Truex Jr. won't let injury hurt chase dreams

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Nascar

Truex Jr. has high hopes that his injury won’t set him and his teammates back from their chance at the Chase

HAMPTON, Ga. – It’s been a miserable week for Martin Truex Jr., a right-handed guy trying to learn to get by as a southpaw.

“Can’t fish. Bummer,” said Truex Jr., an avid outdoorsman who is as likely to be found out on Lake Norman as he is behind the wheel of the No. 56 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota.

“This was probably one of the most boring weeks of my life. And I’m not really good as a lefty, so the things I have to do at the house … are not much fun.”

Truex Jr., suffered a scaphoid fracture and sprain on his right wrist when he was involved in a multicar crash on lap 447 of last week’s 500-lap Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• View all articles
• View all videos
• View all photos

On Friday, he showed up at Atlanta Motor Speedway, site of Sunday’s Advocare 500, sporting a blue cast.

The injury “doesn’t change anything for us,” he said. “We’re going to race these next two races as hard as we can and try to get ourselves in that chase and we’ll do whatever it takes.”

Truex Jr. and his No. 56 team are two races away from a second consecutive appearance in the 10-race Chase For The Sprint Cup. A winner earlier this season at Sonoma Raceway, he holds the top spot among Wild Card hopefuls (those outside the top-10 in points), but is far from guaranteed.

The injury presents a bit of a problem, when what he needs is a bit of a cushion. A trio of drivers, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon, are ahead of Truex Jr. in points and a win by any of the three this weekend could put a kink in his team’s playoff plans.

The 12-team field will be set following next week’s stop at Richmond International Raceway.

“I’ve never driven hurt before,” said Truex Jr., a Chase participant last season as well as in 2007 while with Dale Earnhardt Inc. “I’ve never been hurt in a race car before, but the first lap out on the track, I felt really good and everything has gone well today.

The injury occurred after Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Kevin Harvick (Richard Childress Racing) crashed in front of Truex Jr., sending his car hard into the wall. Hamlin suffered a sprained thumb.

“I think what happened was I basically hit the wall with the right front and the 29 (of Harvick) hit my left front at the exact same time,” Truex Jr. said. “I think it just turned both wheels the same way. It was kind of like one of those weird instances where everything happens that you don’t want to and it just ripped the wheel out of my hand and … obviously, I’m sure I tried to get my hand out of there. I just wasn’t quick enough. It happened so fast.

“That’s the best I could come up with based on what I remember from the crash, watching the in-car footage. It looked like I tried to get my hand out of there, just didn’t do it quick enough.”

Truex Jr. said he was told the healing time for such an injury is “roughly six weeks.” The cast was applied while he held a steering wheel in order to duplicate the position his hand would be in while in the car.

Fellow driver Scott Speed was asked to stand by in case the injury was too painful, but Truex Jr. said there is a “99 percent chance that I will race the whole race.”

“The biggest challenge right now is still all the parts that were sprained,” he said. “My fingers still hurt. My knuckles are still kind of tender, so shifting is a little bit of an issue as far as the pain goes.

“But as far as driving the car, I was surprised at how good it felt and how normal it felt.”

Truex Jr. led 40 laps en route to a fourth-place finish here a year ago. He was seventh fastest in Friday’s lone practice.

READ MORE:

READ: Full coverage
from Michigan, Mid-Ohio

WATCH: Johnson out
early at Michigan

WATCH: Logano celebrates
Michigan win

WATCH: Dillon spins in
Stewart’s No. 14

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Nascar

Defending champion hopes to pull off Smoke-like run to title

HAMPTON, Ga. — Brad Keselowski says there are parallels between his current situation and that of Tony Stewart in 2011. Two drivers seeking their first win of the year, the uncertainties of a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup looming larger and larger with each passing week.

Stewart, then a two-time champion, found lightning in a bottle after squeaking into the 2011 Chase with a pair of top-10 finishes at Atlanta and Richmond. Ten weeks and five wins later, the owner/driver had captured his third Cup title.

Keselowski, the 2012 Cup champion, is hoping for similar results as he heads into this weekend’s AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Penske Racing driver is 11th in points, but in the format used to determine the two Wild Card positions for the Chase, he’s No. 4, trailing Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman and Stewart, all of whom have one win.

Stewart, sidelined for the remainder of the season due to a broken leg suffered Aug. 5, will almost certainly fall outside the top 20 and Chase consideration after Atlanta.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• View all articles
• View all videos
• View all photos

“What Tony did in 2011 is quite easily the most remarkable Chase that I think we’ve seen so far, and at this point in the season he was very similar to where I am right now,” Keselowski said Friday. “I’m one of those people that believes in history, believes that there are lessons to be learned from it, and I’d be a fool not to look at someone who has been in the same situation and came out at the end of it having one of the best seasons ever.”

Of course, the immediate task in front of Keselowski, 29, and his No. 2 team is earning a spot in the Chase. Eighth in points following a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen International, Keselowski slipped outside the top 10 last week with a 30th-place result at Bristol Motor Speedway.

A victory, either this weekend or next week at Richmond, would go a long way in locking him into the 10-race playoff. But winning, he said, isn’t a necessity.

“No, but I want to,” he said. “That’s my goal.

“One win would feel pretty damn good. It still wouldn’t lock us in. I think that we’re going here with a ‘win the race’ mentality, but the next two weeks do we have to win to make it in? No. We still control our own destiny.”

The last defending champion that failed to qualify for the Chase the following season was Stewart, in 2006. That’s one history lesson on which Keselowski prefers not to dwell.

Instead, he said he bases his outlook on recent tests, here as well as Richmond, outings he described as “very successful.”

“I feel like we’ll be a team that can quite honestly win the race, so from a points perspective I can’t sit here and tell you that it’s not on my mind, but my primary focus is just on winning the race,” he said. “If we can get that done, then everything takes care of itself.”

A nine-time winner in Cup, Keselowski says success provides opportunity, but brings with it no guarantees. Adversity can be humbling; it can also make a team stronger in the long run.

“Without a doubt once you’ve had success you feel established; it’s easy to feel like — I should clarify — that the world owes you something just because you’ve been successful once,” he said.

“That’s not how the world works. That’s why we don’t race the stat board. That’s why we don’t race any of that stuff. We race the race track every week and it’s a whole new race and what you’ve done in the past is great, and it certainly gives you respect, but there’s a reason why we still run the race and that’s part of what makes sports so great and so much fun for me … because every week is an opportunity to prove yourself for the better, and sometimes for the worse.

“What you’ve done last year or even last week once they drop the green flag is irrelevant. It’s a different day and a different time, but it’s also another opportunity, and that’s how I view it.”

READ MORE:

WATCH: Hot Lap:
Atlanta Motor Speedway

WATCH: Fantasy Showdown: Atlanta

READ: Latest news from Atlanta, Canada

READ: Weekend schedule: Atlanta, Canada races

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Staff Report

Last year’s Atlanta runner-up Jeff Gordon to roll off 23rd of 43 cars in Coors Light Pole Qualifying

		Track Qualifying Record: Geoff Bodine	11/16/97 28.074 seconds / 197.478 mph
#	Car	Driver	Team
1	36	JJ Yeley	United Mining Equipment Chevrolet
2	14	Mark Martin	Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet
3	51	Mike Bliss(i)	Phoenix Construction Chevrolet
4	18	Kyle Busch	M&M’s Toyota
5	29	Kevin Harvick	Jimmy John’s Chevrolet
6	87	Joe Nemechek(i)	NEMCO Motorsports Toyota
7	55	Brian Vickers(i)	Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
8	40	Landon Cassill(i)	Hillman Racing Chevrolet
9	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Ford
10	83	David Reutimann	Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota
11	1	Jamie McMurray	E-Z-Go Chevrolet
12	32	Timmy Hill #	U.S. Chrome Ford
13	39	Ryan Newman	Aspen Dental Chevrolet
14	16	Greg Biffle	3M Ford
15	78	Kurt Busch	Furniture Row / Beautyrest Chevrolet
16	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe’s Dover White Chevrolet
17	15	Clint Bowyer	RKMotorsCharlotte.com Toyota
18	38	David Gilliland	Long John Silver’s Ford
19	22	Joey Logano	Shell Pennzoil Ford
20	9	Marcos Ambrose	DeWalt Ford
21	11	Denny Hamlin	SportClips Toyota
22	20	Matt Kenseth	Husky / Home Depot Toyota
23	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet
24	33	Austin Dillon(i)	AdvoCare Chevrolet
25	43	Aric Almirola	Smithfield Ford
26	95	Scott Speed	Leavine Family Racing Ford
27	30	David Stremme	Swan Energy / Berry’s Toyota
28	27	Paul Menard	MOEN / Menards Chevrolet
29	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	National Guard / Race2Achieve.org Chevrolet
30	34	David Ragan	RaceTracHotBoiledPeanutsbyPeanutPatch Ford
31	99	Carl Edwards	SUBWAY Ford
32	31	Jeff Burton	Caterpillar Chevrolet
33	93	Travis Kvapil	Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota
34	98	Michael McDowell	Phil Parsons Racing Ford
35	10	Danica Patrick #	GoDaddy Chevrolet
36	35	Josh Wise(i)	MDS Transport Ford
37	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
38	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet
39	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #	Best Buy Ford
40	7	Dave Blaney	SANY Chevrolet
41	5	Kasey Kahne	Farmers Insurance Chevrolet
42	47	AJ Allmendinger	Scott Products Toyota
43	13	Casey Mears	Geico Ford

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

READ MORE:

WATCH: Hot Lap:
Atlanta Motor Speedway

WATCH: Fantasy Showdown: Atlanta

READ: Latest news from Atlanta, Canada

READ: Weekend schedule: Atlanta, Canada races

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Staff Report

Driver’s first public appearance since injury will be streamed live on NASCAR.com

Tony Stewart, who hasn’t spoken publicly since breaking his right leg in a sprint car crash on Aug. 5, will meet with the media for a press conference on Tuesday at Stewart-Haas Racing’s headquarters in Kannapolis, N.C.

The event — which starts at 2 p.m. ET — will be streamed live for fans to watch on NASCAR.com. Click here to bookmark the page.

Stewart won’t race again this season as he recovers from the injury. Since he’s been out of action, SHR co-owner Gene Haas announced that Kurt Busch would join the team in 2014 in a fourth car backed by sponsorship from Haas Automation.

A three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, Stewart has had three replacement drivers since his injury. Mark Martin was tabbed the permanent replacement driver on Aug. 19. He’ll drive the No. 14 Chevrolet for 12 of the season’s final 13 races, giving way to Austin Dillon for the October race at Talladega Superspeedway.

READ MORE:

WATCH: Hot Lap:
Atlanta Motor Speedway

WATCH: Fantasy Showdown: Atlanta

READ: Latest news from Atlanta, Canada

READ: Weekend schedule: Atlanta, Canada races

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Staff Report

Click here to follow NASCAR Nationwide Series practice live from Atlanta at 5 p.m. ET.

READ MORE:

WATCH: Hot Lap:
Atlanta Motor Speedway

WATCH: Fantasy Showdown: Atlanta

READ: Latest news from Atlanta, Canada

READ: Weekend schedule: Atlanta, Canada races

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Staff Report

Follow live: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, 11:30 a.m. ET

READ MORE:

WATCH: Hot Lap:
Atlanta Motor Speedway

WATCH: Fantasy Showdown: Atlanta

READ: Latest news from Atlanta, Canada

READ: Weekend schedule: Atlanta, Canada races

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Staff Report

Get event times, TV information and more for this weekend’s NASCAR action

This weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series are at Atlanta Motor Speedway, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

All times ET

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30

ON TRACK
–11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. ET, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, Canada (Get results)
— 2:30 p.m.-5 p.m. ET, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, Canada (Get results)
— 3-4:30 p.m. ET, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1, Atlanta (Get results)
— 5-6:30 p.m. ET, NASCAR Nationwide Series (Tape delayed until 9 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 2), Atlanta (Get results)
— 6:40 p.m. ET, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 coverage starts at 7 p.m., Atlanta (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES:
WATCH LIVE
— Greg Biffle, 1:30 p.m. ET
— Ryan Newman, 1:45 p.m. ET
— Matt Kenseth, 2 p.m. ET
— Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announcement, 2:35 p.m. ET
— Martin Truex Jr., 4:45 p.m. ET
— Post-NSCS qualifying, 7:55 p.m. ET (approximately)

GARAGE CAM
WATCH LIVE
— Sprint Cup: 2:30 p.m. ET
— Nationwide: 4:30 p.m. ET

BUY TICKETS FOR CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORT PARK
Click here to purchase tickets.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 31

ON TRACK
— 9:30-10:30 a.m. ET, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, Canada (Get results)
— 10:30-11:30 a.m. ET, NASCAR Nationwide Series practice, FS2, Atlanta (Get results)
— Noon-1 p.m. ET, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, Canada (Get results )
— 3-3:55 p.m. ET, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FS2, Atlanta (Get results)
— 4:05 p.m. ET, NASCAR Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS2, Atlanta (Get results)
— 5:05 p.m. ET, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, Canada (Get results)
— 6-6:50 p.m. ET, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FS2, Atlanta (Get results)
— 7:30 p.m. ET, NASCAR Nationwide Series Great Clips-Grit Chips 300 (195 laps, 300.3 miles), ESPN2 (coverage begins at 7 p.m.), Atlanta (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES:
WATCH LIVE
— JTG Daugherty Racing announcement, 1:40 p.m. ET
— Mark Martin, 2 p.m. ET
— Post-NNS race, 9:45 p.m. ET (approximately)

BUY TICKETS FOR ATLANTA
Click here to purchase tickets.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

ON TRACK
— 1:30 p.m. ET, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevrolet Silverado 250, (64 laps, 157.37 miles), Canada, FS1 (coverage starts at 1 p.m. ET) (Get results)
— 7:30 p.m. ET, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 (325 laps, 500.5 miles), Atlanta, ESPN (coverage starts at 7 p.m.) (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES
WATCH LIVE
— Post-NSCS race, 11:15 p.m. ET (approximately)

MORE:
Note: Links will be added as information becomes available.

READ MORE:

WATCH: Hot Lap:
Atlanta Motor Speedway

WATCH: Fantasy Showdown: Atlanta

READ: Latest news from Atlanta, Canada

READ: Weekend schedule: Atlanta, Canada races

Posted on August 29, 2013 by NASCAR Wire Service

Defending champion in danger of missing the Chase

The last time a reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion failed to qualify for the following season’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup was in 2006 when Tony Stewart failed to do so.

With only two races remaining before the Chase field is set at Richmond, 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski could face a similar fate.

As the series heads to Atlanta for Sunday night’s AdvoCare 500 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), Keselowski finds himself in two undesirable positions – outside the top 10 in the standings that guarantees automatic entry into the postseason and outside the Wild Card picture sans a win.

“I’m not going to be out of the worried zone unless I make it (the Chase) or it’s over,” Keselowski said recently.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• View all articles
• View all videos
• View all photos

Keselowski, who will make his 150th NASCAR Sprint Cup start this weekend, is currently 11th in the points, four markers behind teammate Joey Logano, who has never qualified for the Chase, but is riding a streak of five consecutive top-10 finishes. During the most recent offseason, Keselowski played a large role in bringing the 23-year-old driver to Penske Racing.

A win at Atlanta for Keselowski would probably push him into the top 10, but likely at the expense of Logano. If Keselowski wins at Atlanta and then falls out of the top 10 after a poor showing in Richmond, the win could possibly be enough for him to capture a Wild Card spot, as long as he stays ahead of two of the three drivers currently ranked between 11th and 20th in the standings with a win – Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart.

Stewart, who is sitting out for the rest of the season after breaking his leg in a sprint car accident earlier this month, will most likely fall out of the top 20 after Atlanta.

Of course, a lot can happen over the course of two races where drivers with wins at the tail end of the top 10 could fall out of the automatic qualifying positions and become a player for the two Wild Card spots.

“Well, we aren’t in a very enviable position (in the points standings) but we have two good tracks coming up for us,” said Keselowski, who won five races in 2012 on his way to winning his first NASCAR Sprint Cup title but has yet to visit Victory Lane this season. “We’ve tested at both Atlanta and Richmond, both with very positive results. We’re only four points outside of the top 10 – which is very doable – but we can’t have any issues.”

Through the first 24 races of 2013, he has compiled seven top fives and 11 top 10s to go along with one pole. His best finish of the season was second at Watkins Glen where he’s finished runner-up three straight years. On the flipside, he’s finished 20th or worse in nine races.

In four series starts at Atlanta, Keselowski’s best finish is third, which came in last year’s race. “I haven’t won yet at Atlanta, but I think we can do that this weekend,” he said. “If we can, everything will work itself out.”

READ MORE:

WATCH: Hot Lap:
Atlanta Motor Speedway

WATCH: Fantasy Showdown: Atlanta

READ: Latest news from Atlanta, Canada

READ: Weekend schedule: Atlanta, Canada race

Posted on August 29, 2013 by NASCAR Wire Service

With prior road course experience, Hornaday plans on showing the young guns the ropes

This weekend the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park will host a rare Sunday NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event – the Chevrolet Silverado 250 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1).

However rare it is for the truck series to compete on Sundays, the race being held on a road course and north of the border are rarer. The series makes its inaugural visit to Canada and will compete on a road course for the first time since 2000.

No drivers entered in Sunday’s race competed in the last truck road-race event on June 24, 2000, at Watkins Glen, which was won by Greg Biffle, who went on the win the series title last that season.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• View all articles
• View all videos
• View all photos

Although Ron Hornaday Jr. missed the 2000 race at The Glen – his last road race in the truck series was there in 1999 – he has more truck series experience on road courses than the rest of the field combined. Matter of fact, the four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck champion (1996, 1998, 2007, 2009) is the only driver with experience competing on road-course tracks in the series.

In 14 races on road courses in the series, Hornaday has amassed three wins, nine top-five and 11 top-10 finishes, three poles and an average finishing position of 8.2. He’s finished first at three different tracks – Heartland Park Topeka (1995), Sonoma Raceway (1995) and Watkins Glen (1996).

In all four events he’s started at The Glen, he finished in the top five. In all five events he’s appeared in at Heartland Park he’s finished in the top 10. His lowest finish in all 14 races was a 27th-place performance in his only event at Portland International Raceway.

READ MORE:

WATCH: Hot Lap:
Atlanta Motor Speedway

WATCH: Fantasy Showdown: Atlanta

READ: Latest news from Atlanta, Canada

READ: Weekend schedule: Atlanta, Canada races

Posted on August 29, 2013 by NASCAR Wire Service

Larson looking to prove himself at Atlanta

Kyle Larson is quietly putting together a solid rookie season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Although Larson is currently eighth in the championship standings, he continues to add to his rookie lead over Alex Bowman. After placing fifth in the Wednesday night Bristol race, Larson extended his lead to 67 points.

The Great Clips/Grit Chips 300 this Saturday in Atlanta (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) will be a test for both rookies as neither of them have ever competed at the 1.54-mile track in the series. Larson, however, did finish sixth there last season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

FULL SERIES COVERAGE

• View all articles
• View all videos
• View all photos

“I’m excited to get back to Atlanta,” Larson said. “It’s always fun when you can do some Saturday night racing. I’ve never raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway in a Nationwide Series car, but I did race in the truck series there last season, so I feel like my team and I will be ready for the race.”

For Larson, how he performs this Saturday could determine if he should be considered a dark-horse candidate to make a run at the championship. Regardless of whether he can make a serious run at the title in his rookie campaign, a top-five or top-10 finish should move him up a spot or two in the standings and further tighten his grasp on the Sunoco Rookie of the Year race.

Through the first 23 races, Larson has compiled six top-five and 13 top-10 finishes, including a pair of runner-up showings at Bristol in March and Michigan in June. Over the last 15 races, he has 14 top-15 finishes with a 30th-place finish at Watkins Glen earlier this month being the only hiccup.

“Kyle has impressed me all season so I have no doubt he can go out and contend in his first Nationwide Series race at Atlanta,” said Trent Owens, Larson’s crew chief of the No. 32 Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet.

READ MORE: