Posted on by Staff Report

Burton, Peters, Wallace Jr. pitch in to help environment

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers Jeb Burton, Darrell Wallace Jr. and Timothy Peters visited Avondale Park in Birmingham, Ala., on Thursday to conduct a ceremonial tree planting with city mayor William Bell. The ceremony, held in conjunction with the NASCAR Green initiative and the Arbor Day Foundation, anticipated Talladega Superspeedway‘s plan to plant 90 trees across Birmingham’s parks following the Oct 18-20 Camping World RV Sales 500 weekend, that will also feature the Fred’s 250 powered by Coca-Cola Truck Series race on Oct. 19.

The NASCAR “Young Guns” and Bell were joined by Talladega Superspeedway chairman Grant Lynch to discuss the upcoming truck race on the high banks of Talladega, and NASCAR’s Green initiative that has grown into one of the most powerful environmental awareness platforms in the world.

The tree planting this year in Birmingham marks the second time the track has participated in NASCAR’s Green program. Last year the track planted 60 trees in Rosedale Park in Tuscaloosa, Ala. — a park that received damage from the tornadoes that ravaged the city in 2011.

Prior to the tree planting ceremony, the drivers visited nearby Avondale Elementary to give students a taste of NASCAR up close by showing off a pace car and handing out tickets to each student for the Oct. 19 race. Some students from Avondale Elementary came out to the tree planting to get photos with the drivers.

“(It) was so much fun getting to hang out with the kids at Avondale Elementary and then getting to plant a tree in Avondale Park,” said Darrell Wallace Jr., driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “We were out here for a purpose, to show all the wonderful things NASCAR is doing to stay the leader in green initiatives among all sports, but we ended up having a blast while we did it. I know the city can’t wait to get the 90 trees, and I can’t wait to see all these kids out at Talladega next weekend.”


Burton, Wallace Jr. and Peters are currently ranked fourth, ninth and sixth, respectively, in the points standings.

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Posted on by Staff Report

Richard Childress Racing will offer technical insight as Germain shifts to Chevrolet in 2014

RELATED: Full Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage

Richard Childress Racing and Germain Racing have agreed to form a technical alliance in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition, beginning with the 2014 season.

The partnership includes technology sharing, engineering, research and development provided to Germain Racing as they switch their No. 13 GEICO Cup Series cars to Chevrolet next season. The partnership also includes Germain Racing utilizing the highly reliable and powerful engines of ECR Engines.

This will also be a homecoming of sorts for the team’s driver, Casey Mears, as he drove for RCR in 2009.

"We are very pleased to have a team like Germain Racing become our partner," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "Bob (Germain) and his team have been very committed to this sport and worked hard to improve every year.

"We have worked with Casey before and he’s a very talented driver. We look forward to working with him and his crew chief Bootie Barker."

Located in Mooresville, N.C., Germain began competing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2004, and won championships in both 2006 and 2010. They entered the Nationwide Series in 2007, making 113 starts through the end of 2011. Their full-time Sprint Cup Series endeavors began in 2009.

"Richard Childress and RCR have an extremely competitive program with a long history of winning races and championships," said Bob Germain, Jr., team owner. "They have great people and tremendous resources which will allow us to continue to improve our GEICO team’s performance in 2014 and beyond."

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Posted on by Staff Report

‘Rowdy’ wins his ninth pole of the Nationwide season

MORE: Lineup | Pit stall assignments

CONCORD, N.C. — A chaotic Nationwide Series qualifying session at Charlotte Motor Speedway ended with a familiar name at the top of the board.

Kyle Busch claimed another pole in NASCAR’s No. 2 series with a lap of 183.387 mph at the 1.5-mile track. Joey Logano was second, followed by Sam Hornish Jr. and Austin Dillon. Dillon is the series leader, entering the weekend with an eight-point lead over Hornish.

Regan Smith, Alex Bowman, Trevor Bayne, Kyle Larson, Brian Vickers and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 10. Sprint Cup Series leader Matt Kenseth was 15th, while reigning Camping World Truck Series champion James Buescher was 30th.

Several drivers had trouble on the tricky Charlotte layout. Ken Butler scraped up the side of his car, while Elliott Sadler shot into the wall and damaged the rear end of his primary vehicle. Brad Sweet and Travis Pastrana both spun, but managed to keep their cars off the wall. Several other drivers had their cars bobble, but made saves to keep them straight.

It was the ninth Nationwide pole this season for Busch, who now has 35 for his career. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has 10 wins on the circuit this year.

The Dollar General 300 is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Posted on by Staff Report

Brother Kurt Busch takes second in first of two sessions at Charlotte Motor Speedway

RELATED: Practice results | Full Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage

CONCORD, N.C. — Kurt Busch wrapped up Saturday’s practices at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a second solid outing, ending the one-hour final session atop the scoreboard.

The Furniture Row Racing driver, one of 13 drivers competing for this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, posted a top speed of 190.759 mph. He had been second fastest in Saturday’s opening practice.

Fellow Chase driver Kevin Harvick (Richard Childress Racing) was second in the nightcap, followed by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski (Penske Racing), and Chase drivers Clint Bowyer (Michael Waltrip Racing) and Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing).

Chase drivers dominated the opening practice, with seven of the top 10 speeds turned in by this year’s title hopefuls.

Kyle Busch was quickest in the opening 55-minute session, posting a fast lap of 189.447 mph. Fifth in points, he will start Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 from the No. 9 position.

Chase contender and Coors Light Pole winner Jeff Gordon (Hendrick Motorsports), was 10th in the final session after a top-five speed in the opener.

Keselowski and Juan Pablo Montoya (Earnhardt Ganassi Racing), neither among those in the Chase field, completed the top five.

Matt Kenseth (JGR), the series points leader, was eighth and 23rd in the two sessions, while Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick), who trails Kenseth by three points, was 10th and eighth.

Kevin Harvick, the No. 2 qualifier and last week’s race winner at Kansas, had been 12th fastest earlier in the day.

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Posted on by Zack Albert

Sadler, Vickers had been in the top six in the points standings

CONCORD, N.C. — The slim NASCAR Nationwide Series title hopes of Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Elliott Sadler and Brian Vickers took a major hit Friday night in an odd crash early on in the Dollar General 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The result was a collision between teammates, two damaged Toyotas and a tumble further down the standings with just three races left in the season after Friday’s 300-miler.

Sadler, the championship runner-up the past two seasons, finished 36th in the 40-car field and dropped one position to fifth in the standings. Correspondingly, the deficit to series leader Austin Dillon ballooned from 43 to 78 points.

Vickers’ crash-marred 31st-place finish docked him two places in the standings to eighth, 97 points behind Dillon in the season’s homestretch.

The unusual chain reaction occurred in the 52nd of 200 laps when Reed Sorenson clipped the infield grass and spun down the front straightaway on the 1.5-mile track. Sorenson’s Ford smacked the outside wall near the entrance to Turn 1 and veered toward the bottom end of the track, into the path of Vickers.

Vickers’ swerving evasive action onto the track apron collected the No. 11 car of teammate Sadler, who was exiting pit road after making a green-flag pit stop. All three cars slid to a stop with significant damage.

"Holy cow, we had a rocket ship and were making our way up to the front — running really fast lap times," Sadler said. "Had no idea we were going to get hit on pit road like that and tear our car up. My spotter is telling me to go, that they’re wrecking behind me, which I thought I was just racing the leader to the line. I had no idea they were going to hit me on pit road. Man, it’s very frustrating. One of the most frustrating nights I’ve had in a long time, especially running the pink car here for breast cancer awareness."

Sadler and Vickers both drove away from the wreck site, but Sadler continued after some quick repairs on pit road. Just 13 laps later, however, Sadler’s car — at an aerodynamic disadvantage without a left-rear fender — was spinning again, forcing the team to go behind the wall for a more extensive fix.

"I shouldn’t have put you back out there without a quarter-panel," crew chief Chris Gayle told his driver over the team radio. "I was just trying to get to the next caution to where we could fix it. Didn’t know it’d be that bad."

Sadler, back in the garage while his crew went to work, was left to lament a hard hit in the championship battle.

"Man, just frustrating," Sadler said. "Just proud of my guys. Mainly we had a fast car, but that’s just weird luck that we had here tonight."

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Posted on by Zack Albert

Dillon’s points lead remains the same after back-and-forth battle

MORE: Results | Standings

CONCORD, N.C. — Austin Dillon and Sam Hornish Jr. spent the better part of 300 miles Friday night racing in close quarters, taking turns in the lead and defining the terms of their championship fight for the three races that remain in the NASCAR Nationwide Series season.

Even after driving a distance that could’ve taken the two to the Tennessee border and back, Dillon and Hornish left Charlotte Motor Speedway with their points margin exactly the same, a scant eight points.

Dillon wound up second with Hornish third as neither one could quite fend off race winner Kyle Busch in the Dollar General 300. But at the end, the two friendly rivals shook hands on pit road and left with a satisfying outcome in the big-picture view.

It was another night of hard-nosed but clean racing between the two, who have frequently seemed to be in close proximity to each other over the course of the 33-race season. But there were bittersweet feelings for both, despite sharing steps on the post-race podium.

For Dillon, he remained atop the Nationwide standings but remained winless in 2013 despite his third runner-up finish of the season.

"I haven’t won a race this year and feel like we need to, and there at the end, that’s what I was going for," Dillon said. "Somebody might come over the radio and say ‘be smart’ or something, but I kind of have my goals set already and I stick to ‘em. Hopefully my family members stay off the radio as much as they can and that helps sometimes."

Hornish led three times for a race-high 76 laps in the 200-lap event, and he soothed the harmful impact of consecutive 17th-place finishes in the previous two weeks with a pleasing rebound Friday night. But the contrasting irritation came in the form of being the victim of the race-winning pass for the lead by Busch with just eight laps remaining.

"It’s very frustrating to be leading with 10 laps to go and pulling away from the 54 car (Busch) and not be able to win," Hornish said, "but we never could get far enough ahead of the track to get our car right where we needed it to be. I had to work hard to keep the car underneath me there the last 10 laps."

By finishing ahead of all other Nationwide Series regulars, Dillon and Hornish achieved some separation from the rest of the pack. Regan Smith remained third in the standings, but his distance to Dillon’s perch now ranks at a stout 52 points.

Three more races like Friday night’s and the points battle will be a virtual stalemate, but Hornish said he’ll continue to focus within rather than train his gaze on Dillon’s efforts. In the meantime, Hornish said he can count on a mutual respect between him and the series front-runner.

"We’ve run around each other enough that we know that we’re going to see each other more than enough for the rest of the season," Hornish said. "Austin, in my opinion, is a good kid and he’s working hard to try to live up to a lot of expectations. He’s remembering to have fun at it, where sometimes I’m taking it a bit more seriously, I don’t know.

"But I appreciate the way we race each other and I think that’s going to be one of the more memorable parts about this, if we can race each other the way that we have so far. Win, lose or draw, I think we’ll both be happy with the way we’ve performed because we’re doing it the right way."

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Posted on by Nascar

Reed has shared No. 16 Roush ride with Billy Johnson, Chris Buescher

CONCORD, N.C. — Ryan Reed, the 20-year-old Bakersfield, Calif., native who has made three starts for Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this season, will compete full-time for the organization in 2014.
 
The announcement was made today at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the site of tonight’s Dollar General 300 NNS event.
 
"It’s a dream come true," Reed said. "To drive for Roush Fenway has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid watching Carl Edwards in the Truck Series. I realized how much Jack (Roush, co-owner) developed talent and how he helped develop the talent into the success they are today."

The No. 16 Ford will feature the American Diabetes Association Drive to Stop Diabetes campaign paint scheme, featuring Lilly Diabetes, a provider in diabetes care. Reed was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes two years ago.
 
"I know how big of a deal it is and just want to play a small part in helping to stop diabetes," he said.
 
Reed competed in both NNS races at Richmond International Raceway this season, with a best finish of ninth in September. He also made a start at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he finished 26th.
 
"I felt like at Richmond I was able to adapt well to the race track, I was able to race with guys like Jamie McMurray and Brian Vickers and I was able to race inside the top 10 in both races," he said.
 
"I went to Bristol and I had some work to do. We ran like 25th most of the night and I just struggled.
 
"There are going to be tracks that I go to that I feel like I adapt to well and then some other tracks that I’m going to have to do some work on. That’s what’s so great about having Jack behind me and supporting me. He understands the development process and will be right there by my side."
 
In addition to fielding three teams in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, Roush Fenway Racing fields two full-time entries in Nationwide for Trevor Bayne and Travis Pastrana.
 
The No. 16 entry has been fielded for a dozen races for drivers Chris Buescher (7) and Billy Johnson (2), in addition to Reed.
 
"He’s an exciting young driver with a great feel for the car," Roush said. "He’s highly motivated and competitive."
 
Reed said no decision has been made concerning a crew chief or other personnel for the team for 2014.

 

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Posted on by Nascar

Hendrick Motorsports driver thankful to be a part of sport for so long

RELATED: Full Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage

CONCORD, N.C. – So what did Dale Earnhardt Jr. do for his 39th birthday?
 
For starters, the Hendrick Motorsports driver qualified sixth for Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
 
"It’s been great," Earnhardt Jr., who turned 39 Thursday, said when asked about turning another year older. "Getting older is not awesome, but it’s all how you feel, I suppose. I feel 20. I feel good."
 
Earnhardt Jr., the 37th of 43 drivers to take to the track during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying session, briefly sat second after his lap of 195.535 mph, trailing only teammate Kasey Kahne.
 
But Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and eventually pole winner Jeff Gordon proved faster, leaving Earnhardt Jr. just outside the top five.
 
"The car was really driving well," he said, adding the No. 88 Chevrolet "is just right where we need to be.

"It’s been good all daylong. I think we’re going to have a good race car this weekend. That (run) gives us a great starting spot and a great pit selection."

Earnhardt Jr. will be making his 500th career start on Saturday night, ninth most among active Cup drivers and 33rd overall. He is a 19-time race winner, but is 0-for-27 in Cup starts at the 1.5-mile track. He does have one non-points win here, capturing the 2000 All-Star race during his rookie season.
 
Start No. 500 isn’t, he said, "that big of a milestone to me. I just hope I’m around for at least 250 or 500 more.
 
"I’ve really been blessed to have the opportunity to do what I do. I feel thankful every weekend to be able to get in some of the best cars in the series. I really mean that from my heart.
 
"It’s truly been a dream career for me and I never took it for granted that I would be driving race cars all my life and be able to make a living doing it. I’m real thankful and it makes me reflect on that kind of thing.”
 
One of 13 drivers in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field, Earnhardt Jr. enters this weekend’s race eighth in points and 54 behind leader Matt Kenseth. After a horrendous 35th-place finish in the opening Chase race at Chicago, he has posted three consecutive top-10 finishes, including a runner-up effort at Dover two weeks ago.
 
The Charlotte race marks the halfway point of the 10-race Chase.
 
While teams had only one practice session prior to qualifying on Thursday, Earnhardt Jr. said his car had speed from the time it was unloaded. Small gains on Friday would help him keep pace with those who were also fast a day earlier.
 
"We ran a couple of (race) runs early and thought that we had a good handle," he said. "We were really in the ballpark and really happy with how the car came off the trailer."
 
And that, he said, "is a good sign for us.”

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Posted on by Staff Report

Coors Light Pole Award winner Kyle Busch gets first pick

Kyle Busch claimed his eighth NASCAR Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole Award of the season and 34th of his career in the series in preparation for the Dollar General 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

With the pole went first pick of pit, and he chose No. 2, which is the first stall at the exit of pit road into Turn 1. His former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and current Penske Racing rival in the season-long owner standings, Joey Logano, was second-fastest and selected the 15th stall or the first box with an opening in front. He’ll be four stalls off of the start/finish line on the Turn 1 side.

Driver champion rivals Sam Hornish Jr. and Austin Dillon qualified third and fourth. Hornish chose No. 14, the stall across the opening from Penske teammate Logano. Points leader Dillon chose the fourth stall, third from the exit of pit road.

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Posted on by Staff Report

 

Click here to watch the Nationwide Series race with RaceBuddy.


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