Posted on by Staff Report

Hometown hero Hamlin is a favorite to punch his Chase ticket

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At Darlington Raceway two weeks ago, Kevin Harvick became the first two-time winner of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. He’s liable to win again this weekend at Richmond International Raceway, where he’s won two of the last five races and three overall.

As the season reaches its quarter pole, half of the 16-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field is set with points leader Jeff Gordon provisionally claiming the eighth spot. He joins race winners Harvick (Phoenix, Darlington); Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Daytona); Brad Keselowski (Las Vegas); Carl Edwards (Bristol); Kyle Busch (Auto Club); Kurt Busch (Martinsville) and Joey Logano (Texas).

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After the first off-week of the year, NASCAR heads to its third short-track race of the season. Here are five winless drivers in 2014 who could begin to fill out the second half of the Chase Grid.

Denny Hamlin
Growing up in Chesterfield, Va., a little more than 30 minutes south, Hamlin returns to his home track as a favorite to get his third win at the 3/4-mile oval. He holds the top driver rating (114.8), fastest average green flag speed (116.782 mph), a series-high 584 fastest laps run and a best average running position of 6.6. His 8.9 average finish in the loop data era is fourth-best among active drivers to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch (7.2) and Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Harvick and Tony Stewart (8.7).

Clint Bowyer
A two-time Richmond winner, Bowyer has the fifth-best average finish among active drivers at 10.1. He joins Hamlin as one of four drivers with a driver rating over 100 (100.7). The others are 2014 race winners Kyle Busch and Harvick. Before Bowyer’s infamous spin in last fall’s final race before the Chase, he had reeled off three consecutive top-10 finishes, including a runner-up result in this race last year.

Tony Stewart
With three wins at The Action Track, Stewart can tie Kyle Busch for most victories among active drivers with another visit to Victory Lane on Saturday night. He would also join teammates Kurt Busch and Harvick in the provisional Chase Grid, giving Stewart-Haas Racing four wins in nine races this season. Stewart has the second-best average finish among active drivers at 8.7 since 2005. He missed last fall’s race at the track because of injury and finished 18th in the spring, but he had four consecutive top-10 finishes in 2011 and 2012 with a third-place finish two years ago in this race.

Jeff Gordon
A two-time Richmond winner, his runner-up finish in the 2012 fall event raced him into that year’s Chase, and his Coors Light Pole in last fall’s race set a track record and broke NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson’s record with at least one pole in 21 consecutive seasons. So Gordon performs well under pressure at this bullring that races like a superspeedway. At Richmond, he has the sixth-best Driver Rating (96.0), the best career average start (7.6) and most Coors Light Poles (6) among active drivers.

Ryan Newman
A Richmond winner in the fall of 2003, Newman has three top-10 finishes, including a third-place finish last fall, in his last five races and hasn’t finished worse than 15th in that span in the capital of Virginia. With an eighth-best driver rating of 91.6, Newman has spent the third-most laps in the top 15 (5,419) for 75.1 percent of all races since 2005. He has the second-most quality passes (550), or green-flag passes of a car running in the top 15.

Go deeper: Check out NASCAR’s Richmond Statistical Analysis for more stats and notes for Saturday’s Toyota Owners 400 (7 p.m. ET, FOX).

Heading into the ninth race of NASCAR’s regular season, here is how the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings look:

Pos. Driver Chase berth
1. Kevin Harvick Winner: Phoenix, Darlington
2. Carl Edwards Winner: Bristol
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Winner: Daytona
4. Kyle Busch Winner: Fontana
5. Brad Keselowski Winner: Las Vegas
6. Joey Logano Winner: Texas
7. Kurt Busch Winner: Martinsville
8. Jeff Gordon Points leader
9. Matt Kenseth 2nd in points
10. Jimmie Johnson 5th in points
11. Ryan Newman 9th in points
12. Austin Dillon 10th in points
13. Greg Biffle 11th in points
14. Tony Stewart 12th in points
15. Brian Vickers 13th in points
16. Kyle Larson 14th in points

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Posted on by Zack Albert

Nationwide regular aims to stem 2013 disappointment, vault up standings

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RICHMOND, Va. — Brian Scott hasn’t had an extensive history of success at Richmond International Raceway. Perhaps that’s what made his performance in the NASCAR Nationwide Series here last September such an anomaly and a heartbreaker all in one. 

Scott gets his shot at redemption in Friday night’s ToyotaCare 250 (7 p.m. ET, ESPNEWS), aiming to end a string of 20 straight Nationwide victories at Richmond by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars. The fact that he came oh-so-close to interrupting that win streak nearly eight months ago is both a source of encouragement and dismay.

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"I’m just frustrated and mad that we didn’t get to Victory Lane last fall here," Scott said Thursday afternoon before opening practice at the 0.75-mile track. "I’ve got a chip on my shoulder, and I want to get out here this spring and show that we can dominate a race just like we did last fall here, and that we can get it done in the closing laps as long as we don’t have any misfortune and bring home the checkered flag this time."

Scott entered the track’s most recent 250-lapper with no finishes better than 14th in eight Richmond appearances. But when his Richard Childress Racing crew unloaded his No. 2 Chevrolet last September, he knew he had a competitive ride for the weekend.

Scott secured the Coors Light Pole Award and led the first 239 laps before giving way to eventual winner Brad Keselowski on a controversial late-race restart. Scott took exception to what he perceived as a jump on the green flag by Keselowski, a setback that left him settling for second place and extending what he termed a "bittersweet love affair" with the Richmond track, which included a post-race kick below the belt from rival Nelson Piquet Jr. after this event last year.

"Up until last year, I never liked Richmond. I think statistically, it had been my worst race track," said Scott, whose tune changed after joining the Childress team before the 2013 season and reaping the benefit of its short-track strength. He’ll be racing the same car he drove here last September come Friday night, boosting his optimism. 

"I have a lot of confidence here now. … I feel like they made my life a lot easier here last fall because we unloaded right off the truck really well, and this is a place that can be challenging to practice." 

Entering this race last season, Scott ranked in a tie for fourth in Nationwide Series standings, just nine points out of the lead. This season, the 26-year-old native of Boise, Idaho, stands 46 points off the top in sixth place.

While he hasn’t had any dismal performances in 2014, Scott has just one finish in the top 10 and five finishes on the fringes of it — results that haven’t necessarily been indicative of his team’s showings. 

"I actually feel like our team has been more competitive in races, we just haven’t finished," Scott said. "Last year, we were able to get finishes better than what we were running. This year, we’ve been running better and finishing worse. I feel like our team, we’ve been fast, we’re more capable than we were last year. We’ve just got to quit giving away positions at the end of races and finish where for the most part we run. Really, toward the end of races is a great opportunity and one where we should be moving forward and not backward." 

Scott is also moving forward with his limited schedule in the Sprint Cup Series. He’s competed in three of the first five races in NASCAR’s premier division this year, following his lone start of 2013 — a 27th-place finish in his Sprint Cup debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the fall. 

The top level of NASCAR has been a dream, Scott says, ever since he first turned the wheel in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2007. His next starts in the series are scheduled next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway and Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte — the next two steps at achieving his ultimate goal.

"I’ve got my eyes on, I’d like to be in the Sprint Cup Series next year," Scott said. "Obviously, we’ve got to perform this year both on the Nationwide side and in the opportunities that we have at the Cup side. Hopefully we can have good runs and get more opportunities."

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Posted on by Nascar

Kligerman commends Brandon Davis for sticking out the Swan Racing restructuring 

MORE: Swan breakup leaves Kligerman without a ride | Swan struggles became ‘nightmare’ for owner | Taxing expansion process took toll on Swan

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Parker Kligerman said Thursday that he and Swan Racing team owner Brandon Davis remain "good friends" and the two are exploring potential racing opportunities for later in 2014. 

Kligerman, speaking on his "Kicking It With Kligerman" weekly podcast, addressed the recent news of Swan Racing’s demise, a move that left the Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate without a ride in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

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"Obviously my race team, Swan Racing, has taken a chance in this break to restructure," Kligerman said. "And by doing so they’ve sold the 26 team … they’re gone. (They’ve) also sold the 30 team.

"In doing all that, I obviously do not have a ride for this weekend in Richmond, sadly enough. But … a lot of these things are blessings in disguise. Brandon Davis and I are still good friends. I’m still under contract with Swan Racing; we’re still trying to see what we can put together maybe later in the year." 

Kligerman, 23, is 38th in points after this year’s first eight Cup races, with a best finish of 29th. He made two starts with the No. 30 team last season, placing a career-best 18th at Texas in the fall in his Cup debut. 

Less than one week after saying that Swan officials were reviewing the organization’s financial status, Davis issued a statement announcing the sale of the two teams. Former minority owner Anthony Marlowe has become a partner with BK Racing, and the group will add the No. 26 with driver Cole Whitt to a stable that already includes rookies Alex Bowman and Ryan Truex. 

Xxxtreme Motorsports owner John Cohen has acquired the No. 30 entry, previously driven by Kligerman. JJ Yeley will handle the driving duties for the team, which will switch from the No. 44 to No. 30. 

The now ride-less Kligerman said several teams have expressed an interest in his availability. 

"And we are evaluating those," he said, "making sure that we don’t make the wrong choice. 

"The big thing for Swan Racing and everyone involved … was making sure that the employees, first and foremost, were taken care of. And in doing all the things that Brandon Davis did, in terms of selling the 26 and selling the 30, and keeping a couple of people on to help him go through the … winding down of Swan Racing’s assets and such, we’ve been able to keep everyone employed and that’s what matters most."

Davis "could have walked away," he said. "Easily. (He) could have just said ‘screw this, I’m out.’ But he’s a stand-up guy. He’s stayed through it and he’s worked through it with everyone else and you have to commend him (for that). 

"He shot for the stars and we may have failed but at the end of the day he’s making it right."

Speaking on "NASCAR Race Hub" Thursday, Kligerman said his focus is on remaining in the Cup Series, although opportunities outside NASCAR have come his way as well. 

"I think at the end of the day the Cup Series is the level we all want to be at and that’s the top of our sport,” he said. “So there’s no doubt in my mind I am focused on the Cup Series, but making sure that the opportunity we take is one that can … move (me) forward in my career and (is) giving me the best opportunity."

Kligerman has one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win, with a top points finish of fifth in that series in 2012. He competed fulltime for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series last season, finishing ninth in points.

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Posted on by Staff Report

JRM’s Kevin Harvick to lead Nationwide cars out at 3:10 p.m. ET on Friday

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#

Car

Driver

Team

1

5

Kevin Harvick(i)

Tide Chevrolet

2

51

Jeremy Clements

RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet

3

10

* Jeff Green

Heroes Behind the Camo Toyota

4

13

* Matt Carter

Headrush Toyota

5

14

Eric McClure

Hefty Ultimate/Reynolds Wrap Toyota

6

76

* Tommy Joe Martins #

Dodge

7

42

Kyle Larson(i)

Target Ticket Chevrolet

8

55

Jimmy Weller III(i)

Chevrolet

9

28

JJ Yeley

JGL Racing Dodge

10

22

Ryan Blaney(i)

SKF/Discount Tire Ford

11

74

* Mike Harmon

Dodge

12

33

* Cale Conley(i)

Okuma Chevrolet

13

01

Landon Cassill

G&K Services Chevrolet

14

17

* Tanner Berryhill #

NationalCashLenders.com Dodge

15

87

Kevin Lepage

JD Motorsports Chevrolet

16

31

Dylan Kwasniewski #

Rockstar Chevrolet

17

40

Josh Wise(i)

Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet

18

70

* Derrike Cope

Youtheory Chevrolet

19

52

Joey Gase

Donate Life Chevrolet

20

62

Brendan Gaughan

South Point Chevrolet

21

86

* Joe Nemechek(i)

Bubba Burger Chevrolet

22

23

* Josh Reaume

Lilly Trucking Chevrolet

23

4

Jeffrey Earnhardt

Perdue Chevrolet

24

16

Ryan Reed #

ADA Drive to Stop Diabetes presented by Lilly Diabetes Ford

25

7

Regan Smith

Hellmann’s Chevrolet

26

6

Trevor Bayne

AdvoCare Ford

27

3

Ty Dillon #

WESCO Chevrolet

28

93

Mike Wallace

Old Dominion Truck Leasing Dodge

29

11

Elliott Sadler

OneMain Financial Toyota

30

99

James Buescher

Rheem Toyota

31

46

* Matt Dibenedetto

Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet

32

20

Daniel Suarez

Silent Circle/Telcel Toyota

33

39

Ryan Sieg #

RSS Racing Chevrolet

34

19

Mike Bliss

TriStar Motorsports Toyota

35

9

Chase Elliott #

NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet

36

44

Blake Koch

K-LOVE Crisis Response Training Toyota

37

43

Dakoda Armstrong #

WinField Ford

38

2

Brian Scott

Shore Lodge Chevrolet

39

60

Chris Buescher #

Ford EcoBoost Ford

40

54

Kyle Busch(i)

Monster Energy Toyota

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

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Posted on by Brad Norman

Can Bowyer recover from 2013 spin, win?; Plus other favorites

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Editor’s note: The following drivers are ranked according to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. Driver Reports includes the top 16 in the points standings and drivers currently in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field.

1. Jeff Gordon (No. 24)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 

Standing: Gordon leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings with 297 points.
Past five races: 7th at Darlington, 2nd at Texas, 12th at Martinsville, 13th at Auto Club, 7th at Bristol.
Season stats: 3 top-fives, 6 top-10s.
Track history: At Richmond, Gordon’s average finish is 15.3 and his average running position is 13.8 over the past nine years. In 42 career starts at Richmond, he has two wins, 16 top-fives, 26 top-10s and six poles.
Quick hit: In the past three years, Gordon has started first, second and third at the 0.75-mile oval. He’s logged one top-five and two top-10s in that span. Given his success this year, expect another good starting spot and finish from the No. 24 team.

2. Matt Kenseth (No. 20)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Standing: Kenseth is second in the standings with 296 points.
Past five races: 4th at Darlington, 7th at Texas, 6th at Martinsville, 4th at Auto Club, 13th at Bristol.
Season stats: 2 top-fives, 6 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Richmond, Kenseth’s average finish is 16.6 and his average running position is 16.3 over the past nine years. In 28 career starts at Richmond, he has one win, four top-fives, 12 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Following a stretch of 10 consecutive races of finishing outside the top 10 at Richmond, Kenseth has three consecutive finishes of fifth, seventh and sixth. His pair of top-10s last year was the first time the veteran recorded a top-10 in both the spring and fall Richmond races since 2003. Expect another top-10 on Saturday, given Joe Gibbs Racing’s strength at the track.

3. Carl Edwards (No. 99)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford 

Standing: Edwards is third in the standings with 278 points.
Past five races: 13th at Darlington, 14th at Texas, 13th at Martinsville, 10th at Auto Club, 1st at Bristol.
Season stats: 1 win, 2 top-fives, 4 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Richmond, Edwards’ average finish is 14.2 and his average running position is 14.9 over the past nine years. In 19 career starts at Richmond, he has one win, four top-fives, 10 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Richmond isn’t one of Edwards’ best tracks, but the No. 99 team found consistency last year with a sixth-place finish in the spring and a win in the fall. Another win would not only likely guarantee Edwards a Chase spot, but would give Ford the manufacturer’s first back-to-back pair of wins at the track since 1998-99.

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Standing: Earnhardt Jr. is fourth in the standings with 271 points.
Past five races: 2nd at Darlington, 43rd at Texas, 3rd at Martinsville, 12th at Auto Club, 24th at Bristol.
Season stats: 1 win, 5 top-fives, 5 top-10s.
Track history: At Richmond, Earnhardt Jr.’s average finish is 16.8 and his average running position is 15.2 over the past nine years. In 29 career starts at Richmond, he has three wins, nine top-fives, 12 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Through eight races, Junior has five top-threes and two finishes of 24th or worse. Which one will it be this weekend? Recent history (two top-10s in the past 10 races) suggests a down weekend, but is it really smart to bet against the No. 88 team this year?

5. Jimmie Johnson (No. 48)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Standing: Johnson is fifth in the standings with 270 points.
Past five races: 3rd at Darlington, 25th at Texas, 2nd at Martinsville, 24th at Auto Club, 19th at Bristol.
Season stats: 3 top-fives, 5 top-10s.
Track history: At Richmond, Johnson’s average finish is 16.8 and his average running position is 16.2 over the past nine years. In 24 career starts at Richmond, he has three wins, five top-fives, eight top-10s and two poles.
Quick hit: Johnson has had enough travails at the track recently that his three wins here seem like ancient history — and really, six years (his most recent victory here was 2008) is a long time in the NASCAR vacuum. And since 2009 Johnson has had more finishes outside the top 30 (three) than top-fives (one).

6. Kyle Busch (No. 18)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Standing: Busch is sixth in the standings with 269 points.
Past five races: 6th at Darlington, 3rd at Texas, 14th at Martinsville, 1st at Auto Club, 29th at Bristol.
Season stats: 1 win, 2 top-fives, 4 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Richmond, Busch’s average finish is 7.2 and his average running position is 7.8 over the past nine years. In 18 career starts at Richmond, he has four wins, 12 top-fives, 13 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Busch’s average finish over the past nine years is tops in the Sprint Cup Series. He’s one of three drivers to have both an average finish and an average running position of less than 10.0 in the loop data era. Forget his less-than-stellar results last year (24th, 19th) — he’s among the favorites.

7. Brad Keselowski (No. 2)

Penske Racing, Ford 

Standing: Keselowski is seventh in the standings with 246 points.
Past five races: 17th at Darlington, 15th at Texas, 38th at Martinsville, 26th at Auto Club, 14th at Bristol.
Season stats: 1 win, 3 top-fives, 3 top-10s.
Track history: At Richmond, Keselowski’s average finish is 20.1 and his average running position is 16.2 over the past nine years. In nine career starts at Richmond, he has two top-10s.
Quick hit: Saturday night will be a good test of just how much further along Team Penske is with the new package than everyone else. Keselowski has finished outside the top 30 in three of his nine career starts here, so it’s clearly not one of his better tracks. His career-best finish is seventh in 2012.

8. Joey Logano (No. 22)

Penske Racing, Ford 

Standing: Logano is eighth in the standings with 245 points.
Past five races: 35th at Darlington, 1st at Texas, 4th at Martinsville, 39th at Auto Club, 20th at Bristol.
Season stats: 1 win, 4 top-fives, 4 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Richmond, Logano’s average finish is 17.8 and his average running position is 18.8 over the past nine years. In 10 career starts at Richmond, he has two top-fives and two top-10s.
Quick hit: When Logano qualifies well here — say, in the top 10 — his average finish is 14.0 in five races. When he doesn’t, his average finish is 18.0. Good thing for Logano, he’s made the final round of group qualifying for all seven 2014 races that use the format.

9. Ryan Newman (No. 31)

Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet 

Standing: Newman is ninth in the standings with 236 points.
Past five races: 10th at Darlington, 16th at Texas, 20th at Martinsville, 20th at Auto Club, 16th at Bristol.
Season stats: 3 top-10s.
Track history: At Richmond, Newman’s average finish is 11.2 and his average running position is 11.7 over the past nine years. In 24 career starts at Richmond, he has one win, six top-fives, 14 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Newman might be a good Fantasy Live play at Richmond … in the fall. During the past three seasons, the veteran has finished outside the top 10 (20th, 15th, 15th) in the spring races only to rally for top-10s (eighth, eighth, third) in the season’s second race at the track.

10. Austin Dillon (No. 3)

Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet  

Standing: Dillon is 10th in the standings with 235 points.
Past five races: 11th at Darlington, 21st at Texas, 15th at Martinsville, 11th at Auto Club, 11th at Bristol.
Season stats: 1 top-10, 1 pole.
Track history: Dillon has zero Sprint Cup Series starts at Richmond. In five Nationwide Series starts, he had two top-10s.
Quick hit: Dillon has only one top-10 in eight starts this year, but consider he also has three finishes of exactly 11th place. He’s also logged 2,700 out of a possible 2,702 laps through this year. Dillon doesn’t have a career Cup start at Richmond — that’s been the case at five tracks already this season, and his average finish in those races is 14.4

11. Greg Biffle (No. 16)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford

Standing: Biffle is 11th in the standings with 227 points.
Past five races: 5th at Darlington, 6th at Texas, 18th at Martinsville, 40th at Auto Club, 12th at Bristol.
Season stats: 1 top-five, 3 top-10s.
Track history: At Richmond, Biffle’s average finish is 16.2 and his average running position is 17.2 over the past nine years. In 23 career starts at Richmond, he has two top-fives, six top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Roush Fenway Racing has attempted to rebuild its short-track program, and this should give an indicator of whether that movement is successful. Biffle’s average finish here over the past nine years ranks 13th among the 15 drivers currently in the Chase field who have made a start at the 0.75-mile track.

12. Tony Stewart (No. 14)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet  

Standing: Stewart is 12th in the standings with 224 points.
Past five races: 9th at Darlington, 10th at Texas, 17th at Martinsville, 5th at Auto Club, 4th at Bristol.
Season stats: 2 top-fives, 4 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Richmond, Stewart’s average finish is 8.7 and his average running position is 12.1 over the past nine years. In 29 career starts at Richmond, he has three wins, 11 top-fives and 19 top-10s.
Quick hit: With four top-10s in his past five races, Stewart seems due to break through and challenge for a victory. Why not at Richmond? His average finish in the loop data era is tied for second-best, and he’s had two top-fives in the past three races here.

13. Brian Vickers (No. 55)

Michael Waltrip Racing, Toyota 

Standing: Vickers is 13th in the standings with 224 points.
Past five races: 26th at Darlington, 4th at Texas, 16th at Martinsville, 7th at Auto Club, 9th at Bristol.
Season stats: 1 top-five, 3 top-10s.
Track history: At Richmond, Vickers’ average finish is 25.9 and his average running position is 22.6 over the past nine years. In 16 career starts at Richmond, he has three top-10s and two poles.
Quick hit: Vickers’ strong start to the season took a dip with a 26th-place result at Darlington. It may get worse for the No. 55 driver this week at a track where he has finished 33rd, 35th and 24th in his past three races here.

14. Kyle Larson (No. 42)

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Chevrolet  

Standing: Larson is 14th in the standings with 223 points.
Past five races: 8th at Darlington, 5th at Texas, 27th at Martinsville, 2nd at Auto Club, 10th at Bristol.
Season stats: 2 top-fives, 4 top-10s.
Track history: Larson has zero Sprint Cup Series starts at Richmond. In two Nationwide Series starts, he had one top-10.
Quick hit: Larson continues to impress every week, with his eighth-place showing at Darlington among the most impressive yet. He has scant experience at Richmond, but he’s still a good value play in Fantasy Live and a threat to record his fifth top-10 of the season.

15. Denny Hamlin (No. 11)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Standing: Hamlin is 15th in the standings with 223 points.
Past five races: 19th at Darlington, 13th at Texas, 19th at Martinsville, DNS at Auto Club, 6th at Bristol.
Season stats: 1 top-five, 2 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Richmond, Hamlin’s average finish is 8.9 and his average running position is 6.6 over the past nine years. In 15 career starts at Richmond, he has two wins, seven top-fives, nine top-10s and two poles.
Quick hit: There’s no place like home? Hamlin certainly hopes that’s true. He hasn’t seemed right since missing the Fontana race earlier this year. Pit-road speeding penalties on the final pit stop in consecutive races haven’t helped, but maybe being at his home track will. Hamlin ranks first in the series in average running position at the track and fourth in average finish since 2005.

16. Clint Bowyer (No. 15)

Michael Waltrip Racing, Toyota 

Standing: Bowyer is 16th in the standings with 219 points.
Past five races: 12th at Darlington, 8th at Texas, 9th at Martinsville, 16th at Auto Club, 15th at Bristol.
Season stats: 2 top-10s.
Track history: At Richmond, Bowyer’s average finish is 10.1 and his average running position is 9.5 over the past nine years. In 16 career starts at Richmond, he has two wins, three top-fives and nine top-10s.
Quick hit: It’s easy to remember last year’s Richmond controversy when analyzing Bowyer. But keep in mind before that spin, Bowyer had won twice at the track — weighty numbers considering he has eight total victories in the Sprint Cup Series.

22. Kevin Harvick (No. 4)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Standing: Harvick is 22nd in the standings with 186 points.
Past five races: 1st at Darlington, 42nd at Texas, 7th at Martinsville, 36th at Auto Club, 39th at Bristol.
Season stats: 2 wins, 2 top-fives, 3 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Richmond, Harvick’s average finish is 8.7 and his average running position is 7.9 over the past nine years. In 26 career starts at Richmond, he has three wins, seven top-fives, 16 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Harvick’s No. 4 team is the lone group with two wins this season, and the driver won this race last year. Combine that with the knowledge that Richmond has been among the best tracks throughout his career, and you have one of the clear favorites this weekend.

26. Kurt Busch (No. 41)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet

Standing: Busch is 26th in the standings with 164 points.
Past five races: 31st at Darlington, 39th at Texas, 1st at Martinsville, 3rd at Auto Club, 35th at Bristol.
Season stats: 1 win, 2 top-fives, 2 top-10s.
Track history: At Richmond, Busch’s average finish is 15.8 and his average running position is 14.4 over the past nine years. In 26 career starts at Richmond, he has one win, five top-fives and nine top-10s.
Quick hit: Busch’s lone win came a long time ago (2005), but he has two recent top-fives, including a runner-up finish in last year’s fall race. The No. 41 team has finished outside of the top 30 in three of the past five races, something you should not expect to happen Saturday night.

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No. 26 team merges with BK Racing; No. 30 team sold to XxxTreme Motorsports

RELATED: Swan struggles became ‘nightmare’ for owner

The beleaguered Swan Racing organization has shed both its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars, a move that keeps rookie driver Cole Whitt in a ride but leaves former teammate Parker Kligerman in limbo heading to Richmond International Raceway this weekend.

Less than a week after admitting it lacked the funds to effectively operate, Swan Racing announced Wednesday that one of its two cars will move to BK Racing, where former Swan minority partner Anthony Marlowe will be the listed owner. BK Racing will arrive in Richmond as a suddenly expanded three-car operation, with the No. 26 car and Whitt — both formerly of the Swan stable — joining the No. 23 of Alex Bowman and the No. 83 of Ryan Truex.

The No. 30 team has been sold to owner John Cohen of XxxTreme Motorsports, which will put driver J.J. Yeley behind the wheel. Several members of the existing No. 30 team, including crew chief Stephen Lane, will also make the move to Cohen’s team, according to Swan Racing owner Brandon Davis.

The odd man out for the moment is Kligerman, who remains under contract to Swan Racing, which says it will seek options to get him back on the race track.

"I am very relieved to know that the Nos. 26 and 30 teams will be in good hands, and will continue to compete for the remainder of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season," Davis said in a statement. "Most importantly, most of the team members have the opportunity to continue their employment in the sport and to support their families. This was critically important to me."

Swan is not fielding an entry for Saturday night’s race in Richmond, and as of Wednesday afternoon Kligerman did not have a ride for that event. Kligerman’s 18th-place result in his debut last season at Texas remains one of the team’s four top-20 finishes.

"Although it’s unfortunate we are having to scale back, I look forward to the future and the exciting things that I’m confident we will accomplish at Swan Racing or with another team," Kligerman said in a statement. "I value the relationship that I’ve had with Brandon Davis and am very grateful for him giving me an opportunity to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Whether I continue to race with Brandon and Swan Racing or end up with another team, I will always give it my all on and off track to be the best I can be."

Added Davis: "Swan Racing is exploring any and all options to keep Parker Kligerman on track throughout the season. We are encouraged by the response we have received from interested parties. Parker … brought this racing team one of its strongest results in his first race with us, and we are certain of his success in the future."

Swan Racing was formed in late 2012 when Davis took over the former Inception Motorsports fielded by David Stremme. It was a single-car operation in 2013, with Stremme driving for the bulk of the season, until Davis put a series of younger competitors behind the wheel looking for a full-time driver for 2014. He found two — Whitt and Kligerman, both Sprint Cup Series rookies, who opened this year in what was an expanded stable of two full-time cars for 2014.

Not surprisingly, both young drivers have struggled on the track — Whitt was 33rd and Kligerman 38th in driver points after the most recent Sprint Cup event, two weekends ago at Darlington Raceway. At the same time, the Swan team had trouble attracting sponsorship funding, and last week the resulting financial squeeze reached the point where it placed the fledgling team’s future in jeopardy.

Marlowe, an Iowa resident who founded a business process outsourcing company, joined the Swan ownership group the first of this year, and now becomes a partner at BK Racing. "Looking forward, my mission is to ensure Cole Whitt races in every NASCAR Sprint Cup event this season," he said.

"I’m grateful for the opportunity Anthony Marlowe is giving me to continue the NASCAR Sprint Cup season," Whitt added. "I want to thank Brandon Davis and everyone at Swan Racing for the opportunity they gave me to race for the team."

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Brandon Davis talks about the struggles of moving to two cars this season

RELATED: Swan breakup leaves Kligerman without a ride

It was supposed to be fun, and it started out that way. But after expanding to two cars, hiring a pair of rookie drivers, and struggling to find sponsorship backing, it eventually became something else for the owner of Swan Racing.

"It went from a lot of fun to a nightmare in a matter of months," Brandon Davis told NASCAR.com by telephone Wednesday, after his race team farmed off both its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars to other organizations. "I’m not going to point my finger in any one direction. It was just the overall thing, probably adding two cars, etc. … There were challenges there."

That much became evident late last week, when Swan announced it lacked the funds to operate and was considering options. The route it chose was for minority owner Anthony Marlowe to take driver Cole Whitt and the No. 26 team to BK Racing, and then sell the No. 30 team to XxxTreme Motorsports owner John Cohen, who will put J.J. Yeley behind the wheel. That leaves former No. 30 driver Parker Kligerman without a ride, although he remains under contract to Swan.

And with it ends an exhausting week and trying past few months for Davis, whose Swan Energy oil and gas company has bankrolled the team for most of its brief existence. Davis was willing to dig into his pockets to get the team going last year, when it fielded one car. But he expanded to two entries for 2014 and had hoped to subsist on sponsorship dollars, and the pieces simply didn’t come together in time to keep the organization operational.

Combine that with the time demands of Davis’ growing oil and gas businesses, and it added up to difficulty from the first weeks of the season. 

"It started in Daytona, and things that were supposed to happen didn’t," he said. "It kind of snowballed from there, I guess, and it kept getting worse, not better. From a time perspective, my company has grown a lot, even since January as far as Swan Energy, and my other oil company. The time necessity, for what I needed to do and the time I needed to spend with the race team and working on it, I just haven’t had. So it kind of all came to a head the week before Texas, and that’s when we started trying to figure out what do we need to do to ensure as many people stay employed as possible, and to keep the cars on track."

Davis said most of Swan’s former employees found work either with one of the new teams, or had something else lined up. From a financial perspective, some advised him it might be best just to shut down the whole organization, but "that was not OK with me," he said. Davis added he’s retained a few people to help "wind things down" with Swan Racing, and can’t foresee the team returning to the track in any capacity in the immediate future.

"My first mission was to make sure everybody had a job," he said. "That was No. 1, and not just kill it and let them go figure it out for themselves. … From that, we’re going to let the dust settle, I guess, and see. I don’t know. I can’t tell you. Will I be around the track? Yeah, I plan on helping John as much as I can. I like John, he’s a great guy, and I want to support him as much as I’m able to. So yeah, I’ll be around. As far as Swan having a race car on the track, at this point I have no loose plans, or any plans."

What does that portend for Kligerman? The 23-year-old has received some interest from other teams, Davis said, but "Parker’s kind of waiting on me. Until he’s 100 percent sure I’m never going to put another car on the race track, he’s wanting to stick with me. I commend the young lad for that."

That leaves Kligerman without a seat for this Saturday night’s race at Richmond, not to mention the weeks beyond. "I’ve asked him to kind of stick around, and he said he would," Davis said. "I’ve asked him to entertain any offer, and he said he would. I know he’s had a few. We’re kind of at the point of letting the dust settle and seeing what happens here. It’s a tough position, for him and for me. But at the end of the day, if I take a car to the race track, I want it to be a contender. I don’t want to just make it to the race track."

Although Swan lacked sufficient sponsorship dollars, money wasn’t the only issue — expansion to two cars took more of a toll than Davis expected, and the demands of his day job cut into the available time he had to help the race team grow. With two cars now in the stable, everything took double the time, money, and effort. The financial amount contributed to the team by Swan Energy, Davis said, was used up in a matter of weeks. Asked if expanding to two cars proved too much, he did not mince words.

"Yes. Most definitely. Those teams that are three cars going to four, I’m sure they had just as much difficulty as I did. But they went from one to two, to two to three, to three to four, so they kind of knew what to expect. I’m kind of learning on the fly here, as are most of the people who were helping me and working with me," Davis said.

"I hate that it’s happening this way. I’m not going away. With some cooperation from some people out there, Swan Racing could possibly do a few things this year as far as at-track. But going in every week, running two cars, the time, it just wasn’t there."

When Davis started Swan Racing in late 2012 after taking over the former Inception Motorsports, he had every intention of building a team that would last. He hired young drivers like Whitt and Kligerman, he said, because he wanted faces that would be marketable and could grow along with the organization. But struggles on the race track — Whitt was 33rd and Kligerman 44th in driver points after the most recent Sprint Cup event, two weekends ago at Darlington — were indicative of struggles elsewhere, and eventually it just grew to be too much.

"It’s been tough, I’ll tell you that. I thought the young drivers would help it move along a little faster. So did everyone else we talked to prior to making the decision. At the end of the day, there was a lot more interest and a lot more conversation than there was a year ago at this time. But the commitment, the demand as far as time and everything else, was double as far as what it was last year with two cars, and everything else that goes into that," Davis said.

"For me, it just quit being fun. I just didn’t enjoy going to the race track. Whenever I got to the race track and didn’t enjoy it, that’s when all the thoughts started racing through my head of — what did I do here, and how do I fix it? … At the end of the day, this one kept the most people working and had the most cooperation from the other parties."

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After Newseum visit, veteran feels good about Richmond

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the time being, Matt Kenseth plans to keep his day job.

But it’s apparent that the former premier series champion is as comfortable with a microphone in his hand as a steering wheel.

Staying classy throughout a guest appearance at the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue, Kenseth did more than sign autographs and take photos with fans within eyeshot of the Capital dome. He handled a wide-ranging Q&A session with aplomb, then tried his hand at news broadcasting, doing his best Ron Burgundy imitation at the media museum’s Anchorman exhibit.

"I’m a big Will Ferrell fan," said Kenseth, who also spent nearly 30 minutes in a talk show setting at the Newseum’s Knight Theater, tackling the questions from Richmond International Raceway president Dennis Bickmeier (an Ohio University School of Journalism grad who served as program host) as well as inquisitive fans.

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"I feel like Jimmy Fallon," said Bickmeier, whose track sponsored Kenseth’s appearance at the Newseum — an interactive museum of news and journalism — ahead of Saturday night’s Toyota Owners 400 at RIR.

The Newseum is full of serious stuff, from part of the Berlin Wall to a piece of radio tower from the World Trade Center — the centerpiece of a stunning and thought-provoking 9/11 exhibit. But Kenseth kept things light during his visit, checking out the interactive exhibits designed for students and mingling with young fans.

Kenseth knows a thing or two about museums. In fact, his name is on one — the Matt Kenseth Racing Museum in his hometown of Cambridge, Wisc.

Managed by his sister Kelly, Kenseth’s museum features the requisite fire suits, trophies and cars including Kenseth’s first race car, his IROC championship car and his premier series championship car from 2003.

Kenseth says his prize possessions are his two Daytona 500 championship trophies.

"They’re hard to get," he says. "My real Winston Cup trophy is at home, but I’ve got a duplicate in the museum.

"I never used to really be into history or museums at all, but I am a little more now. In our business, you’re only as good as your last race. When you’re in the moment it’s hard to take a lot of time to enjoy it. We’re programmed not to bask in (success) too long because you’ve got to keep moving forward."

As a member of the Joe Gibbs Racing stable, Kenseth is on sacred ground whenever he races in the D.C./Richmond metro area where Gibbs is legendary as the three-time Super Bowl-winning coach of the beloved Washington Redskins.

Even so, as a Wisconsin native, Kenseth says he felt compelled to put his team owner on notice when he accepted the chance to drive the No. 20 car prior to the 2013 season.

"I told Joe when he hired me: ‘Just so you know, I’ll cheer for the ‘Skins second, but it’s always going to be about the (Green Bay) Packers for me,’ " Kenseth said during his Q&A session.

Kenseth also addressed the changes he’s witnessed in media coverage since he began his career.

"I’ve seen a lot of big changes," he said, "especially with technology — more digital, less print (coverage). Social media has been a huge change, I’m not so sure for the better all the time.

"When I started there were in-car cameras, but they had to ask (for permission to) use any of your in-car audio. Then came scanners and the FanViews where (fans) could listen to every driver and watch them all, right in the stands. (Then) social media."

Of course fans at the Newseum also wanted to know about racing at Richmond and Kenseth’s season to date.

Heading into Richmond, Kenseth is a single point behind NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Jeff Gordon, although neither of the series’ top point producers has won a race. Kenseth, working with crew chief Jason Ratcliff, won seven races last year, ultimately finishing second to Jimmie Johnson in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

This season, rule changes affecting his car, not to mention the emphasis on winning races in qualifying for the Chase, are on Kenseth’s mind.

"We ran so good last year," he said. "If I would have had my way I would have said ‘no rule changes.’ We seemed to have a really good handle on that. This year, we haven’t been running badly, but we haven’t been running as good as we were last year. The rule changes are throwing everybody a curveball, for sure.

"Sheerly from a performance standpoint, we haven’t been were we’ve wanted to be. But there have been some bright spots. We sat on the pole at California, led some laps at Bristol with a really strong car. We feel good about where we’re at and feel confident we’re gaining on it."

Although he started his career on short tracks, winning at Richmond has proved a challenge for Kenseth. His lone victory in 28 starts came in September 2002 when he led 134 laps. But after a string of 11 starts with no better than a 10th, he’s finished no worse than seventh in his last three Richmond races.

At last year’s spring Richmond race, Kenseth led 140 laps but got bottled up on the final restart and settled for seventh.

"I like everything about the race track in Richmond," he says. "It’s a great track from a design standpoint, from a driver’s perspective and from a fan’s perspective. Everybody’s close to the action. It’s just fast — kind of like an intermediate track that’s still a short track. Lately it’s gotten really slick and tire management has been important, so you really get a little bit of everything there."

Kenseth would like one thing: a win.

He can take heart in knowing that Joe Gibbs Racing has taken more Sprint Cup checkered flags at Richmond (nine) than at any other track other than Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch has four wins for JGR, Tony Stewart three and Denny Hamlin two. Perhaps it will be Kenseth’s turn. After all, he is keeping his day job.

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Posted on by NASCAR Official Release

One of the Founding Partners of NASCAR Green Continues As Official Environmental Services Supplier of NASCAR

Daytona Beach, Fla. (April 23, 2014) — NASCAR announced today it has reached a multi-year agreement to renew its official partnership with Safety-Kleen, and is among several companies renewing their commitment to NASCAR in 2014. The company will continue as the Official Environmental Services Supplier of NASCAR.

The news comes amidst NASCAR’s second-annual NASCAR Race to Green™ initiative, which is galvanizing teams, tracks, drivers, Official NASCAR Partners, and fans around the theme of protecting and preserving the environment. Richardson, Texas based Safety-Kleen is owned by Norwell, Massachusetts based Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE: CLH).

Safety-Kleen, an Official NASCAR Partner since 2004, provides onsite trackside support with its cleaning products and through its oil recycling and re-refining services at more than 200 NASCAR-sanctioned races a year. This ensures all cleaning solvents, oil, fluids and lubricants used in NASCAR racing are recaptured and re-used into useable products.

"Safety-Kleen’s efforts at-track each and every race weekend has greatly contributed to NASCAR owning the largest recycling program in sports," said Norris Scott, NASCAR vice president of partnership marketing. "Simply stated, Safety-Kleen has been a staple in our sport for years, and we are thrilled to extend our Official Partnership."

A major contributor to NASCAR’s recycling efforts; Safety-Kleen became a founding partner of NASCAR Green at the inception of the platform in 2008. Since entering the sport, Safety-Kleen has collected enough race-used oil to power the Empire State Building for more than an entire year. In 2013, Safety-Kleen collected and re-refined more than 200,000 gallons of NASCAR oil at tracks and team shops.

"Safety-Kleen’s relationship with NASCAR is ideal for our customers and its fans. Safety-Kleen collects all used fluids from the tracks during race weekends — and from most team facilities year round — and then recycles or responsibly disposes of those fluids," said Curt Knapp, Safety-Kleen executive vice president, marketing and oil re-refining sales. "This ‘closed-loop’ philosophy is by far the most environmentally responsible approach to handling these fluids."

Safety-Kleen is the largest collector and re-refiner of used oil in North America. The company collects more than 200 million gallons of used oil each year, and through its recycling programs, produces approximately 140 million gallons of high-quality lubricating oil. Safety-Kleen’s services include oil collection and re-refining, as well as the management and proper disposal of spent brake fluids, oil filters, coolant and cleaning solvents. The company also provides absorbent products used for cleaning fluid spills on the track, inside NASCAR garages, and supplies NASCAR with industry-leading parts-cleaning equipment.

 

 

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Camping World Truck Series driver set for Nationwide Talladega race

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Darrell Wallace Jr. will be making his first Nationwide Series start since 2012 — driving the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 ToyotaCare Toyota in the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway on May 3, the team announced Wednesday.

Although Wallace would tell you the opportunity is a long time coming, the actual deal came about rather quickly — a story Wallace tells with a laugh.

“Got an email at 7:20 in morning (last week) and I woke up at 9:30 and saw it and immediately wrote back and said, ‘I hope it’s still on the table,’ " Wallace said in a telephone interview with NASCAR.com Wednesday.

“It was. I told them I was available and to call me whenever and he called 30 minutes later and said ‘we have a Nationwide race for you.’  I was like, ‘sweet.’

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“I was a little surprised and got very excited and it ended up being a great day the rest of the day.”

Wallace has set a high standard for himself in his limited Nationwide Series action in 2012. He posted three top-10 finishes in four starts for JGR that season — with a best finish of seventh at Iowa Speedway. He won the pole in his last start at Dover (Sept., 2012) and finished 12th.

“We’re excited to be able to provide this opportunity for Darrell in Talladega,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. “He has been doing a great job in the Truck Series with his (Kyle Busch Motorsports) team and we want to make sure he continues to gain experience in our Nationwide Series cars as well.”

Wallace, 20, is currently ranked eighth in the Camping World Truck Series standings, where he drives the No. 54 ToyotaCare Tundra for KBM. And he’s coming off a pole position and runner-up finish at the series’ last event at Martinsville, Va., where in 2013 he scored his first Truck Series victory and became the first African-American to win in NASCAR’s national ranks in nearly 50 years. 

Instead of a couple more weeks off before the next truck race in Kansas, now Wallace will be spending his time as he’d much rather: racing.

“It’s been rough couple weeks off, boring,’’ Wallace said. “I was expecting to have two more weeks off so now I have the next three on and I’m excited."

It will be Wallace’s first Nationwide Series start on the Talladega high-banks. He finished 17th there in 2012 in the Truck Series and had a good effort thwarted there in last year’s truck race after being collected in a massive late race pileup.

The Talladega NNS ride is a one-race deal, but Wallace is hopeful to turn it into greater opportunity.

“I asked them if a top-10 guarantees another ride,” he said, laughing. “We’re shooting for another top-10 and hopefully we can win it and get another race down the road.

“It’ll be a good solid weekend. Getting to run a Nationwide race for the first time in two years, I’ll be like a kid in a candy store.

“Wish I could be in a car for Richmond (this week), but I can hold on one more week.’’

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