Kyle Busch wins Keystone Light Pole at Bristol

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Staff Report

Custer makes his fifth series start, lines up second

Kyle Busch won the Keystone Light Pole Qualifying Award for Wednesday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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Busch is the UNOH 200 defending race winner and has four career victories at the Tennessee track.

This is Busch’s fourth pole of the season and his second at the track in nine Truck Series races.

Lining up next to Busch will be Cole Custer. Custer, 16, is making his fifth series start in tonight’s race.

Ron Hornaday Jr., Brad Keselowski and Gray Gaulding round out the top five starting lineup.

Notable drivers who did not advance to the final round were Jeb Burton, Ryan Blaney and Timothy Peters.

The UNOH 200 will kick off tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET with TV coverage on FOX Sports 1.

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Posted on August 20, 2014 by Staff Report

KBM trucks land 1-2 sweep atop leaderboard; NASCAR Next’s Gaulding third

RELATED: Practice results

Darrell Wallace Jr. led a 1-2 sweep by Kyle Busch Motorsports trucks to set the pace in Wednesday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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Wallace, a two-time winner this year driving the No. 54 Toyota, turned a fast lap of 125.264 mph on the .533-mile track. He was just ahead of teammate and team owner Kyle Busch, who clocked a lap at 124.930 mph in the KBM No. 51 Toyota.

Busch, the defending race winner with four career Bristol victories in the series, will be going for a tripleheader sweep in all three NASCAR national series this week at Bristol.

NASCAR Next driver Gray Gaulding, 16, was third-fastest in the NTS Motorsports No. 20 Chevrolet at 123.970 mph. He will be making only his fifth career start in the series in Wednesday night’s UNOH 200 Presented by ZLOOP (8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1).

Four-time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. was fourth-fastest in practice with 16-year-old Cole Custer, the pole winner earlier this season at Gateway Motorsports Park, completing the top five in practice.

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East points leader Ben Rhodes, 17, was eighth-fastest in preparation for just the third series start of his career.

Morning rain had pushed back the opening schedule a half-hour from its originally scheduled 10 a.m. ET start. Precipitation held off long enough for the combined NASCAR Whelen Modified and Southern Modified tours to get in their opening practice, but a drizzle placed the schedule on hold.

After some eventual clearing, the NASCAR Air Titan system worked to quickly dry the concrete surface. NASCAR officials altered the race-day schedule to combine the two shorter practices into a single session — from 11:45 a.m. ET (when the track was deemed race-ready) to 1:30 p.m. ET.

Keystone Light Pole Qualifying for the 13th of 22 races this season is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. ET (FS1).

Johnny Sauter, last weekend’s winner at Michigan International Speedway, holds a nine-point lead over defending series champion and ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton. Sauter was ninth on the practice leaderboard with Crafton 10th.

Second-year truck series driver Ryan Blaney stands 16 points off the top spot in third place. He managed just the 19th-best lap of the 37 drivers who participated in the practice session.

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Posted on August 20, 2014 by Staff Report

Jeff Burton will once again be behind the wheel of the No. 14 car

Tony Stewart will not drive this weekend in the Sprint Cup Series IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Instead, Jeff Burton will once again be behind the wheel of the No. 14 Chevrolet.

Stewart has not raced in the past two Sprint Cup events. At Michigan, Burton filled in for him and finished in 37th place. At Watkins Glen Nationwide Series regular Regan Smith piloted the No. 14 Chevrolet to a 37th-place finish. Stewart was on the initial entry list for Michigan that was released on Monday.

This change only pertains to Bristol. Stewart’s plans for upcoming Sprint Cup races have yet to be determined, according to a team release.

Stewart-Haas Racing officials said last weekend at Michigan that there is no timetable for Stewart’s return to NASCAR racing and that the decision will be the driver’s call to make.

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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.

Last week, Stewart also canceled plans to race at Plymouth Speedway (in Indiana) this weekend. In fact, Stewart’s racing plans outside NASCAR have been canceled and will not resume until further notice.  

After sitting out the past two races, Stewart is 25th 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 currently has 537 points while 30th-place Michael Annett has 364.

Burton has made three starts this season with a best finish of 17th place in March at Las Vegas. One of Burton’s 21 premier series victories came in 2008 at Bristol. In 40 starts at the track, he has eight top-fives and 15 top-10 finishes.

A win by Burton would not put the No. 14 team into the Chase, which is reserved for drivers in the top 30 in driver points.

  The IRWIN Tools Night Race is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET, with coverage on ABC.

Burton, an NBC analyst, said on NBC Sports Network’s "NASCAR America" on Wednesday night that he was more comfortable at Bristol than he was last week at Michigan.

Watch the full interview below.

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Posted on August 20, 2014 by Nascar

Second-place finish was Bubba’s third this season

BRISTOL, Tenn. – He would have had "to wreck him" to get by for the win, and Darrell "Bubba" Wallace said he wasn’t going to go there.

Wallace, a two-time winner this year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, got close enough for contact with Brad Keselowski during Thursday’s UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway, but chose not to try and move his opponent.

"I’m trying to make a name for myself," said Wallace, driver of the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 54 Toyota. "I might have gotten some cheers, but I figure I’d have gotten more boos if I’d went in there and wrecked him.

"I race everybody with respect, at least I try to. … Just watching him, seeing what he’s done … you don’t get much time around (Sprint Cup drivers), but when you do you’ve got to be ready to learn from them and be ready to beat them. There’s always next time."

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In a race that saw two team owner/drivers – Keselowski and Kyle Busch – dominate, Wallace was equally fast. And by the time Busch got in the wall late with a right-rear flat, Wallace was already chasing down Keselowski for the lead.

Lapped traffic was an issue for the lead trucks throughout the event, and likely played a part in allowing Wallace to put pressure on the race leader in the closing laps.

"I think that’s how we caught a couple of breaks with Brad; he caught lapped traffic at the wrong time and I’d be able to get to him," Wallace said. "Our truck was just a little too tight to really maneuver around him.

"When you’re at the top, you really control the race, unless you go in there and pull a slide job. I’ve only won one dirt race; I’m not comfortable with that yet.

"Lapped traffic is always big here. I knew we would catch it early and that it would be a big factor in today’s race. Luckily it didn’t cost us anything."

Wallace trailed the race winner by 0.776 second at the finish.

The win was Keselowsk’’s first in the series, and came in his 62nd start. His truck was one of three, however, that had issues in post-race technical inspection when it measured too high at the rear spoiler. The entries of third-place finisher Ron Hornaday Jr., and Cole Custer (eighth) were also cited for the same issue.

Keselowski said he was impressed with Wallace’s effort and how he raced in the closing laps of Thursday’s event.

"I think he’s really proven himself this year, winning races, running up front, being competitive and making the most out of his opportunity," Keselowski said. "Along the way I haven’t seen him do anything sketchy. I think he deserves a lot of credit for that and (has) certainly punched his ticket to the next level."

Wallace, who won earlier this year at Gateway and Eldora, admitted he’s still learning while also trying to compete against the more experience drivers such as Keselowski and Busch. At short, fast tracks such as Bristol, the level of difficulty increases.

"Those guys know when the track’s going to come in, when the top’s going to come in; I don’t," he said. "I go up there and step over the edge one time and then that’s it, I’m not going back up there. A lot of those guys are like ‘OK, I’ll move down (slightly)’; that’s just technical stuff … it’s just how much more experience they have."

In his few previous starts here, Wallace said he "always ran the bottom (groove)."

"Moving up there I found some grip, it’s like a light was shone – ‘run up here, run up here.’ … And then I think I just used (the truck) up.

"I don’t know if (Keselowski) was just lagging back, playing with me, you never know. You just have to move around. It’s always about finding grip. The bottom gets worn out quick and then you start working your way up. I just have to keep remembering that."

Wallace remains fifth in points, trailing leader Johnny Sauter by 33.

Next up for the series is the Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 31.

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Posted on August 20, 2014 by

Chat with fans while following the action

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Posted on August 19, 2014 by Holly Cain

Cain: Implications are positive, far-reaching across sport

The long-anticipated Joe Gibbs Racing announcement that it will add Carl Edwards as a fourth driver next year is big, if not unexpected, news in the NASCAR landscape.

But equally as significant was the accompanying news of Mexican hot shoe Daniel Suarez getting a full-time NASCAR Nationwide Series ride at JGR and that the sport is getting a pair of multibillion-dollar companies in ARRIS and TELMEX as new sponsors/partners.

What’s good for JGR is good for NASCAR.

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Adding Edwards to a lineup that already includes former premier series champion Matt Kenseth and a pair of perennial contenders in Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin elevates the Joe Gibbs team in star power and can-do. There is no weak link in talent, and if the chemistry is right and the Toyotas are fast, it gives JGR a legitimate chance to breathe — heavily — down the necks of Hendrick Motorsports‘ and Stewart-Haas Racing‘s established fearsome foursomes.

A fourth car at JGR is an exponential jump in resources, and maybe that will be the difference in sealing the championship deal for the team.

There will be a lot of loud speculation and debate about Edwards’ potential contribution to JGR. Will he fit in with the other drivers? How will he adjust moving from Ford to Toyota? Will the additional team ultimately be more beneficial or extra weight to the operation?

Back in the NASCAR offices and corporate boardrooms, that same sort of excited buzz is generated by the business end of this deal.

Robert Stanzione, CEO of ARRIS Group Inc., and Carlos Slim Domit, CEO of Mexican telecommunications giant TelMex, shared the stage with Edwards, Suarez and all the JGR executives during Tuesday’s official announcement.

After giving a little background about ARRIS — a multibillion-dollar company that manufacturers equipment like modems used by cable companies to transmit high-speed data — Stanzione asked the audience of mostly press members to raise their hand if they had ever heard of ARRIS before.

"I see maybe four hands,” he said smiling with the knowledge that was about to change.

By the end of the formal presentation, it had already as news got out that ARRIS will be the primary sponsor on Edwards’ No. 19 Toyota for 17 races in 2015 and will team up with Suarez full time in the Nationwide Series and a handful of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events driving for Busch’s team.

It gives the sport diversity both in Suarez, but also in terms of a corporate partner in ARRIS committed to several platforms and Escuderia TelMex commitment to further developing Mexican drivers to compete in NASCAR.

The star power here is not just limited to Gibbs and Edwards, but includes world-renowned corporations willing to make huge financial commitments on the solid bet that it will pay off in success and notoriety.

And history shows that kind of commitment can be contagious.

"This is one of the biggest days in Joe Gibbs Racing’s history,” Gibbs said Tuesday.

And as it turns out, a big day for all of NASCAR as well.

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Posted on August 19, 2014 by RJ Kraft

Hendrick Motorsports driver earns first top-10 in last six races

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Posted on August 19, 2014 by Staff Report

Owner won two titles with ‘Smoke’

Joe Gibbs, who won 33 races and two championships with Tony Stewart from 1999-2008, said Tuesday from his team’s headquarters in Huntersville, North Carolina, that the time hasn’t yet been right for him to reach out to the racer.

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”I didn’t feel like it was the right time (to call him),” Gibbs said, according to the Associated Press. ”We all love Tony. I love what he did for us here. We all know he’s a racer’s racer, and he’s big for our sport.”

Stewart has missed the past two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races since an August 9 sprint car tragedy in which fellow driver Kevin Ward Jr. died. Several drivers at Michigan last week said they had reached out to Stewart to offer support, and had not yet heard back.

All those drivers also reiterated that racing sprint cars was a passion for Stewart, something Gibbs picked up early in their relationship.

”I had to spend 30 minutes listening to him how he won a dirt late model race," Gibbs said. "He was so excited. I came to the conclusion that was him — for him to be happy and doing the things that he wanted to do, he was going to be racing.

”Tony’s got great courage. He’s smart. He loves this sport. He’s totally focused on it. He doesn’t have distractions. He’s very important to our sport. This is a horrible thing to have happen for the Ward family, for him.”

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Posted on August 19, 2014 by Staff Report

Social mosaic encapsulates reaction from NASCAR Nation

Carl Edwards and Joe Gibbs Racing officially announced on Thursday that Edwards would join the JGR organization next season.

Check out the social mosaic below for unique images, and join in the conversation yourself.

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Staff Report

Learn more about the impact across four NASCAR racing series

On Tuesday, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Carl Edwards and Daniel Suarez would join the organization in 2015 to compete full time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series, respectively.

ARRIS Group, Inc. will sponsor Edwards in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with JGR expanding its operations to include a fourth team. ARRIS also will support Suarez in a multi-year program, starting in 2015 in the Nationwide Series, as well as a partial schedule in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

JGR also launched a diversity initiative with Escuderia TELMEX and support from ARRIS to provide developmental opportunities to deserving Mexican and Latin American candidates in the NASCAR Toyota Series in Mexico and other racing series under the JGR umbrella.

Learn more about the drivers, what they will drive and the people and sponsors behind the new partnership with JGR.

Who is Carl Edwards?
A Missouri native, Edwards is currently eighth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings with two wins, five top-five and nine top-10 finishes this season. Over the course of his 11-year career, he has won 23 races with 106 top-five and 182 top-10 finishes. In addition to his 23 Sprint Cup Series wins, Edwards has compiled 38 wins in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and won the championship in 2007. His highest finish in the Sprint Cup Series season was in 2011 when he was runner-up to Tony Stewart based on a tiebreaker.

What number will Carl Edwards drive?
No. 19 Toyota Camry, sponsored for 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races by ARRIS Group, Inc.

What about the remaining 19 races?
Joe Gibbs said, "That announcement will be coming out a little bit later. We’ll be announcing some things to fill out the car, but most of that is already done."

What is ARRIS Group, Inc?
ARRIS is a global innovator in IP, video and broadband technology. The company has notched several technology firsts: wireless broadband gateway; set-top with HD and DVR; headless, whole-home video gateway; wide scale CMTS deployment; MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 digital ad insertion. It has been recognized with 15 Technical Emmy Awards.

Who is Daniel Suarez?
Suarez is currently competing full time for Escuderia TELMEX in the NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series, where he leads that series, and competes in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Rev Racing Team in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. He has four wins and six top-five finishes in 10 starts in the NASCAR Toyota Series and has added two wins, four top-five and seven top-10 finishes this season in 12 K&N Pro Series starts. Suarez made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut with JGR earlier this season at Richmond International Raceway with a 19th-place finish, and he was a member of the inaugural NASCAR Next class.

What number will Daniel Suarez drive?
No. 18 Toyota Camry.

How does the Suarez announcement impact the other JGR Nationwide Series teams?
"Right now a lot of that is still in the process of being worked out and worked through," Joe Gibbs said. "We’re working hard on it, and we love that series. We run as many as four cars. That’s a possibility for us. We’re working through all those things right now."

What is Escuderia TELMEX?
Per the escuderiatelmex.com: From its beginning in 2002 Escuderia Telmex has characterized itself by having the best Mexican drivers racing in every track taking Mexico’s and Telmex’s name always on the top. Those drivers include NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver and former NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series champion German Quiroga, NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series drivers Daniel Suarez and Jose Luis Ramirez and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship driver Memo Rojas.

What is TELMEX?
TELMEX is the leading telecommunications company in Mexico. Founded in 1947, its chairman, Carlos Slim, was ranked by Forbes magazine as the richest man in the world from 2010-2013. His son, Carlos Slim Domit is the chairman of the board for Grupo Carso and co-founder of Escuderia TELMEX along with Jimmy Morales. Carlos Slim Domit said sponsorship of JGR would be in addition to the TELMEX sponsorship of its TUDOR United SportsCar Championship entry with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

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