Posted on by Zack Albert

Nationwide veteran Smith says rookie Dylan K needs to pay his dues

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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — The window net was down less than a minute on Dylan Kwasniewski’s No. 31 Chevrolet before Regan Smith’s face was front and center for a post-race discussion.

The tone of their chat at the end of the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ Zippo 200 was more explanatory than heated in the Watkins Glen International paddock. Neither had the finishes they wanted Saturday afternoon, but the two came to an understanding after a pair of run-ins — one late-race, one post-race — at the 2.45-mile road course.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

"It was nothing. We’re fine," Smith said after his 17th-place finish. "I had two runs on him. The second time, I just didn’t give. It wasn’t a point in the race to give, and I explained it to him. He said he wasn’t going to wreck me. He was just trying to show he was mad. Sometimes you’ve got to be around a little bit longer before you start doing that stuff. I get it, though."

Kwasniewski, Smith and Kyle Larson all bottled up in the 73rd of 82 laps and Kwasniewski took the worst of the incident. The rookie faded to a 27th-place finish after an encouraging starting spot in 11th, and delivered Smith a bump on the cool-down lap. 

"I could’ve come down on him a little bit. It’s a racing incident; he spun me out," said Kwasniewski said after their pointed conversation. "But the incident at the end where I got into his bumper, I was just showing my displeasure for getting spun out. I mean, nobody likes getting spun out. If you let guys push you around in this sport, then you’re not going to get any respect. Never had any intention of wrecking him, but just wanted to show him I didn’t approve of what he did." 

Kwasniewski said he considered the matter closed.

"I’ll talk to Regan about it, and we’re all good," he said. "It’s nothing that’s going to go over to the next race, but you just don’t like getting spun out like that. You can talk it out after, and it’s fine. There’s no beef or anything like that." 

As for Smith, the finish caused him to lose 10 points in his pursuit of JR Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, who leads second-place Smith in the Nationwide Series standings by 12 points heading to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the circuit’s second consecutive road race. 

It was the culmination of a day’s worth of misfortune for the 30-year-old New York native, who wound up on the short end of pit strategy for the second straight week.

"Just frustrated with the whole day," Smith said. "We had a fast race car on the race track. Through practice, the Clean Coal team did everything they needed to do, and it was going smooth. We just didn’t need pit stops. Unfortunately you have to come in and get tires and fuel at some point in the race, and it’s two weeks in a row it’s hurt us. So we’re going to have to work hard on those. Whatever we’ve got to do to fix those, we need to do it because we’re not going to win the championship that way."

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Posted on by Nascar

Catch up quickly before Sunday’s running of the Cheez-It 355

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What: 29th Annual Cheez-It 355 at The Glen
Where: Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York
When: Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014
TV/Radio: ESPN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
Distance: 90 laps (220.5 miles)
Time: 1 p.m. ET / Green flag: 1:19 p.m. ET
 
Pit Road Speed: 40 mph
Caution Car Speed: 45 mph
Fuel window: 33 laps
Average time: 2 hours, 21 minutes
 
On The Front Row | Full starting lineup
1. Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet (129.466 mph)*
2. Marcos Ambrose, Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Ford (129.138 mph)**

*Gordon’s 75th career pole (third all-time) was his third at Watkins Glen, tying Dale Earnhardt and Mark Martin for most at the road course.

**Ambrose set track record in the first round of qualifying at 129.491 mph. It was the 16th track record of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• Latest news
• Standings
• Schedule

Failed To Qualify
None.
 
Fastest In Practice
First practice: Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet (128.474 mph)
Final practice: AJ Allmendinger, JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 Chevrolet (128.688 mph)
 
Best 10-Lap Averages
First practice: None
Final Practice: Paul Menard: 124.587 mph
 
Best Average Finish
Brad Keselowski, Team Penske No. 2 Ford (6.5)
Marcos Ambrose, Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Ford (6.8)
 
Defending Cheez-It 355 at The Glen Champion
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota
 
Former Watkins Glen Winners In Field
Jeff Gordon (4); Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch (2); Kevin Harvick (1).
 
Chase-Clinching Scenarios
*Seven drivers with multiple wins — and who cannot fall out of the top 30 in points — have clinched spots in the 16-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick.
*If a driver who has already won in 2014 goes to Victory Lane again, one-time winners in 2014 Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola and Kurt Busch will clinch a Chase berth.
*If Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer win their first race of 2014, they could be high enough in points to clinch a spot. After Sunday’s race, a clinching driver must be 193 points ahead of 31st place.

Road sweeper?
Carl Edwards, who won at Sonoma Raceway in June, will attempt to become the first driver since Kyle Busch to complete the Sprint Cup road-course season sweep. Busch won both in 2008. Before Busch, it was Tony Stewart in 2005 and another former series champion, Jeff Gordon, had back-to-back sweeps in 1998 and 1999 as part of a six-race road winning streak from 1997 at Watkins Glen through 2000 at Sonoma.

Win or Bust?
Marcos Ambrose goes for his third win in four races at the Glen, which would likely lock him into his first Chase. AJ Allmendinger’s 9.2 average finish is his best at any Sprint Cup track and the best among active drivers without a Cup win. With five races left until the Chase, it represents one of their best chances to make the playoffs.

To the rear
After a "record horrible day" on Friday that included at least one engine change, Danica Patrick will start at the back of the field. Other drivers changed transmissions, which is allowed at road-course races, but NASCAR only allows teams to run one engine per race weekend.

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Posted on by Fraser Nye

For some like Ambrose it’s the best remaining chance to make the Chase

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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — For the last three years, three drivers have dominated the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Watkins Glen International. Heading into Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 (1 p.m. ET, ESPN), Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski will be the ones to watch once again.

But the stakes have been raised with a new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format and a driver with four wins on the superspeedway of road courses could tie Tony Stewart for most victories at the Glen.

With three wins and a locked-in top-30 spot, Keselowski has nothing to lose except this race for the fourth consecutive year. The No. 2 car has finished in runner-up position for the last three years as he looks for his first Sprint Cup win at the Glen. With a win, he would take the provisional top seed in the Chase and 12 bonus points for those wins.

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If Busch were to defend his win from last year, or if another driver already in the win column goes to Victory Lane, he would clinch a spot in the Chase.

Sitting 17th in points, Ambrose needs a win to enter the Chase conversation. He’ll go for his third victory in four years after leading the most laps but falling to 31st last August on the New York road course.

"We got caught out last year by staying out too long and the yellow came out and that hurt us," Ambrose said. "We have to work on that strategy for this year. I think we have made gains in our fuel mileage, which will help that."

On paper, the Australian appears to be the favorite, but Busch says there’s more than one favorite this weekend.

"I don’t think I’m chasing a guy like Marcos (Ambrose) at all," Busch said. "I think that when you come into this race, though, you look at the favorites, and I think there’s three favorites because they’ve been the top three guys here the last four years, three years, whatever it’s been. It’s myself, the 2 (Brad Keselowski) and the 9 (Ambrose).

"I think you’re going to see those three cars be fast. I think you can always mix in a fourth and a fifth guy depending on who those are."

AJ Allmendinger, another contender for the win and a Chase spot, agrees with Busch’s assessment of three favorites, but it’s more than just a feel for the course that accounts for their success.

"It’s just a feel around this place," Allmendinger said. "But it’s also the way strategy works out. It can be really strange sometimes. I felt like the previous two years that Marcos won maybe he wasn’t the quickest car, and it worked out to his favor to where the first year I think Kyle (Busch) made a mistake on the restart and he got around him. 

"The next year with the whole Brad and Kyle incident, last year was probably the race he should have won and had everybody dominated and fuel played into a strategy there."

Another driver who has clinched a spot in the Chase, Jeff Gordon, is on Busch’s radar even though the four-time champion and four-time Glen winner last won the championship and a race here in 2001. The points leader won the Coors Light Pole Award on Saturday as well.

"This year obviously the 24 has been real stout — maybe he can carry that on into this week," Busch said.

Gordon’s confidence is high because his cars are strong, and he likes his chances for another throwback weekend. In May, he claimed his first win since 2002 at Kansas Speedway, and his Indianapolis Motor Speedway win two weeks ago was his first since 2004.

"When I look at tracks over the last couple of years that have probably been our worst I really think of Watkins Glen," Gordon said. "Even though we have had great success here in the past I can’t say that we have recently.

"To follow up the Brickyard 400 win and our win at Kansas with a win here at Watkins Glen, I think that would be a real true sign of just how good this team is."

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Posted on by NASCAR.com

Each week an expert will answer a tech question on GarageCam presented by Mobil 1

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Each week the host of NASCAR.com’s GarageCam presented by Mobil 1 will take an automotive technology question and get it answered by the experts in a NASCAR garage.

This week, Richie Letendre, the car chief for the No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford answers the Mobil 1 Tech Question of the Week.

Watch the video above to hear Letendre discuss the difference in setups at the two road courses that the Sprint Cup Series visits: Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International.

Be sure to tune in to GarageCam presented by Mobil 1 in next week at Michigan International Speedway and see another question answered.

Sprint Cup Series GarageCam, presented by Mobil 1: 11:30 a.m. ET, Friday August 15. (Watch here)

Camping World Truck Series GarageCam, presented by Mobil 1: 2:30 p.m. ET, Friday August 15. (Watch here)

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Posted on by Staff Report

Drive to End Hunger, Gordon continue partnership

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Jeff Gordon‘s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team and AARP will continue their relationship next year, with the organization serving as a primary sponsor for 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and as an associate sponsor in all other events.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

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AARP, with its Drive to End Hunger campaign, has been a primary sponsor for Gordon over the past four years. Its commitment next year includes hood placement for the Daytona 500.

"Hunger is a hidden problem that millions of older Americans are battling silently," said Lisa Marsh Ryerson, AARP Foundation president. "We are excited to keep building on the great work of these last four years to help the nearly 9 million older Americans who face the threat of hunger. With Jeff Gordon and Rick Hendrick, we have committed champions behind the wheel on and off the track."

The extension comes with a reduction in the number of races for AARP, which is primary sponsor for 23 races this year on the No. 24 Chevrolet. Friday afternoon at Watkins Glen International, Gordon said he couldn’t indicate which group might fill in the gap, but that the feeling among his team was encouraging.

"I can’t say right now, but things are strong for us at Hendrick Motorsports," Gordon said. "Ithink the last couple of years, we’ve all been very stressed out about sponsorships and getting those deals done, but here recently, a lot of positive, good things have been happening. So there’s more to come."

The Drive to End Hunger’s mission is to raise awareness and funds to fight hunger among adults age 50 and older. Drive to End Hunger has donated more than 30 million meals since AARP and AARP Foundation launched it in February 2011, the company said.

Gordon has helped that cause, both with his efforts on the track and his charitable work off it. Three of his past six career wins have come in a Drive to End Hunger scheme, including last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway.

"NASCAR fans have been such a big part of the success of Drive to End Hunger, and we’re really grateful for that," said Gordon, the current points leader. "I’ve seen them packing meals, texting donations and getting involved in their communities. AARP and AARP Foundation are incredible partners to be involved with, and I’m very happy to continue our work together. It’s been an extremely rewarding and humbling experience for me personally."

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Allmendinger, Harvick top Cup practice; Ambrose, Keselowski take Nationwide

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SPRINT CUP SERIES FINAL PRACTICE | Results

Experienced road racer AJ Allmendinger led Friday’s final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice session at Watkins Glen. Allmendinger topped the charts with a fast lap of 128.688 mph around the 11-turn road course. The No. 47 driver came in at fourth-fastest in Friday’s opening practice.

Marcos Ambrose, who was fastest in the Nationwide Series final practice earlier, came in as second-fastest in Cup’s final practice with a speed of 128.682 mph.

Defending race winner Kyle Busch rounded his 17th lap at 128.660 mph for the third-fastest run of the session.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (128.259 mph) and Aric Almirola (128.220 mph) rounded out the session’s five-fastest drivers.

In the last few minutes of practice Danica Patrick suffered a flat tire and spun out into the tire barrier on Turn 5 bringing out red and black flags. Patrick posted the 36th-fastest speed of 124.545 mph.

Jamie McMurray, who was 15th-fastest in opening practice, suffered a possible broken power steering line and had smoke coming from his car. McMurray posted a speed of 127.958 mph during the final session and came in at eighth-fastest. 

McMurray’s Chip Ganassi teammate Kyle Larson faced similar issues with his power steering and also had smoke coming from his car. Larson reached a top speed of 126.759 mph. 

The Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying will take place Saturday at 11:40 a.m. ET with TV coverage on ESPN2. 

NATIONWIDE SERIES FINAL PRACTICE | Results

Road course ace Marcos Ambrose showed his mettle at Watkins Glen, taking the top spot in the final practice for the Zippo 200. His lap of 123.193 mph was enough to prevent a two-practice sweep by Brad Keselowski.

Keselowski spent the first part of the practice session atop the leaderboard with a best lap of 122.524 mph, baeting his pace-setting speed of 122.291 mph in the earlier session. Close behind was teammate Joey Logano in the No. 12 Ford, who clocked a speed of 122.515 mph.

Brendan Gaughan‘s No. 62 made a late move into the top five, running his best lap of 122.303 mph on his 18th practice run.

Sprint Cup Series regular Kyle Busch took a mid-track spin in the No. 54 early in the session, but did not sustain any damage and was able to come home with fifth-fastest speed of 122.276 mph.

Rookie Dylan Kwasniewski finished seventh, with Chris Buescher and Regan Smith in tow.

After suffering some damage to the No. 20 Toyota in the early Nationwide session, Matt Kenseth took the car back on track for a top-10 speed. His 121.684 mph-lap put the driver in tenth on the leaderboard.

After experiencing hesitation on the gas in the No. 3 Yuengling Light Lager Chevrolet, rookie Ty Dillon headed to the garage for repairs and ending the session in 16th place.

Points leader Chase Elliott finished 13th in the session.

Though there were fewer incidents overall this session, Ryan Reed took a hard hit, damaging both ends of his No. 16 on the barrier. The Roush Fenway Racing rookie will make his first start at Watkins Glen in the Zippo 200.

SPRINT CUP SERIES PRACTICE 1 | Results

Kevin Harvick topped the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Watkins Glen International, breaking the long reign of Brad Keselowski with a lap of 128.474 mph. Harvick’s best lap came on his 16th run in preperation for the Cheez-It 355; the only driver to top the 128 mph mark.

Jimmie Johnson took the second-place position on the leaderboard with a speed of 127.841 mph.

Keselowski continued to show the speed he brought to Nationwide practice, sitting atop the leaderboard for most of the opening Cup session. The No. 2 Ford ran his fastest lap on his third go about the track, and ended the practice in the third spot on the leaderboard.

AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose completed the top five.

Allmendinger and Ambrose were among several drivers who took part in a test at the road course following the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Also at that test were Austin Dillon, who ran 29th, and Martin Truex Jr., who was 26th.

As speeds got higher on the road course, so did the number of incidents that took place on the track.

Landon Cassill brought out the caution flag with just over an hour left in the practice session when he spun out in the carousel and hit the outside wall. The No. 40 driver ended the day in 33rd on the leaderboard.

Alex Kennedy, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet, also took a spin. Shortly after a caution flag flew for possible debris on the track. With minutes to go in practice, Kyle Larson spun in the same spot but did not sustain any damage.

Paul Menard, who finished second in the Nationwide Series opening practice, spun out in Turn 5 during the Cup session, but was also able to save his car from any damage.

"We were just too loose," Menard said while undergoing repairs in the garage. The team still finished among the top 20 fastest, running a 17th-place lap.

Tony Stewart and his No. 14 team headed to the garage for a transmission change during the hour-and-a-half session. Stewart had a rough return to the track once the transmission change was complete, taking a drive through the grass after overdriving a turn.

NATIONWIDE SERIES PRACTICE 1 | Results

Defending race winner Brad Keselowski paced the field early Friday in a NASCAR Nationwide Series practice that had 30 minutes less on-track time than expected.

Several drivers had not yet logged a lap when oil dropped from Roger Reuse‘s car, an event that brought out first the yellow flag, then the red. When action resumed, the cars barreled onto the track and Keselowski quickly supplanted Marcos Ambrose atop the leaderboard.

Although Paul Menard would top that speed with less than 10 minutes to go, Keselowski reclaimed the top spot with a lap at 122.291 mph. That was enough to relegate Menard to second place with a speed of 121.603 mph.

Ambrose, in the No. 09 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, ended the session third. The road-course ace notched a best speed of 121.553 mph.

It will be Ambrose’s third Nationwide Series start since 2011, and he’s in the event in advance of Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race, where a win would virtually clinch his spot in the Chase.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch (121.439 mph) and Matt Kenseth (121.414 mph) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Kenseth, though, had to take his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the garage after spinning out in Turn 7 and denting his car.

Ty Dillon, sixth with a speed of 121.322 mph, was the highest-finishing Nationwide Series regular.

Series points leader Chase Elliott ended up eighth on the leaderboard (120.789 mph).

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Posted on by Staff Report

See when each driver hits the track during Coors Light Pole Qualifying (Saturday at 11:40 a.m. ET, ESPN2)

1

13

Casey Mears

GEICO Chevrolet

2

22

Joey Logano

Shell Pennzoil Ford

3

43

Aric Almirola

Smithfield Ford

4

78

Martin Truex Jr.

Furnirure Row Chevrolet

5

98

Josh Wise

Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet

6

51

Justin Allgaier #

Brandt Professional Agriculture Chevrolet

7

34

David Ragan

Dockside Logistics Ford

8

47

AJ Allmendinger

Scott Products Chevrolet

9

33

Alex Kennedy

MediaCAST Chevrolet

10

99

Carl Edwards

Kellogg’s/Cheez-It Ford

11

14

Tony Stewart

Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet

12

2

Brad Keselowski

Miller Lite Ford

13

27

Paul Menard

Splash/Menards Chevrolet

14

23

Alex Bowman #

Dustless Blasting Toyota

15

7

Michael Annett #

Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet

16

24

Jeff Gordon

Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet

17

55

Brian Vickers

Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota

18

11

Denny Hamlin

FedEx Ground Toyota

19

41

Kurt Busch

Haas Automation Chevrolet

20

32

Boris Said

Genny Light Ford

21

88

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

National Guard Chevrolet

22

83

Ryan Truex #

Burger King Toyota

23

20

Matt Kenseth

Dollar General Toyota

24

40

Landon Cassill(i)

Newtown Building Supplies Chevrolet

25

36

Reed Sorenson

Chevrolet

26

5

Kasey Kahne

Farmers Insurance Chevrolet

27

95

Michael McDowell

K-Love Ford

28

16

Greg Biffle

3M Ford

29

38

David Gilliland

Long John Silver’s Ford

30

9

Marcos Ambrose

Stanley Ford

31

77

Nelson Piquet Jr.

WORX Ford

32

18

Kyle Busch

M&M’s Toyota

33

66

Joe Nemechek(i)

Land Castle Title Toyota

34

48

Jimmie Johnson

Lowe’s Chevrolet

35

4

Kevin Harvick

Budweiser Chevrolet

36

15

Clint Bowyer

RK Motors Charlotte Toyota

37

1

Jamie McMurray

McDonald’s Chevrolet

38

3

Austin Dillon #

Dow Chevrolet

39

26

Cole Whitt #

Bully Hill Vineyards Toyota

40

17

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Ford EcoBoost Ford

41

10

Danica Patrick

GoDaddy Chevrolet

42

31

Ryan Newman

Caterpillar Chevrolet

43

42

Kyle Larson #

Target Chevrolet

* Required to qualify on time, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

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Posted on by Zack Albert

Switches engine, crashes into tire barrier at road course

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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Danica Patrick’s Friday at Watkins Glen International wasn’t off to a roaring start with an engine change after opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice. In the last two minutes of final practice, it took a dramatically worse turn. 

"It has been a record horrible day, I’m pretty sure," Patrick said. "Why not stack it on?"

Patrick nosed the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Chevrolet into the Turn 5 tire barrier at the end of the 85-minute second session, forcing her team to unload a backup car for Saturday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying (11:40 a.m. ET, ESPN2). Crew chief Tony Gibson said that a shock failure caused compression on the left-front tire, which gave way at the south end of the 2.45-mile track.

"I have no idea," Patrick said after being evaluated and released at the infield care center. "It was only the second lap on tires. Apparently, the 20 (Matt Kenseth) was radio-ing in saying there was some smoke. I never saw any. He said he saw it and you guys should pit. Just in the carousel, there’s so much load on the left-front there, I guess that was the go spot for it." 

Patrick said that she tried to downshift to slow the car or possibly cause a slighter impact on the car’s side, but that the car wound up crunching in headfirst. 

"I’m just not used to crashing at such slow speeds that I needed first gear to save it," Patrick said. "Anyway, I’m sure it would’ve been not good either way. I just kind of hit my hand. It was one of the slow ones. What a terrible day." 

Earlier in the day, Patrick’s crew changed engines after she over-revved the motor on a missed shift during opening practice. According to the rule book, she will start Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen (1 p.m. ET, ESPN) at the rear of the field after the unapproved change.

Patrick’s result in Coors Light Pole Qualifying will determine only her team’s selection of pit stalls, but should help the team sort out the car before Sunday’s main event. 

"We will just treat qualifying like another practice session," Gibson said. "We will run as many laps as we can run and work on the car."

Patrick was 32nd-fastest of the 43 drivers to participate in opening practice, and managed only 36th-best before her crash in final practice. While she walked away uninjured after a Friday she’d rather forget, Patrick hoped the worst of her misfortune was behind her. 

"The only positive thing is that I’m hoping I’m using up all my bad luck and mistakes and all the bad stuff in one day, so that I can get it out of the system before we got to the next one," Patrick said. "On the second thought, I suppose that after an engine change this morning we were starting in the back anyway. Third, I would say if you are going to have to start at the back of a track the strategies are all over the place on road courses and it just might push us into something that works."

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Posted on by Zack Albert

Earnhardt laments loss of National Guard, calls partnership ‘a huge honor’

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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Friday that he expects second-generation phenom Chase Elliott to compete full time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2016. As for the teenager, Elliott says he’s just enjoying the progress as it unfolds.

The questions over the direction of one of stock-car racing’s brightest young talents continued to be a burning topic in the garage, even though his career is just 29 NASCAR national series starts old. The fire was stoked earlier in the week when powerhouse team owner Rick Hendrick told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that he expected Elliott to enter a handful of Sprint Cup events next season.

Earnhardt did nothing to throw water on the possibilities at Watkins Glen International, saying that Elliott will soon be ripe for a spot in NASCAR’s premier series.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

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"I think it makes great sense," Earnhardt said outside his Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 hauler. "You know, two Nationwide seasons, run a little Cup in that second season and go right on into Cup, I think that’s the plan. He’s running well enough that that seems to make a lot of sense. I wouldn’t have expected anything else, to be honest with you."

Elliott, moments before final NASCAR Nationwide Series practice, said that his schedule and any potential move up for next season and beyond was far from confirmed.

"I think the best word I can come up with is it’s ‘a thought.’ That’s going to be my answer for the weekend is it’s a thought," Elliott said. "Beyond that, I really don’t know. It’s kind of out of my hands. I think it’s something that Mr. Hendrick has thought about and I know he mentioned it on the radio the other day. So he knows a lot more about it than I do, and I don’t ask questions. I just take it a week at a time and beyond that, I’m not sure."

Elliott — the son of NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Bill Elliott — has produced captivating results in his rookie season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, vaulting to the lead in the points standings with three victories through the first 20 of 33 races this season. He’s done so under the watch of Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports organization, racing with the No. 9 that his father campaigned for most of his career.

Though he’s tested Sprint Cup cars from the Hendrick shops in the offseason, Elliott said he isn’t rushing his timetable for joining NASCAR’s big leagues.

"I think you take it as it comes," Elliott said. "Until you go and try, it’s hard to say. There’s times where I think, ‘yeah, maybe we could keep up,’ and other days, maybe not. Really until you give it a fair chance it’s hard to say at what point you are in your career. So I try to take it a week at a time, I don’t ask questions and just try to hope for the best."

Greg Ives, who has helped mentor the 18-year-old Elliott as his crew chief at JRM, will move to Earnhardt’s No. 88 team at the start of 2015, replacing Steve Letarte.

While Hendrick’s stable is full at the NASCAR-mandated maximum of four full-time Sprint Cup teams, a fifth part-time car for a prospective rookie would be allowed within the rules. Wednesday night, Hendrick lauded Elliott’s poise while saying he hoped to see his career progress to the Sprint Cup level next season.

"I said before he ever ran a race, I would put him in a 600-mile race at Charlotte and think he’d finish in the top 15, top 10, because he’s so smart," Hendrick told SiriusXM. "He just understands the car and takes care of it. I think he’s going to do a super job whenever the time comes. I think we’ll surely, probably the second half of next year, we’ll probably see him in some races."

Count Jeff Gordon, Hendrick’s longtime franchise driver, among the believers.
 
"I mean this kid is phenomenal. He is just a sponge," Gordon said Friday at Watkins Glen. "You just introduce him to new things and he just excels at it. When it comes to young talent like Chase, I think the sooner that you can. Not necessarily the sooner, but you don’t want to keep them in a Nationwide car too long. You want to get them in that Cup car and I think that is a perfect plan is to put him in there for some races next year to give him an idea, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you see him in there full time the following year."

Earnhardt, in his brief remarks before opening practice, also lamented the loss of National Guard as a primary sponsor at the end of the season. The branch of the U.S. military announced Wednesday that it would cease its backing of all forms of motorsports in 2015.

While Earnhardt described having the organization’s logo on his cars has been "a huge honor," he acknowledged that the military’s allocation of marketing funds has been a source of scrutiny in the nation’s capital.

"There’s been the debate in Washington for several years," Earnhardt said. "Hopefully, we’ll be able to continue to represent them. Really have enjoyed it and it’s been a great, great seven years. It’s been a great partnership. I think it’s been very, very effective. Hopefully we can continue to do that."

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Posted on by Fraser Nye

New York native improves on road courses in championship quest

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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Regan Smith grew up 90 minutes northeast of Watkins Glen International in Cato, New York and remembers coming to a lot of races at the facility.

The 30-year-old still acts like a kid when he comes back to the Glen, especially after finishing fourth last year, a career best on a road course.

"When you get ready to practice here, I get a little more giddy becaust it’s just a fun race track to go out and drive as a driver," Smith said. "In terms of road courses, I’m not the best road racer in America by any means so they’re all challenging to me, but this one, I feel a little more at home at and have more confidence coming into it."

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Smith trails JR Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott by two points after 20 races this season. He trailed eventual champion Austin Dillon by 14 at the same point last year, and he says he learned from the mistakes he made last year to challenge for the title down the stretch.

"If you look at that points, we’re in a very similar position to where we were at the Glen last year from a points standpoint so the thing I’ve got to do a better job of as a driver is not getting too desperate too early and not changing what you do in the car and just letting things come to you."

After a 16th-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway last month, the No. 7 team has turned the corner, in Smith’s eyes, and is putting forth a championship effort.

"Chicago was really bad for us, and it was tough on the guys," Smith said. "It was tough on me, and we left there and changed a few things, did a few things a little different the past two races. Although it’s only been 10th (Indianapolis) and sixth-place (Iowa) finishes, they’ve been big steps forward for us.

"We can leave those last two races and say, ‘If we had done this different, we would have finished better or we would have gone faster.’ And that’s a good thing because there’s a couple of them before that that we were left scratching our head like ‘What do we do?’ The experience will definitely help us down the stretch."

One road Smith would rather not travel is next Saturday’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio, but he knows he has to improve to stay in the championship chase.

"I hate that place," Smith said of the Lexington, Ohio facility. "I’ll just point-blank tell you I’m going to have to work hard next week.

"The road courses definitely last year were place we could have gained more points and helped ourselves out in the championship."

Starting sixth in 2013, Smith finished 15th at Mid-Ohio after turning in the fourth-place finish a week prior at the Glen. Smith improved from a 32nd-place finish at Road America to 13th in June. A similar improvement at the Glen could land him in Victory Lane.

A winner in the season-opening race at Daytona, Smith compares a Watkins Glen win with his World Center of Racing triumph.

"I think we should be able to go out better than fourth place and get up in the top three and challenge for the win if things go our way. That’s just how I feel.

"This place would be almost as big as Daytona to win at. It would be cool. With this many friends and family in the area that still live up here and everybody that’s in Cato. It would be a big deal for me."

If equating a road-course win to a win at Daytona sounds familiar, Smith’s boss, Dale Earnhardt Jr., tweeted the same sentiment heading to Sonoma in June. The No. 7 driver seems to be inspired by Dale Jr. and has adopted a similar attitude.

"I think he’s driving as good as anybody in the series right now on the Cup side," Smith said. "Maybe I’m partial because he is my boss, and I’m around him a lot more and he’s my friend.

"But I’d put him up against anybody at this moment. Hell, he went to Sears Point (Sonoma) and got a third place, and this is a guy that admits that he doesn’t like road courses so it’s been good to see."

It would be good for the No. 7 team to see Smith follow his owner’s lead and earn a couple of top-five finishes, if not a win, and keep the pressure on their No. 9 neighbors in the shop in pursuit of JR Motorsports’ first Nationwide title.

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