Herring and Blaney are passed down the No. 54 and No. 22 cars, respectively, for Kentucky
SPARTA, Ky. — Ryan Blaney and Drew Herring are accustomed to competing against each other. Their battles typically involve hooking up the Xbox and playing a racing game when at home in North Carolina.
A different type of competition awaits the two this weekend, and it has much higher stakes — the massive silver trophy given to the winner of the owners’ championship at the end of the season.
Yes, Blaney and Herring have been given the keys — well, ignition switches – to two of the best rides in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in the midst of a massive owners’ points battle. Herring will drive the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in Saturday’s Kentucky 300 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNEWS), and Blaney will drive the No. 22 Penske Racing Ford.
Roger Penske’s 22 car leads Gibbs’ 54 in the owner standings by 13 points. The third-place car, the No. 12 also owned by Penske, is 116 points off the pace, making this a true two-car race.
"It’s a good feeling, that’s for sure," Herring said. "It’s a heck of an opportunity. There’s a lot of pressure and different things that come along with being in this car. Kyle (Busch) and (crew chief) Adam (Stevens) and those guys have already won 10 times this year, and have eight poles. It’s pretty phenomenal statistics."
What makes Saturday night’s race here in the foothills of Kentucky unique is that the points posturing has been highlighted this season by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stars Kyle Busch (10 wins in the No. 54), along with Brad Keselowski (five wins in the No. 22) and Joey Logano (two wins in the No. 22). AJ Allmendinger, in two starts in the No. 22, also has two victories as these vehicles have combined for 19 wins in 26 Nationwide Series races.
Herring has driven the No. 54 three times this year, and won the Coors Light Pole Award at Iowa Speedway. He finished sixth and 11th in the two Iowa races, and 36th at Bristol after being involved in a wreck.
Blaney has less experience in the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford. He has one race under his belt, a ninth-place finish at Iowa in an event that was delayed one day due to rain. Blaney was brought to the track late as a substitute driver for Logano, who was scheduled to drive the No. 22 before the weather pushed the race back.
"This is my first full start," Blaney said Friday. "Iowa was kind of like a half start. I loved running this car last year, and its won nine races this year with three different drivers. Whenever you come into a new series, it’s fun. I’ve raced most of these guys before and kind of have an idea of how to race each person."
The two drivers, along with Darrell Wallace Jr., played a round of golf Thursday before parting to their respective teams for travel. The tone of the outing was light. Both knew the more serious stuff would start soon enough.
"We went golfing, and it was pretty comical. Ryan and Bubba made me feel like a pretty good golfer," Herring said with a laugh. "We talked a lot of smack back and forth, good-natured stuff. We both understand our roles, though. When we come to the race track this weekend, we’re friends. But at the same time, we’re competitors and we both want to beat each other."
The importance of performing well is something each driver understands innately, which is why they haven’t had to discuss this weekend’s implications with each other.
To that note, neither driver has gotten any pressure from their car’s owner, either. Then again, they don’t need to.
"We obviously know what’s at stake," Blaney said. "This is a really good opportunity for Drew. At the same time, I’m really happy that Penske Racing is putting me in the 22. He’s a really good driver and we’re going to race each other pretty hard."
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Some drivers ‘prepared to take risks’ to shrink points gap
SPARTA, Ky. — The damage done was far greater than the crumpled fender and flattened right tire on Elliott Sadler’s No. 11 Toyota. When Brett Butler blasted into the veteran driver last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, the most important thing dented was Sadler’s championship hopes.
Sadler lost 16 points to NASCAR Nationwide Series points leader, Sam Hornish Jr., following his 19th-place performance last week. Entering Saturday’s Kentucky 300 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNEWS), he’s 44 points behind Hornish and in fourth place. For perspective, Austin Dillon is second and 17 points behind Hornish; Regan Smith is third and 36 points back.
"It’s hard to swallow," an introspective Sadler said Friday during a thoughtful interview. "The disappointing part is, he was a lot of laps down. I had my hand out the window to signal, and I wore white gloves for that reason — for hand signals. He definitely put us in a hole. The disappointing part is, we didn’t get a call this week. No ‘Sorry, didn’t mean to do that.’ That’s not really good driver etiquette, but it is what it is. It’s the cards we’ve been dealt, and it changes our strategy for the last seven races."
Sadler’s new outlook involves a radically different setup to his No. 11 SportClips Toyota, and a more aggressive approach at the 1.5-mile tri-oval, where Sadler historically performs well. Sadler was runner-up to Brad Keselowski in the first race this season at Kentucky, and he was in position to win last year before his power steering went out. In four starts, Sadler has three top-fives here, and an average finishing position of 5.2.
The only way for Sadler to catch Hornish, though, is to do things differently, more aggressively. That means a brand-new car and differing strategy — all at a race track that could be as a green as the paint on the outside walls, given that rain Friday canceled nearly two total hours of practice time.
"What we have to do is, we have to show up and be aggressive and get all the points we can possibly get," Sadler said. "If we don’t get all the points we can get, it doesn’t matter what those guys do. I think the 12 (of Hornish) and the 3 (of Dillon), they’re going to play off each other a lot. I think what we have to do is, we have to do the opposite. If they take four tires, we take two. If they’re conservative on gas, we need to try and stretch it on gas."
The opportunity for Sadler — and Dillon and Smith — to catch, or at least slow, Hornish comes at a race that serves as the series’ sixth and final stand-alone event of the season. The only intruders from other series are from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, which isn’t racing this weekend, and not from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, which is in New Hampshire.
Yes, that means ‘The KB Show’ isn’t playing in Kentucky.
Considering Kyle Busch has 10 victories in 20 Nationwide Series starts this season, the three extra bonus points that come with winning a race — along with the momentum — could go to either of the three drivers still hoping to catch the No. 12 team.
"It’s really anyone’s championship to win," Dillon said. "I’ve really enjoyed battling with Hornish all year, along with the other competitors. I’ve had some success at Kentucky in the past, so I hope I can capitalize this weekend and gain some points. Everyone has been so close all year, though, that it’s going to take someone making a mistake in order for one of us to gain any points. If that happens, we will be there to capitalize."
Dillon’s history at Kentucky is as rich as Sadler’s, given that the driver swept the races in 2012 and finished sixth earlier this year. In three career starts here, Dillon has won the Coors Light Pole Award three times.
And if anyone can understand big points gaps shrinking quickly, it’s Smith. Earlier this year, the driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet saw his lead in the standings shrink from 58 points to eight over the course of two races. His best finish at Kentucky is 16th, and his average finishing position is 12.0 in the nine races since Sadler jabbed his finger into Smith’s face following an on-track incident at New Hampshire in July.
"We definitely have a lot of room for improvement from our last outing at Kentucky," Smith said of his team’s 30th-place finish earlier this year. "We ran well, inside the top 10, but a mechanical issue put us pretty far behind. Luckily those type of issues are rare with … this team."
Hornish Jr. won’t be easy to catch, given that he’s finished in the top five in five of the past seven races, which vaulted him past Dillon into the points lead.
Sadler effusively praised the former open-wheel driver for adapting so seamlessly to NASCAR’s ovals this year, all while promising that this championship is far from decided.
"That’s a hard transition to make, and I’m really impressed with how Sam’s done the past year," Sadler said. "They just haven’t made any mistakes this year. So we have to bring out the latest, greatest car that we have. We designed our car to bring out this late in the year to make a real strong run these final races.
"We’re in the mindset of, let’s shake it up a little bit. In my mind, if we could somehow, some way get within 20 points before we go to Texas (in November), we’re right back in the middle of the this thing. It’s about balancing our risk vs. reward, and we’re prepared to take some risks."
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JGR app is a first for NASCAR, provides fans unique content including interactive features & profiles
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) currently holds the first and second position in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship standings, and now fans will have a unique way to follow the team over the next nine weeks with the launch of a new digital magazine.
The magazine is available on both Apple and Android devices including tablets. It will be available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store and accessed through the following direct link: www.joegibbsracing.com/chaseapp
The magazine which will be updated throughout the Chase and through the conclusion of the season will feature profiles on each of Joe Gibbs Racing’s three teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
"NASCAR has some of the most savvy, passionate fans in all of sports and they crave content about their favorite drivers and teams," said Dave Alpern, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Joe Gibbs Racing. "By creating this Chase App, we have packaged tremendous content into a fun, interactive format. This app has everything from information on the Chase tracks and car set ups, to never seen before photos and driver profiles. Every feature is designed for interaction with the fan and I think they will discover something new each time they open it. Our digital team hit it out of the park with this one."
The digital magazine will be informative for all NASCAR fans and not just those passionate about JGR’s three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams. It includes educational pieces that provide in-depth and interactive aspects of the sport including the importance of camber and toe to the performance of a race car. In addition, there is an infographic on each of the race tracks featured in the Chase. Of course there is plenty of information specific to JGR, including photo essays, video profiles of each driver, a feature on driver Darrell Wallace, Jr. and statistical analysis of each driver.
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Partnership with Hispanic Scholarship Fund will donate dollars per laps
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR will partner with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund to commemorate National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 through Oct. 15) through a new, dollars-per-lap donation program and five new film shorts highlighting Latino contributors to the sport.
In partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, NASCAR will donate five dollars for every lap completed by a Hispanic or Latin American driver in one of the U.S. series. The drivers included in the initiative are: Cuban-American Aric Almirola, Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr., Mexican German Quiroga, Brazilian Miguel Paludo, Puerto Rican Bryan Ortiz, Mexican and Spanish-American Jack Madrid as well as Mexico-born Daniel Suarez. The funds will benefit Latino students pursuing an education in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs.
"The Hispanic Scholarship Fund is excited about this opportunity to partner with NASCAR and to showcase, through film, outstanding Latinos in the sport of racing. We are pleased that NASCAR shares our commitment to higher education, while inspiring the best in each individual. And we welcome our growing partnership with NASCAR to increase scholarships for talented STEM students," said Fidel Vargas, President and CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
To highlight the contributions Latinos are making to the sport both on and off the racetrack, NASCAR Productions partnered with Latino director Danny Hastings on a five-part series of film shorts. Hastings is best known for his music videos and documentary-style filmmaking. Aside from featuring drivers, the films also highlights industry personnel, including pit crew member Pedro Martinez, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Co-Owner Felix Sabates, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Official Kim Lopez and Chevrolet Racing Program Manager for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Alba Colon. One new film will premiere on NASCAR.com every week during Hispanic Heritage Month, starting with the first one, titled "The Future," that features up-and-coming drivers in NASCAR’s regional and touring series.
Click here to watch the first short film.
"Hispanic Heritage Month not only gives us the opportunity to celebrate the contributions Latinos make on and off the track, but also to show our support for the Latino community across the nation," said Steve Phelps, NASCAR’s chief marketing officer, "and through our partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund we hope to introduce more students to the many STEM opportunities that exist within our sport."
Fans can join the conversation online at NASCAR.com/Español and on Twitter @VivaNASCAR.
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Busch looks to make his way to Victory Lane during the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup
It’s no secret that Kyle Busch has struggled during the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup the five times he’s previously qualified for NASCAR’s postseason.
It is something he’s fully aware of, and a misconception he could change over the final 10 races of 2013. He started the Chase on the right foot, finishing second to teammate and points leader Matt Kenseth.
“Yeah, I think so. I think that’s fair to say. We certainly have run really well this year,” said Busch in response to a question about whether he’s in his best position to win a championship since 2008. “The new Gen-6 car has been great for our organization. I think we stepped up and worked on a lot of great things over the winter and throughout the year and we’ve shown that we have speed continually."
Of the 50 Chase races in which he’s as a Chase contender – he missed the eighth race of the 2011 playoffs at Texas – he’s never visited Victory Lane. He’s finished second three times and has 11 top-five finishes. His best ranking in the final points standings came in 2007 when he was fifth.
With the type of season and strong start to the Chase he’s having, Busch could shed that shroud Sunday in the SYLVANIA 300 (2 p.m. ET, ESPN) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He’s won four times so far this season (Bristol, Texas, Watkins Glen, Atlanta) and has finished runner-up thrice.
He entered the Chase seeded third and tied with Jimmie Johnson, three points behind Kenseth. After Chicagoland he jumped Johnson, who finished the race fifth, in the standings and is now eight markers behind Kenseth.
In 17 career starts at the New England 1.058-mile oval, Busch has five top-five and seven top-10 finishes to go along with a victory that came in a green-white-checkered finish in the July 2006 race. The win was the third in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career.
Busch finished second to Brian Vickers in the first New Hampshire race of the season, leading 53 laps. In the fall race in Loudon last season, Busch started second but finished 28th.
If there’s one aspect of racing at New Hampshire that Busch feels is the most important factor in putting together a winning run, it’s a solid pit road strategy … especially when it comes to the final round of pit stops.
“Essentially, at Loudon, you’re looking at how good your fuel mileage is and you have to look at when you have to make your last pit stop, since that’s what everyone looks at,” Busch said. “You end up running it almost like a road-course race because you do want to be the first guy on the last round of pit stops to pit. You want to get in there, get your tires and fuel, and then stay out the rest of the race and keep your track position since it’s so important there.”
With nine races left in the season a victory this weekend doesn’t guarantee Busch, or any driver for that matter, a clear path to the championship, but it would sure make the path a little sweeter and easier. In the previous nine years of the Chase only two drivers have won the second race in the postseason and gone on to win that year’s championship. Johnson accomplished the feat twice – in 2009 and 2010 – and Tony Stewart followed in 2011.
Busch summed the situation up perfectly: “There’s still nine more weeks – nine long weeks to go. … We just have to make sure we balance out the highs and the lows throughout the next nine weeks. It’s not going to be easy – it never is.”
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Swan Racing looks to the younger drivers to fill the No. 30 seat
Kevin Swindell will make his Sprint Cup Series debut this weekend when the dirt racing star competes at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the No. 30 car of Swan Racing.
Swindell posted a photo to his Instagram feed of the No. 30 with his last name on the strip across the top of the front windshield, and a team representative later confirmed the four-time Chili Bowl winner would be in the car at Loudon.
Swan Racing owner, Brandon Davis, parted ways with former driver, David Stremme, after the event two weeks ago at Richmond, and said then he’d be looking at younger drivers the rest of the season with an eye toward filling the seat permanently for next year.
“I’m not looking for someone who can bring me money. I’m looking for somebody who can drive. That’s the priority,” Davis said. “… A young driver is what we’re looking for. We want someone we can grow with over a period of time. … I would like to bring someone in and work with someone that is in their youth as we grow as a team. I’m 34, and if I’m going to have a driver, I’d like him to be younger than me for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one is the marketability of our race team, and what we’re all about."
Cole Whitt, 22, drove the Swan Racing car last weekend at Chicagoland, and he finished 39th after being involved in a fiery wreck. Swindell, 24, has made 31 combined starts in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series, and his two best career finishes — second and third, both in a truck — have come at the Magic Mile.
A native of Germantown, Tenn., Swindell has won 77 races in various dirt series. He has made 10 starts this season on the Nationwide tour driving the No. 98 of Biagi-DenBeste Racing, with a best finish of eighth at Indianapolis.
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