Posted on by Staff Report

Rookie takes NNS points lead into first national series start at Atlanta

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Chase Elliott’s young racing career has taken him across the country from the beaches of Daytona to the deserts of Phoenix and even over the border to Canada where he announced his presence to the NASCAR world as the then youngest victor of a national series event.

Ironically, the 18-year-old wunderkind has never competed at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a track located 80 miles south of his hometown of Dawsonville, Georgia.

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In fact, the only time he has even taken a motor vehicle out on the track was when he took Great Clips customers for a spin in a pace car in July.

He will finally get the chance to race in front of his hometown crowd in Saturday’s Great Clips 300 Benefitting Feed the Children (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2).

"It’s always exciting to race around home, and anytime you can do that it’s definitely one of the places you want to shine," Elliott said. "There’s no question this is one of the dates I’ve been most excited for all season long. Who doesn’t want to do well in front of their friends and family? I’m really looking forward to the weekend. This will be big."

Even bigger than the chance to put on a show for his friends and family is the opportunity for Elliott to further strengthen his hold on the top of the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings. At the moment, he leads teammate Regan Smith and fellow Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Ty Dillon by 13 and 30 points, respectively. Even after a streak of four top-10 finishes in five races following his victory at Chicago – including a third-place performance last week at Bristol – he has only been able to increase his advantage over Smith by six points.

"Unfortunately, I don’t think my pace car laps last month count as ‘experience’ at Atlanta, so I don’t really know what to expect," Elliott said. "I have a lot of good information to lean on through my teammates and crew chief at JR Motorsports, and that’s what I plan to do until I’m able to turn some laps myself. It’s a historic track. I’ve been there many times, so I’m really looking forward to finally racing on it."

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Posted on by Staff Report

Nationwide Series regular will drive the No. 32 car for Go FAS Racing

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NASCAR Nationwide Series regular Joey Gase will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at Chicagoland Speedway in the MyAFibStory.com 400 on Sept. 14.

Gase will drive the No. 32 Ford for Go FAS Racing.

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"I am very excited and thankful that Archie (St. Hilarie, team owner) and the entire team are giving me this opportunity," Gase said in a team release. "My Nationwide Series career started with Go FAS in 2011, which led to a great 20th-place finish (at Iowa). Hopefully, I can get another good finish with the team."

The team currently has a couple of associate sponsors for the race, but is looking for a primary sponsor, according to the release.

Gase is currently running a full Nationwide Series schedule for Jimmy Means Racing. He is 20th in the standings with a best finish this season of 11th at Talladega in May. In 66 career Nationwide Series starts, the 21-year-old Iowa native has yet to record a top-10 finish.

This season, Go FAS Racing has used other six drivers in the No. 32 car. Travis Kvapil (15 starts), Terry Labonte (three starts), Blake Koch (two starts), Boris Said (two starts), Eddie MacDonald (one start) and J.J. Yeley (one start) have combined to run the first 24 races of the season. Yeley will drive the car this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The team’s best finish this season was an 11th-place finish by Labonte in July at Daytona International Speedway in the Coke Zero 400.

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Posted on by Staff Report

Three-time Sprint Cup champion has missed past three races

MORE: NASCAR statement on Tony Stewart’s return
RELATED: Full coverage of Tony Stewart incident

Tony Stewart will return this weekend in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Oral-B USA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and make his first Sprint Cup start since Pocono Raceway on Aug. 3.

Stewart will speak to the media at 1 p.m. ET at the infield media center at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He will be joined by Stewart-Haas Racing Executive Vice President Brett Frood. That availability will be streamed live on NASCAR.com.

In a statement, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said: "Tony Stewart has received all necessary clearances required to return to all racing activities, and therefore is eligible to compete this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. NASCAR has remained in constant contact with his race team, and we will stay very close to this situation as Stewart returns to competition."
 
NASCAR President Mike Helton will participate in a media availability in the Atlanta Motor Speedway media center on Friday at 2 p.m. ET. NASCAR will have no further comment until that time. That availability will be streamed live on NASCAR.com.

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Stewart was involved 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.



Stewart has not raced in the past three Sprint Cup events. Jeff Burton filled in at Bristol and at Michigan, guiding the No. 14 team to finishes of 15th and 37th at each track, respectively. At Watkins Glen, NASCAR Nationwide Series regular Regan Smith piloted the No. 14 Chevrolet to a 37th-place finish. Stewart was on the initial entry list for Atlanta that was released Monday.

Stewart-Haas Racing officials said at Michigan on Aug. 15 that there was no timetable for Stewart’s return to NASCAR racing and that the decision would be the driver’s call to make.

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. It is not known if Stewart would receive a waiver.
 
Stewart currently has 537 points while 30th-place David Gilliland has 376.

Stewart is returning to a track where he has fared well in his career. In 26 starts, he has three wins, 10 top-five finishes, 15 top-10 finishes and a pole. In the past nine years, he also has the third-highest driver rating at the track (100.2).



The Oral-B USA 500 is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 31, at 7:30 p.m. ET, with coverage on ESPN.

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Posted on by Staff Report

Four spots in the Chase Grid remain heading into the 25th race of the season

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All 12 race winners in 2014 have clinched a spot in the top 30 in driver points and a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, provided they attempt to qualify for the final two races of the regular season.

Those drivers, in current Chase Grid order, include: Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, AJ Allmendinger, Kurt Busch and Aric Almirola.

If a winless driver is victorious this weekend, and is 49 or more points ahead of 31st place, he or she will also clinch a spot.

If there is a repeat winner, the top 3 winless drivers would clinch if they are at least 45 points ahead of the fourth highest winless driver after the Oral-B USA 500 (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle are in the provisional grid for now and on the bubble. The first four on the outside looking in include: Kyle Larson, Kasey Kahne, Austin Dillon and Paul Menard.

Kahne is a two-time winner at Atlanta (2006, ’09).

Kenseth controls his destiny if he scores 32 points AND there’s a repeat winner. If there’s a new winner, he’s guaranteed a clinch with 37 points.

See the full rundown below.

2014 Chase Grid Outlook

 
Pos.
Drivers
Wins
Points
Chase Bonus Pts
1
 Jeff Gordon
3
845
9
2
 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3
818
9
3
 Brad Keselowski
3
776
9
4
 Joey Logano
3
761
9
5
 Jimmie Johnson
3
726
9
6
 Kevin Harvick
2
721
6
7
 Carl Edwards
2
716
6
8
 Kyle Busch
1
629
3
9
 Denny Hamlin
1
594
3
10
 AJ Allmendinger
1
586
3
11
 Kurt Busch
1
582
3
12
 Aric Almirola
1
559
3
13
 Matt Kenseth
0
751
0
14
 Ryan Newman
0
710
0
15
 Clint Bowyer
0
699
0
16
 Greg Biffle
0
694
0
Outside Looking In
17
 Kyle Larson
0
668
0
18
 Kasey Kahne
0
661
0
19
 Austin Dillon
0
654
0
20
 Paul Menard
0
649
0
21
 Jamie McMurray
0
634
0
22
 Marcos Ambrose
0
626
0
23
 Brian Vickers
0
621
0
24
 Casey Mears
0
561
0
25
 Martin Truex Jr.
0
540
0
26
 Tony Stewart
0
537
0
27
 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
0
514
0
28
 Danica Patrick
0
462
0
29
 Justin Allgaier
0
425
0
30
 David Gilliland
0
376
0
 
Green = Locked into the Chase, provided they attempt to qualify for the remaining four races
 
Orange = No wins, Inside the current Chase Grid’s top 16 – Currently in the Chase, not locked in
 
Red = Inside the current top 30 in points, outside of the Chase cutoff
 

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Posted on by Nascar

‘Rowdy’ has had finishes 36th-or-worse in the past four races

MORE: Busch, crew chief clash | Hear the exchange
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Crew chief Dave Rogers said all the right things in the aftermath of Saturday night’s spat with driver Kyle Busch, brushing off the incident at Bristol Motor Speedway as a result of a miscommunication between driver and crew chief.
 
He didn’t deny that radio conversations got heated, but he also made no apologies for his or his driver’s comments.
 
Indications are that the two spoke afterward and cleared the air. Rogers, for the record, is still listed as Busch’s crew chief as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series prepares to head to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, so it would seem safe to assume that no major personnel changes have taken place.

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With only two races remaining before the start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, a strained relationship between crew chief and driver doesn’t make for a winning combination.
 
The bigger concern for the team is how to stop the slide that has seen Busch, a winner of 29 Sprint Cup Series races, finish 36th or worse in his last four starts.
 
He and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing group will be one of the 16 teams participating in this year’s Chase, thanks to a win earlier this season at Auto Club Speedway, but unless they can move past the bickering and find their way back into contention, their stay will likely be a short one.
 
Busch’s average finishing position since Pocono is a woeful 39.3. You’d have to go all the way back to 2005 (his first full season in the sport’s premier series) and the handful of starts he made in 2004, to find anything close to this bad stretch for Busch.
 
His one win through 24 races is another oddity, although he had just a single win at this point in the 2012 season. That year, his average finish in the four races before the Atlanta stop was a much more manageable 14.8.
 
The eight laps he led at Bristol on Saturday night were the first time his Toyota had led laps since New Hampshire (where he finished second), although he also finished second a week later at Indianapolis.
 
The Indy result capped a four-race run that saw him finish second three times and post an average finish of 8.5, which makes his recent results all the more puzzling.
 
Busch’s talent behind the wheel is impossible to ignore, but so too is his conduct when things aren’t to his liking. Still, such incidents aren’t the reason for his team’s lack of success. It isn’t the reason the 29-year-old finished second in three of four races or the reason he finished 36th or worse in the next four.
 
But in both cases, it probably didn’t help.
 
There’s no way to measure the impact of his reactions on his race team other than to look at the results. And those haven’t been promising.
 
No doubt he could handle adversity differently. But would that guarantee him a better chance at winning? Not necessarily.
 
His team has the tools to be among the very best in the series but right now it’s far from it regardless of whether Busch is mad, glad or somewhere in between.
 
Right now, it’s a team in a funk, and no matter what did or didn’t happen Saturday night, it’s going to take more than simply saying the right things to get it turned around.

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Posted on by Nascar

Young driver has four top-10 finishes in six series starts this season

Joe Nemechek thought his driver did "an awesome job."
 
That it was his son behind the wheel made the finish that much more enjoyable.
 
"First time at Bristol, never raced here before … I mean right off the get-go he was passing cars," a smiling Nemechek said of his 17-year-old son, John Hunter Nemechek.

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Making just his sixth start of the season in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series, and his first on the high-banked half-mile of Bristol Motor Speedway, the younger Nemechek brought his SWM-Nemco Motorsports No. 8 Toyota home with a sixth-place finish in Thursday’s UNOH 200 at Bristol.
 
"It was a lot of fun," John Hunter said afterward. "We’ve been so close to finishing top-five. I think this is our third sixth-place finish, so if we keep finishing up here we’ll keep gaining on it and hopefully get a top five or a win soon."
 
Nemechek qualified 13th at Bristol, and cracked the top 10 by lap 40 of the 200-lap event. He stayed inside the top 10 for the remainder of the race, which was run a day later than scheduled due to rain.
 
"I thought it was going to be a lot more difficult than it was but we had a good truck," he said. "We had it to where it would rotate underneath me and I could get a good drive off underneath them.
 
"I felt like I adapted pretty quick. It reminds me a lot of Dover. I thought I was going to be stuck in the back, but throughout the race I moved to a bunch of different lines to see what it would do. I definitely learned where to run, just need more experience."
 
Nemechek is eligible to compete only in races on tracks 1.25 miles in length, as well as the series’ road courses due to his age. Joe Nemechek, team owner and four-time winner in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, handles the driving duties for the team on the series’ larger tracks. Together, the Nemechek family has the No. 8 truck sitting in sixth place in the owner standings with Joe earning his second-best finish in the series in June at Texas with a third-place effort.
 
John Hunter has finished 10th or better in four of his six starts this season, including sixth-place runs at Dover, Eldora and Bristol. He’ll be back behind the wheel this weekend when the Truck Series travels to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for Sunday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 (Fox Sports 1, 1:30 p.m. ET).
 
"We have the potential; we’re getting closer and closer each time," Joe Nemechek said. "John Hunter’s got such a good feel for what it needs and he’s using his head out on the track.
 
"When you have to learn that stuff, it’s so much more difficult. … When you have it, you have it and that just makes everything so much easier."
 
The bigger obstacle, Nemechek said, is "giving him better equipment.
 
"Believe me, we’re spending money, we’re doing the things we need to do to do that. But the guys we’re racing against – look at the guys that finished in front of us, they’re all champions.
 
"So how do you break into that? You just have to be smarter and work harder and just keep getting at it. We’re getting better."

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Posted on by Eric Johnson

The ‘Outlaw’ discusses nickname, brother, favorites

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Q: Are you a fan of NASCAR’s colorful history?

NASCAR has had a proud history, and I am glad to be a part of it. Being a champion comes with it a great deal of responsibility to remind people of the roots of our sport. 

Q: Do you identify with legends in this sport? If so, who?

There are so many greats and many drivers I grew up admiring like the Allison brothers and Cale Yarborough. They were drivers who hung it all out on the line and threw caution to the wind — outlaws like me.

Q: Are NASCAR races too long?

Yes. We need to spice things up with a street race, races in foreign countries and throw in a dirt track for good measure. Besides cutting down the length of races, we need to cut back the number of races. 

Q: What does Daytona mean to you?

It’s our Super Bowl. It’s the most prestigious stock car race to win.

Q: Do you like the concept of The Chase?

Absolutely. It defines a regular season and a postseason like our other mainstream sports.

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Q: What are your top favorite NASCAR tracks?

Bristol, Darlington, Indy, Daytona and Sonoma.

Q: You’ve been in some dust-ups and calamities. What do you think after the dust settles and things calm down?

Nobody likes vanilla ice cream. We all need a little flavor.

Q: Are there certain achievements/victories you are most proud of?

2004 Sprint Cup Championship; 2013 Making the Chase with a one-car, 25th-place team; 2014 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year.

Q: When you’re at the races, what do you enjoy most?

Going to Victory Lane.

Q: What do you enjoy the least?

Wrecking. 

Q: Which drivers do you get along with the best?

Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Juan Pablo Montoya, Greg Biffle.

Q: Where did the nickname "Outlaw" come from?

A TV producer from New York City who was doing a short documentary on me. She heard others calling me that in the garage, and it became the name of the show and it stuck.

Q: Describe winning Martinsville this season?

This is one of my toughest tracks. There’s no driver that I would have rather beaten heads-up than Jimmie Johnson. It was a great feeling to have brought home a victory for my new team only a few races into the season and setting us up for a spot in the Chase.

Q: To many, you are the best race car driver out there and many people comment on your natural ability. What makes you so good?

I owe a lot of credit to my dad, who taught me a lot about racing at a young age.

Q: Most difficult thing about driving stock cars?

The schedule. It’s a long one. It’s a lot of dedication by our family to make it all work.

Q: Were you destined to be a race car racer?

No, my mom was hoping I would be a baseball player.  

Q: Could you race Formula 1, and if so, why don’t you?

I believe I could. Not sure how good I’d be, but I’d love the chance.

Q: Describe your relationship with Mr. Haas?

We have a great relationship filled with sarcasm and humor. He’s a guy I enjoy hanging out with. You never know what’s going to come out of his mouth. 

Q: Of ALL racers, who are, in your opinion, the top five racers in the world?

Michael Schumacher, Dale Earnhardt, Jeremy McGrath, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti.

Q: Your goals for the rest of 2014?

To win races and advance through the Chase.

Q: Do you like The Chase — and can you win it?

I like the Chase, and yes we can win it.

Q: What will it take to win it?

Fast cars, consistency and focus by the whole team to bring their best game forward every week.

Q: When you compete in Vegas, do you ever look over at the old Dwarf dirt track?

Yes, it always brings back find memories of how it all began.

Q: Favorite bands or musicians?

Ice-T, Snoop Dogg, Aerosmith, Eurythmics, Red Hot Chili Peppers, DJ Snake & Lil Jon.

Q: Last concert you attended?

Poison.

Q: Favorite TV Shows?

"Survival Alaska" and  "Dude, You’re Screwed".
 

Q: Favorite websites?

The Weather Channel, USA Today, ESPN, FOX News.

Q: Favorite stores?

Bass Pro Shops, Gun Shops. I don’t like to shop and buy a lot of stuff online.

Q: Favorite brands?

Monster Energy, Alpinestars, Panic Switch Army, 7 Jeans.

Q: Favorite foods?

Lamb chops and Patricia’s homemade anything.

Q: Favorite Movies?

"Six Pack," the "Bourne" trilogy, the "Godfather" movies, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," "Good Will Hunting".

Q: Favorite Actor?

Matt Damon.

Q: Favorite actress?

Sandra Bullock.

Q: Athletes?

Boxer Manny Pacquiao, NBA star LeBron James, baseball hall of famer Ryne Sandberg, former Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher.

Q: Favorite place on Earth?

Cockpit of my race car.

Q: Who is in your personal Hall of Fame? 

President George W. Bush, Cubs announcer Harry Caray, baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, Donald Trump.

Q: Hobbies?

No time, but when I can, hunting and shooting, driving any one else’s race car
.

Q: Do you have a guilty pleasure?

Sleeping in.
 

Q: What sports do you enjoy watching and following?

Baseball, any other motorsports.

Q: Who would play you in a movie?

Matt Damon. He already played me in "Good Will Hunting." 
 

Q: Something you always say?

"What?" The delay always gives me time to think.

Q: Between you and Kyle, who would win in arm wrestling?

Me. I’m in shape.

Q: Ping pong?

Me.
 

Q: A five-mile bicycle race?

Me.

Q: 100-yard dash?

Me.

Q: Checkers?

Me.

Q: Wheel of Fortune?

Me.

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Posted on by Holly Cain

‘You can’t really do anything different just because we’re down to two races’

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Speaking with reporters on a national teleconference Wednesday, Jamie McMurray joked that while he appreciates the excitement generated from a high drama, white-knuckle, must-win situation in these final two weeks to set NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup field, it just doesn’t feel like a desperate existence for him.

It’s business as usual for the mild-mannered 2010 Daytona 500 champ. And business is always about a win.

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"Gosh, I’d love to make it more dramatic than it is,” McMurray said with a laugh, adding, "but you race every single week to win and it doesn’t matter if you’re fighting for a spot to get in the Chase or whether you’re just in the Chase and you compete for the championship.

"So, even though we’re down to two races, it’s really not any different than it was at the Daytona 500, the first race of the year. The goal is the same every week. You can’t really do anything different just because we’re down to two races.”

With the way McMurray and his Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 Cessna Chevy has been front-running lately, there isn’t much he would want to do differently except convert mid-race success to the last lap.

Last week at Bristol Motor Speedway, for example, McMurray led three times for a race-best 148 laps (out of 500) — and was leading with 68 laps remaining, but finished eighth.

It was his second top-10 in the last four races and McMurray is technically ranked 16th in the points standings.

But, with the new Chase for the Sprint Cup championship format’s emphasis on "the win," McMurray is on the outside of the 16-driver Chase eligible field – leap-frogged by five drivers ranked behind in him points but who have the all important victory that gives them an automatic Chase berth.

For McMurray, a win at the super fast Atlanta 1.5-miler or next week in the regular season finale at the 3/4-mile Richmond short track is his surest path into the Chase.

Two of his seven career Cup wins — plus the Sprint Cup All-Star Race victory in May — have come at the 1.5-mile Charlotte track. He has four top-10s in 20 starts at Atlanta’s mile-and-halfer. He finished 11th in the race last year. He finished 13th at Richmond in May, but only has four top-10s in 23 starts there and a total of 25 laps led.

McMurray is optimistic, however, that a combination of Ganassi’s Hendrick-powered engines, a good-handling car and the right calls atop the pit box could put him in position for a season-making trophy.

"I feel really good at both of those (tracks),” McMurray said. "Those tracks are somewhat unique because the tire fall-off is so big that strategy comes into play. If you get a long green flag run, a guy that short-pits has a big advantage. And it seems like at both of those places, we always get a caution with less than five laps to go.”

A part of McMurray’s confidence and optimism comes from the fact he’s had good cars for months, just not the results to show for it.

"I feel like really since, even before winning the All-Star race that we’ve had great cars,” McMurray stressed. "We tend to run better than where we’ve finished. I feel like after the last pit stop, somehow the car hasn’t went the way it needed to be.

"At the beginning of the year, it was kind of the opposite. It seems like we finished better than what we raced. If we can just put a whole weekend together and be able to finish off as well as or better than we ran throughout the race, I feel like the next two races should be really good for us.”

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Cain: Willingness to adapt evident in new lineup

MORE: Labor Day weekend at Darlington highlights 2015 schedule | Official NASCAR release on 2015 schedule
PRINTABLE SCHEDULES: Sprint Cup Series | Nationwide Series |Camping World Truck Series

Long before "Save the Dates" were vogue and news came via Twitter "scoops," the release of NASCAR’s three national schedules got less TV time than today’s Air Titan track dryers get during a rain delay.

For the most part the dates and venues were a formality. Fans — and the sport itself — were reasonably set in their ways. And why not? The predictability worked well for fans, tracks and teams, and it was considered a model for continuity and contentment.

With NASCAR’s explosive venue expansion that began in the mid-to-late 1990s, the schedule grew and diversified.

Quite naturally, so did the suspense and intrigue surrounding it.

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So it is a bit ironic that Tuesday’s much-anticipated nationally televised announcement of all three NASCAR national series 2015 schedules was highlighted by a well-received shift back to that tradition — the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series‘ Southern 500 returning to Labor Day weekend at historic Darlington Raceway.

Bits and pieces of the schedule leaked out and tantalized in the past few weeks, but it was still a massive undertaking to be able to reveal all three national slates at once. And the excitement and attention it has generated is a real sign of the sport’s growth.

The scheduling shows a common-sense approach that eases travel, restores some traditional dates, factors in local weather trends and adds intrigue and events to race weekends like a same-day doubleheader of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series events at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Feb. 28.

And it even gives everyone a well-timed extra off-week just before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins, situated between the Aug. 22 Bristol night race and the Sept. 6 race at Darlington.

Armchair quarterbacks may still clamor for a shakeup in the 10 Chase championship venues — I’d still love to see a road course included — but that may also come in due time. Change has been the norm, not the exception in recent years.

Beyond restoring Darlington’s traditional date, the biggest thing that stands out in 2015 is a much-applauded shift toward geographical practicality.

Instead of crisscrossing the country, the first three races out west — at Phoenix, Las Vegas and Fontana — occur in consecutive weekends. Not only will that help contain costs for teams and perhaps entice fans to consider a three-race NASCAR road trip, it just makes sense.

When the series return east of the Mississippi, there is a robust mix of mile-and-a-half ovals, short tracks and a superspeedway (Talladega) to head into the hot summer with competitive flare.

A slight shift in July dates — the July 5 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona will be on a Sunday just this year and the Kentucky tripleheader moves from June to July — highlights a familiar summer slate that will culminate and benefit from that extra off-weekend. And the 2015 championship elimination will have the added advantage of following on this year’s inaugural format that has already produced Cinderella Chase berths and created dramatic urgency in these final two weeks to set the 2014 16-driver field.

The television contract, which brings NBC and NBC Sports Network back into the NASCAR fold along with longstanding trailblazer FOX, will undoubtedly create excitement and a new vibe worthy of NASCAR’s willingness to evolve and transform.

The new schedule is a tangible example of the sport’s wise willingness to balance tradition with forward progress.

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Posted on by Jason Lofing

Strategy and hard-nosed driving got Lewandowski (16) to the stripe ahead of Conti (5).

Tom Lewandowski played the fuel mileage game perfectly at Atlanta Motor Speedway and held-off a charging Michael Conti, finally breaking a three-year winless drought in the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series Powered by iRacing. Lewandowski did not have the fastest car, but the caution-free race let him play the strategy game while Conti, Ray Alfalla and other contenders ran dry and needed an extra pit stop to go the distance.

Conti crossed the line in second ahead of Alfalla, while CBR/Virtual Performance Racing teammates Cody Byus and Adam Gilliland were strong all night and rounded-out the top five.

“(I) knew that if I lifted off that he would have the run to beat me to the line.” – Tom Lewandowski

Conti, who clearly had the fastest car and led 118 of 163 laps, nearly pulled-off a miraculous comeback. With 24 laps to go, he came down pit road for a splash of gas and two right side tires. Upon exiting Conti found himself just over 16 seconds back of Lewandowski’s Ford Fusion, but immediately got up on the wheel and started closing the gap, taking advantage of the leader being held-up by lapped traffic.

As the laps ticked down it became apparent that Conti was going to have a shot at the win regardless if Lewandowski had enough fuel. Conti was over half a second a lap quicker and pulled up on Lewandowski’s rear bumper with two laps to go. Despite his worn tires, Lewandowski played defense and used every trick he knew to keep Conti at bay.

The two took the white flag nose-to-tail, with Lewandowski still holding on. Conti tried to get a run down the backstretch but Lewandowski blocked the bottom and gave Conti no choice but to try the outside groove through Turns Three and Four. Conti drove his Chevy SS hard into Turn Three and pulled nearly even with Lewandowski as the two worked their ways to Turn Four. With the checkered flag in sight, Conti started to surge ahead off of Turn Four but Lewandowski, foot to the floor, slid up the track and made contact with Conti which sent the championship leader into the wall. The impact with the wall broke Conti’s momentum and he came up just .2 seconds short of picking up his fourth victory of the 2014 NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series.

“I was pushing as hard as I could coming off Turn Four and knew that if I lifted off that he would have the run to beat me to the line,” said Lewandowski. “We made some contact coming off the corner and I managed to hold on for the win.”

Early in the going it looked as if no one had anything for Conti. He missed the line a bit on his qualifying run leading to a third place start but jumped into the lead on the first lap. Alfalla, who started fourth, followed Conti through and sat on his bumper for the first half of the opening fuel run. However, Alfalla could not match Conti’s long run speed and slowly started to fade as the #5 got smaller and smaller in his windshield.

By the time the first round of stops was complete, Conti’s lead had ballooned to more than five seconds and it looked as if he was a shoo-in for the victory . . . until Lewandowski and his miserly fuel strategy crashed the party. It seems strange for a driver to be disappointed with a second place finish but after a second straight dominating win it was frustrating for Conti not to close the deal and pick-up the four extra points in Victory Lane.

Even though Conti came up short he still slightly padded his point lead on Alfalla in the battle for the championship. With a two point gain, Conti is now 25 points ahead of Alfalla with three races remaining. Nick Ottinger struggled most of the night on his way to a tenth place finish and now is 35 points out of the series lead. Two other contenders, Chad Laughton and Chris Overland, also fell farther behind after sub-par runs and are now most likely out of the running unless both Conti and Alfalla falter down the stretch.

And we would be remiss if we didn’t give a special shout-out to Bryan Blackford for his gritty performance last night.  Bryan was injured in a karting accident over the weekend, but still competed in the Atlanta race and came home P31 — all while driving with just his left hand.  Well done Bryan!

With the championship battle basically narrowed to three drivers, the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series heads to Richmond International Raceway for this season’s final round of short track sim racing. RIR just happens to be one of Conti’s stronger tracks so Alfalla and Ottinger will have to be on top of their games if they hope to make any ground. Look for all three to be at the front in some combination but the pre-race edge is firmly with Conti. Can Alfalla, Ottinger, or someone else pull the upset or will Conti make a move to solidify his championship run? Find out in two weeks on iRacing Live and MRN.com!