and unfortunately Tony has as well. I think the biggest (emotion) is excitement. You’re just really excited to get back in that race car. Appreciation is another emotion you really feel. Just the face that you’re able to get back in the car and you have the chance to get back in again. At the end of the day at this level, there’s a lot of parts of this job that it does become a job; it’s work. But at the end of the day we do this because we love it. And we love being in that race car and we love being fast and I’m just, honestly, so happy to see Tony back in the car. I just have so much respect for that guy and we’ve missed him since he’s been away and I can’t wait to get out there and race with him. I think it was certainly a rare and tragic situation and I’m glad that NASCAR saw and understood the circumstances."

— Brian Vickers

"I get a lot of messages on social media, which is probably the largest pulse I have for what’s going on. I certainly get a lot of many more positive messages about it from my fans than anything else. I haven’t really chimed in that much. I don’t think there’s — frustratingly — enough facts out there yet to have an informed opinion. Which, I sympathize for everyone out there. I think there should be a lot more facts available, but that’s no one in (the media center’s) fault. But still, I’m glad to see the fans are happy and it’s the most important thing. Tony and other stuff, he’s a strong guy. He’ll figure it out."

— Brad Keselowski

"I imagine he’s been overwhelmed with the media he’s done. I’m sure that he wants to come here and just practice and go on about his business, but when we get an opportunity to talk, we’ll have a conversation. I haven’t had a chance to see him at all. I figure that he’d been pretty busy today."

— Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"Having him in the garage … I haven’t gotten to see him yet, so it’s still kind of new. I’m sure I’ll say something to him before too long and say hey. It’s a crazy situation and just glad to see him back."

— Austin Dillon

Kurt Busch, another teammate of Tony Stewart’s, took to Twitter to express his thoughts on Stewart returning this weekend

Glad to have my friend, team mate, & boss back in the car this weekend ��

— Kurt Busch (@KurtBusch) August 29, 2014

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Posted on August 29, 2014 by Staff Report

See where the Twitter conversation is coming from

Tony Stewart returned to the track Friday and read from a prepared statement at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Twitter was quick to react to the driver’s return. Check out the heat map below to see where most of the talk is coming from.

Leave this page open and see if trends emerge, or refresh to clear the map.

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Posted on August 29, 2014 by Staff Report

Primary sponsor for 2015 getting a jump on relationship

Nationwide Insurance will serve as a primary sponsor for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2015. The company is getting a head start on its new role with Hendrick Motorsports next week in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway, where it will adorn Junior’s No. 88 Chevrolet.

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The race weekend will allow Nationwide to preview the future paint scheme, and Hendrick Motorsports said fans can get a sneak peek at the new design over social media channels on Sept. 3. At 1 p.m. that day, the new @Nationwide88 Twitter account — which will provide updates on Junior and his No. 88 team — will tweet a preview.

"Dale is having a season to remember, and Nationwide is excited to launch our new long-term relationship as a primary sponsor this season as he pursues the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship," said Matt Jauchius, chief marketing officer at Nationwide, in a team release. "We think fans will like the new look of the No. 88 car when they see it hit the track next week in Richmond."

Earnhardt, who has three career Sprint Cup wins at the 0.75-mile oval, worked with Nationwide on the design of his car. Richmond will be the only 2014 event with this paint scheme.

"I’ve worked with Nationwide for years, but never as a primary sponsor," Earnhardt said. "Having them on board with Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 88 team is a big opportunity, and I really appreciate them inviting me to help design the car. I’m excited for the fans to see it and look forward to kicking off the relationship at one of my favorite race tracks."

Earnhardt heads into this weekend’s Atlanta race (Sunday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) with three wins this season, and he’s second in both the driver standings and in the Chase Grid. Earnhardt’s 11 top-fives this year lead the series.

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Posted on August 29, 2014 by Staff Report

See where your favorite driver will pit in the Oral-B USA 500 (Sunday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

The pit stall assignments are out for Sunday’s Oral-B USA 500 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Atlanta Motor Speedway and pole sitter Kevin Harvick got his choice of the pit stalls.

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Harvick, who won his sixth Coors Light Pole Award of 2014, chose the pit stall closest to the pit road exit. He will have no one in front of him as well.

Harvick is not the only driver to have an opening in front of him. Brad Keselowski (starting second), Ryan Newman (starting fourth) and Martin Truex Jr. (starting sixth) also have openings in front of them on pit road.

Matt Kenseth (starting fifth) chose the pit stall closest to the pit road entrance.

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Posted on August 29, 2014 by Staff Report

Edwards tops Sprint Cup session, C. Buescher and Kenseth pace NNS practices

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice 1 | Results

Carl Edwards topped the opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice on Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Edwards posted a speed of 192.855 mph on his first lap at the Georgia track. The Roush Fenway Racing driver has earned three wins at the track, the most recent coming in 2008.

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Ryan Newman had the second-fastest speed at 191.628 mph.

Marcos Ambrose (191.417 mph), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (191.199 mph) and rookie Kyle Larson (191.113 mph) rounded out the top five on the leaderboard.

Defending race champion Kyle Busch circled the track at a top speed of 186.297 mph putting him at 31st on the speed chart.

Tony Stewart, who returned to his No. 14 Chevrolet for the first time since the tragic sprint car accident that claimed the life of Kevin Ward Jr., posted a speed of 189.642 mph for 10th place. Stewart hasn’t run at Atlanta since 2012 due to missing last year’s race with a broken leg.

There will be two more practice sessions for the Sprint Cup Series on Saturday. A 50-minute session will start at 3 p.m. ET and final practice will also run 50 minutes and begin at 6 p.m. ET. Both sessions will be televised on FOX Sports 2.

NASCAR Nationwide Series practice 1 | Results

Chris Buescher set the pace in opening practice for the NASCAR Nationwide Series on Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Roush Fenway Racing driver posted a top speed of 177.880 mph on his first lap of the first session.

Buescher finished 13th last year in his only start at Atlanta. Buescher earned his first Nationwide Series win earlier this season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Coming in second-fastest was Sprint Cup Series veteran Matt Kenseth at 177.357 mph.

Rookie Ty Dillon, (176.313 mph), Sprint Cup regular Kyle Busch (175.927 mph) and Joey Logano (175.743 mph) completed the top five on the leaderboard.

Defending race champion and Sprint Cup Series veteran Kevin Harvick came in as eighth-fastest, as he rounded the track at 175.354 mph.

The practice had one caution flag in the closing minutes for debris in Turn 4.

NASCAR Nationwide Series practice 2 | Results

Matt Kenseth closed out Friday’s Nationwide Series practices for Saturday’s Great Clips 300 benefitting Feed the Children with the fastest lap of 177.738 mph.

The Sprint Cup Series veteran was second-fastest in the opening practice earlier in the day.

Ty Dillon came in as second-fastest at 176.201 mph.

Dillon will make his Sprint Cup Series debut on Sunday at Atlanta for the Oral-B USA 500.

Completing the top five on the leaderboard was Joey Logano (176.173 mph), Nationwide Series points leader and rookie Chase Elliott (175.755 mph) and Chris Buescher, who led opening practice (175.171 mph).

There was just one caution that came at the start of practice for debris in Turn 4.

The Nationwide Series returns to the track on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET for the Coors Light Pole Qualifying with TV coverage on FOX Sports 2.

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Posted on August 29, 2014 by Zack Albert

‘This is something that will definitely affect my life forever’

HAMPTON, Ga. — An ashen, emotional Tony Stewart made his first public appearance Friday afternoon since the fatal sprint-car incident involving one of NASCAR’s most popular drivers, recounting the tribulations of the last few weeks and offering his thanks for the overwhelming support.

His foremost mention, however, was not the return to his familiar No. 14 Chevrolet after a three-week absence, but the family members of Kevin Ward Jr., who he mentioned by name.

"This has been one of the toughest tragedies I’ve ever had to deal with both professionally and personally," Stewart said. "This is something that will definitely affect my life forever. This is a sadness and a pain that I hope no one ever has to experience in their life. With that being said, I know that the pain and the mourning that Kevin Ward’s family and friends are experiencing is something that I can’t possibly imagine.

"I want Kevin’s father, Kevin Sr., and his mother Pam, and his sisters Christi, Kayla, Katelyn, to know that every day I’m thinking about them and praying for them."

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Stewart’s words came from a statement that he had prepared, his voice cracking as he read. He departed the Atlanta Motor Speedway media center after his two-minute, 24-second period of remarks, leaving questions to Brett Frood, Stewart-Haas Racing‘s executive vice president.

The appearance came just 90 minutes before Stewart pulled his bright No. 14 Chevrolet out of garage stall No. 5 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, returning to the track for the first time since the Aug. 9 incident at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park. It also came in close succession with Ontario County (N.Y.) authorities announcing that their investigation into the fatal crash would continue "for at least another two weeks."

Stewart’s sprint car struck and killed Ward, a 20-year-old racer who emerged from his car during a caution period to confront the veteran driver on foot at the half-mile dirt track. Stewart has missed the past three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events in the aftermath, with Regan Smith and Jeff Burton sharing Stewart’s seat in the interim.

Frood said the timing of the return was solely Stewart’s decision. NASCAR President Mike Helton, expounding upon a statement released Thursday by the sanctioning body, said that series officials consulted with outside experts to assist with reaching their decision to clear Stewart for a return to competition. Helton, while not detailing the nature of the third-party consultations, said that such a process is routine and necessary whenever its drivers are out of the car for any length of time.

Helton also added that should Stewart win either Sunday’s Oral-B USA 500 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) or next weekend’s regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway, he would be eligible for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs. While this year’s rules for postseason eligibility include a clause mandating routine participation, Helton said Stewart’s "very rare set of circumstances" would fit under a special exception granted by NASCAR.

"I think particularly those of us that follow this sport every weekend know that driver’s healing processes are unique, but they are race car drivers, and a lot of times getting back in a race car is something they shoot to do as quickly as they can," Helton said. "So once Tony decided to come back, we then had to go through the policies and the procedures and the steps that we’ve historically built over time to make the absolute most correct decision we could make under the circumstances we were handed."

While Stewart said he remains emotionally shaken over the tragic events in New York, he added that his frame of mind was heartened by the perspective the time away from the sport gave him and the prospect of taking some measure of comfort from being behind the wheel.

"I’ve taken the last couple weeks off out of respect for Kevin and his family, and also to cope with the accident in my own way," said Stewart, a three-time champion in NASCAR’s premier series. "It’s given me the time to think about life and how easy it is to take it for granted. I miss my team, my teammates. I miss being back in the race car. I think being back in the car this week with my racing family will help me get through this difficult time."

That part of the therapeutic process began with the afternoon’s opening Sprint Cup practice and Friday night’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying. Stewart placed 10th on the speed chart in the opening session, but Greg Zipadelli — Stewart-Haas’ vice president of competition — said before the 90-minute session that the prime objective would be to get his driver re-acclimated to seat time.

"It’ll be a little bit of race runs. It’ll be some qualifying runs to get ready to qualify," Zipadelli said. "(Saturday) will be a lot more concentrated on race runs so it’ll be good just to let him get in a few laps. It’s not a very fast pace. We’ve got a lot of time to think about things and get him comfortable in a race car."

Frood said he had no concerns about Stewart’s readiness, despite the weekend whirlwind of attention.

"I think it’s going to be very overwhelming being in that garage today," Frood said. "He’s going to feel an awful lot of support. As I just mentioned, this is his family. It’s the crew members, it’s the officials, it’s the drivers. It’s his family that he’s been with since 1999. This is going to be part of that process for him. I believe it’s going to be an overwhelming process, this weekend.

"That being said, Tony Stewart is a race car driver. He’s been a race car driver for the past 35 years. When he puts that helmet on in practice, I’m quite convinced he’ll be ready to race the car, he’ll be able to separate the two."

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